After watching the video tape with the mission to rescue Yukina on it, Yusuke, Botan, Kuwabara, and Nanashi made their journey to Torukane's compound. Much to Botan's disapproval, Kuwabara took out most of the enemies, with Yusuke picking up the rest, and Nanashi staying out of it except when she was directly attacked by a weak enemy in the yard. Even then, all she really did was let the wind serpent rip the demon's throat out and then dry heaved at the sight of all the blood and swooned a bit afterward. It was frustrating for Botan to watch, especially if Nanashi did not prove herself on this mission, Koenma might dismiss her after she completely missed the last mission. It would be too difficult with the wind serpent to cut her lose.
Botan ran along with the three of them into Torukane's compound, getting even more annoyed that Yusuke and Kuwabara were doing all the fighting against the first two members of the Demon Triad. After the two of them had defeated the second member of the Demon Triad while Nanashi just watched them, Botan took verbal action.
"Everyone stop!" Botan snapped from her stand still as she watched the three of them running down the hallway away from her. Nanashi stopped first, then Yusuke, and then Kuwabara as he barreled ungracefully into Yusuke.
"What's the problem Botan?" Yusuke asked confused.
"You two are!" Botan shouted as she caught up to the three of them and pointed at Kuwabara and Yusuke. "You two brats are taking out the enemies before Nanashi can even think to act!" She marched over to Yusuke and got in his face, poking him in the chest. "She's only gotten to fight one while both of you have taken on all the rest!" She rounded on Kuwabara next who jumped and hid behind Nanashi. "Especially you, Kuwabara!" Botan shouted passed Nanashi who backed right into Kuwabara behind her. "She's your team mate, but you are just hogging all the fun for yourself!"
Yusuke pondered what Botan was saying. "Hmm... You know, now that I think about it, that's true." He walked passed Botan and patted Nanashi on her shoulder. "Next one's yours, no matter what," he promised Nanashi, who went white at the thought of it.
"But she's a-" Kuwabara started, but stopped when Botan sent him a scowl. "Never mind," he grumbled.
"Much better," Botan cheered. "Nanashi, you lead the way, too," she instructed as she gestured down the hallway they needed to travel.
Nanashi hesitated at first, but started running down the hallway with Botan right behind and Yusuke and Kuwabara taking up the rear. On the run, Kuwabara shouted, "Watch out!" Just then a large hand punched throw the wall, catching Botan by the jacket and sending Nanashi rolling down the hallway. Botan screamed and struggled as she was hoisted up into the air.
The demon with red hair, three horns, brown skin, and a spiked club that had made the hole in the wall and had Botan by the jacket introduced himself as Gokumonki, the third member of the Triad.
"We'll write it on your gravestone," Yusuke shot back and then to the right of Botan and Gokumonki.
Botan, still struggling, saw he had nodded over to now standing Nanashi whose eyes were wide at the sight of Gokumonki. She looked like a deer in the headlights. "Come on, Nanashi!" Botan shouted. "Get me free and take him down!" Botan's panic went into over drive when she saw Gokumonki had pulled his spiked club from behind his back and was in the process of swinging it at Yusuke and Kuwabara who jumped out of the way just in time. "Nanashi!" Botan shouted at her.
Gokumonki turned around and looked down at Nanashi, swinging his club at her. She gave a shout and jumped out of the way, but slowed to a stop smoothly in a crouching position in front of Yusuke and Kuwabara. Her face read both fright and determination.
"Don't just sit there, get him!" Yusuke encouraged.
It seemed to be the nudge Nanashi needed as she sprang up with a half shout of "wind serpent, battle ax!" As she charged at Gokumonki, Botan saw that the elemental serpent she had acquired from the alchemist Kaze when she skipped the last mission had risen up from her neck, shot down to her right hand, and transformed itself into a white, long handled, battle ax. She raised it up at shoulder height as she ran. Gokumonki swung his club at her and it met hard up with the ax in midair. Gokumonki's swing proved stronger than Nanashi's as the ax shifted back into the wind serpent with what sounded like a disgruntled hiss.
"What the hell was that?!" Yusuke shouted at Nanashi.
