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.

21. Enter the Backlash Wave

(Enter the Backlash Wave)

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

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A few days had gone by since the incident with Kohaku, and recovery was rather slow going for the group.

'I can't believe this…' Sango glanced down at where Miroku was resting in the hut they were residing in, her mind drifting 'Inuyasha told me what happened when Kagome and I went off to search for Kohaku. You knew how risky and dangerous it was, but you used your Wind Tunnel to get all of the demons, and you fought them off with everything you had. You did that, but I was about to kill myself, and if Inuyasha and the others hadn't shown up when they did, then I would've gone through with it.' this was when a groan drew her attention, and she glanced down at him "I'm so sorry about this Miroku, if it wasn't for me then you would never have had to drawn in those poison insects."

"Sango… come here…" Miroku slowly opened his eyes, which prompted her to lean in closer to him.

"What is it?"

"You shouldn't try to look so sad… There's still hope for Kohaku… Please just have faith in me, and keep smiling… I prefer it when you smile…"

"I… I will, and thank you." Sango gave a small smile, but then it faltered into an expression of worry when she saw his eyes close again "Miroku say something to me, please just hang on, I don't want to lose you too!" but then she felt a hand touching a certain part of her, and the moment was ruined, if not by that, then by the loud crashing noise that followed.

"Hey Sango, we brought some more water!" this was when Shippo and Kirara came rushing in with a few canisters of water in hand, only to see Miroku comically twitching on the ground with a large bump on his head "So how is Miroku doing?"

"Well if this is anything to go by, I think he's going to be fine. I think Kagome and the others are out training right now."

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Meanwhile, with the love interests (and Inuyasha)…

Despite the rather downcast mood, training was continuing onwards, with Kagome engaged in a sparring match with Tatsu "So you were right, I guess whether it be swordfighting or fighting with any kind of weapon, sweeping the leg is an actual thing."

"It's like I told you, Dragon Prince discredited that claim awhile ago." Tatsu told her as he used his swords to block a strike of her Seishin Rozu, then blitzed around to get behind her, holding a sword at her throat "But at the same time, sweeping the leg isn't the only trick that swordsman can use in a fight. Let them get behind you and it's all over. So what do you do?"

"I…" Kagome let out a groan of frustration "I yield."

"That's one option." Tatsu promptly sheathed his swords and walked around in front of her "Tell me something though, why did you give up so easily?"

"You had a sword at my throat, it wasn't like there was anything I could do."

"That's where you're wrong, in a fight there's always something you can do. If you can't win a fight through power or skill, then win through creativity. Observe. Inuyasha get over here and grab me from behind, I need to make a point."

"For fuck's sake…" Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but he complied regardless and grabbed Tatsu by the waits from behind.

"You see Kagome, the key is to find a way to get your opponent off balance."

"But how do I do that?" asked Kagome.

"In any way you can, and this is where the element of creativity comes into play. Case and point, you could do something like this." Tatsu then turned until he was face to face with Inuyasha, and he let out a long deep breath.

Inuyasha's eyes widened and his face crinkled in disgust, and then he shoved Tatsu away as he covered his face in agony "That's so fucking sick, why the hell would you-" he was promptly cut off by Tatsu sweeping his legs out from under him, leaving him to fall flat on his face and hit the ground with a thud.

"I did it to prove a point, that being that even when you think you don't have a chance, there's always a way to get out of a situation." Tatsu then turned towards Kagome "Like I was saying, the key is to find a way to get your opponent off balance."

"Does it really have to be… that though?" Kagome cringled slightly as she thought back to what she saw.

"Not necessarily, it just has to be something they wouldn't expect you to do. You just have to catch them off guard and then use the opening that makes. In any case it's all for the sake of ensuring that you fulfill the most important goal of any warrior who has something that they want to protect: To come back alive. Now if you'll excuse me, I should probably go and brush my teeth. I'll be down by the river if you need me." and so he promptly took his leave.

"Well that was… kind of weird to be honest."

"At least you didn't have his breath in your face. Is his breath really that bad?"

"Like you've got room to whine about that." Inuyasha picked himself up and tried to use his robe to snuff out the stench "Word to the wise, being half demon means that you have a stronger nose than a normal human like you, and that means it's so fucking much worse!"

"Yeah, I'm starting to get that idea. You gonna be okay?"

"Give me a minute and I'll shake it off. Speaking of giving shit a minute, you gonna fess up to him anytime soon or am I gonna have to watch you pussyfoot around him?"

"...You know about that?" she was met with a raised eyebrow, and so she let out a sigh and hung her head "Yeah you got me, I'm in love with him and I feel like such a fool for not realizing it before now. Are you happy now?"

"I haven't been happy since before you stuck these stupid things on me." he jerked a thumb at the Beads of Subjugation he was forced to wear around his neck.

"Oh come on, I don't say it that often."

"You say it often enough to piss me off."

'It's not like that's really hard. It's not like I do it just because I can, it's really only when you get too out of control."

"You mean when your pet wolf shows his face?"

"Because whenever Koga shows up you're out for blood, and even then it's not like I do it because I've got some kind of secret crush on him. And besides, even without Koga in the picture it still helps to calm you down whenever you-" she cut herself short by slapping a hand over her mouth.

"Whenever I what?"

"...Nevermind, just forget I say anything." Kagome cringed and looked away 'Yeah that's right, none of us told him about how his demon blood goes out of control whenver he lets go of his sword and his life is in danger. We thought it was better to keep him in the dark, but I'm starting to wonder if that was really a good idea. But putting that aside, you really have done a lot of growing up."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I mean you saved Kohaku's life back there, you could've killed him but you didn't."

"It's like I told you and the others, kiling the kid would've made Naraku happy, and letting him live would've pissed him off, so I let the kid live for now. If we can manage to get the kid back alive, that's definitely gonna piss him off even further."

'Putting on an act again, that's so typical of him. He really has changed a lot though, since we first met him.'

"Is this a bad time?" this was when Sango made her way over to the two of them.

"Not really, I just finished up training with Tatsu. What's up, how's Miroku doing?"

"Well enough to be him, so that's promising. But anyway I just wanted to thank the two of you, and thank Tatsu as well."

"Thank us for what?"

"I thought it was obvious, for staying with me."

"Well of course we're staying with you, that's what friends are for right?"

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At the same time, as a result of the encounter with Inuyasha's group and the events that had taken place because of it, Sesshomaru and his group (Rin, Jaken and Ah-Un) had made their way to a certain forest to meet an old friend of his: Bokuseno, one of the Great Dog Demon's vassals, a 2000 year old Magnolia tree, whose bark was used to forge the sheaths of the Tessaia and the Tenseiga.

Once they had arrived, Sesshomaru got down to business by asking about Inuyasha, and how his scent had changed to that of a pure demon. Bokuseno went on to explain that there would be times when Inuyasha would be overcome by his demonic blood, where it would take over out of self preservation. However, the more often Inuyasha transformed, the more his blood would take control of him, and it would eventually turn him into a mindless killer that would know only bloodlust. Knowing the risks of this, the Great Dog Demon had given the Tessaiga to Inuyasha when he died, in order to protect him from the demon blood coursing through his veins.

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Another few days went by, and once Miroku had fully recovered, the group had continued on with their journey.

While the group was making their way along the path, Tatsu and Kagome were engaged in a rather interesting conversation "So yeah, ever since I told your brother about these Fangs he's been coming up with all sorts of ideas for me to use anime techniques to create new attacks for me to use in fights."

"Yeah I know, Sota told me about that awhile ago." Kagome told him "But based on what else he's told me, a lot of the anime you guys watch have elemental powers and stuff, like earth or water, fire or air and stuff like that. He only mentioned one that had spiritual powers in it, and he says I've already done that one."

"Oh you have, those times you cut down Naraku's puppet, purified Kagura's demonic wind and cut down Kanna's mirror, you basically did Ichigo's Getsuga Tensho in Bleach. Most of the other attacks I've seen involve hand to hand combat, like claws or fists, which I don't really see you doing in a fight. No offense."

"None taken, I'm not the kind of girl that wants to slam my fist into something."

"When you're training yourself for a battle, the key to honing your skills properly is to make sure you do it and ensure that the abilities at your command suit your style. You might not be the hand to hand type, but your skills with a sword are definitely nothing to scoff at. Even with all of your training in the meeting of the minds you're progressing at least twice as fast as I did, and that's not counting all of the stuff revolving around your spiritual power."

"So you're thinking sword based energy blasts then?"

"Yep, and I've got the perfect place for you to start." he held up a notebook "You're gonna be taking a few pages from the notebook of one Erza Scarlet herself." their conversation was cut short by the sound of a scream in the distance "What the hell was that?"

"Sounds like it came from over there." Kagome glanced back to see a young boy running along the path in their direction "What's the matter?"

"It's my grandpa!" the boy screeched to a stop in front of them "Please, you have to help him!"

"Is it some kind of demon? Where's the old man, where did the demon get to." Inuyasha then took off without waiting for any sort of explanation.

"My grandpa might be really hurt."

"Don't worry, Inuyasha's got his moments but he's tough. Whatever demon is attacking your grandpa, he can handle it." Tatsu told him.

"But it's not a demon."

"...Come again?"

"I never said anything about a demon, it's just that my grandpa fell and now he can't get back up without help, and I'm not strong enough."

"Oh. Well I can tell Inuyasha's not gonna be happy about this."

"He wouldn't just leave a defenseless old man whose hurt." Sango pointed out "It's not like he's heartless."

"I know he wouldn't leave the old man, but knowing him there's a pretty high chance he's gonna gripe about it the entire way."

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Now to prove Tatsu right…

"How the fuck do I end up in these situations?" sure enough, Inuyasha didn't waste any time in griping about his situation as he carried the old man on his back "I thought there was some kind of demon attacking, but no. You got me all worked up over nothing."

