A Dragon's Fang, a Human's Heart

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

A human with the power of a demon. To many such an idea sounds ludicrous, does it not? Well he's here to prove them wrong. He will journey across time with the love of his life on his journey as he fights for friendship, for honor, for life, and above all, for love. Rewrite of the Rise of a Warrior: Inuyasha.

29. Trials of the Heart

(Trials of the Heart)

"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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Morning came, and the sun was shining over the lands of Musashi.

"Alright, this should be enough." Kagome handed some supplies, mainly a first aid kit and some other equipment, to Sango and mounted her comically oversized backpack "Sorry we couldn't stick around longer, but this should be enough to last you guys at least a few days."

"But you just got back, do you really have to leave again so soon?" Shippo looked down sadly, only to be scooped up by Kagome and pulled into a tight hug.

"I know what you mean, I don't like leaving you behind, but it's something I have to do. I have to train and learn how to control my spiritual powers, to protect you and everyone else. Besides, it's not like I'm gonna be gone for too long. It'll be a week at the most, and I'll be sure to bring you something really good okay?"

"Quit whining with all the sentimental crap, if you're gonna go then go." Inuyasha grumbled from where he was brooding in the corner.

"Alright alright, if you're in that much of a hurry to see me leave." so Kagome set Shippo down and gave him a kiss on the forehead, and then she gave a simple wave to Sango and the others and made her way out of the hut.

"See you in a few days guys." Tatsu gave a wave of his own and followed after her, and once they made their way out of the hut he glanced over at her "So I guess we're more or less splitting up from here."

"I wouldn't say that, it's not that different from when we go back so you can get one of your new Fangs when you think about it. The only difference is, now I'm the one who really needs to get something done when we go back."

"You know when you think about it, your grandpa is the only real expert on spiritual powers that I can think of from our time. Well, him and grandmaster Hiroshi anyway."

"That name… I feel like I've heard it somewhere before."

"Apparently he's at the top of the warrior chain in our version of Japan. Akira took me to meet him once about four years ago, and let me tell you now it did not go well. You remember how I told you awhile back, honor and compassion are two very different things?"

"Yeah, back when we met Totosai and fought Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha discovered the Wind Scar for the first time."

"Yep. Master Hiroshi was the one who taught me that lesson, and he made it painfully clear that the only way you can learn that lesson to the fullest was the hard way. I fought him with every ounce of strength I had, and he broke over ⅓ of the bones in my body. To add insult to injury, I wasn't even able to scratch him."

"That sounds… pretty familiar actually. I forgot about that."

"Yeah, that was not a fun weekend, I'm pretty sure that's the main reason why my shoulder bends that way."

"I still cringe whenever I see you do that." Kagome shuddered slightly, but then she got back to being serious "But this isn't fun and games, I have to take this seriously. I need to talk to my grandpa about learning to be a real priestess, because if we're going to find a way to break through Naraku's barrier and fight him head on, then I have to be ready."

"Well… if you're gonna be focusing on training with your grandpa, I've got a few things I've been working on in the meantime. For starters, I can talk with Ryuhogo and see if there's a way I can learn to break through a demonic barrier. I can't let you hog all the glory now can I?" he gave a cocky smirk that caused her to giggle slightly "But at the same time, there is one other thing I've been working on."

"Like what?"

"A little surprise for when we go back. You'll see what it is soon enough."

"If you say so." Kagome rolled her eyes slightly and gave a small smile as the Bone Eater's Well came into view.

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Meanwhile, with another group…

'I can't put this off any longer.' Koga glanced over at where Ginta and Hakkaku were both playing with some of the other wolves, and then he glanced down at the scroll in his hand 'I spent so long going out of my way to avoid reading this. It was the last thing you left to me, and once I went through it… that would be it. But things have changed. Naraku and his servants are strong, too strong, and as much as I hate to admit it, I can't beat him as I am now. I wasn't able to take on the likes of Juromaru and Kageromaru without help from Kagome and her friends, and if it wasn't for them I would've been killed by Kagura for sure. Alright then sis, let's see what you've got for me." and so with a deep breath, he opened the scroll and started reading its contents.

"Koga,

I hope you'll never have to read this, but if you do, then it means I'm gone, and I'm truly sorry for that. But you won't have to be alone baby brother, you'll always have the support of the pack helping you when you get into trouble, as often as that is. Not only that, but I know that Ginta and Hakkaku will stand by your side in any way they can, like they always have. I raised you as if you were my own, and I taught you everything I could given the circumstances. It might not have been the best choice for you, but after we lost mother and father… I just wanted to make sure you were close by me. But now that I'm gone, now that I can't be there to guide you, to make sure you make the right decisions… Too much power and responsibility can be too much for anyone, it doesn't matter if they're human or demon, even with someone as much potential as you. I know that you'll make mistakes even after I'm gone, there's no such thing as someone who doesn't, but I can't let you go down the wrong path. If you're going to lead the pack into a new future, then you're going to have the lives of hundreds of wolf demons in your hands. The Wolf Demon Tribe is about more than just fighting and power, it's about loyalty, comraderie, honor, and overall it's about people. You have to learn to have balance Koga. You have responsibilities as the leader of the pack, but you don't have to do everything by yourself, and you shouldn't. You're going to struggle, so you need to surround yourself with people you trust, and have faith in them. That's the only way you'll be able to learn all of the things I never got the chance to teach you when I was still alive. But I don't want these responsibilities to be a burden. Ginta, Hakkaku, I know that the two of you are with Koga now. I know that he's more than strong enough to survive in the world we live in, but if you two see that he's struggling or overwhelmed or he can't handle any of the challenges that he's facing… if he can't, then don't hesitate to jump in and help him in any way you can. Watch his back, protect him from his own mistakes as best you can."

"Now back to you Koga, I know you can overcome almost any challenge you face. But if things should reach the point where our entire pack is threatened, then you'll need their legacy in order to preserve their future. What I mean by this is, you'll need to claim the legacy left behind by our ancestors. To this end, you'll need to seek out the Goraishi, a set of lightning claws capable of slaying 100 enemies in a single stroke, and the most powerful weapon ever known to the Wolf Demon Tribe. You'll find it in our ancestor's burial ground located to the South, but I have to warn you now. In order to obtain the Goraishi, the guardians of the burial ground will put you through a series of tests. If you pass all of them, then the power of the Goraishi will be yours, to lead our pack into a brighter future. Best of luck baby brother, I know you can do it, and I will always be watching over you.

Your big sister,

Akari."

'Bye sis…' Koga finished reading the scroll and rolled its contents back up, a few tears falling down his face as he did so 'Dammit…'"

"Hey Koga, you alright?" this was when Ginta and Hakkaku made their way over to him with the wolves, which prompted him to get back to putting on his tough guy act.

"Yeah yeah, just the goddamn sun burning my eyes more than usual." he wiped away the tears and his expression hardened "Let's get moving, we've got work to do."

"Like what?"

"What do you think? We've gotta track down Naraku and kill him in order to avenge the members of our pack he slaughtered. But before we do that, there's something we have to do. We have to go to our tribe's burial ground, and obtain their legacy… the Goraishi."

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Meanwhile, with the wolves…

"This is it." Koga looked down at the scroll in his hand, then at their surroundings: a thick rocky area covered in mist, lined with wolf statues, skeletons and lots of bones "There's no doubt about it, this is definitely the place."

"Are you sure this is a good idea though Koga?" asked Hakkaku "I mean the Goraishi is the most powerful weapon known to the Wolf Demon Tribe, are you sure that our ancestors won't be mad at us for taking it?"

"That doesn't matter right now. Once I get my hands on this Goraishi, I'll have no problem beating the life out of Naraku and any of his incarnations. Don't forget that everything we do now is for the sake of avenging our fallen comrades, so I'm sure the ancestors will understand why we're doing this. Probably. I mean the scroll did say something about a bunch of tests they'd put me through, so they probably knew this was gonna happen."

"Just be careful not to insight their wrath." Ginta told him.

"I make no promises, but if it helps I'd never let their wrath spill all over the two of you. Does it help?"

"More or less."

"Good enough for me, now let's get going." and so Koga made his way forward, his gazed focused forward as he set his sights on his goal.

Ginta and Hakkaku braced themselves and prepared to follow after him, only to stop in their tracks when he suddenly disappeared in a flash of light "Uh… what just happened?"

"I guess we incited the wrath of the gods a lot sooner than we thought." Hakkaku muttered.

"Are you serious making jokes when Koga just up and vanished like a spirit?!"

"I don't know what else to do!"

"Okay okay, let's calm down for a second. Koga said that scroll mentioned something about him having to go through a bunch of tests right?"

"You think this is part of it?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is, we can't just let Koga go through it alone."

"Right!" and so the two of them charged forward and disappeared into the mist, unaware of the trials that awaited them.

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the main group…

"So they're gone then." Sango glanced down the Bone Eater's Well, only to find that it was completely empty "I can never get used to that."

"I hate it when they leave." Shippo looked down down the well, his eyes full of sadness "It's so lonely whenever they go back to their time, and then I'm stuck with Inuyasha."

"What about me and Miroku?"

"He's always off going across every pretty woman he sees, and then you go after him and slap him for it."

"...Are we really that predictable? Don't answer that." Sango scooped Shippo up and placed him on her shoulder as she started walking back to the village "But you know that Tatsu and Kagome only went back because they wanted to train, in order to learn how to break through Naraku's barrier. Until we learn how to do that, there's nothing we can really do right now."

"I know, but I still miss them."

"I do too, but-"

"Do the world a favor and keep it down." an angry voice barked at them, courtesy of Inuyasha as he rested in a tree nearby and shot a dirty look down at them "Some of us actually wanna hear themselves think without having to listen to other people squawking like angry chickens, so shut it already."

"There's no need to be so hostile Inuyasha, we're just having a conversation."

"What's he in such a bad mood about?" Shippo grumbled.

"He's frustrated about the problem with breaking through Naraku's barrier, but the rest of us all feel the exact same way. You know I'm right about this Inuyasha, sitting up there brooding and feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to make Tessaiga any more powerful."

"Get the hell out of my face and quit assuming stuff you don't know anything about, because you're dead wrong."

"I know what I'm talking about Inuyasha, I was there when we confronted Naraku. Both your sword and my Hiraikotsu did nothing against his barrier, the same with your Wind Scar. The way things are, we can't do anything else until we figure out a solution."

"You don't have to worry about that, I'm gonna take care of it myself."

"But how are you going to do it, do you have some kind of solution that you just haven't told us about yet?" Sango was met with silence 'I'll take that as a no.'

"I knew it, he's all talk." Shippo muttered "We shouldn't have gotten our hopes up."

"Come on Shippo, don't be like that. Even if he does have nothing, it's not like we don't have any other options. That's why Tatsu and Kagome went back home, to get stronger and learn how to break through the barrier."

"Fuck that, there's no way in hell I'm sitting on my ass waiting for them!" Inuyasha let out an annoyed snarl.

"No one is saying that we should, but we need some sort of plan."

"And I have just what you need!" this was when a certain flea demon made himself known from where he was sucking on Sango's neck, only to end up being slapped off.

"Oh Myoga, so you're here again."

"A pleasure to see you as well Miss Sango, and as I was saying, I know the way for you to break through Naraku's barrier."

"And what the hell do you know about it?" Inuyasha shot a look at him.

"Well before anything else, let me tell you how much trouble it was finding you!"

"How about instead you spit it the fuck out before I stomp on you! Again."

"Look Master Inuyasha, I'm afraid that this is no time for telling jokes. If you want to learn how to break through a barrier, you must immediately travel to the cave of the demon bats."

"You mean the territory of the Demon Bat Tribe?" asked Sango.

"That would be the one, their cave is located on the western shore and protected from outsiders by an impenetrable barrier, and no one is able to get close to them, let alone touch them. The task of guarding the barrier has been passed down from one generation to the next. The current demon that guards the barrier must be slain. To put it in simple terms, you must kill the current guardian demon that has the power to retain the barrier, and then bathe the blade of Tessaiga in its blood. By killing a being with such power, the sword will absorb the power of the Demon Bat Tribe, and that would subsequently grant you the power to break through Naraku's barrier. Now then, in regards to my payment for this information…" he jumped onto Inuyasha's neck and began sucking out some of his blood, only to subsequently be smacked off.

"So I guess we do have a plan."

"You're damn right we do, now what the hell are we waiting for?!" Inuyasha burst down towards the ground with renewed vigor "Time for us to go hunting for some rats with wings, if that's all it takes to make my sword more powerful then I'm sure as hell in! I'll kill thousands of them if I have to!"

"...Sounds like someone has his fire back."

"You complaining?"

"No, just making an observation. Anyway let's get Miroku, he can talk to Hachi and ask him to take us there."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

At the same time, Raidou was walking with Ayumi up the stairs of the Higurashi Shrine, and he raised an eyebrow in her direction at what he was hearing "So what do these guys call themselves again?"

"They're called Team Four Star." Ayumi told him "They're a company that's pretty well known on the internet, they're the ones that made the Dragon Ball Z Abridged series. They ended it after the end of season three about two years ago though."

"Abridged series?"

"Oh yeah. Basically, they remade the original Dragon Ball Z series by redubbing everything with their own music and transcripts, but with a lot more jokes thrown in and cutting out a lot of filler content."

"So they basically pulled the same thing as those guys who remade the Sword Art Online series that everybody hates but keeps watching anyway?"

"No no no, these guys did it first. If anything they were the ones who came up with the idea to create a comedic abridged remake of the original, and their series was great and only got better as it went on."

"Didn't Dragon Ball Z already have a redub?"

"Oh you mean Kai? Yeah that was pretty good, but that was meant to be more true to the original manga. This one was just for fun, and at least they didn't get sued for plagiarism. Copyright strikes however, are another story."

"Plagirism?"

"One of the composers, Kenji Yamamoto, got sued for stealing a bunch of the soundtracks he used for Kai." she let out a sad sigh at this.

"You sound upset by that."

"I am to be honest, I mean I know it was stolen but it was still good music."

"Because it was stolen from artists who actually knew what they were doing and could come up with their own content."

"What about the dub score?"

"You wanna start a flame war? I mean it's not like it's that hard, but still."

"I know that, and I'm not saying it was the best music, but American kids still grew up listening to that soundtrack."

"That just means it's nostalgic, and just because something is nostalgic doesn't automatically make it good. Just take a look at those Tobey Maguire Spider Man movies, I found them to be downright cringy."

"Don't let Arashi hear you say that."

"I don't care if he does or not. Anyway then there's the original Fullmetal Alchemist series, I saw that growing up but now I know how much it sucked."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I watched Brotherhood, and not only was it more well done, but it was a lot truer to the manga. I only watched that one about two years ago and I understand that." the two of them reached the top of the stairs, only for him to stop in his tracks and motion for Ayumi to do the same "Hold that thought, we've got company."

