Advancing at full speed through the forest while dodging trees, murderous roots, and the fog that thickens from time to time, Inuyasha's face quickly darkens.
It had to be accepted, it was already impossible to know the direction where Sango is, so many turns, so many jumps from here to there… Inuyasha's compass was simply lost along the way.
"Inuyasha, watch out!"
Dodging by pure luck the multiple incoming attacks from beyond the fog, the dog ears atop Inuyasha's white hair rise, and he makes another evasive maneuver in the air with mixed results.
"Mixed" because Inuyasha manages to keep Kagome and Shippo in his grasp, but also loses Miroku due to those abrupt movements, resulting in the latter being grabbed by the roots and dragged into the fog.
"¡Miroku!"
"Wait, Inuya—"
Propelling his body forward as soon as his foot touches the ground, Inuyasha unsheathes Tessaiga and cuts a path through the roots with his sword, gradually getting closer to Miroku.
But just when he already had him in sight, at least Miroku's body being dragged by the roots, Inuyasha finally realizes that he feels lighter… Yes, Kagome and Shippo are no longer there.
"Kagome! Shippo!"
"Th. In. Here."
"Grr… Damn it!"
Furious beyond measure, Inuyasha dodges the incoming roots and runs toward the voice he just heard, though little by little he is worn down by the continuous attacks, until he too is finally captured.
Of course he resisted, biting and kicking the roots that tried to immobilize him, but in the end there were too many for him.
…Elsewhere…
"This place…"
Looking at the hallway illuminated by the warm light coming from the candelabras, with elegant paintings on the sides and the floor made of dark wood, Asahiko steps back a few paces.
Those "unwanted" steps lead him to bump into a wall behind him, drawing his attention as he feels the cold of glass against his back.
There, on the other side of the glass, an extensive garden can be seen with marble fountains, neatly trimmed trees, and smooth stone paths… although strangely there are large areas that are blurred, fuzzy, or simply black.
"So this… isn't real? Ah, I got scared for a few seconds. Then where, no, I already know."
Looking at the garden outside the window that grows darker, while indistinct figures in voluminous dresses and formal suits move elegantly, Asahiko's face shows clear disgust.
Not toward the entire scene, the party taking place in the garden, but toward the people in particular and what they seem to represent for him.
"When was this? Two or three days later? They almost look like vultures circling a pile of carrion, no… Those animals only take advantage of the dead, but these… Heh."
Savoring that last "Heh" that comes out bitter as death, Asahiko stops looking at the play outside the window and starts walking down the hallway until he reaches a staircase.
It led to the main hall, although according to his memories it should not, but Asahiko ignores that inconsistency as he instantly realizes which unpleasant memory he is in.
Yes, the dim lighting, creating an artificial sunset that drowns warmth, the low murmurs like venomous snakes… And the masks hanging from the faces of those who call themselves "family."
"For from dust we came and to dust—"
Ignoring the priest standing on the podium, surrounded by the same indistinct figures who now share blond hair and blue eyes, Asahiko slowly approaches the two open coffins beneath the podium.
They were made of perfectly crafted smooth wood, with a white interior upon which two individuals rested. The one on the right is a beautiful young woman, with pale skin and black hair, and her features are clearly oriental.
On the other hand, the one on the left is a man with blond hair, equally pale and with western features, giving him an air of nobility even in stillness.
"Fa—"
"Dad! Pl, ple… Dad!"
"Young master, please, your parents are no—"
Seeing those two figures that appear suddenly, the child crying over the coffin and the elderly man dressed as a butler trying to calm him, several murmurs begin to reach Asahiko's ears.
At first they were brief, fragmented and so quiet that even with his supernatural senses he can barely hear them, but that begins to change far too quickly.
"Did it really happen?"
"Wasn't that curse thing just a myth?"
"Does it matter? Now the custody of the child is more important."
"I know you, @#&&€, you just want the inheritance."
Distorting their words until they sound no different from animal growls in Asahiko's ears, they all keep talking shamelessly.
"What a pity, who will take care of everything with Asahiko so young?"
"Surely not you. The three main branches will fight among themselves, the ##¥¥$, %&€€ and the Americans."
"Are the latter still alive?"
"They are, they even had a daughter named Ja%#€"
Taking several breaths as his pupils dilate for a moment, Asahiko clenches his fist, grinds his teeth and tries to turn toward the guests.
"Here young master, your mother—"
"What does that matter! She's dead, dead and now everyone, everyone… Uwaa, sniff"
"Calm down, just ignore them, all of them young masters."
Seeing the calloused hand of the old man on the hair of his younger self, Asahiko glances at the flower fallen on the ground "Your mother's favorite," and a bitter smile spreads across his face as he walks toward the main door.
