(Trial of the Lotus Flame)

"When the ten Fangs of Ryuhogo reunite after thousands of years, the Dragon Guardian shall at last fulfill his destiny and rid this world of the Jewel that has caused so much suffering, and begin a new era for all."

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(First, a little trip to the past)

A full moon shone throughout the night sky.

A woman clad in a simple purple kimono, with pale skin, light magenta-colored eyes, and long dark brown hair sat in front of a small wooden hut in the middle of a forest, kneeling down in front of a small child, and she took off the necklace she was wearing and showed it to him "Do you see this my son?"

The child, with dark brown hair and curious black eyes, only blinked at the sight of it and looked up at her "Do you mean the necklace mother?"

"Yes my child, but it's not the necklace itself you should see, but the Fang attached to it. This Fang is your birthright, for you are the last of the Asakura clan, and when you come of age, the legacy of the Guardian will at last be yours to claim."

"The Fangs… tell me mother, what are they?"

"The Fangs are a gift Raidou, a gift that represent a hand of Fate. There are more scattered throughout this world, and when you have found all of them, you will have the power to change the world, and do anything your heart desires."

"So… I will be the Guardian?"

"Yes my son, and you will change the world."

(And that's the end of it… for now)

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Now to reality…

"Raidou? Raidou! Earth to Asakura, are you still with us?"

"Wha-?" Raidou's eyes snapped open, and he glanced across the room to see Tatsu, Kagome and Arashi sitting on the couch in front of him "What?"

"You've been spacing out for like 10 minutes." Tatsu pointed out "We keeping you up?"

"Oh sorry, I guess I sort of blanked out for a minute. What were we talking about again?"

"We were talking about the Guardian, and what he wants with the Fangs of Ryuhogo."

"Oh yeah, right… Now I remember."

"Yeah, so where were we?"

"Well we know that the original Guardian was some kind of ancient Japanese warrior from thousands of years ago." Arashi pointed out "He hid the other Fangs in temples he scattered all over the world as part of a series of tests."

"We knew that already."

"We also know about the current Guardian and he's after the Fangs like us, he had three of them the first time we saw him." Tatsu held up his own necklace with the three Fangs "He had one for the Iron Heart like I already had, then the two of the Divine Quake and gave one to me, along with the two swords I have now. Not to mention he's probably more powerful than me. With the power of just one Fang he took down Inuyasha with a single shot, while I was barely able to fight him to a standstill."

"I think that can be attributed more to experience than power."

"What about you though?" asked Kagome "I thought you said that you checked out some sort of wall in one of the temples awhile back, did you get anything else?"

"Like I said, I didn't get to read much of it since I was preoccupied with protecting Arashi after he passed out."

"I thought he was knocked out."

"Doesn't really make a different Higurashi."

"Come on guys, play nice already." this was when Arashi made his way back over to the group with a tray of snacks in hand "So to sum up, we're in the dark about pretty much everything, am I right?"

"That's one way to look at it."

"Well one thing that we do know is that the Guardian doesn't know where the other Fangs are either, because if he did then he'd just go get them himself." Tatsu pointed out "But the main difference here is that unlike him, we have a map to the next one."

"Which brings me to another question, are you having any luck with that?"

"At the moment… none whatsoever. It's a hell of a lot more complicated than the last one is, my brother has had his computer analyzing it for months and last I checked, all he's been able to narrow down is that it's somewhere in Eastern Europe."

"That's better than nothing, at least to a certain extent. Give me a call when you figure it out all the way, then we can go after it together."

"Duly noted. You sticking around?"

"Unfortunately no. I have to head back to my uncle's shop, there's a buyer coming in to look at a statue in about a half hour."

"Fair enough."

"I'll walk you out." Arashi pulled himself to his feet and started walking him out.

"Later man." Tatsu gave a simple wave to Raidou as he left, but then he let out a sigh as he sat back down on the couch "You guys never walk me out."

"That's because you live here." Kagome pointed out.

"...Oh yeah. So anyway it's just now, Kazuma's at a conference and Akira and Moya are off doing sibling stuff."

"Yeah, it's just the two of us… alone… no one else around." Kagome felt her face turning redder by the second "So, uh…"

"Well since we already did your daily training session, you wanna watch a movie?"

"Yes! I mean, yeah sure. You got one in mind?"

"I was thinking Black Panther if that works for you."

"Yeah, yeah that totally works."

"Alright, let me just make us some popcorn and grab a few drinks." and so he made his way over to the kitchen.

"Yeah, okay sure." Kagome let out a sigh as she laid back on the couch 'Well this couldn't get anymore awkward if I tried, at least for me anyway. Every since I realized that I was pretty much head over heels in love with Tatsu, I've felt so awkward being alone around him. I keep getting this idea in my head that I'm gonna say the wrong thing, blurt out something I shouldn't and then screw everything up for both of us. At least, in the moments when we're alone and I'm not having some sort of existential crisis or emotional breakdown. Being around someone you're head over heels in love with, but not being able to tell them how you feel. Is this what Tatsu has felt like all this time? How the heck does he do it?'

"Popcorn is in the microwave, I've got drinks." this was when Tatsu made his way back into the room with a few sodas, and he promptly handed one to her "So I never got to ask, how have things been for you at school?"

"Oh it's been so much better, Ayumi's noted and study guides that she made for me are an absolute godsend. I think I might actually pass the math test we've got on Friday."

"Glad to hear it. You know I'm always happy to help."

"Yeah I know, but you're just as behind as I am since we're both travelling through the Feudal Era, so you're pretty much in the same boat as me. The only difference is that I don't have a super genius for an older brother to help me catch up after weeks away."

"Yeah well, Kazuma is one of a kind, and in all honesty I think that's for the best." it was at this moment that Tatsu heard his phone ringing "Speak of the devil, I've gotta take this." and so he made his way out of the room.

'He's so relaxed and carefree during times like these, even when we're alone. Maybe just trying to start a conversation is how he keeps his cool. Either that or maybe I'm ready way too much into this.'

"Okay thanks for the heads up, just send the coordinates to that app you put on my phone, and for the last time not even the guy who made up that joke finds it funny." Tatsu made his way back into the room and hung up his phone "If even the guy who invented the joke says it's not funny, then that has to say something."