Sure enough, it was at this moment that Tatsu and Kagome emerged from the well house, and then stopped when they saw them "Oh, hey guys. What are you doing here?"

"Dropping off some material for Higurashi to cram when you guys got back, which I expected to be a lot longer than a single day. What happened?"

"A lot can happen in a day, I'm tempted to make a Dragon Ball reference right now, but I'm resisting the urge because of how serious I am about this."

"And again I ask, what happened?"

"To put it in simple terms, it became painfully clear that no matter how many Fangs I have, there are certain abilities I still lack. Translation, I need to take a cat nap so I can enter the meeting of the minds and ask Ryuhogo to teach me how to break through a demonic barrier. Speaking of which, I'd better get started on that. Later." and so he promptly disappeared in a flash.

"Well… okay then." Raidou glanced over at Kagome "What about you?"

"I'm gonna head inside and talk to my grandpa." Kagome told him.

"The one that tried to purify me the first time I showed up here?"

"He does that a lot, don't take it personally. Anyway I have to learn how to control my powers better, and I think he's the best person that can help me with that."

"I should probably warn you now then, he's off doing some exorcism, but he should be back sometime later today." Ayumi told her.

"Oh. Tomorrow it is then."

"Is there anything I can do to help in the meantime?"

"I don't think so Ayumi, this is something that I've been putting off for way too long as it is. I'm ready to do this, or rather, I have to be ready. I'm going to stand by Tatsu and the others, and protect them and everyone I can. I'll do whatever it takes."

"Oh… Well if it helps, I can keep bringing you notes and material for class if you like."

"That would be great, thanks." Kagome gave her a smile, and then she promptly made her way inside the house.

"That… happened pretty fast."

"It takes some getting used to with these people." Raidou was met with a raised eyebrow "By these people, I essentially mean Tatsu's group."

"Oh I know, I've known them a lot longer than you have."

"Fair enough. So you wanna grab something to eat?"

"Let me just give Kagome these notes and then we can go. You have something in mind?"

"I know of a few good bistros in the city." the two of them started walking away.

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Meanwhile, with a certain wolf demon…

"Ginta, Hakkaku, where the hell are you?!" Koga bolted through a thick cloud of mist, glancing across numerous directions to try and pick up a trace of them to no avail 'Dammit, this doesn't make any sense! They were right behind me a few minutes ago, and now I can't pick up their scent or even that Ki stuff either. What the hell is going on? Is this one of those tests that the scroll mentioned?'

"Halt!" a booming voice stopped Koga in his tracks, and then a large wolf demon suddenly materialized in front of him, snarling as it studied Koga intently, its claws barred "None shall pass beyond this point, or else their lives will be forfeit."

"Neither of those are gonna happen, I've come too far to turn back now."

"So you claim, as many others have. What is it that you seek?"

"I've come in search of the Goraishi." Koga's eyes were filled with unwavering resolve, but this was met with a loud snort from the wolf demon.

"You expect me to let you pass through and let you claim the legacy of our ancestors so easily? Don't make me laugh."

"I'm not like any other power-hungry fools that think they can take the Goraishi and do whatever the hell they want it. I'm the new leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe, and I'm going to use it to do right by my pack, avenging the fallen and protecting those that still draw breath." Koga was met with another loud snort.

"Spare me the arrogance. You are not worthy of being called an alpha of the Wolf Demon Tribe, for you are clearly nothing more than an arrogant cub who thinks he has all the answers. Your ancestors would turn in their graves if they could see how pathetic you truly are, a wolf demon with only a single arm believing that he's worthy to obtain the legacy of the pack, but proving himself to be nothing but a pathetic failure."

"Shut UP!" Koga let out a snarl as he barred his claws, his eyes blazing with anger "I didn't come all this way just to turn around and leave empty-handed!" and so he charged forward in a rage.

The wolf demon dodged and weaved its way around Koga's attacks with ease, and with one sweep of its claw it tore its way through Koga's chest and sent him crashing to the ground in a heap "Even with the power of the Shikon Jewel shards you keep in your legs, you are nothing, and everything you do amounts to exactly nothing. Leave with your life and do what you're best at, nothing. Because that is exactly what you will amount to."

"SHUT UP!" Koga let out an outright snarl, his features becoming distinctly more feral as he burst forward with even greater speed, ripping through one side of the demon's face and ripping one of its legs clean off.

The demon was sent staggering backwards by this assault, but it quickly recovered and used its remaining claw to swat Koga to the ground, and then subsequently pin him to the ground "It's clear that within you is the same misconception many others, both in the past and in the future. Remember this pain and let it teach you what your mistake was." it lifted its paw and released its hold on Koga "Do not forget this experience pup, because whether human or demon, a warrior who attacks when clouded by anger is a warrior that never comes to know victory. Only when you accept this fact and come to terms with it, will you be able to pass the tests to come. Continue forward beyond the path you came from, and then the trials of the Goraishi will truly begin."

"So then… that was it?" Koga spat out some blood and pulled himself to his feet "That was one of the tests?"

"That was an act of generosity, a lesson you need to learn if you with to have any hope of claiming the Goraishi, if your reasons and your heart are true." and with that, the wolf demon disappeared back into the ground, and a new path appeared where it once stood.

Koga slowly started down that path, his mind drifting as he did so 'The way that thing was talking to me, at first it was like it wanted me to charge at it, but then it sounded like… like it was training me or something.' it was mere seconds after this realization dawned on him that he was suddenly enveloped by another cloud of potent mist, and he was only able to hear one thing as he did so.

"Remember this young wolf cub: If you wish to lead the pack into the future, then you must first endure the pain of the past."

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Meanwhile, on another part of Feudal Japan…

"You worthless deceitful wench!" near the shores, an angry group of villagers were rounding on a single woman, striking her to the ground in their anger "I should have known you would lie to us, how dare you deceive us in such a way! You gave us your word that the village wouldn't be attacked again if you gave your demon child to them, but more villagers have been killed every day since then! Give us one reason not to strike you down for your filthy lies!"

"I don't know…" the woman, who shall now be referred to as Shizu, gritted her teeth as she felt the pain of their attacks "I don't know why they keep killing the villagers, but-"

"Save us your lives you pathetic wench, you're probably in league with the wretched demon bats yourself! You don't deserve any mercy from us, you'll get exactly what you deserve!" and so one of them charged at her and brought down the spear, only for a red and white blur to appear and stop him in his tracks.

As it turns out, that red and white blur was none other than Inuyasha, holding the end of the spear and snapping it like a twig, a confident smirk plastered across his face "Sup?"

"What is this, who the hell are you?"

"Shut it for a second. I heard you mention these demon bats I've been hearing so much about, you gonna tell me where I can find their cave or do I have to guess old man?"

"How the hell are we supposed to know where the cave of the demon bats is? Why don't you ask that lying wench?"

"That's another thing." Sango and the others quickly helped Shizu to her feet, and then she rounded on the villagers in disgust "How could you attack a defenselss woman like that?"

"If she is a woman, the traitorous wench dares to call herself human, and yet she bedded with one of the bad demons and bore him a child." now that got a reaction out of the others.

'The child of a demon and a human… so then it's a half demon like Inuyasha?'

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

'Yep, here we go again…' Tatsu opened his eyes and looked around, finding himself within what appeared to be an endless black void "Can we skip the theatrics and air of mystery this time? We are kind of on a schedule you know, I have to get stronger while Naraku is out of commission and we have this opportunity."

"Believe me, I'm well are of that." the figure of Ryuhogo materialized in front of him "Which means that I also know why you came to see me."

"There's only one person I can count on to understand the true power of the Fangs that I wear on this necklace, and that's the man who forged it, which means you."

"And you want to know of a certain ability that comes from the Fangs, one that can break through any barrier, no matter how powerful it might be."

"Which brings me to my first question. Is this a matter of how many Fangs I wear, or a matter of learning a technique like the Dragon Cannon?"

"Exploring numerous options to determine the best outcome, I approve of that. To answer your question, it's not a matter of the number of Fangs, though considering the energy output, it's not something I would recommend using unless the user were to acquire at least three Fangs."

"I have four now, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"Fair enough, and getting back on topic I have just the technique you need. This is one that I refer to as the Ryu-ken. By gathering and controlling every ounce of demonic energy within the body, the user can amplify it for use in a short intense burst, and when you're able to do this properly, your raw power, speed of movement, and both destructive and defensive force can all see a significant increase."

"That sounds… surprisingly familiar to me."

"I know what you're thinking of when I tell you this, but given the circumstances I don't think you have much to complain about."

"I'm not complaining, I'm just making an observation. Sounds handy as hell too."

"That's the nice way of putting it. After all, as powerful as the Fangs make the user, I'm sure they would be pleased to know that they can reach even greater levels of power. But at the same time, it's not something you want to take lightly. If you don't stay in complete control while you use the technique, you could end up in an even more dire situation. Listen well to this, because this is the most important part of learning this technique. Given the current level of power you find yourself at, you cannot and should not use the Ryu-ken too much at any one time. If at any point of the process you lose control, then you'll more than likely end up causing severe harm to your body, and that's why for the time being, you should raise your level of power amplification to no more than the first level, at least for the time being. Performing the Ryu-ken beyond the level you're ready for will put too much strain on your body, so to put it simply, your body will not be able to keep up with the Ryu-ken, and the entire technique would end up backfiring on you instead. Do you understand me?"

"I always do. To put in simple terms, you're saying that the move could more than likely turn out to be a double-edged sword."

"That's one way to describe it. Now then, let's get started."

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Meanwhile, with the main heroine…

As the sun began to set, Grandpa Higurashi made his way back into the grounds of the shrine, only to find Kagome standing in front of the Sacred Tree "Oh Kagome, I didn't know that you were going to be back so soon."

"Neither did I, but I guess the plan has to change along the way." Kagome let out a sigh as she turned to face him "I was actually hoping I could talk to you about a few things grandpa, if you don't mind."

"Anything for you my dear, how can I help?"

"Before I go any further, I have to ask. You already know everything about my spiritual powers, you have all along haven't you? Even before all of this happened I mean."

"...To a certain extent, your hunch is correct. I could sense it in you the first time I laid eyes on you, a light that shines inside of you from the moment you were born."

"You mean from the Shikon Jewel? I know it was in my body because of Kikyo and that whole thing with me being her reincarnation."

"Perhaps, but not even that. Even without the symbol of the jewel within you, I could see that you had the spark. We do come from a family of shrinekeepers after all, reincarnation is not the only source of your spiritual power. From what I've seen, you have more spiritual power than myself or your father ever did, and you've only just begun to scratch the surface of it."

"How much power do I have anyway?"

"Find it difficult to say for certain right now, though I will stand by my claim of you having much greater powers than I did, and even greater than your father did. It's a combination of the blood from our side of the family, and the spiritual power you inherited from your past life in the form of that other priestess. These two factors combine into one host, that being you, and it results in a hybrid of sorts, with power beyond anything either one can achieve alone."

"Wow…" Kagome seemed taken aback by this for a moment, but she quickly composed herself and got back to the conversation at hand "But that's the problem, I have all this power and… I don't know how to control it. I've spent all this time training with Tatsu, working on my archery, my swordsmanship and building my strength and muscles, but that's not enough. I have all of this power, but I can't control it."

"...There's one great factor to take into consideration. Experience."

"What do you mean?"

"Tatsu has been training you and he speaks highly of the progress you've made in such a short amount of time, but training alone can only do so much for you. You have power far beyond what myself or your father could ever have been able to achieve, but what you still lack is the necessary experience needed in order to understand your power to the fullest extent."

"So then, will you help me to do that?"

"My dear, there was never any question about that. But first you'll have to bring Tatsu over here to assist with it, and have him bring a few things."

"Like what?"

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

After the encounter with the villagers, Shizu led Inuyasha and the rest of his group back to her hut, though she was still understandably wary "I don't understand, why would you want to know the location of the cave of the demon bats?"

"Why do you think, I came here to kill them." Inuyasha told her flatly.

"What?"

"Inuyasha hold on a minute, let's not be too hasty." Miroku was quick to call him off, and then he turned to Shizu "The villagers told us that you gave your child to the demon bats, what exactly did they mean by that?"

"For generations, this region of the land has been a home and hunting ground to the Demon Bat Tribe. They're creatures that spread terror everywhere they go, preying on both humans and animals and feeding on their blood and flesh. But Tsukuyomaru was not like the other members of his tribe, no the father of my daughter was different from the other demons. He did not thirst for the blood of humans, and after Shiori was born the other bats stopped attacking our village as well. I assumed that he was the one who convinced them to do so. At last a time had come when our village was at peace."

"It was at peace?"

"For a time it was, but then Shiori's father passed away, and then there was no one and no way to stop the rest of them. It wasn't long after this that Taigokumaru, the father of Tsukuyomaru and the grandfather of Shiori, came to see me. He promised that they would leave the village alone if I gave my daughter to him. You see, both him and Tsukuyomaru were guardians of the barrier, a duty that was passed down through generations. As the daughter of Tsukuyomaru, Shiori had inherited his powers as the guardian."

"But why did it have to be your daughter who guards the barrier now?" asked Sango "If her grandfather is so insistent on it being protected and already had the power of the guardian, why wouldn't he just do it himself?"

"The power the bat demons have to create the barrier wanes with age, and once the guardian passes on his duty, he loses that power entirely."

"So what you're saying is that your daughter is the only one still alive that has the power needed to protect the barrier."

"Yes. I was left agonizing over what to do, but in the end I decided that it was for the best if I were to give my daughter to Taigokumaru. I thought it was for the best."

"Pardon my asking, but she is a half-demon is she not?" Miroku spoke up again "How can a half demon child have powers like that at their command?"

"I see that you have a half-demon in your midst as well." Shizu looked over at Inuyasha "I'm sure that you of all people should know better than anyone that half demons are accepted by neither demons nor humans, no matter who they are or where they come from. Shiori had ample power to fulfill her duties, that's one of the reasons why I thought it would be for the best for her to be with them, especially if it would be to save our village."

"And to protect her from the villagers here?" Sango guessed.

"That as well, especially that. But that's where the problem lies, because the demon bats went back on their word."

"...Alright, I've heard more than enough." Inuyasha suddenly bolted to his feet "We've wasted enough time talking, now take me there."

"What?"

"You heard me, I want you to take me to that old demon bat you talked about."

"We'll go with you." Shippo prepared to bolt upright, only to be met with a blow to the head that made him fall back to the ground with a thud "What did you do that for?!"

"Shut up and sit down, I'm gonna handle this one on my own."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sango.

"Trust me, I'm the only one that needs to see him."

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Meanwhile, with a certain wolf demon…

"Alpha? Alpha! Alpha are you listening?"

"Wha-?" Koga's eyes snapped open and he looked around, then glanced down to see one of his wolves sitting in front of him "Inuzuka? What the hell, I thought left you in the mountains with the rest of the pack?"

