Kagetsu quickly formed hand seals, and five chakra flames ignited on his fingertips.
Within the dancing flames flickered the characters for Yin,Yang, Water, Fire, and Earth.
The next second, he slammed his palm onto Tsubaki's abdomen and shouted in a low voice:
"Five Elements Sealing!"
"Ugh!"
The immense force made Tsubaki groan as her body arched backward. It felt as though all the strength had been drained from her body.
The moment Kagetsu withdrew his hand, she collapsed weakly onto the ground.
"Cough, cough…"
Clutching her stomach in pain, Tsubaki coughed up a mouthful of sour liquid. She raised her head and looked at Kagetsu with narrowed eyes.
Then she rolled her eyes and deliberately put on a pitiful expression.
"You man… you hit so hard the moment we met. Couldn't you be a little gentler with me?"
"Shut up, old hag."
Kikyo frowned at her exaggerated act and stepped forward, standing directly in front of Kagetsu and blocking Tsubaki's line of sight.
Her cold tone also seemed to remind Kagetsu of one important fact,
This woman was very old.
Tsubaki froze at Kikyo's sudden move. Her eyes widened slightly.
Ignoring the weakness caused by having both her spiritual power and demonic power sealed, she struggled to push herself up from the ground.
She stared at Kikyo intently, then glanced past her toward the obscured figure of Kagetsu.
A playful smile slowly appeared on her face.
"Kikyo… is this your current man?"
Her tone carried both amusement and surprise.
"I thought after Inuyasha abandoned you, you'd find another half-demon."
"But I didn't expect it to be a human."
Although Kagetsu's appearance was strange, Tsubaki could clearly sense the aura of a human from him. He was definitely not a demon or a half-demon.
Hearing her words, Kagetsu secretly gave Tsubaki a thumbs-up in his heart.
He suddenly found this Black Miko much more agreeable.
At least she knew how to talk.
On the other hand, Kikyo's secret had been exposed so suddenly that a faint trace of embarrassment flickered in her eyes.
The tips of her delicate ears quietly turned red.
However, her face still maintained its calm and indifferent expression, making it difficult for others to notice anything unusual.
"Kagetsu, let's go back."
Worried that Tsubaki might say something even more outrageous, Kikyo quickly reached out and grabbed his arm, her tone urging him.
Kagetsu curved his lips slightly.
Kikyo hid it well, but his Sharingan had already noticed the unnatural tension on her face.
Clearly,She wanted to leave this awkward place as quickly as possible.
Right in front of everyone, he clasped Kikyo's hand.
Ignoring the faint blush that flashed across her face, he calmly bid farewell to Kagome, Inuyasha, and the others.
"Then we'll be leaving first. Goodbye."
"Goodbye!"
Kagome, Sango, Miroku, and Shippō immediately responded.
"…"
Inuyasha stared at their tightly clasped hands, a complicated mixture of struggle and hesitation flashing across his face.
"Kikyo,"
Before he could say anything else, the figures of Kagetsu, Kikyo, and Tsubaki suddenly vanished.
They disappeared instantly.
"No matter how many times I see it, Kagetsu's way of leaving is always so magical," Miroku commented, looking at the empty space where they had been standing.
"Miss Kikyo really seems to be with Kagetsu," Sango said, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"That's quite normal," Miroku replied thoughtfully, stroking his chin.
"They often act together, and they were both resurrected at the same time. Falling in love is quite reasonable."
"What about Inuyasha?" Shippō asked, crossing his arms with a serious expression.
"Didn't he always abandon Kagome to find Kikyo before?"
"Heh."
Sango nodded slowly, her tone carrying a hint of disdain.
"A certain cheating man is naturally unhappy."
"He truly is an unyielding man," Miroku added solemnly.
"You guys are annoying!"
Inuyasha had still been staring blankly in the direction Kikyo disappeared.
But when he heard their teasing,and noticed Kagome quietly staring at him,he suddenly snapped out of his daze and shouted loudly.
"Inuyasha…"
Kagome's calm voice suddenly sounded.
"What is it?" Inuyasha asked, turning toward her with a confused expression.
"Sit."
"Boom!"
Inuyasha slammed violently into the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Kagome! What are you doing?!"
Lying face-down on the ground, he shouted in confusion.
"Sorry," Kagome replied casually while turning around and walking back down the path they had come from.
"I just wanted to see if the Word of Spirit still works."
Her insincere apology drifted back on the night wind.
"Men…"
Sango, Miroku, and Shippō sighed in unison as they walked past the flattened half-demon.
At the shrine where Kagetsu and Kikyo now lived, three figures suddenly appeared out of thin air on the approach path in front of the main hall.
"Where is this?"
Tsubaki looked around in confusion.
One moment she had been standing in a forest.
The next moment, she was in front of a small shrine.
The sudden change left her momentarily disoriented.
Not far away, near the torii gate at the entrance of the path, water dripped steadily from the wooden chozuya.
Behind them, candlelight flickered softly inside the shrine's main hall.
"Welcome to Kikyo Shrine," Kagetsu said with a smile.
This shrine had once been occupied by demons.
Later, after Kagetsu and Kikyo destroyed those demons together, they rebuilt the shrine and began living here.
Now, the shrine had a new name,
Kikyo Shrine.
Interestingly, neither of them had chosen the name.
It was given by the villagers living near the shrine.
The reason was simple.
This shrine had a powerful, beautiful, and kind shrine maiden named Kikyo.
Over time, the villagers naturally began calling it Kikyo Shrine, and eventually no one remembered what the shrine had originally been called.
There was also another interesting misunderstanding.
Because Kagetsu's clothing looked neither like that of a priest nor a monk, and he lived together with Kikyo in the shrine,
The villagers developed a rather strange idea.
In their traditional understanding, shrine maidens rarely married.
So somehow, the villagers concluded that Kagetsu must be Kikyo's shikigami,
A demon that Kikyo had defeated and bound into service.
Kikyo had laughed for quite a while after hearing this rumor.
"Kikyo Shrine?"
Tsubaki paused when she heard the name.
She carefully examined the shrine before her with curiosity.
Then she frowned slightly.
"Kikyo, is this your shrine?"
Suddenly, she seemed to realize something.
"Wait… how did I suddenly appear here?"
"That's Kagetsu's ability," Kikyo explained simply.
"Your man's ability?"
Tsubaki looked at Kagetsu in surprise.
"Is he a priest?"
"He's a ninja," Kikyo replied calmly.
"Oh?"
Tsubaki's face immediately lit up with a triumphant grin.
"So you admit he's your man!"
"…"
Kikyo fell silent for a moment.
Then she turned to Kagetsu, who was quietly watching the exchange, and spoke calmly.
"Kagetsu, you should go rest."
"You can leave Tsubaki to me."
"Alright."
Kagetsu understood immediately.
Kikyo clearly wanted to talk privately with Tsubaki.
Although he felt a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to hear the gossip, he didn't mind.
He nodded and walked back toward his room to rest.
Behind him, the night wind rustled softly through the shrine grounds.
And the conversation between two shrine maidens who had been rivals for fifty years was only just beginning.