After having "said goodbye" to Naraku with her haughty, almost arrogant style, Kikyo had departed with her shikigami without a true destination in mind.
Such a thing, letting herself be guided instinctively by her hidden subconscious, inevitably led her toward the surroundings of Kaede's village, a "known" and "safe" place.
Obviously she could not return there or even set foot on that land again, since the last thing she wants is to stain her old memories with her current "monstrous" form.
"Damn Naraku… No, it's my fault, I fell directly into his trap. It was obvious he would use that trick to also pry into my mind, it's just that I realized too late"
Chewing her red lip until it turns pale from the lack of blood, although she didn't really have blood per se, Kikyo momentarily frees herself from her mask of stoicism and frowns.
She had been too confident when dealing with Naraku due to how crude his current techniques were, ones that were probably stolen and learned by force from priestesses or monks, but that even so incomplete led her into a catastrophic situation.
So even though she hates to admit it, more than anyone could think or consider, in the end she must accept that Naraku outmatched her in strategy brilliantly. He played with her as if she were a pawn, always two steps ahead, although the most lethal blow was delivered unconsciously.
"She talked too much, and that thing was a part of me? Outrageous"
Recalling everything her nightmare self had said, done and confessed inside Inuyasha's nightmare, she can only give a thumbs up to the "psychological torture" part on Inuyasha… everything else? A disaster!
What was that about pretending to be a hurt, sentimental and warm woman? Lies, all an absolute fallacy, that thing was distorted by Inuyasha's old memories, a monstrous creation that has nothing to do with her!
Forcibly controlling the tormenting thoughts that from time to time resurface against her will, Kikyo leaves her poor lip alone and consciously stops her shikigami that had been flying on autopilot.
"I think over there there was an old temple… a safeguard on the pilgrimage route toward the Forest of No Return. I hope it still stands after so much time"
Scanning the surroundings from above with a glance, Kikyo stirs through old memories of traveling with Kaede and quickly finds a possible place to stay.
The "possible" is because they are memories from fifty or even more years ago, before even settling in the village where Kaede now lives, now only God knows the current state of that temple.
But that doubt does not cloud her mind for even a second, since she had more… embarrassing things clouding her judgment to worry about that, so she ignores the possibilities and sets off with her shikigami.
Such a journey does not last long thanks to the blessing of being able to fly, even if at low speed, making Kikyo arrive at the old temple just before dawn.
"It was… clearly expected, the current situation"
Looking at the aged temple that seems to have seen better times, whether due to its perforated wooden structure or the missing blue tiles, she remains stoic in the air.
She could feel the disgusting presence crawling inside the temple, since the stench of death and corpses seeped into the surroundings, enough odor to make it clear that it has devoured quite a few humans recently.
"Tgg, egh… Wh, wh… Why don't you come closer, young priestess?"
"So you can speak? I suppose devouring all those humans wasn't in vain"
Mocking the creature that speaks from the dark interior of the temple, which possibly has that ability thanks to the power obtained from devouring humans, Kikyo loads an arrow on her long red bow and shoots into the darkness.
The result was as expected, not to say inevitable, since that second-rate yokai had nothing to do against her and her overwhelming power, so much so that it is purified forever in a simple pink flash.
"Well, now I have somewhere to stay"
…Some time later…
With the arrival of the morning and her "awakening", because in reality she only closes her eyes and avoids thinking about anything, the memories of the previous night return to her again.
These were like an out-of-control forest fire in her mind, she extinguished one section with her logic and another would ignite, when she finally managed to find a complete solution to explain everything, another memory would come and make everything go out the window… yes, perhaps she was just overthinking.
But that doesn't prevent her from reaching the conclusion we all would; just fill your mind with something else and it will pass, so with that great idea she gets to work.
"But… how useful it would be to have it. No, his ability would be useful here"
Looking at her pale empty hands and the mess inside the temple, mainly dust, pieces of wood fallen from the ceiling and some unknown trash remains, Kikyo makes an improvised broom.
That broom is really a branch with its green leaves still intact, which by the way was torn just a second ago from the lush trees near the temple, becoming a tool for Kikyo.
With that in hand, and also eager to leave her thoughts behind, Kikyo begins to clean the temple. The dust was swept aside skillfully, the wood sent outside thanks to her shikigami and the holes repaired with patches of leaves.
"Mm… I haven't gotten rusty"
Clapping her hands now full of dirty dust, she briefly admires her work and then goes outside the old temple with the shikigami, colliding face to face with an uninvited guest.
He is a young man, sweaty and with only a few remains of armor on his body, so much so that if it weren't for the "elegant" style of the remains, he wouldn't look different from a bandit… although he could have stolen it from some battlefield.
"WI, Witch!"
