AN: The Ikkou reunites!

Just be warned, tear-jerking emotions run high this chapter. Sorry, you may hate me by the end.

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

Chapter Content Warning: language, tragedy

Chapter 25

With the demon destroyed, the only obstacle standing in the way of freedom was their waning strength. Sanzo shuddered as he looked at Yaone, who was still straining to breath. He knew the woman was badly injured to be struggling so much. Problem was, he was unsure he would be able to make it without her support.

However, he would not let that stop him from fighting with every ounce of strength he had and making it happen anyway. Sanzo reached down once again and helped her to stand.

They walked in uneasy tandem, Sanzo hanging onto Yaone as much as Yaone was hanging on to him. Progress was slow, but they managed for a while until Yaone's legs gave out from under her. She moaned, crashing to the stone floor in a shivering heap. With his footing already unstable, Sanzo slammed into ground after her, followed by excruciating pain. Trying desperately to focus around the agony, the priest crawled over to his companion and nudged her. "Yaone?"

The only response was another anguished moan and coughing. To his horror, Sanzo saw a splatter of red follow her torrent of coughs.

"Oh shit, come one Yaone."

The woman was unresponsive as he pulled on her arm to follow him into standing.

Fuck.

Well, there was only one option, and it was going to fucking suck. He was not going to leave her behind, not after all the crap she went through to get him this far, so his only choice was to carry her. 'How' was not a question he could pay any mind to; the possibility of failure could not be allowed to gain any ground in his mind. He only had to 'do.'

Painstakingly, Sanzo crouched down and lifted the apothecary over his right shoulder. Her pained cry was heart wrenching, but he could not worry about that right now. When he pushed off the ground with the added weight of an extra body, the priest's vision began to darken from his loss of blood. Leaning against the wall, he huffed in heavy gulps of air and regained some control over his pain.

Staying close to the wall for support, the next few steps were agonizing. The shoulder Yaone was placed on was not badly injured, but the wounds on his arm as he held her were throbbing. Trying to support her extra weight with the ribs Kougaiji had freshly broken felt near impossible. His knee had never recovered enough to bare even his own weight, and the recent break to his left hip bone made even moving that leg near unbearable.

But somehow, against all impossibilities, he gradually limped his way down the corridor, following the trail Kougaiji left behind.

By the time he could hear the commotion of a fight somewhere unseen, Sanzo could barely stand; his drive and adrenaline were the only things moving him forward. The beating of his heart picked up and he inched towards the place his companions were holding up. His spent body hardly made it to the opening in which he collapsed to his knees then fully onto the floor.

Tilting his head towards the commotion, it seemed the others were too busy fighting to notice him. Goku was swinging a punch at Nii's monster, and Doku was retreating with Lirin from an attack that had been foiled.

Bringing his right hand forward, Sanzo began to chant the sacred mantra, and with a decisive surge of energy, he shouted, "Makai Tenjō!"

The scripture streamed towards the demon and utterly decimated it, earning Sanzo several shocked stares.

Immediately, Goku ran to him, relief so clear Sanzo thought the kid might squeal. But as nice as it was to see Goku safe, he needed someone else right now.

"Hakkai!" Sanzo called with all the strength he could, and the youkai carefully made his way towards him. Pushing himself to kneel by Yaone, the priest checked her pulse as the other healer came up next to her. It was so faint it was hard to track.

Goku hovered by Sanzo, looking lost.

"What's wrong, Sanzo?" Hakkai glanced over Yaone, but his concerned gaze lingered on Sanzo.

"She passed out, some kind of internal injury from broken ribs. She was coughing blood and was having a hard time breathing. Can you heal her?"

Sanzo was sure his unchecked distress caught the man by surprise as he sat stock still for a moment, speechless. Pleading into the youkai's green eyes, Sanzo also could voice no words. However, seeing the dark circles around the healer's eyes, he wondered if there was anything he could do. Hakkai appeared completely spent now that Sanzo was truly looking at the man. He was pale, and winded just from walking over to him.

However, there was a deep compassion in his emerald eyes. "You care for her, don't you?" he asked gently.

The question was like a knife twisting in his gut and Sanzo could only stare back, mouth agape for a moment before tightening his jaw and looking away. Could he admit it? There was still so much remorse for feeling such things, and the anxiety of the unknown haunted him. He could not say it now, not if she was leaving this world. If she died, and he said how much he cared, it could give the devastating loss more of a hold on him.

