A/N: So, this was a much longer wait for this chapter than I'd hoped; I apologize. Between school ending and medical issues, there was a lot preventing me from getting this out in a timely manner. Hopefully, the next one won't take so long. I also went way over my allotted word count, but there just wasn't anything I could remove without hurting the flow of the story.

A/N2: Late fix for a plot point that slipped past me.

Chapter 3: Associate

With a click of her high heels down the hallway, Hwang rounded the corner and made her way to the laboratory. She'd just come from a meeting with Gyokumen Koushu and the woman had made it clear to Hwang that she was not happy.

'And if Gyokumen Koushu isn't happy, no one's happy,' Hwang thought bleakly.

Another source of Hwang's misery was sitting at his own computer, smoking and staring at a map on his monitor. He closed the window as she strode closer, swiveling around in his chair. She couldn't see his eyes due to the glare from his glasses and his neutral expression gave away no hints as to what he was thinking.

"You're upset, Hwang-chan," he teased, raising a mug of coffee up to his mouth and slurping at it. As he set it down, large drops of the liquid sloshed onto two fresh printouts, on which she could see writing that looked similar to that of the sutras they'd already recovered.

She had studied the patterns on the Seiten long enough to know that this was different than any of the others she'd seen so far. She tried to peer closer, but Ni's arm conveniently blocked her view.

Trying to get her mind back on track, Hwang couldn't help being disgusted, both at his actions and his over-familiarity with her. "Gyokumen Koushu-sama has discovered that the Prince and his friends have run off without her permission again. She's also received the latest news from the army on top of us having no new research to present on the revival project. Part of that last one is as much your problem as it is mine."

"What makes you think I'm not working?" he asked, glib smile plastered on his face as always. "It's not as if the only options for success are the most obvious ones."

Hwang didn't even pretend to understand what that meant. "At any rate, she told me…" She trailed off, swallowing her rage at the other piece of information she was to present. "That your presence is required in her chambers." A streak of pink spread across her face.

Ni stood up, stretching and rotating his head until he heard his neck crack in a satisfying manner. He shuffled past her and his compliance further infuriated the female scientist.

"All these distractions when I'm trying to do my job," he commented lightly, taking another sip from the mug as he stepped into the hallway. "Just when I was getting to the good part, too."

Hwang automatically glanced over at the computer screen, but a screensaver of rabbits was already hopping its way across the monitor. When she looked back to the doorway, Ni was gone.

She looked over to see what he'd been working on, but the computer was automatically password-locked. Whatever the printouts had been, they had now smeared from the coffee. One of the only words that stood out to her was "Sanzo."

-+-

Gojyo didn't know how long he'd been following the priest and his pet monkey up that hill, but he'd never felt this disconnected in his life. Here he was, tagging along with someone yet again, because a part of him couldn't stand to see Green Eyes – or rather, Cho Gonou, as the priest called him – do anything stupid. Not after he'd finally found someone who understood him.

Yet it was this strange monk who'd seen what Gojyo was unable to: that there was no use in feeling sorry for himself, that there was something else besides blood in those damned features. His heart had skipped a beat back there, when 'Sanzo,' this worldly priest who only moments earlier was pointing a gun to Gojyo's head, had stared him down with those brilliant violet eyes.

"The ones with the strongest will to live are the ones who survive."

It was a silent command, not just to live, but to want the life he'd been given. It was a command Gojyo had been following for years now, to stand for something, to live for anything.

It wasn't until a recently that Gojyo wanted to live for someone.

Gojyo was jerked out of his memory by what looked to be the priest yelling. Sanzo was calling him stupid and useless and a half-breed… words he'd sworn he would never use. Behind Sanzo, a youkai smirked and passed a dagger back and forth between his hands.

Gojyo's eyes narrowed. 'Wait, didn't I get hit?' He looked down to his torso, where a wound should have been.

Gojyo was forced to close his eyes as a wave of pain radiated out from his abdomen. When he opened his eyes again, his dream was gone. He was sitting in a stonewalled room with only a tiny, vertical slit carved in the wall for a window. A heavy wooden door stood directly in his line of vision and he realized he'd been chained to the other wall, both of his hands in shackles mounted above him. His arms were stretched over his head and looking down, he saw his shirt and jacket were gone. His legs were also bound together with a ball and chain connected to it, keeping him down. There was a crude bandage covering the stab wound.

