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The Human Village was bustling with activity under the noonday sun. Shop owners sold their wares, men and women went about their daily business, and children ran through the streets playing games. In many ways it was quite similar to the town that lay deep beneath their feet, only it was lacking the various drinking parties of the oni and all the residents were humans.
Just plain, ordinary humans.
Or so it would seem.
In truth there were more than a couple of youkai lurking among the oblivious villagers. Not hunting though, as they were more civilized than that… and they wished to avoid incurring the wrath of a certain shrine maiden. No, rather than hunt each youkai had their own reasons for coexisting among their natural enemies. And the two who had just arrived were no exception.
"Are you sure this cloak is all I need to disguise myself?"
"So long as you keep the eye on your chest and control rod covered you should be fine."
"But why do I just have a cloak when you get a hat?"
"That's because," Oirn replied, adjusting said wide brimmed hat. "I need something to hide my ears, and unlike your wings I can't just mask them with magic."
As it turned out Kenji's parents weren't quite done with him yet, but he promised to find them in town later and bring them to his friends. Rather than stand around waiting, Orin decided it was about time they started their search properly. Okuu needed a little convincing to hide her wings after being able to keep them open stretched open for so long, but she eventually relented, and after donning their cloaks (and hat) they made their way into town.
It was nothing special for Orin. Only the fact that she wasn't sneaking about in her cat form made it a noteworthy experience. Okuu, however, was utterly entranced by the village and staring wide-eyed at every shop and food stall they passed.
"Hey Orin, what's that?" she asked.
The kasha followed her gaze to a nearby bakery just as the sweet scent of freshly baked desserts met her nose.
"That's a bakery. I've snuck some of their food before and loved it!"
"Ooh! Can we get some?"
"Maybe later. We don't have a lot of human money on us so it's best we hold onto it. Let's just head for the marketplace for now. There would be a good place to start asking around."
Okuu nodded and the pair moved on. Despite the simplicity of their disguises they seemed to be holding up alright as very few humans gave them a second look, and those who did were clearly just surprised by Okuu's height. Orin was glad for this. They didn't have much clothing to choose from back home and she was worried that a cloak and hat wouldn't be enough to hide their true natures. It wasn't for fear of being attacked by the humans though, but rather to keep Okuu from getting spooked.
The last thing they needed was for Okuu to turn the village into a radioactive crater.
It didn't take long to find the marketplace. Humans were buzzing about between the various shops and stalls buying and selling and talking over one another to bargain. Overall it made for quite a hectic sights.
Orin took it all in and nodded. It would be the perfect place to start.
"Okay Okuu, you remember what we rehearsed, right?"
"Yep! Ask if anyone has seen a small, green haired girl lately."
"And if they ask for details?"
"Describe her outfit, but don't say anything about her third eye or her being a satori."
"Perfect. Now you go ask around the stalls and I will check out the shops. And Okuu?"
"Hmm?"
"Please don't buy the first shiny thing you see…"
"Sure thing!"
…
"Hey, wait a minute!"
Okuu, who had been eyeing a stall selling small metallic figurines for the whole conversation, turned to give Orin a piece of her mind only to see her retreating into the nearest building, leaving the hell raven to grumble as she made for the stalls.
It was more difficult that she thought it would be. Trying to grab the attention of anyone browsing the stalls proved to be futile and most people walking by didn't even glance her way when she tried to stop them. Not to mention that she kept getting distracted by all the delicious foods being sold. This went on for some time until finally, Okuu saw a few women standing off to the side gossiping.
"So, then he tells me-"
"Hello!"
The women jumped as Okuu interrupted their conversation. She gave them all a smile and a wave with her left hand, making sure to keep her other arm hidden under her cloak just as Orin told her. The women themselves were taken aback by her sudden appearance and had to do a double take upon noticing her impressive height, standing a head taller than them at the very least.
"Um, hi…" one of them spoke hesitantly.
"Hi!" Okuu repeated. "Sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping you could help me with something."
The women shared a look between themselves, unsure about this unusual stranger. After a second the woman from before responded.
"Um, okay. What is it?"
Okuu beamed.
"Well, I'm looking for someone, someone very close to me, family really. And I was hoping you might've seen her."
"Oh, then of course we'll help!"
Hearing her request softened the women's disposition, now perfectly willing to give their aid.
"Thank you!"
"So when did you last see her?"
"Several dec- I mean, several years ago."
"My goodness, that long? Why are you only looking now?"
"She can take care of herself, so we've never had reason to worry about her when she left. But, well, the reasons for why we're searching now are more personal, sorry…"
Normally Okuu was one who would run her mouth off without a second thought of whether or not it was a personal topic, but even she knew that she shouldn't be going around telling everyone about her master's declining mental health. Thankfully the women were more than understanding.
"It's no problem, we've all been there."
"So," another spoke up. "What does she look like?"
