The morning light grew stronger.
On the clearing behind the rear mountain, the demon's ashes had not yet fully scattered. Caught in the first rays of the rising sun, they curled upward in thin wisps of pale smoke.
A faint smell of blood still lingered in the air.
Several trees around the clearing had been caught in the battle and snapped, lying helter-skelter across the ground.
And right now, Kikyō stood there — ten paces from Tsubaki.
White robes, red hakama. Long bow in hand. Arrow nocked to the string.
The arrowhead was aimed directly at Tsubaki.
Spiritual power blazed around her, radiant and blooming.
"Let's begin, Tsubaki. The match."
She spoke again, repeating herself, her voice deceptively calm.
Calm with no inflection whatsoever.
But Kōbe Hikaru caught what was hidden beneath that calm.
He glanced at Kikyō's profile.
Just as he thought.
Her expression was still that cool, composed mask — but those jet-black eyes were unmistakably glacial.
This girl was angry.
Tsubaki still hadn't caught on.
She stood frozen, face full of confusion, assuming Kikyō simply hadn't heard her clearly.
"W— wait!" she blurted. "Did you not hear what I just said?"
"I said I'd give up the Shikon Jewel — all I want is that shikigami—"
"Tsubaki."
Kikyō cut her off, voice still calm.
But she drew the bowstring tighter. "Draw your weapon."
"What?"
Tsubaki blinked.
"Isn't a formal match supposed to be a test of sorcery? Why would I need a weapon — and besides, I already said—"
A trace of warmth finally entered Kikyō's voice. Tsubaki immediately wished it hadn't.
Because that warmth ran ice-cold and faintly terrifying: "Draw your weapon. Show me what your years of training have amounted to."
The color drained from Tsubaki's face.
She finally came back to her senses. Kikyō had no interest in a sorcery match at all.
What she wanted was… a martial match?
No — this was clearly something else entirely. She was going to hit her.
"Kikyō! What is the meaning of this?!" Tsubaki's voice cracked. "All I wanted was your shikigami! I even said I'd drop the Shikon Jewel!"
"Is this really necessary?!"
Kōbe Hikaru stood to one side, watching it all unfold.
He was fighting the urge to laugh.
This shrine maiden called Tsubaki genuinely had no idea how to read a room.
The way she'd made that little speech earlier — so completely self-righteous, so utterly sure of herself.
No consideration whatsoever for how it might come across.
He could actually understand why Kikyō was angry.
If someone marched up to him with that same air of entitlement and demanded something of his, he'd be annoyed too.
And besides — he wasn't just some thing.
He was a proper Ghost Warrior, the shikigami and battle companion of the strongest shrine maiden of the Warring States era — a partner who had fought alongside her through battle after battle. A person. A… yōkai.
Ahem.
Granted, that particular identity had been improvised on the spot. But it was still a legitimate one.
Just take him away, like that? Who did she think he was? And who did she think Kikyō was?
"Kikyō."
Kōbe Hikaru spoke up.
Kikyō didn't turn around, but her posture stiffened almost imperceptibly.
"What?"
"The way I see it," he said, leisurely, "a formal match still ought to follow proper rules."
"After all, this is a contest between shrine maidens. Using a bow and arrow is a bit… inappropriate."
"Easy to cause real harm."
His tone was completely earnest.
But his eyes were the eyes of a man thoroughly enjoying the show.
Kikyō finally turned her head and looked at him.
The look she gave him was deeply unimpressed.
It said: Whose side are you on, exactly?
Kōbe Hikaru's expression remained perfectly serene.
"Of course," he added, "if Lady Tsubaki insists on a match…"
He smiled — suddenly. "That's a different matter entirely."
Tsubaki's expression darkened further.
She wasn't stupid. She'd watched that entire battle from start to finish.
That single arrow from Kikyō — fired without even relying on its Sacred Arrow properties — had blown the upper half of that undying creature apart.
It hadn't killed it, but the raw power behind it was horrifying enough already. If that arrow were aimed at her instead… Tsubaki shuddered.
"I…"
She opened her mouth to say something, but the moment she met Kikyō's icy gaze, every word died in her throat.
Several years had passed.
The woman standing before her now was so much stronger than the girl Tsubaki had known back then.
She herself had grown stronger too.
But compared to Kikyō… she still wasn't in the same league. Not even close.
"I concede."
Tsubaki forced those three words out through gritted teeth, her voice heavy, like each word had to be pried from between her molars.
"Excuse me?" Kikyō asked — fully aware of what she'd said — and still hadn't lowered the bow.
"I said, I concede!" Tsubaki's voice rose. "The Shikon Jewel is yours."
"No match needed. Forget everything I said just now!"
"I'm leaving!"
With that, she turned to go.
But after two steps, she stopped.
She looked back at Kōbe Hikaru. A flicker of reluctance lingered in her eyes.
But underneath it — fear. Fear of Kikyō.
"That shikigami…"
She had barely begun — seemingly about to say something threatening.
"Hmm?"
Kikyō's bowstring gave a sharp twang.
Tsubaki fell instantly silent.
"Never mind."
She bit her lip and left at a brisk pace.
The figure in white robes and red hakama vanished into the morning light, leaving behind only a single murmured phrase.
"It seems… it's time to pay my sect a visit."
The shrine maiden named Tsubaki had clearly not given up.
She could relinquish the Shikon Jewel easily enough — she'd never had much interest in it to begin with, and it was Kikyō herself she refused to accept.
But that Ghost Warrior covered head to toe in bone spines—
As a shrine maiden of Tahōtō who specialized in shikigami arts, she genuinely, desperately wanted a powerful shikigami like that.
Kōbe Hikaru felt a twinge of mild regret about it all.
How had that one not just lost her temper and attacked? What a shame.
Lesson learned: even a trap laid and baited doesn't always spring when you want it to.
· · ·
After confirming Tsubaki was gone, Kikyō slowly lowered her bow.
Her expression was still composed.
But Kōbe Hikaru couldn't quite shake the feeling that beneath that composure, there was a hint of… satisfaction? Smugness, even.
"Let's go."
Kikyō spoke.
"Where to?"
"Back to the village. To say our farewells to the demon-slayers — business here is finished; it's time to move on."
She started walking.
After a few steps, she noticed Kōbe Hikaru hadn't followed.
She stopped and looked back at him.
"Something wrong?"
"Nothing." Kōbe Hikaru fell into step beside her. "Just thought that little scene back there was pretty entertaining."
"What do you mean?"
"The most powerful shrine maiden in the land, picking a fight with a fellow practitioner to protect her own shikigami."
"If a story like that ever got out, it'd make for quite a tale."
Kikyō's stride faltered.
She didn't turn around.
But Kōbe Hikaru could see it — the tips of her ears had gone ever so slightly pink.
"Nonsense," she said.
"I was simply upholding proper conduct. She tried to take what belonged to another. That was wrong on its face."
Kōbe Hikaru raised an eyebrow.
"And if what she'd been trying to take wasn't me — but something else entirely?"
"Like, say… a sword?"
"A rock?"
"A tree?"
Kikyō said nothing. She also walked faster.
Back straight as ever.
Dark hair drifting softly in the morning breeze.
[Shikon Jewel — Naohi: Affinity +2]
[Current Affinity: 54 (Trust)]
[It conveys a message to you: "She will never admit it."]
["But you already know."]
Kōbe Hikaru read the notification panel.
The corner of his mouth curved upward.
Of course he knew.
But—
Knowing was one thing. Saying it out loud would ruin everything.
Some things were better left unspoken — understood between the two of them, and left at that.
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