A small caravan had been organized. There were more of those procurers in the surroundings, all cloaked and mysterious, all of them searching to hire the best mercenaries available.

Hiei had joined their rows silently. His attitude seemed to be docile at times, but in fact it was just the deepest and most overwhelming indiffrenece for what was going on. He only wanted something to distract himself, to occupy his time, to prevent his thoughts to focus on the recollections of his silvery lover. He spent most of the time just observing the entourage being arranged and set in motion. Odd, varied kinds of youkai that had been hired to join the mercenary troops.

They were not a great number of warriors, but formed a band of fierce killers. Hiei quietly concluded the agents who hired them did not know what they werer doing - they seemed to have been hired more for their looks than their actual power level and fighting ability. They were all big, large thuds, who bragged and boasted about their past deeds and missions with affected superiority, trying to impress whoever was around them.

Hiei hated that kind of demon.

He knew none of them. But he did not need to know those idiotic bastards to find he was the most powerful of them all. Most of them were nothing but braggarts, the kind of bum that abounds in every tavern . Hiei had no business with such scum, therefore he just followed the tour quietly, at the tail of the caravan, observing every one with his keen senses.

He kept close attention on the cloaked figures that led that company of travellers. They always stayed apart from the mercenaries. They observed and guarded them, and spoke scarcely to the ones who were not their peers. These cloaked figures were few, but seemed to be well organized and determined. They acted quietly and in perfect coordination. They seemed to be part of some kind of brotherhood of warriros or covenant of sorcerers. Definitively, they were not the ordinary kind of demon. Hiei wanted to find out the truth, but he was never given the chance to peer more closely at any of those mercenary agents. He was becoming very curious about who theyt really werer under those hoods and mantles.

Hiei was very well-aware he was being observed, studied and judged. After a short while, he found there must be something rotten going on underneath all that stituation. Somehow the old village-threatened-by-pillagers-tale did not match all their rigorously self-disciplined organization and laconic manners. Yet, Hiei kept on it - He wanted to bet and check it for himself.

He kept on the journey and only once in a while he exchanged one or two words, at the most, with Naguri. He always asked things about the place they were heading to, the enemies, the warfare facilities available...

Hiei gave up questioning Naguri when he perceived he was giving away no information at all. It was at this point Hiei was definitively sure all of them were heading straight into trouble.

Lucky Hiei - Trouble was exactly what he was after. He wanted lotsof turmoil, fight and confusion to rescue him from the routine of a married-demon's life. He needed some fun in order to get rid of the obssessive thoughts about Kurama that assailed him - mainly at night, when he tried to sleep and could not do it. Every night he rolled and kicked in the futon, unable to find himself  peace of spirit enough to sleep...

How could he sleep when such heat burned inside him? He missed his youko's caresses and kisses.  He was suffering from a deep missing feeling.

It is the sole reason why, even knowing things were not what they seemed, that Hiei insisted in that enterprise.

Days passed till they finally reached the village.

It was a dweling place surrounded by a medium-high stonewall. The gates were made of wood and iron, strongly built, bearing no decorations or inscriptions at all. It did not seem a rich village. In fact, the huts and houses were very rustic, build of a varied collection of materials. The whole place appeared to be a warrior's or hunter's campsite rather than an actual village. Weapons abounded everywhere. Hiei could hear the not-so-distant sound of hammer clanging on metal - A smith must be forging swords and spears and armors nearby. A little away, there was a small herd of Makai cattle surrounded by a stake fence. Pig beasts rooted the muddy ground here and there, by the dirty mounds. He could hear a child's cry, a reprimending voice, the sound of muffled steps, as more of those discreet inhabitants perched on their windows and looked out of their doorways to take a look at the arriving mercenaries...

On the surface it seemed a normal, ordinary Makai village; one of the poorest ones, it should be noticed. Nevertheless, Hiei knew there was something wrong there...

All of those stupid, block-headed mercenaries loved showing off. As they walked along the narrow alleyways of the village, they flaunted their power. They bragged that they would kill the enemies easily, boasting about their unsurmuntable power levels and fighting habilities - Pure bullshit.

What a bunch of stupid youkai! It was because they were so busy showing off that none noticed they were now locked up inside that village's limits.

The main gate of the walls was locked behind their backs as they entered the village. It was then Hiei perceived with his Jagan there was a magical ward around the whole area. He became startled, but it only lasted a second - He discovered the ward was not strong enough to detain his power. The other demons that had followoed in that mission could be blocked - They were all strong ones, but none of them could ever be compared to Hiei. Whoever their captors were, they had no idea how immensely high was the you-ki of an S class youkai like him.

Hiei kept his mouth shut about it. He decided it was better to pretend to be bound within those boundaries; at least for a while.

Relieved by the certainty he could disrupt those wards at any moment, Hiei followed the cloaked leaders calmly, never letting them realize he had already perceived the trap. In fact, now Hiei wanted to know how far their game could go. He was more and more curious as time passed.

They walked up the path in between the huts and wooden houses slowly, forming a two-column row, preceded by the cloaked ones. The population seemed to be hidden, observing them from a safe distance. All Hiie noticed was some scattered warriors, and some kids here and there, who fled as they approached. War and danger must be those villagers' routine, as even these kids carried wooden swords and wore light armors - they must be trained in warfare and combat since an early age.

Curiously, all the children, and all the warriors they passed by were female youkai.

As the mercenary platoon proceeded, some other inhabitants appeared. Not one of them was a male - that small tribe appeared to be contituted of females only - All of them were tall, beautiful, with a determined attitude and armed to the teeth. All of them strated to form lines alongthe alleys, siding their passage, eyeing each of the mercenaries very intently.

