~Author's Note: So you know, this IS NOT going to turn into a Mary Sue! You'll see what's going on soon enough...~

~=May It Be, Part 5=~ =~Take Back the Night~=

"How is he?"

Sanzo didn't even look up as he spoke. Gojyo had just returned to the main room, his face weary and stricken with the worry he had been suffering from. "Could be worse, I guess. He's over the hump now... he won't die. But he's still having some trouble breathing."

There was a brief growl and Sanzo angrily put out his cigarette on the table beside him. "More delays! I swear, this trip just keeps getting more and more trying, and now with Hakkai getting his damn self hurt..."

Frowning, Gojyo sat down across from the angered monk, his ruby eyes fixed on the immoral priest. "It's not like Hakkai tried to get hurt, y'know. He almost died, and honestly, he saved our lives. That thing would've killed us too, and we couldn't do a damn thing against it."

A pause passed, and Sanzo let out an irritated, but defeated, sigh. "True. But it still holds us back. What about the two runts, did you check on them?"

"Still sleepin' like babies," shrugged Gojyo. "Nothing wakes Goku up anyway, and I guess Kai Lin's the same way." A grin crossed his thin face. "Kinda cute, actually."

Sanzo only snorted.

*****

"My lord, you can't be serious! We can send another ambush, perhaps...!"

"Silence!" The man with the dark hair and beard turned on the youkai behind him, glaring through equally dark eyes. "They thought me dead, you know... and I haven't survived these past 500 years without learning a trick or two. And I know these men... they won't give up without a fight. So I have a different plan in mind." Grinning, he looked towards the ceiling. "I know where THEY are staying, and they are immobilized until Cho Hakkai returns to full strength. So in the meanwhile... pinpoint the current location of the Kougaiji-ikkou. I wish to have a little heart-to- heart with their lovely medicine woman..."

"...But my lord..."

"Silence! And do as I say!"

"...Hai... Litouten-sama."

*****

The woods were calm where the Kougaiji-ikkou had paused to work out a battle plan. Dokugaku Ji stood silent, leaning against a tree, watching Kougaiji pace and work things out aloud as Ririn sat watching him from the grassy ground. Yaone stood silent, her hands folded in front of her. Kougaiji himself was still pacing, muttering, and obviously quite upset about their current situation. "There's only a few ways to go about this, but I think simplicity is best if we want to capture the Kirin without her escaping. Yaone, you'll have to put the lot of them to sleep with a potion. Ririn can stand watch while Dokugaku Ji and I get the child."

"Mou, onii-chan, standing watch is so boring!"

The pouty tone in the girl's voice made Kougaiji break his first smile since he'd received the order to go after the Kirin. "I know, Ririn, but I did make you a promise before. Just do this, and you know I'll keep it. Okay? Just you and me, remember?"

There was a moment of pause of Ririn obviously contemplated this decision. "...oh, okay."

"Kougaiji-sama..." The red-haired youkai turned to his other female companion, who had finally broken her silence to speak up. "...Something seems very strange right now."

Blink. Kougaiji tilted his head at her, then his own ears caught the oddity. The forest had suddenly become deathly still. Not a bird moved, nor a deer rustled. Something dangerous was coming. In an instant, the entire group was standing at ready, looking around for whatever was waiting to attack.

However, none of them could've anticipated it. It came from behind Yaone, who turned and threw three small explosive beads at the mystery assailant in an instant, but whoever it was dodged with uncanny speed.

"Behind you!" she called to Dokugaku Ji.

Dokugaku Ji was quick with his sword and turned to cleave the unknown enemy in two, and though his initial objective was unsuccessful, he caught the intruder on the arm. The four members of Kougaiji's group stood quiet, watching until the stranger lifted his head and gave them their first glimpse of who only Kougaiji recognized. "...It's that rat from the heavenly realm, Litouten. It was your son who sealed my father and I away 500 years ago!"

The man sneered, tilting his head to one side as he regarded the prince. "Yes, that would be me, young prince. And yes, it was my son who sealed you and your bastard father away. And now, it is I..." He grinned as Kougaiji started, violet eyes wide with shock and pain as the man pulled an underhanded trick and stabbed the young prince in the stomach. "...who does this."

Yaone's eyes grew wide and she darted foreward, spear in her hands before any of the others could blink. "Kougaiji-sama!"

Dokugaku Ji and Ririn also advanced, but Litouten held up a hand. "One more move and I kill him. You, girl..." And his gaze turned to Yaone, who had stopped dead in her tracks, saffron eyes shaking with fear. "I know you are an apothecary. Give me your sleeping potions now. Do so swiftly, child, or I kill him where we stand!"

