Previously:
"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.
Chapter 24: Magatsuhi's Main Body
"Sesshoumaru! You idiot… Get back here!" Inuyasha shouted. Sesshoumaru ignored him and flew toward Magatsuhi.
"You fool… I'll devour you," Magatsuhi said.
'I can smell it!' Sesshoumaru thought with his brow furrowed. 'Magatsuhi's main body that's manipulating those scattered pieces of his body… It's slightly different from Naraku's, the scent of an evil spirit...' Sesshoumaru drew Tenseiga.
"!?" Magatsuhi said.
"Hew drew Tenseiga!?" Miroku said.
"B-But why, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Jaken asked. "Tenseiga is a healing sword that cannot fight…!"
"No, it's there! Something that Tenseiga can cut!" Inuyasha said.
"We are dealing with a 'spirit', after all..." Katsumi said, feeling light-headed. Sesshoumaru swung Tenseiga, slicing through the source of the smell he sought.
"Ah!" Sango said. When a giant, ghostly face appeared. One side of its face had been wounded.
"Curse you…!" Magatsuhi told Sesshoumaru.
"That's…!" Jaken said.
"Could it be… Magatsuhi's main body!?" Sango asked.
"That's it!" Miroku said. "Magatsuhi is the spirit of the youkai sealed within the shikon no tama… He's not a being of this world!"
'I could've sworn I said something similar a moment ago...' Katsumi thought.
"Damn you..." Magatsuhi said. His physical face now had a cut over its left side as well. Sesshoumaru moved to attack again, but Magatsuhi quickly gathered body parts to block him. Sesshoumaru tried to cut them with Tenseiga, but couldn't.
"What is that sword?" Magatsuhi asked. "It can cut spirits, but beings of this world… like Naraku's body are impervious?" Magatsuhi impaled Sesshoumaru through the chest with two of his tentacles. Everyone was shocked.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!!" Rin and Jaken cried.
"Sesshoumaru!!" Katsumi said weakly, clenching her fists.
"Kukuku… I'll say it again..." Magatsuhi said. "You're weak." In the next instant, Sesshoumaru was surrounded by tentacles and completely encased.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin and Jaken yelled.
"!" Katsumi gasped.
"Kirara!" Inuyasha said. He hopped onto her back and they flew toward Magatsuhi. "You bastard, how dare you…!" Inuyasha sliced Magatsuhi's physical head in two, then he tried to cut through the tentacles around Sesshoumaru. "Dammit! Dammit! Sesshoumaru, you bastard… I'm not gonna let you die like this!"
"Inuyasha..." Miroku said.
"Sesshoumaru-sama… knew he might lose, but chose to die fighting," Jaken said with tears in his eyes.
"Jaken-sama..." Rin said with tears in her eyes.
'So you're saying you'd rather die than get saved by someone like me who took Maidou Zangetsuha…?' Inuyasha thought, gritting his teeth. 'You idiot!'
"He's not dead!" Katsumi said. "He's not dead, so keep trying, Inuyasha! Please!"
"!" Inuyasha said.
"Katsumi-san..." Miroku said.
"!" Inuyasha said when some of the tentacles moved to grab him next.
"Oh no!" Miroku said.
"Inuyasha's gonna get caught, too!" Shippo said.
"Gah!" Inuyasha said, cutting the tentacles before they could trap him.
"Why not just blow apart that mass with that sword you're so proud of?" Magatsuhi asked. "If you're worried about the guy inside, don't be… even if you blow him to pieces, he'll be reborn. As part of Naraku's body..."
"!" Sango said.
"N-No…!" Jaken said.
"He's not dead…!" Katsumi insisted stubbornly.
"You bastard… don't mock me!" Inuyasha said. More tentacles came after him. This time they caught him around the ankles and spread up to his legs as two more wrapped around his arms.
"Inuyasha!" Miroku, Sango, and Shippo said.
"Inuyasha!" Katsumi said.
"Khh…!" Inuyasha said, glaring at Magatsuhi. Suddenly, a bright light came out from under the tentacles around Sesshoumaru. "!" he said when the knot of flesh was blasted open by a huge surge of energy. The tentacles broke apart, crackling with energy and light. Inside was Sesshoumaru.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin and Jaken exclaimed.
"Sesshoumaru!" Katsumi said, relieved. He was alive, and the powerful energy that had destroyed the flesh around him was coming out of what was left of his left arm.
"Wha…!" Inuyasha said. 'Light from his left arm…' "This light…!"
'What is this…?' Magatsuhi thought. 'This is...' He stared at Sesshoumaru with the light coming out of his arm. 'His doing!?'
'This feeling…!' Sesshoumaru thought, looking at the light coming out of him. A dark cloud appeared.
"!?" Magatsuhi said.
"That's..." Sango said. The cloud cleared partially to reveal Totosai on his three-eyed cow.
"Totosai..." Inuyasha said.
"!" Sesshoumaru said when three huge bladed tentacles shot toward him.
"Sesshoumaru-sama watch out!" Jaken yelled.
"!" Katsumi said. Sesshoumaru glanced at Totosai.
'If Totosai is here, then that means...' Sesshoumaru thought. 'This is...' he swung the light and energy coming out of his arm at the tentacles. They were obliterated.
"Wha…?" Jaken said.
"Jaken-sama! Katsumi-nee! I can see something in the light!" Rin said. Katsumi could see it, too. It was a sword, in the newly restored left hand of Sesshoumaru.
"!" Katsumi gasped.
"His arm!?" Sango said.
"His arm that was cut off by Inuyasha has…!" Jaken exclaimed.
'That sword…!' Inuyasha thought.
"It's finally appeared, Sesshoumaru," Totosai said. "That's not a memento from your father, it's a sword of your own. Bakusaiga."
