#one trapped hakushin in his grief and self-hatred and the other freed him by offering him comfort alone

[bllflower]

very interesting how this was supposed to be an attempt at manipulation from naraku that worked wonders, but saint hakushin's situation directly mirrored kikyo's. she fully empathized with his feelings and told him textually she tried to also live without doubt, to make no mistakes, to not cling to life and be "above" such things. having been in his shoes very recently since she was brought back, she tells him there's no shame in crying over wanting to live.

now, we had naraku use such candid words to tell hakushin he was revered but not thought of, not cared for, that he didn't allow himself "any doubt". he goes as far as to tell hakushin he wanted to live. to come along with him and live. "live along with me" (lol, ever think maybe he could've told kikyo this—).

FURTHER MORE...! it was quite obvious, that naraku and kikyo are each other's utmost opposite, but it's also so fascinating that naraku made use of hakushin and manipulated him at his most vulnerable moment, while it was kikyo that granted him understanding, clarity, and set his soul free.

in the databook, naraku and kikyo are the only two characters whose map of souls - the souls that compose the shikon jewel, aramitama, nigimitama, kushimitama and sakimitama - is full. they embody all these sentiments that compose the jewel, both good and bad, but both chose to utilize this potential for totally different quests.

in the end naraku clung to remaining miserable and making others miserable (so his shikon map just remained malignant) and kikyo used her tremendous soul strength for fighting off evil and protecting life, at the expense of herself. two very strong wills/spirits that directly opposed one another in actions and thoughts.