Goku was doing everything he could to avoid going back to the temple. The only thing his previous talk with Hakkai had accomplished was to make Goku even more certain that Sanzo's death was near at hand. He'd spent the last two hours wandering around the town. Goku was hoping that something would catch his attention, and he'd stay there for many hours and by the time he was finished it would be too late to go back the temple and he'd have to go get a hotel room. Goku was certain that with his new outlook on Sanzo's short time left, he would not be able to face the elderly monk.

            But Goku had lived here for so long, that the town was no longer interesting.

The main drag of the town started at the temple, went through the town and became the road that went into the country side. Goku was, obviously, walking away from the temple. At the end of the road, Goku turned around, looked down and road and could barely see the temple at the other end. He was loathe to work his way back down the road, he looked around for something to occupy him for something a little longer. His eyes fell upon a small hill, with a fence and gate – the town's cemetery. He hadn't been there for a long time, even though he had promised Gojyo at his funeral that he would visit him all every week. It had been at least six years since he had even thought of going to visit his friend's grave.

            While Goku didn't really want to go to the cemetery, he would rather do that than go back to Chouan Temple. He took his time getting there, ripping some wild flowers out of the ground for Gojyo's grave. Hakkai went every few days to the grave, so there were always flowers and sake at the grave, sometimes even a pack of cigarettes, and the tombstone was kept insanely clean. Now that Goku was actually at the grave and holding the wild flowers, complete with roots and dirt clump, he felt badly about putting the flowers down with Hakkai's neatly trimmed ones, so Goku chucked the over his shoulder and look down at the tombstone.

" 'Sha Gojyo… beloved brother and friend'… hm, I still think it should have said 'pervert and gambler' on it. That's what condemned you."

            After their return from the west, Gojyo got into some bad company and worked up some pretty bad debts. Fortunately, he always found some way to pay them off. For one really bad one he actually stole Sanzo's Gold Card. The priest didn't even know until the Three Aspects complained about his shopping spree. Sanzo had never really forgiven Gojyo for that. Gojyo then started from the beginning, with the debts. He just for some reason couldn't win enough to get out of the debt, and when he did win enough to pay some of it off, he would end up spending it on women and alcohol. In the end, Gojyo wasn't able to pay off the debts and in the effort to expedite the process, some gangsters went to threaten him. They didn't mean to shot and kill him, but they were new to the mafia, or whatever Gojyo owed money to. They freaked out when Gojyo saw them and they shot, right the chest, he bled to death in an alley.

"You really were a perverted fool, you know that, right, Gojyo? Whenever you left Hakkai would tell you now to bet or drink or get roped into anything, but you always did. Why didn't you listen to him? Hakkai always knew what was best for you…."

            Goku turned the looked down the hill towards Chouan Temple and decided that whether he liked it or not, he really did need to start heading back. Goku took one last glance at Gojyo's grave and headed down the cobblestone path and out the gate. Just before he was about to re-enter the town, a saw three young monks sitting on a log by the side of the road.

"Probably from Chouan…"

The most elder looking of the trio saw Goku, waved and ran over to him.

"Ah, Goku-san, could I ask you for a favor?"

            Yes, they were definitely from Chouan, but whoever they were, alluded Goku.

"Uhh, Sure. What do you need?"

"Oh, well you see, Sanzo-sama asked us to come out and wash a few of the graves with Holy Water, and well," the monk looked so very embarrassed and Goku was certain he would accept the request out of pity, "I was wondering if you would help us carry the water up the hill."

            Goku stood there for a moment, expecting the monk to add something else to the request, but none came, and Goku agreed. There were eight containers to carry and the monks only gave him one. Goku, felt slightly offended. He was a youkai and they were acting as though they had asked Sanzo himself to help them. After a quarter of the way up the hill, Goku forced them to stop and the trio of monks was quite confused.

"Is something wrong, Goku-san?" One of them asked.

"Do you need a break?" the eldest asked and Goku glared in response.

"I'll carry all your containers. Give them to me."

"Oh no!" they all yelled together.

"We couldn't ask you to do that! It would be awfully rude." The eldest said.

