Ronin's Revenge

For an amount of time unknown to anyone in the room, Ryoma clung tightly to Himiko. Not that he minded, of course; he couldn’t remember the last time he touched a woman. It was one of the simplest yet most effective comforts for a man to receive, and he was going to enjoy every moment of it, no matter how fleeting.

Yuki, meanwhile, sat patiently across the room with nothing to do aside from trying his best not to make eye contact with the succubus. It wasn’t that he was nervous around a naked girl as he didn’t lust for her; in fact, he had no affections toward humans whatsoever except for the bond of friendship he shared with Ryoma. Rather, it was that he pitied the poor girl once known as Sayako and didn’t want to see her in such a wretched state out of respect.

Himiko had stopped crying after some time yet still rested the bulk of her body on

Ryoma’s chest. Yuki, noting that she had since dried up, asked, “Himiko, are you feeling any better?” No response, however, came from the shrine maiden. Ryoma felt just as puzzled as Yuki, so he looked down and asked, “Himiko? Are you okay?” He took note of her breathing, that it had become quite gentle compared to the heaving she exhibited just moments ago.

“She’s asleep, you idiots.” The succubus said. Even though she couldn’t see Himiko, she could still easily deduce her sleeping state, having possessed a friend of hers who’d slept in the same bedroom with the older maiden over the years at the shrine. Ryoma looked down and moved Himiko’s head, cradling it within his arm, and realized the succubus was right. “Huh,” he said, “she really is out.”

And so, Ryoma placed Himiko gently into his lap so that she could rest. “Poor thing,” he said, “I can’t imagine how hard she’s been working the past few days.” Yuki walked up to sit beside the samurai and said, “You’re right about that. She made the trek all the way to the outskirts of the village where she mended you. Not to mention, she must’ve have put her all into attempting the exorcism. And to think, it didn’t even work.” He pouted and said, “Poor thing, indeed.”

The duo sat there and waited as dawn became morning, morning became noon, and noon became evening. Finally, Himiko began to awaken. She wasn’t fully alert at first, but soon came to realize she was rested snugly in Ryoma’s lap. Jerking upright, the samurai could tell the maiden had a faint blush across her cheeks. Yuki didn’t seem to pick up on the subtlety as he ignored her embarrassment and exclaimed, “Himiko, I’m so glad you’re awake!”

“I suppose I am as well.” Himiko said. “How long have I been asleep, anyway?” Ryoma answered, “Most of the day. Sunset soon approaches.” The maiden frowned and said, “Such pitiful results from my work don’t deserve such sound slumber.” The samurai once again placed a hand on her shoulder. This time, however, she steeled herself against crying; whether her resolve had strengthened from the last time or she was too exhausted to work through the emotions, no one was quite sure.

Himiko then asked, “What brings you to my shrine anyway, samurai?” Ryoma chuckled, lightening the leaden-like air in the room, and said, “I wanted to thank you for saving my life, Himiko. In fact, I should be thanking you twice for saving me as many times!” He laughed at the last comment, causing even Himiko to crack a faint smile. The two looked into one another’s eyes so amicably, as though they’d known each other for eons.

“That’s what I like so much about you two.” Yuki said abruptly. Ryoma and Himiko broke off from staring at each other and the samurai asked, “What do you mean, Yuki?” The kappa raised to his feet, stretched his arms, and exclaimed, “It’s your auras! You both have these wonderous, blazing auras about you! Ryoma shines scarlet and Himiko glows golden!”

Ryoma looked to Himiko who looked just as puzzled, then back to Yuki, and asked, “What do you mean by our auras? Does it have something to do with our ki – our life energy?” The kappa nodded and said, “In a manner of speaking, yes. Your ki is radiating from your bodies, which makes you both exceptional people in my book. I knew I could trust you both the moment I met you. That’s why I saved Ryoma in the river, and why I brought him to Himiko to be healed.”

Neither Ryoma nor Himiko knew exactly what to say. While both understood the concept of ki, they had never heard of auras before, and certainly didn’t know anything concerning ki radiating from their bodies. They couldn’t see it, of course. Then, the succubus chimed in and said, “The kappa’s right, you know.”

Himiko immediately perked up and asked, “What did you say, demon?” The succubus said, “Your ki is indeed shining from your bodies, the both of you. We demons have a sixth sense for auras.” Ryoma wasn’t sure what to make of the revelation and asked, “How can we trust you, succubus?” She answered, “You have no reason to, I suppose. But believe me when I say we can sense these things. After all, it’s the reason I didn’t possess dear Himiko.”

The succubus’ words cut through the air as sharp as Ryoma’s blade. “What did you say?” Himiko asked, meekly this time. Sayako’s invader answered, “You see, Himiko, you were the first to return to the shrine last night. I had planned to ambush the lone maiden when she arrived, but the way your spirit hummed within your body, I honestly wasn’t sure I could complete my mission. So, I waited until all the maidens had arrived and set my sights on the weakest-willed, which happened to be Sayako, and planned to possess her instead. Since there was more than one of you, though, I had to wait until you were all asleep. Then, this bitch’s body was easy to steal.”

For a moment, Himiko’s face showed no emotion, as though she was processing what the succubus had said over and over in her head. Finally, however, the shock and horror came to her in a surge and her jaw dropped. She asked, “Are you saying that it was almost me tied to that pole, naked to the world and raving for sex?” Pseudo-Sayako answered, “That’s the long and short of it, my pure and precious Himiko. You’d be the one thrusting yourself toward our handsome samurai friend here. Not to say that you didn’t already, the way he cradled you in your moment of weakness.”

The succubus began roaring in laughter once more. Meanwhile, Himiko began shaking at the thought of being possessed. Yuki looked away again, allowing the maiden her time to decompress from the revelation. Ryoma thought about placing his hand on her shoulder again to console her, but decided that with the current state of affairs, a man’s touch might spook her further. And so, the trio sat alone together, listening to the howls of the corrupted shrine maiden.