AN: Yaone and Sanzo get wet together a few times :P lots of bonding in all the right ways. Yaone discusses the philosophy of muichimotsu.

This chapter is all sorts of fun with a bit of comedy.

Credit to Qualapec the She-Wolf for starting this story and writing chapters 1-5.

Chapter Content Warning: language, nudity

Chapter 19

The quiet sound of singing floated into his consciousness before Sanzo was aware of anything else. It was a soft, delicate voice twirling around a soulful ballad that came echoing out of the bathroom along with the cascading sound of water. From what Sano could pick up, the song must have been in another language – unless his ears had been scrambled from the fever.

How long had he been out of it? Currently, he felt warm, and damp sheets clung to his body… His naked body. Sanzo's breath caught, and his heart sprinted as he scrambled for any memory of what happened when he was less than coherent.

Nothing came to him except flashes of the nightmares he had been plagued with. Shuddering, Sanzo tried to clear his mind of a dark and shadowed Nii standing over his dead master, blood dripping from the knife still held in his hand; then, with the same knife, he stabbed Goku in the heart, killing him. He shifted his attention on the tune coming from the shower, grasping at the strings of melody to bring him back towards reality. The song had changed. This time, shuffling around and repeating words in between humming.

If it had not been for an urgent need to piss, Sanzo would have fell back to sleep. He was exhausted and his whole body hurt from the fever along with the tense pain of his injuries.

He had no idea where the bathrobe was, and he could not bring himself to care; there were more pressing matters at hand. Stumbling towards the bathroom, the monk nearly collapsed by the open door, but he clung to the frame to keep from falling. Unable to knock without releasing his grip, Sanzo cleared his throat.

The singing continued from the obliviously showering youkai. The door was fully open, but he knew better than to look or go inside.

"Yaone," Sanzo called, his voice barely louder than the water.

A sudden yelp and slippering tumble were heard, followed by an 'oof'. The water stopped and he was abruptly greeting by a dripping wet demon, barely wrapped in towel. Yaone's expression was a mixture of amazed disbelief and anger. "What are you doing, Sanzo?" She asked in a scathing whisper.

Trying his best just to breath and not pass out, Sanzo took a second to reply. His eyes worked just fine though, and he was not ashamed to look over the barely obscured body in front of him. A scandalous margin of Yaone's thigh was revealed as the towel had not quite come together at the bottom.

Yaone flushed at the attention, but before she could react further, Sanzo replied, "I needed to piss." The words barely came out, and Sanzo tried to recover the used oxygen from the effort.

Seeing the edges of his vision darken, Sanzo braced himself for the impending black out. "Shit," he said as his world went dark and his knee gave out.

"Oh gods, Sanzo!" Yaone said as she caught the fainting monk, and then exclaimed with an 'eek' as her slippery floor went out from under her and they fell tangled together.

Fortunately, his head began to clear once on the ground and Sanzo did not fully pass out. He felt Yaone already trying to lift him off of her, but he was not ready to move upright yet. "Just hold on… a minute." He spoke into the floor.

Groaning, Sanzo tried to collect himself; the landing jostled his broken body and sent a torrent of pain flooding through him. "Fuck." He breathed in quick draws of air with a strong smell of lavender hitting his nose.

"Sanzo?"

Slowly, the priest gathered his barely working arm under him and used it to turn and see the woman underneath him. Yaone had froze, not daring to move under the injured man, and looked at him with wide eyed concern.

…Or embarrassment.

Sanzo realized Yaone must have let go of her towel to catch him, and he was laying fully naked across a pair of plump, exposed breast. At least the landing had been cushioned.

Her knee buried itself in his groin when they landed though. The scene could have been a lot sexier if Sanzo did not hurt like the blazes of hell.

"Are you alright? Can you roll to the side, or can I move you?"

Groaning, he gave an honest effort to roll off of the healer, but his shaking arm gave out from under him as he put more pressure on his wounded shoulder. Fucking hell. This was definitely on the top of his list for stupidest moments in his life.

"Here, I'll try to be careful," Yaone said right before she slowly rose up. Holding on to Sanzo with one arm and pushing herself up with her other, Sanzo could feel the rock-solid muscles in her abdomen as she came to a sitting position.

