Series: Saiyuki
Title: To Walk a Thousand Miles
Author: Zelgadis55
Rating: PG13
Warnings: Small amount of language, Sanzo and Gojyo are in this story afterall :-)
Pairings: None (only a few small hints like you would get by reading the manga or watching the anime, make what you will of it)
Disclaimer: None of the characters of Saiyuki belong to me, they all belong to the talented Kazuya Minekura. I make no money with this story, only entertainment.
Summary: An accident in the midst of battle for the Maten Kyoumon has serious consequences for Goku and Kougaiji.
A/N: This chapter is something I actually wrote about a year ago and am just recently starting to work on. I don't expect updates to be as frequent as past stories of mine but by starting to post, it will get my butt into gear so to speak :-) Comments are appreciated always.
To Walk a Thousand Miles
Pt 1
"Arrrgh! Kougaijiii!" Goku yelled as he rushed at the youkai prince, brandishing his nyoi-bou, "I won't let you win, I'll never give up!"
Likewise, Kougaiji ran at the young earth spirit, arm held high and ready to fend off the weapon that was descending toward him. "I will not give up either. I need the Maten Kyoumon and I will go through you and anyone else I need to, to get it. You cannot stand between me and the monk for much longer." The nyoi-bou hit his arm and Kougaiji winced from the impact, if it had hit much harder, he was sure it would have done some real damage. As it was, his forearm was now hurting like hell but he would not admit it to anyone, especially his enemy. He summoned a fireball and sent it flying towards his opponent's face and Goku fell back with a cry of surprise before bounding back onto his feet and slamming nyoi-bou in Kougaiji's direction once more. This time he missed, the pyro prince pulling back just enough to avoid the impact.
As Goku accidentally slammed nyoi-bou into the ground, he created a crater at the center of impact and both opponents found they had trouble retaining their balance as the ground began to collapse under their feet. The shifting earth and rock beneath them finally settled and the two flew at each other once more, determination filling their faces. As they came together at the heart of the devastation, their eyes never left each other's gaze while letting fly with several vicious punches and kicks before landing with precarious balance on the broken ground once more.
So intent were they on finally deciding a victor in this seemingly never-ending battle, that both combatants failed to notice the warning signs; the sudden rumbling sounds from below. Kougaiji's face contorted slightly as he summoned flame to surround his fist, punching it into Goku's stomach. The blow hit hard, making the young fighter fall. As he fell, Goku lashed out with his right foot, sweeping the prince's legs out from underneath him. The two went down and down as the unstable ground beneath them opened up, swallowing them whole as they continued to fall.
They fell about thirty meters, slamming into a couple of rocky outcroppings on the way down before finally splashing to a halt in an underground river. The strong current swept Goku and Kougaiji along at a rapid pace, preventing the two barely conscious youkai from being able to do much more than keep their heads above water. Before long, the struggle grew too much with first Kougaiji succumbing to darkness and not long after, Goku.
A being with glowing eyes spied the pair sinking underneath the water and it flew through the pervading darkness of the underground cavern to fish out the two foes before carrying them to shore. The creature regarded the fallen pair for several moments, "Such a proud pair," it whispered with a sibilant hiss, "they should not be fighting." Curled hands, if they could be called as such, reached over the foreheads of the two and a purplish black miasma formed, moving from each hand to the foreheads of Goku and Kougaiji.
Laughter hissed as the miasma cleared and then died away as the winged being flew away.
- . - . -
Above ground where the fight had been taking place, the remains of the two groups circled the hole in the ground. "Onii-chan!" Lirin cried out desperately. There had been no sound from within the hole in the ground and no one could see to the bottom. It was far too dark to make out any details.
"Yaone-chan!" the young girl cried in fear, "Onii-chan is down there! He could be hurt!"
"I know he is Lirin-sama. Kougaiji-sama will be fine, I promise." The apothecary said soothingly. "We will get both him and Goku-san out of there." She looked at Sanzo as she spoke.
"We don't need your help." The blond growled, unable to hide his concern no matter how hard he tried. "We are more than capable of getting that idiot out on our own."
"Now, now, Sanzo," Hakkai interjected sounding calmer than he felt, "I'm sure we are able to rescue Goku on our own but we may be better off combining our efforts. Yaone-san, Dokugakuji-san and Lirin-chan are going to go down anyway; we may as well help each other."
