"If you truly want a peaceful life," Kagetsu said evenly, "then the only way is to help Kagome resolve the Shikon Jewel's chaos."
As he spoke, he recalled the tangled fate awaiting Kikyo, Kagome, and Inuyasha.
A faint, almost wicked smile curved his lips.
"And stop staring at that half-demon," he added deliberately. "Inuyasha already has Kagome. The moment you died, whatever bond you had with him ended."
"Shut up!"
Kikyo's expression turned glacial in an instant.
Spiritual power surged around her as a beam of silver-white purifying energy shot straight toward him.
Kagetsu didn't dodge.
Still hanging upside down from the branch, he let the sacred light strike his chest head-on.
With a dull impact, the purifying power detonated against him, blasting open a fist-sized hole in his torso.
But the next moment, fine white particles drifted in from every direction, gathering at the wound. In the blink of an eye, the gap closed seamlessly,without leaving so much as a scar.
Kikyo had never expected to truly injure him.
Without hesitation, she turned and walked away.
Kagetsu watched her retreating figure, clicking his tongue in mild boredom.
He shifted the chakra at his feet and flipped upright, landing lightly atop the branch as though gravity had simply remembered its duty.
Stretching lazily, he called after her:
"For the truly strong, the line between life and death is thin to begin with. If someone can cross time itself, crossing the boundary of life and death isn't so difficult either."
Kikyo's steps halted.
She did not turn around.
"Do you…" she asked quietly, "have a way to truly return to life?"
"Of course." He grinned, tone casual and confident. "You think I plan to spend eternity in this dead shell?"
She turned sharply, lips parting as if to press him further. But after a brief hesitation, she swallowed the question.
"What? Want to know how?" he teased, arching a brow.
"It's nothing." She looked away. "I'm leaving tonight."
Kagetsu watched her go, amusement flickering in his eyes.
He was curious to see how long this proud shrine maiden could resist asking him about resurrection again.
Night fell swiftly.
Perhaps still unsettled by their earlier clash, Kikyo did not seek him out. She packed her belongings alone and slipped quietly from the village.
The night sky was ink-dark.
By the river outside the village, she stood beneath the cold moonlight. Silver ripples shimmered across the water, casting her slender figure in a lonely glow.
Gradually, pale motes of light appeared in the air.
They drifted toward her like fireflies.
As they drew nearer, their forms became clear,small, white, translucent Soul Collectors, each carrying clusters of faintly glowing spirit-souls in their tiny hands.
They circled her silently.
Kikyo extended a slender finger. One spirit-soul dropped gently into her grasp.
"Poor wandering souls…" she murmured. "Come with me."
She guided the spirit into her clay body.
This fragile vessel relied upon the souls of the recently deceased to sustain its movement,and its power.
"Do you remain in this world because you cannot ascend to heaven… Lady Kikyo?"
The voice came from behind her.
Her heart tightened.
Master Harumi.
The instant he spoke, a sharp whistle tore through the night.
A katana shot from the darkness like a falling star,piercing straight through his chest and pinning him to the ground.
"Gah,!"
Blood spilled from his lips as his trembling hands grasped the blade. Terror flooded his eyes.
Crackling arcs of lightning suddenly surged along the steel.
The current raced through his body, locking his muscles and silencing his scream before it could fully form.
"So you really didn't take my warning seriously."
Kagetsu's voice descended coldly from above.
"If you're so eager to die, I can oblige."
He landed beside the fallen monk, looking down at him without emotion.
In the darkness, his Sharingan glowed crimson,like a demon's gaze from the abyss. The very air seemed to grow colder.
"W-Who's there?"
A faint rustle came from the nearby brush.
Kikyo turned sharply.
Kagetsu didn't bother. He had sensed the village girl,Sayo,hiding there long ago.
He wrapped his hand around the sword's hilt and yanked it free. Blood followed the blade.
Slowly, deliberately, he raised it toward Harumi's throat.
"Wait."
Kikyo's voice cut in.
"There's a child here."
He glanced over.
Kikyo had already drawn Sayo from the bushes.
The little girl sat frozen on the ground, eyes wide at the bloodstained scene. When her gaze met Kagetsu's scarlet Sharingan, her small body trembled violently. Tears welled up, but fear stole her voice.
Kagetsu sighed inwardly.
She'll be having nightmares.
"Fine," he said at last, lowering the sword. "For the child's sake."
Killing a monk meant nothing to him.
But not in front of a child.
He sheathed the blade.
Kikyo knelt, gently comforting Sayo until the girl's sobs quieted.
When she rose, she said softly, "Let's go."
"Miss Kikyo…" Sayo called, voice thick with tears.
Kikyo paused and looked back.
Her smile was tender.
"I'm sorry you had to see something so frightening," she said gently. "Farewell, Sayo."
Then she turned and walked into the dark forest.
Kagetsu followed.
Soon, their figures were swallowed by the trees.
The forest path was quiet but for insects and the faint sound of footsteps.
The Soul Collectors continued to drift around Kikyo like pale lanterns.
Kagetsu studied them with curiosity.
Small, translucent, faintly glowing…
Compared to the grotesque demons roaming the countryside, they were almost charming.
He reached out idly to touch one. It darted away nimbly.
Bored, he glanced at Kikyo's back and recalled Sayo's tearful face.
"You're popular with children," he remarked. "That girl saw you command the Soul Collectors, yet she still didn't want you to leave."
He added casually, "If you ever had a child, you'd probably make a good mother."
Kikyo's steps faltered.
Just for half a breath.
Then she resumed walking.
Her expression remained unreadable,but the sharp edge of her aura softened ever so slightly.
After a long silence, her voice drifted back, almost lost to the wind.
"My time stopped the day I died. As one who walks between life and death… is such a future even possible?"
Kagetsu gave an answer befitting his clan.
"If something seems impossible, it's only because you lack the strength to make it possible."
She did not reply.
The forest fell quiet again, broken only by the soft flutter of Soul Collectors.
After a moment, he asked curiously, "Those creatures,are they how you gather souls?"
"There is little of my own soul remaining," Kikyo said calmly. "This body of clay moves only by borrowing the souls of recently deceased young women."
Her tone was flat, as if she were describing someone else's fate.
After a pause, she asked, "And you?"
She glanced back at him.
"Your body… what exactly are you?"