Inside the underground structure that Totosai uses as his residence, which at one point was the body of an enormous yokai and is now embedded within a volcano, the atmosphere seems to become distorted.
The latter was not a metaphor, but rather it truly becomes distorted because of the heat down here, of which there is certainly more than enough to cook a normal human without even needing an oven.
Fortunately, everyone gathered here is far from normal or human, since one is a Hanyō who uses this place as his personal forge, another is a "demonic" fox, and the third is an undead shrine maiden... Quite a strange group even for this era.
"This is Totosai, creator of Sacred Fang, Steel Fang, friend of Saya, and half subordinate of Inuyasha by inheritance from his father."
Snapping his fingers so that confetti cannons explode around Totosai, making him look more "impressive" than he currently does, Asahiko introduces him to Kikyo with great fanfare.
It was somewhat unnecessary if we speak seriously, since Totosai's history as a blacksmith is incredible and anyone who knows him thinks the same, but better safe than sorry... Especially now that the coward is as pale as a ghost and trembling to his very core.
Yes, he still has not gotten over the fear of almost being killed by Kikyo, a fear that continues to grow as he sees the powerful spiritual barrier surrounding the shrine maiden's body, one that seems intent on burning out his eyes. How is Asahiko still standing so calmly beside her without being purified on the spot?!
"I, I..."
"He's not what I expected, but I suppose he's the perfect subordinate for Inuyasha."
"Hahaha, he's more impressive when you get to know him better. Come on, Totosai, stop acting like a coward already."
Walking from one side of the table to the other where they were gathered, Asahiko places his right arm over Totosai's shoulder and smiles confidently at Kikyo, all while discreetly using his charm to calm the old man.
All this kindness is obviously not because of the instincts that occasionally control his actions, those impulses only seem to be directed toward defenseless humans, but rather because it is a strategy to dig into Inuyasha's corner and increase Totosai's favorability.
And why all this? Simple, despite everything the old man is the best blacksmith he knows so far, the creator of two simply astonishing swords, in addition to a flawless walking encyclopedia such as Saya.
"I... I... Gulp, what do you need, Asahiko?"
"Nothing very important, just a little help with-. Do I look like Inuyasha to you, you damned idiot?"
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! But I really can't do anything! Look at my arms, they're no different from a pair of dry branches about to snap. I can't even properly use a sword if I try!"
Twisting on the ground like an insect while Asahiko's foot remains firmly planted on his back, because Totosai had tried to escape at the beginning of the conversation, the latter begins justifying how useless he is.
Apparently, besides being a complete coward, Totosai is also a man without a shred of pride or self-esteem, something honestly very predictable considering the old man's personality.
"Tsk, if it were a problem to solve with my fists, I wouldn't come asking you. I'm more than enough on my own... Besides, I have her."
"Uh, now that I look properly she resembles that aggressive girl named Kagome too much, the one traveling with Inuyasha. But she's obviously not human, is she? You couldn't have created a clone of-Ahh, don't kill me!"
"Then keep quiet, you stupid old man."
Showing a murderous glare that freezes Totosai's blood despite them literally being inside a volcano, Kikyo clenches her teeth without a trace of restraint, and several negative thoughts surface in her mind.
Her, a clone of that idiot, the same one who cannot use a bow or purify a yokai with her own hands? Don't joke around! At most Kagome could be called a cheap imitation of her. She still truly doubts that she is her reincarnation... She's just a girl who knows how to shout "Inuyasha" every time she's in danger!
"Ahem, ahem, let's return to the main topic or I'll end up becoming an accomplice to murder. What did you expect, Totosai? Obviously I'm going to choose her. Just look at her and then look at yourself, there's no reason to hesitate."
"They're all the same. Inu no Taisho with that human princess, Inuyasha with Kagome, and you with this shrine maiden... Tsk, they say what cannot be won with the sword is won with-Ahh!"
"Well done."
"Of course, a dangerous truth- Ahem, ahem, something dangerous was about to come out of his mouth."
Looking away from Kikyo's eyes as well as lifting the foot that still rested on Totosai's back, who quickly scurries away from him, Asahiko begins counting several of the cracks in the wall and pretends he said nothing.
