The river seemed to stretch for miles. They were driving with the river in sight for the better portion of the morning, and still it seemed to stretch forever. It sounded quiet, but Sanzo could see how fast the water traveled, and how deep the water was. The only vegetation that was able to take root on the river bank was the grass, but even then, Sanzo could see nothing but eroding Earth by the very edge of the river. It wasn't a river he'd take a bath in, that's for sure. For someone as tall as he was, he was sure he could drown in the river should he pulled under.

He found himself slowly falling asleep. The two morons in the back weren't fighting for once, and the constant rocking of the jeep on the bumpy road was slowly rocking him to sleep. He had gone through the morning's paper already, and the rain from the night before made any sleep impossible anyway. He doubted that Hakkai got any sleep, yet he was his usually perky self.

Sanzo was just nodding off to fall asleep when a loud commotion shook him awake again. A scream sliced the silence, making Hakkai jerk to a stop. People who have been scattered along the outskirts of a village were also quickly making their way to the river, but judging by their grim faces, Sanzo could have already guessed what was happening.

"Mother!"

A new voice. A voice of a boy.

"Hold on, baby! Momma's coming to help!" by the time a woman, most likely the mother began scrambling for the edge, Sanzo was already running for the river with the shouts of his surprised party behind him. Normally, he never cared fordetours, but this time, he wasn't quite sure what the hell he was doing. The only thing he could think of was his Master, and he could feel his head swimming with the experiences of the evening before. The reminders of his master never left him, as rain would continue to pour, no matter where he was. He could almost hear his voice in the back of his mind.

"The odd one is you, Master. Even if Buddhism teaches mercy and persevere - rance of life, you took an unknown peasant brat like me in... And on top of that, you allowed me to stay by your side," Kouryuu muttered as he glanced at the ground. The smell of his Master's pipe hung in the air, almost as if it was trying to suffocate him.

"...Well, that's because I heard a voice," Koumyo responded with a soft smile. The young charged gave him a confused look. He decided to continue. "You were calling. I guess you picked me! You had stubbornly called me many times that... It got so annoying, that I had to bring you home," he finished, his smiling never fading. It was plastered on his face like a permanent smile.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Kouryuu murmured, a little annoyed.

"There might be a time you'll hear someone's voice as well."

Kouymo was right. He heard Goku's pestering voice a few years back, and he took the boy home, despite how annoying he found the monkey to be. Just like his master.

Fate was laughing at him. Why was he presented with such a situation? He hated wasting time with little things that didn't concern them. But if he turned away, then what would Koumyo think of him? He may be dead, but he still found a way to get under Sanzo's skin. What if he didn't save me?

No, Fate just wasn't laughing at him. It was holding him at gun point as well.

The river bank was steeper than he originally thought it to be, but he managed to keep his balance as he sprinted ahead and jumped in the water. He caught hold of a rock and twisted one arm around it to keep himself from advancing further down the river. He could already feel the weight of his robes dragging him away from the safety of the rock.

The boy was flailing his arms wildly and was now screaming louder. Blue eyes met violet eyes, and the kid stopped screaming momentarily as Sanzo grabbed the passing boy by the collar of his shirt. He yanked him towards his own body and placed him between the rock and his own body.

"I didn't know that asshole had a heart," Goyjo murmured in awe as he and Goku pushed through the gathering crowd. Sanzo wouldn't even bother saving them, so the reason why Sanzo would jump into the river after a kid was beyond even Hakkai.

Sanzo suddenly cursed and was pulled further down the river. The river had torn him away from the rock. He gripped the child tighter as he struggled to keep his own head above the water. Damn robes, Sanzo silently cursed.

Funny, he didn't think Master had so much trouble plucking his basket out of the river.

He saw movement out of the corners of his eyes and spotted Goku running quickly beside the river of the Nyoi-Bo in his hands. As soon as he head was Sanzo, he called out, "EXTEND!"

The rod shot out. Sanzo gripped the rod with his free hand. The river pulled him down, and his wet hands slipped down the rod. He was loosing the strength to keep his head above the water, and worse, the river had a better grip on the two in the water than Goku did.

