Series: Saiyuki

Title: To Walk a Thousand Miles

Author: Zelgadis55

Beta: Diva Urd

Rated: PG 13

Disclaimer: Gensoumaden Saiyuki, Saiyuki Reload, Saiyuki Reload Gunlock and all respective characters belong to Kazuya Minekura. I do not have permission to use them, nor do I make a profit from them. Please forgive me for playing in their universe.

A/N: Well, while I certainly did not think I would be very fast updating this story, I did not expect to take this long to do so. The next update should be a lot quicker.

Huge thanks go to Cesmith who inspired part of a scene in this.

To Walk a Thousand Miles

Pt 2

Sanzo was finding it hard to stay awake. He had been watching over Goku for several hours now, still with no sign of his charge waking up and he knew that more than half of the night had already passed. Once again, he caught his chin meeting his chest and jerked himself awake again. He looked up blearily; the fire was dying. He reached over to the dwindling pile of firewood and tossed another small log on it.

There had been no sounds from the tent behind him for hours now, the occupants having stopped talking and finally gone to sleep, and Sanzo felt safe enough from prying eyes. He gently reached over and brushed the hair back from Goku's forehead, being careful to avoid bumping any of the saru's cuts or bruises. Goku was very lucky really, to escape with so few injuries despite the fall he had had. He must have hit rock at least a couple of times on the way down before the cavern widened enough and then… then to have hit the water from a free fall. He really was a very lucky monkey.

"Nnngh…" a quiet moan filled the air.

Sanzo hurriedly pulled his hand back and looked sharply down at Goku. Sure enough, the teen was stirring at last. "Goku?" Sanzo asked a touch brusquely. There was no reply, however the saru's face scrunched in pain as he moaned again. The monk looked around for the bottle of medicine Yaone had left for Goku. In the darkness, lit only by the flickering of the firelight, he spied the bottle sitting beside their supplies. Sanzo stood and walked over to fetch both it and a cup. When he came back, he saw Goku's eyes were slitted open and glittering with unspoken pain.

"Goku, can you sit up?" he asked quietly. "I have some medicine for you that should help you feel better."

"What happened?" The teen laying in front of him asked in confusion. His voice was so soft that Sanzo could barely make out the question.

"There was an accident during your fight with Kougaiji. The ground opened up underneath you as you fought and you both fell through." Sanzo explained quietly.

"… Fight with…"

"Shut up and drink this." Sanzo commanded gently, helping him to a sitting position. The saru pulled back weakly and Sanzo felt annoyance surge through himself.

"What is it?" the tone was weak, the question insistent.

"Medicine." Sanzo repeated in irritation, "That apothecary left it for you. Now drink."

The reassurance seemed to work as the teen finally drank, almost choking on the pain relieving but bitter liquid. There were no more words. As soon as the saru finished drinking, his eyes closed, covering up the pain apparent within. He was asleep again before Sanzo could lower him back to the bedding roll.

"Che!" Sanzo muttered irritably. The damn monkey had no manners.

- . - . -

The sun was just beginning to rise when Dokugakuji carried his prince through the cold, soulless halls of Houtou Castle. Yaone and Lirin flanked him on their way to Kougaiji's rooms. It had been a long flight back and they had had to stop numerous times on the way for the sake of the hiryu that carried the two female youkai. Not only had it tired itself out carrying three people through the caverns but when it had fallen, the chain from shakujou, which had saved the lives of both it and the dragon's passengers, had caused it some injury. Mostly bruising and also some strain but still, that was enough to tire the poor beast out rather quickly. It was a good thing that they had decided to fly fairly close to the ground.

So far, other than the keeper of the hiryu stables who had quickly taken charge upon seeing the state of that particular dragon, they had not come across anybody. Still, that did not ease anyone's minds. Whether they could see anybody or not, there were still numerous spies and hidden cameras throughout the castle and the group needed to be careful.

They made it to Kougaiji's rooms without incident and Yaone and Dokugakuji gently placed the youkai prince in his bed while Lirin hovered around trying not to get in the way. As Yaone made Kougaiji as comfortable as possible, she asked Lirin to get some cool water in a bowl, a glass and a cloth. The princess was worried about going far from her still unconscious brother but she complied. When she came back, she handed both glass and bowl to the apothecary.

Yaone smiled warmly, "Thank you, Lirin-sama." She said softly as she dampened the cloth, placing on her lord's forehead.

