Gensomaden Saiyuki Fan Fiction ❯ Shattering ❯ Shocking Aftermath ( Chapter 2 )

A quick word of thanks goes to all of those who have left uplifting reviews for this story here at MM.org. I truly appreciate the support and am grateful that my muses and I have been able to entertain some very kind readers.

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Title: Shattering [chapter 2/6]

Book 4 of the "Encounters Arc"

Author: Enigma

Series: Saiyuki

Written: September - October, 2003

Rating: R

Main Pairing: (Gojyo + Hakkai)

Category: Dark! Yaoi, Angst, Romance, Blood. AU-OOC. Giftfic.

Archive: fanfiction.net & mediaminer.org [author: "E-sama the Llama"]

Warnings: dark! yaoi, high angst, tortured romance, bloodshed, coarse language as per the anime, and explicable though atypical characterization. AU-OOC. Giftfic for Jadesword.

Spoilers: This story is set after the events in episode 13 of the anime and therefore contains spoilers.

Disclaimer: "Saiyuki" is the property of Kazuya Minekura, et al. This unauthorized work of unpaid fanfiction is intended for entertainment only; please do not sue me.

Notes: Can Gojyo help Hakkai overcome the shattering effects of a horrific incident or is he, too, doomed to fall apart as a result of divine interference?

*****

On the morning of the twenty-third, Gojyo slowly made his way to the room where his injured soulmate lay as silently as he had the entire time since he had been brought there.

As he padded quietly up the stairs of the small inn where they had taken up residence, Gojyo carried two cups of hot coffee as well as an increasingly heavy heart. Thanks to Goku's information gathering efforts, they had found not only a place to stay, but they had also discovered that the village they were now trapped in not only had no hospital, it also had no real doctors and that had been a terrible blow.

With a sigh, the half-breed commented to himself, "I'd sell my goddamned soul to have had Zan or Long here four days ago." Taking a sip of the coffee without even tasting it as it burned his tongue, he remembered the two physicians who had not only saved Gonou's life but had become good friends as well. If either of them had been present, it would not have been a solid day and a half before Hakkai could have received the aid that he required.

Messengers from the townsfolk had gone to the closest city seeking assistance and several doctors came to help the day after the fire, but they had not gotten to Hakkai until over 36 hours had elapsed following the disaster. This had been more than enough time for certain complications to have set in, but what was worse was that he had desperately needed a blood transfusion that was slow to come.

Once both Gojyo and Goku had been able to share their blood with Hakkai much as Gojyo and Kiko had with Gonou three years in the past, however, things had at least stopped getting worse even though they did not get demonstrably better.

Fever had been a problem, too. Luckily, the analgesics in the Sanzo-ikkou's first aid kit which resided in Hakuryu's jeep form could address that issue for the short time until a doctor administered antibiotics.

The only thing that had not been a problem was the supply of bandages which was relatively endless once the innkeeper sterilized some sheets that were then torn into strips. Bound in roll after roll of white linen, Hakkai had looked rather like a mummy Goku had read about in a manga once. The unearthly boy was wise enough, of course, to never compare him to one of the undead monsters when Gojyo might have heard him.

For the moment, Hakkai was alive, yet the lack of improvement implied dangerous possibilities and the doctor who had examined him most recently had been tired enough due to overwork and exhaustion to say so pointblank. The fact that particular practitioner had been at the bedsides of several other survivors who had succumbed to their injuries that day had left him weary and too easily convinced that death would still claim Hakkai as easily as it had the others.

"I *really* didn't need to hear shit like that," Gojyo grumbled miserably as he walked down the short hallway to the room he was sharing with all four of his traveling companions.

Since the tiny town had only one inn and it, too, was small, the visiting doctors and the few nurses who had come with them were using all of the other guest rooms. There were distinct advantages to this arrangement, though. The close proximity of the physicians meant help was often nearby if Hakkai's condition suddenly deteriorated.

Of greater importance to Gojyo, sharing the room with Sanzo, Goku, and Hakuryu meant their injured comrade would rarely be left alone even when he himself was forced to leave the room for one unavoidable reason or another.

As had happened in the past, there were only two beds available for the quintet.

