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.

19. Growing Relationships

(Growing Relationships)

"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."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few days had passed, and a certain sense of calm had set in for the group, which led to the current situation.

Inuyasha and the others (mainly Miroku and Sango) found themselves kneeling on the ground lined up next to each other, though he was less than comfortable in his position "So why the hell are we doing this again?"

"Hey I asked you if you wanted to help me with Kagome's training, if you didn't want to then you should've said so." Tatsu pointed out dryly from where he stood behind them with an iron club in hand.

"Well then why the hell isn't she lined up here?" he gestured to where Kagome was sitting on a nearby rock.

"Two reasons mainly. One, she's supposed to watch and get a feel for the lesson I'm trying to teach her right now. Two, there isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna hit her over the head with an iron club."

"Hold on you're gonna what-" he was silenced by an iron club smacking him square on the skull, to which he tried to pounce upward in a rage, only to be forced back to the ground by a set of metal shackles around his arms.

"And that's what the shackles are for." Tatsu's head suddenly snapped in the direction of a whirlwind approaching them "You might want to brace yourself guys, we've got unexpected and somewhat unwanted company."

"What do you mean?" Kagome's head suddenly snapped up "I can sense the presence of a Shikon Jewel shard, and it's closing in on us fast."

"Case and point, the somewhat unwelcome return of Koga."

Sure enough, the whirlwind dissipated as Koga himself sped onto the scene (still with the stump where his right arm used to be), before screeching to a halt and giving a simple wave to those present "Hey, what's up?"

"In the middle of training, so what are you doing here?"

"I picked up on Kagome's scent and came to see how she was doing."

"Well as you can see, she's doing fine and we're in the middle of something, so piss off already wolf boy." Inuyasha shot him a dirty look, and promptly earned one in return.

"Looks like you haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you mutt face. Still acting like everything in the world pisses you off."

"The only thing that pisses me off right now is having to look at your ugly mug."

"The only ugly mug I see around here is yours."

"Okay enough of that you two." Tatsu promptly smacked both of them upside the head with his iron club "Look Koga we're in the middle of here, so you can either go annoy the crap out of someone else or you can do something productive and help us."

"What are you doing anyway?"

"Tatsu's been helping me with training lately, and this is one of the lessons." Kagome told him "I would really appreciate it if you helped."

'...Dammit, again with the smile that makes my stomach feel so weird. Alright then, so what do I have to do?"

"Hold this." Tatsu thrusted his iron club into Koga's hands and sat down next to Inuyasha "The key to this one is to be able to dodge an enemy attack that you can't see coming. Whenever you're ready, use that thing to try and smack each of us on the head."

"...So you're putting a metal weapon in my hands and asking me to hit you and the mutt?"

"Provided that you can?"

"...I get the feeling I'm gonna enjoy this a lot more than I should." to that end, Koga then went over to Sango first.

'So the key is to try and predict when your enemy is going to attack even when you can't see it coming. It is a useful skill to have in battle.' Sango felt herself tense as she waited for the attack to come, but a split second before she could lurch forward the club came down on her head, which left a sizeable bruise 'And apparently one that I clearly lack.'

"Next up is the monk that's trying to grab the Demon Slayer by the ass." he then made his way over to Miroku.

"Yes well, thank you for that assessment." Miroku rubbed the new bruise on his cheek "I must admit that I am surprised you agreed to help us so readily." he was met with a club striking him in the head.

"Helping Kagome is one thing, I owe her that much, but I'm still expecting something from you guys in return for this." Koga then promptly made his way over to Inuyasha "But this one I'd do for absolutely nothing in return."

"Just wait wolf boy, I've got no problems with grabbing hold of that club and shoving it so far up your-" Inuyasha was cut off by a smack to the head, which earned an audible snarl.

"And then there was one." Koga promptly made his way over to Tatsu, and despite a moment's hesitation he brought down the club.

"I can tell that you're enjoying this a lot more than you should." Tatsu noted dryly as he dodged the swing of the club with surprising levels of ease "But keep in mind that the reason we're doing this at all is to help Kagome with her training."

"I know, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy myself."

"Can't argue with that I guess, so long as you remember why we're doing this."

"And I do appreciate it you know." this was when Kagome made her way over to the group as almost everyone stood back up "So what's the point of this lesson, to try and counter enemy attacks by using all five of your senses instead of just your eyes?"

"Not exactly, but you're right about the five senses. Being able to dodge a weapon or attack that you can't see coming shows that you're able to sense the intentions of your enemy."

"Well that's stupid." Inuyasha let out a scoff "We already know our enemy's intention, they want to kill us."

"Knowing that your enemy is going to attack is a given, but knowing when, where and how they're going to attack you can mean the difference between winning and losing a fight. Using all five senses is important to this, but I've learned to go a step beyond that, mainly through an ability I learned from Akira to sense something he refers to as Ki, which mainly refers to energy emitted by a person through their movement."

"What, you mean like sensing demonic aura or spiritual power?" asked Koga.

"Nope, nothing like that. This is where using the five senses comes in. A person's glance, the rhythm of their breathing, their scent, the way their muscles move, the hint of their presence. Put all of them together and all of that living energy people give off is referred to as Ki. All I've been doing is reading their Ki and using it to try and figure out what move he's about to make. I can't do it as well as Akira can, but I do it well enough to get the job done."

"That does explain a few things actually." Sango commented "I noticed that you had the ability to sense certain things in a way that was different compared to what Inuyasha and Miroku are capable of. So you were sensing this Ki you were talking about."

"Well there's that, and the fact that I've combined my ability to sense Ki with my ability to sense vibrations within the earth." he tapped the Fang of the Divine Quake hanging on the necklace he wore.

"Yeah that's good to know and all, now onto business." Koga shot a look at Tatsu, then glanced over to where Hakkaku and Ginta, as well as about a dozen or so wolves, were arriving on the scene.

"Yeah yeah I get the idea, you helped us with her training so I'll return the favor. What do you want?"

"I want you to tell me where Naraku lives, whatever the hell he's doing it's stopping me or any of my wolves from tracking his scent." this earned a loud snort from Inuyasha, as well as an eye roll from Tatsu "And what the hell is so funny?"

"Putting aside the fact that his ego is bigger than this entire country, Koga if we knew where we could find Naraku then we wouldn't waste any time fighting his lapdogs."

"Does that mean none of you know?" asked Ginta.

"It's almost impossible to find, Naraku keeps a barrier around his castle to keep anyone from closing in on it, not to mention the numerous illusion castles he has scattered all over the place, if our last encounter was anything to go by."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Koga cringed at the memories and looked away.

"Look let us avenge the deaths of your comrades, all I ask is that you fork over those jewel shards you've got jammed in your legs and hightail it back to your den with your tail between your legs!" on that note, Inuyasha drew Tessaiga and promptly brought it down, only to miss hitting Koga with it by a fairly wide margin.

"Like you've got room to talk big mutt, you're swinging that sword of yours around like it weighs a ton."

"Alright you two, just give it a rest already." Kagome was quick to intervene, and then she turned to face Koga 'It's probably for the best that we don't tell him about the Tessaiga and how it's too heavy for Inuyasha right now. Listen Koga, I know we can't tell you where to find Naraku, but if it helps we can at least tell you about his abilities and those of his incarnations."

"His what now?"

"Oh yeah. Well you see, apparently he can use the Shikon Jewel shards he already has to make incarnations of himself, offspring that do his bidding. You already met one of them."

"...You mean Kagura don't you?" Koga let out a low growl at the mention of her name.

"That's her, and you already know that she has the power to control wind. Then there's another one called Kanna, she has an evil magic mirror that can steal people's souls and deflect attacks back at her enemies. We learned about that one the hard way. Then there was a third one we fought recently called Goshinki, it turns out he could read minds."

"So I have to deal with those three?"

"Only two of them, Goshinki got reduced to a pile of body parts, and I'll give you one guess who did it." Tatsu gestured to where Kagome was looking rather sheepish.

"Huh. Nice one, I knew you had it in you Kagome. Take it from a voice of experience, once you get a feel for this sort of thing it becomes second nature to you."

"Fighting demons?"

"Nope, killing an enemy." this caused Kagome to recoil slightly "Like I said, that sort of thing gets easier. Eventually. In any case I've wasted enough time here as it is, I've got a demon to slaughter and comrades to avenge." he shot a glance over at Tatsu "Remember this meat sack, you take care of Kagome until I get back and don't even think about letting the mutt get in your way. Don't let yourself get killed either, keep in mind that once Naraku is out of the way you and I have a fight to finish." and so he promptly disappeared in a whirlwind, with Ginta, Hakkaku & their wolves taking off after him.

"...I think that's the closest he's ever come to complimenting me."

"That's one way of looking at it." Sango muttered "He seemed pretty confident for a guy that just ran away from a fight."

"I don't even know why he did either, the way things are right now, if he and Inuyasha did go at it then Koga probably would've won."

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha pretty much exploded when he heard this "There isn't a fucking chance in hell I would've lost to that pathetic wolf!"

"If you'll pull your head out of your ego and think about it, then yeah you would've. With his superior speed Koga's got you beat on that front, and you can't use Tessagia to its fullest potential as it is right now so there's no chance of using the Wind Scar on him. The way I see things, as you are right now he's got you beat, even without his right arm. I'm just being realistic about this, so you don't have to let yourself get so pissed off."

"Who the fuck said I was pissed off?!"

"Anyone who looks at you."

"Listen you little-"

"Alright take it easy, don't make me say it." Kagome promptly cut him off, the looming threat shutting him up for all of about 10 seconds.

"How in the fuck are you so cool with him being around you? Don't forget that he tried to kill us, he kidnapped you and tried to use you because you can sense the jewel shards, how the hell do you look past him slaughtering an entire village?"

"...I don't do it as easily as you think I do." her voice was quiet, but it was still loud enough for it to be heard by him.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"Of course I haven't forgotten what he did to those people. I know his reasons for doing what he did, and I understand them more or less, but even so that's the sort of thing I'll never be able to completely forgive him for. All of us know that, and I'm sure Koga does too. But even so, to let him wallow in his own misery and end up destroying himself, is something that I would never be able to forgive myself for. I'm not trying to give him some kind of salvation or anything like that, I'm only human after all, so all I can do is try and help him find the right path. After all, look at where going down the right path has gotten all of us up until now. You're the first one that comes to mind in that regard."

Inuyasha said nothing, he just let out a loud scoff and turned away.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nightfall came, and the moon and stars shone in the skies of Feudal Japan.

'The stars shine so brightly on nights like these.' Koga stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the forest, gazing up at the stars shining above him 'I still remember it so clearly, like it was only yesterday… You know it too, don't you sis? You used to tell me how those of the fallen, like the leaders of our pack from the past, our mother and father, look down on us from within the stars shining above. You said that whenever I felt alone, I didn't have to worry because they would always be up there to guide me… and that you would too one day. I just didn't think that day would end up coming as soon as it did. I promised you I would do right by the pack, but before that I have to do this. I can't let Naraku get the better of me, and I won't. The only thing is, there's no guarantee that I'll be alive when I do get my revenge.'

"Hey Koga!" this was when Hakkaku and Ginta came running up to him, along with the wolves they had travelling with them.

'At the very least, I have to make sure they survive. What's the matter?"

"Take a look, there's something coming our way." they looked up and took notice of a swarm of Saimyosho flying past them "Looks like some kind of insects, but the scent…"

"There's no doubt. You two wait here with the wolves, I'm gonna go ahead first and check this out for myself." and so he sped down the cliffside without waiting for either of them to give a response.

