Authoress’ Notes: Hello people. I’m so very sorry that it took so long to get this out. This chapter was started months ago but I just had to go and keep tweaking and re- tweaking. Then I had to go back to the manga and anime to get into a Sanzo frame of mind and well time just got away from me. And even though Sanzo doesn’t have much to do or say in this chapter, I still feel he’s not as IC as I would like him to be. Also I suck rocks at writing action, and this chapter is basically one whole action scene. At least Yaone gets to kick a little booty.

Disclaimer: See Chapter one.

Chapter two:

...Keep your Enemies Closer

Yaone looked down into enraged eyes, the vision clawed through her own eyes and into the inner workings of her brain. Like a virus it attached itself to all of her preconceived beliefs that this man would kill himself before hurting her; one by one her beliefs fell under the onslaught of his eyes.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this...not this. He was supposed to wake up, to see her and finally break through Nii’s magic and become himself again. Her body went numb as the realization dawned on her that the man she loved was about to kill her.

“Let her go.” She vaguely registered the voice as being Hakkai and she felt the impact, through Kouagaiji, of a powerful chi blast that could’ve only come from the healer. And still she could not tear her eyes from the prince, even as he unceremoniously dropped her to the ground. Kougaiji had barely been fazed by that blast, more stunned than anything else, but at least that squeezing pressure was gone. Her hand instantly flew to her neck, gently massaging the tender skin and the bruises that were sure to follow.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you not to hurt a woman.” That was Gojyo, and she saw the chain from his weapon roughly wrap around Kougaiji. And yet her mind almost refused to register what had just happened. He would’ve killed her, to that there was no doubt in her mind, and the events of the last few moments played over and over again in her head.

She was in shock, she was coherent enough to realize that fact. Yet everything around her moved in slow motion. Her limbs felt heavy, as if she was moving them through water. Still all she could see was Kougaiji and the men now fighting for their lives, for hers ...

When did he become this strong?

...her lord now struggling in the bonds of Gojyo’s chain.

Is this only Nii’s magic that developed this in him, this strength and anger...

The red head now struggling himself to stay upright in the tug o’ war match of wills a match Kougaiji would no doubt win.

...or was it there all along and Nii just brought it out?

How did things deteriorate to this point? It just didn’t seem that bad when they located the two warriors. Goku had barely been standing. He had fallen to the ground soon after they arrived, with one raised hand that seemed as if he was tagging in his comrades for the remainder of the fight.

The Sanzo party had cornered Kougaiji. He was on the ground defenseless and wounded. Seeing him like that had spurred her to make the decision that she did. If that was the path Kougaiji had chosen then she would follow. So with Doku at her side they both went to protect their prince. Part of her was hoping that if he saw where their loyalties truly lie then he would snap himself out of this nightmare.

If only...

Instead he had turned on Dokugakuji sending him into the nearest tree.

“I told you not to interfere.” He said in that monotone voice, however while his voice might not have held any emotion , his eyes sure did. Rage, pure unadulterated rage, it seemed to make him stronger than before, if such a thing was possible. He rose like a phoenix from the ashes, and she couldn’t quell the swell of pride in him, in her lord, that shot through her like lightning. Then his eyes settled on her, and all of the blood drained from her body. She had never felt afraid or intimidated by her lord and even though he was undeniably angry with Gyokumen Koushu for blackmailing him with his mothers life, he had never let those he cared for see that darkness inside of him. Now it was as if a caged, bloodthirsty animal had been let loose. Now she was not just afraid, she was terrified.

It was then that he grabbed her roughly around her throat, he lifted her a good foot off the ground and she had to grab onto his strong, ramrod straight arm be keep from being hung. She felt his muscles strain only slightly under her hands as if she weighed nothing. His skin so slick from sweat that she threatened to lose her hold, and so hot that it burned her to hold on but her survival instincts told her that her lungs needed the air more.

Then the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. He’s going to kill me, the man I love is going to snap my neck like a twig.

Now she was on the ground looking up at him as if he was something completely alien, her eyes wide and breathing still coming in ragged gulps. The rocks and sticks digging into her legs that were pulled underneath her body, but she couldn’t feel them.

“Sonovabitch, the bastard’s strong!” Gojyo strained with his weapon and tried not to get pulled down as the demon prince raged against the restraints of Gojyo’s chain.

“Gojyo, please try to keep him still.” Hakkai cried as he built up a massive chi blast.

