II

Goku had been saddled with the backpack. Hakuryuu couldn’t carry anything in his state... the dragon was in shock from bloodloss and obviously suffering from the wound and the heat. Hakkai had closed the cut, but it sprang open again as he walked, and red blood leaked down the front of his shirt.

So they’d stopped again as Hakkai tended to the dragon. Sanzo had discretely taken up position in the meager shade offered by a small rock outcrop, trying to grab a brief rest. Gojyo took one look at the dark shadows under his eyes and opted not to complain.

"How much further is it?" Goku asked, his voice loud in the silence. "I’m dying here! I’m getting blisters and my stomach is--"

"Oh just shut up already," Gojyo said wearily. "You lose more water when you whine."

"I’m not whining! I’m--" he paused as something hit him. "Huh? What’s this? And who threw it--"

"It’s a map. Please find out where we are," Hakkai said, from where he was crouched over Hakuryuu. The words were polite as ever, but anyone could hear fatigue and irritability in his voice.

Gojyo peered over his shoulder. "Well..."

"Hey, isn’t this something?" Goku’s finger hovered over a wavey line. The map was crude, hand-drawn and not entirely accurate. But there was definitely something there. "I think it’s a river!"

"A stream, probably," Gojyo seconded. "Pretty nearby. Maybe a few hours away..." he looked at Hakkai. "We’ll get there by nightfall. Think the little critter’s up to it?"

Hakkai nodded briefly in acknowledgement. "Which direction?"

"North."

"I hope you’re right about this."

*

They walked for hours, making terrible speed. The sand -- there was more of it now, a lot more -- slipped underfoot. The dust was everywhere, making eyes sting and water.

Sanzo was in the lead. If the hours of walking took their toll it didn’t show at all -- what he lacked in strength he made up in stubborn determination. Hakkai was next, head bent and shoulders hunched, trying to shield Hakuryuu from the worst of the wind and the heat. Gojyo and Goku came after, taking turns to squabble over the bag. But the insults had grown fewer and further between with each dune they crested. Now there was just the sound of the occasional gust of wind, and the shifting of sand over sand.

As the sky deepened to a patchy purple, hope of reaching the river before nightfall evaporated. They only stopped when Goku finally refused to take another step, just let his feet take root and stared out over the endless sand and rock. The bag fell from his shoulder to thump ungracefully onto the ground.

"What’s up with you?" Gojyo demanded, and Hakkai turned back. Sanzo paused and glanced backwards.

"I thought we should have reached it by now," he said, staring accusingly at Gojyo. "You said that we’d reach the river in a few hours."

"Yeah, so I didn’t think we’d be moving this slowly," Gojyo replied.

"So let’s just take a break," Goku said, flopping down beside the bag. "I’m tired of carrying this thing."

"We move on," Sanzo said, and the strain in his voice might have been from unacknowledged weariness or annoyance. Possibly both.

"I’m not moving another step until we get food," Goku shot back, resorting to petulance to hide his worry. Only the shift of his eyes to where Hakkai stood, swaying noticably, gave him away. Healing inevitably tired the man, and the relentless trek had likely drained him down to his last reserves.

Sanzo must have noticed, because he failed to pursue the matter. They stretched out on the sand, still warm from the day’s heat. Three were asleep in a matter of seconds.

It was pitch dark when Sanzo roused them, pitch dark and freezing. The dust obscured the stars, and the moon had set.

"It’s not even light yet," Gojyo mumbled. "How do you know which way you’re going?"

"This way," Sanzo said, without preamble, and turned and strode off. Hakkai followed wordlessly, leaving the other two stumble in their wake.

They’d taken about a dozen steps when they saw what he’d been aiming for -- on the horizon was a handful of shimmering lights.

"A village?" Gojyo asked.

"A village?" Goku said, leaping forward. "Food? Water? A bath?"

Hakkai brushed the hair out of his good eye, and ventured a smile. "They do look like dwellings. Shall we?"

And they pushed on, revitalized. As the first light of a new day broke in a shower of red and gold, they found themselves on the doorstep of the first of the houses.

*

It was brick, a sturdy affair that obviously had stood the test of time. Now they saw the stream, a thin trickle of water that ran behind the house. The ground was green with a scattering of plants in neat rows -- the inhabitants were evidently subsistence farmers. The only other buildings they could see were still far in the distance -- other farms further upstream and down.

Hakkai knocked -- it was generally accepted that he was their spokeman whenever one was required. "Excuse me...?"

There were hurried footsteps, and a corner of the curtain in a window shifted. There was more movement, rapid, unintelligible conversation. The sound of something falling over and a strangled curse.

"If it’s not too much trouble..."

The door creaked open, just a little. "Who is it?"

"Just four travellers. Our dragon was--"

But whoever it was behind the door wasn’t listening. There were more whispers and louder now : It’s them! The Sanzo-ikkou! It really is them! He’s as they said -- gold hair, chakra, sutra...

Sanzo sighed and rolled his eyes.

The door was flung open, and a boy who barely came up to Goku’s waist stood nervously in the doorway, shifting from one foot to the other. "Mummy-said-to-come-in-and-she’s-really-honored-to-have-you-as-guests" he blurted out in one breath, apparently adressing his feet. He couldn’t have been older than seven.

"Many thanks," Hakkai replied, with a friendly smile. The kid seemed to relax somewhat. "I hope we’re not imposing," Hakkai continued. "We don’t plan to stay long."