Just as they had done when incarcerated briefly in the town where they had met foolish imitators of themselves, Hakkai had one bed and Sanzo had the other. Goku and Gojyo made due with improvised bedrolls of pillows and blankets on the floor. Actually, the former lady's man was more than happy to "make do" in such a fashion and had been able to catch moments of rest when leaning against Hakkai's bed as he had done three years in the past.

The innkeeper who had been assured that the Sanbutusin's gold card would cover their numerous extra expenses had also provided them with a small table and some chairs, so it really was not as uncomfortable as it might have been otherwise.

Stopping to knock on the door of their room with one of the mugs, Gojyo called just loudly enough to be heard, "Oi, Sanzo, can ya get the door? My hands are full."

The rustle of what he rightly assumed was a newspaper being folded preceded the opening of the door and when a man with priestly robes dangling negligently from his belted waist glared at him, Gojyo forced a half-smile and offered, "Coffee?"

Accepting the mug with a growl, Sanzo snapped, "I wondered where the hell you'd gotten off to."

Clad in his skin-tight black leather bodysuit and gloves with his bare shoulders exposed to the cool air of the room, the sutra-bearer projected an image of sensuality that did not even register on his comrades any longer. To them, Sanzo was just Sanzo and if he had happened to prefer nudity, he would have been naked instead without a second thought or apology to any who took offense at seeing far more of him than they wanted to.

As Sanzo reseated himself in a chair by the table and set aside the overly hot coffee, Gojyo stared at one of Hakkai's heavily bandaged hands. Only the tips of his fingers showed and their lifelessness drove another razor-sharp shard of grief into his already agonized heart.

"Well? Going to tell me what the hold-up was on my damned coffee or is it some kind of fucking mystery?" Sanzo inquired archly as he picked up his pack of Marlboros, shook one free, and placed it between his lips.

Startled out of his reverie, Gojyo noted the cigarette and set aside his coffee before producing his engraved lighter and offering Sanzo a light even as he got a hi-lite for himself, too. When the priest leaned towards the tiny flame, he answered, "No mystery, Sanzo, it's just that I had to wait on the coffee to brew and while I did, I was talking to the innkeeper's wife."

Rubbing at the back of his head in an unwitting gesture of self-comfort, Gojyo further explained, "There's going to be some kind of service for the victims of the fire in a day or two. Someone asked her if she thought you might be willing to preside over it and I was trying to convince her to tell them 'no'."

Forcing a ribbon of smoke out between his teeth in annoyance, Sanzo replied, "Good call for once, baka. I don't chant sutras for the dead. You already know that."

Nodding and recalling the first pain-filled dawn when he had heard words along those lines, Gojyo nodded and crumpled down into an empty chair. Letting his arms lay impotently across his thighs, he sighed, "Yeah, I know."

Silence fell over them for a short time as they smoked their cigarettes and eventually took a few sips of coffee. Neither particularly missed the absent Goku who had joined the members of the community trying to rebuild the partially destroyed marketplace or Hakuryu who had gone with him.

In point of fact, it had been Sanzo who had suggested that Goku join the townsfolk with their reconstruction project.

The worried youth had done precious little for the first two days that they had been there but pace and fret. Once there was even a small improvement in Hakkai's condition, Sanzo had insisted that Goku go find something useful to do and it did not matter what that might be as long as he was gone from the room. Of course, it turned out that the boy's incredible strength and stamina were coming in handy and the residents of the town truly appreciated his help.

An unexpected side benefit of sending Goku back to the scene of the disaster had been the reacquisition of Hakkai's monocle. The broken eyepiece was not as useless as it might have seemed to Gojyo initially. The prescription could still be ascertained from the lens and it was now in the hands of the town's only optician who was attempting to replicate it.

The musical clink of an empty coffee mug accidentally colliding with a ceramic ashtray brought both men out of their inattentive states.

"Um, sorry," Gojyo mumbled and belatedly realized that he should have been looking at the table instead of at Hakkai when he put down his mug.

"Klutz," Sanzo responded. Deciding he had waited long enough to ask something that had been preying on his mind for a while, he finished his own coffee and set aside his mug. He then reached for his Marlboros while inquiring, "So, finally feel like telling me what the hell was going on before I had to knock Hakkai out? You've put me off about that for long enough and I damned well deserve to know."

