Thanks for all the kind and encouraging reviews I received from you in the past few months. I can't even begin to express how touched I was, and how much you made me want to continue writing for you.

Finally, after so many months of waiting, here's the final chapter of "Abdication". There's going to be one more part after this, where everyone's fate will be decided. Right now, however, I can't say when this part will be completed. Thanks for your patience!

It was early evening by the time Kougaiji and his group returned to Houtou Castle. It had taken a while to carry Dokugakuji to his quarters, but Yaone had turned the small room into a makeshift infirmary in no time. Linen bandages lay ready for use. Dokugakuji's clothes were mere shreds now; Kougaiji had simply cut them off his sword master's mangled body instead of undressing him. Blood leaked from ruined sheets to the floor. Carefully, Yaone washed grim and gore from Dokugakuji's skin with a wet rag. Crimson swirled in the basin of hot water she used to clean the cloth.

When one of Doctor Nii's pet projects drained current from the generators deep down in the basement, electric lights flickered on and off. Soft tremors ran through aged brick walls. The low, pulsing beat of forbidden technology made the floor vibrate under their feet.

Yaone stopped her needle work for a moment and frowned, worry filling her eyes. After a few moments, the power grid stabelized, and she continued her task. Kougaiji watched how once again she pressed the rims of deep cuts on Dokugakuji's abdomen together. Experience spoke from every move, and the needle never slipped from her delicate, blood wet fingers.

x

It's not working.

Hakkai shivered. Cold settled in every bone and muscle in as he drained his body of life energy. His legs, numb from the hip down, had ceased to support his weight a long time ago.

It's not enough.

Still, Hakkai refused to surrender to reality. Maybe, if he just fought a bit harder, if he squelched that last spark from the core of his being, Goku would-

I can't save him.

The soft glow of healing energy that radiated from his hands danced before Hakkai's eyes. The blur of light dimmed, flickered a last time and then faded completely. He knew that he had gone way too far beyond his limits. Even his skull splitting headache had become nothing but a faint throbbing in the back of his brain.

Change... must change back...

Hakkai hastily fished the magic limiters from the floor. The first two limiters were right next to Goku, and he quickly fastened them to his ear. The third one - where was the third one? If he fainted without restoring his human form, there was no say what he would do on waking. Seconds became minutes when the searched the ground, until he finally held the limiter in his hand. With trembling fingers, he placed the last of small items to its place.

Goku... I'm sorry.

Then, Hakkai's world collapsed into darkness and all-numbing cold.

x

Pale lights dotted the snow-covered shore where the huts of the small village ducked into the landscape. The wind had picked up, and snow showers heralded an upcoming blizzard. By the time Sanzo had made it across the frozen river, it was late evening. The outer layers of his robe and the blanket were frozen, but if the frost had reached his skin, Sanzo did not feel it.

He slid his feet over the creaking ice, careful not to break through the thin solid layer above the water. Sanzo no longer bothered to look over his shoulder to check on his companion's condition. He didn't need to; Gojyo's ghostly pale face alone was a reminder of how, with the loss of life force, the kappa's body warmth had been snuffed out.

Sanzo knew that if he'd check for a pulse, there would probably be none, and the steadily intensifying sense of fatality added to the knowledge that something was profoundly wrong. Still, he kept telling himself that once the trap was removed, if they just found shelter in the village that lay so temptingly close on the other shore, if he could find someone to break the spell...

"Oy, useless pervert," he grumbled. "Die, and I'll kill you." His numb fingers dug into Gojyo's calves. "Damn it! I'm so not going to read a Sutra for you!"

x

"T-thirsty."

Dokugakuji's hoarse whisper had Yaone up on her feet in an instant. She poured some water into a glass, raised her patient's head and placed the glass at his lips. "Here. Drink slowly."

Dokugakuji took a few sips, but it was all too obvious that swallowing caused him problems. Yaone wasn't surprised. Dokugakuji's injuries had left him with an infection, and even with her medical skills, she wasn't sure if he would survive the night.

