"H-He's the demon I saw earKagetsur!"
Ruji shrank back in terror, clutching tightly onto Amari Nobunaga's robes. Her entire body trembled as she buried herself against him.
Suddenly embraced by the woman of his dreams, Nobunaga's face flushed crimson.
"To be relied upon by Lady Ruji like this…" he declared, grinning foolishly. "I can die without regrets!"
Inuyasha snorted. "Pathetic."
He turned back to Kagetsu, golden eyes narrowing.
"Hey. Where's the lord of this castle?"
"First," Kagetsu replied coolly, raising an eyebrow, "I have a name. It isn't 'Hey.'"
"And second, shouldn't you introduce yourselves before interrogating someone?"
Kagome quickly stepped forward with an apologetic smile.
"Sorry about that! I'm Kagome,Kagome Higurashi. And this is Inuyasha."
She gestured toward the tiny flea demon perched on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"This is Grandpa Myoga. And that's Amari Nobunaga."
After the introductions, Kagome asked gently, "Mr. Kagetsu… What happened to the lord?"
"The demon-possessed lord?" Kagetsu answered flatly. "I killed him."
He pointed toward the courtyard outside.
"I buried him in the open space out front. Just today, so he shouldn't smell yet. If you'd like, I can dig him up."
Kagome froze.
"N-No thanks!" she laughed stiffly, waving her hands.
This guy is way too blunt!
Ruji, still clutching Nobunaga, lowered her head. Her voice trembled.
"My husband… is he truly dead?"
"Yes," Kagetsu replied evenly. "He was possessed for too long. There was no saving him."
He did not elaborate further.
"I cut off his head in one strike. You could say I freed him."
Ruji's eyes reddened.
"After I married into this house… he collapsed beside the pond in the courtyard. He burned with fever for days."
"When he woke… he was no longer himself."
"He moved like something else had taken root inside him."
Silence settled heavily over the room.
Suddenly, Kagetsu looked toward Myoga.
"You've lived a long time, haven't you? You should know many things."
Myoga blinked in surprise. "M-Me?"
"I have a question."
Without further explanation,
"Kamui."
Kagetsu's eyes shifted.
Scarlet flooded his irises as the Mangekyō Sharingan bloomed.
A spiraling vortex twisted open in midair.
Three unconscious girls emerged gently from the distortion and settled onto the floor.
The room went deathly silent.
Kagome's eyes widened.
"Is that… another dimension?!"
Ignoring the shock, Kagetsu spoke calmly.
"The demon was a toad-type. In a hidden chamber, I found giant egg sacs filled with kidnapped girls."
"Most woke up after I freed them."
He gestured to the three lying still.
"These did not."
"No matter what I tried."
He looked directly at Myoga.
"Can they be saved?"
Myoga hopped down, examining one of the girls carefully. He sniffed, his expression growing grave.
"The demon was likely a Tsukumo-gama."
"It traps girls in eggs and devours their souls once they 'ripen.'"
He lowered his head.
"Their souls are gone."
"The bodies live… but only barely. Within days, they will die as well."
"There is no remedy."
The air grew heavier.
"In other words," Kagetsu said quietly, "they're living corpses."
Myoga nodded grimly.
Kagetsu reached into his ninja tool pouch and withdrew a coin pouch. He walked over and pressed it into Kagome's hands.
"In the west wing are the other girls I rescued. Some were newly captured. Others were freed from the eggs."
"Please send them home."
"Consider this payment."
Inuyasha immediately bristled.
"Why should Kagome do that?! We've got our own problems!"
"It's inconvenient for me," Kagetsu said, gesturing at the cracks across his Edo Tensei face.
He paused.
Then withdrew a shard of the Shikon Jewel.
Its pink glow illuminated the dim chamber.
"I'll add this."
Kagome's eyes lit up instinctively.
"A shard!"
She noticed faint pink glimmers still inside his pouch.
"Wait… you have more?!"
"What?!" Inuyasha snapped upright. "You've got more shards on you?!"
He stepped forward aggressively.
"Fine! We'll send them back! Hand over all of them!"
"No."
Kagetsu shook his head calmly.
"Only this one."
"I still have use for the others."
Inuyasha's expression darkened.
He stepped protectively in front of Kagome.
"I knew it."
"You're not alive."
His grip tightened on the hilt of Tessaiga.
"Why are you collecting shards?"
"Trying to resurrect yourself with their power?"
Kagetsu twirled the shard lazily between his fingers.
"You look like an idiot."
"But you're sharper than you seem."
"Something like that."
Technically, attracting demons with shards was indeed using the Shikon Jewel's power for his own ends.
That was not a Kagetsu.
"You bastard!"
Inuyasha drew Tessaiga.
The blade surged with demonic energy, transforming from its battered state into its massive fang form.
White demonic aura crackled along its edge.
"Hand over the Shikon Jewel!"
He leveled the blade at Kagetsu.
The room tensed.
The air grew sharp.
And the faint pink glow of the Shikon Jewel shard flickered between them.