Never No Answer

Goku had time to take out a third before the remaining
youkai recovered, starting to howl in earnest at the loss of their friends. The
snarls and sounds of claws growing for a demon’s fighting mode. Goku swung the
nyoi-bo around with two hands to hit a smaller and more human-looking youkai in
the head, and found it blocked by the demon throwing up his arms to protect his
skull. He pulled back and shifted his grip around the staff, intending to go
for another blow if it wasn’t for something heavy hitting him on the back of
his head. Goku stumbled forward as he eyesight went foggy with the sucker
punch, swinging the nyoi-bo wildly around instinctively. He felt it connect
with one, two different bodies and each time was intent to make it a certain
kill.

Shaking his head free of the last bit of stunning damage,
Goku opened his eyes to see the outline of a youkai fall apart into tiny pieces
of ash. The room was packed full of youkai, leaving almost no room for Goku to
recover before three demons pushed in at once from all sides. Goku would have
thanked them out loud, but he slammed the nyoi-bo down to the floor to use it
as a vaulting post instead, rotating as he kicked a youkai in the face. Goku
twisted and slung out his other leg to get a second one in the chest, feeling
satisfaction when ribs cracked. He landed and was already twirling the nyoi-bo
back in front to hit off two other youkai.

The other demons started to lose their features, turning
into blurry shapes that only looked like targets to Goku. He didn’t have the
time to think about moving around the room to his advantage when there were
youkai coming in at every angle, just moved and tried to hit as hard as
possible along the way. He wasn’t sure if he was killing or just injuring, but
his palms were starting to tingle from the hitting with staff so many times.
Goku dodged under a sword and threw the butt of the staff into the wielder’s
chin. Goku leapt back and had claws score along his arm for his carelessness.
He spun back from the second set of claws coming for his face and kept on
scrabbling backwards until he found himself with his back to the fireplace and
a whole common room full of youkai, a good amount of them motionless on the
floor. That didn’t mean there were still quite a few left, enough to make Goku
almost regret coming alone.

Almost.

*style='mso-tab-count:4'> *style='mso-tab-count:4'> *

“Goku! Where the fuck are you, you dumb ass ape?” the
familiar roar echoed through out the entire inn, enough to shake the silverware
on every table. Immediately a hush went through the entire room, all patrons
well acquainted with Genjo Sanzo’s fury by now. Hakkai only smiled genially at
the villagers and took another sip of water from his glass as Gojyo pounded
down another shot before gasping from the burning alcohol hitting an empty
stomach for what must be the twelfth this morning.

“Well, that means the bitch is up,” Gojyo remarked
smartly before it was followed by an undignified hiccup. Hakkai didn’t even
bother to correct him, knowing that Gojyo was too drunk to listen to him now.
All he could do was hope that Goku came back from wherever he had chosen to
pout this time, or that Gojyo would actually be civil with Sanzo for once.
Hakkai didn’t even have to fake the grin that graced his face from his own
far-fetched and impossible wishes, finding the whole thing ironically humorous.
Gojyo was hopelessly drunk, Goku was hopeless lost, and Sanzo was hopelessly
insane. He had chosen the perfect traveling companions.

Sanzo was sure to be in a foul mood this time for sure
with one monkey missing and a youkai half-breed that was fired up to take the priest
down a few notches verbally; Not that Sanzo would let that happen, style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>ever … It was still a show worth
watching, if nothing else for Gojyo’s open-mouthed shock when the priest spat
out a new curse that even sailors would find offensive. Even the few other
patrons remaining in the common room looked toward the stairs in dreaded
anticipation, already accustomed to a volatile man instead of a serene High
Priest.

Sure enough, Sanzo stormed down with an expression on his
face that was better fit for mass execution. He was even paler than usual and
his hair was soaked down to his head. The borrowed shirt was half-open and soaked
through, the barest hint of two pink shadows on his chest. Gojyo had obviously
not bothered to change Sanzo out of his wet clothes. Sanzo looked too angry for
that to even be brought up now, stomping over to their table without even
noticing all the appreciative glances thrown his way despite the Smith and
Wesson shoved down the front of his pants. Hakkai raised an eyebrow at the open
leers on the other diners’ faces. Or maybe the looks were because of it. He swallowed, deciding that he should try to head
this off before any serious damage happened.

“Sanzo! Goku just left for a bit, so why don’t you-“

“Bullshit,” Sanzo cut Hakkai off ruthlessly, his violet
eyes narrowed down into small slits that demanded the truth despite the
shoulders that were hunched in pain. Hakkai couldn’t find the words after that,
every thought taken away by the pure shock of seeing the thin blonde stand all
on his own despite taking so much abuse, even if he had done it time and time
before. Gojyo only calmly poured another shot in their uncomfortable silence,
looking quite pleased that for once it wasn’t him that was in trouble.

“Goku ran away after you scared the piss outta him,” Gojyo
sneered as he toasted Sanzo, as if it were something to celebrate. Hakkai
didn’t catch the exact moment Sanzo moved, but suddenly the priest was their
and took the shot himself as calmly as if it was his own. Gojyo blinked down at
the missing drink before Sanzo threw the glass past the taller man’s head. It
shattered against the hard wood, drawing everyone’s attention if it hadn’t
already been directed at them. A woman screamed in shock and covered her head
even though she was nowhere near the mess, clearly expecting more violence. High
Priest Genjo Sanzo seemed to have that sort of effect on people.

“We’re going back,” Sanzo hissed in a deadly cold voice
as he made an unsteady line toward Hakkai, slamming one hand down on the table
to make a point- or keep his balance. Hakkai calmly looked up into that
bandaged, frustrated, and beautiful face, wondering just what kind of monster
would actually go to the lengths of bruising Sanzo. As much as the priest
wanted to wreck some good old-fashioned revenge and death on some deserving
youkai, Hakkai also wanted his share.

“Back where?” Hakkai questioned, hoping to work on Sanzo’s
fried nerves and traumatized head injury. If he could get Sanzo to admit that
he couldn’t even remember the place they had come from, then he might even be
able to get the temperamental blonde to sit down and think about it all calmly.

“There,” Sanzo
hissed with a deadly look in his slanted eyes that didn’t allow for anymore
games. Hakkai couldn’t say anything at that, couldn’t even keep a smile on his
face at the threatening look on the blonde’s face, promising death if his wish
wasn’t carried out. Hakkai didn’t have a single doubt this time that Sanzo wouldn’t
hesitate to kill any one of them; so he started out the inn with Sanzo nearly
on his heels, followed by Gojyo; who didn’t look pleased at all with the
matter.

“Do you even know where that is?” Gojyo asked in a smart
voice as the three of them stood outside the front of the inn for their
transportation to show up. Hakkai and Sanzo both sighed at the same time,
though he was sure it was for different reasons.

