A/N: First of all, a huge thanks to my beta, Shin-no-nekochan, since I forgot to credit her in the prologue. I always appreciate all the help, even if I whine about having to fix so many things. Also thanks to all the people who have reviewed so far! I'm so glad to see that people like it already and I hope it will continue to get even better.

Special Notice: I think I've figured out that our kappa likes water. Really likes it. First the onsen and now this.

Chapter 1: Mask

It turned out that Doku had been right after all. Gojyo returned to the room he was sharing with Sanzo only to discover the priest dressed in only his black shirt and jeans, leaning against the window frame, staring out at the main street of the town and holding a cigarette. He seemed lost in thought when Gojyo closed the door, not even reacting to the sound.

The redhead approached the window, for once managing to keep himself from embracing the blond. "Waiting up for me, beautiful?" He placed himself right behind Sanzo and reached around him to stub out his own cigarette in the ashtray on the windowsill. He brushed up against the other man's arm, taking notice of the way the priest shuddered at the touch. It was amusing to Gojyo sometimes, having a lover with such sensitive skin.

Sanzo took a long drag and put his out as well.

Gojyo had been contemplating lighting up again, but realized that Sanzo was hesitating on purpose. 'Seems like every time he's gonna say something important to say 'bout these kinda things, he's always gotta deliberate on it for an eternity.' Gojyo, on the other hand, would rather be upfront about anything that was bothering him. 'But I guess Sanzo works in mysterious ways.'

Finally, the blond turned around and faced him, arms crossed over his chest. "I think we need to talk about something."

'Uh-oh, "we need to talk,"' Gojyo thought with a hint of worry. It was such a cliché line, but Sanzo didn't joke around. He briefly ran over the events of the past twenty-four hours in his head, trying to figure out what he might have done wrong this time.

Sanzo stared down at the floor. "What the hell are we doing, Gojyo?"

The kappa blinked. "Talking, like you said-" He was stopped by a frustrated sigh.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, dumbass. I want to know why we're doing this – this relationship." The word was uttered with barely concealed loathing. "It's been who-knows how long already and you've been taking it extremely seriously."

' "Extremely" sucks,' Gojyo mused internally. 'We really oughta get a new word.' (1) When he realized Sanzo was expecting an answer, he coughed. "Two months, three days. That's how long, just so you know."

At the glare he received, Gojyo knew that wasn't the answer Sanzo wanted. "Fine, fine," he started, waving his hands in the priest's general direction. "I guess we'll have our little relationship counseling. You want me to get Hakkai?"

"We don't need to involve anyone else in this. I want to hear it from you directly."

Red eyes flashed indignantly. "What I don't get is what you want me to say - other than that I love you. I mean, what other reason is there to have a relationship? You're thinking about it too hard."

As Sanzo looked back over his shoulder, Gojyo could see that he was a bit surprised. "It's usually an excuse, right?" he said incredulously. "Saying 'I love you' is just a way to justify sex."

'Boy, he can be so dense sometimes.' Gojyo dared not voice that out loud. "Seriously, haven't we gone over this a million times before? Why do you keep questioning me?"

The priest shifted from one foot to the other, eyes fixated on a spot on the floor near Gojyo's feet. "Not saying it's bad… If it's purely sexual, that's fine. I don't need a pretense. I'd just like to know, that's all." 'Why did I bring this up? He'll be all over me. I should've just pretended to be asleep.

'But when Gojyo went off into that… whatever-it-was a few hours ago, about how he loved me, I couldn't stop thinking about it. Damn it, he's probably infected me with his stupid.' Momentarily ignoring Gojyo to sort out what was going on in his head, Sanzo continued to stare at the ground, violet eyes unnaturally vibrant. He licked his suddenly dry lips, not really knowing where he wanted to take the conversation.

