Update (July 2020): Chapter edited and lengthened!
Chapter 24: The Amorality of Chained Spirits
"This mansion is enormous!"
So be the first spoken thought by our youngest starring redhead in a few hours, he and his companions having left Goshinboku Village once more in their search for Shikon-no-Tama shards, not to mention leads to Naraku's whereabouts. Their new path has taken them to an estate that is indeed large and impressive, suggesting that the residence may have connections to the shogunate...
Zooming in on Coraline, we notice she's chosen a camouflage-print unbuttoned flannel shirt over a white tee, light-green cargo pants and her brown hiker shoes as her day outfit, while also dawning a braid for her hair. Turning her eyes right to her monk companion, she asks,
"So, what's the verdict, Miroku? Are we gonna try an' see about stayin' here for tonight?"
Inuyasha sarcastically retorts from the girl's left,
"I'll wager that Miroku tells the owners that an 'ominous cloud' hangs over the mansion."
"You're mistaken. I have a legitimate reason for coming here."
...Soon enough, the group is sitting down with the lord of the estate, and after learning about what's been plaguing the region for a while now, Inuyasha found himself reasonably surprised.
"So these demons carry off the souls of dead girls?"
"Yes. As if losing the princess wasn't upsetting enough, I cannot have her soul taken before it reaches its final resting place..."
Miroku speaks up to reassure the troubled noble.
"No such thing shall occur. I assure you that my associates and I shall protect the princess's soul from these demons."
Coraline and Shippō glance at the monk with very mild awe at his seriousness...But, come a bit later, Miroku's hidden motive to coming here would be revealed; namely, the extravagant meal provided to the four as a token of appreciation and thanks...
"What'd I tell ya? Same old lines, same old unwarranted feast."
The monk with Prussian blue eyes does not deny the half-demon's comment.
"Perhaps, but one must have a full stomach before running into combat."
...Still, as Miroku picks up a bowl to drink from, he narrows his eyes in suspicion to the atmosphere of the area.
This place is too quiet. The air is thick with evil.
...
...
At the same time down at a riverside village a mile or so away, a group of small children are seen playing while receiving some guidance from an older soul...One girl of about eight - wearing a saffron orange kimono with a red-orange obi, black-brown hair tied into a small ponytail with an apricot ribbon, and deep brown irises - stops to scan some plants, before finding what she was searching for.
"Hah! Look, I found some! Kikyō! Kikyō, I found some!"
And low and behold, standing by the water is the priestess who bears that too-familiar name, somehow surviving the fall from that cliff a few weeks back!...The little girl rushes over her way with a smile to show her the plants she found.
"Look! Is this a medicinal herb?"
"Yes, well done, Sayo. It is called the Lantern Plant and it's used to reduce swelling."
Another child - a little boy in a dark blue kimono - comes to show the priestess his find, followed by another young girl in a sky blue kimono.
"Kikyō, Kikyō! What are these?"
"Do these grasses cure anything?"
The 'young' woman smiles at their curiousity and eagerness to learn, bending down slightly to get a better look at the species they brought her.
"Let's see..."
...Unbeknownst to the small group of four, two men dressed in the worn robes of monks were skulking from afar in the treeline of the nearby forest. The first one is near his late thirties with very lightly tanned ivory skin, thick black eyebrows and black-brown irises, the colour scheme of his robes being dark indigo and orange-brown. The second gentleman with him is younger, likely in his late twenties/early thirties, has a paler complexion, dark green eyes and is dressed in garbs similar to a much younger Buddhist practitioner we know. Both of these men are seen to be bald, wearing the traditional Ajirogasa hat (sometimes known as the Takuhatsugasa), and the older one is carrying his own shakujō staff...
"Master Seikai, are you certain that the young priestess is a demon? She looks nothing more than a human to my eyes..."
"Then you lack in training. Can you not sense it? This area resonates with a sinister evil."
As they continue to observe, Kikyō then calls from her seat on the grass.
"...Excuse me, monk."
"Uh!"
The monks are momentarily stunned that the priestess had already sensed their presence, and she turns to where they stand with a gentle smile.
"I see that you have been watching me for sometime now."
They come out from hiding, and the older of the two- Seikai - replies,
"Heh, how, very awkward. You perceived us, did you? Your beauty is so remarkable, I could not help but stare at you."