'At least the guy had the decency to wrap me up,' he thought rather cynically, attempting to pull his arms down, only to feel the metal bite into his wrists. He then tried drawing his legs closer to push himself up and held back a groan as the motion aggravated his wound. Gojyo was forced to give that up when he realized that the shackles wouldn't allow him to stand up anyway.

Abandoning that idea, Gojyo decided to take in a bit more of his surroundings. A look towards the window told him nothing; from his angle, all he could see was the darkening sky outside. He knew it had been early afternoon when they'd fought that youkai army, so he assumed that he'd been out for at least a couple of hours. However, with the way his head was pounding, days could have gone by and he'd never know.

'Sanzo…' Gojyo grimaced, trying to force the thought away. He didn't need to think about the priest right now, not after the hateful things the blond had told him. A growl escaped him anyway as he recalled the overwhelming insecurity and jealousy his lover had displayed during that argument. 'Why is it never enough to tell him that I love him? He always has to question me. And those things he said about…'

Gojyo drifted away from that thought as he picked up the sound of footsteps getting closer. The redhead figured it was his captor, coming to check up on him. 'But if it's a youkai, why didn't the guy just kill me? I'm no good to him alive.'

Finally, the footsteps paused right outside the door and Gojyo heard the jingling of keys before one slid into the lock and there was a click. The kappa had tensed involuntarily, suddenly hyperaware of his vulnerable position. He closed his eyes, briefly wondering if he should conjure up his weapon, but it wouldn't do much good with his hands tied up that way.

The door finally swung open after what seemed like an eternity and Gojyo drew in a sharp breath, recognizing the youkai from earlier as the one who had stabbed him. The guy had finally taken off his cape, letting Gojyo see his tanned skin and short brown hair. The youkai was wearing a dark-green, long-sleeved shirt with a brown leather vest overtop of it, as well as matching gloves, bracers, and boots. The shirt came down almost to his mid-thigh, which covered up some of the skin-tight pants he had on. Seiran stopped and examined the prisoner before him.

"Remarkably well-behaved," he murmured to himself.

The kappa snorted. "Could say the same for you. Not much of a bad guy if this is the worst you can do. Or are you supposed to horrify me into submission with your little Nature Boy getup?" He could at least be amused by the youkai's fashion sense. It wasn't the most ridiculous thing he'd ever seen, but the camouflage idea was a bit played out in this day and age. Despite the fact that he was attempting one-liners, Gojyo still couldn't completely suppress the worry that had started to creep up in his mind.

There was a tense silence in between the two as Gojyo waited for the youkai to speak. He hadn't really given it much thought until now, but the odds were good that this person was holding him for a purpose. 'Maybe this guy wants somethin' from me.'

Seiran finally addressed Gojyo after a few more agonizing seconds of silence. "Alright, I'm going to be upfront with you: this can be painless for both of us—"

"Says the guy who stabbed me," Gojyo retorted bitterly, but Seiran continued.

"—If we just get down to business—"

"What the hell kinda business do you have with me anyway?"

"Last I checked, you aren't in the best position to be asking questions," Seiran insisted, abandoning the formalities. He stepped closer, so that Gojyo was forced to look up to see him. "However, I am. First of all, and most importantly, since I've taken you here, how long do you think your friends are going to take to come by and collect you?"

Gojyo raised an eyebrow, trying for overall indifference. He was a professional gambler, after all; he'd especially perfected his poker face over the years. "Hell if I know. What makes you so sure they'd come for me anyway?"

Seiran was also deep in thought. 'I can't give out all the information I have on him just yet… I'll let him sweat it out a bit.' He suddenly adopted a lighter tone. "Just wondering what they typically do in situations where a teammate goes missing. Although, who knows, perhaps they're already looking for a replacement for you."

Gojyo gave a short laugh. "Unfortunately for them, I kinda hafta be there." As he flashed a smirk at Seiran, he hoped it was covering up how nervous he'd begun to feel.

'Good,' Seiran thought, unaware of Gojyo's history with betting. 'He's as talkative as I had him pegged for. Let's just hope he knows how to talk about the right things.' "So, they'll probably come after you," the youkai decided, pacing a bit. "How long do you think that'll take?"