'Bakusaiga!' Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru thought. Magatsuhi's wounded flesh fell away from Sesshoumaru and hit the ground. Inuyasha was freed as well.
"It's useless," Magatshui said. "Even if you cut me to pieces..." The uninjured parts of him came over and flew into the damaged parts.
"The uninjured Youkai are wrapping around the remains…!" Sango said.
"They intend to combine!" Miroku said. But then a light came out from the injured remains and infected the uninjured parts.
"!" Inuyasha said.
"What…!?" Magatsuhi said. 'I can't regenerate!? On the contrary… the uninjured part of my body is breaking apart...'
"The effect continues even after he's cut him!" Sango said.
"Even more, it transfers to any part of the body touching it!?" Miroku said. 'In other words, if Naraku has absorbed any youkai cut by that sword, he would receive the blow as well!'
'That sword is perfect for fighting Naraku!' Katsumi thought.
"Hmph. It seems that… you've put on quite a show for me..." Magatsuhi said. "However, this is still a borrowed body. I feel neither pain nor—" Sesshoumaru swung Bakusaiga and obliterated his head.
"He did it!" Jaken said. "Take that, talking head! That's just what you get for making fun of Sesshoumaru-sama!"
"…" Inuyasha said. "Where's Magatsuhi's main body!?" Sesshoumaru stared up at the sky.
"So he escaped..." Sesshoumaru said.
"Sesshoumaru-sama, are you all right?" Rin asked, going up to him.
"I had faith in your victory, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken said, also going up to him. Katsumi smiled weakly at him from where she was sitting on the ground. Sesshoumaru moved to go to her, when Totosai spoke.
"Sesshoumaru. You sure took quite a beating," the old youkai said. "Here, let me see it. Your sword..."
"That can wait," Sesshoumaru said.
"Oh?" Totosai said, surprised. He wasn't the only one, but Sesshoumaru ignored the stares and kneeled down in front of Katsumi. She was extremely pale.
"The wound still isn't closing?" he asked.
"!" the others said.
"That's right! Katsumi is still bleeding!" Shippo said. She was so quiet about it, that they nearly forgot in all the excitement.
"Katsumi-nee!" Rin said, concerned.
"No," Katsumi answered. "I'm in danger of losing too much blood… I think it's because of that knife… maybe some traces of the metal are still in my wound? That's the only thing I can think of… I need to flush it out."
"Here, water!" Sango said, pulling a bottle of it out of Kagome's bag.
"And here's the first-aid kit," Miroku said, taking that out as well. Sango helped Katsumi wash her wound, and then they applied modern medicine and bandaged her up.
"I think we got it," Katsumi said. "I'm already starting to feel better. I just need to rest..." Sesshoumaru stood up and turned to face Totosai.
"You were saying?" Sesshoumaru said.
"Let me see your sword," Totosai said. 'That Sesshoumaru… I thought he was only interested in power, but just now...'
'My sword… Bakusaiga!' Sesshoumaru thought, holding it out.
"Sesshoumaru, that sword has been with you all along. Inside yourself," Totosai said. "However, in order to obtain it, it was necessary for you to stand on your own as a true daiyoukai."
"What was that!?" Jaken said indignantly. "Sesshoumaru-sama has been standing on his own just splendidly for a long time!"
"You be quiet," Totosai told him, narrowing his eyes at him.
'Is he talking about… cutting off his attachment to our dad's memento, Tessaiga…?' Inuyasha wondered.
"Sesshoumaru, when you desired to steal Tessaiga, you lost your left arm," Totosai said. "But now, you have obtained a new arm along with a sword that is truly your own. Meaning that… this is proof that you have surpassed your father… and have been liberated from Tessaiga."
"Ooh..." Kagome moaned.
"!" Inuyasha said, looking at her. "Kagome…?" She opened her eyes for a moment, but then they closed again.
—∞—
Kagome woke up screaming in Kaede's house. After her nightmare about failing to get into high school, it was jarring to see the old miko and Inuyasha and Miroku staring back at her in the feudal era.
"What's the matter, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked. "Are you still in pain?"
"Was that Kagome…?" Katsumi asked drowsily, picking her head up a little to look from where she was lying down. Rin was sitting next to her.
"She's awake," Inuyasha said.
"Ah, that's good..." Katsumi said with a relieved smile and dropped off again.
"Katsumi-nee is really tired," Rin said.
'She's gonna eat enough to feed a village when she wakes up...' Inuyasha betted himself.
"Eh…?" Kagome said. "I..."
"Do you remember? As soon as Magatsuhi looked at you, you lost consciousness," Miroku said.
'Oh, that's right...' Kagome thought. 'Back then my strength was suddenly drained...' "!" She realized Kohaku was lying next to her with his head in Sango's lap. "Sango-chan, Kohaku-kun is…?"
"Yeah. He hasn't opened his eyes once," Sango said.
"Not as long as he's tainted by Magatsuhi," Kagome said. "I'll purify it right away."
"However, why was Magatsuhi able to taint Kohaku's shard…?" Miroku asked. "Magatsuhi's origin, the shikon no tama, still has a point of light left there by Kikyo-sama. That light causes the purification light to become greatly amplified if Naraku touches Kohaku's shard, which should cause Naraku great pain."
"Yeah. If he came out of the shikon no tama and was using Naraku's body, it seems like Kikyo's spell would work the same on him, but..." Inuyasha said.
"It is likely that the light that Kikyo-onee-sama left—her purification spell—only works on Naraku," Kaede guessed.
"What does that mean, Kaede-babaa?" Inuyasha asked.
"The purification spell… was a powerful will in Kikyo-onee-sama's dying moments," Kaede said. "The enemy is Naraku… Onee-sama's will must have been solely focused on Naraku."
