I almost had to type this without a keyboard, that would have been frightening. But thankfully all technical problems have been solved and I give you the next installment! Thanks for reading and reviewing! Tell me you're all still interested.

Chapter 9: Fire

"He hasn't moved an inch from that corner in a day and a half, Hakkai." Gojyo mumbled and leaned up against the wall. He shrugged his shoulder up and down trying to scratch an itch as he waited. "I don't think he's going anywhere anytime soon."

Hakkai grimaced as he had been caught peering in through the door crack. Maybe checking in on the boy every half hour was a bit over protective at this point in the game. Needless to say, it was time he started paying a little attention to his roommate before he started getting too anxious. "I'm sorry, I'm just worried about him."

Gojyo chuckled a little and ran a hand through his hair. Hakkai could be so predictable sometimes, but that was one of his good qualities. "I know, so are the rest of us. But there isn't much we can do about it until we figure out how to change him back."

"It would help if we knew how this happened in the first place." Hakkai stared at Sanzo's downcast face as the boy watched the floor. Not even Jeep's presence sleeping next to Sanzo seemed to lift the boy's spirits any. It was heart wrenching. "Whatever was in that syringe was completely discharged into him. I've got nothing to work with."

"Yeah, it totally sucks." Gojyo let out a breath and shifted his eyes to a spider crawling down the wall. "How the heck do you do something like that anyway? Magic?"

"I think science might be to blame for this one, if the fact it was done with a chemical is any indication." Hakkai crossed his arms.

"Well, maybe it's a mixture of both if this mission is telling us anything."

"I just wish we had more hints to go off of and time to go looking." Hakkai shook his head out for a moment and held in a yawn. He really should have gone to bed last night instead of waiting to make sure Sanzo was asleep. "At the very least I wish we could cheer Sanzo up a bit, to at least get him up and about."

"Well, as horrible as it sounds, the kid moping around in there almost might be better for us." Gojyo sighed and broke a crick from his back. "If he's just sitting there we'll have more time to check out everything."

"Look at him, and say that again."

"I hate you sometimes." Gojyo searched his pockets for a cigarette. He had to have one somewhere. "Do you always have to be right?"

"I've been known to be wrong." Hakkai straightened his back a little and smacked Gojyo's lower pant pocket. How could it be so hard to find a cigarette? There were only so many places you could keep one. Hakkai didn't feel like listening to Gojyo whine about not being able to find one today.

"Oh," Gojyo had the decency to look a little embarrassed and chuckle in his embarrassment. What would he do without Hakkai? It was hard to imagine ever living without the guy now that he'd snuck his way in. Same went for the chimp and the tightass, not that he'd ever admit it to any of them. "Thanks, man."

Hakkai watched Gojyo light his Hi-Lite and considered the situation at hand. Sanzo was eight and depressed, Goku was sulking and feeling guilty, Gojyo was pretending to not care that Sanzo despised him and Hakkai couldn't stop worrying. Yes, things were going well in their little group. Hakkai couldn't help but wonder if there was a Brightside to all this somewhere. As Sanzo traced the cracks in the floor, the demon felt all signs pointed to 'no.' Hakkai turned back to Gojyo and asked the other question that had been bothering him. "Have you talked to Goku recently? About the other day?"

"Nah," Gojyo blew a little smoke and patted his chest. "He spit out a short apology for smacking me in the gut then went off to his room to sulk. Haven't seen him since, but it's okay. Even the bruise is gone so it's all behind us."

"I imagine he's going to take a while to recover as well." Hakkai felt like taking a nap. Maybe it would help him think straight through all of this. He put his hands on his hips and attempted to stretch a little bit. "All this mental stress can't be good for us."

"I just hope he gets over it soon. We're going to need him to keep it together when we're off investigating." Gojyo yawned a little. "Heaven knows the kid isn't going to talk to either of us anytime soon. And he was closest to Goku."

"Which is probably why he's most upset at Goku for all of this. I think, well, let's keep this conversation for a little later." Hakkai looked up to the corner of the hallway. "Goku's coming."

"How can you tell that?" Gojyo blinked and looked over his shoulder. He didn't see anything.

"I heard him open his door." Hakkai put on a friendly smile. An attempt at a believable one in any case.

"Damn you're good at that." Gojyo listened quietly and chuckled when he heard the shuffling of a pair of feet. The monkey's shadow could be seen peaking around the corner. "You have to teach me that sometime."