“Don’t interrupt conversations you can’t comprehend, shit
head,” Sanzo spat out as Hakkai heard the whistle of Hakuryuu’s greeting cry.
He turned to the north and sure enough, out of the grey and stormy sky came the
small white dragon; fat and content from hunting outside and running around
freely without command for a few days. Hakkai knew that the dragon needed as
much time alone as they did, as much of a person as an animal with cold blood
could be. He returned to the back of Hakkai’s chair at the most inappropriate
time, reminding Sanzo that he had a dragon that conveniently enough turned into
a car.

< sty style='mso-tab-count:
1'> “I’m not taking you there,” Hakkai stated coldly, not
about to allow Sanzo to return to that place anytime soon. It just couldn’t be
healthy, and he much doubted that Goku had really gone there. The ape was
probably hiding around the corner of the next street down feeling bad for
himself, but never wandering far.

Hakkai heard the distinctive click of the safety being
released and found himself face to face with the barrel of Sanzo’s repaired
Smith and Wesson, instantly regretting bringing it back from the shop and
putting in the monk’s room with the lame thought it might cheer the man up. It
even shut up Gojyo for a moment, because no matter how drunk he was, he could
tell when his life was being threatened. It didn’t look like Sanzo was going to
cut any dice this time by the deadly calm and almost lazy gaze cast down at
Hakkai for still remaining sitting in his seat. This wasn’t a monk that was
going to be fainting anytime soon from the hard determination Hakkai could
sense from Sanzo. There wouldn’t be any reason to cross Sanzo now unless he was
looking for death.

“Fine, then. Perhaps it might jog your memory, Sanzo.
Let’s go outside,” he suggested as coolly as the snow outside with a graceful
smile written all over his face. It wouldn’t do to argue with Sanzo in front of
all these people when the blonde was so intent on bloodshed. Hakkai stood up
slowly as Hakuryuu took to his shoulder naturally, cautiously not making a
noise. The only thing living in the room that would dare to make a noise was
Gojyo as he noisily poured himself another glass.

“I’m not fucking going anywhere until I finish-“

One bullet took the bottle out, glass shattering in
Gojyo’s hand as it passed through and made a small, smoking black hole in the
wall behind him. The alcohol splashed to the floor and was followed by Miss
Mei’s delayed scream… Which set off everyone in the place to start yelling and
running away in fear of their lives from a Buddhist monk. Sanzo always did have
a tendency to fire off shots at the worst possible time. Chairs overturned and
silverware fell to the floor in explosive cracks as the common room emptied out
into the street or up the stairs to escape Sanzo’s shooting range.

“Now,” Sanzo hissed in a voice colder than the snow outside.

It was simple as that to get Gojyo out of the chair and
toward the door with Hakkai not far behind, making sure to keep a hand pressing
Hakuryuu’s back down against his shoulder in case the dragon decided to start
flying around. That would be a very big
mistake now in the mood Sanzo was in, likely to get the poor thing shot before
they could even get outside so Hakuryuu could transform. Hakkai just prayed
that Hakuryuu wouldn’t make a noise right now that could set Sanzo off.

They walked past the innkeeper crouched behind the
counter, a grown man shivering in fear, jerking away like a frightened animal
as Sanzo threw out his arms to conceitedly adjust the sleeves of the too-big
pajamas on his thin frame. Hakkai and Gojyo shuffled out the door without any
words, knowing that Sanzo still hadn’t
put his gun away. The monk could be ruthless to inhuman degrees and wear a
small smirk that made Hakkai wonder if he really enjoyed the violence. They
didn’t say anything though, everyone else too frightened to speak up as Gojyo
and Hakkai were shuffled out the door at gun point to take Sanzo back toward
that forsaken mansion.

*style='mso-tab-count:3'> *style='mso-tab-count:3'> *

Goku panted hard as he wiped his face with the back of
his hand, sweating and panting hard. He was dizzy from exertion, so hungry that
he could barely stand up after killing that many youkai. He could barely find a
space wide enough to spread out his legs and tuck his head between his knees to
try and gain back his breath with so many corpses on the floor. Goku hoped that
none of the bodies were simply youkai smart enough to play dead, because he
really wanted each and every single one of these bastards to be style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>d-e-a-d. That way Sanzo wouldn’t keep on
fainting and falling down anymore.

He picked his way around the demons’ carcasses with a
little more care than anyone would have ever admitted him having, but Goku
wasn’t quite ready to start anther fight. He already felt much too excited,
almost greedy at the thought of more
victims waiting around the corner. Goku went to the hallway he had already gone
down once before, except this time Sanzo wasn’t waiting at the end. Goku could
still catch the whiff of Sanzo on the walls, blood and sweat that was almost
rank with terror. Sanzo never usually smelled liked that, except when it was raining;
but even then the blonde would barely so much as bat an eye to show it.

A youkai had that fairly well to hide himself in an open
doorway made the mistake of screaming out an attack before lunging out into the
hallway. Goku had the nyoi-bo shooting up and slamming into the demon’s throat
without a second thought, leaving it to die slowly of a crushed windpipe. Its
last, wheezing gasps followed Goku as he continued to stalk down the hall. He
had a feeling that he would find the youkai responsible for it all back in the
bedroom they had found Sanzo in. The last time he had been in there, the window
was broken from the leader youkai escaping.

This time Goku wouldn’t allow him to be so lucky. He
didn’t have Sanzo on the verge of death this time. He had all intention to style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>kill. He got to the end of the hallway
without meeting another youkai and pushed the last door open slowly. The large
and rotting bedroom was empty and cold with the broken window letting snow in
to gather on the dirty floor. The place reeked from the lingering scent of pain
and old sex, caking the walls thick enough to be at least a few months old and
with quite a few victims. Goku could catch the whiff of pleasure that was stale
in the room so full of old agony, recognizing it easily enough from being with
Gojyo for so long… but he had never really expected it to be distinctively Sanzo’s.
The priest usually just smelled like cigarettes and irritation, but in this
place…

Goku swallowed, sure that whatever had happened, Sanzo
hadn’t really enjoyed it. That much was obvious from Sanzo’s even worsening
attitude, if such had ever been possible. It had something to do with what had
happened here, so Goku kept looking around the room at the dirty bed with
stained sheets, a broken chair in the corner and other furniture that had been
destroyed. There were small tubes of paint littering the dust-covered wood
floor, footprints and large sweeps in the filth that showed there had been a
serious struggle. Goku was sure it had been Sanzo. Spilt paint had been smeared
across the floor or was dried into the wood forever in large puddles and drops.
Goku didn’t like it at all, brushing his fingers across the surface
experimentally. The red paint didn’t look right, but Goku couldn’t really
figure out why. The whole room seemed strange, especially a large object to the
side of the bed that was carefully made to look like trash along with more
pieces of chair legs and table-ends. Goku went toward it and kicked some of the
junk out of the way, tilting his head at the thing.

Goku sniffed at the cloth draping over the large squarish
shape and couldn’t figure out what could possibly be underneath it. Without
another thought, he ripped the sheet off in a rush, the sound of cloth rasping
against his ears as the thing underneath was revealed. Goku didn’t even know
what to do for a moment with the sheet still clenched in his hand, forgotten in
horror until it dropped to the ground with a soft explosion that echoed in
Goku’s ears.

