"Don't worry, I know what to do! Kikyo taught me how to open this kind of barrier before."
Kagome still felt a little puzzled. This barrier was exactly the same as the one Kikyo had taught her about. The coincidence was almost too perfect.
Although she hadn't yet learned how to set up barriers herself, she did know how to open an entrance.
"Kagome, you're amazing!" Shippō immediately praised her without hesitation, his eyes full of admiration.
"Really?" Inuyasha looked at her with a strange expression. He hadn't expected Kagome, this half-trained shrine maiden, to actually be useful at a moment like this.
"Of course it's real! I've been studying seriously too, you know!"
Kagome puffed up her cheeks in annoyance at his doubt, then closed her eyes.
"Don't distract me. I'm opening the barrier."
Recalling Kikyo's explanation from before, she murmured the necessary words while carefully mobilizing the spiritual power within her body.
A few seconds later, the barrier in front of them slowly split open, revealing a narrow entrance just wide enough for one person.
Kagome opened her eyes and smiled happily.
"Quick, Shippō! Go in!"
Shippō immediately slipped through the opening. As soon as he landed inside, he shouted excitedly,
"It worked! Kagome, you're amazing!"
Encouraged by his praise, Kagome couldn't help smiling proudly. Just as she was about to say something, the entrance behind her suddenly snapped shut the moment she lost focus.
"So what now? Open it again?" Inuyasha said helplessly. If he still had his demon powers, he would've sliced the barrier open in one swing.
Kagome rolled her eyes at him, grabbed his wrist, and walked straight toward the barrier.
"Are you an idiot? This barrier only blocks demons. You're human right now—it can't stop you at all."
Sure enough, the two of them passed through the barrier without any resistance.
"Tch. I knew that already," Inuyasha muttered stubbornly, refusing to admit that he hadn't thought of it at all.
"Inuyasha, you totally forgot, didn't you? Dummy!" Shippō exposed him immediately.
"Shippō!" Inuyasha raised his fist threateningly.
"Kagome!" Shippō quickly hid behind her.
"Alright, stop messing around!" Kagome interrupted their bickering and warned seriously,
"Inuyasha, you've lost your demon powers right now, so be careful.
"If there's a shrine maiden living here, there probably won't be demons around, but we still have to stay alert."
Hearing that, Inuyasha dropped his playful attitude.
He drew Tessaiga and held it tightly while scanning the surroundings cautiously as he followed Kagome and Shippō up the stone steps toward the mountaintop.
Soon, the three of them climbed the final section of stairs and passed through another torii gate standing at the top.
They had officially entered the shrine courtyard.
Warm orange candlelight shone from the windows of the main hall, standing out brightly against the dark night.
"Be careful. The Shikon Jewel shards are inside," Kagome whispered while gripping her bow.
She was about to remind Shippō to stay alert when she noticed him frowning, sniffing the air repeatedly.
"Shippō, what's wrong?" Kagome asked quietly while continuing to scan the surroundings.
"There's… Kikyo's scent here!" Shippō looked up at Kagome and Inuyasha with surprise written all over his face.
"Kikyo?!"
Both of them were startled.
Their eyes immediately turned toward the candlelit main hall.
"Does Kikyo live here?" Kagome murmured, suddenly realizing she had never actually asked where Kikyo lived. Their previous meetings had always been in Kaede's village.
"Kikyo!"
Inuyasha stared toward the hall and couldn't help shouting her name, a hint of anticipation flashing through his heart.
"We've been waiting for you for quite a while. Come in."
Kikyo's voice drifted out calmly and clearly from inside the hall the moment his shout faded.
"Kikyo really is here!"
Kagome instantly relaxed, a delighted smile spreading across her face as she hurried toward the door.
Only now did she realize why the barrier had been exactly the same as the one Kikyo taught her.
This was Kikyo's shrine.
"Kagome!"
Just as she was about to push the door open, Shippō tugged at her sleeve and whispered urgently,
"There's Naraku's scent here… no, wait—it's Kagura's!"
Kagome froze instantly, shock filling her heart.
Had Kagura been here?
Inuyasha heard Shippō's words as well, and his expression became serious again.
He stepped past Kagome and gently pushed open the door first.
Kagome suppressed the questions in her mind and followed him inside with Shippō.
Peeking from behind Inuyasha, Kagome immediately saw Kikyo and Uchiha Retsu sitting on the tatami mats.
They were holding hands intimately, their fingers interlocked.
The gesture looked completely natural—and unmistakably affectionate.
Kagome instantly remembered Sango's earlier guess.
Now it was obvious that it hadn't been a guess at all—it was the truth.
She instinctively glanced at Inuyasha.
As expected, he was staring at their intertwined hands, his expression complicated and silent.
Kikyo also looked at Inuyasha.
Her gaze was calm.
Yet she made no move to release Retsu's hand, silently declaring her choice.
For a moment, the room fell into silence.
"Kagome, you've mastered the barrier quite well. A bit slow, though."
Kikyo broke the silence first, looking at Kagome with a hint of approval in her eyes.
"Th-thank you."
Kagome hadn't expected to be praised. Her cheeks flushed red as she lowered her head shyly.
Only now did she realize that from the moment they approached, Kikyo had already sensed them.
The barrier at the mountain had likely been a test of her progress.
"Don't stand by the door. Come sit down," Retsu said, gesturing to the tatami across from him.
He was observing the powerless Inuyasha with great interest.
The silver hair that had always defined him had turned into soft black hair.
The dog ears on his head had disappeared, and the lines of his face had softened considerably.
His entire temperament seemed gentler now.
Even more interesting—Retsu couldn't sense the slightest trace of demonic energy within him.
He felt exactly like an ordinary human.
The half-demon rules of this world were truly fascinating.
No matter how powerful a demon's bloodline was, it couldn't erase the human blood within.
At a certain moment, all demonic power would vanish completely, and the human blood would suppress the demon blood entirely, temporarily turning them fully human.
"Okay… thanks."
Kagome pulled Inuyasha along and sat down at the table opposite them with Shippō.
As soon as they settled in, their attention was immediately drawn to the Shikon Jewel shards on the table.
Three fragments glowed faintly in the candlelight.
"Kikyo… did you already know we were coming?" Kagome asked curiously.
"Yes. Retsu sensed you nearby earlier, so I used the Shikon Jewel fragments to draw you here," Kikyo replied with a nod.
She gently pushed the shards across the table toward Kagome.
"These are the fragments Retsu and I collected recently. You should take them with you."
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