AN: Written for the "Sad Smile" prompt at iyfic_contest at Livejournal. Word count limit was 250.
Next Generation: Shiori Chronicles
Chapter Five: Revelation
Shiori tries not to move too far away from Kohaku as she follows after the ragged child into the brush. She is relieved when the girl stops, and as Shiori looks up, she realizes the girl has taken her to the village priestess's hut in the forest.
"Azuna-dono left," she says quickly. Shiori smiles sadly at the girl, grateful for her information but trying not to let the girl's poor state get in the way of her emotions. Shiori nods as the girl continues.
"She isn't a good miko like the village thinks," the girl says, her brow furrowing. "The lord lies; don't believe him. Those youkai weren't bad." Shiori notices tears in the girl's eyes, and she empathizes with her anger and sadness.
"The miko made them bad. She made them destroy our village with the mudslide," the girls says, and Shiori frowns at the startling news. The fief lord would never confess to such a thing, nor would he ever believe it; however, Shiori has more reason to believe this child than the lord.
Shiori nods, cautiously approaching the child. She starts to wobble on her weak knees, and Shiori guesses there is more to this village's tragedy than what the lord has revealed. Before the girl collapses onto the ground, Shiori instantly catches her, and the girl melts into her embrace, sobbing.
"Azuna-dono killed Akio," the girl cries. "He may have been a youkai, but he was my friend. That miko killed him because he defied her!"