Yuzuki felt as though she was wrapped in a soft, warm embrace. The warmth spread gently across her skin, making her feel safe and comforted.
Suddenly, terrifying memories burst through her mind—
Demons storming into the village… the screams of the villagers… the abbot shouting with all his strength… and the searing pain and icy fear when claws pierced through her abdomen.
She jolted awake.
Her eyes opened blankly, and the first thing she saw was a brilliant full moon hanging in the sky, its silver light bathing everything around her.
"Where… am I?" she murmured in confusion.
"You're awake?"
A gentle female voice sounded beside her.
The next moment, a beautiful and serene face came into view—radiant and sacred in the moonlight. Clear eyes filled with concern looked down at her.
Under the moon's glow, Yuzuki recognized the red-and-white garments of a shrine maiden and hesitated before asking softly,
"Are you… a shrine maiden?"
She tried to sit up, but her body had no strength at all. After barely raising herself halfway, she collapsed again.
A warm hand quickly supported her back. The movement was careful and gentle.
"You were very seriously injured," Kikyo said softly as she helped her sit upright.
"Although the wounds have been healed, you lost a lot of blood. Your body is still very weak, so don't move too much."
Once she was properly seated, Yuzuki realized she was lying on the back of a massive black bear.
The warmth she had felt earlier was coming from the bear's thick fur.
The enormous creature lay calmly on the ground, breathing steadily.
Her tense nerves relaxed slightly. She guessed the bear must be the shrine maiden's companion.
Suddenly, something came to mind.
She hurriedly fumbled at her side. When her fingers touched the familiar gray bundle in her arms, she finally let out a long breath of relief.
Looking up at Kikyo, she said softly,
"My name is Yuzuki. Shrine maiden… thank you for saving me."
Kikyo quietly watched her actions. Only after hearing her introduce herself did she reach out and gently stroke the girl's hair.
"My name is Kikyo," she said warmly.
"There's no need to thank me. The one who saved you was Retsu."
She pointed toward the campfire nearby.
Uchiha Retsu was sitting beside it, stirring a pot with a ladle.
"Lord Retsu, thank you very much for saving my life!"
Yuzuki immediately turned toward him and bowed respectfully.
"It's nothing."
Retsu nodded casually and continued stirring the pot so the food wouldn't burn.
At that moment, as if drawn by the aroma rising from the pot, a loud growl came from Yuzuki's stomach.
In the quiet night, it sounded especially clear.
Her face instantly turned red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
"You must be hungry," Kikyo said with a gentle smile.
"You've been unconscious for an entire day. I'll bring you some porridge."
She stood up, walked to the fire, and took a bowl from Retsu before filling it with warm porridge.
When she returned and offered it to Yuzuki, the girl tried to take it herself.
But Kikyo lightly held her wrist.
"You're still very weak. Let me feed you."
Without waiting for her to refuse, Kikyo sat down beside the bear. She scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew on it to cool it, and carefully brought it to Yuzuki's lips.
Retsu sat nearby, watching the scene.
Kikyo's expression was gentle as she patiently fed the girl spoonful by spoonful.
He couldn't help thinking to himself:
No wonder Onigumo was willing to sell his soul to demons just to possess Kikyo.
With how kind and patient she looked right now, any man would fall for her instantly—let alone a bandit like Onigumo.
Actually… even girls weren't immune.
He could clearly see that Yuzuki's face had already turned bright red.
Perhaps Kikyo's kindness had lowered her defenses.
As Yuzuki ate, her eyes gradually reddened. Small sobs escaped her throat, and tears began falling like broken pearls.
Kikyo slowed the feeding and gently comforted her.
The next moment—
"Waaah!"
Yuzuki burst into tears and threw herself into Kikyo's arms, pouring out all the fear and grief she had been holding inside.
Kikyo carefully set down the bowl and wrapped her arms around the trembling girl. Her hand softly stroked Yuzuki's back as she murmured quiet reassurances.
She knew that witnessing her entire village slaughtered was far too heavy a burden for a child.
Retsu didn't interfere.
He had never been good with situations like this. Leaving it to Kikyo was the best choice.
He simply ate his food while occasionally glancing at the two of them, his gaze soft.
After crying for quite a while, Yuzuki gradually calmed down.
She lifted her head from Kikyo's embrace, wiped her tears with the back of her hand, and carefully took out the Buddha's Stone Bowl from her bundle.
With a serious expression, she held it out.
"Lady Kikyo… this was entrusted to me by the abbot. The Buddha's Stone Bowl. I want to give it to you."
Retsu wasn't surprised that she had recovered so quickly.
In the original story, Yuzuki had held on until Kikyo arrived, even while dying. She had clearly explained everything and entrusted the bowl before passing away.
Her resilience was remarkable.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Kikyo accepted the stone bowl and felt the faint spiritual power emanating from it. Though she already had a good idea of the situation, she still wanted to hear the girl's account.
"Demons… demons attacked the village…"
Yuzuki's eyes filled with grief again. Her voice trembled, but she forced herself not to cry.
"They killed everyone…"
She pointed at the bowl in Kikyo's hands.
"That was their target."
"It's alright now," Kikyo said gently, stroking her hair again.
"It's all over. Finish your porridge first."
She picked up the bowl and resumed feeding her.
After Yuzuki finished eating, Kikyo went to have her own meal, leaving Retsu to watch over the girl.
Retsu picked up the Buddha's Stone Bowl and looked toward Yuzuki, who was lying weakly on Kuromaru's back. His expression turned serious.
"Yuzuki, there's something I need to explain to you."
"Please tell me, Lord Retsu."
Seeing his solemn expression, Yuzuki straightened herself slightly and listened attentively.
"The reason we passed by your village… is actually related to this bowl."
He spoke directly.
"This item is one of the keys needed to break the seal of a demon named Kaguya.
A demon called Naraku wants to release her seal so he can devour her and steal her power."
"Our goal is to kill Kaguya before Naraku succeeds.
But to kill her, we must first release her from the seal."
"So we will hand this bowl over to the servants Naraku sends to collect the items. They'll use it to break the seal."
He looked straight into Yuzuki's eyes.
"Do you understand?"
In truth, Retsu knew the demons who attacked the village likely had nothing to do with Naraku.
He knew Kagura was the one responsible for collecting the items, while Naraku's lesser demons merely gathered information.
If Naraku himself had come, even the abbot's barrier would never have allowed Yuzuki to protect the bowl.
In the end, the village had simply been unlucky—crossing paths with greedy demons who coveted the Buddha's Stone Bowl.
In fact, Retsu suspected that if Kagura herself had come, the village probably wouldn't have been slaughtered.
At most, perhaps the abbot or a few monks might have died.
These days Kagura behaved like a burnt-out employee. Once she finished Naraku's assigned task, she had no interest in wasting extra effort.
Yuzuki remained silent for a moment.
Then her eyes gradually steadied.
"I understand, Lord Retsu."
She nodded firmly.
"Since the stone bowl has already been entrusted to Lady Kikyo, then please handle it however you think is best."
At that moment, Kikyo returned after finishing her meal. She reached out and gently ruffled Yuzuki's hair.
"Aren't you worried we might be working with demons?" she asked with a faint smile.
Yuzuki blinked in surprise, then smiled weakly but brightly.
"I trust Lady Kikyo."
"No matter how I look at you… you don't seem like a bad person."
Kikyo froze slightly at those words.
Then a warm smile blossomed on her face.
"Don't worry," she said gently.
"We will definitely kill the demon sealed away."
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