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.

31. The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass

(Castle Beyond the Looking Glass)

"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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The next moonless night was covered with stars, but contrary to the supposedly peaceful setting, it was anything but.

"Dammit, this is a load of bullshit…" from his place inside a shrine, Inuyasha glanced down at a handheld mirror and took in his human appearance "When the hell is this night gonna end already? I should be out there fighting, not sitting on my ass like some kind of pathetic piece of trash."

"Don't be stupid Inuyasha, you know you can't go out there!" Shippo jumped into his lap to stop him from getting up "You can't go out know or Naraku's gonna find out you turn human and then he'll come and kill you!"

"You think I don't fucking know that?"

"We all do, but there isn't a ton we can do about it." Tatsu pointed out dryly as he strapped his two swords onto his back, then glanced over at a changing screen "You're just gonna have to grin and bear it until the sun comes up, we'll do the fighting untl then. You ready for this Kags?"

Sure enough, Kagome stepped out from behind a changing screen, clad in a fresh new priestess kimono (minus the blood stain on the right arm), with a sword in one hand, a bow in the other, and a quiver of arrows strapped to her back "I'm about as ready as I can be, but one thing I will say is that it feels good to be back in normal clothes. Well, somewhat normal anyway. You said you had Kazuma and Akira make this one for me too?"

"Yep, I had them make it around the same time as your weighted one. It's not just light though, it's made of some seriously strong fabric and it can even repel minor attacks."

"Don't forget about one other feature it has, it doesn't smell like dried blood." she cringed at the memory of Toran wounding her, but she quickly brushed that off "I owe you one Tatsu, this feels incredible. I mean seriously, I can't get over how light these clothes feel." she drew her sword from its sheath and started doing a series of strokes with it, which she managed to do with some surprising levels of speed "This is amazing, I feel like I really have to concentrate just to keep myself from falling flat on my face."

"I'm glad you like it, I know the guys are gonna be thrilled too." and then the mood turned serious again "But this isn't the time for us to screw around, right now we've got some serious work to do, and Sango and the others are gonna need the backup."

"Right. What about you, are you ready?"

"About as ready as I'll ever be."

"You two, listen up." this was when Inuyasha got their attention, his scowl shifting into a smirk, if only for a moment "Don't bother coming back until you wreck his shit."

"That's the plan." so Tatsu gently took Kagome's hand in his, and then the two of them made their way out of the shrine they were staying in.

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Meanwhile, with the others…

"Hiraikotsu!" from her place riding on Kirara's back, Sango threw Hiraikotsu forward in an attempt to cut down the figure clad in a baboon pelt she was chasing after, cutting down numerous trees in the process, but failed to hit her target "You're wasting your time Naraku, I'm not letting you get away again! None of us are! Father, Kohaku, all my friends and villagers, please wait for just a little bit longer. I promise you, tonight is the night I'm going to avenge all your deaths!'

"You're wasting your efforts Sango." Naraku came to a halt when he saw Sango and Kirara land in front of him, and he simply dodged her attack and trapped her in a series of tendrils bursting forth from his body, which prompted Kirara to pounce on him from behind, only for him to release a wave of miasma to force her off.

"Kirara!" seeing Kirara in pain, Sango promptly drew her sword and cut one of Naraku's tendrils off his body, and then mounted Kirara's back and chased after him once he tried to make a break for it "He's coming your way, get ready Miroku!"

'What?'

Sure enough, Miroku stood at the edge of the forest, gripping the prayer beads on his right hand with anticipating "I've spent my entire life waiting for this moment Naraku, now you're about to feel the wrath of the curse you set upon my bloodline. Wind Tunnel!" he ripped the prayer beads off his arm and opened his Wind Tunnel.

'Attempting to lure me into the monk's Wind Tunnel? Pathetic.' Naraku simply opened unleashed a hive of Saimyosho from within his baboon cloak, forcing Miroku to close his Wind Tunnel or else risk being poisoned.

'Dammit, I imagined this going differently.'

"You imagined this going differently, did you not monk?" Naraku threw his baboon pelt in front of Miroku to obstruct his vision, then blitzed in front of him and grabbed him by the throat using a grotesque-looking demon arm "I could have done this to your grandfather Miyatsu during our last encounter 50 years ago, but then a thought occurred to me. What is the purpose of other people existing in this world, if not to make them suffer?" that sadistic little comment on his part earned his arm being blown off by a Sacred Arrow "And it seems that we have a new arrival in this battle, wouldn't you agree Kagome?"

Sure enough, Kagome had arrived on the scene, her bow drawn and her eyes blazing with an unwavering determination "I hope you're ready for this Naraku, because you're about to get exactly what's coming to you!" and so she fired another arrow at Naraku, unleashing a wave of spiritual energy that burned a hole in his chest, which prompted his body to start expanding in a grotesque fashion, and then begin glowing with energy 'What the heck is he doing, it almost looks like… oh god, is he gonna explode?'

"Sea Dragon's CRADLE! Sea God's SHIELD!" Tatsu suddenly blitzed onto the scene and with a rapid wave of his arms, he surrounded Naraku's expanding form with a sphere made of solidified water in order to contain the explosion that followed, and he also summoned a series of water shields to protect himself and the others, summoning a shield made of metal in front of himself and Kagome to protect them from the shockwave of the explosions.

Sango on the other hand had to catch Miroku and hoist him onto Kirara's back "Sorry to keep you waiting, are you guys okay?"

"We're fine, just ready for this to be over with already. You and the monk hang back for the time being, Kagome and I are gonna go in and take him head on. The two of us together should give him one hell of a fight if nothing else." and so Tatsu dropped his elemental shields and prepared to advance, with Kagome following right behind him.

The smoke cleared to reveal Naraku amongst an enormous pile of hideously deformed flesh and body parts, though these quickly fell away to reveal his humanoid appearance beginning to take shape once more, though entirely nude and covered in burns "You seem incredibly confident, but are you able to match it with your actions?"

"Why don't you come and see for yourself?"

"If you insist. I've entertained you nuisances for far too long as it is, so I believe it's the right time for this battle to come to an end."

"Works for me, I'm pretty sick of having to deal with your crap anyway."

'Tatsu's always so calm and confident, like he knows things will turn out okay.' Kagome took a deep breath as she continued forward, placing her bow on her back and drawing her Seishin Rozu from its sheath 'Still, I get this feeling that Naraku is on a completely different level from what we were seeing a minute ago. It's like he's a monster.'

"I know what you're thinking Kags." Tatsu's voice snapped her out of her thoughts "You want to say that he's some kind of a monster right?"

"Um… yeah."

"Don't bother with it, at this point that would just be redundant. Let's just focus on getting the job done for now."

"Yeah, yeah you're right. I've just gotta stay calm and keep my head in the game right?"

"Yep. You wanna go in first?"

"I guess I might as well." so with another deep breath, Kagome charged towards Naraku with surprising levels of speed, and then she brought down the blade of her sword.

"Iron Gauntlet!" Tatsu blitzed over to Naraku's other side as he instantaneously covered his arm in a set of iron dragon scales, and he attempted to strike Naraku with his Iron Gauntlet technique.

Naraku held out both of his grotesque and deformed demon arms to stop the respective energies in their tracks, leaving deep burns on both of his arms in the process, but this didn't do anything to deter him "It seems that this is growing quite interesting."

"That's one way to describe it." Tatsu gave a smirk as he covered the rest of his body in a set of iron dragon scales "Hey Kagome, what do you say we kick things up a notch? You up for taking the lead this time?"

"I guess it's now or never then." Kagome gritted her teeth as she broke off from her initial attack and charged at Naraku with a rapid barrage of slashes from her sword, with Tatsu following up with his own barrage using his twin swords.

"Show me what you can do." Naraku rebounded and planted himself firmly on the ground, clashing against both Tatsu and Kagome as he dodged, parried and weaved around numerous attacks from both of them, a brutal uppercut being enough to send Tatsu hurtling backwards a fair distance "I'm not impressed."

"And we're nowhere near close to being done! Boomstick!" Tatsu summoned an iron club in hand and coated it with demonic energy, then hurled it forward.

Naraku caught the club and managed to stop it from exploding, then began using it to block and counter Kagome's strikes of her sword, though one of her strokes broke through his guard and slashed through one of his eyes, leaving a bloody wound where it used to be, causing him to snarl from the pain "I'm going to enjoy making you suffer more than you've ever-"

"Fire Dragon TALON!" Tatsu blitzed over to Naraku's side and dealt him an enhanced roundhouse kick to the jaw (enhanced by his leg being coated in flames, in addition to the iron dragon scales covering his body), sending him hurtling away a short distance.

Naraku was able to stop himself and rebound, using the iron club he confiscated and brandishing it like a staff, dodging, blocking and countering every strike they threw at him, and then one solid strike of the club to Kagome's face was enough to send her hurtling to the ground.

"Sea Dragon's ROAR!" Tatsu blitzed in front of Kagome to prevent Naraku from attacking her again, then unleashed a large water dragon that hit Naraku at nearly point blank range and sent him flying across the nearby lake, with the two of them chasing after him (using Tatsu's earth manipulation to create a series of platforms on the water's surface for them to use).

Naraku managed to stop himself in the middle of the lake, blood still streaming down one side of his face, and he scowled as he saw Tatsu and Kagome stop in front of him, ready for the next round "You truly are persistent pests aren't you?"

"The fact that you're just figuring that out now speaks volumes about how well you understand any of us, and even if we aren't enough to take you down, Inuyasha and the others are just waiting for the chance to rip you apart piece by piece."

"And pray tell, where is Inuyasha? Surely he's not so much of a coward that he would send others to fight his battles for him."

"Of course not, that's your thing. Inuyasha has better things to do than waste time with the likes of you, so we offered to rip you to shreds in his place while he deals with some more important business. Besides, this gives me the chance to try out something new."

"Like what?"

"Like combination attacks, this one for example is what happens when I combine my water manipulation with metal manipulation to creat mercury. Silver RAIN!" Tatsu spread out his arms, and in a matter of seconds countless droplets of mercury began falling from the sky at the speed of bullets.

Naraku was forced to dodge and weave his way around with a series of rolls and backflips, but this wasn't enough as the mercury droplets began to pierce his body in different areas, which prompted him to detonate the iron club he was using, the explosion proving to be enough to cancel out the rest of the mercury droplets, though it left him with a greater number of burns across his body "Is that the best you can do?"

"Nope, and neither is this, but it's still gonna do some damage. Tectonic Uprising!" Tatsu raised two fingers upwards, which prompted a rock pillar to burst up from beneath the lake directly in front of Naraku, dealing him a rapid uppercut to the jaw in the process. He then proceeded to blitz directly above Naraku in a flash via the Dragon Warp, and he drew both swords from his back and prepared to bring them down "So, impressed yet?"

"Not quite, but that's not my intention." Naraku gave a smirk as a series of tentacles suddenly burst out of his arms and enveloped Tatsu, and he started crushing him with them as his swords fell out of his grasp and plunged into the lake below.

Tatsu gave a smirk as he suddenly enveloped his body in flames that burned away the tentacles binding him, and then he summoned a series of chains that wrapped around Naraku and used them to hurl him high into the air "Now's your chance guys, swoop in and get a taste of some burning hot vengeance!"

"Right! Hiraikotsu!" Sango promptly hurled Hiraikotsu up towards Naraku, bissecting him in an instant, with Miroku leaping up and striking Naraku with a burst of spiritual power radiating from his staff, before returning to his place in Kirara's back and grabbing Sango's ass, which lead to him getting slapped.

"Points for burning hot vengeance. Alright give me the details Kags, where's he keeping that giant shard of the jewel."

"I can see it plain as day, he's got it on his back." Kagome pointed up at Naraku, specifically at the center of the spider mark on his back "Just say the word and I'll hit it with a Sacred Arrow right where the sun doesn't shine."

"You're not using that right, and in any case I've got this. Aqua Javelin!" Tatsu summoned a large javelin made of solidified water and hurled it at Naraku, causing him to release a large cloud of miasma and sending guts and body parts flying everywhere.

"Tatsu hold on, just let me get an arrow and-"

"Stay back, he's about to reform!"

Sure enough, this was when the various body parts started to reattach to each other and began to swarm around him "The time has come Tatsu, now you shall become one with my body!"

"Yeah, let me think about that. Thinking, thinking, thinking, nope! Fire Dragon BRILLIANT FLAME!" Tatsu brought down a large fireball with both hands, with Sango and the others all taking it upon themselves to destory the tentacles and body parts, whether it be by swords, claws or Sacred Sutras "Stop wasting the effort Naraku, I'm not letting you take me inside you, and I realize what the innuendo sounds like!"

"Then you should know that it's pointless to resist me." this was when Naraku revealed himself among the piles of flesh, revealing his hideous true form, complete with the upper half of his body poking out of the flesh, along with various tendrils and tentacles sprouting out from his back "You may try as much as you like, but your attempts are in vain."

"Whatever you need to tell yourself."

"I speak the truth, nothing more."

"Enough of your filthy lies you bastard, this is for Miroku's father, my village, and everyone else you've slaughtered!" Sango caught Miroku's staff as it was thrown to her, then she stuck it onto her Hiraikotsu and hurled it forward, ripping through Naraku's body and separating his torso from the mass of flesh.

"You wretched fools, don't think I'll die that easily!" Naraku let out a snarl as he moved to try and regenerate himself, setting up a barrier around his body as he did so.

"Wouldn't dream of it, except for when I do this. Ryuken! Fire Dragon ROAR!" Tatsu's body was enveloped in an azureaura of demonic energy, and then he breathed out a powerful stream of flames that slammed into the barrier, causing it to evaporate, leaving Naraku visibly stunned at the sight "You think we just sit around on our asses doing nothing while you're out making yourself more powerful? It's like I've told you at least three times already, you're not the only one getting stronger. I'm not just talking about me either, but rather than go into some kind of long-winded explanation of it, I'll show you. Get one ready Kags, we'll combine our powers and blast him straight to hell." so he dropped into a stance with both hands cupped in front of him, the aura of his Ryuken surging even higher as he did so "Iron Heart… Divine Quake… Great Glacier… Lotus Flame…"

"He's right Naraku, this war is over." Kagome gritted her teeth and took a deep breath to calm herself as she locked and loaded an arrow "And you lose." and so she fired the Sacred Arrow forward just as the Dragon Cannon finished charging.

"When these forces of power unite, the true might of the Fangs of Ryuhogo shall at least be unleashed! SACRED DRAGON CANNON!" with a mighty roar, Tatsu thrusted both arms forward and unleashed a golden-colored wave of demonic energy that wrapped around the spiritual power of the Sacred Arrow, both forces combining into one as the newly merged blast of energy engulfed Naraku, resulting in a blinding explosion, which only subsided just as the sun rose into the skies above.

As the smoke cleared and the sun began rising, Sango and Miroku poked their heads out from where they were hiding behind Kirara "Did we do it, is Naraku finally dead?"

