***I'm sorry, I swear that I don't take so long to write out of some sick sense of tension building. I'm just really busy at the moment. I want to know where this is going just as much as you guys do!***

Struggling to lift himself onto his arms, Gojyo groaned when he could barely make it an inch from the mattress. He couldn't see the man's face from this angle, but he had to know.

He had to know if it really was Jien.

"Hakkai, go get the doctor," the quiet, unfamiliar voice said. A noise of agreement and footsteps came from Gojyo's blindside, but he couldn't move his eyes from the slightly-blurred man sitting next to him. Breathing hard, Gojyo tried once more to lift himself up, only this time a large hand came to rest gently on his shoulder.

"Don't push yourself. Yeah, bro, it's me…" The hand tightened gently, a reassuring gesture, and Gojyo felt himself relax into the mattress. It was…he was…Jien…

Shakily lifting his hand to rest it over Jien's, Gojyo stopped when he saw the bandages criss-crossing his fingers. As if he'd suddenly come to a realisation, his eyes darted around the room.

"This…doesn't look like hospital?"

"That's because it isn't, Gojyo. You're…at my home."

A warm feeling exploded in Gojyo's chest, filling him with heat as a small smile pulled at his lips. Jien had found him…taken him home…looked after him…

…wait…

"When did you move me? I don't remember it…" Frowning slightly, Gojyo tried to recall the last thing that had happened to him. He only vaguely noted the lack of pain as his expression changed, mind whirring on more important things. He could faintly remember feeling painfully sick…but whether that was a dream or reality, he wasn't entirely sure.

"Gojyo…you were in a coma for almost a week. They overdosed you on morphine."

"I what?" Gojyo gasped, his voice dissolving in a dry cough. His body shuddered in pain, but he forced himself to breathe through the hacking. When he was calm, he lifted his undamaged hand to his face, feeling for the cuts and swelling that he knew should be there.

They weren't.

His nose barely hurt as he prodded gently at it, and his lips felt whole once again. A week? He'd been asleep for a week?

But that thought was shoved aside as the gentle weight on his shoulder disappeared. Shifting slightly in the bed, Gojyo tried his best to get a proper look at Jien.

"How…how did you find me?" The man had practically appeared out of nowhere; there was so much that Gojyo wanted to know, and he cursed his body for being so goddamned weak.

The older man obviously saw the redhead's struggles, and he shifted his chair with a slight screech so that he was in Gojyo's line of vision. "That better?"

Relaxing his neck, Gojyo swiped at his eyes with his good hand and tried to force his eyes into focusing properly. Finally, after what felt like an aeon of silence, the man before him was clear as day. Gojyo couldn't help the hitch in his breath; it was Jien. The man was a lot older, and his hair was shorter than it had been back in the day…

But it was, without a doubt, his older brother. The redhead smiled widely, his facial muscles feeling stiff from dormancy but not hurting in the way he knew they should have been.

"Much better. But how? How did you…?"

There was a slight pause, and Gojyo could have sworn that something dark flashed across his brother's face before the older man looked down into his eyes. "Sanzo."

"You know my beautiful blonde bastard? Wha-…"

"Dokugakuji." The quiet, polite voice cut off Gojyo's question, and the redhead gathered that Hakkai had come back with the doctor that Jien had asked for.

"I'll take it from here, Doku." Gojyo lifted an eyebrow when his brother nodded at the doctor's statement; what did Hakkai and the doctor mean by 'Dokugakuji' and 'Doku'? The name was Jien.

And he still didn't really know how Jien had found him…

Unfortunately, Jien and Hakkai quietly left the room as the doctor walked over to the bed. Gojyo almost wanted to ask them to stay, but he thought better of it: he already seemed completely weak. There was no need to act as if he couldn't handle being left with a stranger for a few minutes.

Hell, he'd done a lot worse with strangers than just getting prodded a couple of times and asked a few questions.

Not that he was planning on telling Jien anything about that. It wasn't that he was ashamed, or anything, but…he wasn't sure if he could take his brother reacting the same way that Sanzo had.

'Speaking of which, I wonder when that pissy bitch is going to turn up and yell some more…'

Doku and Hakkai stood in the hallway, talking quietly beyond the closed door of Gojyo's room.

"Hakkai, he's going to want to know about Sanzo. What am I going to tell him?" The older man ran a hand roughly through his hair, fingers tightening at the end before his arm fell back to his side.

