A Troublesome Fiend Episode 2: Kidnapped!

[Son Goku]

It's been several days since he started training Uub in his village. Thanks to Mr. Satan's financial support, the village recovering well from their impoverished state. It didn't take long for Goku to befriend the villagers as Uub showed him around. It was a very quaint place and the folk were hard workers. The training started off light, Goku decided that Uub should first build up his physique. Uub had the potential, but starting with a good base would help a great deal. For that, Uub had to eat well and exercise. Of course, it was also never too early for Uub to learn about Ki.

Present day, Goku was blissfully eating lunch while watching Uub train to increase his concentration beneath a waterfall when the voice of King Kai interrupted his meal mid bite.

'Goku! Stop eating for a minute and listen! There's trouble down there on Earth!'

"Oooh! Kaio-sama! I Haven't heard from you in a while. How have you been?!" Goku asked jubilantly as he took another bite. After spending years in the Other World with the kai, his insight was always welcome. Though there were times when he'd call Goku just to tell him a joke that he's recently heard-

"Eh? Trouble down here?" Uh oh, it was never a good sign when a Kai brought that kind of bad news.

'Yes! Listen well, Goku. I sensed the presence of a very evil being suddenly appear on your planet. This being was a former Supreme Kai, a Makaioshin that was banished and sealed within the Demon Realm by the efforts of the Supreme Kais themselves many millions of years ago.'

Goku dropped a drumstick on the table. That sounded like trouble alright. This was starting to sound like Majin Buu all over again.

"Is he a powerful being like Majin Buu? And what's he doing here on Earth, Kaio-sama?" He asked as he honed his senses to detect any unfamiliar powerful Ki around the planet.

'I don't think so, Goku. I'm not sure if she is as strong as Majin Buu but she was definitely a powerful one from what I've been told.'

Goku blinked and arched an eyebrow in surprise. "She? This evil powerful being is a 'she'?" He honestly never expected it. All of the evil foes he's fought were men, alien or not. Naturally, he just assumed it was another guy out to cause trouble.

'Yes, Goku. Her name is Keishoumaru. Like I said earlier, she was once a powerful Supreme Kai but she was born evil so she was banished. I don't think I mentioned this to you before but she is a lot like Dabura, the demon you saw as Babidi's bodyguard. He was also a Makaioshin, but he wasn't as old as her. Honestly I don't know how she appeared on your planet, but it's a good idea to destroy her before she destroys Earth.

Destroying his foes was not the first on Goku's to-do list when it came to fighting them. Sure, all of the evil beings that threatened his planet and friends eventually had to be destroyed, but he never enjoyed having to resort to killing them. His senses picked up a large spike in power, a ki unfamiliar to him and definitely tainted with evil...yet...

"Woah, there she is. Looks like she's getting ready to do something there." He focused his senses to towards that direction and managed to gauged her power. It was indeed atleast as strong as Dabura's, even had the same vibe, but the power was nowhere near Majin Buu's level and for that he was somewhat thankful yet disappointed. It would have been nice to fight a being that strong again.

'Yes, I sense it now too, Goku. That's definitely Keishoumaru. You must stop her! I'll contact Kibitoshin-sama. Maybe he can provide some more insight on how to handle her.'

"Right, I'm on it Kaio-sama," He replied. But just then, he felt a familiar powerful Ki ignite at the same area where this Keishoumaru was. It belonged to Vegeta. Looks like he got there before him.

"Awww man. Vegeta already beat me to it," Goku sighed. Judging from his power, Vegeta was rather serious, he was fighting her as a second tier Super Saiyan. This Keishoumaru person may be strong, but the battles with Majin Buu and more years of training had honed the strength of their Super Saiyan two form to great heights. Something did trouble him, however. Goku felt that Keishoumaru's Ki was evil, yes, but it had a more primal feel to it. It was like sensing a powerful beast than a primordial evil like Kid Buu. He sensed a couple of small Ki around there as well, though the power being put out by the two combatants made discerning them difficult.

Eventually, the battle concluded. As expected, Vegeta was the victor as Goku felt Keishoumaru's Ki dwindle. Goku blinked once more; though small, Keishoumaru's Ki was still there. Vegeta didn't kill her? That was strange. Normally, he'd thought that Vegeta wouldn't let an evil opponent like that live. Maybe something happened.

"Uub! Continue with your meditation training for the rest of the day. I have to go somewhere." Not one to miss out on knowing how the battle went, Goku placed two fingers on his forehead and vanished, using Instant Transmission to reappear next to Vegeta at the temple grounds.

