NEVER LET GO

Disclaimer: Do I look like owning Saiyuki?

A/N: Finally got this one up. This is getting pretty long, so forgive me if I might rush things up in a few chapters. And may be some flashbacks... hope there won't be too much confusions...
And as usual, thanks for my beta, Peeps17!
Hope you'll enjoy!

Chapter Eleven

Confronting the Dusk

"Son Goku??"

Golden eyes flickered open slowly, the small boy's features twisted in intense pain.

Goku raised his hand, trying to respond to the War God's calling.

"H-Homura…" dry lips quivered sweat rolling down his flushed cheeks.

Homura held onto the boy's hand, dismissing the heat singing his fingers.

"Son Goku, hold on. I will get you out of this…"

The boy seemed no longer listening. His eyes starting to lose focus, and Homura could tell he was rapidly losing consciousness.

"Son Goku, please…"

Then to everybody's surprise, Goku smiled, his hand trembling as he whispered, barely audible for Homura to hear.

"Konzen…"

Then his hand fell and his head went limp in Zenon's arms.

"Oi, kid!!" Zenon shook the boy; panic crept over him as he tried to wake him up. Goku's limp head fell left and right but he didn't show any sign of regaining consciousness.

Shien knelt by his side, carefully caressing the unconscious boy's flushed cheek and neck.

"He's passed out, but his pulse is normal. However, this fever worries me." The calm kami raised his head, slight concern could be detected within his calm voice, "I'm afraid that it's worse, Homura-sama. The temperature is far too dangerous for a human body."

"But why?" Zenon insisted, "The scientist said that this kid will only suffer during the night, didn't he? It's not even dusk, so why?"

"That is something I can't explain." Shien replied his face hardening at the mention of the scientist.

I'm fairly sure that, that wicked human has something to do with this…

With no response from Shien, Zenon stood, groaning as he lifted Goku's limp and feverish body into his arms, "Anyway, it's no use for us to stay here any longer. We've got to get to the Tower and get this kid to bed. His condition might get worse out here."

"I agree." Shien nodded, before casting his eyes to his still leader, "Homura-sama, do you think we should…" The calm kami cut his own words as he noticed the strange expression his leader wore, "Homura-sama?"

Homura was half-listening. He cared nothing about what happened around him, or what his comrades were babbling about. His mind was on Goku's last word.

Konzen…

Mismatched eyes hardened. It was all Konzen's—no, Sanzo's fault. It was Sanzo's fault Goku got messed up with his memories. It was his fault Goku got confused, unsure of what and who. It was his fault that Goku kept remembering him even though he had, had his memories altered. It was his fault that Goku could never become his.

"Homura-sama?" Shien asked again rather worriedly, "Are you feeling alright, Homu…"

"HOMURA-SAMA!!"

The panicked voice took everybody's attention. Turning his head, Shien saw one of his generals make a hasty approach, horror written on his face.

"What is it, general?" the kami asked calmly, trying to guess what might cause his attendant to freak out like this.

The general stopped, catching his breath as he looked at his towering leaders, panic and anxiety clear within his voice.

"Fo…forgive me for disturbing you, Homura-sama, but… a violent group consisting of youkai and a human who looks like a priest has invaded the Tower, exterminating all the guards, sir. We are requesting for more reinforcement, sir." The general spoke trembling slightly.

Shien and Zenon frowned. A group of a violent human and youkai? There was no mistake. Sanzo and the others were coming to claim back their scripture and their former companion. But the Tower had plenty of guards and defense mechanisms; surely it's enough to fry just a group of three?

Shien opened his eyes and stared at the general, "We're not…"

"Kill them."

Three pairs of eyes turned to face the owner of the cold voice. They found themselves staring into enraged and cold mismatched eyes. Scratch that; enraged, cold, and jealous mismatched eyes. Zenon and Shien shuddered a bit. They had never seen Homura this furious before.

"Homura?" Zenon couldn't help asking, wondering if he heard right.

"Kill them." Homura repeated his eyes blazing with weird emotions. "Don't let them step their filthy feet any further. If they do, I will tear the lives out of their throats myself… after tearing yours." He spoke, sending chills into the calm air.

The general gulped nervously before hastily replying, "Y-yes my Lord."

And then, the poor frightened general scrambled over his feet, intending to get away from the glaring Toushin as soon as he could.

Shien and Zenon just exchanged looks at the uncharacteristic behavior of their leader. Homura was usually more controlled and he wasn't likely to pressure anyone. He was calm, collected, and confident. What had caused this outburst all of a sudden?

"Homu…"

"Zenon, you bring Son Goku to his room and take care of him. Shien, you come with me; we're going to take care of Konzen and his scum." Homura ordered, turning his back and started to exit.

"That is an order, not a suggestion. And I demand no questions. Move your ass!"

This startled Shien and Zenon. Seeing Homura this harsh was rather uncommon. Yet, the two had no choice but follow his orders. They exchanged weird looks once again before following their leader faithfully as usual.

"Hai, hai!"

"Very well, Homura-sama."