His head was pulled under, and he felt his grip slip again. He cursed again in his mind as he struggled once more to break the surface and breathe again. Sanzo steered his angry towards the rest of his teammates. Of course, no one asked him jump in and save the child aside from Fate, but did they have to take so long?

Hakkai ran behind Goku, gripped the staff and began to pull. Goyjo summoned his own weapon and shot the chain out. The kid gasped in surprise as the chain surrounded them both. It was smart move on Goyjo's move,for once. He didn't realize that the kappa was capable of using the little bit of brain power he possessed. His hands were chained to the staff, and if anything, it would make it easier to pull them in. If he could be pulled in. Sanzo shouted something, but his voice was gargled by the water.

The villagers appeared and assisted his team. Sanzo felt his body being pulled towards the bank with child now chained to him. After what felt like a few minutes, strong arms (probably Goku, but Sanzo didn't care enough to look) him out of the water.

Sanzo gasped and coughs ripped from his throat. He could barely breath. He laid on the ground, the weight of his robes and the loss of strength kept him pinned to the ground anyway. He couldn't move if he wanted to. He coughed a couple of more times and drifted to sleep. The sleep that denied him last night and most of the morning finally took him in, and thankfully, before he had to put up with the villagers' gratitude.

The priest woke up in a warm bed. He was shirtless, and the pants he wore were his own jeans. He found great relief in the fact that the people didn't change him into another pair of dry pants while he was asleep.

It was nighttime and Sanzo noted the movement on the other side of the room, which happened to be on a bed. Hakkai opened his eyes and glanced at Sanzo.

"You awake?" Sanzo asked.

"Yes," Hakkai answered with a whisper. "It's good to see that you're awake as well. The villagers were worried. They wouldn't believe that you were just asleep."

"Tch," Sanzo turned his head at that. What morons. "The kid?"

"He's fine," Hakkai answered.

There was a long silence. Sanzo thought the other man had fallen asleep.

"Sanzo?"

"What?"

"If you don't mind telling, why did you save that boy? If I recall, you always tell us not get involved in business that doesn't concern us," Hakkai rambled, his green eyes the only thing Sanzo could make out clearly in the dark.

"It's none of your business," Sanzo answered.

"I thought you might say something like that... if you want to talk about it, I promise I won't tell anyone else, Sanzo," Hakkai whispered with a warm smile, one that Sanzo knew all too much. Sanzo didn't lower his guard.

"When did you become so nosy?"

"I guess you can say I'm worried about your mental health. I thought you'd gone crazy when you jumped in, especially since Goyjo and Goku were capable of pulling him out without going in," the other male counter, his smile fading. It wasn't cute that Sanzo nearly drowned himself without telling anyone why. No one was comfortable about speaking of their past, but no one made this dangerous until now.

Sanzo looked away. "I said it was none of your business!"

"It's about your master then."

Sanzo felt like Hakkai just shot him.

"What'd you say?"

"It's about your master, isn't it? Why else would you jump in that river if not for your master?" Hakkai mumbled. He knew he just touched a sensitive nerve, and he was lucky that he wasn't dead right then and there.

Sanzo growled and turned away from him. "It's none of your business. Just butt out of it."

The answer confirmed Hakaki's suspicions. Sanzo was clearly trying to avoid the topic. Hakkai merely smiled. "I know I'm not in a position to speak, Sanzo, as there topics that I wish to avoid as well. We share the same scars, after all. I suppose it's just natural for you to shut yourself up to everyone else," the brunette explained. "He would proud of you, Sanzo, to throw your pride away like that to save a stranger."

Sanzo remained unresponsive, which Hakkai didn't mind. He was ready to go back to sleep if Sanzo was going to ignore him like that.

"He would have did the same," a tiny voice whispered. It was nearly inaudible, but Hakkai heard it as if Sanzo was right beside him. Sanzo closed his eyes, and his soft breathing filled the silence in the room. Hakkai knew Sanzo had fallen asleep, or he was just pretending to sleep, and decided to fall asleep as well. After all, he failed to get any sleep the night before.

This is my fan fiction that's a) actually completed and b) somewhere in my comfort level. Please review, becuase I can see things that are wrong and I actually don't really know to go about fixing them. Any help is appreciated for the future!