Yashiro the Blind

Her body felt a little numb after sitting there for so long. She moved her shoulders, leaned on her cane, and stood up.

"Are you coming..."

Familiar footsteps approached the door, followed by the voice of a young maid: "Sir, someone is looking for you outside!"

……

Day and night alternate, and the night is deep.

The heavy rain that had lasted for several days finally stopped, and the air in the suburbs felt exceptionally fresh. Although summer had not yet arrived, the noisy chirping of insects could already be heard.

"Just a little further ahead, after you get over this slope, you'll reach the destination."

The speaker appeared to be a young boy, dressed in black with a fire-man mask covering his face. He held the reins of a horse in his left hand, on which sat a girl in tattered clothes with black hair covering her ears. It was none other than Yashiro.

However, her eyes were completely covered by a black cloth, which was tied tightly to ensure that no light could get in and she could not see any of the outside world.

"I mean... is this really necessary?"

Yashiro touched the black cloth on her face, her expression quite strange.

"Well, it's the rule. Our village is in a rather secluded location, so we can't easily reveal it to outsiders... Well, mainly because I might get scolded if we don't do this. So... please understand?"

"Please be understanding."

Yashiro nodded, a smile playing on her lips.

The Dragon Palace attendant was even more embarrassed.

"...Since we're just killing time anyway, let's chat. For example, who do you want me to save, and why are you so sure I can save her... After all, I'm not some kind of miracle doctor." After a while, Yashiro spoke again, posing a question that had always intrigued her.

“I’m sorry, I can’t say that.” The Dragon Palace Boy shook his head. “We can’t reveal information about the village to outsiders.”

"You're the ones who asked me to help save people."

"really……"

"And we are now on our way to the village you mentioned."

"That's not wrong either..."

"And then you tell me I can't leak village information?"

"This...this is the rule."

"Who made the rules?"

"Elder sister...oh dear!"

Realizing he had inadvertently let something slip, the Dragon Palace Boy hurriedly covered his mouth—unfortunately, he only bumped into his mask with a loud thud. He immediately became flustered and completely lost, "Oh no, oh no, if my eldest sister finds out, I'm doomed..."

He kept muttering to himself, while Yashiro was pondering the name with great interest.

"The elder sister you mentioned, could she be a tall nun who is skilled with a long spear?"

she asked.

Unfortunately, the Dragon Palace boy had learned his lesson this time. No matter what Yashiro said, he pretended not to hear it and kept his mouth shut as if it were nailed down. With his cooperation with Yashiro, it was as if he was imitating the lovable Three-No Monkey.

After trying to get more information from him indirectly, Yashiro saw that his words were like throwing a stone into the sea, and gave up trying to get more information, but he couldn't help but start to look forward to it.

On this journey from Nara to Tōtōmi, very few people could withstand a single sword strike from him. Aside from his enigmatic master and his rarely encountered senior brother, the only people he had sparred with over the years and who could be considered rivals or even formidable opponents were Muneyoshi of Yagyu Valley, Ineyoshi of Hozōin, and Shinjūrō ​​Kamitori of the Shintō-ryū school.

However, these people were all her elders in terms of age, and the youngest, Yagyu Muneyoshi, was already close to thirty. Moreover, it was just a friendly spar, so it would be difficult to fight properly and would be quite uninteresting.

Her peers were even worse off. Only the Kabuki she met in Owari had fought her several times. Although the outcome was not officially decided, the opponent was already clearly defeated. However, because Yashiro did not want to hurt anyone and draw blood, she made an excuse and left in a hurry.

Only the nun she encountered in the bandit camp not only took a real hit from her sword, but also forced her back with a spear, displaying an air of complete ease. From beginning to end, she was like a sharp sword sheathed in its sheath, its edge unseen, yet its cold gleam was intimidating.

In terms of strength, his opponent was far inferior to his own mentor, and even compared to Yagyu Muneyoshi, whose swordsmanship had already formed its own school and was famous throughout the Kinai region, he was perhaps slightly inferior. However, for some reason, it was only in that extremely brief exchange that Yashiro experienced a long-lost feeling of excitement.

The last time I had this feeling, I remember, was when...

As memories surged like a tide, a deep malice seemed to rise from the darkness, and a sweltering heat rushed towards her...

"...Miss, Miss Yashiro?"