"I'm personally praying to the love of god that he is, because I do not have another one of those in me right now."

"I think there's only one way to find out." Miroku slowly removed the prayer beads from his right hand, and he froze as he saw the Wind Tunnel in his palm disappear, as if it were never there to begin with, and he fell to his knees in response "It's… It's gone…"

"Well how about it, what's the verdict?"

"See for yourself… Take a good long look…" he held out his palm to them, leaving the others a bit freaked out, though it calmed down after a few seconds.

"The Wind Tunnel is gone, so that's a good sign."

"It's way more than a good sign, that means we did it! We finally beat him!" Kagome's face lit up like a Christmas tree as she threw her arms around Tatsu, leaving him to spin her around in a hug full of joy.

"Yep, you did great Kags. This is a huge win for us, but it does raise one concern. Who's gonna tell Inuyasha that we did it without him?" he was met with a stunned silence, and then all the other sets of eyes locking onto him, which prompted him to sigh "It's gonna have to be me that tells him isn't it?"

"Where the fuck are you Naraku you son of a bitch?!" this was when Inuyasha, now back to being a half-demon with Shippo clinging onto his leg for dear life, burst out of the shrine while swinging Tessaiga like a madman "Just get the fuck out here so I can take my Tessaiga and shove it up your- Where the hell is Naraku? Fuck, he got away again didn't he?"

"Well that's the good news, he didn't get away." he was met with an annoyed and confused look, which prompted him to groan "And the mood is ruined."

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The aftermath of this battle could be felt all throughout the land, with beings such as Sesshomaru and Kikyo being able to sense it, Kohaku suddenly getting a flash of memory of Sango, Kagura feeling her heart beating in her chest again, and Kanna claiming that Naraku was dead. Despite the calm that was supposed to emerge from this victory however, a new threat was about to rise, one that proved to be much more dangerous.

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Nightfall came, and the moon was once again covering the night sky.

"Oh no, how could this happen?" a lone wanderer by the name of Akitoki let out a sigh as he peered through some bushes 'I'm at a loss, however do I get to Mount Fuji? It's do dark, I don't know which way I'm supposed to go.'

"Oh yeah, this feels great." a series of voices suddenly drew his attention.

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Meanwhile, with the source of these voices…

"Yeah I'm not gonna object, this feels amazing." Kagome let out a sigh as she laid back against a rock in the hot spring she was bathing in, with Sango and Shippo lounging around her "I don't think I'll ever get tired of this."

"Hey Kagome?" this was when Shippo grabbed her attention, looking rather worried about something "Now that Naraku is gonn, what do you want to do?"

"Well we still have to gather the other shards of the jewel, we don't know what Naraku did with the other shards he has."

"But once the have all of them, you still wanna come back right? Because if you and Tatsu went back to your world… I'd miss you. A lot."

Kagome's heart melted at the sad look on his face, so she took him into her arms and caught him in a tight hug to try and comfort him "I'd miss you too Shippo, I could never leave you behind like that. I can't say that Tatsu and I will stay here forever, but I promise you you'll never be alone, okay?" she was met with a quiet nod "Besides, we've still got a lot of other things to take care of, like finding Kohaku."

"Yes, about that…" Sango suddenly drew their attention, her expression solemn "There's something I've been meaning to tell you, and I've already told the others. Tomorrow morning, I'll be taking my leave of the group."

"You what?!" Kagome's jaw dropped when she heard this, but before she could ask for a reason she caught sight of the scar on Sango's back "You want to go after Kohaku alone?"

"Yes. With Naraku gone, I can't help but wonder how he's doing."

"You don't have to strike out on your own you know, if we keep searching for the jewel shards then we're sure to find him sooner or later. We're all more than happy to help you."

"I know you are, but I can't ask you to do this. After I find Kohaku, I'm going to return to my home in the Demon Slayers village, and I'm going to rebuild it."

"I… I understand. You said you already told the others?"

"Yes, and I probably shouldn't be the one to tell you this, but Miroku said he plans to leave in the morning too. He's going to return to the temple of his master Mushin."

"Oh. I see." Kagome's face fell slightly, and she hugged Shippo closer to her.

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Meanwhile, with their stalker…

"Oh my…" as it turns out, Akitoki had taken notice of Kagome and the others bathing in the hot spring, and he couldn't help but watch them at work "Young maidens, celestial maidens bathing so openly… It's so-"

"Excuse me." as it turns out, Miroku had spotted him "You there sir, would you care to explain exactly what it is that you're doing-"

"Who the hell is up there?!" as it turns out, Sango heard the disturbance too and threw a log in the direction it came from, only it ended up hitting Miroku in the face instead, sending him sliding down the slope until he stopped in front of two pissed off women "Um… I can imagine how this looks-"

"Just give it a rest Miroku, would it kill you to even let us bathe in private?"

"You have it wrong, I was only standing guard in order to protect you both from danger, my intentions were purely good!"

"There's only one thing we need protection from monk, and that's you!"

"Wait no Sango, there's no need to be rash!" he tried to crawl away, only to be pinned underneath a comically oversized boulder.

"I will say this, having to deal with someone grabbing me and/or peeping on me is one thing that I won't miss. At least he's the only one." Sango rolled her eyes at Miroku's crushed form, but then she was forced to duck when she saw a sword suddenly flew into the side of the boulder, the hilt of the blade attached to the end of a set of iron chains.

"And only one of them believes that chivalry isn't dead." Kagome pointed out dryly "We're both okay Tatsu, it's just Miroku being him again. Don't bother with the whole thing about going on the warpath." this caused the the chains and the sword to retract "I rest my case."

As all of this was happening, Akitoki breathed a sigh as he went unnoticed 'Oh thank goodness, it seems that I was spared.' it was then that the same sword attached to chains embedded itself into the bark of the tree directly next to him, which prompted him to run away in terror.

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Around this time, Kagura and Kanna, being the only two incarnations of Naraku that were still alive, had grown somewhat restless since his death. The two of them came across a hidden shrine and ended up awakening a woman who declared herself to be none other than Kaguya, the Princess of the Heavens. In exchange for freeing her, Kaguya promised to give Kagura what she desired more than anything else: freedom. To this end, Kagura and Kanna were sent out to claim five items that would free Kaguya from her mirror completely.

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Meanwhile, in the Modern Era…

"To meet nevermore, tears of sorrow overflow deep within my heart. What good, this potion of life? All is but dust in the wind." Raidou frowned as he read the text in the book he was in the middle of reading "This is a verse composed by the emperor. I will never see Princess Kaguya again. The tears of sadness overflow and set me adrift on a sea of loneliness. What good would the potion of immortality be? I have no use for it now. So?" he glanced over at Ayumi, sitting on a bench next to him, with a raised eyebrow "The point of that is?"

"That was what the emperor was trying to express." Ayumi told him "The emperor then gave the order to his vassals to take the potion of immortality to Tsuruga, the tallest mountain in Japan, and then burn it. At that time, the mountain had been known as the Mountain of Immortality, or Fushi, and that's what the name Mount Fuji derived from. That was where she ended class, and she said the reports on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter are due next week."

"Duly noted. So why take so much interest in that story yourself?"

"To be fair, keep in mind that the author Murasaki Shikibu wrote that the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter is the forerunner of all novels, so it's like a classic among classics. Then there's the divisiveness around Princess Kaguya herself, Yuka and Eri called herselfish because she found suitors that wanted to marry her, then gave them a lot of difficult tasks to prove their love for her, and in the end she rejected all of them, including the emperor. Then she went back to the moon and never returned."

"Uh huh. And?"

"Well I wanted to know… what were your thoughts on it? Do you think she was being selfish by doing what she did?"

"No." the response was immediate and blunt "She had her destiny, and she chose to fulfill that over her own happiness and personal desires. In her eyes it was a simple choice. One's destiny is greater than personal desires."

"But what if… what if a person could fulfill their destiny, and still take the chance to find what makes them happy?" Ayumi's face fell, and she looked rather downcast as she said this.

"...You're not talking about this princess anymore are you?" Raidou breathed a sigh "Personally, I don't think that's something I can answer. Not right now anyway. When Tatsu and I have found all five Fangs, ask me again then and… and we'll see."

"I… can live with that." Ayumi's face lit up again with her typical gentle smile "Well I think I should get going, I promised Kagome I would give her a copy of my notes that she could use to catch up on the work she's missed."

"She fell asleep in class again didn't she?"

"You said it, not me."

"What about Tatsu, I noticed he didn't show up today either."

"That's… more personal for him. Today isn't the best day for him, so I would leave him alone until tomorrow."

"Something I should know about?"

"If you're going to hear it, then you should hear it from him."

"Fair enough-" Raidou paused, then his head snapped up, and then he let out a groan "Oh god dammit, him again."

"Him?"

"The annoying dog guy, what's his name? Inuyasha?"

Sure enough, it was at this moment that Inuyasha suddenly dropped down in front of him, and he looked about as pissed as he usually did "I was actually looking for Tatsu, but this is something I was gonna do eventually, so I might as well do it now. Did you seriously think I wasn't gonna be able to recognize you without that fancy helmet?"

"Or maybe I just had better things to do, and speaking of which I have better things to do than screw around with you for the sake of healing your bruised ego."

"Fuck that you coward, you're not gonna pussyfoot your way out of this. You made a fool out of me twice already, and now it's payback time."

"You did it to yourself both times, you're the one who attacked me remember?"

"You made two cheap fucking shots, just proves you're nothing but a coward who takes cheap shots but doesn't have the guts to take me in an actual fight!"

"...You're gonna keep doing this until I agree to fight you aren't you?"

"What the hell do you think?"

"Fine, if it will get you out of my hair." Raidou breathed a sigh as he pulled his set of Fangs out from beneath his shirt, then glanced over at Ayumi "If Tatsu asks, tell him that I went to take care of things with his dog friend okay?"

"Sure, that's no problem. Just let me say one thing." she gripped Raidou's arm with one hand, and with the other she gently caressed his face "There was one thing that Princess Kaguya was never able to understand. She understood that we can choose the kind of person that we want to be. We are who we choose to be, not what others make us."

"...Duly noted." so on that note, he went over and grabbed Inuyasha by the shoulder, and the two of them disappeared in a flash.

'I meant what I said Raidou, I just hope you can take it to heart. You can choose the kind of person that we want to be, to be beyond what someone else tells us to be.'

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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…

Tatsu let out a sigh as he knelt down and placed a small bouquet of flowers down in front of the grave marker in front of him "Hey dad… Sorry I haven't been around in a while, things have been pretty crazy lately. So much has happened in the past few months, though I'm pretty sure you only understood the reasons for about half of it. These Fangs I wear… you said they'd be a big help to me somewhere down the line. Only now do I realize what you meant, though I still have to wonder, how much did you really know about them? Whatever the case, I've spent all this time trying to live up to your example, to do right by the things you've taught me. Wherever you are now, I just hope that I'm making you proud."

"I'm sure you are, but not just him."

Tatsu glanced back to see Kagome coming up to him with her own bouquet of flowers in her hands "Oh hey Kags, sorry I just…"

"You needed some time to think? I get it, I do the same thing with my dad's grave too every now and then."

"Yeah. Kazuma was here too and we did the whole thing about talking to him about the normal stuff in our lives, normal-ish anyway, and about his engagement. Then he went to go to some conference he has, and I just wanted some time to myself here to think."

"About the Fangs?"

"About the Fangs themselves, how much he really knew about them, stuff like that. It serves as a pretty clear reminder of something else too."

"Which is?"

"That even if Naraku is dead and the jewel shards he has are up for grabs when we finally track them down, my own journey isn't over just yet. I still have to find the last Fang, but beyond that itself… I don't really know."

"Well whatever happens after that, I can tell you one thing." Kagome gently placed her hand in his and gave a small smile "Whatever happens, you're not gonna be alone."

"I know, and I'm grateful for that every day." Tatsu breathed a sigh as he pulled himself back to his feet "So how are things going on your end?"

"I'm doing okay, just trying to catch up on school stuff we missed, and apparently we have to write a report on the Tale of the Bamboo Cutter. It got me thinking though."

"About what?"

"In that story, Princess Kaguya went back to the moon and never came back. I started wondering how long the two of us will be able to travel between the two dimensions of time. What reason will we have to keep going back to the Feudal Era once we've found all the jewel shards?"

"I don't think that's the be all end all of it just yet, I mean even without the jewel, we've still got a few things to take care of. Take me for example. I'm looking forward to the day when I can get a rematch with Sesshomaru, have a real fight against Koga for my own reasons, and maybe even get a real fight with Inuyasha. What about you?"

"That's… a little bit more complicated for me. I mean, there are still a lot of things I want to be able to do over there. I wanted to see Miroku and Sango get together, which probably isn't gonna happen now."

"Which means that Inuyasha won that little bet we had going. Which reminds me, I had to make sure his spoils of victory were ready for when he came through. Lucky for me Akira was nice enough to pack some away at the dojo earlier today. Anyway you were saying?"

"Like I said, even besides that I want to see the friends we've made there like Jinenji and Kaede, I want to see Shippo grow up if I can. It's like we built other lives in that world, but I know it can't last forever. I know that it can't, but it still hurts."

"Believe me, I get that feeling all too well. But when I think about stuff like that, I remind myself of something my dad used to say to me. He said that on one hand, nothing lasts forever, and that part of the journey is the end. But on the other hand, the friendships and relationships we make, the bonds we forge when we're young, the real ones? Those are the ones that last. Even if we do have to say goodbye to that world and all the friends we made there, I'm confident that the day will come when we find them again. Maybe it'll be in a few years, maybe a few decades, but it's gonna happen someday. I just know it. But let's deal with that problem when it actually becomes a problem, it's not gonna do any good dreading it now."

"Yeah I guess you're right. Oh by the way, I got a text from Ayumi. Apparently Inuyasha came by looking for us and ended up picking a fight with Raidou."

"...Of course he did."

"Should we be worried?"

"Depends on whether or not Raidou decides to hold back."

"You're really that sure he's gonna win?"

"Kags, I was an even match for Inuyasha when I had three Fangs. Raidou has four right now, so I think that speaks for itself."

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Meanwhile, with the fight in question…

'How do I keep getting myself into these situations?' Raidou breathed a sigh as he strapped a single katana to his side, then glanced over to where Inuyasha stood in front of him, the two of them having relocated to a remote forest area far away from civilization "So what the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"What the fuck do you think?" Inuyasha let out a snarl "The jackass and the wench took so long to get back that I came to drag them back myself, like I have to every fucking time!"

"And the problem is?"

"We don't have time for them to sit on their asses doing nothing, we have jewel shards to find and demons to slaughter!"

"You really think they just sit around doing nothing? If that is the case, then clearly you have no idea who you're talking about."

"And you do?"