Hakkai adjusted his glasses, regarding his boss with his usual calm rationality. "As I see it, you have three choices. You can allow Sanzo to live and return; you can inform Gojyo that he has simply disappeared; or you can act as if Sanzo has died."

Dokugakuji sighed, his heart almost breaking for his brother. "You know that I can't take the hit back now. The minute I do, someone will realise that I have a weakness and try to either find out what it is, or just off me completely. You know how cut-throat this business is; I can't put Gojyo in that position. I know that it's not the right thing to do, but…I can't risk Gojyo's life like that."

"Then you have two choices."

"I need you to answer me truthfully, Hakkai. Will Gojyo break if he thinks that Sanzo is dead?" Doku dropped his gaze to the ground, tracing a slight scratch on the gleaming floorboards. Why did Gojyo have to fall for Sanzo, of all people? This would all be so much more simple without the blonde coming into the equation…

A tense silence fell upon the two men, Hakkai waiting until Doku lifted his eyes to speak. When he knew that he had the older man's full attention, Hakkai frowned minutely.

"Yes."

"So how are you feeling, Gojyo?" The doctor had finished with his basic inspection, setting a notepad aside after writing a few things down. The pad sat next to an empty cup of water, the liquid helping Gojyo to speak without such a horrid rasp in his voice.

"Like I drank six times my body weight in cheap booze. How do I look?"

The doctor's lip twitched, almost as if he was planning to return Gojyo's comment with a quip of his own; but it seemed that he reconsidered. "Your bruises are healing nicely, your lip is almost completely normal again, and although your hand will have a few small scars on it, the rest of your body should be mostly unmarked. Your knee should be pretty much healed by this point, too. How do your wrists feel?"

Gojyo lifted his right arm to his face, holding it above him as he lay down. The skin was red and slightly scratched, but there was nothing like the bloody mess he remembered having after Hazel had finished with him.

'Hazel…did Sanzo get him?' Gojyo shuddered a little as he remembered being bound in the loanshark's basement, pain making him black out repeatedly. Hopefully he was dead…but nothing ever seemed to go right in Gojyo's life.

He wouldn't be surprised if the bastard had somehow managed to survive.

"Usable, I s'pose…how do you think my hand is gonna be?"

The doctor frowned for a moment, thinking. "You'll find some stiffness in the fingers, particularly in the next couple of months. Nearly all of them had to be pinned, so they won't work quite as well as they used to."

"I'm a lefty; how's it going to be for writing and shit?" Gojyo let his right arm rest back down, lifting his left instead. He glared at the mass of bandages, unable to move his fingers even the slightest bit.

"You should be okay with practice."

Gojyo nodded. "Listen, man, d'you think that I could sit up? This whole laying down thing is really starting to get to me."

"I don't see why not; just don't try to walk for another couple of hours, at least. I should really tell you not to move too much, but I know that you won't listen. I've been treating your brother and his men for too long to think something stupid like that."

Jien's men? What the fuck?

Putting that aside for the moment, Gojyo pressed his right hand into the mattress as the doctor slung a surprisingly strong arm across his back. Grunting a little, the redhead was manoeuvred into a sitting position with his back against the bed frame. "Thanks."

"It's no problem. Would you like me to send Doku and Hakkai back in?"

"Thanks," Gojyo repeated. The doctor nodded, and this time Gojyo could see him leave the room. When the other two reappeared, Gojyo noticed an odd look pass between them, as if they were sharing something secret. It made him a little suspicious, to be honest.

Hakkai was the first one to return to his normal demeanour, a smile twisting his mouth as he looked over and noticed Gojyo's new position. "All good news, I hope?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah…" Gojyo replied absently. He was too busy watching the uneasy expression that was obvious on his brother's face.

Hakkai followed the line of sight, frowning as he saw what Gojyo had been watching. He cleared his throat quietly. "Doku."

Gojyo's eyes widened as he heard the unfamiliar title again, Jien's face softening as he took his seat by the bed once again. He had to know what this was all about.

"Alright, Jien. What's with the 'Doku' stuff?"

Jien's body seemed to tense slightly, and he let out a slightly awkward-sounding laugh. "That's…my name. You're the first person to call me 'Jien' in thirteen years, bro."

"I thought most people changed their names to something easier. You've added a fuckload of letters."

"I wasn't the one who chose it," Jien retorted with a shake of his head. "I was given it."

"Should've asked for a refund." Gojyo marvelled at how easily a repertoire had developed between himself and his brother. There was no remembered pain; he was just glad that his brother was with him. That his brother was still alive. "I'm gonna stick with Jien."

