The Clay Vessel

In Heian-kyo, during the morning.

In the back room of the Inari Shrine on Mount Kagami-oboro, Tsuruha spoke with a hint of concern. "So, those reincarnated individuals rejected you, Uka-sama?"

"It’s not unexpected. I’ve seen this before. After all, this life is this life, and the past life is the past life... Coincidentally, that girl named Kagome belongs to the category where her own sense of self is very strong, so she’s wary of her past identity," Miketsu replied, nodding slightly as she confirmed the situation.

"Then in this life, Kagome might never return to the Inari?"

Tsuruha pondered if things would truly go as the girl had planned. "I can't say for certain. My intuition tells me her fate is far more complex than she imagines."

Tsuruha was a bit puzzled. "What do you mean by that? Does her fate already have a predestined path?"

"If I knew everything that was going to happen, this world would lose quite a bit of its fun, wouldn't it?" Miketsu didn't answer directly. Instead, she picked up a piece of rice cake, popped it into her mouth, and continued chewing as she spoke.

"Life becomes very dull without unexpected surprises. Kagome’s current destiny belongs to an ordinary human, which is why I said everything is currently following my intuition... Regarding her future..." Miketsu spoke calmly.

"Anyway, we just have to wait and see. Alright, I should probably get back to my games." Miketsu stood up from the floor, and Tsuruha’s expression suddenly shifted.

'I really wanted to see Uka-sama's fox ears for a bit longer!' the messenger thought, though she reluctantly accepted the end of the report.

With the business concluded, it was finally time for some private leisure. Miketsu rummaged through a pile of clutter and pulled out a high-end DSLR camera that had been gathering dust. Standing up from the tatami, she began to set up the tripod and other equipment she had stashed away.

After finding the camera and patting off the dust, Miketsu pulled a small paper shikigami from her sleeve. Through their spiritual link, the paper figure hovered behind the camera to act as a remote operator. With a flick of her finger, she could adjust the settings to the optimal angle. Then, Miketsu posed for the lens, waving her tail and ears. She zoomed in on the resulting photos and nodded with deep satisfaction.

"I'm so damn cute."

"The photos are already this good... I'll look even better after a little editing."

Meanwhile, on a street in Tokyo, a high school girl in a green-trimmed uniform was pedaling a pink bicycle forward with a large backpack on her back.

"I’m heading back to that era again. I wonder what’s going to happen this time," Kagome muttered to herself as she rode. After some effort, she finally reached the shrine and parked her bike. She began pushing it toward the inner grounds.

Because of a recent incident, Kagome—who was originally a normal high school student—now regularly traveled through the well. Standing at the dry well within the shrine, she was soon enveloped by the familiar spiritual light.

In the Sengoku era, at the bottom of the Bone-Eater's Well.

"Hey! Why are you so slow this time?!"

Just as Kagome was about to stand up at the bottom of the well, Inuyasha’s voice boomed down from above.

"What do you mean, slow?! I had to finish my tests!"

In a human village in the wilderness, smoke spiraled into the air. Several villagers were gathered around Granny Kaede, who had bandages wrapped around her head and a look of deep worry on her face. Their concern was well-founded; she was injured.

Kagome, still in her school uniform, stepped out from the village crowd and sat down beside her.

"Yes, you should rest," Kagome said. Hearing the advice, Kaede let out a long sigh. An intruder had come to the village and stolen something extremely precious.

"Hmph, they took it right from under our noses," Inuyasha said with a scoff, though his expression remained tense. They were up against a powerful yokai who possessed the ability to create clay idols. It was said that she used the bones and ashes of the dead to forge vessels, then performed a secret art to call back the souls of the deceased into these clay bodies. She was known for raiding graves to find her materials.

Her current target was the most famous miko of the Kanto region from fifty years ago: Kikyo. Urasue had stolen Kikyo's remains.

"You're seriously injured, so don't push yourself. Just stay in the village and lie down, okay?" Kagome urged.

"Yeah, yeah, Granny Kaede, just rest in the village," the other villagers added.

At the village entrance, Inuyasha looked back at them. "Hmph, do whatever you want. Just don't die while I'm gone."

At that moment, Inuyasha noticed Kagome was staring off into space, lost in thought. "What is it?"

"I was just thinking... if Kikyo's remains were stolen by a demon..." Kagome trailed off. She was remembering the goddess she had met in the cafe—the one she suspected was her past life's deity.

Inuyasha looked confused. "Kikyo didn't have a fixed shrine; she was a traveling miko. She didn't belong to any specific god. You could say she was the priestess of the Shikon Jewel rather than any deity."

"The shrine in our village is dedicated to the Shikon Jewel, not a real god," Kaede added softly. Hearing this, Kagome froze in place.

Kikyo had no fixed deity? She was the priestess of the Shikon Jewel? A deep sense of doubt began to take root in Kagome's heart.

Soon after, Inuyasha, Kaede, and Kagome set out on their journey. It didn't take long for them to reach their destination.

"Dammit! Why are there so many of these annoying things!"

At the front of a narrow suspension bridge that acted as a bottleneck, the group found their path blocked by a horde of clay soldiers.

"With this many clay puppets, the demon hag Urasue’s lair must be just ahead!" Kaede shouted, looking at the high mountain beyond while fighting off the puppets surging from behind.

"I know!"

Just as Kagome was about to say something more, a voice shrieked through the air.

"It's Urasue!"

Then, amid the chaos and shouts, Inuyasha and the others were separated by the swarm of clay puppets. Kagome was snatched up and flown into the distance.

"Kagome!"

On the other side of the abyss, upon a desolate mountain peak, a chimney belched black smoke into the air. This was Urasue’s Demon Kiln. Within the jagged rocks, a large vat was filled with bubbling medicinal herbs, and Kagome was submerged inside it.

"You! What are you trying to do! Let me out!" Kagome shouted, the heat of the kiln reflecting on her face.

"Let you out? Hehehe, why would I do that?" Urasue’s raspy voice cackled. "You are my most important ingredient."

"Ingredient for what?"

"For this, of course. Come forth!" Urasue commanded. A figure slowly stepped out from the shadows—dressed in a white robe and scarlet hakama, with long black hair. As the figure emerged, Kagome felt like she was looking into a mirror.

"This... this is..."

Urasue looked at the mindless clay body and then back at Kagome. She intended to transfer Kagome's soul into this vessel to resurrect Kikyo.

"What... you're going to take my soul?"

"Exactly! I will gather the shards of the Shikon Jewel for myself! This isn't up to you!"

"Now, let the ritual begin! Extract the soul! Awaken the past life! The strongest miko from fifty years ago!"

Suddenly, countless spectral lights began to swirl and howl.

"Aaaah!" Kagome cried out in agony.

"Come! We shall see..." Urasue intensified the ritual, digging deeper into the memories and the ancient past of the soul before her. An energy beyond normal human emotion began to manifest from the violent spiritual surge.