Hello guys'n'gals!

I'm back... with the unavoidable new chapter!

05.04.2005: Answers to reviews removed. Reason in chapter 3.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Saiyuki, and I do not make money by writing about it.

CHAPTER 11

The following morning, the group boarded the transformed Hakuryuu again and set off towards the east. A strange feeling was in the air; Hakkai and Kouryuu refused to exchange any conversation – they even avoided looking at each other. Somehow, even Gojyo and Goku realized that something must have happened the night before, yet wisely chose not to mention the situation.

Gojyo, sitting in his regular spot behind Hakkai, who had taken over the steering wheel again, felt uneasy when he looked at the two figures up front, staring straight ahead.

'Did they pick up their argument where they left it the other day? If so, they were rather quiet about it – I didn't hear any yelling...'

Yes, Hakkai usually kept quiet, even if he was infuriated, but Kouryuu had never been one to deny himself a good old-fashioned bitching session at the top of his lungs.

'... He usually only stays quiet when he's REALLY pissed off... That's not good, not at all...'

Somehow, he was happy that Kouryuu's gun had been taken away – if he really had been that furious with Hakkai, he might have resorted to violence.

The half-youkai did not know that his thoughts went entirely into the wrong direction.

In fact, while driving, Hakkai's mind was awash with conflicting thoughts.

'What if I had given in? Dear Gods, I almost... And what then? We're both MEN... So what? As if THAT matters... Yes, it does. What would people think? What would Goku and Gojyo think? I've never had anything like that with another man... So? Who cares about what others think - and there's a first time for everything!... Besides, it wouldn't have been a serious thing. He most likely just wanted to prove to himself that he's alive, that he is free to do whatever he wants now... And if I'm wrong?... No, I'm not. And what would happen when – IF – we return home?... Don't think about it, it didn't happen, so don't sweat it... What if I actually DID want it to happen?... Then I wouldn't have slapped him... or would I?'

The two voices within him attacked and parried, fighting for supremacy, leaving him even more confused than he had been before his inner quarrel had started.

And Kouryuu? His thoughts formed a mantra, kept chanting 'Don't look back – no use...'

Goku, finally, did not waste time on unnecessary cerebral workouts – he was slightly worried about the silence between his two friends, but what was more important to him at the moment was that they had skipped BREAKFAST, the most important one of all of the regular seven meals that kept him going through the day...

Thus engulfed in their own thoughts, none of the group's members paid attention to the fact that the ground became rather uneven – and that the various bumps in the road did not look as though they were of natural origin.

They paid for it mere seconds later, when one of Hakuryuu's tires grazed one of the small mounds. The landmine exploded with earshattering noise, making the jeep tip over to the side. Small rocks sprayed up from the ground, ripping gaping wounds into the group's skin. Hakkai was hit the worst; a rather large chunk of stone collided with his forehead, rendering him unconscious. Unable to remain in his jeep form, Hakuryuu reverted back to his dragon form. He was hurt badly, as well. A large burn on his belly showed where the little white dragon had received the blow of the explosion.

And none of them were able to move. Was it just from their injuries, or was there something else...?

This question was answered rather quickly when a female voice said, "Don't even try to get up. You won't be able to – I have seen to that this time..."

Kouryuu had fallen so that he faced the wrong direction – he couldn't see who exactly the woman was. However, she didn't sound like Yaone, and definitely not like Lirin.

Goku and Gojyo, however had had more luck. The monkeylike boy was the first to identify the lady.

"Hey – aren't you the maid from that inn we stayed in before it was blown up?"

Thin lips curled into a grin.

"Very perceptive, boy. And if it hadn't been for this idiot over there", she glared at Kouryuu's back, "I would have reached my objective then and there."

Now Gojyo managed to speak.

"But Hakkai was the only one of us left in the building..."

Fangs showed as the demoness' grin widened.

"Oh, is that so? Why, I must have been after him then... After Cho Gonou, the man who murdered my father, whom you knew as Chin Yisou!"

Gojyo's eyes widened, and he started a futile attempt to free himself from the invisible bonds placed upon him. Out of the corners of his eyes, he could see Goku and Kouryuu fighting as well, with similar results.

Meanwhile, the woman, a spindly-thin demoness with a hard-looking, unattractive face and iridescent black hair, continued, her voice soft, as if caught in some sort of self-induced trance.

"After he turned his body into a shikigami, he came and took me from my mother, his mistress of many nights, to train me and prepare me as his last resort, should he fail to exact his revenge against his murderer. And now that he is gone, I will fulfill his last wish – to make Cho Gonou atone for his sins!"

"Cowardly... bitch!" A low rasp from Kouryuu.

High-pitched laughter, more than a trace of madness swinging with it.

"Call me names all you want, Sanzo-sama... or is it still Sanzo? I remember hearing something about him being dead, about you having changed... Tell me, man without title, how would you have liked to be ripped apart by the man you call your friend now? To see the madness in his eyes, knowing that soon, you would draw your last breath... Ah, it will be my pleasure to realize those thoughts, to watch your precious Hakkai rip your throats out, one by one, feasting on your pain... and if he ever recovers his sanity, there will be no way out for him anymore, he will kill himself, unable to bear his guilt – after all, it is so much easier to forget the enemies one has killed, but the friends one kills will forever sear one's memory..."

Footsteps, moving over to the still form of Hakkai. Three tinkling noises... the limiters the healer usually wore fell on the ground. A short glow of green – a Ki-Healing-Technique was being applied...

And then, a roar of pain and rage filled their ears.

Kouryuu suddenly found that he could move again. As fast as it was possible with all the injuries the blast had dealt him, he got to his feet, asking himself whether Yisou's daughter had vanished to leave them alone with the raging demon that was Hakkai, but saw that it was not so. In fact, the woman still stood nearby, smirking at him.

On the ground, the transformation of their pleasant and quiet healer took place. Youkai marks in the form of a vine pattern wove their way over the skin of the hands, the face... green eyes, eerily catlike with their slitted pupils, focused... lips peeled back to show fangs in a snarl... fingers flexed, their nails transformed into claws...

And then, it was done. Slowly, the youkai got up. A feral grin appeared on his face when his eyes fell upon Kouryuu.

The blond man, knowing that it was probably useless, tried to divert his opponent's attention.

"Hakkai... you don't really want to kill me! The real enemy is over there!"

Cackling laughter escaped Yisou's daughter again.

"Do you really think I am that stupid? He cannot see me, my talismans take care of that... He only sees you and your two incapacitated friends. I'm afraid you will have to try and fight him – or watch the redhead and the boy being slain by the monster they called 'friend'. Decide fast – he is about to attack!"

Kouryuu sighed. It had been worth a try. He would have to get the limiters off the floor, and then...

That was how far he got with his thoughts when the movement of air next to him told him that Hakkai's attack had begun. He jumped back, narrowly avoiding the youkai's claws.

The other man grinned at him.

'Content like a cat toying with its prey...', he thought.

Then, the true fight began.

I hope that this idea doesn't have too long of a beard yet... it seemed like a good idea when I wrote the outline... Please leave a review, even if you want to flame me for being uncreative...