"I won't argue with that, so what's going on?"

"Kazuma called to give me a heads up about a few things, and as of right now I've got some good news and bad news. The good news is, his computer was finally able to narrow down the location of the temple where we can find the fourth Fang."

"That's a good thing."

"Yeah, then there's the bad news. The temple is located inside a semi-active volcano. To be more specific, it's in the volcano Bezymiana. In Russia."

"Oh. Huh. Well that's… complicated."

"That's one way of describing it, but it's not that much of a problem Keep in mind that the last temple I went to was in the Arctic, not to mention the giant monster or demon that's probably waiting for us.

"Yeah that's true, and it's not like it could get any worse."

"Hey guys." this was when Arashi made his way back into the apartment, a guilty grin plastered across his face "So here's the thing… I just told Raidou about how you guys are fighting across the Feudal Era and gathering shards of the Shikon Jewel."

"Oh well I guess it's- You what?!" Kagome ended up falling off the couch in a comical fashion out of pure shock, and then she bolted to her feet "You what?!"

"Okay no I didn't, I just did it to see how you'd react, but I totally think we should."

"Arashi you- This is totally insane, even by the standards of the guy that came up with the idea for parasailing over shark-infested waters, and getting into a fist fight with Kofi Kingston! I know you guys trust Raidou after everything, but seriously…"

"Seriously what, what's the problem here Kags? What the hell does Raidou have to do to make you trust him? He's saved my life twice, he saved your life from that demon mask with the jewel shard in it, and that was when we first met him. He's put his ass on the line for us time and again, he's more than earned our trust by now."

"Kind of ironic since you used to think he was the son of a criminal and didn't want us to have anything to do with him." Tatsu pointed out dryly.

"You call it ironic, I like to think of it as character development."

"...Fair enough. Anyway cool it with the bickering, I'm gonna call Raidou."

"To tell him about your little excursions."

"To have him help us get the next Fang."

"And to tell him?"

"You're really gonna hammer this one down hard aren't you? Let me put it this way. Fang or no Fang, I have something I want to talk to him about later. So long as he's honest with me, I'll be honest with him."

"And you'll tell him?"

"And we'll wait and see, and if you keep pushing the issue I'm leaving you behind. Speaking of which…"

"I still want to go with you." Kagome cut him off, her tone firm.

"Okay then. Now it's just a matter of how we get there."

"Oh you can leave that one to me." Arashi gave a cocky smirk, which left the others considerably unsettled.

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(Now for another delve into the past)

"Mother! Mother!" in the calm of the night, a young Raidou rushed through the thick groves of trees as he made his way towards the hut, only to screech to a halt at what he was seeing.

Standing in front of the doorway was his mother, talking with another figure "Raidou is the only thing that matters, he always has been. Everything I do is for him, and protecting him is all that I care about. You understand this, don't you?"

"Of course I do Hiyori, I always have, and I-" the second figure, a middle-aged man with a thick moustache and gray hair tied back in a long ponytail going down to the small of his back, cut himself short when he saw Raidou standing in the doorway "The boy."

"Let me." the mother, now identified as Hiyori, quickly rushed over to Raidou and knelt down in front of him "It's alright my child, this man is not someone you need to be afraid of. This man is my elder brother, he is going to help us and aid you on your journey. His name is Shin, and I promise you, he will do everything in his power to keep you safe.'

(End of this delve into the past)

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Meanwhile, with a certain man in a cell…

'Memories of the past, you continue to haunt me so. I swore to you that I would protect the boy with everything in my power. I wonder, have I done enough to satisfy your spirit?' Shin's eyes slowly opened as he exited his meditation, and he looked up to see Raidou glaring down at him through the door to the cell "I take it you've come in search of more guidance from me?"

"That's where you're wrong old man, because I don't need anything from you." Raidou spat at him, his tone laced with hatred "The next Fang of Ryuhogo is within my grasp, it won't be long before I have all of them and then I'll have back what was taken from me. With their power, I can change the world."

"So you claim, and yet you still fail to understand one crucial fact. Even with unrivalled power at your command, if you wish to change the world, then you need to be the kind of man who can make the hardest decisions. The hardest choices require the strongest wills."

"That's what you fail to understand about me. I already know that the hardest choices require the strength of will to carry them out." Raidou then glanced down at his phone as the alert started going off "Probably them."

"Caller, Tatsu Kamikaze. Two missed calls. Caller, Arashi Kazama. Six missed calls. Playing messages."

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Meanwhile, with the three in question…

"Okay I get it, enough fanboying out." Tatsu rolled his eyes as he, Arashi and Kagome stood on the rooftop of a tall skyscraper in the middle of the city "Whether you like it or not, going after one of the Fangs isn't the sort of thing we can wait around on, so we have to go now. I know you're not thrilled about leaving Raidou behind, but we can fill him in when we get back. And if he's mad about being left behind, we can tell him to answer his damn phone next time."

"I know, I get the point." Arashi let out a sigh "I just feel bad, he was so dead set on helping us track down another one of the Fangs."

"For more than one reason."

"What do you mean?" asked Kagome.

"I'll tell you once I have that conversation with him. Speaking of which, Arashi you wanna fill us in on how you plant to get us all the way to Russia?"

"Oh it's nothing that big." Arashi gave a shrug "I just talked to my mom's chopper pilot Kai and asked him to fly us out there, in exchange for access to my mom's private bathroom."

"...Yeah okay, that works." the three of them looked up and saw a helicopter descend onto the roof in front of them "That's him?"

"Yep, now let's get going."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

The sun was shining brightly over the skies above Feudal Japan, and for once, all was peaceful for the group.

'Well this is fucking boring.' Inuyasha lay in his favorite spot in the Sacred Tree, glancing in the direction of the well 'Three days since Tatsu and Kagome bailed to do whatever the hell it is they do back in their world, and I'm bored out of my fucking mind. Should I go get them? At least over there Tatsu's friends aren't boring or pervs or anything.' it was then that his enhanced dog ears picked up a certain sound coming from a short distance away 'And over there I don't have to deal with what I think is the sound of a cat dying.' he glanced over to see what the cause of the noise in question was.

