A/N: Okay, so after getting a review that basically said she was disappointed Goku was being a whiny bitch, I decided to redo this chapter. In my opinion. Goku wasn't ever "weak," he was just scared. But I did realize that the old chapter was not going to lead the story where I wanted it to go. Hopefully you guys like this chapter better. I know I do! Please please please R&R! Love you all :)

When all four of them had finally reached the temple grounds, Hakkai and Gojyo politely excused themselves, exchanging goodnights and smiles.

"Gee, wonder what they'll be doin'." Goku noted, the sarcasm heavy in his tone.

"Whatever." Goku felt Sanzo release his hold on his hand and suddenly felt very cold. "I'm going to go take a bath."

Goku sighed heavily as he watched Sanzo slip from view and made his way to their room. He wanted to scream into the pillow and rip the sheets to shreds but he knew better than that. Sanzo would surely notice and then there would be no way for Goku to hide Jiao-long's return. Goku shuddered involuntarily as he remembered the way the boy had looked at him, as if he had somehow won. It was the same face the boy had every time he stood over Goku's weakened, naked body and identical to the one he'd wore on that last night, the night Jiao-long had removed his diadem and Goku was sure all was lost.

He did not know that he'd been clenching his fists until he felt the warm trickle of blood drip down his wrists, leaking out from the crescent-shaped cuts his fingernails had left.

"Fuck," he cursed aloud, no longer caring who heard. The longer he reflected back on Jiao-long, the higher intense rage boiled inside of him. The boy had damn near ruined everything for Goku, and now he dared to show his face again, trying to exact some sort of revenge? It wasn't right, and Goku suddenly realized that it ought to be the other way around. He should be the one hunting down Jiao-long with vengeance on his mind. He should not be stuck feeling so goddamn helpless as the boy was free to roam the land, unpunished. Jiao-long should be made to cry, to hurt, to bleed the way Goku had.

Moving now, almost by instinct, Goku made his way outside to the courtyard and climbed up into the peach tree. It was habitual; he always sought out its branches when he needed to think when he was younger, and the only differences now were his age and just what he was thinking about. Daily activities and dinner meals were now replaced with thoughts of how to track down his rapist and what he'd do when he found him.

Goku was brought out of his near meditation when he heard the snapping of a branch. At first he panicked, thinking that Sanzo had followed him outside, but looking down, he realized that he was the source of the noise, as he'd been so caught up in his plans that he'd actually snapped a limb of the tree in half. Leaning back against the trunk, and patting the bark in an attempt to apologize for his actions to the tree, Goku tried to regroup his thoughts with a little more clarity. Remembering some of the things that had crossed his mind, he grew slightly concerned over how violent they had been, and it dawned on him that perhaps there was a reason the hate he'd felt had been so strong and his revenge schemes involved so much bloodshed. Seiten Taisen was probably just as angry with Jiao-long as Goku was, angrier, in fact. The boy had tried to make a fool of the sage, thinking he could actually control him, and Sanzo had banished Jiao-long before he'd gotten his revenge. It made sense that their thoughts were merging.

Biting his lip, Goku began to worry about how big of a role Seiten Taisen was going to play in this. There was nothing guaranteeing Goku that the sage would not break free, should he try to hunt down Jiao-long, and if he did force his way out, there was nothing stopping him from ripping the boy to shreds. But…would I be opposed to that? It was true that Goku wanted nothing more that to make sure Jiao-long got his just deserts, but could he really go as far as to condone and even allow the actions of the sage?

Yes. Goku wasn't a child anymore. He had seen enough to know that some people did not deserve any sort of compassion. What Jiao-long had done to him was unconditionally unforgivable and there was no way Goku was going to be able to rest until he was punished as harshly as he could be. And there was no one better to follow through with that sentence more than Seiten Taisen. Goku's mind was made up. Jiao-long would suffer.

Content that his mind was eased a little bit, Goku jumped off of his branch and made his way back inside, searching for Sanzo. He found him sitting on their bed, reading over a news paper, clad only in his pajama pants and reading glasses.

Another pang of ire ran through Goku as he realized he'd been pushing away his lover for no other reason than he was scared. He still had no plans of telling Sanzo, as the priest would only talk Goku out of exacting revenge and probably seek out the boy to shoot him himself. But that didn't mean Goku was going to let the wall that had slowly been growing between them get any higher.

"Hey, Sanzo," greeted Goku, his voice almost a purr. The blonde looked up from the paper at him, his neutral expression never changing. When he didn't get a verbal response, Goku crossed the room to their bed and settled on it, gently removing the newspaper from Sanzo's hands.

"What?" Sanzo growled, though his tone had no anger in it.

"I wanna apologize for actin' so weird lately. I had you worried didn't I?" Goku swung his leg over Sanzo's lap, effectively straddling him.

"Ch'. Would you like to tell me what that was about? I can hear it when something's bothering you."

"I know. I was just over-thinking some things."

"Like?"

Goku rose slightly on his knees so he could rest his forehead against Sanzo's.

"Nothin' that needs to be worried about anymore." Before Sanzo could retort, Goku pressed their lips together, one hand on the back of Sanzo's head, and the other making slow circles on his upper thigh. When he heard Sanzo sigh softly, Goku knew that all questions were going to be put on hold until morning, and if Goku was lucky, forgotten.

Tonight, Goku was going to be damn sure luck was on his side.