"Koga wait!" but their cries went unheard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the Inu Gang…

"I can smell it!" upon picking up a certain series of scents, Inuyasha didn't waste any time in bolting ahead of the others "I'm picking up Naraku's rotten stench coming up ahead!"

"For crying out loud you idiot, you can't go running off on your own." Tatsu promptly blitzed in front of him using his Dragon Warp "If you're right about this and Naraku is up there, how much do you think you'll actually be able to do? You can't even lift the Tessaiga as it is right now, and without you can't do much either."

"Spare me your bullshit, there's no way in hell I'm gonna back down from a fight! It's more than just Naraku's scent I'm picking up, the stench of that stupid wolf Koga is there too. I'm the only one who's gonna take out Naraku, I won't let Koga get to him first!" and so he bolted off ahead of the others.

"Oh for fuck's sake…" Tatsu breathed a sigh, then glanced back at Kagome and the others "I'm gonna go on ahead with him and try to do some damage control, you guys catch up when you can okay?"

"Don't just run off like that, if you have to go ahead then I'll go with you." Kagome prepared to get off of Kirara, only to be stopped by Tatsu holding up a hand to her "I can help."

"I know that, but if all goes well then the fight won't even have started by the time you guys show up." and so he promptly took off after Inuyasha.

"I want to believe that as much as you do Tatsu, but knowing our luck…"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with Koga…

'This is the same scent that I picked up from Kagura, no doubt about it.' Koga continued running through the forest at full speed, his mind racing until he screeched to a halt at the sight of a certain something in front of him 'There's no mistaking that rotten stench, it's something that I would never forget for as long as I live.'

As it turns out, stopping in front of Koga was the form of Naraku, clad in his typical white baboon pelt, riding on the back of a skeleton demon that was pulling a carriage behind it, and he promptly dismounted it and turned to face Koga "The young new leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe, I believe Koga was your name. You were able to discover my location even before the likes of Inuyasha and his companions did."

"This filthy stench… you're Naraku aren't you? Your scent is identical to Kagura, you're the one that was responsible for slaughtering dozens of my comrades. Now the time has come for me to avenge them."

"Such is your desire, but unfortunately for you, all you will do is become fodder for my newest incarnation."

"What, you mean that thing that's eyeing me from your cage? I don't know what kind of beast you dragged out here, but the way I see it your timing couldn't have been better. I'm more than happy to slaughter you and avenge the men that I couldn't save."

"So you claim. Now then Koga, the time has come for you to meet your opponent, now emerge from your cage Juromaru." he opened the cage, revealing a figure with a head of purple hair, a mask covering his face, and his arms and legs being bound by shackles.

'What the hell is the deal with this one? Fine have it your way Naraku, if that's how I have to do it then I'll take this one out first, and then I'll make sure that you pay for your crimes against the Wolf Demon Tribe. What the hell are you waiting for, hurry up and release the guy from his shackles already so I can get my hands on him."

"I believe you mean hand rather than hands, and you don't need to worry, I believe he'll be more than enough of a challenge for you in his present state."

"Fine then, if you want him to die so badly then so be it!" so Koga charged at Juromaru and aimed a spin kick at his head.

Juromaru blitzed in front of Koga faster than he was able to react and grabbed hold of him by the throat, then attempted to slam him into the ground.

"Get your fucking hands off me!" Koga dealt Juromaru a kick to the chest to free himself, which sent him hurtling into the air, and then he blitzed above Juromaru and dealt him an elbow to the back using his left arm that sent him hurtling to the ground. Koga himself then returned to the ground just as Juromaru rebounded, and he gripped the marks on his neck 'This freak was able to grab me so fast I didn't even see him move, he might even be faster than me. What the hell is this chill in the air I'm sensing? Is it coming from that bit in his mouth?''

Juromaru pulled himself back to his feet and let out a snarl as he charged at Koga.

'Shit, he's coming back for more?' Koga quickly readied himself as the two of them blitzed out of view and began trading even blows, such as Juromaru dealing Koga a rapid slash attack to the jaw, Koga landing a solid kick to the chest, but it all came to a head when Koga was sent hurtling towards the ground, but he managed to rebound at the last second 'Dammit, it's like he's adapting to my attacks the longer I fight him.'

"Hey Koga!" this was when Inuyasha showed up on the scene to find Koga on the ground with some sizeable bruises "What's the matter wolf, you letting some jackass like this get to you?"

"Why don't you do the world a favor and shut your hole mutt. I'm the leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe, I don't quit, I don't run from a fight and I don't need help from someone like you."

"Why don't you both shut up and focus on the task at hand." this was when Tatsu blitzed onto the scene just in time to see Juromaru blitz in front of them and deal him a solid uppercut kick to the jaw that sent him hurtling back "Looks like we've got a fast one on our hands, so what are we dealing with right now?"

"My best guess is one of these new incarnations Kagome told me about, he's light on his feet and knows how to punch."

"Good to know."

"So Tatsu, Inuyasha, I see that you and your companions have finally arrived." it was at this moment that Naraku himself emerged from the shadows, just as Kagome and the others arrived on the scene.

"Yeah yeah, so what's the scheme this time Naraku?"

"All in good time." he then shot a glance at Koga "I had been led to believe that you would flee when you saw you had no chance of victory, perhaps you're not as intelligent as I had been led to believe you were. But then again, considering how easily manipulated you can be, I suppose that shouldn't come as a surprise."

"Keep talking big Naraku, you'll be singing a different tune when you get a few swords and claws driven through your skull.

"Wait hold on a second, is that another incarnation?" Kagome was quick to step forward and draw her sword, with Miroku and Sango reading their own weapons.

"That's how it's looking, just hang back for the time being so we can try and get a read on what this one can do."

"Now then Juromaru, the time has come for me to remove your shackles. Go forth and fight to your heart's content." with a surge of energy, Naraku removed Juromaru's mask and shackles, only for Juromaru to attack him and cut his head clean off the rest of his body.

"...Okay not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting that."

"Your fates have been sealed. Juromaru is unstoppable now that his mask has been removed and he is free from his shackles. He will not hesitate to slaughter everything in his wake." what was left of Naraku promptly disappeared in a surge of energy.

"Oh if only it were that easy to kill him. Something doesn't seem right about this one, just looking at him is enough to make my skin crawl.'

"I shouldn't be surprised by that." Sango muttered "Only Naraku would make an offspring of himself that wouldn't hesitate to slaughter his own creator, even if it was nothing more than a demon puppet."

"Demon puppet or not, it's the principle of the thing that counts. I guess he just wanted some kind of mindless beast that only knows how to fight and kill, it would explain why he kept him shackled."

It was at this moment that Juromaru decided to pounce at him.

Tatsu leapt over the claw attack and dealt Juromaru an uppercut kick to the jaw, resulting in the two of them trading even blows as Tatsu continued to push him back, eventually sending him crashing to the ground in a heap.

Juromaru quickly rebounded and pounced at Tatsu once again, their collision sending both of them skidding backwards a fair distance.

"Looks like he knows how to take a punch too." Tatsu quickly wiped the blood from his lip and glanced over at Koga and the others "I don't suppose you felt like he was adapting to your attacks when you were fighting him?" he was met with a raised eyebrow "Just checking. I can definitely feel something off about this one, he could've dodged that last kick I hit him with, but he didn't. Is he just part of some kind of bigger trap that Naraku is setting for us? I know this thing couldn't have come up with it, he's got about as much personality as Wonderweiss from Bleach.'

"Fine fuck it, I say we finish this thing here and now! Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha was quick to lose his patience and pounced at Juromaru, only for a flash of white to counter his attack and then slash him across the face, sending him stumbling back 'He blocked it. No he didn't just block it, it felt like something else was there. Can he transform or something?'

"You alright?"

"What the fuck do you think?"

"If I had to guess then I'd say that he might be able to extend his limbs to reach an enemy from a greater distance away."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've fought one of those, but that's not it. Take a look over at his mouth." Koga gestured to where Juromaru had a white light coming from his mouth "The whole time I was fighting him before your group showed up, I could feel some kind of chill coming from that bit he had on his mouth."

"So you're saying he has some kind of poison going for him?"

"No I've fought that kind before too, if he was gonna use it on any of us then he probably would've by now."

"Speaking of doing stuff, he's coming so get moving." the three of them were quick to dodge another attack from Juromaru, with Tatsu dealing him a sharp kick to the head.

"I've had about enough of his bullshit!" losing patience again, Inuyasha drew Tessaiga and made a move to cut Juromaru's arm off, resulting in a flash of white disappearing into the bushes immediately after.

'Did he get him? No there's no blood coming from him, and it didn't look to me like the Tessaiga actually connected with him. If anything it looked like it came off on its own.' Tatsu quickly dogded a blow from Juromaru, revealing that his arm was still attached "It's like I thought, whatever it was Inuyasha cut off it wasn't his arm."

"So then what was it?" asked Koga.

"Well if I had to guess- Guys get down!"

"What do you-" Sango was cut off by a white light bursting forth from the ground and ripping through her left shoulder, then doing the same to one of Miroku's legs, before disappearing back into the ground "Son of a- Kagome change of plans, stay back and protect them in case whatever that thing was decides to make a comeback."

"Right." Kagome braced herself with her sword, but then she saw out of the corner of her eye as something appeared behind Sango and she tried to slash at it, only for it to stop and retreat a short distance away "I don't suppose that has anything to do with this Ki sensing you told me about earlier?"

"Not particularly no, that's just seeing something out of the corner of your eye. It's like I told you before, you have to use all five of your sense. Except maybe taste."

"Speaking of taste…" the parasitic creature suddenly burrowed underground and then tried to come at Tatsu from behind, only to be met with the end of one of his swords, cutting off part of its tail in the process "Such a shame, the monk and the Demon Slayer were one thing, but considering how capable of a fighter you prove yourself to be, I can imagine that your innards would be absolutely delicious."

"Okay Juromaru is one thing, so what the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Well whatever it is…" Koga had to force himself not to gag "Whatever that thing is, I think it just made me throw up in my mouth a little bit. Seriously though, what the hell are you?"

"Straight to the point, I like that…" the parasite let out a chuckle "You may call me Kageromaru, and up until now I've been lying dormant inside the belly of Juromaru, biding my time and waiting for the right moment to come out and feed on all of you."

"You just try it you fucking eyesore." Koga dropped into a combat stance, only to suddenly freeze in place as he noticed something 'This chill I'm feeling from him, it's exactly like what I was sensing from Juromaru earlier, and if he really was inside him then, does that mean what I was sensing was him? Then that bit he had on his mouth was the only thing that was keeping this one inside.'

"Something else you should know is that Juromaru obeys no one but me, and not even the likes of our so called "creator" Naraku. Now I believe the time has come for us to feast on the others, both of us can gorge ourselves and devour all of you!" he burst forward at full speed.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that!" Miroku brandishes his staff to defend himself and prepared to unleash his Wind Tunnel, only for Kageromaru to rip through his arm and leave it hanging limp at his side, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Miroku hold on! Hiraikotsu!" Sango didn't hesitate in hurling Hiraikotsu at Juromaru, only for him to bat it away and leave a large crack in it, and so when she saw Kageromaru pounce at her she had to draw her sword, only for him to rip through it, as well as one of her legs, leaving her lying on the ground weaponless and in pain.

"Sango get down!" seeing Kageromaru make another move towards them, Kagome quickly rushed in front of Sango and prepared to defend her, only for Kageromaru to attack her from behind, but before he could reach her…

"Sea God's Shield!" Tatsu waved his hand and summoned a series of water barriers that surrounded Kagome and the others.

"Why the hell didn't you do that before?!" Koga was forced to fend off an attack coming at him from behind by Juromaru, though he received a nasty gash on his shoulder as he did so.

