A/N: All right. First, I'd like to apologize for the two weeks or so that it took for me to get this chapter up. I've had a lot of things to do lately, and so this kind of got pushed back on my to-do list...

And now, on to the story...

Round 6: Downhill

"Look, I don't mean to be rude, but isn't there a faster way to get there? And, if you don't mind me asking, why does the doctor live on the farthest reach of the town?" They were walking, though at a very fast pace. Eshana was leading with Hakkai following close behind.

She paused, looking back at him. "I'm sorry if this is too slow for you, but I'm taking you the quickest way that avoids the worst of the neighborhoods. Not to say that this is a particularly safe place itself…The sun's barely up; I'm not going to risk going through any of the others."

They passed a rundown house, the door torn off its hinges. They had left the main part of the town minutes ago and were getting fairly close to where the doctor lived. Hakkai could see a path running away from them, weeds springing up beneath their feet as though people didn't pass this way very often. "And my other question?"

Eshana shrugged, looking around to make sure that no one was around as they continued forward. "I've asked him before. Didn't give me a straight answer. I know, I know. It doesn't make any sense. He really should be living farther in, where he could get to patients easily. Careful." She held out her hand, stopping Hakkai before he could step on a rusted piece of metal. "I think it has something to do with the fact that he prefers to help those who live out here. Those who can't afford anything better than those rundown shacks. And that he gets many of the plants that he uses out in the forest."

Hakkai nodded, jumping the metal and hurrying after her. The sun was already rising, though it was only glinting over the horizon at the moment.

If that was poison, he thought, increasing his pace so that he walked level with the woman, then Sanzo drank it around midnight. That makes it about five, six hours that it has been in his system. If it had been meant to kill, then he would be dead already. So maybe that man didn't mean to kill him? But then…

He saw the outline of the house against the trees. A small house, in better condition than the others that dotted the outskirts of the town. There were no lights on. It looked as though he would be waking up yet another person today.

Then he felt something. Just a small feeling that was there for one moment, gone the next. But he had experienced that feeling before. Far too many times before.

Youkai.

He stopped still in his tracks, turning his head, looking into the forest. There? No, he didn't sense anything from that direction. In fact, the feeling that a youkai was near had disappeared completely. So…

"Hakkai-san? Is something wrong?"

Hakkai glanced over at Eshana. It was gone, but it had been there. He made sure that he could call upon his chi at a moment's notice. "No. We're almost there, aren't we?"

She nodded, pointing towards the house. "That's Matou's house over there. It doesn't look like he's up yet…"

Hakkai began to move again, walking as fast as possible without breaking into a run. "Will he mind us waking him?"

"I doubt it. He might be a little out of it, but he shouldn't mind—" She hurried to catch up to him. "I'm assuming that something really was wrong this morning."

No use lying. When someone is practically running to get a doctor at the crack of dawn… "Yes."

"And I'm also assuming that you are fine?"

Only a little farther till they reached the house. "Correct."

"I heard the boy yelling, so I can only guess that it is the priest that's in trouble."

He didn't answer. He had sensed the aura of a youkai again, though only for a second. This was not good. He had better hurry and get the doctor; if the youkai—

"What is it?" asked Eshana, stopping herself before she ran into Hakkai. He didn't answer her this time either, pointing towards the house. "Wh-oh, no."

The door had been pulled out of the wall and was lying on the ground some ten feet from the house. All the windows that could be seen were smashed; a few shards still clinging to the frames, making them look like great toothy mouths. Hakkai tensed, taking a few steps forward. Eshana grabbed him by the shoulder, stopping him.

"You're going in? Are you insane?"

Hakkai shook himself out of her grip. "Miss Eshana, if this doctor is still in there then I need to find him. I'm not asking you to come. In fact, it would be best if you turn back now."

She shook her head. "No. I'm coming in as well. Besides, you'll need someone to watch your back. Right?" Despite her words, there was a quaver in her voice that betrayed her nervousness and fear.

