On Today's Episode: The trinity lands in a feudal land full of demons and all manner of strange creatures, and eventually party up with a traveler group to find an ancient demon known only as Naraku, who seems to be responsible for more than his fair share of chaos in this world. But when one of the group decides to steal Inuyasha's sword, can they find Sango before she makes an even bigger mistake?
For Today's World: On this particular episode, we're heading off to the feudal era with Inuyasha, specifically adapting the events of episode 30, "Tetsusaiga is Stolen! Showdown at Naraku's Castle!" And sorry for the random detour, I had a brain blast and you know how that works with me.
Episode 12: Demons and Humans: A Blurred Line Between Them
Naraku glanced at the boy behind the curtain, awash in blood-red light. This was going just as promised.
"Can you kill them?" Naraku asked the boy.
"Yes, Master Naraku."
"Can you even... kill your sister?" Naraku wondered.
"Yes, Master Naraku."
"Good. You know what you must do," Naraku proclaimed as the boy left to follow his orders. Almost as soon as Kohaku had vanished from sight, a corridor of darkness opened up on the other side of the room, and Kuon Ichinose walked out of it, still with a smug smile on her face.
"Everything's going as planned, I take it?" Ichinose asked.
"Those impudent fools will never find the keyhole," Naraku chuckled. "And even if Inuyasha and his friends do come our way, the Heartless are on my side. I guarantee that they have never faced such a foe before."
"I wouldn't get too cocky if I were you," Ichinose chided. "After all, look at what happened to Overhaul."
"Hmph. He let his obsession get the best of him," Naraku taunted. "I will not fall sway to such madness."
Ichinose just chuckled, knowing that obsession was how Naraku had come to be.
"Well, I'll leave you to your work, then," Ichinose replied as she walked back into the corridor of darkness, leaving Naraku to think about his next course of action.
Meanwhile...
"I made him forget. I erased every single memory of the life he once had."
Those words echoed in Sango's mind as she woke up, staring towards the sword and sheath that were tucked safely into Inuyasha's hand.
"Bring me Inuyasha's precious sword, the Tetsusaiga. Only then will I allow Kohaku to live forever."
Sango reached towards the sword, only to stop herself short. Wait a minute, what the hell am I doing? Sango thought. Who knows what Naraku will do if I actually give him the sword? Do I trust him? Should I trust him?
Inuyasha opened his eyes and noticed Sango's expression. "Is something wrong, Sango?" Inuyasha asked.
"Not really, I just... couldn't sleep," Sango lied, hoping he wouldn't catch on.
"I know that... I have to kill him, but I feel really bad about it," Inuyasha admitted.
"I already told you, Inuyasha, that's not my brother," Sango shot back. "The Kohaku I know would never slaughter an entire village. It would go against his code, against his very soul. I will defeat Naraku and that impostor, I swear."
"How can it be that simple, though?" Inuyasha countered. "If he looks exactly the same, can you really just close your heart off and turn yourself against him?"
"Don't underestimate me," Sango retorted. "Remember, I'm a demon slayer. I won't fall for Naraku's petty tricks."
"Honestly?" Inuyasha admitted. "If I were in your position, Sango... I don't think I could do it."
Kagome glanced towards Inuyasha, knowing what he was probably thinking and how he sympathized with Sango, given his similar feelings towards Kikyo.
Before Sango could say anything else, however, Miroku suddenly stirred, having sensed trouble. "Inuyasha, best be on your guard," Miroku proclaimed. "We're completely surrounded."
Just outside the village, Nick, Maylin and Haruka were glancing around, taking stock of this new world like they always did.
"This place... seems very old school," Nick stated.
"I think this is supposed to be Japan's Feudal Era," Haruka quipped as she looked around. "I did do pretty well in history class back in my world."
"Yeah, the aesthetic lines up," Maylin replied. "But where do we start looking for the keyhole of this world? It could be anywhere!"
Nick would have answered if he hadn't sensed a rather demonic presence not too far off from the village. Not sure if this was the Heartless or just a local type of monster, Nick still decided not to take a chance, summoning Reverberating Abyss to his hands.
And sure enough, something was approaching the village, revealed to be a teenage boy with glazed-over eyes and carrying a sickle in his hands. Behind him were a collection of eerie lights that eventually formed into various different kinds of demons and even some Heartless, mostly Search Ghosts, but there was one new Heartless in this group, a creature with dark grey skin covered by a dark purple bodysuit with roughly stitched-on light purple sleeves that ended in a gold zig-zag trim and jagged edges, the purple color extending to cover the head and horns, and the horns also featured black stripes. Like other Heartless, this one had golden eyes and a craggy maw. Their talons were long, but not nearly as alien as their dark grey feet, which were spindly and two-toed, and their leather-like wings were also pointy and sharp, particularly the tops which resembled spires or spearheads.
