I really like this one, for some reason. It's sort of refreshing to write Goku, because he's so simple and high-spirited all the time, but I feel like I don't keep him in character quite as well as I do the others.
Maybe I'm wrong?

Enjoy

Goku

"This place looks pretty dead." I decided, trotting down the street after Sanzo. He was walking real fast, for some reason. We were at such a dead end, I didn't get what the hurry was. Maybe he was nervous. He kinda' seemed like it. Lei was hurrying after me. I felt bad for her, having to run around after us. I thought about what happened in the other town, where we fought the psycho soldiers. Those guys were crazy. It was like they didn't feel nothin', like pain or fear or anything. They just attacked, and then, no matter how hard I fought, I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere. Knock one down, and then there was another one in my way. I had been scared for Lei. I thought they were gonna' kill her, and I couldn't let that happen. I don't know why. I just couldn't. It wasn't right, especially after all the other half-breeds got killed. Maybe in the end, I was just that I kept thinking about Gojyo. I was real worried about him and Hakkai now. I really thought they'd come last night. Sanzo acted like that was stupid and ridiculous, but I had been super sure that they'd show up and we'd all be together again.

Was it even possible that maybe the four of us would never be together again?

And what if they had to fight the DethBreed. Would they be okay? Me and Sanzo barely made it outta' there, just 'cause he had the Makai Tenjyo. Hakkai and Gojyo didn't have a nifty sutra that could take out fifty people at once like that.

Would they be able to fight their way out? I wished I could help them somehow.

Still. Maybe they wouldn't have to fight the DethBreed at all. They had other stuff they had to deal with, like whether or not Hakkai went crazy that night.

I wondered… If Hakkai did go crazy, would Gojyo have come back by now? I still didn't think Hakkai would kill him, even if he went crazy. I just didn't think it was possible. But would he give up on Hakkai and come back to us, or would he keep chasing after him, trying to find some way to help him?

I was pretty sure Gojyo wouldn't just give up on Hakkai, no matter how crazy he got, so that meant, if he wasn't here now, they had to be together. Had to. It just couldn't be any other way. An' as long as they were together, they had to be okay.

In the meantime, I had to stick with Sanzo. Ryptcore definitely wanted him dead—if he came for us, I knew he'd try to kill me too, but Sanzo was his goal—and that meant I couldn't let him outta' my sight. He could protect himself really good, I knew that, but…just in case somethin' went wrong, I had to be around. I couldn't let him think I'd walk out on him next.

I had to look after Lei too. It wasn't right that her whole town got wiped out, and it was sad that she couldn't find Deshi—she was doing everything she could to get him back—and I felt like it was my job, for some reason, to make sure nothin' happened to her until she got to go home.

That's why I jumped in the way. Normally, in a fight, I knew the best thing to do was take care of myself, but I was used to fighting with the guys, and they were all taking care of themselves too. Lei wasn't super tough like we were, she needed somebody to watch her back, didn't she?

"Just focus and stay close." Sanzo grumbled.

I glanced up and down the street, but I didn't see anybody suspicious or dangerous or scary. There were just normal villagers here, like there were when we stopped to eat lunch earlier. Humans who were going through their lives like normal. Not that there were a lotta' them. It seemed like there were even fewer than there'd been earlier, so maybe they were all stayin' inside.

With Ryptcore and his crazy guys around, I'd definitely be staying inside too.

The few people who were out and about, stood on the sides of the road in tiny groups, watching us pass like we were gonna' suddenly go nuts and attack. They whispered and pointed.

"What's with 'em?"

Sanzo took a moment to answer. "When we were here last time, it seemed like everyone was evacuating."

"'Cause of what happened in those other two towns?"

"Probably. I doubt they're very open to having visitors right now, so just leave them alone."

My stomach growled, and I frowned. On top of everything that was going on, I wasn't getting enough food, 'cause we couldn't carry it all and whatever. "Hey, Sanzo, I'm hungry again."

He sighed.

"Are we gonna' eat soon?"

"We have to find an inn first."

"'Kay." I tried not to sound sad, but I was feeling bummed. My arm hurt a little, and I missed the guys.

