And I got chapter 2 out! Took me long enough, right? RK -not to be confused with Kenshin- is coming along a bit slower than I had originally anticipated. However, things should start speeding up after this chapter. Thanks for reading!

Also, I think I'm developing a fixation for Sanzo and Jeep. They're just so freaking cute together! Besides, in the original story Journey to the West the Horse/Dragon belonged to Master Sanzo. So there. Anyway, Enjoy!

Chapter 2: Kidnapped?

"I got your damn clothes, sat here nice and peacefully while you went to check on Master Sanzo sleepin' like a baby up there for what I'm sure is probably the tenth time. Now, start talking." Gojyo huffed. It had taken two hours for him and Goku to find what they thought were clothes that would fit a skinny little eight year old. It had taken three to convince some lady that it wasn't for his kid and why they had a good reason to be buying clothes for an eight year old boy in the first place. To top it off, he'd been waiting for Hakkai to come down and start explaining things and the man only just now showed up.

"I'm sorry, Gojyo. I've just been collecting my thoughts and I wanted to check on him again. He's been sleeping since you left." Hakkai sighed and noticed that one end of the bar was a little quiet for comfort. He steadied himself for the inevitable dealing with emotions. "Are you okay, Goku?"

"Sanzo doesn't recognize me."

Hakkai smiled softly. It made sense that something like that had caused Goku to sit quietly and fiddle with his pant leg. The boy hadn't even touched the food that'd been ordered for him a few moments ago. "He doesn't know Gojyo or I either, Goku. It'll be alright, but for now we'll have to deal with the situation."

Goku nodded and looked up when Gojyo voiced what he was thinking. He put both of his legs back on the floor and turned to Hakkai while Gojyo spoke around a cigarette. "And what would the situation be?"

Hakkai coughed and straightened his shirt. "Let's make sure I have it all sorted out. Through some drug of unknown origin, Sanzo had been transformed back into an eight year old state in both physical and mental capacities, including his memories. Therefore, he doesn't recognize any of us, as far as he knows the demons never went berserk and he still thinks he's living at Kinzan Temple with Master Koumyou Sanzo."

"You forgot something, Hakkai."

"What would that be, Goku?"

"He also thinks we kidnapped him." Goku huffed and reached for a pot sticker on the plate in front of him. He took a bite before continuing. "And that I hit him in the head so hard he forgot."

"Yeah Hakkai," Gojyo propped his foot up on the edge of the bar stool and flagged the bartender for another drink. "Could you explain why that was your first excuse?"

Hakkai leaned over his bottle of saké and sighed. "It was the only thing I could think of at the time."

"You serious?" Gojyo smirked. "No 'we found you on the side of the street' or a 'you were lost' bit?"

"Forgive me, Gojyo." Hakkai sighed. "That didn't seem as believable. I doubt Sanzo would have left the temple on his own."

"Couldn't you have just told him the truth, Hakkai?" Goku watched the man behind the counter serve Gojyo another shot. He poked his own glass of water like it was infectious, which it could have been with all the dirt floating in the cup. "It's not like Sanzo's stupid or anything like that."

"I think that would be bad." Hakkai paused and readjusted himself in the seat. The man braced his leg on the side of the bar counter. "How would you react if someone told you that you weren't turning nine, but going on twenty-four, your master was dead and you were on a journey to stop a resurrection of a demon king that caused the demon population to go psychotic? Let's not forget to add in the child you've been raising for six years and your taboo and murderer friends are going with you?"

"Don't forget his own nasty little habit of killing stuff in cold blood." Gojyo drowned his shot before searching for more cigarettes.

"I'd think you were crazy and not believe a word. I'd be worried because you just admitted to being a murderer, too." Goku paused. "And then I'd try and run away because I'd want to check things out for myself just in case you were right?"

"Exactly," Hakkai poured himself another cup. Goku had begun to fidget again in his seat. "Where he'd find that we were right and then have to deal with the situation that everyone he knows or ever knew is dead. That's quite the shock for anyone, really, least of all an eight year old. I think it's best to avoid the mental trauma and just humor him until we can get things straight."

