As Sachiko hung her robe out to dry she then, entering a small room at the back of his church, went to stand over the resting Tenshi and watched his eyes gradually flicker open.
"W-what happened?" he slurred as he tried to wake, only having a candle to shed light on anything. Soon after though, his eyes shot wide open as he gasped "The Hannya, and my townsfolk! Are, are they-? S-Sachiko, you're unclothed!".
"Hey, it's okay" Sachiko nuzzled up to him, slowly patting is wounds "Tenago, its villagers, and the people passing by, won't have to fear that Hannya anymore". She gave a great smile and said "We beat her! Wasn't easy, but Nagi and me sank her to the lake bottom, with a-" she imitated some sword slashes "-from me and a-" she made pew-pew noises and mimed firing a musket "-from Nagisa. That I fell into the lake also explains why my clothes are hanging up right now" she then purred, tauntingly covering herself with her tail and hair.
"Sachiko, I..." Tenshi gulped then blushed, then changed the topic "I, er, do notice I'm nowhere near as wounded as I thought I'd be".
"Oh yeah, you've got Nagisa to thank for that" Sachiko smiled, pointing to a mended scar on Tenshi's chest then to a similar one on her shoulder. "She did a great job trying to heal everyone back to normal, even if she only had so much power...".
"Then many more villagers must still be in pain. I must attend to them!" Tenshi exclaimed as he tried to get to his feet, but Sachiko stood in front of him and beckoned him back down.
"Hey, even with Nagisa's healing you still need your rest" she cautioned him, her hand by his face.
"I- I suppose you're right" Tenshi muttered as he lay back down, though he still fidgeted a bit when she saw Sachiko looming ever closer.
"Um, Tenshi-kun" she said, blushing from being so close to him "You did say before, that as long as it's True Love, God would be okay with it...".
"Sachiko no" Tenshi had to insist. "It-it just wouldn't be, a-appropriate".
"B-but Tenshi, I..." Sachiko then stumbled with her words "I like you, Tenshi, I like you a whole lot!". Her slight blush had blossomed into a blooming scarlet "But... okay. I can see I'm bothering you, I should just go".
As she grabbed the doorknob, Tenshi, overcome with emotion, then called out to her. "N-no Sachiko, I didn't mean it like that...".
With Sachiko's ear twitching as she heard that, she smiled wide, ran back and then leapt into Tenshi's arms, cuddling him tightly. "Oh Tenshi, you mean it? Thank you thank you thank you, I love you so much!".
Her hands then feeling his chest, Sachiko gave a trembling Tenshi a kiss that must've lasted minutes. When she at last pulled away, she licked her lips and swooned "Oh Tenshi... Tee hee, we're gonna have so much
fun".
* * *
"I..." Yoshinaka sputtered as, walking with Vivi, he saw Tenago's now ruined buildings, uprooted trees and residents lying prone. "I was guarding something a monster like that?".
"Don't worry, this wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to manipulate the good name of Sophianity" Vivi spoke up, her human arms still needing to help Yoshinaka stay upright. "Just- just don't let this try to wreck your faith, okay? That thing might've called itself Sophia, but trust me, the real Goddess is still out there somewhere. Hell, we probably have her to thank for us even surviving that attack".
The Oni just sighed, and trying to stand on his own then helped lift a fallen door back into place. "Hey thanks er, Vik-tor-ri-ah was it? Just got no clue how Tenshi's gonna explain this everyone. So uh, you said you were a 'journalist'?" he then asked.
"Yeah, my job is- how do I explain it? I basically go around collecting interesting stories, sometimes asking people things, for a paper, er like a book except shorter and flimsier, that comes out every month" she eventually went with. "It's why I'm here in Himikoku and following around Sachiko, what with this being a pretty distant place to us Leiferikans, and a Samurai like one of our Old World's Knights but still around today".
"Hmm, I don't like the sound of this 'newspaper'" Nagisa's voice then rang out suddenly, as the Yamabushi then flapped her way down in front of Vivi and Yoshinaka. "You ain't gonna be 'reporting' anything on me, are you? 'Cause lemme tell you something, Yamabushi arts aren't for the outside world to know, we've got some very important trade secrets goin' on here!".
"N-Nagisa, oh no, of course I wouldn't" Vivi bit her lip.
"Hmph, good" Nagisa snarled and turned her back on them, before she muttered "B-besides, I kinda don't want more people knowing about me especially. I mean, I first took to the mountains to get away from all that people stuff".
"Understood" Vivi nodded. "Okay, guess for now we'd better be helping Yoshinaka with repairs around the town. Hey waitaminute, where's Sachiko? Shouldn't she be out here by now- Oh don't tell me she's off screwing Tenshi".
"Wait what?" Yoshinaka gaped "Bah, Tenshi's too holy to succumb to any kitsune charms!".
"Oh ewwwwww, gross gross grossgrossgrossgrossgross!" Nagisa then spat out at Vivi's words, wiping her tongue clean.
"Come on, gross?" Vivi then had to laugh at her. "Yeah, I'll say it's mind-boggling how Sachiko seems to be the boy-magnet here, but Nagisa, aren't you a bit too old to be pulling the 'boys are icky' routine on us?".
Nagisa's only reply to that was glaring straight at Vivi.
* * *
The sun was already high in the sky that next day, not that the village's mist had cleared up any. At Tenago's outskirts, Sachiko and Vivi stood waving goodbye, a large scuttling kabuto beetle coming their way.
"Aww Tenshi, you mean you don't wanna come with us?" Sachiko pouted as she clung onto the priest' robes.
