Sanzo remained seated at the table with his newspaper and refused to look out the window as all the adorations wafted up. He was beyond thrilled that praise and pleadings were being flung at another's feet and not his own. He adjusted his glasses and flipped the page, skipping the entire section regarding the prior night's fight and miracles.

Miracles... yeah, okay. He'd watched that man all night long, and he was pretty certain there was nothing miraculous about what had happened. What it was, he couldn't tell for sure, but it wasn't anything different than the power of a sutra or tantra. Still, bringing people back from the dead... There had to be consequences for disrupting a balance like that. That was how things of that nature worked. You kill someone. Someone comes to kill you in return. Simple as that.

Too bad other things weren't as easy, he thought bitterly, setting the coffee mug down a little harder than necessary. He cast a quick glance over at the bed where Hakkai was stretched out as the man moaned, fingers curling into the bedspread as if in protest. A steaming wet cloth was draped over his eyes and had some kind of cucumber smelling oil rubbed over it. It was supposed to be soothing for a headache, but all it really did was smell the entire room up. Goku had been very disappointed to discover there weren't really any cucumbers folded between the layers. That led to the boy sulking across from him at the table.

Back to things that weren't so easy though... First and foremost (for him personally) was what the hell to do about Yaone. He knew it shouldn't have been very high on his priority list at the moment, but he couldn't seem to keep his thoughts from wandering in that direction. The best cure for an itch was to scratch at it so... here he was scratching away and relief was still laughing at his back. He hated being like this, unsure of what to do or what he was even thinking at the moment. It was a damned nuisance and not at all like him. What the hell had she done to him to get him like this?

For that alone, he should cut her loose. He didn't like how she was so firmly hooked under his skin. It was driving him mad when he couldn't even read the goddamn newspaper without flashing back on something that had happened. Both good and bad, he couldn't get it out of his system. He sucked down a healthy amount of nicotine and held it for as long as he could before the need for fresh hair burned his lungs. He flipped the page in the newspaper and ignored the sudoku puzzle completely. No way was he doing it right now. It was always best first thing in the morning, with a fresh cup of coffee and warm arms...

Fuck it, there he went again! Sanzo snarled around his smoke and sank a little lower in his chair so he could honestly say he didn't see the curious frown on Gojyo's face. He didn't need to deal with the kappa's bullshit right now. There was enough of that on his plate spread around and wallow in for a life time. First of all, how in the name of all that was holy had he gotten himself into this? When did everything go from simple conversation to dating to being a couple and now to... whatever the hell they currently were? He didn't need her. He didn't need what they had. It wasn't necessary to his everyday life.

But he wanted it.

Sanzo finally stopped trying to read the paper and just used it as an excuse to allow him free time for puzzling out this thing. Shit, did he ever want it. If he had to wake up one more goddamn morning looking at those four faces, he was going to do some serious feature rearranging. He wanted to wake up with long hair stuck in his mouth. He wanted to find his pillow missing and more than half the covers wrapped in a tight coccoon around the culprit. Hell, he just wanted to see her again and get this shit over with as quickly as possible so they could go back exactly as things had been before.

But what if they couldn't do that? He had pretty good suspicions she'd turned over their location back in Peeraj. He'd never fully trusted her to begin with, and that was a problem in itself. What kind of relationship were they supposed to have if he couldn't relax around her enough to enjoy it? Forget the whole killing each other issue, that was already accepted and shoved aside with the other useless crap. In the privacy of whatever inn they were staying at, they weren't enemies but he couldn't trust her like most lovers were supposed to do. It wasn't that he didn't want to, it just wasn't in his nature to trust someone like that. He didn't even trust Goku completely. He'd had that trust ripped up and shoved down the toilet too many times for him to readily give it out again.