"To be fair, the boy never said there was a demon." Kagome pointed out.

"He never said there wasn't either."

"Well in any case, it's such a good thing you and your friends showed up when you did." the old man gave a small smile "I can't thank you enough lad, I twisted my ankle when I fell overand now you're even carting me back to my village."

"Yeah yeah."

"No need to worry about it good sir, because as fortune would have it, your village is more or less on the way. Isn't that right Inuyasha?" despite the smile he was giving off, Miroku was met with a low growl from Inuyasha.

"Well in any case, I certainly am indebted to you and your friends."

"Yeah yeah, just keep quiet and keep your head down old man."

"Hey look I see it, that's the village up ahead!" Shippo, from his place riding in the basket in the front of Kagome's bike, pointed ahead to where the village lay in front of them a short distance away.

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A few minutes later…

Once they arrived at the village, it didn't take long for Kagome and the others to help the boy and his grandfather get settled "You two make sure to take care alright?"

"Aye, thank you lady!" the boy gave a grin "You too Mr Dog Man!"

'Oh boy…'

"...Dog man?" Inuyasha didn't waste any time in sprouting a tic mark.

"Come on Inuyasha, he meant it as a compliment."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, and as thanks I'm going to give you my treasure." the boy went up to Inuyasha and placed something in his hand "Bye, thanks again." and then he took off after his grandfather.

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me."

"So what did the kid give you?" asked Tatsu.

"He gave me a molted snakeskin."

"Oh wow, just what you always wanted."

"Shut your hole if you don't want me to lodge Tessaiga up your ass."

"Hey if you don't want it then just give it to Shippo."

"Yeah!" Shippo suddenly latched onto Inuyasha's arm "If you don't want the thing then can I have it? Please?"

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About two hours passed, and the group had continued on their way.

"Well that's just fucking typical." Inuyasha scowled as he watching Shippo playing around with the molted snakeskin "At least someone got something useful out of this. We don't have time to go around saving people and solving every little problem."

"Hey it's not like we went out of our way or anything." Tatsu pointed out "Besides, whenever we force you to do something nice you end up griping about it afterwards."

"Yeah well, that's because I-" Inuyasha cut himself short and stopped in his tracks "Are you picking up any of that stuff you sense?"

"You mean Ki? I need to check around for a minute, why do you ask?"

"I'm picking up the scent of human blood, lots of it, in that direction." they glanced over to where plumes of smoke were rising up in the distance "That's the village where we just left the kid and his grandfather."

"Plus where there's smoke there's fire, and now I'm picking up a lot of Ki in that direction. One of them feels like a demon. There's another one coming our way too, it feels like the kid."

"We don't have time to wait for him."

"For once we agree. Kagome you and the others see the kid and figure out what happened, I'm gonna go on ahead with Inuyasha and try to do some damage control." so without waiting for a response, he grabbed Inuyasha by the shoulder and the two of them disappeared via the Dragon Warp.

"We don't have any time to waste, let's move!" Kagome didn't waste a second in taking off down the path on her bike in the direction of the village, with Miroku and Sango following close behind her, but she soon screeched to a halt when she saw the boy stumbling along the path in their direction, with an arrow sticking out of his shoulder "There he is!"

"Please, you have to help…" the boy finally collapsed forward as his strength gave out, though he was caught by Kagome and gently lowered to the ground.

"It's gonna be alright, you're safe now."

"Gramps and the others… so many of them… they're gone…"

"I know, but it's going to be okay." to that end, Kagome formed a series of hand seals and started using her Healing Hand on the boy.

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The scene in the village was an awful one.

As it turns out, a sizeable group of bandits had taken it upon themselves to slaughter a number of the villagers and set the village itself ablaze, all of it it with sadistic glee "This village will suit us well, we can camp out here until the food runs out. The women are to assemble in one place, and don't even think about trying to escape." this caused the surviving women to start cowering in fear.

This was when a blue flash appeared on the scene, revealing Tatsu and Inuyasha in its place, and they looked around at the scene "Shit… we're too late."

"Nothing but filthy bandits, they're gonna pay for this." Inuyasha promptly drew Tessaiga and brought down the blade, unleashing a shockwave that sent a number of bandits flying back as a result "Forget about these pathetic small fry later, tell us where your leader is and we might not hurt you too badly."

"These assholes have strength in numbers but not much else, but if the Ki I'm sensing in the crowd is anything to go by…"

"I can smell it too, there's a demon hiding among them."

"Probably the one with the biggest weapon and talks the most and loudest." this was followed by a loud barking laugh.

"For once I agree with you."

Sure enough, the leader decided to reveal himself to them- a demon called Gatenmaru, but he had the appearance of a human, mounted on the back of a horse and carrying a large battle axe "I have to say little man, that sword you brandish is most interesting."

"So you're the demon whose foul stench I've been picking up, you're really resorting to taming a pack of pathetic bandits are you?"

'So he was able to figure it out, he must be a dog demon and his sense of smell was able to discern it with ease. Let me say this now little man, hand over that sword that you carry, and I might be willing to let you and your friend live."

"What the hell are you going on about?"

"Word to the wise man, watch yourself with this one." Tatsu told him "You know as well as I do that you haven't gotten over your little problem."

"And you know as well as I do that if you keep bringing that up, I'm gonna take this sword and cram it down your throat!"

"Enough of the bravado." Gatenmaru gave a smirk that grew wider by the second "So be it little man, if you won't hand it over then I'll have no choice but to take it from you by force, and end your worthless life in the process."

"I'd like to see you try, if you think you can."

'Dammit, he's getting in over his head again.' Tatsu could only grit his teeth at the typical sight that was Inuyasha picking a fight 'Normally a guy like this wouldn't be a problem, even with one Fang I'd be able to take this guy down in a few minutes. Inuyasha is tough as it is, but the big problem is that he can't use Tessaiga properly since it's still to heavy for him.'

"Tatsu don't even think about interfering, I meant what I said about lodging my sword down your throat. Just take care of these wastes of space, I'm gonna take on the demon myself and cut the hide right off his back!" without waiting for a reply, Inuyasha charged at Gatenmaru and brought down the Tessaga.

"I'm not so easily felled I'll have you know." Gatenmaru attempted to stop Tessaiga using his battle axe, but the sheer power of the blade was enough to split the axe in two and force him to retreat back a short distance 'With just one stroke that sword was able to split my weapon apart so easily.'

"You'd better start preparing for when I lop off your head."

"So it would seem. I'll take care of this one men, you focus on his human companion. If he has anything of value take it from him, and kill him nice and slow." Gatenmaru gave a simple wave of his hand, and that sent his men charging off.

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Meanwhile, with Tatsu…

'You'd better be right about being able to handle this Inuyasha, or I'm never gonna let you live it down. ' to that end, Tatsu gave one last glance to where Inuyasha was fighting Gatenmaru and easily pushing him back, despite the extra weight of the Tessaiga, and then he turned to where the large number of bandits were closing in on him from every side, swords and spears pointed at his head 'None of these guys are anything special, but just in case a little bit of extra artillery could never hurt.' to that end, he summoned two iron clubs in his hands, and then he charged at his attempted assailants, letting a series of kicks and blows from his staff fly

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Meanwhile, with Inuyasha vs Gatenmaru…

'This isn't going as well as I had hoped.' Gatenmaru suddenly found himself forced down onto one knee with Inuyasha looming over him "That's a mighty sharp sword, you have more skill with it than was expecting."

"Give me a minute to lodge this thing into your skull, and you'll see just how good with it I really am." Inuyasha pointed Tessaiga at him and prepared to charge forward.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that, I need a shield for myself." to that end, he quickly grabbed hold of one of the surviving village women and hurled her forward.

'Shit!' Inuyasha was forced to stop his attack and throw the woman out of his way, only to be hit with a small blast of Gatenmaru's breath, leaving a large burn mark across his face "What the fuck is this?"

"Even if your skin is too tough for me to make an actual wound with my breath attack alone, all my poison needs to do is make contact to start seeping through your body." he then proceeded to deal Inuyasha a would to the stomach using his battle axe, sending an even greater amount of poison into his body "But when I actually can make a flesh would, it means that your body will be eradicated all the faster, which suits me just fine."

"So what, it's not gonna stop me!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth, despite the pain of his wounds, and brought down the Tessaiga once again, forcing Gatenmaru to dodge the strike.

"That sword is amazing, everything you do with it just makes me want it more, and I always get what I want." and then Gatenmaru proceeded to vomit out a white substance from his mouth that began to swarm around Inuyasha.

"Sea Dragon's Cradle!" Tatsu blitzed in front of Inuyasha via the Dragon Warp and then went on to surround both of them with a sphere of water right before the white substance formed a cocoon around them, trapping both of them inside and leaving Tessaiga

"So he jumped in at the last second in a desperate attempt to save his comrade. Such a noble and pointless sacrifice, but at least now the two of them are out of my way." it was then that he turned to the rest of his men, those that hadn't been taken down by Tatsu "Is something the matter, do you fear me now that you know I am a demon?" he was met with silence "I'm going to take that as you have no problems with it and you'll continue to follow me. After all, who wouldn't desire a powerful demon as their leader? Oh and word of advice, don't get too close to the poison cocoon I have those fools trapped in. One touch is all you need to have the flesh melted off of your bones. The two of them inside will have completely melted away by now, and if not, then they will soon." but then he looked forward and frowned "So they're still alive then? Oh I see, the human warrior possesses some form of unique powers, and he's created a water-based barrier on the inside to protect them. Now then, fetch the sword for me."

"Yes sir." one of the bandits picked up the Tessaiga and handed it to Gatenmaru "Here you are then chief."

