Hey everyone, here is the next update. I hope you and your families are well. Take care of yourselves! Also, sorry for this being short by about 1,000 and some odd words, but it felt right to end it where I did. I have part of the next one written so it shouldn't be too too long before the next update.

Language warning as well as some suggestive situations!

~Stay hydrated XD

Hiten grips my collar, "Take me to this warrior of yours then, woman. For I grow tired of all this talk."

My determination falters at bit at his request.

"Ah, fuck!'

I avoid eye contact as I work come up with a way out of this one, "I….He….he'll come here." I manage to say.

"I think she's lying."

"I'm not lying!" I bark, "He'll come back here to get me….within a day's time-"

"A DAY!?"

I wince as Hiten's grip tightens and his red eyes sear my skin. I had hoped he wouldn't hear the mumbled last half of my sentence

"I knew it! She's lying. If this warrior of hers actually existed, why would she hesitate in taking us to him?"

"I'm not lying! He's a mercenary. Mercenaries have jobs! He's on a job and he'll come back for me.

"If you're a part of this group, then why are you here versus battling with your comrades?"

I glare at him, "Not like that's any of your business, but I was sick."

Hiten scoffs, "You look fine to me."

"Well I certainly hope so after two days of rest."

"Then there should be no problem taking me to this warrior of yours."

I give out an exasperated sigh, "I can't take you to him because I don't know where this job is. "

"Was that supposed to convince me you aren't a little liar?"

"Just…ugh….Let GO!" I snatch my collar from him my fear dissipating to fatigue with this whole conversation. I rest my hand on my hips and glare at him, "Look, just….just wait till tomorrow. He'll be here."

"Why would I waste my time waiting on this imaginary human of yours, when I can easily to do with you want I want now and be on my way."

"Because you seem like the type of guy that no matter how obnoxiously impatient you are, wouldn't risk passing up an opportunity to fight an equal."

"HA!" Hiten crosses his arms over his chest, "I'd hardly consider any human my equal!"

A small smirk plays on my lips as I mirror his stance, "Well… I mean…if how you destroyed this village is any indication of your true strength, it's safe to say that you'd get your ass handed to you no problem."

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?"

I shrug turning my back to him, "Listen, I call them as I see them and this….all this." I motion towards the destroyed village before turning back towards him, "SLOPPY." I lightly tap the end of his nose with my finger to emphasis my point.

A hard growl shreds through his throat and out his mouth.

"HOW DARE YOU!" Manten yells shaking his fist at me, "This isn't even our best work!" He crosses his arms over his chest as he pouts, "It's hardly fair for you to judge us based on something we didn't even give 100% on."

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk." I sigh shaking my head, "Bankotsu ALWAYS gives 100% in everything he does. Had he been here, this village would have been nothing more than piles upon piles of ashes. Honestly, I feel bad for even trying to set you two up for this fight. Like taking sheep to slaughter." I shrug feigning a hopeless expression on my face before assuming a praying position, "I guess I'll start praying for your souls now that they may have safe travels to the other world."

"STOP THAT!" Manten yells as he snatches me to my feet, but I continue my chants and prayers struggling to keep a straight face.

"I SAID STOP!"

"Please Manten, do you want your soul to get lost on its way to the other world. I truly am trying to help you."

"Enough woman! You've made your point."

Manten and I both look towards Hiten, a mixture of annoyance and amusement plastered on his face, "I'll give you one day for this 'Bankotsu' fellow to arrive." He steps toward me with a devilish smirk, "But you've gone through great lengths to paint this man as an 'equal' to me." He leans in closer to me, "It will be VERY unfortunate for you if he fails to meet these expectations you've set."

I lift my chin up in defiance, "He won't." I say confidently.

'He better not'

Okimi moans slightly as she begins to come to, and I let out a breath of relief as her eyes finally open. I smile down at her as she blinks away the last bit of unconsciousness and rises.

"What….What happ-"

I slap my hand over her mouth and press a finger to my lips before jerking my head over towards the sleeping Hiten. He sits with his back to the front of the partially demolished hut with his knee propping up one of his arms.

Her eyes widen before nodding.

I move my hand.

"So it wasn't a nightmare." She whispers.