"I'll make a note of that."

"Is he still starin' at the floor?" Goku mumbled as he turned the corner. He didn't need to look up to know Hakkai and Gojyo were there talking. Hakkai hadn't left Sanzo alone since the other day, and Gojyo's not dumb enough to go out when everyone's in such a bad mood.

"Sorry to say, he is." Hakkai sighed and pat Goku on the head. The boy looked worse than the rest of them and should really be in bed. "Hasn't said a word either."

"That so."

Goku's tone was much too morose for Gojyo's liking. He gave a tug on the boy's cape and pulled him a bit off balance. He didn't start talking until the kid was glaring at him. "I know you just got here, but Sanzo's not going anywhere anyway, so let's go out. Get your mind off of all this mess."

"Go where?" Goku huffed and pushed Gojyo's hand off of his cape.

"How about we get something to eat?"

"Not hungry, Gojyo."

"Damn." Gojyo nearly dropped his cigarette, but caught it just in time before it hit the floor. After carefully knocking off the last bit of ashes he let out a slow whistle. "You are depressed."

"And we can't have that." Hakkai added in. "How about instead you go shopping with Gojyo and take my list with you."

Goku took the list that was handed to him and stared at it. He wasn't in the mood to go shopping or to do anything as long as Sanzo was still in that condition. Goku looked up though and saw those pleading green eyes and huffed. It was so hard to tell Hakkai 'no' to anything. It just wasn't fair. "Fine. Come on you stupid water sprite."

"And don't worry about Sanzo." Hakkai waved a bit and smiled as the pair started walking off a ways. "I'll try talking to him again."

"We'll leave things in your capable hands. Come on, Monkey." Gojyo tapped the kid on the head and leaned down next to his ear. "Just trust Hakkai for a bit, okay? Sanzo'll be fine."

"Fine." Goku forced a little smile. It wasn't Gojyo or Hakkai's fault all of this was happening. He took another look at Hakkai's list to see what he was in for and his smile became slightly more genuine. "Though, I can still be mad about the huge shopping list, right?"

Gojyo laughed as he looked at the little piece of paper unfold. "Yes, we can get back at him by adding to the list."

"Very funny." Hakkai smacked them both on the backs. When they turned he graced them with his most angelic smile. When they started shaking he continued. "Here's the credit card. I have that list memorized so I expect your best results."

"Right. You know you can trust us to get the job done right." Gojyo nodded and grabbed Goku by the arm. "Let's get going and leave the homestead to Hakkai."

"Yeah." Goku let himself be dragged along behind Gojyo but couldn't help but look back at the cracked door. He hoped Sanzo would be okay.

Dokugakuji had been looking all over the palace for his Lord after he heard that Nii and that Hwang lady had another fight. Whatever it had been about this time, apparently had Nii storming out of the castle for a bit. This was a golden opportunity to sneak into the lab again, but only if he could find his Prince!

"Please! Calm down!"

Dokugakuji stopped when he heard Yaone's voice ring out through a lab door. The elder demon smacked his head when he realized he had checked everywhere but Yaone's lab. He chuckled a bit before leaning into the door. Where else would Kougaiji be but hanging out with Yaone or his little sister?

Yaone held her head while her Lord Kougaiji read over the documents on her desk. Everything had just been a mess today from Lady Koushuu demanding to see 'her precious son' and not making any progress with the Sanzo Party. She turned to the door when she heard a slight knocking. "Dokugaku, it's good you're here."

"What's bothering you this time, Kou?" Dokugakuji dared to ask as he watched his friend throw one of Yaone's beakers across the room. He grimaced a bit when it was followed by his Prince slamming his fist on the table.

"We can't figure out how Nii did that thing to Sanzo." Yaone sighed as she watched the glass sprinkle across the floor. "Lord Kougaiji had just been looking at my notes and progress. I've tried everything I know, and I can't even get close to replicating his work."

"Even with the samples we snuck out of his lab the other day?" Dokugakuji grimaced as Kougaiji realized the mess he had made. The Prince's anger slowly faded to shame as he knelt down on the ground. Dokugakuji was getting a little worried the red haired man hadn't said anything yet.

"Even with that, nothing." Yaone watched as her Lord picked up the pieces of glass. He shouldn't have to stoop to such things, even if he did make the mess. "I'll get it later, Lord Kougaiji. Please don't trouble yourself any further."