"Great." Gojyo clicked his lighter repeatedly until the tiny flame made an appearance. A quick puff and lit cigarette later and he continued. "So, until then, what are we going to do with the brat?"

"Take care of him best we can, I guess, and make sure he thinks we did in fact kidnap him." Hakkai shrugged and took another swig. "I handled five year olds, how different could an eight year old be?"

"This ain't no normal eight year old, it's Sanzo." Gojyo leaned over to Hakkai. "No way that man was normal as a kid. He's going to be a pain in the ass to take care of and I can totally believe he didn't have any friends."

Goku stood up from the bar and walked around to kick Gojyo in the leg. "He said the kids hated him, but that doesn't make him abnormal. Kids are mean, so shut up."

"Oh, 'abnormal' is a big word for a monkey. Yeah, and kids are observant, too. They probably hate him because he had a stick up his ass when he was a kid just like he does now." Gojyo inhaled the smoke.

"You don't know that." Goku growled. "Maybe he didn't do anything wrong and he's just like that now."

"Or maybe he had some other issue." Gojyo smirked. "Maybe they hate him because he thinks he's better than all of them. That's the vibe I got."

"Your antennae must be malfunctioning." Goku crossed his arms. "I think you're just mad because he called you out for being a pervert."

"I am not a pervert you little brat!" Gojyo slammed a fist onto the table. "And that's got nothing to do with it. The kid can think whatever he wants, but the fact he went straight for an insult when talking to us supports my point that he thinks he's better than us!"

"You don't know that." Goku mimicked the water sprite and also slammed a fist on the table. "I think he's just observant, after all you are a pervert!"

"Why you little!"

"Please calm down, you're making a scene." Hakkai sighed and took another sip of his drink. He had been watching the tension between Gojyo and Goku escalate since Sanzo passed out in the alley, this was just another obstacle to overcome. He gently guided Goku back a few feet and pushed back down into his seat. This was no time for fights between the lot of them. "This is a pointless argument in any case."

"You're only saying that because I'm right and the monkey knows it." Gojyo blew his hair out of his eyes.

"Goku?" Hakkai watched Goku turn around and walk off towards the stairs without another word. It looked like he was headed for the back room where Sanzo was sleeping. Hakkai turned back towards his friend, who was now pouting visibly, and sighed. "Gojyo, you could be a little more delicate about this."

"I spoke truth." Gojyo shoved himself from the bar. "Say and believe what you want, but none of us have ever been or ever will be normal. And that goes for our childhoods, too. Monkey's going to have to deal with it, just like the rest of us."

"Why do I detect a bit of bitterness in your tone, Gojyo?"

"If kids picking on him was the worst of his troubles, then he didn't have any." The man poured one last shot and downed it in a second. "So he has no right to be so condescending."

"We've only talked to him for about ten minutes, isn't it a bit early to make such an accusation?"

"First impressions stick with you." Gojyo gently set the shot glass on the table and pushed himself up from the wooden stool. "I'm hungry, we gonna' eat sometime or not? Alcohol is good for the soul, but doesn't fill the stomach."

"Yes, there should be a restaurant around. Please go get the others, then?"

"Sure." Gojyo shoved his hands in his pockets.

"This is turning out to be a problem in itself, isn't it?" Hakkai spoke to himself as Gojyo excused himself and headed up the stairs after Goku. He took another swig and wished to every god in the upper heavens that he could get smashed.

Kouryuu waited for the door to click shut before he sat up in bed. He stretched a little bit from his nap and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders. That Hakkai guy had come in to check on him again, but he pretended to be asleep to make him go away. Though, if patterns were any indication the man would be back in another thirty minutes to check again. He sighed and looked over at the little dragon that had curled up next to him. "I know you're awake, too. Why didn't you rat me out?"

