She had no idea why he had called her "sister," but she wanted to know the reason. Initially she was planning on killing him instantly with her kazanna, and then everything would be all over... what would she do after? She didn't know, but it didn't matter because she was sent by her mother. Now, however, she felt different, all because of one word.
After the immediate shock, he realized disappointedly that she was not his sister, just someone that looked almost exactly the same. When he saw her kazanna, he guessed she was the child of Miroku and his sister, and he was happy for her. He turned and began to run away again.
When she saw him run, her battle instincts re-emerged as she threw hiraikotsu around his body, not hurting him but only to trap him. He turned and she saw his face, an innocent face. He didn't look old, but matured, like someone who had suffered traumatizing experience. She was beginning to doubt more and more her mother's request. This was only a boy, and he was a taijiya. He had a similar uniform; he carried the standard gear, a katana, and a sickle and chain.
"Who are you," she demanded, "and why does my mother want me to kill you?"
"Want, to kill me?" he said with restrained regret. "That's only natural, I suppose."
"My mother told me nothing, except that I had to kill you no matter what. I was expecting you to be some sort of monster, but..."
"I am a monster. I have sinned, and I cannot be forgiven, but there are things that I must do, that only I can do. Until then, I cannot see sister's face again. But I no longer have to hide from her, since Naraku knows my intentions clearly now."
"Naraku?"
"Tell her I'm sorry, and to wait for me. After I'm done, I'll definitely return to apologize to her, and to father, and to everyone I killed. I want to go the graves with her, and pray, but I can't right now, not yet. I don't have the courage to face her yet; I don't deserve to face her yet."
Kagura arrived, floating on her feather. "Hey, Kohaku," she said impatiently, "the battle from earlier is causing the castle to collapse. We have to get out of here."
"Go without me. I'll catch up."
"Are you crazy? Why would you-"
"Don't interfere. I have to deal with this."
"Don't expect me to bail you out if you get into trouble."
After she left, he said truthfully, "Countless people have died because of me. I am the one responsible for the spider incident where all but two survived. Because of me, your mother suffered."
She thought about his crimes. She had heard of entire castles or villages suddenly dying, all by the work of one man. She had heard of the spider incident, and she would not forgive anyone that made her mother suffer.
"Kiara, escape with Shihai," she ordered, but the firecat didn't want to.
"Kiara, leave," Kohaku said in a kind voice, and she did.
Byaku attacked first by using a smoke bomb, then throwing hiraikotsu through the haze; however, he was able to dodge with his trained ears. He ran quickly and attacked before the boomerang returned, trying to force her into a position where she would be unable to retrieve her main weapon.
Although he had not aged in the past 14 years, he had grown much stronger, through extensive exercise and experience.
She, however, had also trained vigorously over the years, and her close range combat skills were excellent. She deflected his blows with her katana, waiting for just the right moment to attack. She was able to force him into hirakotsu's path, and as he dodged she moved in to gather her weapon.
She threw it again, forcing him to jump into the air. It circled and threatened to hit him from behind, as he wouldn't be able to dodge in the air; however, he used his chain to trap the boomerang and drop it heavily to the ground. During that moment, he had opened his guard and she seized the opportunity to loosen his grip on his chain and sickle, his main weapon.
Both decided to use their katana, and they rushed at each other, gripping their hilts tightly. Both blades vibrated, then flew from their hands, causing them to pass each other with neither receiving a wound. In unison, they both pressed their right foot heavily on the ground to reverse their momentum, then spun, unleashing a hidden sword from their right arm. They met, and as they clashed those blades too, vibrated, then shattered.
They reverted to their hand-to-hand combat skills, focusing more on their offence than defence. The castle was beginning to shake more, and large pieces of stone were rumbling, but neither warrior wished to stop the intensive battle. As the castle shook, the warriors would lose their balance, and soon both had suffered many bruises and were beginning to tire. She was able to deal a fairly significant blow, but consequentially she had positioned herself in the direct path of a falling pillar. He retaliated with a heavy kick, and she couldn't tell if he was trying to harm her or save her from the pillar.
Another pillar fell and she was forced to roll under it to escape, and he used the opportunity to reclaim his katana. She managed to avoid the first swing, but she knew she was at a disadvantage: behind her was a hall and behind him lay her katana as well as hiraikotsu, still connected to the chain.
She jumped from one of the fallen pillars to gain height and readied to use kazanna to summon hirakotsu, but he suddenly called at her to wait.
"If you use kazanna," he shouted, "you risk shortening your lifespan!"
"How did you know that," she asked, suspiciously.
"Here." He threw her his katana then reached behind him to use hers.
She wondered why he would pull such a manoeuvre, but she couldn't worry about that because the battle was still not over. She threw three talisman charms, and while he slashed through them, she jumped behind him, position herself between her enemy and the fallen weapons.
He attacked with unrelenting haste, not giving her an opportunity to claim one of the weapons located just behind her, and he was able to free the katana from her hands. Thinking quickly, she placed her foot atop of the chain and slid it forward, causing him to trip over hirakotsu. She then picked up the chain, and latched it onto the katana he was holding, allowing her to pull it from his hands and reclaim her own hilt.
She pulled on the chain again, causing him to lose balance and fall on his back. She quickly leapt into the air, and used her weight to restrict his movement while she poised the katana to kill him. He was the one she was sent to kill, the one her mother had sent her to kill, the one she was sent to kill, but why couldn't she kill him?
It was a scene too familiar for him, as he remembered his sister in a similar situation, and her teary face.
The castle collapsed, and both were buried in rubble.
He woke up first, as a nice breeze passed his body. "Thank you, Kagura," he said peacefully.
"I almost didn't make it myself," she sighed. "This is what I get for babysitting you."
He laughed, then carried the still unaware Byaku to where Kiara was waiting with an unresponsive Shihai on her back. He let her down as gently as he could. He petted Kiara, and gave her a sad smile, then departed, returning to Kagura's feather and to the distant sky.
Later that evening, Byaku and Shihai awoke. "I'm going to the taijiya village," she said. "I have some questions to ask my mother."