"G-goku," the swordmaster winced. Fever made his eyes glistening, and the lamp light reflected on the sheen of sweat on his face. "Ha-hakkai... must tell-" A shiver ran through Dokugakuji as the effort to talk sapped energy from him he couldn't spare. "Sanzo..."

"Shh." Yaone tried to calm her patient. "Don't worry about them. You must rest."

"K-kou-where-" Dokugakuji pressed out. His breathing was laboured; a side effect of the pain from his fractured ribs and other injuries.

Yaone took a cloth and soaked it in water, wiped the sweat from Dokugakuji's face and soaked the cloth again. Then, she placed it on his forehead. She wished she could ease the swordmaster's agony, but she already had administered as much of the strong painkiller as she could without risking his life. "Shhh... you must rest."

"Kou... tell Kou-" he gasped, but his voice faltered when another fever cramp ravaged his body.

"Please, stop it." Yaone's vision blurred. This was her friend, and she could do nothing to help him. "Kougaiji-sama is asleep."

"No, he's not," Kougaiji's voice sounded from right behind her.

"Kougaiji-sama!" Yaone turned around in surprise. She noticed how his usually impeccable appearance was sleep-ruffled, and tangled strands of hair fell in the youkai prince's tired face.

"How you'd expect me to sleep when you make such a ruckus?" he grumbled.

x

Wind howled around the small hut. The weight of snow it brought made the shingles on the wooden roof grind against each other. Thin tendrils of smoke crept from the fireplace and dissolved. The air was moisture-ladden and smelled like wet socks and overcooked food, but Sanzo couldn't care less. All his frozen brain registered was that the damp cold of his clothes leaked away and the rough scratching the a heavy woolen blanket he was wrapped into.

"Drink slowly."

Sanzo accepted the mug of hot tea that his host forced into his cold hands. The warmth made his skin tingle painfully. He raised the mug to his mouth, but even the small move was a challenge. His hands trembled. Spilled tea formed a dark pattern on the blanket that covered him, but it never reached his skin. When he finally managed to press the mug against his lips, he first took a few sips, then gulped down the tea greedily. The hot liquid ran down his throat, leaving a trail of fire in its path that almost had Sanzo choke. "Shit!"

The old man, who had found him and Gojyo half frozen to death, shot Sanzo an amused look. "Told ya to take it slow. With that blizzard outside, you and your buddy are stuck here anyway."

"He's not my buddy," Sanzo hissed through clenched teeth, but the unconscious kappa wasn't his only worry. Their host was right, of course. The snow storm was just another obstacle thrown into their way towards the West. Sanzo sipped his tea, treasuring the pain on his lips and tongue where the hot beverage had burned his skin.

How many days on this journey had been lost to injury or because they had been sucked into some stranger's problems? How many lives could've been saved if he had ignored everything but his mission? Not that he had much of a choice, with those three hoodlums by his side... Sanzo shot a glance at the body buried under piles of ragged sheets. Gojyo's face was still, like a waxen mask of death, and his life energy was so faint that he could almost not sense it any more. 'Make that one half-dead hoodlum.'

x

Dusk had long passed and left the morning sky to the furnacing globe of the sun. Kougaiji rubbed his eyes, fighting his growing urge for sleep. Dokugakuji's words kept repeating in his mind. Could it be true? Had Goku really joined forces with the strange warrior? Then, what happened to Hakkai? Why was he missing? Had he also betrayed Sanzo and gone for a stronger ally? No. Kougaiji shook his head. It didn't make sense at all. Over the months he had chased Sanzo and his gang, Kougaiji had studied his prey carefully and learned first hand about the strong bond of loyalty in their ranks. Hakkai would never betray Sanzo. Then, was he dead?

'They're my enemies,' Kougaiji reminded himself. 'The enemy.'