Gojyo shrugged. "Like I said, I don't know. They prob'ly think I can take care of myself."

"But they'll still come, eventually. Do you suppose they'll wait and prepare some tactics? Attempt to lay siege to this place?"

'Damn, he's persistent.' Gojyo tried to keep acting disaffected. "Why d'you care? And I'm not a strategist; I wouldn't know what they're planning."

Seiran had now moved to the wall that Gojyo was bound to, pulling the cell keys from his pocket delicately. Seiran slowly twirled the key ring on his right index finger. "It really doesn't matter to me what your capabilities are… it's what they can do. It would just be the three of them, right? Or would there be someone else who could assist them?"

Gojyo didn't respond right away. He kept looking back to the keys, which glimmered in the darkness of the cell. "Sorry, am I boring you or something?"

Seiran smiled. "Hmm?" He momentarily caught the keys in his palm, clenching his fist around them. "Oh, these." He started spinning them around again. "Don't worry about it; it's not that hard to multitask."

The tanned youkai was reveling in the fact that the hanyou's eyes were locked on to the twirling keys; the motion evidently distracted him. "It's just something to keep my hands occupied while we chat, you know. Now, what was I saying? Oh yes… It would just be those three?"

The redhead swallowed, still watching the keys. Seiran could tell that Gojyo was assessing whether or not it was possible, despite having his hands bound, for him to get them from the youkai. "Don't know. I guess."

"Would they just burst in here, weapons at the ready? Sneaking in doesn't seem to be your usual method."

Gojyo shrugged. "What's it matter? Not like I'd tell you even if I did know."

That was the last thing Gojyo managed to get out before his abdomen once again shot through with pain, his vision bursting with stars. "Wha—what—" he attempted, but he could taste blood in his mouth and he felt sick; Seiran had jabbed his left claws directly into his wound, causing the redhead to jerk against his bonds.

Looking up, crimson met dark brown. "It seemed like you weren't taking me seriously enough, half-breed. This is what happens when you don't tell me what I want to know. It's a very avoidable thing, after all." He sneered, twisting the claws a little bit. "Pity that wound hasn't healed up yet… It would be mostly fixed if you were a full youkai."

Gojyo coughed weakly. "My bad."

"Let's try again, shall we?" Seiran leaned forward and kept his claws in the wound, peering down at his captive. "What do you think the rest of your group would plan if they had to go and rescue someone? Would they automatically resort to fighting? Or would they be open to bargaining?"

'Bargaining?' Suddenly, it clicked in Gojyo's mind. "You don't want me for info, do you? I'm a hostage…"

"Wow, did you come up with that all on your own?" Seiran moved a little closer, noting how Gojyo inched back against the wall. "But what would I want in exchange for you?"

Gojyo's eyes widened. 'A trade…' "The sutra," he concluded grimly, looking up to see Seiran's gloating face.

"Very well done. Genjyo Sanzo hands over the sutra and you all get to continue on your merry way… all four of you."

Gojyo couldn't help it. He started laughing, startling Seiran. The redhead paused to get himself together. "You're so stupid. First you think they'd actually come and get me, then you think Sanzo'd give up the sutra? That guy'd go to India all by himself before he'd give that thing up!"

Another jolt of pain shot through him and this time, Gojyo felt Seiran pushing him back against the wall, claws going deeper. "You may think I don't know what I'm talking about, but I think you're lying… After all, you two have become pretty close lately."

How this youkai could still manage to surprise him even through the pain, Gojyo didn't know. His heart was racing now, from a new spike of fear just thinking about any harm coming to Sanzo. "W-what do—"

The claws twisted further underneath the redhead's ribcage. Gojyo started worrying that Seiran would rip through an organ.

"What do you think I mean? It's pretty obvious how you feel towards him. Though I admit I've wondered if it's mutual…" Seiran drew his head back a little from Gojyo's face, but kept his claws where they were. "Considering how he treats you like shit. It's pathetic; you cling to any warm body, despite how they feel about you."

The kappa could barely focus; his vision blurred as he forced his eyes up to Seiran. "You… don't know anything."

"On the contrary," Seiran corrected, "I know a lot more about you than you think." Without warning, he twisted his hand yet again. A trickle of blood started to drip down Gojyo's torso. "How long before they come?"