“Why don’t you try holding his ass still!” Gojyo’s weapon began to bend as Kougaiji started winning the battle of tug o’ war. “Hurry the fuck up Hakkai! I can’t...”

The ominous creaking of stretching metal sounded as Kougaiji broke free of the chains that bound him. He moved as a blur through the clearing and before he knew it Gojyo found himself next to an unconscious Goku on the ground. He felt as if he had been hit by a mountain and his chest burned as he tried to recover his breath.

“Gojyo!” Hakkai yelled and before he knew it he had come face to face with the demon prince and then a hard kick to his gut that also sent him into the tree behind him. His head hit the trunk with a sickening thud as his monocle fell to the ground.

A gunshot rang out in the clearing that stopped Kougaiji in his tracks. All eyes turned to the blonde monk that stood not five feet from Goku and Gojyo. The demon prince turned around to his adversary and target.

Yaone finally pulled her eyes from Kougaiji and now they rested on Sanzo. The words that Sanzo had said rang through her mind, ‘ I kill whoever’s in my way, that includes your boss’. While everything he said was true and she had agreed with him at the time, she would not just sit back and let him kill Kougaiji. Not like this, not when he didn’t even know what he was doing. He would not be put down like some rabid dog.

“Genjyo Sanzo, hand over the scripture.” Kougaiji said as he methodically made his way to the monk.

“Why don’t you come and take it?” Sanzo said haughtily. As he raised his gun and took aim.

---

Meanwhile Yaone crawled her way the few feet to Doku’s side. She quickly checked his vitals and concluding that he was only knocked unconscious, she preceded to none too gently slapped his face to wake him up.

“Dokugakuji. Dokugakuji, wake up!” His head lulled to the side for a moment and then he slowly opened his eyes.

“...Yaone? Whats going on?” He asked groggily. His chest ached when he tried to breath and even the subtle shifting of his body as he awoke hurt like a son of a bitch.

Then he abruptly tensed as he caught sight of the spectacle ahead of him. Sanzo fired off another shot and Kougaiji quickly dodged and charged the monk. Sanzo slid to the right and then to the left rapidly dodging Kouagiji’s punches.

“Hurry, I have an idea but I’m going to need your help. Can you stand?” Yaone asked. Drawing his attention back to her.

“Yeah...” Doku responded as Yaone helped him up. His muscles tensed as the pain in his chest erupted again and he let out a ragged breath. “Dam I forgot how hard he hits.” He added almost as an afterthought.

---

Shit he’s almost as fast as berserker Goku ... Sanzo thought to himself. It was taking everything he had to avoid the raging the bastard. As hard as he looked he didn’t see one opening in his defense. The fucker wasn’t even slowing down.

Movement to his right caught his attention as he saw Yaone slide down next to Dokugakuji. He quickly turned his eyes back to Kouagaiji.

He had an idea those two were going to try to put a stop to this and they were using him as a decoy. That didn’t sit right with him but right now he was the only one in any state to deal with this shit.

Fuck! He didn’t dodge in time and Kouagiji’s claws grazed his right side. Blood flowed warm and sticky freely down his robes.

---

“Are you sure Yaone? I mean...” Doku started, his mind was still a little foggy from the bump on the head and he wasn’t sure he heard her right.

“And what about the alternative. When he comes to his senses he would never forgive himself. If he were to kill them in the state he’s in now and ...” She refused to say what they both knew now to be a very distinct possibility that the Sanzo party may not be the only casualties of this fight.

Of course she was right, they both knew it. Lirin was missing and Gods only know what Nii and that bitch Koushu were doing to her. Someone had to survive this if only for her sake.

“Alright I’ll help as much as I can, but one of us is going to have to head back to Houtu Castle soon or heads are going to roll...literally.”

“I understand. Just buy me a few moments and maneuver him as close to the cliff as you can.” In that one moment they knew they were going to do something they promised they would never do. They both stood up and she affectionately squeezed his arm. And like that she was gone running quietly into the forest.

“Alright, lets do this.” Dokugakuji summoned his sword and readied himself for battle against not only his boss but his best friend.

He watched and waited for the moment he would be able to catch Kougaiji off guard. As the prince attacked mercilessly at the monks defenses, Doku noticed the slight, very slight slowing of the monks dodges. Right now Sanzo was up against a machine, a being that knew nothing of pain or fatigue. No matter how tough Sanzo was he was still only a human and he was starting to slow.