Hakkai understood his silence anyway. "Hey, don't worry, Sanzo. I will save her for you." In this he was so serious, the demon did not even smile as he said it.

The healer rose his shaking hands above her and began to emit his chi towards her fatal, internal wound.

Sanzo let out a breath and sank down to lean towards the doorway and looked up at his nervous charge. "Thanks for keeping the scripture safe," he said gruffly. He really was proud of him, but he could not say more.

"Sanzo, I'm so glad you are alive." The monkey let his tears fall, and he dropped down to hug his guardian. It was a gentle hug for Goku, but not gentle enough; the monk groaned at the pressure around his ribs. "Oh! Sorry!" He backed up and sat cross legged from him.

Finally, Gojyo managed to hobble over to their group, but he ignored the monk and went straight for Hakkai. "Oi, Hakkai! Stop it you idiot; you are going to kill yourself." He placed a hand on his friend.

A bead of sweat dripped down the healer's face as he continued his efforts. "I'll be fine, Gojyo. Yaone will die if I don't heal her."

"You already exhausted yourself healing me, and then overspent yourself on Kougaiji. You don't have enough energy for this! Come on man. You passed out over there, and I already thought I lost you. Don't do this Hakkai."

"I don't have energy to argue. I have to do this Gojyo. I won't let her die."

Gojyo was beside himself with worry. "Come on. Don't do this to me, Hakkai. I know you have limits. I won't be able to live with myself if I let you go too far."

"Leave him be, Gojyo," Sanzo ordered. "He said he can't argue right now. So, shut it."

"You bastard." Gojyo got right up into Sanzo's face. "I know you don't give a shit about Hakkai, but you'd really let him throw his life away for your piece of ass?"

The hanyou was always a testy motherfucker when he got angry, especially when he was defending his friend. Sanzo learned long ago it was worthless to rise to his bating, but this time he almost made and exception. Except, he did give a shit, and he did not want to cause a commotion when Hakkai's concentrate was so imperative.

"Back off Gojyo." Goku stood up and pushed the half-breed away. "Can't you see Sanzo has been through hell. He doesn't need your yellin'."

Growling, Gojyo's animosity did not subside, but he did concede and backed off.

They watched in tense silence as Hakkai summoned his life force, and slowly knitted Yaone's internal organs back together. With Kougaiji in the fighter's arms, Doku and Lirin came to stand by the healers and prayed Yaone would be saved.

A flicker of the healer's chi caught everyone's breath as he wavered forward. Lirin was closest, so she caught him, and Hakkai shook his head before weakly continuing. His own breathing became labored, and the light from his hands began to dim right before Yaone finally stirred.

"Thank… goodness…" Hakkai smiled before passing out.

Gojyo rushed to his falling friend while Sanzo crawled towards Yaone. He could not help the smile of relief he gave her when he beheld her dark grey eyes. Eyes he did not know he would ever see into the depts of again. Swallowing against the onslaught of unwelcome emotion, Sanzo schooled his features back into their normal indifference.

"Sanzo…" Yaone smiled fondly when she met his gaze, but then her eyes grew wide. "How am I…?" Slowly, she sat and looked around. Once she saw Hakkai passed out a few feet from her being fawned over by Lirin and Gojyo, comprehension replaced her confusion. "Oh dear, Hakkai..." Yaone rose to her feet and walked over to the other healer, still holding her arm around her middle.

Sanzo tried to follow what Yaone was doing when she knelt down by the others, but his head was beginning to swim. The next thing he knew, a pair of golden eyes were frowning right in front of him. He blinked and tried to swat all the pesky monkeys away from his personal space, but his arm barely moved.

"Sanzo?"

A sharp stab of pain in Sanzo's right arm flared as the boy tried to shake him back into awareness, but he was past the point it would have mattered. The world turned black, and the last thing Sanzo felt were the study arms that caught him.

Jarring shockwaves of pain hit Sanzo repeatedly, stirring him from unconsciousness. When he finally managed to open his heavy eyes, the priest saw rapidly moving floor tiles beneath him. Another jab of pain woke Sanzo further and he groaned.

"Sanzo!" he heard a young voice beneath him.

He lazily glared at the boy carrying him down the hall and grumbled. "Shut it, stupid. That was right in my ear."

