Gojyo had never seen Hakkai change before. He had been there when Goku's golden diadem had broken, and had seen the terrible Seiten Taisen Son Goku he had become. The change had been instantaneous, and any semblance of his original self had vanished into a sea of mad bloodlust; he was unable to distinguish friend from foe. Hakkai's transformation, however, was quite different.

Hakkai's body arched gracefully, rising slightly from Gojyo's arms. His eyelids fluttered shut and a soft breath flew from his parted lips. Gojyo vaguely remembered Hakkai mentioning once before that his transformations from human to youkai were painful for him. He hoped it was not unbearable. Starting from the scar on his belly and working outwards, vine-like markings began to spread over his body as if some unseen hand were skillfully adorning him with the most delicate henna designs. Leaves burst forth into bloom from the vines, one resting against his cheek, and it was all Gojyo could do not to reach out and touch one. As Hakkai arched his lithe body against the pain, Gojyo could not help but notice the unconscious sensuality of his involuntary movements. He found he could not tear his eyes away from the strangely beautiful sight. Hakkai's messy hair turned wild, almost as if it had only ever been combed by the caress of the wind. His eyes lengthened at the corners, giving them a more cat-like appearance as two distinctive lines jutted outwards from those corners, standing out sharply against his pale skin. The smooth shells of his ears grew and tapered into a delicate point, sticking out through the layers of his hair. Panting for breath, Hakkai reached out and took hold of Gojyo's arm; his fingernails had grown into razor sharp talons.

"Hakkai?" Gojyo said softly, half amazed and half terrified of the deadly beauty he held in his arms. He stifled a gasp when the green shot open. His dark pupils were elliptical, like a cat's. He rose slowly to his feet, apparently getting a feel for his new, fortified body. With an almost appraising eye, he looked over his razor-sharp claws, and the markings that covered his arms, disappearing into the sleeves of his shirt. He cast a wicked smile over his shoulder at the stupefied Gojyo, who continued to sit and stare in disbelief that three small earrings could contain this. Before Gojyo could utter a single word, Hakkai had disappeared from the hill.

Gojyo had always known that Hakkai could really turn it on if there was a desperate need for him to rely on his strength, speed, and agility. He had discovered that the night when Sanzo and Goku had come to his small apartment to arrest Hakkai and bring him back to Chang-an. Even though wounded and weak, Hakkai had managed to block one of Goku's powerful attacks, and was able to recover quick enough from a blow that had connected with him to pull a gun on him before Goku could deliver another attack. Since that night, he had seen Hakkai wipe out demons with his bare hands as well as with his chi, something that had saved the group on more than one occasion. All the things he had seen him accomplish before, however, were nothing compared to what he was now.

Hakkai moved like a god of lightening through the seemingly endless sea of youkai warriors, killing with the swift, merciless, and tireless efficiency of a machine. Before joining in the fray, Gojyo stood watching on the hill, unable to tear his eyes away from the awesome sight. Despite all the bloodshed his crimson eyes had seen before, this sickened him. Hakkai tore youkai apart so quickly that his hands might as well have been blades. Occasionally, he'd reach through the chest of a youkai, his gory hand emerging through the other side to slash at another one. The waves of chi that he summoned through his hands left countless bodies decimated in its wake. Even Sanzo and Goku were a bit staggered. Bearing his teeth like a savage beast, he burrowed deeper and deeper into the youkai mass until he stood at the very center of the crush, killing from the inside out like some sort of infection in the body of the troops. Having lost sight of him, Gojyo ran to join the others in the fighting, quickly drenching himself with enemy blood.

Of every youkai that was killed, it seemed to Goku that at least a dozen more appeared, crazed with bloodlust. Even worse, he was beginning to get tired. Waves of pain radiated through his leg with every step. Though Hakkai had mended it, the bone was still soft and delicate; had the circumstances been different, the healer would have firmly insisted that the leg be set in a cast and Goku should keep all weight off of it for about a week. His nyoi-bo seemed to be getting harder to wield by the moment. He considered taking off his limiter, but he knew that he'd loose all control and possibly put his friends in danger. He just had to hold on.

Unexpectedly, he heard a deep voice call out his name from behind. As he turned to see who had called him, he watched with wide eyes as a youkai charged at him, his sword level with his chest. Everything that happened next seemed to go in slow motion. The youkai's blade glinted in the sun. The voice called out Goku's name again, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the blade. A shadow came before him, blocking the sun and the glinting blade. Then there was the sound of ripping flesh and tearing muscle, a scream of pain, and then the shadow that had protected him slowly crumbled to the ground. A wave of numbness washed over Goku as the face of his protector tilted up at him, his eyes closed tightly, and his hand weakly grasping the handle of a sword that had pierced the side of his stomach, and come out his back.