"Oof, who's the ugly one?" Nick wondered.
"That would be a Gargoyle," Haruka explained as she and Maylin summoned their keyblades to their hands. "It doesn't have too many attacks, but it can use every part of its body to attack, even those wings of theirs, so stay on your guard."
Kohaku raised his sickle to direct the demons to attack the village, only for the trinity to place themselves in his path.
"Yeah, buddy, if you want that village, you're gonna have to go through us first," Nick proclaimed.
Kohaku simply raised his other hand, and many of the demons charged for them. Nick started off by jumping over a centipede demon before bringing Reverberating Abyss down to slash its head off, then turning around and using a Strike Raid on the Search Ghosts that were trying to flank him.
While this was happening, Haruka slashed Divine Rose through another pair of demons (many of which were insectoid in appearance) before jumping away to avoid a Gargoyle and its magically expanding wings, then sliding under it to cut it in half as well.
Another Gargoyle vomited up a ball of energy towards Maylin, but she simply swung Spellbinder to reflect it into another demon before casting Thundara to wipe out a good chunk of the demons and the Gargoyle along with it.
"Enemy data registered!" Sophia proclaimed. "Keep up the pressure, everyone!"
"Well, well, it looks like somebody beat us to the party," Inuyasha quipped once their whole group was outside and saw the trinity fighting off the demons.
"Can we trust them, though?" Sango wondered.
"Hey, they're fighting off those demons, and that's good enough for me!" Shippo proclaimed.
"Damn it all, there's too many freakin' demons here!" Maylin shouted as more demons began to appear around them. "We need to destroy them faster before we get overwhelmed!"
"Hmmmm... maybe we need a demon to defeat demons," Nick quipped, reaching for the Bloodrose.
"Ooh, I like the sound of that," Haruka giggled as she and Maylin vanished from sight.
("Akeboshi" by LiSA plays)
The Bloodrose swiftly unleashed a few spirals of demonic-looking violet flames that converged on the ground in front of him and formed into Nezuko's box.
Nick walked up and tapped the box twice with Reverberating Abyss before it opened all by itself, allowing Nezuko to jump out of it and pat Nick's head like she always did before focusing her attention on the demons.
As a spider demon approached, Nezuko charged it and jumped into the air to unleash a powerful downward axe-kick that smashed the demon into the ground. Another beetle demon attempted to collide with Nick by means of a horn charge, but Nezuko was faster on the draw, placing herself in front of the demon and ravaging it with a barrage of overlapping nail strikes before finishing with an X-slash, easily tearing the beetle demon into pieces.
Another centipede demon tried to get in close, but Nezuko simply swiped it into the air with an uppercut slash that trailed crimson-pink flames, leaving it helpless in the air so Nick could leap after it and finish it off with a Hurricane Period.
Eventually, the rest of the demons attempted to pincer them in, but Nick noticed a rose shape on all of the enemies, looked at Nezuko, and nodded. It was time to end this.
Nezuko raised her right hand towards the approaching demons, her nails glowing brightly.
"Blood Demon Art: Exploding Blood!" Nezuko shouted, clenching her fist and causing trails of crimson-pink flames to shoot out from her hand and eviscerate all of the remaining demons, their ashes falling all across the battlefield.
Once the field was clear, Nezuko turned towards Nick and raised her hand. Getting the message, Nick high-fived Nezuko before she turned into a small collection of crimson-pink flames and reformed into the Bloodrose in his hand.
When Maylin and Haruka reappeared, all three of them turned their attention to Kohaku.
"And now it's your turn," Nick quipped as Kohaku charged towards them...
...only to leap over them and charge towards Inuyasha and his group, particularly Sango.
"Oh, no you don't!" Maylin shouted, casting Gravity to stop Kohaku in his tracks and bring him to his knees.
This allowed Inuyasha to draw Tetsusaiga and enlarge it before moving in for what would undoubtedly be the killing blow.
"Inuyasha, stop! Please don't kill him!" Kagome shouted.
Though Inuyasha seemingly continued on his path regardless, he actually stopped just short of Kohaku, sword-planted Tetsusaiga into the ground, and just opted to whack Kohaku in the face with a couple haymakers instead.