So, there was the Peeraj incident. There was also this thing with Kougaiji. He knew what she claimed. She denied it fiercely, but what evidence did he have to suggest otherwise? It had been obvious from the start of everything that there was a little more between those two than lord and servant. That Yaone had loved Kougaiji at one point in time he didn't doubt for the world. It wasn't until recently though that he'd started to pick up on how Kougaiji felt toward her. Even crazed, he'd given her softer glares than anyone else. He was quick to come to her aid, which was very untypical of any noble. Sanzo was beginning to suspect all those 'special projects' she'd been working on were contrived by the man to keep her in Houtu Castle and to himself. Bastard. If that was the case, the next time he saw Kougaiji he was aiming below the waist. That should solve any romantic issues right there.

What reason other than Yaone returning that affection would have caused the princeto be more expressive? As much as it pissed him off, he couldn't deny the nagging little voice on this matter. She was always talking about him, which meant he was constantly on her mind. There was also Peeraj to consider in this. He wanted to believe that she hadn't disclosed their whereabouts, but Kougaiji had a very strong grasp on her loyalties, and now it was looking as if that same grasp extended to her feelings as well. What was to say he didn't fuck the location out of her? His fingers tightened around the newspaper so hard the edges crinkled and finally tore under his grip. Damn, he really needed to make someone go 'ouch' now. Unfortunately, everyone was behaving themselves, so he was left alone with his unhappy musings.

Which led him right back where he'd started; what the hell was he going to do about this? He wasn't happy with the way things were going, and the only way to effect change was to start it yourself. So how did he go about doing that? He wasn't about to lose her to some youkai royal with a really bad mullet. He needed to show her somehow he was still in this, but he also needed to find out once and for all what it was with her and Kougaiji. One problem at a time, he reminded himself.

First problem: How to fix things. He wasn't apologizing, not on his life. It was a reasonable assumption and therefore didn't require an apology. He remembered Gojyo saying something about women getting soft over gifts. Okay... so what could he get her? No flowers. He was NOT buying flowers, or chocolates for that matter. Sanzo shivered at the very idea of having to shop for those items. If she wanted those, he'd give her the card and send her out on her own. No way was he parading through the streets with a bouquet of flowers! Jewelry couldn't be done, even if he was so inclined and she the type to wear it. Anything like that would be noticed as new and questioned as to where she aquired it. Sanzo took another hit and let it out on a huff. Maybe he'd talk to Hakkai about it when he was done being dead to the world. Hakkai was good about things like that. Or maybe he wouldn't get her anything. That idea was definately more appealing but it didn't solve the problem of how to fix their near-breaking relationship. Huffing, he shoved that quandry aside in favor of another one. He'd think about that one later.

Okay, so moving on to the second problem: How to resolve this Kougaiji issue. If he flat out asked her, he had no doubt she'd tell him, but it would piss her off something fierce and he'd run the risk of another brutal argument. Ignoring it was simply not possible. That was like throwing a table cloth over an elephant and pretending it wasn't there. He needed to bring it up carefully, see how she reacted to it before pushing the conversation further. Hopefully, knowing how she was, she would save him the trouble and broach the subject on her own. That was one thing he was particularly grateful to her for. With only a little prying on his end, she'd tell him what he wanted to know. Too bad the same was true for Kougaiji. The bastard... he couldn't say that enough in regards to the prince. How dare the man try to take Yaone from him! Even if he wasn't aware of who he was dealing with, it had to be obvious by now she was seeing someone. What the hell kind of man moved in on a taken woman? What, he couldn't find a nice, simple-minded, UNATTACHED female to fling his affections at?

Then again, what if his actions were encouraged? The very idea that Yaone was purposely seeing someone other than himself made him burn with rage. This was a perfect example of why relationships needed to be avoided like the plague. He never had any doubts about any of his actions until she came along and somehow managed to make herself at home in his life. He should end it. Regardless of what she had to say about Kougaiji, he should end it. This was only going to get more complicated and more frustrating the longer it lasted.

