Advancing at full speed while the forest beneath them quickly fades into the distance, Kikyo is carried by her shikigami and Asahiko jumps from tree to tree.
The former continues with her pale face still stoic, coldly proud and with a determined gaze. Along with that, her black hair extends behind her like a battle flag, creating a beautiful contrast with her red and white shrine maiden attire.
On the other hand, the golden-haired young man is the complete opposite, his face twists every few seconds and microspasms can be seen at all times. It seems that following Inuyasha's scent is a very bad experience.
"So, what's this great plan about, Kikyo?"
Pulling away the piece of red cloth that had been near his nose until a few moments ago, Asahiko forcibly recomposes his expression and speaks to the shrine maiden flying in front of him.
He urgently needed something to occupy his mind, he can't take the stench of Inuyasha in his nose anymore, he's even considering whether he'll start dreaming about him at night!.
"And since when are you interested in that, Asahiko? You've always shown very little interest in the more 'refined' side of the matter at hand"
"Tehh, since I have a rag smelling like a dog on my nose~. And it's not like I wasn't interested in the pearl, what it is and how it works… It's just that the relationship hadn't advanced enough for me to ask you about that"
Yes, his interest in the pearl went beyond taking one and becoming powerful, because a single shard can literally create miracles, so just imagine the entire pearl!.
That doesn't mean he wants it for himself or anything like that, but it must be admitted that unlike a certain sword that only knows how to throw red lights, the Pearl of Shikon is worth its weight in gold.
"And now it has advanced enough? So much that you can show your true desires, Asahiko"
"Wow, none of that, I think those shards were most useful to me for finding you"
"I found you in a river, not thanks to them"
"Yes, but remember that because I carried them you were able to open your eyes and show that you were alive, Kikyo"
Left speechless before that logic which seems correct, but somehow strange, Kikyo stops following the useless topic and explains a little.
"The Pearl of Shikon, Shikon no Tama or the Pearl of the Four Souls, is a cursed/sacred object born from the fusion between the spirit of a shrine maiden, Midoriko, and an innumerable quantity of yokai during a battle"
"...Fusion?"
"Just like Naraku did, when she found herself overwhelmed in battle and with no chance of victory in sight, Midoriko opened her body and soul to the entrance of the yokai. That was just before using the last of her energy in an attempt to purify them all, but what good did it do…?"
Letting out a mocking snort in her last words, perhaps because the solution was worse than the problem, or because she sees Midoriko as a representation of her past self with no desires other than exterminating yokai, Kikyo continues speaking.
"After that the Pearl of Shikon shot out from Midoriko's chest, a 'miraculous object' for both humans and yokai"
"Wait, humans can use them too? God, it was obvious, I even fought a boar with a shard… But wouldn't it drive them crazy or something like that?"
Remembering the state of everyone who used the shards, crazy and deformed animals at the same time and a sociopathic mirror, Asahiko starts considering whether they are really safe.
"That only happens with those who are not worthy, but those humans who can demonstrate any of the four fundamental virtues;Aramitama(valor), Nagimitama(friendship), Kushimitama(wisdom) or Sakimitama(love), will be able to use it without effects"
"Oh… Wait! Are you saying that I'm full of those four virtues? God, I'm incredible!"
"The shards in your possession are broken, that's all"
"Of course, that's why they are. That wasn't funny at all, Kikyo"
Stopping briefly only to manage to give the shrine maiden a reproachful look, Asahiko instantly recomposes his wounded pride and charges forward again, though not before moving on to the next topic.
This was about Kikyo's "plan", or at least he wants to believe she has one, there must be a reason she was so confident when giving the shards to Naraku and now says she needs Inuyasha plus his group of friends.
"We are far too slow and the more days pass… More shards will fall into the wrong hands. Those who have shards will want more, whether subconsciously or consciously, the power will make them fight among themselves, desire will corrupt them and the pearl will be stained with their dark desires"
"If we consider your words, I don't think Naraku is the exception to those rules, and he may even be the worse option currently"
"And that is the point, he has the desire… The need and the capabilities to resonate with the most 'dark' part of the Pearl of Shikon. He will gather the shards, stain them with his filthy desires… And at that moment everything will end"
Smiling for a brief instant, almost fleetingly, Kikyo fixes her gaze on the more "open" section of the forest and reveals a section of her plan.
