-Backwash-

They had lost.

Again.

They had taken a serious beating.

Again.

Their enemy had swept the floor with them.

Again.

The stranger had not tried to steal the sutra, or to kill them. He just had humiliated them to the bone and left them in shambles. No reason, no answers, no nothing. Not even a threat to come back and finish the job he had started.

That was new.

A knock at the door startled Sanzo and he reached for his Smith & Wesson. But it was only the maid, bringing new bandages and the light lunch he had requested. "Thanks."

"Are your friends doing any better?"

"Do my companions look like they are doing an better?"

She reeled back from his snide reply, hastily retreating to the door. "It was a long night keeping watch, and now it's afternoon already. Maybe you should rest a bit yourself, Sir."

Sanzo just shook his head, not really interested in what she had to say in the first place. She closed the door, and once more he was alone with his worthless assembly of godess-chosen fighters. "Kyuu!"

'Add in a dragon,' Sanzo thought, glad that at least their means of transportation was unharmed. He looked for the plate of raw meat to feed Jeep, placed it on the table and the small creature dug in. With no real hunger, Sanzo emptied the bowl of soup that was on the tray. Friends. He contemplated the concept for a moment. Had they become friends somewhere along the countless miles travelled together? But he couldn't be friends with any of them even if he chose to lower himself to their level, because friends meant he was attached, attachment was wrong, and attachment to idiots was outright stupid.

'Friends, huh?'

Gojyo shivered in his fever induced dreams, mumbled incoherent things as he lied flat on his stomach, his back a bloody, infected mess. Goku had burned with fever when Sanzo had replaced the limiter, but now he was sleeping peaceful. Hakkai was sleeping as well, exhausted from the fight, ill-fated attempts to heal the idiot kappa and worrying over the stupid monkey.

The result of yet another unsuccessful day of travelling to the west had left Genjyo Sanzo craving for a cigarette and sleep. But he couldn't succumb to either of his desires just yet. Hakkai had insisted that the room was a no-smoking area as long as Gojyo's infection wasn't under control, and Sanzo was not willing to leave them like sitting ducks all alone just to have a smoke. With all of his companions more or less incapacitated at the moment, he was left on his own devices to defend his life. Besides, he was out of his favourite Marlboro Red anyway, and hell had to freeze over before he'd smoke Gojyo's brand again. The doctor would come in the evening, the inn keeper had said. But Sanzo didn't need a doctor to tell that they wouldn't go anywhere for a few days.

'Great. Wonderful. Just another shitty obstacle on this shitty journey. What else is new?'

Gojyo's blanket slid to the ground and distracted Sanzo from his disgruntled thoughts. With a sigh, he got up from his uncomfortable chair and bend down to pick up the cloth. Pain shot through his abdomen, mixed with nausea and made him gasp sharply, an unwelcome reminder that he hadn't escaped the ordeal unscathed. Gojyo tossed, eyelids fluttered, but the feverish half-demon didn't wake. Carefully, Sanzo wrapped a new set of cold compresses around sweat covered calves, to keep the younger man's temperature below the dangerous level. The compress on Gojyo's forehead was getting warm, too, so he soaked it in the bowl of ice water that sat on the table and put it back in place.

'Stupid bastard. He's nothing but trouble.'

On the futon next to Hakkai's bed, Goku mumbled something in his sleep. Sanzo grimaced. Probably dreaming of food again. Fool. But the ape had hardly moved since last evening, and his pale skin looked almost transparent where it should be healthy and tanned. It wasn't supposed to be like this, not with Goku. Goku recovered faster than any of them, bounced back from grave injuries in the blink of an eye. Well, it took him a bit longer than that, but the ape healed at an amazing speed. Usually. Somehow, the uneasy feeling that lingered in the pit of his stomach and heralded disaster gained more momentum and Sanzo found himself on the brink of actually worrying.

'Shit. I am worried.'

Regrettably, worry didn't solve the mystery behind the attack, or answer the nagging question if the unknown enemy would return. Chances were that they hadn't seen the last of him. Goku had lost to the stranger, and nothing in the arsenal of Gojyo, Hakkai or himself was up to par with the the stranger's powers. Maybe teamwork could do the trick, but for that he needed his 'team' to be up and running - well, awake would do nicely right now. Unfortunately, this wouldn't be the case for at least another few hours, and until then Sanzo was stuck on being nurse and maid for these brainless fools.

