Once again inside Kaede's small house, which considering that she is the priestess in charge of this village should probably be living somewhere much better, one can witness a... Interesting scene.
The first thing is Asahiko lying on the futon with the back of his body facing the ceiling, trembling every so often from some sudden spasm, with an old woman's hands resting on his back.
That old woman, also known as Kaede, moves her hands over Asahiko's muscles with incredible mastery, causing them to relax and eliminating the stiffness caused by the sudden movement.
"Stay still, everything will be over in a few moments."
Removing her hands from Asahiko's back with the calm granted by practice and age, Kaede once again spreads a greenish paste over her fingers before returning to work.
This "greenish paste" is actually an ointment with mild analgesic properties, although Kaede seriously doubts it is effective on demons, but better safe than sorry.
"So then... Kikyo's little sister?"
"¿Yes?"
"Ha, ha, ha. My God, what an awkward situation."
Muttering quietly at his poor opening to the conversation, since talking about a mutual acquaintance usually works, Asahiko finally falls silent and stays still again.
He tried and failed; now it is time to retreat and look for another opening in the conversation. Not because he needs to talk, but because the silence that has settled here is truly uncomfortable.
"I was merely surprised by being called that. It has been decades since someone addressed me that way... Those were such good memories."
"I think she told me something about how you traveled for a time eliminating all kinds of yokai, until you finally settled in this village and she began protecting the Shikon Jewel."
"A rather shortened version of the story she told you, but generally speaking you are correct. By the way, I noticed your sarcasm, although I still maintain that they were good times... Perhaps even the best of my life."
Turning her brown eye away from Asahiko's back to look at his face, Kaede appears to have a damaged eye covered by a black patch. She points out her patient's "bad" behavior with the calm that only age can grant.
And understandably so. Unlike Kikyo's, her age has advanced normally, reaching a figure well above seventy years. Perhaps in the "present" that would be normal, but in these turbulent times she is no different from a relic of another era.
"In all those years I traveled with my older sister, I never once felt lost or afraid. She always had a solution for every problem. I admired her so much that I even followed in her footsteps as a priestess."
"Hahaha, it would be interesting to see Kikyo's face if she heard that. You know, nowadays she says she isn't a priestess, although she always uses the clothes, the bow, and even the attitude of one whenever certain problems arise."
"So she still does it... You have a long road ahead of you. You must work harder to open her 'heart' if you wish to succeed where others have fallen, Asahiko."
Remembering her sister, the real one and not the "perfect priestess" everyone wanted to see, Kaede lets out some strange words.
These could perhaps be added to the statements made by that nightmare, the same one that claimed to be the "real Kikyo," but in Asahiko's current state, what Kaede says is no different from the Enigma code of a certain mustached character.
"What does that mean?"
"...Now I understand why you get along with Inuyasha, but I trust your chances. The first step is always the hardest."
"Huh?"
"You're ready now. Give it a few days... Hours, and you'll be back to normal."
Finishing her treatment by giving Asahiko a pat on the back to see whether the analgesic had worked properly, Kaede nods and calmly leaves the room, leaving behind a very confused Asahiko.
...Some time later...
"Shouldn't you be resting, Asahiko? And what are you doing? Why are you carrying those logs?"
Perched on the branch of a nearby tree while watching the "savage" moving below—literally with his bandaged chest exposed and two logs hanging from his shoulders—Shippo doubts whether what he is seeing is real.
The day before, Asahiko had still been lying in bed unable to move, so much so that Shippo had to call Kaede to help him, but now he is already in top shape and carrying logs two or three times his size on his shoulders.
"Unlike your dog friend, I actually repay the kindness others show me, so once I recovered I asked Kaede whether she needed help with anything, and to my surprise she actually did."
"She does? She hasn't told me anything at all... Are you sure you're not doing it to earn points with her because she's Kikyo's sister?"
"Aghh, where did you get that from?!"
"Miroku always does it. He says it's important to prepare the ground for a good harvest... Although I don't know what that means."
Revealing part of Miroku's dark secrets, although we all know that if something moves, he will probably go after it, Shippo shakes his head from side to side with an innocence only possible in childhood.
"Probably for the best. Now... Help me with one of these and we can take—"
"Hahaha, look at the time. I'm sure they've already gotten tired of looking for me. See you later, Asahiko!"
"Tsk, look at him running. Weren't children in these times supposed to be used as cheap labor?"
Muttering to himself with a mildly annoyed expression, like an old man watching the younger generations, Asahiko simply lets out a sigh and returns to his work of carrying logs toward the village.
