Under the light of the moon that begins to dwindle due to the dark clouds covering its magnificence, two extremely close figures can be seen in the gloom.
One of the figures was a young man with golden hair, white clothes stained crimson, and who pierces another person's torso with his sword.
That "person" is a woman with short black hair, a colorful kimono now stained with blood, and who pierces the young man's shoulder with her fan.
"... You let your guard down, Asahiko"
Smiling victoriously with her juicy red lips, the woman with blood-colored eyes slowly moves the hand holding the fan, tearing Asahiko's shoulder even more and managing to draw another trail of blood.
Such an action makes him frown automatically, mainly because he can clearly feel how his flesh is being cut, the warm blood flowing over the surface of his body, and the fan trembling inside his open wound.
"And you… You recovered too quickly, Kagura"
Remembering the last few seconds during their fight, how Kagura screamed at the top of her lungs due to the multiple illusions that fell upon her when the flames touched her, he can only shake his head.
He already had her in the bag, he only had to cut off her head with Clouded Fang and everything would have ended… But who would have thought that Inuyasha would interfere in her favor, unconsciously.
Because yes, that dark sensation he felt at the last moment and that made him lose concentration is undoubtedly from him. More beastly, dark, and irrational, but it undoubtedly belongs to Inuyasha.
"It's really not like that, but now… I think you have a bigger problem on your hands"
"A kind of second skin made of wind?"
Ignoring her words about having a "bigger problem on his hands," Asahiko's blue eyes carefully observe Kagura's skin, noticing the thin layer of wind over the white surface.
"Ugh. If you keep observing me so closely you'll make me blush, you know?"
"Ugh. Relax, you're not my type at all… Although maybe if your hair were a little longer and you didn't have an "extra gift" I'd think about it"
"Extra gift…? I'm going to kill you, bastard!"
"Sorry to tell you that you're already trying~"
Tearing at each other's wounds caused by one another, Kagura using her fan sharpened by the winds and Asahiko using Clouded Fang, the two return to a stalemate despite continuing to talk.
But this could not continue for much longer, because with every second that passed the sense of danger originating from Inuyasha's direction increased. At least from what Asahiko believes is Inuyasha.
"So what do you say, on the count of three we free each other?"
"Sure, and I'm supposed to trust your words, Kagura? I remind you that you just directly threatened to take my life"
"Hahaha, it was only a harmless joke, since I want to live, I can assure you of that. And you surely want to help Inuyasha, so there's nothing preventing us from making a temporary truce"
Speaking with confidence that almost borders on arrogance despite feeling how Asahiko's sword consumes her body from the inside, as if small mouths grew from the blade and slowly tore away her flesh, Kagura remains firm.
Normally she would have no reason to fear this situation, since her "heart/core" is in Naraku's hands, which makes a possible outcome in which Kagura dies completely unviable.
But that "absolute truth" fails to remove the strange and lethal sensation that continues spreading from her torso, this sword is dangerous… She has to pull it out of her as quickly as possible.
"... Ver-"
"Asahiko! Inuyasha has. W-Wait, are you okay?"
"As okay as someone stabbed can be, Shippo. Don't come any closer because we're going to do something!"
Shifting from his joking side to a more serious one upon noticing Shippo's approach, who by the way was riding Kirara and had no one accompanying him, Asahiko guides his blue eyes back toward Kagura.
The situation apparently was more dangerous than expected, so much so that they had to send only Shippo, who is basically the group's mascot, to deliver the request for help.
"So what do you say then, on three?"
"Tsk. One"
"Hahaha~. Two"
"... Three!" x2
Both pushing themselves backward when the number three leaves their mouths, Kagura jumps off the roof and a current of air instantly strikes her, carrying her into the night sky within seconds.
On the other hand Asahiko followed the same style, retreating out of fear of a possible new attack, so when he moves backward he explodes into dozens of illusions identical to him and hides among all of them.
In the end what they did was useless because neither of them even had any interest in continuing the conflict, but who can blame them? Just moments ago they were basically stabbing each other.
"Asahiko you-"
"Let's go, Shippo. There's no time to waste talking here"
…Somewhere else…
"Hiraikotsu!"
Twisting her wrist with the practice that only harsh continuous training can grant, Sango sends her boomerang toward Inuyasha who tries to charge at full speed toward Miroku.
Surprisingly the dog boy seems to have eyes on the back of his head, because he jumps upward and lands right on top of the still-spinning boomerang, which he then uses as a platform to propel himself toward Sango.
Luckily for the latter, or perhaps it was always her strategy, Miroku activates his Black Hole and the gravitational attraction forces Inuyasha to stop his attack by force.
