The forest terrain seems to be ravaged by a storm, there are trees lying around, deep cracks that cross dozens of meters and strong currents of air are generated by the clash between two swords.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*
Swinging his sword in a downward attack, a young man with long silver hair and clothes that look noble, continues to press his opponent who can only be completely defensive.
"Go away!"
Letting out a sort of shout, thrusting his sword hard enough to destroy the ground beneath his feet and forcing his enemy back, the blond-haired young man who dresses as Onmyōji finally drives the silver-haired one away.
"Asahiko is losing?"
"No little fox, Sesshōmaru is cornering him thanks to his inherently superior racial strength and better polished swordplay."
Elsewhere further away from the battlefield and its aftermath, sits Inuyasha's entire group plus Saya who has just spoken to Shippo.
"Different ways of saying the same thing, in the end Asahiko is losing. Tsk, it was unnecessary for him to interfere, now I'm going to have to go help him."
"Stop right there."
"Because you hit me Miroku!"
"I understand your concern for Asahiko, but the calmness Myoga's friend is showing, makes me believe they have a plan."
Hitting Inuyasha with his staff, Miroku completely ignores Inuyasha's offended face and points towards Saya who watches the whole battle calmly.
"Emm, excuse me... Do you guys have a plan?"
"You can call me Saya, miss and can assure you that we don't have one."
Quickly responding to Kagome who appears from behind Inuyasha, Saya scratches her head and stays silent for a few seconds, before hearing Shippo's words.
"Don't say that so confidently!"
"Easy little fox, even without having a plan, this isn't going outside of Asahiko's capabilities. It would be better to say it's a useful experience, he should learn that even as a powerful Daiyoukai there are always strengths and weaknesses."
While Myoga and Totosai shake their heads in the affirmative, the rest of the group stares at Saya as if waiting for a more detailed explanation on the matter.
"How much do they know about the rank category in the yokais?"
"The more human their form, the stronger they are... Maybe?"
Stopping stroking his long beard, Saya looks at Myoga and he quickly hides back into Totosai's cow/ox, causing him to only be able to sigh, before opening his mouth.
"There is a bit of reason in that statement, but the most widely accepted classification by all is something like this. Yokais are the base, they come in multiple shapes, sizes and colors, their main characteristic is that they are controlled by their primitive instincts."
"Oh, the ugly critters that only know how to destroy everything in their path and have hardly any intelligence."
"Yes monk, these are the kind that priestesses and other spirit humans kill, but they almost never reach the second ones which are the Demons. When a yokai manages to accumulate great power and gain a high level of intelligence, they mostly create a human form, while gaining great abilities, better control of their instincts and other enhancements"
As Saya finishes speaking, Kagome's eyes seem to glow and she looks towards Sesshōmaru, though Saya just shakes her head, before continuing to speak.
"Finally there are the Daiyoukai who are few in number, but are brutally strong and revered. They mostly have subordinate Demons, rule a certain territory with an iron fist and prefer to stay out of everything."
"If you have denied Kagome's earlier thoughts, do you mean to say that those two classify as Daiyoukai?"
"Sesshōmaru certainly is one through and through, a descendant and heir of Inu no Taisho, Lord of the West. While Asahiko solely qualifies on the power chart, he has a lot... too much power if we're serious."
Doubting even his own words, Saya brings a hand to his beard and begins to braid it, before something brings him out of that mood.
*Booooom*
Christopher/Asahiko pov.
A thick layer of dust covers my sight, but this is quickly wiped away with the next clash between our swords and thanks to that I can see the state of the surroundings. Together with Sesshōmaru we find ourselves in a crater 20 meters wide and 2 meters deep, this was created by the clash between our swords.
"Are you even trying?"
"That's cruel, but you're right and I must accept that you are superior in physical strength."
"Only in strength?"
"Someone's proud and I haven't even started yet."
The mood certainly seems light between us, of course if we ignore that I'm slowly being dragged backwards by his strength and that if I don't take this seriously, my head is most likely going to roll.
Erasing those thoughts, I make five tails appear and attempt to pierce Sesshōmaru with them, though in a controlled move, Sesshōmaru reduces the force on his sword and lets himself be pushed back, gracefully dodging the attack coming from my tails.
"At last we begin."
"Sure, oh come on."
Quickly covering my body with three of my tails, he manages to resist the attack that previously knocked Inuyasha out, but taking advantage of that loss of vision, Sesshōmaru moves in a flash to my back.
Enjoying the tactical advantage my multiple tails give me, I tried to stop his movements and knockout, but he uses my tails as platforms to leap skyward, before initiating a swooping attack.
"Gotcha!"
Enjoying the combat I don't even care if I self-delict and as a sign of this, I raise an excited voice, before making the rest of my tails appear thus attacking towards the air. Sesshōmaru's response was spectacular, his body magically stopping in mid-air and then twisting it in a way that dodges both of my tails, then pushing one with his hand to move away from the spot.
"There were even more!"
"Surprise! But it has to be said, I didn't expect your flying skills to be so versatile!"
"Nor did I that you could react so fast with them, looks like this won't be boring."
Wow, looks like me or are we polishing each other's egos... Yeah, better to think we recognize each other as two great fighters. Forgetting that strange situation, I put my tails back on my back and grabbed Clouded Fang with two hands, at the same time transferring a large amount of energy to him.
Sesshōmaru does not stand still and from Tokijin negative energies begin to emerge, causing the blade to take on an ominous pink color. Seeing that we are both ready, we analyze each other for a few seconds and in a flash we return to combat.