Having moved far enough away from "ground zero", a place that will remain completely devastated and uninhabitable for quite some time, Inuyasha's group together with Asahiko gather once more to bid farewell to Totosai.
"This time, don't come back again, old man"
As biting as always, Inuyasha doesn't even wave goodbye to Totosai, instead he is even confident enough to threaten him with his gaze.
Such discourtesy immediately draws Kagome's attention, who with a single look puts him back on the right track and manages to make the dog boy greet reluctantly.
"Please be careful, old man Totosai! And please don't get yourself into trouble again, but if something unexpected happens, don't hesitate to come ask Inuyasha for help again"
"Kagome…"
"Do you have something to say, Inuyasha?"
"N, no… Nothing"
Turning his face in another direction, Inuyasha finally notices how the other male members of the group laugh at him from the side, but he can only grind his teeth in silence and swallow his pride.
"I think Kagome is scary, Miroku"
"She is, Shippo. I never thought that a wild beast like Inuyasha would be tamed so easily, but… Maybe that's how he likes it? His ex is the priestess Kikyo, and she looks very-"
Stopping his words as he suddenly feels an arm wrap around his neck, Miroku briefly trembles and slowly turns his head back, thus managing to see Asahiko's perfect smile.
"I don't even want to consider that you were thinking of Kikyo as an aggressive, dominant woman or something like that, Miroku"
"Not at all, not at all, my good friend. I'm sure she can't even hurt an animal, a true priestess with a pure heart"
"Tsk, I'm going to miss this. Alright, alright, everyone here with me!"
Letting go of the unfortunate Miroku who had already turned pale, although he recovers instantly when he regains his freedom, Asahiko draws everyone's attention with his words.
It was time to say goodbye to all of them, since it was the right thing not to have acted hot-headedly, but he also can't just leave Kikyo's situation like that… He really wants to know what led her to do that.
Besides, Inuyasha is a magnet for trouble, not even a day passed since what happened with Naraku that his older brother tried to kill him, and he even went after Clouded Fang!
"What's wrong, Asahiko?"
"Dear Sango, teammates, and pets that do nothing, I regret to confess my departure at this moment"
Creating a top hat, Asahiko makes a noble bow and speaks in a flowery manner. Which he does very well, so much so that he almost seems like a 19th-century gentleman or something like that.
"Why is he talking like that, Miroku?"
"I think he's just trying to hide the pain of the farewell, Shippo"
"Pain was being with you, you're one problem after another… Mainly Inuyasha"
Making the top hat disappear in a flash, Asahiko twists his expression before pointing at Inuyasha with his finger and everyone nods continuously.
"Stop nodding! And if you're going to leave, then go already once and for all!"
"Tsk, and here I thought we had something… A budding friendship between men or something like that. Sniff, what pain that now grows in my heart"
"You're evil, Inuyasha"
"He only has a demon's heart"
"Shut up, he's just acting, can't you see!"
Shouting at everyone present, but especially at Shippo and Miroku who take advantage of the situation to annoy him, Inuyasha resorts to the only thing he knows how to do and tries to jump at Asahiko, but the latter easily avoids him.
After that, and with his energy somewhat restored thanks to the rest, Asahiko instantly transforms into a large golden bird. Clearly it wasn't something natural, but neither a yokai, rather it is something taken from his imagination if we consider the amazing specifications it has.
"Well, I'm leaving now, but I only have one question left…"
"Grr, what, Asahiko?"
"Should I pass any message from you to Kikyo? Something like; next time don't hit me so hard with the arrow, please"
"I'm going to kill you!"
Escaping the incoming slash by opening his large wings and taking off into the sky, Asahiko quickly leaves behind the group gathered below, completely blending with the white clouds.
With each flap of his enormous golden wings, he easily advances dozens of meters and an overflowing freedom fills every thought, so much that he even lets out a screech from his beak.
Having satisfied that primal instinct that took over his actions, Asahiko moves into a gliding phase and emerges from the white clouds, scanning the world below with his gaze.
"River, river… River!
Covering hundreds of meters instantly due to being able to fly, his blue eyes find a long river that snakes across the horizon, so he doesn't hesitate and dives directly into its depths.
Thank God that the river was deep enough, because despite the enormous amount of water that flies upward from the impact, nothing else really happens… Or maybe it does?"
*Boom*
Along with a second unexpected explosion, a human figure dressed in tattered clothes comes running out of the river with a pale face, before crashing into a tree and finally calming down.
"What's going on, yon-"
"Something touched me, there's something inside that river!"
Shaking Saya, the spirit that had just come out of Clouded Fang, Asahiko points with his index finger toward the river stirred by the explosion.
