"Holy shit..." Gojyo breathes, standing in his seat to get a better look at the chaos in front of them. The bathhouse is just ahead, with panicked residents fleeing from the building out of every exit. "We gotta hurry. Who knows what he's doing in there."

The jeep jolts to a stop a few yards from the entrance, and the moment the three members of the ikkou have freed themselves, Hakuryuu changes back into his dragon form, zipping past them inside through the open doorway.

Just as they lose sight of him, a woman comes screaming out into the night. "A demon! Oh gods, help us!!" she cries, and there are plainly claw marks raked down her bare arms.

They have no doubts as to whether or not this is the right place; obviously, Hakkai is rampaging in the bathhouse because it is the last place he saw Gojyo alive.

Without a word, Sanzo, Goku, and Gojyo rush into the lobby, Sanzo being the only one to brandish his weapon, despite the many warning looks he keeps receiving from the redhead beside him.

"Goku, go left. Gojyo, right. I'll head down the main hall." Sanzo directs, deciding that splitting up is probably the most efficient way to find Hakkai. Also, he hopes to be the one to find Hakkai first, since he knows he is the only one with the strength to handle him right now--or at least with the strength to fire.

Gojyo looks skeptical, but nods, and the three of them go sprinting in opposite directions, searching madly from room to room, heading where the civilians seem to be running from.

(Damn, Hakkai, where are you...?) Gojyo thinks worriedly, pushing past the bathhouse customers into the bathing areas, and then further down the hall towards the downstairs rooms. (Please...let me find him before anyone gets hurt. He'd never forgive himself if...if he killed some innocent kid, or something. Whatever I did in my past life to deserve this shit one, it's too much to take him, too. I love him. Please...don't take him away from me...)

-----

There is no more Kanan--her memory no longer haunts him--but there is someone to replace that stricken image. A new image.

Gojyo.

Strung up like some dead apostle, and later lying in his arms, not moving, not breathing. Gone.

Hakkai strikes out at everything in his path, plagued by those swirling images--memories of moments he can never reclaim or change now that he has lost his dearest friend. His almost- lover. His love...for a second time...

---

"Gojyo, dinner's ready."

"You made dinner?"

"I thought I should at least be helpful now that I'm up and about again. Is that alright?"

"Alright? Shit, man...you're amazing."

--

"Yep. Cleaned him out, too. Poor, dumb Sanji. He never stood a chance."

"I hope you didn't gloat too badly?"

"He'll live. Besides, I get the bills paid, right?"

"Indeed. Oh. Royal Flush. It seems I've won again."

"What?! Sheesh, Hakkai. Remind me never to play you for money."

--

"What seems to be the trouble, Gojyo?"

"I am NOT rooming with the saru."

"Does Sanzo know this?"

"He does now. And he can shove that fan up his ass if he complains. So...feel like a game?"

"Always. Any particular stakes?"

"Just the usual. Loser buys the booze."

--

"Hey, 'Kai...do ya think you could keep me company for awhile?"

"Of course, Gojyo. Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, I'm just...in a weird mood, is all."

"Aa."

"Hey...you know you're my best friend in the whole world, right?"

"And you mine."

"...thanks."

"I'm always here, Gojyo."

---

(...but you're not...) Hakkai laments, his vision blurred with the traces of those fading memories. (...not anymore...)

And in the shadows of that darkened hallway, Hakkai roars.

-----

Sanzo freezes in place at the sound of a strangled howl up ahead of him. He knows Hakkai is close at hand now, and his trigger finger involuntarily twitches. If Hakkai attacks him, he will have no choice but to shoot.

There are no bystanders down this hallway, and as Sanzo nears the end of it, the air seems to still. Hakkai must be up ahead, and as much as the monk hopes to be able to talk some sense into his friend, he isn't holding much hope for keeping his gun from having to fire.

As Sanzo comes to the turn at the end of the hall, he readies himself to spring out and hopefully catch Hakkai off guard. Unfortunately, Hakkai already knows he is there.