"Damn it all, why did I cave in?" Inuyasha growled. "It's okay for me to kill him. This is obviously just another one of Naraku's cheap tricks!"
Kohaku slowly stood up before responding. "You're right," Kohaku stated in a very out-there tone of voice, a tone which made Nick realize Kohaku was more than likely being mind-controlled by something. "You should kill me. After all, I deserve to die. I killed them all. Father, our friends, the villagers, I slaughtered every last one of them one by one. That's why... I shouldn't be allowed to live."
In a move that nobody expected, Kohaku flipped his sickle around in his hand and reached around to stab himself in the back with it, collapsing to his knees in the process.
"Hey, hey, what's the big deal shanking yourself?!" Inuyasha shouted.
In response, Kohaku reached into the wound he'd created, which began to glow with a bright violet light.
"Wait, he's trying to take the jewel shard out of his body!" Kagome gasped when she realized what was happening.
But... that shard is the only thing sustaining his life right now, Sango thought. If he takes it out, he'll die!
Her mind made up, Sango retreated into their cabin to grab Hiraikotsu, her giant boomerang weapon, and throw it into Tetsusaiga, the blade flipping through the air and reverting to its smaller form before planting itself back into the ground.
Kohaku decided to take this moment to retreat on another flying centipede demon while Sango stood there, conflicted on what to actually do.
Is Naraku testing me? Sango thought. Does he really think I'll steal Tetsusaiga and give it to him? What should I do?
Eventually, Sango made her decision, running up to grab Tetsusaiga while Kirara changed into her larger form so she could ferry Sango away from the village and after Kohaku.
"Sango, wait! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Inuyasha shouted as Sango and Kirara disappeared in another flash of light.
"Um, so does anyone want to explain what the heck just happened?!" Maylin gasped. "What was that all about?!"
"I have a feeling we might not have time to hear that story," Haruka quipped. "We might need to get after those two before they vanish!"
"I can still smell Kohaku's blood, so his scent is still there," Inuyasha proclaimed. "I can follow that easily."
Kagome made a quick detour back into the cabin to grab her bow and arrows before rejoining the group. "Well, then let's get going!" Kagome exclaimed.
"Um, if I may ask before we make haste, who exactly are all of you?" Miroku wondered.
"Oh, we're just wanderers from a far-off land, so to speak," Maylin proclaimed.
Suddenly, Miroku seemingly teleported in front of Maylin, taking her hands into his own, which surprised her.
"Excuse me, then, my lovely, would you do the great honor of bearing my..." Miroku proclaimed, but he didn't even get the chance to finish before Maylin whacked him and sent him comically flying into a nearby tree with Spellbinder.
"Yeah, yeah, buddy, I've heard it all before," Maylin taunted. "Go stuff those grabby hands somewhere else."
"...wow, she shut him down real quick," Shippo chuckled.
"Why don't we head off after those two?" Nick offered. "We'll give a little more detail on the way there."
And so, the group set off after Sango and Kohaku to hopefully get some answers as to what was going on.
"You know, this might be tough, Inuyasha," Miroku admitted. "I can't use my Wind Tunnel right now, and you don't have the Tetsusaiga."
"I've still got my fists," Inuyasha shot back. "I'll just punch him out if I've gotta."
After crossing through a forest into an open field, a small speck of darkness flew down from the sky, causing a bunch of Heartless to spawn in front of them, mostly Gargoyles and Search Ghosts.
"All right, this isn't funny!" Inuyasha shouted as he lunged forward (after setting Kagome down, obviously) and slashed a Gargoyle apart with his claws. "Get out of our way, you freaks!"
"I believe that's our cue," Nick stated as he, Maylin and Haruka all summoned their keyblades.
All of a sudden, before any of them could go on the attack, a bunch of gangly, black limbs lined by thorns, with red tips and three black mandibles, each with three curved spikes resembling scythe blades, burst from the ground and grabbed the Gargoyles before dragging them into the ground.
"Um, dare I ask?" Nick wondered.
Maylin looked around for their target, only to see a ghostly girl just up ahead. She looked about eight years old, had pale skin, white hair with two white flowers on either side, and black eyes with no irises, and she wore a white dress with white bow ties on both sides of the chest and the sleeves. She was clutching a mirror in both of her hands.
"That's strange," Inuyasha stated.
"What's the matter?" Kagome asked.
"I can't sense her, despite the fact that she's right there," Inuyasha replied.
Kanna looked towards the group, specifically the trinity. "You," Kanna proclaimed in a monotone voice. "Who exactly are you?"
"Like we said, we're just wanderers from a far-off land," Haruka replied.