As it turns out, it was just Shippo nearby, chasing after small animals like rabbits and birds and the like, and making a number of weird growling noises as he did so, at least every time he missed and ended up slamming face first into a tree "Ow, come on!"

'Ignore it, ignore it… God dammit!' unable to stop himself, Inuyasha leapt down from his place in the tree and landed behind Shippo "What the hell are you doing?"

"Go away, I'm busy." Shippo looked away indignantly, only to be met with a blow to the head, which caused him to cry out in pain "Ow, what the heck was that for?"

"For running your mouth to someone that can and will flatten you under his foot. Now let's try that again. What the hell are you doing?" he was met with silence and prepared to drop it and go back to his tree.

"...What my father told me." Shippo was met with an uninterested look from Inuyasha, but he still continued on anyway "I'm a fox demon, I need meat to survive. You might just be a half-demon-"

"Give me a good reason not to slam my foot down on your head."

"-but you know what it's like to need meat. You and Kirara too, you both need meat to survive and you crave it. I love the stuff Kagome brings me, but I need meat. I crave it, and my father always said it would help my demon powers grow." this vulnerable moment was cut short when he crossed his arms and stuck his nose up "And I'm a proud fox demon, I should be able to hunt for my own food without being coddled like some kind of baby."

"That didn't stop you from letting Kagome coddle you."

"Have you actually been around her before stupid? She's like magic, she's so warm and soft and loving and… She reminds me of my own mom. But this isn't about her, it's about me being a real fox demon. I should be able to track down my own prey, and I'd be doing fine if these stupid little jerks would just hold still!" he tried to make a grab for a nearby rabbit, only to end up falling flat on his face.

"...Fuck, I'm getting soft."

"What?" Shippo suddenly found himself being picked up by the tail "Hey what are you doing, let go of me you jerk!"

"Shut up before I throw you off a cliff, at least then I'd be able to hear myself think. How do you track down stuff you try to hunt?"

"I use my nose, I always do. Then I pounce at them-"

"Wrong."

"Wait what?"

"You're supposed to get them from behind before they get a chance to escape."

"Oh, o-okay. But why are you helping me?" Shippo glanced up at Inuyasha, and then a big shit eating grin spread across his face "You like me don't you?"

"I pity you and if you try to go any further into that, I really will throw you off a cliff."

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Several hours of flight time passed, and the group had arrived at the sight of Bezymiana, located in Eastern Russia.

Kagome glanced up at the sight of the chopper flying away from the scene "Okay I'm not gonna lie, that was really convenient."

"Yeah well, what can I say?" Arashi gave a shrug "It's really handy at times, the same with guys that are insanely rich, and you know who I'm talking about?"

"You're gonna say Raidou aren't you?"

"Of course I am, and seriously why not tell him about the truth? He's already keeping quiet about the Fangs, so why not this? Imagine how much he could help with it."

"Can that wait until after we survive this?"

"Well what if we don't, then you're totally gonna realize how we should've told him when we had the chance."

"If you guys are gonna squabble, can you do it later? I'm trying to focus." Tatsu told both of them dryly, then went back to looking at his phone "Anyway we don't actually have to go inside the volcano itself, thank god for it. I've got a satellite geological scan of the area, you can thank my brother for that one. The temple where we'll find the Fang is actually buried at the base of the volcano, it's only a few meters from here."

"Wait a second, Kazuma has a satellite?"

"Well to be more accurate, NASA does. Kazuma borrowed it, and by borrowed I mean he hacked into it and hooked me up so I can get the scans on my phone."

"So you're saying that if we get out of this alive, we might go to jail?"

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement." on that note, complete with a shit-eating grin, the trio continued on their way.

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A few moments later…

It didn't take long for Tatsu and the others to find the entrance to the temple, where they took in their surroundings "Well this is it Kags, welcome to your first temple of Ryuhogo. So what do you think?"

"It definitely smells like it's been here for thousands of years." Kagome let out a cough as she waved away some dust, and then she looked around at what was awaiting them "So what's this test supposed to be?"

"Let's see here… column of light, two containers, one full of shards of ice and the other full of coal."

"What about the kanji on the floor?" asked Arashi.

"It's times like this I'm glad he taught me how to read Kanjis better. I think this one translates to temperance. Huh."

"Sounds simple enough." Kagome reached for the column of light in the middle of the room, only for a surge of energy make her retract it in pain "Okay hot, hot, hot!"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah just- just give me a second." she placed another hand on top of the burned one and let healing energy flow into it, and she breathed a sigh of relief "I'm fine now."

"Okay, as long as you're sure." so Tatsu breathed a sigh of relief himself, then set back to looking around the temple "There's one thing I don't get though. In both of the other temples we went to, the chamber to the Fangs opened as soon as we came inside. Why not this one?"

"Hard to say, maybe we-" Kagome cut herself short when she saw Arashi grab a pair of tongs and make a grab for the ice crystals in one of the blows "What are you doing?"

"Grabbing the ice crystals." Arashi told her flatly.

"Okay look, I know I'm new to these tests and temples, but I'm pretty sure that would be a really bad idea. I have seen what happens when one of these tests gets out of hand."

"Yeah I get that, but we have to know what the test is in case something does happen."

"That doesn't even make any sense."

"Not everything does, not everything has to."

"Stop quoting Doctor Strange, just let go." she grabbed the tongs.

"Back off Kags, I know what I'm doing!" he yanked the tongs away from her, hitting the bowl and knocking two ice crystals into the light, and then a tense silence overtook the group.

"Did… Did that activate the test?" Kagome was answered by the column of light expanding rapidly, which prompted her to push Arashi out of the way a few seconds before she herself was enveloped in the column of light.

"KAGOME!" Arashi and Tatsu could only look on in horror as the column of light receded to reveal Kagome, her entire now covered in what appeared to be lava armor, glaring at the two of them with fiery intensity, pun partially intended "Kagome can you hear me?!" Arashi tried to rush towards her.

"Arashi hold on a second, don't get too close." Tatsu grabbed Arashi by the arm and quickly pulled him back.

"How the fuck are you being so rational about this, that's your future waifu in there! We have to do something!"

"Of course we do, praying to the love of god she doesn't hear that last part, but first we have to figure this out. I can still sense her Ki in there, so I think that whatever this thing is, it's just covering her, not in her. I think this is part of the test."

