The place where Kikyo once lived; Grandma Kaede. Morning light spilled over the ridge to the east, dyeing the entire forest a faint gold.
Chiyo walked with Kagome for about an hour.
Inuyasha's figure had long since vanished into the mountain woods behind them.
Kagome glanced back. The winding mountain path was empty, with only the rustle of leaves whenever the wind blew through.
"Will he really be okay... on his own?"
Chiyo's voice was very calm.
"He's not a child who needs looking after."
Kagome thought about it and figured he was right.
In the world she knew, Inuyasha spent all day yelling that he was going to surpass Sesshomaru and always seemed rash and reckless, but when something really happened, he had never once backed down.
This Inuyasha's eyes were different, but the things rooted deep in his bones should have been the same.
"Chiyo, where are we going now?"
"There's a village up ahead."
"A village? What kind of village?"
Chiyo did not answer. He simply kept walking.
Kagome followed beside him, stepping where he had stepped, one step at a time.
After they had walked for about another hour, an open stretch of flat land appeared at the end of the mountain road.
A dozen or so thatched huts were scattered across the flat ground, faint cooking smoke drifting from their roofs.
The village was not large. It was enclosed by a low wooden fence, and outside the fence lay neat paddy fields. The rice had already been harvested, leaving only bare stubble standing in the muddy water.
At the village entrance stood a very large ginkgo tree. Its leaves had already begun to turn yellow, rustling in the morning breeze.
Kagome stopped and looked at the village.
For some reason, her heartbeat suddenly sped up.