Disclaimer: Minekura's. (Shortest disclaimer ever?)

Note: Takes place in the timeline after the trilogy, but could also stand on its own with a little imagination. This is my first time writing Goku POV, so it'll be interesting. Something else interesting - when I finished the final draft, the total word count came to 5353. Coincedence? Hmm...

Dynamic

Fighting solves everything; I don't care what Hakkai says. Whenever I get real bored, or just need a break from the others, a battle's an awesome way to kill time. Not like any of 'em are ever a challenge, but for a few minutes at least, I don't have to think.

If you believe the erogappa or Sanzo, they'll tell you I don't think – ever. But they're wrong. A lot of times when they think I'm not paying attention, I am. I learned a long time ago watchin' is better than anything when you gotta figure people out.

"DIE!" A youkai shouted from behind me, but I stepped to the side just a hair, bringing the Nyoi-bo down behind him and cracking his neck in one hit. He crumpled to the ground and I only had about three seconds to make sure he was really dead before a few more jumped me.

I was further away from everyone else; at the beginning of the battle, I'd made sure to draw most of the youkai to me an' lead them away from the guys. Not like they can't fight, but I know I can take on way more without gettin' tired. Hakkai's chi wears him out real quick, Gojyo gets slow when he's swamped, an' Sanzo's… well, Sanzo.

Two of 'em were coming straight at me from opposite directions. I snapped the Nyoi-bo into its three parts and whipped it around my head, crouching down. They were both a lot taller'n me, so it whacked 'em right in the faces. They stumbled back moaning and a few teeth fell by my shoes. While they were tryin' to regain their senses, I pulled it back together and slammed it on the top of each of their heads. They both fell to the ground.

I mostly had bodies around me at this point; not too many of the livin' guys figured it was a good idea to take me on. I noticed that Hakkai's chi shots were gettin' smaller, so he must be runnin' low. Gojyo wasn't swingin' out the blade on his Shakujou, but he was panting and getting sloppy. He was definitely tired.

Sanzo kept takin' down the ones that came near 'im with the shoureiju, but he was stickin' close to Hakkai every time he had 'ta reload. It seemed like the youkai were figurin' it out and counting bullets. Not good.

I ran back to help them out. I couldn't read Sanzo's eyes from this far away, but I felt a mix of annoyance and worry from him. Red suddenly flashed into my brain. Why red? Was Sanzo bleeding somewhere? I hurried faster, suddenly panicked. If Sanzo got hurt, I wouldn't know what to do…

I ran past Gojyo first, but he reached out and snagged my cape. "Get outta the way, saru," he muttered in my ear and I shook him off. "Bossman's whipping out the big guns."

I immediately jumped back. Now that I was close enough, I could see Sanzo's mouth moving while Hakkai struggled with a thin chi barrier. All of a sudden, he dropped it and bolted for where Gojyo and I were.

"On ma ni hatsu mei un!

MAKAI TENJYO!"

The sutra flew out all around 'im, green and white blasting through the remaining youkai. They barely had time to scream before being completely obliterated. The sutra didn't even leave ashes behind. It took a few seconds an' the three of us had to shield our eyes, but when the light faded, we were the only ones left.

"Not bad, not bad!" Gojyo laughed and slung an arm around Sanzo, who scowled and moved away. "I think we set a new record."

Here, I watched. Hakkai made some comment about forgetting a stopwatch, but I was concentrating on Sanzo an' Gojyo's faces when they quickly shared a look. Gojyo's smile faltered and Sanzo's eyes got soft for jus' a second.

'I was worried about you.'

'Like hell, when I'm the one who has to take care of you all the time.'

Hakuryu flew out from wherever he'd been hiding and transformed. We all got in and started to head for the next village or whatever we could find. I sat in the back, silent for a change. Just another piece of evidence…

-+-

I'd been collecting evidence for a while now. I've never told anyone, because I'm afraid of getting shot, punched, or laughed at, but I know I can't be making things up.

