At this moment, the night was deep, and the vast sky hung over the endless land like a grand black curtain.
Beneath the watery moonlight, Kobe Hikaru followed behind Kikyo and stepped into the village.
This was the first time in the three months since his transmigration that he had truly entered a human settlement.
Calling it a village was almost generous.
There were only a few dozen households, with thatched roofs, wooden walls, and packed-earth floors.
Poor.
That was Hikaru’s first impression.
But that was normal.
The Warring States period was an age of chaos, war, and suffering.
For common people, having a roof that could shield them from wind and rain was already fortunate.
Not to mention, this place also had to face yokai attacks from time to time.
Along the way, the villagers had already dispersed from the shrine area and returned to their homes.
But they did not go inside.
Instead, they stood by their doors and windows, watching the figure following behind the shrine maiden with all kinds of expressions.
Awe.
Fear.
Curiosity.
And… gratitude?
Hikaru could feel those complicated gazes falling on him, but he did not mind.
Three months of living as a yokai had already made him used to all kinds of stares, and besides, there was no hostility in these gazes.
They simply did not know what to do.
After all, a yokai who had helped them drive back other yokai was a very difficult thing to react to.
“Do not be afraid.”
Kikyo’s voice rang out from ahead.
She did not turn around, but her voice clearly spread through the entire village.
“He is a guest.”
Just four words.
No explanation, no reassurance, only a statement.
Yet the villagers’ tension clearly eased quite a bit.
Hikaru noticed that a few children who had been hiding behind doors poked their heads out, staring at him curiously.
“The shrine maiden-sama has a lot of authority.”
He sighed with some feeling.
To hold such authority and gain this much trust from the villagers, one could easily imagine how much effort the shrine maiden before him had put in.
Kikyo did not respond.
The two of them followed the small path through the village and eventually arrived below the stone steps in front of the shrine.
The vermilion torii cast a long shadow under the moonlight, and the enormous sacred tree spread its lush branches overhead, almost covering half the sky.
This was the first time Hikaru had observed the shrine from such a close distance.
It was not large, but it was very clean.
The stone steps had been swept spotless, and traces of incense still remained in the stone lanterns on both sides.
Although the vermilion paint on the torii was somewhat mottled, it was clear that it had been carefully maintained.
“So this is…”
“My residence,” Kikyo said, continuing his words.
“And also the core of the barrier that protects this village.”
She stepped onto the stone stairs, her white kosode and red hakama swaying gently in the night wind.
Hikaru followed.
His boots stepped against the stone stairs, making faint sounds.
In the quiet night, those sounds were especially clear.
One step, two steps, three steps.
Twenty-seven steps.
At the end of the stairs was an open platform facing the shrine hall.
The shrine building was not large.
It was made of wood, with gray tiles covering the roof.
In front of the hall stood a bronze incense burner, with a few sticks of incense still not fully burned away.
Smoke curled upward, dispersing into the night wind.
Hikaru stood on the platform and looked around.
From here, he could overlook the entire village.
The thatched roofs glowed faintly silver beneath the moonlight, and occasionally, one or two lamps flickered behind the windows.
Though poor and humble, this place was quiet.
Peaceful.
Completely different from the mountains of corpses and seas of blood he had grown used to over the past three months.
“Onee-sama!”
A childish voice broke the silence. The source of this chapter is g.com.
Hikaru turned toward the sound and saw a little girl running out from the shrine hall entrance.
She looked about seven or eight, with her hair tied in twin tails.
She wore simple cotton clothes and a pair of straw sandals.
There was still obvious panic on her face.
She had probably been hiding inside the shrine hall during the yokai attack earlier.
“Kaede.”
Kikyo’s voice carried a rare softness.
“It’s all right now.”
The little girl named Kaede rushed up to Kikyo and hugged her waist.
“I was so scared!
There were so many scary noises outside!
And so many yokai!”
Her voice was thick with tears.
Kikyo lowered her head and gently patted her back.
“It’s over now.”
Kaede looked up, teary-eyed.
“Really?
Were all the yokai driven away?”
“Yes.”
Kikyo nodded.
