The three captives rode in silence until the moon was high in the sky, and the slaver in the back was fast asleep against his post. Then, and only then, did any of them deem it safe to speak and move.

Sitting up from her lying position, the blonde girl spat out her gag and whispered, "If I make to escape, will you help me?"

Eagerly, Kageyama and Yamaguchi nodded. They were both desperate for a way out and back to the relative safety of the Nekarasi. Moreover, these slavers were stupid, as they had not bothered to take the knives from either boy. Should their hands be freed, they'd stand a fighting chance against their attackers. Sighing with relief, the blonde nearly folded herself in half, untying the ropes around her ankles with her mouth. With still no way to move her hands, she carefully lifted a foot up to rest on her wrist bindings, then she brought her foot down and pulled her arms upward. On the first try, nothing happened, but by the third attempt, a ripping sound could be heard. After only a few more repetitions, the girl's arms were freed, albeit rubbed raw from the coarse rope. Not bothering to fix her unkempt appearance, she instantly pulled a penknife from her breast pocket and set about cutting the boys loose.

"They only grabbed me yesterday morning, but never took anyone else besides you two. I think they're searching for specific people, so we'd better be quick about this." She said, making light work of Yamaguchi's bonds and moving on to Kageyama. Once everyone was freed, the girl motioned for silence, before pointing to the sleeping man on the end of the cart. If he awoke, he'd cause a fuss, and they would be caught, again; they'd need to be silent. Or not, as Kageyama took the blonde's signaling to mean something else entirely. Stone-faced and quick as a flash, he slit the man's throat and pushed him off the cart. Both Yamaguchi and the girl stared in impressed shock. That certainly was one way to deal with the problem.

"What? He can't make any noise if he's dead." Kageyama shrugged as he spoke, apparently miffed at the need to explain his actions.

The blonde simply shrugged, "We'll need to get rid of the ones in the front just as quick, and one of us will have to grab the reins before the horses lose control."

"Won't the rest of the caravan notice their lead wagon changing directions?" Yamaguchi asked, not eager to partake in a horse chase.

"Not any more than they'll notice the corpse of one of their own thanks to your friend here." Retorted the girl, perhaps a little annoyed at Kageyama's lack of forethought.

However, before they could move up to the drivers, the wagon suddenly halted, throwing all three backwards in the momentum change. The horses whinnied nervously and stamped their feet, unwilling to go forward. The drivers, too, seemed spooked.

"What the hell was that thing?" Said one.

"I don't know, but it was big, got the nags all nervous-like." Replied the other, his accent noticeably more southern than the first's.

"Some kind of flying beast, I think. A curse from the goddess. It cast a shadow over the moon."

"Oh, nonsense. You know there ain't no such things as cursed beasts. Grow a pair, will ya?" Just as the southern man finished talking, a wretched screech filled the air. Like some horrid union between grinding metal, elk bugles, and fox screams, it echoed loud and cacophonous. The light of the full moon was cast in shadow, and spear sharp talons reached down from the sky to pick up the rebuking southerner. His screams harmonized with the cries of the creature and the terrified whinnies of the horses to create a symphony of fear. Whatever the beast was, it was violent.

The first man, shaking and praying, urged the horses forward, begged them to move faster. They did not take much convincing. The wagon was now rocketing across the open field, desperately trying to outrun the flying monster. Not even a minute later, the beast swooped down again, picking off the driver and sending the horses into a panic. They ran sporadically, taking sharp turns and desperately pulling away from each other. Eventually, the wagon couldn't take it any longer, and the horses broke free while the vehicle overturned and rolled into a ditch. Unwilling to be sitting prey, Yamaguchi, the blonde, and Kageyama turned tail and ran back in the direction of Tauveriin.

They didn't make it very far before the rest of the caravan had them surrounded again. All the men abandoned their horses, sending them off as bait for the creature while they circled the three menacingly. Moonlight glinted off the flintlocks of guns and the metal tips of arrows already nocked in crossbows. Even with their knives and speed, Yamaguchi did not think he and his friends could escape. The sashed men laughed, taunted the beast and the goddess alike, threatening to shoot it down and take its pelt as an extra prize. The girl wrinkled her nose in disgust at the slavers' disrespect, and Kageyama snarled like a wild animal himself. Yamaguchi clutched his knife tightly in hand and figured dying alongside Kageyama was the best he could hope for. If they didn't return, Bokuto would surely assume the worst and find someone to deliver the Firefly box in their stead. Realistically, Yamaguchi and Kageyama were inconsequential to the box's destination and purpose.