"Nevermind that now, Kagome are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, he didn't even scratch me." Kagome told him.

"Good, now try and get some practice in on learning how to sense Ki."

"Well sure, but the thing is that I can't even see his attacks coming."

"Neither can I or the other two idiots over there, but we all know understand one thing. It's a saying that Akira taught me, the first thing he taught me actually. Whatever happens, a warrior never goes back on their word. I think the same could could be said for a priestess in training too, and don't forget that you said you didn't want to be weak anymore right? This is the time where you have to push past your current limitations, because if you don't then the path you're on comes to an end here and now."

"Tatsu, I…" Kagome looked at him in slight awe and seemed touched by what he was saying, but then her expression hardened and she gave a nod full of determination "Alright I got it, I won't let you down."

"I know you won't, you never have. Get to it."

"You got it." Kagome gripped her sword with both hands, her mind racing 'I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to do about this, so I guess I'll start by just concentrating. I have to stay focused.'

"Do you truly believe that you can try and stop me? You're nothing but a pathetic wench who can't even control her power properly?" Kageromaru let out a scoff as he burrowed underground and attempted to make his way towards her.

'There it is!' Kagome whipped around and tried to slash at him with her sword, only to be met with a stream of water sending him hurtling back into the ground, and so she shot a raised eyebrow over at Tatsu "I thought you wanted me to push past my limits?"

"I doesn't mean anything if you don't go about it properly." Tatsu told her "I'm not the only one that can tell that you're only using one of your senses, all you were doing was using your ears to try and hear what he was doing underground, and that's not the same thing as reading the Ki they give off. If you want to do this right then you have to feel it with your entire body. If you want to do this right then you can't just rely on your ears or just on your eyes. It's sort of a middle ground in between the concepts of intuition and prediction. If you want a decent example of doing it right, take a look over there."

"You want me to kill you that badly? Well fine!" still fending off Juromaru's attacks, Koga was quick to read out his movements 'Behind!' he blocked an attack with a kick 'To the right!' he blocked a kick to the right 'Up!' he blocked another claw attack, though his left arm started bleeding as a result, and he dealt Juromaru a kick to the chest 'Left!' he blocked another attack and landed an elbow to the jaw.

"Now you see, we all know that Koga can be a major pain in the ass but when it comes to a fight, he's definitely not a fool."

"Get the fuck back here you son of a bitch, I'm your only real opponent here!" Inuyasha then charged at Juromaru and brought down the Tessaiga with a mighty crash, though it missed by a considerable distance and for him to be grabbed by the throat and sent crashing to the ground.

"...Yeah no, that one's too easy. So do you understand what I'm trying to get at here? Like I said, you have to use all five of your senses."

"Yeah, yeah okay I think I get it now." Kagome dropped back into her stance, her mind racing as she did so 'Who am I kidding, I don't get any of this! This is totally insane, but I do think I'm starting to get it now. I have to use more than just my ears, I have to use more than just my eyes, I have to use all of my senses. I have to reset everything and concentrate.' she shut her eyes as she prepared to do this, but then her eyes snapped open a split second later 'There it is, I can feel it so clearly!' she whipped around just as Kageromaru prepared to attack her from behind, and with one clean stroke of her sword she managed to cut off one of his arms, the subsequent surge of spiritual energy sending him hurtling back in a heap, and her eyes lit up in excitement when she saw this "Yes it works! Hey Tatsu did you see me, I totally did it!"

"Yep you got it on your second try, took me like seven to get it right. I'd like to give you credit where it's due, but we've got other problems right now."

Sure enough, it was at this moment that Kageromaru appeared in front of the group one again, missing one of his arms and his eyes blazing with rage "Just for that you worthless bitch, I'm going to rip out your liver and devour it myself."

"...What was that?" Tatsu froze when he heard this and locked eyes with Kageromaru "You wanna run that the hell by me again?"

"Did I stutter, I intend to devour her and the others bones and all."

"That's what I thought you said, now let me offer this as a counterpoint." Tatsu promptly bltized in front of Kageromaru as he prepared to charge at Kagome, and he grabbed him by what was assumed to be his neck "I only let this drag on for as long as I did because I wanted to give her an opportunity to learn, to grow stronger in body and spirit. Obviously that was a mistake. You want to come at me then fine, but if you even think about laying a hand on her, then you won't live to regret that mistake."

"You can try it you wretch, I'll just devour you first!" Kageromaru promptly used his remaining hand to pierce through Tatsu's shoulder, drawing a sizeable amount of blood, but it did nothing to loosen his grip.

"Yeah, I think I speak for everyone when I say that you've officially outstayed your welcome you fucking parasite. Dragon Burst!" with his grip tightening, Tatsu hit Kageromaru at point blank range with a blue energy blast from one hand, obliterating him before he even had time to scream, leaving only a pile of ash where he used to be "That's one down."

"Tatsu!" seeing the wound in his chest, Kagome was quick to rush to his side "So it's over?"

"Not exactly, we've still got the original one to deal with. Are you okay?"

"Like I said he didn't even scratch me, but you're the one that's bleeding. You want me to use the Healing Hand on you?"

"Forget about that for now, we still have Juromaru to deal with. Go heal Miroku and Sango, I'll back up the other two. Speaking of which… Hey canine idiots one and two, are you two holding up?"

"Shut your fucking hole meat sack, this bastard has nothing on me!" Koga barked at him from where he was still dodging Juromaru's attacks, though now he had a pretty noticeable gash on one of his legs.

"So I can see, but your leg is pretty messed up. Step back and let Kagome take a look at it with her Healing Hand, I'll take the rest of it from here."

"Oh please, like you or that pathetic wolf are gonna be of any use to me. Stand back and watch the master, I'll take out Juromaru with one stroke of the Tessaiga." Inuyasha pulled himself back to his feet and held up the Tessaiga… only for both it and him to crash to the ground.

"Not like you're much better, I told you the sword was too heavy for you." Tatsu then glanced over at Koga "You sure you can keep fighting?"

"I'm fighting him right now aren't I?" Koga dodged another pounce from Juromaru and dealt him a kick to the face.

"You're not gonna be able to get much headway against him if all you can do is dodge and counter his moves."

"So what, you're saying to back down from a fight? No chance."

"No not that, I'm saying do what Kagome did. Use all of your senses to predict his moves, and then find the right moment to strike."

"...Don't think I'm gonna thank you for this." Koga stopped in his tracks and shut his eyes, but then after a few seconds they suddenly snapped open "I feel it!" he ducked another attack and dealt Juromaru a swift kick to the chest, followed by an uppercut kick to the jaw, then he blitzed above Juromaru and dealt him one final kick to the neck, earning a sickening crack, and then he finished it with a sweep of the leg that took his head clean off, leaving both it and his body to fall to the ground with a loud thud, and then fade away into nothingness. With the battle having finally come to an end, Koga returned to the ground 'Those bastards were tougher than I was expecting them to be, I can't let my guard down like that again.'

"Well that was a much bigger pain in the ass than it needed to be." Inuyasha picked himself back up "But it wouldn't have been if a certain fleabag hadn't gotten in my way."

"Look who's talking you stupid mutt, you couldn't even lift that sword of yours. You were better off staying out of my way!" the two of them prepared to pounce at each other, only for both of them to be sent crashing to the ground.

As it turns out, Tatsu was standing over the two of them holding an iron club in hand, his expression dull and unamused "Okay look, I think I speak for everyone else when I say that none of us have enough energy to listen to you two barking at each other. And think of it this way, it's better than Kagome telling you to sit."

"At least I don't need to be tamed like a dog." Koga pulled himself back to his feet and noticed the look that Tatsu was giving him "What, you expect me to thank you? Don't hold your breath. I'm the leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe, I don't need help from anyone, especially not some pathetic human. Well I mean the only exception is Kagome, and granted you could be worse, but the rest of you are still scum in my eyes."

"Nobody listening is shocked that's what you said, not a single person listening expected you not to clarify on that."

"Good, now that that's settled I'm gonna go round up my comrades and get on with hunting down that fucker Naraku." he started to take his leave, but then Tatsu's voice stopped him.

"Kagome told me about your sister." that made him freeze in his tracks "She told me about how much you looked up to her, what that village did to her… and what you have to deal with now because of it."

"...So what, you gonna gloat about it? Because if you do, then just know that I don't have a single problem with ripping your fucking throat out!"

"Again, I never expected you not to clarify about that, but that's not what I was going to say. I was going to say that I get what you're going through, a lot better than you think I do."

"You don't know a damn thing about me."

"I know what it means to love and look up to someone your entire life, to want nothing more than to be like them, or at the very least to be someone they can be proud of, only to end up losing them in the blink of an eye and suddenly find yourself being forced to take on the responsibilities they left behind, and to feel like it's gonna crush you under the pressure. Trust me, if there's anyone that gets it then it's me. These dragon fangs I wear around my neck, the first one was given to me by my father, and that was what started me on the path I'm on now. What I know now that you need to understand is that I could never have gotten as far as I have, if I didn't have my friends and people I trust by my side. No matter what you have to deal with in life, you don't have to do it alone."

"I'm not some pathetic little brat anymore, I'm the leader of the Wolf Demon Tribe! I can't just go around asking some random human for help!"

"That didn't stop you from asking Kagome to help you with the Birds of Paradise."

"...Fine fuck it, maybe you have a point. Maybe having the Wolf Demon Tribe look down on humans and keeping us isolated from them has hurt us more than it helped us. Maybe if I had been able to understand what my sister saw in humans, then I might not have ended up losing her the way that I did, at least not have her look down me in disgust from the afterlife. Maybe as the leader of my tribe, I need to change the way we think about humans and everyone else in the world."

"So then…"

"Don't get too excited about this about this meat sack. I said maybe." he glanced over at Kagome and gave her a small smile, and then he disappeared in a whirlwind.

"...After all the crap we had to deal with today, I'll take what I can get."

"At least you guys didn't start another fight." Kagome let out a sigh "You think he's going to be alright though?"

"I think he's gonna keep chasing after Naraku until his comrades have been avenged, so that's something at least."

"What the fuck was that?!" Inuyasha promptly bolted upright and rounded on Tatsu "You let the wolf get away again!"

"None of us have the energy to deal with any of that right now, whether it be physically or mentally. Besides, you're in no shape to fight him as it is."

"Do you seriously think that mangy wolf would be able to defeat me?"

"If my conversation with Sango from this morning is anything to go by, then yes."

"I will claw your eyes out as soon as I can get up."

"Yeah well that's not gonna be tonight, now turn yourself over and let me take a look at your wounds." Kagome told him flatly.

"I'll pass on that." he turned away from her and scowled.

"...Hey Tatsu that thing you've gotta do, what day is it gonna be again?"

"Actually it's gonna be tomorrow, so we'd better get going." Tatsu told her.

"What the fuck are you going on about?" Inuaysha shot a glare up at them.

"Well now that another one of Naraku's lackeys is out of the way, I've got a promise to keep so we're gonna be heading back home for a few days."

"What?! We've got jewel shards to find."

"And I've got a promise to keep and research to do on the Fangs." to that end, Tatsu promptly hoisted Inuyasha over his shoulder, and he and Kagome grabbed hold of the rest of them, and then they disappeared in a flash via Tatsu's Dragon Warp.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Morning came, and the sun was rising over the skies of Feudal Japan.

"Alright here we are, that should be enough to get you guys through the next few days until we get back." Kagome set down some supplies in front of Sango, Kaede and the others "Just make sure that you guys take care of each other until we get back. Inuyasha you just need to rest, I healed your wounds but you still need to rest."