'So it doesn't work on Magatsuhi...' Miroku thought. "Looks like we've got a problematic guy on our hands. He escaped before we could finish him off..."
"Keh! Next time he shows up, he'll be prey for my sword," Inuyasha said.
"… How's it going, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked while Kagome tried to purify Kohaku's shard.
'What's going on…?' Kagome wondered. A bead of sweat slid down her face. 'It's not working...' "I… can't purify it."
"Kagome-chan…?" Sango said.
"Kagome..." Inuyasha said.
"Why…?" Kagome asked. "I've been able to up until now..." 'Back then… is it from getting stared down by Magatsuhi and collapsing…?'
'He's sealed Kagome's power…?' Inuyasha thought.
"What's gonna happen to Kohaku…?" Rin asked.
Meanwhile, Jaken was standing outside.
"Honestly… to drag Sesshoumaru-sama all the way to this human village..." Jaken muttered. He glanced at Sesshoumaru, who was waiting for Totosai to finish his work.
"All right," Totosai said. "Bakusaiga's new sheath." He held up Bakusaiga in its new sheath. Sesshoumaru took it and examined the sword. He started walking away.
"Ah!" Jaken gasped.
"Wait, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin said, coming out of Kaede's home.
"Rin," Jaken said.
"Katsumi-nee is still sleeping, and Kohaku hasn't woken up yet," Rin said. "So please, let's wait a little..."
"Katsumi and Kohaku are staying here. Rin, you too," Sesshoumaru said without turning back to look at her.
"Eh…?" Rin said. "But why, Sesshoumaru-sama!?"
'Leaving Katsumi and Kohaku as well as Rin...' Jaken thought. 'But...'
"No, take me and Katsumi-nee with you!!" Rin said.
"Hey, do as you're told, Rin!" Jaken scolded her. "Sesshoumaru-sama has always lived to fight. Isn't it strange for him to be wandering around with you children up until now!?"
"Jaken, you too," Sesshoumaru said. "Stay here."
"Eh?" Jaken said. He immediately grabbed onto Sesshoumaru's mokomoko. "But why, Sesshoumaru-sama!?" he asked with tear in his eyes, imitating Rin. "No, take me with you!!" Inuyasha and Miroku came out of Kaede's house, too.
"Sesshoumaru, you… intend to follow after Magatsuhi, right?" Inuyasha asked.
"He is my prey," Sesshoumaru said.
"Isn't that all right?" Totosai said. "Since Magatsuhi isn't a being of this world, the only one who can kill him is Sesshoumaru."
'I remember his scent,' Sesshoumaru thought. 'He will definitely fall by my hand.' He flew away and Jaken was left behind on the ground.
"Sesshoumaru-samaaaa!" Jaken cried.
"Thank goodness," Rin said. "This is just him leaving us like he usually does, Jaken-sama." She watched him fly through the sky. 'Hurry back soon, Sesshoumaru-sama.'
"There's no doubt that the one sealing Kagome-sama's power is Magatsuhi," Miroku said. "And what that miko Hitomiko said..." She had told Kagome that something was sealing her, most likely ever since she was born. "That's the evil part of the shikon no tama… which is Magatsuhi."
"Yeah..." Inuyasha said. 'So does that mean if Sesshoumaru kills Magatsuhi… the seal on Kagome will break…?'
—∞—
"Little youkai, you intend to settle here are well?" Kaede asked jaken later that evening when he sat around her hearth next to Rin.
"Call me 'Jaken-sama'!" Jaken told her.
"Jaken-sama, you sure talk big," Rin said,
"For such a little body..." Shippo added.
"Like you can talk!" Jaken snapped.
"Mm," Katsumi said, rubbing her eyes as she stirred. "What time is it?"
"It's already suppertime," Kaede replied.
"Kohaku?" Katsumi asked.
"No change," Sango said.
"..." Katsumi realized one scent wasn't as strong. "Has Sesshoumaru gone somewhere?"
"He left to defeat Magatsuhi! You're to stay here!" Jaken said.
"I see..." Katsumi said. 'I'm feeling better, but I'm still not fully recovered, so I guess I would be in the way. Plus, only Tenseiga can kill Magatsuhi.'
"Katsumi-san..." Miroku said.
"Yes, Miroku-san?" Katsumi said.
"That knife… How did it penetrate your armor and wound you so?" Miroku asked. "Do you know?" Katsumi glanced the piece of fabric she knew the knife was wrapped up in after she gave it to Kaede for safekeeping.
"I think it's an iron and osmium alloy," Katsumi replied. "I don't know why, but it seems faerie hybrids like me are weak against it. I think it was able to pierce my armor because most of its hardness comes from an enchantment that was placed on it. The materials the knife is made with must have disrupted the spell, just like it interfered with my energy and ability to heal."
"Who would know of such a weakness?" Kaede asked.
"I don't know…" Katsumi said, holding her chin. "My mother and Sesshoumaru's mother are aware, but I think the only other people who should know would be..." Her eyes widened slightly. "A faerie. A faerie must have told Naraku about it."
"You mean the one your cousins said to watch out for?" Rin said.
"Right. He's the only one I can think of who might know and would have anything to gain from it," Katsumi said. "It wasn't a secret that Naraku was the one who ripped my wings out."
"Another enemy… You'll have to be careful," Sango said.
Outside, Kagome leaned against a fence, while Inuyasha sat on it.
"I'm sorry, Inuyasha," Kagome said.
"You don't have anything to apologize about, Kagome," Inuyasha said.
"I… It hurts," Kagome said. "That I can't do anything..."
"Don't worry about it, besides… the fact that he went to the trouble of sealing your power… means that to Naraku and Magatsuhi, you're a force to be feared," Inuyasha said.