This was all fine and good... except he didn't want to end it. It was an unexpected twist to his plans, and the gods knew it gave him a fucking migrain faster than being locked in a room with Goku and Gojyo, but if it meant letting Yaone go... Not a chance in hell. Things were rough at the moment, that was all. If everything went smoothly and without a hitch, it would be boring. What would be the point of a boring relationship? Conflict that didn't kill you would only make you stronger.

"Man, that's one way to get superhero status over night," Gojyo commented enviously from the window. Sanzo flicked the paper down enough to glare at the man's back before returning to the business section with no hopes of actually reading it. Now that his attention was broken, he could hear the worshipful comments and praise for that man with the pendant clearly.

And speaking of which... there was the other problem for him to consider. He'd witnessed first hand last night what had happened. The man had used some kind of power and brought the dead back to life. That wasn't natural. Whatever the man's motives were, whether of a noble nature or for some unseen purpose, that power hadn't felt right at all. It had left his skin feeling cold and as if he'd stood in a freezing rain for a good hour. He didn't give a shit what those villagers claimed, what happened last not was no miracle.

He lowered the paper completely as Goku's chair scraped back and the boy ran to check on Hakkai's towels. "You okay, Hakkai?" the boy asked softly. He peered at the dark-haired man as if he knew what the hell he was doing. Sanzo shook his head a little and took a hit. Typical monkey, annoying enough to deserve a smack yet genuinely concerned enough that he couldn't bring himself to do it. He'd blame his restraint on the fact that the kid didn't have much brain matter to start with and hitting it now would only be a wasted effort. He could wait until Goku did something terrifically stupid and then... A slow, slight curve of his lips came with that little scenario. That would certainly cure his need for violence.

"Hn... Oh, sure." Hakkai hissed lightly as Goku pulled the cooling cloth from his eyes and dropped it into the steaming basin by his bed. He picked up a spare, wrang it out and folded it over the other man's eyes again. "Ah, thank you," he groaned in relief. 'I'm sorry about this, everyone. If it's too much of an inconveniance-,"

"It's to be expected when you use your chi all night in the rain," Sanzo interupted as he flicked ash neatly into the tray by his elbow. He didn't want to here crap about leaving the only sane and tolerable person in their group behind just to make up time. If it was Gojyo on that bed, they'd be packed and out the door already. Hakkai was a decent guy. He'd cut him a little slack this once. "You passed out."

Hakkai let out a small chuckle at that. "It couldn't be helped though, Sanzo. Those people were left for me to care for."

"Big surprise, it was an ego thing that made you do it," Gojyo called from where he stood, his voice carrying usual sarcasm to it. The twitching frown to the kappa's lips stated he was still very nervous about his friend, though. The fool... Hakkai was fine. He just strained himself a little, that was all. Sanzo ignored the nervous red head by the window and continued to smoke and drink his coffee in silence. If he wanted to worry himself into a coma, that was fine by him.

"I don't get how it all works, but I'm glad those people came back to life," Goku added with a wide grin. His eyes were round and all kinds of shiny. Shit... the kid had found something other than meatbuns to drool over. He was never going to hear the end of this now! "I mean, they were really, really dead! An' all of a sudden, they're not!" The boy sighed with a wistful expression on his face. '"That's be a really cool power to have."

"It'd be a pain in the ass," Sanzo muttered.

"Everything's a pain in the ass to you," Gojyo fired back. "I'm starting to think you like having a pain-,"

Sanzo set the banishing gun on the table with a loud thunk. That was the only warning he felt like giving today and, mercifully, the kappa picked up on the threat and didn't finish his expected joke.

"So, uh... about that guy," Gojyo quickly amended, taking a step closer to Hakkai and away from the brooding monk. Sanzo used the opportunity of lighting a cigarette to hide the smirk at the action. As if Hakkai was well enough to save Gojyo's dumb ass if he decided to shoot for real. Hakkai could barely move himself, forget summoning chi. "What kinda guy can just go around and-"

All eyes, including the one Hakkai uncovered briefly before dropping the cloth back in place, turned toward the 'shave and a hair cut' knock someone gave to their door. Sanzo's teeth ground together as he thought briefly about emptying his gun into the wood. Why did people seem to find it so amusing to wrap that ridiculous ditty on a door? He didn't have time to consider this long as the door opened without permission.

