"I want to meet an old acquaintance… and settle what was left unfinished."
Kikyo stood by the treehouse window, gazing at the forest swaying in the wind. A faint shadow of memory flickered in her eyes as she broke the silence.
"Inuyasha?" Kagetsu arched a brow, curiosity written plainly across his face.
"Now that I think about it, I've always wondered." He leaned back casually. "Inuyasha's with Kagome now. And Kagome is your reincarnation. So what do you think? Has he always loved the same soul… or has he moved on and just doesn't want to admit it?"
"…"
Kikyo turned her face slightly and cast him a sidelong glance. Her lips pressed into a thin line.
He, unfortunately, did not notice.
Instead, the unfortunate "single man" instincts he had developed over two lifetimes of being single kicked in at full force.
"Seriously, though. Since Kagome is your reincarnation, which one of you is the 'real' you now?" he continued thoughtfully. "If Kagome ends up with Inuyasha, is that just you continuing your romance in another life? Or does it mean Inuyasha has already let go of the woman who died and fallen for someone new?"
He piled question upon question without pause.
Kikyo's expression darkened by the second.
"If I succeed in resurrecting you," he pressed on, "would you fight Kagome for him? Or would you step aside? Though honestly, fighting your own reincarnation over a man… isn't that just competing with yourself?"
Silence.
The air grew colder.
Kikyo's fingers curled slowly into her sleeves. Her knuckles turned faintly white. For a fleeting moment, the urge to strike him down on the spot flickered through her mind.
In the end, she restrained herself.
She merely rubbed her temple as if suppressing a headache, rose to her feet, and walked toward the door without another word.
Several pure white Soul Reapers drifted out from the forest, settling beside her. They gently lifted her body into the air.
Only then did Kagetsu finally sense that perhaps he had pushed too far.
"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked.
"No."
Kikyo paused midair and looked back at him. Her voice was calm again,cold, but resolute.
"This is between him and me. I will settle it myself. Rest here. I will return to you afterward."
With that, the Soul Reapers carried her away. Her white form soon vanished among the trees.
"Going to see Inuyasha and Kagome without me? That won't do."
Kagetsu watched her disappear, the corner of his mouth curling into a sly grin.
Somewhere along the way, after these past few days together, he had realized something uncomfortable.
He had fallen for her.
Perhaps it was the tragedy woven into her fate. Perhaps it was her quiet strength. Either way, he couldn't just let things unfold as they once had.
If he remembered correctly, in the original course of events, Kikyo would encounter Kagome within her barrier. Inuyasha would be present. It would be their first true confrontation.
And Kikyo would silence Kagome.
That part had always bothered him.
How could Kagome be made to suffer like that?
"Nope. Can't allow that."
He wasn't worried about losing track of her. When he had used the Flying Thunder God Technique to bring her back to the treehouse the night before, he had quietly left a Flying Thunder God mark on her.
No matter how many barriers she erected, as long as she wasn't too far, he could reach her instantly.
He had initially planned to wander nearby and wait for the moment.
But suddenly, he paused.
"Wait… she doesn't need spirit souls anymore."
The plot had already deviated.
If so, the timing of events might shift as well.
Without further hesitation, Kagetsu leapt from the treehouse and dashed through the forest like a shadow, quietly trailing behind Kikyo's direction.
"Still," he muttered to himself while weaving between trees, "I really need a flying summon or something."
Watching Kikyo glide gracefully on her Soul Reapers had sparked a thought.
"That cat yōkai… Natsume."
If Sesshomaru, as a daiyōkai of the dog-demon clan, could fly, then logically speaking, a Leopard Cat Tribe yōkai should be capable of something similar.
But the mental image of himself standing proudly atop Natsume midair felt absurdly comedic.
He shook his head quickly.
"Forget it. She'd scratch my face off before agreeing to that. I'll just find a more agreeable flying yōkai someday."
Meanwhile, by a riverside clearing,
Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Shippō were resting.
Not far away along a narrow path, a young monk slowly walked while supporting the injured Master Harumi.
After Kikyo and Kagetsu had left the village the previous night, the two monks had been carried back and treated with basic bandages. They had departed at dawn to seek a proper physician in the nearest castle town.
As they passed the riverbank, the young monk glanced casually toward Inuyasha's group.
At first, he assumed they were ordinary travelers.
Then his eyes landed on Kagome.
His face went white.
"Ahhh,!"
The scream shattered the calm of the riverside.
Kagome jumped, instinctively pulling Shippō into her arms as she ducked behind Inuyasha. "W-What's wrong?!"
Miroku raised his staff at once, expression sharpening.
Inuyasha blinked in confusion,then saw the two monks scrambling away in panic, dragging Harumi with them.
"Hey! What's your problem?!" he barked, already springing after them.
Carrying an injured man, they couldn't move fast. Inuyasha easily cut them off.
The young monk's legs gave out. He collapsed to the ground along with Harumi, pointing at him in terror.
"D-Demon,!"
"Inuyasha, allow me," Miroku said, arriving moments later.
After several tense exchanges and Miroku's patient questioning, the misunderstanding gradually unraveled.
The group settled again, though unease lingered in the air.
"You said you encountered a demon?" Inuyasha asked bluntly.
"Yes…" Harumi drew a slow breath, his gaze drifting toward Kagome with a complicated expression. "One of them looked almost identical to this young lady."
"What?" Kagome stiffened.
"Do you mean she resembled Miss Kagome?" Miroku clarified gently.
"Yes. She bore the appearance of a priestess. Yet she was enveloped in an oppressive aura of resentment. A most terrifying presence."
Even recalling it made his complexion pale.
"A priestess… who looks like me?" Kagome murmured, stunned.
"Was it she who wounded you?" Miroku asked, noting the deep injury across Harumi's chest.
"Not directly," Harumi replied gravely. "It was one of her attendants."
He recalled the man's swift, overwhelming strikes,two movements, and he had been utterly defeated.
"He wore the attire of a samurai and possessed tremendous strength. I was no match for him. Yet I do not believe he was human. He felt more like… a shikigami under her command."
"If he meant to kill you, how did you survive?" Inuyasha demanded.
"That shikigami was about to deal the final blow… when the priestess stopped him."
Harumi hesitated, then added as if suddenly remembering:
"Her name is Kikyo."
The air froze.