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.

22. Affections Touching Across Time

(Affections Touching Across Time)

"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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When the Shikon Jewel was scattered into god only knows how many shards, not only did it make current existing demonic forces more powerful, but it also released other dormant demonic powers as well. Case and point.

One shard of the jewel in particular, it landed in the Forest of No Return, in the trunk of the Tree of Agess. This resulted in a moth demon by the name of Menomaru, son of a great moth demon by the name of Hyoga being freed from where he had been imprisoned for many centuries. Now freed, he sought out revenge for the death of his father, and to this end, he resurrected his demon minions Ruri and Hari, to plot against the one who wields the power that came from the one responsible for sealing him away.

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The sun was still rising over the skies above the Modern Era of Japan.

'God, it seems like it's been forever since I've been able to just go on my morning workout without a care in the world.' Tatsu leapt from one rooftop to another, screeching to a stop after awhile to gaze out at the city, his thoughts drifting as the wind did 'It's been about two weeks since Inuyasha's battle with Ryukotsusei, since he discovered the Backlash Wave. We fought each other to a draw after that. Things have calmed down since then. There hasn't been a jewel shard in sight or any sign of Naraku, so Kagome and I came back to just take it easy for a day or two, stock up on supplies, or in my case, get my thoughts together.'

"I was wondering when you were going to reveal yourself again."

Tatsu glanced back to see Guardian materialize on the rooftop behind him "I was thinking the exact same thing about you, usually you only show up when it's important, but I'm guessing that's a lot more lately. Word going around is that you've been pretty busy around the city the past week or so."

"You could say that."

"Stopping bank robberies in the blink of an eye, saving people from fires. You actually saved one of Kagome's friends from a fire at our school a few days ago. What's next, am I gonna go on FaceBook and find a picture of you saving a cat from a tree?"

"Don't push your luck Kamikaze."

"Alright alright, point taken. Seriously though, what brought this on?"

"Do you have a problem with me saving people?"

"Of course not, I'm just curious."

"...It's nothing that out of character for either you or me." Guardian took a few steps forward to gaze out at the city "It's like I told you the last time we met, I want to use the powers given to me by these Fangs to make the world a better place. The powers they gives are not a right, they're not a privilege. They're a gift, and they should be used for the good of the world and all of the people in it. If that means I end up looking like something you'd see in a comic book, then so be it."

"Huh. Fair enough. If that is the case, then do you mind if go ahead and I throw another question your way? Two of them actually."

"Go ahead."

"Okay then. About these swords you gave me, what the hell are they made of? I don't think I've ever seen any material as strong as these blades."

"Oh I just used steel, but I also used my own blood as a way of bonding the material and reinforcing it to make it even stronger. So what's your other question?"

"Well here's the thing…" Tatsu breathed a sigh "Do you ever stop to think that there are people out there in the world, people suffering in ways you don't want to imagine, and you want to help them, but you know you can't?"

"...You've seen some things like that haven't you?"

"You could say that."

"I won't pry. To answer your question, I do think about that, quite often actually. There could be someone lying on the ground in agony, covered in their own blood or the blood of someone they hold dear, begging for someone to come to help them, and I would never even know it. There's nothing more frustrating than knowing that even with the power of these Fangs, we can't save everyone. Even with these Fangs, we're only human. There are always going to be people and goals that lie beyond our reach, and that feeling is gut wrenching."

"So what keeps you going?"

"Well there are mainly two thoughts that come to mind. First, even though I know I can't save everyone, that doesn't mean I shouldn't try at all. Second, it's what I told you before. When we combine the power of all five sets of Fangs, we can do anything we can imagine. As far as I'm concerned, that means we can end world hunger, we can fix global warming, we can close the hole in the Ozone. You want to make a joke about wiping Teen Titans Go from existence don't you?"

"Humor is one of the ways I cope, and I never joke when I say that. But yeah, I get what you're saying. Thank you."

"Just do right by the legacy of Ryuhogo, and I'll do the same. Anyway I should be going, I have places to be and things to do, and I can imagine the same goes for you."

"You're damn right it does, today is a pretty special day in my book. It's one of the days where I get to try Kagome's home cooking."

"Something to look forward to in your eyes?"

"She only does it when she helps out her mom on special occasions, but it's something to die for as far as I'm concerned. She keeps saying that she's got nothing on her mom's cooking, but I think that's her own feelings talking. I mean if Ratatouille is anything to go by, the best cooking that a person can experience can come from their own mother."

"...You really like making anime and movie references don't you?"

"It's another way I cope. Besides, it's important to draw wisdom from many different places. If we take it from only one place, it becomes rigid and stale. Well I'm gonna leave you with that quote from Avatar and get going, later." and so he promptly leapt off the rooftop and took off into the city.

'Drawing wisdom from many different places. Well it does make sense. If you take everything you know from only one place, then not only does it turn rigid and stale, but it also becomes far too predictable.'

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Meanwhile, at the Higurashi Shrine…

"Hey gramps, are you out here? Mom wanted me to tell you breakfast is ready" Sota made his way through the grounds of the Higurashi shrine, until he found his grandfather standing in front of the Sacred Tree "Hey gramps come on, breakfast is ready."

"Sota look, it's up in the tree." Grandpa Higurashi gestured up to what he was seeing coming from the Sacred Tree "Look at all of the flower buds, there's thousands of them!"

"Oh yeah cool, they look so unreal. Is this rare?"

"Absolutely rare, it's been 500 years since the last time anyone saw this Sacred Tree bloom. This is a momentous occasion, and I have so much to tell you about it!"

"Can we do it after breakfast? I promised Tatsu I was gonna help him with something, he should be here any minute."

"Speak the devil's name and all of that good stuff." this was when Tatsu dropped down onto the scene in front of them, and he wiped a little bit of sweat away from his face "So you said that you had something else for me?"

"Yep, come up to my room and I'll show you."

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About 5 minutes later, inside the Higurashi household…

With only three present in the kitchen and two at the table, Grandpa Higurashi had taken it upon himself to tell Mrs Higurashi about the Sacred Tree through monologuing "Well then my dear, allow me to tell you about the origin of the Sacred Tree." and then he launched into an entire monologue about the tree that pretty much everyone tuned out.

Mrs Higurashi was among the people that tuned him out "Kagome hurry up dear, your soup is going to get cold."

"I know I know, I've just got a lot of work to do on this." Kagome told her without looking up from the batter she was mixing "Hey mom, where's the sugar?"

"It's over by the window."

"Okay thanks."

"Are you sure you don't need any help with this dear?"

"No thanks, an omelet is one thing I do know how to make."

"Okay then, just be careful not to overheat the frying pan?"

"I know."

"And don't forget to put some oil into the pan."

"...Five seconds later and we could've had a serious problem. Thanks mom."

"Anytime dear, I'm always here for you."

"And thank god for it."

All the while, Grandpa Higurashi continued his lecture about the Sacred Tree "You see my dears, the ancient Sacred Tree would always blossom without fail every year at this time. That is, until the evil half demon ended up being put under a spell and was fixed to the trunk of the tree 500 years ago. What did you think my dears, did either of you learn anything today?"

"So let me see if I got this grandpa, you're telling me that the flowers on the tree are blooming again because Tatsu and I travelled back through the well and broke the spell on Inuyasha? Well then, yay for us." she swatted grandpa's hand as he reached for the food she was putting into a lunchbox "Not unless you wanna burn yourself, it just came off the pan less than a minute ago for crying out loud." she breathed a sigh to calm herself, and then she examined the contents of the box "And there we go, so can I get a second opinion?"

"Oh my this looks delicious, beautifully done dear." Mrs Higurashi gave her stamp of approval in the form of a smile "I couldn't have done it better myself."

"Hey it's got nothing on your cooking mom, but I guess being driven by love is what makes a meal as great as it can be."

"And I couldn't have said that better myself. Every meal should be prepared with love, whether it be love for family, or trying to win someone's heart." she shot a wink at Kagome, which caused her to blush a deep shade of red, but she wasn't met with any claim of denial.

"Well I can only hope Tatsu likes it. Speaking of which, where is he?"

"I saw Sota take him up to his room a little while ago."

"Oh, so guy stuff?"

"That would be my guess. Do you want me to run up and get them?"

"No that's alright, I'll get them myself. Just keep grandpa from picking pieces out of it before I get back okay?"

"You can count on me dear."

"I know I can." Kagome gave her a thumbs up and made her way out of the kitchen.

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Meanwhile, up in Sota's room…

"Wait what?!" Sota bolted to his feet and shot a jaw dropped look at Tatsu "What the heck do you mean you can't use it? I spent like an hour and a half looking for that stuff!"

"Sorry about it little buddy, but that's just it." Tatsu rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish fashion "The thing is that most of the research you did is for stuff like opening portals and then just travelling through them."

"Yeah, I figured that with those you could open portals and send attacks through them to hit your enemies at a bunch of different angels! What's the problem?"

"The problem is that it's not how it works for me. What I use isn't opening portals, it's nothing but straightforward teleportation, like the Instantaneous Movement or Instant Transmission they use in Dragon Ball. Or what the Mandarin can do in that one Iron Man cartoon."

"Oh. Aw crap."

"Yeah sorry about that, I probably should've made that more clear."

"Well forget about that then." he proceeded to rip a few pages out of a journal on his desk, and then throw them in a trashcan "But speaking of clearing stuff up, you wanna address the giant metaphorical elephant in the room or should I?"

"What are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, you telling my sister that you love her."

"...God dammit." Tatsu cringed at this and glanced out the window "You just had to bring that up didn't you?"

"Somebody had to, not just because of the pool either."

"You mean there's actually a pool on that? I thought Arashi was joking."

"Nope, he and I are the ones who started it."

"Figures. Alright fine, what do you wanna know?"

"When you're gonna tell her how you feel. For like 6 years now you've been using the whole thing with your brother and his girlfriend as an excuse to not focus on winning her over, but they got engaged so what's stopping you now?"

"...Oh for god's sake." Tatsu breathed a sigh of frustration "Okay look, it's not like I don't want to tell her, because god only knows how much I do. But the last time I was prepared to tell her was on her birthday, and you know how that turned out."

"Yeah we all do, so what's stopping you now?"

"Well in all honesty, a bunch of things. Putting aside the fact that the last time I tried to tell her led to us being dragged 500 years into the past, which led to our current situation, I've got one other huge factor to think about." he pointed at the Fangs of Ryuhogo hanging on the necklace he wore.

"You mean those Fangs that your dad told you about?"

"Putting aside all of the kickass powers they give me, they've got a lot of sentimental value to them too… It's like they're the last thing that connects me to my dad. My dad was pretty much my whole world when I was little, but when I lost him in that accident, I was in a really dark place for a long time. I was left wallowing in my own darkness, but Kagome was the one who saved me from myself. Believe me, there's nothing I want more than to take her into my arms and tell he how I feel. But now that I know so much about these Fangs and what my dad knew about them… I want to finish what he started before anything else, get some closure and the likes of that."

"Which means what exactly?"

"I'm saying that as much as I want to tell her, I want to finish what my dad started. I want to find all five of the Fangs of Ryuhogo first. Only then will I be able to tell Kagome how much I love her."

"You sure about this?"

"Yeah, about as sure as I can be." then a knock sounded on the bedroom door that caused him to tense 'Shit, the one time I needed Ki sensing the most and it catches me totally off guard. It's open."

This was when the door opened to reveal Kagome standing there, wiping a few tear stains from her cheeks "Hey listen, I finished making the food, so we should really get going soon."

