-----16-----

Seiten Taisei circled his enemy carefully, resembling a wild animal toying with its prey before it kills it. His mind was telling him to kill, destroy, but something else was nagging there. He easily recognized the three creatures that he had fought before, but whatever it was fogging his mind told him that they weren't what he needed to destroy. Instead, it told him that he needed to protect them, especially the blonde that resembled the one that was so dear to him those many years ago. His mind saw the faces of his friends, his Sun, and transposed those images over the faces of his other self's memories. And with that in mind, he knew he had to kill this creature.

With a grin bordering on insane, he lunged at the manufactured youkai before him, clearly startling the creature into dropping her guard. He roared triumphantly when his claws sank into her discolored flesh, ripping upward and delighting in the feeling of muscle separating from bone. It mimicked how she had torn through Kenren's arm, deciding that he would pay her back for every blow she had landed on them.

The creature was wholly stunned by the ferocity this little beast was showing, struggling against the almost tangible feel of his energy washing over her. She clutched her rapidly bleeding arm to her body, taking a step back from the fight. "Malachai? What are you doing?" she asked in her gravelly voice, shocked when there was no recognition flashing behind those impossibly golden eyes. Fear overtook her, and she knew that she was not going to make it out of this fight alive.

The heretic howled again, jumping on her so quickly that she hadn't even been able to track him. Suddenly, clawed hands were wrapped tightly around her throat, resembling the treatment she had given Tenpou only moments ago. She felt her air supply begin cut off, flailing around like a fish out of water. She was the prey now, and Seiten Taisei always did love toying with his prey. "Mal…please…" she rasped, feeling one hand leaving her throat as the other reflexively tightened to make up for it. Needle-sharp claws dug deeper into her skin, warmth sliding down her skin as she continued to struggle.

"Not…Mal…" the heretic rasped out, in a voice that clearly hadn't been used in centuries, if at all before that. His smirk widened into a deadly grin, pulling her body closer to his own to whisper in her ear. "Hurt…Konzen…kill…you," he growled, shoving his hand completely through her chest in a messy spray of blood and thicker things. The sickening crack of bones echoed in the sudden stillness, as though everything was moving in slow motion. Her shocked expression grew slack, her struggling ceased in the face of death as he threw her unceremoniously to the ground.

It was then that the world sped up again and he turned then to the others, grinning wildly as he began to make his way towards them.

-----

The three had watched the grisly show despite themselves, all of them looking decidedly ill when they witnessed the grand finale. "Oh…my…" Hakkai said, swallowing the vomit that had been creeping steadily up his sore throat. Gojyo was looking decidedly green as well, which would have been almost comical had he not been injured so badly. For someone who sliced people into mincemeat on a daily basis, he didn't seem to be handling Seiten Taisei's rampage very well. Perhaps it was because they could all agree that this had been more of the more gruesome spectacles they had witnessed.

And the cause of said spectacle was heading their way. Despite their injuries, they readied themselves for the impending fight. Though, they were all very surprised when the heretic kneeled and cocked his head to the side, looking for all the world like a confused puppy.

Sanzo cleared his throat, trying to regain his composure and banish the last of his own nausea. "Good job, monkey. I knew you could do it," he offered, looking into those demon slit eyes and trying to convey exactly what it was he was trying to say. Again, the creature surprised them when he smiled, an expression that was more characteristic of the gentler side of the being.

"Konzen…good…not…dead. Time…to…go…" the heretic rasped, his tone suddenly somewhat serious as those roiling instincts that they were all so used to threatened to overtake him. He was clearly struggling to keep himself under control.

The priest began to chant, resting his hand gently against the sweaty brow as the energy began to coalesce. As quick as he could, the limiter was summoned and he opened his arms to catch the rather exhausted monkey that he knew so well. Sanzo allowed a small smile to grace his lips, widening just a bit when tired golden eyes looked up at him.

"Hey," the boy whispered, smiling tiredly as he reached up to stroke the golden locks that had fallen in his Sun's face. "I'm really, really hungry."

Those words alone made the other three quake with laughter, as well as they could with being so battered and bruised. Gojyo whooped loudly, regretting it when the action jarred his still-aching head. Hakkai brushed his hand through Goku's tangled hair with a pleased smile on his face, and Sanzo just clutched the boy more tightly to his body. They had him back, and that was all that mattered.

(A/N: Sorry this one's so short...but I wanted to keep it to the point. I didn't feel it necessary to drag it out. shrugs Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it anyway!)