Kōbe Hikaru woke once more from deep slumber.
As a yōkai, he had originally no need of sleep, but as he came back to life step by step, he had gradually grown able to savour the peace of sleeping.
These past few days of rest had left him in ever better shape, and the yōkai power within him had recovered to its peak.
He pushed open the wooden door of the Shrine, ready to begin today's work on the yōkai weapons.
Then he froze.
The scene outside the Shrine was not as it usually was.
The whole of Kaede Village was wrapped in a faint white light. That glow was very gentle, not harsh to the eyes, yet it gave one a sense of reassurance.
It was a barrier.
But it was not like that simple defensive barrier from before.
This barrier was far more intricate, far more vast.
Kōbe Hikaru could see the barrier's patterns flickering faintly in and out of view in the air, interwoven into incantation-forms he could not comprehend.
Those forms seemed alive as well, flowing slowly along.
And at the very centre of the barrier, Kikyō stood.
White robe and red hakama, her black hair like a cascading waterfall.
Her two hands were knit into some sort of mudra, spiritual power surging about her, transforming into ribbon after ribbon of white light that melted into the earth beneath her feet.
Kōbe Hikaru's [Spiritual Intuition] talent activated of its own accord.
It was an ability he had gained from the Shikon Jewel — Naohi, one that let him perceive the flow of spiritual power.
And in this moment, he perceived something out of the ordinary.
Kikyō's spiritual power had grown stronger.
Obviously, visibly stronger.
Its total quantity was unchanged, yet its purity was higher, its flow smoother, and the pressure it exerted upon yōkai stronger still.
If the Kikyō of a few days ago had been a sharp sword drawn from its sheath, all gleaming edge and exposed point, then the Kikyō of now was a divine weapon hidden within its scabbard, restrained and weighty.
'She's gotten stronger…'
Kōbe Hikaru thought.
He walked down the steps of the Shrine and toward Kikyō.
Kikyō seemed to sense his approach. She withdrew the mudra and turned to face him.
Her red hakama swayed, the cuff curling up to reveal half a glimpse of white tabi; the legs above were drawn taut in the breeze, the line of her hips proud and uplifted, the shadows dipping faintly.
Her long hair was bound at the nape with a white hair-band, yet the ends below spilled loose of their own accord, a peerless contrast.
On that cool, clear face hung faint beads of sweat, which made her brows and eyes look all the more radiant.
"Awake?"
she asked.
"Mm."
Kōbe Hikaru halted at her side, his gaze falling on those barrier-patterns still slowly flowing. "What are you doing?"
"Repairing the barrier."
Kikyō raised a hand to brush away the sweat at her brow, the motion natural.
"The battle with Kibōmaru a while back did some damage to the barrier, so I took these few days to mend it."
"And while I was at it—"
She paused, her gaze sweeping over the houses around them. "—I made a few improvements."
So saying, the shrine maiden suddenly lifted her hand and took Kōbe Hikaru's.
Her fingertips were delicate, her palm soft.
Their ten fingers laced together.
Kōbe Hikaru was slightly startled.
That she had improved the barrier—Kōbe Hikaru had 'seen' that even without Kikyō saying so.
But he had only seen it.
Now, under Kikyō's deliberate guidance, he could grasp in finer detail just what exactly was different.
Kōbe Hikaru summoned his [Spiritual Intuition] to perceive the structure of this new barrier more carefully.
If the previous barrier had been a purely defensive one, like a wall holding back the yōkai outside—
then now,
it was no longer merely defence.
It could also give warning: any yōkai aura that drew within a radius of several hundred metres of the barrier would trigger a reaction, letting Kikyō sense it at the first instant.
It could also purify: within the area the barrier covered, the foul qi in the air would be slowly purified, exerting a suppressing effect upon yōkai.
It could even…
Kōbe Hikaru's gaze fell upon the barrier's foundational structure.
There lay an extremely intricate pattern, like some sort of formation.
He could not read what it was.
But he could feel it—that thing was very dangerous.
"What is that?"
He raised his other hand, pointing at that pattern.
Kikyō followed his gaze.
"The rudiment of an Earth Barrier."
Her voice was very calm.
"An Earth Barrier?"
"A barrier directed at a specific target."
Kikyō explained, "So long as one obtains something belonging to the target—blood, hair, or soil tainted with his scent, for instance—one can set down a barrier aimed at him."
"Within the range of this barrier, the target's power will be greatly weakened, and all that is connected to him will be suppressed as well."
Kōbe Hikaru's eyes lit up.
Was this not precisely the method used against the great boss Naraku in the original story? Although in the original, it had relied on the heart of the mortal Onigumo hidden within Naraku's body, leaving him no choice but to submit and be bound… this one before him was clearly rather different.
It could only suppress an enemy, not so overwhelmingly powerful, yet far more universally applicable—and to guard against another assault by Kibōmaru, it was more suitable too.
And not only against Kibōmaru; for dealing with other hidden enemies, it was extremely useful as well.
After all…
"That single arrow severed his arm."
Kikyō's lips parted lightly, revealing a lovely, faint smile. "A good deal of blood splattered, and fell upon this earth."
Kōbe Hikaru was momentarily stunned by that smile.
Then he laughed.
"You really are…"
"What?"
"Even cleverer than I'd thought."
Kikyō did not answer.
But in those jet-black eyes there was, somehow, a hint of smugness.