The little dragon cooed softly and flapped his wings as he woke up fully. Jeep fluffed his fur and hopped over to sit in Kouryuu's lap. The boy pat him on the head and then sat up a bit in the bed. Holding the blankets tight around him, he scooted over so he could get a look outside of the windows. Kouryuu noticed right off the bat he was in a different town from when he started, but it didn't look like any of the surrounding towns either. There were too many people in this town for it to be anywhere near the area he lived. He sighed a little and held Jeep just a little snugger as he watched people walk by down below.

Kouryuu wondered if anyone really would notice he was gone back home. Shuuei might notice he was missing, but then again Shuuei wasn't around the temple very often. He watched a few children run by playing with a bright blue ball and smiled just a little. Maybe if he was somewhere else, no one would know he was a 'river rat' and make fun of him.

Gojyo was such a jerk sometimes. Goku knew that they all had troubles when they were little, but that doesn't mean that there was something wrong with Sanzo. Sanzo just noticed stuff and then was blunt about it. That's not a bad trait, it's just one that most people aren't very good at. He stomped up the stairs but softened his steps by the time he got to the door. He'd have to be careful and not say anything that Sanzo didn't need to know. It was hard to pretend you hadn't known someone for six years, but Goku would do it if it would help. He took a breath before opening the door slowly and stopped when he saw Sanzo awake and looking out the window.

"Hey there," Goku started timidly. Sanzo remained staring out the window and petting Jeep quietly. Sanzo was always sharp as a tack when it came to noticing people around him and it worried Goku that the boy didn't even look behind him to see who came in the room. It was possible Sanzo could just be ignoring him, but Goku had a feeling that wasn't the case. Sanzo's eyes were too glazed over to be aware of what was going on around him. Goku took a few steps closer and coughed. "Hey."

"Oh!" Kouryuu shook with a bit of a start when he heard the louder voice. He turned to see the brown haired boy staring at him from a few feet away. "Sorry, I zone out a lot, sometimes."

"That's okay." Goku smiled. The image of adult Sanzo being caught off guard like that because he was daydreaming was too good of a thought to pass up. Goku pushed down the worry that also surfaced when he realized it also meant that Sanzo would be vulnerable for those few moments. "Just wanted to make sure nothing was wrong. Hakkai said you were sleeping."

"I was." Kouryuu looked away from the boy. He just kept looking at Kouryuu with very familiar looking eyes. They had affection in them, much like Master's and even sometimes Shuuei's. Kouryuu couldn't understand how that affection could be coming from a stranger. "I woke up."

Goku pouted again when he noticed Sanzo was trying to avoid looking at him. The boy was starting to look very small right now to him, and he had started clutching the blankets just a little bit tighter. Goku couldn't stomach the thought that Sanzo could be scared of him, so he took a deep breath before heading towards the boy. He plopped down onto the bed and tried a big smile to make him feel safer. "What were you looking at?"

"The people walking by." Kouryuu's voice was quiet and reserved. He fidgeted a little bit and Jeep started licking the boy's hand and calmed him down. "Where am I?"

Goku blinked. "A town?"

"That's not funny." Kouryuu matched Goku's earlier pout, but this time his brows drew together and began to resemble a certain monk. "I'm serious. How far from the temple are we?"

Goku smiled warmly at the little bits of the Sanzo he knew peaking through. "Quite a ways away. So I wouldn't run away if I was you. You'd get lost and then you could run into some serious trouble."

"How long are you keeping me?" Goku had started kicking his legs a little and leant back like it was the most natural thing in the world to sit together like this.

"As long as it takes, squirt." Gojyo leaned on the doorway and popped a fresh cigarette into his mouth. With his other hand, the half-demon threw a small bundle at Sanzo who had started to look at him funny. "Here's some clothes."

That man was back again, the one with the apple red hair who had been staring earlier. Kouryuu couldn't help but gape at his hair when the man had appeared suddenly in the doorway and therefore, almost missed the bundle of clothes that was thrown at him. After catching the clothes he looked away quickly and kept his eyes on the clothes. It looked like a black collared shirt and some brown slacks. "Thanks."

