Sorry for the delayed update. This is the first time that I've had time to write a new chapter. By the way, I have a new website up. The link is on my author's page. So far I've only linked to all my stories on ffnet, but I do plan to put fanart on it as well. I'd like to put some pictures up to go with this story.

Recap: In the last chapter, Kenshin managed to defeat Shishio by using the Tenseiga. This sword of life allowed him to see that a seal of sorcery was holding Shishio's soul to his youkai body. By slicing through it with the Tenseiga, he released Shishio's soul back to the netherworld.

Saito, Sanosuke, Kouga, Kirara and Namu also encountered their own problems underneath the Imperial palace. They discovered the source of the demonseed: Sabra, the giant spider youkai who is the mother of the demonseed, as well as the giant cocoon that is holding thousands of spiders. While Sano and Namu attempted to distract Sabra, Saito and Kouga made a brief failed attempt to destroy the cocoon. This attempt trapped them in a room full of explosives while thousands of the demonseed swarmed up against the door. If Namu uses his foxfire to rescue them, it could mean the death of them all.

The Samurai of Tomorrow

Chapter 41: Awakened Blood

Inuyasha growled as he gripped the handle of his Tetsusaiga tightly. His fear for Shippo kept interfering with his ability to kill Naraku. Damn it all. He had to get past this! Naraku had to be killed! He couldn't worry about his friend.

"Forgive me Shippo," he muttered quietly. The hanyou lord forced himself to see the windscar forming itself around Naraku. I don't want to kill you fox…

"Inuyasha," Naraku said. "Enough of this foolishness, this should have ended centuries ago." Inuyasha gripped his sword as he saw Shippo's green eyes glaring coldly at him from Naraku's face. Naraku smirked as he saw the hanyou's hesitation.

"You're just as weak as that fox," Naraku told him. Inuyasha snarled as he suddenly unleashed the Backlash Wave on him.

"Wrong Bastard! That stupid fox has always been a better man than me!"

The north side of the holy complex exploded from the impact of demonic energy. Hope rose in the hanyou's chest, but was dashed a second later when he smelled the bastard's scent.

"Inuyasha!" he heard Kenshin yell. "Behind…" Inuyasha whipped around and brought his Tetsusaiga up as a shield. He hissed as green foxfire forced him back through the scorched remains of the temple.

Damn it! He teleported out of the way!

He watched as Kenshin made his own attempt to reach Naraku. Unlike Inuyasha, the former Ishin Shishi's speed was greater. Even so, the youkai teleported out of the way just as his reverse blade sword struck him across his left side. Kenshin leapt out of the way as Naraku flung a deadly cloud of miasma at him. The red haired warrior landed nimbly a few feet from the agitated hanyou.

"It's not his speed," Kenshin pointed out. "This one is faster."

"I know," Inuyasha said darkly. He bared his fangs as he stood up. "It's that teleportation trick of his…and…"

"This one senses it as well," Kenshin said quietly. "He is somehow predicting our moves." He and Inuyasha exchanged glances. Somehow, they had both realized, Naraku was reading their thoughts. Any good fighter always planned several moves ahead.

"We need to…" Kenshin started. He and Inuyasha jumped out of the way as Naraku sent a blast of demonic energy at them. Kenshin unsheathed the Tenseiga and held it up for defense. A protective barrier formed around him as he knelt by a broken statue of the Buddha.

We need to slow him down or divert his attention somehow.

Kenshin's eyes drifted over to where the others were fighting the demonseed possessed humans and youkai. To his dismay, they had given up trying to spare the lives of their attackers. Aoshi was spinning in a whirlwind of death as Kagome fired her sacred arrows, trying to pierce the spiders in the fighters' chests.

This has to end. I have to…INUYASHA!

Kenshin stared in dismay as Inuyasha suddenly threw him his Tetsusaiga. There was a look of grim resignation in the hanyou's eyes. What is that fool…

"Inuyasha!" he yelled suddenly. "You baka half-breed! You need the Tetsusaiga!" A sudden memory flashed through Kenshin's mind as he reached for Inuyasha's sword. It rejected his touch.

"Inuyasha!" Kenshin yelled again. "Without the Tetsusaiga, you won't be able to control your youkai blood!" He saw Inuyasha's lips tighten grimly as he glared at Naraku. Naraku, who had been briefly taken back in surprise, laughed and started to taunt him.

"Inuyasha!" Kenshin yelled. He reached for the sword and again it rejected his touch.

"Shut up Kenshin!" Inuyasha barked. "This bastard can read our minds. If I go berserk, he can't read me!"

