The old man gave Hyakkimaru a book on edible plants. He told him that some pretty things like certain plants, berries, and even flowers were bad to eat.

"Remember: looks can be deceiving, so be careful."

Hyakkimaru went on his way afterwards. He had studied the pictures in the book, figuring out which plants were good to eat. Some tasted good, some tasted bad, but none of them were making him hallucinate or have stomach pain. He WAS starting to get sick of eating wild plants though.

Hyakkimaru walked until he came across a village. He knew villages typically had food, so he hoped he would get a meal. He walked toward the village. He came towards a man standing guard.

"May I help you?" he asked.

"I need a place to rest and eat. Will work for it." said Hyakkimaru.

"Hmm. A job for food and shelter eh?" said the man, "Perhaps our Lady will offer you what you need. She resides in that building not too far from here."

Hyakkimaru nodded and went over to the large structure. He was let inside where a woman wearing regal clothing sat. She was quite beautiful, just like Hyakkimaru's biological mother.

"My, you're quite handsome." said the woman, "A young man like you must have many admirers. I am Lady Komako. You're welcome to stay as long as you like. How would you like to join me for dinner?"

Hyakkimaru WAS pretty hungry. A break from the usual bitter herbs would be nice.

Hyakkimaru and Lady Komako sat down in a private room and talked.

"So you slayed demons for a living? Well, we DO need all the help we can get. Can't tell you how many of them we've had over the years. Luckily, none of them have gone after our harvest this year."

The sliding door opened. A little girl limped into the room with the first course. She had a club foot, a twisted body, and a misshapen face under shaggy hair. Hyakkimaru had not seen anyone look like her before. The girl looked up after serving the meal, seeing Hyakkimaru look right at her and ran out the room.

"Forgive her. She's quite self-conscious about her looks." said Lady Komako.

"A demon?" asked Hyakkimaru.

"Of course not! How could you say such a thing?" said Lady Komako, "No, Minako is human. People around the village think she's a demon though. Her parents abandoned her as a baby and I took her in under my wing. I've done everything I could to shelter her; humans can be cruel."

Hyakkimaru didn't say anything. He just looked down and ate his dish clumsily with his chopsticks.

The night continued. The meal was much better tasting than the plants he had eaten previously. There was white rice, red miso soup, locally caught fish, and seasoned autumn vegetables. Hyakkimaru ate so much that he got tired instantly.

Hyakkimaru slept soundly that night. Or at least he would've slept soundly if he hadn't heard crying in the middle of the night. Hyakkimaru hated the sound of crying; it was the first thing he had heard when he had gotten his hearing back and he detested the sound of it, yet something compelled him to journey outside of his room and into the courtyard. There, he saw Minako, crouched to the ground with tears in her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" asked Hyakkimaru.

The little girl looked up with a surprised look on her face, then pouted.

"It's cause everyone thinks I'm a demon." said Minako, "Even you thought I was a demon. You probably want to slay me like you do with actual demons."

Hyakkimaru started feeling a strange pain in his heart looking at Minako.

"Not pretty." he said.

Minako's eyes filled up with more tears and she wailed even more. Was it something Hyakkimaru said? Perhaps he should better articulate what he meant. He knelt down, placed each hand on Minako's face, and looked her in the eyes.

"Minako sad. Not pretty. Be happy."

Minako looked at Hyakkimaru with confusion. Hyakkimaru sighed in frustration.

"I don't like you being sad. Be happy. That makes you pretty."

Minako smiled a little. Hyakkimaru smiled back.

"That's better." he said.