First, I got suspicious because of Gojyo hittin' on Sanzo all the time. I know he hits on everyone, but it seemed like Sanzo was the only one he never gave up on. Whenever a girl wasn't interested, he would stop, sayin' something like, "You can't force anyone to like you." He always said he could care less if Sanzo liked him, but I don't think he'd try so hard if that was true.

When we first started traveling, Sanzo was almost nice to 'im. Almost. He stood up for Gojyo whenever someone'd make fun a' him for being a hanyou. But whenever Gojyo'd hit on girls, Sanzo'd smack 'im with the harisen. He said Gojyo was just causin' us all trouble, but I never saw how. What he did was his business, like Hakkai always said.

They always took their smoke breaks together and talked. Hakkai jus' said he was glad they weren't fighting, but I wondered what they talked about. One time, I saw them out too far away for me to hear, but Sanzo put his head down all of a sudden an' Gojyo put an arm around his shoulder. They were out on the balcony right after it'd rained, so maybe Sanzo was still upset. But he didn't smack Gojyo and they weren't talking.

Gojyo touched their foreheads together real gentle an' Sanzo's shoulders stopped shaking. That was the weirdest part. I was totally expectin' Sanzo to get all snarly, but he didn't try an' shoot Gojyo or whack him or nothin'. He just let 'im stay like that. That's when I started ta' think it wasn't just the kappa actin' weird.

When they came back inside, Sanzo was a little less mean. Jus' a little. Now I was worried.

I wasn't there, but Hakkai told me later about what happened while we were fightin' that Kami-sama guy. Sanzo had a nightmare after we got back to the inn and I was out tryin' to deal with what happened, so Gojyo climbed up on toppa him and held 'im down until someone ran an' got me, but before that, Sanzo fell back asleep. He also forced Sanzo to play Mahjong with us an' Sanzo didn't fight him. An' then there's what happened about a month ago.

Truth is, I dunno what happened between 'em last month, but things have been way different ever since. They've been sharin' those looks – the ones that are sayin' something I can't understand. Gojyo's been touchin' Sanzo a lot more lately an' Sanzo's not fighting it so much anymore.

I was lost in my thoughts for so long that I didn't notice when we pulled into a new village. A couple people were gawkin' at us, or more likely at Jeep. That was another thing on my list, now that I thought about it. It seemed like in the past couple months, Gojyo'd beat me to the backseat and put himself right behind Sanzo. Usually, he wanted ta' sit behind Hakkai 'cuz a' the fan, but I swear he even started touchin' Sanzo then, too. I felt like I was going crazy… like I was the only one who could see anything.

"Finally, civilization!" Gojyo said, putting his hands behind his head and sighing. "Now I can get a hot shower AND a hot babe in one night!"

I stared at him, tryin' to figure out a hidden meaning behind those words. I didn't find one. "Forget all that, I jus' want some hot food!" If Gojyo really was tryin' to do somethin' with Sanzo, I'd just distract him, that's all. "Man, I'm soooo hungry…"

"Wow, never heard that before, saru," Gojyo said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

I gave a little 'hmmph.' "Yeah, like you've never said anythin' about women before either. An' you call me a one-pattern monkey!"

"You callin' me a monkey? Take a look in a mirror lately, pal?"

Good. Gojyo was so focused on me, he was even turned away from Sanzo. He grabbed me in a headlock and started messin' with my hair. Ok, that part wasn't so good. We scuffled in the back for a while until we were interrupted by a loud BANG.

Smoke wafted up from the barrel of the shoureiju as Sanzo kept it pointed straight up in the air. "The next one who speaks is granted release from this life."