'I'm… that powerful?' Kagome wondered.
—∞—
"Hey, Naraku. He's not coming back," Byakuya said at Naraku's cave, keeping an eye out for Magatsuhi.
"The body he borrowed from me is dead in its entirety," Naraku said.
"So that Magatsuhi guy is, too?" Byakuya asked.
"He's not dead," Naraku replied. "Plus…" He smirked. 'I have a hunch about what Magatsuhi intends to do from here.'
—∞—|—∞—
Ten days later, Katsumi was nearly healed up. She walked around the village with Rin.
"Are you sure you should be up, Katsumi-nee?" Rin asked. Katsumi wasn't entirely sure that she should. She stopped and leaned against a fence.
"I can't take anymore sitting around," she admitted frankly, sweat-dropping at the memory of being cooped up in Kaede's home. Not that there was anything wrong with her home, it was just a small place for so many people to sit in at once. She had been tempted to ask the local blacksmith to melt the knife down so it couldn't do any more damage, but thought better of it. It might be booby trapped somehow.
"Do you think Kagome-sama will do well with her 'exam'?" Rin asked. Katsumi had given her another crash course for math.
"I hope so," Katsumi said, concerned.
"Do you think Sesshoumaru-sama will be back soon?" Rin asked.
"I hope so," Katsumi said with a sigh and a smile.
—∞—
"Shippo, are you looking in the well again?" Kaede asked later that day when she passed the bone-eater's well and saw him there.
"Today's the day Kagome's supposed to come back," Shippo said. "Inuyasha went over there in the morning, but..."
"That's right," Kaede said. 'But even if she does come back, Kagome's purification powers will still be sealed. And Kohaku, whose shikon shard has been tainted, will continue to sleep...'
Inside Kaede's home, Kohaku was resting on the bedding they had laid our for him. Rin and Katsumi were playing with Kirara, while Sango kept watch over him.
"He sure has been asleep a long time," Jaken remarked. "Without eating or drinking anything."
"Yeah, because he won't wake up until Sesshoumaru kills Magatsuhi," Sango said. 'But it's been a long time… since we were together for this long. It's ironic, though… even if he doesn't wake up, his heart will still be at peace more than when we're separated..."
Outside, Miroku was doing a little teaching.
"Houshi-sama, what are you writing?" a boy asked as he ran over to see what the small group gathered around him was doing.
"Wow!" said another boy.
"What's it say?" asked a girl.
"This is daughter," Miroku said.
"And this one?" the second boy asked.
"Princess," Miroku replied. He drew more kanji. "This is big sister. This one is little sister. Bride."
"Seems like they're all girls..." a third boy said. Miroku was about to draw another, when a shadow fell over them.
"What…?" the first boy said. "It's dark..." Miroku looked up.
"!" He was alarmed by what he saw. A huge swarm of youkais.
"Ho-Hoshi-sama..." the girl said nervously.
"Everyone, into your houses! Quickly!" Mirouku said. 'Are these Magatsuhi's underlings!? Or Naraku's…!?'
—∞—
"It's close... Magatsuhi's scent,' Sesshoumaru thought, flying over mountains. "!" the space in front of him distorted. Byakuya appeared on his paper crane. 'Byakuya of the Dreams!?'
"Even though it's so faint, you sure sniffed out Magatsuhi's scent from a long way away," Byakuya said. "I expected you'd have a good nose, Sesshoumaru-sama." He noticed something was different about Sesshoumaru. "Huh? Your left arm… I was sure you didn't have one, did it grow back?"
"I have no business with you," Sesshoumaru said, furrowing his brow.
"Aw. No civility, as usual," Byakuya said. "So I take it you're only interested in this guy, huh?" Magatsuhi's true face appeared behind him.
'Magatsuhi!' Sesshoumaru thought. 'Tenseiga!' he drew his sword and cut Magatsuhi down. But them Magatsuhi healed as if nothing had ever happened. 'Tenseiga didn't cut him!?'
'Fight him to your heart's content, Sesshoumaru,' Byakuya thought. 'That Magatsuhi is an illusion I created… Right about now, the real Magatsuhi is...'
—∞—
"What happened everyone!?" Kaede asked the villagers.
"Kaede-sama," one man said.
"The youkai are…!" said another.
"Kazaana!" Miroku said, unsealing his hand. He sucked up the first wave of youkais.
"Houshi-sama!" Sango called as she and Katsumi rushed outside. 'If he uses the Kazaana too much, his wound will spread again…' "Hoshi-sama, leave the rest to me…!" She threw Hiraikotsu, and he quickly sealed his hand. Hiraikotsu took out a number of youkais. Katsumi drew Faerie Fang and swung her blade, sending out a sharp blade of youki that killed several more.
"!" Miroku gasped when he saw how few were in the sky, despite the darkness around them. 'The shadow didn't disappear…!?'
"What's going on here?" Katsumi asked.
"Oh no!" Miroku said and started running for Kaede's house.
"Hoshi-sama!?" Sango said.
"The youkais were a distraction!" Miroku said. "The real enemy is…!"
"!" Rin said when she noticed a shadow creeping into the house. "Jaken-sama! The floor… looks strange." Magatsuhi's face appeared over Kohaku.
"Wha…!" Jaken exclaimed. Rin was startled.
"!" Miroku said as he came in, followed by Sango and Katsumi. Kohaku stood up. Magatsuhi was clearly manipulating him. "Magatsuhi!"
"He was hiding in the shadow…!" Sango said.
"Kohaku…!" Rin said.
"Stay back, Rin!" Katsumi said.
"Has Magatsuhi taken over his body!?" Sango asked.
