***Jessiedark, I tried replying to your message but it wouldn't let me, and now I feel rude. Everyone who's been waiting, it's thanks to her that this chapter came out before I went to bed, rather than after I woke up.***

It took almost twenty minutes of restlessly wandering through Gojyo's apartment before Sanzo found himself walking out the front door. He just couldn't do it; he couldn't sit still while Gojyo was out there…somewhere.

He was going to go and find Gojyo, kick his ass, and then drag him home by the hair. It would quite possibly be the most satisfying thing Sanzo had ever done, too.

It was only when he was unlocking his car that he realised one slight issue: he had no clue as to where he should start looking.

His city-wide list of contacts from the organisation was basically useless, because he refused to let anyone know that he was looking for a prostitute- and a male one, at that. There were just too many invasive questions and idiotic rumours that could be born from that. He didn't even want to trust Hakkai, who never said shit about anything, with something like this.

Not to mention that Gojyo's pimp was from Kougaiji's side of the field, which added yet another level of complication. Digging too much around 'the enemy' was an unjustifiable risk.

Zakuro had clearly known something, but Sanzo couldn't really call him now that he'd fucked up Gojyo's phone. That had been a serious error of judgement, but there wasn't much that he could do about it now. But how could he even start looking for the redhead, with his only communication method gone?

His eyes widened as he realised where he could go: the club where Gojyo worked. If he was really lucky, maybe someone could send him in Zakuro's direction, and if not, maybe Gojyo had told someone he worked with where he'd gone.

It was a long shot, but there wasn't much else that he could do.

Sliding into the car, Sanzo wasted no time before leaving the parking lot with a screech, cutting off a lane of traffic as he sped down the road.

It was getting late, after all…

Gojyo didn't know how long he'd been in Hazel's basement. He kept passing out, unable to force himself to stay awake as his captor shattered bones and dislocated joints.

He couldn't help but wonder if, despite what he'd said, Hazel was actually going to kill him. By this point, Gojyo was sure that death would be merciful. His entire body seemed to be falling apart, and he knew that Hazel was nowhere near finished.

Shifting himself slightly onto his side in the most relatively comfortable position he could find, Gojyo sighed so heavily that the noise almost resembled a sob. He just wanted this to be over…even if that meant dying.

He didn't regret anything in his life. He'd never had the chance to do anything of real worth, so he wasn't bemoaning bad choices that he might have made. He was done.

Well…except for one small thing.

Gojyo couldn't help but wish that he and Sanzo had parted on better terms.

Though, he considered with a small, pained smile, at least Hazel wasn't taking this out on Sanzo. Seeing the blonde's face swollen, bruised and bloody the way his own currently was…it would be an affront to all the aesthetics in the world.

Familiar footsteps echoed once again- though Gojyo couldn't remember if this was the fourth or fifth time- through the room, and he carefully schooled his face to show nothing but apathy. If he was going down, then he'd go like a man.

"Evenin', Gojyo. How's the shoulder?" Hazel laughed, his sadistic nature clearly showing through. The redhead managed to summon his best scowl, channelling Sanzo in his expression even as he made his voice casual and carefree.

"Still dislocated, y'know? But I've had worse." By this point, he no longer gave a flying fuck about trying to charm his way out of this. He would never grovel to the piece of shit standing over him, for release or for death.

"Next I might have to go for that fast talkin' jaw of yours. Might convince you not to be so goddamned cocky." The toe of Hazel's shoe dug right into Gojyo's spine, sending him onto his front. The redhead gasped brokenly as he fell directly onto his left hand- the one with four broken fingers. He struggled to shift his weight, but with his arms and legs still bound, plus more injuries than he could remember, it was nearly impossible.

A hand gripped in his hair, pulling Gojyo onto his back with excruciating force. The pressure on his trashed ribs was making it hard to breathe, and he was reduced to gasping for air.

Gojyo closed his eyes, unwilling to see the smug expression on Hazel's face as the man crouched down. The hand in Gojyo's hair moved, resurfacing with a loose grip around his left hand.