"That is not what Naraku said," Kanna responded, putting the entire group on edge. "You are not from another land. You are from another world."
"And how could you tell that?" Maylin shot back.
"You do not even bother to hide it," Kanna retorted. "You must be the key bearer. As the key bearer, you must already know that one must not meddle
in the affairs of other worlds."
"And what, just let the Heartless destroy everything?!" Nick shouted.
"You have violated this principle," Kanna answered. "The key bearer shatters peace and brings ruin."
Kanna aimed her mirror towards the group, a burst of light shining from her mirror and burrowing into the ground.
Four Tentaclaws burst from the ground in a square formation, and in the center of the Tentaclaws came the Heartless' main body, a decrepit black coffin with pale gold lining surrounded by a large, silver chain, two large, silver nails driven partway into it, and a small hole near its top where a single, glowing yellow eye peered out. The Heartless emblem, decorated by red patterns resembling claw marks, was imprinted on the lower half of the coffin. The coffin hung from a pink and red-violet bud with angular, pale yellow spirals for eyes, the bud sprouting four dark green, thorny roots that anchored the Heartless to the ground.
"Regardless of your good intentions, there is no room in this or any world for you or your key," Kanna proclaimed before disappearing.
"Hey, get back here, you little..." Inuyasha growled.
"We'll deal with her later, Inuyasha," Maylin responded. "I'm pretty sure we're not getting any further until we prune this ugly plant thing."
"Fine, then," Inuyasha answered, charging towards the Leechgrave only to get knocked away by one of the Tentaclaws.
Maylin decided to hang back and launch a couple Fira spells into the Leechgrave's main body, only for it to seemingly have no effect. Maylin tried a Thundara spell next, to no such luck.
"W-what the hell?! Is this thing immune to my magic?!" Maylin gasped.
"And these things keep knocking us back, too!" Kagome responded as she attempted to fire a sacred arrow, only for a Tentaclaw to slash it out of the air.
"Looks like the only way we're gonna start whacking this thing is if we get rid of those claws first," Nick quipped, switching to Reverberating Abyss and jumping forward to strike at one of the Tentaclaws, severing it after a few hits.
Inuyasha made himself useful by slashing apart another Tentaclaw with his own claws, and Maylin cast Blizzara on the other two Tentaclaws, which thankfully were not immune to magic like the Leechgrave itself seemed to be.
Once all four Tentaclaws were dead, the Leechgrave fell over.
"I think there's our opening!" Nick shouted, jumping forward to unleash an Ars Arcanum on the Leechgrave's body while Kagome shot a sacred arrow from the other side.
After a bit, the Leechgrave picked itself back up and the four Tentaclaws regenerated around it.
"Second verse, same as the first," Haruka proclaimed as she chopped apart a Tentaclaw with a horizontal strike.
Just then, the Leechgrave aimed its bulb upwards before shooting a cloud of poison above itself that descended slowly around it.
"Get back, that's poison!" Maylin exclaimed, jumping away to avoid the poison cloud before moving back in to hit multiple Tentaclaws with Thundara.
Kagome shot another sacred arrow into the Leechgrave's body to clear away the poison cloud so the trinity could get back to hacking away at the Tentaclaws.
Before they could go after the Leechgrave again, though, it began spitting balls of poison from its bulb that created poison puddles around itself, along with small poison clouds at the point where the poison balls hit the ground.
"Okay, that's just not fair!" Kagome proclaimed, aiming another arrows.
"Save your arrows for Naraku, okay, Kagome?" Nick quipped, reaching into his pocket and fishing out the Wavecrystal. "You two up for another summon?"
"Yeah, let's let Laura clean up this filth!" Maylin laughed as she and Haruka vanished from sight.
("Viva! Spark! Tropical-Rouge! Pretty Cure" by Machico plays)
A large whirlpool of water sprouted underneath Nick, but didn't suck him in. Nick raised the Wavecrystal to the sky, and bursts of ocean water exploded from it and flew into the whirlpool. Nick looked down to see someone swimming through the whirlpool for a few seconds before Laura jumped out of the pool to finally reveal herself to Nick.
Laura looked at Nick before smiling happily and swimming through the air on a current of water to hug him tightly before spinning around him to face down the Leechgrave alongside him.
"Wow, that's cool," Kagome chuckled.
The Leechgrave shot another poison ball, but Laura simply raised her hand to create a barrier of water around Nick that dissipated it easily. Laura leaped high into the air before coming down with a big splash that actually cleared apart a chunk of the poison on the ground.
