A/N: I'm ending this fic before it gets too ooc and too far out of hand. ^.^ But I hope you enjoy the shock of utter, sudden vindication. 'Twas fun. (THANKS to my reviewers! I love you all ^.^)

***

Sanzo opened his eyes to a clouded autumn morning, the mist in the air lending shadows to a world built in grayscale. The knot at the base of his neck had extended down through his shoulders, and he was cold. Good morning, all.

Gojyo groaned from the other cot, stretching luxuriously and rising, catlike, into a sitting position. When not hung over, Gojyo had a certain feral grace that, had Sanzo not been in his characteristic frame of mind, could have been misconstrued for refined and powerful elegance. He undid his ponytail and yawned, blinking blearily into the white, filtered sunlight. "Morning, droopy-eyes," he murmured in greeting, slipping his arms into his vest. He then thought better of further moving and relinquished himself to gravity, bouncing as the cot struggled to support him.

Sanzo looked over to his roommate and admitted to his own dislike of getting up in the morning. But he was cold, stiff, and hungry, and movement remedied at least two of the discomforts. The hunger could be ignored easily enough with a cup of coffee and a cigarette. He tried to sit and growled at the ache in his neck and shoulders.

Gojyo flung his arm over his eyes at the explosion that sent a door flying open. Goku zoomed by in a beeline for the kitchen with hardly a greeting to those in the room he passed. Hakkai followed soon after, fully dressed and eerily cheerful.

"Gojyo, aren't you cold?" he asked, nodding a 'good morning' to an unresponsive Sanzo. In truth, the redhead was sprawled on his cot in nothing more than a shirt, vest, and boxers. Sanzo pulled the rest of his robe on and found the fabric to be chilled from the remnants of the night. Goosebumps rose on the back of his neck at the contrast, having just shrugged away the hot, leaden blanket of deep sleep. And he really -had- slept well, to his mild surprise.

"I had Sanzo-sama to keep me warm," Gojyo replied, grinning from under his arm. "The saru found the kitchen?"

Hakkai rubbed his forehead. "I told him."

Gojyo laughed. "Good one. Might want to go down for damage control."

Sanzo frowned and turned his head toward Hakkai, inciting another shot of pain to course through the muscles in his neck. "I need coffee."

Hakkai nodded and they left Gojyo to dress. At times like this, he could almost forget what he'd overheard.

Sanzo was, above all, a logical man. Not rational, but twistedly, pridefully, often angrily logical. And, as he sat over his coffee and cigarette and depressing dearth of newspaper, he thought. He wondered at the sudden development between Gojyo and Hakkai, berated them for their idiocy. When Gojyo meandered into view, he caught the look given Hakkai and further cemented his hypothesis. Taking in mind the original incident he had overheard, the tension between the two could be reasonable proof. He seriously doubted last night's commotion fell along the same lines. At least...Hakkai would, he was sure, never allow any questionable contests between Gojyo and Goku. Sanzo cursed his imagination and took a long drag in partial bemusement as he realized he had one.

The great Genjo Sanzo Houshii with an overactive imagination. Would wonders never cease? For the sake of his sanity, he wished it were so.

*

"Oh boy! Lookie, kids, we get to sleep in a potentially youkai-infested forest all because the damn' dragon doesn't feel like staying a damn' car!" Gojyo glared at Hakuryuu. The dragon blinked its red eyes at Gojyo and cooed pathetically.

Hakkai put a protective hand over Hakuryuu. "Look, it does you no good to argue with a dragon, Gojyo. And you always complain when you have to sleep in the backseat. So think of this as an improvement."

Gojyo grumbled but his agreement was evident as he turned to 'oversee' Goku's gathering of firewood.

Hakkai made a show of stretching and said, "I'll take a look around to be sure. After sitting so long, a walk will be good."

Sanzo didn't reply, feeling no need for Hakkai to even have reported his business. Every man should be able to take care of himself, and Sanzo had no inclination to play shepherd.

An hour passed without evidence of Hakkai's presence. Goku breathed deeply and frowned.

"I don't get it. I don't smell any youkai or blood or anything, so why isn't he back? Why isn't he back, Sanzo? I'm hungry!"

