When Byaku finally awoke, it felt as though she had died and come back to life, with mixed feelings. Shihai and Kiara were there, obviously, relieved, and obviously tired from waiting, but she had nothing to say to them. Her voice, her face, her heart - everything was blank.
Another figure entered the small temporary shack that was to heal her. She was tall and beautiful, wearing white and carrying a longbow.
"I've treated you as best I can," she said quietly, "but I do not possess the skills to completely heal you. There is a legend, that there is a mystical well containing a portal to the future. There, you find a medicine that can cure you."
Byaku revealed absolutely no concern. She replied emotionlessly, "You are a priestess. Then, take the shards."
"I would imagine much painful effort was put into gathering these. Are you sure you will so simply trust them to me?"
"I'm tired of fighting."
"Everyone is, but those who are able do not always have a choice. I will take these shards, and when Naraku has gathered every piece I will purify him. This is a fate I have long accepted. I will take the burden from you; you do not need to fight anymore, if that is truly what you wish."
Before leaving, she gave her the shikon fragment that she had previously collected. She told her that the only way to gain access through the well was with a pure fragment; therefore, her life depended most on her feelings.
As soon as the shard touched her, it lost its virgin lustre and became a dark crimson.
After the miko left, Kiara and Shihai shuffled, breaking the awkward silence. "I understand you've been through many harsh things," he said carefully, "so I'll give you a little time to think, but who knows when the poison will kick in. If we don't hurry, you might not make it."
"It's meaningless," she retorted. "This shard can't help."
"Just because it doesn't look like it'll work out now, doesn't mean it can't change. We have to try."
"Why?"
"There are many people that are counting on you. You're a strong demon hunter. You can save lives."
"So what."
"You're really a kind person. You're willing to fight anything to protect people."
"No, I fought only for myself. I didn't care about anybody else. I'm not kind; I'm a horrible person."
"That's not true. Even if you don't care about the other people that need you... I also... I want you to live."
When she said nothing, Shihai, with a stern countenance, strode to where she was lying, and forced the shard from her hand. He exited the shack, with Kiara following, and departed past the broken ash, wood, and spirits of the destroyed village.
"I don't care how she feels right now," he told Kiara. "I'm going to save her. I'll do it. She probably thinks I can't handle it, but I'll do it."
When they arrived at the well, they really didn't have any idea of how to pass through. They climbed to the bottom, and tried stomping, digging, and clawing at the ground. They tried meditating, random incantations, and jumping up and down. Nothing worked.
"They key to our travel is this shard," he said with frustration, "but we can't find the right lock. This is pointless. This is just a broken piece of a whole. This is supposed to represent our last hope, but it's just a prayer for a miracle without an answer. It doesn't shine."
Though they had the purest intentions of rescuing a friend, the shard would not cooperate. They climbed out of the well, and he stared back inside, at a black pit, that was supposed to be his portal to Byaku's salvation. Angrily, he threw the shard into the pit and watched it disappear. As a boy, he once believed in the legend, of tossing a possession into a fountain, and having a wish granted, but eventually like all those who utilize logic, he was disheartened by the truth. Into a parched well, he gave his last hope, knowing nothing would come of it. He turned away, losing his faith, but returned again when he heard a rumbling from within the well.
"Did it work?" he asked aloud with unprecedented excitement.
The well, a mystical well, also known as the Bone Gobbler's Well, was used by neighbouring villages to deposit the remains of defeated youkai. Magically, the decayed corpses and bones would disappear from the world, presumably to enter the afterlife.
A long, slithering dragon demon emerged from the well, laughing hauntingly. "Was it you, boy," it echoed, "that has given me a second life? This shard, it carries dark feelings similar to my own; it was these feelings that allowed me to reclaim my life. I am very thankful, boy, but do not expect any reward. In my life again, I plan on acting by desire. Human flesh, is of the utmost potency."
It grinned, flashing its teeth, as it descended on a terrified Shihai. Kiara intercepted, and was able to cause a gash on the side of its neck, but the shard allowed it to regenerate its flesh and pound the firecat to the ground.
Recalling some purpose, Shihai hopped onto Kiara's back and unsheathed his wakazashi, a short sword usually used for defence, and prepared to attack. His strength was unable to penetrate the dragon's scales, and his weapon flew from his hands. Kiara was more successful, but the dragon was able to sneakily attack her with its tail.
Shihai was separated from Kiara, but instead of falling he was captured by the dragon's tail, and bound to prevent escape. Kiara attacked ferociously, to trying to free him before he was eaten, but she was not fighting at her full potential - because either she was suffering from Naraku's poison, or disheartened by Sango's death, or disillusioned by Byaku's lack of presence.
With the purest intentions they had come to well, with hopes and prayers of saving a friend, but their calls were unheeded and now they were dangling, prey to a predator.
With no clear intentions, she had come. She was without her friends, without her family, without a proper purpose in living. For too long, she lived, only to fight, without really knowing the reason why. Now slowly, a reason formed within her, when she saw her two friends, in danger.
With hiraikotsu, Byaku easily freed both of them from the dragon's grasp, and then spotting the faint glimmer of the shard, she planted the boomerang in the ground and leapt from its tip to snatch the shikon fragment.
When she landed, her legs gave way and she collapsed, beginning to once again feel the pains of her poison, and the will to resist. To Kiara she said, "Everything changed when my mother died. I thought I had lost everything, but I ignored the fact that she was an important person to you too. I know I haven't treated you well; I thought of you only as a battling partner. My mother wanted me to live without following anyone's orders, now I too, want you to live freely. You no longer have to serve me, or fight demons."
To Shihai, she said, "I'm sorry for always calling you weak. I guess I was the weak one, after my mother died. You were the one that kept fighting, and because of your feelings, I think I was able to reclaim my life. Thank you. You must hate me. You should leave me."
"No, I was weak," he said to her, smiling. "You saved me again, like you always do. Even if it means being weak, I don't mind being saved by you. I still want to be with you. I'll become stronger, and then you won't be in as much pain." Kiara mewed in agreement.
"Maybe, my life isn't about fighting or about missions. Maybe it was simpler. Maybe I was meant to protect my friends, travel with my friends, laugh with my friends. Thank you, Kiara, thank you Shihai, for staying with me. I want to live again, if it means to be with you."
Their shard, held in conjoined hands, began to glow. Their hands held together, they ventured into the well. This time, together, it didn't seem so dark, so empty, so faithless. In their lives, they were free to go to anywhere they chose, but they chose to be together.