Nick continued to move around the battlefield and strike at the Tentaclaws, occasionally jumping alongside Laura to create a pool of his own and blasting poison away with each leap they made.
While they were leaping through water pools, every now and then Nick fired a blast of water from his keyblade to damage the Leechgrave.
Eventually, Nick and Laura decided that it was time for the finale, and they dove into a larger pool of water before jumping out of it, high above the battlefield, and thrusting their hands towards the Leechgrave. All of the pools they'd created during their rapid-fire jumping erupted with concussive water blasts that flooded the entire nearby area, completely clearing away the poison and finishing off the Leechgrave.
The Leechgrave struggled to stay aloft before collapsing to the ground, its coffin lid flying open as it dissolved into nothingness, a large heart floating away into the sky.
Her work finished, Laura swam over and planted a kiss on Nick's cheek before vanishing in an outwards burst of water that reformed into the Wavecrystal in his right hand.
"And that's the end of that," Nick quipped as Maylin and Haruka reappeared. "Now let's make haste and get to Naraku's hideout before it's too late!"
"Hey, I think that Heartless dropped something," Haruka noted, pointing to a glowing object on the ground where the Leechgrave had just been, which turned out to be another Torn Page for the Pipo Storybook.
"Wow, we're finding these pages really quickly, huh?" Maylin stated. "So, I guess we're making another pit stop in Traverse Town after this?"
"Maylin, we jump back there practically every time our business in a world is done," Haruka teased as the group continued down the path.
Thankfully, Inuyasha could still track the scent of Kohaku's blood, and they all followed it until they eventually reached what appeared to be an abandoned castle.
"This must be where Naraku's been hiding," Miroku stated.
A loud scream of pain caught the attention of the group.
"That... that was Sango!" Kagome gasped.
"Oh, that can't be any sort of good," Nick stated as they all charged for the castle, hoping they could save Sango in time.
And it wasn't looking good, as Sango was covered in slashes and gashes due to the possessed Kohaku continually striking at her with his sickle.
But Sango refused to just lay down and die, even when Hiraikotsu, which she had thrown into a roof earlier, fell down in front of her.
Still conflicted on what to actually do, Sango hesitantly reached for its handle.
Yes, Sango, kill him, Naraku thought from afar. Kill your brother, slaughter him with your own two hands, and then burn with the desire to live, to do whatever it takes to survive. Once you kill him and bathe in his blood, the jewel will glow even brighter with the majestic power of darkness.
Instead, though, Sango walked away from Hiraikotsu, and started moving slowly towards Kohaku, smiling towards him even as she collapsed from her wounds.
This action seemed to snap Kohaku out of his trance, as his eyes returned to normal and he stared in abject shock at Sango's mangled body.
Nick, Maylin and Haruka skidded to a stop, with Inuyasha's group behind them, staring at Kohaku, then at the wounded Sango.
"Wait... he didn't..." Maylin gasped.
"I'm willing to bet that Naraku made him do that to Sango," Haruka responded. "He sounds like the kind of prick that would do something like this."
"Naraku! Get out here and show yourself!" Inuyasha shouted.
"Kohaku killed his father and friends, massacred an entire village," Naraku proclaimed from afar as Kagome tended to Sango. "Yet, his sister says she cannot kill him. She loves him even more dearly than her own life. I do not understand how this is possible."
"Well, of course a smug, selfish shitwheel like you could never understand!" Nick snarled, summoning Reverberating Abyss to his hands.
"Bonds go deeper than just surface level. When you have someone you care about so deeply, you'll be willing to do anything to keep them safe, even lay down your life for them," Haruka proclaimed, summoning Divine Rose to her hands.
"The bonds between people are a powerful force, and that's something you'll never understand if all you do is manipulate and kill for your own selfish aims!" Maylin shouted, summoning Spellbinder to her hands.
"Wait, Inuyasha, this is exactly what Naraku did to you, isn't it?" Miroku proclaimed.
"What do you mean by that?" Inuyasha shot back.
"Naraku tried to make Sango hate her brother enough to kill him," Nick responded. "That way, the Shikon Jewel shard keeping him alive would be corrupted even further."
"Kikyo and Inuyasha were tricked the same way," Kagome proclaimed, her rage rising fast. "He tried to make them betray and fight each other. How could he do such a thing on purpose?"
Kagome looked over at the building where Naraku was waiting. "Kikyo died so that the Shikon Jewel would stay dormant, and Sango refused to fight her brother for the very same reason," Kagome proclaimed.
