Shinji didn't know how long he had been unconscious, but eventually, he woke up.
The first thing he saw was a hazy play of light and shadow. Moonlight streamed through the shrine's window, scattering dappled silver across the tatami mats. The air smelled of incense, mixed with a soft, soothing scent.
It was like wildflowers in the mountains, like morning dew not strong or bright, not stunning, but clean.
Shinji knew this scent. It was Kikyō.
"You're awake."
Her cool voice came from above him.
Shinji blinked, his vision slowly focusing.
Then he saw Kikyō's face.
She was directly above him, her black hair falling like a waterfall, blocking part of the moonlight. Her dark eyes looked down at him, calm, yet with an indescribable softness.
Shinji's body tensed slightly.
He realized his current position.
This posture, this angle, his head was resting on Kikyō's lap.
Her thighs, wrapped in red hakama, were soft and warm. Even through the fabric, he could feel that alluring sensation.
"…"
But Shinji didn't immediately get up.
He just quietly looked up at her cool face.
"How long was I out?"
As a demon, he didn't need sleep. But as a ghost, when his demonic aura was completely exhausted, he would fall into a temporary state of being unable to move, unable even to maintain consciousness, something like a coma.
After all, both his body and brain required demonic aura to function.
Fortunately, Blood Change and Bone Change were already complete. Even without demonic aura, they could circulate and recover on their own. An ordinary demon warrior might not have woken up at all but without these two Changes, Shinji probably wouldn't have dared to take such risks.
"Two hours." Kikyō's voice remained calm. "Your wounds aren't fully healed yet. Don't move too much."
Shinji looked down at his chest.
It had been bandaged with white cloth, the work skillful.
But he wanted to say… what was the point of bandaging him? He was a ghost, not a human. But he had enough emotional intelligence not to blurt that out. He still had a brain.
He simply asked, "Did you bandage me?"
"Yes."
"…Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
The conversation was brief.
But the atmosphere between them wasn't awkward.
Shinji tilted his head back up to look at Kikyō.
Under the moonlight, her cool face looked especially soft.
Her eyelashes were long, casting faint shadows under her eyes.
Her lips were slightly pursed, that touch of cherry color especially alluring in the silver light.
Her white shrine maiden's robe was dyed a pale silver by the moon. The collar was slightly open, revealing a slender collarbone and the slight cleavage of her breast.
Shinji's gaze drifted lower.
Kikyō's waist was slender, bound by the red hakama, its smooth lines outlined.
His head rested on her thigh.
Those legs were long and shapely, and even through the fabric, he could feel their elasticity and warmth.
"Seen enough?" Kikyō's voice came from above.
Shinji met her eyes.
"No," he said honestly.
Kikyō's expression stiffened slightly.
Those dark eyes seemed to flicker with emotion, like a stone thrown into a still lake, sending out tiny, barely perceptible ripples.
"You…" There was a note of resignation in her voice.
But the corners of her mouth lifted slightly.
Silence spread, but it wasn't uncomfortable.
On the contrary, there was a reassuring stillness.
At this moment, Shinji thought of many things. Of the battles he had fought since crossing over, the countless brushes with death though he was already dead, and was instead step by step regaining "vitality" Blood Transformation complete, Bone formed, Soul born.
But through all the hardship, to have earned this moment of peace and softness, it wasn't a bad trade.
After all, for him, power was always a means to pursue what he truly wanted.
As he thought this, Kikyō looked down at his pale face. In the moonlight, his crimson eyes seemed especially deep.
They were inhuman, yet somehow, to her, they looked… beautiful.
Her thoughts began to drift.
She remembered the first time she met him.
The initial wariness, the hesitation, then acceptance, then trust and then, naturalness. Inevitability.
She couldn't deny it, and she didn't want to.
She had long grown used to his presence.
When he was by her side, she inexplicably felt at ease.
…During the time he was away, she had been waiting for his return.
Kikyō closed her eyes.
As a shrine maiden, she had been taught since childhood to keep her heart still as water.
She had made herself an isolated island, needing no one to draw near.
But this demon....
This demon warrior named Nakai Shinji....
He hadn't stormed her island, but he had drawn closer and closer, bit by bit.
With his honesty, his reliability, his every kept promise.
Until she realized it, he was already there.
Inside her heart.
He had landed on her island, taken root in her heart.
"Shinji."
Kikyō's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"I—"
"Wait." Shinji suddenly interrupted her.
Kikyō froze.
Shinji sat up from her lap, turning to face her.
Under the moonlight, his pale face held a certain earnestness.
"Let me speak first," he said.
Kikyō's brow furrowed slightly.
"You—"
"Kikyō." Shinji interrupted her again.
His crimson eyes met hers directly. His voice was calm but firm.
As if he had seen what was in the shrine maiden's heart, he spoke, suddenly:
"Let's be together."
Kikyō's body stiffened.
The girl looked at him, her dark eyes filled with shock.
And joy.
Shinji smiled. He looked quite happy, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
For someone he had liked from his past life all the way to this one, his response was only natural.
"I know I'm a demon," he said.
"I know there are too many barriers between humans and demons."
"But none of that matters."
"What matters is—"
He reached out and gently took Kikyō's hand.
Her hand was a little cool, but it made Kikyō's heart skip a beat.
"At this moment, I want to be with you."
"Kikyō."