Only then did Kaede let out a breath of relief, and the terror on her face gradually faded.
But in the next second, her gaze landed on the figure behind Kikyo.
Kobe Hikaru.
Battered crimson armor.
Loose pale hair.
And that—
Crimson oni mask.
“Ahhh!!!”
Kaede screamed and fell back onto her bottom.
She pointed at Hikaru, her finger trembling badly.
“O-O-Oni—!”
Hikaru: “…”
All right, that reaction was normal.
If he were in her place and suddenly saw someone wearing an oni mask standing in front of him, he would probably freeze too.
Let alone a child.
“Kaede.”
Kikyo’s voice was calm.
“He is not an enemy.”
“B-But his face…”
Kaede hid behind Kikyo, only half her head peeking out, her eyes staring unblinkingly at Hikaru.
There was both fear and curiosity in that gaze.
Kikyo glanced at Hikaru.
She seemed to want to say something, but hesitated.
Hikaru understood what she meant.
This oni mask really was too frightening.
Forget children.
Even adults would feel a chill in their hearts if they saw it.
He lowered his head and looked at himself.
Battered armor, covered in blood.
Pale long hair, messy as weeds.
And on top of that, this crimson oni mask…
No matter how one looked at him, he looked like a villain.
“…Fine.”
Hikaru sighed.
He raised his hand and touched the edge of the crimson oni mask on his face.
In the three months since his transmigration, he had almost never taken off this mask.
On one hand, he had grown used to it.
On the other, there had been no need.
After all, the ones he encountered were either yokai or exorcists who wanted to kill him.
Moreover, as an oni samurai, this mask was, in a sense, also his second face.
It was a layer of armor formed from his demonic energy—his oni aura.
His protective shell.
But now things were different.
He was standing inside a human village.
Standing in front of a little girl who had been scared to tears by his face.
And standing before the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States period, who seemed to have already begun to trust and accept him.
His fingers hooked around the edge of the mask, and he applied a little force.
Click.
The crimson oni mask came off.
Moonlight fell onto the face that had been hidden for three months.
It was a young face.
He looked about seventeen or eighteen, with proper features and distinct contours.
Although his skin was pale in a way that did not resemble the living, that very pallor instead highlighted a sickly handsomeness.
His eyes, with black and white reversed, glowed faintly under the moonlight, and his crimson pupils were like two burning gemstones.
Paired with that head of long pale hair…
“So pretty…”
At some point, Kaede had poked her head out from behind Kikyo, her eyes sparkling.
“Onii-san is so pretty!”
Hikaru: “…”
Wasn’t that contrast a little too much?
A moment ago, she had been screaming in fear.
Now she had turned into a little admirer?
Children’s emotions really were hard to understand.
Kikyo was also looking at him.
Those cool eyes seemed to carry a faint trace of surprise.
Perhaps she had not expected that beneath the oni mask was the face of a young man.
“You…”
She opened her mouth, but swallowed the words before they came out.
What had she wanted to ask?
Did she want to ask who he had been in life?
Did she want to ask why he had become an oni samurai at such a young age?
Had he died young…?
In the end, she asked nothing.
She only withdrew her gaze and said to Kaede, “It is late.
You should go home.”
“Ehh—?”
Kaede puffed out her cheeks in dissatisfaction.
“But I still want to talk to the pretty onii-san!”
“Your uncle and aunt will worry.”
Although Kaede was her younger sister, she spent most of her time being fostered by another family in the village.
“…Fine.”
Kaede answered dejectedly.
But after taking a few steps, she turned back and waved at Hikaru.
“Onii-san, will I still be able to see you tomorrow?”
Hikaru glanced at Kikyo.
Kikyo said nothing.
“…Probably.”
He gave a vague answer.
“Then it’s a promise!
I’ll come play with you tomorrow!”
Kaede’s voice gradually faded into the night wind.
Only after her figure disappeared below the stone steps did the shrine grow quiet again.
Only Kobe Hikaru and Kikyo remained.
Two people.
One human.
One yokai.
Facing each other beneath the moonlight.
The more you vote, the more chapters I upload.)
…
Replace “é” with “e” on your web browser.)