No! I can't let him…

A blow from Naraku knocked the hanyou down the stone steps. Kagome gave a horrified shriek as her beloved smashed into the ground. As the others turned, as if in slow motion, they saw Inuyasha's eyes glow red.

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"Shit! We have to get out of here!" Kouga yelled. He didn't need to look to know that Saito's face was equally strained. One flicker of Namu's foxfire and they would all die.

On the bright side though, they would probably take all of the spiders with them.

"Kouga," Saito said quickly. "There were two other rooms to the right of this one. Can you break through the walls?" Kouga cast him a sharp look before flexing his claws. As they both well knew, Kouga's attempt at wall smashing could very well bring the foundation down on them.

"Smashing the walls isn't the problem," Kouga muttered. However, seeing as they had no other choice, he leapt and kicked the far wall with a shattering display of strength.

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"Watch it Sano!" Namu warned. Sanosuke whirled out of the way as several smaller spiders dropped from the ceiling over his head. The young fox hanyou sent a small wave of foxfire at the ceiling, burning the demonseeds clinging there. He then rolled and struck like lightning, severing one of the youkai's eight legs with his father's sword.

"Where've the stupid wolves gone to?" Sano suddenly asked. Namu cast his eyes around until he saw a flood of the brown spiders swarming up the far wall. He could just barely see the outlines of three doors.

Namu raised the sword, intending to use his foxfire. A sudden shaking crash made him hesitate as the stones on the wall cracked.

"Kouga? Saito?" he yelled. He very faintly heard Kouga bellow something about not using his foxfire. The young man gave a yelp as something heavy and sticky hit him in the back. The fox hanyou flew forward and accidentally released the sword as a mass of white spider webs glued him to the floor.

"KID!" Sano yelled. Namu ignited a small wave of foxfire, but it had little effect. Being only half-youkai, his foxfire usually did little damage. It was only through his father's youkai sword that his abilities were amplified enough to be destructive.

"NAMU!"

Namu growled as he felt the ground quake as the giant spider landed over him. He hissed as several drops of venom burned his exposed skin. Damn it… The giant spider filled him with an irrational fear as his body suddenly gave a shudder. His eyes glowed red as a powerful blast of foxfire suddenly slammed the spider up into the ceiling, severing the spider webs.

The fox hanyou cracked his fingers as his claws began to lengthen. Sanosuke stared in shock as a savage aura overtook the young man. The giant spider shook herself as she launched herself at Namu.

"Dirty half-breed! Sabra will feed you to her childrenzz!" She hissed. Sanosuke watched in growing alarm as Namu's physical form continued to change slightly. His eyes glared a vicious red as he suddenly grew a fox tail.

"My youkai blood…is far superior to yours," Namu growled. He flew at the spider with extended claws, ripping her apart at the first attack. He flexed his claws as he felt the strange urge to kill more. His eyes darted around until they landed on the suddenly unsure Sanosuke.

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"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled. "INUYASHA!"

"Oh no!" Sango cried. "He's transformed!" Aoshi sliced through the torso of one of the weaker youkai as cast a glance at the hanyou. To his sudden apprehension, Inuyasha's eyes had now turned a savage red. Two stripes had suddenly grown across his cheeks as he cracked his growing claws.

What is this? Aoshi thought warily. He's almost like a full blood youkai now. A feral roar thundered across the destroyed temple complex as the enraged Inuyasha launched himself up the stone steps into the air.

"We have to stop him!" Kagome yelled. "He needs the Tetsusaiga!"

"Why?" Aoshi asked.

"When he's like this, Inuyasha can't distinguish from friend or enemy!" Sango shouted. "His human soul will be devoured by his youkai blood! The Tetsusaiga usually keeps it in check, but…"

"But now he is a danger to everyone, including himself," Aoshi realized out loud. He narrowed his eyes as his gaze followed the now berserk hanyou's rampage of destruction. Inuyasha was charging recklessly at Naraku, ignoring each deep wound that the youkai inflicted on him. The hanyou was attacking with such a ferocious abandonment of humanity that even Aoshi was disturbed.

"INUYASHA!" Kagome yelled. Aoshi inwardly cringed at the look of horror on the priestess's face. It reminded him of Misao's horror when he had tried to kill her while being under the influence of the demonseed.

"How do we stop this?" Aoshi asked quickly.

"We need to get the Tetsusaiga back to Inuyasha," Sango said quickly. Aoshi made a quick survey of his surroundings as he debated on what to do. Kagome and Sango would probably be all right if he went to help Kenshin, however, he had promised Inuyasha that he would protect his wife.