"You do that."

"Anyway, Jien, you never answered me. How d'you know Sanzo? The only other person I've ever seen him with is Hakkai. Somehow, I doubt that you guys are in the same bowling league or whatever the fuck it is that Blondie does in his spare time." Gojyo grinned when his brother laughed, the sound deep and reassuring.

"Well…Sanzo actually works for me." Doku wasn't sure how much Gojyo would know about Sanzo's profession; he assumed that it wouldn't be much, considering the blonde's tight lips. He didn't know if he was ready to explain to his brother that he'd made a fortune from killing people…not that Gojyo really had any room to judge.

Doku immediately chastised his brain for that last thought. He had no idea what Gojyo's life had been like, and so he couldn't really comment on the prostitution. Especially as his brother would never be returning to that.

"You're his boss?" Gojyo practically shrieked, his throat protesting the sudden increase in volume and pitch. Mouth hanging open, he stared with open disbelief at the man sitting next to him.

"Uh…yes?"

"You run Bosatsu Industries?"

"Uh…yes?" Doku repeated again, wondering just how much Sanzo had actually told Gojyo. It was unthinkable that the blonde would tell even his lover everything…right?

"Holy fuck! My brother is a motherfucking mob boss!" Gojyo knew that the expression of shock on his face was in no way flattering, but he simply couldn't get his muscles to move. Jien was…Sanzo was…

It was all too impossible.

Doku frowned, his brow knotting. Clearly, Sanzo hadn't managed to keep his mouth shut. Did that mean that this thing with his brother was a lot more serious that he had previously thought? Sanzo would have to trust someone pretty damned much to open up like that…

"What did Sanzo tell you? How do you know what he…what we do?"

The cold edge to Doku's voice broke Gojyo's shock, and he cleared his throat a little. "I…well…he didn't tell me much. The second time we met, he practically shot Banri's cock out of my mou-…"

Trailing off, Gojyo felt his face burn with embarrassment. He really didn't want to explain why he would have been blowing a pimp…

But Jien didn't seem concerned with that part of the sentence. Instead, he had turned to the room's silent occupant. "Hakkai, is he talking about the day you and Sanzo…went after Banri?"

Gojyo shifted his head too, watching the brunette's thoughtful expression.

"Yes. The day that Sanzo and I dealt with Banri, Gojyo was there. Actually, I believe that it was the first time we met. Sanzo spared Gojyo, even though he was a witness."

"That violent asshole actually let a witness go? Oh, fuck…"

Breathing heavily, Doku stood up and almost sent his chair tipping over. Without another word, the older man promptly left the room.

"'Kai? What…what's wrong?" Gojyo asked, his voice shaking a little. He had no idea what was going through his brother's mind; he just knew that he'd said something bad.

"I don't know, Gojyo. Are you okay by yourself for a minute or two? I should check on him." Hakkai glanced towards the open door, worry making his eyebrows draw together.

"Yeah…go see what's up. I need to give my voice a rest for a moment, anyway."

Leaning heavily against the bed frame, Gojyo sighed.

He couldn't help but feel like he'd fucked something up…as per usual.

Dokugakuji pulled his fist from the wall, wincing as the broken plaster took off shreds of his skin. Ignoring the blood beginning to trickle down his fingers, he looked up as the sound of footsteps became gradually louder.

"What do you want, Hakkai?" He growled at the other man. He didn't have the time or the patience for a sermon right now.

"I want to know why you just punched a hole in the wall."

"It's my wall," the older man spat out like a child. Hakkai tutted.

"Wilful destruction isn't like you."

"And letting a witness live isn't like Sanzo! Shit, Hakkai, this goes deeper than I thought." Doku turned, letting his body slump against the wall. "Sanzo doesn't show anyone mercy…and yet, he didn't kill my brother. Someone who could've helped put him away for life."

Hakkai didn't say anything, instead simply pulling a clean tissue from his pocket and handing it to Dokugakuji for his hand. Swiping at the blood, the older man paused for a moment before continuing to speak. "Gojyo is the kind of person who always used to let his emotions control his mind. If Sanzo felt enough to spare Gojyo…then Gojyo probably feels it ten times as much.

"You still have to kill Sanzo, Hakkai. But I can never let Gojyo know that I organised it."

Hakkai watched the other man, contemplation written on his face, before he nodded slowly and deliberately.

"If you feel that's what you have to do…then I suppose I have no say."

"Just…make it quick."