"Yeah good idea." Tatsu was about to leave the room, but stopped when he noticed the tear stains on her cheeks "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." Kagome wiped away a few more tears "I just hate having to cook with onions, they really burn. I'm fine though, don't worry. We should get moving though."

"Yeah, you're probably right. You sure you're okay?"

"Absolutely, now let's get going before Inuyasha comes and tries to drag us back through the well by force." so she started motioning for him to go down the stairs, and she quickly followed after him, until she spoke again "Hey Tatsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Just out of curiosity, has there been any new progress about the next of those Fangs you've been looking for?"

"Nothing as of yet, Kazuma has been working on it every chance he gets, but the map he found from the demon statue is a lot more complex than the ones we found before. Combine that with all the time we spend in the Feudal Era, and I think it's gonna be awhile before I can get the fourth Fang. Why do you ask?"

"Well I was thinking… the next time you go to one of those temples, would you mind if I went with you?" she was met with a raised eyebrow.

"Not that I'm complaining, but what brought on the sudden interest in all of my stuff with the Fangs? I thought you weren't interested in it." the two of them picked up the food from the kitchen, gave a few goodbyes to the others in the Higurashi family, and started making their way towards the wellhouse.

"I wasn't really at first, I mean I knew how close you were to your dad and how you wanted to keep his memory alive with it. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if I just let you run off and do this without batting an eye, not only could you get seriously hurt, but it would make a really bad friend."

"Okay hold up." Tatsu suddenly stopped in his tracks, set the food box he was carrying gently on the ground, and then he pulled Kagome into a hug, causing her face to turn red and earning a quiet squeak from her as a result "Kagome listen to me, there's nothing you can say or do that would ever make me think that you're a bad friend. Ever. You got that?"

"Yeah, yeah of course I do." Kagome forced herself to stop blushing before he could see it, and then she went to pick up the lunch boxes "It's just that Arashi told me something once, about why he became so invested in helping you with these Fangs. It was something Raidou said to him while you guys were at that one temple over near Hiroshima. I thought it sounded kind of harsh at first, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Even if I don't really understand everything about it, I know that it's really important to you. It's not just about getting stronger so we can find the jewel shards and stop Naraku, it's about you staying close to your dad and getting some closure, both for yourself and for Kazuma. If you want to follow through on this, then I want to do everything in my power to help you make that dream into a reality."

"Kagome… thank you." Tatsu shot her a genuine smile "I can't tell you how much that really means to me."

"I've always been able to count on you over the years, it's only right that you're about to count on me to." Kagome gave him a bright and warm smile of her own as the two of them leapt into the well with all of their stuff in hand 'I'm gonna do everything I can to be there for you. It's like I said before, or like I wanted to say at least. I want you to be happy, I want you to laugh a lot, and I want to see your smile that's kept me going through so many hard times. I don't know what's going to come next, and frankly I don't care. Whatever may happen now or in the future, I'm gonna stay by your side in any way I can. I love you Tatsu. Even if I can't say it out loud to you just yet, I love you with all my heart and soul.'

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Things were about to get serious in the Feudal Era.

Inuyasha and the others stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking a valley that happened to have a giant scorpion rampaging through it "Okay, so what the hell are we looking at?"

"This is a poisonous insect that can be found on the mainland, I believe that it's referred to as a scorpion." Miroku told him.

"But what would it be doing here?" asked Sango.

"That I can't say for certain, but it needs to be dealt with."

"I don't know why it's here, and frankly I don't give a rat's ass. If the thing has a jewel shard then I'm sticking my sword up its tail." to that end, Inuyasha drew Tessaiga and charged down the side of the cliff.

"Inuyasha be careful, he said it's poisonous!" Shippo called out to him.

"And I said I'm gonna lodge my sword up its ass!" so Inuyasha charged at the scorpion demon and brought down the Tessaiga, or rather he tried to, but instead he was forced to dodge an attack and land on the scorpion's head and go on the evasive.

"Honestly…" Miroku let out a sigh "He's as reckless as he ever was, when is he ever going to learn to be more careful?"

"Probably when he stops charging in head last." Sango noted dryly "Anyway come on, we had better get moving before he ends up getting hurt."

"Agreed, let's go." and so the two of them charged down the cliff, with Kirara following right behind them.

"Wait hold on, I'm coming too!" Shippo prepared to charge after the group, only to stop when the fear took hold of him "I'm just a little kid, why should I have to go?"

"Nobody is saying you have to fight as well Shippo, if you don't want to fight this demon then you don't have to. Just stay back and let us handle this."

"...No you know what forget it, if you guys are going then so am I!" so Shippo started skidding his way down the cliffside, only to trip and end up falling to the ground with a thud just as the scorpion unleashed a cloud of vapor from its tail.

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Meanwhile, with the main hero and heroine of the story…

By this point, Kagome had made their way out of the well on the other side, both of them in the middle of a very important discussion "So what was it you and Arashi were talking about yesterday that got you so worked up?"

"Forcing down a pretty decent rant, we saw a new trailer dropped for the new Spongebob spinoff show they're making." Tatsu told her, suppressing a growl as he did so "You look thoroughly disinterested by that."

"To be totally honest, that's because I am."

"What, you mean you haven't seen it yet?"

"Sota showed it to me yesterday, in all honesty I'm not too impressed but it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things."

"How in the hell does it not matter that this might be the final nail in the coffin for the original series? Though now that I think about it, that would probably be an act of mercy. If only Fairly Odd Parents got the same instead of beaten down like a metaphorical dead horse."

"Well putting that aside, I don't think it's fair to say that it's gonna be horrible when it hasn't even come out yet."

"The fact that exists at all isn't leaving a good taste in people's mouths, mine included. I mean keep in mind that Stephen Hillenburg went on point to say that he didn't want a spinoff for the show, and the bastards at Nickelodeon waited until he died of a terminal illness to give it the stamp of aproval. It's insanely disrespectful, and even putting that aside I doubt a lot of the older fans are gonna give it a chance."

"Maybe that's a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well waiting until the creator died was really disrespectful, I agree with that. As for the older fans turning their backs on it, you can't rely on the older fans forever and you shouldn't try to either. I think that's one of the things they're trying to do with this new spinoff, bring in a new audience."

"And you seriously think this massive metaphorical middle finger will?"

"Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Like I said, it hasn't even come out yet."

"Kags, I don't think you're taking this seriously."

"And I think you're taking this too seriously. I know waiting until the creator died was horrible, but you're still getting way too put out over all of this."

"I think I have a right to be put out over this. I've already made the point about the scumbags and what they did about waiting for Hillenburg to die, but then there's the fact that the show itself, in all of its incredible highs and disastrous lows, has been a childhood staples for more than two full decades. It's had a huge hand in shaping entire generations. It's proved itself to be an inspiration time and again."

"I get that, I do."

"So how are you not outraged by that steaming pile of demon droppings?"

"Because all in all it's just a TV show, and I really don't think any TV show, movie, anime or anything like that is worth getting so worked up over. Not when we've got more important things in life we have to deal with."

"...Okay listen Kags, I get that you have a solid point about that. There's just one other big factor to take into consideration over it."

"And what's that?"

"The fact that everything you said to me right now, you said on at least three separate occasions before today. When Dragonball Evolution came out, when the Last Airbender movie came out, and when Teen Titans Go became a thing. In any case, I still say the hate for it is justified."

"Well even if it does turn out to be the new Teen Titans Go, it's not gonna take away all of the great memories we have with the original."

"Especially when we've got the chance to binge them whenever the hell we want. You wanna do that when we get back?"

"It'd be a nice way to cool off, but like I said before we've got more important things to worry about right now."

"Yeah that's a fair point, and speaking of which I think Inuyasha and the others went ahead and got started without us. We'd better hurry and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Like hurling a Wind Scar at you when you're right in front of him?"

"Hey that was just for a sparring match, and besides your Healing Hand worked like a charm and fixed it no problem."

"That's not the point." Kagome let out a sigh of exasperation as she sat down her bag next to her bike by the Sacred Tree, then handed Tatsu the lunch boxes and mounted herself on his back, her sword strapped to her side and her bow and arrows strapped to her back "So are we gonna run or do you want to teleport there?"

"Well running would make it more like that the food would get spilled, and considering how much work you put into it…"

"Teleporting it is, now mush boy mush!"

"That only works on Inuyasha, and even then you only got away with it once." and on that note of playful banter, the two of them disappeared in a surge of demonic energy.

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Meanwhile, with the others…

"Shit, shit, shit, shit!" Inuyasha couldn't stop himself from cursing (and didn't really try to stop himself either) as he was sent hurtling into the cliffside, and then he quickly picked himself up as he watched Shippo get chased around by the scorpion demon 'Note to self: Next time screw the Backlash Wave, because jewel shard or no jewel shard, continent demons are apparently too fucking weak to use the Backlash Wave!'

"Shippo get down! Hiraikotsu!" Sango and Kirara quickly swopped down onto the scene as the former hurled Hiraikotsu forward and cut through one of the scorpion's claws with a single throw of it, but as she charged for the second one she ended up getting knocked off Kirara's back and hurled towards the ground.

"Sango hold on!" Miroku didn't waste any time in rushing to Sango's rescue and catching her before she could hit the ground "Are you alright Sango, you're not hurt are you?"

"Thank you so much for that Miroku, you really saved me from-" Sango cut herself short when she noticed Miroku rubbing one of her thighs, which caused her to blush a deep shade of red and led to a loud slap sounding through the area as a result "Would it kill you to keep your hands to yourself you pervert!"

"You misunderstand my intentions, I was just making sure that your flawless body hadn't been harmed in any way."

"Thanks but no thanks, that wasn't necessary." then the two of them finally got back to focusing on the battle.

"You wanna dance bastard? Let's fucking dance!" Inuyasha let out a primal roar as he brandished the Tessaiga and charged at the scorpion demon, using his sword to bat away waves of poison as he did so, leaving them to melt anything else that they came into contact with, only for this to end with him once again getting hurled into a cliffside "FUCK!"

"Hey Inuyasha, are you okay?" Shippo popped up in front of him.

"Just having an off day, get off my back."

"Oh come on I knew it, you really are hopeless!" this earned him a large bump on the head, which in turn earned a yelp of pain.

"I'm not hopeless enough to not shove Tessaiga down the throat of a little smartass that doesn't know when to shut the hell up."

"Now why does that sound like I've heard it a dozen times this week alone? Oh wait, because I already have."

Inuyasha took a whiff and rolled his eyes at the sight of Tatsu and Kagome both dropping down onto the scene "Took you long enough to show your faces."

"And yet here we are, just in time to save your ass. If it's any consolation though, the late arrival was mainly because we were getting food ready for the rest of you."

"You mean the good stuff?"

"The stuff that took me hours to make." Kagome told him flatly as she caught Shippo from where he was leaping into his arms, then set him and the lunch boxes down on the ground next to her "I spent the whole morning making lunches for you guys, it took a lot longer than I thought it would though."

"This isn't a fucking picnic! Typical woman, you don't have any sense of priorities." this little comment was met with a large ball of water suddenly falling on him, and then he shot a dirty look at Tatsu.

"I apologized already, and I don't think we have time to argue right now."

"Case and point, it's coming right at us. Sea God's Shield!" Tatsu waved his hand and promptly summoned a water shield just in time to block a wave of poison the scorpion demon was shooting from its tail "It's times like this I really love the elemental powers. So give me the rundown Kags, where's the jewel shard?"

"Okay hold on, let me take a look… right there on its tail, just below the stinger with the creepy red eyes attached to it."

