Somewhere in a mountain forest, Inuyasha, clad in red, tore a group of humans apart. Blood coated his claws, and weariness lingered in his eyes.
"Hey, Kōga, you're joining this war, right?"
Inuyasha casually shook the blood from his hands as he called to Kōga, who had finished killing his opponents nearby.
"Yeah. What the humans did this time really pissed me off. Unless we tear those bastards to pieces, we won't be able to keep moving forward."
Kōga put away his demon blade, the Tiger Soul, and stood atop a large rock. His youthful face had gained a touch of maturity.
He and Inuyasha had originally gone their separate ways to roam the Demon World, but the recent upheaval had brought them together again.
"Inuyasha, don't tell me you're not going. If you refuse because of the human blood in your veins, I'll kill you first!"
Kōga suddenly turned to Inuyasha, his gaze utterly serious. They had grown up together, and he had never treated Inuyasha as a half-demon.
He had always regarded him as his best friend.
But if the human blood in Inuyasha's veins made him go soft...
Kōga would absolutely choose to deal with Inuyasha first.
"Hmph, cut the crap. Not only am I going, I'm going to beat even stronger opponents. You'd better not lose!"
Inuyasha froze briefly, then snorted.
He leaped up and landed on a treetop.
"Hey, aren't you coming back with me?"
Kōga felt reassured, but when he saw what Inuyasha was doing, he asked again.
"No, Kōga. Don't get yourself killed!"
With that, Inuyasha turned and bounded away.
"Tch, worry about keeping yourself alive!"
Kōga folded his arms and watched the retreating figure, a smile tugging at his lips.
Only after that figure had vanished completely did he turn and leave.