Aoshi did not wish to break a promise by putting the priestess in danger. However, Kagome made the decision for him by firing a rapid succession of arrows before sprinting up the steps after Inuyasha. Aoshi had no choice but to follow her.

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"Kid?" Sano asked, taking a wary step back. Namu seemed to be fighting a losing battle with himself.

"Stay…back…" Namu finally forced out. "I…don't know…what I'm going to do next…"

Sanosuke warily eyed the angry swarms of spiders as his gaze wandered back to the changed Namu. A bead of sweat ran down his face and neck as his heart beat faster at the changed hanyou. What the hell's wrong with him?

There was a small explosion as Kouga burst out from the far right room from where he and Saito had been. The wolf leapt over the sea of spiders as he raked his claws at the cocoon in the center of the room. It ripped open as several deep gashes cut into the floor.

A rapid succession of gunfire caught Sano's attention. Saito was firing a Gatling gun at a flood of spiders. Kouga jumped back, grabbed the police officer, and zipped across the room to land next to Sanosuke.

Namu growled dangerously at them.

"Hell," Kouga growled. They did not need this!

"What's wrong with him?" Saito asked quietly. His hand automatically rested on his katanna as the agitated fox hanyou snarled at them.

"It's his youkai blood," Kouga explained quickly. "Shit! He's never transformed like this before! In this state, he can't remember that we're his friends!"

"What do we do?" Sanosuke asked warily. Kouga smirked as he leapt forward and punched the young fox hard in the face.

"Saito, get his sword!" Kouga yelled. He slung the now unconscious teenager over his shoulder. His blue eyes narrowed at the thousands of spiders still left. How were they going to destroy…

"Saito," Kouga said suddenly. "Kirara can breathe fire. Let's blow this place up."

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Inuyasha! You fool!

Kenshin watched in dismay as Inuyasha charged Naraku yet again. We still don't know where the girl is! Why? Why had Inuyasha thrown the Tetsusaiga away? It was true that while in his berserk mode, Naraku couldn't read his thoughts. However, predicting the hanyou was easy. Inuyasha kept getting back up after being knocked down, only to charge recklessly yet again.

My younger brother is an idiot!

"Tetsusaiga," Kenshin pleaded. The sword would still not let him touch it. "I have to help Inuyasha." He could feel a flicker in his mind, as if the sword were debating over this. On impulse, Kenshin suddenly grasped the hilt.

The sword didn't reject him.

Without thinking, Kenshin caused the Tetsusaiga to transform. He felt a sort of cold resolve as he cut through the windscar between him and Naraku. Inuyasha was knocked back by the blast. Kenshin gave a low growl when he saw that Naraku had escaped again.

No, he amended himself. Naraku's right arm had been blown off. Kenshin ran over to the temporarily dazed Inuyasha and placed the Tetsusaiga in his right hand. The crimson red glow faded from his eyes as he slowly regained a sense of himself.

Inuyasha groaned as he looked up into Kenshin's stern face. He looked down at the Tetsusaiga in his hands and back up at the shorter man. Kenshin unsheathed the Tenseiga and healed the hanyou of his wounds.

"You should not be so foolish as to risk losing your soul…little brother."

Inuyasha's eyes widened as he locked gazes with the impassive eyes that he knew, temporarily, belonged to Sesshoumaru. The hanyou lord caught a brief flicker of genuine concern in his brother's eyes.

"You have a better idea?" Inuyasha retorted half-heartedly. He didn't want to admit that what he had done hadn't worked out as he had intended. Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered over to Naraku, who had grown back his missing arm.

"Inuyasha…" Sesshoumaru said hesitantly. Unlike before, he also remembered parts of his new life. Inuyasha looked up at him in surprise as he caught the hint of uncertainty.

"What?" Inuyasha asked. Sesshoumaru paused as he eyed the sakabatou at his side.

"Perhaps," Sesshoumaru said. "Humans are not as distasteful as I had once thought."

"Feh," Inuyasha smirked. "I could have told you that a long time ago." He gripped his Tetsusaiga as they turned towards Naraku.

"We should end this," Kenshin/Sesshoumaru said. "This one…I…want to see Kaoru again." The two men turned their eyes as Naraku gave a sharp laugh.

"How touching," Naraku smirked. "The great Sesshoumaru…in love with a mortal woman? How disgustingly pitiful." Inuyasha held up his sword as Sesshoumaru/Kenshin unsheathed the sakabatou.

"Bring it on," Inuyasha growled. Naraku's eyes narrowed dangerously, glowing white. The ground began to shake as he unleashed the rest of his power that he had been holding back.