"Exactly," Maylin responded. "Naraku really must be a complete moron, then, because Sango would never do what he wants her to do!"
"No matter what, Sango's a good person, and she'll always love her little brother," Haruka stated.
"And now you've pissed me off, too, Naraku, so how about you get out here and take the beating you deserve?!" Nick challenged.
Suddenly, a whirlwind of poisonous miasma surrounded the nearby area.
"Foolish mortals," Naraku proclaimed as he actually stepped through the miasma whirlwind to greet them. "Now you can all die in this sea of poison vapor."
"Kagome, you and the guys keep Sango stable, okay?" Maylin stated. "The three of us can handle Naraku."
"Yeah, Sango, I got something to chew you out for later, so don't you dare go dyin' on me, got it?" Inuyasha proclaimed.
Nick started off by staying a good distance from Naraku and throwing his keyblade towards him in a Strike Raid attack.
Though Naraku deflected the strike with his own sword, Nick quickly recalled his keyblade to his hands and struck at Naraku before he could get his guard up, landing a few this before finishing with a Blitz, an overhead jumping strike, that forced Naraku back behind the miasma.
"Stop hiding, you pansy!" Maylin exclaimed, waiting for Naraku to show himself.
After a few seconds, she caught Naraku emerging from the miasma to the southwest, so she unleashed a Blizzard spell, hitting Naraku with a shotgun spread of ice crystals.
"Foolish keyblade wielders," Naraku proclaimed, retreating into the miasma again. "Why do you meddle in the affairs of worlds that are not your own?"
"Because we're not going to just sit back at let the Heartless destroy everything!" Maylin countered. "Our job is to protect the worlds, not leave them to die because of some outmoded concepts!"
From behind the miasma, Naraku flung a large demonic tentacle towards Haruka, hoping to pull her into the miasma.
But Naraku definitely didn't expect Haruka to grab the tentacle and use her own strength to yank Naraku out of the miasma and towards her, after which she delivered a vicious uppercut slice with Divine Rose.
"Damn it, we're not gonna get anywhere if he keep retreating into that miasma!" Maylin shouted.
Wait a minute, Kagome thought as she looked at Kohaku, whose jewel shard was glowing bright. Naraku has jewel shards, right? That means I can find him!
Kagome looked around until she noticed the glow of another jewel shard inside a nearby building, fitting an arrow to her bow and firing it off in that direction. The sacred arrow flew forward until it struck true, exploding with a loud flash to reveal Naraku, a good chunk of the left side of his body ripped asunder by the attack.
What? How did she find me? Naraku thought.
"You are a totally despicable person, and I won't let you go even if you beg for forgiveness!" Kagome exclaimed, firing off another sacred arrow that struck Naraku in the chest and exploded, reducing him to just his head and shoulders.
"Holy crapbaskets, she got 'em!" Maylin exclaimed.
Suddenly, though, Naraku's head and shoulders began to expand in size, and his destroyed lower body began to regenerate itself, losing the human disguise of Kagewaki Hitomi and turning into something much more demonic until he towered over the castle. The miasma whirlwind began to increase in intensity, until the winds kicked up by it flung everybody into the sky.
Nick raised Reverberating Abyss as the now-gigantic Naraku approached them, each step doing damage to the castle around him.
"Any luck you may have had ends here," Titan Naraku proclaimed in a bellowing voice. "You will know fear like so many others have before you."
"Oh, you want an aerial battle for round two?" Maylin taunted. "We can do that!"
Inuyasha immediately moved forward to grab Kagome and keep her safe, while Shippo transformed into a large cloud to seat the wounded Sango.
Sango looked up and saw an unconscious Kohaku being carried away from the collapsing castle by wisps of darkness, too weak to even shout his name.
"Now perish," Titan Naraku bellowed as he breathed a cloud of poison miasma at Nick, only for Maylin to cast an Aero spell on him to block the cloud, leaving Nick free to float forward and slash at Titan Naraku's face a few times.
However, Titan Naraku didn't seem to flinch from the hits and just spun around to force Nick to float away.
"Let's see how ya like a little extra juice!" Maylin shouted, casting Thundara on Titan Naraku, only for him to tank that attack as well.
"Um, girls, nothing's working!" Nick exclaimed. "And I don't think Kagome can get steady enough to use her arrows in this tornado!"
"He's gotta have a weak spot somewhere," Haruka replied as she twirled Divine Rose around to deflect a tentacle stab.
"You shall know suffering," Titan Naraku bellowed, raising his hand to call down a storm of dark lightning bolts all around him, forcing the trinity to stay back.