Gojyo choked back a cry that desperately wanted to escape. "A… few days," he gasped. "A-about a week, maybe."

For once, there was no follow-up attack. Gojyo's eyes still stung as Seiran's voice quietly continued. "What will they do?"

"I don't know! Just barge in, kill you, get me, and leave!" Gojyo's voice came out louder than he'd wanted, knowing he sounded pleading.

Finally, Seiran pulled his claws out, but the redhead continued to pant. The wound had reopened and was steadily bleeding through the bandage.

Seiran moved to the door. "See, now was that so hard? If you keep being cooperative like that, we won't have to worry about you no longer being useful to me. You can get back with your priest, no problem."

Right as Seiran opened the door to leave, Gojyo lifted his head back up, glaring. "Wait… tell me… Why me, outta all of us?"

Seiran smirked once more. "I selected you because I knew you'd be the easiest to manipulate. You're weak and I knew you would talk… when properly motivated." Then he slammed the door and Gojyo heard the clicking of the lock. "I guess I'll send someone to wrap that up," Seiran offered from the other side, almost as an afterthought.

"S-so nice of you!" Gojyo managed to call back sarcastically.

He waited until the footsteps receded before slumping over. 'Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Can't even bluff anymore. Maybe… Sanzo was right about me being 'useless.'' The word sounded dirty, even when he thought it, but he could only sink down deeper into the hopelessness he felt.

He moaned out loud after a minute. "Dammit, I can't even reach my smokes…"

-+-

The remaining Ikkou members continued to comb the battlefield for any sign of their missing companion, or for any survivors who might know his whereabouts. They had no such luck; every last youkai had either died or escaped and Gojyo was nowhere to be found.

Despite clinging to the hope that the redhead was alive and well, Hakkai now felt that he was becoming slightly obsessive in his searching. 'What possible reason could any of our enemies have for capturing one of us instead of just outright killing us?' he wondered for what felt like the millionth time. His mind had already wandered to other scenarios, but just thinking of his best friend being mortally injured was making him feel ill.

He stopped walking for a moment, standing in the middle of the battlefield for yet another scan. Hakuryu had been circling overhead again, cheeping, but landed back on Hakkai's shoulder, nuzzling his neck.

Further off towards the eastern side of the battlefield, Goku had crouched down, eyes cast on the ground. The smell hadn't picked up anywhere and a few hours had gone by already. Whoever had grabbed Gojyo had to be long gone by this time. The boy looked up and over to where Hakkai was staring off into the distance and felt a pang of hurt for his friend. He knew that Hakkai had been trying hard to get Gojyo and Sanzo to make up and they still hated each other even now that Gojyo was…

Goku immediately dropped that thought as he looked around for the priest. Sanzo was partway between Goku and Hakkai, still smoking and cursing under his breath and trying to look disaffected. Goku almost felt worse for Sanzo in this situation. He and Gojyo hadn't had the chance to make up for their horrible fight that morning and now it looked like they still might not get the chance.

The shorter brunet hopped up, starting to head over to the priest. Hakkai was still lost in his own thoughts by the time that Goku reached Sanzo.

"Naa…" he began.

Sanzo looked away. "What the hell do you want, monkey?" The question was asked rather half-heartedly. He crushed out his cigarette and reached into the pack for another one, only to find it empty. He'd been chain-smoking almost non-stop for the past couple of hours, so it wasn't surprising. He grumbled as he tossed the empty pack to the ground.

"I was gonna say," Goku attempted again, looking over and noticing Hakkai slowly making his way towards them. "I don' think we're gonna find him this way. He's obviously not here. It's already gettin' dark, too."

"Then what do you suggest we do, genius?" Sanzo snorted, still unable to look Goku in the eyes.

Hakkai had now joined up with the other two. "Goku's right, as much as I hate to give up like this. We haven't had any luck finding Gojyo, which means whoever has him is keeping him somewhere else. I think we have to regroup and decide what course of action to take."

"What course is there? He's fucking gone, Hakkai!" Sanzo didn't realize how loud he'd gotten until he noticed the shocked looks on the faces of the other two. He coughed, aware that he was blushing slightly, and tried to get a grip on himself. "It's not like whoever took him left any indication of where they went. We have no way of knowing what happened or planning for anything." He started to reach for another cigarette, cursing yet again when he remembered that he was out.

