Long before the encounter between Kagome, Kikyo, Inuyasha and Asahiko happened, deep in the forest.
"She ran off into the forest?"
Gathered inside Kaede's small house, everyone looks slightly surprised at Miroku, before those words leave Sango's lips.
Obviously Sango wasn't the only one surprised, but Inuyasha and Shippo are too, but the former is still angry at Kagome, while the latter is saddened by her fault.
"That's right young Sango. I was washing the bandages in the river and I ran into Asahiko. We talked for a few minutes, but then he suddenly came out of the river and left."
"Maybe he went to relieve himself, Miroku."
Giving a quick opinion in his squeaky voice, Shippo seems to snap out of his sadness for a few seconds, but quickly goes back to making circles on the ground with his fingers.
"It won't be because of that..."
"What, what do you think!"
"Stop yelling at you silly dog, can't you see Sango is thinking. Well, a flea dog like you doesn't even know what it is…."
"Shippo... You little raccoon!"
In a few moments the room turned into an uproar, on one side we had Inuyasha who tries to hit Shippo, on the other Miroku who seems to want to stop them, but clearly doesn't mean it, the only thing salvageable is Sango and Kirara.
"Kikyo, most probably it's about her. Don't you think so too, your excellency?"
Sango's few words manage to silence the room, except for Shippo who took the opportunity to hit Inuyasha's face with a pot. Such behavior aside, Sango now has everyone's attention on her person.
"Certainly, it's very likely. The only times we've seen Asahiko act seriously is when Kikyo is involved."
"I have also noticed it, your excellency, hence my thoughts."
"Poor Inuyasha, Koga is trying to steal Miss Kagome and Asahiko is trying to steal the priestess Kikyo, he doesn't seem to have a good future in love."
Nodding in Sango's direction, both she and Miroku give Inuyasha a pitying look and then begin to leave the room.
"Wait for me, don't leave me here! I want to see what Asahiko is up too!"
"Inuyasha, just say you're jealous, no one here is judging you."
"Shut up Miroku!"
...Some time later...
Jumping from tree to tree as the silver moonlight bathes his body, Inuyasha maintains a frown and after jumping about two more times, he finally comes to a complete stop.
"It's totally useless, how can it be that I can't even keep track of her!"
Grabbing his white hair with his hands, Inuyasha begins to tug on his white locks in a show of fury.
*Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom* *Boom*.
Multiple exposures can be heard over the forest sky, while luminous flashes paint the dark sky in shades of orange.
They were clearly the aftermath of the previous attack Asahiko had carried out, more precisely against the giant snake.
"Hey, I've found it.... Where did they go?"
Searching the surroundings with his eyes, Inuyasha is a little surprised to see no one, but he quickly pulls himself together and with a steady gaze advances towards the distant explosions.
Thanks to his demonic blood that grants him superhuman abilities, Inuyasha reaches the area in a few moments. Stopping to look at the surroundings, he raises his head as he notices a strange noise coming from the sky.
"What... What is that!"
Acting in a clearly exaggerated manner, Inuyasha quickly jumps to the side and at that very instant, the corpse of a burnt snake crashes into the ground, causing it to vibrate from its impact.
"Cahg, cagh. Damn Asahiko, cagh..."
Coughing continuously as he swallowed the dust from the surroundings, Inuyasha waved his hand in front of himself and loudly insulted Asahiko in passing.
But his moment of relaxation was short lived, for within moments, cracks of varying sizes and depths began to spread across the snake's body.
From those cracks, a soft white light begins to emerge and in a few moments a column of souls rises into the sky. Luckily Inuyasha had sensed something strange and with a swift movement, he pins Steel Fang to the ground.
"Asahikooooooo!"
In the middle of the clearly angry shout, Inuyasha's eyes notice something very special happening, causing him to calm down and take a closer look. It's about Kikyo's Shikigamis, those who are in charge of delivering the souls.
Her eyes flashed for an instant and with new determination she guards Steel Fang, letting the force of the wind push him in the direction of the Shikigamis.
It was a rough landing, but that was the least of Inuyasha's thoughts and with that said, he quickly begins to chase after the shikigami heading into the depths of the forest.
"Ki... Kikyo!"
With palpable concern in his tone of voice, Inuyasha runs erratically towards Kikyo, who is unconsciously leaning against a tree, while her shikigami deliver the souls to him.
"Inu... Inuyasha, did you help me?"
Lifting her eyelids that seem to be extremely heavy and resistant to her efforts, Kikyo's brown eyes reveal a trace of uncertainty, while her voice has a rare hint of weakness.
"I... No, that doesn't matter now Kikyo, who dared to do this to you?".
Taking one of her pale hands and knelt down to be at her level, Inuyasha's words are laden with well contained fury towards whoever did this.
"I see, hahaha.... It was Naraku who did it, Inuyasha. He ambushed me and that's how I ended up."
Chuckling awkwardly as he notices Inuyasha's momentary hesitation, he quickly recomposes his stoic expression and Kikyo begins to explain briefly about her situation.
Kikyo's explanation was incredibly detailed, something extremely strange considering how little she speaks, but perhaps it's not about her, but her state of mind.
"Naraku, you fucking creep!"
Eyes burning in unbridled fury, rubbing his teeth noisily and clawing at the ground with his free hand, Inuyasha stops all of the above, only to embrace Kikyo's cold body.
"Stay with me Kikyo, I can promise you that Naraku will never hurt you again."
"Really Inuyasha?"
Kikyo's hopeful voice carries through the forest as she rests her head on Inuyasha's shoulder, only to stop and continue speaking.
"You must know what I have become, Inuyasha. There is no longer a place among humans for me.... Would you still stay with me?"
"N, no, no. No, it doesn't have to be like this! I know they will understand, be it Sango, Miroku and Kagome."
The air began to thicken in a few seconds, apparently Kikyo didn't like Kagome being talked about around her either, but Inuyasha seemed to be the only one who didn't notice.
But that wasn't the only change, as Kikyo's atmosphere became slightly dangerous. Her unstable mental state had not only made her more prone to talk, but also to relapse into her negative emotions.
*Crack
Before anything can fully explode, the sound of a snapping branch pierces the darkness of the night and considering the surrounding silence, you can easily tell its origin.
"Everything has an absolutely logical and rational explanation, which will leave us all satisfied."
Ignoring the piercing gaze coming from Inuyasha and Kikyo, the newcomer raises his head before letting out a few words.
Who else could be the voyeur than Asahiko, he had slightly lost control in the face of his instincts, causing him to set up this play and mistakenly charm Kagome.
"Asahikooooo!"
"Yes, a rabid dog!"