I checked around to make sure they weren't nearby after all.

I was so sure they'd come last night. Why was I so sure?

It just wasn't like 'em to abandon us, I didn't think. I wanted to ask Sanzo about it, but I knew he didn't want to talk about them. He wanted to pretend they'd never been with us in the first place, I think. That's how he was acting.

To me, it wasn't fair to think that about them. When had they ever let us down before? They always did what Sanzo wanted—went and got stuff for him and hunted people down—they even came on this trip with us, even though they didn't have to. They'd come back. They had to.

On the edge of town, we found an inn that was sort of on a hill, and Sanzo said it would be as good a place as any; since it was on high ground, maybe we'd be able to see the DethBreed coming.

The sun was setting when we checked in, and I felt better when we were inside. It was a hard day. Fighting those guys had been tough, and I was tired and hungry.

First, we ate. Nobody said anything during dinner, and Lei didn't eat very much, 'cause she didn't have much money. I wondered if Sanzo would help her out, but he didn't offer, and I didn't know if I should either.

When eating was over, we went up to our room. Lei re-did the bandages on my arm, then she went into her own room.

Sanzo and me sat up a while.

"How long're we gonna' stay here?" I asked, glancing around the room. It seemed really boring and empty without Hakkai and Gojyo around. Normally Sanzo and Hakkai would talk about which way they wanted to go next, and me and Gojyo would play cards or fight or somethin'. All the quiet made me bored and sorta' nervous. Jeep wasn't even around for me to play with.

"Two days." Sanzo decided with a puff of smoke. "Hopefully your arm will be feeling better by then. It will give Ryptcore an opportunity to make a move, and maybe that girl will decide to leave us alone by then. In two days, we'll move on."

"Yeah, but what about what Kougaiji said, about getting' stuck out in the middle of nowhere? Don't'cha think Ryptcore will try an' surround us?"

"I have no idea what that freak is going to do, but I refuse to put the mission on hold any longer than I have to just because an enemy might attack us. If Kougaiji doesn't want to come, no one's making him."

It was weird that he'd decided to come back here in the first place. I wondered what his real reason for it was, but I didn't think I should ask.

Instead, I tried to get him to play cards or mahjong with me, but he didn't seem interested at all. He just wanted to sit there and smoke and look out the window. Before too long, he just went to bed.

I wasn't tired, but I didn't have anything to do, so I went to bed too, laid awake a long, long time, thinking about everything and wishing that my friends would show up, hoping they were okay, somehow.

The next morning, my arm was stiff, so I went out pretty early, into the alley where I wouldn't bother anyone, and did a little sparring practice. At first, my arm just hurt from using it so much, but after a little bit, it got better, and I went back inside to see if Sanzo was up.

All three of us had breakfast at the inn, and then we hung around there for the first half of the day, but later, in the afternoon, Sanzo told me we were going out to take a look around, and I followed him into the street. Lei came with us, maybe 'cause she didn't wanna' be by herself, or maybe 'cause she thought she might run into Deshi.

We were quiet a while. Sanzo led the way, calmly, smoking and not saying a word to anybody we passed, but I could tell he was alert, like he was actually looking for something important.

"What're we watchin' for?" I asked after a while, "The guys?"

"Of course not." He growled. "I already told you, there's no way they're here, so put them out of your mind."

That seemed like it would be really hard. We'd been traveling together for over a year—I was so used to them being around—how could I just forget about them?

"If we ain't lookin' for the guys, then what're we doin'?"

"Checking for signs of Ryptcore—he didn't attack last night, so I assume he will some time today. We need to stay vigilant."

I guess he really wasn't expecting the guys to show up…

And what made him so sure they weren't here anyway? Was it completely impossible? Maybe I just didn't get it.

No way. It made sense to me—I mean, it's not like they were here, one-hundred percent, definitely, but it wasn't like it was really stupid to think that they could be. I thought we should at least be keeping our eyes peeled for them, in case they did show up, eventually.

"Maybe…" I started, real quiet, hoping he wouldn't get too mad at me, "Maybe…they'll wind up in this town too, Sanzo."