"What audacity coming from someone who is clearly a deserter, and probably now a petty bandit"
Mocking both with her words and actions, as she gives him an unfiltered look of disdain as she sees him fall to the ground on his rear, Kikyo disperses her shikigami around with a thought in search of any other "enemy".
"I will never become that kind of scum!"
"Heh, is that an idealist I see? Fine, then tell me what you're doing here. Hmm… another one?"
Taking her eyes off the young soldier fallen on the ground, who does not seem to be in immediate danger but is really just stained with the blood of others, Kikyo looks at the newcomer who is dressed like another soldier.
"Takeda-sama, you're still alive!"
"Barely, even out of cowardice. The others… all of them…"
"Don't say that, Takeda-sama! It was our honor to fight alongside you and your father, besides some men are still in this forest, if we use fire as a signal… Ghost!"
Finally noticing the priestess in the surroundings of the old temple after getting lost in the conversation, the elderly man's pale face due to lack of blood turns even whiter than paper, although even so he composes himself and raises his sword.
That slightly amuses Kikyo, even more when she notices the small tremor running through Takeda's body, who is surely the pampered son of some daimyo… although what is someone like him doing here?
"Another disrespectful one, but don't you see where you are?"
"So you are the priestess of this old temple, woman?"
"Of course not. Just look at the state it is in, do you think it is even habitable?"
Easily stepping around that verbal trap, Kikyo points at the old temple with her gaze, which remains in a creaking state despite her repairs, and continues speaking calmly.
"I am… a priestess on a pilgrimage journey toward the Forest of No Return that lies further north, but the route was not the best it seems"
"Takeda-sama, she looks-"
"Enough, we don't have time for this! For now let's follow your plan of making a smoke signal, I'm sure there are wounded men among the lost… I think she could help us with that?"
Doubting his own words despite the previous display of confidence, Takeda stares at Kikyo with a pleading look until she finally nods, but then makes several rules clear.
"You can stay here nearby, I will even protect you from yokai and even help with the wounded… but you must not enter the temple, under any circumstances! Do we understand each other?"
"How dare you, Takeda-sama is the son of-"
"I understand, priestess. No man under my banner will cross the doors of that temple"
Accepting faster than expected, probably due to the trauma of seeing the entire combined exercise wiped out by a few yokai earlier, Takeda signals the old man and they make a fire in a few minutes.
The wood used was not dry and brittle, but rather they used wood with some level of moisture, creating a large amount of smoke in a few seconds. Having done that they begin to block the smoke every so often with a branch, creating a kind of code visible in the distance as they try to attract nearby soldiers.
"Lo… Takeda-sama, Hino-sama!"
"Captain Yukki, y- you. Those wounds need urgent treatment!"
"It's nothing, Hino-sama. My men, what remains of them, are nearby… in a state even worse than mine, help me save them"
Maintaining an appearance of; everything is fine, despite having his armor in tatters and stained with blood, Yukki shows a panicked expression and tries to take the old man away.
There was nothing to doubt, the whole situation seemed logical and possible to happen, at least in human eyes, since for Kikyo the transformation of that panther was a bad play.
"I recommend you not follow that yokai if you don't want to die"
"Wh, eh… What, he is!"
Moving away from "Captain Yukki", the old man instinctively trusts Kikyo because priestesses have great prestige in this era, even more so now that Takeda recognizes her as "trustworthy".
"Damn woman… I planned to enjoy this snack before killing you, but you brought this upon yourself!"
Losing Yukki's recognizable appearance as he moves forward, what then presents itself before them is a humanoid being with feline characteristics such as a tail, ears and hair all over its body.
Seeing that, or rather knowing it would happen, Kikyo releases the arrow she already had loaded in her bow, forcing the yokai to stop its charge abruptly and turn to the side.
That sudden movement leaves it vulnerable to another attack, something Kikyo does not miss and releases several arrows in its direction, embedding one in its shoulder before it could react.
"Where are you from? I'm sure you don't belong to this region, I've never seen one of your kind"
"You won't get anything from-"
"Very well, then die at once"
Firing another round of arrows without even waiting for the yokai to finish speaking, although the refusal was already obvious, Kikyo gradually pushes the panther yokai back to the edge of the forest thanks to her perfectly coordinated shots.
Having it there, right where she wanted it, she remotely controls her shikigami and they emerge from the forest, surrounding each limb of the yokai until leaving it immobile and vulnerable to the next arrow.
Which unlike the previous ones not only has a small, almost invisible pink coating, but now the glow is visible to everyone present and fills the yokai with fear.
"Ahhh!"
Letting out one last heartbreaking scream, the panther yokai stops moving completely, thus marking the end of this spectacle.
"It's done, you can continue"
"T-thank you, priestess"
"You're welcome. Don't bother me unless this happens again, I'm going to make some ointments"
Closing the sliding door behind her, which is now repaired with certain patches of herbs, Kikyo leaves the two men outside along with the yokai's corpse.