Crossover anime, starting with Hachiman Hikigaya replacing Subaru Natsuki!

""…I--""

"Just as Shirogane Miyuki, his face full of shame, was about to speak, Inuyasha silently shook his head to stop him, then slumped weakly onto the grass, exuding an aura of dejection, but without showing any anger."

"It's as if they've already accepted the outcome they knew all along, an attitude of having foreseen it all along."

"Miroku came over, grabbed Shirogane Miyuki, and pulled him away. Kagome and the others also left the Bone Eater's Well, leaving a quiet environment for the despondent Inuyasha to be alone."

"You missed it, didn't you?" Before Shirogane Miyuki could say anything after being taken back to the village, Miroku sighed and explained everything.

"We already know what happened. Granny Kaede came to see us yesterday, saying she suddenly remembered something from fifty years ago... Back then, Kikyo sealed Inuyasha away, and then you arrived, but you just missed the deadline."

"This isn't your fault. If you have to say something, it's our fault."

"If they had met with the Hell Painter, they would have been able to be less wary and more open with information about Naraku."

"So even if Kikyo wasn't mentioned back then, given Miyuki Shirogane's personality, if he went back fifty years, he would definitely have thought about dealing with Onigumo in advance, and then there wouldn't be any problems."

"Fate is cruel; it first gave Inuyasha a glimmer of hope, and then plunged him into despair."

Looking at the dejected Miyuki Shirogane, Sango, and Kagome, Miroku displayed his reliable character, offering reasonable words of comfort: "If there's anything to blame, blame Naraku, blame the Well of Bones, blame the world. We've all done our best."

Hearing this, Kagome pursed her lips and turned back. "I... I still can't rest easy. I'll go check on Inuyasha."

"Master, I'm entrusting this to you." Sango followed closely behind, intending to secretly keep an eye on Inuyasha and Kagome to prevent any conflict. Shippo and Kirara also went with him.

"Miroku then grabbed Shirogane Miyuki by the shoulder and forcefully led him into the village."

"Shirogane Miyuki is currently distraught and at a loss. He doesn't know what to do and has no opinions of his own. He's just been led to stay in a house."

Miroku pulled out his stash of sake and waved the sake bottle in front of Shirogane Miyuki: "Have you had any sake?"

Shirogane Miyuki shook his head blankly, so Miroku poured out two bowls of sake, pushed one in front of him, and urged, "Drink it. I know you're not feeling well, consider it atonement."

"Upon hearing the words 'atonement,' Shirogane Miyuki, with his cloudy eyes, immediately picked up the bowl of wine and drank it all in one gulp. The fiery taste made him cough, but he endured it as long as he could, gritting his teeth and his face contorted in a grimace."

"It's not like tasting wine, it's more like going through fire and water."

"Miroku laughed heartily, drank it all in one gulp, and then continued to pour. Every time he poured a cup, Shirogane Miyuki would immediately drink it all. Eventually, he didn't even need to wait for Miroku to pour anymore; he would pick up the sake jug himself and drink it all up."

"Therefore, even though his physical condition was approaching that of a monster, he still quickly became drunk and drowsy."

During the party, Miroku exhaled and gave a wry smile: "Your expression is really easy to understand, Shirogane Miyuki. Guilt, shame, you want Inuyasha to beat you up, don't you... Only then will you feel less guilty towards him."

"Shirogane Miyuki lay slumped drunk, staring at the ceiling, without uttering a sound."

“But you don’t understand Inuyasha at all.” Miroku pounded the floor twice. “If he would hit you for that, then why would Kagome, hiccup, and Sango, Shippo, and I be with him?”

"You did nothing wrong—you did nothing wrong! Even Inuyasha wouldn't blame you. If he did, he wouldn't be human! Haha!"

"Miroku was drunk too. He slumped down, lying side by side with Shirogane Miyuki, still muttering, 'Guilt and apology are completely unnecessary, at least not when facing us. If you can't convince yourself to let go, then do what you can to make amends.'"

"Shirogane Miyuki felt utterly empty, his vision blurred, and his voice lost, like a homeless bird: 'But what can I still do?'"

"Kikyo from fifty years ago can't be saved, but Naraku from fifty years ago is still alive and well, isn't he?"