He didn't answer at first. He probably didn't want to talk about it, like I thought. His voice was dark when he finally said, "Why would you expect something stupid like that?"

"'Cause, think about it. If Gojyo found Hakkai, an' he's okay, they'd start heading west again—"

"You're awfully optimistic."

"But they'd be behind us, a little, don'tcha' think? Maybe not a lot—not even a whole day, maybe—so now that we had ta' come back here, maybe we'll be in the same town at the same time."

"Don't be ridiculous."

I stared hard into an alley as I was passing it, thinking I'd see some insane soldiers come outta' the shadows, but I didn't even see a cat going through the trash. Today the town was really, really quiet.

Was it really ridiculous to think they'd come back? I didn't think it was.

What was Sanzo thinking anyway? It's like we didn't know the same two guys, or something.

Lei said, "The two of them are your friends, aren't they?"

I dunno' who she was talking to, so I didn't say anything at first.

Sanzo snorted, "Those guys aren't my friends."

I smiled at her, sadly, "Yeah… They are."

He just snorted again.

She glanced from him to me, then at him again, and back to me, like she didn't know who to believe, then she said, slowly, "Well, if they are your friends. Why shouldn't they come looking for you? Gojyo talked like the four of you are kind of close."

Surprised, I looked up at her, "He did? When?"

"A couple different times." She blinked at me, like the question was strange, "When we were walking. Even before that, I think, when we spent some time together in my old village. But, I got that impression from you and from Hakkai-san as well. I mean, even if none of you said a word, just watching the way you act together, I would think the four of you are close."

I started to tell her we were, but Sanzo cut me off, "Don't lump me in with them. Those two might be close. All three of them are close, if you want to put it that way. But I'm not close with those bastards, and that's final."

Me and Sanzo were close though. He could deny that out loud if he wanted, even though I didn't think he would, and I knew it would be a lie. We'd lived together at the temple for all those years—sometimes it felt like forever—and we'd gotten to know each other. There was just no way he didn't think we were as close as I felt like we were.

Lei stared at him a while, and then she gave me a confused look.

I shrugged.

Sanzo kept walking.

She whispered, "Doesn't he want them to come back?"

"Uh, yeah. I think so." Sanzo probably wanted the guys to come back more than anybody else did. Even if it was just for the mission.

"Well, why is he so dead-set against the idea?"

"I dunno', really. I think he's just super pissed off that they left in the first place."

That was the only thing that made sense to me.

"You seem to think they'll come back, Goku-kun."

I thought about the way she was talking to me for a sec. She seemed nicer than before. I remembered that she said we could be friends now. But…I still wondered what happened to all her friends that night, when Hakkai and me fought Ryptcore. I still didn't know if he killed them, or if I did.

Guiltily, I looked away from her. I really hoped it wasn't me. I didn't want it to be Hakkai either, I guess, but…I didn't want it to be me. At all. Somehow…it would be nice if it could be neither of us. Like if Ryptcore did it. Could I just tell myself Ryptcore did it?

"They will." I answered.

"You sound very sure."

I glanced at Sanzo, but he was a little ahead of us, and he wasn't paying attention to what we were saying. He was probably ignoring us on purpose. I lowered my voice anyway, "I know the guys, an' they didn't leave us 'cause they wanted to. They wouldn't just ditch us."

As soon as I said that, I wondered if I could be wrong about it. Like maybe I was the only one of us who thought we were that good of friends.

When we all lived in Chang'an, Sanzo and I lived in the temple, with the snooty monks, who all hated my existence, and Hakkai and Gojyo lived like an hour away, in their dumpy, little town. We didn't see them every day. We saw them a lot though. Every two weeks, maybe. No, more than that. Sanzo sent them to do things, but even if he didn't, they'd show up at the temple and hang out with us for a while. Hakkai came and saw me a lot, and he taught me things. Sometimes, we even went down and saw them. Sanzo always had some reason, or at least, he said he had a reason, but there had been times when it didn't seem like an official reason to me. Sometimes, it seemed like we were just there to be there, even if it wasn't a very Sanzo-ish thing to do.