"Excellent, now the power of the sword is mine." Gatenmaru reached to grab hold of the Tessaiga, only to cry out in pain as a surge of energy burned his hand "What is the meaning of this, why is it that this sword rejects me? That pathetic little man inside was able to wield it, and you had no problems with grabbing hold of it, so why me?" he frowned for a moment, and then he gave a smirk "Oh I see, very interesting little man. You're nothing more than a half demon aren't you? How utterly amusing, a half demon and a human warrior like the two of you had the gall to pick a fight with me, the demon Gatenmaru."

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Meanwhile, inside the cocoon…

"Great, trapped in here and having to listen to this guy droning on. Not how I thought this day was gonna go." Tatsu let out a groan as he continued to keep his hold on the Sea Dragon's Cradle surrounding the two of them, and he glanced down at Inuyasha "How are you holding up, can you move at all?"

"What the fuck do you think? A few sweeps of my claws are all I need to rip this stupid thing apart." Inuyasha tried to lurch forward, only to cry out in pain and freeze in place "What… What the hell…"

"You can't move can you? Dammit, it's gotta be that poison he hit you with. Bottom line, if I had to guess then we can't count on you to get us out of this."

"What about… your teleport thing?"

"The Dragon Warp is a very delicate technique. Putting aside the fact that I can only use it to go places I've got before, it uses a lot of energy and I can't use it at the same time as I use any of my other techniques, like the water barrier that's keeping us from being dissolved into puddles of fucking goo."

"But I've seen you use… two powers at a time…"

"That I can do, but not if one of them is like the Dragon Warp. But two abilities at a time, that does give me an idea." Tatsu held out one hand and summoned an iron club, earning a raised eyebrow from Inuyasha "I can still hold my Sea Dragon's Cradle with one hand, but not for very long."

"So what are you… gonna do?"

"I can use an iron club and channel it full of enough energy to create a boomstick that will blow this thing apart and set us free."

"You want to blow us up?!"

"I can protect us both from the explosion, at least to a certain extent, and at least we'll be free and ready to kick some ass. It's either that or sit here and wait for my strength to give out, and for this thing and his poison to kill us both. Which option would you pick?" the two of them locked eyes, a tense silence overtaking them, except for the sound of Tatsu covering his body in his usual iron dragon scales.

"...Do it."

"Okay. Brace yourself." Tatsu positioned the iron club behind his back while he promptly grabbed hold of Inuyasha from behind, and he coated the club with energy "Get ready, it's gonna blow in three… two… one." and cue the explosion, which promptly blew the poison cocoon to bits and scattered its pieces around the area, and when it was over, the two of them lay sprawled out on the ground, covered in burns across their bodies.

Gatenmaru could only watch the scene with sadistic glee "The pathetic fools, they make such a desperate bid to free themselves, and yet it ends up being what kills them. The irony is both painful and delicious."

"Don't count on that just yet bastard." Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet, with the burnt form of Inuyasha in his arms, and he gently set him down on the ground a short distance away "If you think something like that would be able to kill either of us, then you sure as hell don't know who you're messing with."

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Meanwhile, with the others…

"This is bad, I've got a really bad feeling about this." Kagome sped down her path on her bike as fast as she could, her mind racing 'I could feel something going on from that village, and if the Ki I felt is anything to go by, there's at least one demon at that village. Normally I wouldn't worry about it, both Tatsu and Inuyasha are there and they can take care of themselves, but they're taking way longer than they should've. Something bad must have happened in the village, and then there was that explosion… Sango, you and the others stay with the boy, I'm going on ahead to the village to see what's going on."

"Are you sure it's wise to go alone?" asked Miroku.

"Was it wise for Tatsu and Inuyasha to go alone? Anyway I don't have time to argue with you about this, I'll see you guys there.

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Meanwhile, with the two main fighters…

"Don't count on that just yet bastard." Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet, with the burnt form of Inuyasha in his arms, and he gently set him down on the ground a short distance away "If you think something like that would be able to kill either of us, then you sure as hell don't know who you're messing with."

"Is that so?" Gatenmaru's smirk only widened as he brandished his battle axe "Well then why don't you show me then, if you believe yourself to be able. First I'll kill you, then that pathetic half demon over there, and then I'll help myself to enjoying some of the women left behind from this village.

'Even though I protected him from the explosion as much as I could, Inuyasha got some pretty bad burns, and the bleeding from his wounds hasn't stopped either. It's probably because of the poison in his system. I'm going to have to end this fast.'

'Damn him… Damn him to hell…' Inuyasha lay on the ground growling in pain, almost no one noticing his eyes starting to flicker red, his canine features becoming more profound.

'Inuyasha…'

"Tatsu!" it was at this moment that Kagome skidded onto the scene on her bike, armed with her sword and her bow and arrows, with Sango and the others following right behind her "Are you guys alright?"

"We've been better, what are you guys doing here?"

"You and Inuyasha were taking so long to get back that we came to check on you." this was followed by the boy rushing to the side of his grandfather, where he lay sprawled out on the ground with his face down "Is he…"

"I don't sense any Ki coming from him, so…" he glanced back at how horrified and saddened she looked, and he let out a sigh "All I can say is that these guys have to be taken down, and they have to be taken down now. Get back onto the sidelines, Inuyasha needs you right now."

"...Right." to that end, Kagome quickly rushed towards Inuyahsa's side and started working to heal his wounds.

"Miroku, Sango, are you two with me?"

"Absolutely." Miroku and Sango promptly stepped up to the plate by his side, only for the two of them to suddenly be mounted by Kirara and taken into the air.

'When the time is right, get him with a strong aerial attack. You told me before that your name was Gatenmaru right? I think it's about time for us to end this."

"So it would seem." Gatenmaru promptly stepped up to him, the malicious smirk across his face growing wider "You amuse me human, as did your dead half demon companion over there, but the show is over." to that end, he then proceeded to transform, revealing his true form as a massive moth demon "You are no more than a pathetic human, you could never hope to defeat me, the great demon Gatenmaru!"

"I think we'll see about that soon enough."

"I've had enough of your arrogance, now DIE!" in his rage, Gatenmaru fired a barrage of projectiles from his wings.

"Sea God's Shield!" Tatsu summoned a barrage of water shields around the area to protect everyone else from the projectiles, while he used a number of them as stepping stoned to leap around through the air and avoid being hit by them.

"Poison Cyclone!" Gatenmaru waved his wings and summoned a cyclone made of his poisonous dust.

"Sango now!"

"Hiraikotsu!" this was when Sango and Miroku hurtled downwards on Kirara's back, and the former attacked with Hiraikotsu, the force of which was able to cut clean through the poison cyclone and dissipate it 'Normally the Hiraikotsu wouldn't be able to work against a wind-based attack, but if I can attack it from the top of the cyclone then one solid attack is able to dissipate it without too much of a problem.'

"I'm gonna prep one final attack, Miroku you try and weaken him while I get it ready. Tectonic Uprsing!" Tatsu summoned an earth pillar beneath his feet to propel himself into the air.

"Kirara, Sango you two stay here." with a deep breath, Miroku leapt off of Kirara's back and hurtled himself towards Gatenmaru with his staff pointed forward 'It's too risky to use my Wind Tunnel with so many innocents around, but my Wind Tunnel is far from the only weapon I'm able to use!' so he brought down his staff on one of Gatenmaru's wings, ripping it clean off of his body and causing him to howl in pain, while Miroku himself landed on the ground and took off running "Now Tatsu, finish it!"

"Dragon BURST!" this was when Tatsu burst down from above, and from one hand he fired a blue energy blast that ripped through Gatnemaru in a matter of seconds, obliterating him without even giving him time to scream.

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Meanwhile, with Sesshomaru's group…

At the same time, Sesshomaru had departed from his group, and Jaken had taken it upon himself to try and search for him in a number of ridiculous places, such as down a small hole in the middle of the ground. When Rin asked him about what Inuyasha was like, Jaken decided to take the opportunity to tell her a long story about the two brothers, only for Rin to walk away from him with Ah-Un, seeing how she didn't like long stories, which left Jaken comically depressed as he usually was.

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Meanwhile, with the others…

With the battle appearing to be over, Tatsu and the others then returned to the ground and regrouped with each other "Nice work, you guys really show your stuff when it really counts."

"Well we're much stronger when we're together, after all that's what-" Miroku was suddenly cut off by Tatsu yanking him and the others to the ground just in time to avoid a crimson blur that shot past them.

"This just got a hell of a lot worse."

"You guys!" this was when Kagome and Shippo rushed over to them, the former panting heavily and her priestess kimono covered in blood "Are you alright?"

"Not really no, but this isn't my blood. I was in the middle of healing Inuyasha while you guys were fighting him, but then we got surrounded by bandits. That was when Inuyasha suddenly got up, but he…"

"He was in his demon form."

"Yeah, and he started slaughtering them all at once. I tried to stop him by telling him to sit, but he didn't even flinch, and when I tried to call out to him he almost cut my head off."

"You did the right thing by not trying to snap him out of it directly, get any closer and he probably would've killed you, whether he wanted to or not." he glanced over at where the last surviving bandits were trying to flee, only for Inuyasha to slay all of them with a few sweeps of his claws, all of it with sadistic glee and bloodlust "That's it, I can't let this go on any longer than it already has." he promptly grabbed hold of Tessaiga from where it was lying nearby "You guys stay back and protect the villagers, I'm gonna put an end to this."

"But Tatsu you can't just-" Kagome was cut off by Tatsu giving her a reassuring smile.

"Just have some faith in me okay? I'll be fine." and on that note, he promptly rushed off into the fray without another word "Inuyasha I know you can hear me, so listen up."

With a sickening growl, Inuyasha looked up from the bandits whose corpse he had run through, and then he turned to face Tatsu, his eyes radiating malice and bloodlust, and he let out a sadistic chuckle.

