"Lady Yae Sakura!"
"Lady Yae Sakura, where are you?"
Just as Yae Sakura and Kikyo were talking, Xia Ji's voice rang out from not far away.
"That girl..."
Yae Sakura frowned at that. She had clearly told Xia Ji not to come out, and now she had run straight out here.
"Would you like to come with me?" Yae Sakura glanced at Kikyo and started toward Xia Ji.
"..."
Kikyo didn't answer, but she nodded. She was a little curious about Xia Ji, who was calling out for someone.
"Then come along!"
When they reached Xia Ji, they saw her sitting on the ground, looking as if she were about to cry.
That was only natural. Though Xia Ji was already considered an adult in this era, she was still just a girl of about thirteen. People generally didn't live long in those days; anyone who made it past fifty was considered long-lived.
In the original story, Kikyo's younger sister, Kaede, was only a little over fifty, yet she looked like a hundred-year-old woman.
"Lady Yae Sakura! Are you all right?"
Lying on the ground, Xia Ji heard the commotion... and saw Yae Sakura approaching. A relieved smile immediately spread across her face.
"Didn't I tell you to stay in the cave?" Yae Sakura said helplessly as she walked over and helped Xia Ji to her feet.
"But... I was scared... I was worried about you, Lady Yae Sakura," Xia Ji muttered.
She had heard there was a demon, and the only person she could rely on was going to drive it away. If... something happened to her, then Xia Ji...
So she had come out.
"Worried about me? But... how does coming out to look for me help?"
Yae Sakura was at a loss for words. Didn't Xia Ji realize she was a burden? Coming out wouldn't help her at all, and if something really went wrong, Xia Ji would only get in her way.
"I... I..."
Xia Ji fell silent at Yae Sakura's words... but she felt terribly wronged.
Just then, Kikyo came over and looked from Xia Ji to Yae Sakura, her thoughts unclear.
"Lady Yae Sakura, who is this shrine maiden...?"
Xia Ji had also noticed Kikyo. She quickly wiped the hurt look from her face, then turned to Yae Sakura curiously.
"I don't know."
Though Yae Sakura knew who Kikyo was, they had only just met, and she hadn't asked her name yet. She couldn't simply call her by it.
"I'm Kikyo, a shrine maiden. Someone asked me to come here and exterminate a demon." Kikyo wasn't a woman of many words, but she still introduced herself.
"Kikyo..."
Xia Ji froze. Wasn't this the person Yae Sakura had asked her about earlier? She looked at Yae Sakura in surprise.
Then she quickly introduced herself as well. "My name is Tanihara Natsu."
"Xia Ji's guards were eaten by a demon, so I'm escorting her home while I'm at it," Yae Sakura added.
"Tanihara? You're from the Tanihara family?"
Kikyo now knew who Xia Ji was. She was the daughter of a local daimyo.
After getting to know Kikyo, Yae Sakura learned that they were in Musashi Province, though Kaede Village, where Kikyo lived, was still a long way off.
Kikyo had come here to exterminate demons at the request of the head of a nearby village.
At this point, Kikyo had indeed not yet taken possession of the Jewel of Four Souls. Though she was well-known, her fame was still limited.
Her reputation was strong only in a small part of Musashi Province, particularly in the area around Kaede Village.
Though people in other provinces had heard of her too, her name had only spread among certain circles. Ordinary people didn't know who she was, and those who had heard of her thought she was just a story.
After all, this wasn't the modern age. Many people never left their village in their entire lives.
As for why Xia Ji had never heard of Kikyo, she simply didn't know much about such matters.
As a princess, she had been expected to study all kinds of etiquette, calligraphy, and painting from a young age, leaving her no time to learn about such things.
"So there's a village nearby? Could you take us there so we can stay the night?"
If there was a village, they wouldn't have to sleep in a cave.
Kikyo glanced at Xia Ji. As the daughter of a noble, she was in too much danger out in the wilderness. She nodded and agreed.
"Follow me!"
Yae Sakura didn't trust her, but she trusted Xia Ji completely.
It was already dark. Following Kikyo along the road, they walked for what must have been over half an hour before they finally reached a village.
The village was tiny, with only around a hundred people.
Most of the buildings looked so flimsy a gust of wind might blow them down. Most of the houses were thatched huts.
The villagers had already gone to bed, so they didn't encounter anyone as they entered. Kikyo led the two of them straight to an abandoned shrine.
Though part of the roof had fallen into disrepair, the abandoned shrine looked much better than the thatched huts they'd passed earlier.
"Let's stay here for tonight. This shrine was abandoned a long time ago." Kikyo set down her belongings.
"Mm."
The place wasn't much, but there was some dry grass on the floor. It was undoubtedly far better than the cave they'd been in earlier.
"It's late. Xia Ji, go to sleep."
Yae Sakura made a bed for Xia Ji out of the dry grass, then sat down on a step.
"Lady Yae Sakura, you can sleep here..." Xia Ji was touched by what Yae Sakura had done.
"I said go to sleep." Yae Sakura raised her voice a little. She didn't want to waste time arguing with her.
"Yes..."
Xia Ji immediately settled down, as expected.
"Here."
Just as Yae Sakura was about to close her eyes and rest, Kikyo suddenly took something out and tossed it to her.
"This is..."
Yae Sakura's eyes flew open. She caught it...
Taking a closer look, she saw that it was a set of... red-and-white shrine maiden robes.
"Even if you're a Half-Demon now, you should still have some awareness of yourself as a woman, especially since you're a shrine maiden. These are my spare clothes. See if they fit.
If you still consider yourself a shrine maiden..."
"Uh..."
Clothes Kikyo had worn...?
But... their figures seemed about the same!
It was just...
As she remembered it, when Kagome came through the well, her school uniform skirt was about the same length as this, wasn't it?
Why didn't anyone seem to say anything?
Was it because she was the protagonist?