No wonder Kagura had been wary.
The webs had reached her thighs now, doubt and suspicion allowing them to grow, but Kagome pushed them away, dissolving them like spun sugar as she stepped closer to the battle.
Little things didn't add up, but the pull she'd felt—that she still felt—was stronger than the darkness trying to take root in her heart.
She knew him. Knew herself.
There was only one threat here.
Reiki pooled around her feet, keeping the webs at bay as she looked up at her foe, Naraku's smirk faltering as she lifted her chin. The same icy bitterness from before filled her chest—he'd said all those things on purpose, trying to separate them just like he'd tried with her and Kagura.
The beast felt it coming and jumped out of the way, biting off a chunk of Naraku's shoulder before a barrage of glowing shards took out half his face. "It won't work," Kagome said, his flesh continuing to disintegrate. "Whatever you were planning to do with me, I won't let you."
"You are mine to command," he hissed.
"I belong to no one," she countered. "Least of all, some slimy leech like you."
The last of his tentacles reached for her, mouth twisting in hatred, but no sound came out as the beast's massive jaws clamped down on him. Miasma leaked out between ivory teeth, but any last cries were smothered by a flurry of reiki and poison.