───

     "thank you for the food and futon. I wish you both the best of luck with the business", mikoto bowed.

     "no worries!! are you sure you'll be fine on your own though?", the wife worried.

     "yes. I'm usually prone to traveling alone, but this time, it seems that I'll be having company", mikoto smiled, glancing over at the eleven crows that were perched on top of a nearby tree.

"I-I see...well then, we hope that you arrive safely to wherever you're heading", the man bowed.

"thank you. oh! and one more thing, if anyone ever comes across and asks about me, please keep my presence a secret", mikoto stated.

"oh, alright!! goodbye then!", the couple waved, as the dark-haired woman took her leave.

it wasn't until mikoto was on the main road towards another village, that she made a whistling noise with the corner of her lips gently pressed together.

kurono had swiftly swerved down from the flock of crows and landed on mikoto's finger.

"I need you, mimic, and kai to stay with me, while the rest go scout out the village and see if there's any jobs that I can momentarily take on", mikoto stated.

"it'll take me about another hour or so to get there, so I'll meet them at the entrance of the village", the dark-haired woman explained.

kurono flew back up towards the sky, as he informed the rest.

mikoto watched as eight of the eleven had sped forwards, meanwhile the other three had landed beside mikoto in their half-demon form.

"why are you looking for a job? and who allowed you to call me by my first name?", chisaki questioned.

"I need money for a horse. I can't just keep walking on feet, or else I'll never get there", mikoto stated.

     "and kai's shorter than chisaki and overhaul, which is easier for me to remember", she added on.

      chisaki's brows immediately furrowed, as they were nowhere near close, especially buddy-buddy enough to be on a first name basis.

     "you ought to really put some respect on overhaul's na—"

      "I will once I get the same respect back. after all, woman is not my name", mikoto interrupted, to which mimic had honestly considered pulverizing her into the ground and just running off with the rest of the shie hassaikai.

     "YOU—"

     "anyways, I sure hope that our relationship will strengthen, as it's going to be a long journey. wouldn't you agree, kai?"

     chisaki clenched his gloved fists as one could easily tell that the man was greatly displeased.

     "yes, indeed it will be", the tengu bitterly answered.

     as the four had arrived at the miyoshi village, eight men stood by the entrance, scaring off the majority of the human population, as they looked like some shady gang.

     "huh? where are your wings?", mikoto asked, as the three behind her had also hid theirs.

"we're not stupid enough to have them out in the open for everyone to gawk at", nemoto shin — one of overhaul's most devoted subordinates — scoffed.

"okay, well, any information on job openings?", mikoto asked, noticing that the village was bustling with business stalls on the side of the road, in front of the main shops, and kids kicking around a tether ball.

     "prostitution!", rappa immediately answered, causing a few snorts here and there, as chisaki's brows furrowed.

"rappa, watch how you speak when we're outside. at least have some decency to keep your voice down low when blurting things that pop up first from your simple mind", the brown-haired leader harshly reprimanded.

"FIGHT M—"

"there's not much openings since this village is doing quite well economically", tengai hekiji — the more calmer of the group — truthfully answered.

"though we did find this sketchy business", hōjō yū — a serious advocate of the shie hassaikai — chimed in.

"more like they were trying to scout us, since we looked pretty shady", nemoto scoffed.

"oh really? what is it?", mikoto asked, as the group had successfully led her towards the so-called "sketchy business".

"this place looks unsanitary", chisaki muttered, noticing the rust and mold crawling up the pipes and bars of the supposed windows.

"this looks like jail", kurono commented.

     "WELCOME!! oh dear, I see that you eight have brought back more customers and a...woman...?", the owner hesitantly said, noticing the red brocade amongst the black yukatas.

"I need a job, and I was wondering if I could visit the facility here first", mikoto calmly stated, as she watched the hunchback man reveal his crooked teeth through a revolting grin.

     "you?", his snarky voice questioned.

     "a pretty woman like you shouldn't even be lounging around here with men that are nearly twice your size", the man mocked, swatting his hand as if he's trying to shoo mikoto away.

     chisaki glanced over at mikoto, wondering what she'd do.

     'give up? I doubt her and stubbornness woul—'

a soft sniffling was suddenly heard, as the woman had lifted up her sleeve, shielding her distressed expression.

"h-hey...y-you're not actually gonna cry are you?", rappa asked, causing all the men around mikoto to stiffen up.

kurono glanced over at chisaki, as if wishing he'd do something about it.

the brown-haired demon sighed, rubbing his temples, as he stepped forward, alerting the owner of his demanding presence.

"give her the job before this gets nasty for you and your odious business", chisaki lowly threatened.

"y-y-yes sir!!", the jittery man complied, to which mikoto had cracked a small smile behind her sorrowful eyes that held no tears whatsoever.

"p-please follow me then", the old fool gestured, as mikoto discreetly leaned towards chisaki a bit, muttering a quick, "thanks".

the leader of the shie hassaikai merely scoffed, unimpressed yet slightly amused by the short performance that the dark-haired woman had put on.

'what a little minx'.

"where could she have possibly gone?", uraraka sighed, as the group's been searching for the sealed escapee for at least two days straight.

"if you were locked up for a long time, where would you go first place after being left out?", iida asked.

"well, depending on what type of person she is, I would say that she might go for revenge. but she'd have to get some weapon and allies first, although we don't even know what she uses to fight or who she may know. however, she could also be loitering around and looking for a job to support her growling stomach and needs. or perhaps, she's out and about trying to gather information on—"

"midoriya", todoroki interrupted.

"o-oh sorry!! I'm rambling again aren't I?", the green-haired boy embarrassingly smiled.

"it's alright! that actually made a lot of sense. we should look into the nearby villages then. I'm sure she couldn't have gone far", uraraka exclaimed, as todoroki nodded in agreement.

"but on a more serious note, do we have any idea on what the riddle's referring to?", iida asked, noticing a lively village up ahead.

     "it's too many words for my brain to compute", uraraka sighed with a frown.

     "I can't help but think that they're referring to something that's not a physical object", midoriya answered.

     "really?"

     "mhm, but we should really hurry up and find her first before continuing on our exam to become the next gods and goddess", midoriya smiled.

     "for sure", iida agreed.

      todoroki then turned his head around, wondering whether they were being followed or not.

     "todoroki-kun, are you okay?", his green-haired friend questioned.

     "ah...yes. perhaps it was just some wild animal", the youngest todoroki stated, as he joined the rest of his friends.

     a pair of turquoise eyes glared at the group for a moment longer, before disappearing back into the luscious evergreens.