"Ouch... Big sister, what was that for? You never even asked me," Higokumaru said as she clutched her head, looking pitifully at Yae Sakura, feeling quite wronged.
If you don't ask, I can't just blurt it out!
"Forget it, here you go. Kikyo, let's get off this thing, shall we?" Yae Sakura handed the Jizo Mitama to Higokumaru before jumping down from the ox cart with Kikyo.
How long would it take to reach our destination riding this thing? It would take forever!
"What is this?"
Kikyo followed Yae Sakura off the ox cart, somewhat confused.
"We're not taking this anymore, it's too slow..." Yae Sakura explained briefly.
"..."
Kikyo remained silent, unsure of what to make of this sudden change in plans.
-
Higokumaru obtained the Jizo Mitama and immediately merged the sword Mitama into her body.
In an instant...
With a fox-like cry, Higokumaru transformed from a young girl with animal ears into a ten-meter-tall five-tailed fire fox.
This was none other than the fox spirit enshrined in Yae... at Yae Shrine... or perhaps more accurately, the fox god... Higokumaru.
"Power... my power has returned!"
The massive fire fox blazed with foxfire...
The surrounding temperature skyrocketed, causing nearby plants to wither instantly...
"Higokumaru, what are you doing?"
Feeling the heat continue to rise, seeing even the sturdy kikyō drenched in sweat, Yae Sakura's face paled.
"You foolish girl, do you still think I'm Higokumaru?" The enormous fox looked down at Yae Sakura.
"What..." Yae Sakura's face paled instantly as she gripped her spiritual blade with her right hand.
Could it be... we're going to fight Higokumaru again?
"What happened to Higokumaru?" Kikyō felt like she was about to burst from tension but still managed to raise her bow immediately.
"Heh heh, I'm just messing with you, Big Sister..."
Seeing Yae Sakura and Kikyō's reactions, Higokumaru extinguished her fox fire and transformed back into a loli form with animal ears, clearly joking around now.
"Higokumaru...?" Yae Sakura wasn't entirely sure.
"Mm-hmm."
"You little rascal!"
Yae Sakura sheathed her blade and rushed forward, giving Higokumaru a thorough thrashing until the girl ended up bruised and swollen before finally letting go.
"Don't pull stunts like that again or don't bother hanging out with me anymore."
"I won't ever do it again, Big Sister." Higokumaru whimpered pitifully while crouching on the ground.
After giving Higokumaru a thorough beating, Yae Sakura seemed to have vented her anger. I'd been worried for nothing.
But that wasn't all—Yae turned to Kikyō beside her. Her clothes were completely soaked with sweat, likely because of the intense heat from Higokumaru's fox fire earlier.
Even Yae herself was sweating profusely.
"Kikyō, did you bring extra clothes?"
"Yes."
"This must be uncomfortable. We need to find a place where we can wash up." Even a little sweat made me feel uneasy, let alone being drenched like this.
"Mm-hmm," Kikyō replied, strapping her bow back onto her shoulders.
"Higokumaru..."
"Big Sister?" Higokumaru responded promptly at the mention of her name.
"Turn into a fox and lead us to a nearby spot where we can clean ourselves properly."
"Umm... sure."
Hearing this, the cat-eared girl transformed into a fire fox as big as a horse.
Her four legs blazed with red-blue foxfire, and her five tails swayed as she lay down on the ground.
"How about now, Big Sister?" The fox head looked at Yae Sakura like a puppy would.
"Yes, that's good!"
Yae Sakura walked over and sat on Higokumaru, feeling very comfortable... all fluffy... Unlike the hard fur of the dog-wolves, Higokumaru's fur was soft, more like a cat's.
"Kikyō, you come up too!" Yae Sakura waved to Kikyō from where she was sitting on the fox's back.
"Okay."
"Sit tight. We're taking off."
After Kikyō climbed on, Higokumaru gave a quick reminder.
Then... with a powerful leap, they shot straight into the sky.
"Ah... Higokumaru, slow down!"
Higokumaru was moving too fast, like one of those flying mice toys you see at New Year's celebrations—up into the air in an instant.
Without anything to hold onto, Yae almost slipped off Higokumaru's back.
"Ohh..."
Hearing Yae's voice, Higokumaru finally slowed down, now only as fast as a horse galloping.
But even though they'd lowered their speed, Yae suddenly turned bright red...
"K-Kikyō-chan..."
"What is it, Yae?" Kikyō asked, puzzled, from where she sat behind Yae.
"That... Could you... let go of me?"
Yae looked at the hands pressed against her chest...
She hadn't grabbed them herself; Kikyō had taken hold of them without thinking...
"S-sorry..." Kikyō realized what had happened. She'd been going up so fast that she'd almost fallen off... Without thinking, she'd grabbed on...
"It's... It's okay..."
It wasn't that Yae minded Kikyō touching her—but this body belonged to Kallen...
I can't cheat on her...
"Big Sis, there's a pond up ahead..."
"Let's stop there, then!"
"Yes."
They stopped at a pond. After making sure no one else was around, they washed up.
During this time, Kikyō and Yae Sakura seemed a bit awkward.
It wasn't like they hadn't washed together before, but this time... they felt strangely shy for some reason.
After bathing, they changed into fresh clothes. Instead of riding Higokumaru, the three decided to walk slowly.
The atmosphere turned slightly awkward.
"Sakura..."
"Yeah?"
"What do you plan on doing in the future? Are you going to stay with me like this forever?"
"Well... I might leave someday," Yae Sakura pondered for a moment.
"Oh..."
Another silence fell...
"Big sister, there seems to be someone coming up ahead..." Higokumaru pointed forward.
"There should be a village nearby."
Yae Sakura heard movement. Since there was a man-made dirt road here, it made sense that there would be people living around and passing through.
"But there's a smell of blood," Higokumaru added.
"A smell of blood?" Yae Sakura froze, but before she could ask further... she understood immediately.
The sound of a child's anguished wails cut through the air. A woman in her twenties rushed over, cradling a young boy.
The boy looked to be about five or six years old. His arm was wrapped in white cloth, now stained with blood.
"Granny, what happened?" Kikyō asked, her heart twisting at the sight of the distraught mother.
"Miko... you're a priestess? Please, I beg you, save my child!" Recognizing Kikyō's traditional miko attire, the woman dropped to her knees, holding her son close.
"Stand up and talk," Kikyō said gently. "Is he hurt? Let me see."