"Unfortunately. He just fell asleep a little while ago, so…try not to make too much noise. If he sleeps for most of the night, then we won't have to…..well….'entertain' him."

"Where's the uglier one?"

I slap my hand over my mouth trying to catch myself before anymore snorts of laughter escape. We glance over at the sleeping demon who continues to snooze undisturbed.

"Went to go fetch food. He should be back in a while."

She nods and stares at the small fire we made earlier after the sun had gone down. "Not that I am complaining or anything, but….why aren't we dead?"

I sigh softly, "Some slight bullshitting on my part managed to buy us some time until Bankotsu can get here."

Okimi whips her head towards me, "They'll kill him." She whispers harshly, but I shake my head unbothered.

"Worst case scenario, they're evenly matched. Either way, while they're distracted, you can run away to safety."

"What about you?"

"I'm not going anywhere until I see Bankotsu buried in the ground. Simple as that. Preferably by my hands, but…..if I can get ol' meat head over there to get it done, I won't be too bothered by it…..probably."

"Yaruki-"

"What we need to focus on right now is how to keep the ugly one from boiling you down for his stupid hair concoction."

I see Okimi work her mouth to protest but thinks better of it.

"I over-heard them talking." I continue, "Manten says there's no sense in keeping both of us alive since they only need me to get to Bankotsu. I've managed to stand guard over you, but I doubt my glares will keep Manten at bay for much longer."

"He just needs pretty women right?"

I nod, "I've been trying to work out a way to provide him a substitute, but I've spent the better half of a year with men, and any woman we came across was killed instantly."

Okimi face pales slightly and I give off a heavy sigh, "Trust me…trying to save them would have just done more harm."

We sit in silence for what seems like an eternity, fruitlessly trying to find a way to keep Manten from boiling Okimi down. I let out a soft groan of frustration as I lay on my back running my hands over my face. I had nothing.

I feel Okimi edge closer to me, "What if-" she begins softly in my ear, "What if we just…." She makes a small quick stabbing motion at her throat before flicking her eyes over to Hiten,"And then make a run for it before the ugly one comes back."

I peek through my fingers over at Hiten considering the idea for a moment before shaking my head no. "I am flattered you think so highly of my skill, but first of all, my bow and arrow are under his watch and my blade is in the possession of Manten. So I don't have anything to actually attack him with. Secondly, I highly doubt he is in that deep of a sleep where he won't hear me approach."

Flashes of all my failed attempts to stab Bankotsu in his sleep flood my mind and I shudder at the punishments that came with those failed attempts. "Third, I've done a great deal of talking to make myself somewhat trustworthy to them. If I try to kill him now and fail, neither one of us will make it to see the sun rise. No, it's best just to wait it out and be on guard."

I see Okimi deflate a bit, but she nods in acceptance.

"As much as I hate to admit it, and would never say this within ear shot of him, but this is something we need Bankotsu and the others for. They are terrible men, but what they do, they do well."

"Do you really think they can beat them?"

I rest my hands on my stomach, sighing deeply as I play through all of the battles I've seen Bankotsu fight. He was strong, that was obvious…but strong enough to fight a thunder demon….

I chew on my bottom lip for a moment longer, "Yes." I finally say, "If he's careful, I think he can take him."

Okimi screams and I jump up startled as a massive boar lands in front of us.

"Fucking asshole" I spit glaring up at the chuckling Manten as he lowers his dark thunder cloud towards the ground and jumps off.

"I have returned!" he exclaims triumphantly.

"No shit." I mutter still trying to steady my heat as Okimi nudges the dead beast with the tip of her foot.

"A fine catch, brother."

I look over to see Hiten in the same position as before only with his eyes open.

The small smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth as we held each other's gaze was all the confirmation I needed.

He had been listening to us.

I let out a low sigh thankful for choosing not to go with Okimi's suggestion. A frighten gasp and a force yanking at me pulls me out of my head as I feel Okimi cower behind me.

"Come now, my little beauty, it's time to serve your purpose."

Manten wiggles his fingers as he hungrily approaches us.

My eyes flick over to my bow and arrow which lay guarded by Hiten, and then to the hilt of my blade resting on Manten's hip.

How was it that I kept losing all my weapons whenever I get in to trouble?