Hakkai looked at her for a moment, his usual smile absent from his face. Then he turned and climbed the steps, passed through the threshold, and entered the house.

The only light in the house came from the sun, which had risen over the horizon and was now burning the sky with reds as it moved higher into the sky. Enough light to see where he was going.

The glass from the windows was shattered on the floor, the sun glinting off it and making it seem as though diamonds were scattered here and there. Several shelves had been cast down from where they had stood, throwing their contents around the room. Books, papers, small figures, and glass bottles were all strewn on the ground. And among them all, smeared on so many of the surfaces, was dark red stains. Blood.

"Eshana-san," he said quietly, not turning to look at her, his eyes scanning the room for any movement, "you should turn back. I do not want you to be hurt."

He heard her move, saw her walk to his side. Her shoulders were tensed, her head bowed ever so slightly, her eyes narrowed. "Someone was here. They may still be here, or they may not. There's been a lot of odd stuff happening here lately, from what I've heard. I know that you can defend yourself, Hakkai-san. Otherwise…otherwise you never would have made it out of the forest. But right now, there's someone who broke into this house and I haven't got a clue who it is. I'm not walking back alone. That would be just plain idiotic. I also know that you won't leave here without something to help the Sanzo priest. So I'll stay, even if it is for selfish reasons."

Hakkai inclined his head. "I suppose that is settled. But stay close, and if you see any movement…tell me. Keep your eyes open." He moved forward, taking small, cautious steps. Turned the corner into the kitchen and—

Matou's body lay on the floor, a blanket of blood spreading out from beneath his torso. His skin was slashed in many places, his limbs pulled off and thrown several feet away from him. His head…it looked as though someone had bashed it against the floor, again and again and again until the bone shattered and crumpled inward.

Hakkai swallowed, looking back at Eshana to see how she would react to the sight. Her face was white, her eyes wide, yet she wasn't shaking and didn't look as though she were about to run from the room or vomit.

"I'm fine," she said when she saw him watching her, giving him a weak smile. "But I suppose this screws your plans?"

"Indeed." And it did. Hakkai knew very little about poisons. He healed with his chi and had only started to do that recently. He knew which plants to avoid eating, he knew what to do to treat minor ailments such as cuts and scratches, as well as rashes from plants, but when he didn't know what the poison was… "Miss Eshana? May I ask you a question?"

"Yeah. Sure. What?"

"Do you know anything about poisons?"

She frowned, biting her lip as she averted her eyes from the body on the ground. "A little. What poison?"

Hakkai scanned the kitchen, seeing several shelves with glass doors. "That's the problem. I have no idea."

Eshana's frown deepened. "That's not good. If you knew…there's different methods. Charcoal, diluting it, getting it out of the system. Using the wrong method could be fatal. Do you at least know what form the poison was in?"

"Mixed with a liquid. Does that help?"

She nodded, though her forehead was still creased. "A bit. Banxia, Lilu, or Changshan would be helpful. They're all used for inducing vomiting. And milk for diluting the poison, charcoal…"

"Milk and charcoal we can get elsewhere. But which one should be used?"

Eshana had begun to chew on her bottom lip again. "I-I'm not sure. I'd have to know what was used, have to see him first."

Hakkai walked over to the cabinets and opened them. "Banxia, did you say?"

She nodded. "And Lilu, and Changshan. Why, did you find something?"

"No. Could you start looking?"

"Of course." She had stepped forward, lifting her skirts so they wouldn't drag in the blood. She was halfway across the kitchen when she paused, her face turned toward the window. "Hakkai-san…" she whispered and he turned his head. Her face was white again. "I just…I just heard something out there—"

Hakkai felt it again, much stronger. "Get close to me, Eshana. There are youkai out there."

"Wh—?"

"Just look for the herbs! I'll take care of them."

