Well, here's the sequel to A Dog's Life that I was talking about. It's got a very loose plot line at the moment, so suggestions for stuff you'd like to see happen are welcome. And on that note, it's starting off with a good one from StarAngel531 in a review for A Dog's Life.

In any case, if you're a new reader than you might want to read A Dog's Life first. You don't have to, but there's many references you may not get if you don't.

Either way – thanks so much for reading and reviewing!


Prologue: On the Road Again

"Just say we're lost, Hakkai." Gojyo groaned as he leaned over the side of the Jeep door. One of these days they'd learn not to let the half-blind man drive the car. "We've been past that rock three times now."

"I am not lost, Gojyo." Hakkai checked the map again. They had seen rocks that looked like that one before. Maybe it was a geological similarity caused by the environmental features of the area. Yes, that was a good explanation for the phenomenon. Hakkai couldn't possibly be lost again. "I know exactly where I'm going, I'm just double checking our location."

"We saw that house behind it before too." Sanzo commented cracking an eye open to peak over to said rock. He hated to agree with the damn cockroach, but enough was friggin' enough. Hell, he had died and been reincarnated twice – was it too much to ask to continue on this journey without getting lost for once? "With that same ugly truck in the drive."

Or maybe he was just lost. Hakkai tossed the map into the back seat before leaning back in his seat. If they were all so smart than they could solve the problem. Ha. "Then what do you suggest?"

"Not hitting me in the head with a map!" Goku grumbled as he sat up, shifting Sable over onto his lap as he went. The little puppy whined from being woken, but re-snuggled into Goku's lap. Goku scratched the pup behind its ear while he tended to his own head. "I was having a nap, too."

Gojyo snickered and kicked his legs up onto the side door of the Jeep. Misery loved company and this half-demon was determined to spread it to all involved be they monkey or puppy. "If we have to stay awake while Hakkai gets us lost, so do you, monkey."

"I did not get us lost." Hakkai did his best to glare at Gojyo while taking the map back from Goku. He folded it neatly since they clearly weren't going to use it. They didn't need it, either. Hakkai turned back to smile at Goku and his new companion. At least the dog wasn't going to accuse him of getting lost anytime soon. Hakkai had never been so thankful for a traveling companion that couldn't talk. Jeep didn't count because he had his own ways of complaining. "We're just a little off course."

Sanzo groaned and shifted in his seat trying to straighten his pants while Hakkai convinced himself that they weren't adrift in what was practically a desert. They had been driving for a week now and they still had not come across a town with a population larger than twenty people. So, here he sat, wearing the water-sprite's over sized clothes while trying to maintain the dignity of a Sanzo Priest with his sutra stuck in a pocket somewhere. Now they were lost and the monkey and the mutt were awake and whining. Hell, it had been bad enough when it was just been one!

"I'm hungry!" Goku pulled himself up in between the two main seats. Sable yelped a bit when he fell off the boy's lap and hit the seat. The tiny puppy started giving off tiny barks that gave the distinct sound of complaint. Goku winced when he looked down at the disoriented mug of a face. He'd have to remember the tiny thing was there from now on. When Sanzo had been the dog he had been too big to miss; Sable was miniscule in comparison. "Sorry, Sable. Can't we just drive until we get somewhere?"

"We might as well." Sanzo reached for one of Gojyo's cigarettes. They tasted horrible but they'd have to do for now until they could find someplace that sold his Marlboro. The red-head had stopped complaining about them being stolen when Sanzo fired a bullet very close to mini-Gojyo. "It's about the same as Hakkai's navigation skills anyway."

"I think I do pretty well for the materials I had for this trip. If you think it's so easy Sanzo, why don't you drive?" Hakkai smiled politely. He himself was tired and had a massive headache. While he would never say it out loud, he was starting to miss Sanzo as a dog. At least then he could get away with things such as smacking him with his own newspaper. "I insist."

