Authoress in this general vicinity.

What? I got tired of the age-old "Authoress here" thing.

After that last cliffhanger chapter, I thought it was only fair to get the next one up fast, so here it is.

Oh, and by the way...the prostitutes make another appearance. I couldn't just leave them out like I accidentally left out Goku in chapter nine! Anyone notice that? My sincerest apologizes to any rabid fans of Son Goku.

Haru: Just shut up and start the chapter already.

Not yet. I had also forgotten Hakkai swore so much! In the first DVD, one of his first lines is, "There's some serious spiritual shit going down."

Haru: You're done.

START CHAPTER

"Goku's...what?"

"Missing, idiot," Sanzo replied sourly to the young woman before him.

She narrowed her eyes at him, matching his sour expression. "I heard the first time, I just find it hard to believe that he would go missing."

"Well, he has," Sanzo replied. "And needless to say-"

"We should find him," Hakkai interrupted, entering eyeshot. "The kid couldn't have gotten far in this dump of a town."

Gojyo snorted as they headed out of the inn and into the small town. "He's probably got his hand stuck up a vending machine or something."

Machira elbowed him sharply in the side. She was just a few inches shorter than him, and successfully hit just below his ribs. "Don't make jokes, Gojyo. He could be in serious trouble."

-Meanwhile-

Goku glanced around, having just awoken from an unconscious haze. Three smiling women stood before him. He started to stand up from where he was slumped on the floor, but found he couldn't move.

"Don't even try it," sneered one of the women, a short but pretty young thing with long black hair.

Another woman, a redhead, flipped her short hair and grinned. "Those aren't ordinary chains binding you, mister demon. If you'll notice, they're enchanted and can't be broken or removed by the person trapped by them."

"So that means you're our prisoner until Lord Kougaji shows up to dispose of you," said the third and final woman, this one with shoulder-length, wavy brown hair.

Goku looked to each one as they spoke, and his vision came into focus. "Hey! You're those girls that were standing on the corner in town!"

"Oh, so he's not as dumb as he looks!" chirped the short woman, her lips curving into an attractive smile.

The redhead nodded. "Which means we can't be too careful around him, Ankara. Narrin," she continued, turning to the other woman. "Do you have the other chains ready for his little friends?"

"I do," she replied, amused. "They're going to head right into a trap...but I think I'll have to help them along. After all, they don't know where to look."

-Back in Town-

"Where could he be?" Machira asked roughly twenty minutes later. "We've looked in every restaurant around here, and no sign of him!"

She sighed and leaned against a building wall, one hand moving to sweep her hair back from her face. "Hey, the hookers are gone," Gojyo commented offhandedly, his way of turning the conversation away from his missing companion. He remembered all too well how powerful Goku was, and had the feeling he didn't want to know who was powerful enough to kidnap him.

"What?" Machira's hand was still raised to her head, holding back the hair that had fallen in front of her eyes.

"Hey, hey, now! They came on to me," Gojyo replied, placing an arm around Machira's waist. "And I told them I was taken."

She lowered her arm to fiddle with the necklace that she had vowed never to remove, and didn't reply.

"Trust me on this one, Chi. Nothing happened."

She arched a brow at him.

He heaved a sigh. It didn't look like he was getting through to her. "Listen, if you-"

"Did you just call me Chi?" she interrupted.

He gave her an odd look. "Does that mean you believe me?"

She nodded, hesitated a moment, then asked, "Did you call me Chi?"

"Uh...yeah, I guess I did," he replied, scratching the back of his head. "Does it bug you?"

She smiled at him. "No, you just took me by surprise. I've been called a fair amount of names in my lifetime, but no one's called me Chi since my grandfather died last year."

His smile was hurriedly replaced by an expression of concern. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

She waved her hand as if to brush away his apology. "It's okay. You can call me Chi if you want. It's nice to have someone give me an affectionate nickname again."

He chuckled and gave her waist a quick squeeze before releasing her and stepping away. "I'll call you Chi when I'm feeling frisky so you'll have fair warning."