"What are you talking about Alpha? You tasked me and the others with joining you as you tracked down the traitor who stole your jewel shard and fled."

"Traitor?" Koga suddenly froze 'Why does this sound so… Don't tell me…' and then he looked at the stump on his right shoulder, or rather where the stump was supposed to be 'I have my right arm back… but I know it was…'

"Remember this young wolf cub: If you wish to lead the pack into the future, then you must first endure the pain of the past."

'That voice again… Then I was right… this is the day I chased that traitor to that village… and the day I slaughtered everyone there to get revenge.'

"We tracked him to this region, and then we discovered something… infuriating, to say it as nicely as I can." Inuzuka let out a low snarl "He's taken refuge for himself in that village of all places."

'Why did I end up here, now of all times and places? Is this… Is this some kind of second chance I'm getting? Tell me something Inuzuka… do the villagers there know he's there?"

"What does that matter? You know who those people are Alpha, you know what they've done to your sister, to you and the rest of our pack!"

"I know I know, but do they know he's there?"

"...No, it doesn't appear that way Alpha. He's taken refuge in a hut away from the rest of the village, and secluded himself in there."

"Then get him and bring him here, the rest of them can wait for now."

"But Alpha-"

"Dealing with a traitor has to come first."

"...As you wish Alpha." Inuzuka bowed his head, and then he took off in the opposite direction as fast as he could.

'I still don't get it though, why did I end up back here of all places? Part of me wants to say it's some kind of second chance I'm getting, but still… It seems too much like a dream.'

"Let go of me you pathetic furballs!" after a few more minutes, Inuzuka and the rest of the wolves returned, dragging a familiar figure with them, his arms in their teeth, and he looked up in terror at the sight of Koga standing before them "Koga…"

"Don't bother grovelling or begging for your life, I don't wanna hear it." Koga's tone was blunt and filled with anger he was struggling to restrain "You stole that jewel shard from me, you ran away like a coward, and you chose that village of all places to hide. You know who they are and what they did."

"Koga please I'm sorry, I know I was in the wrong, just don't kill me!" he took out a Shikon jewel shard and placed it in Koga's hand "There, now do you see? I'm not fighting or trying to run away or anything, just please spare me."

"...You know, even after all of this, she probably would've let you go."

"You mean…" his eyes lit up, and he breathed a sigh of relief "Oh thank you so much for your mercy-"

"You didn't let me finish. She would've shown you mercy. I'm not her." Koga barred his claws and prepared to strike down the demon, prompting him to shy away in fear, but then he let out a sigh as he stopped himself "I'm not her. But I can use her as an example, and the rest of the pack should do the same."

"So then…?"

"Swear your loyalty to me and to everyone else in the pack, swear on your honor and pride as a member of the tribe and I'll let you live."

"I swear on my honor as a member of the tribe!"

"Good. I'm giving you this one last chance. Don't waste it."

"What about that village Alpha?" Inuzuka looked up at him "There's still the mater of what those people did you the previous Alpha."

"My sister. I know. Believe me, there's a part of me that wants to do nothing more than charge down there, find the people who did it to her, and rip them apart with my claws. But I can't. I won't."

"Why?"

"It's…" Koga breathed a sigh as he tried to compose himself, with moderate success "I lost both of my parents to those fucking rats with wings, and my sister was the one who raised me, who taught me almost everything I know. Then I lost her because of them, for no reason other than them hating and fearing something that's different from them. Now I have a perfect opportunity to get revenge on them, I see them down there helpless to stop me, and I could rip them apart and make them suffer hundreds of times over for what they did to my sister. But now I understand what she did. I understand that doing it won't change what happened, and what's worse is that it would make me no better than the Birds of Paradise. When I was growing up, Akari told me that whether human or demon, we could choose the kind of people we want to me. She would want me to walk away, to be better. To be someone that could do right by the pack, and be someone that she could and would be proud of. These jewel shards in my legs and my role as leader of the pack don't get to define who I am, and neither do those bastards down there. I get to choose in the here and now. I can be like them, or be like my sister. A fool who gives into impulses and makes choices that will haunt him forever, or someone that strives to do right by his pack in any way he can. I think the choice is pretty obvious, don't you?"

"...I'm sure she would agree with that." Inuzuka bowed his head to Koga "Even so, there are certain traits that she possessed that can be considered unbecoming of demons."

"Maybe, but it's my decision either way. You got a problem with that?"

"Of course not Alpha."

"Good, now let's go." Koga turned around and prepared to walk away, only to suddenly end up enveloped in another cloud of mist "What the hell?!"

"You have overcome your impulsive anger, a true alpha avoids unnecessary conflicts, ones that are driven by emotion alone. You have learned from this mistake of your past, and as such you have passed the first test."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

"I'm not sure how to feel about this." by this point, Tatsu had joined the others at the Higurashi shrine as requested, only to find himself in a rather unusual situation "I'm all helping out in any way I can, but why the hell am I wearing a giant bear suit?"

"It's for the sake of training, and it actually looks quite good on you." Grandpa Higurashi let out a chuckle and looked at the Fangs in his hand "I'm sure you've noticed by now that it's weighted quite heavily, and it's harder for you to move around in, especially without."

"Kind of hard not to notice, how do I even walk in this thing?"

"Keep in mind that Akira made you do this type of training back when you were a child, and without your Fangs you're restricted to normal human limitations. You need a proper handicap to balance out the gap in power if you and Kagome are going to spar."

"I get the logic behind it, I just wanted to get some venting out of my system before we actually got started."

"So we're just going to spar then?" Kagome made her way towards them with a sword strapped to his side, a quiver of arrows strapped to her back, and carrying a bow in one hand "I don't know grandpa, Tatsu and I spar pretty much all the time these days."

"Yes but you know as well as I do that he always, what's the word the young ones use these days, pulls his punches. Now let's get started, for the time being we're going to start with a bit of freestyle."

"Uh… okay."

"Well I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Tatsu gave a shrug as he dropped into his typical combat stance "If he says this is gonna help then what's the worst thing that could happen? Okay then Kags, come at me."

"If you're sure about it, then I trust you." so with a deep breath, Kagome placed her bow onto her back, drew her Seishin Rozu from its sheath and charged forward, letting a series of slashes fly forward with each step she took.

Tatsu dodged the series of slashes as he went on the evasive, easily avoiding every slash of her sword with ease 'Huh, so this is what it feels like to wear training weights now. It's been awhile sice I actually did anything like this, but I have to admit it feels pretty good. Maybe once this is wrapped up, I can talk to him about getting some new weighted clothing, see what that can do for me these days.'

'Come on, come on…' gritting her teeth, Kagome continued her assault against Tatsu with her sword in hand, her mind racing 'I don't get it, if he's heavier then he should be slower than usual and I should be able to follow him a lot easier, but right now it feels like I can barely keep up with him at all. Maybe if I try…' she retreated back a short distance and sheathed her sword, then locked and loaded an arrow, but the instant she prepared to fire she froze 'This is just like… the time with Hyoga when I…'

"That's enough." Grandpa Higurashi made the call.

'I couldn't do it, I just… I saw it in front of my eyes… he was hurt and got shot again and… and it was my fault…'

"Kagome?" sensing that she was upset Tatsu made his way over to Kagome and pulled her into a tight hug, his voice soft and gentle "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I… I'm okay…"

"You don't have to worry okay, we're both gonna get a lot stronger. Together."

"I know…"

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Meanwhie, 500 years in the past…

By this point, Inuyahsa was following Shizu along a cliffside path towards the cave of the demon bats, his mind drifting as he did so 'So she's a half-demon… like me. Her mother probably wasn't wrong when she said that she'd be better off with the demon bats, at least they actually need her for something. Most half-demons don't have that sort of luxury, whenever ordinary demons see a half-demon they just wanna kill them or eat them or whatever.'

"Tell me Master Inuyasha, is there something on your mind?"

"I'm just thinking of old times- Wait a second." Inuyasha stopped in his tracks, then looked down to see Myoga sitting on his shoulder "What the fuck Myoga, who the hell said you could come with me?"

"What's the problem, it's not like I'm in the way."

"But it is like you're about as much of a pest as usual. Go back to the others, I said I was gonna go on my own and I am."

"Don't be so harsh about this."

"I'm being me, and I don't have time to deal with your crap."

"It's this way." this was when Shizu got Inuyasha's attention and directed his attention to where the bat demon cave sat a short distance ahead of them "The cave of the demon bats lies just up ahead."

"...Fine, lead the way. If the flea wants to get himself killed, then that's his problem." and so he continued following her, but as he did, he glanced down at Myoga "Hey tell me something flea, are you sure this is gonna make my sword more powerful?"

"Yes it's as I said, but unfortunately, that means you must first slay the girl." Myoga told him, his tone grim.

"Fuck."

"Here we are." Shizu continued leading them on until they came to the end of the path, the cave resting directly in front of them "It's that cave there."

"You mean the one that's glowing? I never would've guessed." Inuyasha's tone was laced with sarcasm.

"There she is, there's Shiori!"

Sure enough, near the mouth of the cave sat a little girl with brown skin, light purple eyes and long silver hair, sitting alone inside a small barrier, and she lit up when she saw Shizu standing on the other side of the cave "Mommy!"

"Hold on, I'll be right there!" Shizu prepared to make her way towards, the cave, when…

"I was wondering what all of the ruckus was about, so it seems that we have some visitors in our midst." this was when the massive figure of a bat demon emerged from within the darkness of the cave, revealing himself to those present.

"There's no mistaking it, that's Taigokumaru. How dare you deceive me?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about human filth."

"Don't lie to me, you gave me your word that you would leave the village alone if I agreed to give my daughter to you, but you didn't!"

"Of course that was the case, don't tell me you honestly believed such a thing. As if I would bother to keep a promise made to a pathetic human of all things."

"Then return my daughter to me!"

"How dare you make such a demand of me!" Taigokumaru let out a violent hiss "Shiori is going guard the barrier for the remainder of her life. She has a duty that she inherited from her father, and she is doing a fine job. Indeed, I find it hard to believe that she has the blood of a human coursing through her veins."

"How dare you-"

"Keep your shit together." Inuyasha was quick to calm Shizu down (in his own way) "Looks like we're gonna have to take your kid back by force."

"You actually think you can defeat him?"

"I think I'm gonna shove my sword down his throat either way. Besides, that cocky old bastard is standing in front of your kid, so if I attack now then I can rip him apart without having to risk getting her too. Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha yanked Tessaiga out of his sheath and unleashed a Wind Scar directed at Taigokumaru, resulting in an explosion.

When the smoke cleared however, Taigokumaru was revealed to be completely unharmed, and standing within a large barrier "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

'You've gotta be fucking kidding me, he repelled my Wind Scar?!'

"Oh no, it seems the rumors were true!" Myoga suddenly started sweating "It would seem that the barrier of the demon bats is virtually impenetrable!"

"So the Wind Scar can't do anything?"

"Your attacks mean nothing to me you filthy wretch." Taigokumaru let out a hiss "Now who are you, and what do you want?"

"Who I am doesn't matter, just hand over the girl before I shove my sword up your ass."

"I see, so the humans must have sent you. In that case, you must PERISH!" he promptly unleashed a sonic blast from his mouth, resulting in an explosion.

Fortunately, Inuyasha was able to escape from the blast and set Shizu down on the ground "You know for someone so arrogant, you're sure as hell a lousy shot."

"Consider that first attack a warning, because next time I'm not going to miss."

"Go ahead and try it you wrinkly old son of a-"

"Stop it!" Shiori suddenly cried out, catching the attention of everyone else with tears streaming down her face "I beg of you, please don't do this grandfather. Please don't hurt my mommy! I promise I'll stay and guard the barrier like you want me to, so please just don't hurt her!"

'Kid… Shiori…'

"Did you hear that?" Taigokumaru gave a wicked grin "It seems that this young child has a great deal more sense than either you or her mother."

"Save it for someone who gives a shit about your opinion, because I sure as hell don't."

"Let me ask you this: Do you truly believe that Shiori will be happy back in the human village she came from? I know that she won't. The wretched human villagers ostracized her because she was born a half-demon, and they didn't hesitate for even a single moment to sacrifice her life if it meant saving their own. How could I possibly give me precious granddaughter back to people that would treat her with such cruelty?" he was met with Shizu bowing her head in silence at what he said, and his smirk widened "Well?"

"...Fuck." Inuyasha let out a snarl as he placed Tessaiga back in its sheath, then he went over and picked up Shizu, and then he took his leave without another word.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with a certain wolf demon…

"Koga are you listening, pull your head out of your tail already!"

'What the fuck…' Koga let out a groan as he opened his eyes, only to freeze at the sight of a set of familiar faces surrounding him 'These are… these are my comrades, the ones that were killed by Kagura… but how did-'

"If you wish to lead the pack into the future, then you must first endure the pain of the past."

'That voice again… does that mean that this is another one of those tests?'

"Koga snap the fuck out of it already!" one of the wolf demons barked at him "Did you even hear anything I told you?"

"Pretend I didn't and spit it out again, what are you talking about?"

"It's like I told you before, there's this lord of some castle that has a huge shard of the jewel in his possession. I know this might seem hard to believe, but we're not joking about this bastard, so what I'm thinking is that we should combine our forces and join the Northern and Eastern tribes together as one, and then we can storm the castle. Once we do, we'll take the shard of the jewel and divide it up equally. So what do you say Koga, do you want to join us?"

"...Forget it, that's not gonna happen."

"What?"

"It's the wrong move on a rumor about this guy having a shard, one that might not even turn out to be true."

"It's a human lord, everyone in the tribe knows how much you hate humans, so I figured you would've gotten off on something like this."

"It doesn't matter, if you try and shake this guy down then you might end up starting a war."

"A war with pathetic humans, we'd wipe them out easily!"

"A war is a war no matter who or what is on which side, and we've already lost too many of our brethren because of the Birds of Paradise. I'm not taking that risk."

"You've gone to war for far less over the years!"

"Yeah I know, and you know the difference? I would never drag the rest of our tribe down with me."

"Fine, go ahead and sit this out then, but the rest of us aren't gonna waste an opportunity like this by sitting on our asses with our tails between our legs." the northern wolves prepared to take their leave, only to be stopped when they found Koga standing in their way "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm doing what all of the others are thinking about if they're smart, stopping you from throwing your lives away."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. If you'd bother to stop and let your instincts do the thinking instead of just thinking "Power, power and more power" bullshit, you'd see that this is way too obvious and probably a trap."

"All I see is that you're nothing but a pathetic coward that's afraid of the prospect of the northern tribe being the strongest of them all."

"If you really think that then you're an even bigger fool than I thought you were."

"Why should I care about what you think, we offered you a chance at power and you're just up and throwing it away."

"I'm thinking about what's best for the tribe, and that means I don't fly off the handle at the first chance I get, and as long as I'm the Alpha this sort of bullshit isn't gonna happen."

