“Excuse me… but did you say Inari Village?” Ryouichi stared at Sakiko with surprise. She turned her head from the fish she was eating to look at him. “ Yes, Inari Village is where I came from. Why?” Ryouichi laid back and thought a bit. “ It’s just, I was heading there, is everything alright? Has anything strange happened?”
“ No… At least, not yet. Why are you asking me?”
“ Well there has been some attacks on villages and people seeing strange things like purple smoke coming out of the ground. I’m guessing the guys who attacked us have something to do with it.”
“Maybe… But.. Well.. it’s actually.. it’s the Evil King, he is the one who commands those soldiers. Either way.. Ryouichi.. you’re a skilled swordsman, right?”
“Indeed I am.”
“ Then, could you please accompany me on my mission? While I am a demi-human. I am a shrine-maiden, and have been tasked to purify the shrines that have been corrupted around our country. I need someone to help me and protect me against those soldiers, I am vulnerable while performing a purification, I know this is much to ask, and I will pay you in however much coin you will ask for as soon as we are back but-”
“ Sakiko.”
“Yes?” Ryouichi took Sakiko’s hands in his, his hands were firm and rough, but so warm and gentle at the same time, she was sure this wasn’t a romantic gesture but it still made her blush and cause her heart to beat rapidly.
“ You don’t have to pay me anything, I’m in a sort of similar quest, we can go together. I’ll keep you safe, I promise. Let’s head to the next village in the morning, and believe me it’s not too much to ask. I am disappointed you were sent alone, I understand shrine-maidens are powerful, but did they ever consider if you were ambushed along the way?”
Sakiko didn’t respond, she only looked down at her hands in his while she sighed, in this moment Ryouichi understood that they had actually sent her alone because they wanted her dead, not because she did anything evil, or because she was a burden.. but because she was a demi-human. A deep anger boiled inside him, and the urge to pull her into him and protect her for the rest of his life grew. He didn’t understand why he was already caring for a woman he just met, maybe it was her beauty that attracted him to her. Or maybe it was that deep sadness and loneliness in her eyes that made his heart ache and have him want to make her smile everyday of her life. He truly didn’t understand but all he knew is that he cared for her even if he just met her.
“Let’s get some rest, we will leave in the morning.” Ryouichi let go of her hands, and as soon as he did she missed his warmth, she laid on a tatami next to the fire, slowly closing her eyes as she drifted into a deep slumber, she couldn’t remember the last time she slept this well.
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*SNAP*
Ryouichi was up in a flash while holding the hilt of his sword, checking the surrounding areas, a rabbit jumped out a bush and he relaxed. Just a rabbit. He let go of his sword and glanced at where Sakiko was supposed to be laying but she wasn’t there. Where could she be? Ryouichi walked around a bit and saw her dress near the river. Could she be hurt!? Ryouichi rushed over and he froze as soon as he saw her. She was naked in the river, bathing. He couldn’t see her very well, but he saw her slender back and long hair, gently floating and flowing with the stream. In realization he was staring he quickly turned around and hid behind a tree while blushing. Gods above… How can a woman look so wonderful? I should.. give her some privacy and apologize later. Ryouichi was about to leave but he stepped on a branch, what timing.
He heart raced while hiding and getting flustered hoping he would not get caught. He then stop hearing the water flow for a bit thinking she might have gotten out but it was too sudden and silent so he peeked. Strange, wasn’t she there a second ago? As soon as he turned around he found Sakiko pressed against him, she was wet and still naked, her arms tightly around his waist while her face was extremely close. He blushed while his heart raced even more, becoming more flustered by the second at the sight of her, he quickly apologized. “ I-I’m sorry for intruding! I didn’t know you were b-bathing!” He stumbled a bit on his words. Why does this feel so strange? Her fur felt so soft but she also felt very cold, maybe it was because of the river, he found this strange of her. Even tho he was deeply attracted to her, he didn’t think she would make such a move out of the blue..
*SMACK*
Ryouichi jolted up gasping for air while confused as he looked around and he saw Sakiko, fully clothed and holding her staff up, the pink orb on it glowing a faint blue. He felt so weak and dizzy, why did he feel this way? Looking in-front of him he saw a woman but she wasn’t human. She had the body of a mermaid but her face had sharp teeth, pure yellow eyes and gray skin, her tail was scally and a fading green mixed with hints of dark purple. What on earth was she? The creature hissed and screeched, opening its mouth wide to show all the teeth it had, then scurrying back into the river, glancing at Ryouichi one last time before swimming away.
“ Ryouichi..Are … okay? Oh heavens above.. you’re hurt.. lay down, she drained a lot of your …. Ryou? Can you… me? Ryou!”
Ryouichi collapsed causing Sakiko to enter in a panic, she threw her staff on the ground while muttering an incantation as she quickly kneeled down next to him, she should have been more careful, she should have not left him alone. His body glowed a faint green as she healed him as much as she could.461Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWHK8iAuKvY
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Ryouichi slowly opened up his eyes and saw Sakiko kneeled down next to him, he stared at her for a bit while she was muttering a healing spell. When he recovered his consciousnesses he became flustered remember the supposed her naked and pressed against him, he remembered how that actually came to be. I should be more careful from now on… I let my guard down for a bit and it was almost my downfall, if it was not for Sakiko…Feeling on edge for some time while Ryouichi recovered his vitality, he slapped both his hands on his face to snap out of it. Which made Sakiko jump in surprise.
“ Ryouichi! You’re okay! I thought you were done for… I’m so glad you’re okay…” Sakiko took a deep breath and placed her hand above her heart as she relaxed. “ You were attacked by a siren, it’s basically a mermaid but… she was under the influence of the corruption. It seems like it’s spreading everywhere now. She almost drained you of your energy completely… I didn’t know if I was going to be able to save you in time..”
Ryouichi smiled at her while he stood up, Sakiko standing up with him. “ You shouldn’t get up so fast you have to rest.”
Ryouichi bowed respectfully and in gratitude to Sakiko. Sakiko became flustered understanding the gesture. “ Y-you don’t have to bow! You would do the same for me if it was in reverse.” She scratched her cheek shyly while smiling at him, he returned the smile and nodded. “ Thank you for saving me, and we should be on our way now. I’ll be more careful this time, I promise.” Ryouichi said. Sakiko nodded and begun to pick up her stuff, she had to admit, she had heard sirens gave the person they are hurting strange dreams, what could have the siren shown him? She shook her head and was soon prepared to leave. “ We should travel to the south, it’s the nearest shrine from the Inari one.”
Ryouichi agreed and was soon ready to leave as well, from the corner of his eye he swore he saw the blasted siren again, he grasped the hilt of his sword tightly while now watching Sakiko quickly grab her staff and stand next to him, they begun walking.
“ Don’t push yourself okay? We can rest whenever.” Sakiko said to him. He sighed, he would prefer to be somewhere safer before they reached sundown, but she was right, pushing himself would only make things worse.
“Let’s just get somewhere safer for now.” He didn’t want to risk the siren attacking him again, or worse if it could attack Sakiko, would he have been able to save her in time if it had? Ryouichi was feeling annoyed all over again, while he was a great swordsman, he lacked knowledge on all the creatures that could attack them during this journey, and that concerned him. This will indeed be a challenging journey.
ns 15.158.61.5da2