"I'm sorry, Yaone." Kougaiji tried to smile but couldn't seem to find one. As a Prince, he was behaving childishly and he broke a friend's belongings. This behavior was intolerable and he was lucky to have such understanding companions by his side. He didn't deserve their affection, but he wouldn't trade it for anything. "I didn't mean to make a mess of your lab. I'll clean it, it's my fault."

"It's alright, you're frustrated." Yaone leaned over to place a hand on his shoulder. "We'll figure out something."

"Yeah Kou, don't give yourself such a hard time." Dokugakuji walked over and picked his Lord up by the arm. Pulled him on his feet with a good tug. "The man's a total bastard and he's psycho. Nobody should have to be expected to pick his brain apart."

"Still, we should have some idea what he's up to!" The prince tightened his fists. "But we don't have a single clue. Not a one!"

"I'm sure, whatever it is we'll know when he makes his move." Yaone tried a soft smile in order to comfort her Lord and friend. "We'll just have to stop him when that happens."

"For all of our sakes, I hope you're right Yaone." Kougaiji leaned his head back to look at the ceiling. "Something just doesn't feel right about all of this. Something very bad is about to happen."

"Well, in the meantime just rest in the fact he's not in the castle right now."

"How can that bring peace of mind? It means he's making his move and we can't do anything to stop him because we don't know where he is right now." Kougaiji sighed.

"Yeah, but it means his lab is empty."

"What about Ms. Hwang?" Yaone moved a couple test tubes over to make room for Lord Kougaiji to sit down. She really needed to tidy up her lab a bit. "She's always hanging around there, and so is Old Man Wang."

"Wang's not a problem because I don't think he cares. He doesn't trust Nii as anything more than a chess partner." Dokugakuji grinned. "As for Hwang, I hear the latest fight involved our dear Lady."

Yaone smiled a little. "Which means she locked herself in her room again."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's find out what that damn bastard is up to." Kougaiji walked to the door with his determination replenished. He would find out what was going on and he would put a stop to it. No one touched his prey, but him.

Hakkai took a deep breath and steadied himself after the other two were long gone. He had about an hour or two before they'd be back from the shopping to try and patch things up with Sanzo. This was always such a nerve-wracking thing to try and attempt, one would think it would be easier because he was eight. He ran a hand through his hair before opening the door and looking down at the boy. He didn't stir a muscle at his entrance and Hakkai reserved himself for a one-sided conversation. "Hello, Kouryuu."

Kouryuu heard the other man enter, but he didn't move. There wasn't a point and he merely kept staring at the floor. Through the corner of his eyes he watched Jeep breathing. It was steady and comforting, despite the circumstances. Kouryuu just wanted Master Sanzo, was that so wrong? But Jeep made an okay substitute for the time being.

"I know, it's been rough for you the past few days." Hakkai took a few steps and greeted the little dragon that had begun cooing at him. He knelt down to pick his tiny friend up before sitting quietly next to Sanzo. Petting Jeep softly he continued. "I am sorry for that."

Kouryuu hunched his shoulders up and shoved his face in his arms. He didn't want to hear this. It was all a bunch of lies anyway. The others were just trying to butter him up so he'd do what they wanted. He wasn't born yesterday and he wasn't going to fall for it.

"Kouryuu, could you at least come with me and eat something? I don't think anyone wants to see you starve to death." Hakkai fought his urges to make eye contact. He didn't want to guilt Sanzo too badly. But it was so hard to tell if the boy was listening or not. "Or, I could bring you something and you could eat that?"

Why couldn't this guy take a hint? Kouryuu peaked out from his arms to glare at the other man. He just wanted Hakkai to go away and let him sit. Though, he was a little hungry. That didn't mean he'd let the other man have his way.

After still getting no response, Hakkai could feel a little of his patience leaving him. The idea of force feeding the boy popped into his head, but he squished it. That only worked when Sanzo was an adult and had his gun stripped from him. Tough love wasn't going to help him right now, no matter how much he wanted to put it into practice. "Kouryuu, nothing gets accomplished if you won't talk it out. Gojyo and Goku aren't here, you can talk to me."

Hakkai wasn't going away, so he'd get away from him. Kouryuu huffed and stood up while trying to ignore the wobble in his legs. Not moving for a day may not have been the brightest of ideas. Walking over to the window he did his best to ignore the other man watching him. At least it was a nice day outside, and he could feel his legs getting back to normal.

