The small group of four sat around a fire on the side of the pathway headed for the village. Gojyo glared at the new found demon with an intense hatred, Goku mostly was concerned about Hakkai and his stomach of course, and Sanzo was the one listening and ready to shoot. None of them got the idea that Mika was lying to them. The way she looked and spoke didn't give them the clue if she was telling them the truth. Or Hakkai was already dead.
"So the Kuramato group is the one that took Hakkai?" Goku questioned when Mika had finished.
"Yep, he's in their broken down ruin of a castle just on the outskirts of the next town," Mika replied, looking at Goku with sea-blue eyes. The monkey looked back into them, as if trying to tell if it was a lie or not. But her eyes looked like Sanzo's did; you couldn't really tell if he was lying so you just had to hope he wasn't. Though, sometimes none of them could tell if Sanzo was lying or not.
"So wait, if they're after our heads wouldn't Hakkai be dead by now?" Gojyo spoke up.
"I don't know. The orders I got never said Hakkai was going to be killed. Just captured," Mika said. Sanzo crossed his arms and took a long inhale from his cigarette, the smoke leaking from the side of his mouth.
"So we have to get to Hakkai before he's killed?" Goku questioned. Gojyo hit the monkey upside the head with a fits.
"Isn't that obvious!?" the kappa yelled. Goku held his head and looked at Gojyo with a 'You didn't have to hit me!' glare.
"We can't go any where, it's already night and we need to rest," Sanzo said. Gojyo and Goku looked at him.
"What?" Goku asked.
"How can you think about resting at a time like this? Hakkai could be getting tortured or something!" Gojyo snapped.
"Think about it this way, if we get there tired then we'll just get ourselves and Hakkai killed. Besides, he can fend for himself for another night," Sanzo replied, putting out his cigarette in the grass.
"You'd better be right," Mika said, "The Kuramato Clan shouldn't be taken lightly. Though he will have a caretaker."
"Care taker?" Goku questioned. Mika gave a nod as she stood up, brushing the dead grass and dirt from her black pants.
"Yeah, there are several prisoner caretakers with the group. Unlike other youkai gangs, the Kuramato don't just kill off the weak or murder their prisoners. But they sure as hell don't treat them like kings. Hakkai's got someone there taking care of him but with this cold…" she reaches up and rubbed her upper arms in an attempt to keep warm, "…he'll freeze to death if he get any caretaker besides Rei."
"Rei?" Gojyo questioned.
"Who's Rei?" Goku asked. Sanzo looked at the now standing demoness with a look that stated she gave an answer or she was killed. Even if it was something small, he didn't like how smug she was and didn't trust her.
"Rei's the best caretaker they've got. No one dies on her watch, not if she can help it. All the others just do the minimum to keep the hostages alive, and if it gets cold they'll steal the guys blankets to keep themselves warm. But Rei…" Mika looked off in the direction of the castle, "Rei's something different. She'd let herself freeze to death before she let your friend die."
All of them stayed quite for a moment. It wasn't clear to Mika if they were hoping their friend got Rei, or if Hakkai was getting tortured by some demon just to freeze to death before they got there. Gojyo's cigarette was burning away as he stared off at the ground. Goku was sitting Indian style with his chin resting in his hands. Sanzo merely watched the fire as it crackled and they all sat in silence.
"I should head out," Mika said, she started to walk off.
"Hey now," Sanzo spoke up, turning his gaze from the flames to the girls retreating backside. Mika turned to face him, her arms crossed in the attempt to stay warm, "We need you to lead us to that castle."
"That's right, if we take too long getting lost then Hakkai could be dead before we got there!" Goku said. Gojyo's left eye brow twitched at the little comment that they'd get lost without Jeep and Hakkai. Then Gojyo blinked.
"Hey, what happened to that little dragon?" He asked. Sanzo and Goku turned to look at him with two confused blinks before it registered in their minds. Hakkai's dragon, that thing went every where with the youkai. Did they get separated or something?
"That thing followed Hakkai all the way to the castle," Mika said, "almost got itself killed because it wasn't supposed to go in with him. I think Rei granted it pardon but it had to stay out of Hakkai's cell."
"That guys gonna freak out if he's away from Hakkai for to long," Gojyo said. Goku nodded and Sanzo blew out a puff of smoke, both showing they agreed.
"I'm sure she'll get it in to Hakkai before you get there." Mika told them. Gojyo tossed his spent cigarette into the fire and watched it burn.
"Well, you're staying with us until we get Hakkai back," Sanzo said looking at her. Mika put her hands on her hips.
"And what gives you the right to say that?"
"The fact that you're out numbered, Miss. High-and-mighty," Gojyo said looking at her casually through his red hair.
"So what happens when you get your friend back?" Mika asked, sitting down next to Goku and Sanzo. Sanzo looked at her with a serious expression.
"Then we kill you."