Hours later the demon trappers arrived at their destination; a sleepy little town nestled in the heart of the grasslands. Though still quite small, the town was growing rapidly as the sweeping plains and rich soil surrounding it continued to attract farmers. But these trappers were not so much interested with the land's fertility, rather the other less flattering rumors that were also being circulated. It was also told that this place was heavily trafficked by demons and the townsfolk would pay well for weapons to fend them off, and medicine for the aftermath of unsuccessful battles.
Shura was awakened when the wagon came to a sudden halt and she was slammed against the back wall of her cage. She screamed and scrambled backwards when a snarling weasel demon lashed out at her through the bars of a neighboring crate. Timidly Shura backed herself into the nearest corner. She didn't recognize any of the strange sounds and smells around her. It was dark and the air was musty and thick with the stench of moldy wood, demon blood, and death. She could barely hear above the restless calls and snarls of the other captive demons, but as she listened harder there was the faint echo of human voices. One of those humans was coming closer.
Shura shielded her eyes as the wagon was uncovered and she was blinded by sunlight. When her vision adjusted the demon child could see a group of five humans starting to unload the cages and weapons that were piled around her. She braced herself, as her cage too was slowly lifted from the back of the wagon and placed on a cobblestone sidewalk. The vast array of unfamiliar people, foreign smells and strange sounds made Shura so dizzy with fear and loneliness that she was afraid to budge. Even when a young child walked up to her cage and started making faces at her, she didn't dare move a muscle.
"Hahah! Look at this one!" the child called. He was joined shortly by three other children who stared curiously into the cage.
"Kinda scrawny for a demon!" an older boy with crooked teeth teased. Another boy the same age, with scruffy red hair and freckles was especially bold. He approached the cage and poked Shura roughly through the bars with a stick. Shura turned and hissed loudly, as she bore her fangs at the group. The boys backed a short distance away, then were quickly shooed off by the lead demon trapper.
"Get out of here you pesky kids!" he scolded, "You'll damage the merchandise!" Just then a gentleman dressed in fine silks approached the group of trappers and offered a generous sum for the heart of a weasel demon. Shura's eyes fell first on the cage next to her where the aforementioned demon was pacing nervously, then on the glinting dagger the lead trapper pulled from his belt. She watched as the boar-cloaked man yanked the hissing demon out of its crate by the scruff and carried it to a station behind the wagon; an area kept out of public view for very good reason.
Shura went pale as the pungent scent of fresh blood filled the air followed by the anguished screams of the helpless weasel demon. the demon child cured herself into a ball and tried hard to blot out the horrible scene; but it was no use. She could not erase the beasts haunting cries from her mind.
When the trapper returned into view, there was a small box in hand where the demon had been moments before. He then happily exchanged the box with the gentleman for a small bag of coins and a piece of brightly colored silk. Shura felt a wave of nausea overcome her entire body. she couldn't move, couldn't cry, couldn't even breath…everything around her had started to spin. And then…blackness took her.
Shura awoke a few hours later to an incessant banging on her cage. An old woman with steel gray hair and a devious smile was rapping on the bars with her cane and demanding service.
"Hey demon slayer!" she was yelling, "I'll give you ten pieces of silver for this young beastie here." The trapper wasted no time in getting right to business. Though this woman was the town's herbalist, and one of his best customers, she was a stubborn one to bargain prices with. For a young, fresh demon child, ten silver pieces was not nearly enough. The trapper stepped towards the woman and motioned towards the inside of the cage.
"See those clothes she's wearing?" he questioned as he pointed out Shura's elegant white kimono to the old healer. "This demon's got royal blood. I won't take less then thirty silver." The woman scratched her chin in thought. This little demon would make a lot of medicine, but thirty silver was stretching it.
"I'll pay twenty silver… and take her alive" she finally announced "…save you the trouble and the mess." The trapper was at last satisfied and agreed to the purchase. After handing over the payment, the herbalist peered through the bars at her new investment.
Horrified, Shura could only stare timidly back from her place in the corner as the woman's grotesquely wrinkled face and beady yellow eyes watched her every move.
"You're a pretty one, aren't you? So young and tender. You're going to make fine remedies when I'm through with you," the woman cackled. Shura covered her face with a sleeve and started to whimper softly. Why wouldn't everyone just leave her alone! She winced when the latch holding her cage door suddenly opened. Shura scrunched herself up tighter as the old woman reached in after her. She tried to ward off the healer woman like she had the young boys, by hissing and bearing her fangs, but her efforts were unsuccessful. As panic filled her heart, Shura lashed out at her aggressor and tore her claws across the old woman's hand and forearm.
"Why you little wretch!" the healer cried as she pulled her arm free from the cage, she was so busy yelling that she failed to notice the fine green vapor swirling around her wounds and the demon child's nails "You'll pay for that!" Before she could make good on her promise however, the wounds on her wrist started to throb, then sting, and then burn uncontrollably. Looking down at her arm, the woman screamed in horror as she witnessed her own flesh melting off her wrist and hand. By the time the trappers realized what had happened, Shura's poison had not only dissolved the woman's arm completely through, it was beginning to spread further into her body.
The old woman ran away screaming, leaving an anxious crowd of potential customers having second thoughts. The lead trapper seized a spear from the back of the wagon and walked briskly over to Shura's cage. The demon child had proved to be more dangerous than any had expected and though killing her would decrease her value, it was far too risky keeping her alive.
Just as he had aimed the spear through the bars a voice rang out from the surrounding audience.
"Stop! Don't kill her!" the trapper looked up momentarily to see who had made the request. A young, fair-faced woman with soft gray eyes and long black hair shoved her way through the crowd and charged angrily up to the demon slayer. "Leave her alone!" the woman demanded, practically yanking the spear from its holder. The trapper couldn't resist a smirk. It wasn't every day that a woman would act so boldly, especially around him. Though he normally didn't have much patience for civilians the trapper tried to remain somewhat dignified for the sake of the crowd
"Listen Miss…" he began. "I don't tell you how to do your job." A forceful yank of his spear was enough to send the woman back a few steps. "Now if you'll excuse me…"
"But you can't! She's just a child!" the woman cried.
"A demon child," the trapper corrected her. "And this one's too dangerous to be kept alive."
The trapper prepared to strike but stopped suddenly when the woman pulled out a money pouch and tossed it at his feet.
"Ninety pieces of silver…that's three times what you offered. I'll pay that and more if you give her to me alive." The trapper was astonished. He looked first at the woman, then at the bag on the ground, then at the demon child. The woman was either desperate or insane, but at least she had the cash to make up for it.
"Okay lady, you can have her, but don't say I didn't warn you." with that, the trapper scooped up the pouch of coins and tossed his spear back into the wagon. The woman was so outraged by the demon trappers that she stubbornly refused to let any of them help her carry the cage home.