Nanashi whined backed "I didn't want to hit Botan!"
Gokumonki swung his club through the air, hitting the distracted Nanashi and sending her careening down the hall much to Botan's disappointment that she would be hit so easily. "Nanashi?" Botan called out.
Yusuke and Kuwabara ran past Gokumonki, dodging his club, and bent over Nanashi's prone form. "Hey, can you get up?" Yusuke asked.
Nanashisat up as she gave a faint groan in tandem to the wind serpent giving a low pitched hiss. Both of them looked over at Gokumonki and Botan with livid expressions. Yusuke and Kuwabara also looked angry. Gokumonki laughed at the lot of them and tauntingly said, "you don't have the nerve to attack me so long I have her," as he swayed Botan sideways in the air for good measure.
"Shoot," Kuwabara growled.
"Unless you have another plan, I'm going to start the crushing!" Gokumonki shouted as he raised his club up; causing Botan to cover her face and scream in fear.
"Her jacket!" Nanashi exclaimed half nonsensically.
Yusuke understood perfectly what she meant. "Botan, raise your arms."
Although it seemed like a stupid idea, Botan complied and much to her surprise, she slipped out of her jacket and away from Gokumonki. As quick as she could, she ran away from Gokumonki and over to the other three.
When Kuwarabara and Yusuke called him stupid, Gokumonki let out a roar and raised his club up over his head. With his guard down, Nanashi, much surprise to Botan that she got up and moved again, charged him with the wind serpent dangling from her neck. She leaped into the air and decked Gokumonki in the face with her right fist, sending him into the nearest wall with a painful groan right before he passed out.
Nanashi backed away from the now unconscious Gokumonki, hands in front of her neck. She backed into Yusuke who had been standing behind her. "That's the spirit," he cheered her on as ruffled her hair into a frizzy mess. She jumped and frowned up at him. "Let's getting going," he said, shoving her playfully down the hall ahead of him.
The lot of them ran down the hallway and down a flight of stairs, pausing briefly as Kuwabara telepathically told Yukina they were coming. The end of their run was a round, domed room. On the other side of the room stood the Tugoro brothers, five small screens of the gambling men watching them, and a window where Torukane, his men, and Yukina stood watching the six of them in the room below.
"They're the last?" Yusuke asked no one in particular.
Kuwabara noticed the group watching from the window. "Look at those shits. They're hiding behind a screen."
Botan, standing near the door and out of the way, noticed Nanashi, who had been standing directly behind Kuwabara took a shaky breath, summoned the wind serpent back up around her neck, and side stepped so she was no longer hiding behind him. Her hand were balled in tense fists by her sides. Her elbows we intentionally locked out.
The younger Toguro brother spoke "you have guts. Three on two. We'll call that fair."
"He isn't emitting any power. This is going to be great!" Kuwabara commented.
Yusuke paused, looking and sensing the two men in front of them carefully. "I don't think so.. On The contrary, I get the impression he's hiding his game."
"Oh yeah?" Kuwabara asked.
"We have to be careful of this guy."
Nanashi had a slight frown, speaking too quietly for Botan to hear.
Younger Toguro gave a quick laugh as Elder Toguro took off cloak and transformed himself into a grotesque looking sword for Younger Toguro to use.
"Did you see the guy on his shoulder?" Yusuke asked, nervous.
"He just transformed himself!" Kuwabara cringed. To Nanashi and her wind serpent he asked, "are they copying you two or something?" Nanashi opened her mouth, but shook her head and shrugged as a response. "How unoriginal."
Younger Toguro spoke up again, brandishing the Elder Toguro as a sword. "My brother can change himself into a weapon... He is a weapon. After all, it's his wielder that makes the difference. He's changed himself into a sword!"
In response, Botan watched Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Nanashi charged towards them at the same time. Kuwabara had his spirit sword out while Nanashi had her wind serpent out as an ax.
"That's not all!" Younger Toguro shouted as his muscles grew and steamed underneath his skin before Botan's eyes. The three of them skittered to a halt in shock. "Me, I can do what I want with my muscles! Him and me, we're not just anyone!"