"Spare me your flattery."
"Apparently my etiquette is in sore need of refinement..."
(Trip)
"Auh!"
Seikai then fumbles his steps, and a scroll falls out of his robes in front of Kikyō...She stares at the writing for a moment, before looking back up at the monk with an expressionless face, though her eyes spoke of a challenge...
"Gather the scroll up for me, will you?...It contains a sutra warding off evil. Should a demon touch it, their true nature will be revealed."
...The priestess does what Seikai asks with no problems, much to the latter's shock, and she replies with a calm smile,
"How fortunate that we have such sutras to protect us. Here, your scroll."
He reaches to take back the scroll, his mind dumbfounded.
She touched the sutra, yet there was no transformation...!
...Then just as he took hold of the parchment...
(Bzzt)
"Ah!"
He's blasted with several shots of an unknown power, his mind flinching from the darkness hidden within it...!
"...Now then, let us go, shall we?"
Seikai releases the scroll just as Kikyō begins leading the children away, and he places a hand on his chest as he attempts to make sense of what just occurred.
"...I, I am not certain what transpired. A tremendous force deep past through my body...Ah, no, it's gone!"
His apprentice comes to his side, concerned for his condition.
"What is it? What upsets you, Master Seikai?"
"...Look at the scroll."
"Huh?"
The young monk in training does so...and is shocked to find,
"The sutra has disappeared!"
"It is as if it has been erased...Priestess!"
Kikyō stops, and the children turn look to the monks confused...
"I do not know what binds you to this world, but it is certainly not a place for you to linger...Go, and return to where you belong!"
The two young girls and one boy frown at Seikai's claim.
"What's he going on about?"
"He's a strange monk!"
Sayo looks up with worry at Kikyō...but despite any uncertainty, they all continue away from the river...Seikai would then make the following conclusion.
That woman is no ordinary demon...She is much stronger, and much more sinister.
...
The priestess and the children would soon return to the nearby village, as seen by a few rice farmers.
"Look, it's Lady Kikyō."
"Luckily we have such a talented and kind priestess in our midst."
"Aye, she heals our ails and cheers the children."
"It is so; we are blessed indeed."
...As encouraging as these words may be, we find Kikyō remaining impassive as she walks on, her mind wandering back to when she was reborn again and the consequences that came.
The witch Urasue desired the spiritual power of a priestess, so she robbed the bones and dirt of my grave and fired my body in her kiln...
The soul that is transmigrated into my body suits me well...
(Flash)
"Why did you betray me, Inuyasha?!"
(Flash)
For the second time, you asked me to die, Inuyasha...so why is it that you looked sad?
Is it because you feel the heat from my hand? The heat of anger that flames of vengeance?
(Flash)
"Kikyōōōōōōōō!"
(Flash)
"...Kikyō? Did you hear me?"
The woman bound by the hands of the undead snaps out of her thoughts to meet eyes with the young girl in the saffron kimono.
"Sayo..."
"Kikyō, you will always stay here with us, will you?"
She's momentarily taken aback by the question...but then smiles softly and bends down to Sayo's level.
"Tell me, Sayo, are you fond of me?"
"Mhm."
"That makes me happy. You are as dear to me as though you are my younger sister."
"Aw, truly?"
"Yes."
That make the little blackette beam with happiness, and as she rushes back home, she stops briefly to wave at Kikyō with a big smile...When Sayo's form leaves her perceptual vision, the priestess turns attention to the rest of the village.
...I can live here. I can reside in this village.
I know I can do it...but the question remains, will I be permitted to do it?
Time Skip
As night falls over the land, we return to the large mansion as Inuyasha comes back into the room where he and Coraline would be residing for the evening, which happens to be the chamber of the formely-alive princess.
"Well, everything looks clear outside. Anything unusual in here?"
"Nope. So far, everything's jus' quiet like it should be."
"Good."
The half-demon sits beside the redhead as he then asks,
"Where'd Miroku get to?"
"Apparently, there's a second princess who lives here, so 'e left to make sure she was content."
"Oh, suuure..."
...Speaking of said monk, he and Shippō are currently being lead by a vassal to this other young royal this very minute.
"The younger princess is petrified..."
"Leave her-er, I mean, things to me. If she is like her sister, the younger princess is sure to be a beauty beyond compare. Ha~h, I love my job..."
