"He is dying, not trying to scam you."
Seeing Kagetsu instinctively step back, Kikyo raised a single eyebrow, a faint trace of teasing in her tone. She stepped forward slightly, her gaze shifting to the fallen bandit before returning to the still vigilant samurai.
"Your reaction to him falling… seems a bit excessive," Kikyo remarked.
"Uh… it's nothing," Kagetsu mumbled, withdrawing his hand from his sword hilt, a hint of embarrassment coloring his voice. "Just a reflex to avoid someone who suddenly collapsed."
"Strange." Kikyo didn't press further. She crouched to examine the white-haired bandit.
By merely observing his face, she shook her head. "His body is long exhausted. He's alive only because the shard of the Shikon Jewel is sustaining him."
"What do you plan to do? Save him?" Kagetsu glanced down at the man. "He doesn't seem like a good person."
Kikyo's expression remained calm. She had already guessed his identity. This dying bandit, carrying a shard of the Shikon Jewel, was Rakushakikansuke.
In his youth, he had led a band of ruthless outlaws,murders, arson, every evil imaginable. Fifty years ago, he had conspired with Onigumo to steal the Shikon Jewel from Kikyo, only to be thwarted by the young Inuyasha, who injured Onigumo and cast him from a cliff. He had been a direct catalyst in Naraku's eventual birth.
"First, wake him. I want to ask why he carries the Shikon Jewel shard," Kikyo said calmly, turning to Kagetsu. "Give me the medicine box."
"Of course." Kagetsu nodded, retrieving the medicine box Kikyo had prepared in advance from the Kamui Dimension and handing it to her.
As Kikyo prepared the medicine, Kagetsu silently observed, neither disturbing nor preventing her actions. He understood that this encounter was no coincidence,it had been orchestrated by Naraku, drawing the bandit toward Kikyo.
The plan was simple: Naraku wanted Kikyo to come to Mount Hakurei. Kansuke knew its location, and his survival until now, with the Shikon shard intact, had been protected,either by the shard itself or by monsters under Naraku's control. Following this script meant clues to Naraku could be discovered faster.
With the medicine ready, Kikyo looked up at Kagetsu. "Lie, help me feed him the medicine."
Kagetsu nodded. Gathering a small stream of water-natured chakra at his fingertips, he wrapped the medicine in it and carefully guided it into Kansuke's mouth and nose.
"Cough… cough!"
The old man began to convulse violently, his pale cheeks flushing with a sickly red. He opened his murky eyes slowly and, upon seeing them, showed no surprise,only a hoarse struggle to lean against a tree.
"Why… why save me?" he asked.
"I cannot save you, only make you more comfortable," Kikyo replied calmly. "You are dying. The shard of the Shikon Jewel is forcibly sustaining your life."
Startled, Kansuke instinctively clutched his chest. His eyes widened, then dimmed again. Trembling, he reached into his clothes, withdrawing his hand to reveal the shard.
"I'll be seventy next year… I've lived too long, long enough," he murmured bitterly, staring at the shard. "But I cannot die yet. As long as I have this shard…"
"What do you intend to do with it?" Kikyo asked softly.
"I'm looking for a suitable place to die," he replied indirectly, sighing. His gaze drifted into the distance. "In my youth, I did every evil deed imaginable. Rakushakikansuke… my name was feared in the underworld. I killed, I robbed, I set fires… all without restraint. Since death could come at any moment, I indulged freely in evil…"
A heavy gasp, self-mocking laughter escaped him. "Yet fate has been stubborn. Even now, old and sick, I cling to life."
Kikyo said nothing, simply listening. For a dying man, words of judgment were meaningless. Quiet attention was enough.
Kansuke's bitter smile returned. "As one ages, memories fade, but the scenes of youth grow clearer. The first time I saw you… I thought you looked like someone."
"Who?" Kikyo asked, unconcerned, letting him lead the conversation.
"A long time ago, I saw a priestess who resembled you. Her name was…" He frowned, thinking. "…Kikyo? Yes, I think it was Kikyo."
A flicker of surprise crossed Kikyo's eyes, but she let it pass. She had traveled widely as a wandering priestess; it wasn't surprising he might have seen her. "Probably just a resemblance," she said indifferently.
"True… fifty years have passed. Even if she were alive, she'd be an old woman now." Kansuke chuckled.
"Ha… right, an old woman," Kagetsu laughed quietly, glancing at Kikyo. She shot him a glare and reached to pinch his waist, but he caught her wrist. She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to Kansuke.
"Youth is… remarkable," Kansuke continued, sighing heavily. "I heard she died, and the Shikon Jewel was buried with her. I never expected the Jewel to resurface, and for a shard to end up in my hands."
"You knew about the Shikon Jewel back then? Did you want it fifty years ago?" Kikyo asked sharply, catching the implication.
Kansuke nodded slowly, voice tinged with recollection. "Back then, I conspired with a man named Onigumo…"
"Onigumo?!" Kikyo's eyes widened sharply. She crouched, locking her gaze onto him, intensity sharpening her features.