At first he did not want to do this log-carrying work. He is an educated man with a dazzling record, slightly adjusted by a certain family member behind the scenes, admittedly, but that does not change the fact that he is the most educated man in the village... Perhaps even in the country!
But despite all of that, despite being able to calculate the rotation of planets, speak several languages, and know Greek and Roman mythology, in the end he is now just a field laborer. Ahh, life is so harsh when—
"Get your head out of the clouds, boy!"
"Damn old man... Who do you think you— Ah!"
"Less talking and more action. Those houses won't repair themselves."
"Yes, yes."
Dragging his feet that had carried him all the way to the village without him realizing it, Asahiko ignores, for the sake of his mental well-being, the staff that had struck his head earlier and continues forward.
There, ahead, where there had once been abandoned houses, wild bushes, and overgrown paths, several people can be seen working beneath the afternoon sun.
"By the way, old man, aren't villages like yours usually inclined to avoid strangers? Then why—"
"I know what you mean, and I can tell you that I was completely against accepting these refugees... Especially when I heard that their village was attacked by yokai seeking to kidnap them. Who knows if they'll come back for them!"
"The yokai are kidnapping people? That doesn't... No, this is actually a very recognizable pattern. Did they say anything about cats, panthers, or perhaps something similar?"
Internally celebrating for having managed to finish his sentence without being interrupted again by the old man, Asahiko makes his interest in the topic very clear, the same topic that has appeared repeatedly throughout his adventure.
"How would I know? Didn't you hear me say that I disagree with this? Kids these days never listen to their elders!"
"Tsk, you're a grumpy old man."
"What did you say, boy?!"
"Nothing, nothing."
Completely ignoring the wooden staff that strikes him from behind—he does not even feel it—Asahiko finally leaves the logs at the construction site and takes the opportunity to look around.
The refugees were, for the most part, weak elderly people and small children, clearly a "burden" on the village if viewed coldly, while also being "difficult" for those strange yokai to transport.
Just think about it. Elderly people and children are more likely to die along the way than healthy adults. That is when they are human prisoners; now consider that they have been taken by a group of yokai... Only God knows in what condition they are being kept.
"This looks like the beginning of a major problem."
"It certainly is, Asahiko."
"Ahhh, how the hell did you appear there?!"
Jumping in fright because Kaede had suddenly appeared behind him, Asahiko places a hand on his chest and takes several deep breaths.
"No one suspects an old woman. We are naturally considered harmless, so people ignore us."
"I think... I think I've just felt a bit of inspiration from what you said, something like not going directly against the current, but merely altering it slightly."
"I'm not entirely sure what you mean, but I'm glad I could be of help, just as you have been to the village."
Directing her single eye toward the old houses being repaired, many of which had been damaged the first time Kagome arrived at the village, Kaede still clearly remembers how the teenager was chased by a centipede demon that was later defeated by Inuyasha.
"It was nothing. Consider it repayment for saving my life."
"Even if I hadn't done it, you would still be alive. Besides, the bandages and other 'medical supplies' belonged to Kagome. You should thank her when she returns."
"If they return. I've spent a few days with them, and they always end up in some different problems."
"Haa... Surely Inuyasha's fault." x2
...Elsewhere...
Observing with his amber, almost golden eyes the person—or rather, the people—standing before him, Inuyasha tightens his grip on Tessaiga's hilt and purses his lips at how heavy the sword still is.
Now would be a good time to have Asahiko by his side, especially since these two extensions of Naraku possess astonishing physical abilities, but their minds seem to be completely blank canvases.
"What's wrong, flea-ridden dog? Is your sword too heavy?"
"Shut your damn mouth, cowardly wolf! Do you think I didn't see you running away with your tail between your legs when those two showed up?"
Pointing with the tip of his sword toward the two "extensions" of Naraku, who seem to be twins if one ignores the fact that the fast one has a body resembling a flesh-made praying mantis and lives inside the mouth of the strong one, who, by the way, looks like a normal human.
"Hahaha, I'm not going to waste words teaching you a lesson. A dog like you could never understand what strategy is."
"The strategy of cowardice?"
"Strategic retreat, you idiot dog!"
So furious that even his wolf tail bristles, yes, Inuyasha's new "friend" appears to be a wolf demon, although clearly weaker than Sesshōmaru or Asahiko considering that he still retains animal limbs.
"You don't even believe that yourself, cowardly wolf."
"Grr, I'm going to kill you someday…"