The fox demon asks (oblivious to the monk's somewhat perverted intentions),
"Miroku, am I suppose to help you protect this younger sister?"
"Hmm...first, we must do what we can to lay her fears to rest. Perhaps you can transform into something cute and fuzzy."
"What for?"
"(Feminine pitch) 'Oh, a bunny, I always wanted to see one up close!' You see?"
"Um, no, not really..."
Miroku bends down to Shippō's level and says with a smile,
"I'll explain it one day when you're old enough to talk man-to-man, (nod)."
Ahem...anyway, we go back to where Inuyasha and Coraline were as the former scoffs and mutters,
"He's some player. Too bad he has everyone convinced that he's a saint, otherwise I'd give him a good stomping...Huh?"
The half-demon's resentful thoughts come to a stop when he feels his companion's head lay between his chest and shoulder. A very light blush dusts his face, before he asks with an awkward break in his pitch,
"U-uuh, isn't, this a little close, Coraline?"
She herself stutters the slightest as she answers,
"S-Sorry, it's the princess; she's go' me on edge...I'm not, particularly comfortable with bein' in the same room as a dead body that looks like they'll stand up any second..."
Inuyasha looks at her with a deadpan.
"That was your motivation?"
"Well, yeah, I guess...You, make me feel safe."
"...I do?"
The redhead nods in all her innocence, leaving the silverette quiet as he turns away from her eyes, that tinge of pink growing a tad.
...I make her feel safe?
Coraline raises a brow when she notices his red cheeks, unaware of the light hue on her own.
"Hm? Inuyasha...are you okay?"
"Uh, yeah, why wouldn't I be?"
...Shrugging her shoulders, the girl lets her mind wander.
What's got him so quiet?...And that blush...is he not used t' this kind of friendly affection?
...Hm...I guess that makes sense, considering how Inuyasha lived befo' he met me and the others...
Coraline then smiles lightly as her eyes suddenly lock onto one of the young man's hands...and gently grabs it.
"Huh?"
Attention caught, Inuyasha turns to see the content expression on his friend's face, the grip on his clawed appendage firm but gentle...Not sure how to react, he just faces frontwards again...but not before squeezing her hand back.
Miroku's POV
This, might not have been my wisest decisions...
"I must take leave. Your sister's soul requires my unwavering attention."
Try as I did to explain my seriousness, the young princess - who by the way, looks nothing like her elder sister - begs her protests while latching onto me.
"Please don't leave me, Master Miroku!"
"Gah!"
We fall over, giving her the leverage to firm her grip on my person.
"I fear for my safety!"
"No one will come after you, I guarantee it."
"You are too cruel!"
Sighing, I think to myself,
Why does seeking the company of a pretty woman have to be so difficult...?
No POV
Leaving the foolish monk to his own devices...
(Fwip)
We return to the deceased princess's chambers as the torch light goes out without warning...and the body begins to float into the air!
"Ah!"
Coraline grasps onto Inuyasha, he putting a protective arm around her as the dead entity stays suspended midair...Next thing they knew, a strange glow appears outside the door, blasting it open and revealing an eel-like demon...!
"Time to work!"
The half-dog demon grasps the hilt of his katana at ready, just as mouth of the dead princess emits a strange mist - the essence of her soul - which floats to gather into the small tendrils of the demon...
But before the creature could get away...
"Hrrraaaah!"
(Slash)
Inuyasha slices it in two, releasing the soul and allowing it to float back into the body as it gently drops back onto the futon...
"Thank goodness, her spirit is safe."
"You think it's over? Not likely."
"Wait. (...Sheen) I sense others outside."
The two teens rush out of the room, only to come across the sight of several more of the soul-snatching demons heading off from the area...
"Aw man, there's more of 'em!"
"Look: they're carrying souls of the dead!"
Coraline narrows her eyes with suspicious curiosity.
"So many...Where could those demons be taking the souls?"
Suddenly, Miroku comes rushing to the two, shouting a tad frantically,
"After them, quickly!"
He then jumps over the fence, much to the pursuing princess's protest.
"Please, stay with me!"
Inuyasha asks Shippō lightly as the latter arrives,
"Miroku having woman troubles again?"
"I think she might be a demon and not a woman at all...Aaah!"
The fox demon is then surprise-attacked into a hug by the distraught princess.
