"I… I…"
A bitter ache welled up in Kagome's chest.
She already knew the answer. Inuyasha had come here for Kikyo.
Just as Kikyo had asked,
Who am I to him?
Before she could sort through the storm in her heart, Kikyo lifted a hand and lightly tapped her.
Kagome's breath caught.
Her body froze instantly. She couldn't move a single finger, as though she had become a puppet carved from wood.
"Kikyo… what are you doing?" she asked, panic creeping into her voice.
"Kill him," Kikyo replied calmly. "And have him accompany me to hell."
The words were ice-cold.
Several Soul Reapers drifted in at once, binding Kagome tightly against the tree behind her.
"Kikyo, someone made you two hate each other on purpose!" Kagome struggled to turn her head, desperation filling her voice. "The one who attacked you wasn't Inuyasha! You were both deceived,Naraku tricked you!"
"Naraku…?"
Kikyo paused faintly at the name.
Then she gave a thin smile.
"I died long ago. Such matters are no longer important."
"But Inuyasha still thinks about you!" Kagome insisted. "He loves you!"
Kikyo stepped closer.
She reached out and pinched Kagome's chin between her fingers, forcing her to meet her gaze.
The two identical faces stared at one another,one composed and distant, the other flustered and trembling.
"And you?" Kikyo asked quietly. "Does he love you?Do you love him?"
"I… you…"
Kagome's mind went blank.
Before she could gather herself,
"He's almost here," Kikyo said.
She released Kagome and turned to face the forest.
"Let him answer for himself."
Through the trees, a figure came rushing toward them at full speed.
Inuyasha.
Kagome swallowed. She glanced at Kikyo's unreadable expression, confusion tightening in her chest. What was Kikyo planning?
Up above, concealed among the branches of a nearby tree, Kagetsu observed everything silently.
This development differed from what he remembered.
Kikyo hadn't hidden Kagome from Inuyasha. She hadn't lashed out blindly in resentment.
Instead,
She was forcing the choice into the open.
Now this, Kagetsu thought, narrowing his eyes, is the true Sengoku era priestess.
The chakra he had given her had cleansed much of the resentment clinging to her soul. She was no longer driven by blind hatred.
She was calm.
And decisive.
Inuyasha burst through the barrier and skidded to a halt.
"Kikyo… Kagome… what's going on?"
He stared at them, stunned.
Kikyo stood beneath the drifting Soul Reapers.
Kagome was bound tightly to the tree beside her.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called urgently. "Tell her! What happened back then was Naraku's scheme! You were both deceived!"
"Kikyo,"
He stepped forward instinctively.
But Kikyo cut him off.
"Inuyasha," she said evenly, "I remain in this world only through resentment,bound to a body made from grave soil and bone. Do you find me grotesque?"
"Don't say that!" Inuyasha shouted, shaking his head fiercely. "You might hate me… but I've never forgotten you. Not once!"
Kagome's heart clenched.
As expected…
"Inuyasha has always…"
Her vision blurred.
"I will never find you grotesque!" Inuyasha continued, eyes burning with sincerity. "No matter what you've become!"
"Is that so…?"
Kikyo's gaze softened for just a fraction of a second.
Then,
She suddenly seized Kagome by the collar and yanked her forward, forcing her to stand between them.
"Then what about her?" Kikyo asked coolly. "What do you intend to do?"
Kagome, still reeling from her own emotions, was dragged into the center of the confrontation.
Her pulse pounded.
Despite herself, she waited for his answer.
Up above, Kagetsu's lips curved faintly.
This is it. The real test.
Inuyasha stood frozen.
"Kikyo… Kagome… I…"
He looked from one to the other, panic flashing across his face.
The words "Can't I choose both?" hovered dangerously at the edge of his tongue,
But under their piercing gazes, he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Is it that difficult?" Kikyo asked quietly.
Seeing his hesitation, something in her eyes grew distant.
"Since you cannot decide… I will choose for you."
At her signal, the Soul Reapers binding Kagome tightened violently.
"Ah,!"
Kagome cried out in pain, her face draining of color.
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha moved without thinking.
His claws flashed.
With a single sweep, he shredded the Soul Reapers apart and pulled Kagome into his arms.
"Kagome! Are you hurt?!"
"Inuyasha…"
She looked up at him blankly.
In that instant, she understood.
Kikyo had forced his instinctive answer.
Her gaze slowly shifted toward Kikyo.
Kikyo was watching them quietly.
A flicker of something,too faint to name,passed through her eyes.
Kagome pushed herself upright from Inuyasha's embrace, about to speak.
Kikyo's lips moved first.
No sound came out.
But Kagome read them clearly.
I leave him to you.
"It seems," Kikyo said aloud, her voice steady once more, "you've made your choice, Inuyasha."
He looked up sharply.
Soul Reapers gathered around her, lifting her gently into the air.
"Kikyo! Wait,I…"
He reached out,
But grasped only empty air.
"That woman," Kikyo said softly, gazing down at him, "is more important than I am."
Her eyes returned to their distant clarity.
She gave them one last look,
Then turned away.
Carried by the Soul Reapers, she drifted into the horizon, her white figure fading into the forest's embrace.
As she vanished, the barrier dissolved with her.
"Inuyasha…"
Kagome looked at his stunned expression, her heart heavy.
In this confrontation, she had seemingly won.
Yet there was no joy in it.
Only a quiet ache.
"She's changed," Kagome murmured softly. "Kikyo… she's become the priestess she once was."
"Huh?" Inuyasha blinked. "Wasn't she always a priestess?"
Kagome stared at him.
"You really don't understand women at all!"
"What?! What's that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha snapped back, thoroughly confused.
"Sit, boy!"
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, Inuyasha slammed face-first into the earth.
He lay there, flattened against the ground, wearing a look of utter grievance.
"You jerk…"
Up in the trees, Kagetsu watched the dust settle.
The choice had been made.
But the story,
Was far from over.