We both begin to back away. My eyes glaring daggers at Manten, but – as I feared- it no longer mattered.

"Move woman. This matter does not concern you." Manten growls, and I pull Okimi further behind me.

"What even makes you think that stupid serum of yours works?

"Of course it works!" he huffs indignantly, "Just look at my progress!" Manten delicately strokes the three measly strands of hair on his head. A hard snort of laughter escapes me as I feel Okimi giggle against my back.

"YOU DARE LAUGH AT THE GREAT MANTEN!"

"no…" Okimi response meekly

"Yes." I say not even bothering to stifle my chuckles.

Manten snarls as his mouth begins to glow.

"Oh come on!" I complain between chuckles, "You don't seriously expect people to keep a straight face as you caress those miniscule earth worms you call hair."

Manten's mouth starts to crackle and pop.

"Honestly, how long have you been doing this?" I say unbothered and idea slowly forming with every word I speak, "At some point you just got to face the facts that you could lather your whole head in the best fertilizer known to man and STILL nothing will grow."

"Yaruki….stop…"

Maten's mouth opens wider and wider, the lightening within it building up in intensity.

"And do you want to know why that is?" I continue, gently releasing myself from Okimi's grip and stepping forwards, "It's because you're using poor quality beauty."

Maten freezes, and I cross my arms over my chest nodding in a sagely manner.

"Yep, you think the women you're capturing are beautiful, but they're all lovely at best. And being lovely is very different from being beautiful. That's why you're not getting the results you want." I shrug my shoulders shaking my head hopelessly at him, "The recipe calls for a beautiful woman right? If that were easy to find, then it wouldn't be a key ingredient now would it."

Manten snaps his mouth shut, "And what does a homely thing like you know about beauty?"

My eye twitches in irritation, but I choose not to address the insult, "Well, dumbass, I'm a woman. I was born in to this life of outrageous beauty standards. You men love to equate youth with beauty, therefore, you idiots always love to snatch up younger and younger girls." I slap my hands on my hips, "But you all don't know the true law of beauty and the true requirements necessary to be deemed beautiful. And I guess I can't fault you entirely for that because you've never gown up in the world of women."

"Get to the point already!"

I exhale, "My point is that if a man calls a woman beautiful, it means nothing, but if a woman calls another woman beautiful, then SHE'S BEAUTIFUL." I lightly tap the spot on my cheek directly under my eye, "I can spot beauty far better than you ever can, AND I have just the person who is so beautiful that once you finish that serum with them in it, you'll never have to make another one again."

Manten rushes and snatches me up by the collar of my shirt, "I AM IN NO MOOD FOR YOUR LIES, WENCH!"

I slam the heel of my foot hard on his toes to get him to release me before punching him as hard as I could across his giant forehead. He stumbles to his butt unsure of whether to nurse is foot or his face.

"I'm not a liar." I say calmly as I straighten my clothes, "I am certain all the women you had combined- hell I'll even dare to include the ones your brother has had-will not compare to this person. Flawless skin, jet black hair, slim figure, red lips, and defiantly not afraid to show a little skin here and there." I hike my kimono up a bit to show off the lower portion of my leg for emphasis and a deep flush creeps over Manten's face.

"R-really?!"

"Of course!" I turn my back to him and shrug, "But I mean, if you want to use my friend here- who I might add is pretty but not really beautiful- then by all means, go for it."

Manten stands up laughing manically, "Or I could just use them both for my concoction!"

Okimi gasps and I hear a low growl come from Hiten's direction, but the deed was done. Manten holds his cheek where I struck him, and I rest my hands back on my hips, "Have you lost your fucking mind!? Do you have any idea how disrespectful it is to casually mix true beauty with anything less?! No wonder you so fucking bald!"

It's my turn to grab hold of his collar and I begin to shake him, "Do you want to be hideous for the rest of your life?!"

"..I-I'm not-"

"Yes you are! You're bald and grotesquely hideous and it's that type of greedy stupid behavior right there that's keeping this serum from working!" I stop shaking him and bring him closer to my face, "Beauty is a cold bitch and if you disrespect her the way you just said you would, she'll peel the skin clean off your face. Do you want that? Do you want the skin to melt off your face!?"