"Yeah, but we’re really hungry..." Goku supplied.

"I’ll-tell-mummy," the boy said, bobbing his head in what might have been a nervous bow. "Please-come-in." Then he turned and fled into the interior.

They stepped in, and the warmth was pleasant in contrast to the cold they’d just come out of. Hakkai shut the door behind them. It was smaller than it looked from the outside. Several futons were rolled up and stacked in a corner, and most of the room was taken up by a scarred wooden table. A single door led into another room, and they caught a glimpse of the kitchen through the doorway.

A pair of bright eyes appeared in said doorway. "Hi there," Gojyo said. The eyes widened, and there was a high pitched shriek, followed by the sound of something scampering quickly away.

"Not good with children, our kappa," Goku smirked.

"Your ugly mug probably scared her off."

"I’m terribly sorry," a new voice said. A woman appeared from the kitchen, dusting her hands off on her skirt. Gojyo started, and Sanzo glanced sharply at him. "Oh... nothing," Gojyo mumbled. "Just that... for a moment there, she looked like my mum." Except that her long hair was tied up neatly and functionally into a bun, and where his mother had been thin, almost fragile, this was evidently a woman used to hard work. Broad shoulders, muscled arms, a face of wrinkles and stern lines.

"We don’t often have guests, and the children are a little shy," she was saying. "Come out and say ‘hello’, dears."

The boy reappeared, trying to hide behind his mother, along with the owner of that pair of eyes, another boy, and much younger. "Hello" they whispered in the ghost of a voice.

"I’m Mei," their host introduced herself. "And ..." she looked a little flustered. "I didn’t expect to have Genjo Sanzo himself turn up on my doorstep... it really is a surprise..."

Sanzo nodded minutely in acknowledgement. His expression was unreadable.

"We apologize for intruding," Hakkai said, "But we’re in need of supplies, and one of our number was injured. If we could make use of that stream..."

"Injured?" Mei said, sounding shocked. "Which one of you? But all of you look to be in perfect health!"

"It’s our dragon, actually," Hakkai said, as Hakuryuu peeked out of his embrace and blinked groggily. "He took a nasty cut."

"Oh, I’ll get something to put on that right away," she said. "And as for the rest of you? Are you hungry? Thirsty?"

"Both!" Goku crowed, before anyone else could answer. "Starv--"

The rest of the words were lost in the thud of a descending paper fan. "Shut up and show some manners, ape," Sanzo growled.

"Hey... speak for yourself," Goku replied, nursing the bump on his head.

"Just make yourselves comfortable," Mei said. "I’ll be right back." Then she vanished.

"Well... whaddya know," Gojyo said, taking a chair and leaning back. "We made it after all."

One of the children -- the older one -- reappeared shortly with bandages and a damp towel. Mei came in shortly after them with food and pitcher of water. Clay mugs appeared from a rickety cupboard, and wooden plates, chipped and evidently well used. "Do help yourselves," Mei said, still radiating nervous energy. "Are you comfortable, Sanzo-sama?"

Sanzo looked at her. "Are you the only one working on this farm?"

"Ever since my husband died a few years ago," she nodded.

"It must be hard, supporting two young children," Sanzo said, with what might have been a touch of sympathy.

"Well..." an apprehensive smile. "We get along."

Sanzo nodded. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Oh, no need for thanks," Mei said hurriedly. "And ... sir--"

"--Hakkai," Hakkai supplied.

"Hakkai-san... I have this little poultice that we use whenever someone gets hurt bad. Works like a charm, it does, especially with all the dust from the desert..."

"Thank you, but a bandage will be sufficient," Hakkai returned with a smile. "It’s not very deep, and what works on humans may not work on dragons..."

"Oh, I’d not thought of that. How silly of me."

"Could we have something to eat? Please?" Goku begged, as his stomach seconded the notion with an audible rumble. "I think I’m going to wither away and die..."

"Of course," Mei turned back, looking flustered. "I’ll cook up something right away..."

"How’s the little squirt?" Gojyo asked, as their host left them.

"I don’t think he’ll be able to use this wing for a while," Hakkai replied, with a slight frown. "I’ll just bandage it up really tight and it should heal on its own, but we might have to walk for a bit. It’s a pity, because I doubt that we can find room to stay around here. They have problems enough looking after their own without looking after us as well."

"...Besides," Sanzo added softly, "She’s lying."

All eyes turned to him. Sanzo glanced significantly across the room to where the futons lay.

"What..." Hakkai started to ask, then it hit him.

There were four futons, and none of them had acquired a coating of dust that seemed to settle over every object that stayed stationary for any period of time.

"Oh come on, bouzu... aren’t you jumping to conclusions here?" Gojyo asked. "Maybe one of the neighbours came for a sleep over... you know, or something... Or maybe one of the kids wants an extra mat... Maybe they just dust those things off really well..."

Sanzo shrugged. "Believe what you will."

"Paranoid old monk," Gojyo muttered, helping himself to the water.

"Whatever the case, we move by nightfall," Sanzo told them.

--

A/N :

The point of the story isn’t clear yet. But it will be in subsequent chapters. Just as a hint, though, I rarely choose titles that have no relation to the plot ^_^. (And guesses begin to fly in the background...)

Now I have a choice. I can make this angsty, or I can make it *really* angsty. ...^_^ Any opinions?