"Yeah well, get off my ass and put a cork in it." Inuyasha let out a loud scoff as he turned away, earning a sickening crack and a yelp of pain as a result "If you two are gonna go then just go already."

"Fine, see you later. Kaede make sure you take care of everyone else until we get back." on that note, Kagome gave a simple wave to them, gave a quick hug to Shippo, and left the hut without turning back.

"Great, now what's she pissed about?"

"If I had to guess, the fact that your tsundere act got pretty stale awhile ago." Tatsu told him dryly.

"My what?"

"Forget it, not important. Anyway we'll be back home for a few days, but I'll be back later today to drop off your spoils of victory. Later." and so with a simple wave, Tatsu took his leave.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on the way to the well…

It only took about a minute for Tatsu to catch up with Kagome on the way to the well, and they started a new conversation "Your swordsmanship is definitely improving considering how you haven't been at it for very long, not to mention you picked up sensing Ki pretty fast."

"Why do I feel like there's a "but" coming in here somewhere?" Kagome shot him a glance filled with skepticism.

"Because there is. You're a natural talent in the arts of spiritual power and combat, everything I learned over the years you're learning in half the time or less."

"But?"

"But the problem is that I've done more than just learning martial arts over the years, but I've also built up my physical strength, speed and endurance to compensate for it. I mean granted I had the power of the Fang of the Iron Heart the whole time and never knew it, but the way I see it, that turned out to be more of a training tool than anything else, a way to focus the physical energy I was using. Like what Thor's hammer does for him."

"So is there some kind of technique for that?"

"Nope I'm afraid not, the only way to do that is through lots of hardcore training over a long period of time. Keep in mind that it took me years to get to the level that I'm at now, fangs or no fangs."

"So you're gonna… put me on that insane training regimen you do?"

"More like a training regmen dialed down by about a dozen notches, but yeah pretty much. You are still somewhat a beginner after all. We'll get started tonight, at least once I'm done planning everything for the big event, and then once it gets started we'll head out and do it. Well, maybe after I bring back the good stuff for Mr Personality back there."

"You mean because of that bet you guys made about Sesshomaru's sword?"

"I promised him two packs of ramen if he won, and I am a man of my word."

"Yeah I know, but if you're gonna come back tonight then can you bring the others some more bandages and medicine for them to use? I know I have a lot of training to do, but I… I've just got some other stuff I want to think about."

"Um, yeah sure I guess."

"Great, thanks." and so she dove into the well, with a rather unsure Tatsu following right behind her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

The room was still dark, the only light coming from a single row of candles, as Raidou himself sat in the throne at the head, eyeing the Fangs he wore on his necklace 'To think that in the span of just a few months, I was able to uncover what that wretch couldn't in the span of more than ten years, and he still says that I'm not worthy of the title of Guardian. Two more Fangs are all that I need until I can claim my destiny.'

"Young master." this was when the leader of the Yakuza faction made his way into the room, which prompted Raidou to hide the necklace underneath his shirt "I need to speak with the Guardian at once."

"I'm afraid that he's… indisposed at the moment, but if you want me to pass your message onto him then I'll be sure that he gets it."

"With all due respect young master, I'm afraid that this business is far too urgent."

"Huh. So be it." and so Raidou took his leave of the room.

'This is business regarding the Yakuza, such talk is meant for the ears of the Guardian, not an impertinent child.'

A few moments went by, and then Guardian appeared before him, clad in his typical kimono and samurai helmet "You would be wise not to disrespect my nephew in front of me, he is my sole surviving kin of blood and you will honor him." that prompted the leader to fall to one knee in submission.

"Of course my lord, I meant no disrespect to him, but I had to speak with you about a matter of utmost urgency, but you have been so absent in recent times."

"If you need to speak with me, then speak."

"Of course. The situation is grim my lord, the Yakuza is crumbling from within. You have been placing so much focus on finding the remaining Fangs of Ryuhogo that without your leadership, the Saisei clan has been expanding into the territory of the Yakuza. Your recent strikes aimed against the leadership of the Saisei have only mad matters that much worse. You are about to create a war that neither side will be able to win. It gets worse as well, for there is talk among the Yakuza of rebellion unless a treaty can be made."

"...Go forth and spread this message, tell the Yakuza that the Guardian will deal with the Saisei clan immediately. After you tell them that, go to the head of the Saisei clan and give them this message."

"Sir?"

"Tell their leader Tsubasa Saisei that I wish to meet with him tonight. Tell him that the Guardian wishes to talk peace."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…

At the same time, Tatsu was making his way up a number of flights of stairs, phone in hand and engaged in a conversation "So anyway the last time I checked, I know it was about three weeks ago but still, there hadn't been much luck on the map that my brother found in the head of that demon statue. He does have it hooked up to like seven computers, but it looks like this one is probably gonna take us some time."

"Sounds pretty interesting to me. The map that we found in the Temple of Wisdom wasn't anywhere near as complicated as this one, so maybe this suggests that successive Fangs will be more difficult to find."

"Oh yeah, because having to bribe a chopper pilot to take us all the way to the Arctic, then ski down the side of a mountain and go spelunking until we find the temple embedded into the side of a glacier isn't difficult in the slightest."

"Oh wow, you actually thought that was difficult? Sorry, this is kind of awkward then."

"Yeah sure, whatever you need to tell yourself smartass, but I thrive on the challenge. Anyway I wanted to let you know that as far as research on the Fang goes, tonight isn't really gonna work for me."

"That's fine, tonight didn't work for me either. I have some business to attend to anyway."

"Anything I can help with?"

"You already said yourself that you have things to do, and besides it's just meeting up with one of my uncle's business partners while he's out of the country. What about you?"

"I'm pretty sure I told you about this once already, but it's Moya's birthday today, and I'm helping my brother get his gift ready for her. I'm helping prep her birthday dinner, pulling out all the stops to make sure it's as romantic as possible."

"It's the least you could do, especially if what I've been told about last year was anything to go by."

"Hey in my defense, the gorilla in the cake seemed like a good idea at the time. In any case, to make it up to her I'm gonna make sure that tonight is practically drowning in romance."

"Fair enough. So what's your brother going to give her?"

"The rest of his life."

"One more time?"

"You heard it right, Kazuma is gonna ask Moya to marry him."

"You serious?"

"Well yeah why not, I mean they're 25, Kazuma has a well paying job, he creates blueprints of inventions he comes up with and sells them to big corporations that let him test the prototypes, they're hopelessly in love with each other, the way I see it this is long overdue. I've been there for all of the big moments between the two of them, it's only right that I be here for this one. I'll tell you what though, if this whole thing doesn't earn me the title of best man then I swear I'm gonna riot worse than when I found out Teen Titans Go was a thing. I mean the only competition is Akira."

"On the grounds of?"

"Putting aside the fact that he's my martial arts and kendo teacher, he's also Moya's younger brother by about a year and a half, and he's Kazuma's best friend. But considering who's planning the whole thing, I think I've got a prime opportunity to earn some serious best man points for myself."

"Fair enough. So what do you have planned?"

"Okay, stop and picture this. A romantic candlelit dinner that Arashi is making, a cover of one of the greatest love songs of all time because the guy who sings it refused to come overseas to do this, caviar and champagne, and at the center of it all is a vase, and in that vase lies a single white rose. In that vase is not just a rose, but a single white rose to symbolize how unique their relationship is, hidden in the center of a delicate bouquet of tulips to symbolize the eternal love they share."

"...Damn, I didn't know you had it in you."

"Hey just because I've spent years honing my fighting skills, that doesn't mean it's the only thing I'm good at. Besides, after everything my brother has done for me over the years, making sure that he gets married before me is the least I can do for him. It's why it's been years since the last time I tried to woo Kagome with my romantic prowess." he reached his floor and made his way through the hall as he pulled out the key to his apartment "Well anyway I've gotta go, I've got things to do and so do you. I'll talk to you later." he hung up, opened the door and made his way inside, only to stop at what he was seeing.

What that was happened to be Kazuma, down on one knee in front of Arashi, holding up an engagement ring to him "Will you marry me?"

"Yes, yes, a thousand times yes!" Arashi threw his arms around Kazuma's neck, leading him to be spun around in a hug, only to stop when they noticed Tatsu standing at the doorway, and things quickly became awkward "Uh… Hey."

"Oh. Hi."

"You know guys, just once I'd like to be able to walk into my own apartment and not be freaked the hell out." Tatsu told them dryly.

"I was just having him help me practice for when I ask Moya tonight."

"No I get that, but the point still stands. Once she says yes you just have to pop the champagne, you have a toast for the occasion, then you'll end up having sex on the kitchen floor. Oh and one other thing, please don't have sex on the kitchen floor again."

"I make no promises, but I really do appreciate you guys helping me plan this out."

"Hey after all you've done for me over the years, this is the least I can do. Besides, this is you and Moyako we're talking about. I've been there for all of the big moments for the two of you, like when you saved her at that party, when you asked her out, when you told her you loved her, when you asked her to move in with you… other things that are going to haunt me for as long as I live."

"Yeah sorry about that, we thought you were asleep."

"It's basic physics bro, if the bottom bunk moves then the top bunk moves too."

"You could've called the bottom bunk and then everything would've been fine."

"Considering the two of you literally broke it when you were doing it, that claim has no credit or merit to it whatsoever." Tatsu sat down his bag next to the door and let out a sigh "Holy crap, you're actually getting engaged tonight."

"Yeah… so what are you doing tonight?"

"Well once I finish setting up I'm meeting up with Kagome later, helping her with training and the like, and I've gotta head back through the well to drop off some supplies and pass on some spoils of victory to Inuyasha. Which reminds me…"

"Here." Kazuma handed him some money.

"Thanks. So what about you Arashi?"

"Oh nothing too bad." Arashi rolled his eyes from where he was setting the table "I mean don't get me wrong, I'm more than happy to help you out with this. The only problem is that after this is done, I have to spend the next four hours cramming for school because your dipshit of a business partner left me high and dry!"

"...You wanna provide some context or do you just need someone to bitch to?"

"Both."

"Well you had the first one already, so how about that context I mentioned."

"Alright alright, fine. To make a long story short, we got assigned a report that we had to do for history, so you might wanna get started on that one tomorrow."

"Duly noted."

"Anyway I got paired with Raidou, the paper is due Friday, it's Wednesday in case you weren't keeping track of it, and he just straight up told me that he's gonna be dealing with business for the rest of the week." he let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair "Look I'm trying man, I'm trying really hard to be there for you on this, but I don't know if I can do it anymore."

"Come on dude don't be like that, you know how important it is for me to find the other fangs, and he's a huge help for that. Plus don't forget that he saved me and Kagome from the Noh Mask back when we first met, not to mention he saved you from those demon statues in the Temple of Wisdom. Just give him a chance okay, he just might surprise you."

"...Alright dinner prep is done, I've gotta go cram for school." so Arashi gathered his stuff, and with a simple wave to the two Kamikaze brothers, he took his leave of the apartment.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

At the same time, Kikyo was still doing her new thing of tending to wounded soldiers at some random shrine, only to take notice of the fact that Naraku was spying on her, to which she called him out on having the heart of Onigumo still beating within him, which led to him initiating another plot to destroy her. This particular plot came in the form of unleashing a giant evil Soul Collector that began to devour every soul it came across, including the ones that she was using to sustain her body, forcing her to flee.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

"Okay, we both know I don't have the time or patience for this." Raidou shot a look down at where Shin was meditating in his cell, his patience quickly wearing thin "This is a simple question, you will either answer it or you won't. Tsubasa Saisei is the leader of his clan, his clan threatens the Yakuza, and therefore he's a threat to me, and if something were to happen to me, then no one will ever find you down here. So back to my original question, are you going to tell me about him or not?"

