Part II

Chapter 2

Sanzo's scream as one of his five attackers raked sharp claws through his back while another's club smashed from the side into his chest momentarily paralyzed Goku in a stranglehold of fear. But that single agonized second served to charge his reserves, and he growled almost inhumanly as adrenalin surged through his limbs. Throwing off the hefty youkai on his back, he flung Nyoibou fiercely into the bodies of his other attackers, smashing all of them in seconds.

A similar roar from the pile of youkai on top of Hakkai, followed by their bodies erupting into a blood-drenched torrent of torn limbs, told Gojyo that Hakkai had managed to raise a barrier of energy between himself and his foes before he was crushed. He then expanded the force into a bomb-like explosion to free himself. Gojyo was by his side as he emerged from the tangle and flew toward Goku and Sanzo.

By the time Goku eliminated his own assailants, Hakkai and Gojyo had each slain one of the youkai attacking Sanzo and were tearing two more off of him, pounding them into the ground as the last one fled from the ravine.

Goku knelt to lift Sanzo, but the monk raised his hand to stop him. "The sutra," he rasped. When his eyes flickered to Sanzo's shoulders, Goku realized the stole had been taken.

"Nyoibou!" he called the staff back into action. Bracing his legs to control the increased length, he extended the weapon across the distance to the running youkai and plunged it into his back. The demon fell with a scream of pain, then Goku paused, torn between running to get the sutra and staying with Sanzo.

"Stay. I'll get it," said Gojyo, placing his hand on Goku's shoulder and pushing him back toward the monk.

Goku released breath he didn't know he was holding, then dropped to his knees beside Sanzo and lifted his shoulders and head into his lap. "Sanzo—"

"The sutra," Sanzo insisted, eyes glazed and voice barely a whisper.

"Here," said Gojyo, holding it in front of him. Goku took it with his free hand and placed it in Sanzo's hand. Sanzo's fingers closed on it as he slipped into unconsciousness.

Hakkai was on his knees near them, head bowed, weight resting on his outstretched hands, chest heaving as he drew in gasps of air. He winced and pulled away as Gojyo squatted beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. His green shirt was torn, warm and slick with blood where Gojyo touched him.

"Hakkai?"

The brunette straightened and shrugged the other's hand off, waving him away. "I'm fine. Just out of breath." He moved to Sanzo's side and met Goku's anxious stare.

"He's losing a lot of blood, Hakkai." The boy had already removed Sanzo's broken bamboo breastplate and was stripping off his tattered robe. Together they turned him onto his left side so Hakkai could see his back and right side, from which blood was flowing profusely.

"Hakuryuu," the healer addressed the small dragon hovering above him, "Is there room enough here for you to change and give us some light?"

The space in the narrow ravine was tight, but the dragon responded by altering to his jeep form, aiming his headlights at the bloodied group in front of him. Hakkai winced again, and Gojyo sucked in his breath and turned away when the deep gouge the full length of Sanzo's back was illuminated, a strip of his flesh tattered between other clawed cuts. Goku gritted his teeth and momentarily squeezed his eyes shut, his hands reflexively holding Sanzo tighter.

Hakkai closed his eyes for a moment and breathed deeply to focus his mind on the task of exploring Sanzo's injuries. Reaching into the bleeding muscle and tissue at the back of the monk's slender waist, he used feel as well as sight to find a rent in the wall of his kidney. Using the fingers of one hand to pull and massage the tissue into place, he cupped his other hand over the wound. His expression was distant and body tensed in concentration as he directed the flow of healing ki from his hand into the tissue, closing the hole and stemming the stream of blood.

With the most threatening damage repaired, he sat back on his haunches, dragging the back of his hand across his forehead. He vaguely registered Gojyo's hand gently squeezing his uninjured shoulder, and drew strength from it as he leaned over again to continue his examination.

"This has to be cleaned before I can close it," the healer told the other two as he explored the slashes in Sanzo's upper back and shoulder. "He seems to have torn mostly skin and muscle, no vital organs besides the kidney… but one of these gashes is through to bone, and there are shreds of leather and linen in it. I don't dare close it this way." He didn't tell them that he felt too depleted to continue the healing anyway, without time to recharge. "We need to find a place where we can make him more comfortable. And we're going to need a supply of water."

