Previously:
"Is Rin safe?" Jaken asked a little weakly.
"Huh?" Inuyasha said. He realized he was standing on something. "Jaken, why are you stuck to my foot?"
"You stepped on me," the imp retorted.
"Rin is fine," Katsumi said. "It's Kohaku-kun I'm worried about." The others followed her gaze and saw that Kohaku was lying face down on the ground.
"Kohaku, hang in there," Rin said with concern, kneeling beside him.
"Kohaku-kun can't move!?" Kagome asked.
"Kohaku..." Sango said.
"It's because the shikon shard is so corrupted," Kagome said.
'Kohaku...' Sango thought, concerned.
Chapter 23: Magatsuhi
"Kohaku-kun, how are you doing?" Kagome asked while she worked on purifying his shard. They had regrouped to a nice spot by the river.
"Yeah… I'm a lot better..." Kohaku said.
"I probably can't purify this as well as Kikyo, but..." Kagome said.
"..." Kohaku looked down. "Back then..."
"Eh?" Kagome said.
"When Naraku tried to take my shard… when his tentacle touched me, a purifying light flowed into my shard," Kohaku said.
"From Naraku's tentacle…?" Kagome asked.
"It seemed to hurt him," Katsumi said.
"It was as if Kikyo-sama was purifying me," Kohaku said.
'So that means… inside of Naraku, there's still some of Kikyo's power…?' Kagome thought. She remembered how Kanna told her light would kill Naraku. 'That image that Kanna showed me before she died… a point of light inside the corrupted shikon no tama… That light is Kikyo's...'
"And…?" Sango said.
"Eh…?" Kagome said.
"Kohaku, did you… think that you could defeat Naraku with your shard?" Sango asked.
"Sango-chan..." Kagome said.
"Ane-ue..." Kohaku said.
"I think Naraku's plan was to take Kohaku's head, and then corrupt the shard in his neck slowly..." Katsumi said.
"Eeh?" Kagome said.
"Katsumi-sama!" Kohaku said.
"So you're in danger!" Rin said, concerned.
"At one point, he wanted to split up," Katsumi added. "I think we all agree that wouldn't have gone well."
"But, Ane-ue, it's certain that my shard causes Naraku pain!" Kohaku said. "Kikyo-sama's power is still at work! So..."
"Would you just shut up already!?" Inuyasha said, punching him on the head.
"I… Inuyasha..." Kagome said.
"What do you think you're doing?" Katsumi asked, sweat-dropping.
"Geez. You're prodding him gingerly like a welt," Inuyasha said. "Sango, just tell him outright! That this is annoying and he needs to just get to the point."
"Inuyasha..." Sango said.
"..." Kagome stared at him. "Sit." Inuyasha slammed into the ground.
"What for?" Inuyasha asked.
"I couldn't help it this time," Kagome said. "Sesshoumaru isn't here, and you're being violent in front of little ones."
"L… Little ones, meaning me?" Jaken said, surprised.
"Jaken-sama, you are little," Rin said.
"No… It's as Inuyasha said," Sango said. "This isn't just a problem for today. Kohaku… you are weak in both body and heart." Kohaku was startled. "Therefore, Naraku is going to try to take advantage of the weakness in your heart, and that's not something you can drive away by fighting alone. Do you understand that?"
"Y… Yes..." Kohaku said, looking down. 'Though it pains me...'
"Kohaku-kun, like you said, I'm sure Kikyo left her power in the shard," Kagome said. "Therefore, please take care of what Kikyo entrusted… you with."
'Kikyo-sama...' Kohaku thought. "R… Right..."
"You remember the lesson my mother taught me? You also need to value your own life more," Katsumi added. "Everyone here would be sad if you died. Shut up Jaken."
"I didn't say anything!" Jaken said.
"For once, he's telling the truth," Rin said.
"What do you mean, 'for once'!?" Jaken snapped.
"Tch, in the end, they still went easy on him," Inuyasha said, sitting over by Shippo.
"It's great to be pampered by a bunch of girls," Shippo said. '… Speaking of which where did Miroku go all by himself?' Miroku was down by the river, examining his arm.
'The miasma wound… had spread again...' Miroku thought. 'Please… make it until the end.'
—∞—
Sesshoumaru stood on a high rock, staring out at the land below while he pondered Totosai's words.
Sesshoumaru, It's as you said. Your father intended for Tenseiga to one day be absorbed by Tessaiga.
'Meaning that… father intended to leave me with nothing, huh,' he thought.
"Are you all right with not returning Sesshoumaru-sama?" Byakuya asked. Sesshoumaru furrowed his brow as spun around and created a giant round meidou in the direction of his voice and smell. A huge portion of the rock behind him was gone, but Byakuya remained, still keeping out of sight.
"… Impressive. That you'd instantly want to kill me," Byakuya said, finally showing himself as he flew on his paper crane to face Sesshoumaru through the hole in the rock.
"Byakuya of the Dreams… huh," Sesshoumaru said.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, you are… distressed about your word, no?" Byakuya said, bravely landing next to him.
"..." Sesshoumaru glared at him.
"Don't glare at me," Byakuya said. "The rock insect spirits of the mountain showed me everything about your fight with that Shishinki fellow. They also told me… that your sword Tenseiga is a part of your brother Inuyasha's Tessaiga."
"Hmph, a person like you..." Sesshoumaru said, thrusting his hand to the side, through Byakuya's chest. "Has no business eavesdropping on that!" Byakuya turned into blue flames and a lotus flower that fell softly to the ground.
"I'm certain I gave you something, Sesshoumaru-sama," Byakuya's voice echoed. Sesshoumaru opened his hand.
'A fragment of mirror…?' Sesshoumaru thought, looking at the item.
—∞—
"How long do you people intend to hang around!" Jaken asked. "Go away already!"
"Whaaat, the little assistant is unreliable, so what's the problem with us waiting with you?" Inuyasha said, hitting him on the head.
"Who's a little assistant?" Jaken said indignantly.
"Should I stretch you out?" Inuyasha asked, grabbing Jaken by his head and one foot.
"Ohhh, Sesshoumaru-sama, hurry up and come back!" Jaken cried.
"Inuyasha, you really are just a bully," Shippo said.