"Little fox, how can you treat me so-o-o-o-o?!"
...
...
...
At the same time Inuyasha and company discover these demonic entities, we return to the village near the riverside as Sayo lays in her shared bed with her family, wide-awake as she thought about Kikyō.
...Kikyō is troubled by something...
It must be what that monk said to her this afternoon.
(Flash)
"I do not know what binds you to this world, but it is certainly not a place for you to linger...Go, and return to where you belong!"
(Flash)
The little blackette covers her ears as she tries to block the negative voice out...but releases a sigh as she concludes,
"I cannot sleep...Huh?"
She then turns to look outside, hearing footsteps...Looking through her window, it's revealed that the steps belong to the subject woman...
"Kikyō's outside...? Hm..."
Sayo moves to look out her doorway, watching the priestess wander outside the village perimeter...
"Where could she be going at this time of night?"
Curiousity getting the better of her, she follows Kikyō...The path would take the little girl to the treeline by the water, watching from behind an oak as the older woman seemingly stare into nothing...
"She's been acting rather peculiar today...I hope she will not leave our village for elsewhere."
...Suddenly, Kikyō removes the ribbon in her hair, letting it flow freely from her head...just as those same demons from earlier arrive with the stolen souls! Sayo utters a frightful sound as she watches the priestess reach out to collect the orb spirits.
"Come, and allow me to lead you. The tragic souls of maidens..."
...Kikyō's controlling the lost souls...!
What's worse, is that Seikai and his apprentice had not left the area, waiting for the moment the undead woman did something more visibly suspicious...They emerge from another section of the greenery, the elder of the two addressing Kikyō.
"Are you unable to cross over? You are dead, young priestess?...You must now pass on to the Netherworld."
"Can you not overlook my presence here? I am merely wishing to live in peace in this small village."
As the demons float away, the monk asks with a gradual-rising hardness in his tone,
"If you wish to live in peace, then why must you gather souls of the dead?"
"...I have reasons."
"You require souls in order to sustain that body of yours."
Seikai then brings out a strange golden orb with the body of a dragon decorating it...
(Sheen...)
"What action will you take? I take it you won't leave..."
"I shall send you to where you belong! I shall do it for your sake!"
(...Pow)
"Uh!"
Kikyō is then surrounded by a swirl of golden light, before it materializes into a green-scaled dragon, coiling around her body and preventing her from moving!
As the spell-projected legendary entity grasps her neck within its claws, Seikai calls out,
"You cannot escape this demon-binding spell of mine!...I shall extinguish this light, and save your soul from eternal misery!"
"...Save me? (Seething glare) A retch such as you presumes to save my soul?!"
Kikyō then uses her spiritual strength to break the monk's spell...and one of the dragon's claws is shot into his neck!...Seikai falls to the ground, and the orb falls out of his hand, cracking into pieces...The apprentice flees for his life as the priestess comes up to the fallen monk, glaring down at him with a look of disdain.
"You would have been better to leave me be than end your life."
(...Grasp)
Using the last of his vitality, the dying Seikai grabs onto Kikyō's ankle before saying hoarsely,
"Priestess...to only watch your purpose is...Time continues for the living. They carve their futures in each passing moment...However, for the dead, such as yourself, time stands still. Thus, the dead and the living cannot reside with one another. And yet, you insist on trying...How, tragic..."
With that, the monk dies, leaving the priestess to ponder his cryptic words.
...Tragic, you say? I am tragic?
"Uh!"
She then turns to the treeline, sensing another presence.
"Who goes?"
...Her expression then softens when she sees it to be Sayo, the latter's expression frozen with fear after witnessing the scene.
"Sayo...Were you...did you witness that? (...Wanders closer) Sayo...?"
The older woman attempts to reach out a comforting hand, but the little girl cringes away with tears in the corners of her eyes...Kikyō retracts the appendage, and looks down at herself in sadness.
"...Forgive me. I did not mean for you to see such a sight."
She then rises from the ground, realizing her question about residing in the village peacefully has received its negative answer...Sayo looks back up to watch the priestess take her leave, and though still a bit scared, her more dominant fondness for the kinder side of the woman compels her to call,
"Wait, Kikyō!"
...The priestess stops briefly, and turns to send her goodbyes to the little girl.
"Farewell, Sayo...Please forgive me."