"Apologies for interuptin', but that was some mighty fine work y'all did last night," a cheerful, heavily accented voice called. Gods, the one thing even more annoying than that knock... an overly happy person. The men from last night came swooping right into their room as if they were the ones paying the bill. The smaller one took off his odd hat and flashed a dazzling smile around the room in general. "I hope we're not interuptin' anything?"

"What do you want?" Sanzo demanded, not at all impressed by the perfectly white teeth or what most would have considered a charming demeanor. Teeth could easily be knocked out, and a charming demeanor was usually a front. He wasn't being pessmistic, just practical.

"Well," the man drawled with an embarassed pink flushing his pale cheeks. The innocent act was very quickly wearing thin on his nerves. "I came to see how you're healer friend was doin'." He leaned over far enough to see Hakkai, now sitting up, from around Sanzo's shoulder. The wattage on that already bright smile turned up several notches as he continued to speak. Gods, any more and they'd all need to wear sunglasses around this guy. "It seems I've caused you to overstrain yourself. I do apologise for that, sir, that was awful perverse of me."

Bad choice of wording for their group, he thought dryly. Gojyo's snapped, "What?" told him Goku was indeed being predictable and trying to figure out how this man was perverse when the kappa was the perfect example of the word. Idiots. All of them, just... idiots.

Thankfully, Hakkai gave a light chuckle to ease the tension starting to mount between the two and replied, "I'm fine, thank you for inquiring. It usually doesn't take me very long to recover and... is there something wrong?"

Sanzo felt wide blue eyes on him and ignored them as best as he could. His patience was almost at an end with their unwelcomed, and uninvited, guests. The last thing he needed- wait, was the guy actually looking him up and down? Shit... He was being checked out now? Great, just fucking lovely... He finally managed to capture those blue eyes and glared hard back at them. Usually that worked very well to deter the perverts from even thinking about hitting on him. He could only hope it worked here. "What?" he asked coldly.

The man's smile returned with another embarassed little chuckle. "Just admirin' your clothes, sir. I was wonderin'... might you be a holy man, by chance? Those are priest robes ya got there, am I right? My goodness, what a fine exotic flare! Don't see much of this back home."

The hand reaching to touch the sutra draped over his shoulders was quickly slapped away. "Hands off!" Then tension level in the room shifted drastically. The big body guard at his back took a slight step forward, which prompted Goku to do the same behind him. Not that he needed the boy to protect him or anything.

That dazzling smile faded just a touch before returning, if possible, even brighter than before. "Why, I do apologize, sir, if I offended you. It's just everything in these parts are so very foreign, you see. It's not everyday a fella gets to meet an honest-to-God holy man! You are a holy man, correct?"

Gojyo and Goku snickered behind his back, earning them a glare tossed over his shoulder. That's right, keep giggling like school girls. It would only make the pain he'd undoubtedly inflict on them later that much sweeter. "I'm the one with questions, kiss-ass," he muttered, crossing his arms over his chest to keep himself restrained at the present.

"Yeah, like who the hell are you?" Gojyo asked, still with an edge of amusement to his tone.

"An' how'd you do that glowy, bring-'em-back-alive stuff? An' how big IS that guy behind ya anyway?" Goku piped up, dragging a chair around backward to sit in. The eagerness on his face was the same as if Hakkai told him he was making a feast for him and him alone. It was nauseating to say the least.

"Mercy! One at a time, if you please," the man laughed pleasantly. The big man's only movement, besides that one step, was to raise a brow slightly at the amount of enthusiasm in the room. Wow, he was a real pleasant one. Good conversationalist, too.