"Hmph..." Magatsuhi said through Kohaku. "Until the wound inflicted by Sesshoumaru healed… I have been hiding in wait deep underground… And now, with this boy's final shard… the shikon no tama will be complete."
"Magatsuhi…!" Miroku said.
"Do you intend to transport the shard to Naraku along with Kohaku's body!?" Sango asked.
"Don't worry," Magatsuhi said. "Once its business is complete, I'll give you this body back. If you're all right with a corpse…"
"!" Sango said.
"By attaching to him, I understand perfectly," Magatsuhi said. "This boy's life is bound to the power of the shikon shard."
'If the shard is taken, then Kohaku will die!' Sango thought. 'I can't just let him go like this...' There was an ominous sound.
"What's that sound?" Rin asked. Youkais came crashing through the back of the house behind Kohaku. Magatsuhi moved Kohaku to ride one of them.
"Khh," Miroku said, getting ready to unseal his hand.
"Houshi-sama!?" Sango said.
"What are you thinking, Miroku!?" Katsumi asked.
"Hmph," Magatsuhi said. "You intend to kill this boy by sucking him into your kazaana?"
"Magatsuhi! The only one I'm sucking up is you!" Miroku said, grabbing Kohaku. He pulled him close and then unsealed his hand, aiming at Magatsuhi's true form. "Kazaana!" Magatsuhi began to disappear into Miroku's hand.
"Ooh!" Jaken said.
"He's sucking him in…!" Rin said. Katsumi suddenly had an extremely bad feeling about that.
"Miroku, wait!" Katsumi said.
"It's useless..." Magatsuhi said, still speaking through Kohaku.
"!" Miroku exclaimed as he felt pain in his hand as his wind tunnel was wounded. Miroku quickly sealed his hand again.
"It's too late..." Magatsuhi said.
"Houshi-sama!?" Sango said. Kohaku jumped away from them.
'If only Selective Strike worked on spirits!' Katsumi thought with her brow furrowed. They needed to find a way to separate Magatsuhi from Kohaku.
"The shikon shard…!" Jaken said.
"Something's steaming out of it…!" Rin said.
"Have you forgotten…?" Magatsuhi asked. "That shikon shards give power to youkais..."
"Magatsuhi!" Sango said.
"Did you think you could suck me up completely…?" Magatsuhi asked. "However, monk… you've sucked up something that a human should not absorb… Magatsuhi's poison..."
"Ugh..." Miroku groaned as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"Houshi-sama!?" Sango said.
"Miroku-san!" Katsumi said. They were both concerned, but Magatsuhi gave them no time to think. He made Kohaku draw his scythe. He morphed the bone the weapon was made from into something larger, more deadly.
"Women. You will die as well," Magatsuhi said. "In your case, by your brother's hand..." he told Sango. The bone blade split into two, one shot at Sango, the other shot at Katsumi.
"Gah!" Sango said, blocking hers with Hiraikotsu.
"Unh!" Katsumi sliced the one after her off with her blade. It surged forward again so quickly that it was all she could do to block it with her blade. Magatsuhi made the bone blades morph again and stab Sango and Katsumi in the back. Sango cried out in pain as it pierced her, but Katsumi remained unharmed. The place where she was stabbed may have become a dead spot, but the enchantments on the rest of her armor were holding up just fine. Katsumi sliced her bone blade off again and attacked Sango's for her.
"Kohaku, stop it!" Rin said, rushing toward him.
"Come back, Rin! That isn't Kohaku! Magatsuhi is using Kohaku's body…!" Jaken shouted.
"Jaken's right! Stay bac—" Katsumi said, moving to grab her and pull her back.
"!" Rin gasped as she hit a wall of evil energy and fell backwards. Katsumi caught her.
"Rin!" Katsumi said anxiously.
"Rin!" Jaken yelled. Magatsuhi put Kohaku back on a flying youkai to escape.
"Jaken! Take care of Rin!" Katsumi said.
"I don't take orders from—!" Jaken tried to argue, but Katsumi was already running up through the sky after Magatsuhi and Kohaku.
Meanwhile, Kagome and Inuyasha had just returned through the well.
"What's going on?" Kagome asked. "Something seems out of place."
"!" Inuyasha said. "Let's go Kagome!" She hopped on his back, and Inuyasha ran. 'I smell blood… and poison… coming from Kaede-babaa's house!' When they got there, they the first thing they noticed was the damage to the house.
"Kaede-baa-chan's house…!" Kagome said.
'It's half demolished!' Inuyasha thought.
"!" Kagome gasped when she saw the state their friends were in. they both appeared to be wounded.
"Miroku! Sango!" Inuyasha exclaimed.
"Ooh… Inuyasha..." Sango said. "Go after... Kohaku…"
"Sango-chan, that's a terrible wound!" Kagome said.
"Miroku…!" Inuyasha said.
"Sorry, Inuyasha… for being in this state..." Miroku apologized.
"Miroku, you…!" Inuyasha said, grabbing him by his robes. He pulled down the right side, confirming his fears. 'The miasma wound is all the way to his chest...' He remembered Kikyo saying that when the wound reached his heart, Miroku's life would be…
"Thanks to Yakurōdokusen-sama's medicine, I've become unable to feel pain… but I guess I overdid it a little," Miroku said, pulling his sleeve back up.
"..." Inuyasha said.
"!" Sango said when she heard a faint sound like wind. 'That sound… It can't be the kazaana…!?'
"Miroku, your kazaana is…!" Inuyasha said.
'Will the miasma wound reach my heart first… or will the kazaana tear open before that...' Miroku wondered.
"Hoshi-sama!" Sango cried.
—∞—
'There's something strange about this Magatsuhi...' Sesshoumaru thought. 'The faint scent that I've been following all the way here is...' He looked up at Byakuya and closed the distance between them in an instant.