And with that, Kikyō disappears...
Time Skip
Come the next morning, Inuyasha and the others leave the mansion after protecting the dead princess's soul from the demons that came last night...However, Coraline was concerned for the other spirits she had seen being carried off in the night sky...
Now as they sit on the rocky riverbank, she tries to convince her companions - mostly the silverette - to seek the creatures out.
"Come on! We need to find those demons and save d'ose souls!"
"Where do you want us to go?"
"Oh, right...That's a good question..."
As the younger redhead licks away at a lollipop, and the monk sips from a juice can, they each comment,
"The demons disappeared without a trace. We wouldn't know where to start searching."
"And there's certainly no point in returning to the mansion, is there?"
"I believe you have other reasons for that opinion. As in a certain princess who's fondness of you is a bit too obvious..."
Miroku coughs irritably in response to Shippō's claim, choosing to say nothing...Coraline then bends down to Inuyasha and asks,
"What's up with you now? Don't tell me y're gettin' lazy in your many demon years..."
"I'm just not as interested. I mean, what's in it for us? It's not like we'll find a jewel fragment."
Coraline sighs irritably and mutters,
"Of course the bloody jewel's your only motivation...C'mon, why not overlook the jewel for'a second and show some good will towards your fellow man?"
"That's what I'm tired of, helping people all the time! Look, I'm gonna be a great demon someday, so why should I waste my time going around to help humans?"
"...Nice. Y'know, not all demons are known fo' being ruthless to humankind. Besides, you're more of a saint compared to most demons I've seen here thus far, and you know it."
"Saint?! Okay, where are you going with this one, Coraline?"
She replies simply,
"There's no real concept I'm tryin' to teach you, I'm just complim'ntin' you."
Inuyasha humphs,
"Look, I'm still not interested in helping them, so you can count me out. Teh, you gotta problem with that-Hey! I'm still talkin' here!"
But Coraline wasn't listening; instead, her attention was focused on something - or someone - floating in the water.
"Look!"
"An octopus!"
Miroku corrects Shippō when he analyzes the shape of the body.
"More like a human...!"
Coraline quickly slips off her over-shirt, then kicks off her hikers before diving into the river, much to everyone else's surprise.
"Coraline!" "What are-"
"I'm gettin' him outta there!"
...Ten minutes later, the redhead will have successfully brought the man to shore, now shivering a bit while Miroku examines the new face, revealed to be the young monk formerly apprenticed to Seikai.
"Luckily, the monk is only unconscious and had not drowned..."
"...R-rgh..."
"Sounds like he's-brrrh, comin' to..."
As he arose from his unconscious state, the first face the Buddhist practitioner sees...is Coraline's.
"Aaaah!"
"Whoa!"
The monk jumps back closer to the river's edge at the same time the girl does closer to the break between riverbed and grass.
"What's the deal, sir?! You scared th' crap outta me!"
Miroku then asks,
"What is it that causes you such fright?"
The monk apologizes and explains what happened to him...
"A demon?"
"Correct."
Miroku then asks his own question with a tone less skeptical than Inuyasha's.
"You're saying that Coraline's expression resembled the face of a demon you saw?"
"At first glance, she appeared to be human, but, clearly, she was a possessed demon...and a priestess."
The redhead with two-tone blue irises feels a chill run down her spine, making her body colder than it already was.
A priestess?...No. Could he mean...?
"She was able to ward off my master's spiritual powers...Wait, I-I believe I heard her name spoken. It was, Kikyō."
The half-demon's own hazel-gold irises snap into an intense glare, and he yanks the unnamed monk up by his robes while saying in a low tone,
"If I find out you're making this up, you'll wish you were still in the river."
"I speak only the truth! The woman lured away the souls of dead woman!"
"I don't care about that! It's her name; what made you think her name was Kikyō?!"
"The children of the village called her so. I am certain; the youngsters called her by the name Kikyō."
Coraline frowns with worry, recalling the group's last encounter with the priestess (before meeting Miroku, of course).
"So then Kikyō continues t' wander this world, and she's lurin' away the souls of the dead...?"
Inuyasha drops the monk, and looks out into the distance as his thoughts drift similarly.
Kikyō...are you still in the land of the living?
How did she survive the fall from the cliff?
...If she is still alive...If she still wanders the earth...
Before anyone could react, the half-demon leaps off with a new focus.