For three years it was like that. I didn't know much about having friends, but I figured, seeing everybody that often, for that long, and going through things like we did, that had to mean we were pretty good friends.

I'd never ditch Sanzo, and I'd never ditch the guys either. I knew Sanzo wouldn't ditch me, just like Hakkai wouldn't ditch on Gojyo, and Gojyo wouldn't ditch on Hakkai. I didn't think that was just a them thing, or just an us thing. I liked to think that none of us would ever ditch each other, really, and never come back.

"I think you're right." Lei interrupted my thoughts.

She was smiling at me.

"You do?"

"Yes, of course. Like I said, the four of you seem like you're close, and if you think they're going to come back, I think you probably know what you're talking about."

I was quiet. It was sorta' weird, havin' somebody who thought I knew what I was talking about. It was also sorta' weird that she was being so nice to me now, when I thought she hated me.

Was it 'cause of what I did? I rubbed my arm. She bandaged it up too. That was a nice thing to do.

Suddenly, I smiled back at her. I couldn't think of a good thing to say, but I was grateful. I was grateful that she thought the guys were coming back, and I was grateful she'd bandaged my arm, and I was glad she was with us. She was sorta' a sweet girl.

"Hu, our village elder, used to talk to us all about having faith." She went on.

"The elder?" If he was the elder in her village, I guess that meant he was dead now—I didn't remember any old guys walking with us through the mountains. I wondered if she missed him.

"He always told us that we had to believe good things would happen, and we couldn't fall into despair. He said the world is full of despair, and the only way to fight it is to have some hope.

"Many people in my village didn't believe in the goodness of people-they didn't like humans, and they didn't like youkai—but Hu believed in the goodness of people, and he taught us to believe in our goodness as a community, and as a family."

"Like, even if ev'rything outside's really bad an' crappy, you guys were all takin' care of each other?"

"Exactly. That's important, you know, when you're with people. You want to be able to trust them, and you have to be willing to believe that they're really on your side."

My friends and I were like that, weren't we? Everything else was so shitty, with the minus wave, and the assassins and the mission, but we always relied on each other. Hakkai and Gojyo were always laughing and smiling. I knew I was too. They weren't scared, and I wasn't neither. Sanzo wasn't scared, even if he wasn't laughing and smiling.

I dunno' if any of us were 'good' people. I didn't know if I was a good person. But compared to everything we had to face all the time…I believed I had something good. Something almost like a family.

"You have to keep believing they'll come back." Lei told me, gently.

"And then they will?"

I'd believe as hard as I had to, if it would bring the guys back.

"Well…it's not like the act of believing will change anything. The point is, you just can't give up on them. If you do, you'll just be bitter and angry…and sad."

I didn't want to be any of those things.

Something about what she said, or maybe the way she said it, made me think of Hakkai. I didn't really know why. She kinda' looked like Gojyo, and she almost talked like Hakkai.

I really miss them.

I wanted them to come up behind me. I wanted Gojyo to put his arm around my neck, and Hakkai to smile at me and ask me how I was and treat me nice.

Not that I was tired of being around Sanzo, but I wanted all of us to be together.

Suddenly, an idea hit me.

"I bet they're in this town." I said loudly.

She raised her eyebrow at me, like maybe I'd surprised her. "Maybe they are. They could be."

"Yeah! If we go an' ask around for 'em, maybe we'll find 'em!"

Lei giggled a little, "Okay."

Grinning, I dashed off to the nearest, little group of people. As long as I kept Sanzo in sight, it wouldn't be a big deal. I wasn't going to leave him behind, just talk to some people.

The people I raced up to looked startled and nervous, but I barely noticed. I asked them about the guys. They talked to each other for a sec, and then shook their heads.

I didn't get discouraged though. I darted back and forth across the street, from one group of people to the next, "Excuse me, sir! I'm looking for my friends!"

