A/N: Thank you to everyone for your reviews! I am having some problem where FFN won't send updates and replies to my e-mail, so if you've sent me anything through here, I haven't been able to receive it. Also, please note that real life is calling me away in the form of 3 papers and 2 midterms, so unfortunately, I probably won't be able to update for a couple weeks. (bowing profusely) I'm sorry!

Chapter 2: Explosion

-2 Hours Earlier-

Hakkai's things were neatly stacked by the door and all that was left was a last minute check of the room to see if anything had been left behind. He looked over to the other bed to see how Goku was doing.

Goku had just been innocently packing up the last of his things. He zipped the bag up with a 'hmmph' of satisfaction when his head began pounding. The feeling was so sudden and unexpected that he nearly fell over from the intensity of the pain. His chest tightened and he realized what was going on.

Sanzo was beyond pissed.

Goku wasn't even in the same room and yet the headache was building up so fast, tears were stinging his eyes. Sharing an emotional connection with someone wasn't the best thing at times.

Even if the boy hadn't been able to feel his guardian's emotions, a few seconds later, furious shouting began on the other side of the wall. Both Sanzo and Gojyo's voices were raised, screaming at each other. Goku couldn't make out the words, but the ringing in his head told him what was going on.

Hakkai paused on his bed, where he had been tying his shoe. Hakuryu looked towards the wall, flattening his ears against his head. The shouting continued as the other three concentrated on what was being said.

"Seriously, what the fuck, Sanzo?! Where do you get off saying that?"

"Don't you dare start that with me, you piece of shit! I've had it with you!"

There was another ache in his chest. Goku winced. Something Gojyo had said or done had wounded Sanzo. Now, he was attempting to lash back.

Sitting up straight, Hakkai listened to what sounded like another typical argument for them. He hoped this one fizzled out as quickly as they normally did.

However, Gojyo kept going. "If you have a problem with me, tell it to my face instead of acting like a whiny little bitch, or do you even know how to do anything besides that?"

"If you don't shut your fucking mouth…"

"Oh, what? You'll shut it for me? Real original."

Sanzo replied with something too quiet for Hakkai and Goku to hear, but Gojyo's response confirmed that it had not been good.

"What did you just say, asshole? Don't tell the carpet, look me in the eye and say what you just. Fucking. Said."

Goku gripped his head right around the diadem. It felt way too tight. Sanzo was aching inside and the boy had no idea what was causing this. Sanzo and Gojyo fought all the time, but it never felt this bad and they usually got over whatever it was. This time looked to be different.

Noticing Goku's strange reaction to the fight, Hakkai wanted to move to aid him. What stopped him was the shock of hearing Sanzo's answer drifting over to the other room.

The priest must've felt bolder, the other two noticed, because there was a haughty laugh. "I said, 'I don't have to listen to a tagalong half-breed bastard.'"

Hakkai's mouth dropped open. 'Sanzo said that on purpose. He would never call Gojyo that; he used to get angry with anyone who made fun of Gojyo for his background, so why on earth—'

To distract himself from crying in frustration, Goku grabbed one of his pillows and clenched it to his chest, folding his legs as he sat down on the bed. "Hakkai, it hurts. Make 'em stop!"

There was a forced laugh in response on the other side of the wall. "I see. This is what I get for tryin' to tell you that I love you? You think I've never heard that before? Ever since I was born, people've been usin' that to shit on me." Gojyo got a little quieter. "I just thought you were better'n that."

"Don't you try that guilt trip on me, fucker! I'm not better than anything! You're the one who forced yourself on me this whole time!"

'No…' Hakkai willed his body to get up, to go next door, break up the fight, but he couldn't move. He clenched his hands, debating with himself as to what whether he should barge in on them or leave it to them to work out. "Goku, I…"

Goku had taken to sniffling softly at the foot of the bed, still holding the pillow against his face. Hakuryu flapped over to him. The dragon kyuu-ed in concern and nudged the boy's arm, curling up on the sheets next to him since there was no room in Goku's lap.

"Is that what it was? Pretty hard to force a guy who begs me on a nightly basis to take him—"

"SHUT UP!" Sanzo roared.

Hakkai jerked, even though there was a wall separating them. Goku buried his head deeper into the pillow.