"The true Guardian would not hesitate in doing whatever he had to do in order to get the answers he needs." Shin told him flatly without looking up from his meditation.

"I'll take that as a no." and so Raidou promptly took his leave.

'Enjoy the feelings of power while you can nephew, it's only a matter of time before my men find me down here, and then the mantle will be mine to reclaim.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with Raidou…

Now that that was settled, Raidou made his way into the main area of the antique shop, only to stop when he heard the intercom buzzing, and he rolled his eyes when he saw who was on the screen "Great, it's Arashi." then he held up his phone "He's calling now, this day just keeps getting better. And now he's texting, that's strike three." so he promptly stormed over to the entrance and found Arashi repeatedly tapping on the intercom "Okay first of all, get your hand off of that before you break something. Second of all, I already told you that I can't work on the paper, so do what a normal person would do and let it go."

"Why don't you just-" Arashi cut himself short, then let out a sigh "I'm not here about the stupid paper."

"Come again?"

"I know that you and Tatsu are friends, and I've been kind of an ass to you. I've said a few things that I shouldn't have and… well I just want to apologize."

"Uh… well okay then."

"Look man, Tatsu is my best friend, he has been since we were four. My dad died in a fire when I was about 8, and my mom is way too focused on being a reporter and the like so she isn't around that often. Ever since then I've found myself clinging to Tatsu and his family like glue, and along the way they somewhat became my second family, and I never want anything to happen to hurt any of them, especially him, so it leads to me kind of getting overprotective. I don't want to risk losing him as a friend either, and I know how he's getting close to you and how much he trusts you, so I was just hoping that maybe we could put everything behind us and maybe try being friends ourselves. Even if it means we end up flunking history."
"...Alright fuck it, I'll help you with the stupid paper."

"Wait seriously?"

"But if we're gonna do this then it has to be fast, and it can't be here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

"No way the bastard is gonna pass up on giving me what I'm owed." Inuyasha found himself grumbling as he made his way through the forest to the Bone Eater's Well "The bastard said that he was gonna bring back ramen, I don't have my hands on any ramen." he was about to hop into the well, but stopped when he noticed something 'What the hell, I'm picking up the scent of a demon, a pretty big one too.' it was then that he looked up to see the giant evil soul collector appearing from the forest 'What the hell, a giant soul collector? Is that… Kikyo?"

Sure enough, Kikyo revealed herself as she stumbled out from within the forest and locked eyes with him "Inuyasha…" and then she collapsed, only to be caught by Inuyasha, just as a large horde of Saimyosho revealed themselves.

"Talk to me Kikyo, what happened to you? Great, now I've got Naraku's poisonous insects to deal with. Is this another one of his traps?'

"Where… Where is it?"

"Where is what?" then he looked back up at the giant Soul Collector "Oh. Dammit, Naraku must be trying to get rid of her. There isn't a chance in hell I'm gonna let that happen, I'll never let him get his hands on her again.' so he picked up Kikyo in his arms bridal style and took off running into the forest, with the Soul Collector hot on his heels, forcing him to go on the evasive until he found a good spot where he could lay Kikyo against a tree "Kikyo just stay here and rest easy, I'll take care of that giant demon. I hope you're ready you damn dirty lizard!" so he then charged at the Soul Collector, and with a single stroke he cut it right down the middle, causing it to evaporate into nothing "You went and picked a fight with the wrong dog man, and an even bigger mistake is that you pissed me off. Kikyo couldn't stay alive without the souls inside of her, was that what Naraku was aiming for?'

The death of the Soul Collector released the souls that it had absorbed, returning Kikyo's own souls to her body, and she slowly opened her eyes as her strength returned "Inuyasha… what are you doing here…?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, why did you come here?"

"I was being chased… by a demon sent by Naraku…"

"And you led him here knowing that I was gonna come to rescue you."

"Don't be such a fool Inuyasha, I was running blindly for my life when I just so happened to come upon you." her tone was harsh, and it caused Inuyasha to falter.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

By this point, Kagome had made her way to the Kamikaze residence ready for training, but she entered the living room to find no one there "Hey Tatsu are you there?"

"He'll be out in a minute, he's just getting changed." this was when Moyako made her way into the living room, her beautiful raven locks cascading down her back, while she was clad in a tight, short and sleeveless magenta colored dress that reached the middle of her thighs, hugging every one of her curves "I never got the chance to welcome you back did I Kagome?"

"I just got back today actually, I fell asleep and just got up and ready for when Tatsu takes me on this training regimen of his, but before that I just wanted to stop by and give you these." she held up a pair of black stiletto heels "Happy birthday Moya."

"Thank you, they're beautiful." she took them from Kagome and tried them on "And they're a perfect fit, I'll definitely be wearing these during dinner tonight." she let out a sigh as she sat down on the couch and motioned for Kagome to do the same "It's hard to believe that I've been with Kazuma for almost 10 years."

"Yeah, and actually I was hoping to ask you about something if you didn't mind." she was met with a nod to go ahead "Well what I wanted to know was… how did you know for certain when you fell in love with Kazuma?"

"Oh, I see what this is about." Moya gave a knowing smile, then let out a sigh as she thought back to those days "Well when you realize you love someone, it's just the sort of thing that happens gradually over time. It usually starts with one certain moment, and then it just goes from there I guess. For me, it would have to be our freshman year of high school. We were invited to a party, but then this one guy lured me into a bedroom, and then he…" she took a moment to compose herself, but the message was clear to Kagome.

"You mean he… assaulted you?"

"Tried to force himself on me, yes. He probably would've if Kazuma and Akira hadn't shown up when he did. The two of them didn't hold back against him, but when Kazuma took me into his arms and let me cry into his chest… well I just felt a little bit of a spark I guess. After that, it just progressed from there, and then six months later we started dating."

"Huh. So it only takes one moment then…"

"That was it for me anyway, but I can't speak for everyone else. What brought on a question like that though?"

"Well don't read anything into this, and please don't let tell the others about this, but… I think I might have feelings for Tatsu, but I have no idea how to be sure about it." she suddenly found herself pulled into a hug.

"Don't read into this too much, these things take time. Tatsu is a good soul with a good heart, you just need to figure out your feelings."

"I know I know, I've been told that at least a dozen times this week alone."

"Hey, sorry to keep you waiting." this was when Tatsu made his way into the room clad in his typical blue martial arts gi with both of his swords strapped to his back, only to stop short at what he was seeing "Uh… hey."

"Hey." Kagome shot him a bright smile, only to stop when she noticed that he was looking at her own choice of attire, which consisted of a tight black t-shirt and a pair of considerably short shorts, with her hair tied back in a ponytail "What, you surprised?"

"A little bit."

"Yeah I don't really like to wear these kinds of things too often, but I figured that since we're gonna be training with physical stuff, a kimono wasn't really the best way to go."

"Uh… yeah fair enough." he shook his head a few times to get himself under control 'Come on man you're a professional, don't let yourself get distracted by the C-cup breasts, the hourglass figure, the legs… God dammit! Well we should probably get going, things are gonna get started soon and I think I made it a point to get out of here before they did."

"Yeah good idea, so we gonna head down to the sidewalk?"

"Not a chance, you said you wanted a full workout experience right? Well then we're gonna do it my way."

"Meaning?"

"Out the window for a sprint across the city rooftops."

"...Wow."

"Hey keep in mind that I've been doing this for years, I can confirm for a fact that it's not that bad once you get used to it."

"Fair enough I guess. Speaking of which, I heard Arashi and Raidou got paired together for some kind of history report?"

"Yeah they're supposed to be working on that right now, at least if the last text Arashi sent me is anything to go by. Frankly, I'm just praying to the love of god they don't end up trying to kill each other."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the two that would probably try to kill each other…

By this point, Raidou and Arashi had relocated to a nearby diner to work on their report, and share a few stories along the way "So as you can imagine, that didn't end too well."

"No more than the first duma in Russia by the looks of it." Arashi glanced down at the book in front of him "I mean that bastard of a Czar went and abolished it just because he didn't like what it was suggesting."

"You can't be surprised by that, they demanded too much too fast."

"The release of political prisoners, the empowerment of trade unions and land reforms, in your eyes that's too much for them?"

"In the timeframe they demanded it, yes. It's not just about how much they want, it's about how fast they want it. True lasting change is a gradual process that takes time, it's not something you can rush." then he got an alert on his phone 'Shit, it's almost 9 already? The meeting is going to start soon. Sorry to interrupt this, I'm gonna have to run home for a minute. I have to take care of something with one of my uncle's business partners."

"For what?"

"Just some business I have to handle while he's out of the country."

"You want me to come with you?"

"Calm down, I already said I wasn't gonna bail on you. If all goes well then I'll be back here in a half hour, 45 minutes tops." and so with a simple wave of his hand, he made his way out of the diner.

'...So the bastard just takes off and expects me to sit around doing homework for the next hour while he's doing some kind of shady business he won't tell me about, and he tries to stick me with the check? Not on your life.' and so Arashi took off as well.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few moments later…

'Alright dipstick, where the hell are you going?' Arashi watched as Raidou rounded a corner and tried to follow him, only to stop when he reached an alley and found no one there "Okay, that's some Poltergeist levels of creepy." he continued on through the alley, only to stop when he noticed several cars speeding through the blace 'The symbol on those cars, they look like the ones my mom had in her notes on the Yakuza. Looks to me like this just got a lot more interesting than I thought it would be.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A few more moments later…

"Where is he?" Tsubasa Sasei, the leader of the Saisei clan, a man clad in a mask and a blue kimono with a thick beader and cane in hand, stood at the head of his army, with his own bodyguard at his side and the Yakuza standing opposite of him "Where is the Guardian? I do not like to be kept waiting."

It was a mere moment after this that Guardian appeared before him in a blue flash "Good evening, thank you for accepting my invitation."

"An invitation on your part, and then you have the nerve to arrive late."

"This meeting begins when I say it does Lord Saisei."

"So you claim. Now then, shall we begin with our negotiations, or do you intend to try and intimidate me once again?"

"Lord Saisei." this was when one of his men appeared on the scene before him with the unconscious form of Arashi slung over his shoulder "We found someone snooping around the sight of the meeting."

"Is that so?"

'Dammit Arashi, why couldn't you leave well enough alone?' Guardian could only grit his teeth underneath his helmet as he tried to compose himself.

"I know who this boy is. What is your son's friend doing here? This is the son of a reporter with extensive knowledge on our organizations. Tell me Guardian, what sort of game do you intend to play with me?"

"First of all, he is my son, not my nephew, and unlike you my lord, the Guardian does not play games in his. I will not allow you to attempt to blackmail me in such a manner, and I will not allow an innocent child to be used against the Yakuza. Unlike your clan, we pride ourselves on our honor. Do not forget that you have targeted my nephew in the past, and that is what has pushed us into this war. Is this what you desire, is this how the Saisei broker what your twisted views lead you to call peace?"

"...Very well, so be it." Saisei held up a hand to stop his men from advancing "For now we shall proceed with the meeting, and then I will find out what the boy knows afterwards, and once I do I shall deal with him permanently. Lock him up for the time being." this prompted the nameless ninja to drag Arashi away to a holding cell.

"If that is how it must be, then so be it. But for the time being, I must take this new development into consideration." and so he disappeared via the Dragon Warp.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Now with where he teleported to…

"God dammit!" Raidou appeared in the holding cells and slammed a fist into the side of one of the walls, leaving a noticeable crack in the infrastructure "Arashi you idiot, what the hell were you thinking?"

"The same question could be asked of you nephew." Shin offered his own commentary from where he was meditating in his cell.

