Thank you all for the reviews. I really appreciated them and your support in my attempts at fanfiction. If I need to make any other adjustments just let me know. Thanks SF.
Chapter 2 Part 1: The Shadow of Sanzo
"Hey bakasaru, you awake?" Asked Gojyo poking Goku in the forehead as the heavy lids opened, "It's been five hours since we left that town."
"We left?" asked Goku hazily. He blinked in confusion.
"Yeah, you aped out on us and mass murdered those spiders." said Gojyo slapping him on the back, "Saved us a lot of work."
"Did…did I hurt any of you?" asked Goku eyes downcast. He always felt bad about what he did even though he could never remember.
"Not to worry ape, you gave me a little love slap on the shoulder but Sanzo got you quickly so smile, you stinky saru." grinned Gojyo.
"Who are you calling stinky, you cockroach!" shouted Goku.
"You. Smell. You dumb ape!" countered Gojyo.
"Ero-kappa!" retaliated Goku, "You stink too!!"
"Not as bad as you, dumbass monkey!" retorted Gojyo slamming Goku's face into the middle of the backseat holding it there.
"Who are you calling dumbass, you dumbass!" shouted Goku struggling to get back up.
"You, who else you brainless ape." retaliated Gojyo with a smirk, "At least I don't eat seat cushions."
"I'm not afraid of you, red cockroach!" yelled Goku.
However, as always before the argument could get out of hand too badly there was the inevitable sound of two well placed fan strikes. *Thwack* *Thwack* As Sanzo turned around, standing up in the jeep, he glowered.
"Shut up or I'll kill both of you! Neither of you baka's are in any condition to be arguing so play dead or be dead! And stay silent!" shouted Sanzo before plopping back down in his chair.
"Sanzo…" piped Goku.
"Shut up." snapped Sanzo.
"Ano…I'm hungry." said Goku. *THWACK* "…itaiyo…"
"He's right. None of us have eaten since breakfast nine hours ago." said Hakkai smiling.
"I'll kill you too." said Sanzo eyebrow twitching. Then Goku's stomach rumbled loudly breaking the silence. The paper fan rose instantly.
"It wasn't my fault!" cried Goku covering his head as his stomach rumbled again…wait this one wasn't his stomach. Everyone turned to face Sanzo who glared at all of them then sat back down arms crossed.
"You're hungry too, aren't you, bohzo?" said Gojyo tauntingly.
"Shut up!" said Sanzo emphasizing it with a solid *Thwack*.
"Sanzo…" came Goku's voice again. *Thwack*
They continued in silence for a few more hours when suddenly there was an explosion in front of Jeep and the vehicle dragon was thrown backwards landing on it's back tires spinning. The sheer force of the explosion had thrown Gojyo, Goku, and Sanzo out. Gojyo slammed back first into a rock face and fell forward in pain. Sanzo had been sent flying into the air only to land several yards away on his right arm, there had been a sickening crack. He growled in anger and pain rolling to his feet and drawing his gun his right arm hanging limp. Goku had curled up as he had been thrown and from the jeep and merely rolled across the ground collecting a few scrapes. He got to his feet quickly and faced the enemy. It was a band of seven youkai. Four were archers; they drew.
Gojyo dodged as an arrow flew at him and brandished his shaku only to take an arrow in the calf of his left leg. He fell with a curse. Sanzo ran toward them dodging arrows and firing his gun, he tripped in mid-dodge of an arrow but as he fell he saw Goku leap into the fray with his Nyoibu in hand cracking skulls. He saw one leave the fight trying to make his escape. Sanzo scrambled to his feet and pursued it, but every time he got a clean shot the youkai would manage to dodge. He followed it as it ran and he soon left the others behind. The youkai finally stopped near a river and turned jumping at Sanzo. It managed to knock his gun from his hand and they grappled. Sanzo received long cuts down his arms and the front of his robe was soon a shredded mess. He finally managed to push the youkai off and grabbed his gun. He felt a ki blast hit him but oddly enough it inflicted no damage. The youkai laughed as Sanzo pulled the trigger and shot it dead. He glared then started to return when everything spun quickly and the ground rose up to meet him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Ha, I killed twenty." said Goku leaning on the Nyoibu. Reinforcements for the youkai band had entered the battle.
"Twenty-three. I beat you dumbass monkey." said Gojyo limping heavily and holding the chain to the sharp end of the shaku, letting it dangle. Blood dripped from it, "Ah…seems we got them all, eh saru?" He sat down nearly collapsing. Gojyo caught a roll of cloth bandage that Goku had scrounged out of the scattered supplies as Goku threw it at him. "Thanks, how's Hakkai?" He began to bind the gushing wound in his leg ignoring all the other cuts he had accumulated.
Goku made his way carefully over to where the jeep was and crawled in through the upside down door to see Hakkai all crumpled up against the dash, "Hakkai?" Gently he pulled the unconscious man out and sat him up against a pile of rocks. Goku returned to Jeep and put his shoulder to it attempting to turn it back over to its tires. His feet ground trenches into the dirt and he was about to stop when he heard a thunk as someone else put their shoulder to the jeep.
"You don't have the strength to push it back over by yourself after a fight like that you bakasaru." said Gojyo as they turned it over on its side then back on its wheels.
"Kuu…yuu.." said the dizzy Hakuryuu as it morphed back into a unconscious white dragon.
Gojyo sat back down breathing heavily, "Where's Sanzo?"