"I know plenty about their personalities, and the same can be said for yours. The way I see it, you're nothing but an overgrown dog that loves to run his mouth and thinks he's better than just about everyone else around him."

"I'm the one running my mouth? Why don't you see if that shit you're talking still holds up after I shove my sword up your ass!" Inuyasha let out another snarl as he charged forward with his sword pointed at his enemy.

Raidou drew his own katana to block the strike from Tessaiga, and then he spun around and promptly dealt Inuyasha a brutal uppercut kick to the jaw, and then he covered his body in iron dragon scales to block the next stroke with his forearm, before kicking Inuyasha away 'Huh, that actually worked. I guess Tatsu had the right idea for creating new techniques."

"Like you've got room to talk shit, you're stealing techniques someone else created and using it like it's your own!"

"This coming from the hypocrite who's using a sword his father forged from his own fang, you're in the exact same position."

"Shut your fucking hole!" Inuyasha brought down Tessaiga once again, the blade clashing against Raidou's katana "I don't have to take any of your bullshit! I killed the king of the cat demons, I beat that fucking wolf demon even with those claws of his, I was more than strong enough to kill Naraku, and I'll shove my sword down your goddamn throat!"

"That's strange, because from what Tatsu told me, you and that wolf demon with the lightning claws fought to a draw." Raidou dodged another series of strikes and unleashed a blast of flames that left Inuyasha with some burns across his face and sent him hurtling back "But I think I get it now. This isn't about you and me, it's all about your bruised ego."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha rebounded from the fire blast and unleashed a Wind Scar.

Raidou promptly summoned a water shield, an earth wall, and then a shield made of metal in order to protect himself from the Wind Scar "Tatsu told me about what happened with that demon you've been chasing. They defeated him while you were at your weakest, while you were forced to sit on the sidelines and do nothing."

"I said shut up!" Inuyasha brought down another Wind Scar.

Raidou used a fire blast to propel himself into the air to avoid this blast "You're using me as an excuse to try and validate your own strength, an attempt to prove yourself."

"I SAID SHUT THE FUCK UP!" now out of whatever patience he had, Inuyasha brought down yet another Wind Scar just as he saw Raidou return to the ground "I don't have to prove anything to your sorry ass! I'm gonna rip you apart, then I'm gonna get the jewel, and then I'm gonna use it to become a full-fledged demon!"

"Then what?"

"Then I'll become all powerful!"

"Then what?"

"Then I'll have all sorts of respect and stuff!"

"Then what?"

"Then I'll take up pottery or something, I don't fucking know!"

"Sounds like you've really thought this through." Raidou placed his katana back in its sheath and dropped into a stance, both hands cupped in front of him "Iron Heart… Divine Quake… Great Glacier… Lotus Flame…"

"How many times do I have to tell you to shut up?! I'll figure out how to get a hobby or something once my entire fucking existence is whole! But before any of that, I plan to focus on ripping you apart!"

"Go ahead and try it if you can. When these forces of power unite, the true might of the Fangs of Ryuhogo shall at least be unleashed! Dragon CANNON!" Raidou let out a roar as he unleashed a golden-colored wave of demonic energy, decimating the landscape around it as the blast hurtled forward.

"I was expecting something like that! Backlash WAVE!" Inuyasha brought down the Tessaiga and unleashed a Backlash Wave that collided with the Dragon Cannon and began wrapping around it, resulting in a blinding collision that decimated the surrounding area.

'He seeks to prove himself by defeating powerful enemies, because of the life of prejudice and hatred he's had to live until now. He has to gather certain artifacts in order to make himself more powerful, to fulfill what he sees as his destiny… Why does this sound so familiar?' Raidou was quick to push forward, and that was all he needed to overpower the Backlash Wave, causing it to evaporate.

"What the fuck, what happened to my Backlash Wave?!" that was all Inuyasha had time to process before the Dragon Cannon overwhelmed him, engulfing him in the explosion that followed.

When the smoke cleared, Raidou looked around at the carnage, and then he made his way over to where Inuyasha lay in a smoking crater, visibly wounded but still alive, his sheath sprawled out on his chest 'So the power of the sheath protected him. So much for validating yourself against me in battle."

"Fuck… you…" Inuyasha spat out some blood as he laid his head back in the dirt.

"You lost this battle, but you still fought well. Call this a staple of your efforts." he reached into his jacket pocket and pulled something out, a small rectangular block, and he placed it down next to Inuyasha's arm.

"What… is that?"

"It's a whetstone Tatsu made for me using his earth manipulation powers, he gave it to me after I told him I was Guardian said it was a sort of good will gesture."

Inuyasha lifted his head enough to look down at the whetstone, specifically at the writing on the side of it "Gender equality?"

"I chose not to ask." Raidou breathed a sigh as he grabbed Inuyasha by the front of his robe and hoisted him over his shoulder "You're wrong you know."

"What…?"

"You say that you need the power of the jewel to change yourself, in order for your existence to be made whole right?"

"So what?"

"I used to believe that. I thought that my purpose with the Fangs was all that I had, and that once it was done my story was as well. But recent events have… given me pause, so to speak. Having friends, people that you can trust and that trust you… it can affect people."

"So what…" Inuyasha spat out some more blood "You're all sunshine and fucking rainbows now like Tatsu and his idiot friends?"

"Of course not, but… these ideals are worth reflecting on. I think so at least, and if you want to have any legitimate validation, you should too." and with that, the two of them disappeared in a flash.

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Meanwhile, with the surviving incarnations…

At the same time, Kagura and Kanna had already retrieved two of the five items Kaguya had sent them to acquire in order to free her, those being the Jewelled Branch of Horai and the Jewel of the Dragon's Neck, and at Kanna's insistence, they would go for the third item in the form of the Robe of the Fire Rat.

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Meanwhile, with a certain half-demon…

'Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!' by this point, Inuyasha was back in the Feudal Era swinging Tessaiga around the forest like a madman, his eyes blazing with more anger than usual "Fucking Koga, that goddamn Guardian bastard, Sesshomaru, I'll show all of you assholes!" he then unleashed a rage-powered Wind Scar, but immediately after it fired he was met with a blow to the back of the head that sent him crashing to the ground, and he bolted back up to see Tatsu standing behind him, an iron club in hand and a large box being carried on his shoulder "What the fuck is your problem?"

"You mean aside from making sure you don't blow up everything in a 10-mile radius? Nothing you don't already know about." Tatsu told him dryly.

"Shut up, I don't have to explain myself to you. How did you find me out here anyway, what did you use that stupid Ki sensing stuff?"

"I didn't need to, I could hear you screaming like a banshee all the way from the well. I just came to drop these off." he placed the box down in front of him "Ramen and lots of it."

"...Why?"

"You complaining about free food?"

"Fuck no, just answer the question before I take this thing your buddy gave me earlier and smack you over the skull with it."

"Sure you will- Wait what was that?" he caught the whetstone being thrown at him, and then he subsequently threw a cup of ramen to Inuyasha "I gave this to Raidou after the whole thing with the fourth test, and that dick went and regifted on me."

"Why would I want a stupid thing like that anyway?"

"It's a whetstone, you use it to sharpen your sword. I spent hours making it too."

"So why the fuck does it say "gender equality" on it?"

"It was a joke, but his sense of humor is still a work in progress, and apparently everybody is a critic. And the only reason we were able to get him to watch Avatar was because Ayumi talked him into it. But putting that aside, the main reason why I'm giving you this stuff now is because this is your prize for winning our little bet regarding Miroku and Sango."

"Oh. Well don't just stand there you jackass, give me the rest of the-" Inuyasha cut himself short when he suddenly took a whiff 'That scent… don't fucking tell me!'

"What's the matter?"

"...Nothing, forget about it. Go get Kagome and do whatever the fuck you do with her, I'll be back before dark." and so he took off running into the forest at full speed without waiting for a response 'There's no doubt about it, I'm positive this is Naraku's scent. Does that mean he's still alive? Whatever, if it really is him then this time I'm gonna kill him myself! I don't need anyone to fight my battles for me!'

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Meanwhile, with a certain demon slayer…

Having parted ways with the group following Naraku's death, Sango had returned to the village of the Demon Slayers with Kirara in tow, in order to rebuild. It wasn't long after this that she was able to find Kohaku being attacked by a demon and brought him back to the village, but she soon found that he had no memory of her or of his previous life, despite her efforts.

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Meanwhile, with the two incarnations…

At the same time, Kagura and Kanna were both waiting in an abandoned valley area amidst a series of dark clouds, when they saw Inuyasha appear before them "So you came Inuyasha, I was wondering how long you were gonna keep us waiting."

"Kagura, I was looking for something to take my anger out on." Inuyasha gave a cocky smirk as he drew Tessaiga and pointed it at her "Let me guess, you came looking for me because you wanted to avenge Naraku? Fine, I'll send you to join him."

"Naraku? Oh yes, how soon we forget about those we detest as much as we do. Well with him out of the picture my life is my own now, and as such I have the freedom to do whatever I see fit, which includes this! Dance of Blades!" she fired a barrage of wind blades from her fan.

"Then why bother showing your face around me again?" Inuyasha leapt over the attack and brought down the Tessaiga in an attempt to cut her down.

"Dance of Blades!" Kagura dodged the strike from Tessaiga and unleashed another barrage of wind blades, only for them to be batted away, forcing her to go on the evasive "Dance of the Dragon!" she then went on to fire a barrage of powerful tornadoes at him, forcing him to go on the defensive, not that it did much good "Dance of Blades!" she then followed up with another barrage of wind blades that left a series of cuts across Inuyasha's body, his Robe of the Fire Rat in particular, sending him crashing to the ground and cutting off one of his sleeves, which she promptly caught "Alright this is it, now we have the Cloth of the Fire Rat."

"Dammit…" Inuyasha pulled himself back to his feet using Tessaiga as a makeshift crutch, only to notice the full moon shining overhead, and white petals began to descend onto the scene around them "What the fuck…?"

"The white hot flames of my love for you cannot burn this cloth of fur. My raiment, sleeves dried of tears, now on this day I dawn."

"What the hell is that?"

That, in this conext, was the shape of a star shining in the mirror Kanna was holding, revealing the image of a beautiful woman with an unsettling disposition about her "So you noticed."

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name is Kaguya, and I am the ruler of eternal night."

"So what the hell do you want with me? Something feels off, whoever this woman is she's pretty dangerous.'

"I can see it in your eyes and your heart, your very deepest desires are so clear to me. Your true self, the place that is ruled by your dark heart. You are nothing more than a despicable beast, a savage monster."

"How about you shut your fucking hole and come out of that mirror and face me, or better yet I'll cut you out of that thing myself! Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha raised Tessaiga and unleashed a Wind Scar, which did nothing to scratch Kagura, Kanna or the mirror, stopping just short of hitting them 'Fuck, so that doesn't work on them either? Fine then, looks like I'm just gonna have to stick it to you right in the heart!" and so he charged at them.

"Dance of the Dragon!" Kagura waved her fan and promptly unleashed a series of powerful tornadoes.

"Backlash WAVE!" Inuyasha promptly countered the tornadoes with his Backlash Wave, sending the force of Kagura's own attack back at her "Now you're as good as dead!"

"So you claim you fool." Kaguya shot a smirk at him from within the mirror, and then a black orb suddenly formed in front of them and swallowed the Backlash Wave into it.

'What the hell is that, how did it just swallow my Backlash Wave!' Inuyasha didn't have much time to process this before the black orb suddenly expanded in size and sent the energy from the Backlash Wave bursting out in all directions, including right back at Inuyasha 'Shit!'

"SIT!" that loud command forced him to hit the ground face first, and then a dome made of water materialized over him to protect him from the blast.

'Shit, it had to be them didn't it?' he glanced over to see Tatsu dropping down onto the scene while carrying Kagome on his back.

Kagura could only burst out in a mocking laugh as she watched this "Honestly Inuyasha, how pathetic can you get to require the protect of a few mere mortals?" she was answered by a javelin made of water suddenly blitzing through her body, ripping one of her arms clean off and sending it flying as a result, leaving her dumbstruck as she tried to process this.

As should be expected by now, Tatsu was the one who fired that Aqua Javelin at her, his eyes blazing with determination and anger "Two things to note here Kagura. One, that was a giant "fuck you" on behalf of all mere mortals. Two, one thing you and Inuyasha have in common is that you keep running your mouths to the wrong people."

"Why you little-" Kagura let out a snarl, but then she composed herself "This isn't over, not until I have your head on a pike." and then she and the others disappeared in a flash.

Once they were gone, Tatsu and Kagome made their way through the rubble and debris left by the blast until they found Inuyasha sprawled out on the ground amongst the rubble "Okay good, you're still alive. Kags."

"I'm on it." Kagome quickly got off his back and knelt down beside Inuyasha, then formed a series of hand seals and placed her hands on his back, letting her healing energy flow into his body.

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Meanwhile, with the antagonists…

"Is it the fate of man to live with these fears for their lives?" Kaguya looked down on the scene from above, studying Tatsu and Kagome intently "Those two, they have a different flow of time encircling around them."

"So what then, you just want to let them go?" asked Kagura.

"There's no need to finish them off now, we have what we came for. Let's be on our way."

"If you say so." and so the three of them took off on Kagura's giant fan, to add the Cloth of the Fire Rat from Inuyasha's sleeve to their collection.

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Morning came, and the sun was rising on a new day.

Having parted ways with the rest of the group, Miroku returned to the temple of his own master and the man who raised him, the monk Mushin, to inform him of their victory over Naraku and pay respects to the grave of his father. After doing these tasks and resting for a bit, Mushin then presented him with a task left behind by his grandfather, the monk Miyatsu, for the descendent that defeated Naraku. The task was to destroy a certain demon that threatened to cast the world into an eternal night (the demon appearing in the form of a beautiful woman), and that the first sign of this demon's appearance for the first time in 50 years would be the full moon shining for many nights.

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Around this time, Kikyo was investigating the details behind Naraku's death, when she came across a village that had been completely slaughtered. She came across the only survivor, a little girl on the verge of death, who entrusted her with the Stone Begging Bowl of Buddha, claiming that it was what the demons that destroyed the village were after, before she succumbed to her wounds and died.

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the main group…

"So this is it?" by this point, the group had continued with their search for the remaining shards of the jewel, Shippo riding in the basket of Kagome's bike as they did, though he looked rather downcast as this happened "We're just leaving without Miroku and Sango?"

"We have to Shippo, it was their choice." Kagome glanced down at him "Naraku is gone, and they both have their own lives they wanted to get back to. We knew this was gonna happen at some point."

"I know, but it still makes me sad."

"I know how you feel, I miss them too." she scooped him up into her arms and pulled him into a gentle hug "I know it's sad to have to say goodbye, by a very wise person said to me not that long ago, that the friendships we make and bonds we forge when we're young, those are the ones that really last. We're gonna see Miroku and Sango again, and Kirara too. I don't know when, and I don't know how, but I know we will."

"You really think so?"

