"…Tsubaki, I remember you once placed a curse on me."
Kikyo looked at her quietly, confusion visible in her eyes.
"You said that if I ever fell in love with a man, I would die a violent death."
She paused slightly before continuing.
"But now you keep encouraging me to fall in love with Kagetsu. Are you trying to curse me again… hoping I die because I love someone?"
"Hehe."
Tsubaki glared at her with a playful smile.
"I'm just curious how much power you can still wield after falling in love with a human, Kikyo."
Her tone turned teasing.
"Can you guarantee that this man won't become your weakness?"
"Kagetsu becoming my weakness?"
Kikyo almost laughed out loud.
She gave Tsubaki a strange look, a confident smile appearing on her lips.
"To be honest, I don't know how much power I can still exert."
"But I do know one thing."
"If I truly die again because I fell in love with Kagetsu…"
"That man would definitely drag me back from the Underworld."
"Heh."
Tsubaki scoffed.
"Kikyo, you once said you would never fall in love with any man."
"And yet you ended up loving a half-demon."
She crossed her arms and smirked.
"Now you're so confident about this human. Aren't you worried you might actually die for real this time?"
"What I said is true."
Seeing that Tsubaki still didn't understand, Kikyo's smile deepened.
"Otherwise…"
"Why do you think I'm standing here alive and well after dying fifty years ago?"
"…Wait a minute!"
Tsubaki suddenly froze.
Her eyes widened in shock as she stared at Kikyo.
"You… you mean you really died back then?"
"And that man named Kagetsu resurrected you?!"
"That's right."
Seeing that Tsubaki finally understood, Kikyo revealed a bright smile.
The subtle feeling of showing off Kagetsu somehow made her feel strangely satisfied.
In truth, her feelings toward Tsubaki were complicated.
Although Tsubaki had cursed her long ago, Kikyo knew the true root of her death lay with the Shikon Jewel and the tragedy surrounding it.
Tsubaki had only been a minor part of that story.
Moreover, fifty years had passed since Kikyo's resurrection.
Most of the people she once knew were gone or had changed.
Inuyasha now had Kagome.
Her younger sister Kaede had grown into an old woman.
Only Tsubaki still looked almost exactly the same as she had fifty years ago.
Seeing her again brought Kikyo an unexpected sense of familiarity.
That was also one of the reasons she hadn't killed her.
"Not long ago," Kikyo explained calmly, "the sorceress Oni-Kijo Kōshi resurrected me using my lingering soul and a clay vessel."
"Later I met Kagetsu."
"And with his help… I was truly brought back to life."
"…What exactly is the background of that man?" Tsubaki asked, still shocked.
She could clearly sense that Kikyo was now a living human.
Not a spirit bound to the world through sorcery or the Shikon Jewel.
"Ninja."
Kikyo simply gave a mysterious smile and answered with two words.
"…"
Tsubaki fell silent.
She had never heard of a ninja capable of resurrecting the dead.
Seeing that Kikyo clearly had no intention of explaining further, she changed the subject.
"Tell me."
"Why did you capture me?"
"Hmm…"
Kikyo looked her up and down.
A mischievous smile appeared on her lips.
"I happen to need a maid."
"How about you stay here and work as my maid?"
"Impossible!"
Tsubaki's face flushed red instantly.
"You're trying to humiliate me!"
She shouted angrily.
"I would rather die than become a maid for a woman like you!"
"I was joking."
Seeing her reaction, Kikyo stopped teasing.
She turned around and pushed open the door of the shrine's main hall.
"Rest here tonight."
"You'll find out tomorrow."
Tsubaki glared at her retreating back.
Realizing she had been tricked, she angrily followed inside.
"Kikyo, you've changed!"
"You used to be a serious woman who never joked like that."
She crossed her arms and snorted.
"Has having a man changed you this much?"
"Perhaps."
Kikyo's calm voice drifted back with faint teasing.
"It's normal that a woman nobody wants wouldn't understand."
"…!"
Tsubaki clenched her teeth silently.
The current Kikyo irritated her even more than the self-righteous shrine maiden from fifty years ago.
Early the next morning.
Under the shrine's torii gate, Kikyo finished seeing off several villagers who had come for treatment.
Then she turned toward Kagetsu and Tsubaki, who were waiting nearby.
"Alright."
"Let's go."
As she spoke, she summoned her shikigami Kuro-Maru.
Climbing onto its back, she motioned toward Tsubaki.
"Get on."
Tsubaki looked at the black bear shikigami without surprise.
Most shrine maidens used shikigami to assist in battle.
She herself had once possessed a white snake shikigami, which Kagome had destroyed.
She quickly climbed onto Kuro-Maru's back and sat behind Kikyo.
Normally the bear spirit wasn't very large, and with two people already riding it, there was no room left.
Kagetsu had no choice but to follow on foot.
"Lady Kikyo!"
As they passed through the village below the shrine, villagers occasionally bowed respectfully.
Kikyo responded to them with gentle smiles.
This once-abandoned village had gradually filled with people again.
Most of them were survivors Kikyo had rescued from demon attacks.
After losing their homes, they had chosen to settle beneath the shrine.
Over time, the village gained a simple name,
Kikyo Village.
"Lord Shikigami!"
Some villagers also bowed respectfully toward Kagetsu.
He simply ignored them.
In their eyes, he was a demon subdued by Lady Kikyo, so it was perfectly normal for him not to respond to ordinary humans.
After leaving the village behind, Kuro-Maru sped up, running swiftly through the forest.
Tsubaki glanced back.
She watched Kagetsu leaping effortlessly from tree to tree.
His speed was no slower than Kuro-Maru's.
She leaned closer to Kikyo and whispered:
"Kikyo… are you sure your man isn't a half-demon?"
"He's human."
"Just with special abilities," Kikyo replied calmly.
She had long since become immune to Tsubaki's teasing.
Seeing Tsubaki continue staring at Kagetsu, Kikyo frowned slightly.
"Haven't you noticed where we're going?"
Only then did Tsubaki look around carefully.
Yesterday she had been brought directly to the shrine using Lie's technique, so she had no idea where it was located.
Now, as the scenery grew more familiar, her expression slowly changed.
Suddenly she stiffened.
"This place…"
Her voice carried uncertainty.
"Are we going to the temple where my master once practiced?"
"Yes."
Kikyo nodded respectfully.
"That master was highly respected."
"When I was young, I visited him during my travels and received guidance from him."
"After my resurrection, I also went to visit him again."
"But unfortunately…"
"He passed away a few years ago."
"Now only two young shrine maidens remain to guard the temple."
"Master… passed away?"
Tsubaki froze.
Memories flashed through her eyes, followed by a trace of sadness.
But she quickly masked it with a scoff.
"Fifty years have passed."
"It's only natural that he would leave the mortal world."
Then she frowned.
"What are we going there for?"
"Your master's death was sudden," Kikyo explained calmly.
"His two disciples haven't fully inherited his teachings yet."
"So you must return."
"Inherit the temple, teach your two junior sisters, and pass down your master's magical tradition."
"Inherit the temple?"
"Teach junior sisters?"
Tsubaki sneered.
Her face filled with disdain.
"I refuse."
"I'm not going to waste my life doing something so boring."