Some of the guys in the group cheered and started to flirt openly with some of these she-warriors. Hiei only observed, wondering where the hell the males of that tribe must be - If the females seemed to be so strong, hostile and prepared to war, what would the males be like? The worse type of youkai possible, he imagined...

All ythe time, Hiei did not worry. He found it all very amusing, very nteresting - It was a real break-up of his routine. In fact, he had even forgotten what a female was like - All he knew was youko, youko and youko! The novelty of that situation and his natural curiosity made him keep on, unmindful of the weapons those warriors carried, and the warded walls surrounding him.

Why worry? He could leave that place in a split second if he wanted - The thing is he was so curious about where it was all heading to, he did not want to leave; at least not so soon!

They were guided to a meeting place. It was a circular yard in the center of the village. There stood a rustic wooden throne, surrounded by the strongest, most impressive of those female warriors; their weapons and armours shone, forming a wall of metal around the large elevated chair. The cloaked figures who have guided the mercenary band to that point formed a circle, allowing the foreigners to step into it.

Those idiots were so enthusiastic about being surrounded by females that they did not notice the cloaked figures started to unsheath their swords under their long mantles. Hiei noticed it, and he kept himself on guard. And all the time he struggled to repress a contented smile to show in his lips - Ah! It had been so long since he had had the chance to slash enemy youkai in very thin, bloody slices! It would do him so much good! That was pratically a health resort for a youkai like him! He could kill, kill kill and forget that big silvery youko baby-sitter always on his trail!

More of the village dwellers appeared, surrounding the strangers with curiosity. They were all females - there were females all around, as far as the eye could see. Hiei found it was too weird... He looked at them, observing the varied species of youkai he met there. He could even distinguish one of them that seemed to be a youko! There were all kinds of female demons - Winged ones, scaled ones, females with tentacles for arms, another who looked like a serpent, ogro, elves, succubi.. all types of demons of the female gender were gathered in that village.

Even the small ones - Hiei divised no boy-demons at all!

Fuck! Where were the males?

Hiei started to startle about it - a flashing *danger* sign appeared in the back of his mind, but he remained there, patiently, calmly. All in all, it was a very good hiding place from Kurama - It even had a magic ward around to prevent the youko to detect him and break in!

It was then Hiei had a shocking surpirse.

The whole band of cloaked figures that had guided them there unveiled themselves at last - and they were also females!

Hiei became very upset. The stupid youkai who were hired all showed large smiles, idiots enough to think it was very good to be at such aplace, croweded with broads of all kinds - but not Hiei - He had never been lucky with women...

The band of idiots he had accompanied cheered the women. They were very enthusiastic to be in a village where there werer only females of every possible demonic kind. They smiled and started to make silly jokes to the woman-warriors about the size of their weapons, asking if they would like to hold the swords they had in between their legs...

Silly jokes; just proof theose mercenaries were nothing but a bunch of morons. Hiei stood firm, quiet. He remained completely still, observing the scene not only with his two red eyes, but also with his Jagan, verifying the power level of those amazon warriors.

They were not very powerful, but could become a nuisance in case they attacked simultateously. But Hiei noticed a stronger presence, approaching the area.

A level A youkai perhaps... A tall, female youkai, with dark skin and a vast, long black mane which gave her a wild, untamed appearance. She was wearing pelts and golden bracelets and chains. Her eyes were narrow and long, of an intense green color.

She looked like a panther in the way she moved, and she stared at all the male warrior with cruelty and derision.

Obviously, she was the leader of that village. As she appeared, all other females, even the children, bowed their heads in a respectful reverence.

She tossed her long hair and placed her hands on her hips, keeping a challenging attitude as she stared at the strangers. Then her right hand closed around the hold of the long sword hanging from her belt.

"I am Arallu. I am the chief of this village. Now you shall battle to determine which of you will be the champion and leader of out troops."

Her voice was hoarse, feminine, but showing the fierce determination of a warrior. She gazed straight at the eyes of each of those mercenaries. Her her wild eyes twinkled with the light of an acute, controlled perversity.

Hiei covered his mouth with his bandaged hand. She was a strong female, like many warriors and overlords of the Makai. That bunch of idiots was going to have a hard time with her... He only wanted to wait and see.

The men stepped forward, as one, to hear what the village chief had to say. Menacing armored she-warriors sided Arallu, carrying heavy broadswords, making sure no one would threaten their chief.

"We need one battlelord to lead our whole tribe. The best of you, the one who stands after every one else is defated, shall be the chosen one. He shall become a privileged warrior in our village and thus lead all the others."

There was some commotion heard from the group. The mercenaries exchanged worried glances, and talked briefly one with the other trying to think on what to do. Hiei exulted inside, but he remained perfectly impassible on the outside. A mini-tournament? At last he could slash and kill all those idiots who have bothered him during that whole trip? Good news at last!

One of the mercenary group protested. He stepped forward, brandishing one clenched fist at the imponent, powerful female.

"Hey! It is not the deal! I didn't come all this way to fight a tournament! I came here to fight a war and earn my pay!"

Others protested too. There was the beginning of a turmoil in the group. The warriors  tightend the circle around the strangers, already aiming all types of different blades and weapons at those turbulent youkai, forcing them to cool down.

"This is the way it shall be. Is there anyone dissatisfied? Anyone wants to quit the tournament and the job? Who's the coward that wants to give up? Who's the chicken?" She laughed at the men before her, full of despise and mockery. "All chickens are free to run away! Do it now!"

Her defiant words served to quieten all protests. No one wanted to be called a chicken. Hiei just observed. He knew he was the winner of the competition even before it started - he did not even need to worry. All those youkai were dead meat already.

Hiei just stepped a little aside from the group and waited. He crossed his arms at his chest, and faced the others with a challenging stare.

"I'm ready. Who is the first one?"
 

To be Continued...