"You understand now?"

The healer gulped, his hands growing instantly cold. "So you are saying that you can be talking to me...and think it is me, but perhaps I am really not here, but down there. Is that it?"

"But of course I am not accusing you-"

"Of course not."

Silence descended upon the two of them, interrupted momentarily by a long winded, "Ten-chaaaaaaaan!" and a brown blur racing towards them. Goku leaped up and clung to Hakkai's neck.

"Goku." Like a monkey, the boy was hanging off him playfully. "You shouldn't interrupt adults while they're talking." Immense brown orbs looked up at him, smiling widely.

"Gomen, Ten-chan! But Konzen's super busy doing paperstuff and got mad at me and Ken-niichan's sad so I thought I could get you to come cheer him up because I couldn't and if I couldn't I thought you could because you can. On yeah, and Konzen taught me how to count! You want to hear? One...two...three...four...five...six...seven...eight...nine... ten..."

"Not now, Goku. Later perhaps." With considerable difficulty, Hakkai managed to unwrap the little Goku's iron grip around his neck and placed him gently down on the ground. "Fifteen...sixteen...seventeen..." All the while, Shien said nothing, scanning the second story windows and quickly pulling the three of them further into the shadows as the army passed their section of the street.

Goku sniffed the air, then scrunched up his nose. "Ack." he pouted while pointing to the file of marching kami.

"Twenty...twenty-one...twenty-two..."

Then it dawned on him. That feeling returned, unfamiliar to this body, but to his mind the memory of it all was only too acute. The only thing as painful as rain was youkai...

The boy hid behind Hakkai's coat with childish suspicion. "They smell...like blood."

"I requested that they not be allowed to return." Shien confessed quietly. "But it seems that it never reached the higher ups."

Goku's oblivious-to-the-world counting resumed. "Twenty-five, twenty-six..."

Youkai, Hakkai thought frenetically, youkai in heaven. Youkai in the bodies of kami. Just as he was a youkai, in the body of a kami. Hell in heaven.

"Twenty-seven, twenty eight..."

There was no question of who, but what- and he could divine that as well. Thirty youkai in the bodies of thirty, now-dead heavenly soldiers...they didn't march, they stalked, their hunger barely suppressed. They glared beneath those glazed eyes, thirty pairs of them, thirsted, licked their lips, thirty tongues grazing over sharp teeth.

"They'll spill blood here..." Hakkai choked out as he looked to Shien who had returned to close his eyes.

"And I can only think of two men who have the influence to stand in their way." The man with the bandaged arms turned started to walk in the direction opposite of the Holy City's main street. "I am afraid that with my position in Nataku-sama's army, I can do no more for you. See to your foolish general," He stopped in thought, as if wondering whether to continue with what he was about to say. "Take back his heart before the archer up there pins it to his body."

"Twenty-nine! Aren't you proud of me Ten-chan? I counted all the soldiers. Twenty-nine!"

*****

Heaven seemed like a better place, now that he was tipsy. It gave him a lighter heart- in a way as light as it was before he met Tenpou who was (besides physically satisfying) like a foggy day in the middle of an Under Heaven summer...and alcohol made him poetic... heavy, hot, blinding, fatalistic. Fatalistic and he didn't care either. Learned to live with it, fatalistic, hot, naked, blinding, just close your eyes and let...and alcohol made him forgetful of the present, and reminiscent so that the Now suddenly stuck out like a sore thumb. It was over. Fuck you, Tenpou; you manipulative bastard. I've enough, drop dead at my feet and I wouldn't have the pity to look down. Likewise, I'd bet...

*****

Litouten had grown unusually quiet and Nataku pretended not to notice, dutifully watching the parade like a dutiful son. Litouten was smirking like a cat who had just swallowed a canary and Nataku just sat there, bored, and dutifully watching the parade like a dutiful, bored son- pretending not to notice the fact that they were one man short. And the place was festive. And the cherry blossoms flew. And the flute sounds danced in the dead wind as the heavy drums beat a dead sound to a happy death march. And in a window across the happy dancing death marching parade, Nataku didn't pretend not to see the glint of metal that reflected off a dead sun. The pointy tip of an arrow pretending not to be there.

*****

And they say that gods can't die.

Hakkai ran.

But surely, gods can bleed.

*****

Where the hell is he? Konzen stalked through the crowd, up and down the street. "Goku!" This day, out of all days, boring day in and boring day out...must be the worst of them all. He looked around him to make sure nobody paid attention, then spat indignantly in a convenient place where people would most likely not walk.