A/N: Aww, it's nice to see people still remember this story after all this time. :) I do believe I'll be taking the pairings out, though. After re-reading parts one and two, it seems rather disjointed and unnecessary. Perhaps I'll do a little 39 vingerette to make up for it later. :P This means, though, that some chapters might be late in coming, as I'll have to do a few big re-writes to take the five zillion perverted hints I put in the first time. (grins) I'm so weird. Anyway, it's a few chapters before anything big comes up, so I'll try to update in a decent timeframe. But I'm apologizing now for the wait that'll come later. Thanks for the reviews, guys, and enjoy!

Chapter Two: Monkey Abuse

To say everyone was surprised to find Goku awake upon opening their eyes was an understatement.

Thinking the world was coming to an end (as Gojyo had muttered) was closer to the truth. And though no one had mentioned the dark circles and listless nature of their youngest companion, much to Goku's relief, a quiet air had nonetheless settled over the four as they completed breakfast and started west again.

Deciding to leave the obviously sleep-deprived monkey alone (it really wasn't any fun to pick on someone when they didn't rise to the challenge after all) Gojyo tried to occupy the time. Without the promise of insults thrown back and forth Gojyo busied himself with chain smoking. Indeed, he seemed to be going for a new world record, much to Hakkai's dismay. When the redhead had lit his 10th cigarette off the 9th, Hakkai could not resist.

"Gojyo?" he asked quietly.

Gojyo lifted one closed eye and stared at the back of Hakkai's head for a moment before answering.

"Yes?"

"Are you trying to kill yourself or the rest of us?"

"…"

Hakkai was amused at his friend's lack of response and thus continued, "The smoke may be blowing behind you, but the smell is rather distracting. I would hate to accidentally drive into a tree or something."

Picking up on the amusement in his companion's voice Gojyo smiled.

"And here I figured the smell would follow the smoke."

Hakkai grinned to himself. "After that many cigarettes, my friend, it's like having a full burning ashtray in the backseat. The smell will find you no matter which way the wind blows."

Gojyo gave an amused chuckle as he flicked his cigarette out the side without lighting another.

"Ch."

Hakkai stole a brief glance out of the corner of his eye at the monk sitting in the passenger's seat beside him. Apparently the idle conversation had annoyed the monk enough for a brief noise but nothing further. Hakkai almost wanted to keep going and see how far he could push Sanzo if nothing more than to hear the familiar "Shut up!" and the whack of the paper fan. He glanced in the rearview mirror to check on Goku.

The teen was sitting quietly; his elbow propped on the side of the Jeep and was cupping the side of his face with his hand. His eyes stared blankly at the passing road, blinking every now and then, but never moving. Worry began to creep into Hakkai's mind at seeing Goku this way again. He had noticed the teen seemed more tired than usual for the past few days, but hadn't really thought too much of it until just now. But now it was more than obvious that Goku had not slept in a few days and Hakkai silently berated himself for not reaching out to him earlier. He knew though that while a few of the sedatives he always carried would surely knock the boy out, Goku would refuse them until they were at the next town.

'Gods, please just don't let us get attacked today.' Hakkai thought as he turned his attention back to the road ahead.

"Hey, monkey."

No response.

"Don't think too hard, your brain probably couldn't handle the strain."

Still nothing. It was starting to piss Gojyo off that he couldn't get so much as a lifted brow from the little monkey. Not that he was worried mind you. It was just too damn quiet without their arguments to pass by the minutes. He hadn't seen the corrupted monk's fan or that damn gun since the day before. Honestly, here they had such a good routine going and the monkey had to go and spoil it. Gojyo stole at glance towards said teen. He was still sitting there, staring at the road as if he expected to gain some kind of mystical enlightenment from it. Hell, maybe he did. Gods only knows what kinds of things a five hundred plus year old demon thought of. The bags under his eyes looked bigger than yesterday. Obviously he hadn't slept again. Really. Once the kid had gained a decent night's sleep, Gojyo was going to have fun teasing him on how he looked like the walking dead. He grinned to himself as he thought of the fight that would cause.

Those thoughts were enough to appease his boredom for a while. But he still couldn't resist one more try at getting Goku's attention. He reached behind him and pulled out a pork bun from his bag.