"Errps!" Kuwabara gasped. "That's an insane amount of ki!"
Nanashi had frozen speechless at the sight.
"Be careful. He's showing a monstrous power!" Yusuke warned.
In a split second after that, Botan watched Younger Toguro charged at the three of them, swinging his brother sword down between Yusuke and Nanashi on one side and Kuwabara on the other side. His blow missed, but turned the part of the floor that Elder Toguro struck into rubble.
"He's fast!" Kuwabara and Yusuke exclaimed in tandem.
Younger Toguro was on the move again. "Shit," Kuwabara swore, summoning up his spirit sword again just in time to block the sword swing from Younger Toguro. "Woah! Argh!" He struggled to hold Younger Toguro off.
In response, Younger Toguro gave a laugh, and punched Kuwabara painfully hard in his stomach, sending him flying into the wall.
"Kuwabaraaaa!" Yusuke screamed.
Luckily, Kuwabara was still alive and conscious, groaning in pain and coughing up a noticeable amount of blood.
Younger Toguro squared himself up for another attack. "You limited the impact by backing away. I see that you have a little in your head." With a low swing, Younger Toguro swung his brother sword horizontally through the air towards Yusuke, who had not seen it coming until Nanashi had shoved him out of the way and took slice on her front from shoulder to shoulder with a pained scream. She hand managed to stay standing in front of Younger Toguro. "If you were any shorter, I would have slit your throat." He shoved his brother sword point first at her, impaling her right side just above her hip. She grabbed at the sword in an effort to slow it down, cutting her hands deeply. The wind serpent joined her, biting deeply into Elder Toguro in sword form. Elder Toguro gave a shrill, agonizing scream. Younger Toguro grabbed her around her throat and picked her up off the ground while trying to pull Elder Toguro out of the wind serpent's mouth. "Let him go!" Nanashi kicked helplessly in the air, clawing at his wrist to break his grip on her neck. The second the wind serpent let Elder Toguro go, Younger Toguro threw her across the room and into the wall near where Botan was standing.
"Nanashi!" Botan shouted, running over to her prone, unconscious form. She lifted up Nanashi's head, feeling relieved that she was still breathing. "She's alive! Knocked out, but alive!" Botan shouted to let Yusuke and Kuwabara know so. Hurriedly, Botan healed the bleeding wounds above her hip, her hands, below her neck, and then the damaged done to her neck. She was out cold.
Yusuke, now extremely pissed out, jumped up in front of Younger Toguro. "Take this in your face!" he yelled as he shot Younger Toguro point blank in the face with his spirit gun. "I hope that's done it! At this distance you're..." Botan watched awestruck that Younger Toguro was completely fine bar smoking a little bit. "The sword transformed itself into an armor?!" Yusuke exclaimed right before Younger Toguro used his armored forearm to bash him in the face.
"Ah, yes, I forgot... My brother could transform like that..." Younger Toguro recalled.
Botan watched from her spot near the door and the unconscious Nanashi as Younger Toguro continued to beat both boys up. Botan shook Nanashi, trying to get her awake. "Come on, wake up. The fights not over. They need you." Nanashi stayed out cold, oblivious to Botan's words and shaking.
Botan looked back over at the four fighters. Kuwabara had found his second wind and was standing, spirit sword in hand. "You don't have any morals..." he mumble growled out. "You're not worthy of being a man!" he shouted at Younger Toguro.
"Very interesting," Younger Toguro mused. "His power has increased."
"Desist," Kuwabara warned him. "It's not you who I want to defeat... But the pig who's behind you."
Botan listened as Torukane's voice came echoing over the room. "Who? Are you talking about me? Hahaha, he has a sense of humor that little one! Come, if you can!" A heavy hush sunk over the room. Toguro, leave the girls alive. I can sell off a feisty one like that to a trafficker for a small fortune after I take away her pet snake. Kill the others. Go, Toguro! The final blow!"
"You have agreed? That's too bad," Younger Toguro said evenly.
"Die!" Kuwabara shouted as he charged at him, trying to strike his sword home. Younger Toguro punched him hard, sending him skidding back to stand next to Yusuke.
