A/N: It's been a while, huh? I figured it was time to blow the dust off this fic and start writing again. Sorry it took me so long, but with the mixture of school, work, laziness, writer's block, AND lack of motivation, I couldn't figure out what to write. Anyway, here's another chapter. By the way, thanks for the reviews and follows. You guys are awesome!

Gojyo stopped looking into Akio's eyes long enough to look at the digital alarm clock again. The red numbers read 6:27am. He knew Sanzo would want to get moving soon to make up for lost time, so he figured he might as well start packing now. He set Akio down on the bed and went into the bathroom to retrieve the child's now dried clothes. He got Akio dressed and started packing his things. After making sure that he packed everything, he took Akio into Sanzo and Goku's room where Goku was gathering his own things.

"Yo, monkey, I need you to watch Akio for a few minutes."

"I'm not a monkey, stupid cockroach. And you named him? Are we gonna keep him?"

"Damn right."

"No, we're not" said Sanzo as he stepped out of the bathroom, now clean. Gojyo ignored the priest and handed Akio off to Goku. "Just watch him," said Gojyo as he left to shower.

Gojyo used his shower time to think. He didn't know what he could say to Sanzo to make him change his mind about keeping the baby. He knew that it would be dangerous, but he felt drawn to Akio. There was no way he'd tell the others that, though. It's not like they would understand anyway.

Gojyo got out of the shower and checked the time yet again. It was now 6:52am. He grabbed his bags and headed out the door into the lobby.

"Hey, Gojyo!" said Arisu from the front desk. She looked a bit tired and Gojyo began to feel bad about having her to run back and forth to help them with Akio in the middle of the night.

"Hey, Arisu. Thanks again for helping us out last night. You're a real lifesaver."

"No problem. It was very…uhh…interesting helping you guys with him." She said as she reached from behind the counter to ruffle Akio's hair.

"Why do you have all that baby stuff anyway? You have a kid of your own?"

"Goodness, no. I have a little sister and I help my dad take care of her since my mother died."

"Sorry to hear that."

"Thanks. So where's his mother?"

"She passed away not too long ago," Gojyo didn't like where this conversation was heading. Especially since everything was so fresh in his mind. It only happened yesterday.

"I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She said softly. Gojyo nodded his reply.

"Are you guys leaving?"

"Yeah. We never stay in the same place for too long."

"Oh. Well, I hope you guys come back soon."

"Maybe we will. See ya 'round, Arisu."

"Bye, Gojyo."

"By the way, have you seen Hakkai around?"

"Yes, he's in the kitchen. Down that way." She said as she pointed in the direction.

"Thanks, sweetheart," With one last charming smile to Arisu, he turned on his heel and walked to the kitchen.

He found Hakkai bustling about, making breakfast. Gojyo decided he should sit and think about what to say to Hakkai, but he had no idea how to approach the subject. He knew Hakkai was on Sanzo's side about giving up Akio, but he wasn't having it. He couldn't figure out how to tell the others how he felt about Akio other than to tell them that he felt drawn to him. He knew that they would just assume that he feels a bond with the infant because they were both children of taboo, but that wasn't the case. He had some sort of connection with him. It's that connection that told him to run like a bat out of Hell to save him. He knew he was destined to meet Akio, so there was no way he would let the guys talk him into giving him away. By this time, Hakkai had finished cooking, set the table and laid out the food.

"So, Gojyo, are we going to talk about this?" said Hakkai, voice full of concern.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice," replied Gojyo while pulling out a much needed cigarette out of his jacket pocket and lighting it up.

"Gojyo, I know you've taken a liking to Akio, but you know that we can't look after a child right now."

"Hakkai, don't you think it was fate that made me leave the bar early that night and stumble across your bloody body in the middle of the road?"

"Of course, but I don't see-"

"It's the same with Akio. I told you yesterday morning that I felt that something was going to happen. It was all fate, Hakkai; that feeling that told me to wake up earlier than usual and the fact that we almost left but didn't because I left my lighter. These things happened because they were meant to. I know it is."

"Well, I know how you feel, but it isn't exactly up to me. Sanzo-"

"Fuck Sanzo. He may be the leader of this group, but the only thing he's in charge of is the monkey. He has no say in what I do."

"He does if it endangers the mission."

"Whose side are you on?!"

"I'm not taking sides. I just want you to be reasonable."

"Akio isn't going anywhere."

Hakkai just sighed in defeat. It was a new and unwelcome feeling. He never lost an argument with Gojyo, but Gojyo was being extremely stubborn and very determined. Just then, Sanzo, Goku, and Akio were entering the kitchen.

"Finally," Hakkai said, "What took you two so long?" he asked Goku.

"Well, Akio threw up on my shirt, so I had to scrub it out and change. Is he getting sick?" he asked as he took a seat and inspected the baby on his lap.

"He's fine. If you hadn't been bouncing the kid on your lap like a maniac, he wouldn't have puked." said Sanzo as he read the newspaper.