Upon opening it, with more force than truly required, Asahiko does not appear outside the house or in the garden, but just like on the staircase, he now finds himself in a different but important place.
"I am Gabriel, the—"
"The winner of the auction it seems."
"… Ah, why don't you take a seat so we can talk better, Asahiko?"
Following the finger of the older man with blond hair and green eyes, who wears square glasses, Asahiko sees his younger self drag himself to the sofa with a dull expression.
This man, Gabriel, was the head of the American branch, a professor of world history on the surface and a business magnate behind the scenes. It was from him that Asahiko obtained his title, along with a recommendation and several other benefits in the future.
"What do you want, the finances? The list of properties?… Albert has all that, so go talk to him."
"None of that interests me, as you know I have more than enough money."
"Then what do you want?"
"Perhaps after you calm down."
Along with Gabriel's tired but understandable words, the room cracks and recombines into another memory, then another and another, until everything becomes blurry before being expelled through the door.
Where he lands is once again in the main hall, a place where darkness is omnipresent and a coffin can be seen again. But this time there are no "Guests," only a hunched and silent figure, while large black cracks fill the space.
"Albert…" x2
"I'm sorry… It was all my fault… My grandfather" x2
Speaking both at the same time as if possessed by the situation, the two Asahikos approach the coffin and look at Albert resting inside. The old man was there, with his eyes closed and surrounded by flowers, the only great pastime of his entire life.
Seeing him there, still, lifeless… For the second time, was an enormous mental blow for the real Asahiko, causing the black cracks to rapidly consume the entire hall.
"I'm going to kill him… Damn Naraku… I will put his head on a pike!"
Growling as warm memories with Albert seep through the many cracks, from the care he showed during his childhood to the guidance in his adolescence, Asahiko's entire body glows red and a sword materializes at his waist.
The newcomer is Clouded Fang, which seems to shift from illusion to reality in a few seconds, as if it could smell Asahiko's negative emotions.
[So much hatred, self-contempt and vengeance… It makes my mouth water]
"Shut up and tell me how I get out of here, Souga"
[Simple… Open a door to hell while thinking of the surface, your subconscious will do the rest. Of course you don't know how… But let me guide you, hahaha]
Without waiting or complaining about the lack of detail in the information, Asahiko slowly draws Clouded Fang from its sheath and slashes forward. The cut was painfully slow, as if he were cutting through the resistant flesh of something invisible, but it finally opens and a red flash covers everything.
…Elsewhere…
Leaning against a large decrepit tree devoid of leaves and branches, not very different from a bare trunk from which hundreds of roots extend into the surroundings, a priestess slowly opens her eyes.
Within those brown orbs, dark shadows spread momentarily, revealing the complex emotions stirring inside their owner.
"Why the surprise, Kikyo? Did you perhaps see something that—"
Cutting off his own words, Naraku, or rather his puppet, lifts his maskless head mechanically and directs his gaze toward an abnormally red direction.
That red area begins to expand until even a part of the night sky is dyed red, giving an unpleasant sensation to anyone who watches it for too long.
"Now I truly want to know what you managed to see in his memories, Kikyo. But… I think it's better to leave it for later, now I need you to fulfill your part of the deal."
Laughing with satisfaction while watching the red light fade, Naraku's puppet remains still when it is pierced by an arrow, being forcefully expelled from the tree and embedded into another.
"You…"
"Relax, I will fulfill my part too, but your presence was already becoming unpleasant."
"Ha, ha… Hahaha"
Frowning slightly at the puppet's deranged laughter, as if it could see beyond her superficial words, Kikyo ignores it as she watches it lose all power and pulls out a rose from inside her clothing.
The rose once of dazzling colors, a creation made by Asahiko for her, is now gray and withered, like a dying ember in its final moments.
And it is no wonder, as it was used as a catalyst for this formation, the creation of fog/nightmares, as well as to infiltrate Asahiko's mind… which has better mental defenses due to his race.
"Why does everything… always have to revolve around her"
Biting her lip as she recalls what she saw in Asahiko's memories, Kikyo's thoughts inevitably lead her toward Kagome's figure… And her connection with the Goshinboku.
A long time ago, a piece of the latter, also known as the sacred tree later on, was used to create a well. No one knows who made it or why, but what matters is that later it was discovered that by throwing yokai bodies in there, they would turn into bones in hours… as if time were distorted.
That, combined with the original memories of the piece of soul taken from Kagome, which serves as her central soul, Kikyo easily notices the coincidences.
"What kind of joke is this… Is it destiny perhaps? Hahaha"
Laughing with that manic tone that sometimes escapes her, Kikyo surrounds herself with her shikigami and is lifted into the sky, advancing quickly toward a specific direction.