"I won't be taken in. It's reported that you died," Younger Toguro commented.
Kuwabara gave an angst filled growl.
"Kuwabara..." Yusuke said quietly.
"Yusuke... I'm going to ask for just one thing!" Kuwabara grumbled out.
Botan saw the two of them continued to talk, but strained to hear what they were saying. Nanashi gave muted whimpered and shifted in her sleep. Botan looked down at her, shaking her as she said her name.
"Yu..." Nanashi struggled to say. Botan paused, waiting to see what she said. "k.." she finished before slumping still once more.
Torukane's voice echoed over the room "go, let's finish them! It's time you finished it."
"I agree, I agree," Younger Toguro responded.
"Idiot!" Yusuke snapped, catching Botan's attention again. "If we do that you're going to be leaving your skin behind!"
"I still prefer to die! Death is better than defeat!" Kuwabara responded.
"Go!" Yusuke urged.
Botan watched Kuwabara stand up, spirit sword held at the ready. He ran recklessly at Younger Toguro with a battle cry.
Younger Toguro stood his ground. "The meaning of this sacrifice? So be it! That's your choice! I'm going to decapitate you!" Younger Toguro warned as he swung his brother sword high above his head.
Yusuke meanwhile had a spirit gun blast at the ready and fired it directly behind Kuwabara, speeding him up considerably, and impaling Younger Toguro in the stomach before he could even react.
"He helped himself using his friend's spirit gun to propel himself like a rocket... well... done..." Younger Toguro choked out before falling backwards to the ground.
Botan jumped when all the screens below the window went static. Looking over at the boys, she say that Kuwabara was still alive and conscious. "Shit, and Torukane?" Yusuke blurted out as he started running towards the stairs that let up to room behind the window. He passed Yukina on the way. "Me, I'm fine. See to him instead," he told her as he kept running.
Botan kept her distance as Yukina ran over to Kuwabara and began to heal him. She gave Nanashi another shake. "You're missing something good," she teased as she witnessed Kuwabara managing to look sad and adorable at the same time. She looked over to the window and saw Yusuke talking with Hiei, making her concerned that Hiei had found out after all they were rescuing his sister. "It just got more interesting," she grumbled down to Nanashi, giving her another shake. Nanashi gave a groan, opening one eye first, then another. "Finally!" Botan exclaimed, helping Nanashi sit up. "What took you so long?"
Nanashi winced sharply bringing a hand to the back of her neck. Botan met her hand there and healed the injury there that she had missed while Nanashi had been unconscious. "What happened?" she murmured as Botan guiding her onto her feet. She was looking in the direction of the Toguro brothers, which caused her to go from squinting to wide eyed.
Botan was about to explain, but bit her tongue she saw Yusuke running towards them. "She ok?" he asked Botan, standing in front of the two of them.
Botan nodded. "I think so," she reckoned.
"Good," he said evenly, taking a deep breath. "What the hell were you thinking!?" he yelled at Nanashi. In shocked reaction to being suddenly yelled at, Nanashi closed her eyes, brought her arm protectively over her face, and stepped back.
"Yusuke!" Botan scolded.
Ignoring Botan, he continued to yell at Nanashi. "You don't take a hit like that for me! Not ever! You hear me?!" The next thing he did was wrap his arms around and pulled her into him for a tight hug. One hand rested on the back of her head and the other wrapped around her lower back. "Pretty easy to tell Kurama trained you after that." Nanashi brought her arms around him in response, starting to cry and shiver a little. "Hey, shh," he soothed. "I shouldn't have yelled, I'm sorry." Nanashi seemed to calm back down and quit crying. In a soft voice, Yusuke spoke, "it's no secret my mom hated your dad. Thought he was an arrogant prick... But she likes you. You don't judge her like your mom did... It would kill her if I brought your dead body back with me."
Botan stepped away from the two of them, giving the two of them a semblance of privacy. She looked over at Kuwabara and Yukina, still having their own moment. Finally she looked up, seeing Hiei and now Kurama up in the room behind the window. The first looked down at both moments happening with a livid scowl. The second watched on with an unreadable expression.