I swallowed and shut up; Gojyo did too and we shifted to our sides so we weren't touchin'. Hakkai just laughed an' parked next to the nearest inn. People were kinda avoidin' us after that whole incident with the gun. I had to resist the urge to gag when I saw Gojyo let Sanzo go through the inn doors first – just so that damn kappa could touch his butt! I had to blink a couple times to make sure I didn't imagine that. I don't think my brain could'a come up with such a disgusting image on its own. Gojyo looked like he was in pain and he was holding his wrist... I didn't wanna think about that anymore.

As the three of them stood at the desk and asked about rooms, I came up with a plan. If Sanzo was bein' hassled by this ultra-pervert, then it was up to me to protect him! I owed Sanzo my life an' my freedom an' it was the least I could do. I smacked my fist down into my other palm. That settled it! First order of business…

"What kinda rooms do we have?" I asked, walking over to the desk and trying to sound very casual. Sanzo was signing the slip for the card, so I knew we were stayin' here tonight.

"It looks like we're splitting up two and two," Hakkai explained. At least he acknowledged me, 'stead of making fun of me or hittin' me. "However, we haven't talked about who's staying with whom." Perfect!

I smiled real big. "Then, I wanna stay with Sanzo! We haven't roomed together in forever an'—"

"The kappa's staying with me tonight."

Wha? My stomach twisted. Did Sanzo really just say that? He looked serious, too. What was going on?

He snorted. "Hn. Don't give me that wounded puppy look. He's going to be out all night, so it'll be like having my own room. If you stayed with me, you'd just be noisy and annoying. End of discussion."

My eyes were stinging when he turned around and headed upstairs. Gojyo actually looked a little pissed and muttered something about 'telling that asshole off' before going up after him. I clenched my hands into fists, feeling more and more exasperated. I thought maybe he wouldn't go along with my plan, but I didn't expect him to be so nasty 'bout it.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Goku? Are you going to be alright?"

I tried not to sniffle like a baby, but if I had ta', at least it was in front of Hakkai an' not someone else. "Y-yeah." I attempted a tiny smile. "Guess I should be used ta' Sanzo bein' all mean all the time."

"That's no excuse." Looking up, I saw that Hakkai wasn't smilin' anymore. His eyes got all narrow and he was glaring at the stairs. "He's carried on just about long enough, I think."

"Huh?" Now I was too confused to think about cryin'. "Hakkai, do you know if somethin's goin' on?"

He sighed, but his expression was getting back to normal, jus' a bit. I didn't like how I could still see Old Hakkai peekin' out from behind him when he got mad. "Unfortunately, what Sanzo does is his business. We shouldn't concern ourselves with it."

If anything, I was more suspicious now.

-+-

All in all, roomin' with Hakkai wasn't too bad. I didn't have to choke on cigarette smoke, he let me have the bed by the window, an' Hakuryu was bein' all snuggly with me while I watched TV. When we walked down the hall, we both heard Gojyo yellin' at Sanzo in the room across from ours, an' he wasn't yellin' back, so that just meant he was being all pissy as usual. Maybe I was just the last straw and he wasn't really mad at me personally. That made me feel better.

Hakkai came outta the bathroom after putting all his stuff inside and looked down at me lyin' on the bed, hands on his hips. "You seem to be doing better," he commented. Hakuryu kyuu-ed and flapped over to him. Hakkai smiled and stroked his neck before blinking and gasping. "Good Lord, Hakuryu! How long has it been since I last gave you a bath?"

"Kyuu?" Hakuryu tilted his head to the side, puzzled.

Hakkai waved a hand in front of his face. "How could you stand playing with him, Goku? He's filthy!" He wasn't mad, just surprised.

I shrugged. "Didn't seem that bad ta' me. We were travelin' on a dirt road all day."

"True. Well, I guess a bath would be a good way to pass the time then. The man at the desk said that dinner wouldn't be ready until seven… So we have about an hour."

Seven? My stomach started rumblin' just thinking about how far away that was. But then I thought about how all four of us would be eating together and how I'd have to face Sanzo again an' how he'd prob'ly still be all pissed. I didn't trust Gojyo to make 'im feel any better… unless…

"AGH!" I couldn't believe the gross picture that just came inta' my head. "No! No no no! Bad brain!" I buried my head under my pillow, willing the image away.

