"Er... Miko, are you really afraid of this?" Yuki looked at Yae Miko, who was clinging tightly to his arm, with a strange expression.
Upon hearing this, Yae Miko's eyes darted around briefly before she gave a slight nod. "Of course! Ghosts and monsters and such—any girl would be scared of those. I'm just a delicate maiden, you know! Yuki-kun simply must protect me!"
Yae Miko said this with a perfectly straight face, her tone vividly expressive, her expression feigning fear as if it were the real thing.
A look of helplessness flickered through Yuki's eyes as he glanced at her. One had to admit, this sly fox really knew how to put on an act. She was clearly a kitsune herself, yet here she was claiming to be afraid of ghosts and monsters. The ability to lie through one's teeth so brazenly—truly second to none.
"Whether it's ghosts, monsters, or mysterious spirits, none of that is known for sure. It could just as easily be a small animal in the forest. Come, let's follow the sound and take a look." Yuki decided to lead Yae Miko over to investigate.
The moment Yae Miko heard this, a look of pale, stricken panic surfaced on her face. "Huh?! A-are we really going?! Then if we do run into any danger, Yuki-kun, you must protect me, alright!"
Of course, this expression was just another act on her part.
Yuki gave a slight nod and headed in the direction of the sound. Before long, the two of them passed through several dense thickets, walking by a number of torii gates along the way.
Soon, they discovered a bake-danuki stone statue beside a small stream. The water flowed gently, crystal clear, revealing at a glance the stones and fish beneath its surface.
Of course, the main focus was the stone statue by the stream's bank. Though it looked much like most of the other bake-danuki statues in this forest, beside this one there was an additional figure.
That figure was small and petite, garbed in a mujina-style ninja outfit. The figure was leaning against the stone statue, as though resting there.
When Yae Miko and Yuki both spotted this person, matching looks of surprise appeared on their faces. Exchanging a glance, they slowly approached. Once they drew closer, they discovered the figure was indeed in a deep rest.
She appeared to be a young girl, not very old, with green hair. At present, she was leaning against the statue, her eyes tightly shut, her breathing even, emitting faint, delicate snores.
It was clear she was in quite a deep sleep—so deep that even her ninja shuriken had slipped out and fallen onto the stone pedestal beside her. It was this very sound that had drawn them over.
"It seems the sound that brought us here wasn't some mysterious spirit, as you had suggested, Miko. It was this little ninja here." Yuki smiled calmly and deliberately teased Yae Miko with a knowing look.
The moment Yuki laid eyes on the girl, he recognized her. Her name was Sayu, a member of the Shuumatsuban, Inazuma's covert intelligence and operations organization under the Yashiro Commission. She was a ninja who had trained her ninjutsu to a refined and masterful level, specializing in stealth, transformation, and, most notably, escape.
"So it was you, you little lazybones! You had me frightened for a moment there! Sayu! Sayu! Wake up!" Yae Miko recognized her as well. With a delicate huff, she tried to rouse the girl.
Yet, faced with her calls, the girl merely moved her lips slightly, her eyes not even opening. She just mumbled a few drowsy words of sleep-talk.
"Mmm... why does it sound like Lady Guuji's voice...? How terrifying... am I having a nightmare...?" After mumbling these words, Sayu fell silent again, the steady, peaceful sound of her slumber resuming.
"Pfft!" Yuki couldn't help bursting into laughter. Clearly, Sayu had heard and recognized Yae Miko's voice—but she equated it with a nightmare.
Didn't that just mean that, in her mind, Yae Miko was terrifying?! Anyone hearing that would probably crack up.
And sure enough, upon hearing those words, the smile that had been on Yae Miko's face instantly froze, replaced by a rigid expression. Hearing Yuki's laugh, she spun around and shot him a glare.
Yuki promptly clamped his mouth shut and reined in his smile. Yet inside, he was still thoroughly amused, watching eagerly to see how Yae Miko would discipline this poor young ninja in a moment.
"Sayu! Wake up! The sun's already high in the sky!" Yae Miko called out a few more times, but still failed to wake the girl.
Finally, she decided to deploy her ultimate weapon. "Get up! If you don't get up now, all the delicious rice balls are going to be eaten up!"
The moment these final words left her lips, the girl reacted instantly. The petite form beside the stone statue trembled slightly.
Her eyes flew open, and with a sudden spring, she straightened up bolt upright. The entire sequence was fluid and seamless—a true medical miracle.
"Wh-where! Where are the rice balls?! No one's allowed to steal my rice balls!" The girl's violet eyes shot wide open as she scanned her surroundings, searching for the location of the delicious food.
Unfortunately, no matter how much she looked, she couldn't find a single grain of rice anywhere. Instead, two figures stood before her—one of whom she knew, and knew all too well.
"Er... So it's Lady Guuji! H-hello." Sayu awkwardly greeted Yae Miko. She then turned her gaze to Yuki. The moment she saw him, Sayu's eyes filled with curiosity and captivated fascination.
In her mind, she instantly cast Yae Miko aside, her thoughts entirely consumed by the realization that such an incredibly handsome older brother could actually exist in this world.
"I was wondering why I hadn't seen you around lately. So you've been hiding out here, slacking off!" Yae Miko stood with her hands on her hips, scolding Sayu as if angry, her voice carrying a trace of unquestionable authority.
And with that sound, Sayu's daze was broken. Snapping back to her senses, she immediately lowered her head, somewhat awkward and unsure of how to respond.
After all, Yae Miko was not wrong—she had indeed come to this sparsely populated, secluded forest so that no one could find her, allowing her to slack off in peace.
"Does Lady Guuji have some task she needs Sayu to carry out?" Sayu didn't answer directly, instead shifting the topic.
Her little scheme was, of course, completely transparent to Yae Miko. But she didn't hold it against her.
"Can I not come find you if there's nothing to do? Little Sayu? Hmm? And also, haven't I told you before? You're supposed to call me Big Sister Shrine Maiden, not Lady Guuji!" A mischievous smile emerged on Yae Miko's face. She slowly reached out one hand, placed it atop Sayu's head, and began to ruffle it without restraint.
Generally speaking, a head pat like this would be quite effective for a young girl like Sayu. Yet Sayu was different. Faced with Yae Miko's head-pat assault, all she could do was endure it with a pained expression.
She looked as though she wanted to stop it, yet had submitted to the other's intimidating authority and dared not resist.
Watching from the side, Yuki couldn't help but silently grumble to himself: Look how much you've scared the poor kid.
"Alright, alright. Is having your head patted really worth putting on such a tortured expression?!" Yae Miko knew when to stop and quickly released Sayu.
"I remember Sayu absolutely loves having her Big Sister Miko pat her head, doesn't she?" Yae Miko put on a warm, gentle smile as she addressed Sayu.
"I don't..." Sayu had originally intended to deny it, but the moment the word "don't" left her mouth, she saw Yae Miko's smile grow even brighter—so bright it had long since ceased to be a normal smile, looking instead as though a devil was flashing a dangerous grin right at her.
Startled and thoroughly frightened, she hurriedly corrected herself. "I... I love it."
Sayu's answer greatly pleased Yae Miko, and so... she rewarded Sayu with yet another session of head-patting. Instantly, Sayu's face took on an expression of utter, hopeless despair.