Dangerous Fatigue
Saiyuki Fanfic

Goku was dragging himself behind his friends as they walked a forest path. He was trying to keep up but was dead tired, and he wouldn't be able to force his body to move for very much longer. He could barely keep his eyes open. They had been on the move for three days straight, walking the whole time. And when they weren't walking, they were fighting as there seemed to be no end to the demons coming after them now.

"Oi! When are we going to stop?" Gojyo complained as he walked the forest path behind Hakkai and Sanzo, Goku behind him.

Hakkai rubbed his eyes. "Gomen Gojyo. I don't think we will be stopping anytime soon. Please hang in there a little bit longer."

The sleep deprivation was even starting to affect Sanzo. Even though the exchange between Gojyo and Hakkai wouldn't have bothered him any other day, he felt his stomach churn with anger. He turned around suddenly and yelled, "Urusai! Walk or I'll kill you all myself!" His words were harsher then normal, due to the fatigue.

His sudden outburst caused Hakkai and Gojyo to come a sudden stop. Goku, who couldn't have pay attention even if he wanted to, kept walking and bumped into Gojyo. Gojyo was pushed forward a little, but Goku hit the ground hard as he fell backwards, no longer able to control his body. He lay on the ground motionless for what seemed like an eternity. Hakkai rushed over to the boy and helped him to sit up, "Come on Goku. We have to keep moving."

Goku grabbed the healer by the wrist, and just sat there for a moment. His breathing was raspy, his eyes were clamped shut, and he was eerily quiet.

Hakkai watched the boy for a moment, not sure if he should remove his hand from Goku's hold or not. "Ne, Goku? Daijoubuka?"

Goku's hold on Hakkai's wrist tightened and the boy screamed. He stood up suddenly and flung the healer right into Gojyo. They both landed hard, Gojyo cushioning Hakkai from the ground. "Hakkai?! Daijoubu?!"

"Hai. . ." Hakkai removed himself from his friend. "Looks like we've finally lost him." he said, looking back at Goku. The boy still had his Diadem on, but he still looked just as wild. He was just standing there, his hands clenching and unclenching as he glared at the three men.

Sanzo made a "tch" noise as he walked over Goku. "Baka saru. Don't make this trip harder then it has to be. I'm too tired to deal with your shit today. Calm down now Goku." He stopped a few feet in front of Goku, glaring icily at the boy. Hakkai and Gojyo watched from where they had been thrown.

Goku growled at Sanzo, and suddenly launched himself at the monk. He punched Sanzo right in the face, sending the young blonde skidding across the forest floor.

"Sanzo!" Hakkai and Gojyo shouted in unison. Hakkai turned to Gojyo, "Try and get him under control, I'll see if Sanzo's okay." And with that he ran over to Sanzo.

Gojyo stared at Goku, "Yea, sure. Give me the easy part." He said sarcastically with a tired sigh. He began to walk up to Goku, "Okay kozo, time to come back to reality now." Goku continued to growl as Gojyo got closer to him. He hunched down as an animal might do when feeling cornered. "Man. I really don't feel like dealing with this today," Gojyo complained, staring at his exhausted friend. He sighed, "Guess it can't be helped." Goku flung himself at Gojyo, his fist raised, "Die!" he screamed as he aimed for Gojyo's head. Gojyo snickered, "As if!" and he dodged Goku's blow.

Hakkai helped Sanzo to his feet, "Daijoubuka, Sanzo?"

Sanzo sighed and rubbed his jaw, "Yea, I'm fine." He watched Goku attack Gojyo.

"We need to find some shelter. We can't keep going like this. We're liable to kill each other." Hakkai said, watching the fight between Gojyo and Goku escalate.

Sanzo looked into the forest around them. "Go and see if you can find any kind of shelter near by. We'll deal with Goku." Sanzo was all ready walking away from Hakkai.

Hakkai reluctantly agreed and ran off with Hakuryu on his shoulder.

Gojyo's stamina was failing him, and his reaction time was severely weakened from the lack of sleep they all have had to endure. Goku was straddling the red head and laying punch after punch into his all ready aching body. Gojyo finally got so fed up with Goku's beatings, he summoned what very well was the last of his strength and threw the boy off of him. He slowly got to his unstable feet. "Baka! I'll kill you!"