Casting the human a sidelong glance through a veil of lengthy crimson bangs, the half-youkai considered refusing as he had each and every time Sanzo had asked previously. The simple act of thinking about that horrible afternoon caused him a throbbing ache in the middle of his chest and he preferred not to have to face it again. However, Sanzo was quite correct about being entitled to an explanation as leader of their sorrow beset troupe.

With a sigh, Gojyo nodded slowly and said, "I've been trying not to think about it because it makes me hurt right here," he gestured towards his heart with his thumb, "but you're right. I do owe you that much and probably more."

With a snort, Sanzo lit his cigarette and grumbled, "Damned straight about *that*, asshole."

Shrugging in wordless apology, Gojyo sighed deeply and began by saying, "Well, like I've told you--and half a million other people it seems--when I found him in the street, Hakkai was face down in the dirt, ripped all to shreds and bleeding like a stuck pig." He leaned an elbow on the table and rested his forehead against the heel of his hand wearily as he continued, "But some jerk made me move him and we ended up next to some old lady who was laying there dying. Anyway, Hakkai kinda woke up at that point, saw the woman and called her 'Kanan'."

With a nod, Sanzo's expression shifted slightly as he asked, "I know that's the name of his dead girlfriend, but was there any resemblance at all?"

Gojyo shook his head and replied, "None whatsoever based on everything he's ever told me about her. But anyway, I tried to tell him that it wasn't her, but then…" His words became thick with emotion and he swallowed hard as he tried again, "But then…" With another shake of his head, he realized that he simply could not finish the sentence. He squeezed his eyes tightly shut rather than see the complete disgust that he expected to find in drooping violet eyes.

Leaning forward and closing the distance between them slightly, Sanzo urged with quiet relentlessness, "'But then' *what*, Gojyo?! What the fuck happened out there before everything *really* went to hell?!"

Wishing his voice was not threatening to crack or that his eyes were not burning with unshed tears, Gojyo admitted what he had kept to himself thus far, "But then he said he didn't know who 'Hakkai' was."

After taking a slow drag on his cigarette thoughtfully, Sanzo commented, "A couple of weeks ago, during that crap with Chin Iisou, he forgot who he was for a moment. It was probably no big deal." Realizing this was unlikely to be the explanation for why Gojyo seemed to be fighting tears, he prodded with a little more force, "But that's not the real crisis, is it, moron? There's something more you're holding back. Tell me what it is and get this over with before I lose my patience with you completely."

Moving so he could press the heels of both hands into his eyes, desperately trying to not let the tears loose, Gojyo found he could not suppress the smallest of sobs as he admitted, "He didn't even seem to recognize *me*!" At least one tear broke past the barrier as he added hotly, "All he cared about was that damned woman and he kept calling 'Kanan, Kanan!' over and over again!"

Sitting back in his chair in surprise, Sanzo murmured, "Well, fuck."

The priest had expected something serious, but nothing of this magnitude. Before he could say anything of consequence, however, Gojyo's hands left his face and he stared at Sanzo in a piteous display of agony.

As a few more tears etched wet trails down his suntanned cheeks, Gojyo pointed at the pale, silent man in the bed, wrapped in cotton strips practically from head to foot, and demanded an answer Sanzo could not give him, "How the hell could 'Kai remember *her* and not *me*?!" Rising too rapidly from his chair and overturning it, he spun and slammed a fist into the wall as he exclaimed, "God *damn* it!"

Standing there with his head hanging down, lengthy scarlet tresses shaking due to the raging emotions he could no longer control or conceal, Gojyo was the very image of defeat. He remained frozen, arm outstretched and leaning against the shallow impression that his fist had made even as his unfettered teardrops painted wet splotches on the wooden floor.

Blinking in momentary shock, Sanzo found that he had nothing whatsoever to say.

He doubted that Gojyo was even aware of the fact that he had just destroyed the tissue-thin fabric of lies that he and Hakkai had carefully woven during the entire journey regarding their theoretically secret relationship. Furthermore, Sanzo doubted that this was everything he needed to hear, but it was crystal clear that Gojyo was near a breaking point and if he pushed him at all, the usually sturdy half-breed might shatter completely.

The unbearably tense moment was broken by a soft moan from the other side of the room.