"Don't pick on Jaken too much," Katsumi told Inuyasha. "Though I understand the urge." She sat up straight when she caught Sesshoumaru's scent. She stood up and turned to look in his direction.
"Ah, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin said as he appeared before them.
'Sesshoumaru...' Inuyasha thought.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken exclaimed with sparkling eyes. Sesshoumaru recalled what Byakuya told him about the mirror fragment.
Sesshoumaru-sama, that is… a fragment of Kanna's mirror monster. If you use that, You will be able to take away Tessaiga's power in its entirety. If you break up that fragment and spread it over Tenseiga's blade, that should be enough.
'Hmph, this suggestion originally comes from Naraku...' Sesshoumaru thought. 'I suspect he plans to make me fight Inuyasha, and if he's lucky, both our swords will be rendered powerless...' He furrowed his brow. 'However, there is merit… to falling into this trap.' "Draw, Inuyasha."
"Wha..." Inuyasha said. Sesshoumaru drew Tenseiga.
'I guess he didn't like whatever he heard from Totosai-ojii-san...' Katsumi thought.
"Sesshoumaru, you bastard..." Inuyasha said. "Have you lost your mind or something?"
"I'm telling you to draw," Sesshoumaru said.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, please. They just helped me fight off Naraku," Katsumi said.
"Stay out of this, Katsumi," Sesshoumaru told her.
"Sesshoumaru..." Kagome said.
"Does he intend to fight Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.
'But the scent coming from Tenseiga… I really don't like this,' Katsumi thought with her brow furrowed and a frown.
"Keh, this is ridiculous," Inuyasha said. "Are you obsessing over the swords again?" Sesshoumaru swung Tensiega and created a Meidou that was inches away from Inuyasha.
"!" Inuyasha said.
"Geh!" Jaken exclaimed, startled when he was nearly hit by it.
"Well, it looks like you're serious," Inuyasha said. "In that case… I'm not gonna hold back, either!" He drew Tessaiga. "Kaze no Kizu!" Sesshoumaru was unharmed. The attack never came. "!?"
"Wha…!" Kagome said.
"The Kaze no Kizu didn't come out!?" Miroku exclaimed. Tenseiga pulsed with power in Sesshoumaru's hand and transformed into another Tessaiga.
"Tenseiga…!" Kagome said.
"It transformed!?" Sango said.
'The scent coming from Tenseiga… It can't be!' Inuyasha thought.
"Kaze no kizu!" Sesshoumaru said, striking.
"Gah!" Inuyasha said as he and Jaken dodged the attack.
"Sesshoumaru, you bastard… Have you sold your soul to Naraku!?" Inuyasha demanded.
"..." Sesshoumaru held Tessaiga at the ready.
"… What does he mean!?" Kagome asked.
"Sesshoumaru-sama…!" Kohaku said. Katsumi clenched her fists.
"Naraku's scent… is coming from your sword!" Inuyasha said.
"No, not quite," Katsumi said. "It's..."
"Oh, sorry," Byakuya said, hovering above them. "That would be my scent."
"!" Inuyasha said.
"Byakuya of the Dreams..." Sango said.
"A memento from Kanna… I gave Sesshoumaru-sama a fragment of her mirror monster," Byakuya said.
"What did you say!?" Sango asked.
"The mirror monster…!" Miroku said.
'What's this 'mirror monster'…?' Katsumi wondered.
"So does that mean Sesshoumaru… is borrowing Naraku's power in order to reflect all of Tessaiga's power into Tenseiga!?" Kagome asked.
"But that's… Sesshoumaru-sama, why!?" Rin asked. "Naraku hurt Katsumi-nee and tried to kill Kohaku! And even so..."
'This is that important to him… huh?' Katsumi thought clenching her fists tighter. It felt like her heart was being squeezed. 'There's no way this isn't a trap, and even knowing that, and after everything else that's happened… he still...'
"Katsumi-nee/chan, say something!" Rin and Kagome said.
"He won't listen to me," Katsumi said as the crease in her brow deepened.
"Too much commotion," Byakuya said. How about I take you somewhere you can fight at your leisure?" He pulled out a gourd bottle and shook it. He removed the cap and whirled it around, spilling the liquid inside in a circle around Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha.
"!" Inuyasha said. The liquid formed a dome around them, and suddenly they were standing on a floating rock in a vast space filled with flying youkais and other floating rocks.
"I see, is we're here… we won't have any useless interruptions..." Sesshoumaru said.
"I misjudged you, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha said. "Do you really want Tessaiga this badly!?"
"..." Sesshoumaru transformed Tenseiga's blade into adamant. He unleashed the attack. "Kongōsōha!"
—∞—
Where did they go?" Shippo asked.
"Byakuya disappeared as well," Miroku said.
"I can't believe it… that Sesshoumaru-sama would borrow Naraku's power..." Kohaku said.
'Well, it wouldn't be the first time...' Katsumi thought. But she was still shocked that he would chose to do so now.
"Yeah, however… Though Tenseiga is not a sword capable of taking an enemy's power, this way it would be as if it were reversed and it absorbed Tessaiga instead."
'But when Inuyasha's Tessaiga had its powers reflected, he couldn't use any attacks. There's no way he can win against Sesshoumaru!' Kagome thought.
—∞—
The Kongōsōha attack had blasted away half of the floating rock they were standing on, along with Inuyasha.
"It's breaking apart..." Sesshoumaru said. 'I misjudged you as well, Inuyasha. To think you were really this weak… meaning that you were never qualified to have Tessaiga to begin with...' Inuyasha dropped down from above. He had clung to one of the flying youkais to keep from falling to his doom.
"Damn you, Sesshoumaru! You really want to kill me!?" Inuyasha asked. He swung Tessaiga. Sesshoumaru blocked with Tenseiga.
"If you're weak, I'll kill you," Sesshoumaru said. "And… I'll discard them! Both Tenseiga and Tessaiga!" He sent Inuyasha flying.
"Wha…!" Inuyasha said as he crashed into another floating rock.
"Show me, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru said. "Proof that you are Tessiga's successor rather than me."
'Proof…!?' Inuyasha thought. "In other words, if I win… then you'll give up."
"You just try!" Sesshoumaru said, swinging Tenseiga again. Kaze no Kizu roared forth. "I will not show you any mercy or compassion!"
