Disclaimer: And yet again... these characters aren't mine, except for Shi Mou Rou ^_^ Thanks!

Chapter 6: Hope

Sanzo and Hakkai ran back to the inn, running as fast as their feet could take them. Hakkai was losing his stamina, but he couldn't risk letting his guard down; only Shi knew how to return Goku.

Their ran on the rooftop, since they didn't want to cause a scene. Besides, it was the easiest way back to Goku's room.

Finally they caught sight Goku's room, where they saw Gojyo's figure resting on the wall, inanimate as a doll.

" No..." Sanzo muttered under his breath as he felt a cold sensation in his nerves.

Upon reaching the window, Hakkai immediately placed Shi in the corner of the room, which helped him use a lot less of his chi. Sanzo, on the other hand, quickly went towards Gojyo. Gojyo was slumped against the wall, his eyes were closed and his hand clenched on a bottle of fruit juice.

The two looked in horror as they thought of the worst thing that could happen- that Gojyo also drank the poison.

Sanzo felt Gojyo's neck, searching for a pulse. His index and middle fingers trembled as he continually searched for a sign of life. Hakkai could only watch, and Shi stared blankly.

"Is this the heartless Sanzo group Kou-sama was talking about?" She pondered. "I never saw any fighting group like this... usually they'd just accept a comrade's death. If Kou-sama is right, then why are they wasting their time? They would have just moved on..."

"Hah!" Sanzo, sighed in relief

"I found his pulse..." His tone with a hint of relief in it.

Hakkai smiled. He too was relieved with the news. "Well then..." he exclaimed, "There's still time to reverse the poison... right, Shi?" He looked at Shi, who was still a prisoner of his chi barrier.

"His pulse..." Sanzo said with concern, "If we don't make it in time... he might..."

"You must have an antidote with you," Hakkai said, cutting Sanzo off, "Or do you want us to find that out ourselves?"

"Even if you do torture me... you won't get the cure. There is no antidote..."

"WHAT?!" Sanzo barked, his rage burning.

" I only created the potion once before, and it did have an antidote. I stopped using it after that because I didn't find any enjoyment in such an easy way to finish my mission. But knowing that you guys were against me on this mission, I decided to use it again. I didn't want to waste so much time..."

" So then... what was the antidote before???"

Shi Mou Rou didn't speak. She didn't know what to do at the moment. She was hopeless, there was no way she could escape. Even when she thought she could escape the moment Hakkai had his attention diverted, he had astonishingly maintained his concentration on his barrier. If she was to answer now, Kou would most probably kill her when she returned... but that seemed like a better option than if he were to look at her with disgust.

She shivered.

"I..." She slowly stammered.

"What? Cat got your tongue? Are you scared?"

She looked up, and frowned. She hated Hakkai's sarcasm, and she hated Sanzo's stare even more.

"I... don't know..." She said nervously.

"What do you mean, "I don't know?!" Sanzo questioned.

"You have no knowledge about it or you're just scared to say it? Either way, if we see that you're just wasting our time... the result will just be the same for you... and it won't be a pleasant one." Hakkai added, maintaining a calm tone in his voice.

"I can't believe you..." Shi said angrily, "You have no idea... how hard this is... The trust Kougaiji-sama put in me... And now that I've broken that trust I have no idea how I can face him... I can't even bear myself anymore!!!" Shi clenched her fist, with her head bowed down, all that Hakkai and Sanzo could see was her forced smile.

"If you do plan to kill me... maybe... maybe that would be the best option for me right now because... because there's no way you guys can make another antidote!!!" Shi looked up, her eyebrows meeting, and her smile now overcome by a forceful frown.

Hakkai looked at her with a bit of sympathy. He knew that she was an enemy, but knowing that his friend also was in danger, there really could be any other way than to threaten her. Sanzo, on the other hand, hated the idea that she wanted them to feel sorry for her. He simply looked away.

"Damn it!!!" Sanzo swore, "All we need to know is how to make an antidote! Why are you making this so hard for all of us?! What is with that antidote thats so impossible?!"