"I never wanted you on this goddamn journey, I never wanted you in my bed, and I never want to see your fucking face again!"

"Well, good luck with that, buddy, since I'm stuck with you!"

"GET OUT OF—LET ME GO!"

Hakkai's eyes widened again at the noise of struggling and grunts. Sanzo continued to snarl curses and Gojyo was fighting back with equal fury. There was a loud thud against the wall, along with more scuffling noises and banging.

"Hakkai, please…" Goku's whimper sounded even more pathetic.

The healer looked down to see his own hands shaking. "Goku, I'm sorry—"

"Fucking repressed prick!" Gojyo still attempted insults through his panting. "Go ahead and keep shoving everyone away like this! You're just gonna end up alone just like you wanted all along!" There was an aggravated moan in response, but the redhead wasn't stopping just yet. "I've never liked that shitty attitude of yours." Suddenly, his voice dropped and Hakkai had to strain to hear it. "No wonder you were still a virgin when—"

Suddenly, all noises from the other room stopped. Hakkai could hear the blood rushing in his ears. Goku poked his head up, looking worn. Hakuryu cheeped cautiously.

The very familiar click of a gun being cocked registered through the wall. If anything, the other two figured that had stopped Gojyo dead in his tracks. Sanzo's low voice could be heard once again.

"Never touch me again. Never say those words—"

"What, 'I love—"

The gun fired and Gojyo let out a cry of surprise, scrambling noises indicating the priest had missed. There was a pause and Hakkai swore he heard Sanzo's voice crack. "I had a few moments of weakness and I'll never allow you or anyone else to take advantage of me again. Now, get out."

"Sanzo…"

"I HATE YOU!" the priest screamed. "GET! OUT!"

Despite all his best efforts, the pain was too much for Goku; the pounding had turned into a severe migraine and he began to cry.

-+-

The Ikkou had piled into Jeep about ten minutes later, a tense silence surrounding them. Gojyo made a point of seating himself behind Hakkai, instead of behind the priest where he'd been content to position himself for the past few months. Sanzo just strapped himself into the front passenger seat, lighting a cigarette and staring off into the distance.

Goku's golden eyes moved back and forth, trying to gauge the situation between the blond and the redhead. He could practically smell anger and hatred hanging in the air. On top of it all, his headache hadn't gone away yet. Hakkai remained silent as well, pulling Jeep onto the main street and heading in the direction opposite their hotel without having to be told.

The first hour of driving passed in complete quiet with only the rumbling of Jeep on the terrain and the cheeping of birds overhead to remind Goku that he hadn't gone deaf. He tried not to squirm, tried not to engage Gojyo in roughhousing, for that would draw Sanzo's attention and his subsequent wrath. With the priest already angry beyond all reason at the kappa, Goku figured he wouldn't take very well to their typical time-killer.

At the hour and a half mark, according to the clock on Jeep's dashboard, Goku internally cursed as his stomach decided to break the silence with a growl. Breakfast seemed so long ago already, he reflected, a bit nostalgic for Gojyo teasing across the table and Sanzo smiling through a threat. 'Sanzo… smiling. That was so not normal for him,' Goku thought, 'but I liked it a ton better'n this.'

He felt eyes on him. Goku – Son Goku, the Great Sage Equaling Heaven who feared no battle with beast nor god – scrunched in on himself to try and avoid the red that focused on him, along with the purple glancing at him through the rearview mirror. He feared for his very life.

Goku almost felt like dying of relief when he recognized the voice that called out to him as Hakkai's. "Are you hungry, Goku? I could hear your stomach all the way up here."

"No," he squeaked, wrapping his arms around his abdomen. "I'm good! Let's keep going." 'Sanzo's gonna get mad…'

Gojyo spoke for the first time since breakfast. "Guess the world's comin' to an end if the monkey's not hungry," he said, the lack of emotion evident even to Goku.

The boy tried to plead with his eyes, appealing to the redhead. 'Don't say anythin', please don't make Sanzo angry…'

"What? What're you lookin' at?" Gojyo demanded, leaning closer.

Goku wanted to hurt something. 'Stupid kappa, don't make it worse!'

"Let's stop for a few minutes anyway," Hakkai suggested, glancing up in the mirror at the two in the backseat. "I'd like to stretch my legs."

