Sun rise came. Another day starts.
"Have a save journey."
"Thank you."
Y/N, beside the head-priestess and a few other priestess was sending Ayumi and Hana off on their journey as a "Walking Priestess".
Ayumi and Hana took a glance at Y/N who had this usual casual smile on her face as they also put on theirs.
Now, they're no longer on each other's neck. But now, they are acquaintances, someone Y/N could look for when she needed help. After all, they did owe her bigtime.
"We'll take our leave now."
As Y/N see their backs slowly going further and further as they walk down the stairs of the hill, Y/N was glad that they ended their 'fight' with good-terms. Because she knows, she might need them to pay back the favor one day.
"Y/N."
"Yes?" Y/N replied to the head Priestess's call.
"Follow me. There is something we needed to discuss."
And so, the H/C haired lady in a Shinto Shrine Priestess attire follows the older lady to a room.
That old lady sat down, and also instructed for Y/N to do so as well.
"We received a letter from a Shrine... The Priest there was once a student here. The content of it was rather comcerning."
As the head Priestess is telling her some information, the younger priestess is listening carefully as she sat with both of her hands folded on top of her lap. Just a little misinformation could be fatal.
"There was a disease spreading through that town. It spread rather quickly, that the three Priestesses there are overwhelmed, and two of them actually caught the disease themselves. In the letter, 4 citizen had died from it. And who knows that the number might have increased by now."
"That is unfortunate." Y/N replied.
Seeing the conversation, the H/C haired lady can see where this conversation is heading.
"Y/N, you are the best herbalist we have. Please go to Asahaba Shrine in Hayatari and save them." The head Priestess said.
Hearing of how the disease is spreading quick, Y/N was rather anxious to accept the request.
Even so, Y/N's heart is still too heavy to decline it, especially knowing that she was the most skilled one about herbs and medicine in Aridagawa-Tashima shrine.
"4 other Priestesses would be assigned with you, and 2 of them are new desciples. And ofcourse, some men from the townspeople will escort you there."
"Understood."
Y/N accepted the task. Afterall, it is a part of her role as a Shrine Priestess, something she was taught of while growing up.
"We should leave tommorow morning." Y/N said,
"Why not today?"
"Lets gather herbs for today. Im pretty sure we would need plenty, since you say pretty much everyone got the disease."
"Very well. May the Gods help you save the people."
The Head-Priestess bowed and seeing that, Y/N bowed as well. After lifting their heads up, Y/N stands up and left the room.
Making her way to the armory room, Y/N took a bow and a tube full of arrows.
"Y/N-san.. " Someone called.
The H/C haired priestess then turned around, finding 4 other Priestesses who's blocking the door, with a hesitating look in their faces.
Y/N recognized 2 of them, they were one generation before her, Priestess Mika and Priestess Mako. Twins that the Shrine rescued from getting sacrificed to a Cursed Spirit.
"We are.. The Priestesses that are assigned with you to Asahaba." One of them said.
Y/N then oulled of another fake and formal smile as she walks closer to them,
"Good thing you come. I was about to look for you."
Y/N lied. She was about to go to meet Sukuna. In fact, she wasnt even informed that its gonna be them.
Y/N looked at them one by one, acting like a responsible 'leader' by copying Ayumi with a bit of her own twists.
"Lets gather some herbs for now. Get everything neccesary. We are taking care of a whole village, we will need all that we can find. Lets divide so it will be a fast process."
"Understood."
And then, it was divided. Mika on her own, Mako on her own, the two other new kid on a place near the Shrine, while Y/N is on her own to her meeting place with Sukuna.
As her zori was making its way deeper to the forest, those E/C eyes looks out for a clue.
But then,
"Coo.."
Something was on her feet. Y/N immidietly took a look at it, and find a purple-red snake with a head of a bird and eyes of a cammelion.
Just one look at it, and its obvious that it was a cursed spirit.
But Y/N didnt exorcise it. That is because she can feel Sukuna's signature Cursed Energy that no one can copy. So it is obvious, that this Cursed Spirit serves Sukuna.
As it begans to go away, Y/N follows it. It begins to go faster and faster each second.
It leads into a much further part of the forest, with much larger and older trees that was far Lady Amemiya's Lair and past the Bamboo forest.
And then, it stopped.
Y/N also stopped. She looks around, trying to find Sukuna's figure, but she couldnt.
One second later,
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
The snake earlier turned to something with a body like a monkey that has a size 3 times of a human, with a head of just like a human, but the eyes were at the mouth and the forehead, while the mouth is in between.
Y/N was quite shocked and freaked out by the freaky transformation, but,
B R A K K . . .
A back hand hit of Y/N's fist was hit across it's face, followed by a palm hit on it's stomach.
C T A K K . . . B R A K K . . . S H R R K . . . B U A G H H . . .
A double hit of Y/N's arms in it's neck area, an elbow to it's thigh, and a heel kick to the stomach, but
T A K . . .
One of it's hand grabbed Y/N's right ankle. Even so,
B U A G H . . .
Y/N immidietly used the momentum to use her left foot to send a kick on a side of it's face, releasing her ankle and sending the cursed spirit away.
Just as it about to get up,
P F Y U U N G . . .
Y/N's arrowed was released,
"GRAAAAAAAH!"
Hitting it on it's chest, pinning it to a tree as it releases a screeching scream.
