It was two hours past moonrise when Sanzo called a halt to their search so they could rest.  They'd gone maybe five kilometers down river, and there had been no sign at all of Hakkai.  Now that the sun had gone down, the air was getting colder.  Gojyo even thought he'd seen his breath misting once or twice.  What lousy luck.  He should be holed up at a roadside inn, with a hot meal and a cold beer and a place to prop his feet up in front of a roaring fire.  Not wandering around on the side of a god-forsaken mountain, freezing his ass off.  Dammit, Hakkai, where the hell are you?  He crouched on the bank of the river, glowering out at the turbulent water.  He hated this.  Hated the searching, the not-knowing, hated the heavy feeling in his chest that was growing worse by the minute...the hollow lump of misery that told him that, when and if they found Hakkai, they would only find an empty shell, and not a living, breathing person.

So he fought that cold, unpleasant feeling the only way he could.  With anger.  You'd better be alive when we find you, you stupid idiot.  Nobody else but me can drive worth shit, and I don't plan on spending the rest of this journey as some goddamn chauffer.  Bad enough, sharing the backseat with the monkey on this little trip.  To have to sit in the drivers seat next to the mighty Sanzo-sama all day would be more than I could stand. He shifted, and heard the sound of sliding stone underneath him as the river-smoothed rocks moved and then came to rest.  Nothing answered him, in the darkness.  He stared at the river, his thoughts turning bitter, You owe me, dammit.  You owe it to me to see this journey through to the end.  I won't let you back out of it so easily.

Gojyo reached into the pocket of his leather jacket, fishing around until his fingers closed over a bundled handkerchief that wrapped a small silver band. He'd claimed the right to hang on to Hakkai's ear cuff, and nobody else had argued.  Gojyo still didn't understand why Sanzo hadn't objected, but the monk had only said, "Don't lose it," before turning away.

Don't lose it.  Like it was going to matter, since they only had one out of three. 

Gojyo was trying very hard not to think about that.  Because finding a lifeless Hakkai would be bad...but the other alternative could be even worse.  Hakkai might have gone berserk already from prolonged exposure to the Minus Wave, without limiters to deflect the worst of its effects.  The half-youkai's hand knotted around the piece of cloth in his pocket.  Sanzo was responsible for the three of them.  He was supposed to make sure they made it through to their destination with their sanity intact.  And if they didn't, well...he was the one who was supposed to fix it.  There was no way that the monk could leave a youkai as strong as Hakkai free to rampage with the all the rest of the demons in Tougenkyou.  Not even if he were injured and already dying on his own.

I hope to hell he's been brushing up on that little 'create a demon power limiter out of thin air' trick.  I hope to hell he can use that trick on youkai other than Goku.

Ch.  This was pointless.  Thinking too hard would only make him go bald.  He'd start to loose his hair like Sanzo, and who wanted that?  He tried to laugh, but the old joke just wasn't funny when there was no one else to share it with. Gojyo gave up in disgust, stood up from the riverbank, and strode back into the trees in the direction the others had gone.

Goku had found a spot for them to rest, back about 30 meters from the water, where they could settle for a while away from flying eyes that might patrol the river at night.  The canopy of branches over the small hollow was thick enough that they shouldn't be getting any visitors from above.  They hadn't seen any more of the bat-winged youkai since the battle on the cliff, but Gojyo knew better than to assume that they were gone for good.  Gyuumao's followers never knew when to quit.

Gojyo settled himself on top of an outcropping of rock that lined one side of the hollow, lighting up a badly needed cigarette.  Goku had perched on a half-rotting log, while Sanzo sat on the ground with his back against a tree.  The torn sleeve of the monk's robe was streaked with blood from the wound he'd taken in the fight.  All of the moving around that he'd been doing had stained the bandages again.  His arm probably needed re-wrapping, but they'd run out of cloth to re-bandage it with. 

Damn Jeep anyway, for taking off when they needed him.  He had all of their supplies--locked in whatever extra-dimensional space they went into that kept them from being scattered all over the ground each time their mode of transportation decided to turn into his pint-sized form.  No more first aid supplies, no canteens or tents, and worst of all, no food.  The monkey was going to start complaining about it any minute now.

"Sanzo, I'm hun...."

"Shut up."  It must be the years of practice, that made the response as automatic as breathing.  "Make yourself useful and go get some firewood." 

With a long-suffering sigh, Goku got up from the place he was sitting and stumped off into the woods. 

Gojyo was silent a moment.  "Is that really a good idea?  It'll be a nice beacon if those damn vampire bats come back."

"Let them come."  The yellow-orange flare from a lighter momentarily washed over Sanzo's expressionless features as he lit up a cigarette.  "It'll get colder before it gets warmer, and our cloaks have flown off with everything else."