"No fair, Vegeta. I wanted to fight her," Goku pouted in his usual way. Garbed in his trademark orange gi ('cause the new blue one looked lame'), he seemed to fit right in with the temple monks, except he had his spiky hair. Judging from Vegeta's relatively uninjured appearance, the battle seemed pretty one-sided. "So? How did it go?"

[Vegeta]

Vegeta scowled, baring his teeth at some of the cowering monks. He had asked for the one in charge and mostly got senseless babbling. A couple had taken off, so he assumed they were off finding said superior. Or at least for their sakes, they had better be doing so.

With a heavy sigh, he took a moment to glance around. For men of such simple practices and pleasures, what he could see looked rather ornate. It wouldn't surprise him if some of that wood wasn't painted with gold. "Hmph..." After glancing around some more, the clicking of a gun had him arching a brow. He was not entirely knowledgable about certain customs, but he distinctly remembered laughing at Kakarot's midget friend when he said monks didn't normally fight or carry weapons. So someone was aiming a gun?

Turning his head, he saw the daring soul who thought it was a good idea to aim a weapon at him. A gun. The man was serious? And a little one at that. Vegeta wasn't bothered by the threat as he snickered at the display. Human weapons like that hadn't even hurt Raditz when he arrived on Earth and he had been so many leagues behind Vegeta at the time it was ridiculous. "I wouldn't bother trying to shoot me with that toy. I would smash that pretty little head of yours in before you pulled the trigger." The Saiyajin smirked in the blond's direction. Apparently this had to be the head priest, though it was unusual he seemed to be the only one that wasn't bald. It was not unusual, to him at least, that he was also the only one not on the verge of pissing his robes. There was too much surly confidence there.

"It wouldn't matter if he woke up now or not, all I did to take him down was bashing him in the gut." The short man released his grip and let the heretic flop onto the stone floor, instead of bringing him over to the priest. From the man's tone, it sounded like he knew the boy, so perhaps he could enlighten him to a few things. His curiosity would not let him leave without some satisfying answers. Besides, he was certain the monk would be wanting some explanation as to what was going on earlier.

"I sensed someone about to level this city all the way from West City so I came to investigate. I found him, a red roach and some demon woman." Vegeta crossed his arms, smirking to himself. "I couldn't tell who was on the side of who, so I just knocked the stuffing out of all three. The roach man seemed in league with the woman, so I left them outside the city. Since the boy was not too injured and I did not think that a hospital would want some wild demon on their hands, I figured a bunch of priests would know better as to what to do with him. Seems I thought right."

Just as he finished explaining to the monk in charge, he jumped slightly. And there was Kakarot. The prince fought the urge to punch the idiot in the gut right then and there, his face twisting in a scowl as he turned once more to look at the taller Saiyajin. The fighting must have gotten his attention.

"How did it go? Fan-fucking-tastic...And I'll have you know, I didn't kill the wench. Maybe if she's lucky, she'll survive her injuries. Then she can go find her brat, which is the reason she was starting shit to begin with. Apparently, she was of the mind I ordered someone to take it." Actually, now that he thought about it, he remembered the capsule. Perhaps he would swing by and take it from the roach on the way home. He wanted to see the message...and also to see if Trunks or Bulma could figure out where it came from so he could go find the idiot responsible for the whole ordeal. "I would not concern yourself with fighting her for fun, the second level was much more than she could handle. Your third level would make it like taking candy from a baby."

[Son Goku]

Goku took a glance around the temple to note his location. Somehow it was all nostalgic being here again, even though the original was destroyed years back. He noticed Sanzo nearby and he scratched the back of his head as he bowed, smiling in a friendly manner before returning his attention to Vegeta.

Goku crossed his arms and blinked, looking rather quizzically at Vegeta. It's a good thing that Vegeta didn't kill anybody, but a fight was still a fight. Goku was eager to find out exactly how the fight went down.

"Come on, Vegeta. You can at least tell me how she fought?" Fighting demons and aliens has allowed Goku to experience fighting against unorthodox and unique fighting styles. When he was in the Other World, the tournament he participated in has taught him valuable insight in his never-ending quest to become stronger than he was before. It's a shame he wasn't the one to have fought her but he could at least get a run down on her style. Then Goku suddenly realized what Vegeta had just said.

"Eh?! A brat?! You mean...she has a kid?!" Now this was a shocker. King Kai never mentioned this particular Makaioshin having a child here on Earth; and a lost one at that. But wait? Did Vegeta just say that he ordered someone to take it?