Not very far from them, unnoticed by the furious Homura and his confused comrades, a pair of dark and sinister eyes watched the scene, an amused smirk never left his face at such a delightful display.

This has gotten quite interesting… Wonder if I should heat things up a bit?

"Oh my, this is quite a handful lot of enemies." Hakkai exclaimed cheerfully, causing the rest of them to sweatdrop at the human-turned-youkai's unlikely manners. They had barged inside the Tower, crashing through the front door AGAIN. Poor Hakuryuu would most likely experience a headache for at least a couple of days. And not to mention, once the trespassing group managed to get inside the Tower, they were 'warmly' greeted by the welcoming party, which appeared to be Homura's unlimited guards. True, Kougaiji and his group might be helping them, but with this endless amount of enemies, one must be insane to smile over this crazy situation. Hakkai shot, smiled, shot, smiled, shot, and smiled again. In fact, he shot and smiled at the same time. As if there was not enough freakiness.

Gojyo let out a groan, "Hakkaiiiii!! Quit talking so calmly! Dammit, I'm starting to think that babysitting the saru somehow affects his personality…"

"I am?" Hakkai put his hand under his chin as if thinking, while his other hand kept firing chi explosion to the enemies with unbelievable acceleration.

Gojyo sweatdropped.

"That is exactly what I mean…"

"If you guys have so much time to chit chat why not use that time to fight these bastards instead??" Sanzo growled out in frustration while reloading his shoureijuu skillfully and a second later pointed it at the advancing enemies.

"Die," he hissed menacingly and with a series of gunshots, five bodies fell onto the ground, souls evaporated by the banishing gun.

Gojyo winced, "Whoa, Sanzo-sama fights like shit. Better not piss him off…"

BANG!!

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"I'm saving you life, stingy kappa. I just shot an enemy behind you."

"You just happened to hit him CAUSE I DUCKED!!"

"Maa maa, there are already enough enemies, please don't add it among ourselves…" Hakkai tried to calm the steaming group down.

"Cho Hakkai is right. We can't waste our time here." Kougaiji unexpectedly said, drawing attention from the ikkou. "The sun had just set. It's only a matter of hours before you lose Son Goku forever." He warned.

Sanzo quickly turned his head and saw, yes; the sun had already been consumed with darkness. The sun had disappeared, replaced by the moon and its cold rays. He gritted his teeth before turning back to continue eliminating the enemies. Kougaiji was right. They were running out time.

Noticing sudden hostility, Kougaiji decided to speak again, "Calm down, Sanzo. I know how to settle this."

Sanzo released more shots, killing more enemies before deciding to respond without taking his eyes off his enemies, "Spit it out."

"Let us deal with these scumbags; you guys go ahead for Goku and the scripture." Kougaiji spoke, his voice somewhat resembled Hakkai's typical calm one. Tension fell upon the youkai prince's statement. Brows knitted deeper than ever, Sanzo just kept his gaze on his enemies, letting the suggestion go unanswered.

"That's a very funny joke you made there, oh almighty prince." Gojyo grinned to the youkai prince, only to receive a dangerous glare from those fiery eyes. Kougaiji was serious.

"Kougaiji-san… are you serious?" This time it was Hakkai to the question, clear concern coloring his soft voice.

"Do I look like joking to you, Cho Hakkai?" Kougaiji spoke firmly. Raising his hand, he threw some fireballs in Hakkai's direction. The human-turned-youkai didn't even flinch as the fireballs went past his sides, killing the enemies that advanced behind him.

"You guys just go ahead, leave everything to us. Don't worry, we've got a plan." Kougaiji added, eyeing Sanzo meaningfully.

Hakkai and Gojyo exchanged worried glances.

"But, Kougaiji-san…"

"Ikuzo."

Sanzo suddenly claimed as he clenched his gun, releasing the empty bullets. Emerald and crimson eyes widened as the monk reloaded his gun slowly, then put it inside his robes. A clear sign of quitting the fight.

"Sanzo, you…" Hakkai started.

"We're leaving." Sanzo cut off coldly as he started to walk away from the fight.

"Chotto matte, you crazed monk!" Gojyo retorted angrily, "You're not thinking about leaving Kougaiji to finish them all alone, are you??"

"He's got comrades. And you know as well as I do that they're not weak." Sanzo replied coldly, earning more glares and worried glances from Gojyo and Hakkai.

Kougaiji smirked, "I know you would understand, Genjo Sanzo. Now go, leave the rest to us. Yaone, "He turned his head to his faithful personal chemist.

"Yes, Kougaiji-sama?"

"Open the way for them."

"Hai."

A series of explosion followed the pretty purple-haired youkai's answer. The remaining members of Sanzo-ikkou squinted their eyes as the smokes slowly cleared, leaving dead corpses in its trail.

"Please go, hurry!" She shouted, holding her spear in fighting position as the rest of the guards advanced her, angry for slaughtering their comrades.

Muttering his barely audible 'thanks', Sanzo made his way out from the pile of bodies, followed by a hesitating Gojyo and Hakkai, towards the door they knew led to Homura's main hall.