There weren't very many people out and about—I think there were less than yesterday—but that didn't stop me. Everybody within shouting distance, I asked. A guy was selling watermelons from a cart. I really wanted one, but I tried to stay on task. He hadn't seen them. I shouted up at a lady who was leaning through her window. She didn't know anything either, but I didn't give up. After a minute or two, Lei joined me, and then we were running through the streets together, sometimes ahead of Sanzo, sometimes behind him, it didn't matter. We laughed a little, and I grabbed her hand when she fell behind or got tired. After a while, I changed up the way we were describing the guys. 'This dude with a creepy smile an' a dragon.' 'My friend's got red hair like her, an' he's prob'ly gonna die from lung cancer.' 'He's like seven feet tall'. 'They might be in a Jeep.'

Nobody saw them though. Not all day, I guess. Then again, there really weren't a lot of people around. After a while, I started feeling bummed out again.

Then again, just because they weren't to this town yet didn't mean they wouldn't show up. They still might. I just had to keep my eyes open.

I was in the middle of asking this nice, old lady if she'd seen the guys, when Sanzo called my name. "Goku. What are you doing?"

Giving him a grin over my shoulder, I said, "Just checkin' around ta' see if maybe the guys are already in town."

"I thought I told you not to bother anybody."

"I'm not. We're just lookin' around for the guys a little."

He shook his head, and he was rubbing the bridge of his nose. He looked annoyed. "Stop it. They're not here."

"They could be."

"They're not. Goku. Stop wasting energy looking for them."

"Yeah, but-"

The old lady spoke up suddenly, "You said red hair, didn't you, son?"

"Red, like mine." Lei answered for me.

"Now that you mention it, I did see a young man with red hair earlier."

My heart stopped beating for a second, and then I got this really, really good, happy feeling. Like the way I felt after eating a huge, delicious feast. "You did?"

"I'm sure I did… I can't quite remember where I was… But there was certainly a young man with bright, bright, red hair."

I turned to Sanzo again, smiling even bigger.

His eyes were a little wide, and I thought he looked surprised, holding his cigarette halfway to his mouth.

"Was he with another young man?" Lei was asking. "The other one has green eyes and a monocle, and a pet dragon."

"I'm afraid not, my dear. He was alone."

"Hakkai's not with 'im?" I frowned again. Did he go crazy? Maybe he really did try to kill Gojyo, and maybe Gojyo had to leave him behind. "Where'd you see 'im?" I demanded.

"I'm not exactly sure. Wandering up and down the street, somewhere, I suppose. I've been all over town today, you see. My family and I are trying to evacuate as quickly as we can, but it's been difficult getting everyone together; besides, I had to go and stock up on supplies—"

Sanzo was suddenly standing over my shoulder, using the voice he always used when he was getting right to the point. "You know you saw him though? Red hair. Six-one. Brown leather jacket. Scars on his face. Smoker."

The old lady stuttered, "O-Oh…Good priest."

"Twenty-two years old. Smart ass. Did he try to hit on you?" He wasn't even kidding.

Her face turned a little red. "N-no…I'm afraid it must have been someone else."

"What do you mean?" His eyes got narrow and hard.

"Well, good priest…the young man I saw was small. Just a boy, really. I'd say nine…maybe eleven years old."

Sanzo sighed again, sharper this time.

"That's not Gojyo…" I grumbled.

Lei gasped suddenly. She stepped forward, past me, "A little boy? A little boy with red hair?"

The poor old lady was starting to look really confused. She glanced between the three of us. "Well…yes. I believe so."

"Red. Red like mine?"

"His hair was definitely red, my dear. He wasn't smoking or anything…he had this very cute pair of goggles on top of his head."

"Deshi!" Lei practically shouted. "It's Deshi! Deshi's in this town!"

"Ya' think he made it all this way?" I asked, as she started walking up the street again, faster now. I had to hurry to keep up. I glanced back at Sanzo. He was trailing us, looking pissed.

"He must have…I don't know. If he left the town before me, I'm not sure how I could have come all this way and not found him yet. Did he get behind me somehow? Maybe he's not traveling the main road…. Or maybe he got distracted—Deshi tends to get distracted—but that has to be him. Red hair. Ten or eleven. Goggles… That's Deshi."