It was Sanzo. A painting, just like those nice old ones
in the monastery back home where Sanzo had lived, but this time it was done
with a funny smelling paint, thicker than the ink the monks used. It was a lot
more realistic too, as if Sanzo was still in the room but captured on the
canvas. Gojyo always told him that if you got your portrait painted, it could
steal your soul. This was enough to make Goku believe in it, recognizing Sanzo
beyond a single doubt even though it was nothing more than thick, creamy paint
that was still glistening wet. The priest was the only focus of the picture on
blood-stained sheets, his whole body twisted in agony when the blonde usually
didn’t even complain about an arrow hitting him in the side.

Goku dropped to his knees in front of it, scared to death
at the realistic scene in front of him. It was obviously done in this room with
the same wall, bed, and smashed dresser in the background. There were youkai
painted in as well, lurking in the background among the dark shadows to enjoy
the show. Sanzo was the only light thing in the picture, his pale body
completely bare except for the ropes that had been painted around his wrists to
secure the priest’s arms to the bed, blood glistening down from his arms and
legs and everything! style='mso-spacerun:yes'> Goku hadn’t ever seen Sanzo like this, his
profile tossed back in pain and teeth shining in a frozen scream. Lips that
were bruised, just like Gojyo’s when he had had a particularly hard night with
some of the women that he picked up. The artist had even put in the detail of
Sanzo’s tongue curling up in an agonized cry that Goku could half-hear even now
in the room. The normally sheet-white cheeks were flushed red and it was
obvious why from the half-formed erection trying to hide between Sanzo’s legs.

It hurt to even
look at, but Goku couldn’t turn his gaze away from the fearsome work, evidence
of what had happened that Hakkai and Gojyo wouldn’t tell him about. He style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>had to remember this: what had happened
to Sanzo down to every last glistening brush stroke, so he could be sure to pay
it back a hundred times over. Sanzo’s back was arched up in agony with the
sheets twisted underneath him on the bed he had been painted on. Even though
there were no youkai put in close to Sanzo, his legs were open with muscles
bulging in resistance, cuts and claw marks still bleeding freely down Sanzo’s
sides and legs. Goouldouldn’t help but glance at the painted image of Sanzo’s
groin, ashamed for looking and enraged that someone had even preserved Sanzo
like this forever with his mangled genitalia was painted in gross realistic
detail, even down to the bloody rends making a mess of Sanzo’s inner thighs.

Goku found his knees smashed against his eyes burning
with tears. They dripped down to hit the dried paint and blood smeared across
the floor; Goku not even sure when he had actually looked away from the
painting. He couldn’t stop sobbing, choking around tears and snot that ran out
of his nose and to his lips. There were no youkai here to take revenge on,
nothing to beat the shit out of. He
couldn’t imagine any human that would have been able to paint something like…
like that. It was Sanzo, with his
usually smart and calm purple eyes clenched shut so tightly in pain that Goku
thought the furrow between his brows might explode. The red chakra on Sanzo’s
forehead stood out more than anything else, brilliant red amongst the shining
oil paint as if to mock Sanzo’s title as High Priest, as a Buddhist, as a human
being.

Tears overwhelmed his vision and poured down his face to
blur the picture, but Goku scrubbed at wetnwetness with the back of his hand
and tried taking one deep breath to gain peace like Hakkai had told him to do
before. It didn’t work. Goku wanted to kill something, wanted to kill himself
for letting it happen. He couldn’t even get a proper revenge for Sanzo! All he
could do was cry before the horrible picture, too frightened to look again even
though it was burned into the back of his eyes and into his brain. How was he
ever going to forget that, thinking
of the time it must have taken to paint? Goku gritted his teeth, desperately
trying to not think about it. He
couldn’t stand the thought of someone using Sanzo like a live model for however
long it must have taken to paint that picture, even if it was for only instant.
Goku would find the artist and break every single goddamn finger before he
killed the bastard.

“So, you like my masterpiece?” asked a smooth voice from
behind Goku, making him swirl around to face the doorway. A youkai was leaning
there, unlike the usual crazy ones they found because he reeked of insanity. It was hard not to paw at his nose, but Goku
glared hard at the asshole, hard enough to make Sanzo proud as he studied every
aspect of this demon. Black hair that curled around his face and neck and
ice-cold blue eyes that made Goku doubt there was a single bit of sanity left
in the youkai. Even the pompous and proud grin revealed a full set of teeth,
sharpened to the exact measure of the harsh bite marks that had lined Sanzo’s
body from neck to toe. It wore an open shirt and loose pair of jeans as ifitatitating humans, lazy and languid with every movement as the demon walked
closer to Goku. Close enough for him to smell Sanzo on the youkai. Long black
hair and sharp blue eyes, reeking of paint and chemicals and… Sanzo. The
bastard hadn't even bothered to wash since he'd mauled Sanzo.

“What did you do to him? What
did you do to Sanzo?!” Goku barely managed to keep himself from yelling at the
youkai standing in front of him so calmly. The creature was fucking proud of the way he had completely degraded
Sanzo on that large canvas at Goku's back. He couldn't even stand looking at it
for a moment more; unable to see past the tunneling vision that this new youkai
had become the center of.   

“Sanzonzo,nzo,” the youkai muttered to himself, looking
off to the side as he tried to recall the name. Goku couldn't help taking a
step forward in all intent to tear the bastard limb from limb, not about to
deal with this sort of nonsense. How could he even pretend to not know?! The
youkai looked up at his movement, muscles becoming taunt and a strong fighting
aura filled the air, enough to make Goku's nostrils flare.

“Oh, Genjo Sanzo. You've
already looked at it, from your expression,” the youkai smiled, obviously proud
of the horrible act he had done. Not even a rabid animal would have hurt Sanzo
so badly, and this youkai had the audacity put it forever in acrylic. Goku
couldn't even speak back, just started shaking in restrained anger. It was his
duty to hear it all.

“Can't you see? I preserved him; a perfect masterpiece!” the
youkai ranted out in a deep and educated tone that would have put Hakkai to
shame. Goku didn't care right now, unable to see past the red that was starting
to tinge everything. Goku didn't turn around to look at the painting, wishing
that it would burst into flames in the next second. The youkai smirked at
Goku's face as it licked its lips suggestively or in pride. Goku was starting
to lose all sense of what it might be. He was just angry, almost numb with it.

“That Genjo Sanzo was beautiful enough to make me feel
satisfied. Shouldn't you be happy now? I don't feel the need to kill anymore,” the
nameless youkai grinned and shrugged as if he was announcing good news.

“What… do you mean?” Goku
choked out, only inches away from tearing out the fucker's throat without a
second thought. He had done something unspeakable to Sanzo, and had taken the
time and even watched it long enough to paint something that realistic. Goku
felt like throwing up. He felt like killing the youkai in front of him. His
head spun, bloodlust competing with that single thread of sanity.

He had to get revenge for
Sanzo.