"No problem, can't have you running around naked." Gojyo smirked. "Somebody might think there was a pervert in the group."

"Right." Kouryuu looked back up, but this time his attention was caught by the man's eyes. Those eyes weren't apple red like his hair, they were a similar hue, but there was something much deeper and darker to them. Something that reminded Kouryuu of the blood he'd seen when he scraped his knee or got a cut. It was thick and deep and he'd never seen anything like it before.

Gojyo was becoming very unnerved, very quickly. An eight year old naked boy was staring at him with huge eyes. The part that made him feel uneasy, was that gut feeling that couldn't decipher if the kid was scared of him or just fixated. Gojyo shifted the foot he was leaning on and took another drag on his Hi-Lite. "What? Something on my face?"

Having been caught staring, Kouryuu blushed a little and looked quickly off to the side and stared at the other boy's belt. "Sorry."

Goku watched Sanzo's face turn down and frowned at Gojyo's tone. "Don't sound like you're scolding him."

"Huh?" Gojyo snapped out of his inner thoughts and turned to the monkey. "What?"

"Kouryuu didn't do anything wrong, so don't sound like that." Goku huffed. "He apologized so you clearly made him feel bad."

"Then the kid's too sensitive." Gojyo grumbled. "Just get him dressed, I'm starved and Hakkai said there's a restaurant a few blocks down the street."

Kouryuu jumped about a foot out of his skin when Goku leaped from the bed shouting "Yay! Dinner!"

"Get used to it." Gojyo laughed at the kid's frightened expression. "The monkey loves food, and just wait 'til you see him eat."

"I'm not a monkey!"

"If it acts like a monkey, and sounds like a monkey, and looks like a monkey, than it must be a monkey."

"Big words coming from a pervert cockroach of a water sprite!"

Kouryuu stared as the two grown men got into a full out argument disguised as a fight. Not even the people in town got into skirmishes like this. Jeep in his lap started moving and started pulling at the clothes in his lap. "I should probably change into these while they're distracted."

Hakkai stared at the bar keep as he took away his liquor on the grounds of 'you've had enough.' Staring at his empty cup Hakkai stood up from his stool, smiled at the man and walked away, perfectly sober. Shoving aside unpleasant thoughts, Hakkai turned his attention to the shouting he could hear coming from upstairs. It seems Sanzo, well Kouryuu, had woken up and the tension had reinstated itself. "No use in avoiding the problem."

By the time Hakkai had opened the door to the room, he could see Sanzo sitting on the bed wearing a new pair of clothes, Jeep sitting next to him of course, watching Goku and Gojyo wrestle on the floor. "By the signs of your fighting, I take it you don't want to go to dinner?"

Goku shoved Gojyo off of him hard and stood up excitedly. "No! I definitely want to go!"

"Well, then let's go, shall we?" Hakkai smiled and watched Gojyo get up off the floor and begin the usual grumblings to himself over the fight. He shook his head and walked over to the bed to squat down in front of Sanzo. He set the bag he had been carrying down onto the floor and pulled out a pair of shoes. "You might want these, Kouryuu. Gojyo left them downstairs."

"Thank-you." Kouryuu slipped on the simple shoes and stood up. "Am I going, too?"

"Of course you are." Hakkai smiled. "We're not going to starve you. Now come, you too Jeep."

Kouryuu walked a few paces behind Hakkai and a few in front of Goku as they walked towards the restaurant. He felt a little funny wearing the new clothes after wearing the simple acolyte dress for his entire life. He pulled at his shirt and watched his kidnappers as they walked. Goku was humming happily and mumbling something about good food and snacks. Gojyo was grumbling and trying to find cigarettes while walking close to Hakkai, and said man just kept smiling. Kouryuu was starting to think the man always smiled like that no matter what. Actually, Kouryuu's overall impression of the group so far was that they didn't seem very bright.