It was Kageyama who made the first move, lunging at the throat of the closest man. His knife struck true, but so did an arrow, and while one slaver fell, Kageyama's shoulder had been hit. Then, the screech of the monster grew closer once more. This time, when it dove down, Yamaguchi saw it in its full glory. It had the snarling face and torso of a monkey, with pale skin and orange fur. Where arms should have been were massive wings, half feathered and half leather, like some sick hybrid between bat and bird. Protruding from the apex joint were enormous clawed hands, like those of a wyvern or again, a bat. Traveling down the body, orange fur filtered down to feathers, then to yellowish scales and gigantic talons, large enough to grab a person. The beast as a whole was about the size of a covered wagon or very small house. No one stood a chance against its wrath. Not even Kageyama, who it snatched up and quickly flew out of sight with.

Yamaguchi screamed, but the cries fell on deaf ears as he lost visual of his veritable brother. The blonde looked on, pain in her eyes as she wheeled around to defend Yamaguchi's crumpled and sobbing body. The slavers no longer used their crossbows and guns, unwilling to kill their marks when one third of the profit had been stolen by a wretched creature. Eyes blurry with still falling tears, Yamaguchi stood up to fight. For once in his life, he let rage consume him; it was the slavers' fault he was out here, their fault Kageyama had been taken, their fault he would now die alone. There, standing back to back with his stranger of an ally, Yamaguchi blindly slashed his knife, threatening to cut anything that came too close.

Once again, the warning cry of the ape-bird sounded, shrill and guttural against the clang of metal and rustling grass. The slavers scattered, hid under their wagons, and the corpses created by the fight. Yamaguchi and the girl were standing alone in the field. The monster drew closer, and Yamaguchi drew his knife, determined to do as much damage to the creature as possible. But before the monster could grab him, the girl pushed him out of the way.

"Run!" she screamed from the beast's glistening talons, "Run and don't look back!" What other choice did Yamaguchi have but to do as she asked?

He clambered upon the one horse remaining, the only one unafraid of the flying beast, and urged it back towards Tauveriin. That girl had sacrificed herself for him, she had no reason to do so, no motive but selflessness. Yamaguchi wanted to move forward for her, for Kageyama, but his heart felt heavy, and he was tired of running. Gunshots sounded behind him, and his horse collapsed, dead on the field. The slavers approached him from only one side now, desperate and out of breath. From behind them, Yamaguchi could see the silhouette of the beast, back again for another meal. Yamaguchi closed his eyes, outstretched his arms, and stood offering himself to the creature. He felt it grab him around the middle with one of its talons, felt the wind whistle past him as he soared captive in the air.

The creature grunted and lost grip on Yamaguchi for but a second before picking him up from freefall. Opening his eyes, Yamaguchi saw several arrows embedded in the upper shoulder area of the beast, just barely missing the head. Why was the beast not crushing his body? Why did it cradle him with such tender care? Surely, it hunted because it was hungry; was Yamaguchi simply a snack for later? Yamauchi coughed as the beast flew him back over the city of Tauveriin and through its polluted air. Why was it passing over civilization? He found his answer as the monster set him down on the roof of the moving train, where Kageyama and the girl were waiting for him.

Rushing over, Kageyama looked between the collapsed beast and Yamaguchi. "What do we do with it? It must be dangerous."

Both Yamaguchi and the girl shrugged, too shocked from adrenaline to think. As Kageyama positioned his knife over the creature's heart and raised the blade, Yamaguchi looked at its eyes. They were wide and brown, unafraid and intense in a feral way that reminded Yamaguchi jarringly of Hinata. Just as Kageyama started to bring down the knife, the creature let out a mournful wail and flapped its injured wing pathetically.

"Wait!" shouted Yamaguchi, panicky in his revelation. "I think it's Hinata!"

"What? Hinata?" barked Kageyama in return, stilling his blade.

"Who is Hinata?" asked the girl, looking very confused.

All three humans looked at the beast expectantly as it clambered to a seated position and began to change. The flesh rippled like water thick with sludge, wings receded, and bones broke and reset themselves. The whole process looked painfully gruesome, and once it was done, Hinata was sat at their feet, clutching his bleeding shoulder and halfheartedly glaring up at Kageyama. "I told you there were slavers about." Hinata then promptly passed out.

Losing all malice and ignoring his own injured arm, Kageyama scooped Hinata up and turned to Yamaguchi, kicking the roof hatch. As quickly as possible, he unlatched it and ushered both Kageyama and the girl inside. The room they dropped down into was a messy one, covered in carnival posters and event flyers. The bed was unmade, a pistol was carelessly discarded on the floor, dirty plates and glasses had been stacked precariously on chairs and tables. The entire place was obviously lived in and obviously Hinata's.