"N…no"

"Damn right you don't" I throw him to the ground trying to hide how winded I was from shaking such a large creature," Now you sit there and think about what you're going to boil this person in because they are coming with my fighter tomorrow and if you were to put them in that dirty old pot with all those lesser beauty juices still clinging to its sides, NOTHING WILL WORK! You'll just remain bald, ugly and stupid for the rest of your life!"

I turn on my heels with a final insulted huff and make my way back to Okimi who watches me with pure awe. I give her a wink, and she looks away trying to hide the amused grin on her face.

"Tell me girl," Hiten begins startling the both of us, "What is the name of this so called beauty promised to my brother?"

"Hey! Yeah! I don't even have a name!"

"That's easy, it-" I choke on my air in surprise as Hiten's grip around my throat tightens.

He's so fast

"Not. YOU." he orders darkly, "I've had enough of your mouth for one night."

Keeping his grip firmly on my throat, he turns towards Okimi, "I asked you a question, girl."

"H-how the hell- huwack!"

"Shut up, or I'll break your neck."

I feel my face growing hot as I spit and sputter trying to ease the ever tightening grip he has on me.

"Let her go! Please!"

"Name!"

"I'll tell you, just let her go!"

I begin to claw at the expose parts of his arm, but he seemed unbothered. I could hear my quickened heartbeat in my ears. My chest burns as I struggle for air.

"Please!"

"You are the one prolonging this, girl not me."

"IT'S JAKOTSU! SHE'S TALKING ABOUT JAKOTSU!"

In my struggle, I see Okimi take a cautious step towards him, "She's not lying. Perhaps exaggerating a touch, but she's not lying. Not about her fighter and not about Jakotsu either. I've seen them. Everything she's saying is true, please….please let her go."

I feel his grip loosen ever so slightly.

"Please Master Hiten….We are undeserving of your mercy, I know. Especially my friend here, but please…."

One of Okimi's hands rests on his chest moving cautiously. Carefully. Not out of fear, but as if she were touching something magnificent. Something holy.

"We humans do not understand greatness when it is before us." She says softly, "That's why she is so reckless, but not me."

Hiten releases me, and I fall to the ground gasping.

"I see such power in you. Power that has yet to be properly respected."

"You're as clever a talker as your friend here."

"We both only speak the truth."

I look over to see Okimi gently caress his face, her hands moving down the sides of his neck, down his chest, stopping at his hips.

"I am a lowly human, unworthy of such greatness, but please allow me to repent on behalf of my friend."

I wince, my throat too sore to voice my protest. I watch as Hiten grabs her face.

"I devour those who fail to please me."

"As you should." She replies unfazed. I struggle to lift myself up. I can't let her do this. Not for me.

"o-o-Oki-oki…."

"Focus on me, Master Hiten, please. Your time is far too precious to waste on something like her."

I fall back to the ground my vision beginning to blur, "B-bas….bas…"

"Manten, cook the boar and keep an eye on the troublesome one."

"Ah! B-but….y-you said that one was mine!"

I try to reach out and grab Hiten's leg, but he lifts himself and Okimi in to the air.

"Don't listen to another word out of that siren's mouth until I return, got it?"

Manten grumbles as a response, and I roll to my back still helplessly trying to reach them.

Okimi gives me a small apologetic smile and then they were gone.

"This is all your fault!"

I let out a sharp raspy gasp as Manten lifts me up by my hair and shakes me, "This Jakotsu of yours better be as beautiful as you make her out to be." He growls, "Or I'll bite your very head off!"

I spit in his face as a response and his punch knocks me out cold.

'I keep you around because you have a mark on you.'

…

'You're just as blood thirsty as we are'

…

'Have you ever been kissed? You know, by a man not related to you?'

…

'What would you do if I were to steal your first kiss now?'

…

Bankostu's voice bounces around the darkness. Visions of him fading in and out in front of me.

'You don't really think your here with us because your strength has kept you alive'

…

'I want you here. You're alive because I want you alive.'

…

'YOU. BELONG. TO. ME.'

The vision steps up to me, and I could almost feel his hand on my cheek. He smirks that same stupid arrogant smirk as he lowers his lips to mine.

I wake with a start bolting up right as chill runs through me, but not a particularly bad one.

"Easy." I feel a comforting hand on my back and I turn towards the familiar voice.

