Chapter 63: A Maiden's Heart and the First Concession
Behind the Demon Slayer Village, the two of them walked down a small, winding path.
The mountain trail snaked ahead, flanked on both sides by lush pine trees. Morning dew still clung to the dark green needles, gathering until it dripped to the forest floor with a soft, intermittent patter.
Kobe Hikaru followed a few steps behind, his gaze fixed on the figure in the white top and red hakama just ahead of him.
Kikyo still hadn't spoken. Ever since Tsubaki's departure, she had wrapped herself in a deep silence.
Hikaru didn't press the matter; he knew that some moments demanded quiet more than any words could offer. Certain things were better left for Kikyo to voice on her own terms.
Besides, wasn't the delicate dance between a man and a woman all about this sort of tension?
Whoever spoke first, lost.
They walked in this shared silence for nearly a quarter of an hour before the mountain path came to an end.
They had reached the edge of a cliff. It wasn't perilously high, but the view it offered was breathtakingly expansive. Standing at its precipice, one could see the entirety of the Demon Slayer Village nestled below, the rolling mountains stretching into the distance, and the sun steadily climbing the horizon.
Kikyo stopped. She stood at the very edge of the cliff, her back turned to Hikaru. Her long, black hair fluttered gently in the morning breeze, and the rising sun bathed her white top and red hakama in a faint, golden hue. Her figure was so still, she seemed less a person and more a part of a masterfully painted landscape.
Hikaru moved to stand beside her, his own eyes turning toward the ascending sun. The silence stretched between them for a while longer.
"I'm sorry."
Kikyo's voice, when it finally came, was very soft, yet perfectly clear in the crisp morning air.
Hikaru turned to look at her. "Hmm?"
"Forcing you to act as a shikigami these past few days," Kikyo said, her gaze still fixed on the distant horizon. "And for dragging you into my dispute with Tsubaki."
She paused, her breath a small white cloud. "The demon last night… that had nothing to do with you, either."
Her shoulders fell slightly. "I was too self-righteous."
Hikaru studied her profile. That cool, elegant face now wore an expression he had never seen on her before—a genuine, unvarnished apology.
"You were silent this whole way just to build up to saying this?" he asked, a faint smile touching his lips. "If I didn't want to be here, I would have run away long ago."
Kikyo parted her lips to speak. "But—"
"No 'buts'," Hikaru interrupted, his tone firm but gentle. "I promised to return Hiraikotsu myself, and so I did. The shikigami identity was something we both agreed upon. As for Tsubaki, she came looking for trouble on her own. And that demon last night..." He considered it for a moment. "For me, it was actually an unexpected gain."
Kikyo finally turned her head, her gaze meeting his. A flicker of something unreadable shone in the depths of her pitch-black eyes.
"Unexpected gain?"
"Mmm," Hikaru nodded. "I learned some useful information."
He didn't elaborate, and to her credit, Kikyo didn't press for details. She simply looked at him, her expression softening almost imperceptibly.
"Thank you," she said again.
"What for this time?" Hikaru glanced at her.
"Thank you," Kikyo repeated, her voice unwavering. "For accompanying me on this trip."
Hikaru was taken aback. He never imagined this cool, composed priestess would thank him for something so simple. He shook his head.
"Don't mention it. I have my own goals, too."
"Goals?"
"Mmm." Hikaru remained vague.
His goals were simple, really. He needed to raise his favorability with the Shikon Jewel, with Hiraikotsu, and with any other artifacts he happened to encounter.
And… with Kikyo herself.
These were the things he truly coveted, but there was no need to voice them aloud.
Kikyo watched him for a long moment before nodding slowly. She didn't ask any more questions, instead turning her gaze back to the rising sun. The morning light grew brighter, spilling a golden radiance across her face that lent a touch of warmth to her normally cool, elegant features.
"I suddenly feel that a scene like this is… incredible," she murmured unexpectedly.
"What is?"
"Before these past few days," Kikyo's voice was barely a whisper, "I never thought I would spend my days and nights with a demon."
Hikaru remained silent, letting her speak.
"And I never thought I would grow accustomed to fighting side-by-side with one," she continued. "At first, it was because of Naohi's approval of you. It was the jewel that told me you could be trusted. That's why I accepted you."
She paused, a subtle shift in her expression. "But now..."
She didn't finish the thought, but Hikaru could see the conflict on her face. It was as if she were deeply puzzled, wrestling with a concept she couldn't quite name.