"Getting irritable isn't going to solve anything," Hakkai attempted gently, but the blond suddenly whirled on him.

"Well, of course it isn't," Sanzo snarled, looking at the healer mockingly. "I should just start acting like you. Always acting calm about every little thing when you're really just dying to rip something apart. I guess I should just play the martyr like you always do and sit here and pine for that stupid kap—"

"Stop!"

Even Goku froze at the sharpness in Hakkai's tone. Sanzo was almost shaking with pent-up rage and Hakkai's emerald eyes actually held fire in them. The two men were staring each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Goku had only felt a tension like this once before – the last time Gojyo had disappeared on them.

"You think that just because you decide to drop the grin every once in a while that I have to snap to your every command?" Sanzo wouldn't stop; his voice continued to get louder and Goku could see the priest digging his nails into his palms. "You're no better than the kappa then… Always trying to tell me how to—"

"Seriously, stop!" Goku cut in, stepping in between the other two and extending his hands. The teen's head was starting to hurt again, meaning that Sanzo was still in pain. This time, Goku was determined to stop the conflict before it started. "We shouldn't be gettin' all angry like this. I really hate it when you guys fight… makes it smell all weird." 'Like with Kami-sama,' he wanted to add.

"We gotta stay calm and not get pissed with each other. We're not s'posed t' be fightin', y'know?" Goku pulled back after a second, eyes cast downward. "Sorry, I know you guys're prob'ly gonna get mad at me, too."

"No, Goku, you're right," Hakkai said. "We're all very concerned for Gojyo and we're letting it control our emotions. Our enemies probably wanted this very thing to happen all along."

Sanzo was also looking at the ground. "Ch." When he looked back up, he quickly turned away from the other two and focused off into the distance. "It's all the erogappa's fault."

Goku grinned. "Yeah, it's gotta be."

Hakkai carefully lifted Hakuryu from his shoulders and set him down on the ground. With a soft "kyuu," the dragon quickly transformed into Jeep. "If nothing else, I think our best bet is to head back to Yi San and regroup. It might be almost two hours backwards, but that's better than going on for eight more hours to the next town. We could also get some more camping supplies and come back out this way in the morning."

"If Gojyo kicks it b'fore then, I'll beat his ass," Goku decided, hopping into the back of Jeep.

Hakkai strapped himself into the driver's seat. "Hopefully, Gojyo can hold out until then." He paused. "Rather... I know Gojyo will be fine. I can't help but think that whoever took him wanted him for a reason. Once he or she reveals that reason, we'll be able to plan from there." He glanced up to see Sanzo still staring off into the West. "Are you getting in, Sanzo?"

The priest looked as though he'd been jolted from his thoughts. "Yeah," he replied faintly, getting in and desperately wishing for a cigarette.

The drive back to Yi San was made in complete silence. Goku knew that it was vastly different from the silence on the way out and that there was a different kind of tension in the air. His headache had dulled, but he still knew that Sanzo was consumed by his thoughts and probably too busy to be outright angry with everyone and everything.

The priest's first order of business upon returning to the town had been to buy a few packs of Marlboro, just to be on the safe side. He'd been going through them way too fast for his own good, so while Hakkai returned to the inn to get a room, he'd picked up more than usual. He'd had to forcibly avert his eyes when he saw all of the other brands; the bright orange packages of Hi-Lites in particular had seemed to stick out to him.

By the time he'd finished, they already had a room – only one, as Hakkai suggested it was for group safety – and could plan for their next move. The healer had surmised that whoever had taken the redhead couldn't have gone far.

"Keeping Gojyo alive," Hakkai said, "is part of their plan. We have to do all we can to save him without playing into a trap of any kind."

"You keep sayin' plan, but what kinda plan you talkin' about?" Goku asked, leaning on the back of a chair that he had straddled. He folded his arms and rested his chin on top of them. "What do they want?"

"Same thing they always want," Sanzo answered gruffly from the window, where he'd been standing and smoking. "The sutra."

Ever since he'd gotten back to the inn, he'd been trying to avoid feeling as guilty as he had been. The voice inside was back, questioning him, doubting him, accusing him of a variety of crimes. Sanzo was getting tired of it as it only made him smoke more.