Not a second after they closed the ceiling hatch, Akaashi came bursting into the room, medkit and the rest of the crew in tow. Wordlessly, he got to work on dressing Hinata and Kageyama's wounds as Bokuto grilled them about what happened. Tears streaking down his dirtied face, Yamaguchi broke and told them everything. The circumstances of finding the box, the overheard conversation, the lies, the deal with the Miyas and the slavers, all of it tumbled out of his mouth between heaving sobs. Awkwardly, the blonde girl rubbed his back, listening intently. Raising his head from between his knees, Kageyama looked up to Bokuto and Kenma, "What happened to Hinata? Is he cursed?"

Kenma sighed and shook their head, "No, he's just a Kamelion, that's simply his non-human form."

Kamelions, Yamaguchi remembered, were one of the races that still held magic in their blood. They were an adaptable people hailing from the southeastern forests and swamplands. Their heritage contained enough magic to allow them to change shape at will. Legend had it, they used to be able to choose any form and switch between many in rapid-fire fashion, but as magic slowly seeped from them, so did their abilities. Now Kamelions could only take two forms, that of their human and beast appearance. What confused Yamaguchi, was that Kamelions were a herding race who stuck together in large familial groups. Why was Hinata alone?

Soon enough, everyone besides the still rattled-three left the room, pacified by the notion that Hinata was just sleeping. Yamaguchi thanked the goddess that they had made it out alright, clutching the box bag that Bokuto had returned to him. Yamaguchi turned to the blonde girl, who was fixated on the bag, and attempted to strike up conversation to fill the silence, "So… We never really caught your name. I'm Yamaguchi, that's Kageyama, and I guess you've figured out who Hinata is."

"I'm Yachi. It's nice to meet you." Silence fell over the room once again. "I've, uh, I mean. I've been searching for that box. Uh, not just me. The empire sent out a whole bunch of us."

"We know, that's why we were looking for you. I have no idea what to do with this thing." Yamaguchi all but whimpered, handing it over to Yachi.

Just as she was about to reply, Hinata stirred from his slumber to shoot the other inhabitants of the room a hearty glare. "I was right! I was right about everything! You two don't work for the empire! Ha." He was perhaps a bit too feeble to sound truly triumphant, but an attempt was made.

Kageyama tightened his already white-knuckled death grip on his chair handles and asked the question on everyone's minds, "Why did you come for us?"

"What?"

"Why did you rescue us? Were you following us this whole time? You hate Yamaguchi and I, especially me. Why not just let us die?"

Hinata's eyes lowered as he gave a sad smile, "You might be a bunch of liars, but even liars deserve to go home to their families. I know what the slave trade is like, no one deserves that." Hinata sat up and winced, but continued speaking, "My family sold me to slavers when I was young to pay for my baby sister's formula. I don't blame them for doing that, but the slave trade is an awful place to grow up. I caused as many problems as I could, tried escaping often, eventually, they had enough of me. That's when Kuroo and Bokuto found me. They paid for my freedom and gave me a new life here on the Nekarasi. I'll protect its crew and passengers with my life, even if they are filthy liars." Hinata laughed, fondness laced in his voice.

Tenderly, Kageyama reached down to envelope Hinata in a hug, both wincing at the strain on their shoulders. Hinata shook in Kageyama's arms, laughing, crying, or maybe a combination of both. Pretty soon, Kageyama joined in the tearful giddiness, reaching out for Yamaguchi and Yachi. It felt nice, having a good long cry on the warm bed. The four of them had really only become friends in the last hour, but already Yamaguchi felt closer with them than he did any of the people back at 16-B. Right here, amidst a pile of crying teenagers, Yamaguchi was home. Still, there was little time for sentiment.

Drying her tears, Yachi hunkered down and pulled out the Firefly box. "Usually, we'd be instructed to give civilians like you a simple reward and then send you on your way, but I can't do that now. The people that took this now link its existence with yours in their minds," here she gestured to the three boys, "They know that you've had it for a while and will assume you've seen what's inside. I can't let you return to your homes just yet, not while the thieves have you marked." Glancing around, the seriousness quickly left her face, replaced by apologetic fearfulness, "I'm sorry! Did that come off as too harsh? I don't mean to be rude. I'm only just out of training for the Firefly Service, please don't judge me!"

Tentatively, Kageyama spoke, "So, do you know what's in there then?"

"Oh, me? No, no, no! I'm not nearly high enough ranking to see what's in there. It's probably government secrets or something!" Stammered Yachi.

"Yeah, but do you want to know?"

"Well- yes. But…"

"No buts, If we're bringing this stupid thing to the capital, we wanna know what's in it!" shouted Hinata. "Uh, how do we open it? It was locked when I tried."

Feeling around the pockets of his now tattered trench coat, Yamaguchi pulled out his still shiny tools, "Leave that part to me."