There was no one at the village entrance.
Shinji and Kikyō walked into the village, their footsteps unnaturally loud in the silence. Most of the houses lining the path had their doors and windows tightly shut. Occasionally, he caught glimpses of eyes peeking through the cracks.
Those eyes held nothing but wariness and fear.
"Stop right there!"
A hoarse, aged voice called out from ahead.
Shinji looked up.
A dozen or so villagers blocked the road.
The men clutched hoes and sickles. The women huddled behind them, clutching their children tightly.
Leading them was a hunched old man with a shock of white hair and beard. He stood shakily at the front, leaning on a cane.
"Who are you?" the old man rasped, his voice like dry leaves rustling.
"Are you demons? Here to steal from us?"
Shinji glanced down at himself.
Grey hemp clothes, no demon mask. Sure, his complexion was pale, his eyes were dark, and he radiated an unsettling coldness… alright, fine. He didn't look normal by any stretch.
But could they not see the perfectly normal shrine maiden standing right next to him?
A shrine maiden traveling with a demon wasn't that standard procedure?
Was this old man blind?
"We're travelers passing through," Kikyō said, stepping forward. Her voice was calm and peaceful. "We were hoping to stay in the village for the night."
"Stay?" The old man remained wary, sizing them up. "In times like these, there's no such thing as travelers. You're either bandits or demons!"
"We're not bandits," Kikyō said.
"And we're not demons who harm humans."
She paused, as if considering something, then finally spoke. "I am a shrine maiden from Kaede Village in Musashi Province. My name is Kikyō."
The moment she said it, the villagers' expressions shifted.
"Kikyō?" The old man's eyes went wide. "The… Lady Kikyō from Kaede Village?"
"Yes."
"You… you're the Lady Kikyō who can slay demons with a single arrow?"
"...Yes."
The old man stood frozen for several heartbeats.
Then, with a thud, he dropped to his knees.
"Lady Kikyō!"
The villagers behind him followed suit, bowing and murmuring excitedly.
"It's Lady Kikyō!"
"Really is Lady Kikyō!"
"Lady Kikyō has come to help us!"
Shinji stood to the side, watching the scene.
A little surprising, but not entirely. She was one of the most renowned shrine maidens of this chaotic Sengoku era. A reputation like that traveled.
Still, the shift was pretty fast. A moment ago, they'd been brandishing hoes, ready to fight. Now they were kneeling on the ground.
"Please, rise," Kikyō said. "I'm only passing through. I didn't come here to help anyone."
"But since you're here, it's heaven's will!" The old man struggled to his feet, his cloudy eyes shining with emotion. "Lady Kikyō, we need your help!"
"Help with what?"
"It's…" The old man hesitated, glancing around nervously. "This isn't the place to talk. Please, Lady Kikyō, come inside."
His speech was a bit formal, he'd probably had some education. Just not much.
Kikyō nodded.
"Alright."
The old man led the way, and the villagers parted to make a path.
Shinji followed behind Kikyō, taking in his surroundings.
This village was in worse shape than he'd imagined.
Not only were the houses dilapidated, but even the fields were mostly overgrown and barren.
By the roadside, he spotted a few gaunt children crouched against walls, gnawing on some kind of root vegetable. Their eyes were hollow, empty of any light.
Shinji thought of the village Kikyō protected.
Compared to this place, Kaede's Village wasn't wealthy, but at least people there could eat their fill. At least the kids could run around, and the elderly could sit in the sun.
Compared to this village, it was practically paradise.
"Lady Kikyō." The old man stopped in front of a slightly more intact thatched hut. "Please, enter."
Kikyō stepped inside.
Shinji followed.
The interior was dark.
A single oil lamp provided meager light.
The old man invited them to sit, then rummaged in a corner and produced two coarse ceramic bowls, filling them with water.
"My humble home has little to offer. Only this to welcome you both."
Kikyō accepted a bowl but didn't drink.
"Tell me. What troubles has your village faced?"
The old man sighed.
"It's the village shrine."
"The shrine?"
"Three months ago, the god enshrined there suddenly revealed itself." The old man's voice dropped low, as if afraid of being overheard. "This god said that if we made offerings each month, it would grant us good harvests and fair weather."
"We believed it."
"But…" His voice began to tremble. "The offerings grew. From grain to livestock, from livestock to…"
He couldn't continue.
Shinji glanced at Kikyō.
The shrine maiden's brow was furrowed.
"To what?"
"People." The old man's eyes reddened. "Every month, we have to send someone inside. Once they enter, they never come out."
"We didn't want to, but the god said if we refused, disaster would strike the entire village."
"Last month, young Goro from the village entrance refused to go. That very night, his house collapsed. His whole family of five died."
"After that, no one dared resist anymore."
Shinji listened, his eyes narrowing.
A god?
One that ate people every month?
"Where is this shrine?" he asked.
The old man's head shot up.
"No!" His voice turned sharp. "You must not go there now!"
"Why not?"
"The god said only those chosen as offerings may enter. Anyone else who sets foot inside will bring down calamity!"
"Lady Kikyō, you are an honored guest. Please, do not go to that place before the time is right!"
"The next ritual is in half a month. The god will emerge on its own… We only hope that when the time comes, you can speak with it. Persuade it to be more lenient in its demands. If it must have people, let it start with us old ones first!"
Shinji's expression shifted subtly at these words.
Kikyō remained silent as well.
She simply stood and walked to the window.
Through the worn-out pane, she could indeed see a structure deeper in the village.
It stood in stark contrast to the surrounding dilapidated huts.
A vermilion torii gate. Neat stone steps. Wisps of rising incense smoke.
A shrine. The kind she knew all too well.
That wasn't a god.
Kikyō made her judgment.
That was a demon.
Shinji followed her gaze. He too could sense the dense demonic aura.
Pretending to be a deity, extorting offerings, devouring human lives.
This sort of thing was common enough in this chaotic age.
Demons masquerading as gods, using the offerings to grow stronger.
And on top of that, getting a human meal every month.
Killing two birds with one stone.
But despite recognizing the truth, neither Kikyō nor Shinji spoke. Even driven to desperation, the old man hadn't thought to ask Kikyō to 'exorcise' anything. He hadn't realized it wasn't a god at all. Telling him now would probably fall on deaf ears.
So Kikyō simply nodded to the old man and said, "I won't go there. But I can help you. I can communicate with the god you speak of."
"Just… not right now."
The old man understood. He quickly rose. "Lady Kikyō, and this… samurai lord, please rest. Whenever you've rested enough, it can be anytime."
"There's an empty room next door. Please, stay there for the night."
Shinji and Kikyō followed him out.
As they reached the door of the adjacent room, Shinji paused.
He looked back toward the shrine.
The last rays of sunset painted the vermilion torii gate, making it look stained with blood.
"The real Sengoku era, huh…" he murmured.
Kikyō stopped beside him.
"What?"
"Nothing." Shinji shook his head. "Just thinking… your village is practically a paradise compared to this."
Kikyō was silent.
She looked at this devastated village, at the gaunt, starving villagers, at the man-eating shrine.
"Yeah," she said softly. "This is what most people's lives look like in this age."
And that was why.
Shinji wanted to grow stronger.
In this brutal age, whether human or demon, without the power to protect yourself, you were all the same in the end.
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