Ryoma and Yuki exited through the remains of the shoji separating the home’s interior from the riverside. They noticed the sun was setting, and Ryoma said, “I hadn’t realized it had gotten so late already.” Yuki commented, “You were out of commission for a while. Perhaps we should bunker in place for the evening. It’s pretty scary after dark, after all.” Ryoma shook his head. He didn’t want to admit it, but the thought of being attacked again in his sleep scared him slightly. He clutched his katana tightly, ashamed of the feelings unbefitting of a true samurai. But, after such a debacle, who could exactly blame him?
Nevertheless, Ryoma looked to Yuki and said, “No. Let’s continue onward, my friend.” Yuki frowned and asked, “And where are we planning to go, anyway? I didn’t plan out this far ahead beyond saving you.” Ryoma was quick to respond as he said, “I intend to rematch Orochi in order to save Emperor Hiro as well as Empress Haru. I swear that I will defeat that monster this time around.”
Yuki gasped. He had thought for sure that Ryoma would’ve given up on the emperor following such an ordeal. It was shocking to the kappa, to say the least. “Surely, you jest.” He said. “I can’t think of a worse idea! I mean, you just barely survived Orochi’s attack last time. You can’t be ready to face off against it so soon after your brush with death.” Ryoma, however, barely listening, said, “I’m ready to save His Highness. This is what needs to be done.” Yuki continued pouting and said, “And after all the work we did to save you, just for you to run off and die.”
The word ‘we’ caught Ryoma’s attention and he remembered the girl from his delusional state. “So,” he said, “I didn’t imagine it; there was a girl tending to me after my time in the river.” Yuki nodded and said, “That’s right. As I was dragging you downstream, I was looking for someone that could possibly help you. Eventually, I came across a shrine maiden exiting the shed of this house. I called out to her, and although she was hesitant to help me, she saw you in peril and decided to patch you up. Thankfully, you were able to walk on your own to the shed – not that I couldn’t carry you, but I was exhausted from such a long swim – and then, she laid you down and treated your wounds.”
Ryoma tried to remember it as best he could, but the memories were still quite hazy. However, the image of the shrine maiden was engraved into his mind, so the story must’ve been true. And besides, Yuki had no reason to lie to him. After hearing the tale, he said, “Alright. In that case, since you don’t want to travel back to the palace immediately, why don’t we find this shrine maiden and allow me to properly thank her for helping save my life?”
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Yuki smiled widely and said, “I think that’s a much better idea than your first inclination.” Ryoma patted Yuki on his wet head and asked, “So, do you know where we could find her then?” Yuki then pouted once more and said, “Well, I didn’t follow her after she treated your bite mark because I wanted to wait for you to wake up so I could return your katana. And to make matters worse, I never learned her name, so we have no way of asking around for her location.”
Though troubled by the revelation, Ryoma decided to stay optimistic. He said, “Maybe we can at least glean some information from the direction she left in. Do you remember that, Yuki?” Yuki smiled, happy that he could be of assistance, and exclaimed, “Oh yeah, you’re right! That will at least point us in the correct direction. She went west, I’m sure of it!” Ryoma smiled back, matching Yuki’s enthusiasm, and esclaimed, “That’s wonderful! Let’s head west then, shall we?”
And so, the duo grabbed the knapsack containing their frozen fish, and began their journey west. Yuki lamented that they had to leave the river as he couldn’t swim along the way, but Ryoma cheered him up by telling wonderous tales of his time serving the emperor. By the end of his yarn-weaving, however, Ryoma had made himself quite saddened, thinking of how the past jovialities of the imperial palace may never again transpire. Hiro, Haru, Goro, and all the others living within the palace’s walls would never be the same following such a calamity.
Yuki noticed Ryoma’s glum exterior and tried to remedy the situation as he smiled and said, “You know, Ryoma, the shrine maiden may be able to do more for you than just treating your wounds.” Ryoma woefully turned his gaze toward his traveling companion and asked, “What exactly are you referring to, Yuki?” The grinning kappa said, “Well, I may not be the authority on the matter, being just a lowly oni and all, but I’ve heard that shrine maidens have deep connections to the otherworld. Specifically, they’re trained in shubatsu, exorcising demons, right?”
Ryoma began to piece together the details and, with a renewed sense of gusto, asked, “Yuki, do you think she’d be able to relinquish Orochi’s hold on Emperor Hiro’s body?” Yuki nodded and said, “That’s exactly what I’m thinking, Ryoma. I’m sure with enough salt and prayer, the shrine maiden will be able to remove Orochi from your lord and send it back to Yomi.” Ryoma beamed at the suggestion. He had only considered fighting Orochi prior to Yuki’s idea; performing a cleansing ritual may just do the trick, he supposed.
Suddenly hugging Yuki and sloshing water everywhere, Ryoma said, “You’re wonderful, Yuki! Let’s find this shrine maiden as soon as possible and request this of her.” And so, without further stalling, the duo moved even faster in pursuit of the mysterious maiden.