"I know so, it's just a matter of having faith."

"Skip the faith bullshit and tell me where the jewel shard is." Inuyasha barked at them, his entire demeanor showing how irritable he was.

"What's your problem, we're just having a conversation. Just because you're in a bad mood doesn't mean you have to take it out on us."

"My problem is you not telling me where the fucking jewel shard is!"

"We shouldn't rush off and get into trouble so fast either, I only just finished with healing your wounds and you still need to recover your strength."

"Shut your hole and get pointing."

"Hey watch what you're saying to her, are you seriously still that pissed about the fact that you lost to Kagura?" Tatsu was forced to duck to avoid a series of claws aimed at his face "Ask a stupid question, you're always angry, but I'm taking that as a yes."

"And when the fuck did I ask for your opinion?"

"The same time you started mouthing off to Kagome just for the sake of being a dick. Now look alive already, I think we've got some incoming."

"What, a demon?"

"Nope, a pack of idiots."

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Meanwhile, with the pack of idiots in question…

As it turns out, Akitoki was at the center of this pack of idiots, where he quickly discovered that they were bandits, though he didn't seem to take the hint "I don't understand, what is it that you men want with me?"

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" one of the bandits spat at him "Just leave all of your things and get the hell out of here."

"I'll have you know that I'm on an important mission my good men, can you not take the time to steal from someone else?"

"As if, when we're done with you-"

"Get the fuck out of my way assholes." Inuyasha suddenly shoved his way past the bandits without batting an eye.

"Hey hold it you filth, how dare you pass by us without bowing your head in respect- Don't fucking walk away and ignore us!"

"Not something I would recommend guys." Tatsu tried to call them off "He's already angry as it is, if self-preservation has any value to you then you should go ahead and back off while you still have a chance."

"Don't make me laugh you pathetic bastard, if you wanna see someone angry then I'll show it to you myself!"

"Little late for that." Inuyasha didn't hesitate in throwing one thug into two others.

"You wanna die you little shit, well that's what's about to happen!" the other bandits drew their swords and charged at Inuyasha in their anger.

3 minutes later…

"Okay… we surrender…" three minutes was all it took for all of the bandits to be sprawled out along the bank of the river running beneath the bridge they were on, all in pain and some of them unconscious.

Now that that was taken care of, Akitoki took the opportunity to approach the others "I cannot thank you enough for coming to my rescue, I truly am in your debt."

"Wait a second…" Tatsu studied Akitoki's face for a moment, and then the realization dawned on him, causing his expression to dull "Oh you've gotta be kidding me."

"What's the matter?" asked Kagome.

"Take a look and see for yourself. I'll be back in a few minutes, I've gotta go let out some hardcore rage." and so he disappeared in a flash, which was almost immediately followed by a roar sounding in the distance, and then an explosion following mere seconds after.

"Huh. Well that happened."

"Is your friend okay?" asked Akitoki.

"I'm sure he's fine, he just gets like that whenever he's around Koga or…" Kagome paused when she looked at him "Oh my god, you're Hojo."

"Yes that's my name, Akitoki Hojo. How did you know?"

"Uh… lucky guess. Does this mean this guy is Hojo's ancestor? Eesh, no wonder Tatsu was so quick to get out of here and let out some rage.'

"Anyway, consider this a small token of my appreciation." Akitoki pulled out a small bundle and unwrapped it, revealing a few fruits that he handed to her "These are quite tasty, and they're also good for your health, so please try it."

"Thanks, I really appreciate it. He's a health nut too, now I'm positive he's an ancestor.'

"So does anyone else want any of the-" then he tripped over one of the bandits and ended up dropping the fruits into the river.

'And that confirms it even further.' this was when Kagome noticed something in his bag, in the form of a certain robe "This is beautiful, what is it?"

"Oh that's our precious family heirloom, it's known as the Celestial Robe." he promptly tied the bundle back over his shoulders and pulled himself back to his feet.

"Wait when you say Celestial Robe, do you mean the famous one?"

"That's exactly it, now if you'll excuse me I am in a hurry. I bid you all farewell, and thank you again for your help." he bowed to them and started to take his leave, only to once again trip over one of the bandits.

'...Oh great, it's gonna be one of those days isn't it?'

This was when Tatsu flashed back onto the scene, his appearance considerably charred and he was covered in soot, but otherwise he was okay "Alright I'm back."

"You okay now?"

"Better than I was, so what now?"

"It turns out he's Hojo's ancestor, and he's pretty much exactly like him, including the part where he's kind of a clutz in the worst way."

"...Oh god, it's gonna be one of those days isn't it?"

"Probably."

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Meanwhile, with a certain lecherous monk…

By this point, Miroku (while forcing his raccoon dog servant Hachi to travel with him) was journeying to the grave of his grandfather, the monk Miyatsu, to find a demon that he was meant to destroy. He heard about the local legend of the Celestial Princess Kaguya. Miyatsu, being one of the most powerful priests in the land at the time, was able to defeat Kaguya single handedly, and sealed her away in a mirror, but was unable to kill her due to her beauty, as well as his own lecherous ways. The Celestial Robe that Kaguya carried was entrusted to a certain family that had also been given specific instructions for disposing of the robe, if Kaguya should ever be freed from her prison.

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Meanwhile, with a certain Demon Slayer…

At the same time, Kagura had made her presence known in the village of the Demon Slayers and attacked Sango and Kohaku for for the Swalow's Cowrie Shell that the latter had been keeping in his possession. Once she had it, she took her leave of the scene. Now the only object left to be obtained was the Stone Bowl of Buddha, which was currently in the possession of Kikyo.

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the main group…

By this point, Kagome and the others (with Akitoki accompanying them, most likely because she pitied him) had stopped along the pathway to have some lunch "So what do you think, has my cooking improved since last time?" she was met with the sight of everyone stuffing their faces, rather than give a verbal response "I'm gonna take that as a yes."

"Oh yeah." Shippo stopped scarfing down food and glanced up at Kagome "You think there's gonna be another full moon tonight?"

"Hard to say, I've never seen a full moon more than once a month before."

"Yeah well, I don't give a shit about it either way." Inuyasha let out a snort as he downed his bowl of ramen.

"Yeah, you made that pretty clear before."

"This is spectacular!" it was around this time that Akitoki had gotten his first taste of ramen, and like many others before and/or after him, he fell in love with it "I've never tasted anything as truly incredible as this!"

"Glad you like it. So tell me something Akitoki, which way are you headed?"

"I'm afraid I cannot reveal such a thing to a stranger such as you." he was met with the ramen being taken away "Allow me to rephrase that. I'm actually on my way to Mount Fuji so that I can throw the Celestial Robe into its crater."

"Wait, you mean you're gonna throw away the Celestial Robe?"

"Exactly, it's my duty to do so. You see, the Celestial Robe was entrusted to the Hojo family many years ago, and they say it previously belonged to an immortal celestial being. Since then, we have cherished it as a treasure of our family."

"Until the day came when you decided to throw it at a mountain?" Tatsu pointed out dryly.

"Until the day came when a very high-ranking monk came with this warning: When the full moon shines for many continuous nights, we must throw the robe into the mouth of the crater at Mount Fuji. If we fail to do this, then great calamity will fall upon the land. The moon has been seen as full for the past several nights. The prediction of this monk has come true, and as such the robe must be destroyed as soon as possible."

"Hell of a story." Inuyasha let out a snort "If this monk's story is actually true, what sort of calamity are we dealing with anyway?"

"That I can't say for certain."

"Wait hold on a second." Kagome handed the ramen back to Akitoki, and then the realization seemed to dawn on her "Tatsu are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"That depends, are you thinking about this?" Tatsu reached into his own bag and pulled out a certain book "Moon and the Celestial Robe are dead giveaways, I think we might be dealing with the story of Princess Kaguya."

"Under the light of the full moon, a group of celestial maidens came for her and dressed her up in her robe."

"I would say it's a coincidence that this is popping up right as we have to do a report on the story of Kaguya for school, but given how our lives have turned out lately, I don't know if anything that happens to us is a coincidence anymore."

"Back the fuck up, did you say Kaguya?" Inuyasha's head snapped up when he heard this "She did reek of disaster, that much I'm sure of."

"Wait, what the hell are you talking about?"

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Meanwhile, with a certain undead priestess…

At the same time, Kikyo was wandering through an abandoned forest (surrounded by only her Soul Collectors), only to be confronted by Kagura, who had come in search of the Stone Bowl of Buddha. To Kagura's surprise, Kikyo surrendered the object to her and took her leave. With the last object in her possession, Kagura through the bown into a lake, the power of all five objects being enough to free Kaguya from her prison within the Mirror of Life. Once she was free, she took the chance to go after one last item: Her Celestial Robe.

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Meanwhile, with the two former members of the group…

Around this time, Miroku and Hachi had ended up coming across Sango and her group, and after their typical greetings to each other (him grabbing her by the ass, her getting embarrased over it and slapping him across the face), they continued on as one group until they reached the Shrine of the Mirror of Life, only to find that it was empty and abandoned. They also realized that given one of the artifacts Kaguya needed was the Cloth of the Fire Rat, they knew they would more than likely run into Inuyasha and the others soon enough. It was around this time that they came across a certain lake.

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Nightfall came, and most of the group had settled down for the night.

Akitoki glanced down to see Tatsu and Inuyasha talking by the campfire, and then looked over and watched as Kagome gently rocked Shippo's sleeping form "You're so good with the little ones."

"I wouldn't say that, it's just about being gentle." Kagome set Shippo down in her lap, letting him curl into her stomach, and she gave a small smile as she stroked his head "I just want him to be happy and safe, that's all. And it might have something to do with the fact that I still feel guilty over him losing his father.'

"I'm sure you'll be a great mother to your own children someday, at least once you find the right person that is."

"Thank you, but I've already found him." she glanced over at where Tatsu sat by the fire, and her smile widened a little bit, which didn't go unnoticed by Akitoki.

"So then, you and Tatsu are…?"

"No we're not, at least not yet. We both want to, but there's something that has to be done, a task that Tatsu has to do accomplish before it can happen. I think we both know that it's going to be very difficult, it could take months or maybe even years. But it has to be done, it has to be carried out or else he won't be able to move forward in life. This is a journey he needs to take, a trial that he has to face, and I want to stay by his side for as long as I can."

"I… I see…" Akitoki gave a small sad smile as he watched Kagome turn her attention back to tending to Shippo, then turned away 'Alas, it seems that the love I feel is unrequited. When I had first caught a glimpse of Miss Kagome through the steamy mist, I had thought she was a celestial being from Heaven itself. This was only reinforced when I suddenly had my life flash before my eyes after that sword nearly took my head off.'

"Something wrong?"

"Hm? No, it's nothing. But in the end, I suppose it wasn't meant to be.'

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Meanwhile, the the other two…

"Okay yeah, here it is." Tatsu opened a certain page in the book he was reading and promptly showed it to Inuyasha "One of the better gifts my brother got for me for my last birthday, at least in hindsight anyway."

"Stop squawking already, if that thing has information on Kaguya we can use then spit it the fuck out already." Inuyasha barked at him.

"Alright alright. Anyway, it says in here that Princess Kaguya made all of her suits undertake all sorts of impossible tasks to prove their love for her, and they mention the cloth of the Fire Rat in here too, which is where you come into this. Plus it mentioned the Jewelled Branch of Horai, the Jewel of the Dragon's Neck, the Stone Bowl of Buddga, the Swallow's Cowrie Shell, and the Cloth of the Fire Rat."

"You think that's why Kagura took my sleeve?"

"That would be my guess. The only question is, what's she gonna do with it?"

"Who cares what she's gonna do with it, we'll find her and I'll kill her with a Backlash Wave and that's all there is to it."

"...Of course you'd say that."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. Hey check it out." he glanced up to see a shooting star pass across the skies above "You know Kagome's probably going nuts trying to make a wish whenever those things pop up."

"Don't tell me you believe in that bullshit."

"I'm more or less neutral about it. Besides, my wish has been the same for the past half a year anyway. Find the last Fangs, finish the mission my dad left behind, and then once that's taken care of, tell Kagome I love her and pray to the love of god she feels the same way." Tatsu let out a sigh as he laid back against the hillside and glanced over at Inuyasha "You know Raidou told me about the little spat you guys had."

"He almost blew my fucking head off."

"Which you're only mad about because he beat you." he was met with an audible snarl "But the main thing I was focusing on was, he told me about what you said, about wanting to use the jewel to become a full demon."

"So what, you knew about that already."

"Yeah I know, but it's been awhile since I've heard you talk about it. If it's about power, you're strong enough as it is. You've killed all kinds of powerful demons, even one that your own father wasn't able to kill, and you can break barriers now too, so truth be told there aren't many that you can't take out on your own."

"Pipe the fuck down already. I've already decided to become a full-fledged demon, you're not gonna change my mind so quit being a pain about it."

"When have I ever listened to what you said? Look, I know you and I give each other a fair amount of grief, not really more than I usually give the rest of my friends, but you really are my friend you know, and I don't give a damn about you being a half demon. The part of you that I consider to be my friend is the part that involves you being yourself, so just stick with it. I know you've gotten all sorts of shit for being a half-demon in the past, mainly because people are fucked up just by nature, but that doesn't mean you have to change. Besides, now you're surrounded by people who don't care about that stuff. I've said it to you before, that there's nothing wrong with having friends, especially when they accept you and stand by you. You get what I'm saying?"

"...If I say yes, will you shut up and leave me alone already?"

"I can neither confirm nor deny that."

"Son of a-" the two of them paused, and then their expressiones hardened as cherry blossoms suddenly began swarming around them "You feel that?"

"I taste that."

"Enough with the references." this was when Kagome made their way over to them, sword and bow in hand and with a quiver on her back "I think we've got incoming."

"No doubt about it, but I've never felt a Ki like this before."

"The time has now come." in the middle of the lake in front of them, a light began to reflect on the surface of the water as a mirror appeared hovering above it "Behold the robe from heaven to drape upon my shoulders, and for you, it is but a deep sadness that I feel." the light reflecting off the surface of the water disappeared when Princess Kaguya herself appeared on the scene "So we meet again, and you have two human companions as well."

"About fucking time you decided to show up." Inuyasha shot a smirk at her as she drew Tessaiga from its sheath "I should thank you for showing yourself like this, it saves me the trouble of having to hunt you down so I can shove my sword down your throat."

"Fortunate for you perhaps, but I seem to have such poor luck to have to come across fools such as you. Tell me, where have you hidden the Celestial Robe?"

"Like we're gonna tell you." Tatsu drew his twin swords from his back.

"It seems you don't have to, I can tell that the man and the little fox demon back there are the ones who possess it."

"You're not getting it either way. Inuyasha."

"Way ahead of you! Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha brought down the blade of Tessaiga and unleashed a Wind Scar.