“You haven't sensed them yet?
He wasn't the first one I painted like this, you know,” the youkai drawled,
flicking out his hand passively with fingertips stained black from inks and
harsh chemicals. Goku's eyes narrowed as he made two fists, digging his nails
into his palms. Pain could him him if he couldn't kill right now.

“The only way I can paint is
if it's suffering. The ultimate expression, the unattainable in any of those
pieces of junk they call art…” the youkai trailed off, raising his palms up to
the sky as if in palpation, unable to understand the world. Goku couldn't
understand how anyone, even a demon completely gone in his madness, could still
have enough intelligence to torture someone like that. Someone like Sanzo. He
understood now, realizing that the bad, uncomfortable feeling of death that
covered this forest was because of this youkai right here.

He had heard that a picture
could capture the person's soul, but all the hairs on his body went up on end.
He knew without a single doubt that this youkai was using his paintings to
capture the very spirit of former victims. They had all died; Goku was sure of
it. His breath became harder as he tried to imagine what it must be like for
Sanzo, who was much more sensitive to these sorts of things and still alive as
well. Goku wondered if Sanzo was the first, but he didn't doubt it. Sanzo would
never lose to a youkai like this, not like this.

“I've had hundreds; maybe even
thousands killed the same way, but nothing like your Genjo Sanzo. He was
special,” the youkai's voice turned passionate, husky enough to make Goku snarl
a warning out. Those unerring clear blue eyes flicked over, judging him and
dismissing in the next second. The bastard was more interested in looking at
his ‘masterpiece.'

“They're now my slaves,
keeping this forest perfect. You know what the secret is?” the youkisseissed
lowly as his started to walk closer to Goku. He stood his ground in front of
this insane artist, not about to flinch when he was about to hear the final bit
of this marked youkai's tale. Goku was going to kill him soon enough. He held
back from summoning the nyoi-bo right then and there by a hair's width when the
youkai passed him to stand much closer to his painting, his lips held over the
flat representation of Sanzo's own as if it was real. It looked close enough to
be.

“I use their blood for it,” the
youkai laughed, pressing his hand on the painting-Sanzo's bloody genitalia in
obvious ecstasy. Goku didn't even call the nyoi-bo forth, just went forward and
threw the black-haired bastard across the room, far away from that sick joke of
a piece of art. He wanted to tear it apart, but he wanted to do the same to the
youkai much, much, much more.

His next heartbeat felt like
it split the world apart.

The crumbling shambles of the
demon limiter crown sprinkled down in front of his face.

A thin, elegant man with long
blonde hair. Excruciatingly beautiful, worthy of him trying to protect.

A taller and rougher looking
short redhead in black leather with a tattoo in the middle of his forehead.

   Another with a
cigarette and glasses in a white laboratory suit.

The familiar bars in front of
him, caging him from the sun.

    Sanzo.

He started screaming. style='mso-special-character:line-break'>

*style='mso-tab-count:3'> *style='mso-tab-count:3'> *

Hakkai didn’t even have time to come to a full and
complete stop before Sanzo jumped out from his seat and landed on the snow in
the borrowed house slippers with the ease of a cat. Jeep finally stopped a few
feet ahead of Sanzo by the side of the snow-covered mansion, tires leaving two
sunken lines behind. Hakkai was undoing his seatbelt while Sanzo was already
headed for the main door, Gojyo growling in irritation in the back seat before jumping
out after the eerily silent blonde.

“You shitty monk! Wait up for one fucking second,” Gojyo
roared at Sanzo’s back as the thinner man ignored him. He reached behind his
back to pull the sutra out from his pants with one hand, the Maten Scripture falling
around the wet shoulders and looking more than a little out of place on a
priest dressed in too-large pajamas. The gun was drawn as well as Sanzo stepped
onto the wrap-around porch without even looking around like Hakkai had expected
him to. He would thought Sanzo would want to study what he couldn’t remember in
case it might jog his memory. Or, perhaps Sanzo hadn’t been lying when he had
angrily remarked that he did indeed know exactly what had happened. He was
handling it all very well then, considering.

Hakkai jumped out of Jeep and there was a bright light as
Hakuryuu squealed nervously, shifting back his usual dragon form. The wings
were rapidly flapping in concern, obviously able to tell Sanzo’s deadly intent
right now. Hakkai pointed up to the sky, sending him away before the little
dragon could get in trouble with any youkai they might come across in this
mansion, or if Sanzo finally got angry enough to shot the poor dragon. The
little white body shot up to the sky, hiding away as Hakkai followed after
Gojyo.

Sanzo kicked open the front door which was already
slightly ajar. Hakkai frowned, not sure if that meant Goku had beat them here
or if the youkai were simply too lazy to close the door. Gojyo tisked at the stench
of blood as Hakkai caugp top to them at the entrance, just in time to see
Sanzo’s expression spasm into pure fury as if he hadn’t already been angered
enough. The feeling of death was even stronger
this time, afflicting Hakkai’s senses to no end. He didn’t even want to imagine
what Sanzo might be going through.

“Damn it! Damn it,” Sanzo strangled out at the mess
greeting them, clearly not pleased at all. Youkai were rolling around on the
floor in various levels of a sound beating, lumps and damaged walls proof
enough that Goku had indeed been here before them. There were even small piles
of ash on the polished wood. Goku had been pretty upset to wreck this much
damage on so many demons at once. Some were still moaning pathetically on the
floor, spared the mercy of a quick death.

“Damn it!” Sanzo snarled out loud enough to make one
youkai perk its head up from underneath another dead body of a larger demon.
Sanzo’s arm shot out and without even looking, a bullet landed right between
the youkai’s eyes. Gojyo coughed at that as he brought out the shaku-jyo,
sensing that he might be needing it for either youkai or a bloodthirsty monk.
Hakkai acedaced, well aware that Sanzo was already quite close to snapping, but
with his injuries shouldn’t even be wandering around. He found himself hoping
that Sanzo might fall victim to one of those fainting spells soon, just so they
would be able to handle him. An unconscious High Priest was a whole lot easier
to take care of than one about ready to erupt.

“Hey!” Gojyo snapped out as Sanzo took off through the
corpses littering the common room to the hallway with an uncharacteristic burst
of speed. He pointed at the back of the blonde, looking to Hakkai as if hoping
someone else would recognize that Sanzo was ready to lose it. He nodded and
they both followed after the man. Hakkai hoped that Sanzo wouldn’t get into too
much trouble with the split-second head start he got.

There was an incoherent roar, definitely Goku’s e,
e,
but something was different. Sanzo slammed against the doorway of the last room
with the Smith and Wesson trained on the room with both hands wrapped around
the handle. Gojyo ran through the open door and swung the shaku-jyo around once
before suddenly dropping it with a look of utter horror. Hakkai slowed down
before Sanzo as the violet eyes stared on with unnerving calmness at what was
making Gojyo choke and turn his face from.

Hakkai didn’t want to look, but he knew. He knew very
well what was going on in there. It was Goku, but not the one that usually
stuffed his face and slept through even the worst of situations. Hakkai could
tell by another feral growl, the sound of tearing flesh, the powerful essence
flowing out from the room. Sanzo’s slippered feet moved across the room with a
silent grace as Hakkai threw an arm up against the wall, bracing himself as he
finally looked in on the scene.

