Kohaku was on his knees in the dark courtyard of an empty castle. The moon cast sinister shadows across the scene of total devastation around him. Bodies littered the ground. He knew those bodies. One was his father, the others were his fellow demonslayers. Their injuries hadn't come from a demon. They had been killed by a weapon. His weapon. He looked down to see blood covering his hands.
No. It can't be. He looked up and saw his sister. His weapon was still lodged in her back. He had struck her. He had tried to kill her. How had this happened?
"Sango…" He cried, "What have I done?"
"Kohaku…" Sango's voice was weak, she was dying. And it was his fault. He looked around at the bodies on the ground. His father, his uncles, his comrades; all dead. His weapon was wet with their blood.
Then the scene reset. His comrades were alive again, only to be cut down once more by Kohaku's scythe. This vision played over and over again. He watched through his own eyes as Naraku used his body to slay his comrades in an unending loop.
Stop it! He wanted to cry out. I've seen enough! I can't take it anymore!
His pleas were met by cruel laughter, though he didn't know where it originated from. The vision didn't stop. Instead it expanded and intensified. Soon it wasn't just the scene of his slaughtered family, but others as well. Hundreds of innocent men, women, and children were slain by his hands, their corpses left to rot in the sun. Unsuspecting families cut down in the night. Villages upon villages devoured by rats. Children who went out to play, only to have the misfortune of crossing his path while Naraku controlled his mind, and never returned home.
His ears rang with a twisted symphony of cries. Shrieks of horror as parents walked in on him standing over the bodies of children. Screams of pain as his weapon found its mark. Pleas for mercy that he could hear, but not respond to. Desperate gasping of those who didn't even receive the grace of a clean death.
I'm sorry! He wanted to tell them. I'm so sorry!
It was no use. There was no end to the visions, no end to his victims. It always cycled back to the beginning. That one horrible night, surrounded by the fallen corpses of his fellow demonslayers.
You will never escape. A voice in his head told him. You are under my control now.
"Who are you?" Kohaku demanded.
I am Magatsuhi. The voice came from everywhere at once, around him, inside of him. The voice consumed him. I am the true nature of the Shikon Jewel. And you, whose life has been sustained by it's shard, are completely under my control.
No! He had fought so hard to break free of Naraku. He had struggled for so long. How could he have fallen under another demon's possession so easily? Terror struck him. What was his physical body doing while his mind was trapped in this unending nightmare? Had he hurt anybody? Had he killed anybody? Rin? Hotaru?
He tried to run, to escape, but something grabbed his ankle. He looked down to see his father's dead eyes stared blankly at him. Something was pulling him down into the pile of corpses, which was getting larger by the second. He struggled against the mass of bodies smothering him. He was getting crushed. He couldn't breathe. Blood washed over him like an ocean wave, pulling him further down. Choking him, drowning him.
You will never escape. Magatsuhi's voice echoed through the void. You will never out run the souls of your victims. How can they rest in peace when their murderer walks free. This is the fate you deserve.
"Help me!" Kohaku shouted, as his head started to go under. "PLEASE!"
As if to answer him, a warm light shone through the darkness. He felt a comforting glow cutting through the despair. He recognised this light. It was Hotaru's energy. She had heard him, somehow, she had heard him calling through the void and was calling back.
He dragged himself forward, crawling towards the light. Fireflies landed on the corpses, purifying them and freeing their souls. The pressure crushing him was released as the bodies disappeared. The fireflies surrounded him, forming a comforting sphere of warm light around him.
I'm here with you. Hotaru's voice seemed to be murmuring to him. Follow my voice. Everything is going to be alright.
With Hotaru's fireflies guiding him and giving him strength, Kohaku opened his eyes.
Authors note: Hey, everyone. Thanks for reading. Please review, let me know what you think.