Shi's frown turned into a vague smile once again. She felt a little pleasure in seeing Sanzo react like this; his weakness was becoming more and more evident.

Sanzo reached for his gun. "S-Sanzo, what are you..." Hakkai asked in disbelief as he saw Sanzo reloading his gun.

"This girl is even worse than Goku and Gojyo's blabbering combined! She's no use for us... if it's going to be like this, we might as well end this irritating-"

"I know that gun is for demons only," Shi said calmly.

"Oh yeah, you think you know a lot, huh?" Sanzo said as he make the gun click as he returned it to it's usual form. He held it at point blank range, pointing towards Shi.

"Now..." he said, emotionless as ever, "Are you going to tell us or..."

Sanzo didn't continue his statement. Pure silence reigned. Hakkai looked at him, his eyes wide with confusion. Sanzo wasn't really holding back. And Hakkai knew, that if he really did go on with killing Shi... it would be the first female human foe that he'd ever killed. He never knew he would be capable of doing it. And he also realized that if he did... it really would be impossible for them to return both Goku and Gojyo.

"I..." Shi stammered, looking into the gun's barrel.

"What?" Sanzo asked sarcastically, "Am I scaring you even more???"

"If I am going to die here... at least... maybe..."

Hakkai shifted his gaze towards Shi. "Is she going to say it?" He pondered. "Did we actually intimidate her?"

"I know you guys are my enemies... but I can't deny..." Shi paused, and bit her lip, "but I can't deny that you guys... really have something special. I made that antidote in the past, because I... I was so stupid..." A tear rolled down her cheek "My father worked for this group that always got their money through dirty tricks, he was their alchemist, so to say. He always told me how he didn't want this life for me... He wanted me to be someone better... someone who could at least make a difference... but not through the way he did. He taught me all I knew... but... I... wanted even more."

Sanzo unconsciously lowered his gun. Hakkai couldn't help but feel even more sympathy for Shi Mou Rou.

"I wanted so much that... when I heard of the sleeping death potion he had created, I wanted nothing but to know how to create the concoction. Luckily I found the formula, but I realized that I still couldn't use it until I knew the antidote. Of course he was enraged, and he refused to tell me... but I was so greedy that... that..." She whimpered. "I drank the potion and told him that there was no other way but to reveal the antidote. It was only then that I realized..."

"Realized what?" Sanzo asked, his voice firm.

"The only antidote was his blood... He cut his wrist in front of me, and gave me the formula on how to create it. I have no idea back then why that had to be included... but before he died, he told me that blood was a fluid of life, and its properties were so magical that there was no other fluid or material on earth that could replace it..."

"So..." Hakkai said softly, "The only antidote would be... either me or Sanzo... our blood? Does it mean that we have to... die as well?"

"Yes." Shi bowed her head.

"Why? If it needs our blood, why does it have to mean our death? And if we did give our blood, what proof do we have that you'd make the antidote... or that you're even telling us the truth?" Hakkai asked, knowing that Sanzo was in a silent shock at the moment.

Shi paused a while.

"I doubt that you could have made that story all up in such a small amount of time... But it's possible, right?" Hakkai ended the silence, "I'm sorry but, with the short span of time we have spent in knowing each other, it would be careless to trust you just like that... If you get my blood, Sanzo stays, but then with him all alone, who knows what a skilled assassin like you could do. On the other hand, if you get Sanzo's blood, the journey ends. And I doubt that me removing my device would help... either way, we lose... all of us die."

"I have no proof... but if you really want to risk your friends... this is the only way. The reason why this antidote needs so much blood is because this poison is like a leech... It drains the victim both emotionally and physically. He'd think that he was in a dream but the truth is that, the more he succumbs to the dream, the more blood he looses. There's no way to defeat it... but to have an incredibly strong state of mind and body."

"So... it's come to this..." Sanzo contemplated, as he stared back at his two lifeless comrades.