"Good…you're learnin'. See, I knew you weren't quite a dumb as you tend to act." The hand tightened cruelly, exerting so much pressure on Gojyo's broken fingers that he could no longer hold back.

He let out a short howl of agony, instinctively trying to pull away but only making things worse for himself. Clamping his teeth together, he barely managed to muffle the sound.

Hazel just laughed, using his free hand to pull Gojyo's face towards him by the hair. "You're so weak, and you ain't pretty anymore. Sanzo's not going to want you ever again."

With a surge of adrenaline, Gojyo spat as hard as he possible could, hitting Hazel on the cheek. His lips twitched with pride, but the expression melted when the back of his head was slammed into the hard floor, the darkness taking over yet again.

Sanzo breezed straight into L'Amour, the bouncer obviously assuming that the violent-looking man in the expensive business suit was one of Zakuro's 'important guests'. If the blonde remembered correctly, there were a couple of whores that worked the club on the weeknights it opened; hopefully he could find one quickly.

Squinting against the unhelpful lighting, Sanzo searched for a recognisable piece of gold jewellery. He took off through the moderate crowd, once again having to dodge reaching hands and the occasional dumbass that tried to latch on tight.

He was beginning to lose faith in this idea; he couldn't spot a single worker, and the patrons were really getting on his nerves.

Suddenly, he caught sight of a thin arm with an emerald and gold bracelet hanging off it. Within an instant he had reached out and grasped the limb, pulling the other person closer- with slightly more force than he'd intended- before glancing his catch over.

He then had to take a second look.

There was no way that this provocatively-dressed kid was a whore. Shit, he was starting to feel a little sick…

Sanzo noticed that the boy was looking at him a little nervously, and he realised that he still had the kid by the arm. Quickly letting go, he tried to keep the disgust off his face as he motioned towards the back of the club. They couldn't talk out here; he was going to have to act like a buyer.

The boy smiled brightly and nodded before turning and weaving through the crowd. Checking to make sure that he didn't see anyone watching, Sanzo followed, trying to ignore the nausea that was threatening to resurface.

This kid didn't look more than thirteen, maybe fourteen at a stretch. Even though he knew that he wasn't going to do anything more than ask a few questions, Sanzo couldn't help but shiver slightly in disgust. The boy was a little too sure about this; how long had he been taking people behind the scenes?

When they passed through the back door of the main club area, Sanzo breathed a sigh of relief. The idea of someone seeing him with such a young-looking boy…

The kid started towards one of the private rooms- one directly across from where he had first fucked Gojyo, Sanzo couldn't help but notice- but the blonde stopped him before he could open the door.

"Listen, Kid-…"

"Goku," the kid replied happily. Sanzo couldn't help but wonder how much longer the smile would last in this line of work.

"…What?"

"My name's Goku. What's goin' on? There's a strict 'no screwing in the hallway' rule, sorry."

Sanzo only barely avoided throwing up in his mouth. He considered asking how old the kid…Goku was, but it would have been a waste of breath: no matter what the truth was, he knew that he wouldn't get an answer of anything less than eighteen.

"I'm not interested in that."

"But why-…"

"Do you know a guy called Gojyo?" Sanzo jumped straight to the point, wanting to get away as quickly as possible so that he could stop feeling like such a filthy degenerate. Picking up an adult whore was fine; child prostitution, however, was something that he could never accept.

He was feeling fairly similar to the moment when Gojyo had said how early he'd started selling himself.

"Gojyo doesn't work here today. Ya might wanna come back on Friday, okay?"

Sanzo couldn't keep the exasperation out of his tone. "You think I don't know that? The fucker's gone and disappeared. Do you know where he might have cut off to?"

Goku looked momentarily shocked before his cheery smile returned. "Oh, then why don't ya just call him?

The urge to whack the kid over the top of the head had Sanzo clenching his fist; He managed to resist, though, and just glared down at the little brunette while hissing his words out. "He left his cell behind."

Even in the dark-ish corridor, Sanzo could see Goku's eyes widening. "He what?"

Sanzo didn't bother repeating himself.

The kid took a step back, leaning heavily against the wall. One foot tapped quickly against the plaster, setting a noisy rhythm that had Sanzo gritting his teeth.

