Entangled

The Sengoku era, Kanto region.

Deep within the rugged mountains, at the bottom of an abyss flanked by towering cliffs, a river flowed silently. Debris and wooden shards drifted upon the water's surface, while the riverbed was littered with fragments of pottery. Paced atop a bloated, balloon-like yokai, a figure floated through the air.

"Dammit! Was that old hag Urasue? She cut the bridge, stole Kikyo's ashes, and even kidnapped Kagome! She's a dead woman!"

Inuyasha snarled as he swung himself upward with one hand. He scaled the vertical cliff with incredible speed, utilizing the smallest of footholds. Below him, Kaede watched in alarm. "Wait! Inuyasha! Shippo, hurry and follow him!"

As she spoke, the bloated yokai carried Kaede toward the top of the cliff. Atop the desolate peak, jagged rocks broke the surface and vegetation lay dead. Within the steep rocky walls, numerous caves decorated with skulls had been hollowed out. These were the kilns of the demon hag Urasue, and this mountain was her base. The monster who commanded clay dolls was currently refining what she intended to be her greatest masterpiece.

In front of a massive Demon Kiln carved into a large cliff face, Urasue was deep in her ritual. An earthenware basin before her brimmed with a fluorescent liquid where various herbs floated. Kagome was submerged in this fluid, bound by a spell, her face contorted in agony.

Amidst Urasue's whispered incantations, a massive sphere of eerie soul-fire erupted from Kagome's chest. It circled her body at high speed. The fire tried to bolt away but was repeatedly dragged back by an invisible force, continuing its frantic orbit. The cold, spectral light of the soul-fire illuminated the lifeless face of the miko doll nearby.

Within that eerie soul-fire, a dense and massive surge of resentment radiated. Controlled by this malice, the fire seemed desperate to escape its current vessel at any cost, but Kagome's conscious will fought desperately to stop it. Despite her efforts, her consciousness began to blur as another awareness, filled with hatred, slowly began to seize control of her soul.

"Tsk, how is this girl's will so strong? Kikyo's consciousness should have taken over instantly!" Urasue muttered anxiously. The soul transfer was taking far longer than she had anticipated.

Although the resentful consciousness was gradually dominating the soul and pulling it from the original body, the speed was too slow. Ordinarily, Urasue might have had the patience to wait, but not now. The ritual arrays she had placed at the foot of the mountain had already detected intruders. The enemies she had dropped into the canyon were fighting their way up. Her ordinary clay puppets were no match for them; she had to complete this ultimate doll immediately to face them.

"I have to hurry. It'll be a disaster if those guys get up here before I'm finished! Kikyo, let me give you a hand!"

As she spoke, Urasue began to inject more power into her chanting. She delved deeper into the soul's most ancient memories, attempting to strengthen the resentful will. However, the moment she intensified the ritual, the unexpected occurred. Within Kagome's soul, from the depths of that resentful will, a completely new consciousness exploded forth.

"What? This is—"

This new consciousness was exceptionally massive and surged forward with terrifying momentum. In an instant, the resentment was swallowed whole. Kagome's resisting will vanished, and her body slumped in the vat, completely losing consciousness. In its place was a different, resolute emotion.

Honesty.

Sincerity.

Faith.

Freeing itself entirely from the physical body, the eerie soul-fire soared into the sky. After circling rapidly, it plummeted back down, unerringly diving into the miko doll standing nearby. As the soul-fire merged with the clay form, the cold light illuminating the area vanished into nothingness.

"Did it... work?" Urasue whispered, her eyes fixed on the miko doll, waiting for a change.

After the soul-fire entered, the doll swayed for a moment. Just as it seemed ready to collapse, it took two stumbling steps to steady itself. Then, the bowed head slowly lifted. The previously lifeless eyes now held a new light—a gaze filled with indifference and arrogance.

