Warning!- this chapter is VERY violent and gory. The rest of the story will be less disturbing I promise you, but be warned.

Chapter 2: The Space Between

Sanzo cursed again as he glanced over his shoulder. He never should have brought the damn monkey along. Just minutes before, the little pest had been whining that he wanted to dig into the bag of food that Houmei had sent with them, and Sanzo had promptly left him behind. Goku couldn't get him to slow down.

"Sanzo!" a plaintive voice called from behind. "Wait up."

"No."

"What crawled up your ass?" the younger man asked irritably. He'd lost a little of his good nature since he'd been pulling all nighters with his twin daughters. Fatherhood had a way of changing a man, or chimp.

"Nothing."

"Sanzo, why can't we stop just for a bite?"

"No."

"You're starving me!"

"I DON'T CARE."

"Sanzo?"

"Shut the fuck up!" BANG! Every muscle in his body was clenched hard with tension. Didn't Goku understand that they couldn't stop? He walked on without another word to the baka. They'd be early, he knew, but he couldn't wait.

By the time they reached Hakkai and Gojyo's house, all of the lights were out. Sanzo knocked on the door, but he felt uneasy. Gojyo never went to bed this early and Hakkai never went to bed without Gojyo. He knocked louder.

"HEY, GUYS! Let us in!" Goku shouted.

When no one answered, Sanzo pulled out his gun and shot through the door lock. He was on guard as he walked through the rooms of the neat little house. Nothing was out of place, but the bottle of sake on the coffee table.

"Kyu!" Hakuryu chirped as he landed by Goku. It almost seemed the dragon was worried too.

"Damn it!" Sanzo cursed. "Let's go find them. The kappa is probably gambling and whoring."

He truly hated Gojyo. The man's existence annoyed the hell out of him. From the day he had met him, Sanzo had wanted to beat the hell out the damned bastard. Gojyo took everything for granted. Nothing mattered so long as he had a smoke, a slut, and a can of beer. He didn't give a damn who he hurt or what he left in shambles, so long as he got what he wanted. Why Hakkai put up with it this long, Sanzo had no fucking clue.

They walked the half-mile to town silently. Goku looked too worried to bother Sanzo. Both men knew that Hakkai never followed Gojyo on his outings. No, Hakkai let the kappa fuck whoever he wanted. It wasn't in the green-eyed youkai's nature to inconvenience anyone, even his cheating lover. Fuck the kappa for doing it! Fuck Hakkai for putting up with it! And fuck me for caring, Sanzo thought.

The sound of screams cut through the air and sent both men running. In his heart, Sanzo knew that voice. An image of blood flashed in his mind. NO! I'm coming, he swore as he ran. The air burned his smoker's lungs. He saw the crowd outside of the bar. People standing around in horror, backing away from whatever they saw.

"Who's next?" a booming voice called.

Sanzo parted the crowd with a shot and stared at the most horrifying thing he had ever seen. A demon nearly eight feet tall clutched a green clad figure by the shirt and held him dangling above the ground as blood dripped to the floor. Hakkai's face was shredded and gaping holes of blood where all that was left of his beautiful eyes. The demon laughed and tossed the injured man aside like a rag doll. Landing with a sickening thud, Hakkai made no move or sound.

"Come to play, pretty boy?" the monster asked with a laugh.

Sanzo put a bullet in his kneecap before the thing could move. He howled in pain, but barreled forward. The second bullet put him on the ground. His friends had stopped him from torturing a youkai once, but that wouldn't happen again. This time, he went slow. He put enough holes in the demon to keep his arms out of commission and then pulled a knife from under his robes. It had never been used before for this kind of thing. Digging the blade deep into the youkai's flesh, he wanted to make him pay. Again and again and again.

"Sanzo!"

Again and again. Blood splattered across his face and his clothes.

"Sanzo! He's bleeding fast," Goku cried.

The priest woke from his blood rage. "Quick, cover the wound and press tightly."

He searched the room for something to be used as bandages, and that was when he saw a pair of boots under some rubble. Tossing off a board, he took a good look at the battered half-breed. He hauled the degenerate up and put the barrel of his gun to the unconscious man's head. Red eyes cracked open, as red as the blood on the floor.

"Look at what you've done to him!" Sanzo raged. He let go of Gojyo and let him fall to the floor.

Gojyo cried out as he stared at his lover who was lying in Goku's lap. "No, no, NO!"

The red haired man stumbled forward and tumbled to the floor beside Hakkai. He touched his hand and reeled back as though he had touched a coal. "Someone help! Please! Oh, God someone find a doctor!" Gojyo screamed in shock.

Sanzo stood there like he was made of stone. Time stopped. Nothing made a sound, though Goku's lips were moving and Gojyo was still crying at the top of his lungs. He didn't hear a thing until someone yelled "YOUKAI!"

He drew his gun again and aimed at the doorway, but then a familiar form filled it. Kougaiji. "Shit," the demon swore. "What the fuck happened?"

"Where's Yaone?" Sanzo demanded. "YAONE!"

The violet haired youkai woman ran through the door and dropped to her knees beside the injured man. "We need bandages, hot water, and surgical supplies now!"

Minutes flew by. They got Hakkai into the room above the bar. Yaone kicked them all out as she began the work of saving Hakkai's life. They all sat in the dingy hallway by the door silently. I bet Gojyo brought his whores here, Sanzo thought morbidly. He wanted to kill Gojyo, but he knew that Hakkai was going to need his "lover" when he woke up.

Gojyo began to murmur softly. "I did it. I was cheating that guy and he took off his limiters. Hakkai was trying to protect me. I did it!"

Goku put a hand on his shoulder. "You have to be strong for him."

Sanzo said nothing. Yes, this was Gojyo's fault. The whoring kappa had finally let his ways destroy the one person who loved him the most, even though he didn't deserve it. He had paid Hakkai's love and loyalty with betrayal and pain. For as much as he regretted it now, he never stopped to think that there might be consequences. Once again, Cho Hakkai would pay dearly for the love he had given. Kanan cost him his innocence. Gojyo cost him his sight. Was this enough for the bastard? Was this enough to make him stop?

The door cracked and Yaone stepped out. Her hands were still stained red. "How did this happen?" she asked shakily.

All eyes turned to Gojyo, but he stood there mutely.

Sanzo's voice was harsh. "He tried to protect Gojyo from what his own stupidity brought upon him, " he said before turning cold eyes on the kappa. "He should have left him kill you! What have you ever done but bring him pain? If it wouldn't break him, I'd kill you now."

There was no doubting that he meant it. He could see the sorrow on in the man's eyes, but it wasn't enough. Nothing ever would be enough.

Yaone's soft tones cut through the animosity. "You should go sit with him," she told Gojyo.

With a glance over his shoulder as the group, he went into Hakkai's room.

You don't deserve him, kappa. You never did.