A chilling laugh echoes from the hallway behind Sanzo, and just as he turns, he is met by slitted, green eyes and a painful grip on his wrist, causing his gun to thud to the floor. Sanzo doesn't even have time to call out before the youkai's other hand pulls back...and drives its claws deep into his stomach, pinning him back against the wall.

Sanzo winces and grits his teeth, desperately biting back a scream. "Uh...ah...Hak...kai..."

In response, Hakkai growls low in his throat, pulling in close--too close. "Hakkai? Who is that...?" he laughs--a sound Sanzo is certain he will never forget. "I knew you couldn't stay away...priest. But I'm glad. No amount of blood can make up for his death...not even yours..." Digging his claws all the more deeply into Sanzo's bleeding wound, Hakkai pulls his mouth mere centimeters from the blonde's ear. "...but it'll do..."

-----

(Hakkai...be okay...please be yourself again...) Goku chants endlessly, thinking up a new mantra at every bend in the hallway with which to hurl at the gods. Occasionally, one of the stragglers still left inside the bathhouse rushes past him to escape, but otherwise, his searching continues in listless quiet.

Unnerving, unwanted quiet.

(I want to find him, but...what if he still wants to...rip me to shreds...?) Goku shudders. He doesn't want to think about it. All he wants is to find Hakkai and have Hakkai be...Hakkai. No strings, no drama, no bloody mess. He realizes that what he is hoping for is wishful thinking, but that does nothing to deter him from wishing.

Rounding another corner, Goku suddenly runs head first into someone rushing from the other side. They both back-peddle and steady their footing, but when Goku looks up at who he has run into, he realizes there is no need to steady into a fighting stance.

"Goku. Did you...?" Gojyo prompts, coming up close to Goku and searching the boy's eyes for signs of anything that might reinforce his faith.

Goku shakes his head.

"Damn it. He can't be in this section then. We've checked everywhere."

As if on cue, the truth dawns on both young men, their eyes widening in fear for their unaccounted for friend, still out searching. Just then, from somewhere far--too far--from where they are now, Sanzo's voice calls out in a gruesome scream, a sound neither ever imagined the monk could make.

Without a word, Goku and Gojyo turn and sprint down the nearest hallway in the direction of that call, praying they can get to him in time.

-----

In what might as well be another world, Sanzo lays in agony on the floor of one of the guestrooms. Gojyo and Hakkai's room, to be exact. His blood stains his robes and is slowly seeping down to stain the carpet, as well, and his vision is clouded, hazy with the loss of that blood.

Standing at the foot of the bed, having left Sanzo alone for the moment, Hakkai stares fiercely at the still rumpled sheets. Reaching out a clawed and bloodied hand, he grasps the top sheet tightly and pulls it to him, bringing it up to his face. He inhales deeply, his heightened sense of smell able to capture the remaining scent of Gojyo's body, lingering, though the hanyou himself is long gone.

Hakkai's hands begin to shake with anger, and when that scent fills him, he tears at the sheet in his hands, reducing it to shreds.

"Hakkai..." Sanzo calls, breathless, still squirming painfully on the floor and clutching at his mangled wound. "...Hakkai...stop this...Gojyo...he isn't--"

"Did I say you could speak?" Hakkai cuts in, darkly within his deep tone. Faster than his swiftest ball of ki, he swoops down beside Sanzo and cruelly presses one of his palms into the monk's open wound. "Are you so eager for death...?"

Sanzo sees the edges of his vision darken in response to that merciless pressure. "...Hakkai....he's not...he's...not..."

"He's not here. He's not coming back. He's not worth all this misery. Hn." Hakkai sneers, and raises his other hand to drag his claws down the side of Sanzo's neck.

"...he's not...dead..." Sanzo breathes, but though his true words have finally spoken, he has said them so lightly, even Hakkai's sharp ears could not pick up on the sound.

"There must be blood." Hakkai continues, shredding Sanzo's robes as his claws trail further down the monk's chest. "Blood enough...to equal the pain..."

