There was no one at the village entrance.
Hikaru and Kikyo walked into the village. Their footsteps sounded exceptionally clear in the silence. The doors and windows of the houses on both sides were mostly tightly shut, and occasionally, eyes could be seen peeking through the gaps.
Those eyes were filled with vigilance and fear.
"Stop!"
An aged voice came from ahead.
Hikaru looked up.
A dozen or so villagers blocked the middle of the road.
The men held hoes and sickles in their hands, while the women hid behind them, clutching their children tightly.
Leading them was a hunchbacked old man with white hair and beard, leaning on a cane, standing shakily at the very front.
"Who are you?"
The old man's voice was deep and hoarse, like the friction of dry branches and fallen leaves: "Are you demons? Are you here to rob us?"
Hikaru looked at himself.
Gray hemp robes, no oni mask, face pale, eyes black, exuding a cold aura... well, no matter how one looked at it, he didn't look normal.
But didn't they see the perfectly normal shrine maiden beside him?
Isn't a shrine maiden with a demon standard procedure?
Does this old man have bad eyesight?
"We are passing travelers."
Kikyo stepped forward, her voice calm: "We would like to stay the night in the village."
"Stay the night?"
The old man still eyed them warily.
"In these times, what kind of travelers are there? If you aren't bandits, you're demons!"
"We are not bandits," Kikyo said.
"And we are not demons that harm people."
She paused for a moment, as if thinking, and finally said: "I am a shrine maiden from Kaede Village in Musashi Province. My name is Kikyo."
As the words fell, the expressions of the villagers changed.
"Kikyo?" The old man's eyes widened.
"The... Lady Kikyo of Kaede Village?"
"It is I."
"You... are you the Lady Kikyo who can slay demons with a single arrow?"
"Yes."
The old man was stunned for several breaths.
Then, with a thud, he knelt down.
"Lady Kikyo!"
The villagers behind him also knelt, shouting in a hubbub.
"It's Lady Kikyo!"
"It really is Lady Kikyo!"
"Lady Kikyo has come to help us!"
Hikaru stood to the side, watching this scene.
It was a bit unexpected, but not too unexpected.
After all, she was a great shrine maiden famous throughout the Sengoku Period; it was normal for her to be well-known.
It was just that the shift was too fast; moments ago they were holding hoes to attack, and now they were kneeling and kowtowing.
"Get up," Kikyo said. "I am just passing through; I am not here to help anyone."
"But since you have come, it is the heavens opening their eyes!"
The old man stood up, his cloudy eyes filled with excitement.
"Lady Kikyo, we need your help!"
"How can I help?"
"It is..."
The old man hesitated, looking left and right.
"This is not the place to talk. Please, Lady Kikyo, come inside to speak."
The old man spoke somewhat pedantically; it seemed he had read a few books, though not many.
Kikyo nodded.
"Very well."
The old man led the way, and the villagers consciously cleared a path.
Hikaru followed behind Kikyo, observing his surroundings.
This village was even more miserable than he had imagined.
Not only were the houses dilapidated, but even the fields were mostly left barren.
Occasionally, one could see a few emaciated children on the side of the road, squatting in the corner, gnawing on roots of unknown origin.
Their eyes were hollow, devoid of any luster.
Hikaru thought of the village that Kikyo protected.
Compared to this place, Kaede Village, while not wealthy, at least had enough to eat. At the very least, the children could chase chickens, and the old people could bask in the sun.
Compared to the village before him, it was practically heaven.
"Lady Kikyo." The old man stopped in front of a slightly more intact hut.
"Please, come in."
Kikyo stepped inside. Hikaru followed.
The room was very dark.
Only one oil lamp emitted a faint light.
The old man greeted them to sit, rummaged through the corner for two coarse ceramic bowls, and poured some water into them.
"My humble abode is simple; this is all I have to offer you both."
Kikyo took the bowl but did not drink.
"Speak, what has happened to your village?"
The old man sighed.
"It is the village shrine."
"The shrine?"
"Three months ago, the god in the shrine suddenly manifested."
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