~::Meanwhile::~

Goku lay down on his side, curled up with his arms hugging his legs. He felt the numbness in his limbs, but he didn't care. For him, that position was the only way he could feel secure and warm. He knew that was growing immune to the warmth, but each time he did, he just hugged tighter, feeling the pain of a thousand pricks of needles in his limbs. His blood circulation was lessened each time he held on tighter, he knew that feeling those prickles meant that he had to stretch, but the idea of losing his security was almost as bad as the thought of death- in fact, he thought death would be better.

"Why..." Goku thought, feeling another tear run over his roughened cheek, trickling so slowly that it felt like eternity, "Why did he have to leave me here? Why would they do such a thing???"

"You never mattered..."

Goku envisioned over and over as Sanzo said that statement, and then turned and walked away. He wanted to cry even more, but his eyes burned so much that he thought that he actually ran out of tears. Nothing would come out anymore.

"If blood has to pour out of my eyes... I don't care... nothing matters anymore..." Goku sniffed, and held on even tighter, feeling prickles in his feet once again. All he could see now was the misty light flowing through the bars at the entrance. Everything seemed misty to him, his eyes grew dull by the hour. He lost track of time; he had no idea how many days it had been.

"I'd been trapped before... for more than a hundred years... but how come... this feels even worse?"

Goku shut his eyes as he tried to remember his past. He always tried to erase the vague memory of his imprisonment, but he always found himself remembering fragments of that memory every now and then. He remembered the little bird, his only friend, which usually came into the cave... until it came for one last time... and died in front of him. He remembered the sunlight, how he hated its presence, how he scorned it for tormenting him as he was trapped in the vast silence and darkness of the cavern. And lastly, he remembered as Sanzo held out his hand to him, letting him grasp his hand and finally feel the word he had always longed... Freedom.

"Why would they do such a thing??? After all that time… I knew they hated me at times, but they also proved how much they cared for me... There were good times and bad times, but we went through all of them without regret... we proved ourselves... so why... why now? Why did they do this to me? And why... why was Sanzo the only one who was real? Was my imagination going wild? I swear I saw Gojyo and Hakkai but... why..." Goku contemplated on everything, his head started to hurt so much from the questions and from the confusion. He couldn't understand anything that had happened. He wished he was dreaming.

"If this is a dream... why does it feel so real? Why don't I wake up now?" He paused a while.

"...Wake up, that's it!" Goku's eyes widened, but his face was still somewhat emotionless. He then slowly released his legs from his hug, feeling the pricks, painful as ever. He screamed as he felt the pain grow greater. It felt like the prickles didn't only attack his legs and his arms, but even extended to his heart. The pain was unbearable, and Goku sat up, frozen waiting for the pain to finally end. He screamed as it slowly diminished. It felt like the pain would last for an eternity.

As the pain finally grew weaker, Goku found the strength to fix his position. He sat up, resting his back upon a big rock. He heard the clanging of the chains as he moved, and he felt as they scratched his wrists, creating a wound and making them bleed. He looked in wonder at the shackles, and saw the sticky red fluid flow down slowly. If this was a dream, the pain should have awakened him by now.

"Am I dreaming??? Am I dreaming??? I should be... I must be... I am... I am DREAMING!!!" Goku banged his wrists against the rock, making the clash create an even bigger wound.

Blood splattered onto his face, but he didn't care. He felt the tremendous pain as the shackles embedded them deeper into his skin, he saw as the rust slowly mixed with the blood. He shivered as the pain grew stronger by the minute, but if he could wake himself up, it sure would be worth it. He pictured his friends, staring down at him, telling him that he had been asleep half the day already, and that breakfast was almost gone. He pictured Hakkai creating another sumptuous meal in the kitchen as Hakuryu stood nearby. He envisioned Gojyo, with a smirk on his face, and challenging him to another duel. And lastly, he pictured Sanzo, with his irritated look, glowering at him and holding his fan, but ironically, showing how much he cared.