"When you say "the test," are you talking about one of those tests that keeps trying to kill us with stuff we'd probably see in stuff like the Walking Dead or Attack on Titan?"

"Yeah. One of those things. So if I had to guess-"

"Are you worthy?" the now possessed form of Kagome suddenly breathed out a large stream of fire from her mouth, sending it hurtling directly towards them.

"Sea God's Shield!" Tatsu summoned a water shield in front of them, and once the flames died down he rushed towards Kagome and grabbed her by the shoulders "Kagome can you hear me in there, are you-" he was cut off by Kagome breathing another stream of flames, hitting him directly in the face, which promptly sent him flying out of the wall of the temple and into the inside of the volcano itself, and she chased after him.

"It… It's all my fault…" Arashi could only look on in a horrified stupor at the sight of the battle unfolding, still not entirely snapping out of it even as he answered his phone "Hello?"

"Arashi it's me, what the hell are you-"

"Raidou? Oh god it's my fault, we're at the temple in Russia, and Kagome's in deep shit! I need your help man or we're all fucking screwed!"

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Meanwhile, on the other side of that call…

"Raidou?- my fault- we're at- and Kagome-"

"Arashi you're breaking up, I can't make out what you're saying!" Raidou was met with no response, which made him grow even more aggravated "Where are you right now? Arashi can you hear me?!"

"Signal lost."

"God dammit!" griting his teeth, Raidou dialed another number "God dammit Tatsu, I swear to the likes of Ryuhogo himself, you'd better answer."

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Meanwhile, at Bezymiana…

'Shit, shit, shit!' having been sent flying by Kagome's attack, Tatsu managed to stop himself by summoning a water shield in mid-air, having it act as a platform for him, and then he summoned a set of iron dragon scales to cover his body 'I'm not gonna fight her, but at least this way I can protect myself from her fire blasts.'

"Are you worthy?" Kagome suddenly appeared in front of him, floating in mid-air, and then she unleashed a pulse of energy, followed by her unleashing another fire blast.

'Let's hope this one works too. Iron Dragon Shield!" Tatsu summoned two large slabs of metal from his arms and slammed them together, acting as a shield against the fire blast, though as a result they ended up being melted almost entirely 'Well on one hand, the Iron Dragon Shield can protect me from enemy attacks. On the other hand, they apparently don't work that well when the girl you love is possessed by some kind of fire spirit that can melt my face off.' it was then that he heard his phone ringing "Hello?"

"Tatsu!"

"Oh hey Raidou, listen now's not a good time. Kagome and I are… in the middle of something kind of heated, so I'm gonna have to call you back. Assuming I survive this."

"Tatsu don't-"

"Bye." and he promptly hung up "There's a pretty fair chance I'm gonna end up paying for that one later. Come on Kags don't make me do this, I'm not gonna fight you?"

"Are you worthy?" Kagome hurtled herself towards him and unleashed another fire blast that sent him hurtling towards the side of the volcano, burning through a large part of his iron scales in the process.

'Okay, that one definitely hurt. God dammit, it's like she's getting more powerful the longer this goes on. At this rate I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to hold out.' this was when the volcano began shaking as he was forced to go on the evasive 'And now there's an earthquake while I'm fighting on my life, that's just typical.' then he felt his phone ringing, which once again prompted him to answer it "Arashi?"

"Tatsu shit is going down hard in here, I think the volcano is erupting!"

"It's Kagome, whatever it is she's doing she's affecting everything around us!"

"Well don't just sit around you jackass, stop her!"

"What the hell am I supposed to do you idiot?! This is Kagome we're talking about, it's not like I can fight her!"

"Okay fine then, give me the magic dragon fangs and I'll beat the crap out of her!"

"You do that and I'll tie you down and make you watch the video with the two girls and the cup on loop!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Try me! Hold on, I'm getting another call." he pushed the button "Hey bro listen, now is really not a good time."

"I don't think we have another choice. I'm checking out the environmental alert I'm getting from the zone you guys are in right now, and some kind of energy is putting the area at risk."

"So there's a town or a village nearby, what's the affected region?"

"Now this is where it gets really bad. The threat is on a global scale."

"Um… you wanna elaborate on that?"

"I'm gonna have to either way. Whatever energy is being unleashed from there is spreading beneath the crust of the planet, which could cause a series of simultaneous volcanic eruptions across the world. This would emit massive amounts of ash and block out the sun, resulting in the extermination of all life on Earth. Except maybe cockroaches."

"What are you saying?"

"To put it in simple terms, if you don't pass this test, then all of on the planet is going to be wiped out."

"...Yeah, I'm gonna have to call you back." so he hung up and went back to the other call "Did you get all that?"

"We're all gonna fucking die!"

"Yep, you got it. Just calm down and let me think for a minute, and whatever happens, please for the love of god don't do anything stupid."

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Meanwhile, on the other end of that call…

"Yep, you got it. Just calm down and let me think for a minute, and whatever happens, please for the love of god don't do anything stupid."

"No wait hold on, you're not the only smart one in the group." taking a moment to try and calm himself down, Arashi reached down and grabbed the tongs "I can figure this out. Temperance, I think that's like another way of saying self-control or moderation, not too much."

"Arashi what are you doing?"

"When I activated the test, I knocked the ice crystals into the light but I didn't touch the coal, so maybe it's the other one."

"Wait no, don't!"

Arashi ignored this and used the tongs to throw a piece of coal into the column of light, causing it to disappear in a flash of light "Uh… okay, that's weird. So what's going on, did anything else happen out there?" the answer came to him when a sudden burst of flames shot into the temple and right into him. In a matter of seconds, he was now covered in the same lava-like armor that had encased Kagome before "Are… you… worthy?"

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Backtracking a few seconds, in the volcano…

"KAGOME!" Tatsu watched as the fire spirit left Kagome's body, leaving her to fall into the pool of lava below, and so he used a blast of demonic energy to propel himself down towards her and caught her with one arm, then used an iron chain from his other arm to latch onto the side of the volcano and swing them back upwards "I've gotcha, are you okay?"

