AN: *Warning* Your heartstrings will be played until they break going forward from this chapter!

Really, this could have been added to the last chapter, but I made it separate because I felt like it. It's a short but intense chapter. Still no Sanzo (and subsequently no strong language lol). Grab a tissue for the end of this one... and then hold on to it.

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

Chapter Content Warning: violence

Chapter 23

Wandering down the corridors in search of Sanzo after their fight had been slow. Gojyo was stumbling against Hakkai, and Hakkai's own wounds burned with every step, keeping his pace slow. His friend needed the help, and Yaone had been right to suggest Hakkai since the stubborn hanyou would never have accepted help from anyone else. Making Gojyo feel he was helping Hakkai by walking with him was also wise, since Gojyo would never dream of burdening his friend who had wounds of his own. But they were a sluggish pair together, and Hakkai was getting antsy to make better time towards finding their missing member.

It may have been fifteen minutes of searching before Gojyo took a tumble into Hakkai as he blacked out.

"Goku!" Hakkai called out for the assistance and then groaned as the heavier built man landed on him. He had not taken the time or energy to heal the wound on his stomach and the pain stabbed into his skull from the sudden weight.

The boy relieved Hakkai of his unconscious partner and set him down on the ground for Yaone to examine as she rushed over.

"Hakkai, are you alright?" Yaone asked without missing a beat in checking Gojyo's pupil response.

"I'll be alright, miss Yaone. I just need a minute to close up my wound. I was low on chi earlier."

Yaone continued her assessment of Gojyo. "Ok. Sorry for not noticing you had not tended to yourself sooner. I would have seen to at least bandaging your wound had I known it was still bleeding."

Too focused on staying in control of his pain to respond, Hakkai drained just enough of his chi into the four puncture wounds on his abdomen and closed them. Once his quick fix was finished, Hakkai breathlessly huffed and leaned his head against the wall where he was sat. "That's alright, Yaone. I was hiding the extent of my wounds despite knowing the folly of my decision. It's not your fault."

It appeared Yaone had finished checking over Gojyo, and Hakkai asked, "How is he?"

"His concussion is pretty severe for him to have passed out, and his pupils are uneven but reactive. I just hope there is no intracerebral hemorrhaging."

"His skull had fractured, so I am worried that is quite possible. I could only heal so much of the damage." Hakkai sighed.

Fortunately, the half-breed began to stir; he moaned before squinting his eyes open just a hair. "Can someone tell the elephant to stop sitting on my head?" Focusing more, Gojyo frowned when he noticed Hakkai. "You OK, 'Kai?"

"I'll be fine, Gojyo." With a hand from Goku, Hakkai stood up. "We need to keep moving if you can though."

Yaone motioned for Goku to help with the hanyou, and they lifted him on to his feet.

"I can move… Just maybe not in the direction I should," Gojyo said as he swayed and almost fell again.

"You'll need to let Goku help you, Gojyo," Yaone said, handing his full weight to Goku.

Twitching an eyebrow at the shorter youkai helping him, Gojyo almost complained, but held his tongue, as well as Goku's shoulder, and then began walking.

Not long after hobbling down some more hallways, they came across another open area of the palace. Hakkai was not sure what this room was for unless youkai had thrown balls once upon a time because there were no other features besides the four-story pillars lining the walls.

"Hold up guys," Goku called and set Gojyo down and began fanning him.

Just as soon as he was sat, Gojyo turned his head to the side and began throwing up.

"Oh, Gojyo." Yaone came up beside him and started stroking his back. "I'll find you some ginger." Rummaging through her travel bag, the apothecary pulled out some of the ground-up root and handed it to the red head who spat the last of the vomit from his mouth.

"Thanks, doll." If he had not been so sick, Hakkai was sure the hanyou would have winked at the woman, but he only grimaced as he chewed up the ginger and swallowed.

Goku's uneasy shifting was suddenly halted when he looked towards one of the four entrances to the room that was on their right.

The others followed suit and stared at the open hallway in fear of another supped-up youkai attack.

"Kougaiji!" Yaone jumped up and ran to the entrance.

Everyone else let out the breath they were holding when they saw the three of Yaone's companions emerge from the dim corridor. Dokugakuji was carrying the prince in front of him, and Lirin had been traveling behind. They all looked a little worse for wear, but Kougaiji must have been seriously injured since he did not stir when Yaone approached.

Yaone led them over to where Gojyo was still recovering, and Doku eyed the others as laid his treasured burden down on the polished stone floor.

"Lord Kougaiji…" The apothecary fussed over her unconscious sovereign and began assessing his wounds.