Like he needed to be reminded.  Stupid dragon.  Gojyo propped his forearms on his knees and took a drag of his cigarette.  He blew out a long breath of smoke into the night air.  "So, how long are we going to look?" he asked, trying hard to make it sound like he didn't really care.   

He couldn't see Sanzo very well, sitting as he was under the shadow of the trees.  "Until we find him," the monk said simply.  "...Or until we're sure that he's dead."  Sanzo's composure never wavered; there was only certainty in his voice.  He knew his duty, and would do whatever it took to accomplish it.  Damn him anyway.  Gojyo would have liked to believe that this situation was as hard on him as it was on any of them.  But who could tell what when on inside that blond head of his?  Probably better not to know.  Gojyo closed his eyes, listening to the sound of the river, and the wind through the trees.  Damn, but he needed a drink.

The monkey took his sweet time coming back.  Gojyo was on his fifth cigarette when Goku finally re-appeared through the trees.  His gold eyes burned with excitement, and his arms were suspiciously empty of firewood.  "Sanzo, somebody lives over that way," he pointed off into the trees in the direction from which he had come.  "There's a cabin over there all by itself, with a fire burning, and food."

Sanzo got to his feet.  "Did anybody see you?" he asked harshly.

"No, of course not.  It's not like I went up and knocked on the door or anything.  But somebody definitely was home."  Goku's expression went a little dreamy.  "It smelled really good.  Please can we go and ask them for some food?  Please?  Please?"

"Stupid monkey." Gojyo growled.  "It’s a cabin, not an inn.  Regular people don't take credit cards."

"Regular people don't live out here in the middle of nowhere, either," Sanzo said darkly.  "So far we've seen a bunch of demons and no humans.  The place probably belongs to youkai."

"But Sanzo, there was food...."

"Be quiet for two seconds," the monk growled.  "I can't even hear myself think."

"I hate to bring this up," Gojyo put in quietly.  "But we've come down the river quite a ways without finding anything.  If there really is somebody living there, we ought to go take a look.  Just in case.  Just in case they might have found what we're looking for."

"Hnh."  Sanzo was silent a moment.  "At any rate, we can't rest here if there's a nest of youkai nearby.  We'll have to go and check it out."

Goku led them back into the forest for maybe a half of a kilometer.  The place was well hidden, back against the lee side of a steep rock face, with a thick ring of screening trees and underbrush to hide it.  Gojyo was surprised that Goku had ever found it--then he remembered that there was food involved, and suddenly it didn't seem like such an amazing feat after all.  The wooden structure was pretty small, probably only one or two rooms, with a large shed up against one side.  Dim orange light flickered through chinks in the closed shutters.  The faint scent of wood smoke hung in the air.

"It's pretty small for a youkai nest," Gojyo murmured, crouching beside Sanzo in the brush.  "You couldn't fit more than two or three people in that place without them tripping over each other."

Goku looked over attentively.  "Do you want me to go look inside?  It wouldn't be too hard to sneak up to one of those windows."

Sanzo studied the layout of the area around the cabin for a moment.  "Go ahead."  He looked at Gojyo.  "You go with him, but stay back a ways.  I'll be by the door."

"Right."  Gojyo let Goku go first, then stepped out of cover with Sanzo, the two of them splitting off in different directions.

They had gone maybe five steps when Gojyo heard a tiny sound, a sound that made the hackles on the back of his neck start to rise.  It was the click of a safety coming off of an unfamiliar gun.  A sideways glance told him that Sanzo's silver Smith & Wesson was already leveled at the trees to their right.  The monk was so fast that Gojyo hadn't even seen him move.  "I'd suggest," Sanzo said in a dangerous voice, "that you put down your weapon and come out where we can see you."

"I can already see you," the words floated back from the underbrush beneath the trees.  The tone of that male voice was light, conversational.  "And since you happen to be on my property, I suggest that you're the one who puts down the gun."

If Gojyo squinted, he could just catch a tiny glimpse of motion, a dark shadow standing behind one of the trees.  The long, slim barrel of a shotgun rested against the bark.  The moonlight didn't reflect off the metal, it looked like it had been coated with some sort of weapons black to keep it from catching the light.  The end of the rifle was pointing at the center of Sanzo's chest.

Sanzo never backed down from a threat.  He simply stood there, cool as ice, his gun pointed unerringly at the small target visible around the trunk of the tree, making it patently clear that he didn't intend to give an inch.  But the other waited just as patiently in the thickening silence, his lack of a response effectively locking them together in a stalemate. 

"Sanzo...." Goku began nervously.

"Shut up," the monk spoke in an undertone, his voice barely carrying to where Goku stood.  "Stay there, and don't move."