"Works for me, and you're not wrong about the eyes in the stinger being creepy as hell by the way. Lucky me, now I get to try out a new technique I've been working on." as his smirk grew wider, Tatsu subsequently covered his body in a set of iron dragon scales, but then most of them disappeared, though the ones on his left arm grew more prominent and started surging with energy 'By concentrating all of the energy I use to create my iron dragon scales across my body, and then channeling it into one single location, I can amplify its effectiveness to an even greater degree, to amplify both my offense and defense. Case and point. IRON GAUNTLET!" with a mighty roar, he launched himself forward and unleashed a powerful iron-enhanced fist that stopped the scorpion in its tracks, and then subsequently caused it to explode, leaving its poison and body parts to fall to the ground in a heap "I've been wanting to try using that one in a real fight for at least a week."

"Good thing you used it the way you did." Sango let out a sigh as she pulled herself back to her feet "If you had gone with the water dragon then the remains of the scorpion would've ended up being scattered everywhere."

"Stuff like this is why it's important to have variety in a fight, like you having god only knows how many blades poking out of your body along with Hiraikotsu. Speaking of which, where's the jewel shard?"

"Just give me a second, it's right here." Kagome promptly thrusted her sword into the remains of the scorpion, causing the jewel shard to fall out and into a puddle of poison, which she promptly picked up, purifying both the shard and the poison with a single touch, as well as causing what was left of the scorpion demon to melt away "Well that's a relief."

"Tell me about it." Inuyasha let out a snort "I was sure you were gonna be too scared to get near the thing."

"Don't think I wasn't thinking about it, but at least I can purify the stuff, even if it still makes me wanna gag if I get too close."

"I say the fact that you don't gag near it is progress in itself." Tatsu assured her, which earned a bright and warm smile in return.

"Well now that we've got that done, what do you guys say we settle down and take a little break for some lunch?"

"Works for me, I skipped breakfast this morning so I need this."

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Meanwhile, with the main antagonist of the movie…

"Well that ended faster than I was hoping for." Menomaru glanced down at the moth resting on his hand, and then down at the large swarm of moth demons surrounding him "So they found the shard of the jewel, and not only that, but the one who wields the Fangs was able to destroy the scorpion with a single attack. This is proving to be quite interesting. Now then. Ruri. Hari."

"Yes master?" both female demons looked up at their names being spoken.

"The time has come."

"We are prepared to carry out your bidding master."

"Excellent. The time has come for us to claim the Fangs with the power needed to break through the spell. The fangs forged by that wretch Ryuhogo."

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Meanwhile, with the main group…

"Alright, there we go." Kagome didn't waste any time in setting up a picnic blanket and unboxing the food for the others "There we go, I even made an extra special lunch for all of us today."

"Yeah you know, I've been meaning to ask about that." Tatsu sat down next to her "You said that it was gonna be for a special occasion, but you haven't told me anything about what it is."

"Come on now, it's not like I need any special reason to do want to something nice for my friends is there?"

"No I never said there is, I was just wondering why."

"Well we've had a lot going on lately, so I though we could use a little bit of time to just sit down and relax for once. Plus I figured it could double as a way to celebrate Inuyasha making the Tessaiga lighter and learning how to use the Backlash Wave."

"You won't hear me complain."

"And so you shouldn't." Miroku let out a sigh as he sat down next to Sango and his hand started wandering, only for a loud slap to sound through the area "We have a wonderful rest of the day waiting for us, we're surrounded by wonderful friends and we get to enjoy some of Kagome's home cooking."

"And you trying to cop a feel on Sango means that it's safe to relax a little bit."

"What the hell is this stuff?" Inuyasha glanced down at the food laid out in front of them "I've never seen half of this stuff before, is it even edible?"

"Come on man give it a rest, you haven't even tried it yet. And before you ask we didn't bring any ramen, so at least have the decency to try it."

"Hey guys?" Shippo glanced down at what he was holding in his chopsticks "How come this octopus has four legs, and where's the face on it?"

"That's because it's not an octopus, it's just a weiner."

"This rice ball is delicious." Sango noted as she finished one of them.

"See guys, if you're open to trying new stuff you might be surprised by what you find. Besides, getting to try some of Kagome's cooking is the kind of opportunity that doesn't come around very often."

"What makes it even more special is that Kagome put such care into her cooking." Miroku gave a smile as he downed some of his own "And as such, we must force ourselves to eat every last morsel of it."

"...You had me right up until the end there, what the hell do you mean force yourself?"

"Hey it doesn't matter, if they like it then that's good enough for me." Kagome then glanced over at Tatsu with a bright smile full of hope "So how's that omelet you've got that there? It's my own personal specialty so I put a lot of work into it, light and fluffy huh?"

"Haven't gotten a chance to try it yet." Tatsu then proceeded to down a piece. And then he subsequently downed three more in an instant "Does that answer your question?"

"So you like it then?"

"It's awesome, definitely up there in my favorites list. It's not often I get to just sit down and enjoy some nice home cooking." he subsequently grabbed Inuyasha to break him out of a mini grudge match he was in with Shippo "Back off and let him have the piece, even if he is a demon he's just a little kid. Let him enjoy it. Anyway where were we? Oh yeah, I don't get to enjoy some home cooking too often. My brother and I can't cook to save our lives."

"You know Tatsu, it's just occurring to me that you don't really talk about your home life very often." Sango pointed out "I mean you've mentioned your parents and brother a few times, but that's about it."

"You really wanna know?"

"If you wouldn't mind."

"No it's alright. Well I already told you about how my mom got sick and passed away when I was litttle, and how my dad was killed in an accident a few years later. Ever since then, I've mainly been living with my older brother, he's about 10 years older than I am, and after he finished with his education he and his girlfriend Moya moved in together, and I've been living with them ever since. That's as far as blood relatives go anyway. Then there's Arashi, he's been my best friend since we were about 4, my mentor Akira, he's actually Moya's younger brother and Kazuma's closest friend, and now there's Raidou, I actually met him not long after we started hunting for the jewel shards. He's the one helping me search for the other Fangs scattered around the world."

"He's hiding stuff from you." Inuyasha told him flatly without looking up from where he was eating.

"For crying out loud, you sound like Arashi and the others."

"It's not like we don't trust him or think he's a bad guy." Kagome was quick to clarify, drawing a number of looks in her direction "I know you trust him and I want to do the same, but we really don't know anything about him."

"You're giving this way too much though. Even if we don't know a ton about him, keep in mind that he did help us with the Noh Mask and he's a huge help with the Fangs, not to mention he's not prying about us travelling through the well even if he knows something's up."

"So he knows that you're coming here but he doesn't bother to ask questions?" Miroku raised an eyebrow as he heard this.

"I've got stuff I'm keeping from him, he's got stuff he's keeping from me. It's part of a mutual agreement the two of us have, if he's not gonna pry into my business then I'm not gonna pry into his."

"Stupid move on your part." was Inuyasha's input.

"I try to see the good in people and to give them the benefit of the doubt, and frankly he still hasn't given me a reason not to trust him. Besides, he gave a better first impression than the rest of you did. Two of you tried to steal from us, and the other two tried to kill me." this caused the others to cringe "I'm not holding it against you, I'm just making a point."

"Right…" Sango cringed slightly, but she quickly shook it off "So you said that your brother is going to be married soon."

"They haven't set a date yet, but I'm guessing it's gonna be within the next few months. I'll tell you now that when they finally become official, my first thought is gonna be: It's about freaking time. Seriously, I've been waiting for it to happen for years."

"You're really supportive of their relationship aren't you?"

"How could I not be? After everything Kazuma has done for me over the years, this is the least I can do for him, and Moya is like the only real mother figure that I have in my life. Besides… I see them as inspiration."

"Inspiration?"

"I always have. What the two of them have is special, it's something that most people spend their whole lives searching for but never find. I look at the two of them, I watch them in action, and that's how I know that love is real and true… and what's more." he glanced over at Kagome as he said this "It's how I know I'm gonna find it for myself someday."

'Tatsu…' hearing what he was saying and seeing the look in his eyes, Kagome found her own face turning red, and then she panicked "Oh wait look at this, I left my backpack behind at the well. I'd better go and get it."

"You want me to get it? Seriously, I'll just teleport back over and grab it-"

"No!" her tone came out rather forceful and left the others taken aback, and only after it came out did she realize her mistake "I mean, I just wanted to clear my head a little bit. I'll get it, I won't be long or anything." and so without another word she frantically hopped on her bike and took off down the path.

"...What did I say?" Tatsu glanced back at the others and noticed the dull look that Sango was giving him "What?"

"Nothing, don't worry about it." Sango didn't bother looking up from her food "It's probably just the sunshine and heat getting to her, I think you should give her some time to calm down. If she's not back in a few minutes then go look for her."

"Yeah, you're probably right." their conversation was cut short by Kirara letting out a small squeal from where she was resting in Sango's lap "How's she holding up?"

"She got hit by some of the toxin from the scorpion, and she's got a fever. It's too bad we don't have Myoga here, he'd be able to suck out the poison."

"I could go get Kagome and have her use the Healing Hand on her. That could work."

"Well I suppose-" Sango was cut off by Kirara bolting to her feet (with a glowing blue mark appearing on her forehead) and then running off into the distance "Kirara wait, where are you going? Come back!" and she quickly rushed off after her.

"Well so much for having a peaceful day. Hold on, I'll go get them and bring them back before they get into trouble."

"No, you should go after Kagome and bring her back. I'll go after Sango and help her in any way she needs." Miroku grabbed hold of Hiraikotsu and prepared to take off, only to quickly notice something "This thing is heavy, how on earth does she manage to make it look so easy?"

"Not being afraid to get her hands dirty, lots of hardcore training over the years, it's a list that keeps going on monk." and so the two of them parted ways.

Inuyasha and Shippo both stayed behind on the scene, and the two of them just shared a glance with each other "Well more food for me." and so he reached for it, only to find Shippo setting his sights on it too, which lead to the two of them staring each other down.

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Meanwhile, with Kagome…

'Oh god, what the heck did I do?' Kagome found herself riding her bike along the path, her mind racing and a pang of guild in her chest 'I had it all worked out, I was gonna wow Tatsu with some of my cooking skills, and then once the others were off doing their own thing, I was gonna tell him that I love him. But then I had to overhear that conversation he had with Sota, how he wants to wait until he finds all of those Fangs before anything else. I knew he was right about that, so I figured I would keep my cool and keep quiet about it, but then he looked at me and started talking about how he wanted to find a girl to fall in love with, I just panicked and did the only thing I could. I ran. God, how am I gonna face him now?' this was when she ended up hitting something on the path and falling to the ground with a thud, one of the wheels of her bike being dented in the process 'Yeah it's official, this would've been a better day for me to have just stayed in bed and told the world to get lost.'

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Meanwhile, with the B-tier members of the group…

"Kirara, hey Kirara where are you?" by this point Sango and Miroku had joined together in order to search for Kirara, only to end up coming across Ruri and Hari within a forest, the two of them watching over Kirara while she was sleeping "Excuse me."

"She belongs to you does she not?" Hari looked up at Sango "She's reacting to the poison of a demonic insect, we just gave her an antidote so she should be alright now." she was met with a sigh of relief from Sango.

"Oh I see, well thank you so much for helping her. You're very kind."

"Not at all, we're glad to be able to help her."

"I'm still grateful for it."