"Goku?" Hakkai sounded concerned. He'd been takin' Hakuryu over to the bathroom, but stopped when he heard me.

I peeked out just a little to see him lookin' at me, worried. "S-sorry," I stuttered out, feelin' a little embarrassed. "Just thinkin' about something… it was icky."

"Ah… I see." Hakkai didn't sound convinced, but went into the bathroom and closed the door. I heard the water start and banging noises as Hakuryu started flappin' around. He was kyuu-in' happily. When I was little, I hated baths, an' so did all the pets I brought back ta' the temple, but Hakuryu loves getting clean. I think it's 'cuz it's Hakkai and he pets him and gets him all fluffy.

Meanwhile, I flopped back down on the bed an' stared at the ceiling. What was I gonna do? How can you protect someone who doesn't wanna be around you? Sanzo was walkin' right into the enemy's trap an' there was nothin' I could do.

Gojyo… the enemy? It was weird ta' think of it that way, but it worked. The erogappa prob'ly only wanted Sanzo for… uh, stuff, an' Sanzo'd only get hurt if Gojyo got his way. But here they were, sharin' a room. I knew Sanzo could defend himself, since he had a gun an' a fan an' the sutra if it got real bad. But what if Gojyo got 'im drunk? Or waited 'til he was asleep an'…

I covered my face with my hands an' forced the bad thoughts away again. This was way too much for me to handle… 'specially if no one would tell me anythin'.

I must'a fallen asleep, 'cuz next thing I knew, Hakkai was movin' my shoulder, tellin' me it was time for dinner. Hakuryu was still wet and sat next to me before shakin' himself off all over me. Ew. I was startin' to think today was not my day.

We walked downstairs after seein' that Gojyo and Sanzo weren't in their room. I did a quick scan anyway, noticin' that one of the beds was already undone an' Gojyo's stuff was spilled all over the floor. I snorted, thinkin' 'bout what a slob he was and followed Hakkai downstairs.

-+-

Downstairs, I had yet another piece of evidence to add to my collection. Gojyo was ramblin' on about something to Sanzo, who would nod every once an' a while as he lit another cigarette. I smelled a calm air around both of them, which was enough to weird me out. Like Sanzo wasn't mad anymore… an' he wasn't even mad at Gojyo!

That reminded me of the last thing I didn't wanna think about. My nose never lied to me, but that didn't make it any better. Over the past couple weeks, I kept confusin' Sanzo and Gojyo for each other when I smelled one of 'em coming. That never used ta' happen, because even their cigarette brands smelled different, not to mention other tiny little things that you didn't notice unless you concentrated.

The only time I ever noticed people smellin' like each other was when I'd see couples together. Sometimes, when Gojyo would bring a girl around, he'd smell like 'er the next mornin'. So the only reason Sanzo and Gojyo'd start smellin' the same would be if… NO NO NO!

"Well, it was nice of you two to wait for us," Hakkai said, smilin' and pullin' out his own chair. I tried to catch his eye, sendin' desperate signals, but he either didn't see it or didn't care. "Oh and Sanzo, you seem to be in a better mood."

"Define 'better,'" Sanzo muttered, stubbing out his cigarette in the ashtray. "Someone wouldn't shut up until I caved." From the way Gojyo was smilin' like an idiot, I knew he'd won the argument.

"Oh dear, that must've been painful for you." Hakkai's comment was makin' Sanzo go red for some reason an' Gojyo was chokin' on the beer he'd just started drinkin'. He ended up snortin' some of it out his nose. Gross. Funny, but gross.

