A couple of days after Hotaru got in the argument with Inuyasha, he left to pick up Kagome from her time.
"So can anyone travel through time that way?" Hotaru asked, completely and utterly confused over the existence of the Bone-Eater's Well. She knew time travel was a taboo and she was sure Setsuna-mama wouldn't be overly happy to know that there was a means of it right in the middle of Tokyo.
"No," Miroku replied as they stood outside the hut. "For some reason only Inuyasha and Kagome are capable of using the well properly. To the rest of us, it is simply a dry well."
That will disappoint Rin, Hotaru had promised to try and show her the 21st century. A more alarming thought struck Hotaru. "But what if I'm not able to use it?" She asked, slightly panicked, "Does that mean I might never be able to get home?"
"Don't worry." Miroku said kindly. "You're from Kagome's time, are you not? I'm sure you'll be able to travel just as Kagome does."
Hotaru couldn't allow herself to feel totally comforted. It would make more sense for her to be able to travel back and forth since she was from the other side of it, but she wasn't sure a magical time-well cared about logic. "I wonder if Kagome managed to give my parents the letter I wrote..." She thought out loud, not wanting to dwell on the fact she might not be able to get home.
Her pondering was cut short when a dark cloud covered the sun. She looked up confused, it was completely clear not two minutes ago. Dread gripped her stomach when she saw that it wasn't a cloud, but instead a horde of what looked to be demons. She transformed and saw that Miroku tensed as well, he was gripping the rosary that he had tied around his right hand. Hotaru trained her eyes on it. She was nearly overwhelmed with a sense of foreboding. What was that hand? She hadn't asked, but she knew that the last time he uncovered it he nearly killed him. Even after she and Kikyo healed him, she could still sense his death was very near and she knew that hand must be the reason.
"Hotaru, get inside the house!" He ordered.
"Not a chance!" She replied, "I can fight just as well as you can!"
She felt like he was going to argue, but she didn't give him the chance. "Death Ribbon Revolution!" She shouted, sweeping her glaive up towards the demons, a wave of energy ripped through the horde. Several dozen fell, but with so many it didn't make much of a difference. She tried again, "Silent Buster!" A larger wave managed to knock out significantly more than her first wave, but that still only accounted for less than half. Why were there so many? Did Naraku send them? She took a step back and nearly fell over the fence.
"I've got the rest." Miroku told her. He pulled the rosary from his hand, "Wind Tunnel!" Hotaru was about to object, but suddenly she felt a terrifying presence from the direction of Kaede's house. She was sure it was the same presence she felt last time they fought Magatsuhi.
"Kohaku!" She cried, running towards the house. She burst in, "Rin, Jaken, get back!" She yelled at the only other occupants of the room other than Kohaku. They obeyed, obviously sensing something was wrong. Magatsuhi materialized next to Kohaku. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" She screamed, jumping at the demon and cutting it with her glaive.
"What!?" The demon asked confused, clearly surprised that something other than Sesshomaru's blade could harm him.
Hotaru was about to swing again, but before she could her glaive dropped to the ground and she fell on her hands and knees. She felt like something was choking her, forcing its way down her throat. She knew this sensation. Magatsuhi was trying to possess her. She felt like she was going to throw up. Her head was spinning, but she clenched her fists in determination. She wasn't so easy to take control of...not anymore. She had grown strong and was no longer that little girl whom Mistress Nine used as a tool. Magatsuhi must have realized as well that he couldn't take control of her. But Kohaku he could possess. Hotaru suddenly became aware of hands around her throat. She opened her eyes in horror to see that Kohaku was trying to strangle her. She tried to say his name, but his thumbs were crushing her windpipe. His eyes were completely void of any emotion or warmth. This wasn't like when they fought Naraku and he still had a sliver of control left. He was completely under Magatsuhi's command now.
"KOHAKU, STOP!" Rin screamed, running towards her friends. But a barrier shocked her back down. Jaken ran to her side immediately.
Hotaru struggled but couldn't force Kohaku away. If she didn't free herself soon she was going to lose consciousness. Suddenly, Sango's weapon flew by separating the two kids. Kohaku jumped back in time to avoid being hit. Hotaru gasped for air. She was aware of Miroku asking her if she was okay, but she couldn't reply.
The image of Magatsuhi appeared behind Kohaku. "Now the final shard of the Shikon Jewel is under my command." Kohaku said...at least, Kohaku's mouth moved, but it wasn't his voice that came out.
"Give Kohaku back!" Sango demanded.
