Authoress here.

It's really been awhile since I was on this computer, where I have this all saved. Sorry for the delay! The...very long delay...

There's a name in here just for PenPusherM!

START CHAPTER

Machira's eyes moved without hesitation to the man who had spoken. When he stepped forwards, out of the shadows, Machira took the same number of steps in the opposite direction.

"Nervous, are we? Didn't expect to see a demon here, did you?" The questions were more to taunt the lone girl who was still capable of opposing him than to be answered snidely.

He snickered softly. His appearance was not that of a scaly ogre, but of a very handsome man with chestnut hair and only a small dark swirl on his forearm that revealed, at first glance, that he was not human.

Machira eyes roved his body for any sort of weapon, but he drew a long curved sword before she had finished. He smirked. "You don't have a weapon, do you? It almost seems a pity to kill one so thoroughly unprepared."

Machira didn't answer.

"Girls," said the demon, turning to Emiko and Narrin. "Leave."

"But Kurma-"

"Go! Now!" he snapped.

Defeated, the two other women left and did not return.

"Now then...let's get to it." Kurma took another step towards her, and again she flinched back. He rushed at her and swung his sword to the side. She neatly leapt over it and kicked him in the back once before getting out of range.

He turned to face her and smirked again. Her spirits were immediately dampened. "That's all you can do? You are truly pathetic. And here I was, thinking I'd actually get a fight out of you before I turned you into a carcass."

Machira merely glared. She had learned that when she didn't know the opponent's full strength, she shouldn't waste her breath with insults.

"Machira, get these chains offa me!" Gojyo called from ten feet to her right.

She turned to do just that when Kurma's voice rang out from in front of her. "Are you that weak that you need him to save you, girl?"

Machira didn't reply, but also didn't move.

"Machira!" Gojyo cried, struggling against the chains. "Don't listen to that guy!"

She was silent a moment, her hair falling in front of her eyes and shielding them from view. Then, she looked up. "I'm not weak," she whispered. "And I can kill you by myself."

Sanzo growled under his breath and rolled his eyes. "God dammit," he grumbled.

"She's gonna get herself killed!" Gojyo cried.

"Let's not say things like that just yet, okay?"

Machira took in their expressions, and felt like crying. All of them were concerned except Sanzo, who was just angry, meaning they didn't think she could do it.

She slid her feet apart, taking up a battle stance. "I can do this guys, so don't worry," she said quietly.

Kurma raised his curved sword again. "Do you honestly think you can win against me? You don't even have a sword!"

Machira smiled at him. "I can sure as hell try."

His eyes narrowed before he charged at her, swinging his sword quickly in all directions.

As she dodged him, Goku struggled against his chains. He knew from how they were preventing him from using his weapon that the others were also next to helpless.

When the moments sparring ended, Kurma was ten feet in front of Goku and Machira was standing before the others. When he heard the rattling of Goku's chains, Kurma turned to him.

"Maybe you would fight better if you suffered a loss," Kurma suggested.

He raised his sword up over Goku's head, and sharply brought it down.

There was a loud clanging noise as another sword met his and stopped it from hitting the young demon. His opponent skidded back a few feet, but held her ground.

Goku looked at the sword-wielding woman in shock. "Ankara? What are you doing?"

Kurma took the only chance he was offered to get the woman out of his way, and kicked her in the stomach. She fell backwards, dropping her sword.

Inches before she hit the ground, she felt strong hands catch her. Turning her head to the side, she saw Goku.

His arms were free from the tightly wound chains, nothing more, and he used them to pull her closer as she blacked out. Holding her like that was the most he could do to thank her.

"Leave them alone," Machira shouted across the room. "They aren't involved! This fight is between you and me, no one else! Let's keep it even."

"Then why don't you free all of your friends?"

"I can kill you myself."

Machira and Kurma went at it again, but this time a red mark was visible on Kurma's face when they broke apart, signifying that she had hit him fairly hard.

"Nasty little brat." Kurma spat blood onto the ground from a cut on the inside of his mouth that had been made by her fist knocking soft skin into fangs.

Breathing hard, Machira replied, "Thanks."

Goku slammed his chains into the ground, making Kurma turn and look. Realizing that he was trying to distract her opponent, Machira didn't move.