"Then answer the question I asked first; what do you want?" Sanzo cut in sharply. That bitingly cold power was moving through the room, not yet sharp enough that it was anything more than a slight chill to the skin but it had the potential to grow stronger. Right now, it felt more like it was searching the room's occupants. Searching for what though?

"That's an easy one," the man said, all traces of his laughter gone. The eyes which had glowed with a friendliness now shifted to a more serious, calculated look that was directed strictly at Sanzo. Sanzo met it and refused to look away or blink. At last he saw the true face behind the amiable mask. This man wasn't nearly as good at holding the facade in tact as Hakkai. The blue eyes were cold, shrewd and spoke of an intelligence that the lazy charm had initially hidden. This wasn't someone to fuck with. "Gat here and I are from the other side of the ocean. Well, the other side of the world, actually. We came over here to save these people from those rampagin' youkai." A little laugh and shrug of shoulders and that honesty was buried away again. "Simple as that, really."

"Well, good for you," Gojyo patronized mockingly. He flicked his hair over his shoulder and dug around in his back pocket for a lighter.

"It wouldn't do us any harm to learn from their example," Hakkai added with that quiet, chastizing voice he normally reserved for when the rest of them were being corrupt or particularly rude at the dinner table.

"Nah, I don't look good in superhero tights," the red head replied with a flippant little smirk.

"Can it," Sanzo snarled, tossing a glare at the others as the blue eyed man covered his chuckle with a gloved hand.

Goku edged his chair just a little closer, his tongue licking his lower lip as he hung on every sound the man made as if it were candy. "So, you guys are from far away, huh? What's it like? An' can everyone make dead people alive again where you're from?"

"Oh, heavens no!" the man replied. "I'm what you might call a unique sorta fella. And, besides, it's not exactly makin' 'em alive again. It's more like... a transfer. Yes, that about explains it right. It's a transfer."

"A transfer of what, may I ask?" Hakkai asked. His voice had gone quiet again, this time taking on that steely tone which meant he had an idea of the answer and didn't like it one bit.

"Of souls, a'course. I temporarily collect the souls of dead youkai and use 'em to revive people."

Goku's eyes got impossibly round as he suddenly lunged across the table. Sanzo had to jump back or risk having coffee slosh onto his robes as a flailing chicken leg knocked into his mug. "You little-,"

"How 'bout this drumstick? Can ya bring that back?" the boy demanded eagerly.

Gojyo clapped a hand on his shoulder, an amused smirk to his lips. "Leave it dead, Goku. you can't eat it if it's alive again."

Goku's jaw dropped slowly as he stared at the cooked piece of poultry in his fist. "Oh... that's right, I can't! Never mind, I like it dead better!" As if to prove how much he liked it, he took a bite that was quite a bit larger than necessary out of the side, making sounds of delight as he chewed and swallowed.

Sanzo quirked a brow and shook his head at his charge, deciding that the best approach right then was to ignore the little glutton. "What about youkai?" he asked as Gojyo began to complain about the kid hogging all the chicken to himself.

The man's smile slipped completely as he twisted his lips thoughtfully. After a moment of silence in which he seemed to ponder this simple question. he finally shrugged and returned to flashing that camera ready smile at him. "I'm afraid you've got me mighty confused there, mister. What about 'em?"

"Can you bring youkai back with human souls?" he amended, trying to decide if the man was playing dumb or was honestly confused by the inquiry.

The eyes opened up again, letting out that shrewdness he'd seen before as the lips thinned down into a tight, but still polite, smile. "Now then, Mr. Holy Man, why would I wanna do that? That just doesn't make sense."

The utter silence in all conversation and bickering at that quiet response was thick enough to coat the skin. The man's gaze flickered around the room, his stretched cheeks going just slightly more tense as he realized he'd put his foot right into a massive pile of dog shit. Letting out a heavy sigh that sounded as if he had resigned himself on some issue, he placed his hat on his head as a signal they would be leaving soon. "Well, we'll be stickin' around for a few days," he commented, his expression once again friendly and inviting. "Y'all are doin' the same, am I right? What with your healer bein' out of commission and all. Oh, and Mr. Holy Man, the name's Hazel. Hazel Grosse."