There was a poorly suppressed growl from the front passenger seat. "I don't want to waste time. I thought you understood that, Hakkai." He then directed his voice behind him. "Stop fidgeting, monkey. It's getting on my nerves."

'He didn't say anythin' about Gojyo,' Goku realized. 'This is bad – totally bad.'

Hakkai drove on for another five minutes. Then, he pulled Jeep off to the side of the road once it diverged through a small wooded area. He turned off the engine and got out, surveying the other three and ignoring the glare he was receiving from Sanzo. "It'll be another couple of hours, so it would be best to stretch or use the facilities, so to speak."

Sanzo didn't move, but Goku gladly jumped off the back of the vehicle, trying to put distance between himself and the unsavory combo of the surly priest and the seething kappa.

Gojyo moved to the edge of Jeep himself and slowly lifted his legs up and over before settling them on the ground. He then pushed up to a standing position. The whole thing appeared to Goku like he was purposely moving in this leisurely fashion.

"Figures that no one ever listens to me," Sanzo muttered, still glowering in Hakkai's general direction.

Goku looked over, awaiting a typical one-liner from Gojyo. The kappa was uncharacteristically silent; he simply smirked and walked off into the woods.

"Gojyo, please be cautious and don't go too far in," Hakkai called after him, looking at his friend's back disappearing into the foliage. "After all, it's extremely unwise to go too far into unknown territory."

"All right already!" Came the exasperated sigh. "Didn't think it was that big a deal to go off and piss. Do I need a hall pass, Sensei?"

Hakkai decided at that moment that he couldn't let this rift deepen anymore. He'd heard the stress evident in Gojyo's tone and was suddenly overcome with guilt. His best friend was obviously in pain and here he was, trying to pretend things weren't wrong. 'Why couldn't I have just forced my way in there?' He sighed. 'I have to stop letting my own selfish concerns override what's best for the group.'

The driver moved around to the back of Jeep to dig around in one of the packs. However, it was only a pretense to let him think more and examine the priest. Sanzo had not moved from his seat and continued to puff away on his Marlboro. Hakkai looked up to the rearview mirror, noting that he couldn't read any expression on Sanzo's face. It seemed that the priest wasn't the right person to start with, he decided.

Goku had run off in the opposite direction Gojyo went, but returned less than a minute later. Noticing that nothing had changed and that Gojyo was still gone, he scuffed his foot against the ground, feeling rather useless.

Hakkai stood up straight again, zipping up the bag. Sanzo was still not acknowledging anything or anyone around him. "Gojyo's taken quite a while. I'll go see if he's on his way back."

" 'Kay," Goku replied cautiously, glancing over at the blond.

"Whatever," Sanzo offered apathetically, dropping his current cigarette to the ground, where it fizzled and went out.

At Goku's worried expression, Hakkai bent down to the boy's level, placing a hand on each of his shoulders. "Don't worry," he whispered, glancing up to see that Sanzo couldn't hear what he was saying. "I'll go talk to Gojyo and then I'll see if I can't patch things up."

Goku attempted his first smile in what seemed like forever. " 'Kay!" He could barely keep his voice down, even when the healer raised a finger to his lips.

Hakkai then made his way along the path Gojyo had formed, taking note of the various broken branches and trampled greenery the redhead had left in his path. 'Angry stomping,' he thought. It reminded him of a time back when they'd first started living together.

On that day, Gojyo had 'taken a walk,' acting like nothing was bothering him, but Hakkai later saw a wake of ruined foliage in their backyard where he'd gone off. 'Passive-aggressive' fit Gojyo only when he was deeply upset about something.

It didn't take much longer for the brunet to spot brilliant red from behind a tall bush. Rounding it, he saw Gojyo sitting on a rotting log, cigarette clamped between his lips and dazedly watching the smoke waft upwards. About three other butts were already extinguished down near his feet.

"Is it difficult to stay angry at him?" Hakkai questioned softly.

Gojyo didn't look over or even jump; he'd sensed Hakkai coming a few minutes ago and had decided to wait. "Oh, not at all. Anger's the easy part when it comes to a heartless bastard like him." He exhaled with a cloud of white smoke. "'S his own fault anyway."