"Sanzo!" Goku's head shot up and scanned the area around. Catching Sanzo's scent he ran in the direction. Soon he came across Sanzo's body by the river. He knelt and gently shook him, "Sanzo. Sanzo." Sanzo slowly sat up and saw Goku's smiling face beaming at him. Goku grinned happily noticing that Sanzo only had minor injuries, he had missed seeing the arm. Sanzo looked around, "You're okay."
"Are you here alone?" asked Sanzo.
"Yes, the others are hurt." said Goku helping Sanzo stand up, "Come."
Unexpectedly, Sanzo reached out and grabbed Goku by the front of his tunic and pushed him into the river and with his good arm and the help of nearby tree roots held him under the water. Surprise tore most of the air from Goku's lungs as he went under. His eyes were clenched tightly from the stinging water as he tried to surface. Sanzo, why?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sanzo remembered falling unconscious but when he came to he was holding someone beneath the river water. He let go only to see Goku break the surface sputtering and coughing. The small brown haired youkai climbed half out of the river breathing deeply and coughing. He looked up at Sanzo hurt and afraid. Sanzo reached over to yank him out of the water only to find wary eyes watching him carefully. Goku couldn't help but flinch as Sanzo pulled him the rest of the way out.
"What's wrong, what happened?" demanded Sanzo glaring.
"You. You threw me in the river and held me under the water." quietly said Goku pushing his dripping bangs back to keep an eye on Sanzo, "Were…were you going to kill me?"
"I did what?" asked Sanzo frowning, "I don't remember doing any such thing."
"You did." said Goku shaking off the access water like a dog, "I thought that you were going to kill me."
"Look you stupid saru, if I was going to kill you I'd do it the proper way." said Sanzo pulling out his Smith and Wesson.
Sanzo saw Goku flinch again as he pulled the gun. He put it away. He must have really attempted to kill Goku to shake the saru off this badly. He frowned. Why would he try to kill Goku? True, he threatened the saru a lot not to mention beat him with the fan and the youkai was always on his last nerve…but he would never kill the saru for real…not even if the Three Aspects commanded him. He was quite attached to the boy despite how much he denied it. If he had a son one day, Sanzo was sure that he would be very much like Goku.
Reaching out he ruffled Goku's hair violently then turned to leave, "Hurry up, saru, or I'll leave you behind." He let a small smile escape his lips as he heard Goku race up after him. The fear must have passed.
They walked back to the site of the battle and upon seeing Hakkai's unconscious state Sanzo moved quickly to the emerald eyed youkai's side and checked his injuries.
"Some broken, probably a few fractured in the ribs." said Sanzo to nobody in particular. He winced feeling someone touch his arm.
"Sanzo, you are hurt?" asked Goku worriedly.
"Back off baka. I'm fixing Hakkai's baka self right now." snapped Sanzo.
Gojyo looked over to Goku who was still dripping with water, "What, Sanzo? You finally get tired of the ape and tried to drown him?" He joked.
"Shut up kappa!" threatened Sanzo in a voice that held no humor.
"Geez, it was a joke you droopy eyed monk. A joke!" snapped Gojyo.
"Apparently, I did try to drown him." said Sanzo.
"Say what?" asked Gojyo stopping dead.
"I don't remember it but I did." said Sanzo bandaging Hakkai.
"What?" said Gojyo.
"You heard me." snapped Sanzo.
"He didn't mean it." said Goku defensively.
"You must be losing it man." said Gojyo taking it for some mean joke, "Your monk mind is tearing at the seams."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
K.I.L.L….him… A voice inside of Sanzo's mind said. Kill him now. Sanzo felt sick suddenly and the world shuddered around him. He closed his eyes tightly trying to control his stomach that wished to regurgitate. He felt his hand slowly moving for his Smith and Wesson. No! What was going on? Forcefully he put his hand back down.
"Leave Sanzo alone you cockroach! I'm sure Sanzo didn't mean it!" Shouted Goku, "He told me he didn't mean it!"
"Yeah, like you're sure that you have a brain, dumbass monkey. If he told you to walk right into a bullet you would!" retaliated Gojyo.
Sanzo barely heard that argument as he felt everything but his mind grow faint. He felt an intense pain and a voice. A harsh voice full of hatred.
It's only a matter of time Genjo Sanzo, before one of them dies and the rest to follow. What a fool to think to make friends with these youkai. The same youkai that you hate. Which one shall be rid of first? That pet monkey, perhaps. You are his keeper, master, and mentor. In his eyes there is none above you, the one who saved him when the whole world turned their backs to him. Or maybe Hakkai? His trust is true. He would never see it coming.
Stop it! Stop it! Shouted Sanzo the voice inflicting pain with it words. His head ached. Images of the three blood covered and motionless filtered through his mind. Who are you?
You Sanzo, I AM you. Said the voice.
More bloody images filtered into his mind, Stop! I swear if you touch them, that I will kill you! Whoever the hell you are!
Oh, but I'm not. You are.
"Shut up!" yelled Sanzo then he noticed that Gojyo and Goku were looking at him.
"What no fan? You really are messed up." said Gojyo. He cast a worried look at Sanzo as the monk looked a bit confused. Maybe this wasn't a joke.
"I-" started Sanzo then he shook his head, "Let's get to town. We're not too far off." He picked up Hakkai and started walking.
Goku picked up Hakuryuu and let Gojyo use his shoulder as a crutch as they hurried to follow Sanzo. Gojyo just stared at Sanzo's back. Something was very wrong with the man but he just couldn't figure out what exactly it was. Maybe he had gone crazy.