"So... Kikyo is dead?"
"That's one less target for Naraku to worry about."
"Now only Kagome is left. The risks just jumped significantly."
Byakuya of the Illusions watched the reports coming back from the Saimyosho, a look of lazy contemplation on his face. He sheathed his blade and took a seat on the parched earth, his expression one of weary resignation.
"What's the next move?"
"I've got this dangerous toy to play with, but I only get one shot. I'd hate to waste it."
Byakuya looked toward the silent girl beside him. Kanna sat with her cracked mirror held close to her chest.
"I... Inuyasha..."
Her voice was slow, cold, and entirely devoid of emotion. Within the silver depths of her mirror, the blurred image of a blade began to take shape.
"I see. You want to use that blade to cripple Inuyasha? Make him a liability?"
"Naraku really is a piece of work. Even on the verge of his own end, he can't stop obsessing over making Inuyasha suffer."
Byakuya tucked his hands into his sleeves and nodded. The plan was clear: he would go after Kagome while Kanna targeted Inuyasha's legacy.
"The evil energy is getting thicker."
"It's going to be an unpleasant evening..."
"Ugh..."
"Are you awake?"
Toga sat on the ground a few yards away, watching as Kirinmaru slowly regained consciousness. The Eastern King had been out cold ever since his brief, one-sided clash with Sesshomaru.
"A complete defeat..."
Kirinmaru didn't try to stand. He stayed on his back, staring up at the darkening sky. His mind was a chaotic landscape of regret.
He had lost again.
He had failed to live up to the image of the invincible king he had promised his daughter, Rion.
No matter how many centuries he spent training, no matter how much demonic power he amassed, he was always finding himself eating dirt when it mattered most.
"The wish you were hoping for from the Dragon Balls... it was to resurrect Rion, wasn't it?"
Toga's voice was soft, devoid of the earlier battlefield tension.
"..."
Kirinmaru didn't answer, but his silence was a confirmation. Everything he had done--the wars he started, the duel he demanded with Toga--was a performance for a ghost. He believed that if he could prove he was the "strongest," it would retroactively fix his failure as a father.
If he had been stronger, Rion wouldn't have died. That was the core of his self-loathing.
When she had passed, his pride had prevented him from seeking out Toga and his [Tenseiga]. Instead, he had sealed her soul in Mount Musubi, trapped in a cold, eternal limbo.
By the time he and Toga had reached a point of genuine friendship, it was too late. The years had hardened the seal.
And then Toga had died.
The one target Kirinmaru had fixed his sights on--the one man whose defeat could "prove" his worth to his daughter--was suddenly gone.
It had plunged Kirinmaru into a deep, grey despair. What was the point of any of it? The goal was gone. The audience was dead. He had spent the next few centuries sleeping, hoping to escape the weight of his own "uselessness."
"I have nothing to show for it."
"I failed as a ruler. I failed as a father."
A hollow sense of powerlessness filled his voice.
"Failed?"
"I don't agree with that."
Toga's words made Kirinmaru flinch.
"The end hasn't arrived yet. Who knows how the story will wrap up?"
"Your daughter can still be saved. Personally, I think keeping her soul locked in a mountain for centuries was a bit over the top, even for you."
Toga stood up. He looked at Kirinmaru and saw a reflection of himself.
"We're both pretty terrible at being responsible fathers, you know. One locks his daughter in a tomb; the other leaves his newborn to his wife and dies. It's no wonder our children have complaints."
"We spend our lives trying to compensate for mistakes we can't take back, and then we realize we don't even know how to start."
"Your wish for the Dragon Balls was just a first step, Kirinmaru. A desperate attempt to find a shortcut to forgiveness."
Kirinmaru turned his head, staring at Toga. The two Great Youkai had lived very different lives, but in the realm of paternal regret, they were brothers.
"Heh... you're right."
"My wish was a simple one. But this 'Dragon Ball' business... it's a gamble I've never seen before."
"I've wasted so much time. I think I'm ready to try something different."
Kirinmaru sat up. His body was still screaming from Sesshomaru's blade, but he ignored the pain.
"Toga..."
"Just once. Will you help me?"
The tone was no longer that of a rival king. It was a request from an old friend.
"You still want to participate?" Toga asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.
"No. Not for myself."
"If the Shikon Jewel wins, I have zero hope of helping Rion. That thing will consume every soul in the world."
Kirinmaru stood up and brushed the dust from his ruins of armor. He had come to a decision.
"If I can do something... anything... to help that little girl across the field win her wish... then maybe my strength will finally mean something."
"You've changed," Toga said, a genuine smile spreading across his face.
Kirinmaru was willing to trade his own glory for the chance that someone else's wish might ripple out and touch his daughter. It was his final, desperate "struggle" to be a father.
WHOOSH--!!!
Suddenly, both kings froze.
A wave of absolute, terrifying malice began to radiate from the horizon, a signal to the entire world.
"I guess I slept a little too long," Kirinmaru muttered, staring toward the source of the aura.
"Looks like we're just in time for the main event."
"It seems it can't wait a single heartbeat longer."
"Perfect."
"The soul and the flesh are finally one!"
"I have surpassed those dusty old Kings."
The Shikon Jewel emerged from the spatial rift, its new form shimmering with a dark, polished elegance. It had taken the appearance of a handsome young man with long, silver-grey hair that cascaded down to his waist.
Its eyes were deep pits of darkness--black sclera that made the pale skin look even more ghostly. In the center of its chest, a black "Jewel" mark was etched permanently into the skin.
It threw its head back and laughed, the sound echoing across the dimension. The demographic energy flowing through its veins was limitless, a vast, churning ocean of power.
"Hahaha!!!"
"Now... let's bring this play to a close!"
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]