'Kagome tried to sit him but that didn't work, and now he can't even hear me. Now he's covered in blood and he's laughing like the freaking Joker. I can't stand looking at him like this, and I doubt any of the others can either. The only thing is that while they're all strong in their own right, I'm probably the only one who can get close to him without getting a set of claws lodged through my skull.'

"Your blood… Your blood is strong…"

"Just grab hold of the sword and you'll go back to how you were before."

"How I was before? Why the hell would I want that?" Inuyasha's chuckle turned into a full on evil cackle "This feeling… This power coursing through my veins… It feels incredible, unlike anything I've ever felt before! And you know what? I like it!"

"So you claim. You're not Inuyasha right now are you? No, you're nothing more than an arrogant and bloodthirsty beast." Tatsu set Tessaiga down on the ground, and then he drew his two swords off his back "I always did want to fight you, just not like this. But if this is how it has to be, then so be it."

"Fine, just stand there and watch me suck the life out of you!" Inuyasha let out a primal howl and charged forward with his claws barred.

'I haven't had a lot of practice with this one like I have with the boomstick, but if I can do it with one weapon, then why not the other?' to that end, Tatsu pointed one of his swords forward and unleashed a surge of energy from the blade, causing Inuyasha to freeze in mid air "I've been doing some experimenting with new techniques, I got the idea after watching Sesshomaru in action with his new sword Tokijin. It doesn't give off the same level of pressure, but it can stop you in your tracks like I thought at least. Don't even think about getting closer or the sheer energy will rip you to shreds."

Inuyasha let out another howl as he braced himself and fended off the sword, knocking the blade right out of Tatsu's grasp (albeit leaving his own arm bleeding profusely in the process), and then he unleashed a single slash from his claws, ripping right through Tatsu's guard and clawing him across his chest.

Tatsu was sent staggering backwards by the blow, gritting his teeth and clutching his new wound in pain, leaving a sizeable claw mark on his left breast 'Yeah, there's a pretty fair chance that's gonna leave a scar once this is over, even with Kagome's healing powers. You always said that you wanted to become a full fledged demon, but I know that you would never want to get that power through a way like this. You don't even care anymore do you?" he dodged another sweep of Inuyasha's claws and dealt him an energy blast to the chest that sent him stumbling backwards, making him bleed even further but not getting a reaction to the wound "You don't feel anything anymore do you? You don't show any signs of fear, you don't even register pain. The demon blood coursing through your veins has swallowed any sense of who you are, and if you're left to your own devices like this, not only will you be killed, but so many people around you are going to suffer as well. I won't let that happen. I told you before that you were my friend, and that I would stand by you no matter what. As your friend, I'm going to do whatever it takes to stop this bloodthirsty savage in your form, and bring you back to us. I just hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to do." he waited until Inuyasha charged at him again, and then he went on to make his move "Sea Dragon's ROAR!" waiting until the right moment, he then unleashed a powerful water dragon from both hands.

Inuyasha didn't even land on the ground before the water dragon engulfed him in a powerful explosion, sending him tumbling to the ground in a heap, and he lay motionless once he hit the ground.

'I just hope you can forgive me. Sparring with friends is one thing, but I never thought I would see the day where I have to fight you like this.'

"Tatsu! Inuyasha!" this was when Kagome and the others rushed over to the scene, only for her to gasp at the sight of the wounds they both sported, particularly the claw marks Tatsu had on his chest "Your chest…"

"Forget about it, Inuyasha needs your help a lot more than I do right now." he suddenly glanced into the distance and his hand rested on one of his swords "You know that as well as I do, don't you Sesshomaru?"

Sure enough, it was at this moment that Sesshomaru emerged from within the thick groves of the forest, his expression as unreadable as it ever was "So it seems you were able to stop him without killing him."

"I don't take kindly to having to fight against my friends. So what brings you here?"

"I had come to see if what the information I was told about his transformation was accurate, and I arrived just in time to see you defeat him."

"And your thoughts?"

"You could see it as well as I could throughout that battle. He feels no fear, he knows no pain, he feels only rage and the desire to kill. The demonic blood coursing through his veins had taken over his soul. As he is right now, he doesn't know who he is, and if left unchecked then he will continue to fight until he dies. I came to see if what I was told was true, and now I've come to understand. He is not a full fledged demon, all he is is nothing more than a simple half breed who has to know his place in the world. If you wish for him to know who he is and what he is, then use the Tessaiga to reverse his transformation, or else he will continue to fight when he regans consciousness."

"Got it." he glanced over at Kagome and handed her the Tessaiga "Go."

"Right." Kagome quickly grabbed hold of the Tessaiga and rushed to Inuyasha's side, and she started healing his wounds.

"You know this says a lot about you too, here I thought you wanted to kill Inuyasha, and yet here you are coming to his side and saving him from himself."

"Don't think to presume with me." Sesshomaru didn't even flinch at what was said "I do intend to kill Inuyasha when the time comes. However, there is no point in doing so when he is unable to recognize himself. It would be no different from ending the life of a diseased animal. Do not expect such mercy from me in the future." and with that, Sesshomaru turned on his heel and walked away from the scene.

"I wouldn't dream of it."

"I can never understand how he works." Sango muttered "The way he was talking, it was almost as if he himself had come to stop Inuyasha's rampage."

"If I had to guess, then I'd say he probably did."

"Are you serious? You've seen how he's been in the past."

"I know, but I'm sticking with my gut on this one. Look, Sesshomaru is as cold and ruthless as they come, you know that as well as I do, but I can tell that you'll never see him playing dirty in a fight." their conversation was cut short by a moan.

"Oh god… my head…" Inuyasha let out a groan as he came to, with Kagome supporting him as he pulled himself to his feet.

"How are you holding up, can you move?"

"Aside from the feeling that my head is gonna fucking explode." Inuyasha took a minute to shake off the disorientation, looking around at his surroundings as he did so. To be more specific, he was looking at the bodies of the bandits littering the remains of the village "Did I… Was I the one that did all of this?"

"You don't remember anything?" he was met with the sight of Inuyasha looking down at his claws and the blood on them, and giving a bitter smile as he did so.

"Look at me, my claws are absolutely soaked with the blood of those bandits, not to mention the stench."

'Dammit… You did it to protect people, that's why you went after them. Even with that power, you still knew what was right."

"That's a fucking lie and you know it damn well."

"Well I'm not the only one who thinks it." he glanced over at where the boy was trying to make his way towards them.

This quickly came to an end when the surviving women from the village started pulling him away, all of them looking at Inuaysha with fear and hatred "Don't get too close to him, he's a demon. If you go near him then he'll rip you to pieces."

'Typical. They don't care that he saved them, all they see is the number of bodies and the amount of blood.'

"Let me go!" the boy freed himself from their grip "I don't care if he is a demon, that man and his friends did everything in my power to avenge my grandpa and save all of us! He helped to get rid of all of the bad men!"

'No, he's wrong…' Inuyasha looked down at his claws in shame, and then he started walking away without a word 'I hunted those men down, I killed them for the fun of it. The demon that I wanted to become, the power that I wanted to have… it wasn't supposed to be like this.'

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At the same time, Sesshomaru had made his way back to where he had left his group, though he was silent about where he had gone or why he had left, which left Rin and Jaken rather confused as a result.

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Sunset came, and the group was starting to settle down for the night and lick their wounds.

Miroku and Sango were resting by a stream, discussing the day's events "Each time Inuyasha has to transform into a full demon, he loses more and more pieces of himself. Today he didn't even hear as we tried to call out to him."

"Miroku… it doesn't make a difference to me." Sango told him quietly, earning a raised eyebrow from him "Even if Inuyasha does transform into a full demon, I want to stay by his side and do what I can to help him. I ended up causing so much trouble over Kohaku, but all of you stood by me like it was the natural thing to do. How much of a hypocrite would I be if I abandoned him over something like this?"

"I see." Miroku gave her a small smile "I agree. After all, I owe him my life as well. Standing by him is the least we can do. I'm sure Tatsu agrees as well."

"Speaking of which…" Sango glanced back to where Tatsu was apparently sleeping in the branch of a nearby tree "I guess I can't blame him for being exhausted after today, Kagome says that wound Inuyasha gave him is going to leave a scar on his chest."

"It's not just exhaustion, I can imagine that after seeing what we did today, he's most likely looking for some guidance."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, he never told you about this? Apparently the Fangs that he wears on his necklace allow him to establish a psychic connection with the deceased spirit of the Great Dragon Demon that created them to begin with. It's also how he learns to use the new powers at his disposal whenever he acquires a new Fang."

"Huh. You know Kagome actually did mention something along those lines, but she said it was her dead father that appeared before her. He taught her how to control her spiritual energy more effectively, and he taught her swordsmanship."

"Very convenient. Imagine if we had that at our disposal."

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Meanwhile, in the meeting of the minds…

'Yep, here again, if a little bit depressing this time…' Tatsu opened his eyes and found himself in an endless black void, but a single light shining within the darkness.

That light came from the lone figure of Ryuhogo sitting by a fire, and he glanced over at him "I had a feeling that you were going to come. Feel free to have a seat."

"Thanks." Tatsu breathed a sigh as he sat down, only to notice Ryuhogo staring hard at him after a moment "What?"

"I can tell that you're troubled. If you have something you'd like to talk about, then you had best speak now."

"...It's not easy to see something like that. All the bodies all over the place, the soil being stained with so much blood. I try to put on a brave face for Kagome and the rest of them, because you already know my beliefs about optimism."

"How it's important to remain optimistic even in grim or dire situations, if not for yourself, then for the sake of those around you."

"Exactly but…"

"But there are times when even you have a hard time remaining optimistic? I understand how you feel, truly. But when you've lived as long as I have, there a few things, painful as they might be, that you come to understand about the world. Men like those bandits and the moth demon that you had encountered today, they've killed god only knows how many people. People that had families. People that cherished life and understood how precious it is, as well as how fragile it can be. You need to realize that there are times when, in order to preserve life, you have to be prepared to take it away as well."

