"Naraku… was created by a human who fused with countless yokai?!"
Kagura's pink eyes widened in shock as she heard Kikyo's explanation, her face filled with disbelief.
She had never imagined such an origin.
"To be precise," Uchiha Kasage added calmly from the side, "he was born from a human who fell into corruption and merged with yokai."
"So in essence… he's a half-demon."
"…Human… half-demon…"
The revelation hit Kagura hard.
She sat on the swing, stunned, her brows tightly furrowed as she fell into deep thought.
Her pink-violet kimono swayed gently with the motion, but the rebellious confidence she once carried had completely faded—replaced by confusion and quiet turmoil.
Seeing her like this, Kikyo and Kasage exchanged a brief glance.
A faint, knowing smile appeared on both their faces.
Kasage understood immediately—
Kikyo had noticed it too.
Kagura's subtle defiance toward Naraku.
Most likely, they shared the same thought:
Win her over.
Let her become a hidden piece near Naraku.
A quiet advantage.
"…And Inuyasha?" Kagura suddenly asked after a long silence, lifting her gaze. "I feel like his conflict with Naraku isn't just about the Shikon Jewel."
Kikyo fell silent for a moment.
Her eyes drifted toward the distant mountains, a trace of melancholy surfacing.
"Fifty years ago…"
"After Onigumo became Naraku… he set a trap for me and Inuyasha."
Her voice softened.
"I died… filled with resentment, taking the Shikon Jewel with me."
"And Inuyasha…"
"He was sealed by my final arrow… and slept for fifty years."
"I see…"
Kagura's expression shifted as realization dawned.
So that was the origin of Inuyasha's hatred.
It wasn't recent.
It had been buried for half a century.
Silence fell once more.
Kagura and Kanna sat side by side on the gently swaying swing—one lost in thought, the other quiet as ever.
Kikyo and Kasage didn't disturb them.
---
Taking advantage of the rare quiet, Kasage rested briefly before standing and picking up a wooden sword.
"Kikyo," he said softly.
She understood immediately.
Since he had begun teaching her swordsmanship, the two often trained together in their spare time.
The air shifted.
Then—
**Clang!**
A crisp metallic sound rang out.
Kasage raised his blade effortlessly, blocking Kikyo's downward strike. With a smooth twist of his wrist, his blade slid along hers—redirecting it—and in the same motion, he turned the edge toward her chest.
But Kikyo reacted instantly.
Her body arched back gracefully, barely avoiding the strike.
At the same time—
Her blade flicked upward, precise and controlled, aiming for his arm.
Kasage's eyes sharpened slightly.
He reversed his grip and intercepted again.
Steel met steel with a sharp sound.
Kikyo stepped back lightly, lifting her blade once more. Her gaze was focused, unwavering—her priestess robes fluttering in the sunlight, giving her a striking, almost heroic presence.
Kasage felt a slight sense of regret.
Her swordsmanship had improved quickly—
But she rarely wore the armor he had prepared for her.
She always complained it was too heavy… too restrictive.
So he had only seen "Kikyo the warrior" a few times.
Still—
Even like this…
She was captivating.
Calm.
Graceful.
Dangerous.
And his.
Just as their exchange began to intensify—
Voices suddenly broke through the moment.
"Priestess Kikyo!"
A group of villagers rushed into the shrine, interrupting their training.
Kikyo immediately sheathed her blade and ran toward them.
Kasage followed.
From their hurried explanation, he quickly understood—
A villager had been bitten by a venomous snake.
The man was unconscious, his breathing shallow—but stable.
Nothing life-threatening.
Kasage had seen this many times.
To Kikyo, this was routine.
He watched quietly as she knelt beside the man, her movements calm and precise as she examined the wound.
And then—
A thought surfaced in his mind.
A strange one.
Perhaps…
The world of Inuyasha…
And Kagome's modern world…
Weren't separated by just *five hundred years*.
But were—
Two entirely different worlds.
In Kagome's era, a venomous bite required hospitals… antidotes… modern medicine.
But here—
Kikyo could treat it easily with herbs.
This world wasn't just different because of yokai.
Even the plants… the animals…
Were different.
Stronger.
More potent.
Almost… evolved.
He recalled something else—
When Kagome once fell ill, Inuyasha had given her a strange, foul-smelling broth.
And yet—
She recovered overnight.
Perfectly.
That alone didn't make sense.
And then there was the biggest question:
Where were all the powerful yokai?
For beings like them—
Five hundred years was nothing.
Someone like Sesshomaru… or even Inuyasha…
Should easily exist in the modern era.
And yet—
There was no trace of them.
The only things connecting the two worlds—
The Sacred Tree.
The Bone-Eater's Well.
Fragments of the Shikon Jewel.
All of them…
Linked.
Which led him to a possibility.
Maybe Kagome hadn't traveled through time at all.
Maybe—
She had crossed space.
From one world…
Into another.
A parallel world.
Of course—
It was only a theory.
There was no proof.
---
By the time he finished thinking, Kikyo had already poured the herbal antidote into the villager's mouth.
Moments later—
The man's breathing steadied.
His eyes slowly opened.
The villagers erupted in relief, thanking Kikyo repeatedly before leaving behind baskets of fruits, vegetables, and mountain goods.
Then they carried the man back down the mountain.
Kikyo looked at the pile and sighed softly.
"…There's too much. We won't be able to finish all of this."
She turned to Kasage.
"Kasage, could you seal them? They'll spoil otherwise."
"Of course."
Kasage stepped forward, pulling out a sealing scroll. He unrolled it beside the goods and channeled chakra into it.
A puff of white smoke—
And everything vanished into the scroll.
He was used to this.
Most villagers couldn't afford money.
So instead—
They paid with what they had.
Over time, these offerings piled up.
Whenever they felt like it, they would take them to nearby towns and sell them.
It had become… a simple routine.
---
Before they realized it—
Evening had fallen.
Kagura and Kanna had remained quietly to the side the entire time, observing.
Thanks to Kikyo's spiritual power, the villagers couldn't perceive their presence.
"Would you like to stay for dinner?"
Kikyo arranged the ingredients and looked toward them, her voice gentle.
"If there's something you'd prefer, I can prepare it."
Kagura paused.
Looking at Kikyo's calm, sincere expression—
Something flickered in her eyes.
"…No," she said, shaking her head lightly. "We'll be leaving."
She hesitated for a brief moment.
"…Thank you. For telling me about Naraku."
As soon as she finished speaking—
A gust of wind rose around her.
A large feather materialized beneath her feet.
She pulled Kanna onto it.
The wind howled softly—
And in the next moment, the two of them were lifted into the night sky, disappearing into the darkness.