Sanzo stared at the remaining food on the tray. Rice, some vegetables in what could be some soy sauce, steamed chicken. He still wasn't hungry, but he couldn't afford to lose any more strength. Without much enthusiasm, Sanzo shoved some rice and sauce into an empty bowl, stirred his meal with his chop sticks and ate. The mixture of rice and sauce glued itself to the back of his mouth, making him gag. The swill that arrogantly called itself tea rinsed the sticky substance down his throat, and when the mass reached his stomach, it churned so badly that he almost threw up.

After five unpleasant minutes, Sanzo had finally recovered enough to add the inn's cook to his long death list. With a low growl, he pushed the bowls back to the tray, decided to let food be food and force Hakkai to cook something edible later on.

The waiting was always the worst when dealing with the sick and wounded. Nothing to do but repeat the same movements again and again, fighting fever, replacing blood and puss soaked bandages, feeding liquid into barely conscious bodies. The only positive thing was that this time he wasn't on the supplying end of the waiting chain, which meant that for a change it wasn't him who slowed down their progress towards the west. So he sat guard over his more or less quietly resting comrades while outside the world continued to turn, wondering why he bothered at all.

The minutes limped along with unbearable slowness. Nothing happened, and Goku still was asleep. Stupid ape, missing dinner, breakfast and lunch he would be a pain in the butt whining bout food the moment he opened his eye. Just a few more hours, and Goku would miss another dinner - the sun would set soon. Sanzo's eyes drooped as his thoughts travelled unchecked along their own mysterious paths, his tiredness winning over the stubborn need to stay in control of the situation.

Sanzo shrieked back to wakefulness when his head landed unceremoniously on the table. Confused, he looked around, embarrassed that he had dozed off in the first place. His embarrassment turned into cold fear when he realized that he must've dozed off for more than just a few minutes, because the sun had almost disappeared behind the horizon. Gojyo obviously had tried to get up by himself, because he lay sprawled on the floor half way to the door.

'Damn. I didn't even notice.'

Neither Hakkai or Goku had woken up. And still no sign of the doctor.

"Shit."

Sanzo wound himself from his uncomfortable sleeping position. His bladder requested to be emptied, but that had to wait.

'First things first... and that would be the idiot kappa.'

Gojyo was tall and heavy, and by the time he had finally managed to lift him to a standing position, Sanzo was drenched in sweat.

"Go... have... a... piss," Gojyo slurred, owlishly blinking at Sanzo, who only rolled his eyes in annoyance. There were a few things that he really wasn't keen to do, and dragging a barely conscious pervert to the toilet ranked somewhere on the top of his list.

A few minutes later, the deed was done, and Sanzo helped Gojyo to pull up his pants. "Tell anyone, and I'll shoot your balls off."

If Gojyo had heard the threat, he didn't react to it. Eyes half hooded, with a feverish hue highlightening his otherwise stark white face, there was no say if the half-demon was really awake or just sleep walking. It was an awkward situation in any case, and Sanzo knew he didn't want to repeat this particular performance any time soon. When he had finally managed to haul Gojyo back to the bed in their room, Sanzo felt like he had run the mile, and he sagged down on the chair at the table again. "Damn it, Hakkai... wake up already."

"I'm awake."

Surprised, Sanzo scrambled to his feet, fearing for a second that he had fallen prey to hallucination. But Hakkai was indeed sitting up in his bed, smiling his usual pleasant smile. For an instant, relief flooded Sanzo's system. The knowledge that he wasn't on his own any longer was strangely calming to his strained nerves. The moment passed and Sanzo's more practical and cynical side took over. "Don't act so damn smug. Nursing injured people is your job."

"It won't hurt you to show the occasional care in your 'companions'," Hakkai said.

"How long are you awake, exactly?"

"If you want to imply that I stayed on my back while Gojyo lay collapsed on the floor... I'm afraid I just woke up briefly when the maid brought your food, and now when you created a ruckus just a few minutes ago. That's all."

Hakkai's smile was still there, but his tone told Sanzo that he better chose his next words carefully. "I'm not implying anything, and your manners are getting worse again."