Goku was straddled across the stomach of a youkai that
was surprisingly human-like for the degenerated bunch that had been strewn
across the floor. His hair was long, his ears pointed, huge claws covered with
blood as they tore across the chest of the captured demon. It was still able to
scream, howling as Goku laughed maniacally, clearly tortured the demon. Goku
wasn’t reasonable right now, wouldn’t be able to recognize Sanzo or the fact
that he had a gun to his face. He was Son Goku now, taking joy in butchering
the youkai before it bled to death.

Sanzo took one step away from the door, his eyes glancing
back at Gojyo. The man was senseless before a crumpled blanket, his eyes
fixated away from Goku. The monk took one step in before seeing what had
shocked Gojyo more than Goku in full demon form. One knee gave out, and
suddenly the priest’s hands were visibly shaking around the gun as he fell
heavily to the floor. Hakkai froze in the middle of going to pull Goku off the
demon, glancing back at the hunched over figure on the ground. Sanzo’s control,
never a solid thing to begin with, clearly was broken as one hand snaked up to
his other shoulder as if to hold himself together. Sanzo didn’t ever take that
kind of posture, not once as the
blonde head bowed in front of a huge canvas.

Hakkai finally looked away from Goku as well, thankful
that the smaller demon was currently entertained so he could have a minute of
complete and utter shock. There might as well of been two Sanzos in the room,
one fully clothed with a Smith and Wesson pressed between two bruised eyes, the
other frozen in paint. Hakkai felt his fingers go numb, too stunned at the
representation to even think coherently. He had gotten enough confirmation from
secretly bandaging Sanzo up, knowing that the damage bet the the thin man’s
legs would be kept as personal as possible. It hadn’t done much to hide the
fact from Gojyo, and after seeing this painting, it was clear that Goku knew as
well from the way blood was flying up from his hands. The youkai underneath him
choked, blood flying up in the air as it coughed out in agony.

The painting
might be more than Hakkai was ready to handle as well. There were no clear youkai
in it, nothing actually touching Sanzo, but it was clear that the artist had
simply removed all the perpetrators from the scene in order to capture him
completely. The detail went into the very finest shadows and lines, making
Hakkai wonder just how long the youkai had had Sanzo. Hakkai blanched at seeing
the man he respected, followed because of that admiration, tied to a bed by
both wrists obviously in the middle of being… raped. His back was bowed; one
set of toes curled in bloodstained sheets that looked to real to be one leg was up at an unnaturally level, clearly being
held by one of the invisible youkai thad dod done this to Sanzo in reale.
e.
It had all been painted from real life.

“Get the fuck
off him, you goddamn ape!” Sanzo roared out in the middle of Gojyo and Hakkai’s
shocked silence. His eyes were no longer closed as the Smith and Wesson trained
on the demon that was also their
friend. There was no sense in those golden, slitted eyes that turned around to
lazily regard the new prey. It was all Hakkai could do not to throw a blast of
chi at Goku out of self-defense for all the pure bloodlust in that gaze. Goku
shifted up to the balls of his feet; that simple movement packed with enough
power for Gojyo to snatch up his weapon from the floor again instinctively.

Apparently, that slight movement was also enough for
Sanzo to get a bullet through the eardrum of the youkai pinned underneath him.
Goku snarled, jerking back to his victim in shock as it died instantly from a
single shot. Hakkai wasn’t sure if it was out of mercy orauseause Sanzo had
wanted to kill the youkai after seeing that picture. Even if Sanzo did or
didn’t remember what had happened, knowing that there was this accurate
depiction of it all would be more than any normal person could take. Goku had
broken his youkai limiter because of it. Sanzo had just shot a youkai. Hakkai
hoped that it could be solved with that, but now there was no victim to hold
Goku’s attention.

Goku moved, one moment hunched over the dead youkai, then
in the next simply wasn’t there anymore. Hakkai felt the air move in the room
with the force of Goku’s speed, could sense a horrible killing aura, but
couldn’t even catch him with the bare eye as Sanzo suddenly jumped up from the
floor. He got his arm up in enough time to block a roundhouse kick with all
intent to knock his head off, but Sanzo was blown away to the side like nothing
more than a bug because of it. The gun fell to the ground with a loud clatter
as the blonde sailed through the air from the impossibly strong kick, in no
shape to defend himself right now.

Hakkai yelled out a warning far too late, his mouth way
behind the events actually happening. He tried to move forward to put himself
between Goku and Sanzo as the thinner man crumpled to the ground against the
wall with no signs of life, but Goku was already moving toward Sanzo again far
too quickly for Hakkai to catch up.

There was the metal whistling of the shaku-jyo’s chain
looping around Goku’s wrist just in time to jerk him away from slicing open
Sanzo’s slumped head in his rage. Gojyo grinned and nodded to Hakkai in a
silent signal to get Sanzo safe. They didn’t stand a chance of fighting Goku,
not if Sanzo was unconscious on the floor. Then, Gojyo had a single chance to
frown before Goku snapped his arm back and sent the taller man flying off his
feet toward him. The chain fell to the floor as it lost its usual grace and
Hakkai actually managed to get to Sanzo’s side before Gojyo was flying across
the room in the other direction. There was an explosion of rotten wood from the
taller man’s weight and dust flew up, covering the fact if Gojyo was dead or
simply unconscious. Either way, Hakkai didn’t see a single movement from the
man hidden behind the mess.

“You goddamn ape,” Sanzo growled in irritation, dragging
one knee underneath his body to support himself when Hakkai had been sure that
the priest was unconscious. There was no way he could even dream of being able to stand with all those injuries and after
taking a full blow from Goku in his true demon form. He put a hand on Sanzo’s
shoulder to hold the man down, but one bare hand shot up and gripped it with
bruising strength despite the raw scars on the knuckles. Lavender eyes snapped
up to glare at him companion when they should have been closed, then Sanzo
shoved him off with a violent jerk of his shoulder.

Sanzo thumbed down the safety and had a finger on the
trigger as he stood up before Hakkai, aiming at Goku without any hesitation.
Hakkai reached out to grab Sanzo’s other hand, hoping to stop this before
things could turn out any worse. Sanzo easily walked past the groping fingers,
striding forward prideful as Goku twisted at the waist to glare at the priest
balefully. Inhuman golden orbs swallowed him in a blood lust, simple and unrestrained
desire to kill hitting Hakkai hard enough to take his breath away even though
it was Sanzo that Goku was focusing on. How couldn’t he when the blonde was
making such a nice target of himself: white in the dark and rank room with the
dull glint of light on the Smith and Wesson in front of him?