Eshana gave a short nod, taking several quick steps to where he stood, reaching up and pulling bottles from the cabinet. "All right. Just…just…"

"Just get what you need, Eshana-san," said Hakkai, moving a few feet away from her, arms brought in front of himself. His eyes darted to the window, seeing a small movement in the trees. He heard the clinking of glass and then—

There was the sound of wood splintering as a wall was smashed inward. Youkai stood in the opening.

"There y'are. You're one o' priest Sanzo's holy team, ain't ya?"

Hakkai's eyes narrowed and he didn't answer. Just called upon his chi and let the power form in his hands.

This was not good.

"Are you sure you can—"

"Just get the herbs." The youkai started forward and Hakkai flung a sphere of chi at him, throwing him backward. "I've got them."

…

Gojyo walked down the deserted road. No one was out yet, as it was still incredibly early in the morning.

He smiled to himself. Damn, it had been a good night! Well, despite the fact that they hadn't really done anything, but there were still a few days before he had to leave. He'd probably be able to get into her be before that time was up.

He jammed his hands into his pockets, completely relaxed. It was about time that they got a break. Not that this was a break, exactly. It was a just a…a detour. And he was pretty happy about that. No youkai trying to kill them, a cute girl, and the chance to get away from that damn priest. It was a pretty good 'break.' At least, in his opinion. And he wasn't going to ask anyone else, so it didn't matter if anyone else didn't like it. The only thing that he had disliked so far was the shopping earlier that day, and that had turned out all right.

He'd already gotten his new clothes, his old ones having been so torn up and blood-stained that there really had been no way to salvage them. The others' clothing were on pretty bad shape as well, though Goku's had been covered mostly in blood and he had managed to keep his shirt. The monkey had bought some new pants, though Gojyo hadn't paid much attention to what was going on. The other two—Hakkai and the damn priest—had gone to a tailor to get their stuff fixed. He, on the other hand, was a simple person to buy clothes for. He'd decided to get stuff that was completely different from what he'd had before; leather jacket, black pants, and boots. He was pretty happy about all of them.

Plus, they hadn't taken any time at all to pick out. Sanzo was the one holding up the group now; he couldn't blame it on Gojyo.

The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon, the people of the town beginning to wake. Some were already outside, hanging clean clothes on a line to dry, setting up booths with various goods, just watching the sun rise. Most people ignored him as he walked down the street, though a few did nod toward him in a silent greeting. As he was in a good mood, he responded with a wave of his hand or a nod of his own.

He stopped at one of the booths that was already open, buying a meat bun for breakfast. He gave a small laugh as he bit into it. No stupid monkey around to try and steal it, or whine about wanting food.

All in all, it was starting off to be a damn good day.

Of course, his mood was spoiled as he heard a voice behind him.

"All alone, are you?"

He turned. "What do you want?"

It was a group of people, mostly men. Though there were one or two with longer hair that could have been women. But the thing he noticed about them was—

"Ah, crap. You fucking youkai had to screw up my day, didn't you?"

The one who had spoken pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket and flipped it open. "Heh. Well, ain't it are lucky day? Just one of you, out here all my yourself."

Gojyo rolled his eyes, letting his shakujou materialize in his hand. "Great. Go ahead, try and kill me. None of you idiots have killed me yet. Do you really think you can now?"

He did notice, however, that there appeared to be more of them than he had originally seen. Most of them had weapons of some sort; blades, pipes, that sort.

"An' do we have to fight in the damn street? Seems like you guys haven't thought this out much."

"What's to think out?" said one of the youkai, a shorter, black haired man. "We got assassins going after your friends. We just gotta take care of you."

"Aw, isn't that sweet? You want to take care of me. Sorry, man. I ain't into guys." He set his shakujou across his shoulders, ready to use it at a moment, though to the observer he looked relaxed and unconcerned about anything. "So, you going to fight? I haven't got all day."