"Vegeta! That's not very nice! Just because you've beaten her up doesn't mean you can take her kid away," Goku looked at Vegeta disapprovingly. Then, he thought about it some more. "Wait...but if she was looking for her kid, and you told someone to take her kid after you beat her, then..."

Goku crossed his arms again as he looked at Vegeta in puzzlement. "That doesn't make sense at all, Vegeta."

[Sha Gojyo]

Since the incident a few days ago, the tiny device that had burrowed into the kappa had been funneling demonic energy. For the most part, assimilating the energy was wearing the halfbreed down and making him sore but in this instance it was a blessing in disguise. It helped him heal a little faster than he normally did and it wasn't too long before he managed to claw his way back to conciousness.

A degree of it anyway.

Gojyo turned his head, ignoring the dirt in his face as he did so. His stomach was killing him. The pole of the shakujo he wound up lying on had been pressed against his chest the whole time he was there on the ground. Every breathe he took caused sharp pain through his chest and stomach. He was so calling in sick for a while, screw his boss.

"C-Crap...Ngh..." The redhead felt like it took forever just to push up on his hands, let alone stagger onto his feet. All the movement made him want to curl up and die even more. There was not going to be any dying though, not if he could help it.

Once he got his bearings and somehow got comfortable enough to move, he braced himself for what he would do next. Get Keishoumaru the hell out of there. The idea of carrying anyone made his brows knit together and his face scrunch up. Even though it would be more hindering than helpful, he lit up a cigarette before he trudged over to the demon. Ignoring the spots in his vision, he knelt down and took her arm carefully while gently gripping her about the waist. Slowly, they both went up and Gojyo started the lengthy trip back to his place, carrying Keishoumaru with him.

[Genjo Sanzo]

Despite his temper, Sanzo had never been once overly bothered by the reactions that people gave to his banishing guns. Modern media, as well as a violent culture, saw his little 'peashooter' as a worthless piece of trash. That was, until he showed just what it was capable of. Demons who knew of Genjo Sanzo knew just how much trouble that gun spelt for them. It wasn't known what the gun would do to non-demons, or even just non-humans, (or hell, humans for that matter) but his allies had good reason to fear the gun, and no matter who he shot, it was going to hurt.

Because Sanzo was also a fast little shit when he decided to fight.

"Keep telling yourself, buddy." Was his cool remark as he turned his gaze back to the shorter man. While he had no doubt that the bastard was quick, he knew that he had something of an upperhand. Not that he wanted to fight, but when he did, he tended to surprise those around him.

And there was a reason why he was one of the few not afraid of Goku when his diadem broke. Wary, yes, and alert. Afraid? Not quite.

One eyebrow rose in the air at the mention of a red roach. There was only one red roach that would be getting into trouble with a woman... Though a demon woman? That didn't speak well, and explained the power spikes in the area. He must have hit his head harder on the fall then he thought to not be able to sense that it had been a demon... Just how powerful was this demon? Did it have anything to do with the task placed on his shoulders by the Three Aspects?

Still, it was just like Gojyo to get into trouble with a woman. A grimace touched his lips and he reached up, pinching the bridge of his nose as he lowered his gun, starting to tuck it into his robse when the next person decided to just pop in. The gun was up again in rather impressive timing, ready to fire-

... Who the fuck was this? His left eye twitched as he stared at the newcomer, listening to the two beginning to exchange banter. Without a word, he tucked the gun away. Right now, he needed to take care of Goku before he woke up... And he was willing to bet that the kid would be waking up soon. The brat never seemed to give anyone fucking time.

Sanzo did what he did best, and ignored both of the idiots, only glancing once at the newcomer's bow before he strode forward, reaching down to grab the unconscious Seiten Taisen with one black-gloved hand. Normally, he would have just thrown the monkey over his shoulder. Without his diadem, however, he would be apt to waking up soon and using whoever was nearest for a chewtoy and scratching post. And, frankly, Sanzo didn't really feel like having an idiot gnawing on him while growling and trying to rip his throat out. So, he just dragged the kid across the ground before plopping him on the ground under a tree that had somehow withstood the damage. Keeping the strangers in his sights, the priest kneeled, taking a breath and closing his eyes. One hand lifted in front of him, two fingers extended into the air, thumb extended as well, as he began to chant.

"On ma ni hatsu mei un." The seemingly-ornamental scripture adorning the priest's shoulders began to glow a violet hue, matching the same shade as his eyes, as winds swept around the kneeling priest. Then, as it hovered in the air just above his shoulders, carried by the sudden wind, the scripture expanded, seemingly thousands of yards circling around the demon in front of him, dozens of ends floating in the air.