Hakkai had chosen a very nice diner that served as both a pub and a restaurant. The group were seated quickly and Kouryuu felt very out of place sitting at the table. It was his job to serve food and clean up dishes when he was at home; was it really all right to be sitting at the table?

"What would you like to eat, Kouryuu?" The boy looked up when Hakkai addressed him. "I'm sure we're going to end up ordering the entire menu for Goku's sake anyway, but if there's something in particular you'd like?"

Kouryuu blinked and frowned. There was something very strange going on about this situation. "Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?" Hakkai looked up from Goku rambling off his order to the waitress to look down at Sanzo.

"Being so nice." Kouryuu narrowed his eyes a little. "Why would you treat your captive to dinner and new clothes?"

"I already said I wasn't planning on starving you, and it looks suspicious if you don't have clothes." Hakkai laughed. "Right?"

"It still seems weird."

"Ah, so it does." Hakkai looked up at the waitress. "I'll have a bottle of wine as well, and for you Kouryuu?"

"Anything's fine." Kouryuu sighed. The man had already brushed off the conversation and turned back to his friends.

The waitress smiled. "What a cute little girl, I'll bring you a plate of some of our specialty chicken, sweetie."

"Little girl?" Gojyo laughed as Sanzo gaped at the waitress's back as she took the orders to the kitchen. "Ha! I'm not the only one!"

"I'm not a girl." Kouryuu growled. "I'm a boy!"

"We know, Gojyo is just a jerk." Goku grinned at Sanzo across from him at the table. "I hope she comes back with the food quickly!"

"I'm sure she will Goku." Hakkai took a sip from his cup of water. "Kouryuu, what were you doing at the temple before we picked you up?"

"Why do you want to know?" Kouryuu was suspicious at this new turn of events. "And why do you care?"

Hakkai chuckled a bit to himself and took another sip of water. He had a feeling awkward times were going to be making an appearance. "Just trying to keep up conversation."

"The kid should just answer. It's not like it's that hard of a question to answer." Gojyo patted his jacket down looking for that last pack of cigarettes. "Hakkai, we need to get more cigarettes."

Kouryuu grimaced a little at that request. He had seen than man smoke at least ten cigarettes since he was first in the room earlier. They smelled worse than Master's pipe. "If you really want to know, I was sweeping before doing my homework. The same things I do everyday."

"Homework?" Goku hadn't heard of Sanzo taking lessons. He wondered if he should have paid more attention to what the acolytes do at their own temple.

"Yes, I take lessons at the temple and study the scriptures. I need to know them if I want to earn a title someday."

"You're trying to earn a title, Kouryuu?" Goku always got the impression that Sanzo didn't want to be doing his job. It was almost hard to imagine Sanzo getting the job any other way than kicking and screaming, with his dignity still in tact of course.

"Yes, Master Sanzo wants me to take a name in the faith when I grow up. So, I have to study hard now and get the highest ranking I can when I'm older." Kouryuu sighed. "Though, even if I am the best in my classes, I still doubt I make it past clerk abbot."

Hakkai grinned to himself. "I'm sure you'll do better than that."

"Hey!" Goku interrupted the conversation before Hakkai could continue. Something much more important had just come up. "The waitress is back!"

"Let's hope we all get something to eat then and that Goku doesn't eat it all." Gojyo snickered.

"Hey!" Goku growled. "I always leave some for you guys!"

"Now, now." Hakkai rubbed his temples. "Haven't you two fought enough today?"

"They're like children." Kouryuu mumbled.

"Aren't you a child, too?" Hakkai thanked the waitress as she set down his plate and drink in front of him.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean they still don't act like it." Kouryuu stared at the plate of chicken that was put in front of him. He looked up to see Goku already eating everything on the table and Gojyo trying to get as much food onto his plate as he could before the other could grab it. "You weren't kidding when you said he eats a lot."

"Goku has a high metabolism." Hakkai took a bite out of his own meal of pork and went for some rice.

