Inside the Miko's courtyard.
By then, Shion had accepted that her mother had come back to life.
"Mother, do I still have to be the Miko now?!"
"Being the Miko isn't any fun."
"It's exhausting, and it's scary."
Shion hugged Miroku around the waist, openly seeking her affection.
Now, she was no longer all alone.
With her mother's arms around her, all the hurt Shion had endured over the years came flooding out at once.
Though everything she had been taught since childhood had been meant to prepare her to become the Miko.
She was, after all, still only a ten-year-old girl.
The burden of saving the world had rested on her shoulders for all those years.
She had never even had a childhood.
There had only been endless recitation of incantations, memorization of talismans, and practice in different ways of converting chakra.
Under those circumstances, she had never had a life of her own.
Even her mother, the one person she could call her own, had died several years ago.
No one knew how a little girl had managed to endure those years.
So now that Shion had seen Miroku again, she was even happier than before, even more dependent on her and eager to be close to her.
"You've done very well, little Shion!"
"Even Uncle Hokage from Konoha praised you as a worthy Miko!"
"Besides, Mother isn't suited to being the Miko anymore, at least not for the time being."
"So we still need you to protect everyone in Feng City and safeguard the entire Shinobi World!"
Miroku smiled as she stroked Shion's hair, her face full of affection.
In the past, Miroku would certainly have given Shion a proper lesson on how to be a Miko.
Now, however, she could encourage Shion in this gentler way.