"!" Inuyasha said. He held up Tessaiga in front of himself to try to block the attack. "Gah…!" Again, he was sent flying. Inuyasha fell down toward the dark sea of mysterious liquid below them. An eyeball with batwings hovered in the air above them, watching the whole thing.
—∞—
"Man, that Sesshoumaru is mean," Byakuya commented. The eyeball was his. He was standing somewhere miles away with Naraku, who was still trying to recover inside his barrier. "Not only has he taken Tessaiga's power in its entirety, he's showing no mercy to Inuyasha with his shell of a Tessaiga that can't even counterattack. Looks like he really hates Inuyasha."
"Kukuku… He's taking advantage of the opportunity," Naraku said. "Sesshoumaru seems to have a tenacious attachment to his father's memento sword. So… I thought I'd tempt him a bit. Even if he knew it was a trap… as per my wishes, Sesshoumaru will kill Inuyasha without hesitation."
"Yeah," Byakuya said. "It looks like he's taking quite a beating."
—∞—
Sesshoumaru stood looking down at the dark sea below him. Inuyasha seemed to have fallen, but then he jumped up from a rock jutting up out of the sea and landed in the same floating rock as Sesshoumaru Inuyasha slammed Tessiaga down on the rock, and it crumbled to pieces. Sesshoumaru quickly jumped to another floating rock. Inuyasha jumped onto a flying youkai. His scleras were red and his irises were blue. He had jagged stripes on his face and his fangs were longer.
"Hmph… You transformed into a youkai out of desperation, huh?" Sesshoumaru said. Inuyasha hopped off the flying youkai onto a floating rock. Tessaiga pulsed with power.
'It's the same as when I fought that mirror monster,' Inuyasha thought. 'Tessaiga is seeking my youkai power. No… This is different from then! My youkai power is flowing into Tessaiga, but at the same time…'
"!" Sesshoumaru said when Tenseiga pulsed. 'It's resonating with Inuyasha's sword!?'
'The youkai power that Tessaiga should have lost is flowing into me!' Inuyasha thought. "Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha charged and they clashed swords. Tessaiga pulsed. 'The stolen power is… flowing into it!' Inuyasha pulled back a little to attack again. "Kaze no Kizu!" Sesshoumaru held Tenseiga up to block it, but he had to jump out of the way as the ground beneath his feet was destroyed by Inuyasha's Kaze no Kizu. Sesshoumaru landed on another floating rock. Inuyasha landed on one near his. 'It's back… my Kaze no Kizu!!"
'Hmph… we just had to cross swords and the youkai power went running back, huh...' Sesshoumaru thought. 'So you want to go back to Inuyasha...'
"Next… I'm taking back Kongōsōha!" Inuyasha declared, charging again.
'Inuyasha, if you are truly Tessaiga's successor...' Sesshoumaru thought. He swung Tenseiga. "Meidou Zangetsuha!" 'Just try and steal this attack, too!'
"Wha…!" Inuyasha said. A huge meidou appeared right behind Inuyasha, sucking him in. "!"
'Inuyasha, Meidou Zangetsuha is a technique that I perfected… If it's fated to someday become yours, then you can just take it right now!' Sesshoumaru thought.
"Dammit! I'm being sucked into hell!" Inuyasha exclaimed.
—∞—
"Sesshoumaru just hit Inuyasha head-on with a Meidou Zangetsuha," Byakuya said. "He's not escaping that."
"Byakuya, show me more," Naraku said.
"Hm?" Byakuya said as a tendril of Naraku's flesh came outside the barrier and poked itself into his empty eye socket.
'Oh, gross,' Byakuya thought. "You seeing better like that?"
"Yes, much better," Naraku said. "I can see Inuyasha's form disappearing into hell..."
—∞—
'Is this the end for you, Inuyasha?' Sesshoumaru wondered. 'Though you were supposed to be Tessaiga's successor...' He looked at Tenseiga. 'In that case, I have no desire for a sword like this.' He tossed it into the meidou. 'Vanish into hell. Along with Inuyasha.' Tenseiga pulsed inside the meidou. "!"
"!?" Inuyasha said when Tessaiga pulsed too and was covered with scales. 'Dragon-scaled Tessaiga!?' a swirling vortex of youkai energy became visible behind Inuyasha.
"!" Sesshoumaru said. 'Is that Inuyasha's youki!?'
'What does this mean!?' Inuyasha wondered. 'Is the dragon-scaled Tessaiga telling me to cut through something's youki!?' He looked around. 'There's nothing here… All that's here… is my youki.' Tessaiga pulsed. "!" Inuyasha looked at his own youki. 'My youketsu...'
"Hmph… Inuyasha, what do you think you're going to do with the dragon-scaled Tessaiga?" Naraku asked. "The dragon-scaleed Tessaiga kills an enemy by cutting through the source of their youkai, the youketsu. The meidou is not a youkai. You can't cut a meidou, for that has no youki or youketsu."
—∞—
'It's saying to cut… my own youketsu!?' Inuyasha thought. 'But that means I'd be cutting through my own life. However… if I don't do anything, I'll be sucked into hell… Tessaiga! I'm trusting you!!' He cut his youketsu with dragon-scaled Tessaiga.
—∞—
"Hmph… Have you been driven to madness, Inuyasha?" Naraku asked.
—∞—
"!" Inuyasha said. 'Youki is… flowing in!' Sesshoumaru could see a change in Inuyasha's youki from where he stood.
'The youki got bigger…!?' Sesshoumaru thought.
'My youki is… rushing about me and Tessaiga!' Inuyasha thought. His youki had grown so big that was almost the same size as the meidou.
—∞—
'The meidou is… being eroded by Inuyasha's youki…?' Naraku thought.
—∞—
'So this… is proof of succession, huh...' Sesshoumaru thought.
—∞—
"It certainly carved out a lot of earth..." Miroku remarked as he and the others stared a the spot Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were taken from.
"Inuyasha… I wonder if he's all right," Kagome said.
"Hm?" Miroku said when dark clouds appeared over head.
"Totosai-ojii-san, huh?" Katsumi said.
"Eh?" Kagome said. Lighting struck right in the midst of their group, and Totosai appeared on his three-eyed cow.
"Somehow… It looks like it's begun," Totosai said.
"Totosai-sama..." Miroku said.