"Is there anything else I can do, Yaone-chan?" the normally hyper princess asked anxiously.

Shaking her head, Yaone answered, "Not at the moment there isn't. All we can do is make sure Kougaiji-sama is comfortable and do what we can to ease his pain when he finally does wake up. Why don't you lie down and get some sleep?" She suggested.

Lirin shook her head emphatically. "I don't want to leave onii-chan. I want to be here when he wakes up."

Dokugakuji looked at the teenage girl and firmly said, "It might be some time before Kou wakes up, Lirin. There's nothing you can do for now and you need sleep. You don't have to go to your room, just sleep on the couch in here. If you want, I can move it closer to the bed for you."

Lirin looked up at her brother's bodyguard. She looked like she was about to protest but thought better of it. Dokugakuji could be firm when he wanted to be, that had been one of the reasons he had received the job. That and Kougaiji had seen something in the man, something that made him feel he needed to give him a chance. Lirin nodded, "Alright."

Once Dokugakuji moved the couch closer, Lirin settled and she almost immediately fell asleep. Yaone smiled in relief at seeing the exhausted girl finally resting.

"You should get some rest too." Dokugakuji spoke up a couple of minutes later. "You said yourself that there isn't anything that can be done until Kou wakes."

Yaone shook her head. "I'm all right, Dokugaku, really. After Kougaiji-sama wakes, I will get some sleep, not before. I need to be here." She added softly.

"You're pushing yourself too hard, Yaone. I can wake you when Kou comes to."

"You're just as tired." She protested.

Dokugakuji smiled, "I can't deny that but when he wakes, he is going to need you more than me. It would be better if you had some rest before then."

She smiled, "Maybe but… If he doesn't wake within an hour, I will get some sleep, not before."

"I'll hold you to that." Dokugakuji replied, realising he wouldn't convince her to go before.

Several minutes passed in relative silence before Dokugakuji spoke up again, "If Kou is going to need some time to recover, we'll have to somehow keep his condition away from Gyokumen and Ni as long as possible."

Yaone nodded in agreement but before she could reply, there was movement from the bed in front of her. "Kougaiji-sama?"

There was no immediate response save Dokugakuji rushing to the side of the bed. "Kou?" he asked with a hint of urgency in his voice.

The red-haired prince on the bed stirred again before opening his eyes a crack and muttering "Sanzo?"

Yaone's hands flew up to her mouth as several tears of happiness that her lord had finally woken slid down her cheeks. "We left him and his group behind when we brought you home. After the accident, we couldn't continue the fight, you were hurt too badly, Kougaiji-sama." As her patient looked up at Yaone, his face telegraphing his confusion, Dokugakuji spoke.

"We pulled you and Goku out of the cave system you fell into during your fight. After treating you, we brought you back home. We've all been worried about you Kou."

"… Cave…" he muttered, closing his eyes and trying, not successfully to suppress a slight shudder.

"You must be in a lot of pain at the moment, Kougaiji-sama. Here, please drink this, it will help." Yaone said soothingly as she held out the glass Lirin had fetched earlier. She had since partially filled it with some of the pain relieving medicine she had made the evening previously. As Dokugakuji helped to hold him up, the young apothecary helped her lord to drink the astringent liquid, gently encouraging him to finish it when he shied away from the taste. Thanks to the fact that one of the ingredients within the mixture had a strong soporific quality, he was asleep again in moments, his expression of pain easing almost immediately.

Yaone's face filled with relief as she looked at the now more comfortably sleeping prince. Dokugakuji placed a protective hand on her shoulder, speaking as he did. "Kou's going to be fine now, isn't he?" When she nodded in response, he continued, "Then it's time for you to stick to your word. Go and get some sleep."

Nodding tiredly, Yaone turned and headed out the room. "Kougaiji-sama will sleep for several hours now. You should get some too, Dokugaku." Then she opened the door and left.

- . - . -

Hakkai awoke to a tent full of early morning light and the noisy singing from the remainder of the dawn chorus. Turning his head, Hakkai noticed Gojyo fast asleep in the sleeping bag next to him and a real smile formed briefly on his face before a frown took over as the memory of the previous day's events came flooding back.

'Sanzo didn't wake me. He must have watched over Goku all night.' Hakkai thought almost incredulously as he climbed free from his bedding. Even though he hurried, he was still aware enough of Hakuryu's presence to avoid accidentally hurting the sleeping dragon laying curled up at the end of his sleeping bag.