Goku pounded harder, over and over, feeling numb from all the pain. He felt nothing anymore, and with his thoughts diverted, he didn't know what he was doing anymore. It felt like a reflex. He thought only of waking himself up, and then running towards his friends, telling them what a weird dream he had.

The shackles finally broke.

Goku opened his eyes, hearing the sound of breaking metal. He looked down, and saw his wrists, overflowing with blood, as pieces of metal and rust mixed in with it while other pieces had embedded into his flesh. He shook at the sight. He was finally free of the shackles, but that only meant one more thing...

This wasn't a dream.

~::Meanwhile::~

Silence overcame them all once again. The chi barrier was losing its glow, but it was still strong enough to hold in Shi Mou Rou. Hakkai's emotions wavered. He had no idea what to do. Sanzo, on the other hand, didn't let his emotions get to him, but he realized that it would be impossible.

Sanzo knew that the mission was in their hands. If Hakkai had decided to use his blood, and it did work, then they would just arrive at another question... "for whom would the antidote be?"

If they would choose Goku, he would probably go nuts at the realization of everything that happened, and even more, seeing Gojyo's state. On the other hand, if they would choose Gojyo, the strength the two would possess would probably be on the same level as Hakkai's. Knowing that Hakkai had a healing power with his chi, there would be no other way to recover if they got fatally wounded in battle. The mission would be impossible... knowing the force that guards the territory of Gyu Mao, just two of them wouldn't stand a chance... No matter how strong they had gotten, there was no way that they could infiltrate with just the both of them.

Hakkai nodded. "Okay... I just to know one more thing... why does it have to be us?"

Shi looked up, and was surprised. With the way Hakkai asked the question, there was no doubt that whatever answer she would give, he would be willing to give up his life... he was willing to risk the creation of the antidote.

"... Father wasn't able to explain that... but I think it's because... this may sound crazy but... the emotional bond between the two individuals somehow strengthens their blood. Thus, the antidote becomes strong enough to let the victim recover all the blood that he had lost- in fact, more than that. I don't know why that happens, and I would completely understand it more if the blood for the antidote was supposed to be from a person closely related, and by that, I mean that they were in the same family."

"So... if it was used between strangers..."

"Well, it is still possible. The formula never did specify that... This is why I told you that the antidote was impossible! Who knows what could happen..."

"Then all that matters is that they were really close..." Hakkai stated. He glanced at Sanzo.

Hakkai smiled his usual smile, his eyes closed. "Okay then, Sanzo... I guess... it's all in your hands now. It seems that there's no way but to trust her..."

Sanzo looked at Hakkai, his mouth slightly ajar. "What do you mean?! We haven't even thought this all out!!!"

"Well... I know that this is a great risk... but if you look at it... there really is no way that we could reverse this situation. Those two would be probably be strong enough to overcome the poison, but the possibility of that happening is 1 to 100. If that miracle does happen, then we're saved... but if it doesn't, we'd have waited in vain."

Sanzo, for once, showed sadness in his eyes. If it wasn't for the way he controlled his emotions, he would have been crying by then.

"I'm willing to take that risk..." Hakkai continued, smiling. "All of you took that risk for me once... now all I'm doing is returning the favor..."

"By killing yourself? That's pretty... shallow..." Sanzo forced a grimace.

Hakkai knew that deep inside himself, Sanzo was feeling as melancholy as ever. That statement he said was all he could do to make Hakkai change his mind.

"Shallow, huh? Too bad then... hahaha" Hakkai laughed heartily. "Well then, I guess that this is the only way out. Whether you like it or not... this is for us. I do trust that you're strong enough to hold back Ms. Shi Mou Rou, since you are the only one who can control Goku..." And at that moment, Hakkai released his chi barrier.

Shi looked up, her, eyes looking sad and empty.

"Thank you... I'm glad you believed my story... I'm... so... happy..."

Shi's eyes suddenly changed, and she smirked. She suddenly vanished, with an incredible speed. She knocked down Hakkai, making him unconscious and crippling him from doing anything. In a split second, she hit Sanzo on his nape, making him unconscious as well. Seeing them finally unconscious, she smiled.