Sanzo's robes fall open, revealing that toned and slender chest, along with his injured stomach, and Hakkai grins darkly at the sight.

Blood, yes. But not enough. There must be more--so much more--before the pain can even begin to be rivaled.

Raising one hand while the other remains pressed into Sanzo's wound, Hakkai prepares to strike at the weakened blonde, and there is nothing Sanzo can do to protect himself. However...just as that hand is about to plummet down, the door to the room suddenly slams open.

There stands Goku--holding Sanzo's lost gun--with a look of sheer horror plastered on his young face.

Hakkai grins and removes his hand from Sanzo's side, standing to address this new playmate. "Such a loyal pet..." he laughs. "...coming here...to join his master in death..."

Squaring his footing, Hakkai no longer has reservations to keep him from killing Goku, and he launches himself forward, knowing the young brunette could never pull that trigger.

He doesn't pull the trigger, but instead steps to the side, leaving room for a new figure to take his place. The second that figure is in view, Hakkai stops dead, his claws falling harmlessly to his sides in disbelieving shock.

Gojyo. Gojyo is standing not two feet in front of him, positioned in the doorway, looking just as he had not long before when lying dead in Hakkai's arms.

Relieved at Hakkai's sudden calm, Goku dashes in past him into the room and falls heavily to the ground beside Sanzo, who is no longer conscious, but is breathing haggardly, with much effort.

"Gods, Hakkai...no wonder you never told me..." Gojyo speaks, sizing up the unfamiliar sight before him.

Hakkai stands horror stricken and still, and even his vine tattoos pale at the sight of this apparition.

"It's okay, Hakkai. I'm standing right in front of you. Breathing. Alive. Right here. You don't have to do this anymore." Gojyo's tone is pure, soothing pitch, his eyes never once leaving Hakkai's.

"Gojyo...?"

At last, a voice, and Gojyo can't help smiling in gratitude. "Yes. The Akaanai were tricking you. They didn't kill me. You can stop avenging me; I don't need to be avenged. Forget those purist pricks. They deserved what they got. But...doing this? You could have hurt someone who had nothing to do with any of it, Hakkai. You gotta pull yourself together."

Flicking his eyes past the youkai in front of him to the pair on the floor, Gojyo catches sight of Sanzo for the first time. He swallows. To imagine Hakkai--his sweet, wonderful, loving Hakkai--doing something like that to a friend...is unthinkable. And completely his fault.

"Shit...Hakkai, you gotta snap out of this now. You have to help Sanzo."

By this time, Hakkai has been shaking more and more, trembling harshly within a sudden rush of conflicting urges and emotions. He can barely keep himself on his feet, and he reaches his clawed hands up to his head, grasping either side, trying in vain to banish the part of him that still wants to rip them all to pieces, while something dim and fading at his core is begging him to listen to what the redhead is saying.

"Hakkai!" Gojyo yells, seeing his friend's obvious distress. He doesn't have time to consider his actions; closing the gap between them, he reaches out and takes hold of Hakkai's hands, prying them from the youkai's head. "Don't think, Hakkai. Stop analyzing. I'm alive. Focus on that, and help him."

"I...can't..." Hakkai growls, avoiding Gojyo's gaze and still shaking just as fiercely as before.

"Yes, you can." Gojyo affirms, lowering Hakkai's arms fully and releasing them only to reach back up and take the brunette's still beautiful face in his palms. Hakkai tries to look away, but can't, forced to stare directly into the crimson he has cherished for so long, even when it haunted him. "Don't think about anything but me. Don't let the demon tell you what you need to do, listen to me! Focus on me...loving you. Because I do. I love you, Hakkai..."

Time may have stopped in that moment as Gojyo boldly leaned forward and pulled Hakkai against him, kissing lips he had kissed many times only hours before, though now...it is something different. As he prods for entrance with his tongue, it slides over Hakkai's sharpened fangs, drawing blood that passes between their lips. Gojyo pays no mind, though; reaching Hakkai is all that matters, though he prays that the pressure being placed on his back by Hakkai's clawed hands won't suddenly become knives delving for his spine.