"Do you know what's going on!?" Katsumi and Kagome asked.
"Yeah. But it's sooner than I'd expected," Totosai said. "Tessaiga and Tenseiga… will shortly become a single sword."
"!" Kagome and Katsumi said.
—∞—
Sesshoumaru watched Inuyasha's youki erode the meidou.
'Inuyasha's youkai power is overwhelming the meidou...' he thought.
—∞—
"What'll you do, Naraku?" Byakuya asked. "Hasn't Inuyasha ended up getting stronger?"
"Kukuku, in that case… all I can do is take Inuyasha's life..." Naraku said. "Using the sword that Sesshoumaru discarded..."
—∞—
'If my youkai power continues to grow like this… I'll be able to escape the meidou!' Inuyasha thought. Something shined behind him. Suddenly, a Kongōsōha barrage speared him in the back. Inuyasha gritted his teeth against the pain.
"!" Sesshoumaru said.
"Ugh..." Inuyasha groaned. He had managed to only be stabbed in the back by two spears. He looked around for the culprit. 'Sesshoumaru's sword…!?'
—∞—
"Kukuku… Sesshoumaru's sword… is covered with fragments of Kanna's mirror monster," Naraku said. "In other words, that sword is now like a part of my body. I have no difficulty in manipulating it."
—∞—
Naraku swung the sword again and more adamant spears were fired at Inuyasha. Inuyasha used Tessaiga to block them.
"Gah…!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. "!" he gasped when the pain in his back increased and he saw that something was leaking out of the adamant spears in his back. 'Ugh… Naraku's miasma…!?'
'Naraku…!' Sesshoumaru thought. Inuyasha's youkai retreated from the edge of the meidou. 'His youki… weakened?' Sesshoumaru flew into the mediou.
"Tch…!" Inuyasha faced Tenseiga. 'I dunno why Sesshoumaru let you go… but I've got no choice but to cut you apart!' Inuyasha charged at the sword.
—∞—
"Hmph..." Naraku said with a smirk.
—∞—
Tenseiga flew up out of Inuyasha's reach.
"Above me!" Inuyasha said, looking up. He saw Sesshoumaru standing there. The sword had gone to him. "!" Sesshoumaru took hold of Tenseiga. "Sesshoumaru..."
—∞—
"Sesshoumaru..." Naraku said. "Hmph… you saw that Inuyasha had weakened, so you reclaimed your discarded sword, huh… very well. I have no problem with you finishing him off yourself."
—∞—
'Naraku, I already have the answer,' Sesshoumaru thought. "Ready yourself, Inuyasha." Inuyasha assumed a fighting stance. 'This fight is between me and Inuyasha. Naraku, you no longer have a role in this!' Their swords clashed, and the reflected Tessaiga began to crack until it shattered, revealing the original Tenseiga.
—∞—
'The mirror fragments were swept away,' Naraku thought.
—∞—
Sesshoumaru ground Tenseiga against Tessaiga and snapped the blade.
'Wha… Tenseiga broke!?' Inuyasha thought, shocked. "!" he gasped when Tessaiga pulsed with power and turned into a black blade with stars in it. His eyes became amber again, and his youkai marks faded away. 'A black blade… This is...'
'Meidou Zangetsuha...' Sesshoumaru thought.
—∞—
"Just now… They became one," Totosai informed the others waiting with him.
—∞—
"Ugh..." Inuyasha groaned. 'Naraku's miasma is...' He could feel himself weakening.
—∞—
"Kukuku, how ironic, Inuyasha," Naraku said. "When Tessaiga's youkai power returned, it looks like your body also returned to that of a hanyou. And your youki which was overwhelming the meidou is also gone… you two brothers can do nothing but be swallowed by the meidou now."
—∞—
Inuyasha lost consciousness, and the meidou began to fade.
—∞—
"The meidou is disappearing..." Byakuya said.
"Kukuku… It's over for Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru," Naraku said. "You who were left trapped in the meidou… can no longer return to this world."
—∞—
'He's unconscious… just from something like Naraku's poison...' Sesshoumaru thought. "Hmph… He is just a hanyou..." He reached out and pulled the poisoned adamant from Inuyasha's back. "..." Inuyasha was still unconscious. Sesshoumaru punched him.
"Ooh..." Inuyasha groaned as he regained consciousness. "…!" He was surprised. "Sesshoumaru… Bastard… you still wanna fight…?"
"The meidou has closed,' Sesshoumaru informed him.
"Wha..." Inuyasha said, startled. "What do you mean…?"
"Whether we're swallowed by the meidou like this… or whether we return to the world of the living… Inuyasha, it's up to you."
"Up… to me…?" Inuyasha asked. "Saying that with such a calm face… does that mean you know of a way out?"
"I just told you. It's something only you can do," Sesshoumaru said.
'Meaning… I should use my new Tessaiga!?' Inuyasha thought. 'Black Tessaiga!' The black blade returned. 'Back then...' He thought back to when Tenseiga broke. "Sesshoumaru, back then… it was like you broke Tenseiga yourself..."
"You don't have time to be making small talk," Sesshoumaru told him.
"!?" Inuyasha said. He realized Sesshoumaru's feet were disappearing. As were his. "Wha, my body…!" 'We're being swallowed by the meidou's darkness!? What do I do!?' He looked at Tessaiga. 'Do I have to cut somewhere?!'
'Inuyasha, that's your sword now,' Sesshoumaru thought. 'It has to be used in your own way.'
"!" Inuyasha looked back at him. "Don't disappear, Sesshoumaru! Not only you surrendering your sword, I don't want your death on my conscience, too!" 'Sesshoumaru is unarmed! I'm the only one who can do anything!' He saw a sliver of light in the darkness. "!" 'Light… and the scent of the outside world...' "It's there!!" Inuyasha gripped his black Tessaiga tight and charged at the sliver of light. He cut it with Tessaiga.
—∞—
A huge round mediou appeared several feet away from Totosai and the others.
"Wha… a meidou!?" Kagome said.
"Ooh," Totosai said.
"What's that light?" Katsumi asked when she saw something bright fall from it.
'Light…? No… That's...' Totosai thought. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru came forward through the meidou. Inuyasha reached the edge and fell.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Katsumi and Rin called. All three of them, plus Jaken, ran over to meet them. Inuyasha hit the ground with a thud and appeared to have passed out. Tessaiga had returned to its dormant state.