But while Nick floated around looking for a point to attack, he noticed a large, spider-shaped scar on Titan Naraku's back.
"Hmmm, I wonder..." Nick quipped.
Titan Naraku unfurled three demon tentacles and stabbed them all forward at the same time, and while Haruka and Maylin moved to defend the more vulnerable members of their group, Nick floated around to behind Titan Naraku and started slashing at the spider scar.
Nick was happy to see Titan Naraku visibly react to this, turning around rapidly to strike at him.
"Yeah, that'll do nicely," Nick laughed.
"Don't think you've won," Titan Naraku proclaimed, snapping his fingers to send four blobs of poison towards Nick just as his Aero shield wore off.
Nick let the blobs close in on him before casting his own Aero spell in an offensive fashion, surrounding himself with cutting blades of wind that slashed apart and dissolved the blobs harmlessly.
Maylin began casting rapid-fire Fira spells into the spider scar, locking Titan Naraku in place as he roared in pain.
"Yeah, we've got him on the ropes!" Maylin laughed.
"Or so you think," Titan Naraku laughed as he turned around and opened his mouth, attempting to actually suck his opponents into his mouth.
Nick saw his opportunity and threw Reverberating Abyss so that it spun through the air and careened into Titan Naraku's mouth, causing the gigantic demon to freeze in place, his mouth stuck open a visage of agony.
Nick called his keyblade back as Titan Naraku's body began to disintegrate into chunks of demonic parts that quickly dissolved. The miasma tornado also vanished quickly, allowing everyone to land safely on the ground, what was left of Naraku's castle disintegrating into darkness as well.
"Wait, the castle vanished, too?!" Kagome gasped.
"It must have been an illusion," Nick quipped. "Hey, at least we got Naraku good."
"I wouldn't be too sure of that, Nick," Haruka responded, pointing to the ground just ahead of them. Lying on the ground where Titan Naraku had been was a small earth golem trinket that was broken in half.
"Damn it, it was just another demon puppet," Inuyasha growled after retrieving the Tetsusaiga. "I really hate it when he does that."
"Inuyasha, listen to me," Kagome proclaimed. "We have to stop Naraku, no matter how hard we have to work. We have to work as team so that we can put an end to him once and for all."
"I'm with you on that one," Maylin quipped. "Naraku really seems like quite the rat bastard."
"Oh, I think Naraku dropped something before he retreated," Kagome stated, pointing to the decaying demon puppet, which had left behind both a small thumb drive and a spherical, light-blue crystal.
"Well, well, we hit paydirt," Haruka stated as Nick pocketed the summon gem and picked up the thumb drive. "Let's see what this report has to say. Sophia, can you handle that for us?"
"All over it," Sophia replied as Nick inserted the thumb drive into his Gummiphone, oblivious to how Kagome was looking in awe at the futuristic device.
"Yaldabaoth's Report, Number 3," Sophia read.
The shadows that crawl beneath the castle...
Are they the people who lost their hearts, or incarnations of darkness? Or something entirely beyond my imagination?
All my knowledge has provided no answer. One thing I am sure of is that they are entirely devoid of emotion. Perhaps further study will unlock the mysteries of the heart.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of test samples. They are multiplying underground even as I write this report.
They still need a name. Those who lack hearts... I will call them the Heartless.
"You think that was when the Heartless first started crawling around?" Maylin wondered. "Because this guy couldn't keep his curiosity in check?"
"Hey, someone help me stop Sango!" Shippo exclaimed. "She's trying to get up and walk around!"
"Here, let me help you with that," Maylin stated as she ran up to the wounded Sango and held Spellbinder over her head. "Force, know my plight! Release the light! HEAL!"
Sango's body was surrounded by a ring of glowing green leaves, fully healing the wounds she'd suffered thanks to the possessed Kohaku.
"There you go, all better," Maylin quipped. "Now why are you trying to skedaddle?"
"...I'm sorry," Sango responded. "I can't stay with you anymore."
"Hey, Sango, don't be like that," Haruka replied. "We know Naraku was forcing you to do his dirty work by threatening your brother. As keyblade wielders, we've seen our fair share of that kind of problem..."
"Exactly!" Sango shot back. "As long as Naraku has control of Kohaku, I'll just end up betraying you again!"
"So, what, do you intend to go after Naraku all by yourself, then?" Maylin stated. "Because you know how well that worked out for you this time."
"I don't have a choice," Sango sighed.
"There's always a choice," Nick immediately countered. "You know one person alone can't handle that kind of opponent. Why do you think the three of us always stick together?"