“Goku!” Hakkai yelled out, jumping forward at the same
time as the smaller demon did, but so much slower that he might have been standing
still. Sanzo managed to get one shot off, but Goku’s hand gripped the wrist’s
outstretched arm and twisted it hard enough to make the gun drop to the floor.
Hakkai couldn’t even tell where the shot went to, just knew that he had to get
Goku away from Sanzo before the kid accidentally killed the most important
person in his life in his blind rage. Sanzo was in no shape to hold off Goku
right now, not in his full demon form, not after being bedridden only a few
nights ago, not after seeing that painting.

Sanzo let out a low moan before there was the audible
snap of the bones in his wrist breaking in Goku’s grasp. Then, a litany of
curses that Hakkai had never even heard before from Sanzo, strong enough to
make him blink and blush in embarrassment despite the situation. Goku grinned
wide enough to show off a set of large and pointed fangs like a cat enjoying
playing with a mouse before it ate it. Sanzo threw a punch with his free hand
and Goku tossed the blonde aside like a doll by his newly broken wrist. Sanzo’s
body ripped through the grotesquely large canvas, leaving only the edge of the canvas
hanging from one side of the wood frame and the other half with Sanzo’s
agonized face still safe. There was the crash of furniture breaking and dust
billowed up, making Hakkai very much doubt that Sanzo would be able to recover
this time.

Goku laughed and licked his lips, so focused on Sanzo
that he turned his back to Hakkai and started walking to where the monk had
landed. Hakkai took the chance and rushed, striking out at the back of Goku’s
head where it should have been a blind spot… And only barely brushed the unusually long hair as the shorter boy dropped
down to the ground as if Goku had only been waiting for him to get closer.
Hakkai crossed his arms up into a defensive position and tried jumping back,
catching and already blown back with the barest graze of Goku’s kick. He lost
his footing and choked; the damage still enough to hurt through the guard.
Hakkai hit the floor hard but was already scrambling up, far too many feet away
from Sanzo as Goku approached the partially destroyed painting. Hakkai wasn’t
going to make it in time.

There was the creaking of wood being moved and Hakkai
looked back to see if Gojyo was getting up. The redhead was still slumped in
the small hole his impact had a made in the wall, not even twitching. style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>It’s not possible… But Hakkai’s thoughts
were proven wrong as he looked back to see Sanzo starting to pick himself up
none-too steadily from the mess he’d fallen in. Sanzo lurched to life with
ripped clothes and blood on his face from a scratch on his temple, making
Hakkai hurt physically just to watch and
try to imagine what pain the priest must be going through with that on top of
old injuries just to stand upright.

Goku hesitated at that, a little bit wary now despite the
bloodlust filling the room, even able to fear Sanzo however slightly it was
just because the monk had managed to move after taking the brunt of his attack.
Sanzo looked fit to kill from the rage in his eyes as he glared through the
hole in the canvas with his dominant hanging uselessly at his side. He stepped
around it without taking his sight off Goku, who had gone suddenly still and
serious despite the dilated golden eyes and stench of youkai madness. Sanzo
raised up his good hand, blinking back once…

style='mso-spacerun:yes'> And
promptly started screaming at the canvas, at his own face that was painted in
enough realism to look like a horrendous reflection now. Sanzo didn’t crying
out in a raw insanity, tearing at his own hair with the unbroken hand. Hakkai
tried moving faster at that, not really sure how he would manage it but
determined to grab Sanzo and get him the hell away from this. But he was still
too late. He couldn’t get there in time before Goku took off toward the shocked
and shaky monk, ready to disembowel Sanzo just because he had shown the
slightest of weak spots. They couldn’t handle him right now; not Hakkai by
himself with the other two next to useless against Son Goku right now.

Hakkai could do nothing but watch as Goku threw one hand at
Sanzo’s stomach, nails extended cruelly to take out all life from the blonde. He
couldn’t fire off any sort of blast without endangering Sanzo now, all of his
chi attacks nullified because of their effectiveness. Sanzo didn’t even know
what danger he was in, hunched over and gasping weakly before the half-destroyed
painting. Goku laughed in victory and suddenly stopped short as the chain of
the shaku-jyo wrapped around his wrist, except this time Goku went flying back
before he even had a chance to pierce Sanzo’s skin. Gojyo grinned and coughed
at the other end of the weapon, clearly at the edge of his limits but not ready
to give up. Not when Sanzo was within seconds of being killed by style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>Goku. Hakkai wouldn’t let Goku hurt
Sanzo any more either, ready to fight despite the hopelessness. Even Sanzo
could barely hold his own against Goku completely gone in his rage.

That hadn’t changed at all. Goku snarled, obviously not
pleased that someone who should have been smart enough to stay down was now
actually challenging him head on. He simply twisted his arm and the shaku-jyo
fell to the floor as if had never hit him at all. Thankfully, Gojyo made
himself a new target for Goku and successfully lured him away from Sanzo.
Hakkai finished making the trip to Sanzo’s side as Goku went at Gojyo so fast
he disappeared from sight.

Hakkai couldn’t even understand why Sanzo was still
standing, his eyes locked onto his own painted face in such open horror that it
was amazing he wasn’t falling apart into tiny little pieces. Hakkai grabbed at
Sanzo’s good elbow in an attempt to pull the man’s hand away from his hair and
to get him on out of here, but he was roughly shaken off before he could even
try. Sanzo jumped away with an agility that belied his injuries apparent from
the bleeding tears in the borrowed pajamas, his fingers on the scripture that
was still miraculous around his shoulders. He couldn’t be thinking of using it
on Goku?

Still, it might be necessary as Goku was suddenly behind
Gojyo’s back and slammed a fist into the back of his neck. Gojyo dropped like a
stone, not providing Hakkai with time to get Sanzo out of there like he had
planned. Hakkai lunged forward, throwing himself between Sanzo and Goku before
either of them did something they both would regret. Goku didn’t even hesitate,
just moved around him like a bird of prey and toward Sanzo.

Hakkai turned, yelling out a warning when he knew Sanzo
wouldn’t be able do the whole mantra before Goku reached him. He lashed out at
Sanzo’s chest, claws making four red lines in their wake. Sanzo choked before
arching back, blood flying out worse than if it had been one of Hakkai’s worst
nightmares. Goku laughed at Sanzo’s wavering attempt to remain standing, blood
staining his face and arms up to his elbows.

Hakkai threw himself at Goku before he could wind back for
another attack. Sanzo certainly wouldn’t survive another blow, even if there
was a chance of him living through the first. He expected to take Goku off his
feet, knowing the boy’s weight still hadn’t changed despite taking off the
demon limiter. The power had indeed changed though, Hakkai’s arms wrapping
around Goku’s waist at the same time before Goku slammed his clasped fists down
into the small of his back.

He hit the floor with his vision spinning, Sanzo’s blood
dripping off Goku’s claws as he smirked down at Hakkai. He couldn’t moved, his
whole body stunned. It felt like his spine had been broken. His fingernails
splintered on the floor, but Hakkai couldn’t move as Goku went back to Sanzo as
the blonde slumped down to his knees. Hakkai could barely lift his head, Goku
impossibly tall from this angle as he raised back his claws.

