Chapter 88: A Declaration of Victory
Silence. A long, deep silence settled over the shrine.
The shrine maiden's clean, elegant brows, usually a mask of serene composure, could no longer conceal the joy blooming from deep within her heart.
Hikaru watched Kikyo, waiting unhurriedly for her answer.
Then, he saw her smile.
It was the first time he had ever seen her smile like this. It was a world away from her usual detachment, and a universe from the cold focus she wore in battle. This was a smile that rose from the very bottom of her heart, radiant and pure as the blooming of the morning light.
"You demon…" Her voice trembled, a hint of breathless disbelief coloring her tone. "Do you even have to rush to say something like that?"
"A confession is a declaration of victory, not the bugle call for a charge," Hikaru stated, his voice even and matter-of-fact. "Since I have already confirmed your feelings, it should naturally be me who says it." He paused, a flicker of his deadpan logic showing through. "If I let you speak first, wouldn't that make me look useless?"
Kikyo's smile deepened, chasing away the last of her hesitation. She tightened her grip on his hand, her fingers interlacing with his.
"Okay," she said.
Her voice was soft, yet unshakably firm.
"Let's be together."
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi: Favorability +5]
[Current Favorability: 65 (Intimate)]
[It says: "Finally."]
Of course, this is all thanks to the Shikon Jewel 'tipping me off' the entire way, Hikaru thought wryly. I'll have to remember to set a separate offering table for the Naohi later.
The night gradually faded as a faint, pale white bled across the eastern horizon. The candles in the shrine had long since burned out, leaving only the cool morning light to filter through the lattice windows, spilling across the two figures within.
The words exchanged between them were like a stone dropped into a still pond, sending ripples through the air that lingered long after the sound had faded.
Kikyo leaned against a wooden pillar, her lustrous black hair cascading over her shoulders. Her fingers gently stroked the longbow resting on her lap, her expression having returned to its usual calm. Deep within those pitch-black eyes, however, a current of unresolved thoughts still surged.
The joy was real. It was the flutter of a young maiden's heart, the deep satisfaction of a soul that had been lonely for eighteen years finally finding an anchor. But worry, too, was undeniably present.
She was a miko. A sacred profession, her duty was to protect the Shikon Jewel, safeguard human villages, and slay demons.
And Hikaru was a demon. An Oni Samurai.
He was an existence that, even after saving countless lives, would still be feared by ordinary people and regarded with wary suspicion by monks and priests. In this chaotic Sengoku period, the line between humans and demons was drawn in blood; those who dared to cross it rarely met a good end.
"What are you thinking about?"
Hikaru's voice interrupted her reverie. He had already stood up, stretching his slightly stiff body. After a night's rest spent absorbing the ambient Yao Qi from the world, coupled with the accelerated recovery granted by his Bloodthirsty Immortality, the grievous wound on his chest had vanished. Strength was once again surging beneath his pale skin.
Kikyo looked up at him.
The crimson oni mask was still set aside, revealing his pale, handsome face. His eyes, with their inverted black sclera and white irises, were certainly not clear, yet they held not a single shred of confusion.
"I was thinking…" Kikyo's voice was very soft. "If we are together, what will others think?"
She continued, her words barely a whisper. "Us being together is, in itself, contrary to common sense. Demon Slayers might question it. Monks might see it as a reason to crusade against us. Even the people in this village… although they are grateful to you now, as time passes, will their fear eventually outweigh their gratitude?"
The paths of humans and demons are different. In any world, this was an iron law.
Hikaru did not answer immediately. He walked to the window and pushed it open. The morning breeze, crisp and cool, flooded into the room, carrying the scent of damp soil and green vegetation. He gazed down at the village slowly waking at the foot of the shrine, watching the first wisps of cooking smoke rise into the pale sky.
"Kikyo." He stood with his back to her, his voice ringing with an unshakeable confidence. "Who do you think set these so-called ethics, these so-called rules?"
"...Humans."
"Exactly. Humans." Hikaru turned, leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed. His expression was just as confident as his voice. "It's because they are weak that they need to band together. They need 'others' to define their own orthodoxy, and they need rules to maintain a fragile sense of security."
"But I am not human."
"And you," he added, his gaze softening slightly, "are not an ordinary person."
He pointed to the floor beneath his feet. "Last night, this land of Kanto accepted me. If even the earth that nurtures all things does not reject me, then what do the opinions of mere mortals matter?"
Kikyo was slightly stunned. During the battle last night, she had witnessed it with her own eyes—the land's response to him. It wasn't the forced plunder of Yao Qi that other demons practiced, but a kind of acknowledgement, an attention from the earth itself directed toward a specific individual, the likes of which she had never seen before.
Because he purified the demonic miasma that choked the region. Because he slew the demons causing chaos. That was enough. The standard for judging good and evil should never be one's race, but one's actions.
"," Hikaru continued, walking back to her. He crouched down, bringing his gaze level with hers. In the crimson depths of his eyes, her own reflection was perfectly mirrored.
"Rules are meant to be followed by the weak."
"As long as I am strong enough," he declared, his voice a low, steady promise. "Strong enough that true Great Yokai on the level of Kidomaru—or even stronger—would not dare to set foot on this land. Strong enough that even those powerful demons in Kyoto would have to think twice. Strong enough to…"
He reached out, his fingers gently brushing a strand of ink-black hair behind her ear.
"Strong enough that no one would dare say a single word of 'no' in front of you."
"By then," he concluded, "so-called ethics and so-called taboos will be nothing but a joke."
His tone was arrogant, yet it was an arrogance that felt entirely justified. This was the survival philosophy of an Oni Samurai—simple, brutal, and straight to the core. It was the principle Hikaru truly believed in: the fear of insufficient firepower was a fallacy. As long as one could amass enough power, there was nothing left to fear.
Kikyo stared at him, at this demon who appeared to be the same age as her. The stone of worry in her heart, which had not been large to begin with, suddenly shattered into dust.
He was right. What was she worried about? The tragedies of the past occurred because she wasn't strong enough. A lack of trust was born from caring too much about status and reputation. The 'oni' before her possessed a will more resolute than anyone she had ever met, and she believed he held the potential to overturn the very rules of the world.
As long as she held goodness in her heart, that would be enough.
Most —he was on her side. Unconditionally. And she trusted him.
That was enough.
"You are right." Kikyo smiled, a look of pure relief washing over her features. The charm of that single moment made the morning light outside the window seem to pale in comparison. "As long as I am strong enough, that is all that matters."
She reached out, taking hold of his somewhat cold palm once more.
"Then, Hikaru," she said, her voice filled with a new resolve, "so that those idle gossips never bother us… you must become even stronger."
Hikaru's expression remained calm, but he gripped her hand back, their palms mingling, sharing their warmth.
"Alright."
Regardless of what the future held, for now, this was enough.
[Shikon Jewel: Naohi: Favorability +2]
[Current Favorability: 67 (Intimate)]
[It is glowing; it feels that this is the way a guardian should look.]
[It is very gratified.]
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