Kagome

Higurashi Kagome is indeed the reincarnation of Kikyou herself, as the Shikon no Tama was inside of her body. When Urasue tried to revive Kikyou, she got nothing but a lifeless doll that looked like her because her soul did not return to the body, meaning it was reincarnated to someone else. Luckily for Urasue, Kagome was nearby and she was able to force the soul out of her body and back into Kikyou. However, Kagome ended up making most of the soul come back to her own body after Kikyou tried to kill Inuyasha. Both girls are now living and a part of Inuyasha's life. She now has to deal with the fact that her reincarnation has seemingly taken her place in Inuyasha's heart. Kikyou was Inuyasha's first love, and now Inuyasha is beginning to fall in love with Kagome...Needless to say, the two women got off to a rocky start.

After Kikyou regained most of her strength, she planned on meeting with Inuyasha in the forest. Kagome happened to stumble across her first, and was able to pass through Kikyou’s barrier without noticing there was one in the first place. Kagome notices how pretty she is and how the two of them really do not look that much alike. Kikyou considers Kagome in the way, and makes it so she cannot be seen or heard by anyone except herself. Inuyasha arrives and Kagome tries to convince her that Inuyasha does not wish for Kikyou’s death, but loves her still. Though, she notes that is not the best thing to say in her own interests…starting the love triangle between the three of them. When Kikyou ends up kissing Inuyasha instead of killing him, Kagome is confused as to why she feels upset. However, once Kikyou tries to bring Inuyasha to hell with her, Kagome gets angry and makes her voice heard to Inuyasha. Kikyou watches as Inuyasha immediately runs over to Kagome without hesitation to kill the shinidamachuu that bound her to the tree and realizes that Kagome has taken her place at Inuyasha’s side. Later on, she asks Kaede if Inuyasha has changed because his face is much gentler than it was back when she knew him. Kikyou walks away saddened because she knows that if she had lived, she would have been the one melting Inuyasha’s heart instead of Kagome. Now that the stage is set…

Kikyou really does not care at all for Kagome in the beginning, which becomes quite evident when she tries to kill her. Kagome, on the other hand, does not really hate Kikyou as much as she is jealous of her. Kagome is in love with Inuyasha as well, and gets very jealous when he jumps up to find her at any sign of the shinidamachuu or rumor of her. She knows that Inuyasha loves Kikyou still, and obviously she feels threatened by her. What I do not think Kagome realizes is that Kikyou feels the same way about Kagome. She is also jealous that Inuyasha spends most of his time at Kagome’s side, and is obviously starting to fall in love with her as well. What Kikyou once wanted to do, Kagome is doing instead. Unfortunately for both girls, Inuyasha loves both of them and goes back and forth between them. Inuyasha cannot forget Kikyou because of what happened to them in the past, but Kagome is there with him now in the present and he cannot help his feelings for her either.

Much to Kagome’s dismay, she and Kikyou end up getting stuck inside a demon that feeds off of shrine maiden power like their own. Kikyou’s shinidamachuu cannot get inside and that ends up leaving her weak and practically unable to move. Kagome runs to her and helps her up, completely shocking Kikyou. She did not understand why Kagome was helping her when she was obviously a burden. Kikyou tells her just to leave her to die because she has already died once anyway, but Kagome refuses. She puts Kikyou’s arm around herself and they begin to walk in order to find a way out. Kikyou is still confused, but does not argue. They are eventually pursued by some demons and Kagome uses her sacred arrows to defeat most of them. A few come up from behind her and she drops the arrow that she would have been able to use against them. Kikyou comes to her rescue and uses some pure sacred power from her hands to defeat them. Kagome is slightly surprised that Kikyou saved her, and begins to worry now that the shrine maiden is breathing heavily. She tells Kikyou that they need to hurry and ends up giving her a piggyback ride until they reach the heart of the demon. Kikyou is still shocked and wonders why Kagome is so strong and warm. Once they reach the heart and Kagome cannot make a mark on the demon, Kikyou demands for her to run before their only exit is gone. Kagome once again refuses saying that she will not leave Kikyou there to die. The two girls pray together with a few shards of the Shikon no Tama in their hands to make a larger shard, and Kagome uses it to defeat the demon and they are able to escape. Kikyou asks Kagome why she did not leave her, and she responds truthfully that she did not know, but a certain guy they both knew would be upset if she were not around. Kagome turns and leaves and Kikyou smiles after her while saying the same thing to her. The relationship between the two seems to be changing a little, but more so from Kikyou’s end. After this incident I believe that Kikyou no longer hates Kagome and would actually care if something happened to her.