"Oh umm, sorry, Sanzo. I'm just so glad you are awake. You fainted and I was worried you might not…" Goku flushed and struggled to continue on. "Well, you had Yaone worried too, but she couldn't do anything for ya' 'cause we had to get out of there real fast since another of those crazy youkai showed up again."

As another spike of pain shot through his ribs and arms, Sanzo wished there were a better way to travel then being halfway slumped over Goku's shoulder and dragged. The monk's right arm being pulled down on around Goku's neck to keep him place was putting an excruciating strain on his wounds. Groaning, he rested his head against his charge's and tried to bear with it. Hopefully, they would not be long before they arrived to wherever Yaone was leading them.

Sanzo idly noticed their leader was at least charging forward under her own power with Hakuryuu oddly perched on her shoulder. Gojyo and Hakkai however, were struggling together to keep pace with her; the half-breed pulling most of the weight between the two. Sanzo was comforted to see that Hakkai was at least conscious – even if he was barely walking.

They were a mess, the priest mused. Every one of them besides Goku were barely cheating death. Apparently, the smallest of their group and their normal getaway transport was also too injured to transform and clung to Yaone's neck. Sanzo sputtered. He hated how weak and useless he felt being carried by the one member left to them with any real amount of strength. Goku had always been a rock to their group in that way – always dependable to be the last man standing. He closed his eyes, feeling secure enough in the kid's arms to do so.

An abrupt halt brought Sanzo out of his repose, and with a grunt, his eyes jerked open as the pain fully resurfaced.

Yaone had been turned around looking back at him, worry drawing her eyebrows close, but her concern was apparently directed more at the sound he uttered as she placed a finger to her lips to quiet any further noise. Focusing back on whatever had stalled them in the first place, she stared down the hall they had been fleeing from. Her ears flicked forward as she picked up whatever sound she had been on alert for. "Gods damn it!" she whispered as she drew out her spear.

With Sanzo still in tow, Goku turned around to see what Yaone cursed at, but the priest was pretty sure he already knew.

Just as he expected, the almost worst-case scenario appeared around the corner. Another one of Nii's youkai brutes was rapidly closing in on them as it ran full speed towards their ragged group. Some backup could have been great at this point. "What happened to Kougaiji and the others," he breathlessly asked Goku while the boy sat him down against the wall.

Goku readied his weapon and prepared himself for the attack. "They stayed behind when another one of these assholes showed up earlier to fend them off."

Well fuck. Sanzo could not help but feel this may be the end for them now. Despite Goku's determination, he could see the trepidation in the way the boy's staff quivered ever so slightly under his grasp. There was no way the monkey could fight the oncoming monster alone.

Right away, the priest began to recite the incantation for the sutra, but he was slurring, and he felt the weakness in his soul over the words spoken.

"Makai Tenjō!" The finale rang out, and the scripture swarmed to the demon who was now upon them.

But it did nothing.

Everyone stood gaping over what had just not happened, but especially Sanzo. It was impossible that this youkai would be impervious to the Maten's power, so the fault had to be within himself. Perhaps he was too weak to fully activate it, the connection of his words to the power wielded somehow lacking…

Sanzo tried again, this time with a small flame of determination fueling his chant.

The youkai lunged for the distracted priest but was stopped by Goku who stepped in the way and fiercely thrust his Nyoibo into its abdomen. Dodging and striking, the monkey distracted the beast just long enough for Sanzo to finish his mantra and sic the scripture onto their enemy once again.

Still, there was no effect.

Yaone rushed forward to help Goku as much as she could, but in her current state, Sanzo knew it would not be enough.

None of their efforts would be enough.

They were fucked.

"Let me go, Gojyo." Sanzo heard Hakkai fight off his friends grasp. The man shuffled towards the youkai at large and Sanzo watched with indifference as his companion began doing the unthinkable. Staring off at the disparate battle with resolve, Hakkai reached for the silver cuffs that clasped his ears. As he now stood next to the priest and the dumbstruck hanyou still gaped a few paces away, Hakkai asked of him, "I will handle this guy. Please get Gojyo and the others out of here and don't wait up for me." His green eyes implored Sanzo when he looked down to meet his gaze. "I need you to make sure Gojyo escapes with you. Can you do this for me, Sanzo?"

