Chapter Twenty-One: The Reversal of Longing for a Tragic Love

Because Hojo Akiyoshi learned about the Shikon Jewel, Granny Kaede, in a panic, brought up a mysterious case from fifty years ago to cover up the past. Soon, through the back-and-forth between Inuyasha and Granny Kaede, Hojo Akiyoshi and Kagome, sitting at the scene, were treated to a juicy revelation.

In brief, it involved a powerful priestess who had guarded the Shikon Jewel for many years. Perhaps the weight of this responsibility became too much for her to bear, and in a moment of restlessness, she let slip someone she found somewhat agreeable—the half-demon Inuyasha, who had come to seize the jewel.

Then, unknowingly, this half-demon triggered a skill akin to a fearless woman attracting a persistent suitor. Unwittingly, the priestess and the half-demon became entangled in a tragic and poignant love affair between human and demon. The tale’s earth-shattering and forbidden passions aside, the ending was undoubtedly a tragedy.

“Inuyasha, you mean to say that, in order to be with Kikyo for life,” Hojo Akiyoshi interrupted loudly, clapping his palms to draw attention away from the chattering Granny Kaede and Inuyasha beneath the stage, “you not only gave up the dream of becoming a perfect, full demon by claiming the Shikon Jewel but also promised Kikyo you would become truly human by harnessing the jewel’s power?”

“Exactly! But that wretched priestess deceived me!” Inuyasha retorted bitterly. “On the way to the agreed meeting place, Kikyo attacked me! When I woke up, furious, I went to Kaede Village—and in the end, that woman sealed me for fifty years!”

At Hojo Akiyoshi’s question onstage, Inuyasha’s anger flared, and he shot a sharp glare at the perceptive Granny Kaede.

“But you, priestess Kaede,” Hojo Akiyoshi pressed, “your version claims that Inuyasha attacked Kikyo on their way to the meeting. Then, after seizing the Shikon Jewel, Inuyasha not only didn’t flee but retaliated by attacking Kaede Village and later reclaimed the jewel again at the shrine where it was enshrined. Eventually, Kikyo, gravely wounded, returned and sealed him upon the sacred tree, after which your sister Kikyo died with a grudge?”

Seamlessly taking control of the narrative, Hojo Akiyoshi naturally placed himself as judge. Yet no one present, not even Inuyasha who had long distrusted Hojo Akiyoshi, found fault with this. All eyes turned to Hojo Akiyoshi, quietly awaiting his verdict.

“What do you think, Mitsuhide?” Hojo Akiyoshi asked, twiddling roasted soybeans thoughtfully, seeking counsel.

“Lord,” Akechi Mitsuhide bowed respectfully before considering, “if neither the man nor the demon before us concealed the truth, then Kikyo and Inuyasha could not have been in two places at once attacking each other.”

“Unless Inuyasha has the ability to create clones, and Kikyo can manipulate shikigami to take her form,” Granny Kaede interjected.

“Hey, I don’t do clones!” Inuyasha shouted immediately.

“My sister is skilled in the way of the demon-slaying arrow but rarely uses shikigami,” Granny Kaede added.

“Then…” Mitsuhide nodded and continued, “Kikyo’s side clearly states Inuyasha seized the Shikon Jewel after attacking. Inuyasha’s side says he was attacked and unconscious, and feeling betrayed, retaliated by attacking the village to forcibly claim the jewel. Doesn’t that seem odd?”

Tapping the table, Mitsuhide turned to Hojo Akiyoshi and bowed deeply. “Please, lord, judge wisely! Why didn’t they simply kill each other at the outset?”

Taking Mitsuhide’s words, Hojo Akiyoshi’s expression grew serious. “There are many inconsistencies throughout. Both Kikyo and Inuyasha were attacked and fell unconscious simultaneously. Why didn’t they die? The Shikon Jewel was stolen but somehow returned to the shrine on its own. Then, as if by coincidence, Inuyasha reclaimed it, just as the gravely wounded Kikyo returned. The scent of conspiracy is unmistakable.”

At this, Hojo Akiyoshi suddenly laughed amid the puzzled gazes. “Kikyo’s charm is truly great.”

“What?” The crowd, waiting for the final judgment, was stunned. All understood what he had said before, but what did he mean by Kikyo’s great charm?

“The events between Kikyo and Inuyasha were orchestrated,” Hojo Akiyoshi explained. “There is a third party—either demon or human—hidden behind this entire affair. This mastermind harbors a unique passion for Kikyo, a feeling surpassing even their desire for the Shikon Jewel.”

Rubbing the roasted soybeans in his hand, Hojo Akiyoshi, knowing the answer, found it easier to retrace the sequence.

“My sister had no contact with any other men besides Inuyasha!” Granny Kaede shouted in protest from below. This matter concerned her sister’s reputation deeply! She was a priestess, and to be involved with a half-demon, with all the gossip that entailed, was scandalous enough. To die together with a hidden hand manipulating events was one thing—somewhat preserving honor. But if this hidden hand also had emotional ties to her sister...

Looking around, Granny Kaede couldn’t bear the amused looks from everyone present, especially Inuyasha’s resentful glare as though he had been betrayed.

“If the goal was the Shikon Jewel, how could you have had the chance to cremate the jewel and my sister together?” she demanded. “At your age and with your abilities then, Kikyo was dead and Inuyasha sealed. The mastermind had every opportunity to take the unguarded jewel outright.”

“Of course, you might say Kikyo protected the jewel before dying, anticipating this possible mastermind’s arrival,” Hojo Akiyoshi mused, shaking his head. “But could Kikyo have realized the mastermind’s existence? If they only wanted the jewel, they already had it when Kikyo headed to the meeting place. They painstakingly returned it, watching Kikyo and Inuyasha fight.”

He chewed on the soybeans thoughtfully. “Either the mastermind deeply hated both Kikyo and Inuyasha—though Inuyasha’s strength suggests he had no such formidable enemy—or, more likely, Kikyo’s allure was too great.”

Spreading his hands, Hojo Akiyoshi reached a reluctant conclusion amid Granny Kaede’s horror. “It’s either unrequited love or bitter hatred. Given the mastermind didn’t seize the jewel afterward, I lean toward unrequited love, for the target was Kikyo herself, not the jewel.”

“Seeing a carefully plotted ending where Kikyo kills Inuyasha turn into a double-suicide, the mastermind likely found this outcome unbearable. Losing the chance to possess Kikyo made the jewel meaningless.”

With a smirk, Hojo Akiyoshi glanced at Kagome, who was caught up in the inexplicable emotional entanglement surrounding Kikyo but found a strange melancholy in it. Then, raising an eyebrow, he looked toward a prop Mitsuhide had prepared—originally intended to illustrate the issue of human and demon romance.

“Someone! What is this filthy thing? Who allowed this to appear around the lord’s tent?” Mitsuhide suddenly sprang up in anger, drawing his sword and storming outside.

All eyes followed him to where two dogs were bowing respectfully. Though Mitsuhide approached with others, the dogs refused to move apart.

Seeing this scene, Kagome’s face flushed a deep shade of crimson, and any thoughts of tragic romance between Kikyo and Inuyasha vanished.