"Yeah well, Akari would've agreed with us." this mention of Akari's name led to a stunned silence for a moment, followed by a series of whispers and low growls.

"...If you really think that, then you're an even bigger fool than I thought you were." Koga let out a low growl as he grabbed the wolf demon by the front of his armor "I may not be the demon or the leader my sister was, but this sort of bullshit isn't gonna fly with me, and it sure as hell isn't gonna fly with her."

"Are you gonna force us to stay? She wouldn't."

"I know she wouldn't, but if I have to slam your face into the ground to keep you from throwing your life away, then I will."

"...Fine, forget it."

"What's that?"

"It's not worth sending our packs to war, if you're that insistent on leaving it alone then fine, we'll play along. For now."

"Good." Koga made his way towards the back of the den, only to suddenly end up enveloped in another cloud of mist "Again with this shit?!"

"You rationalized the situation with a clear mind, you used reason over emotion, and you put the lives of your comrades and fellow wolf demons over the sake of power or holding pointless grudges. You have learned from this mistake of your past, and as such you have passed the second test."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nightfall came, and the moon was now covering the skies above, though the current situation was far from calm.

Sango and the others sat around the fire as they listened to Shizu explain what happened during the encounter with Taigokumaru "So it didn't work then?"

"No, and at this point I should probably give up." Shizu let out a sigh "What Taigokumaru said to me about Shiori, everything he said was true. The people of this village never accepted either of us, so maybe she really is better off there."

"You're living in a fucking fantasy." Inuyasha let out a snort "Demons aren't any more accepting of half-demons than these assholes you live with now, even if they are related by blood."

"But even so, he does seem to care about her."

"Now you're just lying to yourself. The only reason he's keeping her around and acting like he cares about her is because he needs her to guard the barrier."

"What about me?" Shippo looked up at him "I'm a full-blooded demon and I've never had any kind of problems with you when you're not hitting me." he was met with a blow to the head as a response "Hey!"

"That's only because I'm one of the few things standing between you and getting caught in the jaws of a demon that wants you as a snack."

"In any case, the fact is that if you aren't able to break through the demon bats' barrier, then that means our hands are tied at the moment." Miroku pointed out.

"And that's the main reason why we came here monk, even I know that much." and so he made his way out of the hut.

'Kill the half-demon that can generate a strong demonic barrier, and bathe the blade of his sword in its blood. Only then will his sword become powerful enough to break through Naraku's barrier and give us the chance to strike him down. The question is, can Inuyasha really bring himself to kill a fellow half-demon, especially if it's just a little girl?'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Things were rather concerning in the cave of the demon bats as well.

In the aftermath of the encounter with Shizu and Inuyasha, Shiori was left in tears over how much she missed her mother and wished to be with her. Taigokumaru took notice of this, but rather than do the right thing and try to reunite them, he decided to have the entire village and all of its inhabitants be destroyed, in order to remove any distractions to Shiori that would prevent her from doing her duty as guardian of the barrier.

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

'Come on, come on…' even in the dead of night, Kagome stood in front of a target with an arrow locked and loaded an arrow, and she fired it directly into the center 'Another one hits the target, but that's not enough… not for me.'

"I'm sure your mother wouldn't approve of you practicing so late at night."

Kagome glanced back to see Grandpa Higurashi make his way towards her, and she let out a sigh as she lowered her weapon "I know, but I couldn't get to sleep and I wanted to get a little bit of extra practice in."

"I understand, but that's not the only reason is it?"

Kagome fell silent and hung her head in what appeared to be shame.

"I can tell that you feel lost my dear. You feel frustrated with your current level of skill and power, and you wish to try and better yourself as much as you can, but you feel as if the way you're going about it now isn't enough to satisfy you. You want a new way, a better way to progress, but you don't know what that way is. As a result of this, you end up stuck in the same place, and that only makes you feel more frustrated."

"Am I that obvious with it?"

"Not exactly my dear. All I needed to do was watch the little hesitations in your footwork and the way you prepare your archery."

"...A lot has happened on the other side of the well." Kagome looked back at the target, or to be more specific, at the arrows she fired at it "I've been working so hard lately, pushing myself to the point where it hurt, doing whatever I could to get stronger, to be better. But even so, as strong as I've gotten, I've hurt people, those I hold close to my heart. I ended up being controlled by a demon that held a grudge against Tatsu, and I ended up hurting him. When I was attacking him, I could see everything that was happening, but I couldn't control my actions or do anything to stop myself. Then I encountered a Dark Priestess who put some kind of curse on me, she trapped me in my own mind and tried to torture me, telling me that since I was the one who shattered the jewel, I was to blame for so many people being killed, and almost as many lives being ruined by demons who got their hands on the shards. I promised myself that I would get as strong as I could, so that I could rectify it and protect people to the best of my abilities… but I'm not so sure that's enough anymore. Not if I want to make a real difference."

Grandpa Higurashi gave no response, he just took Kagome by the hand and quietly led her back into the house.

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

'The kid's got a bad lot in life…' Inuyasha sat near the cliffside gazing out at the open ocean in front of him, his mind drifting 'The humans are gonna treat her like shit no mater what she does, and the only reason why the bat demons want her is because they need her. They don't care about her any more than the humans, they just care about what she can do. It fucking sucks."

"I agree."

Inuyasha's head snapped up, and he glanced over to see Sango standing next to him "What do you want?"

"You were gone for awhile, so I came to look for you." Sango sat down next him and turned towards him "I'm guessing you're thinking about Shiori right now."

"So what if I am?"

"I want to say I understand, that I know what you went through, but the truth is I honestly don't have a clue, at least nothing beyond a general idea of it."

"What, you don't know anything about half-demons?"

"In all honesty, not really no. I had never even seen one before I met you. Half-demons were never talked about very often in my village, considering humans and demons are known for hating each other, and we never accepted any requests that involved killing half-demons." she was met with a raised eyebrow "It was my father's idea. He said that whether I should feel the way the others do was my choice and mine alone, but there was something else he said that had always stuck with me."

"And what's that?"

"He said that humans and demons do have one thing in common, both of them are capable of great good and great evil." this was met with a raised eyebrow "He was looking at Kirara when he said that. I think he meant that both of them are worth giving a chance. Not many people in this world are willing to give half-demons that chance."

"What they try to give us involves trying to drive a spear through our skulls."

"And they're wrong to do that." she was met with a dull "no shit" look in response "People fear and hate what they don't understand, and you've had to suffer because of it, but now you're among people where that doesn't matter."

"...Why the fuck does that sound familiar." note the sarcasm in his tone.

"You've heard that before?"

"Tatsu's mentor in their world, that guy Akira."

"Oh right, him. He's right though, now you're among people who don't care who you are or where you come from so-"

"Yeah yeah, I've heard all this crap before so don't even bother with-" Inuyasha suddenly cut himself short as he bolted to his feet.

"What's the matter?"

"See for yourself, we've got incoming." he gestured to the large horde of bat demons covering the skies in front of them "What do you wanna bet they're heading for the village?"

"Enough to say that we shouldn't be standing here talking about it."

"Then let's move, get on my back."

"On it." so Sango mounted Inuaysha's back as he took off running back in the direction of the village.

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Meanwhile, with a certain wolf demon…

"Koga, Koga get the hell out here!"

Koga's eyes suddenly snapped open and he looked around, suppressing a groan as he took in his surroundings 'Again with this shit?'

"If you wish to lead the pack into the future, then you must first endure the pain of the past."

'Ask a stupid question. I don't know how many more of these I can take. First I was sent to when I slaughtered that village, then to when I let some of my comrades go after that castle with the jewel shard, so now… Oh fuck.'

"Koga get the fuck out here, Kiba needs your help!"

'This better not be what I think it is. Alright alright I'm coming, now what the hell is going on out here?" Koga made his way out of the cave, only to freeze at the sight of a certain figure in front of him "Kiba…"

Sure enough, Kiba stood before him surrounded by various other wolf demons, heavily wounded and holding something in one hand "I'm sorry Koga… you were right…"

'So this is where it sent me now… the night Kagura slaughtered my comrades.'

"I was only able to get one…" Kiba held out a hand to Koga, revealing a jewel shard "There isn't much time Koga… you have to hurry and get to the castle… before it's too late…"

"...I promise, I won't repeat the same mistakes again." Koga slowly accepted the jewel shard, and then he took off running without another word, though he did glance back at one point just in time to see Kiba's body literally fall apart 'That's right… when I got back to the den, they told me his body fell apart after I left… It was Kagura's doing, all of it was part of her trap… including this damn thing.' he looked down at the jewel shard in his hand, and he promptly crushed it as he kept on running, doing so until he came upon the walls of the castle, where he saw the bodys of dozens of wolf demons sprawled out in bloody heaps, causing him to snarl 'So many bodies… So much of their blood… that mutt is covered in it…'

"...Oh shit." as it turns out, his presence had attracted the attention of Inuyasha and the rest of the group, the former being bathed in blood from head to toe "Before you start jumping to conclusions, your buddies over here were already dead by the time me and the others got to the castle."

Koga gave no response for a moment, the only sounds coming from him being the sound of his labored breathing and enraged snarling as he dropped to the ground, his eyes blazing with his anger, though he held himself back from attacking anyone "If they were already dead… Where do I find the one who did it?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say they're probably in there." Tatsu gestured to the entryway leading into the castle, but held out one of his twin swords to stop him "Let me warn you now wolf, if you're thinking about going alone to avenge them, then don't. Whether you like it or not, it's gonna take more than being able to move really fast or bare your claws in order to deal with the kind of traps that Naraku probably set up in there. You can't deal with it on your own, and you don't want to try doing that either. Not unless you want a repeat of what you went through when you tried to fight the leader of those demon birds."

"...If you have to follow me, then shut up and follow, because I'm not waiting." Koga glanced back to make sure Tatsu and the others were following him, and then he made his way towards the entrance of the castle building, only to suddenly find himself enveloped in another cloud of mist, much to his annoyance "Oh for the love of fuck!"

"You trusted in your instincts and acted with reason rather than on emotion, and you were able to recognize a trap in the fake jewel shard. You refused to allow yourself to be blinded by your anger and pride, and again acted with reason. You have learned from this mistake of your past, and as such you have passed the final test."

"Yeah well I don't- Wait, the final test?" Koga's head suddenly snapped up when he registered the last part "So that's it, that's all of the tests?"

"You have learned from the mistakes of your past, and as such you have passed all three of our tests. The path to the Goraishi is now yours to travel." the cloud of mist suddenly disappeared, and when it did it revealed the pathway amidst the graveyard.

'About fucking time, if I have to go through any more of those tests then I swear I'm gonna drive my claws through someone's skull.'

"Koga! Koga!"

"What the-" Koga whipped around to see Ginta and Hakkaku running towards him "I thought it was too quiet, what the hell happened to you two?"

"What do you mean us?! You're the one who just disappeared like five minutes ago!"

"Five minutes, what the fuck are you…" Koga trailed off as the realization suddenly dawned on him "The tests…"

"What, you mean you went through the tests already? Did you pass?"

"The path is there and we're not dead, so I'm thinking yes. Come on, we've got a weapon to get our claws on."

"So… we're going too?"

"There's no chance in hell I'd ever leave the two of you behind. Now come on, we've got a lot of work to do."

"Right!" and so the three of them bolted down the path at full speed, Koga pulling ahead of the group with ease, as if that wasn't obvious.

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Meanwhile, with most of the main group…

'This looks bad…' Miroku and the others rushed out of the hut just in time to see a massive swarm of demon bats covering the skies above 'There's so many of them, I doubt I would be able to stop them all even with my Wind Tunnel, and they're heading towards the village.'

"What the fuck are you gawking at?!" this was when Inuyasha came bursting onto the scene at full speed, with Sango on his back "Get moving, we've got work to do."

"Agreed, so we'd best get ready."

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The scene at the village was an awful one, as buildings were being destroyed and villagers were being either taken away or devoured on the spot.

'No…' Shiori could only look on in horror at the sight of the carnage unfolding 'The village, all of those people…'

"Spare them your feelings of sorrow." Taigokumaru let out a hiss "These wretches don't deserve any sympathy from you, not after the way they treated you and your mother. You have no need to worry though child, so long as you stay with me and protect the barrier and I will spare the life of your mother. Now do as I say my brethren, annihilate the village!" and with a wave of his hand he sent more bat demons hurtling towards the village, when…

"Hold the fuck up you rats with wings! Blades of BLOOD!" Inuyasha hurtled onto the scene and unleashed a barrage of blood blades from his claws that ripped through multiple bat demons with ease "I hope you're ready for this old man, I meant what I said about shoving my sword down your throat."

"You are proving yourself to be quite the nuisance to me." Taigokumaru sent more bat demons hurtling forward.

"Oh you wanna go assholes? I've got no problems shoving my claws up your-"

"Hiraikotsu!" this was when Hiraikotsu suddenly flew onto the scene and ripped through a large part of the horde of bat demons, courtesy of Sango as she and the others arrived on the scene ready for battle "Sorry to keep you waiting Inuyasha."

"How about instead of wasting time apologizing you get the fuck over here and start taking some of these things out."

"I believe that's the best course of action." Miroku brandished his staff and promptly started using it to purify numerous bat demons that surrounded them, though the more he took out, the more of them that kept coming "It seems we have our work cut out for us."

"Then stand back and watch the master at work. Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha drew Tessaiga from its sheath and unleashed a Wind Scar, ripping through a full hundred bat demons with a single stroke, only for this to be cut short by the blast hitting the barrier and dissipating 'Again with this barrier bullshit?!'

"If your Wind Scar didn't work on the barrier then I doubt that Sango's Hiraikotsu will have any more impact, and I don't know what would happen if I tried to use my Wind Tunnel on it. Not that I could either, given that Shiori is with them right now."

"Fuck, it had to be one of those days today."

"What's the matter human filth, can you not make a move?" Taigokumaru let out a chuckle full of malice.

'God fucking dammit, there's gotta be some kind of way for me to get the kid away from the old man so I can blast him to hell.'

"Please don't just stand there, you have to do something!" this was when the surviving villagers (aka the same assholes that were attacking Shizu earlier) "All of our lives depend on you, if you don't do something then the bat demon will kill all of us."

'Great, these assholes again. You don't need to ask me for any favors, I was gonna kill that thing either way, but before anything else I'm getting the kid away from him."

"You can't, that's insane! And don't forget that the girl is on the side of the demons."

"So what then, you're saying I should cut her down along with the rest of them?"

"What choice do you have, it's kill or be killed, and besides the girl is the child of a demon so what does it matter."

Inuyasha let out a low growl when he heard this 'Isn't that fucking typical, a bunch of ungrateful assholes who care about nothing but saving their own skin. Maybe Koga wasn't that far off with what he said about hating humans.'

