A/N: This part contains spoilers for Saiyuki Reload manga volume 7.

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Gojyo had nearly asphyxiated himself the night of their arrival before he it occurred to him that smoking in an enclosed cavern deep underground was not a good idea. When he complained about it, Sanzo's less-than-sympathetic reaction was to snap at him to take his precious cigarettes outside. The entrance to the mine was a good forty-minute walk, and after making the trip once, Gojyo decided that it was too damn far to go, even for something as important as a nicotine fix.

...Which was why the early morning hours (at least he thought they were early morning hours--it was impossible to tell time at all in this place) found Gojyo walking down the long hall to the suite of rooms that housed the youkai infirmary. It was Goku who had clued him in--saying something about Sanzo using it as a place to smoke. Although Gojyo was very well aware that it wasn't a good idea to smoke around sick people, he suspected that Hakkai wouldn't give him any grief about it.

It was dim and quiet when Gojyo ducked through the stone archway of the infirmary. In the guttering light of a lone kerosene lamp on the table he could see that the room was unoccupied save for the sole patient and his white dragon both sleeping quietly on the straw pallet across from the hearth. The nearly-empty room came as a bit of a surprise. The bat-winged youkai had kept careful watch over all of them since they'd first entered the mines, and Gojyo had expected to see one of their reluctant hosts on guard-duty here at least.

Gojyo strolled over to the hearth, propping one black shoe up on the stone. Somebody had forgotten to tend the fire. The fireplace was cold, with only a sluggish coal here or there glinting beneath the heavy layer of gray ash. Oh well. It really wasn't any of his concern. Gojyo pulled out his pack of cigarettes, and lit one. Then he settled back against the stones of the hearth, leisurely smoking his cigarette and letting his gaze drift toward the pallet across the room.

Hakkai hadn't stirred at all. Gojyo figured that he must still be pretty wiped out, to stay asleep with somebody else in the room. He'd always been such a damn light sleeper, right from the very start. Minutes passed as Gojyo finished his cigarette and tossed the filter onto the ash in the hearth. Then, before the kerosene lamp could go out, he went over to the table and adjusted the fuel feed, causing the room to brighten in a wash of steady light.

In spite of the movement, and the clinking of metal and glass, Hakkai still didn't wake up. That was more than a bit odd. Gojyo had supposed that Hakkai in youkai form would be even more sensitive to motion and noise--youkai senses being what they were. Then again, Hakkai had taken some pretty heavy damage in his fall from the cliff. That was certainly enough to cause a person to sleep longer and deeper than usual.

Just to be on the safe side, Gojyo crossed to the pallet. In the brightened room, his eyes picked out the slow, steady rise and fall of the bandage-wrapped ribs beneath the cloth sling. Yep, just sleeping, then. Hakkai's closed eyes were mostly hidden beneath the dark fringe of too-long hair, and youkai talons were uncurled and lax against the loose weave of the blankets. The presence of that vibrant green youkai mark snaking over his skin emphasized the lingering pallor from his recent ordeal. Other than that, he looked damn peaceful, lying there. Relaxed and vulnerable, as he never allowed himself to be when he was awake.

That peace was deceiving, Gojyo knew. One could so easily forget the intensity of focus that usually characterized Hakkai's demon form--could forget the speed and coiled grace that were unmatched by any other youkai anywhere in Tougenkyo.

Unmatched by any other youkai...except for one. Gojyo had seen youkai-Hakkai face off with the Seiten Taisei exactly once. It was not an experience he hoped to repeat ever again.

As if the thought were a summons, there came the sudden sound of footsteps in the hall. A moment later, Goku poked his head in the doorway. "Hey," he said, as he noticed Gojyo standing by Hakkai's pallet, "Have you seen Sanzo?"

Gojyo winced at the noise in the enclosed space. Goku didn't believe in volume control. "Pipe down, idiot. Hakkai's sleeping."

"Oh." That brought Goku up short. He tried again, with an admirable effort to decrease the noise. This resulted in a decibel level that was about the same as another person's normal speaking voice. "I can't find Sanzo," he persisted. "Have you seen him anywhere?"

"Nope. He wasn't in the room this morning when I got up. Maybe he went out for a walk or something."

"Maybe," Goku said uncertainly.

Gojyo watched him fidget for a moment, then snorted. "Don't look so worried. Our Sanzo-sama can take care of himself. You haven't heard any gunshots lately, have you?"

"Noooo," Goku admitted. He still didn't sound convinced.

"Well, there you go." Gojyo fished around in his jacket pocket until he found his pack of cigarettes again. It was starting to get pretty empty. They'd better leave this place soon--Sanzo would be in a really bad mood once he finally ran out of cigarettes. "He probably just went outside for a smoke."