Hakkai coughed as the wind changed and the smoke was blown over towards him. He moved closer and took a seat next to Gojyo on the log. "What happened to make him snap like that? Things seemed like they were going fine this morning." He stopped, focusing on a patch of grass just beyond their feet. "Did it have something to do with Dokugakuji-san's visit the other day?"

Gojyo blinked. "You knew about that?"

"Of course; he's rather terrible at spying."

There was a slight pause and then Gojyo laughed, harsh and barking. "True, very true. But nah, Aniki just wanted to chat. Nothin' for him to get worked up over." There was a quite deliberate omission of Sanzo's name.

Hakkai felt that he should gently steer the conversation back to a more important topic. "I'm just worried about the two of you – you and Sanzo, that is – on a bigger level. Tensions among teammates aren't good."

"Well, that ain't my problem," Gojyo replied, dropping the cigarette in the pile and digging for another one. "He's the one who's refusing to talk to me. I think I'll wait for His Holiness to take the stick outta his ass."

'They're entirely too much alike – they share the same unbelievable stubbornness.' Hakkai sighed, but tried to prod anyway. "Do you honestly believe that waiting this out will work? I don't believe I've ever heard Sanzo apologize before."

"Don't know. Don't really care, either." Gojyo continued to let the stick dangle from his mouth. Both men were still staring out at nothing.

"Would it be too much to ask if you'd tell me what started it?" Hakkai inquired softly.

There was a long pause until Gojyo smirked and responded, "Yeah, it would be."

Hakkai stood up. 'If it's something he doesn't want to tell me, I know it's serious.' There had to be a different angle, but at the present moment, he didn't see it. "I just want you to know," he said, looking straight down at his friend, "We heard you and Sanzo arguing. I understand some insensitive things may have been said—"

Gojyo stood up as well, finished with the current cigarette. "Everything that guy says is designed to cut someone down. If you think I'm out here mopin' about how the prick hurt my feelings, you couldn't be more wrong."

Hakkai turned back to the path they had taken, away from the redhead. "Even still…" he attempted. 'It doesn't seem like anything I can say will make any difference to them at this point. If only I had done something earlier…'

'Sorry, pal.' Gojyo thought, feeling bad for not being able to be upfront. 'But this is somethin' between me an' th' monk.' "Look, it's just somethin' I wanna work out, Sanzo 'n me. 'Kay?"

"That's fine." The healer smiled at the roundabout apology. 'He used Sanzo's name. It's a start.' "Well then, I wish you the best of luck in that endeavor."

Meanwhile, back by Jeep, Goku was still trying to figure out how best to approach Sanzo. 'Is there even anythin' I can say that won't get me shot?' He finally just decided to be direct. He'd survived the blond's mood swings before; this would be nothing. "Naa, Sanzo?"

"I know you're hungry," the priest muttered, still sitting in the front seat, smoking and looking off through the windshield. "And I don't care."

" 'S not that," Goku tried, shifting back and forth a bit. 'Should I just try an' ask him how he's feelin'? Yeah, right, like Sanzo'd answer that—'

"Get to the point if you have something to say."

Goku swallowed nervously. "Well, 's jus'…" He took a deep breath and the next sentence came out rushed, like it was its own word. "CanyoumaybemakeupwithGojyonowan'stopbein'allmoody?"

Sanzo paused, dropping his cigarette to the ground and lighting a new one. "Sorry, I don't speak 'Idiot.' "

The moment of truth had arrived. Goku clenched his hands into fists, preparing himself. 'I don't care if I'm not s'posta know!' "Look, I don't care why you an' Gojyo had a fight, but it's makin' things suck an' you guys need t' kiss an' make up already!"

A moment of silence passed between the two. Goku wondered then if Sanzo was so fast that he'd already been shot and hadn't realized it, but then the priest spoke.

His voice was quiet and flat. "… What did you just say?"

Patting down his chest instinctively, Goku found no bullet holes. He took a few steps backwards…just in case. "I know you guys're together an' I don' care! I jus' don' wan' things t' be weird anymore! Jus' … tell 'im you're sorry or somethin'!"