"What's the matter with you creeps?!" this was when Shippo suddenly jumped down from his place on Kirara's back and rounded on the villagers in his anger, taking everyone by surprise as he did so "Shiori's mom gave her away to those stupid bat demons because she wanted to save all of you from them, how could you just turn your back on her like that?!"

'Shippo… great, the kid's about to get himself on the wrong end of a knife. Pretty sure Akira said something like this once, and he's right. Stupidity is a powerful thing.''

"Another demon, he's probably in league with that half-demon brat and the rest of those bats! We have to kill him before he can kill us!" this was when one of the dumber villagers grabbed a nearby spear and tried to skewer Shippo with it.

This didn't pan out, seeing Inuyasha grabbed the spear halfway through the swing and snapped it in half like a twig, then shot a glare at the stupid villager in question "Let's get one thing clear asshole, nobody gets to beat that little shit into the ground except for me. Got it? Don't care if you do or not, get the fuck out of my face before I drive my claws through your skull." that proved to be more than enough to sent the villager running away screaming, and then he got back to the task at hand as he glanced up at Shiori "Well how about it kid, it's your choice. What do you want to do?"

'That man…' Shiori glanced down at Inuyasha 'That was the man that I saw with mommy at the cave earlier.'

"You know what they said about and what that one just did, so you're probably better off staying the hell away from the village. If you decide that you still want to go back home, then tell me now and I'll help you get there."

"You intend to help her?" Taigokumaru let out a scoff "Don't bother deluding yourself you fool, as if you would ever be able to defeat the likes of me, the great Taigokumaru!" and then he unleashed another sonic blast from his mouth, forcing them to evade it, which they did, but only by a few seconds "I can tell just by looking at you, and by that undeniable stench, that you're also a half-demon."

"What the hell do you care if I'm a half-demon?"

"I can tell that you're recalling similar situations from your past, and that is why you hold such great feelings of sympathy for Shiori."

"The kid doesn't have anything to do with it, I just can't stand having to look at an ugly bag of bones and wings like you. So make up your mind kid, do you want to go back to that village or not? It's your choice."

'That man is a half-demon?' Shiori's eyes widened as she processed this 'Then that means he's just like me. He's right though, I do want to be with mommy, but I can't.' it was then that she glanced down and noticed Shizu running onto the scene 'Mommy.'

"Let me warn you now child." Taigokumaru let out a hiss "If you don't stay with and me and guard the barrier, your mother will die a slow and painful death. You understand that much, do you not?"

'But what do I do? I don't know… I don't know what to do."

"This is your fault you wretched half-demon, how dare you confuse the girl! You shall pay for your insolence!" and so he unleashed another sonic blast directed at Inuyasha.

"Watch yourself kid, I'm done holding back against him! Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha leapt into the air to avoid the sonic blast and unleashed a Wind Scar at nearly point blank range, only for it to have no effect "FUCK!"

"Excellent work as always my girl, and you know what to do."

'Dammit, this barrier is just as strong as the one Naraku used. Now what the hell am I supposed to do? If I could get just a single part of that bastard's body outside of the barrier, then I would at least be able to stand a chance. Doesn't this kid have the power to adjust the size of the barrier she creates? Wait a second, what's that stuff glowing in front of him- Oh shit. Everyone move the fuck out of the way!" and that was enough to prompt him to take off running.

"Now DIE!" Taigokumaru suddenly unleashed a barrage of simultaneous sonic blasts that left multiple paths of devastation in their wake, in the form of destroyed buildings and charred corpses of the villagers.

'Shit…' Inuyasha looked around from where he and the others had taken cover, seeing the carnage that had resulted 'He killed almost all of them in a single shot, barely any of them men are left… But he left the woman and children alone. I guess he's got principles.'

"I have no use for a pathetic village such as this, destroy every last one of them. Don't leave any survivors."

"Taigokumaru that's enough!" this was when Shizu rushed onto the scene "I beg of you, please stop the bloodshed. This village was protected from your attacks while Tsukuyomaru, your own son, was still alive, and that was because he wanted us to be protected from you. It was the wish of your son that Shiori and I would be able to live in peace, and that was why he prevented any attacks on the village. Please I beg of you, honor the wishes of your son."

"...Do you truly believe that? You expect me to honor the wishes of my son?" Taigokumaru just barked out an evil laugh "Such a thought is absolutely ludicrous. Tsukuyomaru was indeed my son, but he was nothing but a fool, and falling in love with a mortal only brought his demise that much sooner."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It was just as you had said, he made it clear that he would protect the village. He told me to my face that if we didn't abide by his wishes, then he would abandon his duty as the guardian of our barrier and would leave the tribe. Even his heart had been stolen by mortal filth such as yourself, and that's why…"

"Why what?"

"Surely you're smart enough to realize what I'm referring to."

"She's not the only one." Inuyasha promptly bolted to his feet "You'd better not be saying what I think you are… That you really killed your own flesh and blood?"

"You're at least smarter than the human woman over there, yes I did kill him and I took a great deal of pleasure in hastening his trip to the netherworld." he failed to notice that Shiori had heard this "And I had Shiori after all, so the boy was of no use to me."

"You son of a…" Inuyasha let out a snarl as he glanced over to see Shizu faint at what she had heard, only to be caught by Sango "It's official Taigokumaru, you don't deserve to live, but I'm about you fix that for you."

"Go ahead and try it if you can, as you can see Shiori doesn't have the power to adjust the size of the barrier. Even if you do manage to slay me somehow, you'll end up taking the life of this girl as well." this was met with a low growl from Inuyasha.

'It seems this became a great deal more complicated than we were expecting.' Miroku frowned in thought 'There has to be a way to harm that old bat demon without hurting Shiori, which is even more difficult if she can't manipulate the size of the barrier. Even if Inuyasha does manage to break through it somehow, he may end up killing her in the process.'

"What's the matter you fool, what happened to all of that confidence you had a mere few moments ago? What was it you said to me before, that you wanted to cram your sword down my throat?"

"How about you shut your blood-sucking hole you wrinkly old fucker, I'm sick of screwing around with you!" Inuyasha let out a snarl as he raised Tessaiga.

"So you mean to say that until now, you're only been going easy on me? If that is the case then show to me your full power, I dare you!" and so he unleashed another powerful sonic blast from his mouth.

"As if you had to ask. Backlash WAVE!" Inuyasha brought down the Tessaiga and unleashed a fully-powered Backlash Wave that wrapped around the sonic blast 'There's a hole in the barrier that opens up when the old bat attacks, if this works then it means my Backlash Wave will be able to get through and reach the old bat himself. Now go through that hole and blast his head right off his wrinkly old shoulders!'

'He's using the demonic aura of his sword to twist through my own, and he's using it hurl my own attack right back at me!' Taigokumaru was left petrified as the Backlash Wave hurtled directly towards him, wrapping around the barrier, only for it to end up bounding off instead 'That was far too close, a few more seconds and my life would've been over in an instant.'

"Dammit, a few more seconds and I would've had him."

"Perhaps, but it doesn't mean anything now. Fine work as always my sweet girl, now be sure that you keep it up."

"...Get out." Shiori's voice was soft, but firm.

"What's that?"

"You heard me. I'm going to avenge the death of my father." her body suddeny started to surge with demonic power, and in a split second Taigokumaru was rejected from the barrier.

"You wretched half-demon child, how dare you try and cast me out! I never expected that she would come to possess such great power, even I was unable to have as much control over the barrier as she does.' this was followed by the barrier dissipating, and Shiori being left to fall to the ground.

"Shiori hold on!" Shizu was quick to rush over towards Shiori to try and catch her.

"It doesn't matter if my granddaughter is a mere half-demon, there's no way that I would ever allow her to fall into the hands of human filth!" and so Taigokumaru swooped down and unleashed a sonic blast, which turned out to be his final sonic blast.

"Get down!" Sango and Kirara were quick to rush to Shizu's side to try and pull her out of the way of the blast, when…

"Time for you to shut the fuck up and die already old bat! Backlash WAVE!" Inuyasha dropped down in front of the sonic blast and unleashed a fully-powered Backlash Wave, engulfing the sonic blast and sending it hurtling right back at Taigokumaru, causing him to scream in agony as he and the rest of the bat demons present were obliterated. With the battle having finally come to an end, Inuyasha let out a sigh as he placed Tessaiga back in its sheath 'Goodbye and good riddance you rat with wings.'

"Shiori!" now that things had calmed down and the threat was over, Shizu took the opportunity to rush over to Shiroi and pull her into a tight hug "I'm sorry Shiori, I'm so sorry. That must have been so terrible for you to go through. I'm never going to let you out of my sight again, I promise."

'So happy ending all around, mother and daughter reunited and all that good shit. Alright guys let's go, we've got other shit to deal with."

"What in the world do you mean by that?" Myoga popped up on Inuyasha's shoulder "What are you talking about Master Inuyasha?"

"You're still here, I figured you would've taken off the minute they showed up."

"Ignoring that, have you forgotten the very reason why we came here in the first place? You were supposed to kill the demon that was charged with protecting the barrier and bathe your sword in its blood."

"...I wasn't gonna say anything in front of the kid, but at least now I have another reason to step on you."

"Wait, what did that flea say?" Shizu promptly rounded on Inuyasha when she heard this "You mean you came here to kill my daughter?"

"Don't get so freaked out over it, I might be a half-demon but I'm still half-human after all." he glanced over at Sango as he said this "Besides, I'm not gonna go around killing some little kid for shits and giggles. Do I look like her grandfather to you? Big deal, I'll just find some other demon that can put up an even stronger barrier and kill that one instead."

"I have to say Inuyasha, this is quite surprising." Miroku noted "It seems fairly obvious that you've changed, it's almost as if you're a different person."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means that you've grown up."

"Not enough to not carve out your eyes if you put that hand anywhere on me. Anyway let's go before I decide to do it anyway."

"Wait hold on!" Shiori suddenly stepped towards the group, revealing a red crystal that she held in her hands "I think you should try this."

"That crystal you had with you, what about it?"

"Try and smash it to pieces. Grandfather told me that this is a blood crow crystal, a precious heirloom passed down to each bat demon that guards the barrier. This crystal is what gives us the ability to put up such a powerful barrier, and it stores all the power of each generation of its guardians, like my grandfather and my father. If you use your sword to break the crystal, I think it might give you what you're looking for."

'So instead of killing the kid, I just break the crystal with Tessaiga and that will make the sword more powerful? Yeah okay, works for me. Besides, the sooner we get rid of that thing for good, the better. Get ready kid, the sword is coming down on that thing."

"Okay." Shiori held up the crystal, only for it to suddenly start glowing red.

"And it's releasing a demonic aura. Typical."

"Get away from that thing!" Shizu snatched the crystal away, only for it to burn her hands and force her to drop it, followed by a barrier suddenly forming around it.

"You didn't mention the thing could put up a barrier."

"I didn't know it could do that." Shiori told him.

"I figured. Dammit, I should've known it wasn't gonna be so easy to break it. I'm about done with this shit, I'm cutting this thing down." Inuyasha then drew Tessaiga from its sheath and brought it down on the barrier, only for the backlash to send him flying "I thought that was gonna go differently."

"What do we do now?"

"The half-demon wastes his efforts." a voice hissed as demonic energy began surging from within the crystal, taking on a familiar silhouette "I would never let you go as easily as that Shiori, but you already knew that didn't you?"

"That's the voice of grandfather…" Shiori muttered.

"Something such as breaking the crystal would never be enough for you to sever the bond you have with the Demon Bat Tribe, even if you have a wretched mortal for a mother. This time I will be sure to guarantee your death!" and so the silhouette of Taigokumaru hurtled towards Shiori with his fangs bared.

"Like hell you will you fucking ghost reject!" Inuyasha brandished Tessaiga and attempted to cut down the silhouette, only to end up bouncing off of him.

"Spare me the heroics half-demon, you waste your efforts! As for you Shiori, you and your mother shall prepare to join myself and the others in hell!" Taigokumaru hurtled forward to devour Shiori and Shizu, only to see a barrier surround the two of them, and then he bounced off of it, leaving him to be shattered into pieces and scream in agony as he did so, but despite this he still wasn't deterred "Don't think such a measely barrier will be enough to stop me, I will ensure that you join us in hell!"

"Hate to break it to you ya old bat, but you're going to hell alone!" Inuyasha charged at him and ripped through with with one clean stroke from Tessaiga, causing his spirit to dissipate and the crystal to rip in half "This time it's really over, goodbye and good riddance to you and the rest of your rats with wings." it was then that he looked down at the Tessaiga, only to see it glowing and then turn a deep shade of red 'Huh, so killing the spirit of that old bat must have made my sword absorb the power of the crystal and made the sword more powerful. I guess I got what I came for then. It's about fucking time too'

"Excuse me, Inuyasha was it?" Shiori looked up at him "Thank you for helping me."

"What the hell are you thanking me for? You're the one that made the barrier that made the old bat weaker, if anyone deserves credit for killing him it's you."

"But I wasn't the one who did that. I could feel it, there was someone putting their arms around us, around me and mommy. He was trying to protect me."

"I think I know who it was." Shizu pulled Shiori into a tight hug "That was Tsukuyomaru, it was your father trying to protect us. I know for a fact that he wanted you to live in freedom, to live a full life and find what makes you happy."

"And on that fucking sappy note, we're done here. Come on guys, let's get out of here." on that note, Inuyasha promptly turned on his heel and walked away, giving only a single glance back towards Shiori and Shizu as she did so.

"Well… I suppose there's little more than we can do, other than wish you both nothing but the best from here on out." Miroku bowed to Shizu and Shiori, motioning for the others to do the same, and then he started to follow after Inuyasha 'He'll more than likely deny it if I try and say anything about it, but Inuyasha was solely focused on helping the girl. I'm sure he forgot all about trying to make his sword more powerful, so perhaps Shiori's father decided to help him defeat Taigokumaru and grant him this new ability, in gratitude for helping his daughter in the way that he did. It's quite a shame isn't it?"

"What was that?" Inuyasha glanced back at him "You say something monk?"

"Just musing a bit. I fear their problems are far from over, Shiori and her mother I mean."

"You've got nothing to worry about with those two, it's not like any self-respecting half-demon can go around being afraid of every little problem coming their way."

"Yes indeed, and standing before us is a fine example of how a good half-demon should behave himself."

"Keep talking like that and you're gonna see it for yourself, especially when I take that staff of yours and shove it up yours ass."

"Calm yourself, I meant no offense."

"Yeah, sure you didn't. One thing is pretty obvious right now though." Inuyasha glanced down at the Tessaiga strapped to his waist, then up at the sun as it began rising above them "Naraku is in for one hell of a nasty surprise the next time we see him."

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Meanwhile, with a certain wolf demon…

As the sun was just rising over the skies above (though the dark clouds and mist were blocking it out), Koga and the others continued running through the burial ground, taking notice of the large number of wolf skeletons lining the walls of the canyon 'The further in we go, the more of those things show up. I guess that means we're going in the right direction. Does that mean the path is hidden from those who don't pass the tests they set up?'