Goku brightened visibly. "You're probably right. I'll go look there."

His departure left Gojyo with nothing better to do, so he sat down in one of the wooden chairs, propped his booted feet up on the table, and slowly lit up another cigarette.

He'd finished three more, and was rather disgruntled to find that he had only four left in his last pack, when Goku returned from his little hike. A single glance told him that the monkey was starting to get really worried.

"Sanzo wasn't anywhere near the entrance of the mine, and none of the winged youkai remember seeing him recently." He came over to the hearth, crowding into Gojyo's personal space as if expecting him to act on the problem immediately. "I think that something's really wrong."

"Ch." In defense against Goku's earnest concern, Gojyo got to his feet and started pacing. "You're worrying over nothing. Where else would he go? Sanzo will turn up in his own damn time. He always does." He'd walked two full lengths of the small room when a sudden rustle of movement from the pallet caught his attention, interrupting further conversation. Gojyo made the most of the distraction, leaning over the cot to forestall any more commentary about the missing Sanzo. "Hakkai?"

Hakkai stirred again, his head shifting restlessly on its pillow of blankets. For a moment he seemed to settle, and Gojyo thought he would go back to sleep again. Then his eyes flew open, and Gojyo found himself staring down into that odd combination of round and convex pupils, green and gold irises. Hakkai immediately pushed himself upright, grimacing with discomfort and clasping his good hand to his bandaged chest as injured ribs protested. "Where's Sanzo?" he gasped out.

"Aw hell--not you too! How the hell should I know? I'm not that damned monk's keeper..."

A taloned hand caught his wrist in a motion that was too fast to see. Gojyo winced. In his distress, Hakkai was being careless--that clawed grip was going to leave bruises. "Gojyo, please. Where's Sanzo?"

Something in his tone instantly touched off Goku's worries. "I've been looking for Sanzo all morning," the monkey said insistently, "He's not in the room, he's not above ground, nobody that I've asked in the mines has seen him...I just can't find him anywhere."

"Ah," Hakkai dropped Gojyo's wrist and lifted an unsteady hand to cover his face. "She didn't listen, then. I thought maybe...but no." He raised his head again, his voice going flat as he looked over at the ash-choked fireplace. "I've been asleep for too long. It may already be too late."

Gojyo looked at him in irritation. "Hakkai, what the hell are you talking about?"

"Hari-san." It wasn't much of an explanation, but Hakkai didn't bother to elaborate. His gaze went from one to the other of his traveling companions, his expression turning decidedly grim. "Gojyo, Goku, you have to find Sanzo as quickly as possible. I'm afraid that the Maten Scripture..." He trailed off, his head turning abruptly towards the door two heartbeats before Gojyo had even heard the footsteps.

Hakkai's voice must have carried via the odd acoustics of these tunnels. "What about the Maten Scripture?" Sanzo stopped in the entryway as three sets of eyes fixed on him. His own violet gaze narrowed suspiciously in response. "What?"

Gojyo saw Hakkai's shoulders slump with relief. "Thank goodness," he said, and it sounded like he meant it.

Sanzo gave Hakkai a level look. "Is something wrong?" he pointedly asked.

"Not at all. At least, not anymore," Hakkai said with a cheerful smile. "Of course, I should have expected that yet another plot to steal the Scripture was bound to fail."

Sanzo's gaze went to Gojyo. "What the hell is this idiot babbling about?"

"I honestly have no idea."

Before Sanzo could speak again, both Goku and Hakkai looked up as one towards the door. More footsteps followed, and a moment later, the winged youkai female that they had met two days ago out on the mountainside stepped into the room. She stopped in surprise when she found all four of the Sanzo-ikkou in the infirmary.

Her dark eyes quickly swept the rest of the room. As her gaze accidentally crossed Sanzo's, Gojyo saw her give a guilty flinch and looked away again as if burned. She didn't look at Hakkai at all, her eyes fixing pointedly on the wall above his head, as she asked in a demanding tone, "Where's Hari?"

The four of them exchanged glances. "I'm afraid, Ruri-san," Hakkai said carefully, into the uncomfortable silence that followed, "that she may have done something rash. Did you know that her husband was missing?"

"She didn't say anything." Ruri drew in a second breath, as if intending to contradict him. Then her eyes abruptly took on a distant, inward expression, as if she were recounting a past conversation. "She told me Wei had gone out scouting. He wasn't supposed to be gone very long."

"Yes, that's true. But he didn't come back, apparently." Hakkai's gaze never wavered from her face as he added gravely, "Whatever Hari-san may have originally planned to do about the situation, I believe that she probably went after him."

Ruri blinked, then actually looked at Hakkai for the first time since entering the room. "How long ago?" she asked rather faintly.