Swallowing, Sanzo formed his own resolve and nodded once. He knew what Hakkai was asking, and what he was choosing to forfeit. A deep ache of emotion was swelling in his chest and Sanzo had to press it down. Hakkai knew this was the only way and Sanzo had to keep a cool head. One person sacrificing themselves to save the rest was the hard choice that had to be made. He knew he would have done the same… he had done the same already.

Their little hurt friend had waddled over from where Yaone had set him trying to follow his master.

"Stay with Gojyo, Hakuryuu. I need you to take care of these guys for me. Ok?" Hakkai smiled looking down at his concerned little dragon who simply nodded and gave a sad 'Kyuu'.

Hakkai breathed deeply turning back to their foe. "Ok then," he said as he finished removing his limiters. Claws ripped forward from his fingers and his ears grew as sharp and pointed as his snarling teeth. He lunged forwards towards the fray, now a bloodthirsty demon.

Finally past his shock of inaction, Gojyo rushed after the youkai. "No, Hakkai, wait! Don't leave me!"

Stupid kappa. There was nothing he could do now anyway. Sanzo stuck his foot out and tripped the idiot before he could endanger himself. Sanzo called out to the other two who were still continuing to fight, "Oi, Goku, Yaone, lets go."

"You fucking bastard!" Gojyo turned on him and grabbed around Sanzo's throat. "How could you let him go off like that? He's not going to be able to come back from that form with the minus wave so close. Or worse, he's going to get himself killed!"

Sanzo glared his cold eyes at the man directing his anger towards him. "I'm not his keeper. Hakkai knew what he was doing." Gojyo's grip tightened causing Sanzo to wheeze, but he did not lessen the intensity of his stare.

"Get off him, Gojyo. What's wrong with you, man?" Goku pulled the redhead off the priest and stood protectively in front of him, snarling at the kappa.

"We are not leaving without Hakkai!" Gojyo yelled at Sanzo, all but ignoring the monkey.

Grunting, Sanzo carefully rose to his feet, supporting himself with the wall instead of Goku's offered assistance. "We have to. It's the only way we get out of here alive." Scowling from the pain and the idiocy of emotional attachments, Sanzo began limping forward. "Goku, grab that idiot and lets go," he said without turning.

"Umm… Sanzo…" Sanzo turned around to see Goku hesitating, looking back towards his demonic friend fighting viciously with their enemy. If he had his fan, he would have clobbered the kid.

Yaone was doing the same for a moment, frowning, before she walked up next to Sanzo. With a deep sorrow still creasing her brow, she silently took Sanzo's arm around her and helped him to move forward. "Come on, Goku," she said stoically. At least someone had come to their senses.

"You shitty monk! You can't do this! Let go of me you dumb monkey!" Sanzo heard Gojyo's futile complaints but kept going. They all just had to move on.

By the time they arrived back in what was left of Yaone's room, Sanzo had been unable to support his own weight or walk again. He was begrudgingly thankful for Yaone's help, but he hated adding further strain to her own wounded state. Panting underneath his weight, Yaone stumbled over the debris towards the dragons.

Sanzo had been barely conscious, but the sudden tumble jolted him awake as he impacted a rock with his wounded shoulder. The groan he emitted was more of a whimper in the midst of the mind‑numbing pain, and he barely heard the monkey call out his name.

"I'm so sorry, Sanzo." Yaone breathlessly said while trying to stand.

Goku approached but could not assist since he had his hands full with an angry kappa draped over his shoulder.

When Yaone managed to stand, she did not immediately help Sanzo, but she went instead to bring the dragons over to him. That was fine. Sanzo would have felt more irritated that he was still helplessly laying on the rubble looking pathetic, but he was in too much pain and too exhausted to care.

"Hey, we are not leaving without Hakkai! Put me down you damn monkey. He could be here any minute. We've got to stay."

Now that was irritating enough for Sanzo to care about over the pain. "Would you shut up already?" he grumbled over the stones. "Tie him up and gag him with something, Goku. I've had enough of his crap."

"Uh, Sanzo, shouldn't we at least wait a little longer for Hakkai?" Goku asked.

At that, Sanzo pushed himself up enough to glare at the boy. "And wait for Nii or another of his thugs to possibly show up? Don't be an idiot."

