Yato exited the castle with Botan, Hoku, and Ash following him. It would take some time to reach their destination by foot, then some more time to actually sneak through the border. Then some more time to manage to find who he was looking for in the human world, while also avoiding detection. Hoku seemed to be excited at the prospect of this adventure, and Botan seemed surprisingly calm considering the fact that they would be traveling through a very dangerous part of Makai to reach their destination.
"So, you said a few weeks?" Botan asked, they were about an hour away from the castle at this point.
"Possibly, if I were full speed I could get there in a day as I did with you, but I can't carry you all at once, and there's no big rush. Besides, if I make too much of a ruckus we'll be found, so we need to keep a low profile going from village to village," Yato replied, he was carrying most of their supplies. Though Hoku was carrying some, he had insisted so Yato had given him a light bag to carry. Botan had found that 'adorable' as she had stated, though Yato was not sure why.
Currently, they walked along a path through thick woods. There were demons in the forest but Yato's presence combined with the fact that Ash was a natural predator to many of the animal demons kept them away. Botan seemed oddly calm still. All of the group had brown leather cloaks with hoods that would help keep them inconspicuous, as such attire was common in demon world. Their first destination was a small farming village that they would spend the night at.
Botan watched as Hoku was swinging a stick around, mimicking Yato. Botan wasn't sure if Yato realized it or not, but Hoku idolized him. When Yato had been injured for that week Hoku hadn't stopped checking on him and asking if he was ok. He'd gotten into arguments with just about every demon he came across by trying to defend Yato's honor, saying that they were wrong to wish death upon him. It warmed her heart that Yato seemed to be fond of Hoku as well, treating him kindly.
Their travel to the first village went off without a hitch, and they arrived at the inn they were going to stay at for the night. Yato paid for 2 rooms, one with a single bed for him, and one with two beds for her and Hoku that was right next to his. Botan flopped down on her bed and sighed. If she was being honest with herself, this trip would probably be the best chance she had at changing his mind about Koenma. She was sure that part of why he believed in his convictions so strongly was the fact that he was surrounded by people who agreed with him. He had never really been debated against she had to imagine.
The next morning Yato awoke Botan and Hoku early, eating breakfast with them before they set out on their travel again. For the next few nights they would be camping outdoors at night, they were passing through enemy territory and could not afford to enter any villages while being this close to Yato's castle. Yato was sure that by now the queen would have noticed his absence, but he really didn't care. She would manage, she always did. Besides, if his hunch was correct he would be doing his comrades a favor by taking care of this threat. Even if his hunch was wrong he honestly did not care, he would simply treat this as a vacation. Yato's train of thought was interrupted by Botan and Hoku laughing at something. When Yato looked over at them he noticed that a leaf had gotten stuck in Hoku's spiky orange hair, and Botan was taking the liberty of removing it. Yato smiled to himself, those two almost looked like a family.
Botan looked back at Yato and smiled and he almost tripped over his own feet. He hadn't been expecting that, but he also hadn't been expecting it to surprise him so much that he almost forgot how to walk. He chuckled to himself, he supposed that at the end of the day he was still human.
A few days into their trip, Botan had come to realize that the demon world was far more beautiful than she ever could have imagined. They had almost reached the upper levels of demon world where the 3 kings held sway, though at that point their journey would slow down considerably. They would have to be more careful when it came to their movements, including entirely avoiding Yomi's territory due to his incredible sense of hearing. They would then have to find the border area and sneak through it, though that would be easier done today than it would in the past. After Kuwabara had cut a hole in the barrier between worlds while chasing Sensui, the barrier was repaired. However, the repair was weak and faulty and had been quickly destroyed. It wasn't until Koenma found out about Enma's corruption that the reason why had been figured out, the barrier's replacement had intentionally been made faulty so that stronger demons could get through to earth, allowing for blame to be placed on Kuwabara and the others for destroying the barrier in the first place. Koenma had mitigated that risk by forming a treaty with Mukuro in which she would patrol the border zone in return for spirit world giving up any influence they had within her territory. While she did suppose that she and Yato could get through, Hoku was a demon. Though he was not strong enough for the barrier to stop, Ash was, and Hoku would never want to be separated from Ash, so they were going towards the border zone.
They reached the borders of Alaric, the territory that Mukuro ruled. They planned to stop at a small village on the outskirts for the night then resume traveling in the morning, but an intense thunderstorm had ruined that plan. Botan and Hoku now found themselves in a small cave, with a fire lit by Ash keeping them warm. Yato was just outside the cave, gathering firewood. Hoku had wanted to help but Yato had not let him, and Botan was glad for that. This thunderstorm was far worse than anything that could possibly happen in the human world. There wasn't any rain either, it was just lightning. There was so much of it that Botan found herself wondering if this was truly even natural.
Miles away Rai leaned against a tree atop a mountain. Mukuro had been a genius. Inviting Yomi to her territory was a bold move, but it had paid off. When Mukuro told Rai about the information that Hiei had found, Rai was shocked. But it was also a great blessing. Though what Mukuro had not told Hiei was the fact that she intended to kill Yato before he got to battle him. Mukuro had correctly assumed that Yomi's territory would be avoided by Yato due to Yomi's hearing, but she had used that to her advantage by bringing Yomi into her castle, which allowed him to hear Yato and the others as soon as they were within earshot, which for Yomi was a very long distance. Once the general location was found out, Rai had been sent. He had conjured up a terrible thunderstorm that would keep Yato and his travel partners anchored in one spot while other members of Mukuro's elite 77 warriors would surround them and kill Yato. While Rai did not think Yato to be weak, he had to say that Yato's chances of survival were thin, even with just 10 members of the 77 elite being dispatched aside from Rai himself.