"Genjyo Sanzo."

"Take care now, Mr. Sanzo. I reckon we'll be seein' you fellas soon enough!" He waved airly over his shoulder as he led the way from their room, the big man shutting the door firmly behind them. Sanzo's eyes narrowed when he noticed that the body guard had both his arms again. Well, he couldn't say he was surprised. If the man could raise the dead, then he could most likely reattach an arm. Especially since that man seemed to be moving under Hazel's power anyway. He was fucking coated in that chill energy, almost like a second skin or a shell.

"WHOA! Hey, didja see that?" Goku yelped, nearly falling over in his chair.

"What?" Gojyo demanded, cocking a brow at the boy's open mouthed, gaping shock.

"The big guy had his arm back! But... But I saw it get chopped off!"

"Dude, you really are just a stupid little monkey, aren't you? The guy can bring dead people back. An arm's nothin' compared to that."

"Yeah, but... wow. That's just... wow."

Sanzo stared at the door a moment longer before shifting his weight to one side, pulling a cigarette free from it's packaging to stick between his lips. There was something very wrong about this. Whatever was going on, this man and those yellow eyed humans who'd attacked them yesterday afternoon were somehow connected. He could feel it in his gut. The man claimed to bring the dead to life again. He never stated what kind of condition those people were in when the returned. Restoring life to the dead disrupted the flow of nature. And nature always had a way of bitch slapping you back into place.

"Sanzo?" Hakkai's carefully quiet question made him glance over at the man, sitting with his hands clenched tightly around the wet cloth. He knew without asking Hakkai was on the same train of thought he was. What if those crazed humans were ones that this Hazel had restored? And, what did he do when there weren't enough dead youkai lying around?

So many new questions... and not a single answer to any of the ones he'd asked before those. Taking a deep drag and holding it briefly before slowly letting it stream from between his lips, Sanzo returned his gaze to the door. "So," he muttered. "They're from the west." Funny they should travel all this way east when they could have stopped the youkai threat much quicker, he mused dryly. He truly hoped he didn't have to see those disturbing blue eyes any time again soon. Somehow, he doubted he'd be that lucky. Unlike nature, fate tended to bitch slap without rhyme or reason. And, gods, was he getting sick of those slaps being directed at him.

----------

Meanwhile, not even ten feet from the door they'd just shut, Hazel led and Gat followed, as it should be. Gat usually had no problem with most anything Hazel decided to do. His goal was simple; protect Hazel Grosse. The deceptively frailer man's life was most precious to him, and was the reason he fought hard and followed when told. He knew not everything Hazel did was... well... of a humane nature. But, they were all people and people fell often on their journeys. It was what they did, whether to attack what had made them fall or to move on from it and learn, after they stood back up that really counted. And, Hazel's good far outweighed any bad that might occur from his actions.

Except... this time, it didn't feel like they were getting back up from a fall. This time, it felt more like they were going to be the ones doing the tripping. It was very unusual that Hazel would suddenly become... obssessed (for lack of a better word) with one person, so far so that when they'd heard a traveling monk and his three companions were in an area they'd simply left a group of newly ressurected humans behind in the forest unattended. Normally, they would have delivered the people to a nearby town, but Hazel had said they were to leave, and so Gat had followed him.

"Well, that was a little more pleasant than I was expectin'," Hazel said in a quiet murmur. "Wouldn't you agree, Gat? That little guy certainly seems to have taken a fancy to you! You know, I heard a rumor not too far back that those boys lived an...ah... alternate style of livin'. Watch yourself around them, Gat. We don't want any of that kinda trouble now."

Gat shifted a little, glad that his skin was dark enough to hide the faint blush Hazel's words stirred up. He knew the man was just teasing him a little, trying to ease some of the tension he obviously picked up on, but it didn't do much good. "Hazel?" he asked, carefully keeping his much deeper voice down.