Sanzo cleared his throat and looked directly at me. I always felt squirmy when his purple eyes were on me. I don't think he blinked; maybe that was why it was creepy. "Are you over your angst now?" He jerked real soft an' I saw that Gojyo nudged him. Oh, that had to be worth at least the fan. "Rather…" He coughed again. "Don't… take it personally that I didn't want to room together. It's not that big a deal and we'll probably stay in a dozen more inns, so you can stop throwing a fit."

"Wow…" I sat there for a second. "Sanzo? Did you just… apologize to me?"

There was a stress mark on Sanzo's head and it kept getting' bigger. "Don't ever make me repeat it. In fact, we'll say that it never happened." But I was still weirded out, even if he was embarrassed about it.

"That's our Sanzo-sama," Gojyo said, leanin' back in his chair. "Merciful as Kannon herself." (1)

"Don't you dare compare me to that witch—" Sanzo started ta' say, but then the food came!

Awesome! For a little bit, I didn't have to think about anythin'. We were all starvin', so we mostly just ate without talking. The waiters kept bringin' out dish after dish an' we didn't even have to ask them to refill our drinks at all! There was Xiao Long Bao an' Lo Mein an' Shaobing an' rice an' pork an' even ice cream! I was so stuffed at the end, but it felt so good. (2)

"Well…" Gojyo stood up, stretching and makin' a big show. "I guess I'll head on out then. I got a real busy night ahead of me."

"Right, right, those card games won't win themselves, ne, Gojyo?" Hakkai set down his chopsticks and wiped his mouth off. Gojyo just smirked and wandered off with a wave of his hand.

Sanzo was still drinkin' his tea, but since Hakkai an' I were finished, we both got up at the same time. "What time shall we meet downstairs, Sanzo?" Hakkai asked, still smiling down at him.

Sanzo glared between sips. "Nine A.M. and no later. I want to get on the road as soon as possible." I tried not to look sad in front of him, but I hated gettin' up so early. Sanzo wasn't a mornin' person either, so I never got that. But I wasn't gonna get him more mad after it took all that to apologize.

Hakkai an' I went back up to our room an' I thought I still heard Gojyo movin' around in their room when we passed it. He must'a been gettin' all dressed up. It'd been a couple weeks since I saw him with any girls, so he was prob'ly gettin' desperate at this point.

In the room, I finally got a shower of my own – fightin' youkai gets you dirty! – an' since we were gettin' up early, I decided to get all the sleep I could. I would need the energy tomorrow to keep Gojyo away from Sanzo.

My head snapped up as soon as it hit me. I was still dryin' my hair off from the shower, but I forgot all about protectin' Sanzo tonight! If Gojyo came back early, he'd be in trouble!

I got dressed in the shirt an' shorts I always slept in an' started to head for the door, but Hakkai stopped me. "Goku, where are you going?"

This was it. I had ta' let Hakkai know what was goin' on. Maybe he could help me and both of us could fight off Gojyo together! I turned around to face him where he was sittin' on his bed, pettin' Hakuryu. "I… Hakkai, you an' me gotta help Sanzo!"

"Help him? Goku, what are you talking about?" Hakkai turned to me and took Hakuryu off his lap, settin' him on the bed. "Is something going on? You've been acting quite strange all day."

"Me?" My eyes narrowed and I clenched my hands into fists. "The one who's been actin' weird is that filthy pervy kappa! He's goin' after Sanzo and we gotta do somethin'!"

"Going after? Are you saying that Gojyo's trying to hurt him? Because I don't think…"

"Well, no one's tellin' me anythin', an' there's definitely something going on!" I was tryin' to keep from tearing up, but it was hard. I don't think I'd ever felt this frustrated before. "If it was all like normal, there'd be nothin' goin' on an' no one'd be keepin' secrets an' they wouldn't SMELL like each other an'…" I stopped, starin' at the ground. I shouldn't be yellin' at Hakkai; it's not like it's his fault. "An' I ran outta things ta' say," I finished, feelin' pretty lame.