"Sorry, but I dunno where he could be…Geez, I hope nothin' happened to him, he's a good guy."

Sanzo sighed in exasperation, running a hand through his hair. This was useless.

"Kid, do you know where Zakuro is? Is he here?" The tapping stopped, as too did the twitching vein in Sanzo's forehead.

"Ummm…I'm really not sure. He's not usually here tonight."

Sanzo opened his mouth to reply, but the sound of the main door opening had him glancing warily over his shoulder.

"Are you Sanzo?"

Turning fully around, Sanzo glared suspiciously at the new figure- who he vaguely recognised as the bouncer he'd earlier passed. One hand slowly moved towards his gun, just in case something went bad. "Who's asking?"

The bouncer crossed his arms over his chest, clearly trying to use his height and build to intimidate the smaller blonde. Sanzo simply raised an eyebrow, unperturbed by the show.

"Zakuro wants you to meet him at Gojyo's apartment." The heavy-set man then turned, leaving the back area of the club without another word. Sanzo immediately started after him, but he changed his mind and took a few long strides towards Goku.

"…Here, kid." Grabbing several hundred dollars from his wallet, he practically threw it at Goku before legging it from the corridor. If he'd guessed correctly, the boy wouldn't have to work for the night now.

Not that he particularly cared or anything…

Gojyo was startled back into a vague state of awareness when the basement door slammed open, quick footsteps pounding across the bare floor. Hazel, who had apparently been standing over him, walked to meet the new arrival; Gojyo could barely move his neck to see who it was, and so he tried to focus on the voice.

"What the fuck are you doing, you insane son of a bitch!"

Gojyo's first thought was that Sanzo had somehow found him, and that Hazel would now get the absolute shit beaten out of him.

But then his mind loudly announced that Sanzo's voice sounded nothing like the unknown man's. It was closer to…Zakuro? Why the fuck would he be here?

Gojyo found the world beginning to darken again, and he desperately fought against the call of unconsciousness. He needed to hear what was going on; this might be how he learned whether he would live or die.

"Why, if it isn't Zakuro. How are you, on this fine evenin' we're having?" Hazel finally sounded sane, and it seemed to Gojyo like he was an entirely different person. His aching body, though, disagreed.

"Cut the shit, Grosse. Why-…Oh, for fuck's sake!" A pair of footsteps rushed over, and Gojyo felt someone standing just to the side of him. He wanted to see who it was, but he just couldn't get his eyes to open.

"You fucking asshole! I can't make anything off him when he looks like this! Why did you…Look, I don't care. I'm getting him out of here before you kill him. He's no good to either of us dead."

There was a sound like the clicking of cell buttons, before the voice spoke again. "Get in here, now."

The second person walked over, and Gojyo heard Hazel speaking this time. He sounded fairly unhinged once again, and it made Gojyo shake ever so slightly. "He needs to learn, Zakuro, what happens when he fucks with me."

"I've already lost enough money because of you pulling this! Now he's gonna be out of action for weeks. If it was anyone else, I'd leave 'em here to die, but I-…we need him. He's a fucking goldmine, and you nearly fucked it up!"

"Do you think I give a fuck? I…"

"Hazel, just…shut up. I'm taking him home before he's out for any longer. If he dies, you die. Remember, I have Kougaiji's backing, and I don't like you anywhere near as much as Banri did. Even Gat won't be able to save you."

Gojyo smiled softly as he lost the fight against the darkness. He was being treated like some sort of object, but…even if it was just because of his worth as a fucktoy, he was going home.

Maybe he'd still be able to make things right with Sanzo.

***I'd forgotten that I actually named the club way back in chapter one. If I remember correctly, the reasons it's called L'Amour is because that's the name of the place mentioned in the Type O Negative song, "Unsuccessfully Coping with the Natural Beauty of Infidelity".

The more you know…

Also: where I live, Thursdays are a big clubbing night. Why, I'm not sure, but for this chapter I sort of made Wednesdays the same. I have no clue if it's like this in other, bigger places. Whatever!***