He saw his opening and took it. He charged and drove his shoulder as well as the hilt of his sword, with explosive force into his lord just as Kougaiji knocked Sanzo to the ground. The demon prince went flying and came down in a heap about six feet away from the spot of impact.

“Don’t expect a thank you.” Sanzo stood quickly and spat blood from his mouth to the ground. He scanned his surroundings and found Yaone missing. “Where’s the apothecary?”

“Your welcome for saving your ass. She went to get some things, so just follow my lead and don’t get in the way,” Doku smirked.

“And here I thought you were the smart one in the family, but you sound like that bastard brother of yours.” Sanzo shot back. The man looked more like Gojyo when he smirked, than Sanzo cared to think. Surely the gods wouldn’t be that cruel ...no this was the gods he was thinking about. They would make two of that bastard just to annoy him.

“ Kougaiji is your problem. You need to figure out a way to stop him.” Sanzo quickly reloaded his gun as he watched Kougaiji get back up. The stupid bastard just didn’t know when to quit.

“Sure he’s my problem but it’s your sutra he’s after. Funny how that works.” Doku shrugged. “Besides I’m just following orders, get him as close to the cliff as possible. Prepare, he’s coming again.”

Before Sanzo could ask whose orders the demon prince charged again, this time he was favoring his right arm as the blow from Dokugakuji most likely dislocated it. Even though it hung like a wet fish attached to his shoulder, it didn’t seem to impede him at all.

Fuck, why do I always get stuck with it... Sanzo thought.

---

Yaone meanwhile had gone into stealth mode her feet not making a sound as she quickly made her way through the underbrush. One part of her brain, the intellectual part kept an eye out for the flower she needed, the other more emotional part of her brain just kept repeating that she was right; praying that she was right.

You have no other choice at the moment Yaone, so suck it up. Hurry up and find that flower.

Finally she spotted small purple petals pushing their way through a sea of dense foliage. She grabbed it cutting her hands on the thorns of the stem. That slight pain cleared her mind just a little and she thanked the gods for it and she moved with a renewed vigor as she opened the pouch at her side.

“I’m coming Lord Kougaiji, just please forgive me for what I have to do.” She whispered a prayer on the wind, her nimble fingers quickly and carefully extracting the pollen from the small flower. Purple petals fluttered to the ground along with one crimson drop of her blood.

---

Sanzo watched Kougaiji closely, the more the demon prince moved the less his arm seemed to hamper him. He even used it to block one of Dokugakuji punches.

He shouldn’t even have mobility in that arm. Sanzo thought. It was getting harder and harder to dodge, and as much as Sanzo didn’t want to admit it, he was starting to slow down while Kougaiji only seemed to be gaining more stamina.

A high pitched whistle interrupted his thoughts. Catching eyes with Dokugakuji. The demon signaled to the monk to cover his mouth and fall back. So this had to be what the woman was up to.

Soon a thick dense fog covered the surrounding area. He could feel the edges of the fog drift over his skin and almost immediately he started to burn. He jumped back as if branded by fire and went to stand by Goku and Gojyo, out of harms way.

---

Eyes closed Yaone drew on her earliest lessons and she moved quickly and efficiently through the gas. Even with her advanced breathing training she figured thatshe had only had two minutes at the most to accomplish her goal. She summoned her spear and felt her way through the fog using her other senses. Heard heavy footsteps, smelling her lords distinct sulfur like smell. In her estimation Kougaiji must have been about ten feet from the edge.

She intentionally made her footsteps heavy so that she could be heard in the fog. She only had a little less than a minute now, and thirty seconds before her movements would begin to become sluggish. Acute demon ears picked on Kougaiji’s movements and she literally felt the rumble of the ground under her feet as he readied his attack. He was fast, a little faster than she had anticipated, but the fog obviously affected him slightly and she was able to strike before he reached her. She struck quickly at his lower legs with her spear, she felt the nonresistance of clear space and the lack of impact and heard his jump backward, toward the cliffs edge. As he jumped back she kicked him squarely in the chest.

She opened her eyes in that moment and the image of her lord falling backward would be an image that would haunt her dreams. Half of her roared in protest, to do something. The other half knew that for the moment she was doing the right thing.

Intellectually she knew it only took seconds to fall, but to her it happened in excruciatingly slow motion . His hair created a sort of hellish looking halo around his body and she felt the impact deep in her heart. Water splashed up and engulfed him as the surge of the river carried him downstream.

Lord Kougaiji, what have I done?

To be continued...