"My path is this person's kindness and loneliness until the very end." Saiyuki, Vol. 2

"Dammit Goku! That's my shrimp!" Gojyo called out angrily.

"What are you talking about? I don't see your name on it!" Goku replied back, while promptly stuffing it in his mouth.

"Why you little...!" Gojyo started, wrapping his hands around Goku's neck. "How dare you, stupid monkey!" Sanzo looked down angrily at his plate as the heckling just continued on like background music.

"Now, now..." Hakkai said softly. Boiling over with anger, Sanzo let loose.

"Shut up, both of you!" Sanzo stated, as he whacked them with his idiot fan."Dumbasses"

"But Sanzo, It didn't belong..." Goku barely got in before Sanzo continued.

"Both of you are fucking children! I don't know why I put up with this from you two imbociles." With that, he got up and headed towards the room he rented at the inn; it was dead silent at the Sanzo party table, minus the Sanzo. Finally, Goku got up to follow, leaving Gojyo and Hakkai alone at the table.

"This is bullshit" Gojyo mumbled as he left the table and headed towards the door.

"Wait Gojyo, you know how Sanzo can get." Hakkai murmered with his usual smile. Goyjo did. He knew that if he turned around right now and went back to the room, it would be like none of this happened. But tonight... tonight he just couldn't let it go.

"Listen, you go inside, I'll be up in a minute."

Hakkai hesitated as he turned to go; but seeing Gojyo's familiar grin headed inside. Gojyo waited until the door to the inn was closed to wander off. Lighting a cigarette, he headed off into the night, following the path they took to get here. He didn't know why exactly, but the feeling of going backwards was strangely alluring. Almost like he was going back in time; to when he didn't have to worry about morals, and did whatever the hell he felt like.

Just as Gojyo started thinking what a pain in the ass reminiscing was, he heard a noise in the forest on the oppositte side of the road. "What the hell...?" He began, prowling deeper into the forest. Hearing a twig snap, he instinctively stretched his fist towards the sound. "Ow!" Looking down, he saw it was just Hakkai and Hakuryuu. "Ah... sorry if I scared you. It was just faster to follow you through the woods. " Hakkai said with his usual smile.

Looking down at Hakkai's pretty face, Gojyo let out a slip of a smile of his own."Don't worry about it." H said while lighting another cig and running his hands through his red hair before handing it to Hakkai. "Besides, you're too pretty for me to be afrsid of you." With this, both he and Hakkai laughed."Well, we better get back before that stupid monk gets his panties twisted in a bunch."

They walked for a few minutes, and didn't see an opening to the road. "Wow", Hakkkai said sheepishly. "I didn't know I was so far in." Goyjo scowled. "You weren't." Hakkai was going to reply when they heard a noise a little ways off. Both on alert, they followed until they saw a young girl sitting on a log next to a stream, getting drinking water. "Huh" Gojyo stated with a grin. "Just what I needed to pick up my mood.

The girl turned as she saw them. "Oh." She said, a little shocked. "I didn't see you. Are you lost?" Hakkai mused at the young girl. She had brown hair in pigtails, looked to be about 18, too young for his and Gojyo's 22 in his opinion; but other than that quite ordinary. The only thing was, she was a full demon.

"Actually," Gojyo began. "We are. Mind showing us the road?" The girl blushed, taking in Gojyo's muscular frame. "Well, it's too dark for me to show you now...but would it be alright if you stay at my place and go in the morning?" Gojyo snorted while putting his arm around the girl's shoulders. "Alright?It's even better." Hakkai shook his head in amusement as he followed. 'This is going to be a very long night'.

Sanzo sat up in the bed, his priests' robe off. Gun in hand, he kept glancing at the clock, noting how it's been two hours since he left Hakkai and Gojyo at the table. 'What the hell is taking them so long!"

Goku was passed out on the floor, snoring. Sanzo took out a cigarette and lit it.'Dammit. They better hurry back or me and the stupid monkey will have to search for them.' As much as Sanzo hated to admit it, he wondered if this could be his fault. He caught himself preparing to stand up, to go in search. 'Naw, those pansies can find their own way back' he thought while sitting back to go return to more important things; smoking and staring out the window.