“You dumb… ass… ape,” Sanzo coughed out, his eyes
narrowing at Goku before he gagged, blood flying out from his mouth to drip
down his chin. Goku had cut much deeper than Hakkai had thought at first if
Sanzo was bleeding internally… How could Sanzo even be able to talk right now?
He still looked arrogant and haughty despite the obvious death looking him
right in the face. Sanzo wasn’t one to show fear, not even able to cower in
front of being killed by his own friend.

Goku smirked, his claws coming together to make a fine
point. Hakkai screamed, unable to do anything else with his paralyzed body as
Son Goku’s own hand slammed through Sanzo’s chest. Goku laughed manically, not
even bothering to pull back as he enjoyed the moment. Hakkai would have never
guessed that Goku would be able to be this cruel, not like this. It was too
awful to even be real. Goku made a noise halfway between laughter and a snarl,
twisting his hand to make Sanzo jerk and spasm helplessly around the limb
buried into his body.

“That’s enough, you piece of shit,” came a distinctively
deep voice as bare feet with metal rings around the ankles appeared in front of
Hakkai’s nose. He looked up in disbelief at the backside of style='color:black'>Kanzeon Bosatsu, the lazy and flippant Goddess that usually
only watched. He would have never expected her to come down from the Heavens to
help them. Goku’s head snapped around as Sanzo fell back from his bloody hand,
hitting the floor hard. Hakkai choked, unable to move, unable to see if Sanzo
was dead yet. How could he not be?

style='mso-tab-count:1'> Goku swung around to strike out at
the abnormally tall woman, but she only lifted up a muscular arm and slammed a
palm into the middle of Goku’s forehead. He snarled and tried to swipe at
Kanzeon Bosatsu’s middle, but it was like watching a young child being held
back by a bully. His range was much too short to reach the Goddess, and no
matter how much his snarled or kicked out at her, Kanzeon Bosatsu wasn’t intimidated
in the least.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> “I was right in the middle of winning
against that damn Jiroushin, you little pest,”
Kanzeon Bosatsu growled out, light suddenly blossoming out from her hand. All
the hairs on Hakkai’s body went upright at the release of so much spiritual
injury and Goku went sailing back as if he’d been caught in the middle of an
explosion. He hit the wall hard, not as Son Goku but the familiar and
simpleminded boy he traveled with. A new demon limiter crown was back in place
around Goku’s head as he slumped down, unconscious after Kanzeon Bosatsu sealed
his power.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> “You punks can’t do a damn thing
right,” she growled out, settling down on her heels next to Sanzo’s bleeding
body. Hakkai couldn’t even speak, wondering if Sanzo was dead yet or not. The
Goddess didn’t looked pleased as she put hands on the priest’s body, her
bracelets chiming together serenely in the middle of the sickening wreck of
be
bedroom. Again, there was a light though much softer and… warmer than the last. Hakkai could only gape as the puddle of blood
spreading out from Sanzo’s back stopped suddenly. Kanzeon Bosatsu sniffed at
her work and picked the unconscious High Priest up from the floor by the back
of his neck as if Sanzo was a kitten. Hakkai twitched at that, starting to regain
a bit of control over his body again. How could the Goddess of Mercy be
throwing a dying man around like that? Or was it because Sanzo was already
dead?

style='mso-tab-count:1'> “Just what the fuck sort of messes
do you like to get into?” Kanzeon Bosatsu snapped at the blonde head as she
roughly pulled off the bloody and torn shirt and grabbed the sutra with her
other hand. The Goddess dropped the clothing to the ground along with Sanzo,
who grunted but didn’t open his eyes. Hakkai couldn’t even believe the
half-naked form; clean, unbroken skin, Sanzo’s chest perfectly healed as if
he’d never even been hurt in the first place. All signs of the previous beating
from the youkai were gone, along with what should have been a near-disemboweled
torso after what Goku had done.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> “You’re all such lucky bastards that
I’ve been wanting to get rid of this place for a few couple of decades now,”
Kanzeon Bosatsu grunted as she stretch out Sanzo’s Manten Scripture between her
hands. She didn’t even have to chant a mantra to bring out the powers of the
scroll, but one low syllable was enough to make the paper glow and flutter
between her fingers. Hakkai had to close his eyes before he was blinded by the
light of the sutra being released. There was an explosion that deafened his
ears as well as his spirit, strong enough to make his heart feel like it had
been stripped of a layer of old skin. He felt so refreshed that his skin
trembled, wondering at the sudden sensation of peacefulness that lapped over
him. It truly was Mercy, a blessed numbness that washed over every painful
memory. He couldn’t even think about the past that had hurt him so badly,
suddenly free.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> He wondered if any of the others
felt the same, unconscious as they were.

style='mso-tab-count:1'> “He never was special enough to
name, but a sick fuck anyways,” she growled out as she shook the long black
hair gathered up in a ponytail. “Too many victims that hung on to this place.
He kept them bound to the earth for too long,” the Goddess murmured, suddenly
serious as her voice dropped to an even deadlier bass than usual. Hakkai
realized that she meant the vague sense of death that lingered over this
forest, emanating from this abandoned mansion. He hadn’t been too sure of it;
not nearly as sensitive as Sanzo was to it. Hakkai couldn’t imagine what the
priest must have been feeling then, if the youkai had managed to hold back the
souls of all the innocents he had killed. Sanzo would have been feeling all of
their deaths, each individual pain and agony on top of his own.

“Was I
kidding myself when I thought you three worthless asses would be enough to
protect him?” she demanded relentless of Hakkai, swinging around to stare down
haughtily at him while he lay helpless on the floor. It obviously wasn’t a good
thing to have a major deity disappointed in you. She dropped the sutra to the
floor by Sanzo’s head before glancing down and realizing sad dad dropped the
monk face-first. Kanzeon kicked Sanzo over so that he was on his back, not even
moving despite his body being fully recovered now.

Hakkai bit
his lip, trying to shake off Goku’s hit and get off the floor but unable to.
Kanzeon Bosatsu put a hand on her hip, glaring hard at Hakkai as he struggled
to remain conscious. He couldn’t let anyone beat up on Sanzo, not even if it
was the Goddess of Mercy who had just jerked the monk from the verge of death.
Kanzeon Bosatsu barked out a warning, not really words so much as a grunt that
told Hakkai to clearly ‘stay down.’
Hakkai glared at her, fit to make Sanzo proud at all the anger and despise he
put into that look before her expression suddenly changed to one of humor. The
Goddess reached behind her back, making Hakkai wish his body could move enough
just to cringe at the thought of what she might do next.

Taking off
the ornate gold belt at her waist wasn’t what Hakkai had been expecting in the
least. Kanzeon Bosatsu sneered like any pervert as the sheen length of fabric
draped around her body unraveled to the floor, revealing the large breasts that
had barely been covered in the first place and an astoundingly huge penis. That
was enough to shock Hakkai up to his knees and get the rest of the damage from
Goku’s attack off. He tried to say something, failed to come up with words, and
could only stare as the… man? Woman?... draped the length of clothing over
Sanzo’s bare upper body.