"Only sexual?" Gojyo scoffed, digging into his pockets for another cigarette. He could already tell this would take a while. 'At least he looks adorable when he's uncertain like this.' He decided to let out a small laugh to lighten the mood. "Oh, don't you only wish. I've said it lots of times before an' I'll keep sayin' it; I love you and I won't give up on you, no matter how stubborn you continue to be."

"…" Sanzo chose not to reply, a whole surge of conflicting options running though his head. Closing his eyes, he heard the redhead's voice echoing in his head: 'I love you so much. So much…' It was frustrating the blond beyond belief how much a simple phrase like that was messing with him.

When Sanzo opened his eyes, Gojyo had lit up and taken a seat on the bed. Their bed. The one they'd shared that evening already, where Gojyo had kissed and touched and held him. The bed where he'd cried out in pure bliss, not caring if he meant anything to the other man, just grateful to be desired like that. Like all the times when they'd spent the night together, he'd been so relieved to let down his guard for those few fleeting minutes… The only drawback tonight had been the doubts that overwhelmed him once the redhead had left. He remained where he stood, waiting to see if Gojyo would continue. Sanzo wondered if maybe he'd let him forget it'd ever been brought up.

'Gojyo? Letting something go? Not likely.'

"Actually," the kappa began again, making Sanzo moan inwardly. "I should be the one talkin' to you about relationships, if anythin'." He paused to inhale and upon seeing the smoke dissipate in the air after he exhaled, Sanzo wanted another cigarette, too.

"I never know what you're thinkin', what you want, how you want it." Gojyo chuckled to himself again. "Seriously, you're as hard to read as a woman."

Sanzo bristled. 'He did not just call me a woman.' "What?" The word came out as a snarl.

The crimson eyes showed no fear. 'He can yell at me all he wants, but those tactics are best reserved for someone like Goku. I'm never intimidated by his warnings and death threats. Guess you could say it's a unique quality that makes me difficult to push away.'

"It's been over two months since I kissed you for the first time…"

Sanzo fought to keep the image from coming back. He'd been a fool then, to let the erogappa hold him so gently and make him weak. He was still a fool, even now; nothing had changed.

Gojyo didn't notice the internal struggle going on behind the purple eyes. "In that two months or so, you've never once told me that you loved me." He gestured a bit with the remainder of the cigarette, tracing the air with smoke circles. "Now, I personally don't need reassurance every five seconds, y'know, but it's nice to hear it every once in a while."

Sanzo found his voice once more. "But… it's really unnecessary." 'Of course it is. If you say something that much, it loses meaning. He's probably said 'I love you' to every person he's ever shared a bed with.'

"Says you." Gojyo's voice brought Sanzo back to the present yet again. "I like telling the person I'm with that they mean something to me. Physical touch, verbal expressions –" He grinned up at his lover, once again trying to reassure the blond. "Ya gotta learn it sometime. Why would it be unnecessary?"

In Gojyo's mind, there was no logical argument to this. Even if it was only a one-night stand, he'd always tried to make the other person feel special and cared for. As much as he loved sex – which was a lot, anyone could attest to it – just hugging your lover, holding their hand, whispering endearments, and so many other things made life all the better. To not enjoy such things was an incredibly foreign idea to him.

In Sanzo's mind, there was a perfectly logical argument for this. Words were not to be thrown around lightly, in his opinion, which was why he always deliberated over what he was going to say before he even opened his mouth. The wrong words were an easy way to commit yourself to something undesirable, a bad situation with no escape.

'But is this such a bad situation?' another part of Sanzo's mind inquired. It instantly sent him images- memories of nights spent together with Gojyo. Pleasurable touches and thrilling whispers haunted him; he had to push them away with force to be able to think at all.

Love was a very unnatural concept for Sanzo and he preferred to be an expert on any subject he discussed. However, this was, to him, more akin to walking into a minefield blindfolded. Thus, his words eventually came out harsh and awkward.

"If you're with someone," he began, "then the feeling should already be understood. Saying it aloud makes it trite… It sounds so insincere." Sanzo immediately regretted his choice of words when he saw the hurt expression on Gojyo's face. 'Great, he's gonna take it personally.'