"Che!"
- . - . –
Sometime later Hakkai turned to Yaone, "How long do you think it will take Dokugakuji-san and Gojyo to return with the hiryu?"
The youkai woman turned fearful eyes on the healer, trying her hardest to keep tears from falling for Lirin's sake, if not for her own. "Probably about another ten minutes, maybe fifteen, Hakkai-san. We moved some distance away from the dragons during our battle and we had left them several minutes walk away from where we ran into you." She explained. "Once they have the hiryu, they should be fairly quick in returning to us. They fly quite fast."
Hakkai nodded in relief. "That's good. I'm concerned about our friends. They've been down there for some time already and are probably injured." He said quietly, trying not to upset Lirin too much with his worry.
Yaone nodded as she held her young charge back from the edge of the gaping hole in the ground.
"Che!" Sanzo grunted and walked away. He was actually worried; he couldn't feel Goku at all, even though he was certain the youkai wasn't dead. That much he was sure he would know. When he was some distance away from the others, he sank to the ground, trying hard not to be too obvious about the way he dropped and then with slightly shaking hands, he removed a smoke from a packet hidden within his robes and lit it up. Sanzo took a long, soothing drag on the cigarette, breathing the smoke deep into his lungs. He closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on Goku, reaching out across their link, calling but trying not to sound worried about it. He frowned, there was nothing, nothing! No answering cry of his name, no feeling, no hunger, nothing.
"Oi! Shitty monk!"
Sanzo started. He opened his eyes and glared at Gojyo, pissed off over the fact that had allowed the damn cockroach to sneak up on him like that.
"We're back with the hiryu. We can fly down and look for the chibi saru now." Gojyo stared at him.
"Che! Fine, I'm coming!" Sanzo answered shortly as he stood. He stalked past the kappa and headed for the two hiryu standing nearby. Sanzo eyed the nearest one as it balefully stared back at the monk.
"Lirin-sama," Yaone said gently, "I want you to wait up here please. The hiryu can't take too many of us at once and we don't know what is down there."
"What?" the distraught girl cried, "I don't want to wait here! I can help! My brother is down there somewhere."
"Yes he is and we'll bring him back safely. I promise you. No more than four of us can travel down there for the moment. It wouldn't be fair to the hiryu to carry anymore and we will be bringing Kougaiji-sama and Goku-san back with us. Both Dokugaku and I need to go, we need to fly the dragons and two of Sanzo-sama's people as well. No more than that. I am truly sorry Lirin-sama."
"It's not fair!" she cried, "Why can't one of you stay here and I'll fly the other hiryu?"
"Lirin!" Dokugakuji said sharply, "Please do as Yaone asks. We need you to guard up here in case anyone comes along. That hole is too dangerous to leave unattended."
"Fine then." Lirin answered in a sulky tone. "Hage Sanzo, will you stay with me?"
Sanzo glared at the girl and then immediately felt sorry as he saw the expression on her face, though he did nothing to apologize. "No, the ero-kappa is staying."
"Huh? Why me?" Gojyo asked in surprise, "I don't want to be stuck with the brat!" He didn't want to let anyone know that he was actually worried about the ever-hungry monkey.
"Nyerh!" Lirin retaliated to the kappa's thoughtless comment by sticking out her tongue.
"Idiot! If that baka is hurt badly, we will need Hakkai's healing ability and though I can't sense Goku just now, I might be able to sense him when we get close." Sanzo explained in annoyance.
Hakkai smiled consolingly, "I'm sorry Gojyo but what Sanzo says makes sense. Please stay and help Lirin watch things up here. It may also help if you can make camp while we are gone. That way we will have somewhere to look after Goku and Kougaiji if they are badly injured."
"Fine, I suppose you want me to start getting lunch ready too." Gojyo sighed in resignation.
"That would be helpful Gojyo but nothing complex."
"I would rather the kappa didn't cook at all. I remember last time he tried while you weren't around. He even made himself sick." Sanzo said poisonously as he climbed up behind Dokugakuji.
"Yeah? Well, I'd like to see you cook, you damn high and mighty monk." Gojyo snapped in retaliation.
"Please stop arguing, this isn't the time." Hakkai sighed as he settled behind Yaone. He watched as Gojyo lowered his head slightly. "Gojyo, Lirin-chan, we will be counting on you both." Hakkai added with a smile as Yaone instructed her hiryu to follow Dokugakuji and Sanzo.