"If you're going to mock me then at least make yourself useful. What exactly does Saisei know about the Guardian, has he ever seen you without the helmet?"

"What does that matter, have you not crushed him by now? No? But you are the true Guardian, whereas I am nothing more than a blun instrument."

"Dammit you're useless old man, I'm starting to wonder why I don't just kill you here and now and get it over with." Raidou placed his helmet back on and pulled out his phone 'I have to find a way to get Arashi out of there without getting him killed, but I can't. The Saisei and the Yakuza would suspect something. The way things are going, right now I've only got one option. I need to bring in a third party to save him, someone that's aligned with neither the Saisei or the Yakuza, and has no problems charging in to help a friend. I think I know who to call.' and so he dialed the number.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the kidnapped victim…

"Oh god, my head…" Arashi let out a groan as he came to, only to look around and find himself in a cell "Great, the assholes had to take my phone. Well it could be worse, it's not like I'm in huge trouble yet." he poked his head up through the window of his cell to see the meeting taking place "Let's see, Saisei clan and Yakuza gathered in one place… Yep, I think it's safe to say that I'm pretty much screwed."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the two main protagonists…

"You see for me, there's nothing that gets the blood pumping like a good workout." Tatsu leapt over one rooftop after another, only to stop after a few so Kagome could catch up "So how are you holding up?"

"Burning in my legs… can't breathe…" Kagome ground to a halt when she finally caught up with him, practically gasping for air with each exhausted breath she took "I never… understood how… how insane you… you are to… do stuff like this… every single day…"

"Well if you think it's insane now you're probably gonna try and kick me in the crotch by the time it's over, this is just the warmup."

"The… The warmup?!" Kagome's eyes bulged out of her head when she heard this "We've been at this for two hours!"

"Well that's what we do, training for me and the guys usually lasts four to five hours at a time, and that's on a slow day. You're still okay right?"

"I feel like… like I'm about to puke! How do you deal with this?"

"You just have to get used to it, keep in mind that I've been at this for almost a full decade so I've gotten used to it."

"Easy for you to say, you've got the magic fangs with you."

"Not tonight I don't." he pulled down the top of his gi to show that he wasn't wearing the fangs like he usually did "I left it back in my room, I figured it was only fair."

"It's still insane how you deal with something like this."

"Yeah I thought so too at first, but better than me coddling you and being too overprotective about it right?" before he could get an answer his attention was caught by a vibrating coming from his pocket, to which he pulled out his phone "Blocked numer. Hello?"

"Destiny is going to have to wait, we've got a problem to deal with tonight."

"Talking about destiny is a surefire way to know who this is, so what's up?"

"I don't have a lot of time to go into details, all I can tell you is that one of your friends had to try and stick his nose into something much bigger than he could handle."

"Oh for… Alright, where is he?"

"On the corner of Meiji Dori, and word of warning, be ready for a fight."

"I'm only a block away, I'll be right there so hang tight." and so he hung up and shot a glance over at Kagome "From what I can tell it seems like Arashi got involved in something bad again and I have to go bail him out, just keep with the training regimen and-" he was suddenly cut off by Kagome holding a hand up to him "Um… what are you doing?"

"Tatsu listen, I know what you're going to say." Kagome told him calmly "You want me to stay behind because you know this is going to be dangerous, but that's the exact main reason why you've been training me for the past few weeks, so that I can handle any sort of dangerous situation we come across. So I ask you this, just let me come with you and prove that all of my training wasn't for nothing, like with any training we do in the future." the look in her eyes held hints of desperation, but it was also filled with unwavering resolve.

"...Alright, I get what you're saying. I'll bring you for now, but if it looks like things are going to get bad then you pull out of there, no arguments. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Alright then, we'd better get moving, the fast way." so he promptly took Kagome on his back and started bolting across the rooftops.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the meeting of criminal organizations…

The situation was growing more tense by the minute.

The tension was somewhat broken when Guardian used his Dragon Warp to reappear on the scene before everyone "Let us proceed."

"You try my patience Guardian, even more than usual." Saisei noted calmly.

"You say that as if I am to be concerned."

"And you speak as if you actually wish to start a war."

"Enough. The Saisei clan will not lay down for you, your magic or any of these games in which you appear to find so much amusement. The Saisei clan holds various factions throughout all of Asia, and our presence in the Land of the Rising Sun is inevitable. Unless we are able to come to some sort of agreement, a division of territories, then there will be war."

"Even if we did reach such an agreement, you know as well as I do that it would prove to be temporary at best. In my eyes you obviously wish for this war, but you lack the confidence that you are able to defeat myself and the Yakuza, and so you come to make a false peace."

"Oh please, if I wanted war then my Crimson Blade would be standing over your body before you even realized it. And if you are so confident of victory, then why did you agree to this in the first place?" he was met with silence, until he broke it "Crimson Blade, bring me the boy."

'So he's going to bring Arashi from his cell…'

With a simple jab from the spear Crimson Blade (a masked figure in a red kimono) was wielding, the air ducts above them gave out, and then Arashi himself spilled out and hit the ground with a loud thud "Fuck! Well better the small of the back than the dick I guess."

'Think a stupid thought and then it becomes reality.'

"Kill the boy." was all Saisei needed to say, but just as Crimson Blade prepared to bring down his giant spear…

"Not on my watch asshole!" a sword was suddenly flung through the scene and forced Crimson Blade to retreat before Arashi could be struck down, courtesy of Tatsu as he and Kagome both dropped down onto the scene through an open window "Alright start talking, what the hell is going on-"

"Um, Tatsu? I think we've got a problem." Kagome gestured to the Saisei and Yakuza forces that were gathered on the scene "Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling that we're interrupating something."

"Yeah, that's definitely how it looks right now." Tatsu promptly took her into his arms and started running as a swarm of soldiers from both sides started charging at them, forcing them to go on the evasive "Alright I'm not sure what's going on right now, but whatever the case it's gonna be a lot easier on all of us if you just give up now and-"

"Tatsu get down!" Kagome grabbed him by the hair and yanked him to the ground to avoid a lunge by the Crimson Blade and his spear, whereas she pulled both herself and him to their feet immediately afterwards, leading to the next confrontation taking place "I wasn't expecting to end up fighting a ninja tonight."

"Neither was I, but we've gotta learn to work with." Tatsu took her back onto his back as he watched the Crimson Blade take off out a nearby window, and the two of them promptly followed after him.

'Well… I wasn't expecting that, but when an opportunity presents itself… time to put those acting lessons to use.' Guardian immediately pointed at finger at Saisei "The Saisei clan has sent in young recruits in a fruitless attempt to destroy! Yakuza the time has come, now attack and fight for our honor!"

"What? That is ridiculous, the Crimson Blade-" Saisei was silenced by Guardian using the Fangs to unleash a wave of energy in his direction, which prompted the soldiers from both sides.

During all of the chaos, Arashi had taken the opportunity to find himself a hiding place behind a pile of crates, his mind racing 'Okay do what you were born to do, think fast and make some really stupid choices that may or may not end up getting you killed. Go!' he poked his head around a corner, and then he took off running amidst a volley of shuriken volleys and fist fighting taking place, which forced him to cower in a corner.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the main protagonists…

By this point, Crimson Blade had ceased leading Tatsu and Kagome away from the scene and stopped a short distance away from the warehouse "How typical of the Yakuza, those who are supposed to live and breathe the principles of honor, and yet here they are, sending a few pitiful children to their work for them. Perhaps two more must have their lives be sacrificed in order for them to understand the folly of their ways." he removed the top of his kimono and began to brandish his spear "I suppose that at the very least, I can make sure that the two of you die with honor, out of respect for the courage you show in challenging me." and so he charged forward with his spear in hand.

"Kagome stand back, I can handle this one on my own." Tatsu motioned for her to get back, then drew both of his swords off his back and met the charge, though he was quickly pushed back onto the defensive 'It's been awhile since I've been in a fight that involved straight up martial arts, I guess I'm a little bit rust. Well there's nothing like real world experience to change that for the better!'

"You have an interesting form and a surprisingly well honed technique, and it's rare to see an opponent wield twin katanas in combat." Crimson Blade began dodging and blocking Tatsu's attacks with ease and dealt him a single kick to the chest that sent him hurtling backwards a short distance and knocked one of his swords out of his hands, which caused it to land by Kagome's feet. This gave him the opportunity to grab onto Tatsu's right arm and bring his leg down on it, causing him to cry out in pain as his arm fell limp at his side, and then he threw him into a stack of crates a short distance away.

"TATSU NO!" Kagome could only look on in horror at the sight of Tatsu being thrown around with so much ease, but then she started seeing red, so she grabbed the sword lying by her feet and charged forward at full speed.

"So the faithful heroine joins the fight to avenge her fallen beloved." Crimson Blade readied his spear and began dodged and blocking every sword strike Kagome was aiming at him, and once he found an opportunity he dealt her a sharp kick to the head that sent her crashing to the ground in an instant.

Kagome slowly pulled herself back to her feet, the grip on her sword growing tighter, and she cringed as she felt the new bruise on her jaw 'Okay, that one hurt a lot more than I was expecting it to… No I have to calm down, attacking in a blind rage isn't going to get my anywhere. I have to stay focused.' so she took a deep breath and readied her stance, both hands on her sword, and she began clashing with Crimson Blade once again, her sword against his spear, in which she stomped down on his foot and continued her assault against him, each one of her strokes pushing him further back, until the moment came when she found an opportunity to use a sword strike to knock his spear out of his hand, leaving it embedded into the ground a short distance away from where they were fighting, and then she aimed one final stroke to finish it.

This proved to be a failure when Crimson Blade caught the blade of her sword with his bare hands and used this change to throw the blade aside, and then he dealt her an uppercut palm strike to the jaw that sent her crashing to the ground "You maintained your composure, and you were actually able to knock my weapon out of my grasp. You would be wise to remember this if nothing else girl. From a certain perspective, every battle that you learn from brings you one step closer to achieving total victory."

"Tell that to the blood." Kagome let out a groan as she wiped the blood from her lip and looked up at Crimson Blade as he waltzed towards her "But how…"

"You don't seem to understand it child, though it is obvious. You are green."

"As in…"

"As in the fact you are a novice, an amateur. I can tell just by fighting you, you find yourself surrounded by warriors who have seen more battle in the span of a single night, than you have seen in your entire life. I myself have spent decades training in the arts of battle, and I have trained and studied under the greatest teachers this world has to offer. How could a pathetic child like you possibly-" he was cut off by Kagome's foot spiking up in between his legs, which earned a sickening crunching noise that almost caused his legs to buckle.

"Well I'm a 15 year girl in middle school, I grew up here in Tokyo, and a city girl is definitely not something you want to mess with!" to that end, she gripped her sword and detail Crimson Blade a series of slashes across the chest, and when it was over he fell to the ground with a loud thud, and she let out a sigh "That… That wasn't as easy as I had hoped."

"Like a wise man once said, nothing worth having is gained without effort."

Kagome whipped around and her jaw dropped to find Tatsu nonchalantly making his way over to her, his right arm still dangling limp at his side "What the- But you were- But he-"

"Snapped my arm like a twig and threw me into a pile of crates full of heavy metal stuff like a ragdoll? Yep."

"And you're just shaking it off?!"

"Yeah I could've like 5 minutes ago, but then you went to town on the guy, and it looked like I didn't need to get involved. Based on what I'm seeing now, I was right."

"So you're saying… You faked being almost killed to let me get angry enough to fight a guy and kick him in the crotch?"