She walked slowly, and then squatted beside Sanzo, brushing the stray, golden hair from his face, she smiled. "Such a pretty face... It was sad that I had to pour out my heart like that... kinda made me feel pathetic, but you know... it's business... I can't give up that easily. Okay then, before you awaken..."

She reached into Sanzo's pocket, searching for the Sutra, and she soon felt a smooth paper rub against her fingers. She reached it and pulled it out from Sanzo's pocket.

She held the Sutra tightly. she stood up, and then looked down at Sanzo one more time...

"Such a pity I have to leave you... I wish we could've gotten to know each other..."

Just then, Shi saw a glint of silver fly, and felt tightness around her waist. She looked in shock, as she saw a metal chain wrap around her arms and waist.

"And where do you think you're going?" She heard a voice say.

She felt a tug, and fell helplessly onto the floor. She looked up, and she saw Gojyo, standing right above her.

"No way... you drank the poison!!! How did you?"

"Well, I was going to drink it, but the moment it touched my lips I felt that something was wrong. Knowing Goku, it would have been real stupid of me not to suspect anything about this bottle... there must be a connection, you know. And besides, it smelled funny." Gojyo made a sarcastic smile.

"No... but Sanzo..." Anger and confusion overcame Shi as she tried to speak.

"Well, I kinda dozed off... It just so happened that I woke up in the middle of your sad life story... I'm real sorry that you had to go that far... I would've been humiliated myself, if I were you... hehehe!" Gojyo smirked.

"D-darn..." Shi grumbled. She was so close to getting away with it all.

Gojyo walked towards the dropped Sutra, and placed it back into Sanzo's pocket. And then, walking towards the end of the room, he then sat down, letting his back rest upon the wall once again while he kept hold of his weapon.

"So, about the antidote... were you really bluffing about that? I mean, if there really is no antidote... then we will just have to take care of everything ourselves." Gojyo placed a cigarette in his mouth with his left hand, and lighted it.

"Tch... as if I'm going to tell you anyway..." Shi Mou Rou grumbled, while she stared coldly at Gojyo, who was smiling sarcastically.

Just then, Sanzo started to regain consciousness, and so did Hakkai. As soon as they saw the silver chain, and the two people conversing, they immediately sat up.

"Gojyo!!!" Hakkai exclaimed "You're alright! We thought you also..."

"Yeah well, it was a close call." Gojyo answered back.

"Stupid..." Sanzo mumbled.

"Hehe... thanks Sanzo, I know you care..." Gojyo smiled.

Hakkai then looked down and walked towards the disabled adversary, and then he smiled his usual smile once again, "So, you just proved even more that we can't trust you. How foolish. Just let us know one thing before... well... we end it for you. Is there really an antidote or was that whole story a lie?"

Shi Mou Rou bit on her lip once more. She was furious at the turn of events. This time, there was no way to escape... this was it for her.

"Even if there was... I'd never tell you!" She screamed.

"Well then..." Sanzo calmly said, "good night..." He held up his gun.

Shi Mou Rou stared at the ebony-black gun, looking through its barrel. Just as Sanzo was about to pull the trigger, something suddenly hit Shi from behind. She turned her head, and she saw Hakkai, holding his palm up... and then everything went black.

The three paused. Hakkai then looked up, and then closed his eyes once again and gave out a cheerful smile.

"Why did you do that?" Gojyo asked as he looked at Shi "Now she's unconscious, we can't let our guard down… who knows when she'll recover."

"Don't worry," Hakkai said reassuringly, "My chi drained her of every ounce of energy she needs... It will take her at least 3 days to regain her strength... Besides, I couldn't bear to see another bloodbath... she's still human, no matter how you look at it... I'm sure she had her foolish reasons too.... Humans are like that." he gave out a cheerful laugh.

"Well then... now that she's out of our way for now..." Sanzo turned and looked at Goku, who was still lifeless on his bed.