"Do not worry, I will return his corpse once I am finished." Magatsuhi said. Kohaku's face turned into a twisted smile that Hotaru was positive he would never even be able to manage to make on his own. And from behind him more demons broke through the walls of the house. Kohaku got onto one of the demons' back. Miroku grabbed at the rosary around his hand again.
"No! Don't!" Hotaru cried. Just from using his hand outside Hotaru could sense the man's death was drawing more imminent. Plus he would suck Kohaku in as well. But Miroku didn't listen, he waited until Kohaku was close enough to pull into his arms then he opened the wind tunnel, pulling Magatsuhi into the black hole. Hotaru felt like something finally snapped deep within the monk's body. He stumbled back, blood seeping from his mouth. Sango pulled him back. His risk was for nothing. Seconds later Magatsuhi emerged again from Kohaku's shard.
"Fool! Do you think I'm so easy to simply suck up?" Hotaru forced herself up, and once more attacked Magatsuhi, but her aim was off and she just barely scratched the demon. He simply laughed at her and used her distraction to get away, completely destroying the house as the demons tore through it.
"No!" Hotaru yelled, she ran after him.
"Hotaru!" She heard the others call from behind her. But she didn't stop. She had to catch up to Kohaku! She couldn't let Magatsuhi take him to Naraku!
She knew she couldn't catch up on foot. "A-UN!" She yelled. She wasn't sure where he was, but she knew he couldn't be far. The demon-horse heard her call and found her quickly. She pulled herself onto his back. "We have to find Kohaku!" She told him. "Go as fast as you can."
A-Un seemed to understand. A few minutes later Sango and Kirara caught up as well.
"Is Miroku okay?" Hotaru asked. Sango didn't say anything, which gave Hotaru a very bad feeling. "You should go be with him! He needs you! I'll bring Kohaku back."
"Miroku told me to go." Sango replied, her eyes looking straight ahead in determination. "He knows Kohaku needs me, too. Besides, if I can destroy Naraku, I can lift the curse."
After that the girls didn't talk, they speed forward in silence. Both of them would do whatever it takes to rescue Kohaku. A few moments later someone else caught up to them. Inuyasha carrying Kagome on his back.
"Sango, what the hell happened?" Inuyasha demanded.
"Magatsuhi took possession of Kohaku's jewel shard, he's bringing it to Naraku." the demon-slayer shouted.
"Oh, no!" Kagome looked terrified, "I've never felt his shard this defiled before!"
Hotaru clenched the A-Un's reins tighter at Kagome's comment. Go as fast as you can, A-Un. She pleaded.
"Where's Miroku?" Inuyasha asked.
"At Kaede's." replied Sango. "I didn't wait for him. If he uses his wind tunnel anymore, it'll..." She didn't finish her sentence, though by the looks on Kagome and Inuyasha's faces, it didn't need finishing. So the others did know how desperate the monk's situation was.
Finally they caught up with Kohaku.
"Naraku's here!" Growled Inuyasha.
A huge cloud of miasma loomed in the sky. Tentacles reached out to take Kohaku's shard but both Inuyasha and Sango acted. Inuyasha killed the demon Kohaku was riding on to stop his advance while Sango threw her weapon to sever the tentacles.
Kohaku's scythe morphed into a great skeletal looking thing not unlike the bone trap Magatsuhi had used before, and he threw part of it at the group. A-Un, Kirara, and Inuyasha all managed to avoid being hit. Kohaku hung on one arm over a steep cliff. "One more step and I'll tear this boy to pieces." Magatsuhi threatened.
Kagome drew an arrow and shot it at Kohaku, but it was destroyed by a barrier before it could get close to him.
"Foolish girl, don't tell me you've already forgotten that I've sealed your spiritual power. Kikyo's magic has no affect on me, now watch as the shikon jewel is made whole once again."
"I'll never let you!" Hotaru screamed, steering A-Un to her friend, but a part of the bone structure encased the demon-horse's foot. So Hotaru jumped from his back and ran up the bone herself. Inuyasha was right behind her. He got encased, but Hotaru managed to make it all the way to Kohaku, throwing her arms around him like she's done so many times before. "Wake up, Kohaku! You have to wake up!"
"You stand to touch him after he's tried once again to kill you?" Mocked Magatsuhi, "You really are quite foolish, aren't you?"
Hotaru ignored him. "WAKE UP!" She pleaded again.
"Do you know what will happen if he wakes?" asked Magatsuhi, "His soul is already so broken, and this whole time his dark memories have been replaying in his mind. If you force him to wake now he with undoubtedly die."
"What?!" Shouted Sango.