"Hakkai," Goku breathed. No futile words in any language could describe the multitude of emotions in that single word. Goku recovered from his shock just in time to deal with a few more youkai come to finish what their fallen comrade had started. They weren't successful. A definite dent had been made in the number of youkai, and many were beginning to retreat, aware that without further reinforcements the hope of victory was moot. Goku quickly took advantage of this lull in the fighting to come to Hakkai's aid.

"Goku," the fallen man whispered. His voice was deeper than it normally was, and was unmistakably the voice that Goku had heard calling his name. Hakkai had saved his life, and now he needed to help him, but he didn't know where to begin. The flow of blood from around the blade was slow, making it look as if the metal itself were weeping tears of blood. He worried that if he pulled out the blade, he'd bleed to death. Or, if he didn't pull the blade out along the same path it entered in on, he might do more harm than good. "Tell me what to do, Hakkai," Goku said as he hit his knees, his voice trembling as badly as his hands. "I need you to tell me how to help you."

Hakkai closed his eyes a moment, as if looking inward. "I told think the blade hit anything vital." He paused. "Are you hurt?"

"Forget about me! We gotta help you!" Goku exploded, a wave of guilt crashing over him. Of course he wasn't hurt; Hakkai took the blade that was meant for him. It should be him lying on the ground with the hilt of a sword sticking from his belly, not Hakkai.

Hakkai nodded, and shut his eyes again. His demon form had a heightened tolerance for pain than his human form, but even so his skin was pale and slick with a sudden coat of perspiration. He licked his lips. "Pull the sword out. Do it quickly."

Goku hesitated. "You're sure?"

"Do it," Hakkai ordered, bracing himself for the pain.

With one last uncertain look to Hakkai, Goku wrapped his hands around the handle of the sword and quickly pulled it out, flinching at how Hakkai's body seized and he cried out in pain as the blood began to flow more freely. Hakkai put his hand over the wound, trying to staunch the torrents of blood, but his strength was waning. Goku placed his hand over his, helping him apply pressure to the wound.

"Such a good boy," Hakkai whispered as Goku let him rest his head on his legs.

"You're good at lots of stuff, too," Goku said, trying to keep Hakkai from saying these sentimental things. It reminded him of saying goodbye. "Like cookin', and cleanin', drivin' the jeep, and stopping Sanzo from killin' me and Gojyo."

Hakkai chucked weakly, and the chuckle quickly turned into a deep, wet cough. He sighed. "I must be a terrible sight."

"Naw," the younger boy lied. "You're lookin' great. Never better."

Goku didn't want to think about him dying. It wasn't a possibility. It was the four of them, day in and day out making their journey west. That's the way it would be until they reached India, and when they got back home, they'd still hang out together. Gojyo and Sanzo would smoke like two chimneys as all of them played a game of Mahjong. Hakkai would win most of the rounds, as always, and then excuse himself politely to check on the dinner, which would be delicious.

The sound of footsteps stirred Goku from his thoughts. Sanzo and Gojyo were walking over, spattered with new blood and weary.

"Oi, saru!" Gojyo called out when he was about halfway from Goku. "What are you doing sitting down on the-" Gojyo's eyes widened, realizing what the boy was supporting. "Holy shit, Hakkai!"

Gojyo ran the rest of the way, falling to his knees gracelessly besides him. There was so much blood around them that he could only guess how much of it belonged to Hakkai. "Shit, I knew this was a bad idea…we gotta get you out of here."

Hakkai shrugged slightly, doing his best to smile. "Ah, well, it could be worse." His smile fell, and he turned his had away as he began to cough, blood staining his lips.

Gojyo sighed. "Don't ever say that again. Ever. It's always a bad idea."

"The youkai have retreated," Sanzo said when he got within talking distance of them. "It's probably only temporary. They'll be back as soon as they've got reinforcements."

"All right," Gojyo said, his tone suddenly casual. "We get the bird to turn into a jeep, and get the hell out of here."

"Gojyo," Hakkai said, weariness creeping into his voice. "It won't work."

Gojyo's carefree façade slowly started to crack. "Whadya mean it wont work?"

"I'm dying, Gojyo. Just leave me."

"Fuck that!" Gojyo nearly bellowed. "We are not leaving you behind."

"I'll never make it far in the jeep, even if we left now. I'll just bleed out on the way, or choke to death first."

Gojyo sat speechless in the face of Hakkai's calm certainty about his imminent death. He didn't know how to respond to that. This wasn't supposed to be happening, and he certainly wasn't prepared for Hakkai's next request.

"Gojyo, please put my limiters back on."