It could have been a bit excessive, but the last thing he wanted was for Seiten Taisen to awaken while he was trying to concentrate on creating the diadem. It was best to keep the demon immobile.

The priest's energy soared as he opened his eyes, the violet almost glowing as his hand lunged out, pinning the demon's head against the tree, his palm flat against his forhead.

"Return now to your human form." The gravelly voice of the priest spoke as a golden glow enfused his hand, expanding along the forehead of the Monkey King. The glowing energy flared before fading, the metal gleaming coldly in the light of the sun.

Violet eyes studied the boy in front of him before he rose to his feet, the sutra already settled on his shoulders like nothing had happened. He watched him for a moment longer before snorting, reaching into his robes.

"Goku, you fucking idiot... I'm going to beat your ass when you wake up. What the fuck were you thinking, you stupid chimp?" He muttered as he pulled his cigarettes out, sliding one against his lips.

"You, you, and you." The priest suddenly barked, one hand darting out to point at three monks that had been in the process of dashing towards him, fear in their eyes, and disdain for the demon in their eyes, as well as hatred. Coincidentally- Or, perhaps not a coincidence- it was the three monks complaining about Goku earlier on that day. "Get down to the site of the fight, and find Sha Gojyo. Bring him back here. Then, one of you go to Shangri'la and bring Cho Hakkai back here."

One of the monks started to open his mouth to protest. "Master Sanzo, we-"

Violet eyes pierced him in place as that dead gaze chilled him to the core. "I didn't ask for any backtalk. Go!" The monks tore past the duo and their trivial conversation, leaving the priest, demon, and the two men alone again.

The priest pulled his lighter from his pocket, lighting the cigarette waiting in his mouth before he turned to regard the two men, the lighter already returned to it's place with the box of cigarettes. Without a change of expression, he strode forward to join the two men, exhaling the smoke without moving the cigarette from his mout-

THWACK.

"You have got to be one of the most annoying fucks I have ever come across. The sound of your voice is making my headache worse." Sanzo snarled at the newcomer, before his gaze turned to the one called Vegeta. "He said of the mind that he was ordered to take the kid. Not that he actually did, just that she thought he did. Now unless you're going to give me a fucking hand with the rubble, get your ass out of my sight before I shoot two holes through that empty space you call a goddamn head!"

... Maybe a bit harsh, but he couldn't hit his usual targets- yet- and the headache from falling off the roof was killing him.

[Vegeta]

"She fought like an idiot after I provoked her into going berserk. It didn't help her in the least that I went full force cause I wanted her and her shit over with!"

While he was dealing with the larger Saiyajin, he didn't pay much mind as the blond pulled his comrade aside and the prince even stepped away to provide extra room. Only a power spike and the sound of fluttering paper caused him to turn his head to observe the sight. What was that monk doing? Whatever it was, it was quite showy for an Earthling technique. His eyes swept over the bands of scripture that spread out in the air. Krillin had never mentioned this about Earth's holy men. Then again, this was Krillin, so...And then the brat had his diadem restored out of thin air, all due to the glow that had come from the man's hand. 'Hn, I haven't seen anything like that before...' He thought to himself as the robed man came back over to them once he was finished, the scripture disappearing after the process was done.

The boy looked the same as he had before except the smell of demon blood from him was not so potent anymore. 'Ah, so that headband acts as a restriction tool. Makes him human rather than demon, in which case, without it he goes mad.' Vegeta tucked that little tidbit of information away, even though he doubted he would need it later on.

As Sanzo was approaching, Kakarot's other statements made him slap a hand to his forehead and give a most exasperated sigh. Sometimes he forgot that he couldn't talk as he normally did or use overly big words around the moron. For all his strength and fighting prowess, Kakarot was not the brightest man on the planet. "She-"

THWACK.

The Saiyajin blinked. The priest had just struck the big lug...Was that a paper fan? Vegeta really didn't know what to make of that. But it was amusing. Giving a snort, he looked at the blond with a smirk. "You hit him like that again, I'll be inclined to help." Helping someone was not something Vegeta did. Ever. But that was too good, and the funnier thing was, Kakarot wouldn't have the testicular fortitude to strike back. Had Sanzo struck the prince...Well, he'd be buried in said rubble he was concerned over.