"This seems pretty creepy." Ginta and Hakkaku both looked around nervously "It feels like we're a bunch of grave robbers or something."

"But seeing so many of them in here means we must be getting close to it."

"So then where's the- Wait Koga look, I see it up ahead!" Hakkaku pointed ahead to where they saw a large plateau sitting in front of them, acting as a pedestal that housed a giant mirror, and inside that mirror was a set of five silver claws that were connected to a wristband through a small set of chains, with each claw having a sharp point on top that ran at the opposite end "You think that's it?"

"No doubt about it, that's the Goraishi of the Wolf Demon Tribe. Alright, let's grab it and get the hell out of here." Koga took a breath, and then he prepared to advance towards the Goraishi, when…

"HALT!" this was when the ground beneath Koga suddenly burst upwards, taking on the form of a giant three-headed wolf made entirely of earth "None shall pass beyond this point!"

'And it talks, why the fuck am I not surprised? I am Koga, the new leader of the Eastern branch of the Wolf Demon Tribe. I've come in search of the Goraishi."

"Never! The Goraishi belongs to the ancestors of the Wolf Demon Tribe, and it contains centuries of the souls belonging to our brethren. If you desire to take it for yourself…"

"Then that means I have to defeat you, that's what you're saying right?"

"If you know that then you should know that your death is inevitable, now prepare to be incinerated!" on that note, the guardian unleashed three simultaneous streams of flames from each of its mouth, sending Ginta and Hakkaku running away in terror.

'So it can breath fire from all three of its mouths. No matter, one solid attack is all I need to take this thing down.' to that end, Koga leapt into the air, rebounded off of a nearby plateau and landing a single solid kick to its back, which proved to be enough to rip the guardian demon in half with ease "You're guarding a treasure of our tribe and that's the best you can do?"

"Be silent you cursed brat!" the guardian suddenly burst up from underneath where Koga was standing and quickly regenerated itself "You're using the power of Shikon Jewel shards in your legs?!"

"So what if I am, are you gonna give me some kind of big speech about how I'm too dependent on them or something? Because I've already gotten one of those from someone else, I don't need to hear the same shit barked in my ear again."

"Then whoever told you of such things obviously recognizes how much of an ignorant fool you truly are. The shards that you possess are controlled by the will of that which is no longer a part of this world. And the Goraishi that you desire is controlled by the souls that have rested here since ancient times, souls that are also no longer part of this world. Like the jewel shards you carry in your legs, the Goraishi is not for you to wield! Now you can burn in hell like those who have died before you!" and so the guardian unleashed another series of simultaneous streams of flames.

"Not good enough asshole!" Koga blitzed his way around the streams of flames using his enhanced speed and ripped the guardian in half with another kick.

"You waste your time and effort in this battle! This battle is one that you cannot win!"

"Like hell I'm gonna let you decide that!" Koga grabbed one half of the guardian's body and hurled it into a nearby canyon wall, smashing it into even more pieces "You'd think the guardian of an ancient tomb would be a hell of a lot more durable."

"You shall not pass!" the other half of the guardian started unleashing numerous streams of flames from its mouths, forcing Koga to go on the evasive.

'And it looks like I smashed the wrong half of the thing.' Koga rebounded off the wall of the canyon and dealt one of the guardian's heads a kick to the face, and then continued onwards towards where the Goraishi was being located "Good, about fucking time too." he was about to reach for it, only for a series of terrified screams to reach his ears, and he glance back and caught sight of Ginta and Hakkaku running away 'Shit… I'm pretty sure part of me is gonna hate myself for this in the morning. Hold on, I'm coming!" he bolted back towards them as fast as he could and pulled them both out of the way just before they were engulfed by the flames, and then he set them down on top of a nearby plateau "A hell of a lot closer than I would've liked, are you two okay?"

"We're fine, sorry about that." Ginta breathed a sigh.

"You waste your effort you pathetic fools, now behold!" the guardian demon directed their attention towards something that left the three of them shocked and somewhat horrified.

"Koga the Goraishi, it's gone!"

"Yes, the Goraishi is now beyond your reach, which proves how much of a pathetic fool you truly are. You should have abandoned your companions and obtained the Goraishi for yourself when you had the chance."

"...Am I supposed to believe that bullshit?" Koga let out a snarl "If you think I regret the choice I made, you don't have a damn clue who the fuck you're talking to."

"What's that?"

"Let's get one thing straight, the only reason why I came to get your precious Goraishi in the first place was because I wanted to use its power to avenge my comrades that were killed by another powerful demon. I was gonna use the Goraishi to do that, but if it means that I have to turn my back on my comrades, on my brethren, then I say your Goraishi isn't worth it, and I don't fucking need it! You got it asshole?!"

"Koga…" needless to say, Ginta and Hakkaku were left touched by this bold declaration, to a comical extent "I'd follow you anywhere."

"Then do it later, right now I've got an ass to kick." and so he dropped back to the ground in order to confront the guardian demon again "I say we end this."

"I've had enough of your pathetic preaching you worthless wretch! You shall pay for daring to desecrate this burial ground and disturbing the ancient ones!" the guardian demon prepared to unleash another series of simultaneous fire blasts.

"If you want disturbing then just take a look at yourself, or better yet I'll just rip off one of your heads and show you!" Koga barred his claws and charged at the guardian at full speed, only to suddenly notice a light shining down on the stump where his arm used to be, followed by the sudden appearance of not only a new arm (with a long and jagged scar running down it), but with a certain set of claws attached to it 'What the fuck… My right arm… and the Goraishi? How in the fuck did- You know what, that can wait. Right now I've gotta focus on surviving this. How's this for disturbing asshole?! Lightning CLAW!" with a might roar, he brought down the claw on his newly-restored right hand, unleashing a powerful blast of lightning that ripped through the streams of flames and engulfing the guardian demon itself, obliterating it in an instant and leaving nothing but ashes in its wake. Once the battle was over, Koga took the chance to marvel in awe at his new weapon and having his arm back "Okay now that I don't have to worry about self-preservation right now, I've got two questions. How and why in the flying name of fuck did this happen?"

"You have passed all four of our tests." a series of voices echoed throughout the canyon as a series of lights started shining down on the various skeletons lining the canyon "You passed the tests of past mistakes, and proved that you value comraderie over power. As such, you have proven yourself worthy of our legacy. From this day forth, the Goraishi will be your claws and you have shall have the protection of our souls. As a sign of the steps you have taken on the path to atonement, we have restored your arm, with the exception of its new scar. Let that serve as a reminder to never again stray from this path."

"Believe me, I don't plan to." Koga stared dumbly at the Goraishi and his new arm, only for the Goraishi to suddenly disappear in a flahs of light 'It just disappeared… No I can feel it, it's still there. It merged with my body, it's part of me now. I guess I should feel honored, knowing that the ancestors are gonna be watching over me."

"Indeed. However, there is a warning you would be wise to remember. As the guardian said, the shards of the Shikon Jewel you keep in your legs are controlled by the will of another, one who is not a part of this world. We do have the power to protect you from this will, but we can only do so once."

"I'll be sure to remember that. Alright come on you two, we got what we needed, so let's get the hell out of here." and so he started calmly walking out, gazing down at his newly-restored right arm as he did so.

"R-Right." Hakkaku and Ginta snapped out of their stupors and followed after him, though he spoke up after a moment "So what did they mean exactly Koga, does this mean our ancestors are gonna be watching over you?"

"I guess that's what they were saying, they seemed pretty vague about it. One thing is for sure though…" he glanced down at his right arm with the jagged scar as he summoned the Goraishi onto his hand "Naraku is in for one hell of a nasty surprise the next time we see him."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

As the sun continued rising over the morning skies, Grandpa Higurashi summoned Kagome out into the shrine compound, with Tatsu standing by her side "As your grandfather I'm going to warn you in advance, the training I have planned for you today is not going to be easy."

"I figured as much." Kagome glanced over at Tatsu, then back at her grandfather "I can't afford to take it easy, not anymore. What do I need to do?"

"I'm glad to see that you're so eager. Now then, for today's task… I'm sending you on a simple errand for me."

"...One more time?"

"It's more of a multi-purpose task really. Tell me Kagome, have you ever considered where our family earns its income?"

"I just figured you made money selling those keychains and trinkets and stuff."

"A fair amount of our income does include that yes, but others include exercises of spiritual powers, such as exorcisms or use of the Healing Hand."

"You charge people before you heal them?!"

"Of course not, you didn't let me finish. We do charge to conduct exorcism, but only after making sure that the spirit isn't dangerous. We never charge when healing injuries, but we do charge when selling remedies to make the healing process even faster, which brings me back to the errand I'm having you run. As I mentioned, we can use the Healing Hand in order to heal other people, but that alone is not always enough, so what I need is for you and Tatsu here to go and pick up a rare medicinal herb to replenish our supply."

"What do you mean by pick it exactly?" asked Tatsu "You mean just buy it? I thought you said this was gonna help with her training."

"It is, mainly because this herb is considerably difficult to attain." he held up one of the herbs in question "This is what we're looking for."

"Wow." Kagome muttered "Kaede has been showing me all sorts of herbs and plants back in the Feudal Era, but I don't think I've ever seen anything like this before. What is it?"

"This is known by the name of the Wakagaeri no Shokubutsu, or Plant of Rejuvenation. It's a rare and precious medicinal herb that can only be found in one forest in all of Japan, and only in the deepest and darkest part of that forest."

"So you're taking an errand we have to run for you, and essentially turning it into a training exercise for us?"

"Anything can be turned into a training exercise if you look at it the right way my dear."

"You stole that quote from me didn't you?" Tatsu pointed out dryly.

"That doesn't deter how true the statement is."

"...Fair enough. Continue."

"Thank you."

"So what happens if we bring you this herb you need?" asked Kagome "You said this was some kind of multi-purpose thing."

"I did. This errand is also a race between you and Tatsu here."

"...What?!"

"Well to put it simply, it's a race for you and a morning training session for him."

"But… But I can't beat him!"

"You have the potential to do whatever you set your mind to Kagome, and if you do succeed in defeating him in this race by collecting the herbs in question and bringing them to me first, then I will teach you the methods by which you can control your spiritual powers to an even greater degree."

"Even greater? So I can use even more power than I have now?"

"The power is already there, you simply need to learn to control it now. Take your Healing Hand for example, you've already displayed incredible levels of proficiency with it in such a short amount of time."

"Yeah, but I have noticed a few drawbacks. It takes awhile for me to heal injuries all the way, it takes even longer to try and heal people that were poisoned, and I can't restore stamina."

"Not yet anyway. Perhaps I should have mentioned this first. If you defeat Tatsu in today's race and bring the Wakagaeri no Shokubutsu back to me first, I will teach you the method by which you can gain even greater control over your spiritual power."

"Seriously?" Kagome lit up when she heard this, and then her gaze hardened with a renewed surge of determination "I'm in, I'll do whatever you want me to do."

"I expected you would. Now as part of the training, to make things more fair Tatsu had agreed not to wear his Fangs during this exercise. I also recruited some extra help."

"What do you mean-" Kagome didn't get to answer before a figure suddenly blitzed behind her and Tatsu, and then all of them suddenly disappeared in a white flash.

'Best of luck my granddaughter, I have faith in you.'

"Looks like she's really come a long way."

Grandpa Higurashi glanced back to see Akira making his way up the shrine stairs "I've seen it with my own eyes as much as you have, and you're right. She has. But she still has a long way to go on this path she travels."

"Believe me I know, but the good part of this is that she doesn't have to travel it alone. Now if only we could get a few other people to understand that."

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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist and heroine…

With another flash of energy, Tatsu and Kagome found themselves in the middle of a forest, which turned out to be surprisingly thick "So to give the short version, I'm going without my Fangs and we're racing to search for a plant in a forest this big? Yeah, I think you're gonna have the advantage in this one. I don't know the first thing about herbs."

"Maybe, but I just wish he gave us a hint or something." Kagome muttered.

"Tell me about it, I know a lot of his lessons take some getting used to, but this one seems like a whole new level. Well unless you count those surprise "find your spiritual side" vacation abductions he used to do to you. Now that I think about it, that does raise some questions. Do you think he did those because he knew that you had these powers before either of us?"

"...Huh. You know what, that's actually a good question."

"One that's gonna have to be answered, looks like we've got some company. Hey Raidou."

Sure enough, with a white flash Raidou appeared in front of them, clad in his Guardian attire, complete with the helmet "Sorry about hijacking you like that, the old man said that he wanted a certain element of surprise involved in what he was having you do."

"So it is another one of those abduction vacations." Kagome breathed a sigh "So what are you doing here anyway?"

"The old man asked me to help out with your training for today, take you here and give you some basic guidance on what needs to be done. We're also going to be watching through a series of drones that Kazuma is letting us use." he pointed up to where one of the drones in question was floating above the forest.

"Uh huh. So I guess we're gonna to go deeper into the forest to get this herb that he wanted us to get for him?"

"I did say basic guidance keep in mind, if I gave you all the answers then it wouldn't be worth referring to as training. What I will tell you is that the herb is somewhere in this forest, which is why he had me teleport you here to begin with."

"So… the race is on then?"

"Yep, see you on the other side Kags!" Tatsu gave her a mocking two-finger salute and took off into the forest.

"Hey that's not fair, you never said we were starting!" Kagome promptly took off afte him as fast as she could.

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A few moments later…

It didn't take long for Kagome to catch up with Tatsu, and now the two of them were running side by side as they ventured deeper into the forest "You know Raidou said it was supposed to be a race or something, but to me it feels more like it's some kind of marathon."

"Yeah well for me, it's basically just a morning workout." Tatsu took a breath as he continued running forward "But I get the feeling, for all we know we might spend days running around looking for this thing."

"And what's worse is that it implies I'm supposed to beat you in a race. I mean just look at you, you're built like an ox." she forced herself not to blush as she looked at his muscular chest, even though it was covered by his blue gi and a black t-shirt.

"Yeah but keep in mind, even if I am built like an ox through years of hardcore training that should never be possible outside of anime, I don't know the first thing about plants or herbs or that sort of thing." the two of them came to a stop when they noticed a large statue figure standing in front of them "Huh. So is it just me, or does this look like a an identical stone replica of Ryuhogo?"

"I've never seen what he looks like, so I wouldn't know. You think that means something about what we're supposed to do?"

"Well if this one episode of Dragon Ball Super is anything to go by, chances are this is gonna be where the real training gets underway."

"...So this is it."

"Yep, are you ready Kags?"

"Not really, but I'm gonna keep moving forward either way."

"That's the spirit, now let's get moving." and so the two of them clasped hands, and then they leapt into the mouth of the statue.

The real training was about to begin.

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It didn't long before the two of them had reached a much darker section of the forest, which also had a much more menacing vibe to it.