She sounded really excited. But also kinda' worried.

"I have to find him. I have to… Even if I have to look all through this town… No matter what it takes, I have to find him!"

"Yeah. Of course."

"Where should I look first?" It seemed like she wasn't even talking to me anymore really. "Maybe I should go back and talk to that woman some more. No. No. I don't have time. He could have left by now. Ohhh. I should have asked her when that was. I'll be so upset with myself if I come this close and miss him…"

I turned back to Sanzo, "She's gonna' look around for Deshi."

"The two of you do what you want. I'm going back to the inn."

"Can't we help her?" I asked quietly.

"You can. I don't see why I should."

I guess I had known that would be the answer. I looked at Lei again, "Maybe you better come to the inn with us for a while, an' then go look for Deshi."

She shook her head, eyes determined, mouth set tight. "I have to get started right away. I can't waste any time."

It worried me a little, thinking of her going off by herself when the DethBreed could attack at any second, but I didn't think I could stop her. So I just nodded, "'Kay…"

"Whatever." Sanzo snorted. "Goku, are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, I-hey look."

Up ahead, a guy rounded the corner. He was pretty tall, with dark, spiky hair. It almost looked like Dokugakuji, but he had round, human ears, and the marks on his face were gone.

"Is that Dokugakuji-san?" Lei murmured.

"Looks kinda' like 'im…"

"Whatever." Sanzo sounded even more annoyed than ever. "I don't have time for this."

All three of us stayed where we were, watching him come closer and closer. When he was just half a block away, he waved a little, but he didn't look too cheerful.

"What're ya' doin' here?" I asked. "I thought you an' Kougaiji were gonna' stay an' make camp outside of town."

He was toying with a chain around his neck. It musta' been the limiter he was wearing. "We were—we are—but Kou wanted me to find out where the three of you are staying, in case something happens. Either that, or we need to decide on a meeting place, somewhere we can go if the DethBreed shows up."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Where'd ya' get the limiter?"

"Eh. This? I've had it a while, just in case I need it." He glanced around, like he wasn't used to being in a town or something. Maybe it had been a long time since he'd been in a human town. "Anyway, where you staying at, Sanzo? I gotta' get back to Kou."

"In an inn on the other side of town, not that it's really any of your business."

Dokugakuji nodded, "Well, any sign of the DethBreed in this town?"

"Hn. Don't you think you would have heard about it if it were?"

"Beats me."

"Stupidity must run in the family."

Dokugaku looked like he didn't know what to say to that, so he just moved on, "So then everything's okay?"

"Outside of all the goddamn distractions."

"Distractions? What-"

"We think Deshi is in this town." Lei exclaimed, more excited than ever. "We met an old lady who saw him. I was just about to go and look, and Sanzo-san and Goku-kun were going back to the inn."

"Deshi? Really? Man, that kid came a long way by himself. You sure it's him?"

"It must be. The description was uncanny."

"Yeah, but is it really okay for you to go look for him by yourself? You could need some help."

"I don't know. All I know is I have to find him." She was wringing her hands now. "Before something happens."

Dokugakuji looked up at the sky, "Well, it's starting to get a little dark out…I guess you should try to find the kid as quick as you can."

She nodded.

I felt bad that I couldn't help. I wanted to, but…

I looked at Sanzo again, mentally begging him to say we'd help her, but he just shook his head at me.

Dokugakuji was watching him too, like he thought he'd say something about it, and when he didn't. he said slowly, "I'll tell you what. I'll go with Sanzo to find out where they're gonna' stay, go check in with Kou, and then, when I'm done with that, I'll help you look for the kid."

Lei stared at him for a second. I thought she wouldn't say anything. Slowly, her eyes got really, really wide, her mouth sort of fell open, and I think she started to tear up. "You…you will? You mean that?"

"What? Of course. We can't let the little guy go wandering around alone in this town." He grinned, and for a second, he looked just like Gojyo.

Gojyo would wanna' help Lei too, if he were here. I wished he were, and then I wouldn't have to feel so bad about not going with them.

