After capturing Inuyasha in what would be a questionable position by society's standards, one that used both handcuffs and ropes, all of Inuyasha's group together with Asahiko leave the village.
Along with all of them departing, as well as the surviving villagers, the town is devoured by the darkness and shadows of the night, creating the perfect ghost town from some story.
"Hahaha, you're very slow Mr. Jaken!"
Running through the remains of the village, dodging the long scars running across the ground and jumping over the occasional rubble, the lively laughter of a little girl interrupts the sepulchral silence.
She was clearly human if we look at her physical traits, whether it be her white skin worn by the sun, brown eyes shining with innocence, and tangled black hair. Nothing there screams "supernatural" like it does with Inuyasha, Sesshōmaru, or Asahiko, who possess an appearance impossible for humans to achieve.
Leaving aside the subject of her appearance, the girl wears a yellow and orange checkered kosode extending to her ankles, in addition to a green obi sash tied at her back, the same one keeping her outfit firm so it does not fall apart from her abrupt movements.
"I… I… I'm only giving you an advantage, stupid girl!"
Following behind her despite putting all his effort into the run, perhaps because his legs are too short, the green-skinned imp previously called Jaken grabs his chest and keeps moving forward.
Obviously he was losing because he wanted to, not because he was biologically inferior to a human girl… Since that would be a disgrace, he is Jaken, the first servant of the great Sesshōmaru!.
"Ehh, but I'm sure that when you were winning you were making fun of me?"
"You must have heard wrong, stupid girl!"
"Really…?"
Turning her body so she can see Jaken and now running backward without fear of danger, the girl tilts her head full of black hair and tries to consider the imp's words, though she soon shakes her head while smiling.
"Wh, what, what is it?"
"Yes, I'm sure you were making fun of me"
"No, that never happened!"
"Yes it did, Mr. Jaken. It was right when. Wah!"
Making a strange attempt at balancing herself when she almost falls, the girl quickly shifts all her weight forward and instead of falling backward, the exact opposite happens and she crashes face first into the ground.
"See? That's why I wasn't running, you never know what dangers are nearby!"
"Mmm, but it really hurt, Mr. Jaken"
"Of course it did, but this will teach you not to mess with… Eh, what is this?"
Finally looking at what made the girl trip after restoring his pride with his first words, Jaken quickly notices that it is something supernatural.
The scar on the ground was absurdly enormous, easily reaching ten meters long and several more meters deep, surely some stray attack during tonight's conflict.
"A ditch?"
"How could it be a ditch, stupid girl! Don't you feel the energy that-"
"Shut up already, Jaken"
"Ma, ma, Master Sesshōmaru! I'm sorry, I'm sorry"
Managing to bow several times in a row while large drops of cold sweat fall down his green skin, Jaken sighs in relief when Sesshōmaru's chilling gaze moves away from him.
Apparently it is really difficult working with Sesshōmaru, although considering they are yokai and not humans… Perhaps they prefer having a powerful boss rather than a compassionate one or something like that?.
"Mr. Sesshōmaru, Mr. Sesshōmaru, can you tell me what we came to look for here?"
"Rin…"
"Please?"
Placing both hands in front of her chest and somehow making her eyes shine, only God knows how she did it, Rin remains firm despite Sesshōmaru's icy gaze.
Any sane person, insane person, and even inhuman being would have run away upon seeing that look, it literally promised pain and suffering to anyone who dared defy his orders, but she remains firm!.
"We managed to sense Inuyasha and a powerful demon fighting nearby, because of that we are here"
"Inuyasha? Wait for me Mr. Sesshōmaru! Come on Mr. Jaken, he's leaving us behind!"
"You don't have to tell me!"
Running after the two of them again, mainly Rin who walks around Sesshōmaru as if she were a natural satellite orbiting her planet, Jaken keeps the surprise inside and shuts his mouth.
He may be kind of stupid, but clearly it was not his duty to ask why Master Sesshōmaru gave Rin explanations… No, no, his head sits just fine on his green neck!.
Nodding at his superior emotional intelligence, which is surely coerced by cowardice, Jaken follows behind both of them until they arrive at a destroyed area.
"Wahh, look Mr. Jaken! There really is a dead demon right here, Mr. Sesshōmaru was right!"
"Of course he is, stupid girl… How dare you even doubt it?"
"Mm, Mm, you're right Mr. Jaken!"
Easily accepting that the little imp is completely right, Rin begins running around Goshinki's severed head and starts touching everything from the fangs to the copper-colored horns.
It truly was a strange situation, literally impossible to see at any other moment or place, it is basically a human girl playing with the corpse of a powerful demon!.
"It's good that you understand… But who managed to finish off this thing? Even dead it releases a powerful energy"
"It was Inuyasha, but I can also smell another scent"
"Yes, I can't smell anything. Sorry, sorry, clearly it's my fault, how could the great-"
"Stay quiet, Jaken"
Silencing the imp who stumbles over his words the more he talks with a single glance, Sesshōmaru walks past him and moves a short distance away. There was nothing there besides cracked earth and dirt, nothing that would normally attract his attention.
But of course this is not a normal situation, and besides, what for some is only meaningless dirt and dust, in his eyes is no different from a gold mine.
"This scent… So Asahiko was here too, he was injured and fought against Inuyasha"
"How do you know all that, Mr. Sesshōmar?"
"The energy in this drop of blood was too active when it was spilled, besides Inuyasha's scent is all over the place. Let's go, we no longer have anything to do here"
Turning with an elegance worthy of any highborn noble, Sesshōmaru observes the surroundings one last time with his amber eyes and walks toward Goshinki's head still lying on the ground.
Once there and seeing how Rin continues playing with it, strange as it may seem, he grabs the head by one of the horns and lifts it onto his shoulder.