"Hey Tatsu, quick question." Kagome shot a nervous glance in his direction "Am I the only one who thinks this place gives off a really creepy vibe?"

"You're not the only one, it's the kind of place that makes a person's skin crawl." Tatsu told her flatly.

"I'm honestly getting kind of unnerved by this whole place." Kagome took a few steps forward, and that was when the mist started rolling in, suddenly taking on a number of familiar forms that left her particularly freaked out "Um, Tatsu?"

"Yeah I see them too, not sure why I but they're here."

"It's like it's all of the demons we've ever fought."

"All of the important ones anyway. There's the Thunder Brothers, Urasue, Sesshomaru, Naraku, Koga, Kagura, Kanna, Goshinki, Juromaru, Kageromaru, Gatenmaru, hell even Tokajin and Muso too. Looks like most of the demons we've fought since we started our escapades into the Feudal Era, most of the important ones anyway."

"Yeah, you would be so calm about this." Kagome looked around the the figures surrounding them, only to suddenly find herself petrified 'I don't get it, what's going on with me? Why won't my body just move already!' she suddenly stumbled backwards a few feet, and ended up falling to the ground with a thud 'Come on, of all the times for this to happen, why does it have to be here and now? Now what the heck am I supposed to do?' she took another look around, only to end up frozen with even greater levels of terror as she laid eyes on the figure of Tsubaki 'No not here, not now, why did she have to show up again?!'

"Take it easy Kags, take a few deep breaths and get your head back in the game." Tatsu was quick to try and calm her down, having her take a few breaths to get herself under control.

"Tatsu…"

"You know as well as I do that more than ⅔ of these people are dead, so the only real explanation for this is that they're probably some kind of illusions. See for yourself." to that end, he drew one of his swords from his back and swung the blade at the fake Goshinki, only to end up being backhanded into a nearby tree "Ow… Okay, I imagined that going differently."

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, just living in the nostalgia of a stupid choice that brought about something awesome. But I still know that these are fakes, and that's for one main reason."

"Which is?"

"Most of these guys are dead." he then proceeded to pick himself back up and use one of his swords to cut down the fake Urasue with a single stroke of a sword "Come on Kags, let's take these fakes out and get the hell out of here. We did come here with a purpose."

"Right… the most important things is to take them down fast." to that end, Kagome quickly fired a Sacred Arrow at the fake Hiten, but when she was faced with the fake Muso she suddenly froze in place, and then she started running in the opposite direction, only to end up being faced with the fake Naraku, which led to her being slammed against a tree behind her.

"Kags hold on!" Tatsu quickly rushed over to her side and dealt both the fake Muso and Naraku a solid kick to the face, sending them tumbling away as he helped Kagome to her feet "Just take it easy Kags, don't overexert yourself too much. This is supposed to be training for you, not some kind of death match. In all honesty, there's one important lesson I probably should've taught you before anything else. Something that separates people like you and me, from people like Koga and Inuyasha. Brash fearlessness can be a great strength, but one of them most important skills a warrior needs is the ability to stay calm. Only with a level head can you excel in battle, and in life for that matter."

"Right… that makes sense." Kagome tried to compose herself, but then she suddenly froze again when she saw another figure, this one of a certain dark priestess, appear before her 'You've gotta be kidding me, they've got Tsubaki too now? That just got a lot harder for me."

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Meanwhile, back at the shrine…

"So now it's begun…" Grandpa Higurashi glanced down at a crystal ball sitting in front of him, then glanced over to see Raidou materialize in front of him "I do have to thank you again for agreeing to do this for me."

"You said it yourself, this is to help with making them stronger." Raidou told him flatly "If the two of them get stronger, then that can only help in the long run, whether it be searching for the last Fang or fighting on the other side of that well."

"Yes, I completely agree. I knew that my granddaughter had a future full of hardships awaiting her, and while I may not be able to stop them, I can make sure that she's ready to face them."

"There's also Tatsu to consider, he'd never let her be put in danger."

"Which is one of the reasons why I asked him to assist in her training. That and I wish to see how far he's come without the Fangs."

"Sounds interesting. Now out of curiosity, what do your grandson and daughter-in-law think about this trial you've set up?"

"They're actually out doing errands for the day, so I decided to take advantage of an opportunity as it presented itself." Grandpa Higurashi glanced down at the crystal ball as it started to display an image of Kagome looking terrified, his expression growing to one of concern "I will say though, as a teacher I have faith that she can and will overcome this. As her grandfather, I do admit that it may have been too soon to take such drastic measures."

"Which raises the question." this was when Akira made his way into the room with a few mugs in hand, and he handed one to each of them "You said something about this being a rite of passage for members of your family right? I know sensei said something about that to me, but he never went into any detail on it."

"Yes, this is the rite of passage that both myself and Kisuke had to endure, and now the time has come for Kagome to do the same. Perhaps Sota will too, if he shows signs of spiritual powers when he grows older. Anyway, what Tatsu and Kagome are fighting through right now is the trials of the Seirei no Mori, or the Forest of Spirits."

"That sounds incredibly ominous." Raidou noted dryly as he took a sip from his mug.

"It's a location on sacred ground that resides between this world and the afterlife, one that gives forth to the memories that haunt the deepest recesses of our hearts. The former enemies that you see gathered together there are the memories of the past battles that Tatsu and Kagome have fought through, but manifested into physical forms. More or less."

"Sounds like they're in for one hell of a trial, and if what Tatsu told me is true, it's more than likely that your granddaughter is in a pretty fragile emotional state right now. This might turn out to be more complicated than any of us realized."

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Meanwhile, in the Forest of Spirits…

By this point, Tatsu (covered in a fair number of bruises) was sprinting across the floor of the forest at full speed, carrying Kagome on his back as he did so "Okay Kags, I think it's safe to say that this isn't gonna work. Maybe I can try to get us to high ground and you can use a Sacred Arrow to take them out in one shot."

"Yeah, that… that might work…" Kagome took a moment to try and calm herself down, and then she looked back at the figures pursuing them "This feels like some kind of nightmare come to life, all of the bad guys and demons we've fought coming back to get revenge. I've had that dream a few times you know."

"Same, but those dreams usually end with me going Super Saiyan and blowing them all to hell with a full power Kamehameha made up of demonic energy."

"...I'm not gonna dignify that." Kagome let out a sigh as she grabbed her bow, and then locked and loaded a Sacred Arrow as she was carried up until they were near the top of the trees "Is this as high as we can go?"

"As far as I can tell. Are you ready?"

"Yeah, I guess…"

"Kags let me point one thing out to you. That's not them, none of the people or demons you see down there are real. They're basically solid illusions from what I can tell, and like with fear, the only real power they have is the power that you give them in your mind. Remember what I said before, you've gotta stay calm."

"...That's a lot easier said than done." with a deep breath, Kagome fired a Sacred Arrow, which unleashed a wave of spiritual energy that engulfed all of the fakes below them, causing them to vanish into thin air. With that done for the moment, Kagome and Tatsu returned to the ground, with Kagome falling to the ground panting heavily "That… took a lot more out of me than I was expecting it to."

"Yeah, I kind of notice. Are you okay Kags? Seriously, if you're not feeling well-"

"No no I'm fine, I'm sorry about that. I know I'm kind of out of it right now, but I just need a minute or two to pull myself together."

"Okay good, now we'd better get moving and track down this herb your grandpa sent us here to pick up for him." he gave a small smile in his attempts to lighten the mood "And don't forget, he did say it was a race after all."

"I never believed in beating you in a race, but as long as those things don't come back…"

"Oh boy…" Tatsu breathed a sigh as he knelt down in front of her "Come on Kags talk to me, what's really going on with you?"

"...I can't get it out of my head. I can't stop thinking about it." Kagome looked away from him in what appeared to be shame.

"About what?"

"You already know what. Having to see Naraku or his incarnations, or Tsubaki and the other demons, even Sesshomaru and Inuyasha to a certain extent. Seeing them all show up at once, it's like they're a reminder of my failures."

"What are you talking about? You're not a failure."

"You keep saying that, but that doesn't change anything. Whenever I look at them, I keep getting reminded of how you charged at them without any fear, fought them with everything you had, and… and you got hurt. You got hurt so many times, and I couldn't do anything to help you." she looked up at him with tears streaming down her face "Then I saw Tsubaki, and I kept thinking about what happened when I was under her curse… How she kept saying that I ruined so many lives because I shattered the jewel, and how I realize… it was true."

"Kagome…" Tatsu pulled her into a hug, but it did little to calm her down.

"So many people died becuase of me… even Sango and Shippo's lives were ruined, they lost everything because of me… I've been pushing myself so hard, trying to get stronger so I can make a difference, because I wanted to try and make things right with at least some of the people I hurt, but…"

"Kagome-"

"Don't Tatsu, not this time. I know what you're going to say, that I didn't make those people and demons do what they did, but I still put that power in their hands. I want to believe everything you've said and what you're gonna say, but I just don't think I can do it anymore." Kagome then wiped away her tears as she freed herself from his embrace and slowly pulled herself back to her feet "I'm going home."

"Kagome don't be like that. You've made so much progress since we started this, you've come so far and you've done so much good."

"Maybe I have… but not enough. I just can't do this anymore Tatsu. I'm sorry." and she suddenly rushed off into the darkness of the forest.

"Kagome hold on, don't just run off!" Tatsu tried to chase after her, only for the path to suddenly be blocked off when the trees and branches started moving on their own and coverin the skies above them 'Great, first she has another emotional breakdown and runs off, and then we have to get separated, now what?' and then the flowers surrounding him started releasing a purple vapour, which then took on the form of Naraku, Tsubaki and many others, only now they were much greater in size 'Think of a stupid question, and then it becomes a reality. Isn't that just fucking typical. I don't have time to deal with you rejects, the girl I love needs me and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to help her! If I have to fight my way through you assholes again to do that, then so be it!" and so he charged forward at full speed with both of his swords drawn.

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Meanwhile, with Kagome…

After taking off running like she did, Kagome ended up running face first into a nearby plateau, and she looked up at the sky that had been sealed off by the forest 'So that's it grandpa, you're really not gonna let us out of here until we get that herb for you? Fine, if I have to fight my way out of here then so be it. I can just use an attack from my Seishin Rozu and blow them all apart with one stroke. I'm starting to think I have issues.' she pulled herself to her feet and stepped forward, drawing her sword as she did so, and then she charged at them, only to suddenly end up being backhanded by the fake Muso, sending her falling into a nearby crevice.

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Meanwhile, at the Higurashi shrine…

"Dammit, come on…" Akira gripped his fist tightly, getting to the point where he was digging into his own skin "Come on Kagome, come on…"

"I wasn't expecting this." Raidou muttered as he took a sip from his mug "I thought this was meant to be training, but it looks more like a psychological trial of sorts."

"It looks more like a torture porn in my eyes."

"Which raises the question. If this really is a form of torture, then why the hell are none of us actually doing anything to help her?"

"To put it in simple terms, it's because of faith." Grandpa Higurashi told him calmly "The way you speak Akira, it's as if you don't believe the daughter of your own master is able to endure this strife." he was met with silence from Akira "I detest the thought of my granddaughter being put in danger, but right now this is a battle that Kagome needs to fight more than any other, and it is a battle within herself. She needs to understand this for herself, or she'll never be able to move forward."

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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…

"Come on assholes, bring it on, I'll take whatever you can throw at me!" having dropped into his combat stance and with his eyes blazing, Tatsu used his twon blades to rip through one fake enemy after another with relative ease, only for more of them to keep coming back, even bigger than before 'For the love of fuck, there's no end to these things is there? You know what fuck it, I don't have time to waste with the likes of you when Kagome needs me." he drew his swords off his back and slashed through the fake Sesshomaru, only for it to regenerate, and it and the others to grow even bigger as a result "Oh for the love of fuck, how many times do I have to cut these things down before… Wait a second. Thinking, thinking, thinking, and now I feel stupid. Think about what you went through in the test for the third Fang, and remember the lesson that you had to learn from it.' so with a sigh, he put both of his swords back in their sheaths and dropped down to his knees, which caused the various fakes surrounding him to disappear in a series of white lights 'Yeah, it's just like I thought. Weapons and violence don't solve a problem, they only create more. Sometimes the truly courageous thing to do, is to put down your weapon. Thanks again mom.'

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Meanwhile, at the Higurashi Shrine…

"It's as I expected." Grandpa Higurashi observed the scene taking place, and his expression turned to one of approval "Tatsu figured it out faster than I expected him to."

"It doesn't surprise me, he's made it pretty clear he's a fast learner." Raidou noted flatly "Which raises the question, what exactly did he figure out?"

"Just keep watching for the time being. Right now, we'll have to wait and see just how long it takes for Kagome to figure out the secret for herself."

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Meanwhile, with the main heroine…

By this point, Kagome had washed up on a small chunk of land in the middle of a river at the bottom of a waterfall, entering a coughing fit as she did so 'Great, you run off in an emotional fit and get swept away and what do I get? A massive headache and lungs full of water. Can this day get anymore complicated?' it was then that she looked up and found herself frozen in place when she realized she was surrounded by several giant Tsubaki figures "You've gotta be kidding me, how many times do I have to let these things try and torture me before it's over?!" and then she saw something that made her let out a blood-curdling scream of terror.

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Meanwhile, with the protagonist…

'What the hell?' Tatsu was making his way across the branches of numerous trees, when the sound of that scream reached his ears "Kagome… Hold on Kags, I'm coming! Dammit this just got a hell of a lot worse, what I wouldn't give to be able to fly right now, but even with my Fangs I don't have that ability. Not in the traditional sense anyway, but the Fang of the Lotus Flame does give me the ability to use fire… Maybe I can use a series of pyrokinetic bursts to push myself up into the air. It's not the same as flying, but it should get the job done. Anyway I think that's more than enough brainstorming for now, I've gotta track Kagome down before this turns into something a lot worse. I could tell from earlier, it's pretty obvious that everything we've been dealing with lately has taken a toll on her, even more than I realized. With all that she's been through, she must be beyond hurting, even worse than I thought she was. When I find her, I have to do what I can to help her with what she's dealing with.'

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Meanwhile, with the main heroine…

'Oh god, oh god no…' Kagome looked around and cringed as the fakes surrounding her morphed into copies of Tsubaki, Naraku and various others slowly closing in on her 'I just don't get it grandpa, it doesn't make any sense to me. Why did you make me come here in the first place, why is this place making me fight all of these guys again, and why am I leting myself get scared out of my mind so bad? I feel so pathetic."

"Maybe that's part of your problem."

Kagome whipped around and nearly fell over in disbelief at what she saw "What the… you… are you me?"

Sure enough, before Kagome stood an identical copy of herself, only instead of the priestess kimono, sword and bow, she was clad in a typical middle school uniform "You're half right, I am you in a certain sense, or at least who you used to be. But now I'm pretty much the way that you see me, the version of you that you're scared of turning back into."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what I said. I know everything about you, your dreams and desires, what you love and hate… and what you fear more than anything else."