"All we can do is wait for Goku to recover..."

"I know he'll be able to do it..." Gojyo said softly, "That baka saru always manages to get through these kinds of problems..." and Gojyo inhaled deeper.

~::Meanwhile::~

Goku sat still, his eyes dazed at the sight of blood. His head throbbed with pain, and so did his wounded wrists.

"I... I should be awake by now..." Goku whispered to himself. "Why? Why won't I wake up??? This must be a dream! There's no way that all these things are real!!! Noooo!!!"

Goku shook his head, and finally, he placed his hands on the floor. He stretched out his legs, still feeling a slight numbness in them. He then looked at the bright light that seemed blocked by the metal bars.

He staggered, and then stood up. His body ached all over, but he didn't care anymore. He walked slowly, slowly taking each step and making his way to the entrance. Finally getting to the boundary, he placed his hands on the rusty metal that barred him from freedom. He felt its coldness, and its roughness...

"How could a dream feel this real?"

Goku tried to cry once again, but nothing would come out anymore. He felt more than exhausted, but he decided to stay there, just standing, looking through the metal bars. He saw nothing but mist, and he wondered how it happened that there was even any light.

After a while, Goku couldn't feel or control his legs anymore, and he was forced to sit down. By now the blood on his wrists had dried, and the wounds had stopped bleeding. He looked at them once again, and then started to reminisce once more the best of times he had with Sanzo, Hakkai and Gojyo. He couldn't help but remember everything they had gone through, and through the memory he also tried to determine what went wrong, what he could have possibly done, and what caused all these things to happen.

He tried his best, but he couldn't distinguish anything wrong in what he had done. In fact, he realized that he was always the one who had his head hit by a fan. He realized that it wasn't him who always started a fight because of boredom... and it most definitely wasn't his fault that they hadn't even reached at their destination yet. "Blame the map..." Goku thought.

He lay down, his arms and legs spread out in opposite directions. By now, Goku started to feel the pain start to disappear. His confusion was starting to ebb... but he still couldn't deny the pain of betrayal that was eating on his soul.

"I gave them nothing but my loyalty, my support... I admit that I did eat a lot, but how couldn't I? I mean, if they were trapped in a cave for more than a hundred years, they would probably be like me!"

Goku paused a while.

"Nobody knows me more than they do... and the same goes for me. If I lose control now... nobody will even know... nobody would care.

He paused again.

"Why did Sanzo do this? And besides that, did Hakkai and Gojyo have any part in this? What did I do wrong? What did I do to be placed in here again? Why is this happening all over again?"

Goku paused, and then the burning sensation within him grew greater. His rage was overcoming his emotions...

"I can't... I can't die here... I have to know why Sanzo did this to me!!! If I can't get out of here by my own power... and if I can't rely on Sanzo or the others... Then I'll just have to..."

Goku raised his hand with all the strength he had left. He then placed his hand on the demonic device, and then, feeling its coldness, he grasped it as tight as he could...

"I'll just have to rely on him..."

He yanked the protector off, threw it as far away as he could and then shut his eyes. There was complete silence... complete darkness...

Goku opened his eyes once again. He brought himself to sit up. He looked at his wrists once more...

"It... DIDN'T WORK?!" He cried, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Author's Note: Hiiii!!! Here's the sixth chapter!!! (obviously...) ^_^ Man, I never thought things would turn out this way (really, I didn't!) I guess everything just flowed out... kind of a spur of the moment. Real sorry that I took so long to upload yet again... it seems that I've been in a slump for the past week... (yeah, sure, blame it on your Gravitation marathon!!!) Ehehe, anyways, Thanks lots again for those who reviewed my work. I hope you guys like this chapter. (Although I feel as if I've been so cruel to Goku... *feel the burning, angry glares of Goku fans*) I promise, things will turn out okay for him!!! gulp...er... I hope. (I'm still trying to decide on what's going to happen for the next chapter... *scratches head* ^-^;)