The Hands that hold Kohaku's Fate
While Sesshomaru was gone for the moment, Max and the others waited in the woods. Max and Rin continued to sing and play with each other, much to Jaken's irritation. Kohaku remained silent. Suddenly, Max stopped herself, sensing a dangerous presence. Kohaku sensed it too with his Sacred Jewel shard.
Suddenly, Naraku appeared behind the boy. "Kohaku, it's been a while," he greeted grimly. He turns his attention to Max and says, "And Lady Max, I wondered when I would be seeing you. You did not think you could elude me forever, now did you?"
"No," she answered. "I knew we would cross paths eventually."
"What do you want?" Kohaku demanded. "Have you come for my shard?"
"Of course," Naraku answered. "Your Shikon Jewel shard just happens to be the last one. Once I have it, the Shikon Jewel will be complete. What will you do, Kohaku? Kikyo is no longer around to protect you and purify your shard. Even the princess does not have the power to do it."
As Naraku reached for Kohaku, Max protected him by attacking with her Dark Force. Naraku was displeased. "Lady Max, using the Dark Lord's power against your brethren to protect this boy? It's almost as nauseating as you using it to protect Millennia's warriors."
"Run, Kohaku," Max cried. The boy agreed and began running. Riding on a two-headed dragon-horse called A and Un, Rin reached for Kohaku's hand and pulled him up. Max kept her attention on Naraku. Right now, she had to keep this monster from going after the children. "I know it's not just the Sacred Jewel you're after. You're interested in my Cobalt Star shards too, aren't you?"
"Impressive," Naraku sneered. "I am not the only one who has had the same idea. Surely our other brothers must have told you the same thing. If I recall, Chase Young said he wanted your shards as well, did he not?"
"The Dark Lord is not my father and you and the rest of his minions are not my brethren," Max barked.
Naraku scoffed. "You disappoint us, Lady Max. Using the Dark Lord's power to aid the enemy and fight us is disgraceful. That is why I must seize your Cobalt Star shards."
"I'm afraid it's not that easy for you," Max reminded him. "You can't just take my shards by force. Bound by the Cobalt Star shard you have, you are also bound to the laws of the ancient ways. And we both know that those laws are absolute. You must battle me and defeat me." She smiles and sneers, "However, it'll just be another battle that you cannot win."
Naraku grinned back. "We'll see about that." A cloud of miasma formed around him and he began his pursuit of the children. He wouldn't be able to escape from Max, though. She would be able to keep up with him as long as she could sense his Cobalt Star shard.
Rin and Kohaku continued to get further away from Naraku, but escape was futile. He found them and started catching up to them. He reached his demonic tentacles towards Kohaku. "What's he trying to do?" Rin asked.
"He's going to try and cut off my head and take it with him," Kohaku assumed.
Max wouldn't let him. She used her Air Blast attack to create shurikens of wind and cut the tentacles. She also knew that if Naraku came close to touching Kohaku's Jewel shard, it would lose its purity and become defiled. And with that small spark of light gone, the Jewel would never be purified. She wouldn't be able to keep this up for long, however, so she told the others her plan. "We need to split up. Kohaku, you stay with me. Jaken, keep Rin on that demon and take her to safety."
"I won't leave you," Rin protested.
"This isn't for debate right now," Max shouted.
"You're in no position to be worrying about your friends," Naraku cackled as he continued his pursuit. He managed to get close enough to release his miasma and stop everyone. It was stifling for Max. With her powers as a fox, her nose was sensitive to the miasma. She took a piece of fabric and used to cover her face like a mask. Kohaku put his poison shielding mask over Rin's face. Jaken and A and Un were able to withstand the miasma.
Kohaku felt the shard being defiled again, meaning Naraku was about to manipulate him again like he did many times before. "Lady Max, take Rin away from here," he begged.
Max had the same feeling. Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do to prevent Naraku from manipulating Kohaku. His shape started coming in clear as he approached everyone. "Do not be afraid. You will no longer have to suffer when I'm through with you."
"You'll never have him," Max vowed. Suddenly, she started sensing the Millennium Star.
At that instant, Sango and Emily came through the miasma. Sango was wearing her poison shielding mask while Emily was protected by the pure power of the Millennium Star. "Sango, Princess Emily," Naraku greeted. "If you truly care for Kohaku, you'll let him rest in peace."
"Don't be ridiculous," Sango spat.
"Do you not understand? Death is the only way to save Kohaku's soul from its torment."
"No, Naraku," Emily protested. "To me, that means forcing him to take the easy way and run from his problems."
Naraku chuckled in amusement. "You're as naïve as ever, young princess. Always seeing the good in the bad, thinking there's always a way to overcome anything."
"If you knew what I've been through-,"
"Oh, but I do know," he interrupted. "The battles you fought, the foes you faced, the fears that tormented you. There's nothing about you that I don't already know. But think about it, Kohaku has been saved from my control, yet he and his sister cannot be together. Why is that?"
Emily said nothing. Even Sango was unable to answer. Naraku decided to tell them. "It's because he's avoiding you, Sango, you his loving and devoted sister. But who can blame him? After all, you saw every shameful act he committed."
The times Sango witnessed Kohaku murder innocent people in cold blood began flashing before her eyes. She recalled how her brother killed their father and comrades back at Naraku's castle and how he killed many royal soldiers and handmaids in another castle while under Naraku's influence.