"If you don't want to talk, that's all right, too." Hakkai kept his place on the floor and continued his attentions on Jeep. "But it is nice to see you moving a little, though, your muscles must be stiff."

Talk, talk, talk. Kouryuu leaned his chin in his hand as he watched the people walk by the window. They were rooming on the first floor for a change so he could see everyone's faces and clothes. Hakkai was still talking in the background, but the blonde was more interested in all the different people outside. Some had on bright clothes, others had duller clothes and there was even one guy in pure white.

Pure white robes that went all the way down to the ground and were tied with a black belt. That were also accompanied by a gold crown and veil. Kouryuu nearly shouted for joy at the sight.

"And that's why, I think that you should just, Kouryuu?" Hakkai looked up as he heard the lock on the window click. He jumped to his feet as he watched the small figure fit his way through the open window. "Kouryuu!"

There was no doubt in Kouryuu's mind as his feet hit the ground. That was Master Sanzo's robe, no mistake! The boy looked to the left and caught the end of the white garment turn a corner and instinctively followed. If he could catch up then everything would be okay. It would just have to be. "Master! Please wait!"

Hakkai was cursing everything he could think of as he leant out the window. He could see just enough to watch Sanzo turn a corner quickly. Hakkai pushed himself out of the window and back into the room. Jeep was hovering just over his shoulder and Hakkai pushed the small dragon out of the window. "Follow him, I think he went that way! I'll be out in a second."

Hakkai made sure Jeep was around the corner before turning to the door. Curse the window for being much too small and curse Sanzo for being able to move so quickly. He just hoped the little dragon could catch up and keep an eye on him. "I don't know what you saw, but whatever it was can't be good."

Kouryuu could have sworn he saw Master go this way. He looked left and right before slowing his run down a little. The boy didn't notice as people brushed by him or when they stopped to look. Kouryuu took a few steps to the side to get a better look at the various men and women walking by in the marketplace. Master had to be here somewhere in this swarm of people, he'd just have to look harder for him. Kouryuu heard a small cooing noise behind him and cursed to himself. If Jeep found him he was done for! The boy ducked behind a small stand and watched the dragon fly by, it wasn't until he was sure Jeep was around the corner that he stood up. Taking a deep breath he started running again. Maybe Master had gone around this way instead.

"Are we done yet, Gojyo?" Goku groaned as he carried bags. "You know Hakkai just made a long list so he could talk to Sanzo without us."

"Yeah, but we still have to get the cigarettes. That bastard put them last on the list." Gojyo growled as he led the way. They'd been at this for an hour already and there were way too many people out. Gojyo would have kept walking toward the convenience store if he hadn't spotted a familiar lock of blonde hair dashing around a corner. "Isn't that Sanzo?"

Goku looked up to where Gojyo was tilting his head and spotted also spotted the familiar face. "Yeah! Kouryuu!"

Kouryuu flinched when he heard his name yelled over the crowd. As he turned, Goku came running up to greet him. This was no good and he needed to think of something quickly. But what could he do?

"You're out of the house?" Goku grinned as he caught his breath. "But where's Hakkai?"

"He," Kouryuu looked off to the side and noticed a small stand. Maybe if he could get there, he could duck under it and get away. "He's looking for you?"

"Is everything alright? You don't sound so good." Goku watched as Kouryuu fidgeted in place. It was almost like he was a cat that had been cornered. He followed the boy's eyes and made sure to stand in the way of the exit. He wasn't losing Sanzo again. "Did you run away again?"

Kouryuu was saved from answering as Jeep came flying around the corner chirping. As Goku's attention was drawn away, Kouryuu made a dash under his arm. He'd just have to go in the other direction and get around the older boy. He made it just around the corner only to bump into Gojyo and hit the ground. He rubbed his lower back with his arm as he looked up at the red-head.

"You just don't learn, do you? Such a stubborn little brat." Gojyo drawled as he watched the monk before him. Tension was still tight between the lot of them, so he might as well keeping being Mr. Bad Guy. It's not like Sanzo liked him anyway, kid or adult. "Might as well help us carry stuff though while you're here. I'm sure Hakkai's looking for us and I'm hungry."