When the first of the youkai jumped forward, grinning in their normal, self-confident way, he move only his arm, swinging his weapon, letting the chain uncoil and the crescent blade spin out and sever the limbs of the creatures. He heard a few screams and gasps from the few villagers that were out. A number of slammed doors as well. Pretty smart of them, to go inside. He kicked at a youkai that got too close to him, his boot catching him under the chin and pushing his head back so hard that Gojyo heard his neck snap. One down. A shit-load left to go.

"You just had to go and spoil my day, didn't you?" Not that it really mattered to him that they were trying to kill him; he was faster and had more control of his weapon than they did. He was probably smarter than all of them put together as well.

The chain of his shakujou hissed as he recoiled it, slashing with the back end of the weapon and slicing a great gash in the stomach of a youkai. He saw only for a second the look of shock on the man's face, the guts as they bulged from his stomach, and then Gojyo turned and let the chain out again. They just kept coming.

He wondered if what the youkai had said was true. That they had sent assassins after the others. Eh, they could take care of themselves. After all, they were holed up in that inn. There were three of them in there, which was much better odds than one on—screw it, he wasn't going to count them all. But they had better odds of winning than he did, and here he was kicking these youkai's collective asses.

He felt something slice down on his foot and looked down to see that one of the youkai had decided that cutting up his boot would be fun. Damn it, those boots were brand new! He slammed the staff down, decapitating the creature. The guy had cut deep enough to draw blood and Gojyo could feel the liquid soaking into his sock.

Wonderful. Not to mention that the movement had probably torn the stitches in his chest and reopened some of his other wounds.

Okay, so maybe his odds weren't so good after all. That didn't mean he was going to give up, though.

Ah, crap. There were more of them.

…

Goku was sat on one of the chairs backwards, one leg on either side. He had his arms crossed on the back on it, resting his head on them. Watching Sanzo. Watching Sanzo breath very shallowly.

He glanced back at the door. Nothing. It didn't open. There was no sound of footsteps. No indication that Hakkai was coming back with the doctor.

"Come 'n, Hakkai," he whispered, letting one arm drop down, swinging limply. "You gotta get back."

It was…boring. To sit there, all alone, watching the body of a person who might not wake. Boring, and yet frightening. Because he didn't know if Sanzo would ever wake up again.

Poison. Hakkai had guessed that it was poison. Goku wasn't sure how Sanzo would have ended up poisoned, even though Hakkai had said the poison was most likely hidden in the sleeping draught. Sanzo wasn't the sort of person to let down his guard. It just confused Goku. This was something that shouldn't have happened, and yet it had.

Sitting there, watching Sanzo, Goku began to think about what could have really happened. Maybe, hopefully, it was just that the sleeping thing had knocked him out. That there hadn't been any poison, and it had just been really, really strong stuff. That would be the best possible thing that could have happened. Goku hoped that was what had happened. He really did.

But Hakkai was rarely wrong…Goku dropped his head down so that his forehead rested on the back of the chair. He stared down at the floor. Maybe, just maybe if he looked away for a little while, then everything would be magically better.

"One," he started, his eyes glued on a crack in the floor. "Two. Three."

Then he looked up.

Sanzo still lay there, unmoving. Goku's shoulders slumped. Well, it had been a stupid idea. If Sanzo had known that he had thought of something like that, he would have yelled at him. Probably.

"Wake up, Sanzo," Goku said again, more to just say something and break the silence in the room than anything. It was far too quiet for him, with everyone else gone. And when things were silent, Goku would feel scared. Things were silent in…in the cave where he had been. No voices or anything. Despite the fact that Sanzo was there, right in front of him, Goku felt alone.

There was a small movement from the priest's direction. Goku sat up, eyes wide, hoping that he had woken. He hadn't, but his hand had moved. Just a little bit, just about a centimeter, but it had moved.

"Sanzo! Sanzo, wake up!" and then, just for good measure, "I'm hungry!"

He wasn't really, but that tended to get the priest's attention. There was another small movement of the man's hand, but nothing else.

He heard heavy footsteps in the hall and he turned around, hoping that it was Hakkai. He heard the footsteps come nearer, then fade away as they passed the door. No Hakkai. But would the doctor even be able to do anything?

