Kurama kept the scowl off his face when he saw the two women after they left their tent the next morning. He could smell the subtle scent of sex off of both of them. He warned both of them not to do anything like that together, but Ruka likely seduced her, much to Kurama's distaste.
Kurama did not say anything to Yasha, but he could tell by the way Yasha was silently studying both Nanashi and Ruka, that he knew what was up. To Nanashi, he commented, "your hair and wings have gone a bit off white."
Nanashi blinked over at him. "Have they?" she asked mousily.
Kurama studied Nanashi's hair and wings as well, having not noticed the color change at first. It was there, but so slight. A sign of an angel that has sinned, according the legends Yasha liked to discuss. Nanashi did seem to noticed though. Kurama caught sight of her studying one of her two braids before they headed out for the morning.
Kurama sent Nanashi out to scout ahead, biding his time until she was out of sight to approach Ruka on her walking horse. "Cold night last night, wasn't it?" he asked her steadily. He noticed after he came up to her left side, Yasha came up on her right. Nanashi's extra horse trailed next to Yasha's horse.
"Yes, quite so," Ruka commented demurely. "Were you able to keep each other warm last night?" She cast one glance at Kurama and another at Yasha.
"We did actually," Yasha answered with a smirk. "And what about you and Nanashi? She keep you warm enough?"
Ruka shot Yasha a shrewd look. "Plenty," she answered simply.
"Her wings look especially warm. Wide, light, and feathery. Like a bony blanket?" Yasha asked.
"She prefers to lay on her back," she replied.
Yasha clicked his teeth. "On her back? All night?"
"What are you getting at?" Ruka's voice was growing short.
Kurama reentered the conversation, "how much could she get for one night of service for you in your business? If she agreed and sold her first night to pay you back?"
Ruka frowned, calculating it in her head. "Before she turned angelic, 200 easy. Expensive because of her demonic look. Now that her wings and angelicness have surfaced, 2,000 would be a good starting bid."
Yasha growled quietly under his breath. Just pleasure and numbers. Kurama responded, "then whatever the two of you did last night, she's paid you back in full for taking over her debt with Sakyo, no matter how high he raises it."
Ruka brought her horse to a skidding halt. The vicious look that crossed her face made her look ugly. "Excuse me?"
Kurama stopped along side her, staring her down. Yasha spoke next, "whatever you did with Nanashi last night has to be worth at least 2,000, surely. Her hair and wings are off white now. She's been touched outside of marriage. By you. Angels who sin show their sin outwardly by the color of their hair and wings."
Ruka's face was insolent. "I didn't take her virginity. I held back from that."
"Held back, how wonderful," Yasha sneered. "Everything but..."
"What do you want?" Ruka asked, looking at both of them.
"You're leaving us. You've grown tired of camping and pursuing Sakyo," Kurama told her. "You will go back to Gandara and send money to Sakyo's business in the capital to pay Nanashi's debt back in full."
"Make me," she seethed.
Kurama looked past her, towards Yasha. He nodded, "Yasha."
Yasha sighed, pulling off his gloves. "I'm going to be tired after this. You better be nice enough to let me go to bed early tonight."
"What are you doing?" Ruka asked, looking nervously at Yasha's hands. "You wear gloves? Since when?" Yasha seized Ruka's hand in both of his. "What are you doing? Let me go."
Yasha looked up at Kurama, nodding. Kurama covered his ears so he could not hear a thing. He read Yasha's lips as he ordered Ruka, 'you will do exactly as Kurama said in a nature and timely manner.' He let Ruka's hands go, bringing one hand up to his mouth to stifle a yawn.
Ruka hissed through her teeth. "I'm sick of all this camping, sick of hunting after Sakyo. I'm going home. I'll pay Nanashi's debt back when I get there." Without another word, she spurred her horse to back up and to right South, back towards Gandara.
"Good riddance," Yasha said sleepily. He pulled his gloves back on and kicked his horse to get it walking. "If I fall asleep on my horse, just make sure I don't fall off. She tried to resist."
"Of course she did," Kurama said, getting his horse to walk next to Yasha's. "I warned Nanashi about her. I should have shared a tent with Ruka..."
Yasha shook his head and laughed. "Then I would have had to be the one to seduce Nanashi. I don't know how well that would have worked."
"It would if you wanted to be castrated by a jealous lover," Kurama warned him coyly.
Yasha barked a laugh. "I forgot. You can make a joke every now and again. A poor one, but a joke all the same."
The two of them rode on, smirking to themselves as they went, waiting for Nanashi to come back.
It took her two hours after Ruka had left to come fly down to them in a mad rush. She landed next to them, panting. "I saw them, I saw them! They're not far from here. We can get there by this evening if we're lucky!" She hunched over, placing her hands on her knees. "Wait... where's Ruka?" she added, looking downtrodden.