"What is Naraku even thinking?"
"Why do I have to babysit this guy?"
Kagura fanned herself impatiently, the lacquered edge half-covering her face as she peered at the target lurking inside a nearby cave.
Being stuck between Hakudoshi and Naraku was already enough of a headache. And now, on top of all that, she'd been sent to keep an eye on this mysterious "Servant" of unknown origin?
'Collect all seven, and any wish can be granted.'
'That man is a helper I summoned through a ritual.'
'He's... slightly different from the yokai you're used to.'
Recalling how casually Naraku had explained everything, Kagura knew the man was up to something. He always was.
'Kagura. Monitor his every move.'
'As for Hakudoshi and the infant, I'll have someone deal with them.'
So she had a new purpose now. Just useful enough to be kept alive a little longer.
"Hm?!"
Movement at the cave mouth. Kagura's eyes locked onto the target.
A man. Abnormally pale skin. At first glance, he could have passed for human.
"He doesn't look like a human, but he doesn't feel like a yokai either."
After years of brushing shoulders with every breed of human and demon imaginable, Kagura had developed a sharp instinct for these things.
This one was something else entirely.
And then she saw what he was doing.
The man had captured several humans. One by one, he was transforming them into something different.
"Tch. Useless, all of them."
"I poured that much blood into them, and only a single Lower Moon?"
Kagura could hear his irritated voice clearly from behind the tree.
'Demons?'
She frowned and ducked back. Something was very wrong here.
WHOOSH!
CRASH!!
She threw herself aside on pure instinct. A spike of flesh punched through the tree trunk exactly where her head had been. The attack was horrifyingly familiar.
"Tch. Is this guy the same type as Naraku?"
"He's basically a new incarnation."
Fan raised, Kagura glared at the cold, predatory eyes staring back at her.
"I see."
"If it's someone like you, you might make an excellent Upper Moon."
Muzan had detected her long ago. Whatever conclusion he just reached put a thin smile on his face.
The Demons he'd dispatched earlier to gather intelligence had already taught him the basics of this world.
"Demons" existed here too, yes. But they weren't the same as the ones from his era. In this world, the dominant supernatural creatures were yokai.
That Master called "Naraku" had been bizarre, yes. But this yokai woman tracking him didn't seem to possess anything close to Naraku's level of power.
"AAHH!"
"HAAH!!"
The Demons flanking Muzan surged toward Kagura.
"Tch, out of my way, you small fry!"
She swung her fan.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH!!
CRUNCH!!
Wind blades carved through the air. Every Demon rushing her was sliced cleanly into three pieces.
'Magnificent! This woman alone outclasses the entire Demon Slayer Corps in raw combat power!'
She could behead Demons without a Nichirin Blade. Without Breathing techniques. And some of those had been Lower Moon caliber.
Muzan's ambitions swelled. He had plans. Many plans.
"Let's start with you, then... woman!"
"Hup!"
"Gyaaah!!"
Moroha loosed an arrow from her bow, nailing a strange creature hiding inside a village house. She jogged over to inspect it.
"This thing's not a yokai."
"There's a faint evil aura, but it's a different kind of creature entirely."
"The villagers said they saw it eating people at night."
"There have been similar incidents before, too."
She crouched beside the dissolving corpse, studying it briefly before looking back over her shoulder.
"Someone's pulling the strings behind all of this."
'The smell of the blood is odd. This isn't Naraku's work.'
Kikyo walked toward them from a short distance away, her voice quiet and measured.
"So... what do we do now?"
"Whoever's sending them out might be different from anyone we know."
"But we've been searching all day with nothing to show for it. These things refuse to come out while the sun's up."
Moroha clasped her hands behind her head, tone breezy and open. The awkward distance she'd felt toward Kikyo when they first met was long gone.
She'd initially mistaken this woman for the Tree of Ages. But after spending time together and looking more closely, she realized the truth: this was no spirit of nature.
There was a faint scent of earth and clay about her, sure. But without question, the woman before her was an authentic priestess.
And her face was strikingly familiar.
Just like Mom's.
"Moroha?"
"Huh?!"
The gentle call snapped her out of it. Kikyo was already waiting up ahead.
"This way."
"These creatures have been appearing more frequently around here."
"Oh! Got it."
She still hadn't figured out exactly who Kikyo was. But she didn't dislike her. Not at all. If anything, there was an instinct pulling her closer, a warmth she couldn't explain.
Like having her mother walking right beside her.
"You useless jerk! You're basically just a normal human during the daytime! What the hell good are you?!"
"Ugh..."
Rikuo stared at the face hovering inches from his own, sweating bullets.
"He's completely different from you, Inuyasha."
"Yeah, who knew a yokai with only a quarter demon blood would be this weak in daylight."
"Human by day, yokai by night."
"A modern yokai, huh?"
Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kagome all studied the now-human Rikuo with open curiosity.
"Hold on! It's true I normally can only transform at night, but under specific conditions, I can do it during the day too!"
Pushing Inuyasha back with both hands, Rikuo scrambled to defend himself.
"Really."
Inuyasha eyed the short, unassuming figure in front of him with naked skepticism.
"All right, that's enough, Inuyasha. Don't nitpick over every little thing."
"You're a half-demon too. You know better than anyone how hard it is."
Kagome's intervening voice gave Rikuo an immediate sense of relief.
"Tch! I'm just annoyed we've got another dead weight to look after."
Arms tucked into his sleeves, Inuyasha showcased his dishonesty in fine form.
"Sorry about him. He sounds terrible, but he's actually really kind underneath it all."
Kagome gave Rikuo an apologetic smile.
"Haha, no worries. I really don't mind."
"But you're right, during the day I might need you guys to watch my back a bit."
He hadn't seen this group at full strength yet, but just looking at the roster... a half-demon, a demon slayer, a monk, a priestess, and a little fox yokai. This was no ordinary party.
'The Warring States Period, 500 years before my time.'
'Grandpa's probably out there somewhere causing trouble.'
He couldn't even be sure whether this was truly the historical past, but the curiosity was intoxicating. After all, the founding of the Nura Clan couldn't have happened without that man.
'And this priestess who can travel through time. That's incredible.'
'Nothing like Keikain and her onmyodo at all.'
Watching Kagome chat with Inuyasha, Rikuo sensed an energy radiating from her that was entirely different from anything he'd encountered before.
But just then, Inuyasha's expression shifted. His head snapped toward the treeline, nostrils flaring.
"Hm?"
"I smell blood."
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]