-----4-----

Sanzo woke to the sound of hurried footsteps thumping rather loudly outside the door of the room, cursing the others for waking him up so damned early. He knew that the monkey and the sprite were capable of such an action, but he thought Hakkai would have more sense than that. He turned over, not surprised to find that Goku was not in the bed with him anymore; the monkey was more than likely having breakfast with the other members of their party.

He was surprised, however, when Hakkai came bursting into the room with Gojyo soon in tow. "What the hell has gotten into you two? Have you lost your pea-sized minds?" Sanzo griped, slowly making his way out of the bed to light a cigarette.

"No time for insults, blondie. The monkey's gone missing!" Gojyo supplied, looking frantic enough to make the priest nervous. Surely Goku was just downstairs or outside waiting for them?

As if reading Sanzo's mind, the green-eyed man shook his head. "We've checked everywhere, Sanzo. Not only that, but all of Goku's things are still here, including his shoes and clothes," Hakkai said fretfully, even going so far as to motion to where the aforementioned items were still sitting, untouched.

"You think he bailed on us?" Sanzo asked coolly, taking a drag on his cigarette. He was worried, yes, but he reacted in the only way he knew how; apathy.

"Truthfully, no. Goku would have enough sense to take his clothes at least if he was planning such a thing. As much as I hate to admit it, there is reason to believe that he was kidnapped."

Gojyo slammed his fist into the wall with an angry snarl. "I bet it was that bitch. I bet she had some lackey here that did something to him while we were sleeping. I mean, you two were in the same damn bed! How the hell did they pull that off!" he asked, not even noticing Sanzo's glare at his sleeping habits being pointed out. Not that it mattered at the moment, he reminded himself. Goku was missing and there was a possibility that there was foul play afoot.

"Perhaps we were drugged…there are plenty of airborne sedatives that could be used. That has to be the case, because we all know Goku wouldn't have gone anywhere without a fight. A fight that would have surely woken you, Sanzo, and alerted us," Hakkai mentioned, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the now open door.

"That's true enough. Someone's going to die for this," Sanzo replied, sitting down on the bed and looking at his two companions. Violet eyes danced with anger, even as his face remained impassive and emotionless. "What'll we do now?"

Hakkai let out a long sigh, closing his eyes in thought. "The best of course of action would most likely to be to start asking around. We are all in agreement that this has to do with that Hanna woman, so we have a likely culprit. Finding out where she would be, where she lives, and if anyone has seen her with a boy in tow is the first step."

Sanzo nodded in agreement, looking to Gojyo who was still stewing quietly in his own corner of the room. "I don't give a shit if she is a chick…I am going to kick her ass into next week," he said finally, raising a chuckle out of Hakkai and surprising a small snort from Sanzo.

"Only after I get to her first," Sanzo said dangerously, the brief moment of amusement disappearing beneath an angry scowl. "We do not need any more of this bullshit. We've been set back enough as it is, damn it."

"Don't forget about me. The very nerve of that woman," Hakkai added, his own expression taking on that creepy smile he wore when he was on the attack. He made no comment about Sanzo's addition to his threat, both for the priest's comfort and for his own sanity.

"Not only did that crazy bitch insult us, she also had the balls to steal our monkey," Gojyo said, thrusting his fist into his open palm with a dangerous smirk. "And nobody gets away with that shit."

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The light was bright, too bright as it filtered in through the window and into the eyes of the bed's current occupant. Bleary eyes opened slowly, accompanied by a faint hiss as sunlight streamed into his line of vision. However, when the room came into full view, he found himself startled by his very unfamiliar surroundings.

"What…where am I?" he asked, furiously trying to remember where he was and how he had gotten there in the first place. Fragmented pieces of memory flitted through his head, but nothing made enough sense to adequately answer his question. Hell, he couldn't even seem to remember his own name. Why did his head hurt so bad, and why were his thoughts so fuzzy?

"So, you're awake now. That was quite a nasty spill you took down the stairs, I didn't know when you were going to wake up," an unfamiliar feminine voice asked, the sudden swipe of a hand brushing across his forehead causing him to jump. That voice, he had heard it somewhere before…

Her face materialized, giving him pause when her eyes met his own wide, panicked ones. "What…what happened? Who are you?" he asked softly, drawing away from the hand. Something felt wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Maybe it was the fact that he couldn't remember anything.

"I'm your mother, silly. You tripped on the stairs and hit your head two days ago. The doctor said that you might have some problems remembering things, considering where your head hit the floor," she explained patiently, resting her hands in her lap as she looked at him. "Your name is Malachai Ishimoto, and you're in your room at home."

He looked at her curiously, trying to take what she said and see if it matched the fuzzy images floating around in his head. No such luck. "Malachai…that's me, isn't it?" he asked again, his words cut off when a blur of black fur collided into his chest. "Kuro!" he said, the name conjured up from…memory?

The woman, his mother, looked visibly surprised at that, before her face fell back into her patient smile. "I knew you would remember Kuro. He is your best friend, after all," she supplied, watching the exchange between the boy and the dog. She was surprised that the dog had acted so friendly, but it didn't matter. He was her Malachai regardless of what anyone had to say about it and Kuro's behavior was just another cementation of her belief.

So his name was Malachai. Interesting. "I-I suppose. I'm sorry for all of this…I just wish I could remember. Sorry, Mama," he answered softly, patting the black collie between the ears. He wasn't able to look the woman in the face for too long, given that every time their eyes met he was reminded that something felt off about the whole situation. Perhaps the smart thing to do would be to wait it out and see what happened.

"How about I bring you breakfast in bed? What would you like? Maybe some…chocolate chip pancakes? Those are your favorites, you know," his mother asked, reaching out and gingerly touching his hair as she seemed to disregard his statement completely. There was something vaguely familiar about such an action, though a flash of green instead of gold flitted through his head. Strange, for sure.

He masked his thoughtful expression with a wide smile, deciding to just play along for the time being. Maybe being around this woman would bring back the memories that had been stolen from him in the…fall? "That sounds great, Mama. How about I come downstairs and help you?" he asked brightly, watching as a pleased smile crossed her face. A warm feeling bubbled inside him at that, banishing the lingering doubts for the moment.

Malachai watched his mother exit his room and waited until her footsteps vanished down the stairs before getting out of bed and beginning to change his clothes. Why was it so out of character to consider calling her mother in the first place? He couldn't wrap his head around it, deciding yet again to just leave it alone for the time being. Hopefully things would begin to make more sense later on.

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(A/N: Sorry if this part is a bit disjointed and slightly hard to follow. Forgive me, as it is supposed to be that way. If you have complaints, well…I don't know what to tell you. Really.)