"She left after finishing her rounds last night."

Ruri paled as those words sank in. Within moments, she was across the room at the healer's workbench, rifling papers and rummaging through drawers. Whatever she was looking for, it seemed she didn't find it. "No," she said defiantly to no one in particular. Her voice rose shrilly. "No, no, no, no, NO!" Drawers slammed shut one after another, a sheaf of papers fluttered to the floor like leaves, a mortar flew across the room and split in half against the far wall with a sickening crack. She slammed her fists down repeatedly on the surface of the workbench, making ceramic dishes and marble pestles jump and clatter. "No, no, NO! Hari, you idiotic, brainless, thoughtless moron! HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID!!!"

Gojyo winced as her furious howl echoed off the walls and down the corridor. If he had ever doubted that their hosts kept tabs on their erstwhile guests during their stay, those doubts were dispelled momentarily as four heavily-built youkai bearing swords and sharp picks suddenly burst into the infirmary. Their expressions were openly hostile as they entered. However, seeing no confrontation in progress, they looked from Ruri to their four guests, their anger melting away into confusion.

For her part, Ruri simply slumped against the workbench, black bat wings mantling to furl around her like a shield. "No, no, no, no, no!" was all she seemed capable of saying.

One of the other winged youkai took a hesitant step forward into the room. "Ruri..."

She didn't answer. After exchanging a look with his fellow youkai, the one in the lead stuck the handle of the large mining pick through his belt and crossed the room to lay a hand on Ruri's shoulder. He murmured a question that was too low to hear. After a moment, Ruri shuddered and got herself back under control. "Hari's gone outside," she said flatly. "She left last night, to rescue her human husband from the others."

A ripple of shock and dismay went through the winged youkai in the room. No one questioned what Ruri meant by "the others", or bothered to ask where Hari was now. Winged youkai could cover large distances quite rapidly. If Hari had been successful at her rescue mission, she should already have returned to the mines.

"But they wouldn't kill her, would they?" Goku said anxiously. "I mean, she's youkai, just like they are, right? Even if they're crazy from the Minus Wave, you guys are still part of the same clan."

"They won't," Ruri said with utter certainty. "She's the clan leader's daughter. Our father wouldn't allow anything to happen to her." She straightened up slightly. "We need to get her back. Hari's been acting clan leader for nearly a year now, as well as being the only healer we've got." Her eyes met those of the dark-haired youkai with the pick, her expression lightening with a cautious spark of hope. "Hari's stubborn. She'd last longer than most against the dark aura outside the mines. If we act quickly, we still might be able to organize a rescue."

The statement was met by a few cautious nods of agreement. But not everyone was optimistic. "She's been gone a long time," one of the other winged demons spoke up doubtfully from the back. "And Hari herself just proved that one person sneaking in to the enemy camp alone is no good."

This question was greeted by more murmurs, which grew louder and more heated over the passing minutes as the winged youkai struggled to reach a consensus.

"It might be time," the dark-haired youkai said, raising his voice over the din. As the rest quieted, he cast a meaningful glance over at Ruri, "It might be time to try our last resort."

Ruri studied him a moment, eyes grim, and slowly inclined her head.

Gojyo knew it was none of his business, but it irritated him when people talked over his head. He got more than enough of that listening to Hakkai and Sanzo day in and day out. "And this last resort would be...?"

The dark-haired youkai looked to Ruri, and got a nod of assent. "It's no secret that our situation here is getting desperate," he explained. "It won't be long before the youkai camped outside outnumber every man, woman, and child in these mines." Gojyo blinked. It was news to him--but Hakkai was nodding and Sanzo had that faint smug expression he got whenever he was proven right, so evidently they had both known about it already.

"When the crazy ones outnumber us, they'll lay siege to this place. They've already tried it once before. So in order to defend ourselves, we've been planning our own raid on the enemy camp. The idea is to capture and lock away as many of the crazy ones as we can--to do our best to try and even out the score. If we don't act soon, it will be too late. With numbers on their side, and many of our people too young or old to fight, our defenses won't be enough to hold them off a second time."

"So you'll strike first," Gojyo understood that much of battle tactics, at least. "...Hoping to use the element of surprise."

"Except it won't be a surprise," Sanzo pointed out with ruthless logic. "It'll be suicide. Because they've already secured someone important as bait."

No one could argue with that pronouncement. But the dark-haired youkai spoke up again. "Even so," he said calmly, "If I have a choice, I would rather fall doing what I think is best to protect my wife and kids, rather than be dragged out of these caves like a rat to be thrown in a cage by the crazy ones until the dark aura consumes my mind." There were nods and murmurs of agreement from all of the other winged youkai at that.