"I've been hearing a stream—parallel to us, I think—not far off the trail," said Gojyo. "I think we'll have to get to the end of the ravine to access it."

Goku nodded his head in confirmation, his keen senses picking up the sound and scent of the nearby water. "It should be within a few hundred feet." Hakuryuu flashed his headlamps to indicate agreement.

"I'll need my backpack." Hakkai cast his eyes around in search of it as he pushed himself to stand.

Gojyo's hand was at his elbow to steady him as he swayed, lightheaded and struggling to keep his balance. "I'll collect our packs," he told the healer. "Goku, can you manage Sanzo, or do you want me to carry him?"

"I can manage," said Goku.

* * *

Dusk had deepened into darkness, and the full moon was just rising to light their way when the battered travelers reached the far side of the ravine, Goku carrying the unconscious monk. He laid Sanzo down on a thick bed of pine needles in a glade of evergreens near the stream, doing his best not to jostle him as he spread one of their blankets under him.

Gojyo and Hakkai were close behind, the taller man hovering near enough to his friend to support him if he dizzied again. Hakuryuu flapped nervously over them, now and then mewing encouragement.

Hakkai sat down heavily beside Sanzo, feet apart and knees raised to brace his arms. He dropped his head to his hands and rested for a few moments, clearing his mind for the task ahead.

"Here." Gojyo pushed his canteen into his hands.

He accepted it gratefully, then turned to the younger man. "Goku, if you clean his wounds, I'll do what I can to close them… Gojyo, he'll need hot water. We'll need a fire. And the antiseptic and bandages from my backpack. Hakuryuu, can I trouble you for light again?" The dragon settled into a spacious spot between two pairs of trees and resumed his jeep form, headlights glowing.

While Gojyo collected deadwood and got a fire going to heat water, Hakkai resumed a more thorough examination of Sanzo's injuries. His brow furrowed. "We've got to get these gashes closed. He's still losing too much blood. And I'm worried about his ribs," he told Goku. "The one he cracked three days ago seems to have fractured or splintered. I think it may have punctured his lung. The bruise is spreading, and there's some swelling. There may be fluid collecting between his ribs and lung, and that could cause the injured part of his lung to collapse."

It was Sanzo's shallow, wheezy breathing and the sweat beading on his clammy skin that had him most worried. He wasn't sure how much of the feverishness was from the ribcage injuries and how much from loss of blood and shock. "I can't tell how bad it is and I can't do much about it. He may need a surgeon this time." Hakkai couldn't heal what he couldn't clearly see or feel as being out of place; internal injuries were often beyond his abilities.

"Right now we need to keep him warm so he doesn't go into shock… And now that we're past the trap, the rest of the road had better be open. We need to get him into town. It can't be too much further."

Hakkai briefly rested against the tree behind him and tore one of his extra shirts into additional bandages while Goku patiently picked the scraps of leather and fabric from Sanzo's wounds, taking care, as Hakkai had instructed him, to move the monk as little as possible to prevent further damage to his lung. After he had bathed the gashes and cleaned them as well as he could, Hakkai showed him how to hold the edges of torn muscle and skin together while he spread his broad hands over them, his eyes closing as he focused his healing energy into his palms and fingers.

Gojyo took over the task of preparing bandages. He bit back a protest that Hakkai wait to heal Sanzo and see to himself first, knowing it would be ignored. Hakkai's torn shirtsleeve was drenched with blood, but he had yet to allow Gojyo to get a good look at his arm.

Using his ki to heal demanded far more concentration than gathering it as a weapon or shield. He had to control the power and modulate it, channeling its flow into individual strands of tissue and muscle, increasing the force to mend torn sinew and firm muscle, adjusting it minutely to cauterize bleeding veins, arteries, and capillaries and to rejoin delicate nerves and sensitive skin. And all the while he had to hold in mind the vast knowledge of the human body he had accumulated over time so he could visualize the correct positions, appearance, and functions of each muscle and tissue his ki touched in order to rebuild and repair them properly.

It took only minutes for the healing green warmth to achieve the healer's goal. He hesitated after the wounds were closed, perspiration beading on his forehead and soaking his bloodstained shirt. Then he turned his attention to the bruised ribs, ki once more glowing between his hands and Sanzo's skin—though much more faintly—as he tried to disperse the unseen fluid beneath the shattered rib and at least reduce the swelling.