"You'll owe us a treat after all of this over!" Dokugakuji's brotherly voice was the final exclamation they heard before the door slammed shut, cutting their connection with the Kougaiji-tachi.

Flashback

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why are you helping us? You have nothing to do with this. After all, we're adversaries." Sanzo's voice was a mixture of curiousity and anxiety.

Kougaiji, let the question hang for a few moments, closing his eyes in meditation, slowly sipping the tea Yaone had made for him.

"We are," he replied solemnly, "but that doesn't mean we can't stand together against a 'bigger' adversary." He finished his sentence, and Sanzo could swear he saw Kougaiji's eyes flashed with hatred.

"Homura, you mean?"

"To an extent, yes." Kougaiji answered calmly as Sanzo watched him, he noticed a darkness swirling within the youkai prince's eyes was slowly fading away.

"There's another?" Sanzo went on, catching another meaning behind Kougaiji' statement. The said youkai prince stopped drinking his tea, and when his fiery eyes turned to face his own, Sanzo could see the hatred blazed once again.

"Yes." Kougaiji hissed, anger and hate suppressed within his voice.

"Is that the reason why you're helping us? Out of revenge or something?" Sanzo pushed on, feeling Kougaiji's gaze harden at the word 'revenge'. The youkai prince didn't answer, but Sanzo could feel from the burning glare, the flaming revenge within.

"Revenge for what?" He couldn't help asking out of curiousity. What would possibly cause the calm youkai prince such hostility?

Kougaiji sighed, closing his eyes as he suppressed his negative emotions within.

"As expected. I just couldn't hide it from you, Sanzo." He fixed his fiery eyes on Sanzo's amethyst ones, seriousness and sorrow clouding his features. "Listen carefully, Sanzo, for I won't repeat it. What I'm telling you now might be hard to believe, but you see, we are…"

"Sanzo? You seem a bit distracted. Is everything alright?" Hakkai's voice snapped Sanzo from his thoughts. The monk opened his eyes, only to meet with worried green eyes.

"Nothing." He murmured while rubbing his temples, trying to shake the memories.

Gojyo snorted, "Stop 'nothing' us! I know you have something else on your mind! If not, why'd you leave Kougaiji and the others to fight instead of us?? What if they die?!"

"They won't." Sanzo replied coldly, twitching a little as Kougaiji's voice from their earlier conversation filled his mind.

Remember Sanzo; don't let anyone know about this, not even Sha Gojyo and Cho Hakkai, until the time comes. If he ever finds out, it will be the end of you all…

"It's nothing," he repeated, purposely ignoring curious stares from Gojyo and Hakkai.

"Shitty monk, you're not very good at lying, I knew it." The red head commented.

A twitch found its way to Sanzo's forehead. Grabbing Gojyo roughly by his collar, the steaming monk hissed to the half-breed.

"None of your business. Now fuck off or else…"

"Well, well, such terrible mouth you have there, Genjo Sanzo-houshi."

A cold voice sent chills down within the hall. Pairs of amethyst, crimson, and emerald eyes turned to lock with a pair of dark and sinister eyes. A man, apparently a scientist judging from his glasses and lab coat, was standing by the doorframe, wearing a sinister smirk. Sanzo's eyes widened at once. There was something about this guy felt familiar. Oddly too familiar. Like a remembrance of a nightmare…

"I see no reply from you, Genjo Sanzo. Or should I say, little Kouryuu?" the smirk grew as he enjoyed the look on Sanzo's face. "Oh, do I frighten you, my dear Kouryuu? Do I look too much like a… nightmare?"

Sanzo could feel Gojyo and Hakkai's eyes on him, unanswered question reflected within their eyes.

How'd he know??

Still smirking, the scientist left his spot by the door and approached the tensed ikkou. Waving his hand lazily to the door, he spoke confidently, "Your precious Son Goku is behind this door, perfectly under the care of Toushin Homura Taishi." He was so enjoying the look on Sanzo-ikkou's face, particularly on Sanzo, at the mention of their former companion. "Aah… no need to be so worried like that. Son Goku might not be very well at this moment. But in a few hours, he will be perfectly fine like a newborn."

This reached the limit of the Sanzo-ikkou.

"Fine my ass!" Gojyo growled in fury, clenching his fist angrily. "He won't be fine with you forcing weird stuff into his brain, jack ass!!"

The scientist sighed, feigning hurt, "That was such a crude term, Sha Gojyo. I do have a name, you know. Introducing…" eyes glowed behind the glasses, "…Ukoku Sanzo-houshi."

A/N : Things are indeed heating up, right? The showdown between two Sanzos! By the way, I'm very sorry to say this, but I'll be having finals real soon and so I can't update this fic for a while. And after that, I'll be going to Australia so I won't be seeing you guys for maybe a couple of weeks or so. Sorry for leaving this in a cliff, but I'll try my best to make up of it!
And as usual, thanks for reading, any comments will be appreciated.
Hope to see you again!