"Something wrong, Kouryuu?" Goku asked between bites. Sanzo had just been poking at the chicken with his fork and looking disgusted.

"It's meat."

Gojyo ate a dumpling. "What's your point?"

"I'm an acolyte at a Buddhist temple." Kouryuu pushed his plate a little ways from him. "I'm not allowed to eat meat."

A silence fell over the table as the group realized that near everything that had been brought to the table had meat in it of some sort. From the dumplings to the cooked beef dipped in sauce. Hakkai chuckled a bit. "Maybe we should have thought to order some vegetables."

Kouryuu sighed and reached over to grab the side of rice that came with his meal. "It's okay. Rice is fine and is what I'd be eating anyway."

Goku stared at Sanzo. "You're not allowed to eat meat? At all? Master Sanzo doesn't let you?"

"Of course not!" Kouryuu pouted. "Besides, he's not even in charge of food. The temple feeds the both of us so we're grateful for what we get."

"So it's because they don't let you have any that you don't eat it." Goku couldn't even imagine life without meat buns. He was glad Sanzo forced people to make them other stuff at the temple. "But otherwise you'd be okay with eating meat, right?"

"That would require killing." Kouryuu took a bite of rice. "Killing is forbidden, so no."

Gojyo dropped his chopsticks and stared at the blonde boy at the end of the table. There was no way he could have heard that right. "Is that so?"

"You don't know very much about the way of Buddha, do you?" Kouryuu sighed. It was times like this he was glad he had memorized a few of his lessons. The monk in training didn't feel like wasting brain power. "The taking of life is not permitted in the path to enlightenment."

"You don't really believe all that shit, do you?" Gojyo fished for his last few cigarettes and his lighter.

Kouryuu was quiet and still before firmly setting his bowl of rice down on the table. He stared intently at the tiny empty bowl and his voice was steady when he continued. "That's none of your business."

Hakkai sensed a little bit of hostility beginning to form in the air, so he played the role of parent once again in the group. "Well, that was a good meal. Did you get enough to eat with just rice, Kouryuu?"

"What?" The priest in training turned back over to the man in the monocle. He had almost forgotten the man was there. "Yes, I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Goku continued to munch on a few pieces of beef. "You only had that one little bowl."

"It was more than enough."

"If he says he's had enough, it's fine Goku." Hakkai flagged down their server and handed over the gold card he had snuck from Sanzo's robes.

As the table was bused, Gojyo lit his last cigarette and decided to get things back on track for a bit. "So, now what do we do with the kid?"

"What do you mean, Gojyo?" Hakkai held on to his alcohol as the woman cleared his other plates.

"I mean," he tilted his head towards Sanzo, "Since Master Sanzo's gone for two weeks what do we do with him until then?"

"Oh," Hakkai paused. "I haven't quite figured that out yet. I guess he'll just hang around?"

"You didn't have a plan B?" Kouryuu asked.

"I'm afraid we didn't." Hakkai chuckled.

"What makes you ask?" Goku piped up.

"Let me get this straight. You kidnapped someone before knowing there was anyone to collect the ransom from, and without doing any research whatsoever about their background? You don't know anything about Buddhists, temples, or acolytes and Goku even thought I was Master Sanzo at first." Kouryuu sat both of his elbows on the table and leaned on them. "And now you don't have any plan at all?"

"That just about sums things up." Hakkai laughed.

"Little know it all brat." Gojyo grumbled. "I'm going to need more cigarettes for this."

Goku grinned and leaned over the table. "That's okay! You and I can play or something while we wait. We can have lots of fun."

"I'm so confused. You're clothing, feeding, taking care of and entertaining someone who is basically your prisoner." Kouryuu sighed. "You three are the worst kidnappers I've ever met."

"So you'd prefer it if we were mean and beat you?" Hakkai casually asked. "We could always tie you up and throw you under the bed to starve for two weeks?"

"That's not what I meant." Kouryuu blushed. "It's just really odd."

Gojyo laughed. "You don't know the half of it."