Koume wasn't in any better condition after several hours of treatment, and, feeling her head, Hakkai was becoming doubly worried.
"Her fever isn't going down… if it gets any higher, it could become life-threatening!"
"Who knew a half hour in the snow could do this!"
"The weather didn't do this, baka…" Sanzo said, matter-of-factly, not taking his eyes off the panting child. "It's not possible. No, I have a feeling that this has to do with that liquid she was forced to drink."
"! You mean the stuff that made her little in the first place?" Sanzo nodded in reply.
"If that's the case, then what the hell do we DO about it? Koume's getting weaker and weaker by the minute!" Gojyo exclaimed.
"Don't you think we know that?"
"We have no way of determining what kind of substance she drank or where it came from! For all we know it could JUST be a bad cold!" Hakkai tried to add.
"Would you get real, Hakkai?!"
"HEY!"
Nobody had expected Goku of all people to be so silent one minute and so loud and forceful the next, and it visibly startled them. He had been sitting at Koume's side since she was brought in, and the grip he had on her hand tightened only slightly as he looked back at the others, head down.
"If you're going to argue, take it outside. Koume needs her rest." Sure enough, Koume had finally opened her eyes, and was looking at them sadly. It's as though she could sense their worry and frustration… she always had a gift for that… Silence reigned far too long before Hakkai cracked a weak smile and set his hand on her burning forehead again.
"I'm sorry, baby… go ahead and rest…" Koume softly nodded and her eyes fell closed again.
After that, everyone decided they needed a little break. Sanzo left to smoke a pack of cigarettes, Goku wandered off to find a snack, even though worry was slowly making his appetite disappear, and Hakkai, not Gojyo, headed down to the bar. He had wanted to say by her side, but Gojyo shook his head and told him to take a break. So, Gojyo stayed with Koume alone, watching the tiny chest roughly rise and fall… It was heartbreaking. Not only was she his best friend's child, but they had become good friends as well. Sitting in that quiet room was maddening, and after a while, he replaced the cloth on the child's head and left. He needed to check on Hakkai.
Gojyo wandered down the stairs slowly, taking note of Sanzo, who could be seen through the front window, smoking away on the porch. He wasn't the best at expressing himself, especially when it was about someone he truly cared about, but his face showed more than it normally did. His features were hard and strained, brow creased in concentration and worry. He really was taking it hard. Passing him by and heading to the bar in the inn, Gojyo found that Hakkai was taking it just as hard, or harder. There he was, slumped down on a stool, a beer in his hand and three empty ones sitting on the bar behind him. Sighing, the redhead pulled up a stool next to him and leaned his arms back against the counter. He stayed quiet for a moment before Hakkai spoke.
"How is she…?" Gojyo hated giving bad news, but…
"No change yet…" At this, Hakkai's head hung further. He was seriously depressed…
"It must be raining in Hakkai-Land." He joked, trying to lighten the mood. Hakkai cracked the faintest of smiles before his face fell into gloom once again. Sighing, Gojyo pulled out a smoke and lit up, not caring if he got yelled at for it later.
"Hakkai…" he started, trying to sound comforting. "Don't worry. I'm sure she'll pull out of it, no problem…"
"I hope so, Gojyo… but…" At this, Gojyo looked over.
"But? What but?"
"…She's my kid… my flesh and blood… and yet, here she is, slowly slipping away from me… When I found out Kanan was pregnant, I told her I would take care of and protect Koume, but I can't-"
"Hakkai, man, you can't keep thinking like that. This wasn't your fault! None of us knew that would happen… and we're not about to just give up, either. Koume's a tough kid- just like you. 'Don't you dare give up so easily' she'd say." This earned him another faint smile. It stuck around a little longer than the last one, which was good.
"Yeah, she would say that. She's so smart…strong… just like her mother. She'd never do anything to hurt anyone…"
"Damn straight. Although, if you continue to pout like this, I'm sure she'll give you a good pinch when she wakes up."
A full-out laugh… now that was the Hakkai he knew so well. Both of them laughed as hard as they could muster before relaxation and calm filtered back into the room. Absently, Hakkai looked down at his half-empty beer before handing it over to Gojyo.
"You know, I think I passed over the good part of drunk and went straight to the hangover."
"Ha! Hakkai? Drunk? That'd be a sight…" Gojyo replied, taking a swig. Hakkai nodded, although he was starting to feel a little buzzed… maybe it was amix between the alcohol and worry, but either way, it was something he hadn't felt in a long time. Some quiet passed before Hakkai spoke again, this time startling Gojyo.
"Ne, Gojyo. Do you ever miss the times before Koume was with us?" that made him almost choke on his drink. Looking up with the most amazed look on his face, Gojyo replied.
"Holy hell, you really are drunk!" Hakkai laughed again, and looked at his friend.
"Oh, come on… I'm being serious!"
"Ah…okay, okay, let me think…" Gojyo put on a childish face, obviously not taking the question seriously.
"Well, I will admit things did used to have a certain appeal to them, and I could walk around in my underwear without getting scolded…" Hakkai nodded his head, remembering the first time he did that around Koume. He walked back to his room and changed into some pants and spent the whole day with a red hand mark on his cheek.