"Oh, Dokugakuji-san!" She jumped forward to clasp one of his gigantic hands between her two small ones, "That would be so wonderful! I don't think I can thank you enough!"

"It's all right." He laughed, and that sounded just like Gojyo too, "No big deal."

I thought it was interesting, suddenly. I wondered why he wanted to help. I didn't think Kougaiji and his friends were bad people…even if they were our enemies. I shouldn't be surprised that he cared about helping a kid, but I wondered if it was 'cause he wanted to help Lei, or 'cause he cared about what happened to Deshi, or something else.

He's just like Gojyo. I decided. He's just a nice guy.

I turned to stare up the street for a long, long time, while they continued to talk. I really, really wanted the guys to come soon.

Sanzo called me back to reality. "We're moving Goku."

"'Kay…hang on a sec."

He started up the street without me, and Dokugaku follwed him, a little ways behind.

I turned back to Lei, who was smiling real big, looking happy for the first time in a long time. "Hey…Lei…"

"Hm? What is it, Goku-kun?"

"I…I just wanted ta' tell ya' I'm sorry. About what happened ta' your village…and all your friends. I can't remember what happened that night, but…I'm really, really sorry."

Her smile faded right away, and I thought she'd get mad 'cause I was bringing it up. She lowered her eyes, not looking at me. I wondered if she'd start crying.

I inched forward, "Lei?"

"No… It's all right…"

Did I hear her wrong? How could it be all right?

"You…you don't seem like an evil person, Goku-kun. I always thought all humans and youkai were mean, cruel, terrible people…but…you've helped me see that I'm wrong about all of that. I don't understand what happened that night, and for a long time, I did think you were nothing but an animal, but after what you did for me yesterday…" She shook her head, "I can't think that anymore. I know I have to forgive you for what happened, because I know you wouldn't want to do what you did."

That was that, I guess. I was definitely responsible for her dead friends. Some of them at least.

"I'm still really sorry."

Lei smiled, more sadly this time, "It's okay. You're a very sweet boy, Goku-kun. I can tell you're really special."

"Special? Me? Nah, I just-"

"Don't belittle yourself. Your friends are lucky to have you as a friend, I think."

My face turned a little warm when she said that. I blurted out, "I think you're sweet too, Lei. I mean. At first…ya' were kinda' hard ta' get close to, but I know ya' were just upset about everything. I know I ain't known ya' very long, but I think you're a really nice person. I'm glad ya' came with us."

"Thank-you."

Laughing a little, I added, just as a joke, "Maybe you an' Gojyo should get married or somethin', then we could keep bein' friends."

Her smile stayed, but she said, "Oh, Goku-kun. Believe me…there are some boys…you don't marry, no matter how much you like them."

That confused me, and I took a couple seconds, trying to figure it out.

Before I'd finished sorting through it, she said, "I hope I get to see you again, some day."

"Me too. I'm sorry I can't help ya' look for Deshi. I gotta' stick with Sanzo, in case somethin' goes wrong."

"I understand. It's all right."

"I hope ya' find him."

"I do too."

"You guys should come an' say goodbye to us, if ya' can."

"We'll see."

The two of us stood there, and maybe it was a little awkward. I didn't know what to say next, 'cause I got the feeling this was going to be the last time I saw her, and maybe it shouldn't matter, 'cause I didn't know her very well. Still, it made me a little bit sad.

She leaned forward, suddenly, gave me a short kiss on the cheek that turned my face hot as an oven. "Take care of yourself, Goku-kun." She squeezed my hand.

"Y-yeah… You too."

With that, she turned and practically ran down the street, calling Deshi's name.

I watched her go a moment, wishing there was something I could yell after her, but in the end, I just waved and called out, "Bye Lei."

She smiled at me over her shoulder, and then she was gone.

I made my way up the street, after Sanzo, had to jog a little to catch up, but before long, I was next to him again.

He glanced at me, "Is everything okay?"

"Mm. Yeah. I just hope she finds Deshi okay… I wish I could help."

"Nothing's stopping you."

"I know…"

That wasn't true though. Just now, I couldn't let anything get between me and Sanzo.