Yato returned with firewood, setting it down in a pile about halfway into the small cave. He saw Botan and Hoku seated against the back wall of the cave, using sleeping bags as pads against the hard ground. Yato sat across the fire from them. They were talking about something but Yato couldn't quite hear them. He closed his eyes until he felt something poking his face, he opened his eyes and saw Ash's nose in his face, clearly asking for pets. Yato obliged and petted the dog, who laid down and stretched out across Yato's lap. He saw Botan and Hoku watching him and giggling a bit at the sight and he smiled.
Yato had to admit that here, in this cave, all his troubles and hatred seemed to fade a bit. When he was with people this pure-hearted, he had to admit that even he could forget the nature of this world for a moment.
A cold breeze flew into the window as the thunder outside let up just a little bit, being replaced with a terrible rain. Yato noticed Hoku and Botan shivering and figured that was it not for the fact that Ash was sprawled across him, he probably would've been cold as well. That gave Yato an idea and he gently moved Ash off of his lap, moving over to Botan and Hoku, beckoning for Ash to follow. He settled beside Hoku and patted his lap as Ash sprawled across the three of them, keeping them all warm. Botan smiled.
"Oh thank you, Yato!" Botan said, petting Ash's head as it was on her lap, the dog wagged his tail at this.
"I just figured that you would all like some warmth," Yato smiled as Hoku snuggled into his side, yawning. Botan ruffled Hoku's hair.
"Get some sleep, mister," Botan said, smiling at Hoku who nodded and shut his eyes. Yato smiled, Botan seemed to really care for Hoku. He never would've guessed that a being from spirit world could be so kind to a demon, but he supposed that a lot had changed since he had disappeared. For a moment he wondered if Botan was right if perhaps he should give Koenma a chance, he wondered if perhaps Koenma was a different person from the arrogant ruler who had dismissed Yato's findings centuries ago. Yato banished the thought from his mind, he didn't have room for doubt at this point, he was already in too far and he would see his goals to the end.
Yato's train of thought was broken by a yawn, and he looked over at Botan.
"It sounds like you need some sleep as well," Yato whispered with a hint of a smile.
"Says you, you've been out gathering firewood in that storm all day, you need sleep more than me," Botan whispered back.
"I need to stay awake in case any unsavory demons come across this cave," Yato responded, but Botan just shook her head.
"If that happens I'm sure Ash will smell them well before they reach us, and he can scare them away, if not I'll just wake you up, get some rest. Besides, someone needs to tend to the fire," Botan smiled and the look in her eyes told Yato that arguing would be useless. Yato sighed.
"If you insist, wake me in a few hours," Yato said, closing his eyes and realizing how exhausted he actually was. Getting the firewood had not been an easy task. He did not want to cut wood too close to the cave because that would risk revealing their presence, but he also needed to be careful about where he moved, lest he risk running into a demon in the woods. There was also the issue of dodging the lightning bolts that seemed to be coming down like rain, while also keeping his energy hidden. Yato drifted into sleep quickly enough.
Botan smiled as she watched Yato and Hoku sleep. She was tending to the fire, which she luckily had experience with thanks to the yearly camping trips she took with Keiko, Yukina, and Shizuru during the summer. The fire was doing a good job of keeping them all decently warm, and Ash being a blanket was certainly helping. The rain outside was showing no signs of letting up and Botan found herself walking to the entrance of the cave, looking out at the thunderstorm. It was odd, as terrifying as the storm was, it was also strangely beautiful.
Botan stood close enough to the entrance that some rain landed on her, and she found her getting a bit cold. Botan felt something warm and soft wrap around her shoulders and looked behind her to see Yato, who had draped his haori over her.
"You're going to catch a cold if you stand here," Yato smiled a bit as he spoke. Botan smiled back at him.
"Thank you Yato," Botan stated softly, not wanting to wake Hoku. Yato nodded and moved to stand next to her.
"How long have Hoku and I been asleep for?" Yato asked.
"Oh just a few hours, it's fine you can go back to bed," Botan answered, "I'm not tired yet."
"That's ok, you can sleep, a few hours was all I needed. Besides, you look exhausted," Yato pointed out and Botan went to argue with him before her words were cut off by a yawn. Her face flushed and Yato chuckled.
"That doesn't mean I'm tired I just-" Botan began before struggling with what to say next.
"It's fine Botan, get some sleep. I'll keep watch," Yato persisted. Botan sighed.
"Fine, but just for a few hours," Botan relented, going over to where Hoku was sleeping and settling down next to him, still wrapped in Yato's haori. Yato smiled at the sight of that, being filled with a sense of fondness.
Yato returned his gaze to the thunderstorm outside the cave. Hopefully, he was wrong and it was natural and they were just unlucky to get caught in it, but he had a nagging feeling that there was something else at play here.
I know it's a shorter chapter but I wanted to release something because it'd been so long. Between college, me deciding to start a Bleach fic while I'm working on this one because I have no self-control, and the Dying Light 2 release, I haven't put much time into this story. Thank you to the guest who left a review on chapter 5 since that reignited my drive to write this. I'll try to get out at least a chapter a week if I can.