The concerned look he'd been sporting and the laughter he'd been using to try and lighten the mood until now disappeared with a snort. "Excuse me for being trite, then," the redhead said, voice dripping with sarcasm. "I can't believe this. I tell you that everyday, but you act like even saying it at all will kill you. Loving someone doesn't make you any less of a man."

"This is stupid." Sanzo wanted to escape, but he had nowhere to go. He had a feeling the other two were expecting them to be sharing a room from now on and it wasn't like Sanzo had lost enough of his dignity to go knocking on Hakkai and Goku's door begging for a place to stay. "Why is this even an issue?"

"Look," Gojyo attempted to reason, "You were the one who wanted to talk. So, let's talk." He propped himself up on the bed by his hands, having disposed of the cigarette. He leaned back and waited.

'I hate it when he calls me out like this… not like I don't do the same to him.' Sanzo mused over that. 'I guess maybe we're good for each other in that way—dammit, no! It's all the kappa's fault that my thoughts are screwed up like this.'

He chose once again not to answer. Silence was usually most helpful in bad turnouts like this one. Most of the time, whoever Sanzo had been arguing with got tired of his silent treatment and conceded.

Gojyo was not one of those people.

"I could give you a million reasons why I love you," he began as his vision focused on the ceiling. His tone came out somewhat melancholy. "But it wouldn't matter. I could make love to you right here, right now, but it wouldn't matter. For whatever reason, you won't believe me. I'll still stick with you all the way, but I thought you would at least accept it at some point."

"Just… stop." Sanzo felt sick- sick and lonely and angry with himself. What he found strangest was that mixed in with that sorry mess of emotions was his recently discovered – and now extremely demanding – sexuality, the effects of which were drawing on two months' worth of memories and murmuring suggestions about what to do with Gojyo just leaning on that bed like that.

"You're the one who brought it up and now you wanna drop it," Gojyo stated plainly, looking up as Sanzo walked over to the bed, leaning overtop of him. "What? You gonna keep starin' at me?"

'I'm weak,' the priest thought as he climbed into Gojyo's lap. The redhead made a noise of surprise, but Sanzo stopped him with a kiss. 'Tenkai help me, but I want him.'

Long arms wrapped around him, pulling Sanzo closer. Their mouths felt magnetically drawn to each other and they met again and again. 'I want him. I want to accept it. Why doesn't he just know? I know.'

Gojyo knew Sanzo was only distracting him from finishing the conversation. For the time being, though, he didn't mind.

-+-

Upon his return to Houtou Castle the following morning, Dokugakuji noticed something was a bit off. Even if he didn't know most of their names, he recognized a majority of the guards and staff, but none of them looked familiar right now. Servants were talking in hushed whispers and scattered upon seeing him. He decided not to concern himself with it and continued looking for Kougaiji.

Doku found him about where he was expecting. Pushing open the door to Rasetsunyo's chambers for a quick glance, he was relieved to see his prince standing before the marble wall that his mother had been sealed in. Kougaiji stared at her with purpose, a silent promise emanating from his eyes and leaving Doku in awe of how purely regal the other man was, without even trying. He was every inch a noble, more so than Gyuumaoh's concubine could ever hope to be.

"Ah, Dokugaku, you've returned," Yaone spoke from behind him, making him jump. He looked back and saw the female youkai standing there, Lirin in tow. "I was just going to check on Kougaiji-sama myself. He's been down here for a while now."

"Oniichan went in there a few hours after you left and he's been in there forever," Lirin emphasized, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her foot a little. When both Yaone and Doku looked at her, the princess felt a little sheepish. "Sorry, I know that Oniichan doesn't get to see his mom a lot. We should wait for him."

"No need." All three looked up to see Kougaiji striding across the room to the entrance, meeting up with them. "Thanks for your concern anyway." He ruffled Lirin's hair affectionate and she giggled.