Gojyo glared at Goku from his seat at the base of a tree. "If it makes you feel better I'll go look for him." He rose, brushed the dirt from the seat of his pants, and took off before Goku could object.

The saru turned his pleading, golden eyes upon Sanzo.

Before he could whine, Sanzo grabbed a pack of jerky and tossed it at him.

In the white noise provided by the fire and Goku's chewing, Sanzo settled into what the untrained eye might quickly label as contentment. Even comfort. While Sanzo had far too much to disgust, discomfort, and annoy him, the misnomer was actually as close to accurate as it could really get. Sanzo doubted even Hakkai's welcome silence could gain favoritism over the singular, loud, raucous, adoring companionship of the saru. He was enough for ten men, let alone one like Sanzo, but on certain days Goku was more than worth it.

Not that he'd admit that to anyone.

Goku's ears perked and he stopped chewing in the middle of a huge mouthful. He swallowed hard and said, "I hear fighting."

Sanzo frowned and patted his robes for the reassuring weight of his gun before following Goku toward the noise.

"Gojyo, put it away!" Hakkai cried, accompanied by the sound of breaking branches.

"Why the hell should I? You're bleeding!" Gojyo replied, slight worry twisting the ends of his words.

"I always make it out, Gojyo, you've got to calm down." Hakkai's voice was smooth and persuasive. "Look, she's leaving."

Goku stopped and Sanzo nearly barreled into him.

"Hakkai's right, Sanzo. I don't hear any more fighting...and I still don't smell youkai."

"Hn," Sanzo muttered, shaking out his shoulders. In the adrenaline rush, the muscles had knotted worse than before.

"I'm going back to the fire and the food." Goku grinned and turned, stopping when Sanzo didn't follow. "Coming?"

"No." Sanzo pulled out his pack and leaned against the tree. "I'll savor the silence out here."

Goku shrugged, the prospect of more food at the moment outweighing his desire to be beside the monk. When he left, Sanzo made his way toward the commotion Hakkai and Gojyo were still making, more to question the possibility of more attacks than to see if they were all right. More snatches of conversation reached him as he neared them.

"Damn' bear...why didn't you just let me kill it?"

"It didn't know I wasn't a threat. I came upon her cub and she was being a good mother."

Gojyo stopped complaining about the bear and instead turned his attention to Hakkai. "You okay?"

"She scratched my arm, but other than that I'm fine." He sighed. "And I didn't restock the first aid kit. I don't want to waste bandages."

"Use my shirt. That scratch looks...painful."

Sanzo would have caught Hakkai's reply, no doubt modest and comforting, but he caught the end of his robe in a bush. Cursing himself, cursing the bush, cursing his damn' robes, Sanzo yanked his leg free. Twigs snapped around him and he stomped onward. If Hakkai didn't want to kill the bear, he sure as hell would for dragging him through the forest the long way on a wild goose chase. Now he meant to find Hakkai and Gojyo if only to discern where the bear went. Shooting something would be good for him.

He followed the sounds of their conversation.

"Damn, she got your whole arm."

"Not so tight!"

"Sorry," Gojyo hurriedly replied, obviously fumbling with torn strips of his shirt. "Better?"

Hakkai's breath audibly hitched at the pressure, but he replied, "Yes."

Sanzo finally crashed out through the undergrowth and over to the outcropping Gojyo and Hakkai had found themselves. And stopped mid-syllable.

Hakkai's arm had been torn from shoulder to wrist, his sleeve in ribbons on the ground. Gojyo had obviously torn it off and was currently wrapping strips of his own shirt over the bloody mess of Hakkai's arm. Sanzo had been preparing himself for the image, but had to stop short at the fingers of Hakkai's other hand tangled in Gojyo's hair. He refused to even acknowledge Gojyo's tongue in Hakkai's ear or the delicate blush burning beneath the green-eyed man's pale skin.

In the face of sudden vindication, Sanzo lost all rancor toward the bear and reigned in his surprise to adopt the expression with which his audience was most familiar. "Found you. The saru's worrying."

Hakkai flushed at Sanzo's voice, jumping away from Gojyo's mouth. Said redhead glanced between Hakkai and Sanzo, taking in the expressions on their faces. And threw his head back to laugh.