Hakkai tensed, took in a deep breath and then let out a short, unpleasant laugh. With the same false laugh in his voice, he said: "I'm sorry. You're right, nursing injured people is my job in our group, and there are plenty of them, aren't there?"

The healer swung his long legs over the edge of his bed and got up, but Sanzo could tell that he was still lacking his usual spring. The drain on his life force had been worse than expected, it seemed, and Hakkai had been unconscious for quite a while during the fight.

"I'm going to heal Gojyo's wounds again now, and after the doctor sees to him."

A soft green glow filled the room. When it diminished, nothing seemed to have changed, but Sanzo knew that this kind of treatment needed time to show effects. Closing wounds and blood vessels was one thing, but fighting infections worked on a completely different level. Hakkai completed his administrations by replacing Gojyo's cold compresses, a slight, worried frown on his face.

"Gojyo's doing better than last night. I think his fever's slowly going down. Has Goku woken up at all?"

Sanzo shook his head, and Hakkai's frown deepened. "Is that bad?"

"I'm not sure. There seems to be some structural problem in the flow of his life force..."

"He just exhausted."

Hakkai closed his eyes, concentrated and ran his hands over Goku's sleeping form. After what seemed like a life time, he finished his examination and shot Sanzo a grave look. "No, this goes beyond simple exhaustion. His body seems to be burned out - like a car battery that took frost and doesn't recharge any more."

Burned out. A candle that would give light no more. Cold darkness where there had once been a warm glow. The thought alone sent a chill down Sanzo's spine. "Goku isn't a car battery."

'If I could heal him, I would,' Hakkai's eyes said. "My diagnosis is probably false, the doctor sure can tell more. Maybe Goku really just needs a bit more rest."

"I don't care. I'll dump the stupid ape in the cold shower if he doesn't wake up soon."

"You could just say you're worried, you know."

"I'm not worried."

"Of course." Hakkai smiled. "You're simply out of cigarettes and can't be bothered to fetch them yourself, right?"

"Exactly," Sanzo snapped.

Hakkai spent the next twenty minutes cleaning Gojyo's wounds. "This really looks better. A few more days, and he should be his charming old self again."

"I could do without his charming old self," Sanzo commented sourly, sipping coffee from a thick, blue mug. "His constant womanizing is getting us into trouble every time."

"Very true. But then, Gojyo attracts trouble even when he's just sitting in the back of the jeep doing nothing."

Sanzo smirked. The smoke-free environment did nothing for his nicotine-craving nerves. "Sitting in the back of the jeep pretending to do nothing."

"Some meditation would work miracles on your blood pressure."

"My blood pressure is perfectly fine," Sanzo grumbled. "Besides, the idiot kappa's creating problems, not attracting them."

"Not... nice... talkin'... 'bout me... when I'm down." Gojyo's voice was rough with pain, exhaustion and sickness.

"Look who's awake," Sanzo put as much friendliness into his tone as he could muster. "The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Hakkai finished his work and shot Gojyo an encouraging smile. "Don't mind him, Gojyo. He's just grumpy."

Gojyo rested his head on his arms, his red eyes still feverish but a bit clearer than they had been just half an hour ago. "PMS, huh?"

"Shut up and die, useless bastard."

Gojyo grinned. "Love you, too, San-chan."

Click.

The Smith & Wesson pointed between Gojyo's laughing eyes, and for a moment Sanzo was close to pull the trigger. Maybe splattering the idiot's brain all over the wall would the give the offending little creep something to think about.

Fortunately for the kappa, the doctor choose that moment to enter the scene. He was a dark haired man maybe twice Sanzo's age, looking tired but friendly.

"I'm Doctor Sheng," he introduced himself. "Please don't shoot my patients."

Hakkai intervened before Sanzo even had a chance to reply. "Good that you're here, Dr Sheng. Did the inn keeper tell you what to expect?"

"Badly infected wounds, cuts and bruises, possible concussion and a kid that won't wake up?" Sheng gave them all a good look. "Seems that Yonis didn't exaggerate. I apologize that you had to wait so long. I'm the only doctor around here, and there was a serious truck accident in the neighboring village yesterday."