"Sanzo?"  The person standing behind the tree spoke up unexpectedly.  The tone was mildly puzzled.  "Sanzo...sanzo...." He sounded as if he were trying to place the word.  Then he drew in a startled breath.  "As in...a priest?"

Sanzo hissed at Goku.  "Oh, nice job, idiot."

The barrel of the shotgun rose, pointing harmlessly up towards the sky, then the gun lowered until the stock rested against the ground.  Its owner stepped forward, into the moonlight, and gave a very polite bow.  The stranger was tall, and probably in his thirties, with long dark hair caught behind his head in a ponytail, and a beard.  He was wearing a fur-lined heavy-duty jacket, all in dark colors that blended well with the shadows.  Human, not youkai.  ...At least, Gojyo didn't see any jewelry that might serve as a demon power limiter.  "M...my apologies, Revered Priest," the man said.  "I didn't recognize your robes.  We don't...we don't get many holy men traveling way out here."

Sanzo slid his gun back into the folds of his robe, his lips pressed into a flat line.  He looked more upset now than he had when the gun had been pointing at him.  "...And you are?"

"My name is Wei.  I'm a hunter and a trapper in these parts."  He straightened up from his bow, and gestured at the cabin.  "As I said, this piece of land is my property.  Please forgive my rude welcome.  There are many creatures out here that aren't very friendly to humans."

"Heh." Gojyo grinned fiercely.  "None of us have wings, if that's what you mean,"

"Ah.  You must have met the mountain variety of youkai that populates this area.  Well.  Not all youkai have wings."  Was it Gojyo's imagination, or did the trapper glance over a Goku for a moment before fixing his attention back on Sanzo.  "If I can be of any service to you, I'd be honored."

Sanzo was quiet for a long moment.  When he spoke, his voice was heavy with reluctance.  "We were attacked on the road earlier, and one of our traveling companions is missing. We think he might have been swept downstream by the river."

"The river?"  Wei shook his head.  "I didn't go out that way today."  It looked, in the moonlight, as if his expression had suddenly turned grim.  "Youkai often ambush people who travel the road.  I find bodies sometimes, along the riverbanks.  But I've never yet found someone who was alive.  Sorry I can't give you better news."  Wei slung the shotgun over his shoulder.  No, not just a shotgun.  Now that he could get a better look at it, Gojyo saw with some surprise that it was a tranquilizer gun.  What kind of hunter shoots things with a fucking tranquilizer gun??  But Wei was already speaking again, bowing to Sanzo, much to the monk's evident disgust.  "Please accept my hospitality, Holy One.  There's not much space, and I don't have many extra blankets, but there's plenty of food and a warm fire, better than staying out here in the cold."

"Ah," Goku drooled.  "Food...."

Sanzo looked tempted to refuse.  But Gojyo knew that with his injury, the monk needed food and rest more than any of them.  This opportunity was too good to pass up.  He chimed in quickly before Sanzo could say anything stupid. "That'd be great," As the monk leveled a glare in his direction, Gojyo smiled blithely past him and added cheerfully, "Thanks a bunch."

Wei bowed, and led the way over to the cabin.  Goku followed practically at his heels, gold eyes shining with eagerness at the prospect of food and warmth. Sanzo walked farther back, sulking.  Nope, Gojyo corrected, as he intercepted a backwards glare.  Make that seething.  Too bad.  Gojyo let himself trail behind, then stopped altogether as the monk disappeared into the cabin.  The half-youkai lit up a cigarette with automatic, unthinking motions as he turned to look out at the trees in the direction of the river.  The cold lump in his chest had gotten worse.  He wondered how long it would be before it took over completely. 

Hakkai was still out there somewhere.  Odds were he was already dead, that he had died on impact after he'd been dropped from the cliff.  Gojyo knew that.  He'd been telling himself that for most of the evening.  He also knew that if the fall hadn't killed Hakkai, it had probably been the river currents, or the rapids, or the cold, or any one of a number of other things he hadn't even thought about yet.  Added to that was the man's own damningly skewed sense of self-worth.  It had improved after the incident with Chin Isou, but there were times Gojyo suspected that some shadow of a death wish still lurked somewhere in the back of that complicated mind.  The man was too damn good at self-sacrifice for it to have vanished completely. 

Gojyo was almost certain he was dead. 

Almost. 

Hope was a stubborn, irrational thing.  It forced a person to make stubborn, irrational choices.  Like refusing to stand by and do nothing if there was still a chance, no matter how small, no matter how unlikely that chance might be.  It pushed a person to act...especially when that chance might be gone by morning.

Gojyo cursed softly under his breath.  He ground out his cigarette under the heel of his boot with slow, deliberate motions.  Then he took one last look over his shoulder at the cabin, and walked off alone into the night.

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