And Kikyo was indeed thinking. She was replaying the confrontation with Tsubaki, trying to understand the storm that had erupted in her heart the moment she heard the words 'take him away'.
It was a completely foreign sensation. They had known each other for less than ten days; they were merely temporary companions on a shared journey. Yet, the mere thought of this demon being taken from her side had filled her with an unfamiliar mix of unhappiness and panic.
She found… she did not want to see such a future.
That was why she had drawn her bow. That was why she had spoken to Tsubaki with such finality.
'Could this be… liking someone?'
Though Kikyo was a shrine maiden, she was also a young woman. She had never experienced such emotions, but she was not entirely ignorant of them. Her master, a humble priestess from a rural village, had told her before she passed that a shrine maiden required a calm heart. However, a calm heart did not mean a heart devoid of feeling; it simply meant one must distinguish between priorities.
But now… she couldn't distinguish them anymore.
She only knew that she cared, deeply, about this demon. She cared if he would get hurt. She cared if he would leave.
She cared if… he would be taken away by someone else.
This was a journey of firsts. The first time someone had fought side-by-side with her, matching her stride for stride. The first time someone had accompanied her on such a long and lonely road. The first time someone… had made her feel that she was no longer alone.
And it didn't seem to matter that this 'someone' was not, in fact, a person.
He was a monster. An Oni Samurai.
But so what?
Kikyo's eyes drifted to the pale face beside her. The crimson eyes, the long, white hair… Even though it was the visage of a demon, for some reason, she found it… quite pleasing to look at.
She wanted to say something. She wanted to ask him if… if he would continue to accompany her in the future. But the words caught in her throat. It would be too abrupt, too unlike her.
And yet—she still wanted to ask.
"Kobe Hikaru," she began, her voice soft but determined.
"Hmm?"
"In the future..."
She had only managed two words when a shout from below shattered the moment.
"Lady Kikyo—!"
They both turned their heads in unison. On the mountain path below, a group of Demon Slayers was rushing up toward them, led by the burly man, Matoba.
"Lady Kikyo! Lord Kobe Hikaru!" he called out, breathless by the time he reached them. "Why are you two up here?" He looked from one to the other, his expression confused. "Isn't the ritual duel today? We came to preside as judges—eh? Where is Lady Tsubaki?"
Kikyo was silent for a moment, her composure returning like a mask. "She left."
"Left?" Matoba was stunned. "The ritual duel is canceled?"
"It is," Kikyo's voice was once again laced with its usual cool detachment. "She conceded."
"Con… conceded?" Matoba's face was a picture of disbelief. That arrogant priestess, Tsubaki, had actually conceded defeat? He looked from Kikyo to Hikaru, his gaze finally settling on the latter. "Does this have something to do with you, Lord Kobe?"
Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
"The commotion last night was heard throughout the village," Matoba said, rubbing his hands together nervously. "I heard a monster appeared in the back mountain?"
"Not a monster," Hikaru answered curtly. "But it has already been resolved."
"Resolved?" Matoba blinked. "So… Lady Tsubaki was actually scared away by the monster?" His mind leaped to a conclusion, clearly misunderstanding the situation.
In a way, his statement wasn't entirely wrong. She had been scared away, just not by a monster, but by an existence far more terrifying to her.
Hikaru glanced at Kikyo. Her expression was a mask of indifference, but he noticed the tips of her ears had turned a faint shade of red again.
"Something like that," Hikaru said. It wasn't the whole truth, but he couldn't be bothered to explain the nuances.
[Shikon no Tama: Naohi: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 55 (Trust)]
[It asks you: Do you know what she wanted to say just now?]
Hikaru looked at the prompt on his system panel. Of course he knew. Her question had been cut short, but the intent was clear.
"There are many things in the future, and I can't guarantee that I will never leave," he said suddenly, his voice low and meant only for her. "But I will never abandon you to face them alone."
His words, carried on the wind, reached Kikyo's ears. The priestess froze for a fraction of a second before slowly lifting her eyes to meet the gaze of the 'demon' beside her. The young man's expression was as calm and unreadable as ever.
But then, Kikyo's lips pursed, and she found herself unable to suppress the corners of her mouth from curling into a small, secret smile.
Yes. In the delicate game between a man and a woman, whoever speaks first, loses.
And in this first round, Kobe Hikaru had just conceded.
[Shikon no Tama: Naohi: Favorability +1]
[Current Favorability: 56 (Trust)]
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