It was not lost on Hakkai how Sanzo referred to Akio as "the kid". He's trying to remain detached from the child because he knows they won't have him for long.

"'The kid' has a name, asshole. Use it and get used to it." growled Gojyo. Apparently he caught on to Sanzo's words too.

"You'd better watch your mouth before I put a bullet in it, bastard."

"Hey, guys, you shouldn't swear in front of the baby." Goku said softly. It was as if he didn't want to say it too loudly or their anger would be directed toward him.

"Goku is right. Please refrain from using any further obscenities in front of him. We will discuss this further later." Hakkai hoped that the peace would hold until then. He didn't know how things would play out. Both Sanzo and Gojyo are the most stubborn people he knew. The debate was a toss up.

"Hurry the fuck up we're behind schedule," said Sanzo through gritted teeth and with that, he got up from his chair and stormed out of the kitchen.

Once again, it was a quiet ride in the jeep. The tension was thick in the air between Gojyo and Sanzo and no one dared to speak. Hakkai continued to drive while Sanzo sat chain-smoking in the passenger side. With a glare at Sanzo, Gojyo covered Akio to make sure he didn't get second-hand smoke. Gojyo was pissed off and on edge. He hadn't had a cigarette since breakfast and it was killing him, but he wasn't going to smoke around Akio. Goku was bored and hungry, but was too afraid to complain about it. Instead, he opted for a safer topic.

"Hakkai, when will we get to the next town?"

"Why? Are you hungry, Goku?"

"Ye-…umm…no. I just wanted to get out of Jeep and stretch my legs," Goku lied. Better safe than sorry.

"Luckily, there's a town not far from the one we left. We'll reach it by nightfall."

That was the best news Goku heard all day. It sucked that he would have to go a while without food, but it could've been worse. Sure enough, they came to a stop at a small town. It was smaller than the last, but a town no less and everyone was grateful for it. They drove a little further into town and found an inn. Hakuryuu transformed back into a dragon and they all walked in.

"Hello," said Hakkai to the old man behind the counter, "we would like four singles please."

"Sure, young man. Please sign in here," replied the man as he pushed the clipboard toward Hakkai. After signing in their aliases, they each took their keys and headed toward their rooms. Gojyo couldn't be more relieved to have some peace and quiet to think. Every moment since he found Akio has been nothing but a pain in the ass. Between Sanzo wanting to leave Akio behind and Hakkai backing Sanzo up on that decision, he felt he was going to lose it. He decided to calm his nerves by just holding Akio. The little guy wasn't half bad when he wasn't screaming. He remembered that he had to feed Akio before he got cranky and took the bottle of formula out of his pack. After a few minutes of greedily sucking down his formula, Akio was fast asleep. Gojyo realized that he desperately wanted a drink. He carefully scooped up Akio in his arms and softly knocked on Goku's door.

"Yo, Goku, you still up?"

"Yeah, come in."

"Hey, I wanted to ask you to watch Akio for a little while."

"You're not leaving again, are you?"

"No, not this time. I just really, REALLY needed a drink and I saw a bar not too far away. I just need to clear my head for a while. So, can you watch him?"

"Yeah, sure," Goku whispered as he gently took Akio out of Gojyo's grasp.

"Thanks, monkey."

"No problem, water-sprite."

Gojyo all but ran to the nearest bar he could find. It was dark and smelled faintly of vomit, but it sold booze and that was good enough for him. He walked toward the bar only to notice a familiar blond figure already there.

"Damn. I came here to get away from my problem and here he is…", thought Gojyo as he walked toward the bar anyway.

"Hey, barkeep, lemme get a Whisky on the rocks," said Gojyo once he reached the bar. As the "Merciful" Goddess would have it, the only free barstool was the one next to Sanzo. Gojyo sat down as the burly barkeep handed him the drink. Sanzo didn't say anything when he saw Gojyo. It was easier to just pretend that he wasn't there. However, they never got to fully discuss the matter at hand and there was no Hakkai or Goku to interrupt.

"We aren't taking the kid with us," Sanzo stated without looking up from his drink.

"Yeah, we are," replied Gojyo, eyes on his drink as well.

"Tell me how an orphan could possibly know how to care for a child?"

"Fuck off, Sanzo! You had no qualms about bringing Goku along and he was a kid when we first started out!"

"He wasn't an infant! Goku was a kid, but he was always a fighter. I never had to look after him during battle. So, what are you going to do once the assassins attack?" Sanzo yelled. Gojyo never thought about that. He had been so worried about keeping the baby in the first place that he didn't think about Kougajii or his assassins.

"Look," said Sanzo after it became clear that Gojyo wasn't going to reply, "you can take him along with us, but I want you to know that the kid is your responsibility. I will not have his blood on my hands." Without another word, Sanzo stood, paid his tab, and left the bar.

A/N: I'll try to make chapter eight a bit more action packed. I'm kind of just making it up as I go, so please don't kill me. Anyway, hopefully it won't be another year until the next update. Until then, I bid you all farewell. Oh, and by the way, please review!