In any case, it seemed the monks were bringing the roach man (Gojyo was it?) to the temple. Since that were the case and he still wanted Keishoumaru's so called evidence, he made no plans to leave just yet. Huffing, he looked at his rival, fingers drumming on his biceps. "Instead of cleaning up this dump, see if you can somehow glean*sigh*find out where the brat may be, Kakarot. Then you can bring her back. I'm sure the demon woman, or the roach if she's dead, would be most appreciative. But if you find the asshole responsible for taking her, I want a crack at him for trying to peg this nonsense on me." The Earth Saiyajin had friends in strange places, surely one of them could divine something useful. Vegeta ran a tongue along his canines boredly, plotting several things that he could do to make the culprit's life an unholy hell.

[Son Goku]

THWACK!

Goku instinctively recoiled after the hit. Usually when people hit him with those, it was because he had said something stupid. Chi Chi was especially fond of using the paper fan, but other times she would throw things at him. Then he heard the bond haired priest's explanation.

"Oooh! I get it now." So Goku merely misunderstood. Why couldn't they have just explained it to him without hitting him first? It's not like being hit would make him understand any better. Well atleast it was clarified that Vegeta didn't take her kid but it still meant that the kid was missing.

Goku held his hands up in surrender as he made a silly grin when the mention of being shot in the head was brought up.

"S...Sorry, my mistake. Eheheh." This person was definitely angry at him for some reason. He kind of reminds him of Vegeta. Maybe these two could get along pretty well. Speaking of Vegeta, he did suggest a good point. There was still the missing kid, but not just any kid, the child of a Makaioshin. It also looks like someone set Vegeta up.

"Hmmm, I don't think I can sense the kid's ki well enough to find um...him or her. There are a lot of demons on earth and distinguishing the ki of her kid among them would take a long time."

If the kid was unconscious, then the possibility of sensing her would be even lower. Goku's ki sensing abilities were great and could reach far throughout the galaxy and even into the Other World, but it had its limits. If he was familiar with their ki, then things would have been different. Suddenly, Goku had a bright idea!

"Oh! I know! I could ask Fortuneteller Baba to help. Her divination would definitely find the kid!" Goku exclaimed, but then remembered a catch. "But...she'll probably want some money for her services."

True enough, she rarely lent her help for free unless the need was great. Finding a missing demon kid was certainly not something she would do without compensation.

"Hey Vegeta, you don't happen to have like...five million zeni we could borrow, do you?" Something in the back of his mind told him that asking that would yield to Vegeta yelling at him. Also not wanting to get shot, he started picking up any large rubble near him effortlessly as he turned to regard the blond priest.

"Where do you want the rubble?"

[Genjo Sanzo]

Sanzo really didn't care one way or another if Vegeta saw him use the sutra or not. All that mattered was that Seiten Taisen was put away again, and Goku would be waking up soon. And when he did, the priest was going to have a nice little talk with him. Goku probably wouldn't like the talk, since it was bound to be painful.

Either way, taking his anger out on this idiot felt pretty damn good. The paper fan hit his open hand, causing a resounding smack as he did it again, scowling at the too-cheerful son of a bitch. But his thoughts were already moving elsewhere, going over what the two men had been talking about.

A demon woman and her child... Funny. Gojyo usually tries to avoid women with children at all costs. The fact that the kappa had gotten involved was bringing up several questions... Of course, it was very possible that it was one of the rare moments of kindness from the half-breed. While Sanzo pretty much hated the redhead's guts and tended to lash violently towards him... He knew he wasn't a bad person. A complete jack-off wouldn't have risked his hide to save Cho Gonou, a complete stranger.

Still, it was all speculation until those monks found Gojyo and brought him back. Demon child... For a moment, that phrase almost brought back the memories of the temple, of the monks, of Shuei, and of Koumyu Sanzo. The 31st pushed the memories back, however, and focused on his strange guests, even as he kept the fan out, ready for another strike. Still... Did part of him had to wonder if this all had something to do with what was coming...

"If he keeps up with the moronic comments, then you might as well get your hands dirty now." The priest growled, shaking his head as he spoke to Vegeta this time, violet eyes glowering.

Then, the comment of five million zeni hit.

How the hell could this guy be that stupid? Who the hell had five million zeni laying around? Even Goku wasn't that stupid, though he came pretty damn close. The priest stared for a long moment before he brought his hand up, smacking his forehead with his palm.

"My god. It's like watching me deal with Goku when he's hungry." The priest muttered to Vegeta, lifting his gaze to look at him. "How the hell do you stand that guy?" Without saying an actual word to Goku, he flung his arm out, pointing to a clear spot in the courtyard. Right now, it was more important to get the rubble clear of the buildings, and get any injured out from under the piles. Then, he'd see about getting workers out to repair the damage, alongside the monks. Shaking his head, he moved to important matters. Well. Not really important, but it was better then the aneurysm he was getting from the lug hauling around rubble. At least the big lug was easier to deal with then Gojyo or Goku. One hit, and one little threat and he was already doing what Sanzo wanted? Usually he had to at least fire a few holes by their feet.