"Fire Dragon ROAR!" Tatsu added onto this by breathing out a powerful stream of flames, the two attacks combining into one larger one, and then Kagome fired a Sacred Arrow to add her spiritual powers to the mix.

"You both waste your efforts." Kaguya formed a simple hand seal and chanted a spell, which caused all three attacks to dissipate before they could reach her.

"Well shit."

"I will not allow any of you to interfere with my objectives." Kaguya unleashed a barrage of pink lights from her mirror that wrapped around both Tatsu and Inuyasha, knocking their swords out of their hands and binding them to the cherry blossom tree.

"And again I say, well shit."

"I had wondered why you were both so weak, one of you is merely a half-demon, and the other one with a different flow of time surrounding him, he is merely a human who thinks he is able to control the power of a demon."

"So what if I am a half-demon, that a problem for you?" Inuyasha spat at her, only to be met with a surge of energy that ended up zapping both him and Tatsu, as well as sending Kagome flying back.

"It makes no difference to me, for all who stand in my way will perish by my hand."

"Kagome!" Shippo was quick to rush over to Kagome and the others, with Akitoki doing the same, only for the latter to trip and fall onto the former, the contents of his bundle spilling out and revealing the Celestial Robe among its contents.

"Yes there it is, the Celestial Robe for which I search." Kaguya muttered another incantation and formed a hand seal just as Akitoki moved to grab the robe.

"Get away from them Kaguya, you're not hurting anyone else!" Kagome locked and loaded a Sacred Arrow, and then she fired it.

"Your impudence continues to irritate me." Kaguya simply tried to wave the arrow away, only to find part of her clothes burned away by the spiritual energy 'That was a Sacred Arrow, and judging by the attire I can only assume that this girl is a priestess. Now doesn't that make things a great deal more interesting.'

"Release both of them, or the next one isn't going to miss!" Kagome locked and loaded another arrow "I won't say it again."

"Just go ahead and try it little girl, I dare you."

"Fine, just don't say I didn't warn you!" and so Kagome fired a second Sacred Arrow 'With all of the training I've done to improve my control over my spiritual powers, not even she should be able to withstand a direct hit! I've worked so hard, I've pushed myself until it burned, all for the sake of protecting the others just like they've protected me!'

"A waste of effort on your part." Kaguya uttered a simple incantation that allowed her mirror to engulf the Sacred Arrow.

'Oh no.'

And then she fired it back out of the arrow, straight at Tatsu and Inuyasha.

'No no no no!' now inwardly forcing herself not to panic, Kagome dropped her bow and rushed towards Tatsu and Inuyasha as fast her legs could carry her, attempting to throw herself into the path of the arrow, with Akitoki throwing the Celestial Robe out to stop the arrow, only for it to fly right through the robe. Kagome could only brace herself as she waited for what was about to happen, only to be met with the sight of a blue surge of energy, and the cause of it was enough to make her scream.

Inuyasha opened his eyes after realizing that no impact was coming, and his own expression immediately changed to one of shock and horror "Tatsu…"

As it turns out, Tatsu was able to use the Ryuken to free himself at the last second (well, free everything but one of his arms anyway), and position himself in front of Inuyasha to protect him from the Sacred Arrow, resulting in him taking it right in the center of his back, and he cringed visibly as this happened "Oh yeah… that's gonna hurt in the morning… Fuck it, it hurts right now… What about you… you okay?"

"What do you- What in the flying name of fuck were you thinking, why would you use yourself like some fucking meat shield?!"

"Stop yelling already… it's not that big a deal… This is what friends are for… Besides… maybe you're more inclined to listen to me when I'm like this…" he spat out some blood and gave a small smile "About what I was saying before… you don't need to change okay? Just hang in there… for just a little while… find what makes you happy… It'll be worth the wait…" and then he lost conscious, his body slumping towards the ground, being left dangling by nothing but the one arm that still bound him to the tree.

'Tatsu…'

"Tatsu!" Kagome didn't waste a second as she used her sword to cut Tatsu free, and then she sank to the ground as she gently cradled his body, tears streaming down her face and her expression full of grief, which nearly twisted into rage as she heard Kaguya chuckle "Kaguya…"

"Don't go laughing just yet you fucking c*nt, give me one good reason not to shove my claws right through your fucking skull!"

"Oh rest assured you two, I have no intention of allowing this one to die so easily." Kaguya gave a smirk "Now then half-demon, would you consider becoming my servant? If you do, then I shall grant your wish for you."

"Go to hell, the only thing I want is to mount your head on a fucking pike!"

"If that is your answer, then so be it." Kaguya's smirk widened as she levitated Tatsu's body into the air, as well as the Celestial Robe that was still stuck on the Sacred Arrow "Then I'll be taking this one along with me."

"You're not taking him anywhere!" Kagome charged at Kaguya and tried to cut through her with her sword, only to end up striking thin air "What are you going to do with him?"

"All in due time. If you wish to see him again then come to my dream castle, that is if it is what you so desire." and then she disappeared into thin air, taking away any traces of her presence with her.

'Tatsu…' gritting her teeth, Kagome wiped away her tears and unleashed a single burst of energy from her fingertips, blowing away the restrains binding Inuyasha to the tree, and then she turned her attention towards Akitoki "I don't suppose that you know anything about where we can find this dream castle she mentioned?"

"Actually…" Akitoki frowned in thought for a moment, until the realization suddenly dawned on him "There is a saying that my family was once told by a priest, so perhaps it will help us to find the castle. The castle of the heavenly being lies in the Lake of Motosu, in a realm that cannot be touched by mere mortals." this was met with loud snarling from Inuyasha.

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Meanwhile, with the Princess of the Heavens…

By this point, Kaguya had made her way to the Lake of Motosu, and was continuing with the of the preparations she needed "Time and the full moon are fully aligned once more. An eternal dream, a celebration this night, and now let all of it begin." with a wave of her hands, she then summoned beams of energy from each of the five objects she threw into the various lakes that surrounded Mount Fuji 'The Jewelled Branch of Horai from the depths of Lake Shoji, the Jewel of the Dragon's Neck from the depths of Lake Yamanaka, the Cloth of the Fire Rat from within this very Lake of Motosu, the Swallow's Cowrie Shell from the depths of Lake Sai, and the Stone Begging Bowl of Buddha from the depths of Lake Kawaguchi, the time has come for all of you to awakenat last!' and then the beams of light they radiated intersected and formed the image of a pentagram. Next, a large rock rose out of the depths of Lake Motosu to join the one that was in place already behind Kaguya's castle.

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Meanwhile, with the others…

By this point, Inuyasha was bolting through the forest at full speed with Kagome being carried on his back, and Shippo clinging onto her shoulder, only for him to screech to a halt when they saw the pentagram "What the hell?"

"The forest is glowing, so that's probably where we'll find her." Kagome noted, her tone serious and her eyes burning with determination.

"So are we going?" asked Shippo, receiving a reply in the form of Kagome gently patting him on the back.

"We have to, Tatsu is in there with that demon, and I'm not about to let him fight someone like that by himself, especially when he's hurt."

"If I may…" this was when Akitoki suddenly rode up behind them on Kagome's bike "I'm not sure this is the best course of action, shouldn't we try to avoid any danger?"

"Like I said, Tatsu is in there probably fighting for his life. It's like I told you before, I'm going to stand by him in any way I can."

"But…"

"And if you got a problem with that, then stay the fuck out of the way." Inuyasha tightened his grip on Kagome and Shippo, and then they took off towards the light in front of them.

'Kagome is right, she wants to stand by the one she loves, no matter how dangerous things may seem. Besides, if I stay here then I could be accosted by demons!' and so Akitoki steeled himself and took off after the others.

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Meanwhile, with the others…

At the same time, Miroku and the others had watched the ceremony taking place, and the symbol of the pentagram appearing in the skies above, and now they were scouring the scene through the air, with him riding on Hachi's giant form "It seems that our fears were justified, I've never felt a demonic aura such as this. She stops time without any sense of care or remorse, and destroys all living things in her wake."

"Hang on, we're going to try down there." Sango and Kohaku, riding on Kirara's back, made to move down towards the surface of the water, only to be met with a barrage of fireballs bursting forth from beneath the water, sending them hurtling through the air as a result "Miroku look out, these are-"

"I know, Hachi watch out!" Miroku gave the order, which prompted Hachi to try and move to avoid the fireballs, only for him to be hit dead on by one of them, which sent them hurtling to the ground and crashing onto the shore.

"Miroku no!" Sango could only look on in horror as she watched Miroku and Hachi crash to the ground "Miroku are you alright?" there was a brief silence, until…

"We're fine! Hachi took most of the blast that hit us, he received a sizeable burn mark on his chest but he just feel asleep. I'm pretty sure you can hear the snoring from up there."

"Oh, so that's what that is. Hold on for now, and Kohaku that goes for you too."

"Yes Miss Sango." Kohaku tightened his grip around her waist as they went on the evasive from the series of fire blasts, until the two of them noticed something "Miss Sango!"

"Yeah I see it, there's something in the water!" Sango motioned for Kirara to take them down towards the water, only for another fireball to hit them before they could dodge, sending them hurtling down towards the waters below, until…

"Sango!" this was when a giant pink balloon form suddenly appeared in the water and caught them.

"Shippo, so does that mean-"

"Back the fuck up!" this was when Inuyasha burst onto the scene with Kagome on his back, the latter locking and loading a Sacred Arrow.

"Inuyasha! Kagome! Where's Tatsu?"

"He took a hit for Inuyasha and got taken by a demon

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Meanwhile, with the Princess of the Heavens…

"So you've shown yourself." Kaguya (now clad in a new set of battle armor) gave a smirk as she stood in the pentagram diagram in the middle of the floor, using the mirror in her possession to observe the battle taking place outside "I was wondering how long it would take."

"Oh god, my head…" Tatsu let out a groan as his eyes snapped open, and he took in his new surroundings 'Okay so let's recap… in what looks like an evil castle, strung up to a glowing star floating in mid air, Celestial Robe hanging over me and… wait a second, didn't I get hit by a Sacred Arrow? Nope, no agonizing pain…'

"So your wound has healed, such is the power of the Celestial Robe. But now my wish shall be made into a reality."

"I wouldn't count on that happening."

"You sound quite confident in your companions."

"I've learned a lot since I started this journey I suddenly found myself on. Part of me wishes that I could have a normal life, but in all honesty, there are some days where that just sounds boring as hell. This is one of those days. But if there's one thing I've learned since this journey of mine began, it's that everyone is stronger than they think they are."

"How charming, but when you've lived for as long as I have and have the powers I have in the palm of my hand, they will never have what it takes to vanquish me."

"Yeah well, here's a little word to the wise when it comes to them. If you think they're dead, they're alive. If you think you're safe, they're coming for you. If you think they can't defeat you, they're gonna rip you apart before you even know what hit you."

"Hm. So proud and so cocksure, but why don't see how long that bravado holds without these Fangs in your possession." she gestured to the necklace with the Fangs of Ryuhogo attached, now hanging around her neck "It's strange how I'm unable to awaken the power within these Fangs as you do."

'Should I tell her that it's because the Fangs deem her as unworthy? Nah, I think I'll let her think about it and squrim a little bit. Besides, chances are she won't believe me anyway.'

"It doesn't matter. With or without the power of these Fangs, the power I already possess has no limitations."

"The Celestial Robe doesn't suit a fake Celestial being such as you." Kagura (now sporting only one arm, courtesy of Tatsu) decided to open her mouth, shooting a glare at Kaguya as she said this.

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the reunited group…

'Don't you fucking dare die on me!' by this point, Inuyasha (with Kagome still on his back) was charging forward across the shore of the lake, his mind racing as he burst forward in the direction of the castle 'You'd better not fucking die on me Tatsu, you die on me and I'll bring you back to life just so I can kill you myself!'

"Inuyasha get back!" Kagome suddenly yanked on Inuyasha's hair to stop him in his tracks, mere seconds before the enormous figure of a demon burst forth in front of them from beneath the depths of the lake "That's… a dragon demon with six heads and all of them are-"

"Get the fuck out of the way!" Inuyasha suddenly threw Kagome to the side and let her crash to the ground on the shore by the others, while he himself was left to dodge and maneuver around the various attacks from the dragon demon, which shall be referred to as Orochi from this point onwards. Griting his teeth, he laned on the back of one of the heads and drew Tessaiga in its sheath just in time to block a blast of fire from one of the heads "Wind SCAR!" and then he fired a fully-powered Wind Scar at the same head, sending it crashing into the shore below 'I don't have time to fuck around with six of these things, I can just use my Backlash Wave and rip this bastard apart with a single shot.' he was about to do that, only to be met with each of the remaining heads firing a barrage of fire blasts at him, forcing him to go on the evasive, during which he ran into a problem 'Dammit, I can't use my Backlash Wave on them when these things are coming at me from all over the place!' and so he was forced to continue evading until he found a chance to land on one of the heads "How about it ugly, you wouldn't attack one of your own would you?" he was met with the other heads trying to torch him with another series of fire blasts that forced him back onto the evasive 'Ask a stupid question, so much for… fuck, what the hell did Akira call it again? Self preservation, that was it.' one attempt to devour him forced him to dive into the lake itself, and once underwater he discovered something in the form of a large crystal that the five remaining heads were connected to 'I get it now, those things are connected to each other at the base of the crystal, so if I can destroy that thing! That five-headed fucker is going down!' he tried to make a move towards the crystal, only to be forced to retreat as one of the dragon heads pounced at him, sending him hurtling back above the water, and he prepared to attack the beast with another Wind Scar, only to be met with the sight of a sword infused with a large amount of spiritual energy hurtling past him at full speed, dividing the water of the lake so that the crystal was visible, and then hitting the crystal and engulfing Orochi in the explosion that followed, killing it in an instant "What the fuck?!"

"Right here." this was when Kagome came rushing back towards him with the others, only now she was sporting a large purple bruise on her forehead "Sorry I took so long to help out, I hit the ground kind of hard and had to shake it off."

"So then… you're the one who fired that arrow?"

"The one that shot that thing just as I was about to blow it to hell with a Wind Scar, after I almost got my face blasted off like five times trying to find its weakness?"

"Um… yes?"

"...SON OF A (bleep) (bleep) (bleep)-BEAST! WHY THE (bleep) DOES ALL THIS (bleep)ING (bleep) HAPPEN TO ME?!"

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Meanwhile, near the shore of the Lake of Motosu…

"-WELL AS FAR AS I CARE, THESE MISERABLE (bleep)s CAN HAVE A (bleep)ING (bleep) (bleep)-"

As this happened, Kikyo was watching the scene unfold near the shore, an arrow drawn but not being fired, her expression calm but somewhat dull 'Well on one hand, having companions by his side has clearly done nothing to curtail Inuyasha's temper and foul language. On the other hand, it seems that my assistance was not needed here. So be it then Inuyasha, I shall leave it to you and your companions to finish this.' and so she turned on her heel and walked away from the scene, into the darkness.