"It's hot…" Kagome let out a moan as she opened her eyes and looked up at him "What the heck happened… Why is it so hot?"

"It's because we're at the beach Kags, we're finally taking a vacation."

"What, really? So then…" this was when Kagome regained total awareness and let out a loud blood-curdling scream "Tatsu! We're in a volcano!"

"Yeah I know, I kind of wanted to see how long before you realized it." so he hoisted her up in his arms bridal style and created a series of earth platforms.

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Meanwhile, with the other wielder of the Fangs…

With a white flash, Guardian appeared in the living room of the Kamikaze apartment 'I don't have any other choices, I have to try and find the coordinates on Kazuma's computer and then go from there. The only question is, where the hell is it?'

"I take it you're looking for something?"

Guardian whipped around to see Kazuma standing in the doorway "You could say that."

"You can stop with the cryptic act Raidou, I know it's you in there. Tatsu isn't the only one who knows how to sense Ki."

'...Well this just took an unexpected turn.' suppressing a sigh, Raidou removed his helmet and revealed his face "I don't have time for this right now, Tatsu and the others are in trouble and I need to get to them as fast as I can."

"They're at the temple of the next Fang, it's at Bezymiana in Russia."

"Don't bother, we both know you can't use your teleportation to get there. It can only take you to places you've been before."

"I know, but I can't just sit around and do nothing while they're in the middle of a test."

"Did you try calling them?"

"Of course I did, but I lost the signal with Arashi and Tatsu hung up on me."

"Try calling on my phone then." Kazuma handed a phone to him "Older brother means higher priority, he definitely won't hang up on you again."

"...You'd better be right about this."

"I usually am."

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Meanwhile, in the volcano…

"Okay, there we go." Tatsu breathed a quick sigh as he set Kagome down in the main room of the temple "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm pretty sure none of us are okay." Kagome told him flatly "So what happened though, I don't really remember anything."

"Whatever Arashi did it saved you, but the volcano is still going off so that means- Oh shit, here we go again."

"Wait what?"

"Are you worthy?!" this was when the possessed Arashi suddenly blitzed in front of them and grabbed Tatsu by the throat, slamming him against the wall of the temple.

"Is… Is that Arashi?"

"Stay back Kags, this isn't him in control. I'll hold off Arashi for as long as I can, but you're gonna have to figure out the test."

"But Tatsu… I don't think I can do this alone."

"Yes you can, and since I don't have the time or energy to put it nicely, you have to or all of us are gonna die. Arashi already tried the ice and the coal, neither of them worked, so-"

"Are you worthy?!" Arashi tightened his hold on Tatsu's throat and slammed him through the wall of the temple, sending him hurtling into another room that happened to house the fourth set of Fangs on a pedestal.

'Huh. Well that's convenient, now I know where to go if we survive this.' Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet as he summoned a new set of iron dragon scales 'Though that's turning into a pretty big IF.'

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Meanwhile, with Kagome…

'Okay, figure out the test or we're all gonna die, no pressure or anything.' in the middle of her freakout over the current situation, Kagome was forced to pounce to avoid being hit by a piece of falling debris, picking up Tatsu's phone from where she saw it lying on the ground "Please for all of our sakes, pick up!"

"Tatsu, where are you right now?"

"Raidou it's Kagome, the test has been activated! It's really bad, I need your help, I don't know what to do!"

"Okay get a grip Higurashi, tell me where you are."

"I don't have time, if we don't figure this out then we're all dead!"

"Okay… start by telling me what you see."

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Meanwhile, with the main hero…

'Shit, shit, shit!' Tatsu was once again forced to go on the defensive, using his iron dragon scales to protect himself from the series of fire blasts, though they were quickly burned through, leaving a series of burns across his arms and torso 'This is definitely bad, and he's definitely getting more powerful. There's no way I can fight my best friend, and I doubt my body is gonna be able to keep up with the defense for much longer.' and then he got knocked into a wall, forcing him to summon a water shield to protect himself, though it was quickly evaporated into a cloud of steam.

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Meanwhile, with the love interest…

"And that's it." Kagome finished her panicked explanation of the recent events "And if I don't figure out this test we're all gonna go up in flames!"

"I still don't get what you're saying, what the hell do you mean a giant fire is chasing you?"

"Raidou!"

"Alright fine, let me think. The test is temperance, moderation, it means not too much of any one thing. You said that Arashi knocked the ice crystals into the light, and that's what triggered the test in the first place."

"That's right."

"So what about the coal?"

"Arashi tried that too, but the same thing happened. The crazy fire, it just came back and went after him instead."

"Then that means neither ice or coal is the answer, so then… what if it's both? What if you put both of them in together?"

"But there's only a set of tongs and it can't-"

"It's all about misdirection, every test had a trap. This is the answer Higurashi, now do it before we all go up in flames!"

"...I really hope you're right about this." so Kagome set down the phone and pulled the containers of ice and coal together, and with a deep breath she pushed both of them over and spilled their contents into the column of light, causing a white flash to engulf the entire area in an instant.

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Meanwhile, with the hero…

"Are you worthy?!" Arashi had Tatsu in another chokehold and was about to hit him with another fire blast at point blank range, only to suddenly stop and and release him as it backed away a few feet "You are worthy." and then the fire spirit exited his body and flew right into the pedestal where the red-colored Fangs were resting.

'Oh thank god.' with the battle finally over, Tatsu powered down his dragon scales and fell to the ground in a heap "You okay man?"

"More or less…" Arashi promptly coughed up a little bit of smoke "So how about it… Did the coal work?"

"I'm gonna assume it did, assuming Kagome isn't an evil fire monster right now. Anyway let's grab the Fangs and get the hell out of here, and you mind giving me a hand? I'm pretty drained and charred."

"I gotcha man." so Arashi slung Tatsu's arm over his shoulder and helped him make his way to the pedestol, where they grabbed the two Fangs resting there.

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Meanwhile, with Kagome…

'Wow…' Kagome looked on in awe as she watch the column of light turn into a pillar of ice, and she breathed a sigh of relief and fell to her knees "That was… nervewracking, to put it as nicely as I can."

"Higurashi are you still there, what the hell is going on?"

"Oh yeah." Kagome slowly and shakily picked up the phone "I'm gonna have to get back to you on that, but thanks Raidou. Truly."

