"Thank you for your hospitality. We'll be taking our leave now."
Kagetsu and Kikyo stood side by side at the gates of the Demon Slayer Village, bidding farewell to the villagers gathered to see them off.
"Think nothing of it!" the Demon Slayer leader replied, standing at the front of the group.
He hesitated for a moment, then turned and called out, "Kohaku!"
"Yes!"
A bright, youthful voice answered. A small boy ran forward from the crowd, carrying a wooden box in both hands. He presented it obediently to his father.
Kagetsu's gaze settled on the child.
Kohaku.
Sango's younger brother. The leader's son.
An unfortunate boy.
The first time he accompanied the Demon Slayer corps on a mission, he would encounter Naraku. Manipulated by illusion and deceit, he would slaughter his own comrades,his own father,without awareness.
Only Sango would survive.
After that… he would become Naraku's puppet, forced to turn his blade against his own sister.
Kohaku, blissfully unaware of the tragic future awaiting him, stepped back into the crowd after handing over the box.
The village leader took it and stepped forward, bowing slightly as he offered it to Kikyo.
"Lady Kikyo, we ask that you accept these Shikon Jewel shards. Our village cannot purify them, and keeping them here only invites demons seeking their power. It would be safer if you took them."
Kikyo considered for a moment before opening the box.
Inside lay several faintly glowing fragments.
She understood immediately.
Naraku was collecting the shards. Leaving them here would only bring calamity.
"I understand."
She accepted the shards calmly.
Relief flickered across the leader's face,mixed with unmistakable guilt.
He knew well that giving her the shards would shift the danger onto her shoulders. But keeping them would endanger the entire village.
"Thank you, Lady Kikyo," he said sincerely. "If you ever require assistance, please do not hesitate to call upon us."
"There is no need for thanks," Kikyo replied gently.
She turned and mounted the Black Bear Demon waiting behind them. Kagetsu followed, settling himself behind her.
Kikyo placed a hand on the demon's head.
"Let's go, Kuro-maru."
That was the name she had given it. Since she intended to refine it into a shikigami, she might as well name it.
Just as Kuro-maru prepared to descend the mountain path, Kagetsu suddenly glanced back.
"Oh, one more thing."
The leader looked up.
"I sensed numerous demonic auras nearby,likely heading toward your village. Stay alert. This place seems to attract a great deal of resentment from demons."
The leader's expression changed instantly.
"What?! Understood!"
He bowed deeply. "Thank you for the warning!"
Kikyo then turned slightly, addressing the flea perched on her shoulder.
"Grandfather Myoga, will you be coming with us?"
"W-well…" Myoga suddenly produced a tiny bundle from somewhere and slung it over his back. "No, no, Miss Kikyo! I must locate Young Master Inuyasha at once. I'll be on my way!"
"Travel safely," Kikyo said with a nod.
Myoga leapt into the grass with a soft swoosh and vanished without a trace.
Kuro-maru began its steady descent along the cliffside path.
They had only reached halfway down when someone approached from below.
A young woman in a vermilion-striped haori and fitted green hakama climbed the path with steady steps. The cut of her clothing accentuated her poised, athletic figure.
Her skin was fair, her features delicate yet resolute. Light violet eyeshadow framed her almond-shaped eyes, and her long dark hair flowed behind her like silk.
Strapped across her back,
The massive bone boomerang, Hiraikotsu.
Sango.
Kagetsu hadn't expected to encounter her here.
He studied her openly.
As expected of a central figure in this era's destiny, her beauty rivaled Kikyo's and Kagome's.
But more than that, she carried a rare heroic spirit unique to Demon Slayers,a quiet strength forged through hardship.
No wonder Miroku had fallen so thoroughly, Kagetsu mused inwardly. That lecherous monk had been blessed indeed.
Sango also noticed the unusual sight approaching her: a priestess and a samurai riding a black bear demon.
This road was used only by villagers and trusted guests.
Judging by their direction, they had clearly just left the village.
Visitors, then.
She didn't question them. Instead, she stepped politely to the side of the path, allowing them to pass.
Kagetsu eventually withdrew his gaze, preparing to continue down the mountain,
When Kikyo's calm voice sounded in front of him.
"That female Demon Slayer just now… was she very beautiful?"
Her tone was perfectly neutral.
Too neutral.
"Hm?" He blinked, then chuckled softly. "Yes, she's quite beautiful."
A pause.
"I see," Kikyo replied evenly.
But Kagetsu clearly sensed it,
A faint chill in the air.
Amusement flickered in his eyes.
"But," he added smoothly, "she's nowhere near as beautiful as you."
Before Kikyo could respond, he extended his hand past her side and opened his palm.
A faintly glowing Shikon Jewel shard lay within it.
Kikyo's attention shifted instantly.
"What is this?" She took the shard, turning to him with narrowed eyes. "Where did you get it?"
Her gaze sharpened.
"You didn't take it from that girl just now… did you?"
She had indeed sensed a shard on Sango earlier. But she hadn't noticed Kagetsu making any move.
"You guessed correctly," he replied with a mischievous smile. "But I wouldn't call it stealing. Think of it as… preemptive safekeeping."
He shrugged lightly.
"It's too dangerous for them to hold onto. They would have handed it to you sooner or later. I simply saved them the trouble."
Kikyo did not immediately refute him.
The Demon Slayer Village truly could not safeguard Shikon shards indefinitely.
Instead, she asked quietly, "How did you do it? I saw no movement."
Kagetsu raised a finger.
A nearly invisible thread of chakra extended from it, gently wrapping around the shard in Kikyo's hand.
With a subtle flick,
Whoosh.
The shard flew back into his palm as if tugged by an unseen string.
"This is a Chakra Thread," he explained. "Originally used by shinobi puppet masters to control their puppets."
"I'm not a puppeteer, but I learned the basics. It's useful for retrieving small objects,or manipulating weapons."
"Like the shard I retrieved from that Demon Slayer just now."
He handed it back to Kikyo with a faintly smug expression.
Meanwhile,
Sango had just returned to the village.
Upon checking the shard in her possession,
Her heart dropped.
It was gone.
She searched frantically.
The cloth pouch inside her robes was still there.
But the Shikon shard within it had vanished without a trace.
Before leaving on her mission, she had personally confirmed it was still in her possession at the foot of the mountain.
The only unusual encounter since then,
Her eyes widened.
"Them…"
She immediately looked up at her father.
"Father," she asked urgently, "on my way back, I met two people riding a Black Bear Demon. Were they guests of the village?"