"I know that, I don't have any problems with killing demons. But those bandits Gatenmaru had with him today, even if they were sadistic bastards, they were still human. What Inuyasha did to them, even when he's in his human form."

"I'm not condoning or encouraging it, but please let me finish. You have to understand that no matter how much you want to, not everyone in the world can be saved, and not everyone that can be saved wants to be saved, no matter how much you want to be able to save them. I hate that thought just as much as you do, but it's something you have to learn to accept. I myself have lost many friends throughout my lifetime, and while I will never forget the losses, I knew that in order to move forward, I needed to accept what had happened. Do you remember what I told you about the Fangs, and the purpose behind them?"

"That they're meant to serve as a counteragent to the constant tragedies brought about by the presence of the jewel right? I think I get what you're saying, and I do know how precious life is, and how fragile it can be. I lost my mom when I was little because she got sick, and I lost my dad in that car accident. Whatever mistakes I make, I have to be sure to learn from them. These Fangs are meant to be a tool for protecting people, but they aren't the be all end all to solve every single problem in the world. You're right when you say that I can't save everyone… but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."

"Glad to hear it. You have the resolve to do what's right for the world, and though your future s going to be plagued with many challenges, I have faith that you will be able to handle them."

"That's the good thing about my life. I know I've lost a lot, I've gone through a lot and I have a lot to deal with, but I know that I've got good people by my side to help me get through it. One of them probably needs my help now though." and then he disappeared in a flash of white.

'The road ahead of you is challenging, but I have faith in you Tatsu.'

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Meanwhile, back in the world of the living…

'Come on, come on… FUCK!' Inuhasha was trying, and subsequently failing, to wash his hands clean after the day's events, his mind racing 'I can't get the smell of blood off my hands. It's just sickening!' eventually he just gave up and sat down at the edge of the river, brooding to himself as he usually did, but then his head snapped up "What do you want?"

"I just wanted to see how you were dong." Kagome emerged from within the bushes and sat down next to him, and she held out a washcloth to him "This might help."

"Keep it, I don't need it."

"You sure?" she was met with a glare, and so she dropped the question and looked away.

"...You know you don't have to force yourself to stand by me. You or any of the others."

"Wait what?" Kagome could only look at him with wide eyes when she heard this.

It was at this moment that Inuyasha immediately grew defensive again "What the fuck is your problem anyway? You and the others keep pussyfooting around me all the time, and I can't fucking stand it! I don't have a problem with what happened back there, I don't give a damn about what I did."

"Inuyasha you're not fooling me, and you're not fooling yourself either."

"Whatever." he just scowled and looked away, though one glance was all Kagome needed to see that the look on his face was full of pain.

'I can't imagine how hard this must be on him. Inuyasha."

"What the hell do you want?!" Inuyasha promptly rounded on Kagome, only to be taken by surprise when he was pulled into a tight hug.

"I know how you feel, but you don't have to go through this alone."

'Kagome… I don't remember a thing from when I was transformed. It wasn't like that before. Not only that, but I ended up going after Tatsu with my claws. That scar he has is gonna stay with him for the rest of his life. I went after one of them with my claws… so what's to stop me from doing the same with the others?'

"Inuyasha… there's something I have to tell you." Kagome released him from her embrace and looked him dead in the eye "Myoga told us something about Tessaiga after it was broken, about what it does for you. We thought it was for the best not to tell you, but we were wrong. Things can't keep going on like this."

"Kagome… what are you saying?"

"Myoga told us that the Tessaiga is what protects you. Not just from your enemies, but from yourself too. The sword is what suppresses the demon nature inside of you. During the battle with Goshinki, the Tessaiga was broken and that was what awakened your demon blood in the first place. Once it's roused initially, mainly when the Tessaiga is out of your reach, that nature inside of you is going to keep surfacing in order to protect itself by transforming the host. That is to say, by transforming you. That's why you can't ever let go of the Tessaiga, or else you're going to end up losing yourself eventually. If you do, then when your life is on the line, your demon blood will take over, and you'll end up losing a little piece of yourself."

Inuyasha's eyes widened at this, but he said nothing.

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Morning came, and the sun was rising over the skies above. Or it would've been, if it hadn't been blocked out by the numerous plumes of ash and smoke.

Inuyasha made his way through the land covered in molten rock and ash, his mind focused on only one goal 'I don't remember a single thing I did when I was transformed. It was never like that before, but I hunted those men down like animals. Tatsu gave it everything he had to stop me, and… and now he has to live with that for the rest of his life. I went after him with these claws, so what's to stop me from going after the others the next time I transform? It won't happen again, never again, I'll make sure of it.' with his resolve renewed, he finally reached his destination and got down to business "Hey are you there Totosai, we need to talk."

"Hm?" Totosai looked up from where he was in the middle of forging a weapon "Ah yes, I was expecting you to come any day now."

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the group…

"For crying out loud, where the heck did he go?" by this point, Shippo and most of the rest of the group had taken onto Kirara's back, and now were spearing through the skies above Feudal Japan searching for any signs of Inuyasha.

"I'm not picking up any traces of his Ki." Tatsu suddenly rose up to meet the group at eye level, using one of his water shields as a platform "But in any case we should probably leave him alone for the time being, so he can sort a few things out on his own. Given everything he's had to go through lately, I think it's pretty obvious what he needs to do."

"He has to make the Tessaiga lighter and easier for him to use." Sango frowned in thought "So you think he's off training somewhere?"

"No I doubt it, knowing him he's way too impatient for something like that. If he wants to get answers about the Tessaiga, there's only one place that he can go to get them. He went to see the man who created it in the first place."

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Meanwhile, at the home of Totosai…

"I see." Totosai frowned in thought as he listened to what he was being told, and glanced down at the form of Tessaiga lying in front of him "I have to admit Inuyasha, I'm very disappointed in you. It's hard to believe that you still have trouble wielding the Tessaiga."

"And that's why I came here to have you make the sword lighter old man!" Inuyasha barked at him "There has to be some way to do it."

"Then why don't you figure it out for yourself?"

"I'm in a hurry okay, and I don't have time for your crap. Besides… I don't want to transform like that anymore. I wouldn't master the Tessaiga, so I got trapped in some kind of poison coccoon by that petty demon. Tatsu got us out with that exploding staff thing of is, but it burned me pretty bad, and combine that with that demon's poison… I totally lost control of myself in that fight, and I ended up hurting him. It was terrifying. I don't want anything like that to ever happen again." then he felt a certain familiar pain in his neck "Great, you again."

As it turns out, it was Myoga sucking on his blood as usual "Well hello Master Inuyasha, it's nice to taste you again." he was promptly smacked off "And here I was worried I about you."

"Not worried enough to show your face apparently. So, this is where you've been hiding out all this time is it Myoga?"? Thanks a ton for keeping me in the dark about the fucking sword all this time."

"Um… I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Don't play fucking stupid with me, you're the one that told Kagome and the others about the Tessaiga and she told me that the sword is what keeps my demon nature in check."

"...Well that figures, I should've known better than to trust her to secrecy." it was then that he was crushed underneath Inuyasha's foot.

"Yeah well, knowing the truth about my sword won't let me keep hold of the thing. I have to master the Tessaiga and I have to do it now, that's the only way."

"Huh, I can see you've put quite a good deal of thought into this." Totosai noted "I take it you've had enough transformations."

"Yeah, I have."

"Well in that case, that leaves only one choice for you. Inuyasha, in order to master the Tessaiga and be able to wield it properly, you must kill Ryukotsusei."

"...Wait what?" Myoga slowly looked up at Totosai, his expression one of fear "You didn't by any chance say Ryukotsusei did you?"

"I did."

"Am I supposed to know who the hell that is?" Inuyasha shot him.

"He is the demon that once faced off against your father in battle, only to end up being sealed into a dormant sleep. Tell me Inuyasha, why do you think this new Tessaiga is so much heavier than the old one? It is because the power of your fang has not yet reached the same level of power as your father."

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A little while later…

Soon enough, Inuyasha found himself making his way through the forest, his eyes on the prize and his mind focused on only one thing "So what the old man was saying was that if I kill the demon that my father fought, then that means I'm gonna end up surpassing the old man?"

"Or at the very least, you'll come to match him in spirit." Myoga told him from where he was resting on Inuyasha's shoulder "Now listen Master Inuyasha, by destroy the demon, that means all you have to do is pierce the demon's heart since his powers still lie dormant."

"What the hell, you mean I don't have to fight him?"

"Of course not, it took every ounce of strength that your father just to force this demon into dormancy. That means he wasn't able to land a finishing blow."

"So now I'm the one that has to clean up the old mess like some kind of pathetic coward, that's just fucking typical."

"If you keep complaining about this then I'm not going to show you the way!"

"And just who the hell do you think you're talking to Myoga?" the two of them then started squabbling, but failed to notice a lone Saimyosho watching them from afar.

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Meanwhile, in a faraway castle…

As it turns out, Naraku was watching Inuyasha's journey through Kanna's mirror and the eyes of the Saimyosho, and he decided that since his previous incarnations had failed, he would try and use Ryukotsusei to do away with Inuyasha.

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Meanwhile, with Inuyasha…

'Just hop over a river, go through a forest, climb the side of a fucking mountain! Not too hard now is it?' Inuyasha found himself brooding over his current situation as he made his way up the side of a mountain "Alright give me an update Myoga, how much further do I have to go to get there?"

"It's not much higher, you'll be able to see it soon." Myoga told him "Just keep moving."

"I should just squash you and get it over with now, at least then I'd be able to hear myself think for once."

"Listen you- Wait nevermind, take a look over there."

"What?" Inuyasha reached the top of the cliffside and glanced over at the massive form of a dragon demon lying nearby, appearing to be asleep against the side of the mountain with a single fang piercing its body "So then that's this Ryukotsusei I've been hearing so much about."