"I too am very grateful, and I have a suggestion for both of you to contemplate." Miroku took a step forward and started to do his thing "As a token of my gratitude for going out of your way to help our feline companion, would either of you ladies kindly consider doing me the honor of bearing my children?" he was met with a Hiraikotsu to the head, courtesy of Sango "Please forgive me for being so forward, it's hard to control myself around women with as much beauty as the two of you."

"Yeah well, who asked you?" Sango rolled her eyes as she took Kirara into her arms.

"Moving on from that. Tell me ladies, did the two of you come from the continent?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact we did." Hari and Ruri shared a glance with each other "How very observant of you."

"And yet you seem to have mastered our language, you speak it fluently."

"Indeed we do. After all, we came to this land many years ago." this was when the blue shells on their foreheads started glowing brightly "Well over 200 years ago, if the truth be told."

'200 years ago? So they're demons.' Miroku's gaze hardened as he motioned for Sango to get back, only for the two of them to get caught by a series of vines bursting forth from the ground, separating Kirara from them in the process 'Well so much for a peaceful day.'

"What are you doing, what do you want with the two of us?"

"You'll see soon enough." Hari then proceeded to blow on a leaf and summon a number of scorpions on the vines entrapping the two of them.

"Those are- Wait hold on a second, the giant scorpion demon from this morning…"

"You are correct, I was the one who summoned it." Hari and Ruri then went on to reveal their true demonic appearances to them "Everything is going exactly as we had hoped."

'So this means the whole thing was a trap, and we walked right into it! We tend to do that a lot now that I think about it.'

"Sango hold on, I'll save you!" Miroku was quick to open up his Wind Tunnel, sucking in all of the scorpions that were covering her.

"I've been waiting for you to use that power of yours." Ruri suddenly blitzed behind Miroku and used her phasing ability to phase her right hand into Miroku's, despite his struggles "You waste your time trying to free yourself, you cannot escape my powers of duplication."

"So you're saying-" Miroku didn't get to finish that thought as Sango was sent hurtling towards him by the force of his Wind Tunnel, so he quickly sealed it shut using his prayer beads and caught Sango in his arms, sending both of them crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

"Miroku are you alright?" Sango was quick to help him to his feet.

"Yes I believe I'm fine. The only question is, what did that woman do to me?"

"At last, now I have the power of your Wind Tunnel in my possession." Ruri opened her right palm to reveal her own version of the Wind Tunnel, drawing Miroku and Sango towards her with its power.

'Dammit, dammit, dammit!' Miroku was quick to grab hold of Sango and drive his staff into the ground to stop both of them from being sucked in.

"Well how about it monk, do you have any thoughts before you die?" Ruri gave a smrik and was about to advance forward, only to be forced to withdraw her Wind Tunnel by an arrow being shot at her from the distance "It seems we have some unwanted interference."

"It doesn't matter, our business here is done." Hari told her.

"So be it then, would you care to do the honors?"

"Of course. Kirara!" this prompted Kirara to emerge from within the woods by their side and flash into her giant form, as well as having a glowing blue shell on her forehead like the two of them did.

"Kirara wait, what are you doing?" Sango tried to reach out to Kirara, only to stop in her tracks when she was met with a snarl "What's the matter, don't you recognize me anymore?"

"You're wasting your time, she's one of us now." Hari and Ruri promptly mounted Kirara's back as she took off into the sky.

"Kirara!"

"We'll be leaving now, and we're taking the two-tail with us." and so they disappeared into the sky.

"Dammit!"

"Kirara seems to be under their spell." Miroku frowned in thought "I'll bet it's because of the poison from the scorpion. We have to do something to bring her back."

"As if you had to say anything." Sango stepped behind a tree to get changed into her Demon Slayer attire.

'I have a bad feeling about this.'

"Are ye two alright?" this was when Kaede suddenly stepped out from within the trees, armed with her bow and a quiver of arrows.

"So you were the one who fired that arrow Lady Kaede?"

"Yes, I felt a restlessness among the trees so I came to investigate."

"Well you came just in the nick of time, so thank you for your help."

"Tell me, are ye going to go after those women?"

"Yes."

"There was never any question about it." Sango stepped out from the bushes, clad in her Demon Slayer uniform "They headed to the West."

"That's in the direction of the Forest of No Return."

"Ye must take the utmost care, restlessness in the trees signifies that a disaster is about to take place, or that something evil is already afoot. In any case…" Kaede cut herself short when she looked up and saw that Miroku and Sango were long gone "I was talking here ye know, that's just rude."

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Meanwhile, with a certain undead priestess…

At the same time, Kikyo was making her way through a forest covered in mist, her group of soul collectors doing their job and bringing her dead souls to sustain herself, when she came upon a certain tree, her mind drifting 'It would seem that the Tree of Ages is sensing an impending danger. There is trouble looming not far ahead. That boy that wields the fangs of a demon… is he being targeted?'

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Meanwhile, with Kagome…

'Well that could've gone a lot better.' by this point, Kagome was now walking her bike along the path to the forest, observing the damage to her bike as she did so 'What the heck am I gonna tell mom about this? I had a tiny little accident while I was brooding about my lovelife and I need a new bike, there's no way she's gonna go for it.' she let out a sigh as she continued on through the forest, only to stop when she saw the Sacred Tree, with Kikyo standing in front of it and her Soul Collectors surrounding it 'That's Kikyo.'

'Inuyasha…' sensing the presence of another, Kikyo glanced back in Kagome's direction, which prompted her to panic and hide in a nearby bush.

'Wait this is ridiculous, what the heck am I hiding for? It's not like I've done anything to her, I haven't even seen her since that time when… when she tried to kill me and stole our shards of the jewel. Tatsu hasn't been shy about his disdain for her since then, and…' she glanced up at from her place in the bushes, only to see that Kikyo was long gone 'Oh. Well to be honest, that's kind of a relief.' she slowly made her way towards the tree herself, her thoughts drifting 'The Sacred Tree again… this is where I first met Tatsu, and where we freed Inuyasha from the seal he was put under. It's also where Kikyo and Inuyasha parted. The two of them were so close to each other, they understood each other, and I know that Kikyo still loves Inuyasha, and she never stopped loving her, despite what she may say. Tatsu has always loved me, but only recently have I come to realize that. It was even more recently that I finally came to understand that while he's in love with me, I'm also in love with him. Well I guess I'd better get back- Wait, what's htat?' as she saw something up on the trunk of the Sacred Tree, she reached up for it, only to retract her hand and find that she was now bleeding 'What the heck was that, and what did I do that for? Well that's what I get for being nosy. The main reason why I'm here in the Feudal Era is to gather the shards of the Shikon Jewel and restore it to its original form, but Tatsu… I don't really know why he keeps coming back. I mean unlike me, he doesn't have any actual reason to. In all fairness, he has every right to just go back to our time, keep living life and all that, and devote all of his focus onto finding the last two Fangs.'

"Hey."

Kagome's head snapped up and she found Tatsu sitting in front of her, and she tried to stop herself from blushing "Oh, hey. What are you doing here?"

"You seemed pretty freaked out so I came to look for you. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Sorry I ran off like that, it's just… just the heat sort of getting to me today, that's all. Oh yeah, way to chicken out Kagome.'

"Well in any case just give me a second, I'll deal with this. Too bad Myoga isn't around to deal with this, it would probably be an all you can eat buffet in his eyes." Tatsu pulled out a small cloth from within his gi, ripped off a piece of it and wrapped it around Kagome's finger "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine, like I said I just needed to clear my head because of the heat."

"Kags you're good at a lot of things, lying isn't one of them." he let out a sigh "If you don't want to explain it to me then you don't have to, but whatever happens I'm always gonna be here by your side. You know that right?"

"Yeah I know." a brief pause that lasted for only a moment "Hey Tatsu, you mind if I ask you something while I've got the chance?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"How come you keep coming back here, to this era I mean?"

"What do you mean, why wouldn't I?"

"I have a reason to keep coming back, I mean it's my fault that the jewel ended up getting shattered in the first place. But what about you?"

"Well for one, I promised I'd stand by you no matter what, and you'll never see me go back on my word."

"But that can't be the only reason why."

"I didn't say that it was. The second is… it's because I made a promise. To Ryuhogo."

"About what?"

"I don't know if I told you this, but Ryuhogo and I talked awhile back about the Fangs, and why he made them in the first place. He knew Midoriko when she was alive."

"So he was friends with her?"

"A lot more than that. The two of them were lovers. Oh, and Kirara is way older than we think and apparently she was a companion of Modorilo " that caused Kagome's jaw to drop "Yeah I know, it caught me off guard too. He was with Midoriko in that final battle against that army of demons, but when it came to an end she sacrificed herself to save him, and then she ended up creating the jewel when she forced out her own soul along with the demons. Ryuhogo let himself wallow in his own grief for god only knows how long, but eventually he snapped out of it enough to try and find a way to free her soul from within the jewel. All of them failed, until he created these Fangs that I wear now." he held up the necklace he wore for emphasis "The Fangs are more than just tools to grant the user his power, their main purpose for being created in the first place is to act as a counter agent to the bloodshed caused by the Jewel. The Fangs are meant to be used not to destroy or shed blood, but to protect, and I gave him my word that I would make sure they were used for the right reasons."

"That's… Wow, that's a lot to take in."

"Tell me about it." he finished tying the cloth around Kagome's finger would "Alright there, you should be good to go. Come on we'd better get back, the others are probably gonna need us for when things go to hell."

"R-Right. I should've known, he never does anything crazy without a reason, even if that reason in itself is totally crazy. He's doing what he does in order to protect people… just like how he's always protected me. Hey Tatsu?"

"Yeah?"

"I have something I've been wanting to tell you for a little while. I-"

"Hold that thought." Tatsu gestured up to where a large swarm of moths were descending toward the two of them from above, unleashing a cloud of powder that prompted him to tie a cloth to his face "Oh crap."

"How the heck did we miss that? There's millions of them, where are they coming from?"

"Not important, just hold your breath. Sango told me about these moth demons, you breath in their power and it will make you black out."

"R-Right." Kagome was quick to cover her mouth "How long do I have to stay like this?"

"With any luck, about 20 seconds at the most, case and point. Iron Spear Storm!" without the slightest hesitation, Tatsu leapt into the air and unleashed a barrage of iron spears from all of his fingertips, ripping through a large number of them with ease, only to discover a problem 'Shit, that barely put a dent in them.'

"You're wasting your time human." this was when Menomaru himself appeared on the scene from within the swarm of moths, looking down on Tatsu and Kagome with disdain "The one who wields the Fangs of that wretch, your name is Tatsu is it not?"

"That depends, who's asking and what is it you want with me?" Tatsu gripped both of his swords on instinct.

"You may call me Menomaru, but I would much rather allow my sword to act as my introduction to you!" so he brandished his sword and charged towards him.

Tatsu didn't hesitate in blocking the blade of Menomaru's sword with his own, a surge of demonic energy being unleashed as a result of the clash 'This guy's definitely got some power going for him.'

"Excellent, not only do you wield the steel bathed in his blood, but you carry three of his Fangs with you."

"I don't know what it is you're talking about, and frankly I don't care." he broke off from the clash and quickly blitzed over to Kagome's side "How are you holding up?"

"I'm sorry, I can't hold it anymore." red in the face, Kagome was forced to exhale and let out a series of coughs before breathing in a lot of air, which unfortunately included the poison powder, which caused her to pass out, leaving her to be caught by Tatsu and then gently lowered to the ground.

'Dammit, I should've moved her away from here before trying to fight him.

"It's such a pity you know." Menomaru lowered himself to the ground in front of Tatsu and looked at him with eyes full of disdain "You hold the power to change the world in the palm of your hand, and yet you waste it by using it to protect a mere mortal. I would use the power you wield for a much more noble cause."

