Kohaku thought he might have seen Naraku from Kagura's feather; however, before he could move closer, hiraikotsu cut through the feather causing him to fall. He hooked his chain onto a branch in order to break the fall, then descended the tree safely to the ground. Hiraikotsu attacked again, this time aimed at him, forcing him to dodge. The boomerang returned to and angry and serious Byaku.
"Kohaku, why did you do it?" she demanded. "You knew that the souls of those villagers were in that mirror!"
"There was no other way," he argued. "The most important thing right now is stopping Naraku. The only way to do that was to destroy the mirror and prevent him from receiving the souls."
"Defeating Naraku - is that how you justify everything? Is that why you murdered all those other villages and castles? Is that why you killed the taijiya during that spider incident? Is that why my mother died?"
"Ane-ue is dead?"
"That's right! It's all your fault!"
"I never wanted that to happen. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize. I know it wasn't your fault. But when she died, she still believed in you. She wanted to kill you, because of all the sins you have committed, but she couldn't do it, because she still believed you were a good person. I believed too, but now I see that we were both wrong. I won't forgive you."
"Wait! You're just upset about what happened to your mother! You don't really want to fight! There's no time now! We have to stop Naraku!"
"I don't care about Naraku right now!"
They clashed swords, and two kind people, who really wished no harm upon one another, found themselves locked in battle for the second time.
She attacked ferociously, allowing her fury to control her movements. He dodged, as he was able to easily detect where she was attacking since her emotions were too obvious; however, her anger overflowed and overpowered; her attacks were so quick that even though he knew they were coming he only dodged narrowly, and was on the defensive.
She landed a kick to his chest, and while he stumbled, she began unravelling the seal on her kazanna. He quickly wrapped his chain around the rosary seal, forcing it to close. She pulled on the chain, causing him to lose balance, and then kneed him in the gut.
She placed her katana in her mouth, then threw hiraikotsu. He dodged, but it did not return to the owner but instead cut through the chain. She was now able to release kazanna, but he grabbed hiraikotsu and planted it in the ground, using it to shield him from the vacuum. He knew he wouldn't last long, so he put on his gas mask and released a pocket of poison, forcing her to close kazanna.
Just as she had put on her own gas mask, he jabbed her with hiraikotsu, knowing the only way to survive would be to defeat her and then talk to her calmly.
She picked up the half of the chain that had the sickle, and launched it at him, who blocked with hiraikotsu. With other hand, she whipped the other chain, and wrapped it around his ankle. She pulled on it, causing him to fall and drop the boomerang. She aimed the sickle at his throat, but he blocked with his hidden sword, then used his leg to pull on the chain from his end. This time, she lost balance, and she lost her grip on the chain as well.
She still wielded the sickle; however, he connected the chain to hiraikotsu and swung from a distance, landing a blow to her side and forcing her to drop the sickle. He dropped hiraikotsu and attacked with his hidden sword, but she blocked with her own. Neither of them could land a blow, so both tried to gain an advantage by taking their katana in their left hand, and using a two sword style.
They were still even, as they spun, and their blades clashed. By retracting her hidden sword only slightly, she was able to completely change the curve and mathematics behind her attack. It fooled his guard, and although she only managed a small cut, it cut through his gas mask and he began to cough and choke from the poison.
She watched him suffer, as the poison pained his entire body and shortened his breath. She was ready to release kazanna and end his suffering. She did so. She absorbed the poison into her own body to prevent it from entering his, and now she too was suffering from the pain.
"What was I doing?" she asked desperately. "I almost..."
"You were right," he told her. "I've committed too many sins. I shouldn't have destroyed that mirror. My sister would be ashamed to see me acting like this. I never want to kill or hurt again."
"I've done horrible things, but my mother always loved me. I know that if she were here, she would have forgiven you, as I will."
"Even after everything I've done, you will forgive me? Thank you. I want to return to the village with you, and we will pray in front of the graves. I thought it was too late, and that I couldn't be forgiven, so I continued sinning, thinking it would eventually all end. If I had been smart, and realized sister still believed in me, I probably could have found another way."
"But it really is too late now." - it was Naraku's voice; however, he was with Tsubasa. "You made the right decision in destroying the mirror, Kohaku. If you weren't stalled here, maybe you really could have stopped me, but now, the second stage will be complete! The purpose of the souls was to form a new body for me, but that is unnecessary as long as I have a willing host!"
Tsubasa invoked phrases and incantations, and then the complete shikon no tama entered his body, and Naraku's features began to take over. An arrow whizzed at him, but missed. Kikyo stumbled toward him, losing her strength as she was running low on souls to feed her life force.
"I... will... purify you!" she shouted painfully, but her next arrow missed too. It was uncanny, as she was a brilliant archer that even in her present condition wouldn't miss.
"It's on use. I almost have perfect control of the wind," Naraku explained, "but there is one final stage that must be completed before I truly master it. I am in a hurry, so I will be leaving now. Will you waste the last of your strength chasing me, or will you lie down and admit defeat? Either way, these are your last hours."
It was many hours later when Byaku and Kohaku finally recovered from the poison. When they realized Kikyo had spent the last of her strength healing them, they decided to give her a proper burial. Although it was belated, Byaku finally was able to thank her.
Shihai arrived with Kiara. He had recovered too, but the effects of his battle was obvious. Byaku wanted to treat him further, but he told her not to worry. "There isn't any time," he said. "The wind is changing. It is converging at my home village. It really is the place where the winds meet. There is a legend, that when the wind acts a certain way, the doors to a sacred place will open. That is where all wind originates from. If Naraku enters, he really will have full control of the wind."
The three of them rode on Kiara, to where the winds met. To Shihai, it seemed like the winds were leading him there, like a bird falling into a hunter's trap, and without sufficient strength in its wings to battle the wind and save itself, or its friends.