Hakkai nodded. "I was afraid all along that was the case. We certainly can't give up the sutra, so what do you propose we do instead, Sanzo?" The healer figured that he could defer to their leader now that the priest wasn't outright accusing him of anything. 'Though I'd still like to know what he meant by that outburst from earlier. I don't think I've done anything to upset him lately and yet he was acting like part of it was my fault…'

"Why ask me?" Sanzo lit up once again, making both of the brunets glad that the window was open.

"I'm asking because, first of all, the sutra belongs to you and you ultimately decide what's to be done with it. Secondly, I find that discussion is a much better alternative than glaring out the window and further blackening one's lungs."

Goku shivered. The feeling from before still hadn't gone away. Although Hakkai's language was calm, his tone was anything but; the healer wasn't quite yet over Sanzo's earlier outburst. "Well, anyway, if we gotta plan, then we should all think up ideas, right Sanzo?" Goku asked.

The priest kept the cigarette between his fingers and let it dangle as he thought. "I just don't see what good it'll do."

"Here's an idea," Hakkai began again. "Perhaps while we wait, we can talk about this morning."

Violet eyes regarded him cautiously. "What about this morning?"

"Nothing!" Goku jumped in, waving his hands. "It wasn't important, was it, Hakkai?"

"I'm not talking to you, monkey," Sanzo snapped, refocusing on the driver. "What do you care about this morning?"

Hakkai's tone was very rigid, as though it was taking a lot of control on his part to remain calm. "I was just curious as to the reasoning behind the argument you had with Gojyo. Surely, nothing he said or did warranted the reaction we heard."

Goku could see the walls going up around Sanzo with each word that Hakkai spoke. The boy was used to it from all the years he'd lived with the priest at Keiun Temple. Whenever another monk, or Goku himself, hit a sore spot, Sanzo blocked them out, whether it involved screaming or hitting or just going silent. It looked to him like Sanzo was choosing the last option.

Hakkai wasn't about to let it go that easily. "What did Gojyo say to make you call him a half-breed?"

Goku squeezed his eyes shut as a burst of pain erupted around his temples. Sanzo was remembering something bad.

As much as he could feel the emotions bubbling up, the blond remained quiet. Hakkai was focused intently on him; the gaze was enough to make Goku squirm and he wasn't even the one being watched.

"Well?" Hakkai asked.

Sanzo stared harder out the window. "He was just being a goddamn stupid kappa like he always is. Complaining, can't take care of his own problems, clingy; same old stupid fucking kappa."

"Clingy?" That was a new one for Hakkai. In all the years he'd known Gojyo, 'clingy' didn't exactly fit. The redhead was a very physical person and loved hugging and touching, but Hakkai had never seen him do it in a needy manner. 'Then again, it's not like I've ever been in a relationship with him. Maybe that's an entirely different story,' he pondered.

Sanzo started; he hadn't been expecting Hakkai to pick out that word. "You know what I mean. Can't leave me alone for a fucking second." He took another drag. "Don't think about it too hard. I know what goes on in that head of yours."

Hakkai only coolly retorted, "Well, Gojyo's leaving you alone now, isn't he?"

Sanzo's mouth had been open for a comeback, but with that, he snapped it shut and whirled to face the window. The hand not holding the cigarette clenched into a fist.

"Wha-?" Goku blinked in surprise. He'd never expected something like that to come from his quiet friend.

Goku stood up from the chair, feeling the nervous energy coil up inside of him. "Look, none a' this is gettin' us anywhere! You guys are both pissed at each other, when really it's that stupid kappa we should all be pissed at! It's his fault for gettin' snatched in the first place, so we gotta go get him an' kick his ass for bein' an idiot! You guys can sit here and fight, but I'm gonna go look for info. Better 'n sittin' around doin' nothin'!" That being said, he stormed out, leaving the door open behind him.

Hakuryu, who up until now had been cleaning his wings and listening with hesitation to the fighting, perked up and flew off after Goku. Hakkai and Sanzo continued their hostile silence.

-+-

Goku stomped all the way down the stairs and into the lobby of the inn before he realized that no one was following or paying attention to him and that the act was rather childish in itself. His rush of words back there had sounded all right to him at the time, but he really didn't know where to begin getting information. 'Do people here even know there was a youkai army a couple hours outside town?'