Miroku's reminder was like a lightning bolt piercing the darkness. Shirogane Miyuki froze instantly, his eyes gradually brightening. "Yes, Naraku, Naraku, Naraku, Naraku!"

"His tone shifted from doubt to determination, then to a chilling aura. Shirogane Miyuki reached out, as if trying to grasp at thin air, as if Naraku were hidden within it."

Miroku sighed softly, "I'm sorry to have dragged you into this... but I can only ask you for help, Shirogane Miyuki."

"Shirogane Miyuki didn't feel involved at all, because, you know, he couldn't tolerate someone like Naraku running rampant in the world."

""Naraku, Naraku...""

Muttering Naraku's name, the two men, who had consumed too much alcohol, closed their eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

"Ever since I failed to save Kikyo and broke expectations and promises, Shirogane Miyuki has been carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. Finally, today, I feel a long-lost sense of relief and can get a good night's sleep."

"I never expected that a mage could be so reliable."

On their habitat, Inuyasha and the others looked on in surprise, all staring at Miroku, who had achieved great merit through his eloquence. The latter smiled but said nothing.

Maitreya always knew that he was the most composed and reliable person in the team, but he was not proud of it. He only believed that this was what he should do.

He himself was neither arrogant nor impatient, yet in various places throughout this world and in this era, in many villages and towns that Maitreya had visited.

The girls who had been flirted with by him were now gazing at the mature and charming Miroku, their faces flushed with admiration, their affections shifting from Sesshomaru to Miroku.

"Ah, Master Maitreya!"

Some people like Maitreya, while others now hate Maitreya to no end.

"Humph!"

In the student council room, Kaguya Shinomiya snorted coldly in dissatisfaction, "It's good that you can resolve the president's inner conflict, but you actually encouraged him to kill Naraku, that disgusting and terrifying thing. If something happens to the president, if he gets injured or even dies, can he bear the responsibility?"

She pouted, then whined at Shirogane Miyuki, "That's so unfair! I think this guy is just using the guild leader as a waste. You're so good to him, guild leader~~~"

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545. The Minion Evolves, Standing on Equal Footing

"No, Master Maitreya did nothing wrong."

Just like a replica of his future self guiding him, Shirogane Miyuki denied it, saying, "He is right. What is wrong is that world, that era, and the most heinous Naraku. No one else is to blame. My future self is not wrong, and Miroku is not wrong to drag me into this either."

"Even without Miroku's help, my future self will eventually come to her senses after a few more days of being lost and confused, and then go and settle accounts with Naraku."

"Really." Kaguya Shinomiya gave a helpless wry smile. "Yeah, she's the student council president after all. She's just that kind and brave."

Miyuki Shirogane laughed as well, "You taught me all this kindness and gentleness, Shinomiya."

Unlike Hachiman Hikigaya, who was born extremely gentle and altruistic.

Hachiman Hikigaya, without any guidance or external influence, risked his life to save a puppy from being run over by a car on his way to high school, while Miyuki Shirogane was too afraid to save someone who had fallen into the water.

However, that kind of Silver Imperial Journey is a thing of the past.

Influenced by Kaguya Shinomiya's heroic act of saving people, although he still doesn't have the unparalleled altruism of Hachiman Hikigaya, Miyuki Shirogane is now someone who dares to save people, helps the innocent, and has the courage to fight against evil.

"My life has been completely changed since the day I witnessed you saving people, Shinomiya. I am truly grateful to you. I really like the kind and brave person I am now."

Having abandoned his romantic scheming, Miyuki Shirogane sincerely expresses his gratitude and true feelings to Kaguya Shinomiya.

This unexpected, indirect confession made Kaguya Shinomiya blush crimson. She covered her face with one hand and clutched her dress with the other, her voice barely audible.

"W-What? Saying something like that all of a sudden is too much, President—no, but I like the President just the way she is!"

Yu Ishigami was completely taken aback.

He rubbed his eyes and realized he wasn't seeing things; it wasn't a hallucination. At that moment, he felt he understood why the student council president liked Shinomiya-senpai.

This kind of strong, assertive, and proactive woman in front of others becomes as shy and innocent as a young girl in front of herself, easily becoming weak and timid with just a little teasing.

