[Guido]

This week has now move on with discussion of episode five, when I haven't still post my comments for episode 4.

Geez, I'm such a lazy bum.

Spoiler:

Overall, Takamasa and Itsuki's background story was pretty informative.

She died ran over by a bus. The contract was established, Takamasa had no idea about what were shikabane and shikabane hime, until he was brought to the Kougon sect to be briefed in the thorough details.

The point that Takamasa made to Ouri is like the latter he (Takamasa) too was also an idealist youth, treating and seeing Itsuki as pretty normal, average, high-schooler girl.

She at first was too scared as a Shikabane-Hime to fight seriously, and in a few occasions Takamasa gambled his life at protecting her.

However, the more they stayed together, the more they bonded, and even the flashbacks showed that Takamasa displayed some promise of skills with the bow and arrow.
As Takamasa grew seriously with his training, so Itsuki's power as Shikabane-Hime started to mature and both earned experience.

It was not until the incident with Takamasa's classamate, Takeharu, that he discovered the ugly truth about Shikabane Hime being an unnatural existence just like the Shikabane they hunt.

At their first encounter from four years prior, Takeharu seriously injured Itsuki to the point that she went berserk as the flames were consuming her.

Takamasa went out to help her but driven mad that he might her in the ugly Shikabane form, Itsuki lost her mind for a few moments. Those were enough for her to unintentionally lashed out on Takamasa, injuring him in the process, and later leaving his trademark, body scars.

After that incident, the message sank deep into Takamasa's mind that Shikabane-Hime are Shikabane, after all, and not human anymore. Of course, the crude truth has not made Takamasa to refrain from treating Itsuki fairly.