Depleted already from fighting and from the demands of the healing he had already done, the further loss of ki left Hakkai reeling. He had to stop before he wanted, and he passed out when he tried to push off his knees to stand up.

Watching him closely and knowing he had pushed his limits, Gojyo was there to break his fall when he crumpled back to his knees. The half-youkai frowned as he propped his friend against the tree, then ripped open the diagonal closure on his shirt, peeling back the torn fabric so he could, finally, get a good look at his injured shoulder. "Fuck!" He was rougher than he had intended to be; he made himself slow down and handle the wound more gently. "Goku can you bring that basin of water and help me take care of this?"  But when he looked up he realized that the younger man had his hands full bandaging Sanzo's upper body. "Never mind. I'll manage."

The curve of bone on the outside corner of Hakkai's shoulder showed white under the torn flesh, and fresh blood still flowed from a gash extending down his upper arm nearly to his elbow. Gojyo applied pressure to the area of worst bleeding until it slowed, then wrapped a bandage tightly around it while he collected the water basin and antiseptic.

Hakkai was beginning to come to by the time he returned to properly clean and bandage the wound, but his eyes were still unfocused and his brow furrowed with the pain he hadn't allowed himself to feel until now. "Asshole," Gojyo told him.

Hakkai's lips curved slightly over gritted teeth, then he closed his eyes again, only semi-conscious.

When the healer came around fully a short time later, Gojyo had a cup of tea and food ready for him. "Here. Eat something, you damn fool. Will you ever learn to back off before you use up too much of yourself? It doesn't do us any good to trade your life for one of ours."

Hakkai took the tea and smiled weakly. It was a mantra he had heard over and over from Gojyo lately. "That's why I keep you around to pick up the pieces," he responded. He raised his hand to a pair of parallel claw marks across Gojyo's collar bone, dried blood congealed on them. "It looks like you could use a little repairing, too."

"Don't you dare, idiot. This is nothing I can't take care of myself. And Goku's gotten pretty good at dealing with these minor injuries."

"He has a good teacher." Hakkai smiled weakly through his exhaustion, then shifted his attention to the younger man. Goku had just finished bandaging the worst of Sanzo's injuries and arranging a compress on the swollen bruise spreading from the blond's lower ribs to his chest and abdomen. He covered him with two more blankets, careful to tuck the edges under the blanket on the ground to seal in Sanzo's own warmth. His expression was dark with worry.

"Goku, you've made him as comfortable as you can. You need to clean up and tend to your own injuries. You're pretty badly cut up yourself. And you and Gojyo need to eat something and get some rest. If we can't travel tonight, we need to get on the road at daybreak… if we can." He couldn't think yet about what they would do if the rest of their route was blocked as the last fifteen miles had been.

Until Hakkai called his attention to it, Goku hadn't realized he was hurt himself. But one sleeve of his shirt hung in tatters, his arm underneath scored by several claw marks and dark with dried blood. His opposite leg was in similar condition, and he could feel the sting of cuts and scratches on his face and back. Beyond the injuries, his temples were throbbing with the headache that often followed the rush of adrenalin and tension that spurred him into frenzied fighting.

Squatting beside Sanzo, he tentatively rested his hand on the monk's forehead, brushing the blond locks aside. "If we wait 'til daylight, will Sanzo make it through the night, Hakkai, with his lung punctured? And if we try to go now, will moving him make things worse?" He paused, struggling to put into words the other fear nagging all of them. Whether they stayed or moved, were there more assassins waiting, and would they be attacked again before they'd had time to recover?

"Take a few minutes to clean up and eat, Goku. We can make a better decision when we've had a chance to collect ourselves and think."

***TBC***

Welcome aboard, Shayera, Bekquai, Blades of Ice, and K.Firefly. I recognize most of your names from your reviews of Xparrot's "Remembering to Breathe," and I was hoping I'd pick up a few more of her readers. When IS that girl gonna update that story!?! NOW, Xparrot. We're waiting!

Thanks to all who complimented me on the fight scenes. I worked hard to get those right. Gallatica, I'm sorry (really, you ask?)—I know you didn't want me to hurt Sanzo too much… but it seems I'm not alone in getting my kicks from monk abuse. [Naye: " What, this is not a good thing?"]  What a sorry lot we are!