Sanzo grabbed him by the shoulder. "That's my job."

Gojyo stared at the monk then sighed, feeling his composure coming back to him. "What now?" He watched Goku get back to his feet.

"You'll know, just don't mess it up." Sanzo said, never taking his eyes from the demon boy.

Gojyo nodded and backed away from the monk.

"Come on, baka saru. You're causing trouble. Let's end this now." Sanzo called to Goku.

Goku clenched his hands so tight that they began to bleed. "Go. . .away!" he shouted and rushed Sanzo.

"Sorry, can't do that." Sanzo waited till the last possible moment, then quickly side stepped Goku, grabbing both his wrists and pinning them behind Goku's back. "Now Gojyo!"

"Yosh!" Gojyo rushed the struggling Goku and landed a powerful punch to the boy's abdomen.

Goku's eyes went wide, and he just stood there between Gojyo and Sanzo; his breath caught in his lungs. After a long moment, that breath was released and his eyes rolled back into his head, as he fell forwards into Gojyo.

Sanzo released Goku's wrists as he fell. Both men sighed, and sat on the forest floor, breathing heavily. "Man, what a pain in the ass!" Gojyo said breathlessly, watching the boy sleep peacefully in his arms.

Sanzo watched Goku as he slept soundly. He made another "tch" noise and sighed. "Baka saru."

The forest was quiet for the next few minutes, which put both the men on high alert. They looked around them; they're senses acute to every leaf that fell to the forest floor. They both looked to their left as they heard some branches crack under someone's weight. It seemed like an eternity, but finally Hakkai appeared from the forest. Gojyo and Sanzo sighed. "Jeez! You nearly gave me a heart attack." Gojyo said, smiling at his friend.

Hakkai smiled, "Gomen nasai." He knelt next to Goku and put his hand on the boys head. "I see you've calmed him down."

Sanzo sighed, "What about shelter?" his voice held irritation.

Hakkai stood up and nodded to the monk. "There's actually a small village just up the road. I believe we'll be safe there for a little while at least."

Sanzo eyed Hakkai, "Why do you say that?"

"Because the village marks the end of this dense forest. I do not believe that these demons will leave their safe, dense forest. Since their element of surprise would be gone."

"But. . ." Gojyo began. "That's never stopped the demons from coming after us before. Whether they had the element of surprise or not, they came after us without any thought, just to get that sutra." His eyes traced the Maten sutra that rested on Sanzo's shoulders.

Sanzo nodded. "I see what you mean, Hakkai."

"Huh?" Gojyo was now completely lost.

Hakkai chucked softly, "Gojyo, these demons never claimed that they were after the sutra in the first place. I believe that they are just demons manipulated by the Minus Wave, and not acting on Kougaiji's orders."

"Whatever," Sanzo said, getting to his feet. "Let's just get moving. I do not wish for a farewell fight before reaching the village."

Hakkai nodded. "I agree. We should move to the village quickly."

Gojyo sighed, "Sure, as long as this one isn't the only one allowed to sleep tonight."

Hakkai laughed again, "Daijoubu. We'll all. . ." he was cut off by movement a little in front of him. He turned around fast, and saw Sanzo had fallen to his knees. He rushed over to the monk and caught him before he was able to hit the ground. He laid the monk on his lap and checked his breathing, and pulse.

Gojyo looked over Hakkai's shoulder. He had picked up Goku and was carrying him piggy back style. "Guess his Holiness couldn't hack it."

"Shh. . ." Hakkai prompted. "He still might be conscious enough to hear you."

Gojyo huffed, "Doubtful. Look at him! He's out for sure. Just like his little monkey here."

Hakkai shook his head and sighed. "Let's get going. We can all use some sleep." Hakkai supported Sanzo under his arm and around his waist.

"I'll definitely second that," Gojyo said through a yawn, as they all made their way to the safe haven of the nearby village.

This is just something that I felt like writing one day, cause I was bored. XP Enjoy!

PS. I own nothing. This is purely fanmade! Thank you.