For Hakkai's part, the youkai remains very still, though he slowly...slowly...begins to reciprocate the kiss.

Still on the floor, Goku is beyond panicked. Try as he might, he cannot get Sanzo's wound to stop bleeding, though he has both his small hands pressed down firmly on the wound. Sanzo's breathing is becoming more and more labored and erratic, as well, and Goku shudders to think that the monk might die without him even being able to say goodbye.

Weeping soundlessly, Goku's attention is so focused on Sanzo, he doesn't notice someone has knelt down beside him until a clawed--though amazingly gentle--hand suddenly comes to rest over his. Passing through both of Goku's hands, Sanzo's wound begins to glow with the power of transferred ki.

Hakkai. Goku almost wouldn't believe it. That changed youkai, still fully unleashed, looks at him with deep sorrow through those slitted emeralds, and in hardly any time at all, Sanzo's wound is smooth flesh again, healed by the healer they thought they had lost.

After a slight spasm of shock, Sanzo's eyes begin to flutter, and when they finally open and he spots Hakkai beside him, he instinctively flinches away. But he doesn't have time to consider the peculiarity of Hakkai crouched there, not trying to kill him, because Goku instantly glomps him once realizing the blonde is okay. It is a desperate, caring hug, and Sanzo allows it, holding Goku in return with his mild, though genuine affection.

Hakkai, however, is not completely calmed, and as Gojyo steps closer to the others, he notices that his friend is starting to shake again.

Helplessly, Hakkai looks back at him and then to Sanzo pleadingly. "Hurry..." the struggling youkai whispers to the healed priest, beginning to back away, as if afraid of what he might do next.

Sanzo doesn't need Hakkai's request to be explained. Prying Goku from his neck, the monk offers his charge a loaded look before gently nudging him away. Gathering himself into a sitting position then, Sanzo begins to chant, low beneath his breath.

Eyeing Hakkai closely, Gojyo is ready for any move the youkai might make. Hakkai is obviously fighting to stay in control long enough for Sanzo to summon new limiters, but although his left ear is already beginning to glow, he looks as if he is about to run.

"Stay with me, Hakkai." Gojyo expresses, capturing the brunette's eye and keeping it. "Just a minute longer."

Gojyo's voice seems to have the right effect, for Hakkai remains transfixed by the redhead's presence, and stays put, until finally...miraculously...three silver cuffs form fully on his ear, sending him into a great convulsion of repressed power.

Hakkai's transformation back is much swifter than his change to youkai had been. His ears, fangs, and claws disappear almost at once, though his hair returns to its shorter style more gradually, and the dark vines slowly unwind their way from his body.

When he is at last Hakkai again, his knees give way...but Gojyo is there, right at his side, before he can hit the ground. "It's going to be okay..." he soothes, lowering them carefully to the floor to land with Hakkai pulled in tightly against him.

The brunette blinks up at him, all strength gone with the pull of forced sleep. "Gojyo..." he breathes, his voice a soft tenor once more, so tender and smooth. "...don't leave me...Gojyo..."

Smoothing back the damp hair from Hakkai's forehead, Gojyo smiles down into his friend's feverish face, exuding love and longing. "Never. I'll never leave you, Hakkai. I promise..."

tbc...

A/N: Maybe a little less climactic or terrifying than you were expecting, but after all they have been through, I didn't want to make any of them suffer too much. I'm sure Hakkai will be doing plenty of that once he wakes up.

Okay, here's the deal, I've got two more chapters planned. One focused mainly on Sanzo/Goku and one on Gojyo/Hakkai. The Sanzo/Goku is for Am1- 13th, per her request, and requests are still open if you get them in before I write the next part. Be reasonable, but after surpassing 200 reviews, I am feeling very giving. Also, the 58 stuff will probably be a tish naughtier than the 93.

Thanks so much as always for every comment and critique. I do take them all into consideration when writing. See ya next chappie, minna! Love ya!

Crim