"Look. Thanks for bringing the kid back here. I am Genjo Sanzo and I'll overlook that 'dump' comment... Mostly because I don't care." Rather strange attitude for the head priest. "As for the demon child... Not many places someone can hide one of those unless they use a limitter on the child. Energy signature must be close to the demon woman that fucking tadpole decided to 'help' today. We'll figure it out once she's brought here... Then kick Gojyo's ass for bringing this shit onto my doorstep again."

[Vegeta]

If there was one thing to be grateful for at the moment, it was that Kakarot had not necessarily made another friend or a fanboy. It tickled his funny bone something fierce that he was not the only one who would tolerate the man's good mood or stupidity without making him pay for it. The only other person who didn't exactly melt over the hero was the Namek but he didn't vent on him either.

Ah, if only the monk knew. Fortunately, he would learn fast and hopefully adapt. The paper fan looked like it was a reasonable tool for such a nuisance. Goku would go on being disgustingly cheerful and it was hard to go five minutes without the taller man saying something regrettable. Most of it was relatively tame, earning an eye roll or a huff in response, but sometimes he said something so mindnumbing Vegeta had to hit him or scream bloody murder. And then there were the stupid questions...

Like right there, he asked him a truly ignorant one right there. And who the hell paid some wrinkly fortuneteller five million zeni for some damned information? He could simply blow her to smithereens if she didn't agree to help!

"Look, just because I'm with Bulma...Doesn't mean I have five million zeni to toss around. You know, Kakarot, had you not bailed on the damned tournament and gotten it canceled on us, we would have that and more! THEN WE COULD HAVE PUT IT IN A FUCKING BABA FUND!" Shouting at the idiot, Vegeta made sure to punch him upside his head as the taller man went off to deal with the rubble. That made him feel better. Vegeta decided the bastard could do all the dirty work of cleaning the rubble since he had done the deed dealing with the demon and bringing the boy back. Not to mention it would be a mild penance for leaving the tournament. With a shake of his head as he refolded his arms, he looked at the equally irritated blond. "I take it out of his hide when we have our sparring matches. Or whenever I can...Did..."

Goku? He wasn't sure if that were the kid or not. It didn't seem like the monk and Kakarot knew each other, they didn't seem familiar with one another. He vaguely remembered hearing the name back on the battlefield and he frowned. Odd coincidence. "I am Prince Vegeta, though none of the fools I know acknowledge the title, so I don't expect it." Normally he would have proudly stated he was the 'Prince of Saiyajins' but there was little point seeing as only a select few knew of their race. Until it became relevant, Sanzo didn't really need to know that. "That moron's proper name is Kakarot, but he prefers going by the Earth name Son Goku."

[Son Goku]

Goku cringed once more from the shouting and the punch. Boy, Vegeta was still mad at him for bailing the tournament. It couldn't be helped, Goku merely entered so that he could fight with Uub to see his potential. Leaving the tournament to start on Uub's training had been a spontaneous decision on his part. He was just so excited to help with Uub's growth at the time. Maybe he should have just settled a bit and finished the tournament before flying off. Oh well, what's done is done.

"It's true though. Normally she'd charge ten million zeni to divine a person's future. If we can't get her help then the only other way would be to try and sense the kid's ki." Like Genjo stated, if the kidnappers had a way to hide ki then that option was out the window. Why would someone want to kidnap a demon kid anyways? If it was someone that wanted to frame Vegeta then-

"Oh! The kidnapper must have some grudge against Vegeta!" Goku crossed his arms and nodded sagely as if he's solved an important case. Who could it be? The last several years has been relatively peaceful ever since the fight with Majin Buu. Not many people on earth really know anything about Vegeta either. Whoever the culprits are, they are privy to who Vegeta is.

Some things still didn't add up. How did Keishoumaru fit into all this? They needed more information, and for that they needed to have a talk with her.

"Mmmn, You're right. We'll have to ask her exactly what happened. I wonder if she'll be okay enough to talk. Maybe I should see if I can grab a Senzu bean?"

[Son Goku {Saiyuki}]

While everyone else was busy talking and cleaning up, Goku sat there against the tree for a little bit while fuzzy flashbacks he couldn't really understand drifted through the darkness. After a while, a shouting voice caused his head to roll a little before he stirred and started opening his eyes.

