Deep in the gully, there was indeed a cave.
Its mouth was half-buried under a tangle of weeds and overgrowth. Had Kōbe Hikaru not remembered the direction he'd fled that frantic night, there would have been no finding this place at all.
"This is it."
He pushed through the thorns and stepped inside.
Dark. Damp. The air carried the thick, sweetish weight of decay.
Kikyō followed behind him, a soft bloom of pale spiritual light gathering at her fingertips to illuminate the path ahead.
The cave was not deep.
Fifteen or so paces, and they reached the end.
Kōbe Hikaru stopped.
A skeleton lay there.
Bare white bones, stark against the dark earth. The clothing had long since rotted to fragments — only a few ragged scraps of fabric still clung to the frame. Where the left arm should have been, there was nothing. A clean, severed absence.
"It's him."
Kōbe Hikaru recognized the posture of that skeleton. The exact same as the old man he had carried on his back that night.
Only the flesh had become dry bone.
How many days had it even been?
He frowned.
"Demon-qi erosion."
Kikyō stepped forward and crouched down, her gaze moving over the remains with calm, clinical attention.
"When he died, there was a significant amount of residual demon-qi inside him — injuries sustained during his journey here, most likely. Combined with how thick the yin energy is in this cave, it accelerated the corrosion considerably. The body decomposed far faster than it should have."
Kōbe Hikaru said nothing.
This old man had given his life to escort the Shikon Jewel. And his remains had lain here, alone in this dark cave, being eaten away bit by bit by demon-qi.
"He needs last rites."
Kikyō stood and drew a sheaf of white paper talismans from her sleeve. "He was a Demon Slayer — a man who spent his whole life exterminating demons. His remains cannot be left to fester in demonic corruption."
Kōbe Hikaru nodded.
"What do you need me to do?"
"Stand watch at the entrance. Don't let anything in."
As she spoke, Kikyō began arranging the talismans around the skeleton.
The white paper slips flowed between her fingertips like living things — like butterflies that had just woken up — settling one by one onto the cave floor, forming a complete formation.
Kōbe Hikaru withdrew to the cave mouth.
He stood with his back to the interior, his gaze sweeping the treeline outside.
No fluctuations of demon-qi. He didn't relax anyway.
Out here in the wilderness, anything could show up.
From behind him came the low, measured sound of Kikyō's sutra.
The voice was soft — but it carried a solemnity that was difficult to name.
Kōbe Hikaru couldn't understand the words themselves, but the talent he had received from the Shikon Jewel's Naohi — Spirit Sight — allowed him to feel the spiritual energy in motion.
A great deal of it.
He glanced back.
Kikyō stood with her hands forming a seal, her entire form wreathed in blazing white light.
That radiance enveloped the skeleton completely, purifying the residual demon-qi from the bones one fragment at a time. The black miasma seeped out through the gaps between each bone — and the instant it touched the white light, it dissolved into nothing.
At the same time, the bones themselves began to turn translucent, as though the light were slowly dissolving them from within.
So this is what last rites look like.
Impressive.
Kōbe Hikaru's eyes shifted slightly. He had no difficulty recognizing the level of mastery behind what Kikyō was making look effortless.
Just as ordinary practitioners needed elaborate preparation to maintain a barrier — while Kikyō could sustain one large enough to protect an entire village through her spiritual power alone — most practitioners performing last rites required outside assistance, relied on actual fire to guide the dead. Kikyō was igniting the spirit-flame from within herself, guiding the departed with nothing but her own power.
He watched as the skeleton gradually faded within the white light, dissolving slowly, until at last only a small mound of pale grey ash remained.
Kikyō released the hand seal and drew a plain, undyed cloth pouch from her sleeve.
She gathered the ashes with careful, unhurried hands.
Slowly. Gently.
She tied the pouch closed and rose to her feet.
"Let's go."
"This — I will deliver to his family myself."
Kōbe Hikaru nodded.
The two of them walked out of the cave.
Sunlight. Blinding.
Kōbe Hikaru squinted until his eyes adjusted, then began to survey their surroundings.