The four reluctant companions and their hiryu descended into the hole in the ground, the hiryu having to keep their wingspans contracted somewhat to fit through. Gojyo and Lirin watched as the unlikely rescue team disappeared underground.
Lirin looked up at Gojyo, worry filling her eyes more than ever now that Yaone and Dokugakuji were also gone. "Do… do you think onii-chan and Goku will be okay?" she asked, needing reassurance.
"Yeah, they'll be fine squirt." Gojyo answered, placing his hand on her head and ruffling it gently. He smiled at the girl, "Can you help with setting up camp while we wait for them to come back?"
Lirin smiled back up at him and wiped her eyes before her tears could fall. "Sure, I'll help." She answered; glad to be able to do something to take her mind off of her brother's fate.
- . - . -
The group plunged into the underground cavern and it became harder to see as the light filtered out so Hakkai created a ball of glowing ki in order to help them see. They looked around in wonder at the size of the caves. The way down had been narrow at first but it had soon widened out, though not without the four noticing some nasty looking outcroppings of rock in various places. Finally they could see the bottom and saw a swiftly flowing river.
"At least we know one thing, if they fell into the water, which is a given, then they could only have gone one way." Dokugakuji said, stating the obvious. "The water's flowing that way, so that's the way we fly. Yaone, could you please fly a little ahead since Hakkai is providing the light?" he asked.
"Of course, Dokugaku." She answered as she directed her hiryu to fly ahead and to the side.
Hakkai tried to brighten the light of his ki a little in order for it to shine a little further. Yaone and Dokugakuji were loathe to fly the hiryu too fast, they knew they had to go a little faster than the river itself or they may never catch up to their lord and Goku but they also knew in the dimness of the available light, if they flew too fast, then they may not spot who they were looking for.
All four kept a sharp eye out, searching hard as they traveled. Dokugakuji and Hakkai called relentlessly for their friends, while Sanzo continued trying to call out within his mind. There were no answers. Finally, after some time flying along, Yaone thought she saw something in the dimness of the underground cavern and cried out, "Over there! Is that them?" She steered her hiryu towards the two shadows on the bank of the underground river. As she and Hakkai got closer, they could make out the shapes in the improving light and they were indeed Goku and Kougaiji. Yaone landed her dragon and she waited for Hakkai to climb off before she did as well.
Hakkai ran towards the unconscious pair, Yaone close behind even as Dokugakuji landed his hiryu close by. Sanzo barely waited for them to land before jumping off and running towards Goku.
"Is the bakazaru still alive?" Sanzo asked, disguising the worry in his voice to the best of his ability.
Hakkai looked up, "I believe so, at least there doesn't appear to be anything broken but I can't tell the true extent of his injuries until we get them back to the surface and in the light." He then moved to Kougaiji, where Yaone was already checking over the youkai prince.
She nodded in acknowledgement to Hakkai, "Kougaiji-sama looks alright too but I will feel better when I check him over on the surface."
"Good," Dokugakuji said, "we better get out of here then."
Dokugakuji then asked Sanzo, Yaone and Hakkai to get back onto the hiryu and he gently passed Goku up to Sanzo and Kougaiji up to Hakkai to hold onto. Once he had done that, he carefully climbed in front of Sanzo and coaxed his hiryu to fly back the way they had come. Yaone followed suit and soon the small group were flying their way back out of the cavern.
The flight was rough, the weight of three people apiece a little too much for the dragons to cope with and they had to stop a couple of times to rest. Finally, they were within sight of the gaping hole and they flew up. Yaone took the lead as she directed her dragon out of the hole and landed it several meters away.
"Onii-chan!" Lirin cried excitedly and Gojyo looked up as the girl ran to her brother. "Onii-chan? Are you alright?" She asked when there was no initial response from her brother.
Gojyo walked over, planning to help get the unconscious youkai prince down from the dragon but something by the hole caught his eye and he whipped his head around only to see the emerging dragon suddenly drop. "Kuso!" Gojyo swore as he ran, summoning shakujou and swinging it so that the crescent blade flew down the hole, snagging the hiryu. He cried out as the sudden weight dragged him towards the hole at a breakneck speed.
"A little… help here guys." Gojyo yelled in a not quite panicked state.