"And what would that be?"

"To claim vengeance upon the one who sealed me into dormancy, now hand those Fangs over to me and I might consider letting you live."

"Not on your life you damn dirty insect." the two of them clashed their swords once again, but this led to both of Tatsu's swords being knocked out of his hand 'He aimed at my hands rather than my swords to try and knock them out of my grip, this guy knows what he's doing. No that doesn't matter now, I've gotta finish him off fast and get Kagome out of here. Iron Gauntlet!" he covered one arm in iron dragon scales and demonic energy, and he hurtled himself forward.

"That won't work on me." Menomaru breathed out a volley of moth demons to stop Tatsu in his tracks, as well as cloud his vision with poison.

'Dammit this is bad, everything is getting blurry. I can't see anything. Good thing I still know how to sense Ki.' so using his Ki sensing ability, Tatsu was forced to go on the evasive, dodging the series of sword strikes Menomaru was aiming at him.

"So even without your eyes, you can still sense my movements. Interesting, but still not very effective." to this point, Menomaru thrusted his sword toward Tatsu and ended up stabbing him in the abdomen with it, as well as ripping off the mask covering his face and the Fangs he wore around his neck "And now you have no power of your own."

'Dammit… I can't move…' Tatsu could only cough up a substantial amount of blood as he fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"How pathetic, are you losing consciousness so soon? I thought that he would've done a more careful job with choosing his successor." Menomaru let out a scoff as he sheathed his sword and made his way over to where the Fangs lay on the ground "Tatsu is not? Now I shall run you through and end your miserable existence, and I shall do so using the very powers that were gifted to you by Ryuhogo himself." he knelt down and moved to grab hold of the Fangs, only for a surge of energy to repel him and force him to retreat his hand 'So he placed a barrier around the Fangs to prevent me from touching them. How typical, and yet it is still disappointing as I had expected it to be. It seems you are the only one that can wield these Fangs.' he then glanced over to where Kagome lay on the ground unconscious 'Perhaps I can use this mortal wench to further my goals though, so I suppose it's not a total loss.'

"So many years and you still haven't changed have you?"

Menomaru glanced off to the side to see the apparition of Ryuhogo appearing before him, and he couldn't help but smirk at the sight of him "I see that the same can be said for you. I've done my fair share of gathering information, and it seems that the one you loved is no longer a part of this world, at least if this is anything to go by." he held up a jewel shard to Ryuhogo, causing his gaze to harden "Don't worry, I don't plan to use it to make myself more powerful. Once my plans come to fruition, I won't need it for such a thing. All I need to do is release the seal, and my true power, my destiny, will at last be fulfilled. Your sealing me away did little more than delay the inevitable."

"The purpose of sealing you away was to give you a chance to see the good in humans, the potential they possess, to know what it means to understand that true strength comes from honor and compassion. Evidently, you have the same mindset as your father. I gave you a chance, and you threw it away."

"I needed no chance or sympathy from you, the only thing I need from you is the power that you put into those Fangs, in order to undo the seal and claim my birthright. The only difference between now and last time is that you won't be around to stop me."

"I never said that I intended to stop you, because I'm fully aware that my time amongst the living has long since come to an end. I have another set on that path."

"You mean this boy?" he looked down at Tatsu with disdain "You truly believe that a human brat like him will be able to stop me?"

"He hasn't given me any reason to believe otherwise. I gave you a chance to change, but you discarded it. Whatever happens next, you have no one to blame but yourself." and so he then vanished in a flash of light.

Menomaru merely scowled as he slung Kagome over his shoulder and disappeared in a swarm of moths.

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A little while later…

"Alright you've slept around long enough, get the hell up already."

Tatsu let out a groan as he opened his eyes and found Inuyasha and Shippo looming over him, as well as having his own chest covered in bandages "Great, what do you… Shit!" he suddenly bolted upright, then cringed from the pain of his wounds.

"Don't move around too much too fast, you're just a weak human after all." Inuyasha quickly helped him to his feet and placed the Fangs back around his neck "Now I know another reason why you keep Kagome around, it turns out that those Fangs can't help heal you when you get hurt. Shippo just finished bandaging that giant hole you got lodged in your gut."

"Forget it, these things won't be a problem for me once I get moving. What about Kagome, is she alright?"

"There's no sign of her." he gestured to where Kagome once lay unconscious, but now there was no sign of her "Miroku and Sango haven't come back yet, and Kagome's scent is mixed in with something I don't recognize."

"That bastard… he took me out and took Kagome with him…"

"The demon I'm smelling around here?"

"Yeah…"

"Wait what?!" Shippo promptly pounced at Tatsu "You mean Kagome didn't go back to your world through the well?"

"If she went back then I would've gone with her. How about it Inuyasha, can you at least pick up her scent?"

"No problem, it's still there plain as day." Inuyasha told him flatly.

"Good, we've gotta get moving. This isn't any ordinary demon we're dealing with, this guy knew his way around a fight and he knew about the Fangs I wear. My gut's telling me this is a lot worse than we think it is."

"It's far worse than you can imagine it to be."

Tatsu and the others all jumped at the sound of another voice catching their attention, though he quickly relaxed, albeit only to a certain extent, when he saw who it was "You really should give someone a heads up when you're about to do that."

As it turns out, standing before them was the figure of Ryuhogo himself, albeit his body was somewhat seethrough and surrounded by a white glow "I know you don't appreciate my use of impromptu surprises like this, but we don't have any time for pleasantries right now."

"And we also don't have time to talk, not when this bastard took Kagome, so I don't have a second to lose."

"Exactly, so tell your friend here to piss off." Inuyasha let out a snarl as he gripped the hilt of his sword, only to be stopped by Tatsu holding out a hand in front of him "What?"

"First of all, you mean to say you can see him?"

"Why the hell wouldn't I be able to?"

"Because it was my understanding that whenever he did stuff like this, he could only be seen by people who wielded the Fangs and those who were around back when he was still alive."

"So who the hell is he?"

"I've got a few ways to describe him, like he's my mentor, my spirit guide, my conscience and other stuff like that. But the one that might interest you the most is that he's the one who created the Fangs that I wear right now."

"Wait, you're saying…"

"Yep. Inuyasha, Shippo, this is the spirit of the Great Dragon Demon, Ryuhogo himself."

"As much as I would like to have a proper introduction, I'm afraid that we don't have the time for such a thing." Ryuhogo told them, his tone calm but firm "The demon that Tatsu faced not long ago is known by the name of Menomaru. He's the only son of Hyoga, an infamous moth demon that originated from the continent many centuries ago."

"So you know him? I knew I didn't like the sound of it, but at least that explains how he knew about these Fangs." Tatsu promptly took off running, with Inuyasha following right behind him and carrying Shippo on his shoulder.

"Exactly. Many years ago, a massive mongol army from the continent launched a full-scale attack on these lands. The leader of these demons was Hyoga, and he came here to steal away the souls of those whose lives were lost in battle. At that time, Midoriko and I were still protecting these lands, attempting to make peace between humans and demons. The success of this goal was mixed, to put it in simple terms. The fought against Hyoga with overwhelming ferocity and brought forth thunder and winds and created a storm that devastated the lands and everything in its path. The battle was fierce, but in the end I was able to end Hyoga's rampage by ending him, permanently, and thus we chased the foreign demons back to the continent."

"So where does Menomaru come into this?"

"As I said, I slew Hyoga himself and drove his forces back to the continent. The only one left after this was Menomaru. He swore vengeance for the death of his father and vowed that he would return to claim vengeance upon me. Part of me wanted to kill him to ensure that it would never come to pass."

"What's the other part?"

"The part that listens to Midoriko. She claimed that if given the chance, perhaps he could come to change his views on humans. After all, if I did then there's no reason why he would be unable to do the same. I agreed with her, and so I sealed him away. I thought that he would be able to change."

"And look how that turned out." Inuyasha let out a snort.

"Yes, if recent events are anything to go by, then it would seem that the chance he was given was for nothing. However, even if he wasted that chance, I don't regret giving it to him. While the majority of those on the wrong path may eventually change their ways, there are those that will not, and he is one of them. Even so, while there are those that don't change, there are also those that do. You yourself are a prime example."

"...Shut up." he looked away indignantly.

"I rest my case."

"So getting back to the demon that wants revenge on you, can you at least tell us exactly where you sealed him away?" asked Tatsu.

"That's where I'm leading the three of you right now, the place I sealed him away was in the Tree of Ages in the Forest of No Return."

"All I need to know. Inuyasha you said you had the scent?"

"I do right now and we're getting closer." Inuyasha took the lead, with Tatsu following right by his side as they made their way through the forest.

"So what else do we need to know about this?" Tatsu glanced back behind him, only to find that the apparition of Ryuhogo had already vanished.

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Meanwhile, at the Tree of Ages…

Nightfall came, and the moon was shining over the skies above.

With their tasks accomplished, Ruri and Hari (along with Kirara still being under their mind control), returned to the Tree of Ages and found Menomaru waiting for them "Tell us my lord, how did you fare? Did you succeed in your task?"

"Not in the way I had hoped, but it wasn't a complete loss." Menomaru stepped to the side and revealed where Kagome was being strung up by a series of vines "I may not have been able to acquire the Fangs, but this will work just as well."

"What do you intend to do with the girl?"

"I will use her in order to lure the one who wields the Fangs to me."

"But why bring him to our hideout my lord?"

"As I said, the Fangs that boy wears have a barrier surrounding them, and as such, I am unable to use them myself. I cannot inherit the legacy of my father until the spell that wretch placed on this Fang has been broken, and the only way to accomplish that is with the power of another one of his Fangs."

"Forgive me my lord, but I fail to see how a mere mortal girl would be enough to lure him here to do what you say."

"You have nothing to worry about, he'll come without a doubt. Humans are too dependent on their companionship, and this one is no different. Then there's the fact that Ryuhogo himself had fallen in love with a mortal woman, and it's painfully obvious that the boy who now wields his Fangs has fallen for this mortal wench."

"Indeed, such eccentrics."

"Well said. Hari, watch over this moral girl. I have an idea of how we will be able to successfully rid ourselves of that human wretch."

"I understand master." Hari bowed to him and handed Kirara over to Ruri, then made her way over to Kagome's unconscious form and prepared to place a shell on her forehead, only to recoil as it was repelled "How strange."

"What is it?"

"This girl possesses unusually strong spiritual powers, and I can tell that she has even greater powers that lie dormant within her."

"Perhaps she is a priestess then, but this does give me an idea." Menomaru pulled out a red-tinted jewel shard and handed it to her "Use this on the girl instead."

"A shard of the Shikon Jewel, are you certain about this master?"

"There was never any question about the matter. After all, one with power as great as what I possess does not have any need for such a thing."

"As you wish master." Hari placed the jewel shard on one of her shells, the two of them fusing together into one, and then she placed it on Kagome's forehead.

Once this happened, Kagome's eyes snapped open and she unconsciously unleashed a surge of spiritual power that disintegrated the vines holding her, causing Hari to retreat back a short distance. Once she was free, she quickly pulled herself back to her feet "What's going on, what do you want with me?"

"You were able to break free so easily." Menomaru noted, a smirk spreading across his face "It would seem that you do indeed possess remarkable levels of spiritual prowess. I can see that the Fang Wielder could see this as well."

"You mean Tatsu? What the heck do you want with him?" she reached for her sword, only to realize that it wasn't there, and she glanced over to see it lying off to the side of the area, along with a bow and a few arrows.