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Meanwhile, with most of the main group…

"-WITH A GODDAMN PIG!" by this point, Inuyasha had finished his comical string of cursing at the top of his lungs, leaving him red in the face and breathing heavy.

As he finished, Kagome looked up at him from where she was covering Shippo's ears "So are you good now?"

"Yeah… Yeah I'm done for now."

"Good." he then proceeded to shake himself dry like a dog, getting Kagome soaked in the process.

"What the heck did you do that for?"

"To make sure you don't get any ideas about telling me to sit."

"I probably would if it wasn't for the fact that we're on dry land, and that Tatsu is probably in there dying right now."

"Then shut your fucking hole and let's go already." Inuyasha promptly hoisted Kagome onto his back and took off running.

"There's some bandages and medicine in the first aid kit in my backpack, go ahead and use that on yourselves and I'll use my Healing Hand on each of you when I get back!" and so the two of them disappeared towards the castle.

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Meanwhile, in the castle…

"The Celestial Robe doesn't suit a fake Celestial being such as you." Kagura (now sporting only one arm, courtesy of Tatsu) decided to open her mouth, shooting a glare at Kaguya as she said this.

'This one…' Kaguya's gaze hardened as she watched the events unfold in her mirror 'To think the half-demon and the priestess were able to conquer Orochi. This just stopped being amusing for me entirely.'

"What's the matter, has your pet been conquered already? How pitiful it proved to be, especially given the size of it. I have to say though, that act of yours is starting to wear just a little bit thin for my taste."

"And what act is that exactly?" Tatsu shot a raised eyebrow in her direction "You gonna elaborate on that?"

"Considering I've been down an arm twice because of you, I should just leave you in the dark out of spite. But anyway, this Kaguya isn't a real Celestial Being. Kanna told me about it, you're just like Naraku. Like him, you consume the flesh of other demons in order to take their power and make it into your own. I'm willing to wager that you even devoured the real celestial maiden in order to gain immortality for yourself. I bet Naraku must have wanted to take that body of yours and make it part of his own."

"Spare me your theories Wind Sorceress." Kaguya let out a loud scoff, her face twisting into disgust "I detest any and all half-demons."

"Yes indeed, the hatred you hold for them must truly run deep. Let me remind you that I happen to be a woman that was born from Naraku, and I happen to be growing rather tired of you and your antics."

"So you intend to confront me then? That should prove to be entertaining."

"How about instead, I suck the soul right out of your body." she made a motion with her hand, and that prompted Kanna to try and suck Kaguya's soul into her mirror, only to be met with a chuckle, and that made her grow rather anxious after a moment "What the hell is the matter with you Kanna, do it already!"

"You waste your time you pathetic fools, it's not going to be as easy as you believe it to be to take my soul. Perhaps I should tell you why I sought the Celestial Robe."

"Because it can heal injuries?" was Tatsu's guess from his place on the sidelines.

"It can do that yes, but there's much more to it than that. As for its other capabilities, you shall see it soon enough. Power of the Mirror of Stillness." Kaguya formed a hand seal and uttered an incantation, and then Kagura and Kanna both disappeared into a pentagram silhouette that engulfed them.

"What did you… Did you kill them?"

"Not necessarily, I gave them something much more fitting than death, at least for those that are spawned from an abomination like Naraku. I simply paralyzed them and sent them to the bottom of Lake Motosu, as punishment for their betrayal. Your friends will not be so lucky however, they will suffer a slow and painful death for standing in my way."

"Don't bother with the bravado, I already gave you that speech once. If you think they're dead then they're alive, if you think they're safe then they're coming for you." it was then the two of them looked into her mirror and noticed Inuyasha and Kagome travelling up the mountain towards the castle "I rest my case."

"So they have come. No matter, they will not interfere." Kaguya pointed a finger forward as the Celestial Robe began to circle around her body.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that."

"I am."

"Tatsu!" this was when Inuyasha came bursting into the room, with Kagome following hot on his heels.

"Now then, you beings who exist solely in the realm of time, all of you shall vanish into the void of illusion."

"Enough is enough, now let him go!" Kagome drew her Seishin Rozu from its sheath as she rushed towards Kaguya.

"Power of the Mirror of Stillness!" Kaguya aimed a single finger forward, which prompted the pentagram symbol in the skies above to expand, unleashing a powerful pink light that engulfed everything in its path, Kagome and Inuyasha included "And now the eternal night is mine to rule as I see fit."

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the group…

At the same time, the group was tending to their injuries using supplies from Kagome's first-aid kit when the effects of Kaguya's spell reached them and the surrounding area, causing Akitoki and Hachi to be frozen in time with everything else in the world, but Sango, Kirara, Miroku and Shippo all remained unaffected, discovering that they, along with Kagome's supplies from her time, had immunity to the time freeze (one theory is that this is because they had absorbed some of Kagome's spiritual power, another theory is that it's because they were from the future). As a result of this, they scrambled for the supplies and made sure to cover themselves in as much of it as they could, and they continued towards the castle.

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Meanwhile, inside the castle…

Kaguya let out a chuckle as she watched Inuyasha's smoking form hit the ground with a loud crash, with Kagome now being the only one left standing "And this I finally have my beautiful everlasting night, and now I have to do is kill this priestess, and then it shall never again be so rudely disrupted."

"Don't be so sure about that." Kagome got into a stance with her sword, gritting her teeth and taking a few breaths to calm herself "I'm not going down without a fight, and you can be sure that Inuyasha won't either."

"You speak as if he weren't already frozen in time with the rest of them."

"And you're talking like I'm not about to shove my sword through your skull." Inuyasha quickly pulled himself back to his feet, taking Kaguya by surprise "It's not over yet bitch, not by a long shot."

"I don't understand, you shouldn't be able to move."

"Maybe I'm just that much stronger than you think I am, but right now that's the last thing you have to worry about."

'Yeah he says that, but seriously, what's that glowing thing on him?' Tatsu leaned forward, or tried to anyway, and took notice of something in Inuyasha's robe, in the form of a certain cup stuffed against his shirt, and his expression dulled considerably 'Un-fucking-believable. A cup of ramen literally saved his life. The Naruto fanboys are gonna have a fucking field day with this one.'

"Guess what you fucking witch, it's time for some long overdue payback!" Inuyasha activated the Red Tessaiga and unleashed a Wind Scar from the blade.

"I wouldn't be so sure." Kaguya gave a smirk as the Celestial Robe wrapped her body, and then everything around herself and Tatsu began to distort and fade away "What the fuck?"

"Tatsu!" Kagome tried to rush towards towards Tatsu and Kaguya with her sword drawn, only for both her and Inuyasha to suddenly disappear from the scene.

"Kagome!" Tatsu froze when he saw that both Kagome and Inuyasha had disappeared, and then his head snapped towards Kaguya "Okay start talking, what the hell did you do?"

"You don't need to worry, they're not dead. Not yet anyway." Kaguya shot a smirk at him "The priestess and that unsightly half-demon were never truly there to begin with. Their appearance here was nothing more than an illusion."

"You gonna elaborate on that?"

"This is the dream of the Pentacle Mirror, an illusion, the dream castle beyond the mirror, in a separate dimension connected to the physical world through Lake Motosu itself. There's no way your friends will be able to break through it."

"Uh huh. Should I tell her that Inuyasha can use his Tessaiga to break through demonic barriers like they're made of wet paper? No, it'll be more fun to see the look on her face.'

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the group…

'Dammit, what the hell?' Inuyasha pulled Kagome to her feet as they suddenly found themselves back on the solidified surface of the lake, and the castle nowhere in sight 'Great, now what the fuck are we supposed to do?'

"Wait Inuyasha, take a look down here." Kagome gestured down to the surface of the lake, which caused Inuyasha's eyes to more or less bulge out of his head "Yeah I know."

"Kagome! Inuyasha!" this was when Sango and her group dropped down onto the scene "What happened up there, where's Tatsu?"

"Kaguya took him into the castle, we went after them but the minute Inuyasha used the Red Tessaiga on her, it just disappeared."

"Which raises the question." this was when Miroku and Shippo showed up on the scene "Where exactly did the castle disappear to?"

"Take a look, I doubt you'll believe me otherwise." Kagome gestured to the surface of the lake below, where the castle itself was visible within the reflection.

"Huh. Okay then, I believe you. Hey by the way Inuyasha, what happened to your sleeve? I never pictured you to be a slob before." Sango's tactless comment was met with a large block hitting her in the face "Okay, ow! What the heck did you do that for? And why does this whetstone say "gender equality" on it?"

"Think of that the next time you say something to piss me off." Inuyasha told her flatly, and then he blinked 'Huh. So that's what Tatsu meant by gender equality. Good to know.' and then he proceeded to smack Miroku over the head with his fist.

"Ow!" Miroku let out a yelp of pain, and then rounded on Inuyasha "Why bother to take it out on me too?"

"Well why not?"

"Can you guys focus?" Kagome quickly got everyone back on track, and then she gestured to the castle beneath the frozen surface of the lake "Give me a second, I don't know if my sword will be able to cut through here, but I have to try at least."

"Don't bother, just stand back and let the master do his work." Inuyasha, practically oozing with confidence and bravado, activated the Red Tessaiga and brought it down on the surface of the lake, creating a rift in it "There it's open, now if you don't wanna get left behind then get the fuck moving already." that suddenly prompted Kohaku to charge forward and leap into the rift ahead of the rest of them.

"What the fuck?"

"Kohaku wait!" Sango chased after him, with Kirara chasing after her, and then Miroku chasing after both of them, all of them jumping into the rift together.

"Fine fuck it, let's just go." and so Inuyasha leapt into the opening next.

Kagome was about to jump in next, only to stop when she noticed Shippo hesitating to follow after her "Shippo are you okay?"

Shippo immediately snapped out of his stupor and tried to put on a brave face "Of course I'm okay, look who you're talking to! I'm a big strong proud fox demon, I'm not scared of anything or anyone! Of course I'm going with you, my friends need me!" he didn't sound anywhere near as confident as he wanted to, as proven by the fact that he was shaking.

"It's alright, you don't need to be scared." Kagome knelt down in front of him and gave her typical warm and gentle smile "You don't have to put yourself at risk, and I won't force you to go if you don't want to. You don't have to fight."

"But… But why not?" he let himself get pulled into a comforting hug, allowing himself to sound like the scared child he really was "I hate being left out, I hate being small and weak. I want to be able to fight with the rest of you."

"Shippo you're still a little kid, you're not supposed to fight."

"But why not?"

"You're not supposed to fight, you're supposed to be protected so that you can take the time to enjoy being a kid while you can. I'm an adult so it's my job to make sure you stay safe. Do you understand?"

"No, not really…"

"It's alright, don't worry about it. If you don't wanna go to the castle then that's okay, just wait here for us." Kagome looked down at him and kissed his forehead, then set him back onto the ground and gave him one last gentle smile, before gripping her sword and bow and jumping into the rift.

"...Wait for me, I'm coming too! Don't leave me alone out here!" Shippo gritted his teeth and steeled himself as he jumped into the rift a split second before it closed.

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Meanwhile, in the Castle Beyond the Looking Glass…

"So they did come after all." Kaguya looked on at the sight of Inuyasha and the others charging ahead, her expression one of disdain "To think they would be so foolish as to pursue me within the mirror. And don't even think about giving me that big passionate speech about them coming for me, I've already heard it twice."

"Yeah well, I think the fact that I've said it to you twice and it still hasn't sunk in yet should say something in itself." Tatsu pointed out dryly "Speaking of which, I think it's about time for me to address the giant metaphorical elephant in the room. Why bother to do all this to stop time, what part of your grand master plan involves stopping time?"

"It would seem that only humans such as yourself and that priestess are enamored by the passage of time."

"So you're not gonna tell me? Well at least it makes more sense than telling me you don't even remember what your big plan was to begin with."

"You don't need to worry about my plans, for you won't be staying for very long, considering I intend to eat you and your little companion. She possesses the sacred powers of a priestess, and both you and herself have the ability to put up a barrier against time, and I fully intend to make those powers my own." she moved towards Tatsu and barred her fangs, when…

"KAGUYA!" this was when Inuyasha burst down onto the scene with Tessaiga drawn, his attack missing Kaguya herself but cutting the Fangs of Ryuhogo from around her neck, leaving them to hit the ground with a thud.

Kaguya recovered from the shock of the first attack in time to draw one of her hair pins and morph it into a large sword to block Inuyasha's next attack "So it seems that you have the ability to break through a demonic barrier."

"He's not the only one who's ready for a fight either!" this was when Kagome and the rest of the group showed up on the scene.

"So the rest of you are immune to the effects of the Mirror of Stillness as well."

"You can thank my medical supplies for that. It's like my dad used to say, never go into any situation unprepared."

"Hm. Not entirely inept I suppose." Kaguya didn't even flinch as she used her sword in order to counter Inuyasha's next attack on her "So what do you say half-demon, are you prepared yet to become my servant?"

"Not on your fucking life bitch!" Inuyasha aimed another strike at her in his anger.

Kaguya stopped the Tessaiga with one hand and simply batted it out of Inuyasha's grasp, leaving it embedded in the wall behind her "Now then, why don't we see how well you're able to fight without your sword."

"He's not the only one of us who knows how to fight!" Kagome charged at Kaguya with her sword drawn and prepared to fight, with Sango throwing her Hiraikotsu and Miroku unleashing a barrage of sacred sutras.

Kaguya dealt Kagome a simple yet powerful palm thrust to the chest, sending her staggering backwards and forcing her to stop and catch her breath, then used her own sword in order to rip through Miroku's sutras and stop Sango's Hiraikotsu in mid air, and then she uttered one of her incantations that coated the Hiraikotsu in blue flames and sent it back at Sango, hitting both her and Kohaku dead on and sending them tumbling back, leaving both of them with noticeable burns across their fronts.

"Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" now without Tessaiga, Inuyasha charged at Kaguya with his claws barred, with Kagome following up with her Seishin Rozu.

Kaguya rolled her eyes and simply unfurled a series of tendrils from her armor, one of them piercing Inuyasha through the chest, one of them knocking Kagome's sword out of her grip and backhanding her to the ground, and the last one going after Miroku, breaking through his guard and snapping his staff in two before piercing him through one of his arms.

"Kagome! Guys!" Tatsu let out a snarl at the sight of everyone being beaten back and tried to thrash against his magic restraints and break himself free, to no avail 'Dammit, if there was ever a time for me to discover that I have powers even without the Fangs, it would be now!'

"Leave my friends alone you stupid witch! Foxfire!" Shippo tried to attack Kaguya with a blast of his foxfire, only to stop in his tracks when he saw her glare at him, and then a tendril shot towards him.

"Don't you touch him!" Kagome leapt into the path of the tendrill and batted it away with a burst of spiritual power, scooping Shippo into her arms as she leapt back and clutched him to her chest like her life depended on it "You try and lay a hand on Shippo, and it's gonna be the last thing you ever do."