Focused on their own highly charged discussion, neither Gojyo nor Sanzo had been looking at Hakkai for the last few minutes and that was why they had missed seeing that he was regaining consciousness aided in part by the noisy exclamations of sorrow and confusion from his own lover. However, the loud crash of the chair followed by the almost equally loud impact of fist into plaster had been all it had taken to bridge the gap and his eyes were slowly trying to reopen for the first time since Sanzo had knocked him out.

"Hakkai!" Gojyo exclaimed when he spun to see a pair of hazy though cognizant emerald eyes peering at him from a heavily bandaged visage. The look of thankful delight on his face was a radiant one as he added without thinking, "You're awake, baby?! Thank the gods!"

Equally surprised by both the injured healer's return to awareness as well as Gojyo's use of a term of endearment that he had rarely heard previously, Sanzo simply sat silently as Gojyo rushed past him eager to be beside Hakkai once more.

Balancing himself on the mattress with one hand even as his other moved to stroke its fingers through well loved hair the color of dark chocolate, Gojyo smiled brilliantly as tears of sorrow transformed into those of joy when he asked, "How're you feeling, Hakkai? Damn, we've been *so* worried about you, babe!"

With a slight wince, Hakkai shied away from not only the hand in his hair but also the man leaning over and peering down at him. His eyes were narrowed and there was suspicion in them as he asked in return, "Do I know you?"

Gojyo had drawn back slightly when Hakkai seemed to want more personal space, but the moment he heard the question that had just left the bedridden man's lips, he felt his knees weaken. Fighting a sudden feeling of impending doom, he replied with false confidence, "Sure you know me, 'Kai." His smile wavered as he added, "We've been together for over three terrific years, don't you remember?"

"'Together'?" Hakkai echoed in disbelief, then added distrustfully, "In what sense of the word?"

Practically stumbling as he stepped back from the bed, the redhead swiped at his wet eyes and assured, "We've been roommates and *friends* for over three years, Hakkai. Don't you remember all of that?"

With a minute shake of his head, Hakkai answered slowly, "No… no, I do not remember that. Neither do I remember you or him, for that matter." He cast a wary glance at Sanzo whose expression was unreadable, then he added with a slight frown, "But now that I think about it, I do not know who *I* am either. Or where I am from or anything at all about my past. How very strange."

It now became clear why Hakkai had reacted so badly to having Gojyo leaning close and being so presumptuous mere moments after he had regained consciousness.

To the amnesiac brunette, the overly friendly man who had wept as he caressed his hair and addressed him by a term of endearment usually reserved for intimate acquaintances was a true and complete stranger. There was not even the usual spark of soul-to-soul recognition they often shared since the lingering trace of Tenpou had been as badly damaged by the recent events as Hakkai himself was.

Thus, Gojyo had inadvertently ruined the all-important first impression and the man that was unknowingly his partner in every sense of the word was understandably put off because of it.

Realizing he needed to rise to the occasion as the clear-minded leader, Sanzo stood and crossed the room quickly. He clamped a strong, restraining hand on Gojyo's shoulder and held him on his feet forcefully as he inquired, "Hakkai, can you remember anything about what has happened to you?"

Hakkai's frown deepened and then with another small shake of his head, he replied, "No." After casting a glance at what little of his bandaged body he could see, he added with a grimace, "But it would appear that I have been in some kind of an accident perhaps? Or are we at war with someone? I suppose these injuries could be from battle and I have a vague impression that I might be a soldier."

Literally shaking in his boots, Gojyo turned to face the man who was helping him stay grounded and asked in a pleading voice, "Sanzo?" His intention had been to ask for guidance, but he just let his distressed blood red eyes speak the words his mounting sense of terror would not allow him to.

One good look into Gojyo's eyes was all it took for Sanzo to come to a decision. With his lips pressed into a firm line and his own chilled violet eyes narrowed in concentration, he commanded, "Gojyo, go find a doctor and tell them to get their ass in here." With a slight, almost painful tightening of the hand that remained upon the half-youkai's shoulder, he added, "Then go get Goku and Hakuryu. Maybe he'll recognize one of them and this forgetfulness bullshit will be straightened out. I don't have time for crap like this!"

Ordinarily, Gojyo would have argued until he was blue in the face that when Hakkai was in trouble *he* was the one who needed to stay by his side, but this time he knew the blond speaking to him in such serious tones was right. Hakkai needed a knowledgeable doctor more than he needed an irrational idiot like himself and if getting either of their traveling companions back here would help, he would gladly go and get them, too.