There was the sound of movement from behind him, causing him to jerk around so quickly that he nearly upset the chair. Sanzo--?

Nothing. But he thought that he saw the tree outside the window move slightly. The branch, the one that almost touched the glass; he thought that he saw it move. Was sure that he saw it move. But it was probably just a bird. Or a squirrel.

Then, almost without warning, the glass shattered. Fell into the room in a spray of shards. They fell onto the floor, onto the beds, onto Sanzo. Goku saw a bead of blood run down the priest's face.

His nyoi-bo was in his hand in an instant. Glass didn't just shatter like that, not without good reason. He knew that. And in the moment that had happened, he had felt something.

Youkai. Lots and lots of youkai.

There was another flash of movement outside of the window and Goku jumped forward, grabbing Sanzo's arm and dragging him back.

"Well, well, well. There are only two of you. How delightfully easy for us."

There was a youkai sitting on the windowsill, his feet hanging before him, his entire posture displaying confidence. Like he was entirely sure of what he was doing. He had short brown hair, slicked back in such a way that his pointed ears seemed even more pronounced than normal. He held a knife in his hand, holding it idly in one hand.

"A half dead priest and a kid," the youkai continued, swinging one leg. "Just two. Hm. And here I was thinking that I would have some trouble with this." He jumped from the window, landing nimbly on his feet. Goku gripped his nyoi-bo, moving so that he stood in front of Sanzo's body where he now lay, sprawled on the ground.

"Yeah? Well, there's only one of you."

The youkai smiled, though only with half of his mouth, giving him a particularly twisted look. "Only one of me? You are right about that. There is only one of me. But look, kid. There's a whole lot more with me."

Goku glanced past the youkai for only a moment, out the window and into the trees. Youkai. Many, many youkai. Even as he watched, two more came through the window. His fingers tightened on his weapon and he said the first thing that came to his mind, not caring if it made him sound young or childish.

"What do you want?"

The twisted smile remained on the youkai's face, though he didn't move from where he stood. "Why, the priest and his sutra, of course. What else would we want?"

"You'll have t' get through me first!"

The youkai gave a short laugh, then flung the knife. It hissed past Goku's head, only missing him do to the fact that he had ducked. It hit the opposite wall, burying itself in deeply into the wood.

"You think I don't know that? Come on, we expected a fight. Don't disappoint us." He motioned for the other youkai to move.

Goku swallowed. He'd fought this number before, but only when his friends had been with him. And not when he'd had to protect someone—

They came at him quickly, and all thought fled from his head as he slammed the end of his staff into the first ones stomach.

A/N2: And now, for a special little thing that should add to the reading experience! Okay, maybe not, but it is something that I feel I should put in.

I named three herbs in this chapter: Banxia, Lilu, and Changshan. First, I would recomment NOT to use any of these herbs. All three are toxic. However, I choose this herbs because of their properties, and what I know about poisons (limited, but I asked around. I like making my stories as realistic as possible, and I am kind of against making up random herbs and plants to fit the story). Now, to tell you a little about these herbs...

Banxia is the chinese name for middle-summer pinelia. It is used to induce vomiting, as well as to supress coughing, among other things. Lilu is black false hellebore, which also induces vomiting, and can help with several things, including epilepsy. Changshan...well, it translates (I pretty sure) to 'mount eternity'. Helps with several things, including malaria. It also induces vomiting.

According to my sources, one of the possible things that can help with poisons is to induce vomiting (thus, these herbs). However, it all depends on the poison. I named some other things in the chapter. But I am not a doctor, nor am I some sort of herb specialist. DO NOT use these herbs on your own.My information on them is taken from a book on Chinese natural cures, but there is a lot more to them than I have said.

Anyway, there is the information and the warning. I hope you found it interesting (I also hope that you don't try them on your own. I don't think any of you would, but you never know...).

Thanks for reading,

Raven