“What… the
hell?” groaned a voice from behind. Hakkai twisted his head around to see Gojyo
standing up on two shaky knees, rubbing the back of his neck and looking more
than worse for wear. The now-naked Kanzeon Bosatsu ignored him, turning away
from them both to stalk closer to the tattered remains of the youkai’s
painting. There was silence as their mutual attention was brought back to the
obvious and stark proof of what had been done to Sanzo. Hakkai was silent;
words unable to cover it all. He was actually grateful that Sanzo was unconscious now, even more than the fact
that he was alive only by the grace of superior forces.

A
Hermaphrodite as a Goddess. Nothing was making any sense anymore.

“Trash,”
she… the Goddes- that was wrong too.
Kanzeon Bosatsu growled out at the remaining pieces of canvas strewn across the
floor and waving from the wood frame of the canvas. Gojyo staggered over to
Hakkai as he kneeled on the floor, obviously confused to if they should be
trying to run away from the Goddess or not right now. Hakkai wasn’t even sure
himself.

“Why… Why
the fuck are you showing up now?!”
Gojyo suddenly roared out, his hands clenching into fists. Kanzeon turned on
him with eyes wide at the audacity, but Gojyo didn’t even back down from her
gaze to grab a peek at the exposed and well-endowed chest or the much more
important genitalia.

“If you
actually went through all the damn trouble
of coming down from your fucking palace, why didn’t you come style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>before they did this?” Gojyo screamed,
furious and not about to curb any emotion even though he was in front of a
naked God. Kanzeon Bosatsu’s glare narrowed even further, and she stalked the
short distance up to Gojyo and buried a hand in his shirt to yank the tall man
up off his feet so that she could look him in the eye evenly.

“You think
you four are the only ones I’m watching over? I’m the Goddess of Mercy, you
fucking idiot. I take my eyes off you dumbasses for one moment, and you nearly
let him die! This was your duty, and
you failed,” Kanzeon Bosatsu hissed out, shaking Gojyo like a disobedient child
before letting him back on his feet. The look on Gojyo’s face was one of utter
shock, the unspoken truth hitting hard now that Kanzeon Bosatsu had finally
announced it out loud. Hakkai shuddered at the enormity of the knowledge and
guilt that he hadn’t been protecting Sanzo back when they were first at that
riverbank. Hakkai knew damn well that Sanzo could barely swim on his own and
should have been between the monk and the water, not dancing around with the
other youkai. It was his won fault for naively assuming Sanzo could take care
of himself when they had been so badly outnumbered.

“If you’ve
got enough energy to yell at me, then you should actually be of some use to him
when he wakes up and use this,”
Kanzeon Bosatsu snapped out as her hand suddenly slammed between Gojyo’s legs
and jerked, enough pressure applied to make Gojyo go red in the face as he
moved away to clutch at his groin. She smiled as Gojyo scrambled backwards defensively
to get some distance between the Goddess and his genitalia. Hakkai
instinctively jumped to his feet and was by Sanzo despite the dizziness that
almost threatened to take his consciousness. Even if it was Kanzeon Bosatsu,
there was no telling what she might do to Sanzo. She… He, Hakkai was harshly reminded as he looked down at the deity’s
groin one more time just to make sure it hadn’t been a hallucination, had
already kissed Sanzo once before, though it had been during a previous time
when she had saved Sanzo’s life. The priest had been resurrected enough times
to make a cat jealous.

“What the
hell is that supposed to mean?” Gojyo
yelped out in obvious embarrassment, trying to pull his hands away from his
hurting delicates but failing miserably as the redhead had to hunch back over
himself with the pain.

“You should
know damn well by now you’re only good for only thing, and he hasn’t ever had a
good time in his whole shitty life. At least this one,” Kanzeon Bosatsu grumbled out, making Hakkai raise his
eyebrows at that sentence. What exactly did the Goddess want Gojyo to do?
Hakkai grimaced at the obvious unsaid act of making love to Sanzo, thinking
that not even this bizarrely-gendered spiritual being would be insisting on two
people having sex. especially not two that so obviously hated each other
despite being forced into the same mission.

“I-“ Gojyo
started out, red in the face with anger now, but the Goddess had disappeared
into thin air. Hakkai and Gojyo looked at each other uncomfortably before
glancing away mutually, more than ready to leave the other to his own thoughts.
Hakkai certainly didn’t think he’d be able to have a conversation and fake a
smile right now, not at the same time.

“Why don’t
you get Goku, please?” Hakkai asked civilly, his hands shaking. He didn’t want
Gojyo to carry Sanzo now, didn’t want everything to become even more
complicated. Just what had Kanzeon Bosatsu done by demanding that Gojyo stick ‘style='mso-bidi-font-style:normal'>it’ to Sanzo when he had just been
brought back from the dead? Despite being healed on the outside, the injuries
were still fresh in Sanzo’s mind. Hakkai wondered how much of the fainting
spells had been because of the nasty concussion or because Sanzo had been
simply unable to cope with what had happened. Only time would be able to tell,
and Hakkai wanted nothing more than for them to get out of this mansion. It
still reeked of death, though only of youkai now.

“Just a
second,” Gojyo muttered a little bit shakily, almost looking relieved that
Hakkai had wanted to take care of Sanzo. The taller man went over to Goku who
was still slumped in a peaceful sleep on the other side of the room. Hakkai
looked back down at Sanzo, regretting everything that had happened, wanting
nothing more than for Sanzo to wake up so that he could apologize to the man
for failing him. Kanzeon Bosatsu had been right, utterly and absolutely correct
the whole time. Hakkai shook his head, reaching down to gather up to long wrap
s/he had left behind; and finding himself stunned to the core when he found Sanzo
clothed in his familiar robe with the black turtleneck and gloves peeking out
from the edges. Even the sutra was perfectly placed on his shoulders; making
Hakkai wonder just when the hell had this transformation taken place. He
supposed he shouldn’t be surprised, since they were dealing with a Goddess
here.

There was a
click to the side and Hakkai looked over to see Gojyo setting fire to the
remains of the canvas with his lighter. Hakkai said nothing as the oil slowly
lit and started to blacken before the fire began to eat away at the painting.
It wasn’t nearly fast enough as smoke started to drift up, destroying the
evidence of what had been done.

They both
watched in silence, neither moving as they watched it burn and begin to turn to
ash.

AUTHOR’S SINCERIST APOLOGIES!

It’s no excuse, but if anything will make you want to not
write, it’s

1)style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      Getting
in trouble with your landlady for the Halloween party (we had 200+ going in and
out, and only 142 signed the guest book. How rude!)

2)style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      Visiting
your family for the holidays *shudders*

3)style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>      Officially
having no beta-reader now for this.

So, I tried to re-read, but five buck says there are tons of
errors. If it really irritates you- point it out! PUUUUUHLEEASE. Only a few
select have done so (thank you, you elite reviewers-yas knows who yas are), and
it embarrasses me to think of all the grammar errors I missed. But, in order to
update faster- which I will do so now more often than in 2004, PROMISE, New
Year’s resolution, what-aver.