------17-----

The four found themselves trundling back to the village on foot, looking worse for wear. A companionable silence had fallen over them, each lost in their own thoughts. They had rested for some time, given that Goku had passed out immediately after their brief conversation and the others were soon to follow. The experience, on the whole, had been utterly exhausting. It was well into the next morning when they awoke again, leaving the house that they had taken refuge in for the night behind.

After they got up and were moving around, Hakkai's healing skills put to use to put everyone to rights again, Goku insisted that they buried the woman behind the house, looking far more mature than they were used to when he had made the request. When asked why, he answered simply, "No one deserves to be left out in the open like that."

Hakkai and Goku, the healthier two of group at the present moment, had taken a shovel in hand and had silently set to work, out of respect for the dead. When they were finished, Goku had fashioned a stone as a headstone in the front, writing what little he knew about the woman on it. He looked as though he had aged tremendously in the past couple of weeks he had been gone, especially with the solemnity he was showing now.

"I'm sure she's in a better place, with her son and husband," Hakkai offered with a strong hand on Goku's shoulder, smiling genuinely and feeling proud of the boy for his actions. He was surprised when Sanzo and Gojyo had joined the two of them, more for Goku's support than respect for the fallen woman. The boy had looked grateful, finally turning around and pointing in the opposite direction.

"Shall we then?"

-----

The sudden barking of a dog broke Sanzo from his thoughts, casting an annoyed glance at the mutt that Goku had insisted on bringing with them. He had to admit that it was adorable watching the boy and the dog interact, wondering what Hakuryuu was going to think about having yet another passenger. He found that he couldn't say no, almost desperate to do anything to keep the boy happy.

Which prompted him along another line of thought. What was going to happen when Goku went back to his old self? Would he reject him and everything that had passed between the two of them? "Goku, I need to talk to you," he asked, watching the boy slow his pace to match his own. To his disdain, the dog (Kuro, he thought to himself) slowed down as well, trotting obediently at Goku's side.

"What's up, Sanzo? You all right?" Goku asked concernedly, cocking his head to the side in much the same fashion that Seiten Taisei had only hours before. It was almost enough to make Sanzo snort with amusement.

The priest nodded, clearing his throat nervously as he thought about exactly how he was going to say what it was he needed to. "Goku…I-I don't know what's going to happen when you get your memories back, but…I wanted you to know that…um…" he started, surprised when his charge cast him one of the brightest smiles he had seen him offer. It startled him into cutting off his sentence.

"Sanzo…you don't have to worry. I remember…your promise. It's probably the only thing I can remember clearly," the boy explained, stopping in his walk and turning towards the blonde with a sudden seriousness on his face. "I was afraid you…would reject it. I love you, Sanzo, even though I'm still not sure about much else. That's the one thing I know for certain. Do you mean it, Sanzo? Do you really love me?"

Damn the boy and his bluntness, for it had made Sanzo blush before he had a chance to quell the almost instantaneous reaction. "I-I do, you know. Even if…if I-I can't say it just yet," he choked out, hardly able to believe that he was even insinuating those words aloud. Not that he didn't mean them with every fiber of his being, but…he was Genjyo Sanzo. This was almost too much for him. "That's settled. Now, get a move on. I want to make it to town before the sun sets," he grumbled, mostly for show as he gently nudged Goku back into a walk.

The boy smiled brightly, pulling the blonde down and stealing a rather heated kiss before running ahead like he was told. He began to jump around animatedly with Kuro, the smile that Sanzo loved so much shining brightly.

"Glad to see that everything worked out okay," Hakkai offered amiably, as soon as the blonde had regained his composure from the unexpected show of affection. He watched smugly as another blush colored the priest's features, not quite as pronounced as the one before, but there nonetheless.

"You shut your mouth right now. Don't make me have to kill you," Sanzo supplied in response, and Hakkai felt another laugh leave his lips. "What goes on between the monkey and me is none of your damn business."

Gojyo slapped Sanzo on the back hard, chuckling when it caused the priest to misstep and nearly fall. "Yeah, sure, you dumb monk. Of course, as soon as we start hearing noises from the other side of the wall, it'll be our business," the redhead teased, cackling evilly when the customary warning shot flew past his shoulder. He ran ahead, as well as he could while limping on his leg, to catch up with the monkey. "So…what do you guys think of all that? That was a wicked transformation she had up her sleeve…and what was up with your evil twin, Goku?"

The boy fell uncharacteristically silent at that, offering only a shrug of his shoulders in reply. "Well, Kougaiji did say that the scientist working for his mother may have been behind this whole chaotic episode…perhaps that's where she got the liquid that transformed her," Hakkai suggested, looking to Sanzo to comment, but he merely shrugged. "As for Seiten Taisei…that certainly was a most interesting development."

"It was really fuzzy…where I was. So many things were whirling through my head. He knew just what was going on and what he had to do. At least one of us does," Goku offered after a moment, his features continuing to appear as old as he truly was, rather than the usual childish behavior he often displayed. "He remembered something, too. I can feel it. Something from a really long time ago."

Sanzo was nearly bursting with curiosity, and a glance around told him that the others found themselves in a similar predicament. "Do you remember it?" he asked cautiously, fighting off the mild disappointment when the boy shook his head. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Whatever it was, he didn't kill us, and that's what's important. And maybe it will help descramble that monkey brain of yours," There was a note of tease in his voice, accompanying the smirk that rested on his lips.

Lucky for him, Goku was easily able to read between the lines of that expression, offering his own almost devilish look in response. The implications that the look brought caused Sanzo to blush all over again, but this time he didn't fight it. One thing was for sure, they were going to have a hell of a victory party when they got back to the inn.

(A/N: Sorry it took so long for the update! School has been top priority, as well as all the personal stuff I've got going on. Hope you enjoy it anyway!)