"Ouch… That hurt"
"Get up, we're leaving here"
"Understood Mr. Sesshōmaru!"
Raising her body from the ground before standing straight, literally like a soldier in formation, Rin brings her small hand to her forehead and gives a military salute.
Of course she could not maintain that discipline for long, because after only a few seconds she bursts into laughter and runs after Sesshōmaru.
…Some time later…
Near a river crossing a plain with its calm blue waters, beneath the morning sun and with the wind still cold from this very hour, an… Interesting? scenes can be seen.
"Let me go already damn it!"
Crawling like a worm across the ground full of green grass, a young man with white hair growls at the sky, although he can do very little in his current situation.
And what is that situation? Basically he is handcuffed at both hands and feet, surrounded by a thick rope stretching from his shoulders to his knees, and nearby a rubber apple can be seen.
Yes, earlier, that rubber apple was inside Inuyasha's mouth, making him unable to even speak.
"Fine, but I already told you that you have to pass the mental test. I can't allow-"
"To hell with your mental test, Asahiko! Just let me go already!"
"I told you I can't, you must understand that this is for your own good and I'm only doing it because of that"
Perhaps using his charm to soften his voice, Asahiko's blue eyes fall upon Inuyasha with unmistakable warmth, all in an attempt to calm him.
"Really…? I doubt it bastard!"
"No, no, Inuyasha. Don't resort to anger, look where it has led you, and how you ended up. Let my voice guide your-"
"Fuck you!"
Twisting his body as if he were a spring, Inuyasha gathers all possible strength in his lower half and tries to launch himself at Asahiko.
Such an attack, simple and direct beyond description, is easily dodged by Asahiko who merely steps to the side and lets him continue forward.
"Why the hell did you dodge it!"
"... Ah, so it's you"
"What does that mean!"
"Nothing important, just that even whatever possessed you last night would have trouble imitating your stupidity. Whatever, you're free"
Snapping the fingers of his left hand, the only functional one currently since his right hand remains injured despite his regeneration, Asahiko undoes the restraints keeping Inuyasha on the ground.
Surprisingly and against all expectations the latter does not instantly jump on Asahiko, but instead remains staring at the ground before clenching both hands into fists.
He is clearly angry, but who is he angry at? Asahiko for treating him this way, himself for what he did the previous night, or perhaps neither of the two… Who knows.
"… Where are the others?"
"Over there, can't you see them?. They tried to stay awake until you opened your eyes, but I had to knock them out after noticing how tired they were"
"Thanks… I…"
Biting his lip while remembering what he did the previous night, Inuyasha looks at his reflection in the calm waters of the river before him.
"Tell me, what happened last night?"
"It was… It was an instant. The moment Tetsusaiga was destroyed my body became something else; the blood in my veins seemed to burn, I could feel myself full of power and invincible before anyone"
Clutching his head with his hand to the point that he rips out some white hairs, Inuyasha's pupils tremble as he forces himself to remember.
"But when I saw you, you had no control over your body, you were no different from a wild beast"
"That's because that wasn't me. Along the way, at some point during the fight my mind went completely blank… I felt so, so"
"Like a demon?"
"Yes, what made me 'human,' what made me 'weak' was gone… Everything I desired but… but…"
"Wasn't what you expected?"
Popping the bubble of uncertainty surrounding Inuyasha with his cold words, Asahiko approaches his side and looks into the waters as well.
He still wore his elegant outfit of immaculate white, the same one clearly inspired by Sesshōmaru, but what stands out most is his exposed right shoulder.
The wound that was once shocking is now nothing more than a small line of uneven skin, but even that irregularity seems to be slowly disappearing, leaving behind perfect skin.
"The power was everything I imagined and more, even Goshinki fell in seconds without putting up resistance!"
"But at what cost? Was it worth it, Inuyasha?"
"No… What use is so much power if I can't control it? If I can't use it to protect them, to protect Kagome. It got out of hand, so… Thank you for stopping me"
Turning his face to stare directly with his amber eyes into Asahiko's blue ones that seem surprised, Inuyasha lowers his head for a few moments, demonstrating how important the previous night was for him.
"There's nothing to thank me for, we're friends, you know?"
"Are we?"
"Of course, I even tried to take your life a couple of times, and apparently that's the ritual to become part of the group"
Wrapping his healthy arm around Inuyasha's shoulder, the pain in his right arm is more mental than real, Asahiko explains the logic behind his words.
"It's not, Shippo never did it and he's part of the group!"
"Shippo is the mascot, the rules don't apply to him as long as he's cute. Same with Kirara, I'm sure she never tried to kill you"
"... You'd be surprised"
"Damn it, is it too late to back out?"
Trying to pull his hand away from Inuyasha's shoulder which now seems like burning iron, this guy only attracts problems, Asahiko becomes terrified when his arm is grabbed by a hand.
"Too late"
"Shit…"
…A little farther away…
"Asahiko really managed to calm Inuyasha down!"
Speaking with a shrill voice, Shippo looks with his brown eyes toward Miroku and gains new respect for the monk. He may be a pervert sometimes, but you really can rely on him when needed.
"Of course he did, after all Inuyasha treats him as an 'equal,' it would be easier to open up to him than to us"
"You're amazing, Miroku"
"Not at all, Miss Kagome. I'm sure you could have achieved the same thing as Asahiko, but…"
"It would have taken longer, I know"
Easily accepting that she was not the correct option for this situation, what truly mattered to her was that Inuyasha recovered, Kagome adjusts herself more comfortably against Kirara and closes her eyes.
It would be a problem if Inuyasha notices that all of them were watching, since showing "weakness" is a huge no in front of them.