When Hakkai was clear of the tent, he looked directly to where he knew Goku would still be sleeping. Since Hakkai had been loath to move his patient too much and the weather was clear and warm, they had decided to leave the teen where he was, on his bedroll, not far from the fire.

Hakkai smiled in sudden amusement. Sanzo had not only actually fallen asleep while on watch but he had also fallen asleep next to Goku, his hand resting over the teen's arm. 'Sanzo's lucky it's me who caught him like this. If it was Gojyo who discovered this, he'd never live it down.' He chuckled as he crossed the few meters to where the two lay.

The campfire was barely more than embers now and Hakkai absent-mindedly fed a couple of pieces of wood onto the glowing coals. They would only need to restart it for breakfast later if he did not save it now.

Hakkai knelt down beside Goku and appraised his injuries in the early morning light. He shook his head in amazement; Goku was already showing signs of healing beyond what Hakkai had helped with the day before. As long as he had known the teen, Goku had always recovered just that bit faster than anyone else he knew. Reaching out to check his patient's temperature, Hakkai was dismayed, though not entirely unsurprised to find it high.

Sighing, Hakkai stood, before heading for the medical supplies.

- . - . -

His head hurt, a lot. The birds twittering and chirping noisily in the trees did not help and all he wanted to do was to lay in the cool, quiet, dark and sleep more. Just a pity it wasn't dark. Even from behind closed eyelids, he was aware of blindingly painful light. The last thing he needed right now was to actually look at it. Instead, he continued to lie there, not even responding to the gentle touch of a cool hand against his forehead. Even if he had wanted to react, he wasn't entirely sure that he would have been able to. Everything was just too hazy and actively trying to remember what happened required more concentration than he currently felt capable of using.

Why did his entire body ache so? Pain was nothing new to him; he had fought often enough to ensure that. Right now though, he felt as though he had bruises on top of deep bruises and that weight on his arm, while it wasn't heavy, it was distinctly uncomfortable.

There was no hope for further sleep right now so he gave up trying and opened his eyes. The light was every bit as painful as he had thought it would be - he couldn't help but involuntarily hiss as he brought his right hand up to shield his eyes until he grew used to the sudden brightness.

He frowned; that was open sky above him. That couldn't be right. The last thing he remembered was… the fight… and falling… something slamming into, no wait, him slamming into rock during his fall and sudden wet, cold… drowning, then nothing. Someone must have rescued him; his clothing was dry so it must have been some time ago.

Obviously he had been injured but why did he feel like this? Something… he shook his head to clear it, instantly regretting it. For an awful moment, he was sure he was about to be sick.

That weight on his arm, it really was uncomfortable. He slowly turned his head to see what it was and froze. It was someone's hand. His eyes trailed slowly up the arm it was attached to, taking in but not really absorbing the fact that the arm was swathed in robes. It was not until his gaze reached the hand's owner that it sank in. Sanzo. Sanzo lay beside him, asleep with his hand lying on top of his arm!

'This isn't right!" he thought desperately as an edge of panic set in. 'Wha… what is…' Ignoring the nausea as he moved, he suddenly sat up, knocking away the monk's unwelcome touch. He tried to stand to get away but halfway to his feet, he lost his balance and fell back down. Completely disoriented, his vision swimming and his head killing him, he backpeddled as fast as he could without trying to get up again.

A pair of hands took his shoulders firmly from behind, stopping him from moving back any further. He closed his eyes tightly, barely registering the calm, soothing voice that spoke.

"Calm down Goku, you're safe now. There was an accident during your fight yesterday…"

'Yesterday? Accident?' he thought as those words barely made it through the fog filling his brain. 'That… explains some but… doesn't explain everything… like…'

"… injuries aren't too bad considering but you do have a concussion and will have to take it easy for a few days at least…"

He turned his head slowly and looked into Hakkai's kind, smiling face.

"… the thing that worries me the most is the temperature you have developed." Hakkai frowned a little before closing his eyes and turning his smile up a notch. "I would appreciate it if you went back to bed and rested quietly.

He didn't protest as Hakkai helped him to his feet. Half a meter behind the green-eyed youkai, a fire burned low and he stared for a moment until Hakkai began leading him back to the bedding he had just abandoned. He noticed Sanzo was now awake and sitting up with a disinterested expression on his face.

