"You are ignorant."
"Well, I'm sorry that I'm not from around here and didn't grow up as a shrine maiden. Well, technically…"
"I am merely stating fact. You are ignorant of technique and lack almost all knowledge of demons, holy people, and your duties. But, your instincts are strong."
Kagome blinked, still put off but not sure if that last part was supposed to be part of the insult.
Kagome didn't hate Kikyo, but the older miko was not on her list of favorite people either. Probably not even in her top 15. But, the younger girl would have to be delusional to deny that Kikyo was the more skilled priestess, and Kagome was thankful that she kept Kohaku's shard safe and pure by her side as they traveled together.
"Holy people instinctively feel drawn to darkness. We seek to destroy or guard evil objects to protect others from their influence." Kikyo blankly stared at Kagome. "It is what you are doing with that impure entity that you tote around." Kagome tensed up as she was bandaging the other miko.
"I don't know what you're talking about Kikyo-san."
"Do not take me for a fool, my reincarnation. What I am wondering is why you have not purified it. Granted, the energy surrounding it is foreign, not exactly demonic, but still far from good or natural." Her eyes slid to the future girl's backpack and then back to her nurse. "In fact, it is one of the darker objects I have come across. The soul is impure. Perhaps you need a more experienced hand's aid?"
Kagome's nose wrinkled, but there was no point denying it anymore. "He's not evil. And he's human. He was wronged in life and trapped in there, and I'm trying to free him."
"That does not alter the fact that your lost soul is a dark one. He tells you lies."
"What do you mean?"
Kikyo pondered, "Souls outside their bodies are a fickle matter. As you and I both know. It explains why it is so impure. A mere fragment of a soul cannot exist without...consequences." Kikyo's eyes wandered to the sky to follow the lazy clouds.
She didn't know why, but Kagome was glad that Kikyo spoke in archaic Japanese. It meant Tom would have exponentially more trouble understanding the conversation.
"One cannot successfully trap another's soul without using their own. Midoriko-sama trapped the demons inside the jewel but she could not do so without sacrificing herself. She continues to battle against them to contain them in the jewel. I sense no other soul opposite your acquaintance. It suggests he put himself in his current position. Whether by accident or intention, breaking your own soul apart, that requires a horrendous act."
"He wouldn't do that. It wouldn't make any sense to hurt himself. He isn't foolish." Kagome was careful to not say Tom's name, and, despite her quick defense, she decided to lie about the conversation when he asked about it later.