Y/N watches as it's scream starts to fade, it's body starts to crumble as well.
"That's quite fast for you."
A heavy bass voice said from behind Y/N.
Y/N immidietly swing a hit with the bow she held to her back as a reflex respond,
T A K K . . .
But her wrist was caught.
Y/N looks at the person towering over her, "R-Ryo-san!"
Sukuna was holding her wrist that are just a few centimeter from the wooden part of the arrow to hitting his neck.
With a rather sinister and snobby look in his face, he let go of her wrist.
"Im sorry, im sorry." Y/N bowed a few times.
Sukuna just crossed his arms into his clothing's sleeves and walked forward.
Y/N then followed.
"Ryo-san.. Are you... mad?"
"Hn."
With that answer that isnt qualified as an answer, Sukuna keeps on walking and Y/N tails along.
Y/N then remembered, she needs to tell Sukuna that she is going on a trip. But she doesnt know how to break it.
"Ryo-san,"
Y/N tried to jump in front of his way to get his attention, but he smoothly avoided her without even looking at her.
"Ryo-san,"
She tried a second time, but he just turned his back and continue to walk away.
"Ryo-san!"
"Hn."
It is way too unusual that the great King of Curses act like this. And it is starting to get irritating for the young Priestess.
Just why would such simple thing would cause Sukuna to act like this anyway? It was obvious that Y/N didnt mean to hit him, and she didnt even did.
Following him arround for about half n hour just like a puppy, Y/N is getting more irritated each time Sukuna only replies with "hn".
Everyone could agree, that "hn" wasn't a proper answer to any question.
As Sukuna's footsteps is getting more distant,
"MOU RYO-SAN TTARA!"
Y/N threw her bow and tube full of arrows to the ground.
Hearing that, Sukuna turned his head, finding Y/N with a very irritated face and her hands in front of her chest, her fingers crawled in like she was strangling the air in replacement of strangling Sukuna.
After looking at Y/N's irritated expression, Sukuna's 2 pair of ruby eyes looks at the arrows that are scattered down the ground.
"Do your punishment." Sukuna said while he looks at the arrows.
"HUH?!" Y/N was still irritated and even more confused when Sukuna said that.
Sukuna's upper pair of eyes looks at Y/N right in the eye, and then looks at the arrows on the ground. Signing her to look at it as well.
Y/N then looks at the ground, seeing all of her arrows out of it's tube.
After puzzling it together,
"Sigh..." Y/N out her hands on her face, "...Im an idiot."
Because all of her arrows are out of the tube and is not hitting Sukuna, it can be count as a missed arrow. And every missed arrow that Y/N did has a punishment that she needs to pay.
.
.
.
On a tree, Y/N was doing some sit-ups while hanging upside down like a bat.
Sukuna was there, leaning his back at a boulder with his hands crossed inside the sleeves of his clothing, looking at Y/N doing what she does with amused look in his face.
"You're not doing it correctly." Sukuna commented,
"Tch..."
"No complaining."
"Im not complaining!"
After doing the punishment, Y/N immidietly jumped down from the tree and picked her equipments.
The moment she grabbed her bow, it reminded her that she needs to come back early.
Tomorrow she's traveling from the Taira clan's territory, all the way to the Yoritomo territory, to another shrine of a village that are desperate for help.
Just what kind of a pandemic that is going around there? What if she gets infected as well? What if she dies there because of this?
"What is it?" Sukuna asked with stern tone.
"Huh? Uh..." Y/N was then brought back to reality by that.
Like always, the great King of Curses has his arms crossed and hidden inside those robe, with a stern expression on his face.
"What are you dying to say, Y/N? Spit it out."
Asked Sukuna that made Y/N refflect on how easy it is to read her.
"Well... The thing is, i dont think i could come tomorrow... Until further notice." said the young Shrine Priestess.
That sentence made Sukuna raised an eyebrow, and now Y/N is thinking that she needs to train herself with words even more.
But then, Sukuna turned his back agaisnt her. Seeing that, Y/N panicked a little and said,
"Its not that i chickened out, so please dont leave!"
And it stopped Sukuna before he even take a step away. He looks at the much smaller woman through his shoulder.
"I have a Priestesshood duty in Asahaba village. Almost everyone there is infected with something, and a Priest that holds a Shrine there is desperate for help that he sent a letter to Aridagawa-Tashima."
Somehow, Y/N manage to do that explanation in less than 15 seconds, and now it caught her breathless for a brief moment.
And after a few seconds of Y/N's fast explanation, Sukuna then look straight once more to the road he is heading as he starts to make way.
"Ryo-san..." Y/N sulked, thinking that Sukuna wouldnt turn his back once more, but then,
"Are you just gonna stand there like a bamboo tree? Come." Sukuna demanded while still walking away.
Hearing that, Y/N then catches up to his pace while carrying her equipments,
"Wait.. Where are we heading?" Y/N asked.
"Amemiya's, obviously."
From Sukuna's answer, Y/N then tilted her head to see his eyes due to her confusion,
Realizing that, Sukuna just rolled his eyes as he sarcastically says,
"Dont you need good medicine if you're going to a place full of shit you call illness?"
- To Be Continued -
A/N :
We hope you are enjoying yourself in this journey so far.
And Team Kami-Works apologize for the delay of updating schedules.
Please stick around for more.
Comment your questions, suggestions, or anything you want to say here. We will answer it in the upcoming chapters.