Maylin and Haruka couldn't help but smile in affirmation.
"But... why would you still help me after everything I've done?" Sango asked.
"Oh, for crying out loud, will you stop whining, Sango?" Inuyasha proclaimed. "We want you to stick around, because you're actually a decent fighter, and that's all there really is to it!"
"Nice one, Inuyasha," Maylin giggled.
"See, Sango? Even Inuyasha wants you to stay with us, and that's something coming from the guy whose sword you stole," Miroku teased.
"Hey, don't say it like that!" Inuyasha shouted. "It makes me sound like some kind of half-wit!"
"I'm just saying you're a very generous person, that's all," Miroku quipped.
Finally, Sango couldn't take any more, her emotional walls breaking down as she started crying and flung herself into Kagome's arms.
As Kagome comforted Sango, Nick glanced up towards the sunrise, this whole ordeal once again making him wonder what might have happened to Marie. After all, Ellen apparently knew something, but he still remembered how their last meeting had ended.
What the hell aren't you telling me, Ellen? Nick thought.
"Penny for your thoughts, Nick?" Sophia asked.
"...I don't know why Ellen's changed so much," Nick admitted. "And it just makes me worry more about Marie. I'm starting to wonder if Ellen's change and Marie's disappearance are both connected to that lady who created you. Now I really wanna know what she's planning..."
"Ichinose had a very similar plan in my world," Sophia answered. "Due to the cruelty of people, for a very long time, she believed that she didn't have emotions, and that the only way to create a perfect world was to make one where no one had any free will. I managed to snap her out of that line of thought just in time to stop her misguided creation alongside my friends in the Phantom Thieves."
"You think she's trying something like that again?" Nick wondered. "You said she learned her lesson, right? Or do you think the Heartless are behind that?"
Sophia's thought was interrupted when she noticed a glow in the sky. Above the spot where Naraku's castle had stood, light was gathering in the sky until it formed into the shape of a large keyhole.
Nick re-summoned Reverberating Abyss and aimed it towards the keyhole, light shining around its teeth before firing a beam of light straight into the keyhole, sealing it off with a loud CLICK before fading away.
"And on that note, we should probably beat it," Maylin quipped. "A keyblade wielder's work is never done."
"Besides, we've disrupted the 'order' enough," Haruka teased.
"HEY!" Maylin countered.
"Regardless, you're all welcome back here at any time," Kagome stated. "You've got some pretty cool skills, really."
"Finally, some recognition!" Maylin laughed.
Kagome reached into her backpack and pulled out a small token shaped like the Shikon Jewel of Four Souls. "Something to help you out," Kagome stated. "It only looks like the jewel because I made this myself in art class at school."
Nick attached the token to his keyblade and swung it horizontally, the keyblade transforming mid-swing. Nick's new keyblade had a handle guard shaped like Kagome's bow, a hilt resembling a fox spirit like Shippo, a blade shaped like the blade of Tetsusaiga, teeth in the shape of Sango's Hiraikotsu, and the token was connected to the keyblade by a keychain made of rings resembling Miroku's monk bracelets. As Nick studied the new weapon, the words Demonic Fang came to mind.
As the trinity all waved goodbye to Inuyasha and his friends, Nick couldn't help but think about what Sophia had told him about Ichinose.
If Ichinose is behind Marie's disappearance as well, then... I'm sorry, Sophia, but I may have to beat some sense into Ichinose when we find her, Nick thought. I really hope it doesn't come to that, though. The two of you have been through enough.
To be continued...
New keyblade acquired!
Demonic Fang
Strength: 12
MP: -1
Recoil: 90
Critical Rate: 10%
Critical Bonus: 0
Ability: Air Combo Boost
Description: A keyblade representing a ragtag group searching to end the source of their suffering. Possesses incredible power and reach, but reduces max MP by 1. Rarely deals critical blows. Increases the damage of the finishing move in the air relative to the number of hits in the combo.
On the next episode...
Maylin: Yet again, we're making a pit stop in Traverse Town!
Haruka: It's really cool to know that the town transforms to accommodate the people who find their way here.
Nick: Really? It can do that?
Haruka: Yeah, Traverse Town, being an in-between world, tends to be kinda weird like that, even if it's very convenient.
Maylin: So, what do you think the next guy in the Freaky Monkey Five's gonna be like? All of them have been really strange so far.
Nick: I guess we'll find out when we get there, next time on Kingdom Hearts: Key to Her Heart re:Verse, "Connections"!
Nick, Maylin and Haruka: May your hearts be your guiding key!