"!" Byakuya said. Sesshoumaru slashed at him with his claws. "Whoa!" he cried as he ducked. But Sesshoumaru hit his target, the gourd bottle broke and a small piece of something fell out of it.
'A piece of flesh!?' Sesshoumaru thought. The illusion of Magatsuhi faded away.
"It's a piece of flesh from when you cut Magatsuhi," Byakuya said. "Shouldn't it be infused with the scent of the spirit that couldn't escape? It was all I needed to lure you out here and buy some time." Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly. "But you've realized that a bit too late."
—∞—
Katsumi caught up to Kohaku and slashed the youkai he was riding with her sword, killing it. She grabbed Kohaku's hand before he could fall. Magatsuhi. Manipulated Kohaku's weapon to make it stab her in the head, Katsumi dodged and cut the bone blade off before it could get her. Magatsuhi made it stab her in the hand. Katsumi let go on reflex, and Kohaku fell down onto another youkai. This one was faster.
"Ugh! Damn it!" Katsumi cursed, running after him.
—∞—
"Hurry, Inuyasha!" Kagome said urgently, riding on his back as he ran. "It's because he's been possessed by Magatsuhi. Kohaku-kun's shikon shard… I've never felt it tainted black to this extent… until now!"
—∞—
"Right about now, the last shikon shard is on its way to Naraku," Byakuya said. "So just hang around here a bit longer." Sesshoumaru glanced around at all the youkais Byakuya had summoned there to surround him.
"How laughable," Sesshoumaru said. "Do you honestly think these small fry could impede me?"
"Yeah, that's why I summoned a thousand of 'em," Byakuya said. Sesshoumaru drew his new sword.
'Bakusaiga!' he thought, wiping them all out with a single blow.
"Huh…? Killed in less than a second…?" Byakuya said, stunned.
—∞—
"It's horrible what happened to Kaede-sama's house..." one of the village men said.
"We should rebuild it," said another. Sango moved into the bushes to change.
"Nnh..." she groaned at the pain it caused to move her injured body. She changed as quickly as she could.
"Sango… are you leaving?" Shippo asked.
"Shippo..." Sango said.
"Don't your wounds hurt?" Shippo asked.
"I'm fine," she said, pulling her hair up into a ponytail. "Besides, at least you and Kaede-sama are all right."
"Well, me and Kaede-obabaa were with the villagers hiding in a safe place… so..." Shippo said. "I wonder how Miroku is doing."
"..." Sango held her sword.
"Hey! Isn't this a storage shed!?" Jaken asked. Rin was lying on a woven mat on the floor and Miroku was lying on a bed of hay. Kaede was keeping watch over them with Jaken.
"Don't complain, little youkai," Kaede said. The faintest whisper of wind could be heard coming from Miroku's sealed hand.
"Haaah..." Jaken sighed. 'Rin is unconscious as well...' He stared down at her. 'She got hit with Magatsuhi's toxic aura… if Sesshoumaru-sama finds out about this, I'm good as dead… How dare that brat run off by herself…!'
"..." Sango stood in the doorway.
"Sango..." Kaede said.
"How is he?" Sango asked, coming in to kneel by Miroku.
"He's been asleep, but.. he isn't in pain," Kaede said. "It's probably the effects of the medicine from Yakurōdokusen that he drank."
"In order to fight alongside me, Houshi-sama drank a medicine that rendered him unable to feel pain," Sango said. "If he could feel pain properly… he wouldn't have sucked in so much of Magatsuhi." 'So much that… it would tear the Kazaana...'
"Are you following after Inuyasha and Kagome?" Kaede asked. "Though I think staying with Houshi-dono would be..."
"If Naraku is defeated, the curse will be broken and Houshi-sama's Kazaana will disappear," Sango said.
"Sango..." Kaede said.
"In order to take Kohaku's shard, Naraku will definitely show himself," Sango said. She bowed her head. "Kaede-sama… could you leave us alone for a little while?" Kaede nodded in understanding and picked up Rin.
"Hey! What are you doing?" Jaken asked.
"Let's go, little youkai," Kaede said and led the way out of the storage shed.
"Why did you make us leave, too?" Jaken asked, following her.
"Rin has been touched by Magatsuhi's poison," Kaede said. "I'll prepare a medicinal bath to cleanse the evil spirit. She should be better in a while."
"Houshi-sama..." Sango said back in the storage shed, staring down at his face. 'Houshi-sama is always risking his life for my and Kohaku's sake...' A tear rolled down her cheek. 'Houshi-sama...' It landed on her hand, which was holding the wrist of his sealed hand. She leaned down and kissed him. 'Please don't die...'
—∞—
Katsumi followed Kohaku to a rocky area with ridges as tall as mountains. She was feeling the strain of running for so long while wounded and breathing heavily. She couldn't close the gap between them. Then a dark cloud that smelled like Naraku's miasma rolled through the sky above them.
'Oh, great,' Katsumi thought sarcastically. Just what she needed. Then she smelled Inuyasha and Kagome. She looked down and saw them run into view.
"That cloud…!" Kagome said.
"Smells like Naraku's miasma!" Inuyasha said. "Oi, Katsumi!" Katsumi opened her mouth to answer, but then tentacles emerged from the cloud.
"Tentacles!" Kagome said.
"They're trying to take Kohaku's shard!" Inuyasha said. "Kongōsōha!" Katsumi made sure she was well out of the way when Inuyasha swung his sword. The barrage of adamant shards shredded the head of the youkai Kohaku was riding to bits.
"!" Magatsuhi said. The dead youkai fell.