"This is... a soul-recall jutsu-shiki?" Placing a pair of pale, slender hands before her eyes, the miko doll spoke softly. Witnessing this, Urasue let out a cheer of delight.

"Success! It actually worked! The strongest miko, Kikyo, has been reborn! Reborn as my puppet! My servant! With this doll, I can gather all the shards of the Shikon Jewel! Hehehe!"

Seeing the reaction of the "Kikyo" doll, Urasue danced with joy. Though she harbored slight doubts as to why the previous resentment had vanished so mysteriously, the sight of her successful creation overwhelmed any concern.

"A puppet?" Hearing Urasue's words, the miko tilted her head slightly. She used one hand to stroke the back of the other. After feeling the texture, she murmured to herself, "I see. A body of clay. Engraved with a commanding spell beforehand, housing a stolen soul for use as a servant..."

On the other side, Urasue, who had been laughing, seemed to sense something. She turned toward the cliff's edge and growled, "Tsk, have those guys arrived already? Kikyo! Use your power immediately to eliminate the intruders!"

Urasue barked the command with an air of absolute authority. However, the miko ignored her completely, continuing to scrutinize her new body.

"Hey! Kikyo! Move! The enemies are almost here! Go fight them, that's an order! Go!" Urasue shouted again, her tone thick with impatience and displeasure. Yet again, the miko paid her no mind, continuing her own research.

"Dammit... fine, you've chosen the hard way. In that case, feel the consequences of disobeying me!"

As she spoke, Urasue's eyes turned vicious. She began to forcibly activate the commanding spell engraved on the doll's body, using her demonic power to trigger the binding. Instantly, glowing curse-patterns flared across the miko's skin.

Facing the glowing patterns on her hands, the miko uttered a single word.

"Reflect."

Suddenly, Urasue let out a scream of extreme agony. She clutched her head and collapsed to the ground, her eyes bulging. A high-pitched shriek tore from her wide-open mouth. The curse-patterns that had been on the miko now covered Urasue's entire body.

"W-What's happening! It hurts, it hurts!! The jutsu-shiki backfired! It hurts!"

Amidst her agony, Urasue's skin began to crack inch by inch, and blood instantly soaked her body. She rolled across the ground, clutching her head. Meanwhile, the miko watched her in silence.

"Your jutsu-shiki is too crude—cruder than even a junior secretary of the Onmyoryo. It is riddled with exploits. For a spell of this level... it is effortless to lift the restriction and cause a backlash against the master through the link."

The miko spoke slowly and coldly. As her indifferent words fell, the patterns on her body vanished completely. The binding spell, which had been insignificant to her, was gone.

"B-Back... backlash... and so powerful... No, it's not right! The rumors said the miko Kikyo primarily used her innate Demon-Slaying Power... how can her mastery of spells be this profound? Aaaagh!!"

Bloody and broken, Urasue struggled on the ground, looking up at the miko in disbelief. She could feel her life rapidly draining; death was only a matter of time.

"Kikyo?" Hearing Urasue's words, the miko's brow furrowed slightly. She turned her head, glancing at the unconscious Kagome lying in the clay vat, and a look of understanding dawned on her.

"I see. So that's how it is."

The miko nodded slightly, then responded to Urasue.

"It seems... that while I am indeed a past life of this soul, I am not the one you were looking for."

"A past life as well? Could it be..." Hearing the miko's words, the dying Urasue seemed to realize something, and an expression of utter shock crossed her face.

Just then, the spirited voice of a youth called out from the distance. The miko followed the sound and saw a red-clad boy with dog ears sprinting toward them. Upon seeing the youth, the miko felt a powerful surge of nameless hatred well up in her heart, but she immediately suppressed it with her formidable will.

'This feeling is...'

The youth continued his charge. Behind him, an old woman rode atop a bloated monster, her eyes fixed on the white-robed miko in the distance, filled with shock. "That's... sister? Oh no, Inuyasha! Urasue's plan has already succeeded!"