"It might be a fish, some yokai or maybe i-"
"It was a damn human arm, Saya! It was never him who had bad luck, it was me… Yes, I'm not going to apologize to Inuyasha even if he isn't here"
"Cough, cough, I'm still here"
"I know, but what are you going to do, take his side or something?"
Mocking with gusto at Saya's elderly face, who still seems to feel some affection for the son of his former master, Asahiko looks again at what he had touched in the river.
Just as he had said, it is a human arm which was now on land instead of the river… Yes, the second explosion sent it there.
Leaving that aside, the severed limb is covered by armor of small metal plates, nothing too sophisticated, but enough to show that he is a "professional" soldier and not just some armed peasant.
"No… It's not stiff. He must have died recently, or maybe the water prevents corpses from getting stiff?"
Hitting the arm with a stick taken from somewhere, Asahiko speaks with Saya while putting on a disgusted expression at what he is doing.
"Does it even matter? You're looking for that priestess, not why these humans died. Just go around the place and that's it"
"Yes, but she is over there, the place from which the arm surely came"
[And not just an arm, I can feel the presence of the messengers of hell. There was surely a great battle in that direction, although not only of humans]
Making the stick in his hand disappear in a flash, Asahiko directs his eyes toward the origin of the new voice in the conversation, and who else could it be but Souga speaking from the gem in the hilt of Clouded Fang.
"How do you know that, Souga? No, don't answer that, it was a stupid question considering who you are. But how can you guess that yokai are involved in the battle?"
[Simple, the souls of yokai are more resistant and stronger than human ones, forcing the messengers of hell to work longer, just like what is happening ahead]
"More reason to stay out of the way, young Asahiko. No one knows what kind of yokai can be born from all that human hatred and resentment, and the yokai that are nearby will be drawn by the same"
Listening seriously to both, Asahiko gradually leans more toward going to see what happened. Not because he has lost the courage to go talk to Kikyo, but… He will do it for the sake of the common citizen!
Convincing himself with those thoughts, which are totally random and not because he doesn't know how to explain to Kikyo what he saw in her memories, he begins to walk upstream.
At first everything went well, with some useless conversation with the proud dragon and the cowardly Saya, although after recovering a bit more energy Asahiko returns to his bird form to go faster.
[Below there is a small focus]
"Hmm? A village around here? Oh, this is an addiction"
Realizing at the last moment that he had flown more than expected, Asahiko begins to glide down and soon his blue eyes widen at what he observes. Everything here was… Disturbing. Dozens of bodies are scattered throughout the village, while the houses are in perfect condition and there is no trace of civilian victims.
Beyond everything obvious that can be seen at a glance, Asahiko can notice thanks to his supernatural senses a huge group of footprints and faint wheel marks, the latter being almost invisible to the human eye.
"… What happened here?"
[Leopard cats] x2
"Leopard… Cats?"
Controlling the growing disgust due to the surroundings full of inhumanly torn corpses, as well as the instinctive and human fury that sprouts in his chest, Asahiko speaks in a low voice with his companions.
While doing so he also directs his blue eyes toward a nearby body, which is a humanoid with two arms, two legs and a head, but its features are feline… It even has a tail and ears.
"They are, no, they were the rulers of the western region until Master Inu no Taisho defeated their leader, Oyokata. I never thought I would see them again, has their leader come back to life?"
[You know that's impossible, I myself devoured that cat's flesh… Making it impossible for him to return to this world in a normal way]
"But only Oyokata had the authority to give them orders, that entire race followed him almost fanatically and only him"
[You give them too much credit, little coward. Second-rate yokai like those follow anyone with a strong fist, it wouldn't be surprising if they have gathered under a new Daiyokai to cause chaos]
Maintaining his composure despite hearing that everything is related to Inuyasha, again! Asahiko offers a silent condolence for the fallen, and then follows the largest trail of footprints.
"You know that all of them are already dead, Asahiko. You won't be able to do anything, unlike with the young women of that city"
"Tsk, I know, Saya. But now that I've seen it I can't just leave it like this, maybe it's just my instincts controlling me… But I don't care"
[Hahaha, that's how you talk! Come on, let's find those cats and finish them off!]
…Out of scene…
Looking at the severed arm that floated toward him through the river, Asahiko begins to understand why climate change is so powerful in the future.
"Are your rivers treated like Wish Fountains or what?"
"Huh?"
"Nothing important, Saya. I've only noticed that I always find something thrown in rivers, whether it's a half-dead priestess, a severed arm, and God knows what else in the future"
Shaking his head as if he were a misunderstood poet, Asahiko closes his eyes and looks toward the horizon.