This kind of unexpected charm is indeed rare. Most strong women only show their strong side in front of relatives and friends, and may even be more assertive than they are in public.

"That's great! If I could win over Tsubame-senpai, I wonder if she would shyly lie in my arms like Shinomiya-senpai—Ouch! What are you doing!"

Yu Ishigami, who was dreaming of a certain future, was kicked by Miko Iino once again, and he grimaced and demanded an explanation.

Iino Miko was completely bewildered. She didn't know either. How could she know why she was suddenly feeling unhappy?

Why was she unhappy? Thinking about it, Iino Miko felt flustered. She felt like she was about to uncover some truth, but she didn't really want to know.

After racking her brains, Iino Miko suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "That's it! It must be because I want to protect Koyasu-senpai and don't want her to be ruined by someone like Ishigami that she's so unhappy."

Having come up with this reason, she glared fiercely at Ishigami Yu, "You idiot, don't have any delusions about Koyasu-senpai, that's impossible, give up, you idiot Ishigami!"

"What? You want me to give up? I can forget about everything else, but this is the one thing I must defend. Even if I can't play games at school, it's nowhere near as important as Senior Zi'an!"

Iino Miko's remarks made Ishigami Yu uncomfortable. He genuinely liked Koyasu-senpai, and how would he know if it would work out if he didn't try?

The two men, standing on opposite sides, were glaring at each other, their relationship tense, reaching its most intense point ever.

Just then, the only lonely old woman in the student council, looking at the president Kaguya and Ishigami Miko gazing at each other, felt empty, lonely, and ignored. Just as she was about to join in, she saw a kite appear outside the student council window.

She opened the window and brought in a kite with the words "Miko visits the Shuchiin School Forum" written on it.

Fujiwara Chika's eyes lit up. She didn't know what was wrong with the school forum, but she knew it was a tool that could help her regain her position as the center of the student council. She quickly waved her hands and shouted, "Everyone, look! Look!"

The four people crowded around to take a look, and Iino Miko recognized it at a glance: "This handwriting, isn't it Kohachi?"

Shirogane Miyuki was the first to search the school forum, fearing it might contain some negative or abusive content. If it was, he would stop everyone from searching for it, otherwise it would upset them.

He watched it expecting bad news, but after watching it, Shirogane Miyuki revealed a meaningful smile and intentionally put Ishigami Yu and Iino Miko together to watch it.

"What?! This is... Waaaaaah! This... This... This... Don't look! Don't look, Ishigami!!"

At first, Iino Miko was confused. She put her phone closer to the screen, and the next second, she froze, her face even redder than Kaguya Shinomiya's. She pounced on Ishigami Yu, who was engrossed in reading the forum, and snatched his phone away.

However, it was too late.

Yu Ishigami had already seen it; an anonymous account posted something on the Shuchiin Academy forum.

Back then, it wasn't just the original student council president, Shinomiya-senpai, and Fujiwara-senpai who worked tirelessly to clear his name.

At that time, Iino Miko was also privately arguing with the teachers and principal. She felt that although Ishigami Yu had many flaws, he was not that bad. She hoped that the school would investigate properly and not give him too severe a punishment.

After reading the post that presented evidence and was clearly very credible, and which already had several thousand replies discussing "We were too prejudiced against Iino before, it seems she's a very nice person" and "Iino came first, should we support Iino or support Tsubame Koyasu"

Ishigami Yu was deeply shocked and moved.

He always thought that Iino Miko was always picking on him and must hate him, but he never expected that she would do these things for him.

“Iino, you…”

"Ugh, seriously, shut up!"

Just as Ishigami was about to thank her, Iino Miko, her face flushed, threw the kite at him, telling him to shut up: "I helped you because I'm a disciplinary committee member and I have to uphold justice, that's not for anything else, so don't thank me!"

"Seriously, which peeping tom dug up such an unimportant old story?!"

Her attitude at that moment made Ishigami Yu like her even more.

Outside the student council, inside Shuchiin, Oobutsu Kobo adjusted her glasses, logged out of her anonymous posting account, and joined the surrounding classmates' discussion about "Koyasu Tsubame being a mistress."

When I went to the clothes, I learned the name and the name.

546. Longing that transcends time and space