"Were they attacked by demons?" Sanzo wanted to know, keeping the exorcism gun nearby just in case.

"No, the driver lost control. The truck tumbled down a trench a couple of meters, and ended up on its roof. Unfortunately, the it was loaded to the brim with field workers... many didn't survive the night."

Hakkai nodded in understanding, watching closely how the doctor examined Gojyo. "You're here now. There's no need to apologize."

"Well, you and your friends needed my skills, too." The doctor returned the smile and continued his work. "Mmm... Is one of you trained as a healer?"

Sanzo pointed at Hakkai. "He is."

"I just began to learn the art a short time ago," Hakkai cautioned. "I'm still in training, so to speak."

The doctor gave him a long, query look. "You're a youkai?"

"Would that be a problem?" Hakkai didn't evade the man's look.

"No, not really. Youkais are much better healers than humans. My assistant and the doctor two villages away were youkai - and very talented healers, if I may say so. But we were helpless against the plague that spread a year ago."

"It's the same all over the country," Sanzo said. "Your colleagues all lost themselves?"

"My assistant Fong was the last one, half a year ago. He killed two people before... I had to shoot him." Doctor Sheng suddenly seemed a hundred years old, then straightened. "What am I blabbing about, I have a patient."

A few more minutes passed, then the doctor finished his quick check on Gojyo. "You did a very good job for a beginner in the trade. There are still some splinters and dirt left in the wounds, but nothing too bad. I'll leave you antibiotics to get the infection under control. He should be fine."

Hakkai beamed at the compliment by the professional, and keenly followed all procedures and explanations the man made in the next half hour. Gojyo let out the occasional grunt and yelp when the treatment turned painful enough to cut through his fever-fogged mind, but remained quiet most of the time.

Sanzo's cuts and bruises were inspected next and his general state of health was discussed. It didn't help improve his mood the least. Hakkai himself received a warning not to underestimate the concussion he had suffered, and Sanzo was told that the youkai needed to stay bed for at least two more days.

"A human would be out of it for a week," the doctor added. "And you shouldn't do any more healing for a few days, Hakkai. You'd risk brain damage."

"I know."

Hakkai just smiled, and Sanzo began to wonder exactly how much risk the younger man deliberately took by healing them after fights.

Then it was Goku's turn, and Sanzo watched tensely how Dr Sheng, with Hakkai's help, ran various tests on the sleeping monkey.

"Burn out on a cellular level," the doctor finally announced. "If all you told me is true, then our young friend here channels enormous energies whenever he takes off his limiter and turns youkai. His system can handle a short time of this, but fighting over an hour was too much of a strain."

"Will he recover?" Sanzo wanted to know, not quite ready to surrender to the inevitable.

"Hard to say," Sheng said. "The next few days should tell. He's still young, his body might just bounce back."

Hakkai studied Goku's face thoughtfully, with a worry and care in his expression that Sanzo knew was reserved solely for the youngest member of the group. "He usually heals faster than any of us."

"I'll come back in two days. We'll see how his condition has improved until then."

Sanzo nodded. Fifteen minutes later, the doctor had received his payment, left them with some medication and a wishes of fast recovery. Hakkai read through the instructions of the antibiotics, then left the room, heading downstairs.

'So much for rest and taking it easy.'

Not that Sanzo would have offered to fetch whatever Hakkai needed from the kitchen, or that Hakkai would have bothered to ask in the first place. But the doctor's warning about possible aftereffects of the concussion had added to Sanzo's worry. Gojyo softly snored, oblivious to the troubles that probably brewed in the near future. Two more days before they would at leat have some fighting power back. Until then, their entire defense depended on him, his sutra and throwing Hakkai's life in the line for some ki-blasts.

And Goku... was burned out. Sanzo didn't want to cling to false hopes about a recovery that wouldn't happen. He didn't need to wait for two days to understand what Hakkai's look had said, or what his own senses told him only too clearly. Peaceful and innocent, his monkey rested at his feet on the futon, but even that rest was not his usual draped-all-over-the-place bouncy kind of sleep. Too pale, too quiet, too damn useless and weak and in need of protection.

"Just wake up, stupid ape."

Sanzo's vision blurred. He rubbed his tired eyes, since it could only be tiredness that made them all watery.

"Shit."

To be continued...