"Hm?"

"Those three... I don't think they're bad men," he continued. He knew it wasn't what Hazel wanted to hear, but his conscience wouldn't rest until he'd stated his position on the issue. So long as fate and whatever God or gods existed heard that he wasn't completely on board with this, he was fine. He would do it because Hazel was so zealous in regards to the four travelers, but he wouldn't like it. Perhaps if Hazel listened to him, he would change his mind just this once. Gat almost never argued with him. Surely that would say something if he was choosing to do so now. "They weren't with the ones going bers-,"

A fist whipped around and hit his chest as Hazel stopped dead in his tracks. Ice snapped down his spine as cold, blue eyes glanced up at him from under the wide brim of a hat. The hit itself hadn't even phased him, but the simmering anger and edge of demand in those eyes was like a kick to the ribs. The little smile still curved his lips, though it did nothing to hide the threat he was promising. "You're not to argue with me, Gat. Am I bein' quite clear on that? You're only concern is protectin' me."

"Yes. I understand," he replied automatically.

Hazel must have seen he wasn't completely on board with the plan yet because his eyes narrowed suspiciously before he continued in a firmer, more resolute tone, "It doesn't matter what they're like. You can dress 'em in duck feathers, but that doesn't make 'em a duck. A youkai is a youkai, no changin' that."

Gat met that stare levelly, certain that his was completely blank and unreadable. Out of the two of them, he had far more practice at schooling his expressions. Even when he tried, Hazel was still very readable, and right now he was obviously moving on to the next step in their little game.

"Now," the smaller man almost purred, his drawling accent making the one word extend longer than it normally would have. It was like listening to music every time Hazel Grosse spoke, Gat thought idly. "Let's see what those gentlemen can really do." A soft click signaled him snapping his fingers before he began walking down the stairs, pausing on the second step to glance at Gat from under his hat. "Come on now, Gat. We don't really want to be hangin' around here for the show."

Gat hesitated, looking back down the hall at the door. Letting out a breath (not a sigh, he never sighed), he followed as he should and hoped for a change that the game didn't go as planned. Some people deserved what was coming to them. Others received it without any clear logic and accepted it. He was afraid these four were the type to mail that fate back to it's sender, and with a little extra thrown in. It was that little extra that had him feel something he hadn't felt in a number of years; fear. Whatever those guys had, it made him fear not for himself but for the man he would always protect. Deep in his gut, he knew this wasn't a very good idea.

But his only purpose now was to follow and protect, and that was what he would do to the very end.

----------

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Good googamooga! Sorry about the overly long delay in posting, everyone. I've been insanely busy with Halloween preparations and such. Anyway, these two chapters were originally supposed to be one loooong assed chapter, but fan fiction wouldn't allow it to be posted. So, you get two chapters for the price of one. Please be warned that with the holidays and all the updates will not be as steady as they were. After the New Year... they should be back to normal.

Also, it's been brought to my attention that there are a few not-so-nice comments being spread about on Live Journal in regards to this story. I'm aware of them already, and have read them. All I can say is thank you to everyone who has read it and liked/disliked the story. It's a completely cracked pairing, I know, but I do feel I've done a reasonable job of keeping everyone in line. The fact that you read it at all means I've done something right, even if you hated it with an undying passion. If anyone thinks they can do a better job of things, please feel free to try and let me know when it's posted so I can see what you've done. Nothing would thrill me more than to read another writer's take on this very unconventional pairing.

Finally, a marvelous thank you to Moons-Wing for the terrific fanart she's been creating for some of my other stories. I love them, and thank you so very much for them. Also, I guess I should have mentioned this before, but if you're not familiar with the recent mangas/anime, then this is probably a spoiler for you. The only reason I didn't classify it as that before is because I figure the subject matter is already available for public use and therefore is not spoiling anything. Sorry if I was incorrect.