"Well, your not asking, I'm telling you to. I'm a youkai. I fought the Demon Ox King. I think I can handle carry some water up a hill."

            They grudgingly agreed and just to prove to them he really could do it, he carried the water all the way to the first grave they were to clean. It was a grand, six foot tall, white tombstone. The grass around it was meticulously cut and there were piles of flowers, rice and other offerings around it. The only thing written on the tombstone was "Koumyou Sanzo". Goku had never wandered around the cemetery and was a little amazed that the grave of a Sanzo was here, and not in the temple itself. The monks began scrubbing at the already clean tombstone while Goku continued to stare. After a few minutes, the eldest of the cleaning monks, stopped and asked Goku what was wrong.

"Aren't the graves of the Sanzo kept on temple grounds?"

The monk was silent for a moment before shrugging his shoulder, "Yes, I'm not certain why this one is here. I think it's the only one, but I could be wrong." And he resumed cleaning.

            Goku began walking away from the grave, leaving the cemetery, and while doing so, he realized that Koumyou Sanzo's grave faced the main drag and Chouan Temple.

            When Goku actually did get back to the temple, it was pretty late and most of the monks were either finishing dinner or sleeping. Goku hated the meals at the temple. While he knew that monks threw away vanity and lived drab, vegetarian lives, he never understood how they could live on the little food they got. The head cook of the temple was an amazing chef, and every one knew it. He could have started a restaurant and become insanely rich, but he instead got happiness from cooking plain things for his fellow monks. Goku and the chef had a special agreement – since Goku was not a monk, he could eat whatever and how much he wanted. So if Goku made the appearance at the monk's dinner and ate dinner with them, a more complete meal would be made especially for Goku and delivered to his room at 11pm. Goku liked going to bed with a full stomach. It was nearly 11pm already and Goku decided that before eating his dinner, he would go check up on Sanzo – he had been gone almost all day after all.

            Sanzo was asleep, just as Goku expected him to be. He quietly sat down next to Sanzo's bed and promptly fell asleep.

            When Goku woke up, he had fallen over and was lying on his back. Sanzo was sitting at the small table in his room and reading the newspaper.

Sanzo turned his head, slightly, and said, "Goku,".

            Goku, immediately, sat up and scooted over the table, across from Sanzo.

"You should know that it's very creepy when you wake up in the middle of the night and all you can see is this silhouette of a person sitting by the side of your bed. I nearly hit you with the pot." Sanzo motioned to the tea kettle and then raised his newspaper.

            Sanzo and Goku sat in silence for a few minutes. While in the middle of reading an article on the back of the newspaper, Sanzo put it down and poured himself another cup of tea.

"I hear you helped some monks carry water up the hill by the cemetery."

"Uh," Goku was startled by this a little, "Yeah, I was there visiting Gojyo."

"If you keep helping people, then they will never be able to do anything on their own." Sanzo picked up his newspaper again.

Goku felt like he was being ignored, "Hey, Sanzo, how come Koumyou's grave is up with the other people and not in the temple?"

            Goku could see Sanzo tense up behind the newspaper. There was once again silence for many minutes.

"Ahh, sorry Sanzo. I shouldn't have asked," Goku stood up, "I'm going to go for a walk."

"He was a people person."

Goku turned around, "Eh? Did you say something, Sanzo?"

Sanzo put down the newspaper, "He liked people." He sighed, "I'm on the verge of death, and you keep going on day long walks. Now sit down."

Goku returned to the table.

"Koumyou Sanzo… my master, loved people and the people loved him. He didn't want to be far from them." Sanzo took a sip of his tea, "Goku, when I die, please make sure I'm buried up there too."

Goku laughed, "But Sanzo, you're not really a people person."

"No, but if I have to spend eternity buried in the ground with other corpses then I want to at least spend it with my master."

"Sanzo…." Goku picked at the hem of his shirt, "When I die… can I buried near you?"

"Goku…." Sanzo picked up his newspaper, "by the time you die, no one will but you will remember who Genjo Sanzo is and my tombstone will have long since eroded away. Odds are… you won't be able to find me."

Goku just kept picking at the hem.