"Higurashi I swear to god, don't you fucking dare-" he was cut off by Kagome hanging up on him.

"Yeah, chances are he's gonna be really mad about that."

"I think this is gonna more than make up for it." this was when Tatsu and Arashi made their way onto the scene, the former carrying two new Fangs with him "I just… need a second to catch my breath, and then I can teleport all of us back home."

"In that case, give me a second to do something about these burns." so Kagome formed a series of hand seals and placed her hands down on Tatsu's back, letting her healing energy flow to the rest of his body "I don't know how you guys deal with this stuff, that was stressful."

"It takes a lot of practice." Arashi gave a shrug, but then he let out a sigh "You know I changed my mind, about telling Raidou about your stuff in the Feudal Era with Inuyasha and all of the jewel shards."

"Are you sure about that? Because you guys are right, he really is trustworthy. I trust him now more than ever, and it can do a lot of good for us."

"I know, it's just… I get so excited about this stuff that sometimes I tend to forget about how dangerous it can be. What happened to you and me today, I don't want anything like that to happen to him too."

"Well… Tatsu what do you think?"

"I think I gave my two cents already." Tatsu told them flatly, cringing from the pain he felt from the burns he suffered "I want to talk with him about something else, and if he's honest with me then I'll tell him everything. I will say one thing though. There's a pretty fair chance he's gonna be pissed at me for hanging up on him earlier."

"And I might have done the same thing."

"...Yep, he's gonna be mad as hell."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

The sun was beginning to set over the skies of Feudal Japan.

Inuyasha was in the middle of taking a nap in the Sacred Tree, only to be woken up by a certain scent catching his attention, to which he let out a groan 'Fuck, two of them run home on us and the others can't just leave me the fuck alone.'

"Stop struggling, I caught you fair and square!" this was when Shippo came running onto the scene with a medium-sized rabbit in his grasp, wrestling with it as he tried to keep it pinned to the ground, which was easier said than done considering his size "I said stop moving! What the heck am I doing wrong?"

"You thought it was gonna roll over and die?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he pulled Tessaiga from its sheath "You're supposed to kill it once you catch it."

"Oh. How do I do that?"

"This is one way." he promptly threw Tessaiga with surprising levels of precision, causing it to miss Shippo but slice the rabbit's throat while it was bound before piercing the ground, leaving the rabbit to stop squirming as it died.

"Wow… so I have to kill it once I get it? How do I do that?"

"You're a demon, you've got fangs and claws, figure it out. Now leave me alone, wake me up again and I'll do the same thing to you." he dropped to the ground, grabbed Tessaiga and placed it back in its sheath, before returning to his place in the tree.

"Hey Inuyasha?" Shippo looked up at him looking rather shy and adorable even as he held the dead rabbit in his arms.

"What now?"

"Thank you."

"...Whatever." so he rolled over and went back to his nap.

Despite the threat, as empty as it obviously was, Shippo couldn't help but smile as he made his way back to the village.

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Nightfall came in the Modern Era, and everyone had reconvened to discuss the day's events, and/or vent about them as the case may be for some of them.

Tatsu let out a groan as he held up an ice pack to one side of his face "Okay I get you smacking me the first time for hanging up on you, but what was the second one for?"

"Because you're not the only one that hung up on me, the only difference is that I can't hit her for it." Raidou told him dryly as he jerked a thumb over at Kagome.

"You're damn right you can't- ow." Tatsu let out a pained groan as he held up the two new Fangs with his free hand "Well putting aside the abuse to my face, a lot of good came out of today. We got the next set of Fangs, which means four down and one to go. And that means I'm another step closer to finishing what you started dad.' with a sigh, he attached one of the fangs to the necklace he wore, causing its red glow to grow more intense, and then he turned to Raidou "That makes four down."

"And one to go." Raidou finished for him "I take it you're going to hold on to the other half for the time being?"

"Actually I was thinking you should onto it. After all, you should be able to make just as much use of it as I do."

"...So your brother was right, you know don't you?"

"Yep, and thanks for being honest with me about it."

"Wait, honest about what?" Kagome shared a look with Arashi, then glanced over at Tatsu "I don't get it, what are you talking about?"

"You guys haven't realized it yet? Raidou is Guardian."

"...Wait what?!"

"Yep, it kind of threw me for a loop too at first."

"How exactly did you find out?" asked Raidou.

"Funny thing about the Fangs. As powerful as they are and the incredible gifts they give the one who uses it, they don't do anything to disguise the Ki someone gives off."

"So… you knew all along?"

"I didn't really know anything for certain until a little while ago. I mean I figured you had some kind of connection with Guardian back when we first met, considering how similar the Ki that you gave off was. What really gave it away for me was the whole mess at the dance a few weeks ago, when I saw you teleport Ayumi out of the place using the Dragon Warp."

"...Oh, so you saw that." with a sigh, Raidou pulled his own necklace out from his shirt, which revealed the three Fangs he carried with him.

"Wait, so Ayumi knows about this?" Kagome's head snapped towards Raidou "She knew but she didn't say anything."

"Because I made her swear not to say anything."

"But you told her everything?"

"I told her about as much as you guys know. She's actually been really patient about that."

"Because you're not ready to tell us everything?" Tatsu guessed "It's alright man, we get it."

"You do?"

"We do. All of us."

"Just tell me something… you knew who I really was this whole time, you knew that I was lying to you, and you still trusted me so easily? Why?"

"It's really not that hard to understand. The first time we met you agreed to help me with a task left behind by my dead father, you went out of your way to save me and Kagome during that whole incident with the demon mask the very same day you met us, you went with us to the temple and protected Arashi from those demon statues-"

"I may have knocked him out to keep him from seeing that I had a set of Fangs myself."

"But you still protected him either way, so I'm willing to overlook that. You went out of your way to protect Arashi during that whole mess with the Yakuza, which I'm fairly sure ended with you bringing down an entire criminal organization so I'm not gonna ask about the details of that right now. Moving on from that, you protected the city from being buried in a blizzard during that incident beforehand." he cringed when he noticed Kagome flinch at the mention of this "You protected Ayumi from those lizard creatures despite wanting to keep your secret, and just today you helped Kagome save all of humanity from being wiped out."