"What?!" Inuyasha also looked ahead, seeing the familiar figure standing amongst the barren rocks. His expression froze instantly.

"Kikyo..."

Inuyasha and Kaede reached the Demon Kiln. The bloated monster shrank back into the form of a small fox yokai. The group stood in a tense standoff with the reborn miko; for a moment, no one spoke.

"Kikyo... are you reborn?" Staring at the all-too-familiar shadow of the past, Inuyasha spoke slowly, his voice heavy and complex. Facing the woman who had sealed him for fifty years, he didn't know how to act.

"Reborn?" the miko murmured in response. Hearing her reply, Inuyasha's expression grew even more somber. Just as he was about to speak again, Kaede tapped his shoulder from behind.

"Wait, Inuyasha. There is something wrong with Sister..." Kaede whispered. Inuyasha nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I noticed too. This Kikyo... her presence is completely different," Inuyasha said slowly. At that moment, a childish male voice called out from another direction.

"Inuyasha! Kagome! Kagome is here!"

Hearing this, Inuyasha spun around toward the source of the voice. He saw the little fox yokai, Shippo, standing by a clay vat. Within it lay the unconscious body of Kagome.

"Kagome!"

"Inuyasha... Kagome... she's completely unconscious. No matter how much I call, she won't wake up! What do we do?" Shippo's voice carried a hint of a sob as he shook the girl's limp form. Seeing her like this, a surge of panic hit Inuyasha. However, a sinister, rasping voice suddenly echoed around them.

"Cough, cough... so that little girl is named Kagome. Too bad, though... her soul has already been extracted. After her past life's memories were awakened, it was poured into that body over there... hehehe."

Inuyasha and the others looked toward the voice. They saw the blood-soaked, hideous demon hag Urasue lying on the ground, waiting for death.

"Urasue!"

Ignoring her condition, Inuyasha demanded, "You're saying that body has Kagome's soul and her past life's consciousness? So she really is the real Kikyo?"

"Cough... my ritual successfully transferred the soul into the doll and awakened the memories of a past life... but something seems to have gone wrong. The past life I summoned wasn't the miko Kikyo from fifty years ago, but an even more distant past life belonging to that soul."

"An even more... distant past life? You mean she's not Kikyo?" Inuyasha froze. Urasue continued to strike while the iron was hot.

"Exactly! In terms of consciousness, she is absolutely not Kikyo! Haven't you all noticed it? She is another past life of that soul! If you want to bring that girl Kagome back to life, you must destroy her and release the soul completely! Cough, cough, cough!"

Urasue coughed up a large amount of blood as she spoke. The only reason she was exerting herself to tell Inuyasha this was to use them for revenge—to destroy the masterpiece she had just created. Now, she could only rely on Inuyasha's hand to achieve this goal.

Hearing Urasue's explanation, the doubt in Inuyasha's heart cleared. He let out a breath and turned toward the miko, assuming a combat stance.

"Alright, so you're not Kikyo. That makes things simple. Hey! I'll give you one chance! Get back into Kagome's body right now! Otherwise, don't blame me for being rough!" Inuyasha shouted, brandishing his claws.

At this moment, however, the miko wasn't listening to him. The reason was simple: since seeing this red-clad hanyo youth, two voices had been buzzing incessantly in her ears, arguing without stop.

'Kill him! Kill him! Kill him! Give me the body! I want to kill Inuyasha! He must die! That traitor who betrayed me must die!'

'Don't hurt Inuyasha! Please! Don't hurt Inuyasha! Don't hurt everyone! No!'

Hearing the two voices constantly quarreling in her head, the miko rubbed her temples in frustration. She looked at the hanyo boy and sighed. Urasue's words had contained a lie: the ritual hadn't awakened the "wrong" past life, but rather more than one. And the consciousnesses constructed from those memories now existed simultaneously within a single soul.