Kikyō...I'll save you!
Coraline's POV
I watch Inuyasha take off in a random direction, likely to try and scout out Kikyō's whereabouts...Something that doesn't feel all that unsurprising to me, if one considers their past relations. Really, if someone you care about had come back from the afterlife, wouldn't you jump at the opportunity to see them, even just once?
Still, considerin' how th' woman reacted aft'a being unceremoniously resurrected...is going t' see her now really a good idea?
Anyway, after seeing off the monk apprentice, the rest of us move away from the riverbank and into the nearby section of forest. I'm currently sitting on a log beside Shippō, while Miroku stands on the grass near us as he wonders aloud about our missing companion.
"Do you think we are mistaken in allowing Inuyasha to go on his own?"
"He sure took off in a hurry when he heard the monk's story..."
I respond to Shippō's comment as nonchalantly as possible, despite my light misgivings on the subject.
"I'm not surprised, given that Inuyasha's heart still harbo's feelings for Kikyō."
"W-What?!"
"...Which is why it'd be better to leave them be for the time being."
"Why? What do they need to be alone for?"
I smile a little at the boy's innocence, leaving it up to Miroku to postulate an answer.
"I believe I understand her meaning."
"Huh?"
"...The woman he once loved so completely may have changed, and if that were the case, he cannot allow others to witness the change in her or himself."
Yes, that is a possibility...
"But why would that be? Who's to say that she didn't change for the better? Then what would happen?"
"I dunno. I suppose if it were me, I would get back together with her."
I felt something in my heart twitch at the monk's guess.
...Get back together?
Would Inuyasha really do that?...Is it even possible for th'm anymore?
I sigh, suddenly feeling a bit depressed, and pick up my bags while walking off...
"Coraline?"
"Coraline, what's wrong?"
Ignoring the other two, I continue my trek as my mind begins wallowing in a new sadness that feels foreign and, irritating.
Inuyasha...hauh, is chasing after Kikyō again really the best thing for y'?
You're only headin' down that old road of heartbreak, so why chase something tha' was already lost?
"Just a moment, Coraline."
Releasing another subdued breath, I pause my aimless journey so the other two could catch up.
"What now, Miroku?"
"I suppose, we could always follow after Inuyasha..."
Shaking my head, I argue,
"No. The last t'ing I-er, we need to do is chase after 'im..."
...
...
...
Suddenly, the atmosphere around the area grows dim.
"Huh? What's going-Uh, there!"
We turn to see those soul-suckers from before flying overhead.
"The same type of demon!"
"After it!"
...Chase them though we did, the boys and I only got so far in our hunt, when we come to an area that felt, off.
(Ba-bump...)
"Huh...?"
Energy...Defensive...
I stop and turn around, only to see Miroku and Shippō get knocked to the ground by some kind of barrier!
"Guys!"
I try to rush back...
(Bzzt)
"Gh!"
But the barrier would block me from coming back through, in a manner not unlike those very rare and random moments when Buyo launches himself against a window in an attempt to chase a bird...Moving on, I watch Miroku and Shippō get up, the latter exclaiming,
"What was that?!"
Miroku touches the barrier and replies,
"Looks like someone sealed this area off."
"So we can't pass?"
"Right."
"Wait, Coraline...Where's Coraline?!"
I shout right in front of them,
"I'm right here, Shippō! Miroku!"
But they just keep looking around...and that's when I realize,
"They can't see me...This barrier must be causin' some sort'a illusion both visual and audio."
I narrow my eyes in frustration:
"Shoot...Alright. I'll need t' find the source of this barrier."
With that, I turn around and make a mad dash further into this area, using my Aura Sight to try and find the one responsible for this trickery.
"Hah, hah, hah...Looks like the project'a is somewhere this way..."
I then feel my feet slip, and I yelp while grabbing onto a tree growing on the side of a hill.
"...Slippery grass, huh?"
I look down below and scan for an open area that didn't have any trees...
"Got it."
I then proceed to slide down the hill, aiming for the safe spot...
I reach the bottom with no problems, fumbling a bit before straightening back up again.
"Whew...What a rush...Hm?"
I then notice this particular area had a more surreal atmosphere, and I look back up...only to gasp at seeing a certain priestess laying in a tree with spiritual orbs floating around her.
"...Kikyō..."