The pages of the old manuscript on the table rustled as Kougaiji straightened it. He had a message to deliver.

x

"You have a death wish, geezer?" Sanzo glared at the monk who had tended to their injuries. Two nights and a day had passed after his rescue from the blizzard, and he had recovered enough to continue his journey. The snow storms had ended, so he rightfully should be on their way to the West. Instead, Sanzo was faced once more with the uncomfortable option to leave behind a member of his group for good. "What do you mean, the trap has a curse on it?" The old monk, who happened to be the local healer as well, gave him a toothless grin and shoved a scripture into his face. "That's what it says. Once you remove the trap, the victim will fall into a deep sleep and die within a week."

"And if it's not removed..."

"He won't survive either," the man explained. "But it's going to be faster. Death will come by tomorrow night, perhaps earlier."

Sanzo stared at the small hill of cloth that hid Gojyo. A day or seven, the result would be the same. He should face reality and just leave the cockroach to his fate. Instead, he snarled, "You better tell me that there's a way to safe him."

"Well, there might be something..." the monk began, but then shook his head. "It's just a legend."

Legend or not, Sanzo's interest was spiked. "So there is a counter spell?"

"There's a special ritual," the old man explained. "But it never worked before."

"Talk, before I ripp off your useless head!"

The monk winced. "Patience isn't one of your virtues, is it? Are you sure you're a Sanzo?"

"Hmpf. Just give me the damned ritual!"

Thebald monk sighed. After a bit of rummaging, he pulled scroll from the depth of his medicine bag. "It's a dance ritual. Legend says that the Merciful Goddess Kanzeon herself gave it to the ancestors."

x

"Where are you?" Kougaiji muttered. He had combed through the ragged mountain area for almost a day and a half, but Genjo Sanzo seemed to be swallowed by Earth. Goku or not, this was helping. 'One more valley, then I'll return,' Kougaiji decided, directing the Flying Dragon towards the next mountain peak.

x

The fire licked up the iron kettle, making the thin soup inside whizz and steam. With a sigh, Sanzo poured himself a bowl. He sipped slowly from the tasty liquid, before turning his attention to the task at hand.

The scroll with the counter spell was old. Thin wood plates, brittle and worm-damaged, were covered with barely visible, brownish symbols.

Sanzo carefully put the scroll down and fished for his reading glasses in the sleeves of his robe. Too late he remembered that the glasses were somewhere under Jeep's passenger seat; and Jeep had vanished without a trace.

"What kind of idiotic chant is that? You've got to be kidding," Sanzo murmured, trying to decipher the faded letters of the ancient text. His fingertips traced over the shallow indents where the pen had carved the symbols into the wood, more guessing the words than actually feeling them. "Performed by a virgin? Doing what! No. Freaking. Way."

Next to him, the old monk smiled. "It was given by the Merciful Goddess herself. Perhaps with your powers, it will work."

"Virgin monk dance?" Sanzo grumbled, ignoring the man. "I'm not doing that stupid dance!" '...not even if Bhudda himself came up with it,' he added silently. Still, someone had to do it. Someone... He watched the monk pouring tea into his cup and smirked. "You'll dance."

"Huh?" The old man stared at him in surprise. "Sorry, but I can'tdo the ritual."

Sanzo reached into his sleeve and casually pulled out the banishing gun. "Can't you, now?"

The monk paled. "W-well, I would do it, but..."

"But what?" Sanzo bellowed.

"But... You see," the old man blushed. "I'm not a virgin."

"Not. A. Virgin," Sanzo echoed.

The monk fidgeted. "I lead a very impure life before I found faith."

Sanzo gaped. "Of all the rotten luck on the planet," he groaned. Then again, it made perfect sense if Kanzeon Bosatsu was the indeed source of this asinine chant. "Forget it. Where's the next monastery?"

"Two week's journey to the East. But you can't cross the mountain pass at this time of the year."

Sanzo scowled. Who was he trying to fool? The ritual reportedly had never worked in the past. And even if it worked because he was a Sanzo, he would so not perform it for the pervert kappa. He should just shoot the idiot and be done with it.

"You'll save your friend, yes?" The old monk smiled.

"Shut up!" Sanzo jumped to his feet. "He's not my friend!"

x

A familiar, brilliant ki outshone the bright white of the snow, instantly gaining Kougaiji's attention.