"What horrible wounds…!" Kagome said.
'He smells like Naraku's miasma...' Katsumi thought, concerned. 'And Sesshoumaru isn't carrying Tenseiga.'
"So the one who cut from inside the meidou was Inuyasha, huh..." Totosai said. "Sesshoumaru… have you come to an understanding?"
'Eh? Inuyasha made the meidou?' Katsumi thought. 'That means…'
'Sesshoumaru-sama… isn't carrying Tenseiga…?' Jaken thought. "Th-Then it's true… that Tenseiga was absorbed by Tessaiga!? It… It can't be..."
"It doesn't interest me anymore," Sesshoumaru said. He turned and started walking away. "Let's go, Katsumi."
"Oh, right!" she said with one last glance back at the wounded Inuyasha. "Come one, Rin."
"Wait, Sesshoumaru," Totosai said. "You may be reluctant to do so, but… take that with you." They followed his gaze and saw Tenseiga sticking out of the ground, whole. "It fell out of the meidou."
'Ah, so that was the light I saw,' Katsumi thought.
"Ooh..." Inuyasha groaned as he became conscious again.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome said.
'Oh, good. He's awake,' Katsumi thought.
"That's... Tenseiga…?" Inuyasha asked. "But I thought it broke..." 'Wait… that light I saw inside the meidou… That was… Tenseiga's light...' Totosai walked over and pulled Tenseiga up from the ground.
"In the end, it's back to its original form," Totosai said, holding it up. "The sword that cannot cut… the healing Tenseiga."
"So…?" Sesshoumaru said. "Are you saying I should carry that and go around saving people? Don't mock me." He started walking away again.
"Heeey," Totosai said.
"Wait for me, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken said, hurrying after him.
"Umm..." Rin said as she and Katsumi stood next to Totosai.
"Hm?" Totosai said.
"I'll take that," Katsumi said, holding her hand out. Totosai gave it to her.
"We'll give it to him when he feels better," Rin called back as they moved to catch up with Sesshoumaru.
"Take care, Ane-ue!" Kohaku said as he followed.
"Kohaku..." Sango said.
"So he went with them," Miroku said.
"Hey, Totosai," Inuyasha said.
"Hmmmmmmmm?" Totosai said.
"What's going to happen to Sesshoumaru…?" Inuyasha asked. "He doesn't have a weapon..."
"Even more that worrying about your brother, you sure learned how to use your new Tenseiga quickly," Totosai said. "Being able to escape the meidou, do you understand that it was not solely your power that was at work?"
"Yeah..." Inuyasha said. "If Tenseiga hadn't shown me the way..."
'However… Sesshoumaru may not have realized it, but with just one more step it won't be his father's memento… but a weapon of his very own that he will be able to attain.'
—∞—|—∞—
Katsumi, Rin, Kohaku, and Jaken all sat around the fire, while Sesshoumaru sat apart. But the pool of silence around him was more intense than usual. None of them knew what to say. Jaken in particular thought it felt too dangerous to speak.
"..." Katsumi looked at Sesshoumaru, then Tenseiga, which was laying on the ground next to her. "Keep an eye on this for me," she told Rin and Kohaku. Then she stood up, walked over to Sesshoumaru, and sat down next to him. The kids were surprised by her daring, and Jaken was just plain shocked. He started planning Katsumi's funeral. Katsumi sat there in silence next to Sesshoumaru for quite a while.
"… What are you doing?" he asked eventually.
"I don't know what to say, so I'm keeping you company," Katsumi replied frankly. "Should I stop?"
"..." Sesshoumaru looked at her and was quiet for a moment. She was clearly concerned for him, but there was no pity in her eyes. "No. You can stay." Katsumi gave him a small smile and continued to sit next to him.
'Amazing, Katsumi-nee!' Rin thought.
'Katsumi-sama is amazing...' Kohaku thought.
'And after I went through the trouble of planning her funeral…' Jaken thought. 'How does she do it!?'
It would be a few more days before he took Tenseiga back.
—∞—|—∞—
"Ge-he-hehe, just like the rumors said," a large oni with one horn said. As he and his two-horned friend loomed over Sesshoumaru and company. "You lost your weapon."
"Sesshoumaru-sama..." Jaken said. Katsumi frowned at the two onis.
"Jaken-sama, it seems like there's been a lot of these guys lately," Rin said.
"Honestly..." Jaken said. "It's not that he's lost his weapon, but because if they defeat someone as powerful as Sesshoumaru-sama, they'll gain prestige amongst youkais… So now all these small fry are coming out in droves."
'Actually, isn't it because he's lost his weapon? They never came at us like this before...' Katsumi thought. She wanted to take care of the two onis herself, but she knew that was a no-go because Sesshoumaru wouldn't want her to, and it might give rise to misunderstandings that he needed her to do it. Which he definitely didn't.
"Ge-hehehe, I've had an inkling to try some dog youkai meat for a long time," the oni with two horns said.
"And once we defeat you, that human boy's..." the one-horned oni said.
"!" Kohaku said.
"… Be quiet," Sesshoumaru said. He sliced them both apart with his claws faster than they could blink. He landed gracefully amid the carnage. "Let's go."
"R-Right," Jaken said. "Hey, Kohaku."
"Yes?" Kohaku asked.
"You understand, don't you?" Jaken said. "Though Sesshoumaru-sama will never say it..."
"Yes… The oni are after my shikon shard..." Kohaku said.
"Thanks to that, every time they attack, I feel like shrinking away," Jaken said.
"If you shrink any more, you'll disappear, Jaken-sama," Rin said. Katsumi laughed.
"Enough of your prattle! Don't laugh!" Jaken snapped at them with a vein throbbing on his hear. "Like either of you are in any position to talk!"