But when I looked up again, Hakkai wasn't mad. In fact, he moved over so there was room on the bed for me. He patted the spot next to him an' Hakuryu even wagged a little. "Why don't you and I discuss some things? It seems you've been left out a lot lately."

I blinked. "Yeah, okay." I sat down next to him, tryin' to act like a grown-up. Hakkai was about the only one who ever treated me like I wasn't just in the way or some stupid kid. I really liked that. "What's going on?"

"Well," Hakkai said, lookin' like he wasn't sure where to start. Hakuryu fluttered over and curled up on my lap, yawning. "Well," he started again, givin' me a more embarrassed smile. "What do you think is going on?"

I looked down at my lap, strokin' the white fur on Hakuryu's neck. "I think…" I was afraid to say it. It was like, if the words came out, it'd be real. "Gojyo… likes Sanzo. I mean, he likes him likes him." I paused again. "An' I know he's always touchin' Sanzo and callin' him 'chan' an' stuff… He makes comments, like sayin' Sanzo's beautiful an' all… but I thought Gojyo liked girls!"

"That's true," Hakkai said, starin' straight forward at the door. "Gojyo didn't say not to tell, but he's liked Sanzo… in that way… for a very long time. That's not to say he doesn't still like women, but… he likes Sanzo as well."

"So… he likes both?" I tried to fit this concept in my head, 'specially since Gojyo was always goin' on about how he only wanted to be with pretty girls an' how he wasn't interested in guys. "He lied then?" That I could understand.

"Not lied, per se," Hakkai explained. His hands were grippin' the edge of the bed an' I could see he was squeezin' real hard. "You did notice that Gojyo doesn't say women specifically all the time, right? Sometimes he'll just say 'beauty' or something to that effect."

Now I felt really dumb. "You mean he's been sayin' that all along and I never noticed? I was lookin' so hard, too…" I slumped over an' Hakuryu shifted, pullin' his wings in closer. "Well, what about Sanzo? Most'a the time he just hits Gojyo or yells at 'im, but other times… it's like he doesn't care too much, y'know?"

"Now that's an interesting story," Hakkai said. He still wasn't lookin' at me an' he had this faraway look. "At first, Sanzo was about as confused as you are. He's not used to anyone caring for him in the way that Gojyo does. But, after some time, he realized he felt the same."

"No way!"

Hakkai chuckled a little, imitating my tone. "Way, I'm afraid. They admitted to each other that they felt like this and… how do I put this? They started a relationship."

"Relationship?" I hated feelin' so inexperienced, but I wasn't sure what he meant. "Don't we all have relationships with each other? What makes them so different?"

I swear Hakkai was blushin'. "That is to say… a romantic relationship, of sorts. Perhaps it would be best to say physical and emotional…. 'togetherness?'" He had his eyes closed, prob'ly tryin' to keep his mind off the same disgusting things that I'd been tryin' to avoid.

My eyes went big. "You mean they're havin' SEX?" I accidentally said it real loud, which made Hakkai put a finger up to his lips to get me quiet. "S-sorry…. Sex?" I whispered this time.

"Well, that's one part of it. But they also care deeply for each other, which is more than just having sex or kissing and touching. They've started watching each other in battles, making sure the other doesn't get hurt. They talk on their smoke breaks, getting to know each other better. They even do other little things to show they care… Gojyo makes sure Sanzo eats right, for one, while Sanzo gets him extra cigarettes or a new lighter when he needs it. In that way, they show the other person that they're thinking of each other." Hakkai sat back, sighing and lookin' a little more relaxed. "At least, that's what I've observed."

"No way," I repeated, startin' to pet Hakuryu again. "All this time an' I never saw it. I must be blind."

"No, Goku, not blind," Hakkai said, smilin' at me. It was so odd, but I knew it was one of his real smiles. I could smell that he was at ease. "It's just easy for me to notice subtle differences in people's behavior. I've known Gojyo a bit longer than you have, so I can tell when he starts acting strangely. He's affectionate; that's how he shows he cares for people, by touching and nicknames."

