Ishitsumugi no Shou 13-2N

For my entire life - 2

[Dorm - Hallway]

Wak: Ugh... They were tougher than I expected. Hinata... Please be safe.

Aya/Son: Ah!

Wak: Nogi, Aya! How's Hinata?

Aya: S-She has a shockingly high fever... A spirit doctor from the Taisha gave her an injection just now...

Son: She's sweating horribly, we don't have enough spare clothes! Me and Aya-senpai are going to do laundry now!

[Hinata's room]

Wak: Hinata!

SON/Mit: ...

Hin: Ah... Ah...

Wak: What... is going on? Just what happened?

Mit: About that... It seems that that past few weeks, Hinata-san has been training under the waterfalls every day, at dawn and at dusk...

Wak: What? But there wasn't even a sign of that... She seemed the same as always, at morning or at evening.

Mit: Yes... But the Taisha people told us she wouldn't listen to their warnings of how dangerous repeated waterfall training might be...

Wak: So she exhausted her body, and this is the result... Why would she do something so reckless?

SON: The Mikos train under waterfalls to strengthen their powers. What could she need power for this much...?

Mit: She could've wanted to make her oracles more precise. Or maybe even...

Wak: Even what?

Mit: I-It's unlikely, but maybe she wanted to be able to do more than listen to the oracles we receive, but to, well...

Mit: Talk to Shinju-sama from our side... Maybe.

SON/Wak: Eh!?

Mit: N-No way, right!? No way... There's no way Hinata-san would ever do something so irreverent...

SON: ...

Wak: The Mikos hear Shinju's words all the time, but they can't say anything in response?

Mit: We're talking about a god... No matter how much of an ally it might be to us normally, doing something like that would be a taboo act.

Mit: For humans to directly talk to a god about their thoughts and wishes would be like showing up unannounced with a plea at your lord's manor in the past...

SON: A direct appeal... In the worst case, that could be punished by death, couldn't it...

Wak: P-Punished by death... Are you saying this is Shinju's punishment for Hinata, then!?

Mit: C-Calm down, Nogi-san. I'm only guessing right now, we can't be certain it's the truth.

Hin: Ah... Ah...

Wak: Hinata! Hang in there! Hinata!

SON: ...I'm sorry for saying this, Mitorin, but could you leave for now?

Mit: Eh... Y-Yeah. I'll be going, then...

Wak: Sonoko?

SON: This might be... my fault.