"You don't need to worry about that mortal, your human companion who wields the Fangs will be here very shortly. Rest assured you will see him again, before I rid this world of him once and for all."

"That's not going to happen, I'm not gonna let you lay a hand on him." she quickly grabbed her sword from where it lay on the side, but then she saw Kirara in their company, and how she was growling at her 'Kirara… this feeling around her, and that glowing mark on her head… are they controlling her? What did you do to her?"

"You refer to the two-tail do you not? She belongs to us now, she cannot hear anything you say to her anymore. She belongs to us."

"You're wrong about that." Kagome promptly drew her Seishin Rozu and pointed the blade directly at Menomaru "Turn her back to normal and hand her over."

"You have quite the fire in your eyes don't you?"

"Turn her back, I'm not gonna say it again."

"I can see that. Now then my friends, keep this girl company and try to provide me with some entertainment." with a wave of his hand, Menomaru summoned a large hore of moth demons that descended down towards her.

'Okay, that's… a lot of moth demons. No I have to remember what Tatsu said, if I breathe in any of that powder then I'll black out again. I guess I'll just have to finish them off before they can release the powder!' so with a deep breath, Kagome took a step forward and unleashed a stroke of her sword, and with the stroke came a wave of spiritual power that purified every moth demon it touched, and then she went on to repeat this process with a number of new strokes, her spiritual power ripping through dozens of moths at a time until she set her sights on Ruri and Hari, and she prepared to launch an attack at them, when…

"Hiraikotsu!" with its sudden appearance, Hiraikotsu ripped through almost all of the remaining moth demons, courtesy of Sango as she and Miroku arrived on the scene "Kagome?"

"Oh hey guys, thanks for coming. Is Tatsu with you?"

"We left the others to come and find Kirara, we had no idea you'd be here. I don't know what they're planning, but we have to stop them regardless."

"That's what I was planning to do, so are you up for taking them on as a team?"

"It would be my pleasure, now let's go." and so the two of them, along with Miroku charged forward at full speed, only to be met with Kirara barring their way "Kirara!"

"It would seem that she doesn't want to return to you." Hari summoned a series of twin swords and unleashed a wave of energy from the blades.

"Sango hold on!" Kagome was quick to use her sword to block Hari's attacks "Try and get through to Kirara, I can take care of her myself." and so she started clashing against Hari, sword against swords.

"Right." and so Sango charged off towards Kirara to try and snap her out of it.

"I'll take you on myself good monk." Ruri charged towards Miroku at full speed as she used her demonic powers to summon a spear in her hands.

"We're going to defeat you and take both of our friends back!" Miroku brandished his staff as he started clashing against Ruri, managing to block every attack she hurled at him, but also finding that he was unable to land one himself.

During the chaos, Kagome dodged an attack from Heri and gave a single clean stroke of her sword infused with spiritual energy, which proved to be enough to cut off one of her arms "I did say before that I was serious, I'm not gonna let anyone get away with hurting my friends."

"I've had enough of your prattling wench." this was when Menomaru finally spoke up "I brought you here as bait, so quiet down and start acting like it."

"Forget it, if you wanna make me to bow at your feet then you're gonna have to make me do it by force!"

"Well okay then." so Menomaru brandished his sword and charged towards her.

'...Okay, mistakes have been made.' despite this though crossing through mind, Kagome was quick to start fending off Menomaru and his sword using her own 'Note to self, learn how to shut up in front of the guy who kidnapped you and can summon an army of moth demons out of thin air.' she could only brace herself for his next attack, when…

"Aqua Javelin!" a large spear made of solidified water hurtled towards the two of them, courtesy of Tatsu as he and the others arrived on the scene "Step away from her and I'll make sure this doesn't drill through your throat."

"I'd very much like to see you try." Menomaru broke off his attack on Kagome and leapt into the air to avoid being hit by the water javelin, leaving it to drill through the tree behind him "And here I was beginning to think you would never come."

"Then clearly you don't know who you're dealing with or just how badly you've pissed me off by doing what you did today. I mainly came here to take Kagome back and make sure she's safe, but if I have to drive a sword through your skull to do that then so be it. Sorry to keep you guys waiting for so long."

"Don't worry about it, I'm just glad you're okay." Kagome breathed a sigh as she quickly made her way over to Tatsu's side "You are okay right?"

"I should be saying that to you, you're the one who just went one on one with him. Nice work by the way, it might have been brief but you really held your own."

"That's just because I had a good teacher, but as much as I'd like to keep going with our little back and forth, we've got another problem."

"And that would be?"

"Kirara!" seeing that they were about to fight a losing battle, Hari and Ruri regroup and made the call, prompting Kirara to swoop in and take them away into the night sky.

"...Oh, that's the problem. Oh crap. Someone wanna provide some context?"

"Short version, probably mind control." Inuyasha told him flatly.

"Have we seen anything like that yet?"

"Sango's kid brother got brought back and turned into a puppet by Naraku."

"No I get that, I meant to someone in our group. Lying to them and manipulating them is one thing, but genuine full on mind control is something I don't think we've seen happen to any of us before."

"Well then you may very well live long enough to see this as the first." Menomaru cut into their conversation by launching an attack on Tatsu, forcing him onto the defensive.

"Oh yeah right, you're still here. Inuyasha grab Kagome and the others and take cover, leave this one to me."

"You say that as if you can face me on your own. I've already seen plenty of what you're capable of and to put it simply, I'm not impressed."

"Yeah well, you know the difference? Now you're about to see what I can do when you piss me off. Case and point. Iron Gauntlet!" he promptly struck Menomaru in the chest with his Iron Gauntlet, sending him crashing into the side of the tree, and then crashing to the ground with a loud thud.

"...Well that was a fucking letdown." Inuyasha commented dryly "I thought he would've put up more of a fight than that."

"Don't let your guard down, he's not dead yet." he gestured to where the surrounding areas within the tree started glowing red.

The red glow extended into Menomaru's body, and he suddenly pulled himself back to his feet, a malicious smirk plastered across his face "Did you truly believe such an attack like that would be enough for you to defeat me?"

"More of a hope than a thought. Dammit, now he can revive himself whenever he dies? Yeah, it's definitely one of those days.'

"You will never be able to defeat me for one simple reason. I am immortal."

'Oh shit.'

"Not necessarily. He's only able to revive himself because his body is absorbing the demonic power from previous generations of the Hyoga bloodline, they lie dormant behind him."

"I thought you said you killed his father."

"I did, but while his body was destroyed in our last battle, his near limitless levels of demonic power remain sealed inside the tree."

"Wait a second, you mean you sealed his power in the same tree you sealed his son?"

"Without a body to contain it, the demonic energy Hyoga left behind in the event of his death began to run wild, and I had to seal it away or else risk destroying all of the land."

"And now there's a growing chance of that happening now that this guy wants to get his hands on that power."

"It's more than a growing chance." Menomaru dropped into a stance with his sword "Your efforts are in vain, a mere human such as you will never be able to defeat me. My power is unrivaled in all of the land."

"I don't care what kind of power you have going for you, I've never backed down from a fight before and I'm not gonna start now."

"How bold of you, let's see you back up that claim."

"Oh believe me, I intend to." Tatsu sheathed both of his swords on his back as water began to circulate around his body "One clean shot is all I need."

"Tatsu stop, that's what he wants!" but this warning was said too late.

"Sea Dragon's ROAR!" with a wave of his hand, Tatsu summoned a large water dragon and set it hurtling forward, hitting Menomaru square in the chest and catching him in its jaws.

"Yes, at last the moment is at hand!" Menomaru barked out a laugh of triumph, despite the situation he found himself in "This is the moment that I've been waiting for!" and then he let himself be engulfed entirely by the water dragon, along with the seal behind him, both of them going up in an explosion of steam.

'...Why do I feel like I just made things so much worse?'

"To put it in simple terms, it's because you did."

'Ask a stupid question.' this was followed by the seal in front of them going up in a powerful explosion of demonic energy, which caused their surroundings to start caving in.

"At last, the moment I've been waiting for has come!" Menomaru's barking laugh of malice and triumph echoed throughout the area "The seal has finally been broken, and now I can claim my destiny!"

"Yep I was right, things just got worse. Come on guys, we're getting out of here." so he promptly grabbed onto Kagome and the others, and they all disappeared via the Dragon Warp.

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About half a minute later…

Thanks to his Dragon Warp, Tatsu was able to teleport everyone outside of the Tree of Ages a safe distance away from where it was collapsing, and he breathed a sigh "That was a close one, is everyone okay?"

"We're all fine, but what about you?" asked Kagome.

"I've been worse, the only real problem I've got is that the Dragon Warp takes up a lot of energy so I can't use it too often, or else risk pretty much burning myself out. I try not to use it unless absolutely necessary, and I think a magic tree exploding with demonic power is a pretty good reason for it." this was followed by the Tree of Ages finally collapsing on them.

From within the rubble of the tree's collapse emerged the figure of a new tree, albeit with a sphere of demonic power on top, and Menomaru standing on top of that, still laughing over his supposed triumph "At last, it's finally within my grasp! I have to say Tatsu, you're the one I have to thank for this. My father Hyoga was felled by your predecessor in battle, and his demonic power was sealed away in this very spot. I spent centuries sealed away by him as well, until the power of a Shikon Jewel shard freed me from my imprisonment. But the only weapons with the demonic power necessary to break the seal are the ones that you wear around your neck."

"Yeah I know, he already told me about that. So what you're saying is that you played me like a sucker and used me to break the seal because you didn't have the power to do it yourself."

"Spare me your attempts to play on my arrogance, I have no need for it. Now that the seal has finally been broken, I can inherit generations of my family's power!" and so he thrusted his sword down into the demonic sphere he was standing on, cutting it wide open and letting the energy flow into him, before he flowed into the sphere and began taking all of it into himself, laughing maniacally as he did so.

'Well this isn't a good sign, so what are we looking at?'

"This is the beginning of the succession ceremony. Once it's completed, Menomaru will have come into possession of the power of his father and become even more dangerous than he was to begin with. To put it in simple terms, he will absorb all of the power of his father and his predecessors and become the new Lord Hyoga. I hate to admit this, but as you are right now, you may not be able to defeat him."

'What the hell are you talking about? You beat him before didn't you?"

"Each generation of the Hyoga clan absorbs the power of the previous generations, and thus it increases their power. As he is right now, the new Hyoga is already much more powerful than the demon that I had defeated. Three of my Fangs may not be enough on their own."

'Well we'll just have to wait and see. Inuyasha, you thinking what I'm thinking?"

"Hit him with everything we've got and blow him to hell?" Inuyasha guessed "It won't matter how much more powerful this bastard gets if we kill him."

"Took the words right out of my mouth, now let's go." and so the two of them charged forward at full speed without hesitation "I'm thinking we both strike him in the same spot, my water dragon with your Wind Scar. The two of them combined isn't gonna be something he can just up and walk away from."

"Good enough for me. Wind Scar!" Inuyasha whipped out his sword and unleashed a Wind Scar aimed at the demonic sphere.

"Sea Dragon's Roar!" following up on the Wind Scar, Tatsu unleashed a water dragon as big as he could make it, the two attacks both merging onto the same area, only to end up resulting in a powerful explosion that sent both of them tumbling backwards in two simultaneous heaps "Okay then… I imagined that going differently."

"You and the half-breed waste your efforts human scum." Menomaru let out a scoff "As if I would ever allow myself to be wounded by a piece of arrogant trash like you. You served your purpose for me, and now I have on further use for you. You should feel honored I'm allowing you to bear witness to my succession as the new Lord Hyoga."