Sanzo rose from Jeep, a streak of red spreading across his face and fan raised threateningly. "Bakazaru, you have no idea what you're getting into…"

At that moment, Hakkai and Gojyo emerged from the bushes, taking in the sight of Goku standing his ground before an extremely angry priest. "What's going on here?" Hakkai asked, glancing back and forth between the two of them.

Goku crossed his arms, looking off into the forest away from Sanzo. "I tried."

Gojyo raised an eyebrow. "Tried? The hell?"

Now the boy looked back, focusing on Gojyo. "You guys gotta make up!"

"Says who? You?" Gojyo asked, taking a few steps closer in case a pummeling was going to be required.

"Yeah!" Goku insisted. "I don' wanna go all the way West in silence 'cuz you two are bein' stupid! I wan' us all t' be friends an' then you guys can go back t' bein' boyfriends—!"

Hakkai hadn't realized just how loud the crickets in the forest were, but they overpowered the group at that moment. Sanzo looked ready to kill and Gojyo looked stunned.

"Boy…" Sanzo began.

"…Friends?" Gojyo finished.

"LIKE HELL!" They shouted in unison, which Hakkai found impressive considering they still weren't speaking to one another.

Hakkai decided to step in this time, for Goku's sake. "Anou…" he started to say, but was cut off by Sanzo withdrawing his gun.

"Goku…" Gojyo warned.

Sanzo finished it this time. "You have a three-second head start."

After a few more minutes, Hakkai was able to get everyone calmed down, Sanzo and Gojyo in their spots in Jeep smoking and still ignoring each other, and had convinced Goku to climb down from the tree he'd perched in.

The stop hadn't done anything, except for the added hostility of Sanzo and Gojyo being angry with Goku as well as with each other.

-+-

Hakkai accelerated now that they were out of the little patch of forest and back onto solid terrain. They hadn't been traveling long when an ominous force appeared just out of view. He began to slow instinctively. 'Youki. I definitely sense it.' (1)

"Oi, Hakkai," Gojyo started from the back. " Izzat what I think it is?"

"I believe we have a situation ahead of us," Hakkai chose to respond, while the rest of the Ikkou could now clearly see a massive line of youkai stretched across their path; many were dressed in armor, some wielded weapons, and some were on horseback.

It was an army.

Hakkai applied the brakes and they stopped about a hundred meters away. Everyone stepped out of Jeep, who turned back into his normal form. The healer took his dragon in his arms and whispered instructions to go off and hide. Hakuryu kyuu-ed in understanding and took off into the air, circling about.

"Right, then," Gojyo said, extending his right arm out in front of him. There was a glow of light while he focused his energy and then it extended and solidified into the Shakujou. He turned it vertical and rested it against his shoulder, crescent blade side pointing to the sky. "What's our plan of attack?"

"Looks like a couple thousan'," Goku offered, focusing his energy to the palm of his hand as well and summoning the Nyoi-bo. "Most of 'em are just claws, but I can see some swords, too."

Hakkai flexed his hands, feeling his chi flowing through his body. He tried to keep his emotions neutral, to save up energy. "So if we estimate around 2,000 or so, that should be enough for an aerobic workout."

Sanzo was placing extra ammunition rounds into his robes. He also clicked open the gun a few times to make sure it was completely loaded. "They're going to try and overpower us with sheer numbers; don't go off on your own if you can help it." He put his arm down, making it and the gun disappear into his sleeve. "Goku, make sure you don't get in Hakkai's way. Got it?"

"Yup!" Goku gave a thumbs-up.

"Hakkai, try to conserve your energy."

"Understood." Hakkai nodded.

Gojyo shifted his weight to his right, waiting.

Sanzo's eyes flickered over to him, but quickly went back to the horde awaiting them. "Let's go."

The priest began walking straight for the army amassed ahead, wind tossing his hair and robes as he strode off. Goku eagerly bounded after him, but not without a concerned glance shot in Gojyo's direction first.

Hakkai tried to catch the redhead's eye, but Gojyo was busy lighting up. "We should talk more later."

Gojyo gave a soft 'tch.' "Whatever."

On the other side, the youkai leaders saw the four approaching figures and steadied their men. "On my mark!" The officer nearest Seiran instructed, making a shiver of adrenaline course through the spy's body.

He hated to admit it, but he'd never experienced combat on such a large scale before. Despite his prowess in duels, he was unsure of himself. Due to all the months he'd spent trailing the Sanzo-Ikkou, he had to admit that he was impressed with the manner in which they faced battles.