Kouryuu wasn't sure what he should do. Goku and Jeep were behind him, and Gojyo was blocking his front. The way things were looking, Hakkai would be here soon too and then he'd never find Master Sanzo. His left was blocked by a shopping stand, but his right was free. Maybe if he could distract the other man he'd have a shot at getting away.

It was at that moment, the boy caught another sight of those familiar white robes come from a corner and cross the street behind Gojyo. Kouryuu swallowed as the figure kept walking and the boy could feel his luck leaving him. This was his only chance to catch up. He may never find him again and Kouryuu couldn't risk that chance.

"Shit!" Gojyo yelped as Kouryuu ducked between his legs and ran full force down the street and duck into an alley. Gojyo made an attempt to follow but was blocked by a rather large woman carrying a bag full of apples. After falling to the ground all he could manage to do was shout at the monkey. "Goku! Get him!"

"Right." Goku dropped his packages and jumped over Gojyo's head. Leave it to the water sprite to let Sanzo get away again! "You get Hakkai!"

"Sure, leave me with the dirty work." Gojyo grumbled and grabbed Goku's things as well as his own. He stood up and glared at the woman who had kept walking even after knocking him off of his feet. That woman didn't know who she was dealing with! He kept cursing life until a certain monocle-wearing man smacked into him and knocking him to the ground for a second time. "Hakkai?"

"Sorry, Gojyo." Hakkai chuckled a bit as he picked the two of them up. He was slightly out of breath, but glad to have found his companion. "I was so busy trying to keep up with Jeep I didn't see you."

"It's okay." Gojyo brushed himself off and grinned at his friend. Gojyo wasn't worried about losing Sanzo this time. There was no way Goku had missed him, not in a million years. "Let me guess, kid ran away again?"

"How did you know?" Hakkai scratched the back of his head a little bit.

"He just knocked into me, and the monkey just chased him around a corner."

"Shall we follow then?"

"We shall." Gojyo cracked his neck and shoulders. "Though they did get a good head start."

"That's never stopped us before."

"Didn't say it would."

Kouryuu was starting to worry when the street became darker. It wasn't like Master Sanzo to be in places like this, but he was sure he saw Master come down this way. It's not like many people went around in those long draping robes. Kouryuu slowed to a stop when he reached the end of the alley and found himself in a large lot. It looked like there had been a building here at one point, but it had long since collapsed. There were pieces of wall still in place, and debris of various coloring littering the surroundings, but he couldn't seem to see Master anywhere.

"Kouryuu." Goku jogged up behind the small boy after he stopped. Goku was a bit awed at first at the amount of destruction that had taken place here and bet that it probably had something to do with demons. But this was no time to be enjoying the sights, so Goku redirected his attentions at his target. Sanzo looked like he was looking for something more than trying to run away. It almost made him more curious than worried. "What are you doing?"

"Where is he?" Kouryuu ignored Goku. If he was going to grab him he would have done it already, so Goku wasn't important. There was only one thing that was important right now and Kouryuu couldn't see him anywhere. He had to be somewhere among all of this junk, probably smoking his pipe.

"Where's who?" Goku watched as Sanzo walked a few steps, then stopped. The blonde mop of hair flicked about as he looked around before walking a few steps to the left. He repeated this process for a few moments before Goku became frustrated on his own. "Who are you looking for?"

Kouryuu was about to tell Goku off when he saw it. There, sitting behind a pillar was a familiar headpiece blowing in the wind. Sitting gently in the air next to it was a stream of familiar looking smoke. Kouryuu was so happy he could cry as he sprinted over to the sitting figure. He was going to go home with Master Sanzo and he could just forget that any of this had happened. It wouldn't have to hurt so much anymore.

This was bad. There was something evil in the air and Goku didn't like it one bit. As he watched where Sanzo was running, he finally noticed the other man dressed in Sanzo's robes. It was a strange sight really and it almost didn't register that Sanzo was rushing towards this stranger. Something finally clicked in Goku's head and he did the most natural thing possible: he panicked. "Kouryuu! Don't go near him!"

Goku was screaming at him a few feet behind him, but Kouryuu genuinely couldn't hear the other boy. His attentions were focused and as he reached the older man he couldn't help but grin. He took hold of the long flowing sleeve and smiled feeling the familiar fabric under his fingertips. He gave it a soft tug while barely containing a very happy shout of "Master Sanzo!"

"Hello, Kouryuu."