"That's correct, and take a look at where your father's claw had pierced him in order to render his powers dormant; right above his heart."

"So then- Wait a second." Inuyasha glanced above that, and his scowl deepened at the sight of a familiar white baboon figure standing atop the claw "Naraku."

Sure enough, Naraku, or at least one of his puppets, stood atop the claw, his entire demeanor radiating malic and triumph "It's been some time since we met Inuyasha, though the last time I believe you were a bit worse for wear."

"Spare me the theatrics and ego boosts, just tell me what the hell you're doing here."

"When I heard about this demon you were coming to kill, I just had to travel here and see it in action for myself." to that end, he knelt down and placed a hand on the claw, causing it to melt away in a cloud of purple smoke, and then disappear in a flash.

"Oh shit."

"This is bad, this is really bad!" Myoga was left particularly freaked out by this "That claw was the only thing keeping Ryukotsusei sealed away!"

"So now I have to fight, that's what you're saying?"

"Fight if you can, it means that your demise is inevitable!" Naraku barked out a laugh from where he now stood on another nearby cliffside as he watched Ryukotsusei awaken from its dormancy "Hear me Ryukotsusei, over younger stands the son of the demon who forced you into dormancy! Do with him as you see fit."

'Great, I have enough to deal with right now and then he just has to come along and make things worse for shits and giggles.'

"This is terrible!" Myoga continued freaking out "Master Inuyasha there's no time, we have to flee if we wish to live to see the next sunrise!"

"You must be out of your fucking mind, this way is a hell of a lot better than slaying some pathetic sleeping demon that can't even defend itself. As if I'd do anything like that like I'm some kind of pathetic coward. If I'm gonna make the Tessaiga lighter by killing him, then I'm gonna do it by facing him head to head." to that end, Inuyasha drew Tessaiga from its sheath and got into a stance with it. I'm gonna take it out on my own power."

"Oh come now little man." Ryukotsusei barked out an arrogant laugh in his ridiculously deep voice "Do you really think that you have the power to destroy me? Such a thought is very entertaining, so this shall prove to be quite amusing." and then he lunged.

"Oh I'm a fucking laugh riot!" Inuyashs leapt into the air to dodge the lung and promptly landed on Ryukotsusei's back, then charged at him at full speed.

"That wretch is nothing but an eyesore." Ryukotsusei opened up his mouth and unleashed a massive blast of demonic energy.

"I'm not like any other weakling demon you've encountered!" Inuyasha leapt into the air again to dodge the blast, only to glance over and see Naraku's puppet, along with the cliff it was standing on, being obliterated by the blast in his place.

"I had intended to show him mercy out of gratitude for him freeing me from my slumber after so long. As such, his end would've been painful, yet swift. To think he sent a mere demon puppet in his place, hardly worth calling a warrior."

'So that's it, he was going after Naraku from the start.'

"As for you little man, I hope that you will be able to provide me with greater levels of amusement than he could."

"I did say I was a fucking laugh riot, so I'm more than happy to oblige you."

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Meanwhile, with the rest of the Inu Gang…

"Hey Totosai, hold up!"

"Hmm?" Totosai stopped from where he and Momo were making their way along the path, and he glanced back to see Tatsu and the others drop down onto the scene "What are you youngsters doing all the way out here?"

"We're looking for a genie in a bottle, what do you think we're doing here?" Tatsu's tone was practically oozing sarcasm as he dropped to the ground "We're looking for Inuyasha, we know he took off this morning and went to see you because he can't wield the Tessaiga and he went to you for help."

"Inuyasha? Let's see, Inuyasha you say…" he frowned in fake thought for a moment, only to be grabbed by the front of the robe by Tatsu.

"I didn't put up with this crap with the roast pig, I'm not putting up with it now. So where the hell is he?"

"Alright alright, I sent him to the valley of Ryukotsusei."

"Assuming we know what the hell that means?"

"I could see that he had gained a newfound determination to master the Tessaiga, and so I sent him to slay a dragon demon that his father had once faced in battle, and sealed into a dormant sleep over 200 years ago. Once he does that, it will prove that his fang has now reached the same level of power as that of his father, and the Tessaiga will become lighter."

"But I don't understand Master Totosai, if there was such a simple way for Inuyasha to master the Tessaiga, then why would you not tell him this in the first place?" asked Miroku.

"That would've been too easy, if I hand him all of the answers then he won't learn anything on his own would we?"

"I think Inuyasha has already suffered enough." Kagome told him, glancing at Tatsu in particular when she said this.

"You're not gonna receive any sort of objections from me." Tatsu glanced down at where the new scar on his chest was located "He feels so guilty about what happened that he wouldn't even look at me."

"That's why he came to see you. Even though they were bandits, the fact is that they were still human beings that he killed, and he even scarred Tatsu when he tried to stop him."

"Well of course he's upset over it." Totosai let out a scoff "That's why I told him about what he had to do, if he had felt nothing after killing those humans then he wouldn't have any right to wield the Tessaiga to begin with." it was then that a loud rumbling got everyone's attention, and they glanced over in the direction of a mountain in the distance "Well this is quite the unexpected development."

"It's a demonic aura, and a powerful one at that." Sango noted "If I had to guess, and if past events are any indication, that's most likely where we'll find Inuyasha. So how much trouble do you think he's in right now?"

"Oh that fool, he had to go and awaken Ryukotsusei didn't he?"

"That would explain the ominous aura I'm feeling, I've never felt anything like it."

"That's not surprising, the dragon demon tribe are a league above many other demons throughout the world."

"Which means that whoever this demon is that Inuyasha has to face in battle, he must be a force to be reckoned with." Miroku noted "I think we had best go and help him before this blossoms into something worse."

"No arguments here, let's get moving." Tatsu and the others hopped onto Kirara's back and took off towards the mountain without hesitation.

"Oh dear, what a miserable day." Totosai let out a groan as he followed after them.

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Meanwhile, on the mountain…

Ryukotsusei let out a draconic roar as he prepared himself for battle "Come at me as much as you like little man, don't deny me the first taste of true entertainment I've experienced in over 200 years!"

"Oh please, if anything I'm the one that's gonna be entertained." Inuyasha let out a scoff, but then he noticed something on Ryukotusei 'My old man's claw left a scar on that thing, if I can perce him there then the Tessaiga will become lighter!' so he promptly readied himself and made a charge for the scar, and he brought down the blade on it, only to suddenly be sent flying by the backlash 'What the fuck, his skin is so thick the Tessaiga couldn't even cut through it!'

"Now do you see it for yourself little man? It's useless, no matter how hard you try you will never be able to overcomeme me. My body is mightier than iron!" he then proceeded to unleash another demonic energy blast.

'Shit!' Inuyasha was forced to dodge this blast as well, and he landed on the ground and readied himself for another attack.

"This is bad, this is so bad!" Myoga continued freaking out "Master Inuyasha we have to run, we don't stand a chance!"

"Shut your hole flea, this battle is just getting started."

"I already told you that it took everything in your father's power to render him dormant, and not only that, but what I didn't tell you that the wound Ryukotsusei inflicted on him during that battle was ultimately what killed him!"

"...Wait what?"

"So he perished then did he?" Ryukotsusei shot a glare down at Inuyasha, his eyes blazing with malice and rage "And you are the son of that wretch? Don't tell me that you came all this way just to avenge him with that ridiculous little sword you carry."

"Hate to break it to you ya goddamn lizard, but I don't even remember what my old man looked like to begin with, so frankly I couldn't give less of a damn about avenging his death."

"What?!" Myoga popped up on his nose in a rage "How dare you speak about your own father like that, your own life and the lives of your friends have been saved countless times by the very sword that your father passed down to you!"

"Stop interfering with me you damn flea."

"You traitorous son, I'll have nothing to do with you!" and so Myoga hopped away crying fake tears, fleeing the scene as he usually did.

"Whatever you need to tell yourself, you and I both know damn well that you're just running away again- Shit!" that little exchange ended up distracting Inuyasha's long enough for him be met with a tail smacking him upside the head and sending him crashing into a cliffside before he could react 'Dammit… After the Tessaiga was broken, my Fangs had been used in order to repair it, and the reason it's so heavy is because I'm not as strong as my father was. I know what I have to do, I have to find a way to kill Ryukotsusei and surpass my father in power. Come at me you fucking lizard, I can handle anything you throw at me!" he let out a roar, brandished his sword and charged forward again.

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Meanwhile, with the Inu Gang…

"Shit, take a look at that." Tatsu and the others continued making their way to the mountain, all of them sensing the battle taking place as they did so "I can sense that demon's Ki all the way from here, it's gotta be something insane."

"This definitely isn't a good sign." Totosai noted grimly "There's no doubt about it, this must mean that Ryukotsusei has been brought out of dormancy."

"And how the hell did that happen?"

"As if I know, but I will say that this poses quite the problem. If that demon ends up rising up once more, the plains of Musashi will be left in a pile of ashes."

"So he's that powerful huh? Somehow that just makes me excited." he glanced over and noticed the dull look Kagome was giving him "What? Finding the Fangs, training until my bones crack and protecting you aren't the only things I have going for me. I'm like ogres and onions."

"Because you have layers." Kagome noted dryly "I saw the Shrek movies too."

"And yet you didn't see Guardians of the Galaxy."

"I don't know what future nonsense the two of you are talking about, but we have more important business to deal with." Totosai pointed out "Now that Ryukotsusei has been awakened once more, there's only one way to stop him. Inuyasha has to harness the ultimate power of Tessagia, and use the Backlash Wave."

"Again, assuming we know what the hell that means."

"As I said, the Backlash Wave is the ultimate technique of the Tessaiga. The Wind Scar has nothing on this, it's little more than a mere trick for novices."