"CHARGE!" The rallying cry echoed through the ranks and Seiran was moving whether he liked it or not; to stand still would have been to be crushed under the sheer mass of people surrounding him.

All four Ikkou members took their usual stances, feeling the ground under their feet rumble from the rushing forces. Gojyo stood furthest to the left, with Hakkai next to him on the right. Goku stood to Hakkai's right and Sanzo was on Goku's other side.

Once the initial forces came within a few meters, Hakkai extended his hands, grunting as he summoned the well of chi inside him. The white-green energy burst from his hands, arching outwards in the form of a wave of blasts towards the front lines. He pushed forward a little, following it up with a few shorter blasts. Some of the more foolish youkai attempted to face the shots head-on and were vaporized.

Sanzo found a few oncoming attackers in his crosshairs. Without a word, he fired off a round and five youkai dropped instantly.

A deafening roar cut through the crowd as various groups split off to face the individual members. Seiran's feet were barely moving; he was being shoved along almost too fast to think. He at least had enough sense remaining to try and force himself in one direction – his far right. He focused on the bright red ahead of him, waving in the breeze like a target. 'A little closer and you're mine, beast,' he thought.

Goku jumped straight into the fray once they hit, taking down several at a time with direct hits from the Nyoi-bo. The gold and red of the staff blurred as he brought it down quickly on top of anyone who approached him. The boy soon found himself surrounded by youkai, but he could only grin at the new challenge that had appeared. "Hope you guys're ready, 'cuz I'm gonna have fun!" With that proclamation, he set out to take down a few more.

Hakkai stood a little ways behind Goku, surveying the situation as several youkai drew closer to him, forming a semi-circle. He noticed the youkai right in front of him was tossing a fireball back and forth between his palms. "You're not the only one who knows such tricks," Hakkai murmured, shooting out a few chi balls in quick succession. Those few in the way disintegrated before they realized what was going on.

Most of the youkai, however, were building up around the human priest just off to Goku's right. Sanzo emptied another round into the crowd, cursing as he reloaded, the unconscious action still not feeling fast enough. His only consolation was that most were hanging back and not engaging all at once. Feeling a presence, he turned around in a flurry of white and put a bullet right in the nearest youkai's brain. The feel of another drawing near, claws outstretched, sent a rush through him; he immediately blew the youkai's hand off. His opponent howled in pain and rage until Sanzo shot him in the chest. 'Faster, hurry,' were the thoughts circling his mind, a part of which was trying to get him to look over to see if… someone was all right. 'No,' he decided before finishing another round.

Far away from the priest, the crescent blade swung out, cutting through the torsos of three youkai before returning to Gojyo. The redhead was watching the line that was coming straight for him, noticing that most of his opponents were normal fighter. 'Claws, swords, piece a' cake,' he told himself, eyes narrowed. He took out a few more that approached with the flat end of his blade, his actions a little more forceful than normal. "You guys picked the wrong lifetime," he snarled, stepping forward and catching a few more in his chains, pulling it tight enough that none of them could breathe. "I don't have time for you today!"

As Gojyo continued venting his frustrations on the attacking youkai, Seiran had finally made it to the kappa. He withdrew a dagger from his cloak and readied it. 'Are you ready?' He waited until Gojyo was occupied with a larger youkai – he recognized that lanky green one from before – and darted around behind him.

A presence speeding towards him from the back made Gojyo take notice. He thrust the blade through the current youkai he was fighting and then turned to face the newest challenger. A guy in a cloak was holding a knife and was attempting to rush him on his left.

The kappa swore he dodged, but the youkai's range extended a little further than he'd anticipated and the dagger sunk into his abdomen, just under the left side of his ribcage. Gojyo let out a harsh gasp as pain exploded through his middle. "Shit," he choked out, raising the Shakujou over his head and belatedly realizing the chain required a longer range and the blade was at an awkward position. He improvised and gripped it on either end, pulling it around the back of the youkai's neck. His opponent was trapped, forced to hold still as Gojyo brought his knee up and nailed him right in the stomach, making the youkai fall to the ground with a stifled cry.

