Botan shifted her position on the hard wooden floor of the moving wagon. She couldn't feel her legs anymore. The occasional bumps and bounces of their rickety transportation was hurting her bottom and probably displacing every internal organ from its original position. Flying on her paddle was less stressful than this but her preferred transportation would blow her cover. She had not revealed to the village chief and his family about her affiliation to Reikai so she had no choice but to endure the discomfort.

She glimpsed at the fire demon who was sitting on a pile of sack and was completely ignoring her presence. Hiei was forced to wear a pink body cloak with a hood to disguise himself as a woman so they could proceed with the plan. Although the ferry girl could not clearly see his face, she knew that her partner was pissed off.

The cloak looks pretty on him.

Botan tried hard not to giggle.

It was lent to him by their other companion, the mute Youkai woman who had earlier introduced herself as Tsubaki. The village chief's daughter quietly sat next to her. The three of them were confined inside the wagon's enclosure as they wait for their ride to reach its destination.

Botan stood up to stretch her arms and legs. She needed to do some exercises since her butt was already aching from sitting down for almost an hour. Unfortunately, the wagon went over what felt like a big piece of rock which made her yelp and lose her balance. She almost fell face flat on the hard floor had Hiei not caught her by the shoulders. She stood there inclined with her face close to his for a few seconds.

"Sit down woman." The fire demon glared at her as he whispered to her ear. He helped her straighten up before going back to his seat.

"Are you three alright there?" One of the demons who tried to abduct Botan called out from the small peek window by the driver's seat.

"Yes, no worries. We're totally fine." The ferry girl cheerfully replied and kept herself steady until she was able to sit again.

Your husband seems annoyed.

Tsubaki shared her observation with Botan telepathically as soon as she had slumped back down on her side.

"Oh right. I forgot to tell you. The husband and wife thing is just our disguise but yes, he is annoyed. Don't mind him he is always like that."

I see. I was just about to ask you how you ended up with someone so... disconcerting. I thought he stole or won you from another Youkai but you seemed comfortable with him.

"Hiei's actually okay once you get to know him. Is that really how courting and marriage work here?" Botan's opinion about this Makai tradition did not change. She still found it barbaric.

Yes, most of the time. I'm not sure why you find that surprising. That's how male Youkai find a mate. It's very rare for a demon to woo. I only heard of one case and that is the Mao and his wife.

"How very primitive."

"Why do you think the Ice Maidens are reclusive in the first place?"

Botan grinned at Hiei when he finally joined the conversation. She thought he wouldn't speak to her until the mission was over because of what she had made him wear.

"Now that you mentioned it... It's probably one of the many reasons why they hate Youkai men." The ferry girl thought out loud.

Have you engaged in the same practice before?

Tsubaki threw the fire demon a curious look. The mute woman wasn't intimidated by him at all.

"No. I don't need one." Hiei answered her bluntly. "But of course there were occasions when I had the urge to --"

"I don't want to hear your escapades, Hiei!" Botan's cheeks flushed as she cut him off.

The fire demon smirked. His partner had a tendency to be prudish about this sort of matter. He enjoyed goading her on to make her face turn bright red.

Hiei did not get a chance to continue with his teasing because the peek window slid open and the wagon driver advised them to get ready as Kuzu's castle rose in the horizon.

They found themselves being shackled by the slave trader's minions as soon as they had alighted from the vehicle. Tsubaki nodded her head at her father's men who gave her a meaningful look before turning the wagon around to go back home. A demon working for Kuzu pulled her impatiently towards the entrance door where her two companions were asked to wait.

"That makes it three." One of the demons standing by the entrance door counted. "The old geezer will do anything to keep his end of the bargain, eh? What's up with this one?" He eyed the cloaked Hiei from head to foot.

"She's a little shy." The ferry girl explained.

The curious guard scoffed and was on the act of removing the hood when the other guard forbade him from continuing.

"Oi, the boss doesn't like us touching his goods."

Botan was relieved when the doors were pushed open to let them inside without further inquiries. They made them walk into a bigger room where a bulky one-eyed demon lazily sat on a stone chair as if he were a bored king. The ferry girl stiffened. He was someone they had met before.

"Well, well, well." The slave trader perked up the moment he spotted them. "Did Shiso finally realize the absurdity of our deal and gave up his remaining daughter? Such a foolish old man." He sneered at Tsubaki then he turned his attention to the girl next to her.

"Hello... We meet again."

Botan's heart sank as she remembered their first encounter. The demon was her captor in Goto's mansion. The one who held her in place while the gang beat up Hiei. She could clearly recall the smell of his filthy hands over her mouth.

"You are... Kuzu?"

"Surprised? You thought I was part of Goto's gang, didn't you? I was merely there to follow up on a business deal with him when you barged in. Don't get me wrong. I'm not mad that you interrupted our discussion. In fact, I'm glad you did because I found someone who might be what my client is looking for. He has high standards and I've been struggling to find the perfect candidate for his needs. Youkai women in the peripheries were turning out to be quite a disappointment so I resorted to seeking Goto's help in acquiring goods from the main towns in a very discrete way, of course. I don't want to end up missing like Chikou."