Why did his stomach hurt so much? And where'd the tree come from? And why was Sanzo talking to the super awesome muscled guy who was fighting that demon lady...?

Oh wait...

"Huh?!" The brunette jumped into a better postured sitting position as he suddenly remembered what had been happening. His gold eyes scanned the area and saw no sight of the others. "Wait...Where's Gojyo? And that demon? Uhh...What happened? I'm frickin' confused..."

The young man took notice of how messed up the temple grounds looked, but he couldn't remember if that was his fault or because of something else. Hell, it was all a little fuzzy. He looked down at himself, then blinked at all the tears in his clothes. How the hell did that happen? A foreign voice made him look up and he tilted his head. But who was that other guy? Goku pointed at the tall man clad in orange, "Who the hell are you?"

[Genjo Sanzo]

... Yes, Sanzo could get to like this man.

It was one hell of a relief to encounter someone who wasn't such a cheerful moron or lecherous idiot. Even Hakkai's constant smiling got on his nerves. There was nothing in life that was worth smiling that much. And it was almost amusing to see the shorter, spikey-haired man treat the idiot in the orange gi like it was...

Wow. Like it was him and Goku.

The priest shook his head, pulling the cigarette out of his mouth to exhale the smoke as he watched the violently-tempered man strike out at the idiot. Maybe the head of a temple was supposed to discourage violence within the 'sacred grounds', but Sanzo really couldn't care one way or another. The harisen was already put away, though goddess knew where he hid it in his robes.

It was debatable if Sanzo really wanted to get involved with this. Actually, it was flat-out even that he didn't want to get involved with this, at all. However, a freaking kid... A sigh escaped him as he inhaled deeply on the cigarette.

Everything just had to come in at once.

And just what the fuck was a Senzu bean?

Deciding it wasn't worth to answer the idiot, as answering him would give him the impression that it was okay for him to talk (or exist), Sanzo glanced to the one who introduced himself as Vegeta. Prince, huh? Didn't care. Nope. Not a single thread of respect. Didn't give a shit. No two shakes.

"Good because I wouldn't-.. Wait. Son Goku?" Now he stared incredulously at so-called prince, one eye twitching. "That little brat over there is Son Goku."

And there it was. His hand came up to smack his forehead before he dragged his hand down his face. "What the hell is with this? Two Son Gokus, and both of them are the most annoying little-"

A new voice gave him pause, his gaze turning to the little demon sprawled out under the tree. Without another word to Vegeta, the priest crossed the distance to the kid, looking down at him.

"His name is Son Goku, Goku. That doesn't matter right now, because there's something I need to ask you." While the priest seemed calm at first, there was just the hint of fire in his eyes. Then-

THWACK. THWACK. THWACK.

"What the hell were you thinking?! If your fucking diadem is cracking, you come to me, not go running halfway across the fucking city! You're damned lucky someone was there who could stop you from killing someone else, you stupid chimp![/i]

Aah, things were back to normal.
[/color][/size]

[Vegeta]

"Give me ten seconds with her and I'll get her to help..." If he didn't kill her anyway. Since that seemed a lost cause either way, then perhaps the way he figured might help them figure something out. But then it came down to whether there was anything useful from the capsule. He wasn't sure if there would be a means to trace it back to where it came from and even then, that would require Trunks or Bulma's assistance and that in itself might take longer than the child possibly had.

In fact, now that said detail came to mind, what would the kidnapper do with the child now? Obviously they had intended the mother to possibly take him down...But with the mother so outclassed, would they bother keeping her since the mother proved a useless tool? That was an optimistic way to look at it. The pessimist would say the kidnapper would kill the child...or further manipulate the situation. They could take the child back to her when she was alone, claimed they were the hero to save her from him and once again give the demon the idea she had to make Vegeta pay. While he mulled all of this over, the others were tuned out. The prince stood with one hand rubbing his chin as the other tapped on his arm, looking deep in thought. "I can't have some spaz of a demon chasing my tail. For all I know, she could turn around and aim for my brats as retribution." The idea of Keishoumaru going after Bulla almost made up his mind to kill her instead. But now that Kakarot was involved, he would not be able to do that.

'While I don't care what the wench thinks of me on a personal level, I will not let this false nonsense stand. If I hand her back the child, she will feel validated in her claims. Now if someone out of this circle of stupidity were to hand the child back...' His black eyes settled on Sanzo for a second, who was not a party to this whole ordeal himself. 'She won't be able to say I had the brat. Then again she might think he took it and then I have to beat her to death if she tries to attack the priest.'