"Inuyasha! You're not like this, you must-"
"Grr!"
Half growling or screaming in what seems like an animal shriek, Inuyasha finally manages to escape the Black Hole's gravitational pull by propelling himself with a new burst of strength, all to then try to throw himself at Kagome.
The part about him "trying" is no joke, mainly because Sango had already recovered her boomerang and intervened instantly, forcibly cutting off his path of advance.
"Stay away, Kagome. He's too dangerous"
"But Inuyasha would never… I"
Clutching her bow that is more decoration than anything else, Kagome's expression darkens and a cold determination begins to take shape.
"Don't even think about it, Miss Kagome! Inuyasha is not in a correct mental state, anything could happen if you try to talk to him!"
"He would never hurt me, Miroku!"
"Down!"
Forcefully grabbing Kagome's head and pulling it downward, Sango once again manages to prevent Inuyasha from striking the schoolgirl, although she fails to dodge the next attack launched by the dog boy and is kicked to the side.
This makes her roll across the ground without any apparent direction, while a slight trail of blood escapes from her lips and she loses consciousness.
"Inuyasha…"
"Ahh, what a beautiful expression, Kagome. Hehehe. Ugh!"
Stepping back with an animal growl after being struck by a talisman thrown by Miroku, the same one which burns instantly the moment it touches his body, Inuyasha digs his claws into his flesh and releases his technique: Claws of Fire.
They, dozens of red crescents, rain down mercilessly upon Miroku's body and from every direction, although he absorbs them thanks to his Black Hole.
"Mi. Ro. Ku"
"Inuyasha~"
"Ah!"
Suddenly going from standing to having his head buried at least 50cm deep into the ground, Inuyasha does not realize at all what is happening until he is kicked in the stomach, flying to the side at full speed.
Of course that confuses him, but thanks to his senses amplified by his "demonic state," Inuyasha quickly recovers and stands up again almost instantly.
"Asahiko… Grrr"
"Well, how did you discover me, my good demonic friend?"
Appearing from what seems like a spatial distortion, which in reality is an optical illusion created because Asahiko undoes the illusion that kept him invisible to others' eyes, he raises his hand and greets Inuyasha.
It was the most normal kind of greeting and the type you would give an old friend or acquaintance, as if he hadn't been beating him up just moments ago.
"Hehehe… I could smell the sweetness of your blood!"
Cracking the ground as he propels himself forward at full speed, Inuyasha reaches Asahiko with a macabre smile on his face, initiating an attack directly toward where the latter is still wounded from the previous battle.
Such a thing does not surprise Asahiko at all, this "new" Inuyasha is no different from a beast, and not in the good sense like when they fought previously, but now he is guided solely by his lowest and most primitive instincts.
"You're stupidly predictable, idiot dog!"
Mocking while Inuyasha tears the flesh of his shoulder with his claws, causing a trail of red blood to extend toward the night sky, Asahiko smiles calmly and then grabs him in a bear hug.
Soon, before anyone can consider something strange, Asahiko maintaining the hug begins to swell and the blood is replaced by golden flames.
*Boom*
Together with the golden flames that bathe the previously gloomy surroundings in light, desperate screams spread and it can be seen how Inuyasha writhes on the ground.
He instinctively tried to extinguish the flames by rolling on the ground, although that only causes them to spread to more areas of his body and the pain to become unbearable.
"Inuyasha!"
"Wow, stay right there, girl"
"You… Asahiko, how can you do this to h. What happened to you! Did Inuyasha do that?"
Stopping her outburst by force, and boy did she want to insult Asahiko for doing that to Inuyasha, Kagome's brown eyes fall upon the open wound of the one standing in front of her.
Calling it ugly would be an understatement, since you can kind of see the bone and how the flesh twists in an attempt to regenerate, creating a terrifying sight for any normal person.
"Bah, as if that idiot could even do something like this… Especially now that he's possessed or whatever"
"Don't say that about. I'm sorry!"
"Re-relax… It didn't hurt at all"
Controlling the bodily trembling that wants to surface after being hit right in the wound, Asahiko channels those negative emotions into the flames surrounding Inuyasha, causing the latter to scream even louder.
"Ahhh! Ah… Ah…"
"Inuyasha!"
"Wait Miss Kagome, he's still dangerous!"
"Let her be, Miroku. He's already unconscious, I don't think he's dangerous… Until he wakes up?"
Doubting himself, Asahiko thinks about it for a few moments and creates a pair of handcuffs, the truth is he really didn't want to do it… But well, sacrifices must be made for a greater good.