"Hakkai!" Gojyo shot up in the seat and slammed the headrest for good measure. Sometimes he doubted his best friend's sanity. "Are you insane? Don't you remember last time we let him drive? He's worse than you!"

"After that statement, I'm driving." Sanzo kicked his door open, ignored the engine whine, and strut around to the other side. The Jeep could take it; he'd done worse to Sanzo with his claws anyway. "Move your ass, Hakkai."

"My pleasure." Hakkai opened his door and let Sanzo take the wheel. He shot Gojyo a dirty look when the man cracked the handle of his own door. "I'll take shotgun then."

Gojyo closed his door after he watched Hakkai sit next to Sanzo. So much for the front seat. Hakkai spoiled all his fun lately; maybe he shouldn't have teased so hard with the lost comments."Try not to kill us, you damn priest."

"I know you don't like being held, Sable." Goku struggled to keep the dog in his lap. After being tossed and dropped, Sable was not cooperating as much as Goku would like, regardless, he held the little dog tight to his gut. "But Sanzo's driving and you might get thrown out."

"I'm going to kill that little monkey." Sanzo growled as he gunned the engine and fell back into his seat. The engine squealed and Sanzo shifted the gear ignoring him completely. He smacked the side of the steering wheel for good measure. "Stop complaining, Jeep. After all those free rides, you can live with it."

Hakkai laughed as the force of the drive shoved him into the seat. He held a hand up to make sure his monocle didn't fly away. His other hand was dug as far as it possibly could be into the seat; he hoped Jeep would forgive him if he left a mark. And they accused him of being a bad driver, really. "Well, wherever we're going, we'll be sure to get there quickly."

"Shut up." Driving wasn't so hard. Sanzo watched the little speedometer and shifted the clutch. Piece of cake. "Shit, stupid rocks." Sanzo made note to drive around the rocks the next time.

"At least it's better than last time." Goku grinned as he bounced in the back. He had a tight grip on the puppy and Gojyo was screaming for his life in the seat next to him. That almost made the whole thing worth it in itself to watch that pervert near wet himself. "It's actually kind of fun."

"Speak for yourself!" Gojyo cried and clutched the door. How were Hakkai and Goku staying in their seats? Stupid full demons were probably using their claws. "Slow down you maniac!"

"I'm not going that fast." Sanzo muttered as he kept the steering wheel straight. All he had to do was keep going in the direction of the sunset. West. Why was that so hard?


"Lady Lirin?" Yaone questioned. The princess had been in her room ever since she had given that dog Sable back to Mr. Hakkai and the other two. Lirin kept mumbling things about the dog being Sanzo, but that was absurd. Even Lord Kougaiji had said the dog was him, but she agreed with Dokugaku: The prince was only humoring his sister. That had to be why he was so adamant of believing otherwise. Sanzo a dog, really now. "Are you alright? Do you want to go out for a bit?"

"Can we go see Baldy Sanzo! I wanna' play with him." Lirin perked up the moment Yaone mentioned going out. She'd been trying to limit her sneaking out to keep her brother happy, but she was getting really bored. Not to mention, Sanzo as a puppy dog was just too much fun! She wanted to go play fetch with him like Goku. "Pretty please?"

"I think it would be best if we stayed around the castle." Yaone sighed and brushed her bangs back. She knew suggesting they go out would lead to this; so why did she? "How about going to that field and running around next door?"

"Can we go see them if we bring Kougaiji and Dokugakuji with us?" Lirin sat up on her bed. "Since we know Sanzo's there now, we can try to steal the scripture again like old times!"

"Well," Yaone paused. It was true, they hadn't tried to steal the scripture in a while due to all the chaos. And they did still need it to resurrect Lord Kougaiji's mother. "We could talk to Lord Kougaiji about it, I suppose."

"Yay!" Lirin shouted and jumped from the bed. "Let's go! Let's go!"

Yaone watched the little bundle of red hair dash from the bedroom before suddenly moving her own feet to follow. She really needed to learn to keep her mouth shut! "Lady Lirin! Please wait!"