"It seems you have everything under control, which I don't know whether it's good or if we should be a little afraid…"
"Relax, if you're on my side you won't have any reason to be afraid"
"Hahaha, who would have thought you know how to joke. That was a joke… Right? Right?"
Blinking several times as if to escape reality, Asahiko looks at her several times to see whether she has returned to her "half-crazy" state, but she seems fine… She doesn't have her hair loose or anything like that.
…Some time later…
The afternoon sun still continued giving light and comfort to all the people beneath its embrace, while our two heroes had just finished arriving at an area close to Inuyasha's.
The area was a slightly dense and well-lit small forest, at the end of it a plain can be seen, while farther away a village that seems to be in full activity can be seen. At the edge of the forest and before the plain begins, a rundown though functional cabin can be seen.
"Well, we've arrived… I suppose you'll take care of him, right?"
Finally throwing that piece of red cloth to the side, never having enjoyed dirtying the environment so much, Asahiko notices movement in the direction of the cabin and speaks with Kikyo.
She is sitting on the branch of a tree while some of her shikigami float around, slowly forming a barrier that even Asahiko can barely feel.
"Are you going with her?"
"How do you even know it's a woman? I can barely feel her presence from here, and by the way, I'm the supernatural demon"
Speaking more confidently about the spy observing them from a distance, since he now knows Kikyo is raising a barrier, he puts on an expression of disbelief and forcibly controls his desire to turn around.
"Female instinct"
"But no… Fine, you have a point. Yes, I'm going to check who it is because 'she' smells like Naraku"
"Heh, it seems following Inuyasha's scent ended up being useful after all, so much that now your sense of smell is more sensitive than your spiritual sense,"
"Agh, don't remind me of that, I think I'll have nightmares for weeks. I'll leave you since you have a guest~"
Disappearing in an almost invisible flash perfectly synchronized with the passing of a shikigami, Asahiko blends into the forest perfectly.
In one moment he was a leaf in the wind, then a small rock lying on the ground and afterward a random tree, all thanks to his transformations and illusions that make him undetectable.
It was certainly an incredible tactic, though even he fails for an instant when a heart-wrenching scream spreads through the forest. Such a scream composed of a spoonful of disappointment, one of rage and dust of well-hidden resentment, seems to belong to Inuyasha, though before it can be properly heard it disappears.
"Ouch, from here you can hear that soft heart cracking"
[Hahaha, he deserves it. There is nothing tastier than the pain of Inu no Taisho's relatives, I wish I could be there and see it with my own eyes]
"Sure, whatever you say. Now help me with her, or him?, whatever it is that I'm seeing right now"
Doubting himself upon seeing Kikyo was right and that it was a "she", Asahiko strokes his chin before carefully analyzing the woman. Not because he is a pervert, but because of the doubt about whether Naraku really crossdressed.
The woman has pale skin, black hair tied in a high ponytail thanks to a feather ornament and wears a colorful kimono. Her eyes are blood red just like Naraku's, but unlike him she has pointed ears similar to Sesshōmaru's, in addition to supernatural beauty.
[It's a wind spirit… No, it only appears to be one. She doesn't seem complete, I can feel that her 'life' is not here]
"Any advice?"
[Nothing important, she's just another demon from the pile… Stab her until she dies?]
"I was already expecting too much from you, Souga"
Cutting the mental link between the two of them, Asahiko slowly removes the transformation surrounding him and covers himself with an illusion, then takes Cloud Fang while fixing his blue eyes on the woman.
He was ready to attack or at least restrain her, since stabbing someone in the back isn't really his style, although smelling like Naraku takes away quite a lot of points from the woman and makes that extreme measure much more acceptable.
But of course not everything can go well, even more so when the problem is connected to Inuyasha, so before Asahiko could act, a small breeze caresses his body and his sense of danger explodes.
"Dance of the Blades!"
Pulling an elegant fan from inside her colorful kimono, the woman's wrist twists and the surrounding winds twist along with it, forming dozens of crescent-shaped blades.
It was a disaster, the entire region where Asahiko had previously been standing was instantly reduced to rubble, leaving barely one or two trees standing without leaves or branches.
While all that was happening and the woman lowered her guard slightly, since the destruction she caused with a single movement gives her a certain confidence, a golden bird observes from the sky before once again taking the form of a young man.
"Ok, here we go again"