The boy's voice came from afar. Yashiro swayed, feeling as if the overwhelming malice and heat had vanished without a trace. She was still sitting on her horse, and the surroundings were still that quiet night, with a cool breeze that was refreshing.

"what happened?"

"N-nothing..." Ryugu-dōji stammered, sensing that he was being scrutinized with a different look than before, a mixture of wariness and suspicion. Even more so, Yashiro seemed to detect a hint of...

Shrinking back?

He's afraid...why?

The girl had some doubts, but since the other party didn't say anything, she didn't ask. Instead, the horse that had been silently moving forward suddenly turned its head and licked her cheek with its warm, wet tongue.

"Well……"

This lick was nothing short of a free face wash. Yashiro was stunned for a moment, then suddenly ripped off the blindfold and vigorously wiped her drool. Upon seeing this, the Dragon Palace Boy let out an "Ah!" The word "rules" almost came to his lips, but he swallowed it back down.

Forget it, let's just ignore the rules.

Seeing her dark face, the Dragon Palace Boy was afraid that as soon as he opened his mouth, she would slash at him with her sword.

Reason told him that the possibility was extremely slim, but the aura he had sensed from the girl just a moment ago...

The Dragon Palace attendant suddenly regretted volunteering this time. Indeed, what was that saying again… he remembered: those who associate with pigs become gluttonous, those who associate with dogs become greedy for bones; none of those connected to his elder sister were easy to mess with.

Oh, I mustn't let my older sister hear this, otherwise she'll probably give him a good beating under the guise of exercising.

The kind that can't get out of bed for three days.

Let's not think too much about it. Let's just obediently take the person to the village and then wander as far away as possible... Having made up his mind, the Dragon Palace Boy once again transformed into a well-behaved monkey who would not listen to or speak of anything improper. Leading the horse, he turned left and right, and after more than half an hour, they finally arrived at their destination.

"This is it. Please wait a moment, Miss Yashiro. I'll go and fetch my brother right away. You can ask him anything you need—"

After speaking rapidly, the Dragon Palace Boy immediately ran off, his manner and aura suggesting that if he were a second late, he would be devoured alive, leaving Yashiro quite bewildered.

Am I really that scary?

anyway……

"Why don't you put me down first before you leave..."

She sat alone on horseback, a forced smile on her face, her heart filled with helplessness.

After waiting and waiting for a long time, the other party still did not call over the "big brother" he mentioned. Not only that, but when they listened carefully, the whole village was quiet. Even with Hachisuke's keen hearing, he could only faintly hear a tiny, faint sound.

Could it be...

She was no stranger to similar methods. Whether it was Iga or Koga, ninja groups in various regions all had their own set of covert methods, and soundproofing was an important part of them. The main defense was not against people, but against dogs—or rather, ninja dogs.

In other words, this is... a ninja settlement?

Realizing this, Yashiro tensed up slightly, pulled out the cane from his waist, and, disregarding the possibility of being seen by others, used the same trick again, sliding down from the horse's back with a "whoosh".

Before she could even steady herself, a crisp, clear laugh, like that of a little girl, suddenly rang out from not far away—

……

Chapter Eight: First Bud

"Big sister, over here, over here!"

Waving little hands and excited tones broke the silence of the night.

Following the sound, Yashiro arrived under the eaves of a house. Before she could speak, a soft little hand reached out, grabbed her sleeve, and shook it twice.

The girl's voice came from below: "Big sister, I just saw you. Did Brother Yanwu bring you here?"

"Brother Yanwulang?"

"Yes, Brother Hikogoro!"

It turned out to be the case.

Yashiro silently mourned for the person who had lost their disguise for three seconds, then put it out of her mind and softly replied, "That's right, he's the one who brought me here... Little sister, are you from this village?"

As he spoke, his cane struck something with a "bang," something hollow, like bamboo.

She touched it again and roughly guessed that it was a simple sedan chair—though it wasn't the classic, square shape with chairs that she often saw in TV shows and movies from her previous life, but rather a modified version from the Japanese style:

A thick bamboo pole held a large basket hanging from its base, inside which a straw mat was probably laid out. The girl who had spoken to her sat in the basket; she was small but didn't seem to mind the cramped space, her bright, sparkling eyes gazing curiously at Yashiro.

The sedan chair was there, but there was no sign of the sedan chair bearers; only the girl was all alone.

