"Kikyo… I never imagined… you would truly return to life…"
Naraku forced his head up, his voice hoarse and brittle. Kikyo's steady gaze seemed to irritate him more than any wound.
"Naraku," Kikyo replied evenly, each word calm and deliberate, "fifty years ago, you schemed to take my life. Fifty years later, I stand here alive because yours was used in its place. This is karma."
"Hmph… I simply didn't expect…" Naraku's eyes rolled toward Kagetsu, hatred simmering within them. "…that the man at your side could accomplish something like this."
A faint, cold smile tugged at his lips.
"I killed you once, Kikyo. Now that you've returned… go on. Strike me down. Take your revenge."
"Kagetsu," Kikyo asked quietly, ignoring Naraku's provocation, "shall we kill him?"
"Of course we should!" Inuyasha barked immediately, stepping forward and drawing Tessaiga in one fluid motion. His golden eyes blazed. "This bastard's responsible for countless deaths! We can't just let him walk away!"
But Kagetsu shook his head.
"No. Let him go."
"Why?!" Inuyasha snapped, fury flaring.
Kagetsu glanced at him lazily, the corner of his mouth lifting in faint amusement. "Because the one who bears a grudge against Naraku is you,not me."
"In fact," he added lightly, "I ought to thank him. He used his life to give me mine."
"You,!" Inuyasha's hackles practically rose. "I'm killing him!"
With a roar, he surged forward, Tessaiga raised high.
"Inuyasha! Don't!" Kagome cried out.
But he didn't stop.
Her expression hardened. "Sit!"
The Kotodama Beads around Inuyasha's neck flashed brilliantly. An invisible force slammed him face-first into the ground.
Boom!
The earth trembled.
Kagetsu quietly lowered the hand he had begun to raise. Since Kagome had handled it, there was no need for him to intervene.
"Kagome! Why'd you stop me?!" Inuyasha groaned, struggling to lift himself from the crater he'd made.
"Inuyasha, come back," Miroku said gravely, stepping forward. "With Kagetsu standing there, you won't touch Naraku. Charging in blindly will accomplish nothing."
"…Tch." Inuyasha shot Kagetsu a heated glare but finally sheathed Tessaiga and stalked back to Kagome's side, jaw tight with frustration.
Seeing that the situation had settled, Kagetsu turned to Kikyo.
"Kikyo. Give me one of the Shikon no Tama shards."
Without hesitation, she retrieved a bamboo tube from her sleeve, tipped it slightly, and poured a jewel shard into her palm before handing it to him.
Kagetsu flicked his finger.
The shard shot forward like an arrow, piercing straight into Naraku's chest and embedding itself within his withered flesh.
A faint surge of power rippled outward.
Naraku's failing aura stabilized slightly. A dim glimmer returned to his sunken eyes.
"Take it as a token of gratitude," Kagetsu said mildly. "Don't die too quickly."
"You… truly won't kill me?" Naraku rasped, suspicion thick in his voice. He could not comprehend it. They had every opportunity.
Kagetsu's gaze chilled instantly. "Keep talking and I'll reconsider."
Naraku ground his teeth. "You'll regret this."
Thick miasma erupted around him, swallowing his frail form. In the blink of an eye, he fled into the darkness, vanishing into the night.
Silence lingered.
"Kagetsu," Kagome finally asked once Naraku was gone, confusion plain on her face, "why did you let him escape?"
"Because we couldn't kill him," Kikyo answered before Kagetsu could speak.
Everyone turned toward her.
"Inuyasha, Naraku is not an ordinary yōkai," she explained calmly. "He was born from Onigumo's body fused with the flesh and souls of countless demons."
"There's no certainty this is his only body."
"If we destroy this vessel now, he may simply retreat and resurface somewhere else,more cautious, more elusive."
"But he was on the verge of death!" Inuyasha argued. "One more slash and he'd be finished!"
"Or so it would seem," Kikyo replied.
Sango frowned. "Even if he survives elsewhere… with his body in that condition, he'll just consume more demons and craft a new one, won't he?"
"You're right," Kikyo said, eyes drifting toward the horizon where Naraku had disappeared. "But when he looked at Kagetsu just now, there was no fear in his eyes. Only hatred."
"That tells me he knows he cannot die so easily."
"He can indeed rebuild himself," Kagetsu said, picking up her reasoning with a faint, almost sinister smile. "But I'd prefer he remain in that body a while longer."
His gaze swept across the group.
"You didn't think the price of the Rinne Rebirth was simply making him old, did you?"
Kagome instinctively edged closer to Inuyasha. "W-What do you mean?"
"The Rinne Rebirth is a forbidden Technique , One that trades life for life," Kagetsu said evenly. "The caster's life is the cost. That principle cannot be erased."
"But Naraku didn't die," Miroku said, brows furrowed. "He just… aged."
"That's because he's a demon. The moment of death has merely been delayed."
Kagetsu's lips curved coldly.
"When the technique ended, I sensed it clearly. Though Kikyo and I were revived, Naraku's life force continues to drain,slowly, steadily. The jutsu's effect hasn't vanished."
"His vitality is simply too tenacious to collapse all at once."
Kikyo's eyes sharpened in understanding. "If we kill this body now… and he revives elsewhere, the influence of the technique may disappear."
"Exactly," Kagetsu nodded. "This is my first time using the Rinne Rebirth ,and the sacrifice happened to be Naraku, a being stitched together from countless demons."
"I can't guarantee the curse of the technique will follow him to a newly constructed body."
"So it's safer to let him remain in this one."
Originally, Kagetsu had planned to capture some random demon and force the collected life force into it as a makeshift sacrifice.
But Naraku had presented himself.
And what better vessel?
"…I see," Miroku murmured.
"In any case," Kagetsu said suddenly, tone turning casual, "Naraku and the Shikon no Tama are your problem."
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Work hard. Gather the shards. Finish him off properly."
"Hmph! We will!" Inuyasha declared, crossing his arms.
"Mm, yes, admirable determination," Kagetsu replied dryly, clapping without enthusiasm.
He turned to Kikyo. "Everything's settled. Time to leave."
She nodded,then paused, as if recalling something.
"Wait for me a moment."
Kagetsu raised a brow as she walked past him.
Kikyo approached Kagome and extended the bamboo tube containing the remaining Shikon shards.
"I'm entrusting these to you," she said solemnly. "Do not let Naraku claim them."