Hello there, friends!
After a day of leaving you alone, I'm back to harass you with a new chapter ;-)
I used my time yesterday to complete the outline of this, so now I at least know what to work towards to... Still can't give you a definitive chapter count, as it depends on how much story I can fit into each one, but my guess is that it will be between 15 and 20 chapters in the end. I also had two ideas for short Sanzo-Sillyfics... to be realized after I'm done with this story (I try to only write one story at a time, so I actually get done with one project before I start the next... exception: One-Shots. I sometimes write those inbetween).
Okay, and here comes the part where I'm gonna get my butt kicked from at least two of you... the pairing for this story will be SanzoxHakkai. I wasn't quite sure about it until I hit the argument between the two... and I have to say, I'm most comfortable with this pairing, although I will read anything as long as it involves Sanzo! However, I will see whether I can come up with something nice involving SanzoxGoku after I am done with this story.
Furthermore, after rereading my last chapter, I decided that Sanzo resolved being nice to the others a little too quickly, so I will have him revert back to his old self for a little bit (almost) – after all, I did not want him to be totally OoC.
05.04.2005: Answers to reviews removed. Reason in chapter 3.
Ah, but enough of my blathering, let's get to the meat...
DISCLAIMER: It's Minekura-sama's. Not mine. I'm just borrowing the guys for my little romp.
CHAPTER 7
When Kouryuu reached the inn minutes later, he was relieved to see Gojyo and Goku standing in front of the burning building, next to a line of men trying to fight the fire with buckets of water. Their endeavour seemed to be doomed to failure, however; the inferno would surely collapse the inn within a matter of minutes.
"Where is Hakkai?", he inquired, a little breathless after his sprint.
Goku looked as though he was about to answer, but no sound came out of his mouth. Finally, Gojyo took over: "He was still in there..."
Violet eyes widened for a moment. Hakkai was still inside this burning mess...?
Then, the blond man softly cursed. "Shit..."
He looked at the two-storied house again, and his voice rose. "Shit, Shit, SHIT!"
And before anyone could hold him back, he ran towards the building and vanished in the dark clouds of smoke coming out of the entrance, where only hinges and blackened remains reminded of the door that had been there moments ago.
Goku let loose a wordless cry of surprise, and was about to follow his master into the raging flames when Gojyo held him back.
"Let me go... he's going to kill himself..."
The kappa shook his head.
"And if you follow him, you throw your life away, as well. Let's hope he finds Hakkai and makes it back out alive..."
At first, Kouryuu's eyes were forced shut by the intense heat and the noxious fumes, and he thought breathing impossible. He put one hand over mouth and nose and managed to squint to get his bearings before he blindly walked over to the staircase which, miraculously, had withstood the force of the explosion. From the looks of it, the bomb had gone off on the ground floor, setting fire to everything in its blast radius.
Upstairs, the heat lessened a little, and he managed to open his eyes. There, a motionless form on the floor... could it be...?
It was Hakkai.
The bomb must have exploded right underneath his room, and the force of the blast had smashed the brunette youkai into the door of his room, which had given way to leave him in an unconscious heap in the hallway.
'There you go – another person hurt, just as you were about to let youself get attached to people again', the voice in his head rejoiced as he bowed down to heave the healer onto his back, and he could not deny that it had a point this time.
'I can't allow myself to get... attached... to them. It is too dangerous. Everybody I am in some way attached to gets hurt...'
Hakkai was heavier than he looked; Kouryuu staggered under his weight and took a moment to gain back his balance. He tried to hold himself up by placing a hand on the wall, but pulled it back immediately; the wood had become seething hot and began to blacken.
'Must get out of here – the building will collapse any minute now...'
The stairs creaked dangerously under him as he made his way down, and one stair actually broke in the middle with a resounding 'crack' when he set his foot on it; he barely kept from falling by hastily shifting his weight over to the side of the staircase.
Finally, he made it to the ground level again. The beams which held the ceiling right above him began to groan ominously. There were only seconds left before everything would be crashing down on him...
The blond man mobilized his last reserves, broke into a staggering sprint. Hakkai was close to falling off his shoulders, and his hands clamped down on the healer's wrist and ankle to hold him in place. Only five steps left... four... three... two... one...
He jumped over the debris that had been the front door, his lungs filling with air after a rough gasp; he had not realized he had held his breath. His weakened knees only managed a few more steps before he collapsed under Hakkai's weight, the youkai rolling off his back in the process. Behind him, the groaning of wooden beams became louder, until a large crash and a hail of small, hot splinters upon his arms indicated that the building had finally succumbed to the flames.
For a moment, Kouryuu thought he was about to faint; however, a familiar voice, even higher-pitched than usually, called out his name, bringing him back into reality.
"Kouryuu... are you okay?"
He looked up to see Goku standing next to him, with Gojyo about to arrive where he and Hakkai were lying on the ground.
"Never mind me", he croaked, his vocal chords about to give up under the strain the smoke had caused. "Worry about him."
And Goku did what his master told him, checking the brunette youkai's pulse and respiration just as Hakkai had shown him. Kouryuu coughed a few times; the smoke had done more to his lungs than he had realized. Suddenly, a hand was stretched out toward him; it was Gojyo's. The half-youkai's face was serious, as he said,"You saved his life."
'No attachment', the voice in his head whispered warningly.
The blond man ignored the helping hand and managed to get up on his feet on his own.
"Don't sweat it."
He ignored the exasperated look Gojyo shot him and turned towards Goku, who seemed to have finished his checks.
"Is he gonna live?"
The monkeylike boy nodded, smiling.
"His breathing is ragged, but his pulse is strong. Nothing seems to be broken. Lots of fresh air, and he should be fine."
Kouryuu acknowledged this with a typical Sanzo-Grunt and then asked, "None of you have actually seen Kougaiji or his accomplices around this place, have you?"
Gojyo started at that.
"What makes you believe he is the one responsible for this?"
The former monk turned a piercing gaze upon him, as though he wondered whether the half-demon really was that stupid, until he finally answered.
"This girl – Yaone – she knows about explosives."
Gojyo's expression darkened.
"If they are responsible for this cowardly attack, they will pay for it."
Kouryuu, who had knelt down and taken the sack of gold Hakkai had carried off the unconscious man's belt in the meantime, did not reply to that; instead, he tossed the linen bag to his red-haired companion.
"See whether you can find us another inn for the night; if Hakkai wakes up by tomorrow, we will move on."
Gojyo nodded, and found the unspoken answer to his words in the ferocity of those violet eyes.
Yes, Kougaiji and friends would pay for this – and he would not be the only one to make them pay...
And another chapter finished! Hope you enjoy – and I also hope that you still like, although it's not gonna be SanzoxGoku... please review!