Questions and Thoughts

Ryuka had returned to the village after cleaning up at the shrine. She was walking up to her cottage when she saw Naito entering the valley on her left followed by a twenty-something ear old monk.

The villagers didn't hang around that side of the valley at this time of day as the fields were to the east, or her right, as she came from the shrine that was in the woods to the south. So, Naito's appearance was of little bother to the villagers.

Naturally, she noticed that he was carrying some game and quietly rejoiced at the fact that she wouldn't be pressured to hunt for dinner later. Yet, the monk following her friend gave her some pause.

Her father had been a Shinto priest, so she had heard about the Buddhists before. However, this was her first time seeing one herself, as this village was just too remote and out of the way for many travelers. They tended to favor the mountain passes to the far south of the mountain ranges, after all.

As they approached, she set her bow down against the cottage along with her quiver and studied the newcomer.

The staff and clothing were unique give aways to the monk's profession, but the mop of unkempt black hair on his head accompanied by the five-o-clock shadow along his angular jaw made her question just how long it had been since he left the monastery. Not to mention, how strong would his beliefs be.

Shinto and Buddhism had been coexisting in Japan for the last few hundreds of years, but that was mostly due to the lack of death rites that the Shinto religion had. Where Shinto lacked, Buddhism had picked up the slack.

Still, there were those monks who wholly dedicated themselves to the scriptures and sutras that came from the mainland rather than the faith their ancestor's practiced. So, it was unknown what type this monk would be.

She looked to Naito for some hints, but all she got from his expression was an air of annoyance as well as relief, which she could guess he was feeling due to seeing her safe. Or maybe he was hoping she'd save him? What did that monk do?

Ryuka would understand soon enough as Naito gestured with his head to the monk as he said, "This monk is Fushin. He is hungry enough to attack me for this rabbit."

Her brows shot up with surprise as she shifted her gaze from Naito to the monk and carefully inquired, "Really? When did you last eat?"

Hansuke felt sour by how this fox introduced him, but he grinned and remained polite when addressing a beauty.

"I prefer to be called by the name my parents gave me," he then dipped into an overly polite bow as he went on, "My name is Nagao Hansuke, and the last time I ate, was sometime yesterday before the sun set."

Being clever enough to follow what had not been said, she determined that in preferring his birth name over his religious name, this monk would pick and choose which of the Buddhist teachings he would adhere to. For example, it seemed that the idea of abstaining from meat was not one he was inclined to follow.

Yet, if one took into consideration that he hadn't eaten for nearly a day and most likely, his last meal was vegetarian as he didn't possess anything to hunt with, well then. In times of desperation, you would take whatever came your way, right?

Thinking like this, she decided to play nice and smiled. "I was just about to go gathering from the forest. You are welcomed to see if the villagers still have some suitable food that meet your requirements."

'Well played,' Hansuke thought as he understood that this shrine maiden was using a Buddhist monk's diet as a reason not to invite him for a meal. He didn't want to give up on this beauty though, as she was rather attractive and being in this isolated village, she should be easy to charm.

'She is pleasing to the eye and doesn't look to be the type who has seen much of what the world. Surely, she will be interested in stories from outside, and maybe, I can convince her to leave with me when I continue back home,' he thought.

Ryuka wasn't born yesterday and was aware of the type of thoughts that were likely to be going through the monk's mind. She brushed him off by grabbing Naito by the arm and dragging him into the cottage with her followed by the sound of the door being firmly shut behind them.

Hansuke sighed as he looked at the closed door, then proceeded into the village where kids were playing between the houses.

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Naito had followed her into the hut and quietly went over to one of the boxes that held tools to look for a knife. While Ryuka leaned back against the door and sighed.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Finding a knife that would work for butchering the rabbit, Naito took a seat by the firepit as he calmly replied, "What more needs to be said. He attacked me as soon as he saw me and called me a demon."

Ryuka wasn't satisfied with this dismissive answer and sat down opposite of him as she picked up the flint near the firepit.

"He does seem to be misguided," she voiced her judgement.

Silence reigned as Ryuka struck the flint repetitively to start the fire and Naito quietly began to skin the rabbit. It was an awkward silence as they both knew that they were avoiding the subject around the problem that presented itself with Hansuke's appearance.

Naito being a fox spirit came with the idea that humans would be guarded against him, if not hostile. They had used that to their benefit though as Ryuka could avoid unwanted attention from the villagers by sticking close to him, while Naito used this same apprehension that humans had for him, to keep her safe from them.

He had never told her about the discussion with her father that night, so many years ago. Then again, he didn't need to, as she had chosen the company of her friend over the villagers, which made fulfilling that task easier for him.

What about now?

The monk didn't fear him but jumped out to attack upon meeting him for the first time. Naito knew that there would be others like Hansuke who wouldn't give a damn that he was there or not. They would see her, and her safety would be put at risk.

A human's infatuation is one thing, but what if true enemies that came with malicious intent found her? What could he do then?

Naito carefully gutted the rabbit as he thought over his half of the problems in the room, while Ryuka silently stoked the fire and had her own thoughts.

If necessary, she possessed the means to defend herself. Her powers were not a case of them being all bark and no bite. Yet, what troubles would it bring her if those abilities were exposed?

She could manipulate air and call lightning. They had both learned that some years ago as Naito had been on the receiving end prior. His ability to divine the changes in weather were the only thing that saved him from being fried by a bolt of electricity that she had let off in a moment of anger.

Ryuka's control was tens of times stronger now than when that incident occurred, but Naito had helped in training her. He would use illusions, and she would try to mimic what examples he would give her. Then the dreams let her experience what having mastery was like.

Yet, this brought her back to the problem of, even if she was able to defend herself, should she risk exposing herself? With Hansuke's appearance, it was obvious that hiding behind Naito was not going to work.

If someone was determined to go after her, they'd either ignore him or attack him. So, her only choices were to defend herself or run and hide. The latter choice being unreliable and frankly, as annoying, as it was the same as giving up.

Plus, she wasn't blind. She knew that Naito could up and leave this place at any time he wished, yet he had chosen to stick around and wordlessly assented to her using him as a shield and deterrent. He had been protecting her for years and she was aware of it.

As Ryuka was lost in her thoughts, Naito had gotten up and gone outside to retrieve some sticks to use as skewers and had returned. He was focused on roasting the meat over the fire when Ryuka finally broke the silence.

"If I wanted to leave the village..."

"I'll follow," he clearly answered her question before she could state it.

"Why?" she asked.

Naito frowned as he turned over the skewered meat and considered his reply. How should he answer? Should he bring that night up? Yet, he felt he couldn't.

"I want to."

His answer was low and barely louder than a whisper, which intrigued her and brought a warm smile to her face.

"You want to?" she happily asked as if she needed him to clarify.

Naito blushed as he realized how his answers could be interpreted. Which made Ryuka chuckle and poke at him teasingly.

"You want to follow me forever?" she playfully taunted.

He growled in response to the mocking and tossed her one of the meat skewers. "Shut up and eat!"

She burst out laughing as she accepted the skewer. It was comical how easy it was to make the prankster embarrassed, yet for all his faults, she loved him. Maybe not in the way a man and woman would love, but she couldn't deny that she liked him at this moment.