Botan sensed Hiei's demon energy spike up a bit at the mention of the other slave trader who was Mukuro's adoptive father.

"That bastard is selling children so no wonder he got caught. Even if I am doing business in this industry, I won't stoop to his level. We don't want the Mao breathing down our necks, now do we?" Kuzu gave the shortest of the three women a knowing look.

"Too late." Hiei tore off the hooded cloak from him. "He has already detected your activities."

"Ahhh the infamous criminal-turned Reikai's lapdog. Good thing you removed that piece of rag. The color does not suit you. I have an inkling that you would come looking for me since you're on the trail of the missing women so... I've prepared for your arrival." Kuzu snapped his fingers and demons began pouring into the room in droves until they had filled the entire area.

Botan's heart raced. Kuzu's men had blocked the door with their bodies and the stone walls bore no windows to exit from. They were completely surrounded and there's nowhere to escape.

"Now where have I witnessed this scene before?" The slave trader smirked at Hiei. "My entire castle is occupied by my men so if you decided to finish off the ones in this floor, a new batch from the upper levels will descend to replace them. The higher the floor they come from, the higher their ranking. You see I like to keep things organized."

Hiei scoffed. "You are bluffing. There's no way you could have such a wide network with that ugly face of yours."

"Oh you don't know how money works apparently. Being a slaver pays well. Would you rather see for yourself?"

Kuzu's men brandished their weapons at their visitors.

Stay close to each other while I fight them off.

Hiei communicated to his companions through telepathy.

You can't beat them alone, Hiei.

The ferry girl reprimanded him.

Watch me.

And when you become exhausted, what will happen to Tsubaki? You made a promise to her father.

Botan reminded the fire demon. The village chief's daughter stared at the slavers in utter terror. She did not need to share her thoughts for them to figure out how she was feeling at that moment.

Tch.

Hiei admitted to himself that he had miscalculated. He shouldn't have backed up the Youkai woman no matter how fiercely motivated she was. Now he had to consider her in the operation and trust in Botan's ability to defend herself. He had witnessed her survival skills before when Makai insects had plagued Ningenkai. However, violent class E Youkai no matter how weak, were still way more dangerous than violent humans bitten by those insects.

Hiei turned around to face the horde of demons that had encircled them. They were waiting in anticipation for his next move. The fire demon balled his right fist and concentrated his energy on it. Kuzu's minions didn't even cower at his display of power. It was without doubt that they were hardened killers who would make Goto's men piss on their pants with just their mere presence.

"Oh, he's really taking us on eh? With just one fist! What a cocky bastard." The slave trader looked amused.

Hiei, let's just escape for now... please... They will drive you to exhaustion. You can't afford to lose energy. There's someone even more powerful than them that we need to face later on.

He could hear the ferry girl imploring him in his mind. He didn't want to be swayed with her words but she did have a point. He made the ball of fire emanating from his right fist grew even bigger. In a fraction of a second, he sped towards Kuzu's direction and did an uppercut with his left. The slave trader lie on the ground still dazed over what had just hit him. Then Hiei jumped over him and punched with his burning right fist the high part of the wall where he noticed a thin ray of light passing through a crack. The impact had caused an explosion of dust and stone fragments that scattered in all directions. While everybody shielded their eyes and coughed out the rock particles they had breathed, Hiei grabbed the village chief's daughter by the waist.

Fly after me, woman.

He instructed Botan before carrying Tsubaki in his arms as he went through the big hole that he created.

Oi woman.

He looked over his shoulder to check on his partner but nobody was following him. He perched on the hole and saw Kuzu with a bloody mouth holding the paddle in one hand and grabbing the ferry girl by her ponytail with the other. After realizing that they were planning to escape, the slave trader had grabbed the paddle while Botan was attempting to take off. He threw the ferry girl towards a group of demons who grabbed her by the arms to suppress her movement. Kuzu held the paddle up high for Hiei to see before breaking it in two pieces.

The fire demon was on the act of sitting the mute woman down on the hole so he could go rescue Botan but then the ferry girl shook her head at him.

Go Hiei. Bring Tsubaki back as you have promised.

Are you out of your mind?!? There's no chance I'm going to leave you here.

They won't sell a damage good, Hiei. Think about it! They will take me to their client and we can find out who's pulling the strings. This is our chance to finish this mission.

Botan pleaded to him with her eyes.

I will be okay. I can be your tracker. Bring Tsubaki home first. Then we will see each other soon...

Hiei gritted his teeth. He had threatened to abandon her before but those were just words he never meant to enforce especially now that he had accepted her as his partner detective. Hordes of demons began pouring down from the second level as if there's still space left to fill the room. He had to make a decision fast. He picked up the stunned Tsubaki in his arms and made one final look at the ferry girl before reluctantly speeding off through the hole.

I will come and get you, Woman.