The spokesmen of the youkai group looked to Ruri. "With the others gone, the role of acting clan leader is yours," he said deferentially. "We'll follow you, whatever you decide to do."

"Yes," Ruri agreed, her dark eyes solemn. Her expression was set in resolve. "I say we have no choice but to act."

"We'll go gather the others then," the dark-haired one said. "We'll be waiting in the cavern by the waterfall." One by one, the winged youkai turned and left the room.

"Suicide," Sanzo repeated into the quiet.

Ruri's eyes sparked with anger, but her voice when she spoke remained calm. "Maybe. But it's not your problem now, is it? It's our choice to make. You needn't concern yourself with it at all."

Sure, Gojyo thought wryly to himself. Until the Minus Wave turns our temporary allies into more enemies and we're the ones who get trapped in these caves like rats. He wasn't stupid enough to voice the thought aloud.

Neither was Sanzo. The monk only snorted in response. They'd deal with that situation when it arose. When Ruri saw that she would get no further rise out of him, she turned back to Hari's workbench and quickly and efficiently began packing up items for first aid. "By the way," she said over her shoulder, almost as an afterthought, "You can rest assured that we'll do everything possible to recover that silly piece of jewelry that you're all so hot to find while we're at it."

She got all of their attention with that. Gojyo felt a moment of shock, then a spike of anger at her careless tone. Sanzo's violet eyes narrowed to slits and Goku spluttered indignantly. But it was Hakkai's perilously quiet voice that beat them all to the chase. "Excuse me. Could you please repeat what you just said?"

"Certainly." Laden down as she was with her own concerns her eyes still glinted with vicious satisfaction at delivering this new piece of information. "I said we'll do everything possible to bring back that missing power limiter so you can all pack up your things and leave for good."

Sanzo shoulders twitched in suppressed fury, and he grated "You mean you've known where it was all along?"

Ruri just shrugged, obviously enjoying herself. Ignorance was bliss, she had no idea how close she was to getting a bullet planted in her forehead. "...Not all along. I've only known for two days. My father has it, of course."

"Of course," Gojyo shook his head and then smacked himself in the forehead. "Don't tell me, let me guess. That old guy we saw by the river two days back..."

"...Is my father, yes," Ruri finished. She glared at Gojyo. "He's not all that old, thank you very much."

"Whaaaat??!" Goku exclaimed at nearly the same time. With his amazing grasp of the obvious, he repeated loudly, "That guy's the one that has the last piece of Hakkai's limiter?"

"Dammit!" Now Gojyo was really starting to get pissed off with the whole situation. It would be really nice, really fucking nice, if just for once the gods could cut them a little bit of slack. "Ain't that just our fucking luck. Of course it would be in the middle of an enemy camp chock full of crazy youkai. Why didn't we think of that earlier? We should have known and just gone there right from the start..."

Sanzo didn't wait for the other two to stop their griping. His voice cut through the din, the ice-cold tone of it earning him instant silence. "...And you know this how?"

Ruri drew herself up defensively under the weight of that unforgiving stare. "I'm a diviner," she informed him in annoyance. "My youkai power is to find things that are lost." Her gaze tracked to Hakkai, and she met his gaze for only the second time since she had entered the room. "It's how I found you, that first night. And later, when Hari asked me to look for the rest of your limiter, it lead me to my father's camp," she looked back at Gojyo, who had been carrying one of Hakkai's ear cuffs when they had met, "...and then to you three."

Sanzo abruptly straightened up, pushing away from the wall. "Goku, Gojyo. We're leaving."

"All right!" Goku's response was immediate. He was grinning from ear to ear with anticipation at the thought of a good fight. "It's about time. Bein' underground for so long was really getting to be a drag. It'll be good to get outside and get some exercise again!"

Hakkai looked faintly alarmed at the sudden change in plans. "Sanzo..."

"Shut up. You're staying here. Goyjo, you're driving." As if obeying his command, Jeep launched himself from Hakkai's lap and circled to land on Gojyo's shoulder.

"Sure, whatever you say, Sanzo-sama," Gojyo drawled. The weight of the dragon on his arm was odd, but he was too busy enjoying the sight of Ruri's face turning purple to really notice.

"Wha...hey!" Ruri was spluttering indignantly. "Nobody gave you leave to get involved!"

Sanzo's lip curled. "I don't recall asking your permission."

"This isn't... You can't... Just stop right there!" she raised her voice to Sanzo's back as he turned away. Gojyo and Goku took his cue and ignored her as well. "This is our business!" she yelled after them. "We don't need you there to interfere!"

Sanzo paused in the doorway, fixing her with a look that made her suddenly shiver and quail back against the workbench. It was her first, last, and only warning.

"Do whatever you want," he informed her coldly. "Just stay the hell out of our way."

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