—∞—
"..." Byakuya watched from a safe distance. 'Hmmmm. So Sesshoumaru isn't using his sword.' "So the story I heard about him losing that disturbing Meigou Zangetsuha technique, and the sword at his hip becoming dull and useless… looks to be true in any case." He flew back to Naraku, who was currently hanging out in cave with an opening that looked like a hole in the side of a mountain. That entrance was sealed with a barrier. "Hm?" Byakuya said when he noticed something strange. "Black light…?" It was streaming out of the cave. Naraku was floating inside, facing away from him. 'Naraku…? What is he up to?' Something small and dark was glowing with black light in front of Naraku. 'That's the shikon no tama...' A dark, evil energy swirled out from the jewel and pierced Naraku. A hand and arm broke out through his back. "!" Byakuya watched as a whole new being pushed its way out of Naraku. A male demon with red eyes and grey hair flew out of the cave, trailing various youkai parts behind him. It grabbed a knife that was resting on a natural shelf on its way out. Byakuya quickly moved out of the way. "Well, that was surprising. What was that?" He looked at Naraku. He still had a hole in him. "Naraku, is that a new incarnation?"
"Byakuya, huh..." Naraku said. "So you saw that. That thing came out of the shikon no tama. It's the dark will of the youkais that've been sealed in the jewel for many years."
—∞—
Sesshoumaru and Katsumi looked up at the sky with their brows furrowed. They smelled Naraku's scent. It was coming at them fast.
"What's the matter, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken asked.
"Get back," Sesshoumaru told everyone behind him.
"Geh!" Jaken exclaimed, startled when something crashed down in front of them in a great bolt of lightning. "Wha-Wha…!" A male youkai with grey hair and red eyes stood before them. He had giant claw-like protrusions at the end of one arm, and he was wearing unusual armor. He reeked of Naraku's scent.
"Naraku's incarnation… huh," Sesshoumaru said.
"!" he and Katsumi said when the male youkai suddenly extended its 'claws' past them to attack Kohaku.
"Aaah!" Rin cried as he just barely managed to dodge.
"Dwaah!" Jaken said, also diving out of the way before he became collateral damage.
"Kohaku, are you all right?" Rin asked as they flew up into the air on Ah-Un. The male youkai aimed his claws at them again.
"Th-This guy's after Kohaku's shikon shard!?" Jaken said. Katsumi lunged forward with her sword, ready to slice off the arm with the claws.
"Endless Bl—!" Katsumi started to say, when there was a flash of silver and suddenly she felt a sharp stabbing pain in her abdomen. It burned like fire. "Eh?" She collapsed, falling over side ways. It was as if all of her strength had been drained away.
"!" Sesshoumaru's eyes widened when he saw her go down. She had been stabbed with a knife that was thrown too quickly even for him to do something about it. But she shouldn't have collapsed like that. It worried him. Not just him.
"Katsumi-nee!" Rin cried.
"Katsumi-sama!" Kohaku said.
"Eh!?" Jaken exclaimed.
Sesshoumaru glared at her attacker and charged. Sesshoumaru swiped at him with his poison claws, but the male youkai dodged without taking a scratch. The male youkai threw one of his 'claws' at Sesshoumaru like a bladed tentacle and stabbed him through his armor.
"!" Sesshoumaru said. He quickly evaded a more serious wound.
"You're weak..." the male youkai told him.
"Wh-Whaaat!?" Jaken exclaimed indignantly as Sesshoumaru landed.
"Guh…!!" Katsumi groaned as she struggled to raise one hand to put on the handle of the knife. 'Why am I so weak!?' It was hard to even breathe. 'It's like when my mother put those special chains on—!? Is that it? Is this knife made out of that kind of metal!?' She gripped the knife handle as tightly as she could. The knife had a Western design. 'I need to pull it out!' She forced her arm to move and gritted her teeth. "!" she winced as she pulled it back out. Breathing became easier. Katsumi held a hand over her wound. She was still too weak to sit up. Sesshoumaru glared at the male youkai. The male youkai lashed out with his claws again. Sesshoumaru flexed his as he charged. Sesshoumaru cut off the male youkais' arm with the claws with one swipe of his hand. Sesshoumaru lunged forward and stabbed his arm deep into the male youkai's abdomen.
"You've got him, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken cheered. "Insolent creature! You'd best spend your time in hell repenting for calling Sesshoumaru-sama weak!"
"That's odd..." Kohaku said.
"What's wrong, Kohaku?" Rin asked.
"Sesshoumaru-sama's arm… it should have pierced through him, but..." Kohaku said. 'It's almost like he's being drawn in!'
"!" Sesshoumaru said when more claw-like bladed tentacles formed from the male youkai's back to surround him.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Katsumi, Kohaku, Rin, and Jaken all yelled as the bladed tentacles closed in on him. Sesshoumaru pulled his arm out and jumped away from the male youkai's clutches at the last second. Sesshoumaru landed, and they all saw that his hand was wounded.
"Ah!" Kohaku gasped.
"Sesshoumaru-sama's arm…!" Rin cried.
'Sesshoumaru…!' Katsumi thought, concerned. 'This guy is really bad news!"
'Sesshoumaru-sama's claws bear poison, yet his arm was still burned…!' Jaken thought anxiously. 'Does this mean that guy's poison it stronger!?'
"Hmph," the male youkai said. He shot one of his bladed tentacles at Sesshoumaru, stabbing his mokomoko.
"!" Sesshoumaru said.
"He's after Sesshoumaru-sama's arm!" Kohaku said.
"Eeh!?" Rin gasped.
"Please run away, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken yelled. "If you lose your right arm, you'll have no way to fight…!" Katsumi gritted her teeth and forced herself up into a sitting position. Her wound still burned like fire, but some strength was returning to her limbs.
"Rin, get down!" Kohaku said, grabbing his scythe. He threw it at the male youkai and nailed him in the temple.
"Hmph..." the male youkai said, looking up at Kohaku.
'Kohaku!' Katsumi thought.
'That idiot!' Sesshoumaru thought. He had just made himself a target again. The male youkai shot his bladed tentacles up at Kohaku.
"Kohaku!" Rin cried when he jumped from Ah-Un.
"This guy is Naraku's incarnation. That means..." Kohaku said, furrowing his brow with determination. 'Thanks to Kikyo-sama's purification powers, he shouldn't be able to touch my shikon shard!' One of the tentacles curved around to take the shard from the back of his neck. "!" Kohaku was shocked when he was the one who felt pain instead. 'Wha…!? The shard is… being tainted…!? Why…!?'
"Tch…!" Sesshoumaru flew up to save him. He reached for Kohaku and three bony tendrils came shooting up to stab him through his arm.