"I think we'll see about that soon enough." Kaguya glanced over at where Inuyasha was still on his knees, clutching the wound in his chest from where the tendril had stabbed him, and she held up her mirror to him, revealing a silhouette of his demon form "Take a good look Inuyasha, for this is the dark spirit that lurks within your heart."

"What the fuck are you going on about?" Inuyasha spat out some blood as he pulled himself back to his feet.

"This is the true form that you desire to achieve, and I am going to be kind enough to make your wish into a reality." Kaguya formed a hand seal and started to utter a certan incantation.

Inuyasha froze as a pulsing effect began to overcome his body, his demonic features becoming more feral and more pronounced.

"I am the ruler of the realm of the night. I possess the power of darkness. I shall release your true form from within the confines of the mirror."

Inuyasha let out a snarl as purple markings covered his face, his eyes turning a deep shade of red but lacking any pupils.

"And now it is complete."

"Inuyasha stop, snap out of it!" Kagome tried to call out to him, to no avail, which prompted her to tighten her hold on Shippo 'This is bad, he's transforming into a full demon, but it seems like it's different form before.'

"He's not the only one transforming, take a look." Tatsu gestured (as much as he could given that he was restrained) to the mirror in Kaguya's possession, with its on silhouette of Inuyasha's full demon form "It's like she's swapping them out for each other."

"In a certain sense, you are correct." Kaguya's smirk widened "Tell me Inuyasha, are you able to understand now? This is your true nature that has spent so long lying deep within your heart, and now you can be the full demon you've long to become. Seal your human blood within the confines of this mirror and be true to your own wishes."

"And just like that, things are worse now than they were before. Fuck."

"It's even worse than you realize." Miroku told him grimly "If Inuyasha transforms into a full demon then it's all over for him, he can never be a half-demon again."

'Was this part of Kaguya's plan this entire time? She wanted to try and put Inuyasha under her control by taking advantage of his demon form. Dammit, I should've seen it coming when she separated him from Tessaiga! For all we know, right now he's probably nothing but a savage bloodthirsty beast!'

"She said that she's sealing his human blood inside her mirror, so if we break it then we can stop him from transforming!" Sango grabbed Hiraikotsu and tried to throw it at Kaguya, only for a series of tendrils to bind her to one of the pillars, before doing the same to Kohaku and Kirara as they tried to set her free.

"Sango!"

"Kagome, hold onto Shippo and stay back." Miroku threw away the remains of his staff as he rushed up to Inuyasha and grabbed him by the shoulders "Inuyasha listen to me, you have to snap out of it. You're not going to sell your soul to Kaguya and forget about us, I won't let such a thing happen and neither will any of the others!" he was met with a snarl, and then a set of claws slashing him across the chest.

"Miroku!" Tatsu continued to struggle against his restraints, to no avail 'Shit! Seriously, if there was ever a time for me to go Super Saiyan or Kyuubi mode or whatever the equivalent of it is for the Fangs, now would be the time!'

"Excellent my servant, you're doing remarkable." Kaguya gave a smirk "Only when one comes to realize the power of darkness, can one realize true freedom."

'Shit, this isn't getting us anywhere! Come on, come on, think of a way out of this!' Tatsu kept struggling against Kaguya's restraints, his attempts becoming more strenuous profound as he watched Inuyasha close in on Miroku.

This attempt was cut short when Kagome threw herself in front of Miroku, using her sword in order to stop Inuyasha's attack, glancing over at Tatsu as he did so "Tatsu listen, we're gonna have to work fast. I can still sense Inuyasha's human half within him, he's still not sure of what he really wants, but Miroku wasn't able to get through to him, and to be honest, I don't know if I can either."

"But you think I can?"

"To be fair, you are a lot closer to him than the rest of us. In there's anyone here who can get through to him, it would probably have to be you."

"Believe me Kags, if I could then I sure as hell would, but I can't break free of these bindings as I am right now. I need someone to get my Fangs, Inuyasha knocked them off when he showed up and launched that surprise attack earlier."

"H-Hold on a second." it was then that Shippo suddenly scrambled up onto Tatsu's shoulder, a certain necklace dangling in his tiny hands as he placed it around Tatsu's neck "Here, are you okay now?"

"Oh yeah, this is so much better. You might wanna get off now."

"O-Okay." Shippo quickly scrambled off his back and hid behind a pillar, waiting for what was about to happen.

"Ryu-KEN!" Tatsu's body surged with blue demonic energy, and with a burst of power he shattered his magic restraints, then blitzed in front of Inuyasha and dealt him a swift yet brutal Ryuken-enhanced kick to the chest that sent him crashing through one pillar and into another, and then with a wave of his hands he wrapped a series of iron chains around him, binding him to the pillar "Okay, that should buy us a few minutes. Kagome."

"I'm on it." Kagome pointed a finger at Sango and the others, and with a quick burst of spiritual power she managed to free them from their restraints, and then she proceeded to hand Tatsu's twin swords to him "Go do what you have to do."

"Okay, you guys try and focus on freeing him for now while I go over to the princess up there and rip her right out of her throne."

"It doesn't matter what you try, your efforts will all be in vain. The human heart that he had once possessed is locked within my mirror and he will never be a half-demon. This is his destiny, to be a bloodthirsty savage for me to bend to my will as I-" Kaguya's long-winded condescending speech was cut short by Tatsu blitzing in front of her and dealing her a solid roundhouse kick to the face that sent her stumbling back a fair distance, which prompted her to draw another sword from her hair to clash against Tatsu's twin blades.

"I'll stall the princess here for as long as I can, you guys try and reach Inuyasha and snap him out of it, see if you can appeal to whatever humanity he's got left in him." and so Tatsu began his clash with Kaguya, leaving the others to do their work.

"Allow me…" despite the fact that his arm was bleeding profusely, Miroku was the first one to go up to Inuyasha's snarling and struggling form and try to reach out to him "Inuyasha, I know I did thank you once before, but I don't feel as if that was enough. That night at my master's temple, if you hadn't come to defend me when you did, both myself and Hachi would've been drawn into my Wind Tunnel and devoured, because I figured it was better to die on our own terms than be devoured by a pack of demons. That's often the way I've lived my life up until now, try and find someone willing to bear my child to continue what my grandfather started before dying by my Wind Tunnel But after all the time we've spent fighting together, seeing you and the others charge in without hesitation, now I feel that perhaps I have a chance not just to survive, but to truly live. It's only right you have the same chance, don't you think?" he was met with only snarling and growling.

"Keep going, it's gonna take more than that! I've seen Fairy Tail like five times, I know what I'm talking about! Sango go next!"

"Right." so with a deep breath, Sango took a step forward "Inuyasha, I'll never be able to repay what you've done for me. Back when we first met, I was being tricked by Naraku, and with that jewel shard in my back I came after you and Tatsu, and I was out for your blood. Then there was the time I stole Tessaiga from you and tried to trade it to Naraku in exchange for my brother. I knew you were angry with me back then, you had every right to be. I thought you would've cast me out for that, but you didn't. You never even hesitated in taking me back, like there was nothing to forgive. You never even mentioned it again. You even saved me and Kohaku and stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life and ending it. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you for the kindness you and the others have shown me, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try. Please, come back to us." again, met with snarling, but slightly less, and some less struggling.

"Come on guys, keep going!" Tatsu ducked underneath one of Kaguya's swords and tried to strike her with his own, only for a burst of energy to send him staggering back.

Shippo went next, trying not to look as terrified as he clearly was "Inuyasha… I don't want you to change. I never got upset about you being a half demon. You're strong, you can be nice when you want to. When I my parents died, all of you become life my own family and… and you became like my big brother… and I don't wanna lose anyone again…" he started tearing up and tried to hide it with his sleeve, though this didn't earn much of a reaction.

"What's the matter Inuyasha, why the hesitation?" Kaguya dodged one of Tatsu's attacks and formed a hand seal as she uttered an incantation, causing the slits in Inuyasha's eyes to vanish as he began snarling and thrashing again "Free the beast of carnage that lives inside of you, and once you have become a full demon, I want you to bring me the lifeless corpses of your former friends."

Kagome went next, using her sword to stop Inuyasha from thrashing around "Inuyasha please, just listen to me. I could say that you don't have to be a full demon because you're already so strong, but that's not it. I know why you want to, but you don't have to. There's nothing wrong with staying the way you are. I mean, why not stay a half demon if it means you get to stay with the people you care about, and who care about you? To be completely honest, I like you just the way you are, and so do the rest of us." this caused him to quiet down for a moment, only for blue-colored slits to appear in his eyes and for him to start thrashing around again, and he ended up knocking her to the ground, just as the chains binding him began to shatter.

"Hold on!" Tatsu broke off his attack on Kaguya, then blitzed to Kagome's side and caught her before she could hit the ground, and then he used his twin swords to stop Inuyasha right in his tracks, leaving him snarling and thrashing again "Inuyasha listen, please for the love of god just listen for once in your life. It's like I told you before, no matter how much grief you and I give each other, the fact is that you are my friend, and I don't give a damn about you being a half demon. The part of you that I consider to be my friend is the part that involves you being yourself, so just stick with it. I know you've gotten all sorts of shit for being a half-demon in the past, mainly because people are fucked up just by nature, but that doesn't mean you have to change. Besides, now you're surrounded by people who don't care about that stuff. I've said it to you before, that there's nothing wrong with having friends, especially when they accept you and stand by you. We're your friends, and we all want you back Inuyasha. The real you. You want to stand by our sides don't you?"

Inuyasha kept snarling and thrashing against the blades of Tatsu's swords, drawing blood from his neck and one of his arms.

"Come back to us Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha suddenly froze as his eyes turned back to their usual white and gold, his feral and primal features retreacting, causing Kaguya's Mirror of Life to crack and a series of red particles to fill the area as he returned to his typical half-demon state, as well as regaining his full sense of awareness 'Tatsu… Kagome… my friends… all of you…'

"So how about it?" Tatsu placed his twin swords back in their sheaths, his voice soft "Are you gonna be okay now?"

"Yeah… and I'll do it."

"Do what?"

"I'll stay as I am, as a half-demon. For now at least. If for no other reason then to make all of you shut the fuck up."

'...Yep there's no doubt about it, that's him alright. Good to have you back man." Tatsu gave a grin, which then transitioned to a smirk as he set his sights on Kaguya "You see that one you self-righteous bitch? That's nakama power at its finest! You can learn it, live it, love it and/or choke on it, especially the latter in your case."

'What's weird is that part of me kind of missed hearing him mouth off to psychopaths like this crazy witch.'

"You're nothing but a pathetic fool." Kaguya turned her furious gaze on Inuyasha "How could you refuse such a fine opportunity as what I was offering to you?"

"How about you do everyone a favor and shut your fucking trap already. Your biggest fuckup was thinking that I hate humans as much as you do, and that I would ever wanna become some kind of fucking pet that does whatever the hell you want."

"You're as foolish as any human filth."

"Or maybe I'm just smart enough to see through your bullshit. When the time comes for me to become a full-fledged demon, I'm gonna do it on my own terms." he didn't notice the various smiles that this earned from the group as he retrieved Tessaiga and pointed it at her.

"A half-demon and his band of pathetic humans daring to bear his fangs at me? You've officially sealed your fate, and now you'll die with the rest of them."

"Go ahead and try it." Inuyasha's gaze didn't waver, though it did direct to where the falling red particles gathered around his left arm, restoring his red sleeve "Huh. You know what, that does actually feel kind of better."

"I've had enough of your foolishness, now you'll pay for defying me!" Kaguya held out a hand and shot one of her tendrils towards him.

"I've had enough of your bullshit! Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha brought down the Tessaiga and unleashed a Wind Scar that obliterated the Kaguya's tendril, along with her left arm.

Kaguya didn't even flinch as blood and flesh were sent flying, only for them to suddenly retract and meld back together, restoring her left arm entirely "Am I supposed to be impressed?"

"So you're not different from Naraku, that means killing you is gonna be that much easier than I thought it would be."

"I couldn't have said it better myself." Sango picked up Hiraikotsu and prepared to fight, only to stop when she noticed Kohaku on the ground clutching his shoulder in agony "Kohaku what is it, what's the matter?"

"My shoulder…" Kohaku let out a pained groan "My shoulder feels like… like it's burning up… it's on fire… make it stop…"

"Hold on, let me take a look." Sango pulled down Kohaku's shirt, only to freeze at the sight of a bulging spider mark on his shoulder, her gaze turning into one of horror "No, it can't be…" then another scream of agony got her attention.

As it turns out, Miroku was clutching his right hand in agony as a certain black hole appeared in his palm "The Wind Tunnel… but I thought-"

"Don't just sit there, seal it with the prayer beads!" Tatsu barked at him, which prompted him to seal his Wind Tunnel with the prayer beads on his arm 'Dammit, first Kohaku's got a spider mark on his back and now Miroku's Wind Tunnel pops up again… I really hope I'm wrong about what this means…'

"Kohaku it's okay…" Sango knelt down next to Kohaku and pulled him into a hug "You don't have to worry, I'm never going to leave your side again." this didn't pan out however, seeing how a grotesque mass of flesh suddenly burst out of Kohaku's back unleashed a burst of miasma and demonic energy that sent Sango and the others flying back.

"Sea God's Shield!" Tatsu summoned a series of water shields to protect everyone, his teeth grinding furiously as he did so 'Shit… I was afraid of that… Great, the one bastard none of us ever needed or wanted to see again. You just love ruining just about everything you can for us, don't you Naraku?"

Sure enough, from within the burst of energy and miasma emerged Naraku himself, only now he was in his grotesque true form, tentacles, tendrils and other body parts protruding in almost every direction, a confident smirk plastered across his face "I simply take too much joy in seeing those horrified looks on your faces. As for you Kaguya, it's been far too long."

"Not long enough for my taste Naraku." Kaguya slowly turned to face him, her expression filled with disdain and disgust "I was led to believe that you were dead."

"You are correct, I was dead for some time… just long enough to lure you out so that I would be able to meet you face to face."

"So in other words, it was all a part of your master plan?" Tatsu's tone was dry and filled with a considerable amount of annoyance "You even removed Miroku's Wind Tunnel to make it look even more convincing."

"As easy as your companions are to fool, certain pieces had to be put in the proper places for it to work."

"And everything went according to plan. Typical, it's like this bastard has even more plot armor than Aizen or Madara. But knowing this is Naraku, does he want to absorb Kaguya? If he does that then… oh god, I shudder to think about how powerful he'd become.'

"I don't believe it." Sango was left cradling Kohaku's body as more appendages burst forth from his shoulder "I can't believe Naraku could do something so cruel."

"Why not? This is Naraku we're talking about, I figured we'd be used to it by now."

"It doesn't matter, I'm cutting him free from Naraku once and for all!" Sango drew her sword and prepared to cut Kohaku free as large mounds of Naraku's flesh began to crawl towards her, and then they pounced at her.