Doku smirked. 'Gojyo doesn't know what he's saying. Just because you acknowledge a guy's a good leader… and compassionate… and handsome… doesn't mean… Wait, what?' He blinked a few times and shook his head. 'Damn him for putting those ideas in my mind!'

Kougaiji looked at him oddly for a moment before clearing his throat and addressing the group. "I think it's time we planned another attack on the Sanzo-Ikkou. That Gyokumen Koushu," he said, not bothering to hide the distaste in his tone, "is becoming more demanding about collecting the scriptures. She's not satisfied that we only have two of the five and wants us to go after the Maten-kyo again."

"Always what that witch wants," Doku replied dismissively. "If she wants her damn sutras so bad, why doesn't she go out and get them herself?"

"It's fine, Dokugaku," Kougaiji said. He looked down at Lirin and then back at his mother once more. "The sooner I finish that task, the sooner Mother is free. Then, we don't have to worry about that sorry group of travelers any more." With that, he walked past Yaone out the door, the ends of his long hair blowing upward in the breeze his movements caused.

"Wai! We're gonna go see Baldy Sanzo!" Lirin threw her arms in the air and rushed after her older brother, leaving Doku and Yaone alone in the room.

"How was--" Yaone began, but Doku cut her off, stepping into the doorway.

"I had a nice talk with the brat, if that's what you mean. Nothing else to it. Oh," he added, turning back to look at her fully. "Your 'friend' says hi."

"My what?" Yaone looked confused.

Doku sighed, but offered her a smile. "Your man in the green you've been talking to lately. He 'sends his regards' or somethin' fancy like that." He then winked, trying not to laugh at the deep blush spreading across the girl's cheeks.

Doku thought that Gojyo was way off base if he picked his own brother as the one falling in love. 'There's definitely something else going on here… whether those two healers ever admit it or not.'

-+-

"Nngh…" Gojyo moaned as he felt the sunlight poke through the curtains and hit his eyes. Even with them closed, he could see the brightness. He rolled from his back to his left side, away from the window, and curled up against the warmth in bed next to him.

'Oh, right, Sanzo…' The redhead sighed contentedly and wrapped his arms around his lover, burying them both in the blankets and pulling Sanzo back to spoon against him. The priest muttered something in his sleep and pushed back against Gojyo, skin touching skin in a comforting way to the redhead.

Gojyo contented himself with closing his eyes and pressing his nose to Sanzo's hair, inhaling the soft natural scent that never failed to put him at ease. They hadn't had sex anymore that night, but sometimes there were better ways to be satisfied. They'd curled up in bed together, Gojyo kissing Sanzo breathless, until they pulled apart, too exhausted to do anything else but get changed and call it a night.

He looked at the sleeping blond in his embrace, once again marveling at how different Sanzo looked while asleep. Gojyo wanted to see that peaceful expression sometime when the guy was actually awake. The kappa ran his fingertips down Sanzo's side, curving over his hip and then on to his right thigh. In return, he got a tired moan and brilliant amethyst eyes slowly opened.

'Heh, he's so cute when he's sleepy.'

"Gojyo?" Sanzo's throat sounded dry and the priest coughed a few times. "What's—"

Gojyo nipped a bit at Sanzo's neck, sending chills through the blond. The kappa was affected as well – the fact that he hadn't had sex last time hit him hard, making a relatively normal act a turn-on. "Time to get up. Think you said something about getting on the road 'as early as possible,' which in Sanzo-speak is generally the crack of dawn, right?"

"Mmph…" Sanzo pulled the covers around his neck, settling down in the warmth of the mattress and Gojyo's arms. "Five more minutes." He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the fact that he could feel Gojyo's arousal pressing against his lower back, even through the jeans the priest had been sleeping in. 'Damn kappa just had to sleep naked last night, didn't he?'