"Ah!" Katsumi gasped, eyes wide with horror.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin and Jaken cried.
"It's over for you..." the male youkai said.
"!" Katsumi staggered to her feet. Blood flowed from her wound. She felt like she was going to fall back over, but she put her hand on her sword to draw it anyway. Then, she smelled him. Inuyasha was speeding towards them.
"You bastard!" Inuyasha yelled, slicing off the arm with the bladed tentacles and bony tendrils. The tentacles and tendrils came crashing down. Kohaku fell on them, but Sesshoumaru landed on his own feet. Kagome and Sango ran forward to check on Kohaku.
"Kohaku!" Sango called.
"Kohaku-kun!" Kagome said. Inuyasha stood facing the male youkai.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, that looks so painful…!" Jaken said with tears in his eyes.
"Stand down, Katsumi," Sesshoumaru said. "You're wounded."
'Like you're in any position to talk…!' Katsumi thought, sweat-dropping. 'Though I guess it's true my wound seems more serious that his… why isn't it closing!?' She sat back down and held a hand against the bleeding wound.
"..." Miroku said, watching them.
"Sesshoumaru got thrashed," Shippo whispered.
"Naturally, because he handed Meidou Zangetsuha over to Inuyasha..." Miroku whispered back.
"Katsumi looks pretty bad, too," Shippo said.
"Yes..." Miroku agreed, wondering how it had happened. 'How could this opponent break through her armor, when Naraku couldn't?'
"Kohaku, hang in there!" Sango said urgently.
"Kohaku-kun…!" Kagome said. 'His shard is... tainted.' "I'll purify it. Was it tainted by him…!?" she looked at the male youkai. "Isn't he…" 'Naraku's incarnation…? But… something's different...'
"!" the male youkai felt her staring and turned his head to glare at her.
'Eh…!?' Kagome thought. 'Wh… What!? My strength is... being sapped...' She fell over sideways and hit the ground.
"Kagome-chan!?" Sango said, concerned.
"Kagome!?" Inuyasha said.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango said again as Miroku came over.
"Kagome-sama!" Miroku said.
"What's wrong? What happened to Kagome!?" Katsumi asked.
'My body won't move...' Kagome thought. 'Is it his doing…?'
"Kagome-chan…!" Sango said.
"You bastard, what did you do to Kagome!?" Inuyasha demanded.
'Isn't he… Naraku's incarnation?' Miroku thought. 'However… Kohaku's shikon shard was tainted..."
"Kohaku, hang in there!" Rin said, trying to wake Kohaku.
"Be careful, Rin!" Katsumi said, she wanted to go over and help her, but when she tried to stand up again, she couldn't. 'I'm still losing blood...' She realized. 'Is this wound still not healing!?'
'If he was Naraku's incarnation, then just like Naraku, Kikyo-sama's purification powers would work on him, and he shouldn't be able to touch the shikon shard...' Miroku thought.
'Something isn't right here...' Katsumi thought. 'That knife… Kohaku's shard...' "Who are you?" she asked the male youkai. "You're not just Naraku's incarnation, are you?"
"!" Miroku said.
"I won't answer someone who's already dead," the male youkai said. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at him.
"Take Kohaku and Katsumi and leave this place," Sesshoumaru told Sango and Miroku.
"Eh..." Sango said.
"You're in the way," Sesshoumaru said.
"But..." Katsumi said.
"That isn't an ordinary wound. Remember your mother's lesson," Sesshoumaru said firmly. He could smell all the blood she lost without having to look at her. "Survive, Katsumi."
"… Yes," Katsumi agreed.
"Sesshoumaru..." Inuyasha said. He looked at Sesshoumaru's wounded and damaged arm. 'Sesshoumaru...' This happened because he gave him Meidou Zangetsuha. "You just stay back! This isn't the place for an injured person!"
"What was that!?" Jaken said incredulously. "Just whose fault do you think it is that is came to this!? It is solely because Meidou Zangetsuha was turned over to someone like you that Sesshoumaru-sama has…!"
"Shut up!" Inuyasha told him. 'I know that… If he'd at least had a weapon, Sesshoumaru wouldn't have been wounded to this extent...'
"Hmph..." Sesshoumaru said.
"!" Inuyasha said.
"You despicable creature… making me receive pity from the likes of a hanyou..." Sesshoumaru said darkly. His sclera turned red. He held his arm up and forced his wounds to close.
'Ooh, he closed his wounds with pure fighting spirit!' Jaken thought. 'Nothing less from Sesshoumaru-sama.'
'How long as he been able to do that?' Katsumi wondered. Sesshoumaru lunged at the male youkai.
"Hmph. You want your arm eaten again?" he asked. Sesshoumaru's face began to change, and he ripped off the male youkai's head with his teeth as he transformed into his dog form.
"He did it!" Jaken cheered. "Witness the true power of Sesshoumaru-sama's true youkai form!"
"!" Inuyasha said. The male youkai's headless body hit the ground. Poison came flooding out of it. 'Miasma!' "Miroku, Sango! Take Kagome…!"
"We've got her!" Sango said, holding onto Kagome while riding Kirara with Shippo and Katsumi.
"We left Jaken-sama behind," Rin said, riding Ah-Un with Kohaku and Miroku.
"He'll probably be all right," Miroku said.
"Huh!?" Jaken said when he saw something emerge from the miasma. Bladed tentacles shot up into the sky.
"!" Sango said.
"He's after us!" Shippo said.
"He's after Kohaku's shikon shard!" Rin said.
"Daaaah!" Inuyasha said, slicing the tentacles off with Tessaiga. 'Same as Naraku… even with his head ripped off, he's still alive.'
"His fighting style and very nature are exactly like Naraku's..." Miroku said. 'Yet they're definitely different.' "How are you doing?" he asked Katsumi.
"I'm still bleeding… I think I'm getting light-headed," Katsumi replied.
"How did you end up in such a state?" Sango asked.
"He had a special knife… though I don't know how he got it or how he even knew to use it..." Katsumi said.
"Sango, how is Kagome-sama?" Miroku asked.
"Still no good," Sango replied. She glanced down at the male youkai. "So it's because of him?"
"Yes, that's what I was thinking," Miroku said. "Those words the miko Hitomiko-sama left Kagome-sama with… Kaede-sama's words as well..."