"Idiot," the monk said in an unusually mild tone, "if Hakkai hadn't stopped you, you could have added burns to your list of injuries." With that said, Sanzo stood and walked away until he disappeared behind some nearby foliage.

Hakkai helped him back down. 'This is wrong!' he thought insistently. He swallowed with difficulty, "Where… are Lirin, Dokugaku and…"

"Oh, they left." Hakkai said brightly.

Far too brightly, as far as he was concerned.

"But not before Yaone-san left some medicine for you. I'll just get it."

When Hakkai returned to him moments later, it was with the remains of the medicine. Knowing it was brewed by Yaone made him feel better about drinking it and only a minute or two later, he was asleep once more.

- . - . -

He was warm and if he hadn't been aching throughout his entire body, his right arm especially, if there wasn't any pounding drumming through his head, he would have thought himself quite comfortable when next he woke. The bed was soft and when he finally consented to open his eyes, the light was muted to a bearable level. He gazed up, surprised at how unusually high the ceiling appeared. Slowly, turning his head on his pillows, he took in the room. It was huge, certainly so for a room which only held one bed in it. The decoration was tasteful, that much he could tell, even if it was a touch on the spartan side. He had never been in an inn quite like this and somehow could not imagine being in such a one even now, despite his surroundings. Besides, it almost looked more like someone's bedroom. He smiled at the thought and shook his head, wincing as his head threatened to split in two. "But who would have a room like this?" He winced again. His voice sounded weird in his ears but he put that down to the fact that his throat was dry and it had therefore hurt him to even talk.

Awake and aware enough by now to recognize the need to take it carefully when moving, he began to sit up. He had seen a glass of water on the small table beside his bed when he had looked around moments ago and he really needed the drink. As he pushed himself up, he again noticed his arm. It felt heavier than he was used to, not to mention the sharp pain that drove though it when he put his weight on it. He looked down, surprised to see a cast on it. 'When did I break it?' he wondered, confused. "Oh yeah, must've been then…" he muttered as a dimly remembered image of falling presented itself within his mind.

"Where is everyone? Why 'm I alone?" he squeezed his eyes shut tightly. Why wasn't anyone greeting him now that he was awake? He really didn't like this feeling, this loneliness. He never had and knew he never would.

After a few deep breaths, he opened his eyes again, reasoning that the others couldn't be far. They wouldn't have left him, they couldn't have! He swallowed, he really needed that water. Despite how weird he felt and the pain from his broken arm, he stretched out his left hand with his usual assurity of movement for the glass that was just outside of his normal reach. Somehow, he managed to knock the glass over, spilling the liquid out and all over the little table. He stared in dismay as he watched the water flow off and drip onto the floor. He closed his eyes again, sighing. He would get yelled at for that, he just knew it.

"I better clean it up, then maybe I won't be yelled at as much." He muttered under his breath. Resolutely, he opened his eyes and began to climb out of bed. Something was wrong, really wrong. Why did his hand look so… weird? He let go of the blanket, bringing his hand up to where he could study it more carefully. He took a deep, almost shuddery breath; his nails… they looked more like claws. What the… okay… the light was dim in here so he couldn't be entirely sure but his skin… his skin looked darker than it should have as well.

'How long have I been here? Where ever here is…' he thought as he gazed around the room again. If it had been awhile, that could explain his nails and the dim light was just playing tricks on his eyes anyway.

From his now seated position, he could see more of the room than he had been able to earlier. As his eyes roved past a nearby, obviously out-of-place couch, his gaze lighted on a sleeping figure with reddish-blonde hair.

"Lirin?" he yelped in surprise, clambering out of bed to go check if it was indeed her.

Lirin seemed to stir slightly at the sound of his voice, rolling over in her sleep to face his direction.

He paused, holding onto the bed for support. That was definitely Lirin - but what was she doing here? He decided to wake her to ask and released his grip on the bed, taking a step toward her. He promptly lost his already precarious balance and fell in a heap.

"Are you alright?" a familiar masculine voice asked.

Next thing he knew, strong but gentle arms were helping him to his feet. He turned to look into the face of the person aiding him, Dokugakuji.

"What are you doing out of bed, Kou?" Dokugakuji asked in concern.

He frowned, licking his lips before replying, "Kou? Why did you call me that? I'm Goku. Did you hit your head or something?"

- . - . -

To be continued