The redhead was now propping himself up a little bit, leaning forward to touch Sanzo's earlobe with his tongue. "I know you're Mr. Low-Blood-Pressure and all in the morning, but come on. We're up early enough to have a little fun," Gojyo whispered suggestively, hands resting on Sanzo's stomach while he continued to give the priest's ear his full attention.

Despite his best efforts, Sanzo let out a groan. Suddenly, the normally comfortable jeans were getting tighter. One of the kappa's hands drifted dangerously close and backed away at the last second, frustrating Sanzo unexpectedly. "Fine," he murmured back, now realizing his lover's hands were toying with the waistband of the pants.

At that moment, Gojyo sat up, throwing back the covers and planting his feet on the floor. Sanzo blinked and looked at him questioningly, but the redhead just smirked and stood up, making his way to the bathroom.

Noticing the emptiness of the bed and his sex drive sufficiently provoked, Sanzo didn't wait too long to force himself out of bed and follow.

Once he entered the bathroom, Sanzo saw the shower was turned on and that the redhead was in it. Gojyo was naked, like he'd been in bed, but upon seeing the deep red hair already soaked and water streaming down the kappa's chest and stomach, the priest stopped dead. He took in the nude form in front of him, lean and muscled and on display only for his eyes.

'Holy shit,' Sanzo thought, but he was barely able to focus on anything other than Gojyo, due to the lust that was surging through his lower body.

Gojyo leered right back, thrilled to see the way Sanzo was reacting to him. "How 'bout you lose those jeans and get in here?"

Sanzo did so immediately and then they were both in the shower, waiting for the water to get a little warmer. It didn't take too long and Gojyo pressed Sanzo up against the wall of the shower as a light mist fell over them.

Gojyo's actions were surprisingly harmless to Sanzo: slow, lingering kisses in addition to the wonderful feel of rubbing up against each other in an equally slow manner. Gojyo's hands were in their usual spot – Sanzo's hips – and the priest had wrapped his left arm around the kappa's waist and his right hand was resting on Gojyo's left cheek, only lightly brushing the scars.

"Mmm…" Gojyo breathed, planting a kiss on Sanzo's forehead, right on the chakra. "You do not have any right to be this sexy; it's just not fair. I couldn't resist you if I tried."

The blond only moved his hand to the back of Gojyo's head in response. Sanzo could never fully explain it, even to himself, but he could never get enough of those fiery red strands, continually marveling at the color sliding through his fingers. He'd always thought secretly that it looked like wine, especially when it was wet. He shuddered as Gojyo's hands slid further down on his hips, around to cup him and pull him closer.

There was another slow kiss, deep and erotic and breathtaking. Sanzo's heart was thundering in his chest and a voice in his head was daring him to do something, go further.

His left hand dropped from the kappa's waist, lower until he was gripping Gojyo. The redhead gasped at the touch, but allowed it, moaning as Sanzo began to stroke him. The blond was using all the movements he remembered Gojyo using on him and they seemed to be working. Gojyo rocked into his hand uncontrollably, words of encouragement uttered between kisses.

Sanzo didn't want to let go. His other hand was still in Gojyo's hair, keeping the other man's body close to him. His own arousal continued to demand attention, but for once, the priest was unconcerned about his own pleasure. He kept looking into crimson eyes darkened with lust and felt a thrill of power at being able to make the kappa look at him that way – to make Gojyo need him.

Sanzo's left hand kept working and Gojyo's moans were turning to cries when, all of a sudden, the blond pulled back. The redhead looked dazed at the lack of touch, but understood when Sanzo started to turn around, eyes silently telling him what to do.

Gojyo felt like he was going to burst. First, with Sanzo driving him nuts just being and, now, with his unusual forwardness, he didn't think things could get any better. "Sanzo…" he whispered in awe, helping the blond spread his legs and preparing him.

"Just… do it." Sanzo gasped when the kappa inserted a finger. Sanzo then began pushing himself back on it as he placed his palms on the wall of the shower.

It only took a minute or so before Gojyo was inside, groaning in relief at the contact. Sanzo continued to push back impatiently and it didn't take long before they were moving faster.