After flicking another glance at Hakkai who was still regarding him with suspicion, Gojyo nodded, then turned and fled the room without another word.

Sanzo watched as the anguished man practically ran through the doorway and vanished on his quest for aid. With a sigh, he shook his head and then reached for the overturned chair. Setting it back onto its feet close to the bed, he sat down and simply watched Hakkai for a moment.

Emerald eyes had followed as Gojyo made a tactical retreat and then tracked Sanzo's movements as he moved to sit close enough to imply a desire for conversation yet did not speak. When the unknown blond failed to break the silence between them, Hakkai opened the discussion by remarking, "That red headed man is rather strange, is he not?"

With a huff of breath, Sanzo muttered acidly, "You don't know the half of it." Belatedly realizing that particular remark was decidedly unhelpful, he spoke more loudly as he stated, "His name is 'Sha Gojyo'. You'd do well to remember it, Hakkai."

Frowning slightly, the brunette replied, "I will accept it that 'Hakkai' is my name, but why did that man, um, Gojyo rather, call me 'baby'? He was acting far too familiar for my tastes."

"I am *not* answering that question," Sanzo stated flatly. He crossed glove-clad arms over a chest covered in tight ebon leather and felt angry on behalf of someone he rarely felt like defending. Then he growled, "Look, you don't remember us, you don't even remember yourself, so hold off on making any damned judgement calls for awhile, all right? Otherwise, things around here are going to go to hell in a handbasket *again*."

Letting the frown dissolve, Hakkai nodded minutely and agreed, saying, "That seems wise, um, what was your name again?"

"It's Genjo Sanzo, but I go by just 'Sanzo'."

"Isn't that some kind of fairly significant religious title?" Hakkai asked in puzzlement.

"Yeah, it's just some Buddhist crap," Sanzo replied with a distinct lack of piety, "but it's what everyone calls me."

In a casual, distant tone that the priest had heard for years yet seemed odd to his ears now, Hakkai replied, "As you wish."

Something else that was strange to Sanzo was the lack of the faux-smiles that were typically present on the healer's lips. However, a man who can not recall his own dark and painful past has no need of a falsely cheerful mask to hide behind.

Hakkai then turned his attention to his left arm as he lifted it a little, gazing curiously at the bandages on his hand for a moment before letting it lie flat again. An expression of pain crossed his features as he shifted beneath the covers on his bed, testing the response of his body as he tightened certain muscle groups in an attempt to quantify the level of damage he had sustained.

Remaining where he was, patiently standing guard if nothing else, Sanzo deliberately chose not to reopen the conversation. There were differences in the man in front of him compared to the Hakkai that he knew and they were making him more than a little angry.

So much for the whole aloof and untouchable façade that he tried to actually embrace within as well as without.

*****

By the time Gojyo was able to locate Hakuryu where Goku had left it earlier and was returning to the inn with the dragon riding on his shoulder, a physician had already been there and had left once more.

The brief medical examination Hakkai had received indicated that there had been some significant improvements that the doctor who had been there previously had apparently overlooked due to his own exhausted state.

The numerous wounds Hakkai had suffered continued to heal more slowly than expected. With a return to awareness, however, he would be able to eat and drink once more, something that was crucial due to a distinct scarcity of IV fluids in this remote region. Of course, the most radical issue they all needed to deal with was the amnesia that had already been discovered and which had any number of possible causes.

When he had been slammed into the street by the initial explosion, Hakkai's forehead had impacted with a sharp and unyielding stone which had cut into the fabric of his green headband as well as his scalp. This alone had most likely caused a minor concussion which might have explained the fact that he could not recall his name at that point yet recalled details from his past life as Gonou. The second severe head trauma caused by Sanzo's lifesaving strike with the Smith & Wesson may have had similar or even worse results alone, but in combination the two head injuries were truly frightening potential troublemakers.

Other factors that might have played a part in the loss of memory included the extended period with very low blood levels as well as the simple trauma of the entire experience.

It was not unheard of for people to wipe their minds clean after being involved in something traumatizing. For that matter, this is one of the brain's self-protective measures. In fact, Hakkai was not the only victim of the explosion and fires in the marketplace evidencing this kind of memory loss, so the doctor did not take it as seriously as the Sanzo-ikkou did.

