"I… I…"
Kagome's heart churned with indescribable bitterness.
She knew.
Inuyasha had come here—for Kikyo.
Just as Kikyo had asked…
What was she to him, really?
At that moment, Kikyo gently reached out and tapped Kagome.
Instantly, Kagome felt her body freeze.
She couldn't move at all, standing stiffly like a puppet.
"Kikyo… what are you doing?" Kagome asked in panic.
"I'm going to kill him," Kikyo said coldly.
"And drag him to hell with me."
As soon as her words fell, several Soul Collectors flew over, wrapping tightly around Kagome and binding her to the tree behind her.
"Kikyo, someone deliberately made you hate each other!" Kagome struggled to turn her head and cried out urgently.
"Inuyasha didn't kill you! You were both deceived by Naraku!"
"Naraku…?"
Kikyo paused.
Then she smiled faintly.
"I've been dead for a long time. That kind of thing doesn't matter anymore."
"But Inuyasha still thinks about you!" Kagome said desperately.
"He still loves you!"
Kikyo walked forward slowly and stopped in front of her.
She lifted her hand, gently pinching Kagome's chin, staring into the face so similar to her own.
"Then what about you?" she asked sharply.
"Does he love you?"
"I… you…"
Kagome froze.
Her mind went blank.
She couldn't answer.
"He's almost here."
Kikyo released her and turned to look into the distance.
"Let him say it himself."
Following her gaze, Kagome saw Inuyasha rushing toward them.
She looked at Kikyo's expressionless face, completely confused.
What was Kikyo planning?
Several times, Kagome tried to speak.
In the end, she stayed silent, waiting with her.
High up in the treetops, Uchiha Retsu watched everything unfold, utterly puzzled.
This was already different from what he remembered.
So he decided to keep watching.
Moments later, Inuyasha broke through Kikyo's barrier and arrived before them.
When he saw Kikyo—and Kagome bound to the tree beside her—he froze.
"Kikyo… Kagome… what…?"
He stared at them in shock.
Retsu tilted his head thoughtfully.
At least this time, Kikyo hadn't hidden Kagome from him.
Honestly, anyone would be confused in his place.
Your girlfriend dies.
You fall in love with her reincarnation.
Everything seems perfect.
Then—bam.
The original comes back to life.
This wasn't standing on two boats.
It was the boat splitting in half.
For an emotionally inexperienced rookie like Inuyasha, this was nightmare-level difficulty.
"Inuyasha, tell her!" Kagome shouted anxiously.
"Everything back then was Naraku's scheme!"
"Kikyo…"
Inuyasha snapped out of it and hurried to speak.
But Kikyo cut him off coldly.
"Inuyasha, I remain in this world only through my hatred for you, inhabiting this false body made from grave soil and bones.
"Do you think I'm ugly now? Disgusting?"
"Don't—don't say that!" Inuyasha shook his head frantically.
"I may feel your resentment… but I've never forgotten you. Not for a single day!"
"So… Inuyasha still loves Kikyo…"
Kagome's heart sank.
A wave of sadness washed over her.
Inuyasha, oblivious to her feelings, continued,
"No matter what you become, I'll never find you disgusting!"
"Is that… true?" Kikyo asked softly, her gaze complicated.
Suddenly, she grabbed Kagome's collar and pulled her in front of herself.
Then she looked calmly at Inuyasha.
"Then what about her?"
"What are you going to do about her?"
"Eh?"
Caught off guard, Kagome stared blankly at them.
She hadn't expected Kikyo to be this direct.
Yet she couldn't help but wait for Inuyasha's answer.
Suppressing her bitterness, she lifted her head and looked at him.
"Here we go," Retsu muttered, amused.
"This is the real endgame."
This was the Kikyo he knew.
Not the one consumed by resentment and madness.
With chakra stabilizing her spirit, her clarity had returned.
So she went straight for the core.
"I… Kagome… Kikyo…"
Inuyasha was completely cornered.
Staring at the two girls, he stood frozen.
"I… you two…"
He almost blurted out, Can't I choose both?
But one look at their sharp gazes killed that thought.
"Is it really that hard?" Kikyo asked calmly.
"If you can't decide… I'll decide for you."
At once, the Soul Collectors tightened.
"Ah!"
Kagome cried out, her face turning pale.
"Kagome!"
Inuyasha's heart clenched.
Without thinking, he rushed forward.
Demonic energy surged through his claws.
With one strike, he shattered the Soul Collectors.
He pulled Kagome into his arms.
"Are you okay?!"
"Inuyasha…"
Kagome stared at him in a daze.
As a woman, she understood instantly.
She turned to look at Kikyo.
Kikyo was watching quietly.
A trace of loneliness flickered in her eyes.
Kagome suddenly sat up, about to say something.
But Kikyo moved her lips first.
No sound came out—
Yet Kagome clearly read them.
Leave it to you.
"It seems… you've made your choice, Inuyasha," Kikyo said softly.
Inuyasha turned around in shock.
Countless Soul Collectors were lifting Kikyo into the air.
"Kikyo! I—!"
He reached out desperately.
But grasped only empty air.
"That woman… is more important to you than me, Inuyasha."
Looking down at them, Kikyo's eyes returned to their familiar calm.
After one last glance, she turned away and flew off into the distance.
Her figure faded into the sky.
As she left, the barrier dissolved.
"Inuyasha…"
Kagome looked at his dazed expression, her emotions tangled.
She had "won."
Yet she felt no joy.
Only heaviness.
"Kikyo… she's become that priestess of the Warring States again," Kagome murmured.
"Huh? Wasn't she always a priestess?" Inuyasha asked blankly.
"You idiot! You don't understand women at all!"
Kagome snapped.
"What?! What are you talking about?!"
Inuyasha protested, confused.
"Sit!" Kagome shouted.
Boom!
Inuyasha slammed into the ground again.
He lay there miserably.
"Y-You…"
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