It took a long while for Kagome Higurashi to recover from the shock.
"Inuyasha is… two hundred years old…"
A strange, indescribable feeling rose in her chest.
She blinked—
then stared directly at Inuyasha.
Her gaze was so intense that it made him uneasy.
"…What?" Inuyasha muttered, instinctively shrinking his neck.
Uchiha Kasage ignored the moment and continued calmly.
"For Inuyasha, living another five hundred years isn't difficult."
"If your world is truly five hundred years in the future…"
"…and since he already knows where you live…"
"…then why wouldn't he go find you?"
His words landed heavily.
Kasage turned toward Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha… Kagome is human."
"She won't live for five hundred years."
"When that time comes…"
"…will you go find her?"
Silence.
Inuyasha froze.
Slowly—
he turned to look at Kagome.
For the first time—
his expression changed.
The usual ease in his eyes disappeared—
replaced by something heavier.
The future Kasage described—
was unavoidable.
Kagome would grow old.
She would disappear.
And he—
would remain.
Alone.
Maybe one day—
he would forget her face.
Forget her voice.
Forget her entirely.
The thought tightened around his chest.
"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, her voice trembling slightly.
She had realized it too.
That inevitable ending.
A flicker of struggle crossed Inuyasha's eyes—
pain—
hesitation—
and then—
resolve.
"I will."
His voice was firm.
"I'll definitely go find you."
Kagome's breath caught.
Kasage smiled faintly and turned back to her.
"Then tell me."
"In your world…"
"…have you ever seen him?"
"Not the one who travels through the well."
"…but the one who should already exist there."
Kagome froze.
"…No."
She shook her head slowly.
His question felt like a stone thrown into still water—
ripples spreading endlessly.
Her grip tightened around the wooden tablet.
"…Then… maybe…"
"…this isn't the future of this world at all?"
Kasage nodded slightly.
"That's one possibility."
"But there are others."
He glanced at Inuyasha briefly.
"Maybe he was sealed somewhere."
"Or maybe… something happened, and he never lived that long."
"Five hundred years is a long time."
"Anything can happen."
Kagome lowered her gaze.
Neither possibility felt acceptable.
Not losing him.
Not being the one he lost.
"…So," Kasage continued, "this alone isn't enough to prove anything."
Then—
he shifted his attention.
Toward Kikyo.
"But the real contradiction…"
"…is you, Kikyo."
Kikyo's eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Me?"
Kagome also looked up.
Kasage nodded.
"Do you remember?"
"I once tried to summon your soul using the Impure World Reincarnation Technique… and it failed."
Kikyo nodded.
"You said my soul had already been reincarnated."
"Exactly."
Kasage continued.
"When your remains were used to recreate your body…"
"…your soul still couldn't be found."
"In other words…"
"…your soul already existed somewhere else."
Inuyasha frowned.
"…That's because Kikyo's soul became Kagome, right?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Kagome nodded slightly.
She had already accepted that.
Kasage smiled faintly.
"That's exactly where the problem lies."
His gaze sharpened.
"If Kagome comes from five hundred years in the future…"
"…and Kikyo's soul came from her…"
"…then that means Kikyo's soul also came from the future."
Silence.
Then—
he spoke again.
Slowly.
"…So where…"
"…is the soul of the Kikyo who died fifty years ago?"
The words struck like thunder.
Kikyo and Kagome both froze.
Inuyasha blinked.
"…Isn't it right here?" he asked, confused.
Kagome quickly turned to him.
"No—listen."
"If I came from the future…"
"…and Kikyo's soul came from me…"
"…then her soul shouldn't exist in this time yet."
"She only died fifty years ago."
"At that point… I didn't even exist."
"So logically…"
"…her soul should still be here."
"And it should have been summoned."
Inuyasha's eyes widened.
"…Oh."
"…I get it."
Kasage nodded.
"At first, I thought maybe her soul had already been reincarnated into someone else."
"And that Kagome was simply a later reincarnation—after many cycles."
Kikyo frowned slightly.
"If that's true…"
"…then can Kagome still be considered my reincarnation?"
"Five hundred years… would mean many generations."
Kagome nodded quickly.
"…Then maybe you're also someone else's reincarnation…"
"…This is getting way too confusing…"
Kasage let out a quiet breath.
"Yes."
"But that's still not the key point."
His expression became serious.
"When Kikyo died…"
"…she took the Shikon Jewel with her."
"If her soul reincarnated…"
"…then the jewel should have reincarnated with it."
"Just like Kagome."
Kikyo's eyes widened.
A realization struck her.
"…Then…"
"…there should be two Shikon Jewels."
Kagome's eyes widened as well.
"One from this era…"
"…and one I brought from the future."
Kasage nodded.
"Exactly."
"But in reality…"
"…there has only ever been one."
Silence fell again.
He looked at both of them.
"And normally…"
"…if the jewel were to reappear…"
"…it would happen through the reincarnation of Kikyo in this era."
"That person would break Inuyasha's seal."
"Not through Kagome traveling back in time."
He paused.
Then spoke quietly.
"…Unless…"
Kagome slowly lifted her head.
Understanding dawned in her eyes.
"…Unless…"
"…I am the only reincarnation."
"In this entire timeline."
She tightened her grip on the tablet.
"And the Shikon Jewel inside me…"
"…is the only one that exists."