Okimi gives me a gentle smile, but I couldn't return it. Dark ugly bruises sprinkled her face and trickled down her throat growing in size and blackening in color.

She swallows painfully, "Are you ok?" she squeaks out, and I pull her in to a tighten hug. She gasps a mixture of pain and surprise, and I immediately let her go.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." I whisper, and she shakes her head.

"I'll be fine." She says struggling to laugh it off, but tears begin to well up in her eyes, "Nothing I'm not used to by now."

I wipe some of the stray tears that dared to fall down her cheek before gently puller her closer to me.

"Why did you do that?" I say resting my cheek on top of her head, "I'm not worth this."

"You were doing all the work…I wanted to help…" She says softly, "Plus…I promised him I would look after you…"

She pulls away to look me in my face, "And anyways, we did it. We made it to morning."

I blink before finally taking a moment to assess my surroundings. Indeed we had made it through the night. The morning sun had risen, brightening the sky and exposing the horrors that occurred only a few hours ago.

A boar carcass, picked clean, lay next to the smoldering embers of our fire. Manten's foot twitches as he unconsciously scratches his belly and lets out another monstrous snore.

A sudden movement shifts my eyes over to Hiten who studied us quietly. I feel my face contort in to a look of absolute disgust. Oh how I wanted nothing more than to carve his face with my blade.

He smirks at me, "If you have something to say woman, than say it. If not, I would advise you turn that nasty look elsewhere before I take it as a challenge."

I feel my lip curl up in a snarl before opening my mouth.

"Yaruki, please." Okimi says softly covering my mouth with her hand, "There are some things best left unsaid."

I look down at her pleading eyes before exhaling loudly and nodding.

The remainder of the morning goes by quickly, and with each passing hour and each useless scouting report from Manten, I could see Hiten becoming more and more restless.

"Where is this fighter of yours!?" he snarls snatching me up by my clothes. I feel my lips twitch in amusement and study the growing agitation in his eyes.

"You should relax, oh great and powerful Hiten. I've never seen someone so excited to die before."

His punch rattles my teeth, and I land hard on my face. I hear Okimi whimper as I feel her hand on my back. Blood pools out of my mouth, and I fight against him as he snatches me back up by my hair, "I promise," he whispers in my ear, "I will enjoy every moment of your death."

"Brother Hiten! I see them!"

I spit the blood out before giving him a smirk, "Shame," I say looking up confidently in to his eyes, "you took the words right out of my mouth."

He growls snatching me up in to the air with him, "Manten, grab the other one, and let's go."

A few moments.

That's all it took before we were all together. Jakotsu was the first to spot us. I could make out his purple figure from below pointing upwards.

"God damn it, of course she's still alive." I hear him grumble as the brothers lower themselves to the ground, "I swear Yaruki, you're like a fucking roach you know that."

I feel my throat tighten as I look upon the stupid face of Jakotsu. Was I actually relieved to see him?

"Are you the one this impertinent bitch calls Bankotsu?"

Hiten shoves me forwards and I land hard on the ground wincing slightly as I prop myself up with my hands after taking a moment to recover. He steps up, stopping in front of me and squatting down.

"What took you so long?" I ask bitterly as I glare at his toes.

"Why?" he teases, "Did you miss me?"

I grip the earth between my fingers. Hearing his voice….a sudden and sharp wave of relief washes over me as if I had been holding my breath all this time and finally…..finally…..I could exhale…finally I could breathe again.

Gently, he lifts my face up to meet his eyes and that stupid handsome face of his.

"You sure do get in to a lot of trouble when I'm not around, huh?"

"It's because you've cursed me." I sneer pulling my chin from his grasp.

He laughs, "Aw, come on now, that's not fair. You and I both know it's that mouth of yours that's cursed."

I give him a breathy laugh, "My mouth is not cursed!"

Bankotsu sits back on his heels crossing his arms over his chest before giving off a pained sigh, "It's gotta be. I've had nothing but grief in my life ever since you joined."

I let out an offended squeak, "I've cause YOU grief!?"

He nods running a hand through his bangs, "You're such a troublesome woman, you know that." He then lifts a finger at me, "And I'm not even getting rewarded for all my good behavior either."