When questioned, the physician assured them that there was nothing specific that he could do medically to speed a recovery of Hakkai's memory. It was only a matter of time and possibly of luck until the amnesia resolved itself if that was what was to be. If, on the other hand, the forgetfulness was permanent, there was nothing to be done other than to help Hakkai build a new identity and a new life that suited who he had become.

Luckily, Goku had arrived just as the exam was completed and Hakkai never heard a word of the diagnosis since the brunette had had his hands full, figuratively speaking, with a worried youth who had numerous questions for which he had no answers.

Golden robes still dangling haphazardly from the belt at his waist, Sanzo had escorted the doctor out of hearing range and had scowled angrily through the vast majority of the prognosis. He was utterly disgusted to hear that they had gotten inaccurate information previously and he was distinctly displeased that there were no easy cures for the amnesia. The doctor had pointed out that if Hakkai received excellent care and attention from his friends, there was a better chance of recovery, but that was about all the hope that he could realistically offer.

Once the doctor left to go and resume caring for his other patients, Sanzo sighed darkly, then went to rescue Hakkai from an understandably worried Goku. As it turned out, the former teacher who had always treasured children had taken a liking to the boy almost immediately and the priest breathed a sigh of relief that he would not have issues there to cope with as he did with Gojyo.

When he reached the inn, Gojyo took the stairs two at a time to reach the room that he shared with his traveling companions. The hope that seeing their draconic housemate might jog Hakkai's memory had displaced the fear that he would remain as much of a stranger to his own lover as he had been the last time they had spoken together.

The sound of Goku speaking excitedly about something and Hakkai replying genially was a welcome balm and he slowed his feet enough to listen a little before entering the room. However, after only a few moments of eavesdropping, it became clear that the boy was as unfamiliar to his partner as Sanzo and himself had been.

With a sigh, Gojyo reached up to scratch Hakuryu's belly fondly as he whispered, "looks like it's up to you to get our hakkai back for us, dragon. you up to the challenge?" [1] As had often been the case in the past, he was glad that the magical being understood their language perfectly. He had never even given any thought to that unexpected phenomenon since Hakuryu defied explanation in almost every regard, why not that one, too?

With a nod of its tiny, snow-white head and a whispered, "kyu!" it agreed wholeheartedly.

Politely rapping with his knuckles on the door frame before entering the room, Gojyo peered in and asked, "Mind if we come in?"

Goku's welcoming smile was sunshine-bright and even Sanzo seemed relieved to see him, yet the bandaged man in the bed was clearly not as enthusiastic as the others, but he kept quiet about it.

Tired from the rigors of reawakening followed by the medical examination, Hakkai yawned and wished it would not hurt as much as it would if he tried to cover his mouth with his hand when he gave himself over to the exhaustion. He might not remember his past, but he would never forget a simple thing like good manners.

After bouncing off the chair that he had perched on while telling Hakkai a little about himself, Goku went over to Gojyo and asked, "Did you find Hakuryu okay, Gojyo?"

Stepping into the room and letting Hakkai get a glimpse of the dragon, Gojyo replied, "Yuppers. Just like you said, it was under that tree we were all supposed to meet at when we first rolled into town." Transferring Hakuryu from his shoulder and down into his arms, he added, "You probably didn't even notice it, saru, but all the beer and shit I'd gotten that day are still out there. Maybe you can go fetch them for us sometime?"

Nodding and turning his attention to Hakkai as Gojyo cautiously approached the bed with an eager dragon, Goku replied, "Sure thing, kappa. I'll do that later."

"Um, Hakkai," Gojyo began nervously, fearing another rejection yet still wanting to be the one to reintroduce the third member of their household to Hakkai. Holding the dragon close enough that Hakkai could reach out and brush a fingertip across it if he wanted to, he said, "This is Hakuryu. It's a part of our group, too, and well, do you remember it? Even just a little?"

Intrigued by the abnormality that was being presented to him, Hakkai forgot to be wary of Gojyo and did move to stroke Hakuryu's belly lightly before dropping his hand back to the bedcovers with a wince of discomfort. Looking more than slightly confused even as another yawn threatened to take control, he admitted, "Not really. I can not say that I recall ever meeting a dragon before, but there is something strangely familiar about him."