'Hmmm…I could have sworn I had some other buns in here.' He thought wryly.

Gojyo shrugged and waved the bun in front of Goku's face.

Still nothing. The red-haired man sighed and, catching a warning look from Hakkai through the rear-view mirror, he returned to his side of the Jeep and lit up a trusty cancer-stick.

'If food can't do it,' he mused, 'Not a whole lot else can.'

As Goku goes, so goes food. Usually. But at the moment the teen found himself thinking more and more. His thoughts were centered on one solitary thing. As he had sat last night in the back of the Jeep quietly munching on his second meat bun, hoping again hope that sleep might overtake him soon, he had heard something. A voice. A solitary voice that swept past him with the wind sending shivers down his spine for the second time that night.

'A challenge.'

And though he desperately wanted to argue with Gojyo or complain of his hunger or (more importantly) sleep, his exhausted mind continued to go back to that voice. And the eerie feeling that those words had been directed solely at him. So Goku sat, staring blankly at the road before beside him, trying to grasp again the feeling that he had recognized the night before. Trying with all his might to figure out what it truly was.

One lunch break and several hours later found the four travelers nearly the same. Goku was still too tired, and lost in thought, to do much of anything other than stare at the road; Hakkai tried several times to start conversations with Gojyo (none of which lasted very long); Gojyo had started to count the minutes until he could assume that enough time had passed that it was safe to light a cigarette without being drawn into another 'are you trying to smoke to death' conversation with Hakkai (that had been replayed 4 times since the first); and Sanzo…well Sanzo was what made things 'nearly' the same.

Sanzo had started the morning as his usual self. Sitting peacefully, eyes closed, dozing off every once in awhile, and lighting a cigarette every now and then. But the constant lack of, well, monkey-abuse to put it frankly, was beginning to grate on his nerves.

Abusing the monkey was like Sanzo having his own personal breathing stress ball. Whacking the living daylights out of Goku and Gojyo helped Sanzo release the built-up tension from hours of endless driving and fighting. But he needed a reason. It was odd that Genjo Sanzo was fair in that respite considering he liked using Goku and Gojyo as fan smacking practice…but what can you do with droopy-eyed monks these days?

Right now, however, Sanzo's stress level was sky high. His eyes and attention were split between listening to Hakkai's failed attempts at conversation, and watching the half-dead monkey staring at the road through the side mirror. Sanzo felt his eye twitch.

Apparently the stress was beginning to show outward signs.

Probably in a feeble attempt to warn the other three inhabitants in the Jeep of the incoming danger.

The things nature will do to help even the balance between predators (like Sanzo's anger) and prey (the rest of the world) is amazing.

Fortunately for the three unaware members of the Jeep, a large band of demons chose that ill-fated moment to block the road.

Sanzo was out of the Jeep before it even stopped.

Hakkai and Gojyo were stunned into silence for a moment at seeing Sanzo so blatantly killing. Indeed it seemed the monk was almost enjoying the fight, just a little too much for their liking. It was Gojyo who snapped out of the shock first.

"Hey yah droopy-eyed bastard, leave some for us!"

He was fortunate enough to duck the incoming bullet.

Apparently the monk was pissed off.

"Now, now Sanzo." Hakkai said, smiling as he powered up a chi blast. "Let's try to take out the bad guys."

Hakkai believed Sanzo mumbled something along the lines of 'I tried, he ducked' and couldn't help the sweat drop that appeared.

The demons, obviously enraged at having been only a second thought to the group during their cheerful conversation, choose that moment to swarm.

Like moths to a bug zapper.

With Sanzo and Gojyo releasing their pent up frustrations on the oncoming demons, and Hakkai worrying over Sanzo's mental state, no one seemed to remember a very exhausted Goku sitting in the back of the Jeep. He had managed to snap out of his weariness and thoughts when Hakkai and Gojyo got out of the Jeep. And he had managed to climb out himself, and even to call his staff forth. Other than that, he seemed like the walking dead. As a matter of fact, he had been so quiet and withdraw that until they swarmed, the attacking horde didn't even realize he was there.

But we all know: Things that don't change are so lame.

(-to be continued-)