"Rewarded!?"

"Of course" he says indignantly, "I think I'm entitled to something for lasting this long."

I feel my body shake in anger, "The only thing you're entitled to is a swift kick to the-"

The movement happened so fast that I wasn't even aware that it happened at all at first. One minute I was fussing at a cocky grinning Bankotsu, and the next I'm standing, pressed against his chest with a smoldering crater where our bodies once were a few feet behind me.

"I don't think your new friend likes to be ignored." He says casually, and I look upwards to see a seething Hiten, his fist clenched with sporadic waves of lighting flickering around it.

"Yeah, guy's got a bit of a god complex going on. Real piece of shit too, sort of reminds me of someone."

"Oh?" Bankotsu begins eyeing me curiously, "who?"

I give him an incredulous look.

"If it was your intentions to bore me to death with your mindless lover prattle, then-"

"You told him we were lovers?"

"I never said we were lovers. I said I knew of a strong fighter that he could battle against."

"So I'm your strong lover now."

"FIGHTER! I said FIGHTER!"

The group scatters as another lightning bolt hits the ground where we all once stood, "I WILL NOT BE IGNORED BY A COUPLE OF INSOLENT HUMANS!"

Bankotsu snatches up Banryuu and myself before jumping out of the way of another attack. I watch as Jakotsu and the others counter, but as expected \, the brothers dodge their attacks effortlessly.

"Why haven't you shot him yet?"

"Because he has my bow and arrow."

"You gave him your bow and arrow?!"

"It's not like I was all 'oh here Mr. Demon, take my only line of defense!' it just happened."

"It happens a fucking lot."

"I don't need your judgement right now. I've had a very stressful night and I'm tired."

"What about your blade?"

"…"

"YOU GAVE HIM THAT TOO!?"

"I didn't give him anything…..I threw it." I say proudly.

Bankotsu shoves me out of the way as Banryu locks blades with Hiten's pike.

"Only a fool will let a woman distract him in battle."

"I'm not distracted." He shoots me a disapproving look, "Disappointed maybe, but not distracted."

The two men's blades scratch and screech against each other for a moment, but eventually, Bankotsu manages to overpower Hiten, knocking him back a few feet.

Hiten snarls, "So the woman wasn't lying." He swings his pike menacingly across his body, "This might be an enjoyable fight after all."

Bankotsu rests his halberd on his shoulder sighing, "Maybe for you." he says dryly, "Not sure if I even want to waste my time with someone so weak."

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"

Bankotsu scratches the back of his head with his free hand while giving off a frustrated groan, "I'll give you this you're pretty strong, but not strong enough to where I'd fight you for free." He gives me a pointed look and I blink as my jaw drops in disbelief.

"You've got to be kidding me…."

"Apparently, you've done a whole lot of talking without actually thinking about if I'd even accept this job to begin with."

"J-job!?….are you serious?!"

"And from the looks of it, it appears that you need me more than I need you, which means my price just increased due to demand."

"Bankotsu! How is that even fair!? Aren't you the one who's all 'I tHrOuGhLy EnJoY kIlLiNg. IT's A hObBy, A pAsSiOn If YoU wIlL. ' "

I see his brow twitch in annoyance, "Aaaand I just added an extra fee for that horrible impression of me you just did."

"WHAT?!"

"So what's it gonna be, Yaruki? Do you need my services or not?"

I stare at him at a complete loss for words, "You…..are….ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME!?"

"That's what you want right?" He asks keeping his eyes on the fuming Hiten, "For me- a hired mercenary- to kill him for you? That means you want to hire me. I do enjoy killing, but if it's not going to be a challenge for me, I'd rather get paid to do it."

Hiten snarls as he swings his pike and gathers a ball of electricity at its tip, "I'LL SHOW YOU WEAK YOU WORTHLESS INSECTS!"

Bankotsu calmly watches as Hiten's attack grows in size, "What's it gonna be, Yaruki? Do you agree to pay my price?"

"…..f-Fine."

Hiten releases his attack.

"Do you swear?"

"Yes, yes! I'll pay your fucking costs, just kill the son of a bitch."

Bankotsu swings his Banryu slicing Hiten's attack in half before jumping up in the air. The two men's blades clashes against one another once more.

"Perfect."