Dumbfounded and at a lack of anything else to do, Yaone nodded and slipped out a few vials full of a glittering potion used to put adversaries to sleep. Once they were in his hand, Litouten jerked back the sword, causing Kougaiji to stagger back and weave unsteadily, where Dokugaku Ji caught him. Litouten grinned. "Thank you kindly... now, if you'll excuse me..."

And in an instant, the man was gone. Ririn was hysterical, begging one of the two to do something for her older brother as Dokugaku Ji gently laid the wounded demon on the ground. Yaone, snapping out of her dazed state, swiftly moved over next to them, taking out a pouch filled with herbs. A slender hand ran down the side of Kougaiji's face, coated as it was with a thin veil of sweat, before quickly starting to press the herbs in the pouch against the wound. "Please hold on just a few moments longer, Kougaiji-sama... this will stop the bleeding..."

"Of all the dirty... underhanded tricks..." At this point, Kougaiji did not sound happy. "But this doesn't make sense at all. Why not kill me? Why only take the potions? Something pernicious is afoot... Something very pernicious indeed..."

*****

The room was silent where the two children slept side-by-side, although at the sound of something approaching, Goku began to stir. He caught a scent on a breeze that floated through the window and sat up instantly, watching as shimmers of a strange dusty substance flickered past his face. "What's...?! SA--... Sanzo..." His eyes began to feel heavy again and he drooped, watching a man he did not recognize climb through the window.

His whole body felt numb... tired. He tried to cry out again, to get someone's attention. Kai Lin was still asleep, but he saw now that it seemed she had started to wake up as well. Sleeping potion! He fought to stay awake as he was grabbed... tried to get free as the man picked up Kai Lin as well.

Nothing mattered but getting both of them to safety, and this was not happening. They could not get away. Finally, realizing he had no other choice, Goku drooped, eyes falling shut, giving in to the sleep he had tried to fight off. The man chuckled lowly... and made for the window once more.

*****

"Why is it that everything seems to be going wrong tonight?" muttered Gojyo lowly. He lifted a cigarette to his lips, reaching for his lighter. "We can't keep ourselves together for five minutes. Look at us, we're falling apart, and all because some little girl comes in and--..."

Sanzo snorted audibly, leaning back into his chair. "We'll be gone shortly. We'll send her on her way to wherever she came from and we'll get back to our journey."

The sudden comment caught Gojyo's attention and he watched Sanzo's face with a tiny bit of a smirk. "Y'know, Sanzo, you can't tell me you're not just a little bit curious. What was it she called you? Konzen? She called me Kenren... and Hakkai Tenpou. Hell, I'd like to know what's going on."

Once again, Sanzo snorted to show that he had no interest in such trivial matters. It had been a long night already, and all he really cared for right now was trying to get some sleep and being on the way in the morning.

Then, his head shot up at a short cry from down the hall. Violet eyes focused in that direction before he was on his feet and heading that way. Bursting into the door, he was shocked to find someone just barely missing him by ducking out the window and heading off into the night. Under one arm he carried two things... Goku and Kai Lin.

"Bastard! Stop!" Sanzo went for his gun, then realized that something was still lingering in the air. He coughed and covered his mouth, feeling drowsy. "So that's how... sleeping gas... nngh..." He dropped to his knees, hearing Gojyo make his way up the hallway with long, quick steps. "Stay out of here, Gojyo!"

The mist was dissipating, but he had caught enough of it... he fell foreward, deeply asleep before Gojyo burst around the corner.

*****

A little over two hours passed before Sanzo finally began to awaken. He stirred slightly at first, then groaned. His head was throbbing... he realized he must've cracked it against the floor when he fell victim to the sleeping medicine that had lingered in Goku and Kai Lin's room. Gojyo was leaning against the wall nearby, and Hakkai was sitting in a chair by the door, a little better in appearance than he had been earlier. The first words out of his own mouth were memorable of many other things to him... even this. "I couldn't save them."

"Don't worry yourself with it, Sanzo... we'll get them back." Hakkai's voice was quiet and raspy... he obviously had not fully recovered. "Gojyo tried to catch the man, but he disappeared. Could he have been sent by Kougaiji?"

Gojyo shook his head, looking more frustrated than anything. "I doubt it. I really do doubt it. They would've sent the apothecary chick... not some guy. Whoever it was wasn't youkai anyway... he was something else."

"We're going to find them."

Both Gojyo and Hakkai turned to look at Sanzo as he sat up in the bed. Gojyo's jaw had dropped open and it looked as if he may lose his cigarette. "We have no idea where they went, Sanzo!"

Sanzo shook his head a little, speaking again. "But we have a clue. He headed towards the woods. That is where we head."

Hakkai opened his mouth to say something, then just closed it and shook his head. There was no changing Sanzo's mind now. Gojyo as well seemed resigned to this fate and sighed deeply. All they had now was to set out.