"Machira! Just hit him! The hell with fair! If you don't do something fast, he's gonna kill you!" Gojyo shouted.

"I know that," she replied as Kurma looked back to her. She raised her fists again. "I'm not a china doll that'll break if it gets hit too much. Leave this to me."

"Let's make this a fair fight, then." Startling her, Kurma threw his sword away and raised clawed hands. He curled them into fists. "I'll fight your way."

When he came at her, he started out with a hard right that she easily ducked. The rest of his punches were easy to dodge as well.

He's slow, she thought wonderingly. What is he doing?

To try and get him to fight better when he realized the stakes, Machira gave up on fists and kicked him in the chest. He lost his balance for a second, but did not fall.

"And here I was thinking that the women working for me were the whores," he snapped.

Machira smiled. Based on the insult, it seemed that he had truly been doing his best and had overestimated his own skills with his fists.

It was proven when he went to grab his sword. Machira was suddenly blocking his way, moving faster than him. She grabbed the weapon and hurled it as high up as she could. It stuck deep into the wood of the wall.

"What happened to fighting fair?"

Kurma now looked slightly panicked with his sword out of reach.

"Kick his ass!" Gojyo seemed to realize that now the stakes were more even, Machira had a much better chance.

Hakkai smiled. "I was hoping I didn't have to help."

"Huh?" Even Sanzo looked remotely interested.

"I could have already hit him with a chi blast, but this is Machira's fight, not mine."

Machira had heard him. He could've helped me all along, but decided to let me do it myself? Thanks, Hakkai. A smile curved on her lips.

Kurma brushed hair from his eyes, a frown placed on his face. "He didn't ever mention you before. Kougaji, I mean."

She chuckled a bit. "I didn't really expect to be worthy of recognition from a demon anyway." She sighed and looked around at the chained up people around her. "Let's call this fight a draw, shall we?"

Kurma nodded, and soon after had exited the room. It was only then that Machira freed the men from the chains that bound them.

"You don't have to worry about me," she said happily once they were all freed.

"I wasn't worried, I was pissed," Sanzo replied. "If something like this ever happens again, don't leave us chained up like that."

She nodded. "I don't think it'll happen again, though."

Goku was still holding Ankara when he came over to the others. "She stopped him from killing me. Why?"

"Women are complex, Monkey Boy," Gojyo replied. "She probably doesn't even know."

Goku didn't bother starting a fight with Gojyo. He smiled at Ankara, then lifted his head and looked around. "I'm hungry! Let's get something to eat!"

Ankara woke up a few moments later, right as the Sanzo party realized that they didn't know the way out, and guided them to the exit.

It was easy to spot a restaurant from the door, so everyone but Goku and Ankara headed there to get a meal.

"I'll catch up with you!" Goku had assured his comrades.

Ankara started to head back inside the building, but Goku caught her by the shoulders. "Why did you help me like that?"

"I...I don't know," she confessed. "I just didn't want you to die, I guess."

"Well, thanks for that. I mean it!"

"No problem," Ankara replied, smiling at him. She was silent for a moment, and her smile faded into a frown. "Are you leaving tonight?"

Goku nodded, glancing over to the restaurant. "I think so."

Ankara took one of his hands in hers. "I'm going to miss you."

"Same here."

"It's not fair," she said quietly. "I wish I could've spent more time with you. And...I'm sorry for everything. Until I met you, I was caught up in the idea of getting the man I loved back. It took meeting a demon fighting to return the world to the way it should be to get me to realize that I didn't want him.

"It's time for me to stand back and watch you walk out my life forever," Ankara replied softly. "I'll never forget you, Goku." She leaned forward to place a light kiss on his lips, then vanished inside the building before he could see her tears fall freely.

When they left the next morning, Goku stared at the building she had gone into until it was out of sight.

Machira, who had slept badly, leaned against Gojyo peacefully.

Hakkai and Sanzo were silent.

Goku sighed. Maybe someday, they would meet again. Either way, he would always remember her.

"So...where are we headed?" Gojyo asked.

"West," came the simple answer from the High Priest Sanzo.

END CHAPTER

Uh-uh, I'm not done yet! There's either one or two more chapters left to go, so don't count me out yet!

Authoress out.