Ni Jianyi winced and rubbed his jaw again as he walked down the darkened corridor in the very bowels of Houtou castle. Kougaiji had ambushed him a few hours ago, and he'd had to use every trick he knew to stop the prince from landing a disabling blow, without letting on that the doctor wasn't just a human. It was almost... sweet in a way, how protective the brat prince was being of Goku, but now the dark doctor had bruises on his face to match the ones decorating his torso. It was only after he'd demanded to know if Kougaiji would have preferred Lirin be on the receiving end of Goku's change-fuelled desire that the prince had stopped punching and stalked off in a huff.

Doctor Ni knew the rhythms of the castle like he'd been there all his life – and it was now the quiet time. The only ones not asleep were the demons on sentry duty at the wall, and not even all of them would still be awake. He only allowed himself this treat every few months, but it had been such a trying week... He sighed and removed his glasses to rub at his eyes, and stopped, muffling a yelp as the bruise around his right eye stung. "Fuck it," he growled under his breath, then stabbed at the keypad in the wall to his left. There was a beep, and he entered the second code as he resettled his glasses and waited. There was a grinding noise, and a panel in the wall slid up, revealing a tiny room beyond.

The small part of the room that wasn't filled with banks of computers and monitors held a large tank, which was filled with a green liquid that bubbled and gurgled quietly. Inside the tank floated a figure, wrapped in yards of linen and surrounded by a drift of long blonde hair that moved in a slow, eerie dance. Ni approached the tank and laid a palm on it, the small, sad smile that he always wore in this room curving his lips. "Hello, Koumyou," he murmured. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

He'd bolted for Kinzan temple the moment it was safe after Gyokumen Koshu's demons had returned with the Seiten scripture to find the place under attack and on fire. Choking on smoke and his own sobs of pain, he'd gathered the pieces of his lovers body and brought them back to Houtou and this hidden room. Lady Gyokumen thought he was working on resurrection for her lover, when instead Gymaoh was Ni's test subject. If the process worked on the demon king, it would surely work on Koumyou.

Ni turned away from the tank when the inevitable tears threatened and checked the displays. Nothing had been disturbed since he last visited; nothing had changed. The atmosphere in the tank was still stable, but he made a few adjustments anyway, just to feel like he'd done something for Koumyou. Checking his watch, he stepped back to the tank and pressed his hand to it once again. "Soon, love," he whispered, "soon."

0o0o0o0o0o

"That's the stupidest idea I've ever heard, Hakkai!"

"Why? Why wouldn't it work?"

"I'm not saying it wouldn't work; I'm saying it's a stupid, crazy idea!" Goyjo slammed his fist into the table, rattling the plates and cups.

"We have to try something. Sanzo? What do you think?" Hakkai turned his green eyes towards the monk and watched as thoughts tumbled through those amethyst eyes. For the first time in days, Sanzo spoke.

"Yeah, it's a stupid idea. But it's the only one we've got. So we do it."

"Are you both out of your minds?" Goyjo exclaimed. "What if-"

"Chewing over 'what if's' isn't going to help us in this situation, Goyjo," Hakkai interrupted, beginning to stack the empty plates. "It will work. We have to believe that." Goyjo sighed and slumped in his chair. He lit a cigarette and blew out a long stream of smoke.

"I suppose you're right, Hakkai. But I want to be on record saying this is a really, really bad idea."

"Noted," Hakkai replied. "Now help me clean up this mess."

AN: Teeny tiny entry. But the next chapter will probably be the last. -YN