"I'm sorry, Goku, Gojyo," Yaone said as she presented them their dragon. "Sanzo is right, we have to leave now. If Nii were to show up, he would most likely kill us all… or worse." She looked remorsefully down towards Sanzo who sneered at the gesture.

Unloading the half-breed from his shoulder, Goku told him, "I'm not letting you run off and get yourself killed, Gojyo. I'm way stronger than you even without your head injury, so are you gonna make me tie you up or are you gonna climb up there on your own?" He pointed to the dragon's back, blazing his golden eyes towards the stubborn man.

Gojyo ground his teeth and growled, true fire lighting his already red irises. "I'd rather die than leave the man I love behind. Tie me up if you must, but I won't stop fighting to go back and save him."

Sanzo had seen it coming, but Gojyo turned in complete surprise when he felt the jab of a needle sink into his neck. Yaone stood behind him with an emptied syringe she had quickly procured from her bathroom and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Gojyo. Believe me when I say I understand your devotion, but I won't let you get yourself killed either."

Stuttering, Gojyo grabbed his neck and fell back into Goku's arms.

Goku just grimaced at having his friend rendered unconscious and hoisted him onto the dragon.

Silently, the ragtag group took off into the dark sky without further incident.

It felt like it had been the longest night of his life when dawn finally began to break. Sanzo had stayed conscious for a long stretch of the ride, but only because his mind would not let his beaten body rest. Watching the blur of ground beneath them as he remained slumped into Yaone's back was dizzying, but he could not remove his eyes from the fast-moving earth. There was a looming sorrow trying to overtake him, and Sanzo was beginning to feel his restraint weaken. A solitary tear ran down his cheek over finally leaving behind the retched place that had taken so much from him. Freedom from such a nightmare was not something he imagined possible, but the cost had been high. He even lost a friend in the process, and Sanzo hated how much that hurt above all else.

Hakkai being a friend was not something he could deny now with the pain of his loss contradicting his every rebuttal. What Gojyo said had been haunting him… that he would have rather died than leave the man he loved behind… Sanzo knew it was same reasoning behind Hakkai's sacrifice, and it made it sting all the more.

Damn, that idiot; getting himself killed over nothing. Love was the most useless reason in the world to die, especially for him.

Feeling a seed of anger, Sanzo fed it and let it replace the festering grief. Anger was a much more comfortable emotion. But really, he did not want to feel anything at all anymore. Pressing his eyes closed, he wanted to forget the whole fucking nightmare ever happened and disappear from reality.

When Sanzo began to lose his grip on consciousness again, he welcomed it, and he did not bother worrying that he was also losing his grip on the woman that kept him from falling.

Off and on during their long flight, Yaone felt Sanzo fading, but never to the point of losing his loose grip around her waist until now. "Sanzo?" she called back, and her heart subsequently lurched when he began sliding down the support of her back. Quickly she turned, releasing the dragon's reigns and her control of their speed, and caught him before he fell off entirely.

When the priest did not stir with the abrupt deceleration or her handling, Yaone frettingly checked his pulse. It was much too weak, and her own heart pounded heavily over how dire his health was turning. Sanzo had pushed himself extensively, and she prayed they would not get to their destination too late.

Moving to sit behind Sanzo so she could keep hold of him and the reigns, Yaone mentally urged their pair of dragons back into warp speed. She answered Goku's concerns with false assurances as they continued their flight towards the closest human stronghold.

AN: Ok, I'm so so sorry about losing Hakkai at the end like that. The plot demanded it though, and I obeyed. I am but a slave to plots with heart wrenching tragedy when it is called for...

How could I kill Hakkai and let Nii live? Well, there is a second fic coming up in the series!

Poor Gojyo though, I really feel for him :'( He's not going to be ok. And, Hakuryuu's sad 'Kyuu' after being told to take care of everyone breaks my heart :'''( I love that little guy.

Yaone did not die at least :D Hakkai realizing Sanzo loves her also makes me tear up. Gosh, this whole chapter is hard.

Don't ask me how Sanzo has pushed himself through all the injuries he has, but anime is like that sometimes. Plus, even with a broken iliac wing (the broken hip bone Sanzo referred to recently acquiring off-page), it is possible to walk, but the pain would be pretty severe. I couldn't do it, but maybe someone like Sanzo could.

Buy, yay! They are on their way to Kouten Castle! My second favorite badass Sanzo is finally making her appearance next chapter :D