"Have there been any mad youkai sightings of late?" Sanzo-sama demanded brusquely.

The monks standing before Sanzo Houshi's desk looked frantically at one another.

Sanzo-sama had, upon his return from Tenjiku, taken a renewed interest in protecting Chou'An from such attacks. Some suggested that he was following the Sanbutshin's orders, others suggested that he didn't want to see a repeat of Kinzan temple, especially in these troubled times. Yet never before had they had felt this sense of urgency from him...

"Not that we know of. Did something out of the ordinary happen?" one of the monks felt compelled to ask. While attacks by rampaging youkai had been common during the journey and for a year or so after, they had eventually trickled off and stopped altogether...

Sanzo-sama ignored him. "Send runners down to the town to see whether there's anything on the rumor mill. Or any word from surrounding villages."

There was nothing to do but acquiesce. They bowed frantically and set off, seeds of worry already planting roots in their hearts.

--x--

The next morning, Hakkai and Gojyo showed up on his doorstep. After the obligatory food tax extorted by Goku, they trooped into Sanzo's office. Gojyo took great delight in tracking soggy, muddy puddles across the floor.

Sanzo favored them with an annoyed glare. "What is it?"

"I'm hurt," Gojyo said, flinging an arm up to cover his eyes, and flicking water at Sanzo in the same movement. "We come all the way to see the great Sanzo Houshi-sama -- in the rain, no less -- only to be treated so shortly. Has--"

"Shut up," Sanzo snarled. "You blabber too much, cockroach brains."

"My, you're in a fine mood today," Gojyo observed. "Perhaps you had forewarning of the news we bring?"

"News?" Sanzo was instantly alert. "What news? And it had better be good, considering the mess you've made by tramping in here without bothering to dry off."

"So harsh," Gojyo murmured.

"It's not exactly 'good' news per se," Hakkai said brightly.

"You'll never guess who we bumped into today at the market," Gojyo said.

Sanzo's eyes narrowed. "Hazel."

Surprise reflected on Gojyo's face. "You know?"

"He met you earlier?" Hakkai asked.

"The bastard came prancing all the way up to the doorstep yesterday," Sanzo growled.

"Oh, so that's why you're so touchy today. And I thought it was the rain," Gojyo said.

"How did you meet him?" Goku piped up, from where he'd been engrossed in making friends with a pile of dumplings.

"We were taking shelter from the rain in a stall when he turned up," Hakkai recounted.

"Imagine our shock," Gojyo added.

"Well, there was mutual surprise, I gather. He smiled and said good morning, then ducked straight out into the rain again and headed off."

A frown had etched itself into Sanzo's forehead. "What happened... the last time? Didn't we kill him?"

"Or is he perhaps a shikigami himself?" Hakkai responded. "We don't know. After Kougaiji shot him with a solid bolt of fire to the chest, we assumed that he was dead. He didn't get up again, and the massive monster arm had disappeared. And while we were frantically trying to revive you, he must have slipped away."

Sanzo glared at the papers on his desk. "And he shows up again after all this nonsense is over. Using the pendant as a youryoku limiter."

"He still has that thing?" Gojyo asked.

"A limiter?" Hakkai queried. "But he's not exactly youkai, is he?"

Sanzo shrugged irritably. "I don't know the specifics."

"Ne, I'm not exactly youkai either," Goku pointed out.

"Yeah. You're a stupid ape," Gojyo told him.

"I'm not--"

--"Damnit." The slam of Sanzo's palm against the tabletop cut their quarrel short. "The bastard's up to something. Damned if I know what." He glanced sourly at Hakkai and Gojyo. "You two, find him and drag him back here. I want answers."

"See Sanzo-sama get all protective of his brood once he settles down," Gojyo chortled. "Considering he used to be Mister I-don't-give-a-flying--"

Sanzo whipped out the harisen and brought it crashing down on Gojyo's head.

"--Whoa! OW! I thought you didn't carry--"

"Sanzo," Hakkai interrupted. "And what did he say to you?"

"Nothing much," Sanzo growled. "Go find him, damn your brains, before he goes psychotic and starts mass-murdering. Or worse, raising people from the dead to attack youkai again. And take Goku with you."

"Why don’t you come along?" Goku asked. "After all, if he was looking for you..."

"I'm busy," Sanzo snapped. "Get going. And..." he glanced at Gojyo. "You can take that smart ass comment you're about to utter and cram it."

--x--

The rain was already abating as they set out, and the sun was slicing through the scattered clouds. They trekked towards the great gates of Chou'An, looking forwards towards the town. They neglected to look behind them.

A lone figure stood on the roof of the temple, watching them go. The sun glinted off silvery hair, and there was a flash of gold at his throat.

--x--

"We searched the entire blooming town," Gojyo complained, slumping into a chair. "He's vanished without a trace."

"Maybe he's moved on?" Goku suggested.

Sanzo gnawed on the end of his cigarette. All the reports coming in suggested nothing out of the ordinary. No youkai, no resurrections, no undead shikigamis wandering around, no sudden profusion of people with golden eyes.

But there was the faintest of rumors on the wind -- talk about a foreigner who'd been saving small villagers out in the West from the youkai hordes.

"Anyway, we tipped off all the innkeepers and told them to tell us if they see or hear anything about a silver-haired blue eyed foreigner with an accent. If he's still around he has to get someplace to crash for the night, or someone has to have seen him. Incidentally, we told them to pick up the reward from one Genjo Sanzo at Chou'An Ji."

"You--" Sanzo spluttered.

"After all, you're the one who wants to know. And you have all the money. So there," Gojyo grinned.

"Damn--" Sanzo stopped short as something gusted in through the open window and whacked him on the back of his head. "Shit what was that?"

Goku sprang forward to pick it up. It was a large feather, predominantly white, with a silvery sheen.

"Never seen anything like that before," Hakkai observed. "It's unusually large--" He paused as more feathers went floating down outside the window, to fall to the ground below.

"It's not molting season, is it?" Goku said. "It's only august..."

Hakkai stepped to the window and looked out. Apart from one last drifting feather, there was nothing in sight.

--x--