"What?"

"We both know that you had never picked up a weapon a day in your life, and yet here you are now, training alongside the boy you've grown to love with devotion and dedication you never knew you possessed. You've excelled in your training to become a true priestess in a fraction of the time it took Tatsu or Akira or any of them, and you've come far in that time. The reason for your progress is more than just because you want to stand by your friends and protect them as they have you. It's not just because you crave success… it's because you're afraid of having to experience failure. You've come to gain this mindset that if you slack off for even a moment, you will end up losing everything, and because of that it's taking its toll on you."

"It's because I can't let them down, not again. I already have so many times…" she looked as if she was about to break down again, only to be stopped by the other Kagome gripping her by the shoulders.

"Remember this Kagome, we get to choose what holds us back, and what allows us to keep moving forward. And there's one other thing you're losing sight of."

"What's that?"

"No matter how strong you are, it takes others to make you stronger. You don't become strong just because you want to protect people. The people you strive to protect, they are what give you the strength to keep moving forward."

Kagome's head snapped up as she heard this.

"The thoughts and feelings of your family, our mom and grandpa and little brother, and those of our friends and people that believe in us… even those that are no longer with us like dad… you are the embodiment of their spirits and beliefs. You have them packing you up every step of the way, so long as you don't lose sight of what's important. They all think you can do it, Tatsu knows you can do it, and all of them have faith in you to succeed. The only one that has any doubts about your abilities right now is you." and with that, the other Kagome promptly vanished into thin air.

'I'm the only one doubting me right now… Something to remember I guess…' Kagome looked around now that she was alone, and she breathed a sigh 'Alright Kagome, I think that's enough time wasted wallowing in self-pity. I have to focus. If I can't overcome this, then how could I ever hope to face Tatsu again?' she looked up at the fakes that were looming over her, and she could feel the anxiety building again 'No Kagome, no more meltdowns. Remember what Tatsu said to you before, about being sure to stay calm. I have to keep my cool as I see what my opponents can do compared to what I can do. It's not something that comes easily, but nothing in life that's really worth remembering is easy. When I hit them with my Sacred Arrow earlier, they just came back even bigger than they did before. Does that mean they absorbed the energy from my attack earlier? I wonder…' so with a deep breath, she sat on the ground in a meditative stance 'Note to self, thank Miroku for teaching me how to do proper meditation.' while in this meditative stance, her energy began to subside, and when she opened her eyes a few moments later, she noticed that the fakes in front of her had stopped moving altogether 'They stopped… so they were feeding off my spiritual power? No it can't be that, Tatsu fought with them too and he doesn't have any of those. I think I get it now. When I was able to clear my mind and stop putting so much focus on my doubts, fear and guilt, the fakes stopped moving altogether. I guess it makes sense, the more I was afraid of my own failures and mistakes the bigger they were getting, and the more of them I had to deal with. After everything that happened, with my fear and doubts and guilt… I sort of became my own worst enemy. I think I get it now Grandpa… thank you." so she pulled herself to her feet and began to slowly step forward, a pink and purple glow surrounding her body for a few seconds, before it subsided "The reason you sent me here was because you could see that I needed to take control of my fears of the past, my fears of my own weakness, because if I don't then I'll just keep running from it. I have to control my emotions and stay calm, if I do that then they won't be able to move." so with another deep breath, she looked up at the fakes "Are all of you ready for this? It's time for you to meet the new me!" so she drew her sword from its sheath and charged at the fake Naraku in front of her, unleashing a wave of spiritual energy that caused it to evaporate.

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Meanwhile, at the Higurashi Shrine…

"So it unfolds as it is meant to." Grandpa Higurashi watched the events unfolding and gave a smile full of pride "I always knew Kagome was going to excel in this, it just took her a little bit longer than I expected it to."

"So she figured it out, what happens now?" asked Raidou.

"Now both of them must endure the final stage of this training. As for what that is, we'll just have to wait and see."

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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…

'Dammit Kagome, where the hell are you?' by this point, Tatsu was still in the middle of leaping across tree branches in his search for Kagome, his mind racing as he did so "Come on Kags give me some kind of sign, where the hell are you?" the answer came in the form of a primal roar, and then a very familiar figure of a certain moth demon catching him in its grasp "Oh joy, so in addition to the others we've hade to face, now I have to deal with Hyoga. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he is probably the most powerful demon we've faced so far. And in addition to him showing up, Kagome is missin and i don't have my Fangs with me. Crapbaskets. On the plus side, I've always wanted to say that."

The fake Hyoga tightened the grip he had on Tatsu, forcing him to grit his teeth in order to avoid screaming in agony, and then he was met with a large dose of the fake Hyoga's breath "Okay, well whatever the hell that was, I'm pretty sure this thing's breath isn't supposed to reek as bad as this!"

"Lucky for both of us it won't have to for very long." this was when Kagome rushed onto the scene from within the darkness of the forest "Sorry I took so long to get myself together, are you okay?"

"I'll be better when I'm not stuck up here. Don't worry about this thing, he's nothing but a fake like the rest of them. I would try and blast him to hell myself, but…"

"But you don't have your Fangs with you right now."

"Yeah. It's times like these the spirit of fair play can be a real pain in the ass."

"So I've heard. Anyway no need to worry, I'll have you out of there in a second." and so with a deep breath, Kagome locked and loaded an arrow as her body began to radiate energy, taking on the form of an aura "All this time I've been driving myself mainly through fear and guilt, rather than a genuine desire to excel and push myself as far as I could go. But that changes right here and right now." she fired the Sacred Arrow as it surged more energy than anything she had displayed before then, the arrow lodging itself right into the center of the fake Hyoga's head, resulting in an explosion that freed Tatsu from its grasp and sent him spiralling to the ground with a loud crash "Tatsu!"

"I'm okay, I'm okay…" Tatsu picked himself up and readjusted his right arm, resulting in a loud cracking noise "For the most part. Anyway I'll live, and we've got other things to worry about right now."

"Yeah I know, you mind if I do the honors?"

"I think it's safe to say you've earned it, now show them what you've got."

"You got it." Kagome gave a smile full of determination as she locked and loaded a single Sacred Arrow, her eyes blazing with resolve as she fired it, unleashing a powerful wave of spiritual energy as she did so, which proved to be enough to engulf the fake Hyoga with ease and then eradicate him in a brilliant flash of light, which then subsided to reveal a number of plants that were sprouting up out of the ground.

"Huh. Well that's convenient. You think these are those plants your grandpa wanted?"

"If I had to guess then I'd say yeah, these are the rejuvenation herbs he wanted."

"You gonna grab them?"

"Hold that thought for a second, you took a few blows during all of this. I'd better treat you now before they get worse." she then started performing a series of hand seals "Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen." she set her hands down on his shoulders as his body began glowing with healing energy, and in a matter of seconds she was done "Uh… okay, I guess it finished itself. How do you feel?"

"Pretty good actually." Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet and started stretching "I feel totally fine, and I feel like I'm back to full strength too. Looks to me like you got a hell of a lot of good stuff out of this training. Not only can you heal injuries even faster, but now you can restore someone's stamina too. We'll probably have to verify it with your grandpa, but it seems pretty promising to me."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Kagome knelt down and started gathering the Wakagaeri no Shokubutsu plants, with Tatsu doing the same.

"One thing is for sure, chances is are your grandpa is gonna be thrilled when he sees how much of this stuff we got. But there's other stuff to consider too." Tatsu glanced over at Kagome, and his gaze softened "Are you okay now, like for real?"

"I think I'm gonna be fine, but maybe not the same as before." Kagome let out a sigh "It's kind of strange, but now that I went through this whole ordeal I feel different."

"Like you've got more control over your powers, being able to heal faster and apparently restore a person's stamina?"

"Well there's that sure, probably still have to verify with Grandpa about that, but now that I've gone through this I feel so… so free, like a weight was lifted from my shoulders. All this time I've been working so hard, I wanted to get better sure, but it was mostly out of guilt over the mistakes I'd made, and fear that I was gonna repeat them, or let you or the others get hurt, or all sorts of things like that. I guess somewhere along the way, I started believing that if I was able to get strong enough, then maybe I could get forgiveness for what I've done."

"Nobody blames you."

"Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I don't blame myself. I think this is what my grandpa wanted me to understand, for me own sake. I shouldn't be trying to make myself stronger out of guilt, fear or shame, or anything like that. I want to use my powers to help people, like I think I'm meant to, but not out of guilt, because I shouldn't. From here on out, when I aim to master my new powers and learn new skills, to use them for the right reasons, I want to do it for me, to push myself to reach my full potential."

"...I see. Well then I guess the only thing I can do is help you to reach that goal." Tatsu gave her a grin, earning a brilliant smile in return.

"Looks like things turned out pretty well for you."

Tatsu glanced over to see Raidou materialize on the scene "Well on one hand, I learned today that even apparitions can have atrocious breath. On the other hand, Kagome's got better control over her spiritual powers now, and a few improvements to go with them."

"Enhancements to hear healing abilties and restoration of stamina, the old man told me these were the abilities she'd get by going through this. Well, those and more powerful attacks when she uses her spiritual energy, especially with a conductor in the form of weapons that use metal, like her sword and her arrows."

"Makes sense, a conductor helps almost any form of energy. Anyway, I take it they sent you to bring us back?"

"Pretty much, now gather up those herbs and let's go."

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Sunset came, and everyone was reconvening at Higurashi shrine.

Kagome and the others appeared in a white flash, only to find Akira standing in the grounds near the entrance with her grandfather "Oh hey, what are you doing here?"

"Well the first thing is, watching you take a big step forward." Akira pulled Kagome into a quick hug and gave her a small smile "You did good today Kags, your dad would be proud."

"Thanks. I'd like to think he would." Kagome gently freed herself from Akira's embrace and handed Grandpha Higurashi the bag of herbs "That's mission accomplished I guess."

"So tell me my dear, what do you think you learned from this today?" Grandpa Higurashi leaned closer, examining her intently.

"It took me a long time to figure it out, probably twice as long as Tatsu needed if I had to take a guess, but I understand it now. The whole point of this wasn't just about learning to control my powers, at least not entirely. Controlling the energy within is a part of it sure, but it's mainly about being able to push past your doubts and insecurities, so that you can push yourself beyond your limit. Once I was able to get myself under control and I broke through my limits, all of them just stopped coming. That's what you wanted me to get out of this all along. I don't really know how, but you knew exactly what I needed all this time didn't it?"

"With age comes wisdom, and wisdom comes from many years of experience. As Akira said though, you made all of us proud today Kagome, just as you always have."

"Thanks grandpa, truly."

"The old man pretty much said it all. Anyway going back to the second reason why I came here today…" Akira pulled something out of his robe (somewhat straining as he did so) and then unfolded it, revealing a new outfit for her "So what do you think?"

"A new priestess kimono?"

"Believe me Kags, it's so much more than that. This is something that Tatsu asked me to make awhile back, actually it started out as him asking me and Kazuma to make a new more protective gi for him, something about them being poison-dart proof."

"Yeah, well…" Tatsu gave a shrug in a rather sheepish manner "The whole Hyoga thing did raise a few concerns."

"Yeah well, we fulfilled that for him, and then he asked us to see if we could do something along those lines for you too. His new gi and your new priestess attire are way more protective, we had designed them in order to withstand just about anything. Enemy fire, scorching heat, anything with destructive capabilities. Oh and they're immune to any sort of stains, Moya offered that bit of input."

"That's for the best, I've seen what happens when she makes Mexican food."

"Yep, and it's also weighted, so it acts as training gear."

"Which means this is going to be a big help to me, so thanks." Kagome threw her arms around him and suddenly gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then gave a smile as she accepted the new kimono, only to end up hunching over after about two second "Okay, clearly you weren't kidding about it being weighted."

"That's about the same level Tatsu was at when he started training with weights."

"Really?"

"And it's only about ½ of the weight of the gear I've got on now." Tatsu gestured to the black t-shirt he wore, along with his wristbands and boots.

"Oh. Wow."

"Yeah, it takes some getting used to, but you'll get the hang of it pretty fast, like always. So how about it Kags, are you ready to do this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

"Good enough for me. One thing is pretty clear right now." he glanced over to see Raidou hold out his set of Fangs to him, and then he slowly placed them back around his neck "Naraku is in for one hell of a nasty surprise the next time we see him."

A/N:

This chapter, another long one as obvious as that is, focuses on the main characters trying to develop their skills and weapons as much as they can while Naraku is out of commission. Now this is meant to be something that I always wanted to see in Inuyasha: a good old fashioned training arc, or as close as we're gonna get to it, at least for the time being. Truth be told, it's only Tatsu and Kagome that are actually training, whereas the rest of the main characters (and Koga) are focusing on getting new weapons and abilities for when the time comes to fight Naraku.

This chapter is mainly divided into three individual story arcs, the first of which featuring Tatsu and Kagome training in the Modern Era. Tatsu is learning a few new techniques from Ryuhogo. First he's learning how to use the Ryuken, a power amplification technique that he can use to break through demonic barriers. After that, he learns a series of combination techniques, using the power of numerous Fangs in a single attack, without having to use the Dragon Cannon.

As for Kagome, she's put through an intense training regimen with Tatsy by her grandfather, in order to learn greater control over her spiritual powers. She does this by going through a rite of passage that both her father and grandfather did, forcing her to overcome her fear and learn proper control of her energy by being forced to face the phantoms of her past, which come in the form of demons that she and the others have faced throughout the Feudal Era. The results of this trial are effective, as she's now able to heal to a much greater extent (even to the point where she's able to cure diseases, as we see in this chapter), restore stamina, and display greater overall control over her spiritual powers, almost to the same extent that Kikyo has. Also, in addition to new control over her powers, she ends up getting some new training gear from Tatsu: A new outfit identical to her typical priestess kimono, but also heavier, essentially acted as weighted training gear.

The second plot within this chapter focuses on Inuyasha and the rest of the gang travelling to a village on the coast, to find the cave of the Demon Bats and destroy the one who guards the barrier. This leads to meeting another half demon, a little girl by the name of Shiori, Inuyasha having a little bit more insight into his past, and ending with the acquisition of the Red Tessaiga.

The third and final plot, one that I doubt very few fans actually expected, was us seeing Koga going through a series of trials to acquire his signature weapon, aka the most powerful weapon known to the Wolf Demon Tribe, a set of lightning claws known as the Goraishi. Going into this story, I knew from the very beginning that I was going to have Koga get the Goraishi earlier than he did in canon. Like I said in an earlier chapter, Koga had so much potential that got wasted, and the first time I saw him get the Goraishi, I thought that it was such a cool weapon with so much potential, but after Koga was effectively booted out of the story, it pretty much got wasted. That's not gonna happen in this fic, Koga's gonna be in it all the way until the final battle. To all the Koga fans who were as pissed about that as I am, you're welcome.