"Hold him!" Hakkai snapped to Yaone as he jumped off the hiryu, running to give his friend a hand.
"Hai!" the apothecary answered as she desperately grabbed hold of her unconscious lord. "Lirin-sama, please go help them too."
"O… okay Yaone-chan." The young red head answered shakily. She didn't want to leave her brother now that he was safely back but she also didn't want to lose her friend so she ran to Gojyo and Hakkai, grabbing hold of the end of the staff and digging her feet into the ground determinedly. Even with all three and Hakuryu also, they were still being dragged towards the hole, just at a significantly slower pace.
Hakkai glanced at the little dragon, his mind racing, "Hakuryu, please transform just in front of us." His pet obeyed him, flying just ahead and changing into his jeep form.
"Um, Hakkai, how is Hakuryu transforming going to help?" Gojyo asked, straining to hold his place without sliding further towards the crevice.
"We can… try to jam shakujou in behind the seats and use Hakuryu's power… to pull them back up." Hakkai explained, hoping desperately that his idea would work.
As they began to slide past Hakuryu, Hakkai climbed into the jeep while Gojyo and Lirin tried passing shakujou up to him, while trying not to let go themselves. In the process, the three nearly lost hold of the staff altogether but they somehow managed to hold on and even jammed it in behind the front seats, managing to lock it in place. Hakuryu kyuued in fright as at first he started being pulled back towards the gaping hole but Hakkai started the engine and pressed the accelerator. Hakuryu's tires squealed and spun on the ground before gripping. It wasn't much but they did manage to move forward a little. Gojyo ran behind the jeep and began to push, trying to add to Hakuryu's forward momentum. Lirin stared at Gojyo for a moment before joining him in his efforts. Finally, they began making progress and after a few minutes of combined pushing and pulling, the three youkai and the dragon-turned-jeep managed to pull the other hiryu and its passengers out of the hole.
Yaone watched, sighing in relief as she saw that Dokugakuji and Sanzo had managed to keep hold of both the hiryu and Goku.
Once they were above ground and safely away from the gaping breach in the surface, everyone collapsed momentarily in exhaustion. Several seconds later, Hakkai stood, making his way to Sanzo and Goku, "Are you alright?" he asked in concern.
"I'm fine." Sanzo answered shortly, "Just check on that bakazaru!"
Hakkai chuckled slightly, "Hai, hai!" He knelt down beside Goku, checking him over briefly. "Gojyo, is there bedding and water out?"
"Yeah, we got everything ready just in case." The hanyou answered with a frown.
"Thank you." Hakkai replied softly. "Could you please help Yaone-san with Kougaiji while I bring Goku over?"
"Sure thing." Gojyo jogged over to Yaone where she was struggling with holding Kougaiji without dropping him. He reached up a little, taking the fiery youkai prince from the woman carefully. She smiled down to him in gratitude.
"Thank you Gojyo-san." She said softly as she climbed off the hiryu. She followed him to the small campsite as Gojyo carried Kougaiji there. Dokugakuji met them halfway and protectively took the prince from his younger brother. When they got to the camp, Dokugakuji placed Kougaiji down on one of the bedrolls, near where Goku had been placed and Yaone started checking over the prince while Hakkai looked after Goku.
"How is he?" Gojyo asked worriedly as he hovered close to Hakkai.
Hakkai sighed as he washed all the cuts on Goku's face and arms, "There is nothing broken but he has been banged up quite a bit. I would say Goku probably has a rather severe concussion however." He answered softly. The healer then turned his head briefly in Yaone's direction and called, "What about Kougaiji, Yaone-san?"
She sighed, "It looks like he has a broken arm and a concussion also, not to mention a lot of bruising. Really, he is lucky he isn't worse off though." She answered while cleaning up the cuts on her lord.
"When I am finished with Goku, I will take a look at Kougaiji if you like." He offered.
Yaone smiled, "We would appreciate that. Thank you Hakkai-san."
Once he was done cleaning up Goku, he moved onto Kougaiji. "Hmm, his concussion doesn't appear to be as bad," Hakkai observed, "but I will start healing his arm. I can't heal it completely but I should be able to reduce the natural healing time drastically."
Yaone nodded, "Thank you." She said as she watched Hakkai's healing ki wash over Kougaiji's broken arm.