“Yes, this village is too remote. Few outsiders come here, especially someone like you who was invited in by Brother Yanwu and Xiao Hei. This is the first time I’ve ever seen one. Oh, Xiao Hei is that horse. It’s called Xiao Hei because it’s very black.”

The little girl explained, then asked, "My name is Chuya, what's yours, big sister?"

"Yashiro."

"Eight... Search?"

"If written in Chinese characters, it is the 'eight' in 'heaven and earth and eight directions,' and 'xun' is the 'xun' in 'searching and seeking.'"

As she spoke, she hastily traced a line on the girl's palm with her finger. Perhaps it tickled a little, because the girl shrank her neck and giggled. Then, as if unwilling to give in, she chimed in, "Then the first bud is the first...first...first bud of the first bud, and the bud is the bud of the first bud!"

"A very nice name."

“Hatsuya thinks so too!” The little girl smiled, her eyes crinkling. “My father named me this name, and I love him the most.”

Her voice was crisp and sweet, and to hear it, it inexplicably reminded Yashiro of a bright red apple, which was very tempting. Although this description seemed a little ambiguous, the girl could swear to the heavens that her heart was pure and without any evil thoughts.

Compared to little girls, she definitely prefers the kind of curvy, mature women who are truly "big" older sisters.

Forget it, I don't want to think about these things anymore... Yashiro shook his head, suppressing the sudden surge of complex emotions and sadness in his heart, and slowly squatted down, holding his cane in his left hand, while his right hand went straight out and pinched Hatsume's calf a few times.

It feels somewhat cold to the touch.

The girl's legs were unusually thin; for a moment, one might feel as if they were not touching a human body, but rather a piece of dead wood that would snap in two with the slightest force.

She controlled her strength and gently tapped the other person's knee.

But the bud did not react at all.

"Your leg……"

"It's just what you think, big sister." The little girl's tone seemed calm, but rather carried a hint of admiration. "By the way, big sister, you're so amazing! Even though you can't see, you immediately knew that there was something wrong with my legs... Oh, it's because of the sedan chair, right?"

Halfway through her sentence, she looked at the bamboo basket she was sitting in and suddenly realized what she was talking about.

"Not only that."

"what?"

Chuya was stunned upon hearing this.

Intending to ask, I saw Yashiro looking thoughtful, her fingertips tracing a path down her knee to her calf.

This action should have caused a slight itch, but Hatsume didn't feel it at all, as if this leg wasn't her own. She blinked her eyes and looked at Yashiro curiously.

"It's no use, big sister, my feet have always been like this... I don't think they were like this when I was very young, but it's been so long that I have no recollection of it... At least in my memory, they've always been like this."

"Do you want to stand up?" Yashiro suddenly asked.

"No." Chuya replied without hesitation.

"why?"

"Because it's impossible."

She answered matter-of-factly, “Everyone used to ask me this question, just like you, big sister, and then they would make me drink medicine or prick me with needles and stuff… Although the medicine is very bitter, Chuya is already an adult and isn’t afraid of bitterness at all… It’s true!”

Fearing others wouldn't believe her, the girl deliberately emphasized it again, demonstrating through her actions what it means to "protest without a trace."

Yashiro didn't expose her, and continued along with what she was saying, which made Hatsume smile smugly.

She laughed for a moment, then suddenly sighed: "But no matter what I try, the result is always the same. My brothers are very sad, and seeing them makes me sad too... So now I've stopped thinking about getting better."

Her words carried a feigned maturity, yet at a deeper level, Yashiro seemed to detect a hidden expectation that the girl herself was unaware of.

She shook her head, not saying anything immediately, but moving her fingers down inch by inch, her fingertips caressing the girl's delicate skin, occasionally applying pressure, as if searching for something.

A moment later, Yashiro let out a soft breath, and a question in her heart was finally answered: No wonder the Dragon Palace Child—or rather, Hikogoro and his companions were so sure that they had a way to help this girl.

Thoughts raced through my mind, my hands moved non-stop, I found a certain acupoint and pressed hard: "Does it hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt..."

"What about here?"

"It still doesn't hurt... I can't feel anything at all."

In this way, with each question and answer, Yashiro pressed seven or eight different spots, all of which gave the same response. Hatsume's faint expectation gradually diminished until it almost disappeared completely.