... Christopher/Asahiko pov...
We had spent at least a day of riding, when he said a day, I literally mean a whole day of riding. No breaks except for the horses to take a breather, eat, drink water and nothing else.
The reward for our arduous and steadfast conviction was a certainly beautiful visit. More than a village, I could easily call it a town, but in a strange way it retains a rustic charm.
"It's a sight... Amazing, don't you think so Kikyo?"
Talking to my companion, the ever cool and stoic Kikyo, I begin to analyze this "Village" in more detail. There are a lot of simple and even two-story houses, an active market, simple but useful roads and most notably, an imposing temple.
The temple stands out because it looks more like a luxurious residence than a temple, but that's not all, as it is located right in the middle of a river. No, more accurately the river was routed to serve as a moat for the temple.
"Now can you stand the smell?"
"No, not at all. I'm simply done with that pesky sense of smell."
"You escaped."
"What, no. It's obviously a strategic retreat... Well, maybe it is, but look at all the ones."
Giving him the reason, because he certainly has, he raised my hand and pointed my index finger at the trees growing around.
There were dozens or maybe hundreds of sakura trees, I may not have managed to smell that nauseating odor, but I could easily sense that there was something off about all of them.
"Come on."
"Wow, wow, stop right there."
Extending my arm right in front of her and stopping her advance, he looked her up and down, before starting to speak.
"Not to be a spoilsport, but you know we've got a target on our back if we go in like that, right?"
"[...]"
"Well, looks like someone isn't as calm as she looks, I guess I'll be the smart one on this one."
Putting on a smug face at her perpetual silence, I start to prepare a simple plan and as a last measure, if I want I can throw the table out the window... Umm... Maybe I'm turning into a muscle brain.
"I have a plan, drum roll please... Infiltration!"
"No."
"Just think about it, we are facing an unknown enemy boss, forces with unknown numbers, unknown terrain and they are playing at home."
Maybe his sixth sense warned him not to accept my proposal, but no one makes fun of me, the great Asahiko, let alone twice... Hehehehe I can already feel the sweet revenge.
"I feel something weird"
"Come on where is your confidence"
"You're a fox, also a demon and your name is Asahiko."
"Cgh, Cgh, Cgh"
Half coughing and choking on my own saliva, I look wide-eyed at Kikyo who has left me no chance to speak, then give her a peaceful smile.
I was only going to be a little mean before, but now I'm really going to enjoy this opportunity to the fullest. I'm going to show her what discomfort and obligation for the situation is.
"I'm going to get you some clothes Kikyo~, we don't want to come in dressed like this, we'll attract attention right away and I don't have any female clothes in my secret stash."
"No it 's not."
"Calm down, I'm certainly going to tease you, but not with this matter~"
Leaving those words floating in the air, I make a quick exit towards that village to get what I need.
...Some time later…
Looking around the surroundings that are almost equal to a historical drama, I watched people of both genders walk around, until I noticed a dangos stall on the side.
I couldn't tell if they were good or not, but the appearance attracts me and as a wise man once said "Food enters through the eyes". With that said, he dragged the person who had his arm hooked around mine towards that stall.
"What can I do for you two young ladies?"
The saleswoman was an older woman for the time, easily given about 35 years old and her skin tanned from hard work.
Her appearance here is odd, as everyone else is a young couple, no... All the salesmen are older and the foreigners are younger.
"Beautiful lady, we would like two of these tasty dangos."
"Hahaha, quite the beau. Calm down lest your wife gets jealous."
"Impossible, my wife would never get jealous, right dear?"
Turning her face to look at Kikyo, who looks hard as a statue, I even came to think that all her souls were gone, but she still has body heat, so that's not it.
Kikyo frowned slightly, almost imperceptibly, but not enough for me to ignore it and I can tell I'm enjoying it.
"Excuse her, she is very shy."
"Hahaha, relax, it's quite normal this situation with couples in the past few days."
With a few last pleasantries here and there, I walk away from the dangos stall dragging Kikyo with me, until we blend back into the crowd of the busy market.
After that we kept walking back and forth, I easily took her all over the market, be it a souvenir store, food stalls, rare games of the time and other things.
"Is all this necessary?"
"Oh~, someone finally deigned to talk, I even came to think I was dating a statue."
"No!"
"It's not that bad. Kikyo, I've literally placed a strange mask over your head and you still haven't realized that."
Interrupting her words before I could complete them, she pointed my fingers towards the top of her head, the place where a red oni mask rests that stands out quite a bit against her black hair.
"Ah, what a pain this is... My first outing with a beautiful young woman and she even looks at me, what a pain~"
"[...]"
"Haa... Don't think so hard, it's just you and me right now. Kikyo and Asahiko, just that."
Noticing her face getting stiffer and stiffer, he stopped joking and told her a few simple, but quite useful words for this career-obsessed woman.
The effect wasn't much at first, but the more the afternoon wore on and the sun was falling, Kikyo began to act more natural about the surroundings, going so far as to join in.
"He declared you my rival!"
"Asahiko..."
"Sir, please you're scaring the other customers."
Overlooking Kikyo and the stall owner, he observed the game that has defeated me, obviously using my human-level abilities, but it was still a defeat.
This is a target shooting game, there was nothing truly important, it was more for flexing muscles and leaving your partner surprised, but I still lost.
"Kikyo, take revenge on my behalf."
"You're serious, aren't you, that she was your rival?"
"I'm warning you, if we don't win here, I'll keep spending the money on more shots and we'll sleep in the open."
Speaking seriously and ignoring the mocking looks of some people, I give the bow to Kikyo, who in a few seconds acclimated to the surrounding environment.
As expected, Kikyo easily hit five out of five targets, all in quick succession and without a trace of nervousness, leaving everyone wide-eyed at her skills.
"Here you go, the festival crown fair lady."
"I've spent so much money...for this?"
Muttering under my breath, I watch as Kikyo approaches with slow steps and with a throwing motion, the festival crown ends up on my head.
The surroundings were silent for a few moments, before someone started clapping and then there was a flurry of applause.
"Wow Kikyo, looks like you've won them all over."
"After defeating such a powerful enemy, of course I deserve this applause..."
"Nothing to be ashamed of, you're absolutely right."
Laughing briefly due to the small crack in her cool and stoic performance, I hook our arms again, then return to the hectic marketplace.
"The night is young and so are we!"
"I doubt the latter."
"Interesting personality you have down there, Kikyo."
With the arrival of the moon and stars, we continued to travel around just as we had in the afternoon, until it was time to sleep.