Several of hours passed and neither of the two unconscious youkai had stirred. Hakkai was beginning to get worried. "This isn't looking good," he said anxiously, "Neither one are showing any sign of waking and their concussions don't appear that bad."
The apothecary nodded from where she was cooking. She poured out the contents of the saucepan into two small bottles and handed one to Hakkai. "Here you go Hakkai-san, that's for Goku-san when he wakes. It should help to ease any pain."
"Thank you, I'm sure he'll appreciate it, Yaone-san." Hakkai answered as he took the bottle from her, his eyes not leaving his patients
Dokugakuji spoke up, "If it's safe to move Kou, we really should head back to Houtou castle. We can't stay away much longer."
Yaone nodded, "It should be alright, we'll just have to be careful and take things slowly. Is the hiryu alright now?"
Dokugakuji nodded, "I believe so but to be safe, I suggest you and Lirin ride that one as you're lighter than Kou and I combined. We'll also fly low to be safe."
"Alright," Yaone answered, "thank you Hakkai-san for helping to look after Kougaiji-sama. Thank you Sanzo-san, Gojyo-san for all your help too." She bowed her thanks to the three.
"So… we're going home now?" Lirin asked in a small voice. "Will onii-chan be okay if we take him back? No one will try to do anything to him again will they?"
Dokugakuji smiled at the girl, "We won't let them get their hands on your brother, I promise."
Lirin nodded, relief filling her eyes and she smiled. "Alright!"
Hakkai watched as Gojyo helped Dokugakuji settle Kougaiji on their hiryu. "Have a safe journey back."
Yaone smiled back, "We will, thank you."
"Good riddance!" Sanzo said as their enemy's flew away.
Hakkai shook his head in faint amusement. "Now, if it wasn't for them, we would have had a much harder time rescuing Goku." His eyes settled on the still sleeping youth and he sighed. "I really am quite worried about Goku. He did get hurt rather badly during that fall."
Gojyo stood behind Hakkai, placing his hands on the healer's shoulders and massaging them gently. "I'm sure the saru will be right by morning, you know how he bounces back; you've done what you can and I know your best is good enough." He reassured gently.
The healer smiled and reached one hand up, grasping Gojyo's arm. "Thanks, you always know just how to make me feel better."
"Anytime I can help, just let me know. I'll even do my best to help when you don't ask." Gojyo said quietly.
"Why don't you two get a room dammit!" Sanzo snapped, "The saru's laying there unconscious and all you two can think about is getting it off. Go on! Leave, I'll watch him."
Gojyo rolled his eyes, "As if! More like you want some alone time with your monkey."
Sanzo glared while clicking the safety on his gun. Gojyo backed off, hands held high with a mock apologetic look on his face.
"Are you sure? I don't want to leave when Goku is in bad shape." Hakkai asked worriedly.
"If there's any change for the worse, I'll call you! Just go!" Sanzo said, not trying to hide his irritation.
"Okay." Hakkai replied with a grateful smile as he and Gojyo went to their tent.
Sanzo stared at Goku, glad that the kappa had given him an excuse to get rid of him and Hakkai. He didn't want to show his concern for the monkey when the other two were sitting there as well. He heard the zip of the tent close and he heaved a sigh of relief. He began to stand only to freeze as he heard the zip on the tent again.
"Sanzo?" Hakkai called quietly, "If Goku wakes and is in pain, please give him some of that medicine Yaone-san made."
"Fine!" Sanzo answered shortly.
"Oh, and when you are tired, please come and get me. I would be happy to take over for you." Hakkai added.
"Whatever!"
"Goodnight Sanzo." Hakkai said as he pulled his head back inside the tent and closed the zip again.
Sanzo heard Gojyo's voice in annoyance, "What do you mean, you'll be happy to take over? You've done more than he has today. If anyone is entitled to their rest, you are!"
"Shh!" Hakkai answered, "Or he'll probably come wake you for revenge."
Thankfully, as far as Sanzo was concerned, the voices quietened at that point, becoming little more than whispers which he could not quite make out. Sanzo breathed deeply and finished standing up. He walked slowly to where Goku lay and sat down beside his charge. Sanzo remained still, he did not want to risk being caught so near Goku but he also didn't wish to move away so he sat there unmoving for the next couple of hours, listening as the soft sounds in the tent finally died down and stopped altogether.
To be continued