Once she helped him to sit against the wall, she promptly checked him over for further damages, grimacing when she caught sight of his shoulder. "How are your ribs?" she asked, peeling back the reddening bandages by his collar bone to get a better look.

"Bad enough they are distracting me from my bladder."

Drawing her lips in a line, the healer measured the distance from the wall to the toilet. It was only maybe six feet away. "Think you can make it if I help you?"

Sanzo looked back at her incredulously; she was surprisingly unconcerned with their nudity and was offering to help him go about his personal matters like that. Perky tits aside, nothing about that scenario was appealing. Unfortunately, the alternative sucked even worse. He grimaced. "I don't have much of a choice, do I."

After helping Sanzo top the charts again in the 'most embarrassing moments of his life' list, Yaone half carried the trembling man back to the bed. The priest fell into the bed barely able to keep his eyes open the moment his head hit the pillow, so he let them close and fell asleep instantly.

Waking up with a start, Sanzo lurched forward only slightly as the pain sent him crashing back down into the pillow. He lay panting, frantically searching the room for the person he needed to see alive – needed to feel. Wincing, he strained to pull himself up as much as he could to look for the apothecary. When she was nowhere to be seen in the dark room, the priest panicked.

No, it was only a dream. Yaone is fine. You didn't… you didn't…

He could not even bring himself to think the words. Quickly, he uncovered his hand and looked down at his shaking palm. It was not covered in blood like he had envisioned just moments ago. However, it was only a small relief. The dream still felt so real.

The flash of raw emotions tore at his chest again as the nightmare echoed into his conscious mind. The sight and the smell of her blood was all too tangible. The muscles in his hand still held the memory of her flesh being torn by the blade it had only just been holding. The absolute horror and dread he felt as he took her life against his will still reverberated in his chest. The shivers crawling over his skin as Nii watched, commanding him to do it, could still be felt like a ghost trailing over his entire body.

"Yaone?" he called softly.

His heart had another full minute to pound at his ribs before a sleepy, muffled voice answered. "Yes, Sanzo?"

Full relief did not quiet sink in until Yaone rose up from the lounge and Sanzo could see her tousled hair and sleepy eyes. She must have fell asleep reading a book where the back of the lounge hid her from view.

She was alive.

He sank back into the bed without any explanation, too relieved and exhausted to make up an excuse why he had called for her.

Unfortunately, that caused the apothecary to jump over by his side in anxious worry. "Sanzo, what's wrong?"

Shit, he had to think something up.

Sanzo put on his best grumpy face and explained, "You were snoring."

Yaone looked puzzled and off to the side, pondering this. "Hmm, must have been the odd angle I was sleeping in. Sorry about that."

"Yeah, well, just can it next time," he groused.

"Sure," she said as she studied him and felt his forehead with concern. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, if I could get some goddamn sleep." He lied. "How long has it been?" He kept the rough edge in his tone to throw off her concern.

"It's been three days since your fever started. Fortunately, your temp is only a little high now. It's only been since earlier this evening since you finally pulled through the worst of it. You had me pretty worried for a while." She checked under the fresh bandage on his arm. "It had been touch‑and‑go with the infection and fever becoming pretty severe. I told lord Kougaiji I had not been feeling well so I could take off work to watch you. I'm glad it paid off." She smiled as she rested her now idle hand on his shoulder.

The need to tangibly feel her physical presence still lingered in Sanzo, so he covered her hand with his own. He held her gaze, reaffirming her presence and solidifying in his mind that she was alive and well.

The slightest flush rising from her chest could be seen in the moonlight as she slid her hand out from under his and looked away. The curve of the lightly draped fabric of her camisole left nothing to imagination as her erect nipples caught the light when she turned. Gods be damned.

Sanzo felt his own flush at the thought of what happened earlier.

"Sorry, about the other night," Yaone said as she looked down and picked at her fingers. "I… I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I had been pretty emotional that day, and I took my… frustration out on you." She turned and looked up at him with glistening eyes.

Oh, fucking hell. No way was Sanzo going to let her get away with giving him such a pitiful look. With a fierce determination, he pulled himself more upright, resolute in ignoring the flashes of pain from the broken ribs in his chest. He then gently took her hand and led her towards him. All the while, he held her doe-eyed gaze so she knew he meant what he was doing. Tenderly taking a hold behind the youkai's neck, he drew her in to a firm but passionate kiss.

