-----5-----

"This. Sucks. Total. Ass. You would think that at least one person in this whole goddamn town would know something," Gojyo griped, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow as the three of them collapsed at a table in the nearby restaurant. Not a single one of them had any appetite, but it was a welcome reprieve after being on their feet almost the whole day. "Damn town sure didn't seem this big when we first got here."

Sanzo snorted in vague amusement at that, lighting up a cigarette and taking a much-needed drag. He released the smoke in the air, sighing in discreet pleasure at the slight ease on his nerves. "I think it may be more of a case that no one wants to help us. That fucking woman couldn't have just vanished into thin air."

"Naturally. It seems that everyone we have asked today was struck with a case of deficiency of memory. I do believe that this whole mess is running a little bit deeper than we had first thought," Hakkai supplied, looking just as distraught and tense as the other two despite the pleasant smile on his face. The course of the day had strained his polite expression to its limits, making him look almost pained at the effort.

It didn't take Gojyo long to light up either, taking his own welcome inhale of smoke. "And wouldn't you know that the stupid monkey said something was weird here. Of all the times for me NOT to listen to dumb monkey logic, eh? I don't know, guys."

"We're going to find Goku if I have to tear this entire fucking town apart with my own bare hands. I do not need any more of these stupid setbacks that should have nothing to do with us in the first place," Sanzo said by way of reply, though the other two knew what he truly meant by his words. Of course, neither one of them was up for calling him on it, so they silently agreed to just let it go this time.

"Sure thing, monk. Hey, Hakkai…despite the probability of sounding like the monkey, are there any of those meat buns left? I'm not hungry but I think it would best to put something in my system, you know?" Gojyo asked in his usual tease of a tone.

Hakkai offered a genuine smile, handing the small bag to the redhead in answer to his question. However, as Gojyo lifted one of the buns to his mouth, the green-eyed man found it necessary to stop him. "Gojyo, wait a second. Let me see that bun," he said rather sternly, much more than he intended. Disappointed, the other man handed him the uneaten bun.

Both Sanzo and Gojyo watched their friend inspect the food, their own version of a curious look on each of their faces as they waited to see what the big deal was. It was just another meat bun, after all. Several minutes passed, and finally one of them cracked. "Damn it, Hakkai. What the hell is your problem? It's just a damn meat bun, leave it alone!"

"Actually, Sanzo. This is no ordinary meat bun. Look," Hakkai said, motioning to a strange bruise on the side of otherwise pristine surface. They wouldn't have noticed it, but a bruise did not belong on a pastry filled with meat.

"Eww…and to think I almost ate that. What the hell kind of shit were you feeding the monkey, babe?" Gojyo teased, though his humor died when Hakkai turned his serious expression on him. Anything else he might have been planning on saying was swallowed with the sudden lump in his throat.

"Apparently, this meat bun was tampered with. Someone knew that I was more than likely going to buy meat buns for Goku, which means that these buns were slipped into a batch of otherwise ordinary ones. Do you know what this means?"

Sanzo smirked, his eyes glittering dangerously. "It means that we are going to go take a walk to the bun shop, yes?"

-----

Maru turned the sign around, whistling merrily as he pulled out the key to lock the door. Another day of work put behind him, it was time to go home and enjoy the evening. He had sold dozens of buns today, which caused his already good mood to soar even higher. At least, until he noticed the three rather ominous figures heading toward his shop.

"I'm sorry, gentleman, but my shop is closed for the day. You'll have to come back tomorrow," he said as pleasantly as he could, trying to keep his voice from shaking. Oh yes, he knew who these three men were; their reputation preceded them, after all.

"The only buns we're interested in are the ones that you sold yesterday, got that? And you are going to tell me what I want to know, or I am going to blow your fucking brains out," the blonde said, looking at him with the most poisonous glare that he was sure he had ever seen. This one had to be the Sanzo priest Hanna had mentioned.

Maru couldn't help but shake at that, knowing that there was no one else to call for help. Despite his size and bulk, he knew perfectly well that these men were capable of taking out thousands of demons in one sitting. It wouldn't have mattered if he had outweighed them or not. "I-I don't know what you're talking about, sir. I just sell buns," he tried, until he felt cold metal press against his forehead. He didn't even have to look to know what that was.

"What he's trying to say is, we're on to you, porky. We know about the meat buns that psycho bitch had you slip us, and if you want to live another day you had better tell us what the hell is going on with this shit," the redhead sneered, leaning against a very ominous looking weapon of his own. Bumbling half-breed indeed; there was certainly nothing very clumsy-looking about him.

"And to be completely honest, we are in no mood to deal with any sort of games or distractions that you may decide to think up to get yourself out of your predicament. If I were you, I would simply do as we say and explain why in the world you would aid in a kidnapping," the monocle-wearing one said, glaring coolly at him even with that polite smile on his thin lips. A visible shudder ran down Maru's back at that.

The larger man swallowed heavily, glancing around the empty street as though truly weighing what sort of options he had. The gun pressed to his head, the deadly looking thingie that the redhead was packing, and the very expression on the other man's face were enough to convince him. "All right, all right. Come on inside," Maru said, swinging open the door again with a rather heavy sigh. So much for his pleasant, peaceful evening.