"That's not gonna happen while I'm still drawing breath!" Tatsu blitzed in front of him via the Dragon Warp, water circulating around his body.

"You truly believe your water dragon is going to do anything? It didn't work before, what makes you believe it would work now."

"Well first of all, this one is bigger. Second of all, this one is point blank range, so that should at least do something. Sea Dragon's ROAR!" true to his word, Tatsu unleashed an even larger water dragon at point blank range, the dragon then engulfing Menomaru in its mouth and clamping it shut, resulting in a powerful explosion and a cloud of steam, with Tatsu being sent hurtling backwards by the backlash, but he managed to rebound as he returned to the ground next to the others 'Did that get him?'

"It's as I said before, you can't hurt me." the smoke and steam cleared to reveal Menomaru, still alive and not even scratched "I can't have you die on me just yet though, you'll only end up spoiling all of my fun. I've prepared some special arrangements for your death."

"You're not fooling me Menomaru, your father was afraid of Ryuhogo and lost to him, and that's why you're afraid of me. Get out here and face me like a man."

"You can talk as big as a man but the question remains, can you fight like one?"

"Why don't you come out here and see for yourself."

"So be it then." Menomaru promptly unleashed a ray of demonic energy, not at Tatsu, but instead of him…

'Shit, he's aiming for- Sea God's Shield!" Tatsu blitzed in front of Kagome and the others and created a water shield, defleating the energy ray and causing it to deonate off in the distance, saving everyone in the process 'That was way too close. So what do I do, even if three Fangs isn't enough there has to be some way for me to beat him, some kind of attack that can hurt him. Does he have some sort of weakness I can exploit? How did you go about it when you fought his father the first time?'

"Well for one, I had Midoriko by my side supporting me. For another, the battle raged on for nearly two straight days and nights, and it only came to an end when I was able to muster the strength to use my most powerful attack: the Dragon Cannon."

'Okay good, so how do I use it?'

"If you wish to use it then I have to teach it to you, and the only place I can do this is in the Meeting of the Minds."

'I think we both know damn well that I don't have time for that, not with him getting more and more powerful by the second and with Kagome and the others in his line of fire. I guess only have one option left.' gritting his teeth, Tatsu drew both his swords and charged at Menomaru at full speed, only to be caught in an energy field in mid-air, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Even now, you don't understand how strong I am do you?" Menomaru let out a chuckle at the sight of Tatsu in pain "How unfortunate for you. This attack is in your honor, now you and all of your so-called friends shall be gone from the face of the Earth!" and he unleashed a massive wave of demonic energy that engulfed Tatsu and everyone else and sent them flying away into the distance, as well as leaving a long crater behind from the blast. With this enemies supposedly vanquished, Menomaru barked out a laugh if triumph and proceeded with his plans "Come forth, all of my subjects kneel before me! Bring me your offerings, I hunger for the souls of all living creatures in this world!"

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As a result of Menomaru's command, the demonic energy from the succession ritual caused the roots beneath the earth to start running wild as the new tree began to grow and evolve beneath him, blossoming into a new tree that towered high above the earth and into the clouds, which was visible for miles around.

To make things even worse, Menomaru also went on to send out a swarm of moth demons in every direction that dispersed their poison powder in large waves, any humans that breathed it in being rendered unconscious. Having been left in this weakened state, the souls of these humans were left unable to resist Menomaru's power, and he ended up sucking their souls out of their bodies and absorbing them, leaving him to laugh in triumph as pure souls were absorbed into his chrysalis.

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Meanwhile, back at the only village that people really give a damn about…

"Oh no…" from her place at the village, Kaede and the rest of the villagers could only look on in horror at the sight of the chaos taking place, with the Tree of Ages at the center of it "The Tree of Ages… I don't understand, how could this happen?"

"Lady Kaede look, there's something coming this way!" Rikichi directed her attention to where a swarm of moth demons was hurtling towards the village.

"As long as I still draw breath, they will not harm this village!" to that end, Kaede formed a quick hand seal and utilized an incantation summoned a sacred barrier around the village, and all of the moth demons that flew into its path were purified within a matter of seconds. Once the moth demons were all dealt with, Kaede fell to her knees in exhaustion "Me thinks I be getting too old for this…"

"Are you alright Lady Kaede?"

"I sense that a sinister force is behind this turmoil."

"Kaede…"

"Hm?" Kaede glanced over to see Kagome (holding Shippo's unconscious form in her arms) make her way out from within the forest, both of them battered and wounded "Kagome, are you alright?"

"Not… Not really…" and then she collapsed to the ground.

"Kagome!"

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Meanwhile, with another Great Demon…

'Such filthy vermin.' Sesshomaru hadn't wasted any time in ripping through the moth demons that were being sent his way 'As if such things would ever be of any use against me.'

"Lord Sesshomaru look, there's more of them coming!" Rin gestured to the swarm of moth demons coming at them from the distance, and then promptly hid behind Sesshomaru's leg.

"Step back Rin, take cover."

"Right." so she promptly hid behind a rock.

'No matter how great their numbers, vermin is still vermin.'

"Lord Sesshomaru." this was when Jaken stepped up to him "There's no need for you to waste your energy on vermin such as these, allow me to take care of them on your behalf."

"Do as you see fit."

"Thank you my lord. Behold the power of the Staff of Two Heads!" Jaken planted his staff into the ground and unleashed a massive wave of flames that incinerated nearly every single moth in the swarm "How brazen to think they could conquer the likes of Lord Sesshomaru!"

"You missed one."

"Wait what?" Jaken's eyes snapped open to find that a moth was on his face, which led to him running around in a frenzy until Sesshomaru stopped him in his tracks. With his foot.

'Well he did get all but one of them.'

"Excellent aim Lord Sesshomaru!" this was when Rin came out of her hiding place.'

'So it would seem that the demon Hyoga has been resurrected.'

"The moths are all gone my lord!"

"But more are sure to come. Let's be on our way."

'The demon Hyoga, my father told me about him. He attempted to conquer these lands before my father was born, but he was stopped by Ryuhogo himself. Fang Wielder… Tatsu, it would seem that you have quite the challenge to contend with this day.'

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Meanwhile, with the b-tier members of the group…

Hachi glanced out at the cave entrance, then back to where Miroku lay sprawled out against the wall of the cave "Tell me Master Miroku, are you so certain that this is going to work?"

"It's going to have to." Miroku told him flatly "Hyoga is consuming the souls of every living thing he can get his hands on, if you're not constantly strong and alert then you'll end up losing yourself and becoming his prey."

"I don't care what it is he's doing, he's just too strong. I'm afraid that you must admit to yourselves that this time, your hands are indeed tied."

"I don't care, I'm going either way." Sango pulled herself back to her feet and promptly strapped Hiraikotsu to her back "I can't just sit around while they still have Kirara under their control like some kind of puppet."

"What?"

"I agree Sango, I'm coming as well." Miroku pulled himself back to his feet "I can't stand idly by and do nothing while my Wind Tunnel is being used for evil purposes."

"Please heed me both of you, the two of you don't stand a chance!"

"It doesn't matter if we do or not, one way or another we're going to find a way."

"Well if you insist then I won't try to stop you. I warn you now though, you won't have any easy time climbing that huge Tree of Ages." it was then that Hachi noticed the looks he was getting from the two of them 'I should've kept my mouth shut. No I beg of you master, please don't make me go there!"

"You've got two choices right now badger, you can either come with us or get sucked into my Wind Tunnel."

"...I've really gotta learn to keep my mouth shut."

"Well if you have to do that then do it after we defeat Hyoga. Now transform, we need to get going."

"Right right, just give me a second."

"Wait no no no, not in here!"

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Meanwhile, with the two main fighters…

"Oh god, my head…" Tatsu let out a groan as he opened his eyes and found himself sprawled out on the ground, swords lying by his feet and his torso covered in blood 'Great, the blast went and opened my wounds again.' he glanced over to see Inuyasha stumbling in his direction, using the Tessaiga as a makeshift crutch "Oh hey… you alright?"

"Fuck it… this is just… a little scratch…" Inuyasha promptly spat out some blood and spralwed out on the ground next to Tatsu.

"You got a plan?"

"Lie here until I can move again without pain, give or take about a half hour. You?"

"As much as I hate the thought, I'm pretty much at the center of it. Ryuhogo keeps talking inside my head, he says that Menomaru and the rest of his Hyoga clan have spent centuries planning to take revenge for his father being killed. We hit him with everything we had and we didn't even scratch him inside that chrysalis. Ryuhogo says that if we wanna win this, he needs to see me in the meeting of the minds to teach me some new technique."

"Fuck that, we don't have time to sit around and wait."

"I never said I was gonna." that caused Inuyasha to blink "Look, we both know I'm definitely the more thoughtful one between the two of us, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna take a freaking catnap while my friends are out there fighting."

"Good, so we're going back there?"

"In a little bit, but first we have to regroup." Tatsu then proceeded to cough up a substantial amount of blood before pulling himself back to his feet, with Inuyasha doing the same "Before anything else we need to try and regroup with the others. Go track down Sango and Miroku, then head for the Tree of Ages. If I can't learn this new technique Ryuhogo told me about, then I think your Backlash Wave will probably be the best chance we have against him."

"What about you?"

"I'm focusing on my biggest priority is protecting Kagome, so I'm gonna track her down and make sure she's alright. Once I'm sure of that, we'll meet up with you and the others."

"Right." and so the two of them promptly split up, limping away from each other in opposite directions for the sake of pursuing their goals."

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Meanwhile, with the main antagonist of this chapter…

"So you're both still alive then are you?" Menomaru glanced into the distance and scowled when he saw that Tatsu and Inuyasha were both still alive "I have to wonder, that persistence of yours is a human trait is it not? It doesn't matter, because now I'm going to have some amusement for myself at your expense." and so he proceeded to use his Flute of Manipulation, in which he whistled into a leaf and enacted his plan.

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Meanwhile, at Kaede's village…

By this point, Kaede had taken it upon herself to look after Kagome and Shippo in her hut, tending to the wounds both of them had received "Kagome, what on earth happened to ye to put ye in such a state?"

"Please… water… I need some water…" Kagome's voice was soft and hoarse.

"Aye, be just a moment." so she went over to get some water from a tub.

'God my head… my head is killing me… I feel so sick…'' Kagome let out a soft moan as she sat up and clutched her head in pain, but this came to a head when a glowing red mark appeared in the center of her forehead, her eyes glazing over and she stood up and then slowly walked over towards Kaede 'What the-'

"Kagome, what's the matter Kagome?"

'What's going on? I can't stop, I don't have any control over my body! Run Kaede, please you have to run!' but despite her mental pleas, Kagome was unabel to stop herself, and she launched an attack, with blood spurting into the air.

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A thick fog had settled over the lands.

With small drops of blood trickling from his wounds and one of his swords acting as a crutch to support himself, Tatsu slowly made his way back to the village, stopping in the middle of the wooden bridge to catch his breath 'Maybe Inuyasha was right… it's times like this… a healing factor would really come in handy right about now… No forget about that, I don't have time to brood over that… I've gotta find Kagome, make sure she's safe…'

"Tatsu…" a figure emerged from within the fog and made her way towards him, revealing the figure of Kagome, much to his relief.

"Kagome… thank god…" Tatsu slowly limped towards her, unaware of the trap he was walking into "You're alright…"

'Tatsu get away, please you have to get away from me!'