"And got hung up on in what was likely the most stressful moment of my life."

"Not gonna let that one go are you? Anyway to answer your question, it's really not that hard to understand. Even if you kept that secret from us, and maybe a few others, you gave me plenty of reasons to trust you, and never a reason not to."

"Tatsu…" Raidou was left both touched and stunned by this, yet he remained silent.

"And that's why there's something else I have to tell you. Something that I want you to know about me, because it's one of my main personal rules that I don't keep secrets from my friends if I don't have to."

"I… appreciate that, but don't. Not yet." Raidou was met with a few confused looks "Before we go any further, there are a few things I have to tell you. No, things I want you to know. Things about me, about the fate we share, and about our connections with the Fangs. Things I didn't mention about what I saw in the Temple of Wisdom."

"Okay, if you're sure about this." Tatsu sat back in his chair, which prompted the others to do the same in silence "Go ahead."

"I said before that the original Guardians wore the Fangs and grew their legacy, and when the time came for their deaths they scattered the Fangs to the four corners of the globe and created the series of tests to measure the worthiness of the users. What I didn't mention was what their names. Kamikaze and Asakura." this left a stunned silence throughout the room.

"So then… they were our ancestors."

"And the Fangs of the Iron Heart have been passed down through generations, until we ended up with them. One other thing I didn't mention to you is… you mentioned that your father's partner was named Hiyori? She is… she was my mother."

"Oh. So she…"

"She… passed away. Throughout most of my childhood, she told me that the Fangs were my destiny, and that I could use them to change the world. That's why I agreed to help you with them so readily. My reasons are pretty similar to yours."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"She was the only family I ever had, seeing how I never knew my father, and my uncle… the less said there, the better. Without her, I was all alone in the world. I still am."

"...No you're not."

Raidou's head snapped up.

"I know how it feels to lose your mother, believe me I know. But the thing about it is, you're not alone. Not anymore. Now you're surrounded by friends, people that you can trust, and people that trust you. I trust you."

"And so do I." Kagome stood up and gripped Tatsu by the hand reassuringly "Which is why the two of us have something to tell you."

"Becuase like I said, I don't keep secrets from my friends." with a deep breath, Tatsu began with his story "It all started on Kagome's 15th birthday…"

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Hours passed, and the night had long since pulled a lasting calm over the city of Tokyo, for all but one that is.

Tatsu opened his eyes and found himself in another void, only this one looked like a barren desert wasteland, nothing but sand for as far as the eye could see "I'm not in the mood for games right now, come out and show yourself Ryuhogo."

Sure enough, from within the barren wasteland emerged Ryuhogo himself, his gaze hard and serious, but also filled with traces of remorse "Before we go any further, I already know fully well exactly what you want to say."

"Then you know I more or less plan on yelling at you for what happened today. A test that almost wipes out all of humanity? What in the hell made you think that was a good idea?!"

"Believe me, I was as infuriated about that as you are. I told your predecessors that creating a test in the heart of a volcano was a dangerous decision with far too great of a risk factor, but they chose to ignore my warnings. In all honesty, there was a part of me that prayed that those who sought out the Fangs would never make it that far."

"But we did, and it happened, but we got through it."

"For which I am relieved, but not surprised. If you were able to pass the first three tests, there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to pass all of them."

"...That satisfies me. For now." Tatsu breathed a sigh as he calmed himself down a little bit "So what exactly should I suspect for training this time?"

"Because you passed the test you acquired the fourth set of Fangs, granting you the power of the Lotus Flame. To be more specific, that Fang grants you the ability to generate and manipulate, as well as subsequently resistance to, fire and heat, as well as the powers of the other Fangs being enhanced further, as you already knew."

"So bottom line, now I can use earth, water and fire."

"Please refrain from the Avatar references for now, we do have work to do."

"Fair enough. So what do I have to do?"

"Before anything else, you have to enter a proper stance."

"Okay." so Tatsu dropped into a stance, knees bent and fists clenched at his side, his breathing slowly evening out.

"Try to clear any unnecessary thoughts from your mind since they dissipate the energy that flows inside you. Now concentrate on your main objective."

"Which is what exactly?"

"You have to feel the heat of the Sun, fire at its core is about heat so the Sun is the greatest source and yet at the same time it's in complete balance with nature."

"Which is why we went with a desert setting for training this time."

"Exactly, there are few places in the world where you can feel as much pure heat as a setting like this. Do you feel it?"

"I can feel it burning on my skin."

"Which means that you feel it, which is good. Now remember, fire in itself is not something that needs to be feared, whether by you or anyone. But at the same time, you have to respect it, or else you'll likely end up being consumed by it instead."

"And so I have to make sure I don't become complacent. Believe me, I know that all too well by now."

"I'm relieved to hear it. Now then, to get to the main point…" Ryuhogo held out both hands and summoned a large golden-colored flame in between hid palms "These flames are what has become most commonly associated with dragons throughout history. Very few will understand that many of my kind could control all of the elements, not just flames."

"Sounds pretty interesting."

"I can imagine. Now then, I want you to take a small piece of it into your own hand, in order to demonstrate your commitment to learning the sacred art of my people."

"So it's like a rite of passage?"

"That's one way to describe it, in a manner of speaking that is. This is a ritual that is meant to illustrate the essence of the dragon demon's philosophy. You must take this flame into your very being, accept it and all that it entails."

"Okay."

"Are you ready?"

"Am I ever?" so with a deep breath, Tatsu held out his hand towards Ryuhogo, and within a matter of seconds a small flame flickered into life, floating gently above his palm "It feels… It feels like a little heartbeat."

"Now do you understand? Fire is life, not just destruction. Everything in the world has equal potential for good and evil, and not everything is just in black and white."

"Just like how anyone is capable of great good and great evil, so everyone has to be treated like they're worth giving a chance."

"Exactly. Now comes the next part. Are you ready?"

"Like I said, am I ever?"

"Good enough for me." with the flame still burning brightly, Ryuhogo spread his hands apart and slammed both of them into the ground, causing the flame to change into the form of a large blazing multi-colored vortex that surrounded the two of them "Now do you see it?"

"Yeah, and it's… it's majestic. I think I understand now."