"Sango get down!" Kagome suddenly pounced at her and pulled her out of the way, unleashing a burst of spiritual energy as she did so.

"Please let me go, I have to save him!"

"If you stay then Naraku's gonna end up absorbing you too, I can't let that happen!"

"Such as I will not allow anyone to interfere with my objectives." Naraku's smirk widened as his tendrils advanced on Kaguya "And now the time has come for you to become one with the rest of my body."

"Don't be so sure of yourself you filthy excuse for a half-demon, and keep your vile hands away from me." Kaguya formed a hand seal and uttered an incantation, bringing down part of the walls of the castle on top of Naraku's flesh.

"Shit, everybody get down!" Tatsu wrapped himself and Inuyasha in a water dome and promptly summoned one to protect Kagome and the others at the same time.

Kaguya didn't bat an eye as she watched the others protect themselves, and unleashed a burst of light from her mirror as Naraku closed in on her, burning away most of his body until only his head was left, and a white light engulfed the entire castle.

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Total silence fell once the chaos died down.

Tatsu and the others regrouped as the castle stopped collapsing around them 'Well there's no sign of Naraku, but I'm picking up traces of his Ki. Guys."

"You don't have to say it, I already know." Miroku held up his right hand "I can tell that he's still alive."

"Probably watching from the shadows trying to make a sneak attack, I think we've established by now he's got no problems with playing dirty."

"If we destroy Kaguya, then Naraku will consume her body and gain her immortality, but in the even that Kaguya wins, she'll destroy all of us. In either case, Naraku would benefit. He was using us right from the beginning."

"I think I know who might have the solution. Inuyasha?"

"I think I've heard enough of this bullshit." Inuyasha let out a snarl as he brandished Tessaiga "I say we just kill both of them and solve the problem later."

"Good enough for me, give me one second to power up a Dragon Burst and-"

"Don't even think about interfering, this witch is mine! Wind SCAR!" Inuyasha then charged forward and unleashed a fully-powered Wind Scar.

"I've made it clear before that you waste your efforts." Kaguya held up her sword and mirror, the Celestial Robe wrapping around her body, and the Wind Scar simply evaporated before it was able to reach her "You will not be able to defeat me so easily." and so she brandished her own sword and met Inuyasha's charge, beginning the final stand.

While this was taking place, Kagome looked down at her bow "I wonder…"

"You got some kind of plan?" asked Tatsu.

"Do you?"

"I would if it wasn't for the fact that I wouldn't be able to do much against her. She's able to counter and nullify each elemental attack I throw at her, physical attacks are the only way I was able to do anything to her earlier."

"I have one idea, it involves my sword and my bow, but I'm not sure if it can handle it."

"If you think it could work on her then go for it, because right now Kaguya's about to use her mirror on him. Miroku."

"On it. Wind Tunnel!" Miroku ripped off his prayer beads and pulled Inuyasha towards him just as a light burst forth from Kaguya's mirror "Are you alright?"

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" Inuyasha promptly rounded on him "I told you and the others to stay out of this!"

"I figured you would say something like that."

"Yeah see, that's how you know he's back." Tatsu noted dryly, then glanced back at Kagome "So you have plan?"

"With any luck, depending on how this holds up." Kagome drew her sword from its sheath and locked and loaded it with her arrow "My arrows got destroyed in the chaos, so I figured this was the next best thing."

"If you think it's worth a shot, then I say go for it. Speaking of which, you might wanna get the hell down. Terra Shield!" Tatsu pointed a finger and summoned a wall of earth in front of them just in time to defend against another one of Kaguya's tendrils.

"Back the fuck up witch!" Inuyasha charged at Kaguya with Tessaiga barred at her again, the force of his attacks prompting her to retreat back a short distance.

"I've had enough of your meddling." Kaguya stopped in the center of the pentagram on the floor of the castle, and she held up her sword as it began glowing with energy "And now this farce of a battle has come to an end."

"You're right about that part." Inuyasha charged towards her, readying Tessaiga for what would be his final attack "And I'm gonna be the one that ends it!"

"Enough with your pitiful delusions you worthless half-demon, now return to my darkness and vanish forever." and so she launched an enormous ball of flames forward from the blade of her sword.

"Taste this one you smug c*nt! BACKLASH WAVE!" with a mighty roar, Inuyasha unleashed a fully-powered Backlash Wave, engulfing the fireball and sending it back in the direction it came from.

"You waste your time, that pathetic trick won't work on me." Kaguya didn't flinch as she summoned a black orb from within her mirror that absorbed the Backlash Wave in a matter of seconds, and then it expanded and sent it bursting back out in every direction.

'Right, sends my Backlash Wave right back at me and everything else. Tatsu showed it to me earlier, a frontal attack is the only way!'

"Alright I'm ready, it's now or never!" from her place on Tatsu's back, Kagome prepared to fire her sword using her bow 'I have to do my part, and then Inuyasha can finish this fight once and for all!'

"WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha let out another roar as he unleashed a Wind Scar that slammed into the reflected Backlash Wave.

"Is that the best that you have to offer me half-demon?" Kaguya was less than impressed by the display of Inuyasha's attack, only to be caught off guard by Kagome shooting her sword with her bow, sending it hurtling through the attack with a burst of spiritual energy, piercing the Celestial Robe and shattering her mirror in the process "What?!"

"NOW!" Inuyasha let out a primal roar as he pushed his attack forward, engulfing Kaguya now that she was defenselss.

"A mere half demon… and a group of mortals…" that was the last thing Kaguya was able to say before her body went up in flames, and the attack dissipated.

"Fuck yes, now that's what happens when you underestimate me!" Inuyasha didn't have much time to enjoy the bragging though, seeing how the floor gave out beneath him and Kagome, and the two of them were nearly sent falling to their deaths.

At least, they would've if it wasn't for Tatsu swooping in on a floating earth platform and using his metal chains to latch onto both of them and pull them to safety "Quick word to the wise, just because you win the battle doesn't mean the war won't come around and smack you in the face a few times."

"Yeah yeah, go ahead and rub it in."

"I'm just calling it like it is."

"What about the others, are they okay?" Kagome was met with Tatsu pointing to where they were all riding on Kirara's back "Oh thank god, I was worried about them."

"We've still got some stuff to worry about, as in getting the hell out of here." he took her into his arms bridal style, keeping Inuyasha bound by iron chains, and with a pyrokinetic burst from one leg he started following Kirara and the others towards the exit of the castle, only to stop when they noticed a black cloud appearing in front of them "And apparently we still have to worry about that too."

It was then that a haught laugh came from the black cloud in a familiar voice "You have have been able to destroy my body, but I am an immortal being from the heavens themselves! You girl with the sacred powers, I shall take your body for my own!" and then the cloud suddenly made a beeline for Kagome.

This was when the hideous mass of flesh that was Naraku emerged from within the rubble, and he too looked just as confident as he ever was "Come now Kaguya, the time has come for me to make your power into my own!"

"Everybody get back! Fire Dragon ROAR!" Tatsu motioned for Kagome and the others to get behind him, and then he breathed out a stream of flames, engulfing Naraku and ripping his body to shreds in the process "Now Miroku, take her out!"

"Right! Wind Tunnel!" Miroku didn't hesitate for a second as he ripped the prayer beads off his arm and opened up his Wind Tunnel, sucking all of Kaguya's black cloud into it, not to mention some of Naraku's scorched flesh before closing it "And that's the end of that."

"One ofthem at least." Tatsu knelt back down to check on Kagome "How are you doing Kags, you okay?"

"Yeah but nevermind me, take a look!" Kagome gestured to where Naraku, what was left of his body anyway, was disappearing into the remains of Kaguya's mirror, with Kohaku following right behind her.

"That's one problem we're gonna have to leave for another day."

"Yeah assuming we survive that long, how are we gonna get out of here?"

"That's an easy one, you people keep forgetting I can teleport. I mean granted I don't like to use it too often given the amount of energy it uses, but I think this qualifies. Now everybody grab onto me." this prompted everyone to rush over and grab onto him, and a white flash engulfed the group just as one pillar after another.

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A little while later, outside…

"Shippo, come on Shippo wake up."

"Wait no, don't leave me, she's coming!" Shippo bolted upright and looked around, only to find himself in Kagome's lap with the others looking over him "Where's Kaguya, I thought she was following us and…"

"It's alright, you don't have to worry. She's gone, see for yourself." Kagome gestured to where the reflection of the castle in Lake Motosu was disappearing, as well as the pentagram symbol looming overthem in the skies above "I have a pretty strong feeling that's the last any of us are going to be seeing of Kaguya."

"So, it's over?"

"Yeah, it's all over."

"I wouldn't say that." Miroku looked down at his right hand "We may have emerged victorious today, but let's not forget that Naraku is still alive."

"Yeah that's true, but at least we were able to destroy one thing he was after, so I think that counts for something."

"Just one isn't enough." Inuyasha let out a huff and looked away "It's not gonna be enough until I shove my sword through his heart."

"Master Miroku, we're over here!"

Miroku and the rest glanced over to see Hachi flying towards them in the distance "Hachi, and it seems that you brought Akitoki with you. I'm glad to see you're both okay." and then they were engulfed in a cloud of dust as the two of them landed.

"Miss Kagome look, you see this?" Akitoki rushed up to her with something in his arms "I was able to get the Celestial Robe back."

"How did you get your hands on that thing?" asked Tatsu.

"It's amazing, when I came to the robe suddenly fell from Heaven. It's strange, it's as if it found its way back to me."

"You're still gonna get rid of that thing though right? The last thing we need is for Kaguya to pop back up at the worst possible time."

"Oh yes, of course."

"Good." Tatsu then glanced over at Sango, his expression growing softer 'It's like she just lost her little brother all over again. We're gonna get him back, so don't lose hope yet."

"I know." her voice was soft "And thank you."

And then Miroku did his thing as he gazed wistfully up at the skies above "Well grandfather, it seems that you were right. Kaguya was indeed a beauty."

"Are you planning to go somewhere with this Miroku?" Sango was met with Miroku grabbing her hand and rubbing against it.

"You don't need to worry my dear Sango, my heart belongs to you and only you." he was met with a smack upside the head.

"I guess the more things change, the more things stay the same." Tatsu rolled his eyes at the exchange between them, then glanced up at the sun rising above them 'I never forgot anything you've taught me over the years dad, but some things stuck out more than others. You said that the friendships we make when we're young, when we're in our prime, those are the ones that really last. I thought that we would find Miroku and Sango again, and we did. Looks like they're gonna stick around for awhile too, because our journey still has a long way to go.'

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A little while later…

A gentle breeze blew throughout the grassy landscape as Inuyasha set down a small bouquet of flowers 'Hello mother, it's me. I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately, even after I woke up from my 50 year catnap, but hunting for the jewel shards takes up a lot of time. But there's some other things too. I've been… doing some thinking lately… You probably want to know why, even if you know I'm not gonna say it out loud. I've spent so long thinking about how I was gonna use the jewel to become a full demon… But now, I'm not so sure anymore. People have hated me for as long as I can remember, human and demon, because I'm neither of them. I guess when I first heard about the jewel, part of me started thinking, maybe if I was a human or a demon, then I wouldn't have to run or hide anymore. I wanted to become a full-fledged demon because I wanted power and respect and all that good shit, but when I met Kikyo I decided to become human so that I could live with her. But then Naraku happened, and when I woke up I focused on becoming a full-fledged demon again, so I could get power and respect and all that… and so I wouldn't have to run and hide anymore. But things have changed now. I guess I've changed too. I never really thought I'd say this, but… now I've got friends. I guess you must be thrilled to hear that, even if it's not out loud. Don't get me wrong, they're all fucked up in one way or another, but that's not really a dealbreaker. Besides… they don't care about me being a half-demon. They accept me. That's really all I care about…'

"So this is where you ended up."

'Fuck, I guess that means I'm out of time.' Inuyasha breathed a sigh of annoyance as he placed a hand on the gravestone in front of him 'I'll be sure to come back soon, I promise. And thanks… for everything.' and so he glanced back to see who else was there.

As it turns out, Tatsu was the one standing before him, carrying a large box over his shoulder "I heard you were here from Myoga, and the others are off doing their own thing right now. Plus I just got done with Kagome screaming her head off at me for like an hour for throwing myself at a Sacred Arrow like that, so I figured I'd give her some time to cool down."

"Good to know, so what the hell do you want? If this is more sentimental bullshit about what happened at the castle."

"Don't worry about that, I think we've all had more than enough of that for now. I came to point something else out to you. Naraku isn't dead."

"I know."

"He faked his death this whole time so he could try and absorb Kaguya."

"Yeah."

"He was alive the whole time."

"I was there jackass, what's your point?"

"My point is that since he was never dead, the bet was never offically fulfilled. You know, the bet we made where you'd get all this ramen if Miroku and Sango didn't shack up with each other by the time we killed Naraku."

"...Where are you going with this?"

"Simple, I'm taking these things back until we kill Naraku. You'll get them back when that happens, but only if Miroku and Sango haven't shacked up."

"Fuck no, like hell I'm giving up the ramen."

"Too bad, my brother's money makes this stuff mine until you win them fair and square." this led to the two of them squabbling all the way back to the village, though as they did, Tatsu took the chance to study Inuyasha amidst their argument 'I look at you now, and I don't see the same guy that Kagome and I pulled of the Sacred Tree six months ago. You locked away your heart because of all the pain you had to endure, even though none of it was your fault. But things are different now, and you're different to, at least to a certain extent. Now you've got friends, people that can trust and count on. We've got your back when you really need us, and we're not going anywhere anytime soon.'

A/N:

This chapter covers the events of the second movie, the Castle Beyond the Looking Glass, which chronologically takes place after the battle at Naraku's castle, at least according to the official Inuyasha website, but I thought it made more sense to have it take place before, given the purpose I have for writing out this movie in the first place.

One thing I think is worth noting is that this chapter settles the minor subplot of the grudge between Raidou and Inuyasha (mostly on the part of the latter) by having the two of them have a real proper fight. Not only that, but Raidou is able to figure out what was mostly Inuyasha's problem, and that gets him thinking throughout the chapter, at least in the midst of his brooding.

To be completely honest, for a long time I was struggling with what I was going to do with this movie. I know how many people love it because of the kiss scene, but because Kagome and Inuyasha aren't going to hook up in this fic, I was really torn about what to do. I had to ponder this for awhile, but a solution did eventually come to me. I decided to tone down on the romance for this movie, and instead use it as an opportunity to demonstrate Inuyasha's character development throughout the story, as well as the bonds that he's developed with the rest of the Inu Gang. That was part of the reason why I had those little bonding moments with everyone over the course of the last dozen or so chapters. Plus I even finished up the chapter with a scene of Inuyasha visiting his mother's grave, a scene I really wish had been in the main series at some point.