The sex itself was a blur for Gojyo, just a heat wave of pleasure and his vision filled with golden hair. He whispered it over and over again: "I love you." He emphasized it as much as he possibly could, not caring about the argument or Sanzo's stubbornness or anything but the here and now. "Sanzo… I… Ah!"

An intense wave of pleasure made his entire body shudder and when Gojyo regained control over himself, he felt Sanzo release and heard him let out a fulfilled sigh. They remained together a little bit longer before Gojyo slid away, turning up the heat of the water still raining down on them.

"Should we get ourselves cleaned up now?" he asked, gently kissing the blond on the nose. Sanzo closed his eyes and leaned towards him, resting against his chest contentedly. "Guess that's a yes," Gojyo decided with a soft laugh, wrapping Sanzo in his arms.

He was never going to let go. Ever.

-+-

"Goku… Goku, it's time to wake up." A gentle voice reached the boy's ears, followed by a soft "kyuu!" of agreement.

Golden eyes opened and then immediately squeezed shut at the bright sunlight streaming through the window. 'Bright… Like when Sanzo found me…'(2) Goku jerked up with that thought, conscious in a mere instant.

Hakkai was standing over Goku's bed, fully dressed with Hakuryu perched on his left shoulder. "If you don't hurry, they'll serve breakfast without you."

'Breakfast' was the magic word. Goku bolted for the bathroom immediately, making the healer chuckle, 'If there's one way to get Goku moving in the morning, it's the promise of food.'

He set to work making the boy's bed while Goku took his shower. Hakkai was well aware the inn staff normally did such things, but he always preferred to leave things in the condition he'd found them.

Hakuryu had fluttered over to the other bed and began cleaning himself in the meantime. The little dragon had been so exhausted that evening that he'd slept like a rock in bed next to his favorite person.

Hakkai always found the deep sighs quite cute.

Their room's shower turned off with a squeak and Hakkai listened, still hearing running water next door. It had been on for about half an hour now and, along with a few other suspicious sounds, he figured Gojyo and Sanzo wouldn't be ready for a while yet.

'I wonder what time Gojyo got in last night,' he wondered, pulling his bag up on his own bed and gathering his things. Hakuryu watched intently. 'I'll have to ask him later what Dokugakuji-san wanted. Perhaps something's going to happen soon.'

Hakkai frowned at that thought, still standing in front of the bed. Even though the Ikkou and Kougaiji's group were technically enemies, it wouldn't be that unusual for one team to warn the other if they had something to look out for. Another plausible explanation could be that the prince and his friends were in trouble again. There seemed to be quite a bit of infighting on Gyuumaoh's side.

Hakkai shook the thoughts from his head before they turned to something else. He'd felt a little foolish after speaking to Dokugakuji, wondering if perhaps he'd gone too far in his 'friendly message.' 'No,' he reassured himself, 'there's nothing wrong with saying hello to someone or wishing them well. No one would have any reason to read into it.'

The thought hadn't been helping his sleep or the nightmares he'd had last night, though; voices accusing him of betrayal, Kanan crying, memories of thunder and lightning and hopelessness in that godforsaken castle. 'I can't believe I'm thinking of those things at a time like this…'

Goku emerged from the bathroom, hair dripping but still retaining its unusual spikiness. "Huh?" he mumbled, going over to the bed and waving his hand in front of Hakkai's face. The other man had frozen, holding a shirt in his hands and staring off at the wall. "You okay, Hakkai?"

"What?" Emerald eyes lost their glassy appearance and Hakkai focused on the tarnished gold of Goku's diadem. He couldn't lie looking the boy in the face. "Oh, I'm sorry, Goku. I was just off in my own world, that's all."

"Do they serve breakfast in that world?" Goku inquired. "Cuz if not, we gotta get downstairs."

The absurdity of it all caused Hakkai to laugh softly. "I suppose you're right."