"Well the crotch shot was totally unpredictable in my eyes, but I say you should enjoy the win you got this time around. I've gotta admit though, I am a little bit hurt that you thought that after everything we've been through, I would go down so easily after getting something as lowkey as a broken arm." he let out a chuckle, though he was met with an unamused look from her, and he promptly pulled her into a hug with his remaining good arm "You really have gotten a lot stronger Kagome, I'm really proud of you."

"Tatsu, I…" Kagome found herself blushing as she leaned into his chest, but after a moment she was quick to compose herself "Just hold still and let me look at your arm." she formed a series of hand seals, then gripped his wounded arm and started using the Healing Hand on it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, back with the gang war…

'Dammit, this isn't going as well as I had hoped.' Guardian glanced around at the carnage taking place, and then over at where Arashi was hiding in a corner 'Dammit what the hell are those two doing? They were supposed to rescue Arashi, not waste time with the Saisei clan. Fine then, I guess if you want something done right, you'll have to do it yourself.' so he disappeared from the scene via the Dragon Warp, and then as Raidou he made his way back onto the scene on foot, slowly weaving his way around the carnage.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, on the sidelines…

From his place on the sidelines, Saisei watched as Arashi dodged and weaved his way through all of the chaos taking place in an attempt to find an exit "I want you to bring me that boy. He holds great importance to the Dragon Guardian, and whatever the reason for that might be, I want him for myself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the disguised Guardian…

'Come on you idiot, where the hell are you?' Raidou maneuvered his way through the chaos taking place, bodies from both sides littering the grounds, until he saw Arashi fighting off two or three of them at once 'Huh, looks like Tatsu isn't the only one with some impressive skills, at least by the standards of a city boy. Now all I have to do is-'

"Yes I know the police are coming, I can hear the sirens you fool!" Saisei was quick to catch some attention from his place on the sidelines "We won't be staying, just bring me the boy and then we'll be on our way."

'Oh right, him. I see a rifle a few feet away, maybe if I could-'

"Boot to the head!" Arashi suddenly dealt one of the Saisei soldiers an uppercut kick to the jaw that sent him hurtling across the room, only to find himself being tackled to the ground by another one that ended up holding a knife to his throat.

'...God dammit!' making his choice between saving a friend and killing an enemy, Raidou then hurled the rifle at the Saisei soldier, knocking him off of Arashi at the last second, allowing him to help him up "Sorry I took so long."

"Better now than about 5 seconds later if you ask me, thanks for the save."

"Forget about it, it's what friends are for right?" Raidou glanced over in the direction of Saisei, then back to Arashi "You up for beating a criminal leader within an inch of his life?"

"Am I?!" the two of them shared a smirk, then rushed over to Saisei and dealt him two uppercuts to the jaw simultaneously, sending him hurtling into the air and crashing to the ground "Not bad form either."

"You think Tatsu is the only one whose spent the better part of a decade training until his bones shattered like charcoal?"

"Fair enough. Speaking of which, we'd better get him and Higurashi and get the hell out of here before the police arrive."

"Speak the devils' names and they appear." this was when Kagome showed up on the scene, now supporting Tatsu with his arm slung over his shoulder "He only got a broken arm and I got a few bruises, but better safe than sorry." this was followed by police sirens sounding in the distance, which prompted the remaining Yazuka soldiers to disappear from the scene.

"They have the right idea, let's get out of here."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It didn't take long for the police to arrive on the scene, and most of the members of the Saisei clan ended up being arrested.

Tatsu and the others observed the various arrests taking place from where they were hiding on the roof of the warehouse, and then he shot a glance over at Arashi and Raidou "I don't suppose the two of you want to explain to me what the everlasting fuck that was about?"

"Well from what I've been able to gather, Raidou just pulled my ass out of the fire by saving me from the Yakuza and an army of ninjas." Arashi told him "You were right about him, and about what you said to me before."

"I see. Thanks man, I really do owe you one."

"You don't owe me anything." Raidou told him flatly "He was in trouble, any decent person would've done the same. Besides it's like you say, that's what friends are for right?"

"Yeah, yeah they are."

"So how did things go with your brother?"

"Well as a matter of fact, I got a text from him a few minutes ago." Tatsu pulled out his phone and started reading out loud "Just wrapped up the birthday dinner, Akira is in the middle of his cover of When a Man Loves a Woman… and you've got yourself a new sister in law. The bottom line is, she said yes."

"Yes!" Kagome threw her arms around him and pulled him into a hug, only to blush and pull away when she realized what she was doing "Uh… sorry, just heat of the moment and… yeah, that's it."

"Uh… well anyway we'd better get you guys home, then I've gotta run by the convenice store and grab Inuyasha's spoils of victory." and so the four of them started to make their way home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Unfortunately, not all was as well as our heroes would've liked to believe.

The Yakuza soldiers observed the situation from atop the roof of another warehouse "Sir I do not understand, where is the Guardian? He… He left us in the middle of a battle."

"No, that is not the question to ask." the lead soldier told the others "The question is not where the Guardian is, the question is who the Guardian is. Because this man that we have followed in these last few months… this man is not the Guardian."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

"It's been so long…" Inuyasha let out a sigh, his tone sounding somewhat wistful as he gazed up at the Sacred Tree "Over 50 years."

"What was that?" Kikyo shot a glance over at him "What are you thinking about Inuyasha?"

"I was just thinking about how the two of us really haven't changed that much, considering how 50 years have passed."

"Don't talk about such nonsense, you know as well as I do that I've changed a great deal since those days. Since that time long ago, when I myself had sealed you to the Sacred Tree that we find ourselves under now."

"It was because of Naraku deceiving both of us back then that we ended up thinking that we hate each other so much that you ended up sealing me to this tree for 50 years, and then you ended up dying as a result. Be honest with me Kikyo, do you think I've changed? Before I even knew about Naraku's existence and what he did, there wasn't a doubt in my mind that I resented you for what you did to me. But then you told me that my life was yours, and that in turn your life was mine."

Kikyo's eyes widened when she heard this, but then she let out a bitter chuckle "Inuyasha, it seems as though you're not so different from Naraku after all."

"Are you… Are you saying that I'm the same as Naraku?"

"Deep within Naraku, the heart of Onigumo still beats and yearns for my touch."

"The heart of Onigumo?"

"He was the one that desired me, and having me kill you with my own two hands was something that he had always dreamt about, something that his jealous heart had schemed for while he lay in that cave."

"You're saying that he was jealous over something that stupid?"

"Yes, rather foolish isn't it, but that's what mortals are really."

"Kikyo, you say that the heart of Onigumo is still inside Naraku, but does that mean that he has feelings for you too now?"

"He is reluctant to admit it, but I am certain the he has a lingering desire for me, an in an effort to ease that feeling, he's trying to get rid of me." this caused Inuyasha to growl, while a number of souls were thrusted into her body by her Soul Collectors "Now then Inuyasha, I believe we've done enough talking. These souls have fully restored the strength of this body."

"But Kikyo, you don't mean you actually plan to confront Naraku by yourself are you? You know as well as I do that you're not strong enough, and I believe that I might even still be in love with you… It's too much to bear!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…

"For crying out loud, when did this become such a pain in the ass?" Tatsu ended up grumbling to himself as he climbed his way out of the Bone Eater's Well, a large grocery bag in hand 'Life has a seriously weird way of working out for you, if it can be called working out. I can imagine that most 15 year old boys in Japan have enough to deal with. They probably just go to school during the week, study, hang out with their friends and just go through life. But me, I can't just have a normal life can I? I mean take tonight for example, I'm helping my potential future girlfriend with training to fight demons in another era, I go to save two of my friends from being killed during a gang war featuring the Yakuza and some ninja clan I've never heard of, and now to cap all of it off, what I consider to be nothing but a chore is me travelling through a magic well in said future girlfriend's family shrine, using said magic well to travel back in time 500 years to the Feudal Era, to meet up with a half dog demon swordsman and give him two full packs of instant ramen because he won a bet we made over an evil demon sword. How in the fuck did my life get to this point? Well no sense in griping about it now I guess.' he finishe pulling himself out of the well and started making his way through the forest, bag in hand 'I just hope Inuyasha has had enough time to stop griping to himself, but in any case about two dozen cups of ramen should help to calm him down.' it was then that his head snapped up, and he noticed something hovering above him 'Those are Soul Collectors, and this Ki I'm sensing… Kikyo must be nearby. For the love of fuck, the one time I didn't bring my Fangs or swords with me.' and yet he followed after them regardless.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the former lovers…

"But Kikyo, you don't mean you actually plan to confront Naraku by yourself are you? You know as well as I do that you're not strong enough, and I believe that I might even still be in love with you… It's too much to bear!" Inuyasha let out a growl "You know what, I don't give a damn how you feel about me right now, but I swear I won't let Naraku get his hands on you either." he walked up to her and pulled her into a tight embrace.

"Why you… Let go of me!" Kikyo tried to force herself free of Inuyasha's grip, but eventually she relaxed in his arms and returned the embrace 'I… I had forgotten what it felt like to be held in his arms…'

"I will kill Naraku myself, that way you won't have to fight anymore. I will do whatever it takes to protect you."

"Inuyasha…"

"Kikyo… You don't have to leave."

"That's where you're wrong Inuyasha, for I was never meant to be here." her expression softened before him, and it appeared to be somewhat said "Once the threads of fate have been tangled, they can never be undone." and with that, she was hoisted into the air by her Soul Collectors and disappeared into the night sky.

"Kikyo…" unable to do more than watch her leave, Inuyasha gazed up at the night sky, then turned around and started to walk away, only to find Tatsu standing before him 'Tatsu… so he was watching?'

"I… I didn't want to interrupt." Tatsu held up the bag in his hand "Kagome and I are gonna be staying in our time for a few days, I just wanted to come by and drop off your spoils of victory from our little wager, and some medicine and stuff for Sango and the others."

"I see. Let's go then."

"Alright." the two of them started walking back to the village in silence, until Tatsu spoke once again "For what it's worth, I get how you feel. No matter what happened with you guys, no matter how bad it was when you got torn apart, in your eyes she's just… the one for you." that actually got a snort out of Inuyasha.

"The one? You're seriously going with something so fucking sappy?"

"I know how it sounds, but it's from the heart. I want to believe that there's a one for everyone in the world, and whether or not they find it is up to them. What you and Kikyo almost had and still sort of do, what I'm pretty sure Miroku and Sango are going to have at some point, what I know my brother and Moya have. I want that, I really do, and Kagome is the one that I want it with. I keep waiting for it to happen, I guess I'm just… I'm tired of waiting, but for some reason I can never bring myself to make a move."

"...There are some things in life that you can't just spend the whole time waiting for. If you want something then you have to go out and grab hold of it yourself. Don't expect the world to give you hand outs."

"Believe me, I know that all too well. But all the same, this whole thing with Kikyo does raise a certain question. What are you going to do?"

"...You talk a lot more than you should, and chances are it's gonna end up getting you killed one of these days." and so Inuyasha went on ahead, leaving Tatsu to follow after him in silence, though the message was clear.

'It's just like I thought, he has no idea what he's going to do about this… Not that I can blame him for it. After all, in that situation I have no idea what I'd do.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Morning came, and the sun was just rising over the skies above Feudal Japan.

"Alright then, that should be the last of it." Tatsu stood in Kaede's hut and finished laying out supplies for Sango and the others "This stuff here should be enough to act as pain relief and keep anything from getting infected, the same with gauze and bandages. That should be enough to get you guys by for the next few days, so I'll be seeing you."

"You mean you're going back to your own time?" asked Sango.

"I just stopped by to bring you guys some medicine and stuff, Kagome and I are gonna be staying in our time for the next few days. Besides… I think it's safe to say that some of us could use a little bit of time to think to ourselves about some stuff." and with another simple wave, he made his way out of the hut and back towards the well.