I raised an eyebrow. "If fightin' with me an' callin' me saru is carin', Sanzo can have it."

He didn't say anything about that an' kept goin'. "I was actually worried about you, Goku. I know that the rest of us were unsure of how you'd take such a development."

"It's weird, I'll tell ya that," I said, rubbin' Hakuryu behind his ears. That made 'im start purrin'. "I don't know how I'm s'posed ta' take it. I just… is it gonna make Sanzo act different all the time? Is he gonna keep ignorin' me?"

"Ignoring you?" Hakkai asked. "Goku, perhaps you're a bit jealous?"

I sat back, eyes big. "Jealous? Of who? Gojyo?" I paused a second, lookin' down at the sleeping dragon in my lap. "I mean… I know I love Sanzo an' all… but not like that!" I made a face. "Thinkin' like that is just… gross! Sanzo's my… my…" My what? The right words just wouldn't come. He wasn't my dad, or my brother; I wasn't in love with him, but I would do anythin' for him. He was just… Sanzo.

Hakkai was still waitin', so I smiled back at him. "I'm not sure what he is… or how I feel… but it's not that kind of love. I do know that."

He patted me on the shoulder and raised a finger on his free hand. "Well, then, are you jealous of Sanzo?"

If my eyes'd been big before, now they were huge. "Of Sanzo? 'Bout Gojyo?!" I felt even sicker. "No way! I'd rather die 'afore kissin' him! I'd catch his… his kappa cooties!"

I jumped a bit at what sounded like choking noises. I looked over at Hakkai, wonderin' if he was ok, but he was now clutching his sides, gasping and laughing harder than I've ever seen him before. Hakuryu even woke up, he was so startled. It was probably a few minutes before Hakkai could even catch his breath, but I realized why he was laughin' and started laughin' along with him.

Finally, he stopped, wipin' tears from his eyes. "That hurt… A-ha-ha… but I like that, Goku. I like that very much." He looked like he was gettin' an idea. "Say, why don't you and I use that to our advantage?"

"Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"Sanzo and Gojyo still think that you don't know, right? So, perhaps we can use K.C. – your 'kappa cooties' – as a code for whenever our two lovebirds get a bit too mushy. What do you say?"

I laughed. "Awesome! Gojyo'll be so confused… an' I bet once Sanzo figures it out, he'll go bright red!" I looked up at the door. "You really think they'll go all mushy on each other?"

Just then, we heard a noise from outside in the hall. It sounded like scuffling and two voices arguing. I could definitely make out the stupid kappa… and Sanzo was raggin' on him for something. We both stopped to listen in.

"Shut up, you insufferable idiot!" Sanzo snarled. "I suppose you want the entire village to hear you!"

"But Sanzo-samaaaaa!" Gojyo whined. "I said I was sorry! Please lemme back in! I promise I'll make it up to you!"

"Make it up?" Sanzo snorted. "Not likely. You'll sleep in the hallway and you'll like it!"

"Aw, Sunshine…" Gojyo was begging. Hakkai and I just stared at each other, listening to the rustling noises outside. "Come on, you know you can't live without me…" All of a sudden, there was another rustle and a thump against our wall.

"Gojyo…"

Rustle, laugh. "Told ya."

"Oh… not here."

"Then where? I was told to sleep in the hallway."

Moan. "You… fool."

Then, the door across the hall slammed. Hakkai and I were still in shock. After a moment, he cleared his throat. "Well, I'm glad we had that talk."

I stood up. "I'm glad you're here. If I'm gonna have ta' put up with that all the way West…"

Hakkai nodded. "It's going to be a long trip."

-Owari-

Notes:

1 – "Kannon herself." another name for the Bodhisattva of Compassion

2 –Foods: Xiao Long Bao – kind of dumpling, Lo Mein –noodles, Shaobing – pastry