He frowned and came to a halt on the porch of the inn, leaning against one of the pillars. He was worried about Sanzo, confused about Hakkai, and more than a little miffed at Gojyo for letting himself get taken in the first place. On top of it all…

"Dammit! I'm starving!" Goku ranted to the heavens. His stomach growled loudly in agreement. The whole mess with Gojyo's disappearance had caused the group to completely skip lunch, which normally would not stand with the teen.

Luckily for Goku, a few of the outdoor food stalls in the market hadn't packed up yet and he was able to get a few things with several small coins he'd been carrying around. It wasn't quite as nice as getting everything he wanted using Sanzo's gold card, but it would do to tide him over.

He sat down on the sidewalk, carefully balancing a bowl of teriyaki and rice in one hand and a can of soda with two meatbuns precariously stacked on top of it in the other. That was when he noticed a small presence above him.

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu had finally located the youngest member of the group and chirped happily as he landed next to Goku. The dragon sniffed the air briefly and wagged his long white tail, equally long neck stretching into Goku's lap where the food was.

"Heh… guess you wanna share, huh?" Goku asked, grinning. Hakuryu looked up at him with pleading eyes, trying to indicate that he was at a similar level of starvation. It was a very distinct 'pity me' look which Goku himself had employed on occasion. The boy gave in and broke off a tiny bit of one of the meatbuns to feed to the dragon. Goku knew that Hakkai never let Hakuryu have foods with sauces or spices on them, in case the seasonings didn't agree with the little guy, so Goku was more than happy to keep the teriyaki to himself.

The two had just finished their makeshift meal when Goku felt another presence, bigger and much more powerful than Hakuryu's. He felt something that reminded him of fire in the youkai's aura and knew immediately what was going on.

"Kougaiji…" he mumbled, dropping his trash to the ground. Hakuryu kyuu-ed softly, neck fur bristling. Goku looked around for the source of the enormous chi flow and started running in the appropriate direction, which looked to be the forest just outside of town. He quickly summoned the Nyoi-bo as he ran, all sorts of thoughts going through his mind.

'What's Kougaiji doin' here? Maybe they want th' sutra again. Great, jus' what we need when that stupid cockroach is missin'!'

Everything was a blur until Goku reached the forest itself. He saw two Hiryu (1) tied to trees and narrowed his eyes, looking for their owners. Kougaiji and his followers were nowhere to be found, but Goku knew they wouldn't be foolish enough to just leave their dragons where anyone could take them. As he continued to step cautiously around the clearing, he felt a slightly different presence barreling towards him and barely had time to dodge it.

"Aw! No fair!"

Goku was finally able to focus and saw Lirin crouched a few feet away from where he'd rolled. The young princess sounded disappointed, but she was grinning widely and her eyes were lit up at the prospect of a fight.

"Lirin!" Goku called, gripping the Nyoi-bo between both of his hands and assuming a battle stance. "Where're Kougaiji 'n the others?"

Lirin scoffed, baring her claws at the boy. "Like I'd tell you where Oniichan is! I should be askin' you where Baldy and those other two guys are!"

Goku didn't answer, instead choosing to rush the girl, swinging his staff through air as she effortlessly leapt out of the way. She landed behind him and shot her foot out in a sweep kick, knocking him down.

Goku nearly fell, but managed to prop himself up on his hands. His feet shot into the air and he aimed for Lirin's face. She leapt from her crouching position and narrowly avoided him. 'Damn. Why is Lirin so fast today? This isn't cool at all!'

It didn't help that he still had reservations about fighting a girl, regardless of her physical prowess. Hakkai had always said hitting girls was wrong, after all. Lirin attacked with a flurry of punches and Goku did his best to block them with his forearms.

"Lirin!" another voice called after a few minutes. Goku was grateful for the break, but he knew that the only person who could call off the princess was her older brother. Kougaiji emerged from the brush, looking as stern as ever and glaring daggers at his usual opponent. Lirin bounced up to the prince, giggling and turning back to Goku to stick out her tongue and pull down on her left bottom eyelid. (2)

"Kougaiji! What do you want this time?" Goku demanded, pointing the Nyoi-bo straight at the prince. "I like fightin', but today's a real bad day!"

"There's a simple solution to that, then." Dokugakuji appeared on Goku's right, making the teen jump slightly. "Just get that priest to give up his Scripture."