Yaone moaned and surrendered to his embrace as Sanzo led her to follow him towards laying down.

Yeah, he was fucking shit up, but he did not give a shit. Consequences be damned, he wanted this. He could sort out the complicated shit if he ever escaped this fucked up hellhole. For now, Sanzo decided to just give in to the moment.

When she finally finished all her work for the day, Yaone had to measure her gait upon returning to her room. The anticipation she felt at seeing the golden-haired priest again was beginning to bubble over. All day, she had been thinking about how he kissed her the night before and it sent thrills through her body. Lirin had given her dirty looks and told her she kept getting a 'cheeseball face' – whatever that meant.

Last night had been a game changer in whatever was between Sanzo and her. Whereas before she was completely unsure how the monk felt towards her, he had made it clear last night that their feelings were mutual. He had kissed her! Something most men she liked had not dared to do.

Things were definitely still complicated, not the least of which was how they were on opposite sides of a bloody war. Yaone had no idea what any of this would lead to, but for now it felt good.

Yaone's graceful slide through her heavy ironwood doors was abruptly halted when she did not see Sanzo in the bed. Once her brain caught up, she dispelled her immediate fear by figuring he must be in the bathroom. Instead of checking on it right away, she started the kettle for some tea. The dark stormy weather definitely called for some chai.

A flash of lightning and the following clash of thunder caused the youkai to drop the kettle she had almost set on the stove. Grasping her chest, she looked towards her large balcony doors to view the storm. However, the doors must have swung open in the strong winds and was letting floods of water fly into her room. Yaone walked over and peered out at the downpour coming from dark and twisting clouds. Another classic Houtou storm.

Just as she began closing the glass doors in her hands, something on the balcony caught her eye.

"Sanzo? My gods what are you doing out here?" she asked as she came up beside him on the ground checking him over.

The priest was awake, but his violet eyes held no light as he stared blankly into the thunderstorm. He had slipped on the pair of sweatpants Yaone had provided him but remained topless. The cold gusts of air blew his drenched locks in front of his eyes as he shivered, but he gave no indication of awareness to the healer's presence.

Gently, she took his right arm to lead him back into the bedroom. "Come on, Sanzo, this isn't good for you to be out here like this. What happened?"

"Knock it off," he said gruffly as he pulled his arm back. After looking up at the sky and letting the rain shower over his face for a minute, he added, "It's the rain."

Yaone knit her eyebrows and leaned against the wall next to the solemn monk. Something about the rain had him in a pretty bad way, and she wondered what must have influenced such a reaction. It was obvious the man beside her had gone through much in his life to be the way he was, but he hid almost everything behind stone cold walls. This on the other hand, was something he was unable to keep fully internalized.

Minutes went by as they sat together, with only the hard tattering rain and distant thunder filling the silence before Sanzo spoke. "How did you know about muichimotsu?"

The question caught her off guard; it had been days since she mentioned it. "Believe it or not, my family was devoutly religious. I heard it from a Sanzo priest who had traveled through our village when I was just a girl. My father opened up our home to him in return for the prayers he said over my mother who had just died. I had been overwhelmed with grief and he helped me get through it. He told me of muichimotsu. He told me of its full meaning but described how I could apply it to my life, and he explained I should let go of the things that I could do nothing about. I couldn't change that my mother was dead, but I did not need to hold on to her death. I could let go of it without devaluing her life and what she had meant to me." She looked out into the rain in long remembrance of the odd monk. "Well, he said it in so many words. He kind of talked in riddles." The healer sighed. "He seemed so peaceful and unburdened by things, like nothing heavy could ever weigh on his heart. It was very admirable. He was a good role model at my impressionable age – besides the smoking that is. Who knew I would find another smoking Sanzo years later?" She chuckled and softly bumped Sanzo. "You cuss a lot more though."

Her attempt at being a little more lighthearted plummeted when Yaone saw the blatant suffering on the monk's face, half hidden by the hair that fell over his eyes.