"That's not true!" Screamed Hotaru. "Kohaku! Please! You have to wake up!" Suddenly she felt a third presence inside Kohaku. Just the tiniest of glows, deep down in Kohaku's soul, Kikyo's presence was just faintly noticeable. Hotaru didn't understand why. Was the priestess still protecting them? Now, even though she was twice dead, was she still finding a way to help the children who were once in her charge? "Kohaku?" Hotaru repeated as his own presence grew stronger. "Can you hear me?"
There was a long moment of tension, then he hugged her back, "I can hear you." He told her. She almost cried in relief. But they were still in battle.
"Do you know who I am?" She dared to ask, afraid this may be a trick.
"Yes," He replied, "Hotaru..."
"What?" Magatsuhi's voice asked angrily from behind the two. "Impossible!"
"Kikyo's light has returned to Kohaku's shard!" Kagome shouted.
"Does that mean it's not too late for me?" Asked Kohaku.
"Of course it's not!" Hotaru told him. He pulled from her hug and gave her a small smile.
"I think I know how to defeat Magatsuhi." He told her. "Will you trust me?"
Hotaru nodded.
"Thank you." He said, "For everything you've done for me. For being my friend." Hotaru's stomach twisted unpleasantly. Was he saying goodbye? She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off. "Please, trust me." He told her. "Be safe and defeat Magatsuhi. I know you can."
Reluctantly, Hotaru nodded. "I will." She said.
He kissed her on the cheek and pushed her back a little, then he swing himself downwards so that he was holding on to the structure with one hand. "Goodbye, Sister!" He called.
"Kohaku, wait!" Cried Sango. But it was no use, he let go and plunged downwards into the abyss.
Hotaru fought the impulse to jump after him. If she died too then no one would be around with the ability to defeat Magatsuhi. She just stood and watched in horror as he fell. She could see Magatsuhi being ripped away from the shard. It was working. Naraku must have known that too because tentacles shot from out of the cloud again, undoubtedly headed to Kohaku.
"SILENCE WALL!" Screamed Hotaru, blocking off the entire crevice from Naraku's interference. She chanced a look down at the others and was relieved to see Sango had managed to grab her brother before he fell to his death. Inuyasha was running back up the bone structure.
"Outta my way, kid!" He shouted at Hotaru. She ran towards him ducking past just as he jumped up and used Meido Zangetsuha to attack Naraku. Just like when Sesshomaru used it, the attack swallowed up the whole sky. But seconds later more tentacles erupted from lower down in the crevice. One of them pinning Kirara and Sango to the side of the cliff while another wrapped around Kohaku's torso, pulling him from his sister.
Magatsuhi laughed. Hotaru rushed down to attack him, but someone else sliced through his image first. Hotaru stopped in her tracks. "Lord Sesshomaru!" She called, seeing the demon floating in the sky.
The ground beneath her started to tremble as Naraku turned to attack Sesshomaru. Before she could fall, A-Uh flew past and she jumped onto his back. Sesshomaru just looked annoyed at Naraku's attack and used his new sword to slice through the tentacles. Hotaru was shocked to see that just one cut was enough to destroy almost all of them. Hotaru steered A-Uh to catch Kohaku, but Sango and Kirara got him first. Hotaru sighed in relief. Sesshomaru went straight after Magatsuhi. Hotaru knew better than to try and help.
Sesshomaru easily drove him off but wasn't able to kill him. "DAMN YOU!" Magatsuhi's voice echoed through out the valley, "THIS ISN'T THE END OF ME! I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE!"
His words sent shivers down Hotaru's spine. It doesn't matter. She thought to herself, Even if he does return, Sesshomaru can kill him.
Then Sango shouted. "Lord Sesshomaru! There's something you should know. Before coming here, Magatsuhi attacked the village. Miroku and Rin were both infected by his poison!"
Hotaru froze, she had forgotten Rin had gotten hurt...did she not come to right after they left? Sesshomaru's face hardened and he sped away.
"Let's go too!" Kagome yelled. The others agreed, Hotaru was about to follow them when something wrapped around her pulling her off of A-Un's back. She looked up in horror to see Naraku.
"HOTARU!" shouted Kohaku.
Naraku laughed. The others looked at him in hatred. "I must admit, this little girl has proven to be more of a nuisance than I had expected. But I was surprised I was able to sneak up on her so easily." Hotaru struggled against him. She was surprised too. His fowl presence was so strong now it made her sick. How had he concealed it from her?
"Let her go, ya bastard!" Inuyasha snarled. He pointed his sword at them.
"What are you waiting for?" Naraku taunted, "Go ahead and start swinging."