"Like it or not, your presence reminds Kohaku of his hateful past," Naraku told Sango.
Finally, Sango spoke up. "Is that all you have to say to me, that Kohaku is avoiding me? I already knew that. Kohaku may have been under your control, but it doesn't change the fact that he killed our father and comrades in cold blood. I relive that day over and over again just as Kohaku must. I know he feels anguish and shame for what he did and that is why I will not let him die. Emily's right. The easy way is not the right way. I can't let my brother keep running from this painful torment no matter how much more pain it may cause."
"So until Kohaku can fight his pain and be free, we will continue to fight and protect him," Emily declared.
Naraku chuckled in amusement. "Your resolve is admirable, though sadly, it won't be of much use to you."
Kohaku groaned as he felt the pain from the Jewel shard again. "Sister, Princess, please get out of here," he begged. He grasped his weapon and tossed it towards the girls. Thankfully, Emily was able to conjure up a Lucid Barrier to protect her and Sango from weapon attacks.
How clever, Naraku observed. The princess used her Lucid Barrier. Now Kohaku's weapon can't touch them. It's also interesting that Kohaku is able to speak while under the control of my demonic energy. He spoke and asked, "What will you and the princess do, Sango? How will you expect to save Kohaku now?"
Sango had enough. She tossed her hiraikotsu at Naraku and much to her surprise and even his, it managed to cut through him. The weapon was emanating a strange power that was harmful to demons. Naraku was even finding it hard to recover. This was Emily's chance. She attacked with her Lucent Beam, dealing even more damage. She was able to wound him, but not kill him. Once again, Naraku surrounded himself in miasma and escaped.
Finally, the miasma cleared and the rest of the heroes arrived after being held back by Byakuya. "Sango, Emily, are you girls all right?" Yugi asked.
"We are," the blonde answered. "Sango, that was amazing," she told the demon slayer. "Hiraikotsu couldn't do that before."
Even she was impressed. "I didn't expect that."
"It must have been the work of the master of potions," Kaiba assumed. "He did tell you that when your weapon was restored, it would have a new ability. It can take in demonic energy and destroy it."
Inuyahsa turned around. "Hey, Max," he greeted. "How long have you been here?"
"For a while," she answered. "We were lucky when Emily and Sango showed up."
Kohaku was still on the ground. Rin was trying to help him come to. Kagome sensed that Kohaku's Jewel shard was defiled. She knew she didn't have the same level of spiritual power as Kikyo, but she thought she could help purify it.
Max called Emily over. The blonde approached her. Max decided to get to the point. "We both know that Kohaku's life is sustained by the Jewel shard and one day, it will be removed from his body."
Emily already knew. "Thinking about it scares Sango more than it worries the rest of us."
"You can save him," Max told her. "You know that one spell."
Emily softly gasped. She knew what spell Max was talking about, but she had never performed it under any circumstances. Other than that, she wasn't sure if it would work because of Kohaku's situation. "Max, I can't guarantee that it'll work. I don't want to give Sango false hope."
"It may be Kohaku's only chance," Max whispered. "The instant the Jewel shard is removed, do not hesitate." Before Emily can say anything, Max tells her, "I'll help. You get ready to use the spell, I'll tell you when, and you do it immediately."
It did seem like Kohaku's only chance, but Emily didn't want to try to help Sango only to end up hurting her. After giving it some thought, Emily agreed with Max. "Okay, I'll do it."
Max was pleased to hear that. She also promised to keep this just between the two of them. Meanwhile, they decided to check on Kohaku. "Kohaku, do you still plan on using your Sacred Jewel shard to defeat Naraku?" Max asked.
His mind hadn't changed. "There's still some light in the shard. I think it may be Kikyo's light. When Naraku was about to take it, its purity was trying to fight against it."
Kagome had been thinking the same thing, that Kikyo's power remained in that single shard. She also wondered if it had to do with the image Kanna showed her when she died.
Rin spoke up. "Naraku said he was going to take Kohaku's head and once he did that, he could slowly defile the shard."
"Rin," Kohaku snapped. He faces his sister and tells her, "I know my Jewel shard can cause pain to Naraku because it has Kikyo's light."
"I wonder," Emily said softly. She began thinking about when she combined her magic with Kagome's arrow to purify the Sacred Jewel when it was in Kikyo's possession. "I don't think it's just Kikyo's light, but Millennia's light too. Kagome, remember when you shot your arrow at Kikyo and I used my Lucent Beam spell? I think a small spark of Millennia's light as well as Kikyo's might still remain in the Sacred Jewel."
It made sense to Kagome. Kikyo wanted her and Emily to protect Kohaku's Jewel shard. This had to be why she was putting faith in the both of them. After all, Naraku does have a shard of the Cobalt Star as well, so it's understandable that Kikyo would also want Millennia's light to be combined with her spiritual power to purify the Sacred Jewel.
"It doesn't matter," Max snapped. "Kohaku, this isn't a battle you can face on your own."
"Max's right," said Sango. "You're weak of heart and strength. That's why Naraku can take advantage of you. If you fight alone, you don't stand a chance against him."
"Kikyo left you her power in your shard not to sacrifice it," Max told him. "Like all of us, she wanted you to survive."
Kohaku knew everyone around him was right. His resolve wasn't going the right way and he really needed their help. As determined as he was to destroy Naraku, Kohaku needed the strength and wisdom of his sister and friends. And he would not let Kikyo's sacrifice be in vain.