*****

The woods were silent, and far too quiet for Sanzo's taste. And as if anticipating the hard times ahead, a misty rain had begun to fall. According to the rumor mill in town, this "mysterious beauty" of a medicine woman lived near the edge of the forest in a small hut. She was a hermit for the most part, living by herself, only coming into town to buy necessary goods for survival. People who travelled the woods made sure to stop by her little hut before leaving in order to buy medicinal goods, mostly because these woods were known for being rich in one other thing than herbal remedies: poisons.

The rain was falling heavily by the time the group arrived at the small house in the woods, and the Sanzo-ikkou certainly could have been in better spirits. Everyone was unsure of what to expect, but aware of their surroundings, as they gazed about. Sanzo scowled. "Fei-Min! Are you in here? We've come here to find you."

As it was, the house certainly was small, barely big enough for even one person just living alone. A small table sat in the center, strewn with herbs and medicines, and a few more herbs with pestle and mortar sets were haphazardly set across the counter along one wall. The walls were lined with herbs and medicinal flowers hung up to dry out. A bed sat in the far corner, the only place free of herbs. There were three or four windows, all of them open, the sparse curtains blowing in a soft breeze, rain carried in with it, casting moisture upon the wooden floor, and the house smelled of flowers and perfumed ointments.

Sanzo was about to speak up again when suddenly, he felt the barrel of a shotgun press into the nape of his neck. "Who the fuck are you and what the fuck are you doing in my house?"

The monk's back stiffened. "We're looking for a woman by the name of Fei-Min."

A slight snarl. "Why are you looking for her?"

"We want her to come with us."

The barrel of the shotgun shoved against the back of Sanzo's head again. "Why?"

"...We need her help for this next leg of our journey... someone who knows herbs and medicines well, so we all don't end up dead."

There was a long pause, and then the barrel of the shotgun withdrew. "Then you've come to the right place."

The shock was evident with each of the remaining three members of the Sanzo-ikkou. Sanzo, Gojyo, and Hakkai all turned to face the woman that held the shotgun. She was smiling slightly, though it wasn't her calm appearance that shocked everyone.

The woman had soft blond hair, only a little longer than Sanzo's. It hung just past her shoulders and dusted into her eyes. Her skin was fair, and despite the hard work she obviously must've put into her trade, she seemed delicate and untouched... Behind that, though, were the years of suffering, read in sharp violet eyes.

And she was in every way identical to the irrational monk. From the way she stood with her hips slightly to one side, to the droop of her eyelids, to the pout of her lips. She was beautiful, as was he, and in that match was an eerie similarity of a haunted past in haunted eyes that made even Hakkai double-take and recoil.

The unexpected twins blinked at one another, gauging responses and trying to make heads or tails of the situation at hand. Sanzo moved first, reaching out and running slender fingertips over the girl's face. "...You. Where did you get that face?"

Her nose wrinkled and she made a face up at him, being nearly a full foot shorter. "I was born with it, of course. What about you? Not every day you meet a male doppleganger."

"Same as you! Hmph." Sanzo wasn't too pleased at all with this new turn of events... and this was just plain creepy. "You are Fei-Min?" Changing the topic seemed to be the best course of action.

The girl straightened a bit, trying to make her very small frame seem just that much bigger. "I am. I suppose you heard of me from town?"

A nod of response. The tension, however, did not leave the air. The young woman was obviously still very startled, and Sanzo was no less miffed. Both shifted uncomfortably until finally, the woman spoke again. "The rain doesn't look to be letting up, and it's getting late. Tell me what you need, I'll get it ready tonight, and you all can be gone by morning."

"Actually, we're planning a trek through the woods... we're pursuing someone," Hakkai responded shortly, his eyes shifting back and forth between the two blondes in the room. "We were told this area is practically alive with toxins and we should see you before proceeding."

Fei-Min nodded in agreement. "They told you right. It's dangerous in this area... very dangerous. I'll mix up some antitoxins tonight... and it'll take part of the morning for them to set. I'll wager they'll be ready for you all by midday tomorrow... readjusting my original estimate, of course"

The others nodded and Fei-Min excused herself, walking outside quietly. Gojyo let out a deep, pent-up breath. "Geez! That was weird! Damn, Sanzo, you have a body double!"

"That was rather eerie." The fact that it had even disturbed Hakkai bothered Gojyo a little. "With a few exceptions of height, the way she wears her hair, and her own feminine figure, or lack thereof, she was identical to Sanzo. I wonder..."

Sanzo's interruption was short and blunt. "I have no siblings." With that, he started outside. "Which gives me every reason to believe that the whole truth is not being told here. I'm going to talk to her. Something isn't right... and I intend to find out what."

~Tsuzukeru...~