Really, no matter what they did, unless the kid went running back to their mother on their own, the demon was going to want revenge on someone.

"Hn, if that boy and Gojyo are the allies, then she was attacking them. Which means she must think they had something to do with her missing child as well. The roach man yelled something at her about blaming everyone she was coming across. I would say she is delusional but even the red haired man confirmed that there was a kid." Vegeta snorted. That didn't explain why the other accused man had tried to protect her but that was a minor deal. "She claimed to have some manner of evidence, which she had tossed to this Gojyo. When he gets here, we'll look at this so called evidence. And no, we are not giving her a senzu bean, idiot! I don't want her on another tirade in a populated area. For all we know, she could gain strength once she heals up."

His mind was busy trying to figure out the situation. He didn't need to sit there and think of how he became so unlucky now to not know one, but two Son Gokus. And from what he gathered of Sanzo's reaction, it was not a pretty thing to know. The prince grunted. "You don't have to tell me twice..." Vegeta started to crack his neck and rotate his shoulders, sighing once again in exasperation. A little stretching and bone cracking helped ease the monster that was screaming for him to just stop it all before it began, like smashing their heads together then leave the unconcious lumps while he went to relax. "I'm going to need a drink before this day is done...Maybe a hundred, in fact..."

[Sha Gojyo]

Gojyo had made it halfway home before a small cluster of monks had managed to find him. After a while, he had stopped partially dragging Keishoumaru once his strength had steadily come back and instead he managed to pick her up in a careful bridal style to take her back to his place. The next thing he knew, he had a bunch of flustered monks that would not get out of his ass and instead were ushering him to Orin Temple.

That meant Sanzo knew. Did that mean that the guy who took Kei down dragged Goku up there? It was almost crazy that it seemed the man knew where to go to drop off a crazed Seiten Taisei. Then again there weren't many places to take a crazed demon.

"Uh, how the hell did you guys find me so fast...?"

"Master Sanzo threatened us."

Well, that would do the trick. "Um, okay." That also did not bode well for him. Cause if Sanzo was threatening monks and sending them to find him, then Sanzo was pissed and wanted some answers. He almost wanted to say screw the bald brigade and go home, but he also didn't wish such ill on the innocent because if they came back empty handed, they would get the harisen a few good times or worse.

"Might you know where Cho Hakkai is?" One of them asked him.

Gojyo blinked. Wait, Hakkai too? The kappa sneered. The baldy must think this shit has something to do with the stupid mission. That was not the case, at least from what he could tell. Instead of complaining, he told the anxious monk Hakkai tended to hit the library or go shopping. Two of them took off to go check those areas for the healer while he and the other one made their way up to the temple.

"Shitty monks...Makin' me climb stairs...Feelin' like shit..." The water sprite grumbled every few steps before they eventually arrived where the others were. There was the monk and his chimp sidekick, and the asshole from the fight...He wasn't even going to bother asking who the other guy was, he really didn't care. He frowned over in Sanzo's direction, wondering if there was anywhere he could put the bloody mess of a woman in his arms that she'd be comfortable and whether there was any healing she could get. "For the record, I did not do a damn thing! And I say that cause I know you're gonna sit there and say this shit is all my fault! And it's not! Now where can I put her?"

[Son Goku]

"Hmm, guess you're right." There was that possibility. At this point in time, Goku was merely waiting for things to fall into place so he could get a chance to act. Truth be told, he was glad that someone like Vegeta was around for this. He could always rely on his friend's expertise and analytical mind. If Goku was the one to have fought Keishoumaru, he wasn't sure how it would have turned out. It probably would have made the situation much worse.

Judging from Vegeta's poise, Goku knew that he was in deep thought. Yep, it definitely was a good thing Vegeta was around. All they had to do was wait for the monks and Genjo's friend to come here with Keishoumaru. He was sure that she was still alive because he could still sense her ki and judging from the distance, they were almost here. Speaking of Genjo's friends, he overheard something really, really interesting just now.

"Wow! We both have the same name!" Goku exclaimed in excitement as he approached the young boy who had been hit by Genjo with his paper fan. He's never met anyone with the same name as him.

"Hi there! I'm Son Goku! Nice to meet you!" Goku extended an open hand towards him and made a big smile. Judging from the boy's appearance, he seemed athletically inclined. Maybe he was a fighter like him. There were so many questions running through his mind now. Wonder how strong he was? Who gave him that name? Did he like to eat? What kind of training does he do? Maybe they could spar sometime. Wait til he tells everybody.