Quite the maidenly air.
Between them, the rising sun stood jagged and bright.
Beyond it, the two of them still held hands, standing shoulder to shoulder at the edge of the barrier.
The morning light spilled down, casting the white-robed, red-hakama'd shrine maiden in a particularly moving glow.
Kōbe Hikaru tilted his head to look at her, and suddenly recalled something.
"Kikyō."
"Mm?"
"You really have grown stronger."
Kikyō's movements paused. "You sensed it?"
Kōbe Hikaru nodded.
"Your spiritual power is far purer than it was a few days ago, and its flow is smoother too."
Kikyō was silent for a moment.
"Perhaps it's because…"
Her voice grew somewhat soft. "…my state of mind has changed."
Her state of mind?
Kōbe Hikaru looked at her.
Kikyō did not evade his gaze.
In those jet-black eyes there was something he had never seen before.
Not her usual cool detachment.
Nor the steadfast resolve of battle.
But a gentler, warmer light.
"My former master once told me."
Kikyō spoke, "A shrine maiden's spiritual power is intimately bound to her state of mind."
"The purer the heart, the stronger the spiritual power, and the steadier its use."
"But if the heart holds stray thoughts, or wavering… the spiritual power will weaken."
Kōbe Hikaru understood.
And he suddenly recalled that, in that so-called 'original story,' it had been the same.
Supposedly, once a shrine maiden gave her heart to love, she would lose her power.
Yet the Kikyō before him had grown stronger.
Which meant—
"Your 'love' is not, in fact, a stray thought."
Kōbe Hikaru said.
Kikyō was slightly startled, and then she smiled.
That smile was very faint, yet it stirred Kōbe Hikaru's heart.
"Perhaps."
she said. "Or perhaps it is because…"
She raised a hand, pointing at her own chest, at her own heart. "It tells me my choice was not wrong."
[Shikon Jewel — Naohi: favourability +1]
[Current favourability: 69 (Intimate)]
[It says: "Of course it wasn't wrong."]
Kōbe Hikaru: "…"
In that moment, he gravely suspected that it had actually been Naohi telling Kikyō she wasn't wrong.
But just then, Kōbe Hikaru's gaze suddenly focused.
He had seen the very centre of the barrier.
At the very heart of this land shrouded in spiritual power.
There stood a tree—a colossal, ancient, lush and flourishing great tree.
That tree was very tall, far taller than all the other trees around it; its trunk was so thick that it would take nearly ten people to encircle it with their arms.
Its crown spread like a canopy, as if it veiled a vast stretch of the sky.
Most important of all, in Kōbe Hikaru's Spiritual-Intuition sight, that tree was glowing.
A boundless radiance emanated from its body, shining in mutual splendour with the white light of the barrier.
"That is…?"
Kōbe Hikaru's voice held a slight start.
"The Goshinboku."
Kikyō's voice came from beside him. "The guardian deity-tree of Kaede Village."
"This tree has existed longer than the village itself. It's said that back when the land of Musashi did not yet exist, it was already there."
The Goshinboku.
Naturally, Kōbe Hikaru would not forget this name, this existence.
In the original work of "Inuyasha", this was an existence of utmost importance.
In the original trajectory—one that would now never come to pass again—it was the place where the Shikon Jewel had been burned.
It was said to possess the power to link past, present, and future, and the Bone-Eater's Well, made using it as raw material, was the very opening of the entire story.
He had, in fact, been searching for this tree before.
A divine tree such as this—if he could find it and bring it under his sway, the gains would surely be enormous.
But he had never managed to find it.
Now, it had appeared of its own accord.
"Before this…"
Kōbe Hikaru furrowed his brow. "I never once saw this tree."
Kikyō's voice was very calm, and not the least bit surprised. "Because the Goshinboku is the core of this land, and the foundation of Kaede Village's barrier."
"It does not lightly reveal its true form to outsiders."
"Only those acknowledged by this land can see it."
Kōbe Hikaru was suddenly enlightened.
In the battle of that night, he had blanketed the entire Kantō region with blood-mist and bone spikes.
He had slain four Qualitative-Transformation-grade yōkai, and purified the yōkai aura that pervaded this land.
He had won the acknowledgement of the land of Kantō.
The favourability was only 1 point.
But it was precisely that 1 point—
that finally let him see the Goshinboku.
It made sense, when he thought about it.
This world, after all, was not a pure "Inuyasha", but a blended world, with more and more complex existences in it. A divine tree bearing time-related attributes, if it did not conceal itself, would surely have been plundered from all sides long ago.
How could it have remained at peace until now?
"So that's how it is."
Kōbe Hikaru said in a low voice.
He gazed at that great tree radiating sacred light, his eyes full of stirring intent.
If he had not guessed wrongly, this Goshinboku ought to be conquerable as well.
And what's more…
its quality, in all likelihood, was on par with the Shikon Jewel—and might even surpass it.
Kōbe Hikaru's breathing quickened slightly.
"Kikyō."
he spoke up.
"Mm?"
"I want to go take a look at that tree."
Kikyō glanced at him.
In those jet-black eyes there was no doubt at all.
Kōbe Hikaru's goodwill toward all things was something she had seen and kept in her heart.
"Let's go."
she said, still gripping Kōbe Hikaru's hand tightly, as though she did not wish to part from it for even a moment. "I'll take you there."
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