"But," he continued, bringing back Hakkai's attention. "I like how things are now, too. Koume's been with us for so long, she's a member of our little messed up family, and I wouldn't give her up for the world."
It was deep… far from the way Gojyo usually acted, but it made Hakkai smile. Nodding his head, he silently agreed. The two of them spent a moment longer in silence before the side door opened and the bartended/manager walked in. he gave Gojyo a hard look and scolded him with his eyes for smoking indoors, but given the condition outside, he let it slip. Softly, he dusted the show off his hair, which didn't go unnoticed by the two.
"Is it snowing again?"
"I'm afraid so." He replied with a sigh. "Such odd weather…" Gojyo blew a smoke ring.
"What do you mean odd? Snow is snow, isn't it?"
"Well yes, but we don't get much snow down here, usually. Not for a decade. And now it's almost two feet deep!"
Something didn't seem right. Weather patterns didn't just change like that. It seemed suspicious, but not as much as the soft creak on the front deck. Sanzo, from what they heard, had come in some time ago, so who would be out there at such an- a low growl answered that question, and not a moment later, several demons burst in through the front and side door, baring their teeth and raising their weapons. The first wave was instantly vaporized. Their approach had been more than silent, and as they came in, they fell one by one at the hands of the duo.
"How the hell didn't we hear these buggers?" Gojyo complained, heading out of the bar towards the main stairwell with Hakkai. The brunette thought on this a moment, glancing out the window at the heavily falling snow.
"Could it be…? Maybe the snow drowned out the sound of them coming!"
"Demon's made the snow? Aw, that sucks!" Both looked back as Goku met them, a nikuman sticking out of his pocket. "How can demons make snow?!" He continued to complain.
"Dunno. Black magic, maybe?" Gojyo shrugged.
"Either way, we have to deal with them now!"
The three of them quickly took care of the rest in the inn, the next wave probably waiting outside to attack, and it was then that Goku sniffed the air and knelt by one of the corpses.
"What are you doing, you stupid monkey?"
"This smell… I think these were the guys that got away a few days ago!"
"Are you sure, Goku?" Hakkai turned his way, and Goku nodded.
"Definitely." At this, Gojyo cracked his knuckles, grinning.
"Awesome…we get to pay them back for all the trouble they've caused us!"
And speaking of trouble… just up the stairs, the sound of glass breaking and a gun going off rang through the air. The ikkou's blood ran cold.
"Sanzo! Koume!" Without wasting any time, the group ran up, Goku in front to clear a bloody path, heading for where they left the sickly child. They ran down a long hall and rounded a corner. If Goku had been standing only an inch to the right, he would've been shot. He stood in shock for a moment before glaring at his keeper.
"Sanzo!! That was dangerous! Watch where you're shooting, you idiot!" Sanzo glared.
"Call me an idiot again and I swear the next one wont miss." He warned, loading his gun again.
"Sanzo, is Koume all right?" Hakkai was worried…
"She's fine. Still feverish, but at least she's safe from demons."
"Aw… her little protector…" Gojyo teased.
"Ch'." He said. "Like I'd let some filthy demon lay even a finger on her."
Sanzo really was a caring person, Hakkai thought. Not even a minute later, however, more growls and footsteps could be heard coming their way. The voices were low, rough, and they could almost hear the acid saliva dripping from their mouths. The group took up stance to fight, but Hakkai couldn't stop looking at Koume's room. He knew this battle was going to get tough, and there was a possibility one of them could sneak past them and-
"Sanzo?"
"Mm?" The monk asked, turning his way.
"Would you please go in and grab Koume for me?" The request was strange, but not able to think of a reason why he shouldn't, Sanzo nodded and entered the room. The tiny child was even pinker than before, gasping quicker than when he had been in the room moments earlier.
"Koume…" Softly, as gentle as he could be, Sanzo lifted her in his arms, wrapped in a small blanket and cradled her against his shoulder as he went back out to the hall. It was then that he rose his gun, and Hakkai rose his voice.
"Now run."
That silently demanding request shook Sanzo deep. He looked at the other two, their backs turned to him, and neither of them said a word- in disagreement or the reverse.
"What are you talking about?" Sanzo gave the back of Hakkai's head a good hard look.
"Take Koume and run someplace safe."
"What? You're crazy. I'm not going to ru-"
"Sanzo!" Hakkai yelled rather aggressively there… but it wasn't because he was angry, it was because he was afraid. Sanzo had never heard such desperation in his comrade before. Hakkai took a deep breath before trying again.
"Please, Sanzo… we can handle them, but if Koume gets caught up in this, she wont last…" Looking down, Sanzo knew this to be true.
"I need you, Sanzo, …to look after her. Protect her…please? Keep my baby safe…"
A long moment seemed to pass in the hall, the tense air making it hard to breathe, to focus. On top of that, the sounds of growling were growing ever nearer and their shadows could be seen on the walls. Looking up at his companions one last time, Sanzo cursed.
"You owe me big time." And he bolted down the other hall and jumped out a window. Truth is, though, he would have done it, anything, to keep Koume, his Koume, safe from harm. Hakkai smiles softly to himself after he'd left, fingers raising to trace the shimmering limiters on his ear.
"You got it…Sanzo."