"Glad to hear it." once it was done, Ryuhogo commanded the flames to subside, and the desert landscape to disappear, leaving the two of them standing in the endless void once more "That was actually something that Midoriko helped me to develop." he summoned a chart in one of his hands "The color of these flames changes depending on emotions. Green means happiness, blue means sadness, red means anger, black with fear, purple for embarrassment, and brown represents love, because it was… the color of Midoriko's eyes." his face fell at the mention of her name, but he quickly shook this off "I affectionately refer to this as Mood Flames."

"...That sounds like the name for the kind of drugs that kill you."

"Oddly enough, she said something very similar when I told her my name for it. She wanted to call it the Fires of Emotion, but I thought mine had a better ring to it."

"It doesn't."

"...Everyone's a critic."

"No argument there."

"Moving on from your unjust criticism…"

"Matter of opinion."

"What did you think of what you saw?"

"Well putting aside the questionable name… the fire was beautiful, I saw so many colors that I would never have imagined. It's like fire harmony."

"Exactly. My flames have judged you, and they gave you visions of the true meaning behind the flames of the Dragon Demon Tribe. Now what does fire mean to you?"

"I think… I think there are so many people in the world that think fire represents nothing more than anger, hate and destruction, letting it consume them and feed the corruption. But now I know and understand the truth, that fire represents energy and life, and the power of life is the strongest of all there is."

"...Are you quoting another show right now?"

"I'm quoting a song actually, it's called Weight of the World. It's a song made for Avatar by these guys that call themselves NerdOut."

"Fair enough. But if we could stay on topic, the most important thing to remember about our fire is that their power comes from drive. It comes from purpose. If you lose sight of what you know in the deepest depths of your heart to be your purpose, you'll lose sight of that inner fire that powers you."

"That's something you'll never have to worry about with me. I know what my drive is. I'm going to keep working hard, keep getting stronger, in order to use the power of these Fangs for the right reasons. I'm going to help people, save lives and protect my friends, and when the time comes, I'll tell Kagome that I love her."

"Then prove it."

"I will." with a deep breath, Tatsu stuck out a fist and generated a sizeable burst of fire, earning a smirk from him as he did so "And just like that, inspiration has struck." he promptly turned away from Ryuhogo as his body began surging with energy "This is either gonna turn out to be really cool or turn out to be incredibly painful. In any case, eat your heart out Fairy Tail! Fire Dragon ROAR!" he let out a roar, and with it came a powerful stream of flames that hurtled forward and resulted in a powerful explosion "This… has definite possibilities."

"Part of me feels as if I should be concern by your frequent use of attacks from different anime you watch." Ryuhogo's tone was increasingly dry, but also somewhat amused.

"And what does the other part say?"

"The other part of me is simply impressed that you're willing to look at such variety when it comes to searching for inspiration."

"Well like Uncle Iroh said, and like both of us have quoted at least a dozen times, it's important to draw wisdom from many different places. If you take it from only one place, then it becomes rigid and stale."

"How very true."

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Meanwhile, with the other wielder of the Fangs…

At the same time, Raidou stood atop a tall skyscraper, looking out at the view of the city, before he glanced down at the Fangs hanging around his neck "Four down, one to go. My entire life has been so centered around these Fangs. One of them was power enough to set me on this path, but once all five Fangs, my journey will be complete, and I'll be able to change the world, just like you said mother. The only difference is that now, I'm not alone. I have friends now, and with their help, I'll change the world… and I'll avenge you. I'll make sure that he pays for taking you from me."

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(Now for one last look at the past, at least for this chapter)

"Mother, mother where are you?!" as storm clouds gathered and lightning flashed throughout the skies above, a young Raidou rushed through the forest as fast as his little legs would carry him, only to stop when he crashed into something.

As it turns out, that something was Shin, blood coating one hand and with tears streaming down his face "Raidou, you… you've returned."

"I can't find my mother, where is she?!"

"I'm sorry… your mother is gone."

"But where did she go? I want to see her."

"Tears will not be enough to bring her back child. Nothing will." Shin wiped away his tears as he knelt down in front of Raidou and hugged him.

Despite the sentiment in the embrace, there were only two things Raidou took notice of… the blood that Shin had on his hand, and the Fangs that he wore around his neck (one of the Iron Heart, and both of the Divine Quake), and he scowled.

(And that's the last of it, for now at least)

A/N:

Now we see something I've been looking forward to for awhile. Not only do we get to see Tatsu finally get his hands on the fourth Fang, but there are a few secrets let out into the open among his Modern Era team: The group now knows that Raidou is Guardian, and Tatsu and Kagome now tell him everything about what they're doing in the Feudal Era. All seems right with the group, but none of them know about the situation that's developing within the shadows. A situation that will come to a head very soon, and will have lasting consequences.

Now that he's acquired the fourth fang, Tatsu has now gained the ability to generate and manipulate, as well as subsequently resistance to, fire and heat, as well as the powers of the other Fangs being enhanced further. Next chapter we'll get to see what it's capable of in action, when we see a new enemy reveal himself to the group, if only briefly.

Like I said, now Raidou has confessed to the group that he and Guardian are one in the same, confiding in them the reasons why he's searching for the Fangs, and in return for trusting them, Tatsu and Kagome have finally told him about how they've been travelling to the Feudal Era to hunt down Naraku and gather the shards of the Shikon Jewel. One would think that everything is going to be fine and now all is right with the world right? Wrong. Something much more sinister is in the works, as referenced in a previous chapter. I'm not going to say what it is exactly for the sake of not spoiling the story, but what I can and will tell you now is that it's going to happen soon, and it's going to lead to a lot of big changes that will have a major impact on the story going forward.

One last thing I think is worth noting is that Inuyasha has a little bit of a bonding experience with the last member of the group, Shippo. At least, the last member of the group that can talk, so that rules out Kirara, but no one can hate her. Seriously, I've browsed Deviantart enough to see a few people (not gonna name any names) that hate Kagome and pretty much every member of the main group (except for Inuyasha) with a burning passion, but I've never seen a single one of them ever say they hate Kirara. Like I said before, all of these little bonding moments with every member of the group are going to be important for something I have planned later on. You'll see what it is soon enough.