But that crude "escape technique" does not amuse the shrine maiden in the slightest, as she narrows her cold brown eyes and instantly reconstructs what he had intended to say, causing the surroundings to drop several degrees due to the psychological pressure she begins releasing.
"Stop going in circles and ask him what we came here for already, Asahiko."
"Hahaha, sure, sure. Ahem, Totosai, have you heard about the cat yokai?"
"Cat yokai? It wouldn't be strange. Very strange things emerge from humans' negative thoughts and become yokai."
"No, no, I'm talking about the cat yokai who followed a leader named Oyokata. The ones who fought against Inuyasha's father, lost, and whose leader died beneath the blade of Clouded Fang."
Trying to explain the entire story with the fragments he has on hand, since he never really sat down to hear everything that happened and its consequences, Asahiko snaps his fingers and makes an illusory cat yokai appear atop the table between them.
This was not Shunran, the bronze-skinned cat man they encountered in the city, but rather a completely ordinary and easily recognizable anthropomorphic cat, all to make it easier for the old man's memory to search through its dusty recollections.
"Ah, yes, yes! I remember them well! They're those leopard cats originally from the western region, an extremely spiteful group that launched two attacks against this region before. Fortunately, Inu no Taisho defeated them the first time, while when they returned for revenge Sesshōmaru also managed to defeat them."
"Only Sesshōmaru? More importantly, Sesshōmaru helping humans?"
"As for the first, Inuyasha had recently been sealed by a shrine maiden at that time, although some of Inu no Taisho's remaining troops also helped. As for the second, Sesshōmaru didn't do it for the humans, but because he inherited this region from his father, and it seems his mother, Inu no Kami, asked him to."
Scratching his bald head uncertainly while speaking about the second part, especially when he mentioned Sesshōmaru's mother last, Totosai finally proves to be somewhat useful.
"So it was simply a kind of territorial war between Inuyasha's father and Oyokata? And here I was thinking yokai weren't that intelligent, that human things like those didn't interest them."
"As you should know, Daiyokai are no different from humans. Just look at yourself. When a yokai reaches that rank, its human form is no longer an illusion or transformation, but a true body just like its yokai form, giving rise to new desires and feelings."
"Oh, so it wasn't human egocentrism at work when novels and books pointed that out, but rather the stronger the yokai becomes, the more human it looks?"
"Yes, with certain exceptions, such as the one we're talking about, Oyokata. In appearance he is an enormous leopard cat ten meters tall or even larger, since apparently he was never able to synthesize a human form... A truly shameful thing. But then again, there was never anyone strong in the western region."
Speaking with a strange trace of arrogance in his tone, Totosai shakes his head and returns to his foolish expression, making that moment seem fleeting.
"Yes, yes, Inu no Taisho's bootlicker. Anyway, then the main base of those cats is in that region?"
"I don't think so. They suffered a major blow to their prestige after their two consecutive defeats, and even the human region known as Chūgoku fell into Inu no Taisho's hands, so they're probably-. No, wait, why are you asking?"
"Nothing too important, except that those idiots came back, plundered, and even captured humans from the villages of the region, all as part of a possible crazy plan to revive Oyokata."
Creating several illusions atop the table to accompany the rhythm of his words, Asahiko speaks in a carefree manner but maintains a clear intensity in his gaze.
This had long since stopped being only Inuyasha's or Sesshōmaru's problem and had become a personal one, mainly because the actions of those cat yokai had gone too far.
They attacked human villages, captured their inhabitants as if they were worth less than livestock, and perhaps were even sacrificing them. An entire sequence of actions that stirred a "righteous anger" within Asahiko, one that exploded when he found himself directly caught in the middle of the problem the previous afternoon.
Since the filth had touched him, the cats' problem, why keep acting cautiously now? To hell with it, they need to be beaten up and he can feel good about himself while also doing something good for the world.
"I had forgotten they were as spiteful as they were loyal. There is a forward base they used during their previous two invasions. They're probably gathering there and-"
"KIKYOOO!"
"Oh, no. Not you again."
Looking toward Inuyasha, who seemed possessed by a demon, his eyes bloodshot and his veins bulging, Asahiko slaps his forehead with the palm of his hand.
He had barely finished one problem before another one began, and this one was close and impossible to avoid.