She said to him, "You know, muichimotsu is not supposed to be about never valuing something precious, but rather a reminder that when those precious things leave us, we need to let them go. If a bird landed on your finger, it is free to fly away. If you held on to that bird because you did not want it to leave then the bird will stay until it dies and leave you anyway, and you will be hurt. Better to enjoy the bird for a time while it stays on your finger, and realize as it flies away, it was a blessing while it lasted and move on a better person for the song and company you received."

"Che', what do you know about it?"

"I know what losing my whole family feels like: to have my mother die from an illness my father nor any doctor could cure; to have my brothers die in a war I never asked for; to have my sister killed by humans who were scared; and to watch my father killed in front of my eyes defending me from a horrible fate. So yeah, I know a thing or two about having to let go of pain and moving on. And I know you aren't doing yourself any favors holding on to whatever pain you are feeling right now."

"Yeah well, maybe you were right when you said I sucked at following muichimotsu." A cold flare of anger lit his eyes as he flashed a glare towards the healer before turning back to sulk. "The teaching my master held most dear, and I can't fucking follow it right."

Yaone sighed. "Listen, I'm not judging. I don't know what you've been through or who you've lost." Scooting in front of him, she caught his chin in her hand held his gaze firmly. "What I do know, Genjo Sanzo, is that you are the strongest man I know; and I know you can handle it – however you choose to do it." She let go of his chin and gave him a small smile. "So, don't beat yourself up about it."

Sanzo worked his jaw muscles then broke eye contact to look towards the ground again. Yaone burned to know what was going through the priest's mind but did not pry, knowing it would be like chipping at a brick wall with a plastic spoon… a pissy brick wall at that.

Standing up, Yaone asked, "Would you like chai tea or a beer?"

"A cigarette... But a beer will do."

After grabbing Sanzo a beer and herself the chai tea, Yaone sat back down next to the priest whose demeanor seemed not to have changed much since she left, despite the fact the rain was letting up.

Yaone popped the tab of the beer and handed it to the monk. "If you think you are up for the journey, we could try and get you out of here tomorrow. Gyokumen Koushu has ordered a large-scale attack somewhere, so a good number of soldiers will be leaving tomorrow. If we leave after midnight, it might be one of our better chances."

After taking a few sips of the beer, Sanzo asked, "How long of a flight are we talking?"

"The nearest fortress secured by humans is four hours by dragon. Last I heard of where your friends might be could take five hours."

Sanzo scowled deeply. "How the fuck does it take you guys only mere hours what takes us months? How fast do those damn dragons of yours fly?"

Chuckling nervously, Yaone scratched the back of her head. "I'm not quite sure. They are very special dragons and only a handful have been bred. A mix of magic and science is what professor Hwang said. Something strange happens when they cross the threshold of the Houtou Castle region. The ground below is all a blur. We can only navigate by heading in the direction we need for the properly calculated amount of time. It took a lot of practice to fly them anywhere. Once we command them to, they can slow down and fly at a normal speed, which is how we can land with any precision."

"Huh. Damn, we should have just stole one of your dragons this whole time."

"Except, they can only fly normal under anyone else's command besides those of us bonded or programmed to them. In order for them to go – I guess you could call it 'warp speed' – there is a telepathic link needed for sending that command."

"So, if we kidnapped one of you, we could have made you fly us to your castle, and all this could have been over already," Sanzo said speculatively.

"Heh heh, no." Yaone scowled. "And don't even think about it now." Laughing she added, "I don't know why you just now thought of it. It didn't ever seem odd to you that we could go back and forth from India so easily?"

Sanzo gave her a sideways glare. "I noticed, but it wasn't like I was going to ask in the middle of a fight."

"Fair enough. So, you game for trying to escape tomorrow?"

"Like I would say no?"

"Tomorrow it is then." Yaone held her mug up to Sanzo's beer can. "Cheers."

With a smirk Sanzo begrudgingly tapped his can. "Cheers."

AN: Ok, I really enjoyed the bathroom scene. Just the right amount of whump, humor, and scandal ;)

Yay! Sanzo seems to finally be going for this thing they have together! (he can be so stubborn...)

And yes, it was Koumyou Yaone met in her youth. I managed a fair amount of irony in this plot ;) the meaning of muichimotsu could be different than how I enterpret it, but in my life, this is how it resonates to me, and I feel it fit the story. The other members of Yaone's family are my fictitious idea. All I know from canon is how her dad died.