Downstairs, Hakkai went ahead and ordered a few small items to tide Goku over while they waited for the other two. In addition, he requested some green tea for himself and was waiting on it to steep when he heard footsteps on the stairs.

Gojyo plopped down in a chair next to Hakkai and across from Goku, digging out a cigarette. He flagged down a waitress for some coffee before acknowledging the other Ikkou members at the table. "Mornin'."

"Good morning, Gojyo," Hakkai replied, adding a few more leaves to the hot water. "Did you have a pleasant sleep?" He didn't even have to turn to see the leer on his best friend's face.

Gojyo was almost glowing with pride. "Good sleep, good wake-up call… Guess I'm havin' a pretty awesome day so far." Gojyo mumbled a 'thank you' as the waitress arrived with his coffee. "Sanzo's still up there, doin' his hair or some shit. He said it was okay to start without him."

Seeing Goku's eyes light up, Hakkai decided it was best to find their waitress again. They were just being formally served when Sanzo descended the staircase, blurry eyes focusing intently on the coffeepot that had been left on their table.

"Welcome, Sleeping Beauty," Gojyo teased, handing his lighter diagonally across the table. Sanzo accepted it silently and proceeded to light up after pouring himself a cup. He took the bowl of rice lying in the center and put a small portion of it on his plate.

Hakkai gave a soft 'hmm' of approval. 'I don't know how Gojyo's doing it, but there's certainly no harm in Sanzo eating more.' His attention was caught momentarily as he heard a soft kyuu-ing in his ear. Hakuryu was looking down with anticipation at some of the meat on Hakkai's plate. He fed a few pieces to the dragon, nearly losing a finger in the process. 'He must've been hungrier than I thought.'

Goku finished before anyone else, not surprisingly, even after consuming about twice as much as the rest of the group. He sat back, not begging the others for their leftovers for once and Hakkai saw his eyes darting back and forth between Sanzo and Gojyo, curious.

It was at times like this that Hakkai almost forgot that Goku wasn't supposed to 'know' what was going on. Even if the boy hadn't figured it out by now, the other two were almost acting like it didn't matter anymore. Gojyo openly flirted with Sanzo on a daily basis and Sanzo wasn't being as harsh with him as normal. They still bantered and tossed around insults, but the air between them was decidedly more casual. Hakkai almost wondered if Gojyo had forgotten Goku 'didn't know.' Sanzo had looked worried at first, but that look had passed by the next day.

Sanzo was next to finish. After about three cups of coffee, he looked more focused. "Let's pack up and get out of here. The next town is about ten hours away and I'd like to get there before the sun sets."

"Ten hours?" Gojyo moaned, stretching in his seat. "My ass hurts just thinkin' 'bout sittin' in Jeep that long."

"If it hurts to sit, you're welcome to walk the rest of the way," Sanzo replied. A hint of a smirk appeared on his face and Hakkai knew it was an opening to more teasing.

"How thoughtful of you, kusobouzu. If you didn't have such a pretty face-"

Goku coughed all of a sudden. Gojyo and Sanzo glanced at him, at the moment realizing where they were. Sanzo then looked away awkwardly and Gojyo lit another cigarette in silence.

"Well, at any rate," Hakkai cut in, pushing back from the table and standing up. "I'll go get our things from the room and get Hakuryu prepared outside."

"Kyuu!" the dragon agreed, curving his long neck down Hakkai's chest and pulling back his wings. The brunet then walked off, not even bothering to hide his amused smile. 'Love banter is a good source of entertainment, indeed.'

-+-

Seiran may have been an elite youkai spy, but he rather hated fraternizing with the common soldiers. He had blended in easily as a private, but that didn't make it any easier to stand the youkai around him. To him, they were coarse, rude things that tended to only have food, booze, and sex on their minds. Still, in his mind, it was preferable in a dozen ways over having to spending more time with that human scientist.