"He's falling!" Kagome said. Inuyasha and Katsumi raced to catch him, but Magatsuhi manipulated Kohaku's scythe again and sent out bladed Tentacles to attack them. Inuyasha jumped back to avoid them, and Katsumi fired a faerie shot to destroy the ones after her and help change the direction of her dive in midair. Magatsuhi made Kohaku hang from his scythe, which had been transformed to stand on bladed tentacles like some twisted tripod that towered above Inuyasha and Kagome, with one hand.
"Have you come to take back the shard?" Kohaku asked. "In that case… it would mean reducing this boy to little pieces. Since I myself have no physical body, this boy is my precious shard container."
"Khh…!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth.
"..." Katsumi and Kagome glared at Magatsuhi.
'The shard is tainted black...' Kagome thought. 'If I purify that, Kohaku-kun should wake up...' She drew her bow and arrow and fired at the shard. The arrow seemed to hit a barrier. It fizzled out and died. "The arrow…!"
"You fool..." Magatsuhi said. He showed them his real face. "Woman… your spiritual powers have been sealed by me."
'So he admits it…!' Katsumi thought, furrowing her brow.
"Magatsuhi…!" Inuyasha said.
'So even the power of my sacred arrows has been sealed!?' Kagome thought. Magatsuhi made Kohaku's scythe grow taller, bringing him closer to the tentacles in the miasma cloud.
"Very soon… the shikon no tama will be complete," Magatsuhi said.
"You think I'll let you!?" Inuyasha yelled, charging at him. He leaped up the bladed tentacles of bone, climbing higher. At the same time, Katsumi came at Magatsuhi from the air. "Kohaku, wake up!" Inuyasha was startled when Magatsuhi created more bladed tentacles to attack them. Katsumi sliced off all the ones coming after her, but Inuyasha was trapped. Katsumi hopped down to his level and cut him free.
"Wake up… Huh? What do you think will happen if he does?" Magatsuhi asked.
"What!?" Inuyasha said.
"Do you know what this black shikon shard is showing Kohaku's heart?" Magatsuhi asked. "The great sin that Kohaku committed… killing his father and comrades. By the power of the shard, he is reliving that day repeatedly."
"What!?" Inuyasha and Katsumi said.
"…!" Kagome gasped. "Ever since he's been asleep…!?" For ten days!?
"It's been repeating the entire time since he fell asleep… so even if he did awaken… Kohaku's heart would already be shattered..." Magatshi said as tears of blood formed in Kohaku's eyes.
"Tears of blood…!?" Kagome said.
"Even so… Wake up, Kohaku!" Sango shouted as she arrived on Kirara.
"Sango…!" Inuyasha said.
"What a cruel sister," Magatsuhi said. "Even though I told you it would be pointless even if he did wake up..."
"Wake up! Fight Kohaku!" Sango said fiercely.
"Hmph..." Magatsuhi said.
"Sango-chan..." Kagome said. She noticed something in the miasma cloud. "!" 'Light!? That's… the light Kikyo left in Naraku's shikon no tama… the light that purifies Kohaku's shard and causes Naraku pain!' "Naraku is there!" Tentacles came down from the sky to touch Kohaku and his shard. "!" The shard was still as black as ever. 'It's not being purified!?' "Cut the tentacles! Kikyo's purifying light isn't working!"
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango yelled, immediately throwing her weapon to sever the tentacles.
"Tch…!" Inuyasha said and he and Katsumi moved to help. Magatsuhi made Kohaku hang from the handle of his scythe again as Katsumi fired a large blade of youki at the tentacles, while Inuyasha followed up with his own attack. "Dammit, Naraku, get back! Kongōsōha!" The combined attacks completely destroyed the tentacles.
"Kikyo's light didn't work… Why…?" Kagome said confused.
"Kohaku!" Sango called.
"Kukuku… Kikyo's spell only works on Naraku..." Magatsuhi said. "Meaning it does not work on me. When my corrupted shard becomes one with Naraku's jewel… the point of light left by Kikyo… will be engulfed by the darkness of Magatsuhi."
'Kikyo will lose…!?' Kagome thought. "That won't happen!" she yelled.
"Hang in there, Kohaku!" Sango shouted.
"It's our win," Magatsuhi said. 'And very soon, Kohaku's heart will shatter...'
Kohaku was kneeling on the ground crying, surrounded by his father and the other youkai slayers he had killed through Naraku's manipulation.
"Father..." Kohaku cried with tears streaming down his face. 'I'm scared..' he thought anxiously. "Ane-ue… Ane-ue, help me..." A light shined in the darkness. 'Light...' He stood up and followed it, passing through a doorway. He saw his sister kneeling next to Miroku in the storage shed. 'Ane-ue… Thank goodness Ane-ue was all right… Wait… no… I wounded her again...' He remembered Magatsuhi manipulating his scythe to stab her. And Miroku trying to suck up Magatsuhi to save him. 'Houshi-sama tried to save me as well… Ane-ue… Ane-ue is in love with Houshi-sama...'
"Kohaku, help us," Sango said. Kohaku was surprised. She turned to look at him. "Help us. This man… and myself..."
'Help you… me…!?' he thought, taken aback. "I… can do that?"
"You can," Sango said. "There's still time, Kohaku..."
"Kohaku!" Sango yelled. The light returned to Kohaku's eyes.
"He woke up!" Kagome said.
"Kohaku… What did you see?" Magatsuhi asked. Kagome saw a change in Kohaku's shard.
'Light…!? Inside Kohaku's shard…?' she thought. 'I can see it! Inside Kohaku's shard… That's kikyo's light from Naraku's jewel… But it moved!?'
"Kohaku… you've awakened, haven't you!" Sango asked.
"Curse you..." Magatushi said as a large ghostly eye appeared above Kohaku. He could no longer speak through him.
"Can you understand me, Kohaku!?" Sango asked.
"Ane-ue…!" Kohaku said.