"Which is where the problem lies. With the way things are right now, Inuyasha can barely hold the Tessaiga, so using the Wind Scar is out of the question."

"Yes I suppose you're right, as he is right now he doesn't have any chance of mastering any new techniques."

"And yet you're conveniently not offering any new solutions."

"As much as I hate to interrupt your conversaiton, you should see this." Miroku held up his hand and revealed the squashed form of Myoga resting on his palm "Our tiny flee companion seems to have run out on Inuyasha again."

"Which means that things are getting bad, and that means we'd better pick up the pace."

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Meanwhile, with Inuyasha…

'Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!' Inuyasha found himself running along the cliffside avoiding one energy blast after another, only for one of them to end up striking him dead on and engulfing him in the explosion that followed.

"How pitiful, this is more tedious than I had expected." Ryukotsusei glared down at the spot where Inuyasha lay, his expression one of cold disdain "Ending your insignificant life does nothing to relieve the hatred and anger I feel towards your father!"

"Yeah yeah, fucking spare me." Inuyasha pulled himself back to his feet and made another charge towards Ryukotsusei, only to find himself caught in his giant claws.

"Do you still not understand the reality of your situation? You cannot slay me with a weapon as inferior as that sword you carry!" and then he sent Inyasha hurtling into the side of a cliff, leaving him to fall into a crevice created by the impact, and causing Tessaiga to fall out of his grip.

'Son of a-' Inuyasha hit the ground with a thud as Tessaiga landed embedded in the ground a short distance away from him, and he tried to reach for it.

"This battle was a waste of time." Ryukotsusei then fired another energy blast at Inuyasha, and engulfed him in the explosion that followed.

"There he is, I can sense him!" it was around this time that Tatsu, Kagome and everyone else arrived on the scene just in time to see the explosion go off, and find Inuyasha lying face down on the ground.

"How pathetic, he's dead already?" Ryukotsusei let out a bark of laughter over his apparent triumph, only to stop when he noticed something "What is the meaning of this? What is happening to him?"

"Inuyasha!" seeing him on the ground, Tatsu didn't waste any time in making his way down onto the scene, motioning for the others to get back as he did so 'This is bad, he's face down and covered in blood, and he's not holding the Tessaiga. And that pulsing… Inuyasha stay with me, I know you can hear me!"

'Tatsu… everyone…' Inuyasha's eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing them to have changed from white to red.

"I see that you're still hanging on, clinging to the last bits of life. No need to worry, I'll be sure to end your misery soon enough." and so Ryukotsusei advanced forward with the intent to kill, only to notice somethihng "This pulsing sensation again… what is happening?"

'Tatsu… Kagome… everyone… they're here…' hearing the voices, Inuyasha pulled himself back to his feet, revealing his red eyes, purple markings and enhanced claws and fangs.

"The aura that surrounds him is entirely transformed. I see, so the demonic blood coursing through his veins has awakened. So be it then, if this is what will give me a proper challenge then so be it."

With a primal roar, Inuyasha charged at Ryukotsusei and slashed at him with his claws, and he actually managed to draw blood.

'This has definitely taken a turn for the worst.' Totosai watched the situation unfolding and frowned at the sight of it 'I wonder Inuyasha, what will you do now? If you use those claws to battle against Ryukotsusei then you may come out of this alive, but while you may end up emerging victorious, it won't make the Tessaiga any lighter for you.'

"Don't be so sure of yourself little man!" Ryukotsusei attacked Inuyasha by firing an energy blast at him, only for Inuyasha to dodge and slash at him with his claws, once again drawing blood in the process, as well as sending him staggering back into the side of the mountain behind him.

"Oh dear."

"No doubt about it, his power in that form is terrifying." Tatsu noted grimly as he shared a glance with the others "He's pushing that thing back like it's nothing. So what now?"

"No we do the only thing we can do. We have to retreat."

"And why the hell would we do that?"

"I think it's obvious. Inuyasha has made his choice to fight as a demon."

"So what then, you're saying that we just abandon him? Not a chance in hell." he was met with a number of nods of agreement.

"I'm afraid that if we stay here, then he'll most likely come after us. You've already been on the receiving end of his claws when he's in this state, so you understand what the end result would be if that were to happen. When Inuyasha entered the state you see him in now, he lost any sense of discrimination that he had. There's no guarantee that any of us aren't going to be the next victims of his claws."

"...If that is the case, then you'd better let me go, take Myoga and clear out while you can."

"Tatsu don't, if you go down there then you might not make it out alive."

"Don't try to talk me out of this, I know you're gonna try so save your breath. I'm not gonna abandon him when he's fighting for his life like this. This is what friends do, they stand by each other in the hard times." so without waiting for a reply, he jumped down to join Inuyasha in his battle, or at least tried to. In reality he was stopped by Kagome grabbing him by the back of his gi before he could get off the back of Momo "What are you doing? If this is some line about how you want to come with me."

"No it's not that, just take a look and see for yourself." Kagome pointed down at the scene below them "Inuyasha's acting different, he seems more… aware than he usually is when he's in his demon form."

"What do you mean?"

'Closer… Closer…' despite the demonic transformation overtaking his body, Inuyasha slowly made his way towards where Tessaiga was embedded in the ground.

'He's trying to reach for Tessaiga. Despite how he is now, he's trying to fight the transformation and turn himself back. Kagome tell me something, you told him abou how Tessaiga keeps his demon blood in check didn't you?"

"I know we agreed not to tell him, but that was a mistake. This was something that we should've told him from the beginning. We should've had faith in his own strength of will to fend off the demon blood."

"...Yeah, you're right about that. Even now, his soul is fighting back against the demon blood that's coursing through his veins."

"Such impudence, how dare he think he can conquer me!" watching as Inuyasha closed in on the Tessaiga, Ryukotsusei scowled at him and unleashed an energy blast, engulfing him in the explosion that followed.

"Sea God's Shield!" with a wave of his hands, Tatsu summoned a series of water shields to protect everyone from the shockwaves, and when the smoke cleared they saw what was going on down on the battlefield "Well I'll be damned, looks like he's still using his head after all. He used the barrier coming from his sheath. Now that I think about it, I don't think I've ever actually seen him use it before. So even with his demon blood taking control, he's still aware of who and what he is, and what he can do."

"It was certainly a clever idea to use the barrier of the sheath to protect himself, but I'm sure he knows as well as I do, that it will not work a second time." Totosai noted grimly "If he tries to use it another time, the sheath will break and he won't survive it."

"He does still have the Robe of the Fire Rat."

"Even that won't be enough to protect him, Ryukotsusei is just that powerful."

"I figured as much, just had to be sure."

"You cannot hope to defeat me with a mere sheath, now perish!" Ryukotsusei fired another energy blast at Inuyasha just as he was reaching for the Tessaiga.

"Terra Shield Barrage!" Tatsu waved his hand and summoned a barrage of earth walls in front of Inuyasha, the energy blast hitting each one and slowing down as it did so "One of those earth walls wouldn't do a damn thing to the blast, but enough of them in a row should at least slow it down enough. That's only gonna work on the thing for so long, now grab the sword and get the hell out of there!"

'Tatsu…' hearing his voice, Inuyasha finally grabbed hold of the hilt of the Tessaiga, causing his demonic features to disappear, and then he leapt out of the way of the blast right before it resulted in a fiery explosion. Once he was clear, he shot a quick glance up at Tatsu "Don't get involved again, this fight is mine and mine alone."

"Wouldn't dream of it fuzzy, now go out there and kick some ass."

"I plan to." he gave a smirk to Tatsu and the others, then turned his attention to Ryukotsusei as his gaze hardened furiously "Not a single person, human or demon, dares to step on my sword and lives to talk about it. I don't need my demon blood to rip you apart Ryukotsusei, Tessaiga here is more than enough to do that." he promptly transformed the blade, only for the blade to hit the ground with a loud thud 'Way to ruin the moment of bravado.' this earned him a loud and condescending chuckle from Ryukotsusei.

"You're so weak it's pathetic, you can't even lift the sword you wield."

"Go ahead and laugh while you can, and not that it's any of your business, but I've got a damn good reason for needing to use Tessaiga to rip you apart."

"So you say. No need to worry then. For your sake at least, this time I have no intention of holding back any longer."

"Bring it on you damn dirty lizard." Inuyasha let out a growl, but this was when he suddenly noticed something 'What the hell, am I imagining things? No this definitely isn't my imagination right now, the Tessaiga really is becoming lighter! It's about fucking time I can lift this thing again! Get ready you fucking lizard, I'm about to cut your heart right out of your chest and step on it!" and so he charged forward at full speed.

"You're wasting your time you fool!" Ryukotsusei fired a single energy blast at Inuyasha that engulfed him in an explosion in an instant.

"You think that was enough to kill me?!" Inuyasha suddenly burst forth from within the explosion and thrusted the blade of Tessaiga into the wound left by the claw, drawing a fair amount of blood from it as a result 'Oh hell yeah, thank you Robe of the Fire Rat. And by extension, thank you mother. The sword isn't that bad either. It's so light, it used to be so heavy but now it feels like it's an extension of my hand.'

"How dare you wield that sword against myself. You're going to pay for this insult little man!" and so Ryukotsusei unleashed another energy blast.

'Great, you mean I stab this thing the heart and it's still not dead?' Inuyasha found himself forced on the evasive as he dodged one energy blast after another.

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Meanwhile, on the sidelines…

"This is unbelievable." Sango and the rest of the group watched in disbelief from the sidelines as the battle raged on "That demon was stabbed square in the heart and it's bleeding out, but it's acting like nothing happened."

"That shouldn't come as a surprise to you." Totosai pointed out "Keep in mind that Ryukotsusei was a handful for Inuyasha's father, there's no way he can die unless he ends up being hacked into pieces."

"So what's he supposed to do?"