His remark was greeted by her hand swiftly hitting his upper arm. Her face was pink. "You don't have to say things like that in public, you know. A little boy walking past with his mother just learned more than he ever needed to know about you."

Gojyo grinned and ruffled her hair. "That's what I'm here for: to educate the general public on things most people think but never say."

"Save it for the adults," scolded Machira.

"You take the fun out of life, you know," he replied.

Machira placed a hand on her hip. "You're the most perverted man I've ever met. Tell me again, why do I like you so much?"

Gojyo shrugged. "Search me. Actually," he said as an afterthought. "Frisk me. That's more interesting."

She shook her head at him, failing to hold back a smile. "How many times today should I have slapped you?" She paused, then finished, "Add one to it."

Sanzo had been walking by in time to hear the last few remarks, and gave the pair a very unpleasant look. "You're acting like an old married couple while Goku's missing?" He sighed and kept walking, giving a parting remark of, "Why, Buddha, am I surrounded by idiots?"

Machira and Gojyo watched him leave with equally angered expressions. "We do not act like an old married couple," Machira fumed.

"Damn straight. If we were married, you'd be pregnant by now," Gojyo remarked.

Machira's eyebrows shot up. "Okay, let's get back to looking for Goku now."

Gojyo grinned at her, and seized her hand as they started walking again. She jumped a little, startled at the sudden display of public affection, but didn't make a comment against in. She didn't mind him displaying his fondness of her out on the street, but she would let him know if he went too far in a manner most painful.

He was silent as they walked, having realized what her sudden jump meant. Unlike him, she wasn't used to being close to anyone.

-Meanwhile-

"Why are you doing this?" Goku demanded.

Narrin and Emiko had left to keep watch, leaving Ankara to watch over Goku and make sure he didn't escape.

Ankara averted her eyes from the demon boy in front of her. "You wouldn't understand. It's more complicated than just us."

Goku sighed. "Crap, I'm hungry. This sucks!"

Despite herself, Ankara laughed lightly. She was given a strange look, and flushed.

Goku groaned. "I'm so hungry!" he whined.

Momentarily, Ankara extended her hand, offering him a chunk of bread.

Goku ate it as fast as possible, then grinned at her. "For a hooker, you're not all that bad. So...what's the real reason you're doing all this?"

"What?" Ankara looked at him sharply.

Goku smiled, his amber eyes closing. "There has to be a reason for all this."

Ankara glanced away. "All three of us...Emiko, Narrin, and myself, are doing this for a reason. You probably know how all the demons went berserk...being one yourself. All three of us found something in common: we are each in love with a demon. Lord Kougaji said if we captured you, he would return our loves to their original states."

"That's a load of bullshit!" Goku's angry outburst caught Ankara off guard, and she was startled.

"What?"

"Bullshit," repeated Goku firmly. "He's the one who caused all the demons to go insane. He can't help you."

Ankara remained stubborn. "He said he'd help us."

Goku sighed. "He's trying to resurrect the Youkai lord Gyumaoh. It's sending a wave of negative energy that's causing demons to go insane. He's the enemy here!"

"That can't be-"

"Ankara." Emiko was standing in the doorway. "Don't listen to his poison. Besides, your shift on watch is over."

Ankara cast a fleeting look at Goku as she surrendered her spot to Emiko. Was it possible that he was right? Could she have been wrong this whole time?

-Back in Town-

"Shit." Hakkai leaned against a wall, his right hand to his forehead. "Where is he?"

Machira slumped to the ground. "We've looked everywhere! Where the hell could that kid be?" She scooped up a handful of pebbles, watching them slide out of her hand through the spaces between her fingers.

Sanzo sighed, a sound more like a growl. "If that idiot doesn't show up soon, he's dead."

"You miss him?" taunted a crisp female voice. Narrin, the brunette woman from before, stood smiling down at them. "I know where your little demon friend is. Follow me if you want him back."

Without a word, the Sanzo party followed Narrin. After all, they had no other leads. Looking further into this one couldn't hurt.

END CHAPTER

Sorry you're all so evil, my lovely hookers. At least one of you gets converted, though. That's all I'm saying for now.

Send those reviews in! They make me smile!

Authoress out.