𝗣𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗦𝗦; 𝗜𝗡𝗨𝗬𝗔𝗦𝗛𝗔

5

The morning sun rose, peaking through the opening of the hut, bringing Kikyo out of her sleep. The miko of the shikon no tama yawned, lightly rubbing her eyes as she got up. Kikyo slipped out of her night kimono and into her red nagabakama* and white kosode* with additional details woven into the fabric. She tied her miko outfit together with a red obi*.

After getting dressed Kikyo prepared a small Japanese breakfast, Tamago kake gohan*. She put aside some of the food for when Kaede woke up. Kikyo made her way over to the equipment that she had laid out last night.

Kikyo didn't sleep much last night, she was too occupied with the thoughts of walking into a trap meant for her.
She picked up the equipment that she would be bringing with her; her Saigu-Yumi and sacred arrows, some healing salves, water, shikigami and the beads of subjugation. Tsubaki was already waiting for Kikyo at the front gate of the village.

"Good morning, Tsubaki-san. Are you ready for today?" Kikyo asked as she looked at the other miko besides her. The two began to leave the safety of the village and headed for their destination. Tsubaki's eyes wandered around the forest path, looking for any yokai that might try to attack them.

"I am Kikyo-san but are you ready?" Mused Tsubaki, almost pleased with herself at the unsaid meaning behind her words. "I gather that the you have brought the shikon no tama with you. I mean it would be dangerous leaving it unguarded."

Kikyo didn't confirm nor deny that she had the shikon no tama with her. Tsubaki's inquiry of the shikon no tama made Tsubaki more suspicious in Kikyo's mind. She concluded that Tsubaki wanted the shikon no tama for herself but Kikyo didn't know what Tsubaki planned to do with it.

"Let's continue on to the village, the sooner the yokai are dealt with the sooner we can leave," told Kikyo, not bothering to look at Tsubaki to see her reaction. Tsubaki's gritted her teeth as she followed Kikyo, she couldn't help but dislike the other miko in front of her. Why was Kikyo entrusted with the shikon no tama and not her?

****

Kikyo felt the warmth of the midday sun on her back. The two miko were only minutes away from the intended village. 'Something is wrong, I sense no human life up ahead and multiple yokai,' thought Kikyo. "Tsubaki-san, how many yokai are in the village?"

"There shouldn't be that many yokai," told Tsubaki. She couldn't help but feel giddy, soon the shikon no tama would be in her grasp. But first she had to help Kikyo with the yokai, there was no way that Tsubaki would allow a yokai to take her prize.

Kikyo pushed a tree branch out of her way, upon observing what was in front of her, she gave a soft gasp. The village that they were supposed to come and save had been destroyed. However, on a closer inspection, Kikyo found that the villagers had been dead for far longer than a couple of days.

'The multiple yokai auras that I sensed before are coming closer,' thought Kikyo. She brought out her weapon while Tsubaki summoned her shikigami to fight. The battle was fierce with Kikyo taking out multiple opponents at a time, while Tsubaki focused on giving her shikigami power. A yokai managed to slice Kikyo's right arm before she could purify it, said miko winced at the bleeding wound. 'So this was her plan, use the yokai weaken me.'

"Tsubaki-san all the yokai have been purified, we should bury the villagers," said Kikyo. She knew that Tsubaki would at some point try to attack her for the shikon no tama. 'But first I need to take care of this injury,' Kikyo thought as she glanced at the wound.

Tsubaki's snake shikigami made its way back to Tsubaki, wrapping its body around her. "Kikyo-san please hand over the shiko no tama and I'll allow you to live!" Tsubaki's shikigami flew forward, slithering closer to attack Kikyo. The shikon no tama miko used her Saigu-Yumi to deflect the shikigami, sending it straight back to its master.