"'It'," Sanzo corrected while stepping close enough to join the conversation. With a bare-shouldered shrug, he explained, "Hakuryu has no gender. It was created by some damned fool who was mixing magic with science, so it can't reproduce. Hence, it's just an 'it'."

"Really?" Hakkai replied in a wondering tone. Then, after yawning since it was unavoidable, he added, "I could have sworn that what I recalled seemed male. Does it speak?"

Gojyo quirked a smile and felt relieved that Hakkai was at least interested in their unique friend who immediately replied, "Kyu!"

Startled, Hakkai blinked twice, then smiled gently like he used to do only for Gojyo as he said, "Oh my. How precious."

Emboldened, Gojyo asked, "Would you like me to put it down on your bed, Hakkai? It's used to sleeping next to you and you always used to feel better when it was close."

"All right," Hakkai agreed and was delighted when Hakuryu stretched out its wings and glided onto the bed of its own accord. As the dragon carefully waddled close enough to his face to give it a little lick of greeting, he chuckled and remarked, "And it flies, too. I should have known."

"And it can be *driven*, too," Goku put in helpfully and thereby earned a frown of confusion from Hakkai. Nervously scratching the back of his right leg with the top of his left foot, he added, "Hakuryu can turn into a jeep and we ride in it when we're going places. It's that whole magic-plus-science bit. I can't explain it."

"*No* one can explain it, bakasaru," Sanzo interjected, then added flatly, "And that, I think, is enough re-introductions for awhile. Hakkai, you need sleep. I'll get these morons out of here and let you get some."

An aching expression entered Gojyo's eyes and it was clear that he wished to stay near his lover's side even if the man no longer knew him, yet a single, curt shake of a blond head ruled that out. The half-breed's shoulders slumped dejectedly as Sanzo stated, "Goku will be right outside the door, Hakkai. If you need anything, call for him and he'll take care of it." The fact that he had not confirmed his ward's willingness to offer such a service was irrelevant.

"Thank you, Sanzo," Hakkai replied in acknowledgement, yet it was certainly not spoken in the warm familiar tones that they were all used to hearing. Instead it was formal, almost distant and unfeeling.

Only Hakuryu and Goku had elicited the gentle words and speech patterns that they were all accustomed to and not even Sanzo could have claimed that he was not somewhat stung by the change.

Gojyo opened his mouth to say something, then thought better of it and just turned to follow Sanzo from the room without risking a farewell that might be rejected or, worse, ignored. Trailing behind them, Goku gave Hakkai and Hakuryu a small wave then closed the door before sitting down and leaning against it, already listening just in case he was needed.

Alone with the dragon which had moved down to curl carefully by his right side as it often did, Hakkai breathed a sigh of relief which was followed by yet another deep yawn.

"Kyu~u," the dragon crooned quietly before resting its head atop the scar hidden beneath bandages that protected new wounds that might add permanent marks of their own.

"I hope that you, too, rest well, Hakuryu," Hakkai replied automatically before drifting almost immediately into slumber. Despite the fact that it had gone unnoticed, he had had no trouble at all accepting the dragon's seemingly impossible existence. Plus, the way that he could still understand its one word vocabulary was a minor, though unheralded, miracle.

With Hakkai's return to awareness, the Sanzo-ikkou was reunited once more, yet it was in name only.

The quintet who had once fought side by side with amazing synchronicity was now a dysfunctional team, divided by the one member who had always been relied upon for unity in the past. As tensions would mount between Gojyo and Hakkai, Sanzo would grow more ill at ease and would find himself facing some very difficult choices that he would much rather have avoided making.

Even Goku and Hakuryu who were not alienated from Hakkai's affections in the least, would feel the strain and it would become clear that resolution had to be arrived at soon or all of Kanzeon bosatsu's plans would wither and die.

Unfortunately, the goddess herself was not taking an active role at this point.

Her standing policy of letting events play out at their own pace was in effect and if the group of five misfits she had originally chosen could not find a solution on their own, they were clearly not strong enough for their mission in the first place. She was not fond of the idea of discarding partially honed weapons, but it was better to do so now and forge new ones than to continue to battle with inferior tools.

*****

To be continued.

Author's Notes:

[1] Reminder: As has been the case throughout this story arc, whenever dialogue is written in all lowercase letters, it is to be read as if it is spoken very softly, possibly in a whisper, a gasp, or in a tone not meant to be heard by those nearby.