Goku grinned defiantly. "Sanzo's not gonna give up his sutra, so you're outta luck!"

As he said that, Yaone appeared to Goku's left, a few bombs between her fingers. "Where are your friends, Goku-san?"

He cursed internally. He'd walked right into a trap and now his rival and company surrounded him on three sides. Goku deepened his stance a little more. "Doesn't matter where they are!"

Kougaiji also adopted his signature fighting stance. "Then there's no choice but to settle it this way."

Goku had been having a bad day currently, but he wondered if perhaps there wasn't such a thing as a bad lifetime. 'Man, this sucks!'

-+-

'This sucks,' Kishin cursed the gods for what he had been talked into. Up until this very morning, the short youkai with light teal skin had been starting another boring day guarding an abandoned base in the middle of the desert. The black-haired male was one of the only youkai in the entire place and the only reason he worked there was to keep up the abandoned facilities, which had once been used to hold prisoners of war that had been captured by Gyuumaoh's forces.

Needless to say, since Gyuumaoh had been sealed for several hundred years now, Kishin and his fellow soldiers didn't have much left to guard anymore. The only thing was to watch out for trespassers, of which there were few – just lost travelers that were quickly sent on their way, along with youkai teenagers looking for a 'haunted' place to explore.

Kishin had been considering clocking out a little early and heading back to the nearby oasis town where he lived and spending the night at the tavern. It was just then that an unfamiliar youkai strode through the entrance, dragging an unconscious hanyou behind him. The tanned youkai had produced a seal, claimed that he was under the command of Prince Kougaiji, and that "this creature" was his prisoner. There hadn't been a prisoner in the building in almost a century, so Kishin and the other guard could only nod mutely as Seiran – the tanned youkai – continued to haul the hanyou back to one of the dusty cells.

After a couple of hours, Seiran had returned, looking over the guards briefly before addressing Kishin directly. "You will take this note to the human town of Yi San," he proclaimed, holding out a folded piece of paper.

Kishin raised an eyebrow. "Me? Why don't you do it yourself, since it's being requested of you by Lord Kougaiji?" He'd never taken well to doing other people's jobs for them.

"Don't be ridiculous," Seiran said with a derisive snort. "I have to guard that dangerous beast in case anything happens."

"Shouldn't the guarding be done by, oh I don't know, the guards?" Shou, another soldier, grumbled, making Kishin choke back a laugh.

"Very funny, but naïve." Seiran paced a little before them. "That hanyou that you think is so harmless is actually a member of Genjyo Sanzo's party – surely that name rings a bell."

The guards had all involuntarily sucked in their breath. Kishin had heard the horror stories from travelers who'd passed through his hometown: some insanely powerful human priest and his group of equally powerful followers had been traveling all throughout Togenkyo (3), slaughtering youkai by the dozens. If this Seiran character had been able to capture one of them…

Seiran had continued to work on him, convincing him that it wasn't the suicide mission he thought it would be. The tanned youkai had told him that it was a simple task to drop off one note and, should he find himself facing off against them, could rely on his guard training to defend himself.

Seiran had also provided him with some interesting weapons. He was given a few bombs filled with sleeping dust, though Seiran had not said where he acquired such a thing. Kishin was to set off one large bomb in the lobby of the hotel, where it could knock out any regular humans. He then had five smaller bombs – "five good chances," Seiran had said – to slip under the room doors and hopefully knock the Ikkou members out.

Upstairs, he snuck around until he heard all male voices in one of the rooms. Kishin slipped a bomb under the door and heard shouts when it went off. He waited a few seconds for things to clear and snuck in. He saw the priest unconscious near his bed and a man in green slumped over the table and moved to the nightstand to place the note on it.

Kishin was almost convinced he'd make it through when he felt a presence behind him. He turned, reaching for his sword, but was stopped by a flash of green. A brunet with a monocle and the coldest pair of emerald eyes he'd ever seen had caught his right arm with one hand and was holding him by the throat with the other.

"Hello," the green-eyed man began, hand clenching tighter as he kept his expression neutral. "We've been expecting you."

Notes:

(1) Hiryu – flying dragons used by the Kou-tachi

(2) Lirin's action towards Goku is often seen in anime. This is an insulting Japanese gesture that is used to tease someone.

(3) Togenkyo – Shangri-la