'Just what is he planning anyway?' Seiran asked himself, thinking of the strange man. That smirk held something the spy couldn't place. The scientist displayed a rather childish attitude, but there was something empty and calculating behind it. Seiran made a mental note to himself to set a small trap around the lab once he returned and cause the human to have a minor 'accident.'

The only credit that Seiran could give the man was that he had his priorities straight at the moment. He considered that factor much unlike the youkai prince he officially served. 'He's an excellent fighter, but he has no training in espionage and thus doesn't know the best way to go about the problem. Kougaiji-sama takes things too personally and gets too involved in fieldwork. As the crown prince, he's making a big mistake. He should let trained youkai like me handle it… After all, what would we do if something happened to his father and he needed to ascend the throne?'

'It matters not,' Seiran decided, trying not to recoil when a tall, filthy youkai walked past him, nearly knocking him down when their shoulders hit. 'As long as I return to Kougaiji-sama with the sutra, the method won't be important. Besides, if I make Genjyo Sanzo hand it over to me personally, that will be all the better—infinitely easier than trying to kill him or having to risk my own life.

'Risking the life of his precious hanyou, however, is something I'd feel no guilt in doing.' Seiran fought to keep a straight face as a few youkai officers walked by. They'd been staked out here for a few days now by the time he'd joined them. The army had followed the path the Sanzo-Ikkou had been taking and was preparing to ambush them a few hours outside of their latest stop.

The spy felt a presence behind him and turned back to see three or four other troops standing there, staring straight at him. Seiran suddenly felt self-conscious. 'Hmm, they probably see how upper class I look. These thuggish-looking ones would probably not take too kindly to my presence,' he noted.

"Haven't seen you here before," a lanky green-skinned youkai called out. Seiran figured him to have a reptilian background of some kind, based on that long tongue that kept darting out. "Are you sure you're in the right place? This is a battlefield, not a social club."

A lilac-skinned youkai standing next to him nodded in agreement, taking a few steps towards him and breaching Seiran's personal space. The spy stiffened as the other youkai leaned closer, reaching out a hand to try and grasp his hair. "You seem like you got a bit of an attitude, buddy. That's not gonna fly around here."

Seiran's eyes narrowed. "Get away from me, you disgusting—"

He was cut off as an officer rode past on his horse. "Enough talk. The advance scout just reported seeing the Sanzo-Ikkou's vehicle a few hundred yards away. Be ready." He didn't bother to stop the soldiers harassing Seiran because there were more important things on his mind at the moment.

At this announcement, some of the other men around Seiran prepared. A few summoned weapons, one or two were practicing element manipulation, but a majority were just flexing their claws and testing them on nearby trees.

Seiran almost couldn't believe it. 'Don't they know they'll all be slaughtered?' He'd seen so many of the Ikkou's battles in the period he'd spied on them that he had almost no faith in stopping them with conventional fighting methods.

"What's your skill, newbie?" the green youkai from before asked, unsheathing his sword and letting the sunlight glint off the blade. He was obviously showing off.

Seiran moved a few feet away, anything to get the two to stop breathing on him. "I… know a bit of geokinesis. Nothing special." 'A lie, but it's unimportant as long as they lose sight of me.'

"Guess we know why you got assigned to us," the purple one started to say, but suddenly a hush fell over the soldiers.

Seiran strained his eyes, but saw something green and blurry quickly approaching the forest where the army was stationed. "They're here…" he whispered to himself, now able to make out the four passengers in their vehicle.

His vision first focused on the sutra lying about the priest's shoulders, the flowing script meaningless from so far away, but forced his eyes to the half-breed sitting right behind the driver. 'You're my target, you revolting creature.'

-To Be Continued-

(1.) "We need a new word." In the manga (and to a lesser extent in the anime), Gojyo and Sanzo have conversations about adverbs to use to describe things. "Excessively" and "abrasively" are just two former examples.

(2.) Frequently, Goku will wake up with flashes of being rescued from the cave. It usually serves to snap him awake very quickly.