"What words?" Katsumi asked.
"Something is sealing Kagome-sama's spiritual power. Kaede-sama believes the evil part of the shikon no tama fears her spiritual powers and sealed them away," Miroku explained.
"So then he's..." Sango said. They all looked down at the male youkai. His headless body was standing up again.
"Kukuku..." the male youkai laughed between Sesshoumaru's teeth. "It doesn't matter how much you break me… this is a borrowed body."
"!?" Inuyasha said. 'A borrowed body!?' "You bastard… so you're not Naraku's detachment!?"
"Don't compare me to that hanyou..." the male youkai said.
"Wha…!" Inuyasha said. "!" Bladed tentacles were shooting straight at him. "Kongōsōha!" The attack was on target, but the headless body dodged and tentacles shot out of it and wrapped around Sesshoumaru, restraining him.
"Kukuku… Shall I finish you off one at a time..." the male youkai said.
"Who the hell are you!?" Inuyasha asked.
"If you'll listen, I'll answer," the male youkai said. "I am… Magatsuhi."
'Oh, sure, he'll answer Inuyasha...' Katsumi thought with a frown.
"Magastuhi!?" Inuyasha said.
"Magatsuhi…!?" Miroku said.
"I've got a feeling I've heard that before, but..." Shippo said.
"It's the dark will of the shikon no tama," Sango said.
"Right. The shikon no tama… can become either good or evil," Miroku said. "Opposed to the good spirit 'Naohi' residing within the jewel, 'Magatsuhi' is the evil and corrupt spirit."
"If that's the case, then he's the evil spirit from the shiko no tama itself… huh?" Katsumi said. She felt her grip on Kirara loosen and tightened it before she could fall off.
"Keh, I don't know anything about a 'Magatsuhi', but when you get right down it it, your body is nothing but a collection of pieces of Naraku's body," Inuyasha said. "So I'm not gonna hold back. I'll kill you!"
"Kill me, then," Magatsuhi said. "Along with this dog-beast..."
"Khh..." Inuyasha said, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"Poor Sesshoumaru-sama..." Jaken said. Magatsuhi tightened his grip on Sesshoumaru. 'He's not escaping!?' Jaken thought. 'Even thought he wields his true power in his dog youkai form… Isn't it also true that he has no use of his arms or legs!? Well, he's a dog. Doesn't seem like he's that bright.'
'It looks like if he broke the transformation and became smaller, he could just slip through, but… does he not realize this!?' Jaken and Katsumi thought.
[[Why don't you transform again!?]] Katsumi said, trying to think directly at Sesshoumaru, hoping it would work.
'He is a dog, after all,' Jaken thought. Magatsuhi's tentacles seemed to completely encase Sesshoumaru's body, because it disappeared from sight. Inuyasha was shocked.
"Wha…!" Jaken exclaimed, flinching in shock.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried.
"Sesshoumaru!" Katsumi said.
"Was he crushed!?" Shippo asked. The questioned was answered when Sesshoumaru busted his way out of the tentacles in his smaller form.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken said with tears in his eyes. Sesshoumaru hit him with a hard glare.
"I wasn't thinking anything," Jaken said immediately.
"Jaken-sama, yes you were," Rin said.
"Oh…? I get the feeling their minds are connected," Miroku said.
'They have been together a long time...' Katsumi thought.
"Move, Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha said. "Leave the rest to..." Sesshoumaru was already charging again. He slashed the tentacles that were sent at him with his claws. Two tentacles got past him and began to wrap around him.
"Aah, he's going to get caught again!" Jaken yelled.
"Oh, come on, you dumbass!" Inuyasha growled. He launched himself forward and cut Sesshoumaru free. "Sesshoumaru, I know you don't want my help in this fight. But right now…!" He activated the black Tessaiga.
"The black Tessaiga..." Miroku said.
"He's going to use Meidou Zangetsuha!?" Sango said.
'With that, it won't matter whether we can kill him or not…!' Katsumi thought.
"Hmph," Magatsuhi said. He quickly scattered his body parts.
"Wha…! He scattered himself!?" Jaken exclaimed.
"He's coming this way!" Sango said. She threw her weapon at the incoming tentacles. "Hiraikotsu!" It cut the tentacles into tiny pieces.
"Ohh! It looks like Hiraikotsu still works on Naraku's body!" Shippo said.
"Yeah, however..." Sango said. She may have broken the tentacles, but she hadn't actually reduced the amount of flesh floating around them. "There doesn't seem to be a limit as to how much his scattered body can be broken apart!"
"Then it's up to my Kazaana..." Miroku said, about to unseal his hand. Kohaku's eyes opened, and he turned and grabbed Miroku's arm.
"Kohaku!?" Rin said, surprised.
"Are you being controlled by the jyaki in your shard!?" Miroku asked. "!" he gasped when more tentacles came shooting towards them. Katsumi moved to draw her sword, but her vision swam, and she nearly fell off Kirara in the process.
'I want to fight, but it's all I can do just to hold on…!' Katsumi thought, gritting her teeth.
"That bastard, this time he's after Kohaku's shard…!" Inuyasha said, turning to run to their rescue. Sesshoumaru beat him there. He slashed the tentacles with his claws.
"Aren't you going to use your sword?" Magatsuhi asked Inuyasha.
"!" Inuyasha said.
"You can't use it, can you," Magatsuhi mocked. "Even if you aim at my scattered body… Your comrades will get caught in the middle and die..."
"Follow me," Sesshoumaru said.
"!" Miroku and Sango said. They followed Sesshoumaru as he cut a path through the scattered body parts.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, what are you…?" Jaken asked.
"Can't you tell by looking?" Inuyasha asked. "He's trying to get Magatsuhi's body to assemble." They all stood in the middle, back to back, surrounded by pieces of Magatsuhi on all sides.
"I see..." Sango said. "If he circles us a bit closer..."
"Hmph… Can you attack without harming your comrades…? It'll happen eventually," Magatsuhi said.
"From here… you protect yourselves," Sesshoumaru told the others.
"!?" Miroku said. Sesshoumaru flew towards Magatsuhi's head.
"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha shouted.
'I will kill him with my own hands!' Sesshoumaru thought. 'This is a matter of my pride!' And the sooner the battle ended, the sooner they could treat Katsumi's wound.