"We were recently attacked by some sort of powered up youkai," Dokugakuji said. "Damn thing was strong, and Kou was already injured before the fight. I'm afraid he took on more wounds than Lirin could help him with. We were on our way to your lab, hoping we might find you sooner than later."

Lirin stood behind her brother with her hands on her hips. "What are those guys doing here, Yaone?"

"We've come to rescue Sanzo," Goku said with a small blaze of anger clipping his voice.

Lirin growled back at Goku, but Doku responded diplomatically, "Well you've apparently come to the right place, if he isn't dead already." He directed his words back to Yaone. "Kou said the priest was taken off to another part of the castle by Nii after being locked up together. He did not say what exactly had happened when he and Sanzo were locked up, but it wasn't good, Yaone. Kou was a mess when Lirin and I found him, and the room they had been in was covered in blood, both human and demon."

Each one of them looked at Doku with horrified suspense, but Yaone was especially mortified and began shaking. Hakkai rested a hand on her shoulder and knelt down to look over the prince with her.

With her attention back on Kougaiji, Yaone said, "The worst of it is some broken ribs here by these wounds." She pointed to the three long gashes along Kou's left side, undoubtedly made by claws. "The injury has caused his left lung to collapse. I don't have anything I can help him with here, and my lab is too far away." Pausing briefly to catch a sniffle, Yaone looked up at the other healer with tear laden eyes. "Is there anything you can do, Hakkai?"

"I will certainly try, miss Yaone." When Yaone moved aside, Hakkai scoot closer to the open wound and began to summon his life force into a glowing energy, pressing it forward into the broken tissue with his will. Beginning to sweat with the strain, his already exhausted body had been drained of most its energy already, but he continued to summon more. He would not let this man die.

Yaone watched only for a few seconds as glowing yellow chi entered her prince's injured body, hoping to the gods Hakkai could save him. It was his only chance. She, however, could do nothing more for him outside of what Lirin had done without her more extensive equipment and supplies. Turning to the girl she placed a hand on her tense shoulder. "You did an amazing job, Lirin. Kougaiji is most likely only alive because of your help."

The princess kept her eyes fixed on her brother, but she did take her chewed up thumbnail from her mouth to reply. "I just hope he will be ok."

"Me too," she said as she rubbed her hand across Lirin's back.

As concerned as she was for Kougaiji, there was also another she worried for right now, so Yaone looked to Doku and asked, "Do you guys know which direction Sanzo might be?"

"We found a trail of human blood in the opposite direction of the room we found Kou had come from. It led down to the fourth floor in the southeast section." Doku grabbed her arm when she turned to leave. "Yaone –"

Whatever Doku was going to say was suddenly cut off when a loud snarling sound came from the hallway opposite them.

Yaone spun around to see another berserk demon stalking towards them. "Shit!" she exclaimed, and the others followed with curses of their own at the sight of another oncoming fight.

There was no way she could afford the time it would take to fight another one of those tough bastards. Clenching her jaw, Yaone made the hard call. "Goku, Lirin, Doku, think you handle this sucker on your own while Hakkai heals lord Kougaiji?"

"Not a problem. Little Lirin's got this, Yaone," the princess said with a mischievous glint in her eye as she crouched down to attack.

Goku ran up to the apothecary and looked sternly up at her. "If you are going after Sanzo, I'm coming with."

Glancing worriedly at Hakkai's shaking form and Gojyo's glazed expression, Yaone shook her head. "No, Goku. Those guys need you to protect them. You know how tough these demons are; Doku and Lirin are going to need the back up. I'll rescue Sanzo and come back. I promise. I know the way, and I can avoid trouble easier if it's just me."

Turning his head down and frowning, Goku reluctantly nodded. He started towards the others, but then he came back to Yaone and stared at her, contemplating something. "Whatever you do, bring him back alive, Yaone." The healer could not tell if it was a threat or a plea, but then the boy did the unthinkable.

Goku handed Yaone the Maten Sutra.

With all sincerity, she looked Goku in the eyes with an inferno of determination behind her own and pressed the scroll to her heart. "I will, Goku."

AN: OMG sorry while I geek out at that last part! I get goosebumps and the sniffles :') Goku is such a great kid. Can I just explode at how monumental that is though?! In Houtou Castle, Goku trusts Yaone enough to hand her the one thing her side has been out to get since day one, and the one thing his sun cares for more than life itself. Oof! It may be my favorite line of text in the whole story.

Hakkai needs a spare battery for his chi. He's really pushing himself, and that can't bode well...