Silence.
A long silence.
The shrine maiden's serene features could no longer hide the girlish joy in her heart.
Shinji looked at Kikyō, waiting patiently for her answer.
Then he saw Kikyō smile.
It was the first time he had seen her smile like that.
Not the usual calm detachment. Not the coldness of battle.
But a genuine smile, like dawn breaking.
"You demon…" Her voice trembled slightly, with a hint of speechlessness. "You even have to steal the words for something like this?"
"Confessing isn't a call to charge, it's the declaration of victory," Shinji said. "Since I already knew how you felt, of course it had to come from me."
"Wouldn't it make me look useless if I let you go first?"
Kikyō's smile deepened.
She clasped Shinji's hand back, her fingers intertwining with his.
"Alright," she said.
Her voice was soft, but firm.
"Let's be together."
[Shikon Jewel · Pure Spirit: Affection +5]
[Current Affection: 65 (Intimacy)]
[It says: "Finally!"]
They had the Shikon Jewel's "secret messages" to thank for that.
They'd have to set up a separate feast for the Pure Spirit someday.
Shinji thought to himself.
Afterward, the night slowly faded. A faint fish-belly white appeared on the eastern horizon.
The shrine's candles had long burned out, leaving only the cool morning light filtering through the window lattice, spilling over the two of them.
Those words between them hung in the air like a pebble dropped into a pond, sending ripples through the stillness that lingered.
Kikyō leaned against a wooden pillar, her black hair falling over her chest, her fingers gently stroking the longbow on her lap.
Her expression had returned to calm, but deep in her dark eyes, there still seemed to be some unresolved thoughts churning.
The joy was real.
It was the flutter of a girl's heart, the satisfaction of a lonely soul finally finding an anchor after eighteen years.
But the worry was also real, to some extent.
She was a shrine maiden.
Her duty was to protect the Shikon Jewel, to guard the human village, to exorcise demons.
And Shinji was a demon.
A demon warrior.
Someone who, even after saving people, would still be feared by ordinary humans and distrusted by monks.
In this chaotic Sengoku era, the line between human and demon was sharply drawn. Those who crossed it rarely met good ends.
"What are you thinking about?" Shinji's voice broke into her thoughts.
He had already stood up, stretching his stiff body.
After a night's rest, absorbing the turbid energy between heaven and earth, plus [Bloodthirsty Immortality] speeding up the recovery of his demonic aura, the wound on his chest had disappeared. Power was surging again beneath his pale skin.
Kikyō looked up at him.
His crimson demon mask lay aside, revealing his pale, handsome face.
His eyes weren't clear in the usual sense, but they held no trace of confusion either.
"I was thinking…" Kikyō's voice was soft. "What will others think of us being together?"
"Us being together already goes against convention."
"Demon slayers might object. Monks might come to exorcise us. Even the villagers… though they're grateful to you now, given time, might fear overcome gratitude?"
The path of humans and demons was separate. In any world, that was an iron rule.
Shinji didn't answer immediately.
He walked to the window and pushed it open.
The morning breeze carried the scent of earth and grass into the room.
He looked down at the village below, slowly waking, at the curling wisps of cooking smoke.
"Kikyō," he said, his back to her, his voice full of confidence. "Who do you think made those rules, those conventions?"
"People did."
"Exactly. People did." Shinji turned, leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed. His expression was equally confident. "Because they're weak. They need to band together, need outsiders to contrast their own legitimacy, need rules to maintain a fragile sense of security."
"But I'm not human."
"And you're not an ordinary person."
He pointed at the floor beneath his feet.
"Last night, this land of Kantō acknowledged me."
"If the very earth that nurtures all things doesn't reject me, then what do the opinions of ordinary people matter?"
Kikyō paused.
Yes.
What was she worried about?
The tragedies of the past were nothing more than a lack of strength.
Lack of trust also came from caring too much about identity.
But.
This "demon" before her had a will stronger than anyone's. She believed he had the potential to overturn the rules.
As long as she held goodness in her heart, that was enough.
Most importantly
He was on her side. Unconditionally on her side.
And she trusted him.
That was enough.
"You're right." Kikyō smiled with relief. In that moment, even the morning light outside the window seemed to dim.
"As long as we're strong enough."
She reached out and took Shinji's cool hand again.
"So, Shinji, to keep idle gossip from bothering us,"
"You need to become even stronger."
Shinji's expression remained calm. He simply clasped her hand back, their palms warming each other.
"Alright."
At least for now, this was enough.
[Shikon Jewel · Pure Spirit: Affection +2]
[Current Affection: 67 (Intimacy)]
[It's glowing. It thinks this is what a guardian should look like.]
[It is very pleased.]