Kikyo watched Han gradually recede into the distance with Sesshomaru. The silver-haired girl glanced back at her from time to time, and Kikyo quietly met her gaze with a faint smile. Understanding her wishes, the girl silently walked away with the Dog Demon. Kikyo let the rare smile fade from her lips and turned to head in another direction.
"Kikyo..." Inuyasha finally could not hold back. He stepped out and called to her, only to fall silent again.
Kikyo did not answer, but she stopped. The beautiful miko in white robes and red hakama lowered her head slightly and pressed her right palm over her heart. Within her dead body, her clay form, it felt as though a heart still beat. That familiar voice could still make her heart flutter...
Inuyasha and Kikyo sank into a silent world of their own. Gazing at her slender back, Inuyasha hazily remembered how he had once always watched over her, standing just as they were now...
"Um..." Kagome walked up beside Inuyasha and asked hesitantly, "Would you like to come with us, Kikyo?"
Kikyo turned her head slightly, her clear eyes meeting Kagome's wavering, uneasy gaze. She could more or less understand the girl's little concerns.
Kagome stood frozen, involuntarily clutching Inuyasha's sleeve and lightly biting her lower lip. She did not know why she had suddenly rushed out and taken it upon herself to stand beside him, but her invitation to Kikyo had been sincere. Why was Kikyo looking at me like that...? Uneasily, Kagome leaned closer to Inuyasha.
"There's no need, Kagome."
"No need."
Inuyasha and Kikyo rejected Kagome's suggestion at the same time, then both paused, a little startled by their matching responses.
Inuyasha stared blankly at Kikyo's slender figure. For some reason, he felt as though he had done