Inuyasha growled, Hotaru knew he wouldn't. She loathed the fact that Naraku was using her as a human shield. She struggled away from him, but his grip was too tight.
"Don't worry, I won't kill her until after I have the last shard." He looked up at Kohaku expectantly. Kohaku stared at them eyes wide in absolute horror. Naraku didn't even need to attack, he knew how important Kohaku and Hotaru were to each other. He knew that one would do anything to protect the other.
"Don't you dare!" Hotaru yelled, knowing what her friend was thinking. Naraku's grip around her throat tightened, making her want to throw up in pain. Naraku would just kill her the second he had Kohaku's shard, surely Kohaku knew that...
"What will you do, Kohaku?" asked Naraku, coolly, "Give up your shard, or watch your friend die?"
"You can have it!" Kohaku cried, struggling against his sister, "Just don't hurt her!"
"I'll kick your ass!" Hotaru threatened. "If you give up I'll follow you straight into the underworld and kick your ass for the rest of eternity!" The grip on Hotaru's throat tightened even more and she blacked out. She could faintly here commotion and yelling around her, but she couldn't make sense of it.
It wasn't until she felt an overpowering light that she was able to pull herself awake. She wasn't sure what happened or how, but Kohaku was next to her in Naraku's clutches. He was forcing an arrow into Naraku. Light was flowing out of the arrow. Hotaru could feel Kikyo's presence as strongly as she had when the priestess was alive. Naraku seemed to be in pain and Hotaru used it as an opportunity to break herself free. She fell towards the ground but A-Un caught her before she hit it. Naraku dropped Kohaku as well, obviously unwilling or unable to continue enduring the pain. Inuyasha wasted no time attacking Naraku after both kids were out of the way.
A-Un was able to catch Kohaku as well.
"Are you okay?" He asked Hotaru promptly.
She nodded, "What about you?"
"I'm fine." He replied. Hotaru hugged him tightly. Overcome with relief.
"Kohaku!" Sango rushed over. Kagome and Inuyasha followed.
"Sister!" Kohaku looked up.
"Are you both alright?" She asked.
They nodded.
"I know this doesn't erase my sins." Kohaku said, "But from now on, I'm done running away. I'm going to live. For you two, and for Rin, and everyone else that I care about."
This time it was Sango that pulled him into a hug.
When they pulled apart, Hotaru took his hand. She could barely keep all of her emotions inside. She was so relieved that Kohaku was okay, and that he had decided to try and overcome his past. But her happiness was gone in less than a second.
When nobody was paying attention, a piece of Naraku's body had no one had noticed sent a tiny sliver of itself shooting upward. It pierced Kohaku's neck like a bullet and sent his shard up to the sky. Hotaru felt his life completely extinguish before she felt his grip on her hand slacken. His body fell forward, and his sister caught it.
"No...NO!" Hotaru fell to her knees. Sango shook her brother's body, calling his name, but the tears in her eyes made it obvious that she knew it wasn't any use. "This can't be happening..."
"Why now?" Sobbed Sango, "Why did this have to happen now?"
Hotaru buried her face in Kohaku's shoulder. This wasn't fair! After everything they've been through. After all their fighting. After Kohaku finally decided to forgive himself. How could this happen?
"You were supposed to survive..." Hotaru cried, "We were both supposed to survive..."
Inuyasha demanded that Kagome find Naraku, but Hotaru wasn't paying attention. She was too full of grief to care. She and Sango sat together, both clinging to Kohaku's body. As the sun came up Hotaru felt it's warmth, she also felt something else. An overwhelming sense of comfort. She could have sworn she felt a hand on her shoulder. Kikyo's presence started overflowing from Kohaku's body. His body glowed a soft white light.
"What is this?" Asked Sango.
When the light dissipated Kohaku's face twitched and he groaned. Hotaru felt life flow into him. Not like before when he was being forced into living. But true life. His eyes opened and became aware.
"Kohaku?" Sango said.
"Sister?" He replied groggily, as if he was just waking up. "What's going on?"
"That was Kikyo's light." Kagome said. "When Naraku took his shard her light must have stayed inside Kohaku."
"She's still protecting us..." Murmured Hotaru. "Even now..."
The siblings hugged each other as tightly as they could. "Kohaku...I'm so glad..." Sango cried. When she let him go he turned and pulled Hotaru into his embrace.
"I was so scared." Hotaru admitted. "Don't ever do that to me again."
"I won't." He promised.
Hotaru buried her face into his shoulder. Too relieved for words. She hugged Kohaku as tightly as she could never wanting to let him go.