"Is he talking about how Inuyasha looked so moody earlier?"

"I can imagine so." Miroku gave a simple nod "And if the lights that I was seeing last night were anything to go by, I can imagine what's making him feel that way. He saw Kikyo last night, and now he feels unsure about what to do. He needs time to sort these feelings out for himself, if he can come to a decision at all."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

"I see." Kagome's face fell as she listened to everything Tatsu was telling her "So that's what happened last night, he saw Kikyo again."

"Yep, and she ended up holding a knife to his throat while she lay in his arms." Tatsu let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair "I could see the look in his eyes, so confused and unsure about what he was supposed to do. He knows that Naraku tore apart any chance they had of being together, but even despite that, even after everything she's done… He still loves her."

"I thought you said that it wasn't true love."

"Just because it's not true love, doesn't mean it's not love. Even if it's something that can never be for real, it doesn't change how he feels. In his eyes, she was… the one. She still is as far as he's concerned."

"The one huh?" Kagome let out a wistful sigh "Sounds so… gooey and romantic. You used to be into that stuff all the time when we were kids, but then you just sort of stopped."

"Yeah I know, my thoughts on just having my one sort of faded after awhile. Actually to be honest, they were always there but I stopped focusing on them. It was around the time my brother and Moya started dating, and I started planning everything for them. I guess I just saw it in them right away. What the two of them have is special, it's something that most people search for their whole lives but never find, and they found it. I just wanted to make sure that they didn't waste it. After everything Kazuma has done for me, this is the least I can do for him."

"So then for your brother, Moya is… the one?"

"Yeah, there's no doubt about that." Tatsu let out a sigh that sounded somewhat wistful "Hey listen Kags, you mind if I be real with you about something? It's something that I've tried not to think about lately, but it just keeps popping into my head."

"Nothing bad is it?"

"No no, it's just… The one. What Kazuma and Moya have, what Inuyasha and Kikyo could've had, what Miroku and Sango are probably going to have… I want that, I really do. Maybe I'm way too young to be thinking about stuff like this, but it's just how I feel. I feel like I'm sick of waiting for it to happen, even if I am only 15, and I guess… I guess I'm just tired of waiting for when it's going to happen, when I keep seeing it happen around me."

"Tatsu…" needless to say, Kagome was left somewhat awestruck by what she was hearing from him.

"Anyway that's all I'm going to say on that subject for the time being. I'd better get going, I've got a date."

"...Come again?"

"That's a joke, I'm heading to the dojo to meet up with Akira."

"Training?"

"Nope, a battle amongst men. He and I agreed to have a sword fight in an hour, the winner gets to be the best man at the wedding. Later." and so with a wave of his hand, Tatsu took off down the stairs of the shrine at full speed.

'Yeah, fighting again… What else is new?' Kagome could only roll her eyes at the sight of his retreating form 'Honestly, part of me thinks it's just fighting, fighting and more fighting all the time with him. You've been training until your bones crack for years, you jump into a fight the first chance you get. Honestly, there's a part of me that wishes you would just give up fighting once and for all.' but then her eyes widened as this thought crossed her mind 'Oh god, when did I turn into someone so horrible and petty? It's true, there's a pretty fair chance that right now I have this horrible look on my face. Even if I hate fighting and violence, I can't just ask him to give up something he loves. I can't let him see me like this, and I can't let this go on any longer than it already has. I've been letting it eat away at me for weeks, but I haven't even tried to figure out how I feel.' so she pulled herself to her feed and started wandering around the grounds of the shrine, and before she knew it, she found herself standing underneath a certain tree 'The Sacred Tree… Yes of course, this is the place, where all of it began I guess. It was 10 years ago, this was where I first met Tatsu. Apparently his dad and my mom were old friends, I guess they went to high school together or something. I went so long without ever realizing it, but all this time, all that he's been doing over the years, training, fighting, protecting, almost getting himself killed every time… all of it was because of me.' she got down on her knees and stared at the ground in front of her 'Tatsu… I can't help but wonder, why did I ever meet him in the first place? If I knew that it was going to cause so much pain, then why did I ever end up laying eyes on him in the first place? I wonder it, but in the end it doesn't even matter.' she gazed up at the tree, the sunlight reflecting off her skin, revealing the tears streaming down his face 'But I still want to see him, to stand by him. I want to see Tatsu, I want to see him smile, see him laugh, see him be happy.' she slowly pulled herself back to her feet and started wiping away the tears she had shed, and then it seemed to dawn upon her 'It seems so clear now… I must be in love with him. Before I had even realized it, I had grown to love him more than anything.'

"Kagome?"

Hearing her name being called, Kagome looked over to see her mother making her way towards her "Mom…" she didn't hesitate to rush into her mother's embrace and start sobbing.

Mrs Higurashi let Kagome let it out and calm down for a few moments, before she sat both of them down next to the tree "Tell me something Kagome. When you get close to the Sacred Tree, do you ever feel a strange kind of power, as if you feel more true to yourself, as is being in its presence somehow makes your heart feel much more pure?"

"Y-Yeah actually, how did you know?"

"Because I've experienced that feeling for myself time and again. As a matter of fact, this is the special place where your father proposed to me."

Kagome's eyes widened slightly when she heard this "Really?"

"And of course I loved him like no other, but the day before he asked me to marry him, we ended up having some silly argument. It had made me seriously doubt if the two of us were truly meant to be together. But the instant I walked under this tree I could feel my mind clear, and I accepted his proposal, which meant I was able to have you and Sota. I know it might sound funny, but I feel grateful to this tree." she pulled Kagome into another hug to comfort her "I won't ask you to say what the problem is, but I have a lot of faith in you Kagome. I know you're a young woman who will ultimately choose the path that you believe to be right."

Kagome couldn't help but smile as she leaned into her mother's embrace "You're the best, thanks mom."

"Anytime."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

"Inuyasha, ye sound so uncertain." Kaede glanced up at Inuyasha from where she was in the middle of gathering herbs "Are ye really sure you'll want to go through with this?"

"Oh spare me Kaede, I'm in no mood for dealing with any of that crap." Inuyasha let out a loud scoff "I've already gotten an earful from the others, I don't need it from you too."

"Keep in mind that the Kikyo ye speak of now was conjured up from earth and bones, ye wish to be with someone who's not of this world."

'So she says. Her body may be different, but her spirit still remains, I can feel it.'

"Do ye fully appreciate the implications? The two of ye will never be able to be together in this world. Deep down, what this resurrected form of my sister wants is for both of ye to be claimed by death together."

"That's fine by me, I'm fully prepared to jump straight into hell with Kikyo if that's what she wants me to do. If that's to be our destiny, then I'd embrace it without a second thought. But before I can do that, I have to kill Naraku. That has to come first, at least for now."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

Hours passed by, and the school day was in full swing.

Tatsu stood on the roof of the school building, leaning against the railing gazing out at the daytime sky 'It's hard to believe how much things have changed for me over the past few months.'

"Hey."

Tatsu glanced back to see Kagome making her way up to him, a lunchbox in hand "Oh, hey. I was wondering when you were gonna show."

"I had to work my way around Ayumi and the others. How did things go with Akira?"

"It was a tough one but I managed to pull through, yours truly is the best man and he's gonna be the head usher."

"Nice. So what did your grandpa say to the school about your absence this time?"

"Oh nothing too bad, just something about some strange rash all over my body. I guess he's just about run out of diseases. Speaking of which I've wanted to ask for awhile, what sort of excuse do you use for school when we're off in the Feudal Era?"

"Oh that's an easy one, I just have Moya call in and say that I accidentally ate some of my brother's cooking. That's enough to get me out of school for months at a time. You know if you want, I could probably talk your grandpa into going with that next time if you want."

"Well better that than telling people one of his incantations ended up taking away my ability to reproduce." this was met with a raised eyebrow "I don't know anymore with you do, and frankly I don't want to know."

"You have my utmost condolences." the two of them shared a laugh, though he cut himself short when he noticed the misty look in her eyes "You alright? You seem kind of out of it."

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. I've just been doing some serious thinking today. About what you said to me this morning, about how you wanted to find your one like Moya and Kazuma did, and just be with her. I understand how you feel, and on some level, I want it too. I want to believe that everyone wants to be with their one, but so few people ever really do find it. It's something really special, something rare and real, good and true. I want to believe I have a one waiting for me out there somewhere, and that you have a one out there too. It could be somewhere far away, it could be right next to you. I know how it feels to be tired of waiting, and I know that both of us will probably have to wait a little while longer, but they're on their way Tatsu. They're on their way for both of us." she latched onto his arm and started resting her head on his shoulder, a small smile creeping onto her face as she started resting against him 'There's one thing that I've always known for certain with you Tatsu, whether I realized it or not. You and I meeting when we were little, growing up together, growing stronger together in body and spirit, none of it has been a coincidence. It's so much more than that. I know that with every fiber of my being, and I'm sure that you know it too. I want you to be happy Tatsu, I want you to laugh a lot, and I want to see your smile that's kept me going through so many hard times. I don't know what's going to come next, and frankly I don't care. I just know that whatever does happen, I'm always going to be by your side. Because I love you Tatsu, I truly do.'

A/N:

Now this is definitely an important chapter. Putting aside how we see Koga pop up in his own search for Naraku, which leads to him and Tatsu teaming up against the likes of Naraku's newest incarnations, and then it transitions to more of a breather chapter, which focuses on growing relationships and feelings for our characters, whether in the Feudal Era or modern times.

One thing I think is worth noting is that Koga didn't run away from Juromaru in this version. I know that's one of the reasons why fans claim he's a coward, but I more blame that on the writing than on him. I don't think Koga is a coward, I never really did. For me, he was just a character with so much potential that got pretty much squandered. I mean in almost every shounen anime I've watched up until this point, I can name at least one character from each of them that has so much potential, but ended up being screwed over by poor choices from the writer at one point or another, and as a result they became secondary characters at most. The most prominent examples I can think of include would be Chad from Bleach, Rock Lee from Naruto, too many characters too count from Dragon Ball (but all of them are non-Saiyans), Gajeel from Fairy Tail to a lesser extent, and for Inuyasha it would have to be Koga. To put it in simple terms, he's got a ton of wasted potential, and I'm going to make sure it gets realized in this story.

So yes, the second half of this chapter mainly focuses on developing relationships, whether they be from a romantic standpoint or just regular friendships. Examples of this include the following:

For starters, developing the relationships between Arashi and Raidou, mainly by giving the former some more depth and having the latter get to know him better than before. One thing I never really approved of is how Kagome's friends from the Modern Era (⅔ of them at least) don't really have that much depth going for them, or really do much aside from interrogate her about her lovelife. I'm not going to be making the same mistake with Tatsu's friends and family.

Next up is showing off Inuyasha's feelings towards Kikyo, and how much he still cares about her despite everything that's happened. Yeah, I think it's safe to say that he's gotten his fair share of grief over this, but without the whole love triangle to screw things up, I think the others would be more sympathetic towards him. Plus the incidents where he gets the short end of the stick over this, I just blame on bad writing on Takahashi's part. But that's on the writer, not the characters, so I don't think it's fair to blame them for this.

Lastly, the most important development comes towards the end where, waiting for the drumroll… Kagome finally realizes that she's in love with Tatsu! They're not going to get together right away though, because if that were the case, then it wouldn't be a shounen anime would it? Of course they're not going to take anywhere near as long as Kagome and Inuyasha did in canon, so we don't have to wait for over 100 episodes worth of chapters before that happens. Just be patient, it will come soon enough.