"Well, she's about…"
She held out her hand, raising and lowering it unit it was about Satori's height.
"…this tall?"
"A child?" one of them asked, concern in her voice.
"No, just short. She also has green hair and green eyes-"
"Green hair?" one interrupted. "That's unusual. The only girl I've ever seen with green hair is the priestess at the Moriya Shrine, but she's too tall to be your friend."
"Yeah, sorry to cut you off but I have to agree. I've never seen any green haired girls around here."
Okuu looked between them only to be met with a shake of the head from each woman. She deflated a little, and had her wings been visible they would have drooped to the ground. Even if they were the first people she's asked a mixture of sorrow and frustration swelled within her at the dead end.
"Oh, well, thanks for trying…"
"Hey, don't be discouraged." The woman closest to her put a hand on her right arm, only to yank it back after being met with an unusually intense warmth. She recovered quickly from this blunder and gave Okuu a soft smile. "Why don't you just ask around some more? It's a big village, I'm sure someone has seen your friend."
Okuu perked up a little and thanked the women for her time before moving on. She tried various different people throughout the market, but every conversation ended the same way. Nobody had seen nor heard of a small green haired girl. And that was even if she got to talk with them in the first place, as various other women made excuses to avoid her while several men looked at her funny and flat out refused.
By the time that Orin had finished with the last shop she found Okuu sitting on a bench looking defeated.
"Hey Okuu. No luck."
She shook her head.
"None. What about you?"
Orin plopped down beside her with a sigh and rested her head on Okuu's shoulder, careful to keep her hat in place. The same heat the puzzled the woman from earlier only helped the kasha relax, reminding her of the familiar flames down below.
"No. I must've asked dozens of people if they've seen someone looking like Miss Koishi, but every time they stop me once I mention-"
"Green hair? Yeah, me too."
Again they both sighed, feeling put out. They likely would've sat there for a lot longer had the sound of approaching feet gotten their attention.
"Hey, there you are! I've been looking for you!"
It was Kenji, running and waving at them from down the street. The pair rose to their feet as he drew close.
"Hello Kenji." Said Orin. "Done on the farm for today?"
"Yep! I talked to my friends and some of them said they've seen Rosey!"
Their spirits lifted at the news.
"That's great! Can you take us to them?"
"Sure! This way!"
The boy took Orin's hand and began guiding her through the crowds, Orin just barely having time to grab Okuu's and drag her along as well. He led them down the street and through a few back-alley shortcuts before finally they came to a couple of kids, one boy and one girl, playing in a field on the edge of town.
"Hey guys!" Kenji said. "These are the two people I told you about. The one with red hair is Orin, and the tall one is Okuu!"
The youkai waved politely at the children.
"Orin, Okuu, these are my friends, Shou and Miki!"
Shou walked up to Okuu, leaning his head all the way back to look at her face.
"You're tall!" he exclaimed.
"And you're short!" she shot back.
"Am not! I'm the tallest of my friends!"
It was true, Shou was a tad taller than Kenji and Miki. On Okuu, though, he didn't even reach her waist. Before she could respond Orin whispered to her.
"Okuu, let's not get in an argument with a child, okay?"
"Okay…"
Kenji turned to address his friends.
"Miki. Shou. Tell them about Rosey!"
"Oh, me first!" It was Miki who spoke up. "It was yesterday. I was having lunch with my family outside when I saw Rosey walking down the road. I asked my parents if I could go play with her. They laughed but said sure as long as I don't leave their sight. Then Shou came and joined us."
"That's right!" Shou said. "I live near Miki and saw her playing with Rosey and joined in. We had a fun time and she even grew us some flowers!"
"Yeah, see!"
Miki held up a slightly wilted green rose that had been attached to her clothes. Orin and Okuu's studied it closely. Something about it seemed familiar but they couldn't quite place it.
"Did she say where she was going when you were done playing?" Orin asked.
"No," Shou said. "She never does. The last time we saw her she was heading away from the village, down towards the lake where all the fishermen work."
"Really!?" Okuu interrupted. She turned to Orin, shuddering with excitement. "Orin! This is great! We just started and already we're so close to finding her!"
"Calm down, Okuu! Yes, we're one step closer, but we don't know where she could've gone in the past day."
She turned to the three kids.
"Thank you for your help, this means a lot to us. Can we do anything to repay you?"
They murmured amongst themselves before yelling in unison.
"Candy!"
She was about to ask what kind of candy they wanted when something tugged on her sleeve. She turned and found Okuu looking at her with big, glowing eyes.
"Candy?"
Orin sighed in exasperation, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Okay, candy for everyone. Then, Okuu, you and I set off."
Okuu cheered with the children as Orin shook her head.
So much for saving our money.
Hope you enjoyed. As always, feel free to leave a review, otherwise thank you for reading and stay turned for more!