"Um, no Lady, that is Miss, ah Sachiko" Tenshi then stammered, but cleared his voice and said "I was forced to play a part in deceiving the people of my village, taking flight would only be me turning my back on making amends. I hope you can understand".
Sachiko thought that over, as she mumbled "Yeah, yeah I guess so. Because you've got a home here, a place you can call your own, while I- Uh, anyway, don't you be forgetting me, Tenshi~! Mwaah" Sachiko then kissed him goodbye.
"Whoa, seriously? Oh yeah, thanks for all your help!" Yoshinaka then bowed.
"Hey waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" a shriek rang out, as Nagisa then came speedily flying her way onto the now just leaving beetle, making somewhat of a crashlanding.
"Oh cool, Nagi-chan!" Sachiko then grinned "Oh yeah, you're a wandering hermit, so guess you've got someplace in mind? Ooh, is it Muro Shizan?".
"Hmhm, the very same!" Nagisa picked herself up and nodded.
"Muro Shizan? Er, I'm guessing that's some Yamabushi holy site then?" Vivi inquired, taking notes.
"Some Holy Site?" Nagisa frowned, then proclaimed "The four mountains of Muro Shizan are one of the, if not the, sacred-est places in Shugendo! So yes, I am... I've actually been kinda slacking off on my pilgrimage there for some time" she then backed off a little.
Sachiko then chimed in with-
[ ] "Ooh I know, how about we tag along with you on the way there? Vivi and I were just wandering around honestly, so we could use some defined goal".
[ ] "That does sound pretty cool. Don't think Vivi and I will be able to accompany you all the way there, sorry..."
[ ] Write-in.
"Er, okay I 'spose" Nagisa mumbled.
"First stop Shibori City though, judging by this map I've been given it's on the road to Muro Shizan either way" Vivi brought up. "Will need to stock up there too, since there wasn't much to buy in Tenago".
The kabuto then made its way along the ledges, ridges and valleys heading further into the Land of Dragons. While the peaks were still entombed in snow, the lower slopes were now covered in flowering cherry blossom trees, viridian grass and flowing streams.
Hours later as they came to a rest stop, the three of them, along with one or two other travellers the kabuto'd picked up, had lunch using the map as a picnic blanket under the cherry blossoms. With Nagisa then taking this opportunity to stretch her wings, Sachiko soon took Vivi to commence another sword-training session.
"Alright, this time we'll be working on-
[ ] -Jodan no Kamae, the High Stance. Whack your enemies on the head!".
[ ] -Chudan no Kamae, the Middle Stance. Strike your foes through the heart!".
[ ] -Gedan no Kamae, the Low Stance. Trip your foes up!".
[ ] -Iaido, how fast you can unsheathe your sword. Be the quickest blade in the East!".
[ ] -Mushin, the trance of effortless action. With your mind free of distractions, your sword skills will be as natural as the changing seasons!".
[ ] Write-in.
* * *
Some time later, the kabuto stopped at the large gates of a city bustling enough to sharply contrast with the wilderness and villages of the travellers' last few days.
"Shibori City, heart of the Yamiuma Clan's Domains!" Sachiko took the chance to announce. Playing the role of tour guide, she then went on "Ooh, they say the Yamiuma, the Clan closest to Death's Door, have become cursed after centuries of having to resist the corruption form that Dark Realm, whoo!".
"Really, don't you need a campfire for ghost stories?" Vivi chuckled. "Anyway, first thing is to get supplies. Now, what we'll need most is-".
"Oh oh, we're going shopping? Great! I'm gonna get the prettiest of dresses, and then I'm gonna get a special hand-crafted fan, and then- oh sorry" Sachiko's energy then dropped "Forgot I'm no longer with the Amano, can't exactly go on shopping sprees like the good old days...".
"And who do those 'good old days' have to thank for ending?" a voice from out of nowhere snarled. The three journeyers jumped at its sound, with Sachiko looking the most shaken by it of all.
"E-Erika..." she stuttered out.
"Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth! Count up their crimes,
Ouhikuro!" that voice boomed out.
Faster than the eye could see, a woman with silvery-blue hair, black-and-white armour covering her muscular form and a visor shielding her eyes appeared before them, carrying in her hand a greatsword blazing in the sun.
"So Sachiko, serving as the blade of a Foreigner and a Hermit know, are we?" this Erika's voice hissed like grinding steel. "Yet would they want anything to do with you if they knew the
truth?".
"-The Hell? Sachiko, who is this 'Erika'?" Vivi spoke up.
"Hah, people are always hiding something" Nagisa grumbled.
"That's Her Highness Amano Masako Erikahime to
you, peasant" this Erika hissed out. "Though tell me, has Sachiko told you some sob story about how some demons or rival clan or whatever murdered her Princess?".
"Erika, no! Leave Vivi and Nagisa out of this!" Sachiko tried to cut her off.
"I knew it! How pathetic" Erika's words came out like ice. "Well if Sachiko wants to find the one who murdered the Head of the Amano Clan, my mother, all she has to do is
look in a mirror!".
"S-Sachiko? W-what is she saying?!" Vivi blurted out.
"Wait please, I can explain!" Sachiko shrieked.
"Feh, you already had your chance.
En garde!" the silver swordswoman announced.
[ ] Sachiko, knowing Erika wouldn't back down, drew her own sword.
[ ] Sachiko tried to defend against Erika's blows, refusing to fight until she could at least explain herself.
[ ] Sachiko then took off, trying to lose Erika in the crowd, while Vivi and Nagisa escaped to safety.
[ ] Write-in.