"At last," he sighed and focussed to get a clear bearing before he steered his dragon towards Sanzo's hideout.

x

'A curse,' the old man had said, but whatever that curse was, even using the Makai Tenjou had had no effect at all.

Sanzo stared into the flames, his thoughts and feelings too frenzy to make sense of was the most prominent, butright under that surface, another emotion wreaked havoc. Sanzo what if those guys had provided him company? They were just getting on his nerves anyway with their constant demands and nagging. Still, he missed them. When had he begun to protect them? 'I can't save anyone.' Why was it so hard to accept the inevitable? 'I can't save even save myself.' Annoyed, he turned back his attention to his only surviving 'servant'. "Blasted kappa!"

The half-demon lay on the other side of the fire, bundled up in several blankets. His face was pale, and his breathing and heart beat so shallow that Sanzo had thought him dead when they had crossed the frozen river. With every hour that passed, Gojyo's life force leaked away, and soon he would be nothing but an empty husk.

'It's not like pervert cockroaches go into hibernation during the winter.' Sanzo were only a few hours left before the curse would finish its work. Was thisthe only option he had left - to perform an idiotic ritual and make a fool of himself? "Why should I? Just die and see if I care."

x

Kougaiji tethered the Flying Dragon's to one of the large rocks that marked the river bed. He could make out a handfull of huts cowering in the snow. The air stank of fire and humans, but no one was around or seemed to have noticed him. 'Imbeciles,' Kougaiji thought. These people would fall easy prey to a youkai attack. He grimaced. Well, with Sanzo around, perhaps they wouldn't be quite as easy to kill. Kougaiji made his way through the high snow to the hut where he had sensed Sanzo's lifeforce. He was about to open the door when strange noises from inside made him stop in mid-movement.

x

It was hot. Incredibly hot. The air was saturated with smoke, and the pressure on his chest made Gojyo feel like he was being suffocated. He dragged air into his lungs and exhaled again, but even breathing didn't remove the numbness in his body.

'What's wrong with me?' Gojyo wondered. The last thing he remembered was the idiot monk bumming his last cigarette, wandering across the frozen river and then...

Water. Cold.

A sharp pain.

Darkness. Death.

"No!" he screamed, but no sound came from his throat. His lungs burned as he sucked air into them frantically. 'Dead. Am I dead? I can't be dead!' He could hear the light tapping of bare feet on solid ground, the rhythmic pattern of a dance. 'I'm not dead,' he reassured himself. Slowly, the panic subsided, and Gojyo tried to make sense of his surroundings. Someone howled, like a tortured animal. More dancing steps, another howl. This time, Gojyo managed to focus enough to make out words.

"Awoooga!"

Gojyo shivered and sweat at the same time. 'Awooga?' This obviously wasn't any language he was familiar with. He pried his left eye open, then the right. His vision was blurred. Still, Gojyo could make out the shine of what must be a bon fire, and a vaguely human shape that circled around it with rapid moves.

"Fucking cockroach!" the butt-naked shape cursed in Sanzo's voice, followed by another blood-curling, "Awooga!" while it continued its journey around the fireplace.

Gojyo would've gaped if his mouth wasn't hanging open already. Instead, he blinked a few times, and slowly his vision began to clear. What he saw made him doubt his sanity.

"Made me write blasted tantras all over myself!" Sanzo made another step, even though it was more of a mad stomping by now. "Awooga!" And he circled the fire again, wiggling his body like crazy. "This fucking virgin monk dance ritual better works! Awooga!"

Gojyo sighed and closed his eyes again. 'This can't be real. Maybe I have a fever. Sanzo would never ever do something like this for anybody.' But when he opened his eyes again, the bizarre exhibit continued. 'I'm hallucinating. But, boy, what a hoot! Virgin. Monk. Dance. Ritual.'

The 'Awooga' and countless curses ringing in his ears, Gojyo still smiled when exhaustion claimed him and he drifted off into peaceful sleep.