"Why… Why wasn't his heart shattered?" Magatsuhi asked. 'He had been reliving the past about killing his father, and was just a step away from being at his limit...'
"Magatsuhi! Even though you said that Kikyo's spell wouldn't work on you, it looks like it does work a little!" Kagome said.
'Kikyo's light was transferred into Kohaku's shard!?' Inuyasha thought.
'Does this mean Kohaku might be able to push Magatsuhi out?' Katsumi wondered.
'I see… that was Kikyo-sama's light… She's been with me all along!!' Kohaku thought. "Ane-ue, even now…!"
"Kohaku…!?" Sango said.
"Even now, there's still time, right!?" Kohaku asked.
'Kohaku...' Sango thought. "Yes… There is still time!" 'If he can drive Magatsuhi out completely...'
"..." Kohaku stared down into the ravine below him. "Magatsuhi… I'm taking you with me."
'How amusing… do you intend to drown yourself?" Magatsuhi asked. "Do you think I'd get scared and separate from you? It's useless. Even if your body was shattered on a cliff, I would still be able to manipulate the piece of flesh surrounding the shard."
"Inuyasha-sama… Katsumi-sama… and Ane-ue would take the shard," Kohaku said. "I absolutely won't let it fall into your hands!" He let go of the handle of his scythe and plunged into the ravine.
"You idiot! Kohaku!" Sango yelled, flying after him.
"I absolutely will not give him the shard!' Kohaku thought.
'Damn you… I'm being pushed out…' Magatsuhi thought. 'Is Kikyo's light that transferred into Kohaku's shard giving him power!?' They all saw Magatsuhi's whole face emerge from Kohaku.
'Magatsuhi was driven out!' Sango thought. "Kohaku!"
"Dammit, don't be so reckless!" Inuyasha said, also going after Kohaku, along with Katsumi. Tentacles came forth from the miasma cloud and shot down past Inuyasha and Katsumi. "Naraku!" Katsumi gritted her teeth as one tentacle wrapped around Kohaku's leg, catching him.
"Kukuku..." Magatsuhi laughed.
"Kohaku!" Sango yelled.
"Ane-ue, please cut the tentacles!" Kohaku shouted.
"…!" Inuyasha said, stopping. He looked up at the source of the tentacles. 'Naraku… is there! That's it! If I kill him now…!' He activated the black Tessaiga.
'That's it!' Katsumi thought. 'If he uses Meidou Zangetsuha…!'
"Naraku!!" Inuyasha roared. "It's over for you! Meidou Zangetsuha!" he cut the tentacles with black Tessaiga, opening a meidou, which sucked up the tentacles and part of the miasma cloud. The remaining bits of youkais fell from the sky.
"Did he do it!?" Sango asked.
"…!" Kagome said. 'Is Naraku dead!? But… It's still filled with the presence of Naraku's polluted shikon no tama...'
"Inuyasha, be careful! Naraku isn't dead," Katsumi said, surprising her.
"What makes you say that?" Inuyasha asked.
"Just a very strong feeling," Katsumi replied.
"She's right, Inuyasha!" Kagome said. "Naraku is alive! He's still here!"
"Wha…!" Inuyasha said. "!" He and Katsumi had to jump out of the way to avoid the tentacles that came at them.
"!" Sango said when one aimed for her. "Gah!" She cut it with Hiraikotsu. "Kohaku!" He was still in the clutches of a tentacle.
"You lose," Magatsuhi said.
"Kh…!" Kohaku gritted his teeth.
"!" Magatsuhi gasped when he was slashed. Sesshoumaru stood before him with Tenseiga drawn. "Sesshoumaru…!"
"Sesshoumaru-sama…!" Kohaku said. Katsumi smiled.
'Sesshoumaru!' she thought. "All right!" she cheered.
"Sesshoumaru!" Inuyasha said. Some of the larger tentacles immediately targeted Sesshoumaru.
"Naraku's body… huh," Sesshoumaru said. He switched Tenseiga to his other hand and drew his other sword. 'Bakusaiga!' He struck the tentacles and they disintegrated. Kohaku was released.
"!" Kohaku said.
"Kohaku!" Sango called. She flew Kirara over and caught him.
"Ane-ue…!" Kohaku said.
"Kohaku!" Sango said.
'The parts of his body cut by Bakusaiga won't be able to be used again...' Inuyasha and Katsumi thought.
"A… Amazing," Kagome said.
"This is as far as you go, Magatsuhi," Sesshoumaru said. "It looks like you used Byakuya of the Dreams as a decoy so that you could keep me at bay. Since you fear Tenseiga..."
'The only thing that can kill Magatsuhi is Sesshoumaru's Tenseiga,' Kagome thought. 'And if Magatsuhi is destroyed, my sealed spiritual powers will...'
"Hmph, how laughable..." Magatsuhi said. "To think that Tenseiga, whose attack was unable to stop me..."
"I wasn't trying to stop you," Sesshoumaru said. "I was making you clearly understand that someone was able to kill you." 'Tenseiga!' He sung his sword and Magatsuhi was cut down. He began to disappear.
"Don't think… this is over..." Magatsuhi said. "I'm still..."
"It's not over…? What does that mean?" Kagome asked. Katsumi had a bad feeling about what he said.
"Kagome, are your spiritual powers unsealed?" Katsumi asked.
"Huh? Well… I don't know. I don't feel any different..." Kagome said.
"Keh, he's just bluffing, obviously," Inuyasha said.
"Doesn't it mean that Magatsuhi isn't completely dead yet?" Kohaku suggested.
"..." Sango said. 'It can't be...'
—∞—
Back in the storage shed in Kaede's village, something strange was happening to Miroku. An evil energy surrounded him.
"Th… This is…!" Kaede said.