I first met her at the sakura grove fire not long after I got here. She was a lot easier to get on with then, and she even seemed open to taking advice. She got a lot more closed-off later on, and I'm still not completely sure what changed.

[If it had happened immediately after the temple fire, that might have been more logical, even if it was newcomers that saved her from that too. But it hadn't seemed to be tied to any particular event, so he can't exactly judge what might have shifted her attitude so much.

It may well have had something to do with her shinki, but in that case, why not warn her against the newcomers to start? Something he'll likely be considering for a while.]

That sounds like a better way to do it. Being there but giving them their space as well.