After Kikyou is pushed from Mt. Hakurei, her two Shikigami lure Kagome to a waterfall where Kikyou is trying to fight Naraku’s miasma. They ask Kagome to either save her or not, because she is the only one who can do it. Kagome throws her stuff down and gets into the pool of water to do it since she is the only one who can. She touches the wound like she is told, but nothing happens. Kagome seems to panic a little because nothing is happening, but once her grave soil that is purified by Kagome is put into it, it begins to take some effect. Kagome sees into Kikyou’s past at the moment that she and Inuyasha were turned against each other and realizes that Kikyou’s soul is frozen in that moment of time. Kagome tries even harder and really wants to save her because Inuyasha wants to see Kikyou and she may want to see him too. The wound begins to close fully and Kagome faints on top of Kikyou. When she wakes up, Kikyou is standing nearby, and yet again questions Kagome why she saved her instead of giving up. Kagome simply says it was not a matter of choice because she would save anyone who needed it, and Kikyou says she will not thank her then. After she leaves, Kagome is down. She really wanted to save her, but she knows that the jealousy in her heart will not go away. Kagome then realizes that the Shikigami were testing her if she would save Kikyou or not because they thought she would not because of Inuyasha. Kagome gets angry saying she is not a lousy woman, which is the truth. Kagome could have left Kikyou there to die, but she did not. At this point, it was probably still because she did not want Inuyasha to be sad, but leaning more towards because she really did want to save Kikyou for herself. Kikyou then wonders why Kagome saved her. If she had hesitated to save her at all, she would have died, which means Kagome did not hesitate at all. She notes how her chest is still carries warmth, and walks away sort of smiling to herself.

After Kikyou and Kagome are both tainted by Naraku’s spider webs, Kagome goes to get a bow from Mt. Azusa. The only way Kikyou can be saved from dying is if Kagome shoots her with an arrow using that bow. However, the mountain makes the user of the bow create an illusion to test whether or not they are worthy of having it. Kagome’s illusion is of Kikyou, except a cruel Kikyou that does not care anything about her. The illusion tells her to give her the bow, but Kagome then realizes that if she does, Kikyou will not help her up from the cliff. After talking to the illusion about Inuyasha, Kagome realizes that yeah, Kikyou and Inuyasha have a bond that she cannot come in between…but she and Inuyasha also have a bond that Kikyou does not know either. The two of them are even, and therefore she has no reason not to save Kikyou. The illusion is destroyed and Kagome realizes it was not really Kikyou in the first place. Inuyasha catches her as she falls, and she tells him about the illusion. Kagome is mad at herself for making Kikyou like that in the illusion, which goes to show that she cares about her and knows she really is a good person now. Eventually Kagome and Inuyasha reach Naraku and Kikyou and Kagome shoots the arrow where the Shikon no Tama is within her neck. She rushes down to Kikyou’s side and the dying woman tells her that the rest is up to her. Kagome looks confused and tells her not to say things like that. When Naraku goes to attack Kikyou, Kagome shields her with her body so she will not get hurt. At this point, I believe that the two really have formed an unbreakable bond of sorts. If the situation was the other way around, I think that Kikyou would have done the same for Kagome. Maybe not in the same fashion because that would be slightly out of character, but she would try to protect her. While Kagome tries to call for Inuyasha, Kikyou puts her hand on Kagome’s and tells her that the bow is hers. Kagome finally realizes what is happening. Kikyou is dying. Inuyasha asks to be left alone with Kikyou for a while and Kagome’s eyes are welling up with tears. She blames herself for not getting there in time and for not having enough power to save Kikyou. She smiles and tells Kagome not to cry because her soul has been saved.

Kikyou’s feelings for Kagome have come a long way. She hated her for taking everything that she once had at first, and even tried to kill her. But through Kagome’s strong spirit and kindness, Kikyou began to become attached to the girl. Ironically, Kikyou concerned herself with wanting to be the one to melt Inuyasha’s heart, when Kagome ended up doing a similar thing to Kikyou. I believe that Kikyou respects Kagome and her spiritual power, and that is why she was able to smile and tell her that the rest was up to her. Kikyou was able to entrust the revenge she wanted to carry out on Naraku to Kagome, which I believe is probably the highest respecting action Kikyou can give to her. In turn, Kagome has come to accept Kikyou as well, and realizes that her jealousy is nothing out of the ordinary. It just means that she loves Inuyasha as well. Kagome understands that Inuyasha cannot just forget Kikyou, and she really is okay with that even though she gets huffy about it. She just wants to be with Inuyasha as well, and the two girls have accepted the way things are. They both love the same guy, and he loves both of them. Kikyou has accepted that she will never be able to be with him and in a way I think she also left Inuyasha’s care to Kagome. Kikyou and Kagome know that Kagome is not Kikyou and never will take her place in anyone’s eyes, and they are both okay with that. Kagome will carry on Kikyou’s legend of sorts, but make a new path for her own.

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