Looking down, he saw bright red soaking through his white tank top. He tenderly pressed his left hand over it, but the wound didn't seem particularly deep. 'Hope Hakkai can fix this.'

Seiran lay there on the ground, neck and stomach protesting the harsh treatment, but the youkai consoled himself with the fact that things were still technically going according to plan. He laid there, eyes closed, stilling his breathing to a point where it looked like he had, in fact, died. Seiran listened for heavy footsteps around him and once they slowed down, he knew that fewer and fewer youkai were going after the half-breed.

What the redhead didn't know was that before going out, Seiran had gone to the chambers of his master's female apothecary and snuck out a poison – not a particularly strong one, but enough to make the victim pass out once it circulated through their system. It was a clear liquid, perfect to coat the daggers in. All he had to do now was wait.

Gojyo looked up to see what had happened to the others. He'd ended up distancing himself despite the priest's warning; there was a small slope to the terrain and he was lower down than anyone else in the Ikkou that he could see.

The fight was almost over, only a few more stragglers remaining; the youkai officers were retreating. His eyes zoomed up and over to one last swarm of them, where he could make out brilliant blond hair. Gunshots rang out, along with cries from Goku and Hakkai, so Gojyo knew the other two had rushed to Sanzo's aid.

'Good… You stay alive; I'm not done being mad at you yet.' He smirked to himself and took a few steps forward to them. It wasn't long before he noticed something deeply wrong.

The crowd of youkai blurred before him and Gojyo felt his legs wobble. 'What the –' His hand instinctively went to his wound and his stomach lurched. He tried to focus on something – anything that wasn't moving, but a wave of nausea passed through him and he dropped to his knees.

Fighting the urge to vomit, Gojyo took a few deep breaths. 'What … did they do to me?' His vision kept warping, so he was left with no other choice than to close his eyes.

Seiran swayed as he pulled himself to his feet. He hadn't been expecting Gojyo to get in such a good hit. 'It's easy to underestimate the power of brute force in such primitive creatures,' he thought, wiping a trail of blood away as it dripped down from his lips. 'If that bastard made me rupture something, I'll make sure to pay him back triple.'

Gojyo felt the presence behind him, but even thinking of spinning around to face it made him feel sicker. His head began to pound as he looked up to see another youkai with a cape. "You guys just… won't die, will ya'?" he forced out, trying and failing to get back on his feet.

"Don't bother struggling, hanyou," Seiran sneered, glancing down disdainfully at his target. "It's over."

"Huh?" Gojyo barely had time to register that statement before Seiran raised his hand, the pommel of his dagger coming down on the left side of Gojyo's head. The redhead crumpled to the ground, feeling his head spin and the pain around his stab wound throb more.

Seiran smirked and moved closer his fallen opponent, still a little shaky on his own feet. "That's for earlier."

Gojyo tried to stand but only managed to prop himself up on his palms. In his confusion, he wondered what had happened to the others. There still looked to be a huge mess of youkai surrounding them and, from the faint green he could see, Hakkai was probably protecting them while Sanzo and Goku took a breather.

'Maybe Sanzo's chantin'… Hope so…' Gojyo glared at the youkai. "You're only making your own death… worse…" 'Shit…'

Pain shot through his scalp as Seiran's claws wound themselves tightly in the deep red hair, forcing his head up. "The sooner you give up, the sooner the pain ends," the youkai said haughtily. He then pushed Gojyo back to the ground, but his grip was such that it was more of a punch.

Things were moving too fast. Gojyo tried to react, but all he could focus on was the ground under his body and a great amount of blood was pooled next to him. His surroundings blurred for the last time and then all went black.

Seiran grabbed the unconscious hanyou by his ankles, fighting off his revulsion at having to touch him. 'Now we wait and see how Genjyo Sanzo reacts.'

He quickly made his way towards the cluster of trees where he'd hidden his dragon, dragging his enemy and feeling a bit of satisfaction as he heard the hanyou's head bump on several rocks. He strapped the kappa to the animal and took off. He'd already selected a place nearby to hold him, so it was time to implement the second phase.

Perched up in the trees, a pair of beady red eyes watched intently. Hakuryu issued a nervous low cheep.

