"…Who exactly is she…?"
Muso stared fixedly at Kagome's face, as if frozen in place. His pupils were dilated, his eyes filled with deep confusion.
"What the hell are you spacing out for?!"
Inuyasha's angry shout rang out, instantly snapping Muso out of his daze.
Muso came back to his senses just in time to see Tessaiga,wrapped in a violent demonic wind,already slashing toward his chest.
Startled, he raised his arm to block.
Slash!
With a clean, decisive cut, Tessaiga severed his tentacle-covered right arm.
"Woman… who was that just now…?"
Ignoring his severed limb entirely, Muso continued staring at Kagome while muttering to himself, his expression growing increasingly distant.
Suddenly, the blurry image of a miko in his mind became clear.
That familiar face,
It was identical to the woman standing before him.
"That's it…! It's that woman!!"
Muso's pupils shrank violently. He clenched his fist, his voice trembling with a mixture of fear and manic excitement.
"What nonsense are you babbling about?" Inuyasha sneered, raising Tessaiga again. "Just die already! I'll finish this in one move!"
Before his words had even faded, he kicked off the ground and shot toward Muso like an arrow.
"It's you! Get out of my way!"
A wild gleam burst into Muso's eyes as he locked onto Kagome. A maniacal grin spread across his face.
Seeing Inuyasha blocking his path, he roared impatiently.
From the stump of his severed arm, thicker and more grotesque tentacles burst forth. With a violent swing, he slammed into Inuyasha and sent him flying aside before charging straight toward Kagome.
"You bastard!"
Sango and Miroku rushed forward at once to intercept him.
Hiraikotsu and Miroku's staff struck toward Muso simultaneously,but he dodged them both with unsettling agility.
Several tentacles shot forward like venomous snakes, lashing toward the defenseless Kagome.
Seeing them coming, Kagome's pupils shrank.
She turned to run, but a tentacle instantly wrapped around her waist and yanked her up into the air.
"Hahaha! It's you! You're the woman I want!"
Muso laughed wildly, his face twisted with greed and madness.
Swoosh,!
The sharp whistle of an arrow suddenly tore through the air.
Muso felt a sudden chill run down his spine. He jerked his head toward the sound.
A sacred arrow, blazing with immense spiritual power and trailing a brilliant stream of light, was racing toward him like a falling star.
Before he could react,
The arrow struck his body.
A devastating burst of purifying energy erupted instantly.
Under the intense white light, Muso's body began to disintegrate piece by piece.
Through the blinding radiance, he saw a red-and-white figure standing on a distant hillside.
The woman held a longbow drawn in a perfect archery stance, her arrow aimed straight at him.
That face,
So familiar it seemed carved into his very soul,
Shook him to his core.
Just before his body completely turned to ash, he used the last of his strength to shout hoarsely:
"Ki… kyo! You… are… I,!"
"Kikyo?!"
Inuyasha finally noticed the figure in the distance and stared in shock at Kikyo, who stood there with bow in hand.
He had never expected her to appear here.
"Ah,!"
Kagome's startled cry snapped him out of it.
Looking up, he saw Kagome falling from the sky.
Inuyasha immediately leapt upward, catching her securely in his arms before landing lightly on the ground.
"Kikyo,why are you here?" he asked in surprise as he set Kagome down.
Kikyo slowly approached them atop Kuro-maru, the black demon hound.
"Thank you for saving me!"
Kagome steadied herself and bowed deeply in gratitude.
Then she looked up curiously.
"Kikyo, did you come here for something?"
"I came to find you, Kagome."
Kikyo's gaze rested calmly on her. But in the next moment, her expression became stern.
"When Inuyasha was fighting just now, why were you standing there doing nothing? You clearly could have picked up your bow and helped, yet you froze and allowed yourself to be captured."
"I… I…"
Kagome's face flushed red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
After Kikyo pointed it out, she realized just how foolish she had been.
Even if she couldn't fight directly, she should have at least grabbed her bow to defend herself instead of standing there helplessly until she was captured.
"Kikyo, Kagome just came back through the Bone-Eater's Well! She didn't expect to run into one of Naraku's incarnations!" Inuyasha quickly interjected, trying to defend her.
"It's okay, Inuyasha."
Kagome gently stopped him.
Her expression grew serious and determined.
"Kikyo's right. I shouldn't have just stood there doing nothing."
She clenched her fists slightly.
"I can fight too. Even if I can't help you directly, I should at least use my bow to protect myself… instead of getting captured and waiting for you to save me."
"Kagome…"
Inuyasha stared at her in surprise.
He hadn't expected her not only to accept Kikyo's criticism,but to actually agree with it.
He couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Since when had the two of them gotten along this well?
"It's good that you understand."
Kikyo's expression softened slightly, a faint smile appearing at the corner of her lips.
"Though part of the problem was your hesitation, another reason is that you don't yet have your own proper demon-slaying bow."
She reached behind her and took out a brand-new longbow along with a quiver filled with a dozen arrows.
Then she handed them to Kagome.
"This is for you."
"Th-this is for me?"
Kagome's eyes lit up immediately.
She accepted the bow in surprise. The weapon was beautifully crafted, and it looked completely new,clearly made with great care.
"Thank you!"
"Consider it a return gift for the pendant you gave me last time," Kikyo said softly. "Thank you for that gift. I liked it very much."
After a brief pause, she added,
"This bow was specially made for you. It's not an ordinary weapon. The core contains spiritual materials that can better channel your miko power."
Kagome gently ran her hand along the bow, smiling brightly.
"You made this just for me? I love it,thank you so much!"
"A miko's spiritual power can purify demons," Kikyo said, slinging her own bow and quiver over her shoulder, "but it also attracts them."
Her tone carried a subtle warning.
"When you're outside, keep your bow with you. This is your weapon as a miko."
"I understand!"
Kagome nodded firmly and, imitating Kikyo, slung the bow and quiver across her back.
"Kuro-maru, bring Kagome's bag."
Kikyo patted the black hound before turning toward the place where Muso had vanished.
"Let's check the battlefield."
Then she looked at Inuyasha.
"The enemy you were fighting just now was Naraku's incarnation, correct?"
"That's right. His name was Muso."
Inuyasha walked over and frowned.
"He used to wander around killing people and stealing their faces. 'Muso' was the name of a monk whose face he took."
He paused briefly.
"And he didn't seem to remember anything. He killed purely because he wanted to."
"Now that you mention it," Sango added thoughtfully, "he seemed strangely interested in Kagome."
"That's true," Miroku agreed with a nod. "Ever since Miss Kagome appeared, he kept shouting that he wanted to capture her."
"Whatever," Inuyasha muttered.
"He's dead now."
Even so, a trace of doubt lingered in his voice.
"It's just… he went down way too easily."
He frowned slightly.
"I've got a bad feeling about it."