"So. Next, we follow the old man's trail back the way he came and see if we can find Hiraikotsu."
He said it simply.
Kikyō nodded — then paused, a slight furrow forming between her brows. "You know the route he took…?"
She caught herself mid-sentence.
This Ghost Warrior hadn't even remembered the route to the cave — so how on earth could he know how the Demon Slayer village's chief had traveled from the village all the way here?
He was going to do that thing again.
Kikyō knew the road to the Demon Slayer village, of course — but the old man had been hunted the whole way. He would never have taken a straight path.
As expected.
Kōbe Hikaru crouched down, picked up a stone from the ground, and gave the dirt on it a casual wipe with his sleeve.
Kikyō watched him. She didn't say anything.
But her expression said it clearly enough: You again?
Kōbe Hikaru offered it a small smile.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, friend."
He addressed the stone with perfect sincerity:
"Three days ago, an old man ran past this area. Do you happen to know which direction he came from?"
The stone did not respond.
[Nameless Pebble: Affection 0 (Stranger)]
[It has no interest in talking to you.]
Kōbe Hikaru didn't give up.
He tipped some water from his waterskin over the stone, giving it a proper rinse. Then he found it a sunny spot and set it down carefully.
"That's got to be more comfortable. If you think of anything, let me know — I'll come visit again when I'm passing through."
[Nameless Pebble: Affection +1]
[Current Affection: 1 (Goodwill)]
[It thinks you seem decent enough — though waking it up was still rude.]
[It tells you: it didn't catch sight of any giant bone weapon. But it does know that the old man was moving fast when he passed — coming in from the eastern mountain path.]
Kōbe Hikaru stood, dusted his hands off, and pointed.
"East. Along the mountain trail. That's where he came from."
Kikyō looked at him. Then at the stone.
"…The stone told you again?"
"Mm."
"…"
Kikyō was quiet for two full seconds.
"That ability of yours."
She said:
"It's strange."
"But — it's also useful."
Was that a compliment?
Kōbe Hikaru smiled a little.
"Then let's keep looking."
He started walking east.
"Something that size doesn't just vanish into thin air. It must have fallen somewhere along the path."
Kikyō followed behind him.
The two descended along the mountain trail.
As they went, Kōbe Hikaru paused every so often to pick up a stone or crouch by a tree root for a brief exchange.
He didn't gain much Affection — but he gathered a great deal of information.
[The stone says: the old man ran that way.]
[The pine tree says: a giant centipede was chasing him from behind.]
[There was a fight over there — blood all over the ground.]
A complete picture of the route began to take shape, one fragment at a time.
Hiraikotsu's exact whereabouts remained elusive — but at least they had a direction.
"What if a demon picked it up?"
Kōbe Hikaru asked.
Kikyō frowned.
"It's possible."
"Hiraikotsu is a weapon forged from demon bones. For demons, it also functions as a kind of supplement. If a powerful enough demon found it, there's a good chance it would simply devour it."
Something dropped in Kōbe Hikaru's chest.
If it had already been eaten, that was that. Nothing to be done.
But —
"It might not have been digested yet," he said. "That thing sounds like it'd be incredibly hard. Even a demon would need some time to work through it."
Kikyō glanced at him sideways.
"You're very interested in Hiraikotsu."
"It's a fine weapon," Kōbe Hikaru said, without denying it. "A weapon that can cut down demons — who wouldn't be interested?"
Kikyō didn't press further.
They walked on.
The sun began to slope toward the west.
They had long since left the mountain terrain behind. Ahead of them lay a broad, open plain.
At the far edge of the plain, thin threads of smoke were rising into the sky.
A human settlement.
"We'll stop there for the night," Kikyō said. "Continue searching tomorrow."
Kōbe Hikaru nodded.
They turned toward the smoke.
About half a shichen later, a village came into view — more run-down than Kōbe Hikaru had expected.
The thatched roofs were patchy and half-collapsed. The mud walls were riddled with cracks. Even the wooden fence at the village entrance had fallen over on one side.
As if something had trampled through it.
"This place…"
Kōbe Hikaru's brow creased.
Something wasn't right.
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