-+-

"MAKAI… TENJYO!" With a flurry of green and white, all the surrounding youkai shrieked and were torn apart by purifying light. Goku and Hakkai stuck close to the priest, lest they be caught up by the flying scriptures and injured as well.

The dust finally settled and Sanzo allowed the sutra to retract back to his shoulders. He hadn't wanted to resort to using the sutra, but he'd had no other choice. There had simply been too many opponents. His eyelids felt heavy and he knew that he was drained of all his spiritual energy for the time being. Behind him, Hakkai was panting heavily from the extensive amount of shielding he'd been doing and Goku leaned on the Nyoi-bo, a little winded and relieved for a break.

Hakkai finally caught his breath, recalling that it'd been a while since he'd defeated all of his own enemies and rushed over to aid a swamped Sanzo and Goku. He noticed that Gojyo hadn't come over to join them. 'He probably saw it as a variation of helping out Sanzo… Honestly, those two…' He trailed off in his own thoughts as he scanned the battlefield for his friend.

"Naa," Goku piped up. "Where'd Gojyo go?"

Sanzo shrugged, reaching into his sleeves for a cigarette. "Hell if I know."

"Wait a moment," Hakkai started in a low voice, "I don't see him anywhere." The brunet felt his chest clench, worried when several more scans yielded no results. "Do you think he's been hurt?"

Goku immediately sprinted off into the middle of the battlefield. "Stupid kappa, if he got himself…" The boy's pace slowed until he stopped, right in the center. "Oh no…"

"What is it?" Hakkai was now following him to the same spot. Goku was looking around in a couple directions, eyes narrowing and a frown settling on his face.

"I can't smell 'im."

"Are you sure?"

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu fluttered overhead, circling a few times and landing on Hakkai's shoulder.

He stroked the dragon's neck absently. "You didn't see Gojyo, did you, little one?"

"Kyuu!" Hakuryu recognized the name and stretched his long white neck back to the cluster of trees. 'There, there!' He seemed to be saying, but looking over, Hakkai saw nothing resembling Gojyo.

"You're wasting time asking an animal, Hakkai," Sanzo called, taking a few leisurely paces towards the other two. The cigarette dangling from his mouth bobbed as he talked, while the nicotine was serving to keep him calm. It also helped to push away worry and images of Gojyo being injured, or worse. 'Not that I care.'

"Wait!" Goku exclaimed, suddenly looking off to his left and darting towards something. "Over here!" Hakkai took off after him and Sanzo continued his slow pace behind them.

Goku stopped at a particular patch of grass and scanned all of the dead youkai lying there. There were gash marks on most of them and several had limbs cut off. "Gojyo definitely killed these guys," he remarked, turning around when he heard Hakkai come up behind him. "He was here. The smell picked up a little an'…"

At the boy's sudden silence, Hakkai felt the worry gnaw at him a little more. "And?"

Sanzo arrived at the group just in time to see Goku bite his lip in frustration.

"I smell 'is blood. A lot of it." Goku crouched down, glancing at the ground until he spotted a large dark stain on the grass. "There. That's Gojyo's blood."

Sanzo's eyes narrowed as he too focused on it. 'That idiot… Don't tell me…'

'Don't tell you that he was distracted because of you and got hurt?' A voice inside his head questioned.

The priest cursed under his breath. 'It's not my fault.' Somehow, he knew the voice didn't believe him.

"There's no body." Hakkai tried to state it matter-of-factly, but he couldn't disguise how his voice wavered uncertainly. The mere thought of something happening to his best friend and there being nothing he could do about it continued to eat away at him. "That being the case, he can't possibly be dead."

Goku spied something lying off a little farther in the grass. "Izzat…?" He rushed over and soon held up the long crescent-blade staff. "How did he leave his weapon?"

"I'm sure it would have disappeared if Gojyo had died," Hakkai said. "He hasn't released control of it, so he probably stills has a mental hold on its existence."

"So… he's still alive!" Goku proclaimed, feeling a little better.

"Yes, but now the most likely option is that he's been captured." Hakkai turned to the leader of the Ikkou. "Sanzo, what should we do?"

Sanzo sighed, dropping the cigarette and crushing it under his boots. "No fucking clue."

-To Be Continued-

Notes:

(1) Youki – Youkai (demons) + ki (energy) … "Demon energy" or "youkai no ki."