"It's as I told you before, if he wishes to claim victory then he has to use the Backlash Wave, but he has a ways to go before that can happen."

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Meanwhile, on the battlefield…

'Shit, shit, shit, shit!' Inuyasha found himself forced onto the evasive as he dodged one energy blast after another, and once he found an opening he made a charge toward Ryukotsusei, only for his tail to swat him aside and send him crashing to the ground 'Dammit, so much for making progress against this thing. His body is harder than rock.'

"It's as I had warned you once before, a pathetic dog fang like the sword you use will never be enough for you to defeat me."

"How about we see if you're singing the same song after I drive this pathetic dog fang right through your eye!" Inuyasha prepared to charge at him again, only to stop when he suddenly noticed something 'What the hell is going on? I'm picking up the scent of the Wind Scar… it's like it's twisting around the blade of Tessaiga.'

"This battle is over little man, as is your worthless life." Ryukotsusei promptly fired another energy blast from his mouth.

"I wouldn't be so sure about that Ryukotsusei, because you're in for one hell of a big surprise right about now, because things are about to be very different. WIND SCAR!" with a mighty roar and a single swing of Tessaiga, Inuyasha unleashed the Wind Scar and cut right through both the energy blast and Ryukotsusei, sending him crashing to the ground as a result.

From where he stood with the others on the sidelines, Totosai gave a nod of approval 'Very well done Inuyasha, it seems you've accomplished your goal and excelled at it as well. Not only did the Tessaiga become lighter for you, but now you can invoke the power of the Wind Scar anytime you desire.'

"How do you like that one old man, I totally wasted that fucking lizard!"

"Well I'll give you the credit that you deserve, but I think it's far too early for you to rest on your laurels."

"What the hell does that mean?" this was followed by a loud rumbling overtaking them "Oh, that's what that means."

Sure enough, at that moment Ryukotsusei rose once more, having not even taken a scratch from being hit by the Wind Scar "Is that the best you can do? To think I actually allow myself to hope for a proper challenge, only for you to disappoint me. Did you think that I would ever allow myself to be destroyed by such a dismal attempt."

'Okay, now this is getting on my nerves! I finally get the Tessaiga lighter, I learn to invoke the Wind Scar at will, I fire it at this bastard and it doesn't even faze him!'

"It's as I told you before little man, my body is mighter than iron. Now then, I believe it's my turn!" and then he started charging another energy blast, a much bigger one at that.

"Oh shit."

"Don't just stand there Inuyasha, you had better get out of the way." Totosai warned him "He's serious about this."

"Yeah well, so am I." Inuuasha turned back to Ryukotsusei, only to take notice of a blue energy surrounding him 'What the hell is with the demonic aura?'

"Don't just stand there gawking at him you useless fool, hurry up and run!"

"Not a chance in hell, I know I can finish him off for good this time."

"Don't be a fool and throw your life away, just be glad you can wield the Tessaiga now! Cut your losses and quit while you're ahead!"

"You must be out of your fucking mind, this is the moment I've been waiting for."

"Inuyasha whatever you do, just let me say one thing." Tatsu got his attention, and the two of them locked eyes with each other "There's a huge difference between those who aim for the top, and those who settle." and then the two of them shared confident smirks "Do you whatever it is you have to do."

"I plan on it." so Inuyasha turned back to Ryukotsusei and charged forward at full speed "And besides, all I have to do is rip this thing apart, and then I'll surpass my old man in power!"

"Speaking of that wretch, why don't you go and join him in hell!" Ryukotsusei let out a roar as he continued charging his energy blast.

'Shit, this one is gonna be big.'

"This one is gonna be big, at this rate we might get caught up in it. Everyone move away from here, get some distance." Tatsu made the call, which prompted everyone to move back a fair distance, surrounded by more water shields as well 'Ryukotsusei is the kind of demon powerful enough to brush off the Wind Scar. I guess Totosai was right when he said you were gonna need this Backlash Wave to win this fight.

'Good they're out of the way, now to deal with this.' so he charged forward just as the energy blast was unleashed 'This is fucking insane, I've never seen such a huge blast of demonic energy before. There's no chance I'll be able to avoid this thing.'

"You're wasting your time, you cannot escape me now!" Ryukotsusei barked out an arrogant laugh "Your death is inevitable!"

'That leaves me with only one choice, I'll have to cut through it!' and so he collided with the energy blast, and that was when he saw it 'What the hell… is that… Yeah, I think it is. I can see it so clearly. That smoldering spot, I need to cut through it with the Wind Scar. One clean stroke is all I need, and… NOW!' and so he unleashed the power of the Wind Scar right at the spot in question.

"How could this happen, how could you take control of my energy! This cannot be, this is impossible!" Ryukotsusei could only watch in horror as the energy blast was being sent back at him, and subsequently ripping his body apart in the process.

'Yes, it's working! Whatever the hell is going on, it's ripping apart Ryukotsusei's body like it's made of wet fucking paper!'

"This cannot be happening! How could this be happening?! How could a mere half demon like you rip through my invincible rock-hard body?!" Ryukotsusei could only cry out in agony as his body was entirely ripped apart, leaving whatever was left him to be scattered by the wind.

'Okay, so that happened. Whatever the hell it was, it was totally different from every other time I used the Wind Scar.'

"Hey furball." this was when Tatsu and everyone else dropped down onto the scene and started surrounding him "Far be it for me to deny credit where it's due, that was an entirely new level of badass. So how in the name of hell did you manage to pull that off?"

"Raw natural talent." he was met with an unconvinced look "Shut up and let me believe what I want to believe."

"I believe it with every fiber of my being!" Myoga popped up on Inuyasha's nose "That was a very impressive feat on your part Master Inuyasha, I knew from the start that you had all the power you needed to defeat him."

"...You guys found him on the way here?"

"We pretty much had to drag him back." Tatsu told him dryly.

"Just checking." Inuyasha then made his way over to Totosai "You know I've gotta be honest with you old man, I didn't get it at first but I sure as hell do now."

"Good for you. So what did you get?" Totosai was met with Inuyasha shoving him off his bull and sending him crashing to the ground.

"I've gotta admit, you're a hell of a lot more generous than I gave you credit for. I don't know what the hell you did to the Tessaiga, but it's way better than it was before."

"Well I… Wait hold on a second, you mean you used the technique without realizing it?"

"I did what now?"

"What you used to defeat Ryukotsusei was the ultimate technique of the Tessaiga, the Backlash Wave."

"Assuming I know what the hell that means."

"You should know what it means, conscious of it or not you still used it. Now allow me to explain for all of you. The Backlash Wave uses the enemy's blast of demonic energy and ensnares it with the Wind Scar before reversing the flow, using the enemy's power to decimate them."

"Hence where the name Backlash comes from." Tatsu noted.

"The Wind Scar and the blast of demonic energy became like whirlpools. In other words, the enemy is simultaneously blasted not just by the Wind Scar, but by their own demonic power combined with it, to create an even more devastating attack. That's the theory behind it at the very least. You see Inuyasha, the trick to it is that you have to discern precisely where to cut through the blast of demonic energy, and your aura has to be much stronger than that of your enemy for the technique to succeed."

"Huh. Sounds pretty complicated, but credit where it's due." he patted Inuyasha on the shoulder and gave a nod of approval "Looks like you finally got your moment to shine."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha shot a look at him "All I did back there was use my instincts and follow my nose."

"Remember this for the future: Everything is according to plan, even if it's not."

'So he's surpassed mere theory then.' Totosai glanced over at Inuyasha 'Perhaps this means that he's destined for greater things than I had imagined him to be.'

"Well in any case, at least now you don't have to worry about being able to actually hold the sword in a fight."

"You're damn right I don't, and it gets even better. Check it out. Wind Scar!" Inuyasha brought down the blade and unleashed the Wind Scar, splitting a mountain in the process "Oh fuck yes, do you see that?! Now I can use the Wind Scar whenever the hell I want!" he was promptly met with a blow to the back of the head by Miroku's staff "What the hell was that for?!"

"As impressive a feat as it is to have the Wind Scar entirely at your command, that's not the sort of thing you want to fling around like some kind of toy." Miroku pointed out dryly.

"So what then, I'm not supposed to use it at all?"

"Of course not stupid, you're supposed to direct it at someone who can take it." Tatsu then went up to him and drew his swords, a smirk spreading across his face "I haven't been on the receiving end of what that thing can do since I fought Sesshomaru."

"You might have managed to scrape by with a win then, but there's no way in hell you can beat me as I am right now."

"Put your money where your mouth is fuzzy, and then we'll see."

"Believe me, I plan on it. Wind Scar!"

"Sea Dragon's ROAR!" and so the two of them charged at each other and let their attacks collide, beginning a no holds barred sparring match.

A/N:

And with this chapter, which wraps up the second season of this story, we see the struggle to deal with Inuyasha's surfacing demon form come to a head, as he himself learns of the danger of his demon blood and the purpose the Tessaiga holds for him, and as a result of this, he confronts the dragon demon Ryukotsusei, and as such he not only rediscovers the Wind Scar, but he also learns the Backlash Wave in the process.

I know this isn't how Gatenmaru was killed in canon, but the last few chapters I've been giving Kagome a lot of focus on her training, so I sort of had her stick to the side in this chapter, and give Miroku and Sango some spotlight. They don't have as much time to shine as the others do, so I'm trying to give them the chance to earn some glory for themselves.

One other thing I think is worth noting is Inuyasha's initial demon transformation in this chapter, or to be more accurate, how it's stopped. Tatsu manages to stop him so Sesshomaru doesn't have to get involved, but at the cost of receiving a scar on his chest. This is meant to serve two purposes. One, it's meant to give Inuyasha some extra incentive to make the Tessaiga lighter. Two, it's meant to prove a point. Even with the power of the Fangs he wears, Tatsu might be strong, but he's not invincible, and he can still be hurt.