"You look kind of pale… I'm sorry I couldn't get to you sooner Come on… I can take you back to Kaede's… Get some rest, and then we'll go meet up with the others."

Kagome said nothing, she just took a few steps forward and leaned into Tatsu's embrace without any warning.

'She feels so… She's supposed to feel so warm… but she feels cold… Something's wrong…'

"Tatsu…" her voice was barely audible and it sounded hoarse, her eyes glowing crmson "You have to… get away…"

"Kagome, what's wrong-" Tatsu was cut off by a series of poisonous claws piercing through his chest, causing him to cough up blood as he staggered backwards "Ow…"

'Tatsu!'

"Okay… I'm pretty sure… you shouldn't be able to do that…" Tatsu spat out some blood as he examined her for a moment, and then the realization dawned on him "Wait a second… glowing red eyes, having abilities you shouldn't… You're being controlled aren't you? You're doing this to spite me, aren't you Menomaru?" he was forced to go on the evasive to avoid the poisonous projectiles being fired at him, though he struggled to do so because of how injured and weakened he was.

'Please you have to run Tatsu, you have to get away from me!'

"Come on Kags, you've gotta snap out of it!" this was when the bridge gave out from being hit by Kagome's attacks, sending him falling.

"You've served your purpose Tatsu, and now you must die!" Kagome however, she was able to levitate into the air and fired more protjectiles at him.

'Shit!' thinking quick, Tatsu summoned some iron chains from one arm to anchor himself to the side of the ravine and avoid the projectiles, and then he started to summon a series of earth and water platforms he could rebound off of as he retreated, with the possessed Kagome following close behind him.

"You cannot keep running from me forever."

'Dammit this is bad, she's being controlled and I barely have any strength left. Most of what's keeping me going is sheer willpower.' he reached the top of the ravine and took off into the forest through a combination of running and limping 'Well one thing is for sure, when I get my hands on that bastard Menomaru he's gonna pay for what he did to Kagome. As soon as I can stop the bleeding at least.'

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Meanwhile, with the b-tier members of the group…

At the same time, Miroku and Sango were making their way on Hachi's back towards the Tree of Ages, quickly taking notice of how Menomaru was absorbing every living soul he could in order to make himself more powerful. Despite this however, their resolve remained absolute. They were more than willing to do whatever was necessary to save Kirara and stop Menomaru, before it was too late.

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Meanwhile, with Inuyasha…

'I'm ready you son of a bitch, go ahead and throw everything you've got at me!' now that his wounds had healed themselves, Inuyasha was making his way towards the Tree of Ages at full speed, only to end up screeching to a halt when he saw a massive swarm of moth demons in front of him, closing in on him 'Shit, I just had to think it didn't I? Well it doesn't matter if there are probably hundreds of them. Looks like Miroku and Sango are gonna have to handle things on their own for a little while, I've got some trash in front of me to rip apart.' to that end, he drew Tessaiga and promptly charged at the swarm in front of him "Bring it on you fucking insects, one stroke is all I need to rip you to pieces! Wind SCAR!" and so he unleashed a Wind Scar aimed at the moths.

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Meanwhile, with the lovers…

'Shit, shit, shit, shit!' with blood still dripping from his wounds, Tatsu continued his struggles to evade Kagome and her poisonous projectiles, his mind racing 'This was supposed to be a nice and peaceful day, but how does it turn out instead? I end up having to fight against some evil moth demon and his army, Kirara gets turned agianst us, and now Kagome gets turned against me, has all sorts of kickass new abilities, and is trying to kill me.'

"You can't get away from me!" still under Menomaru's control, Kagome continued floating after him and firing a series of poison darts from her fingertips that melted anything they came into contact with.

'And that just pours salt into the metaphorical wounds.' Tatsu leapt out of the way just in time to avoid being hit, only to fall to his knees once he hit the ground 'I mean seriously, I've been waiting for more than 8 years to hear Kagome say something like that to me, and now I can't even enjoy it!'

'Tatsu please, you have to run!' unable to stop herself, Kagome swooped down in front of him and unleashed a wave of spiritual energy from both hands, causing him to cry out in pain and sending him crashing into the trunk of a certain tree, and then to make things worse, she fired a round of projectiles from her fingertips that pierced his body in multiple areas, earning another cry of pain from him.

Tatsu ended up sinking to his knees as he coughed up a substantial amount of blood, and he gave a bitter chuckle as this happened 'Great, fall in love with a girl who just so happens to be the reincarnation a powerful priestess from 500 years in the past, spend your life training and getting stronger to protect her, and then she ends up turning on you and trying to kill you because she's being manipulated by an evil demonic son of a bitch who hates you with a burning passion and wants your head on a pike. Well it's official, I now know what it's like to be Inuyasha, and to be honest, it kind of sucks.'

'Tatsu you have to run, I'm trying but I can't stop myself!' despite her pleas, Kagome was forced to use Menomaru's demon magic to summon a bow and arrow and aim it at him 'Please, you have to get away from me!'

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Using what he had dubbed his Flute of Manipulation, Menomaru prepared to have Kagome fire the arrow she had locked and loaded, but before he could do so, his concentration was shattered by the Hiraikotsu being thrown at him and breaking his chrysalis, courtesy of Sango as both she and Miroku arrived on the scene. Once again, Menomaru was left impressed by the resistance being put forth by group despite the immense power he possessed, though it also added on to how strange humans were in his eyes.

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Meanwhile, with Inuyasha…

"You wanna go you rats with wings, then let's go!" Inuyasha bolted across the forest he was in, leaping from one tree to another as a swarm of moths followed after him "For henchmen working for some great demon I was expecting more than some goddamn fodder!" so he turned around, and with a combination of his claws and the blade of Tessaiga he started ripping through multiple moths at a time, before he took off running through the trees again.

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Meanwhile, with the lovers…

With Menomaru's control over her briefly interrupted, Kagome dropped the arrow she was about to fire, her voice strained and hoarse "Tatsu, go… get away from me…"

"Kagome, you…" Tatsu looked up at her as he clutched his wounds in pain "Are you…?"

"I can't stop myself…" she started reaching for the arrow "I have no control over my body… I can't stop… You have to run… before it's too late… before I-"

"Just stop Kagome, I don't want to hear anymore of that." Tatsu strained himself as he tried to pull himself back to his feet, but his legs quickly gave out from under him "Everyone keeps saying it… even you and Ryuhogo himself… that I can't beat this guy… that I have to run, to save myself… Well that's not gonna happen… I won't run away… I won't abandon you… I swore a long time ago… that no matter what happens…" he spat out some blood "I will never turn my back on you for as long as I live…"

"Tatsu…" despite her struggles to control herself, Kagome began to slowly reach for the arrow she dropped.

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Meanwhile, at the Tree of Ages…

Despite being distracted by their efforts, Menomaru didn't need to pay Miroku and Sango any real heed, seeing how he had summoned Ruri and Hari (with Kirara still under the control of the latter) to oppose them respectively. As these two battles raged on, Menomaru was now free to once again establish his control over Kagome using his Flute of Manipulation.

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Meanwhile, with the lovers…

'That sound again…' Kagome froze when she heard the Flute of Manipulation playing through the shell implanted in her body, and a new swarm of moths began to surround the two.

"Well that's just perfect." Tatsu let out an audible groan at the sight of the moths "Just when I thought this couldn't get any worse…"

Kagome strained for a moment, but in the end she was unable to resist Menomaru's control, and she locked and loaded the arrow, aiming it at Tatsu agains her will 'Tatsu…'

'Shit, I just know this is gonna be bad. Well, might as well keep with the whole thing about staying optimistic.'

'Tatsu… No… No… NO! NOOOO!' despite her pleas, and with a single tear rolling down her cheek, Kagome fired the arrow forward, much to her own horror.

'Kagome…' despite the situation, Tatsu gave a small sad smile before the arrow pierced him through the shoulder, causing him to cringe from the pain as he lost consciousness.

It was only after he blacked out that Kagome regained control of herself, only to realize what she had done "Tatsu… no… TATSU!" she let out a scream of anguish, and with this emotional distress came a burst of spiritual power so great that it not only broke the mind-control spell she was under, but it also eradicating the entire swarm of moths surrounding her, as well as the bow and arrow she had summoned while under the spell. Disregarding the jewel shard lying on the ground, she quickly rushed over to Tatsu's side "Tatsu! Tatsu say something, please just open your eyes! Please, you have to wake up!" she received no response, and so she resorted to cradling his body against her as she started sobbing, unaware of another presence arriving on the scene "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"Ironic isn't it?"

Kagome looked up to see Kikyo approaching her, a jewel shard in hand "Kikyo…"

"The same situation, the same spot. You truly are my reincarnation, and both yourself and that boy are repeating the fate that myself and Inuyasha had to endure." she held out the jewel shard to her "Now take this and return to your own world beyond the Bone Eater's well."

"I won't."

"You must go, you never belonged here in these times. Both you and that boy are nothing more than outsiders who chanced upon this world of ours."

"But I can't… I can't abandon Tatsu…"

Now Kikyo was growing angry "You must leave, you're the one who injured him!"

Kagome froze when she heard this.

"Hear my words, Hyoga is using the formidable Tree of Ages in order to increase his own demonic power."

"The Tree of Ages?"

"That is correct, and the one you know as the Sacred Tree is also the Tree of Ages. The Tree of Ages is known to live through different eras, but the Tree of Ages that Hyoga is using is able to steal energy from various generations and uses it to mature itself. By now, other generations of time have already been frozen over. Your own era has likely been plunged into a never-ending winter."

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Meanwhile, in the Modern Era…

'This chill in the air…' from his place on the rooftops of Tokyo, Guardian looked around as a cold wind blew throughout the city 'It's the middle of Summer, there's no reason why it should be this cold. Some sort of natural phenomeno perhaps, or something more sinister? Why do I get the feeling that Tatsu is somehow at the center of it?' and then he took notice of snow beginning to fall from the skies above 'And that confirms it, this is anything but natural. It would seem that when Ryuhogo dubbed this Fang after the Great Glacier, he did so for the right reasons. Time to get to work then.' and so he disappeared in a flash.

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Meanwhile, in the Feudal Era…

"Wow…" Kagome followed Kikyo to the Bone Eater's Well, only to find roots, branches and vines growing out of it, much to her surprise 'Roots are forming, the wood in this well has to be ancient.'

"This well was constructed out of wood carved from the Tree of Ages." Kikyo told her "The Tree of Ages connects to different generations of time, which is what allows you and Tatsu to travel here from your time, even if it is by chance. The vital life force of the well lay dormant for all these years, and now it is being awakened by the Tree of Ages. If the well is completely covered over, then you will never be able to return to your time. You must take this shard of the jewel and return to your own world while you still have the chance."

"But what about Tatsu, he and I are-"

"Enough, you have to return home, to go back to your own era where you belong. Tatsu has a purpose to exist in this era, but you have no such anchor. Now go home!" to that end, she shoved the jewel shard into Kagome's hand and threw her down the well, mere seconds before it was completely covered by roots 'The one who wields the Fangs of Ryuhogo bears a purpose for existing in this era, but until that purpose is fulfilled, you must never be with him again. In a similar way, I cannot be with Inuyasha, for I am one of the dead, and as such, I too do not belong here.'

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Meanwhile, with Tatsu…

"Oh god, my head…" Tatsu let out an audible groan as he opened his eyes and looked around, only to find himself in an endless black void "Great, shot through the chest my the girl of my dreams and I end up here. Here I was hoping it wasn't gonna be one of those days. Not only is an evil demon out there bent on destroying the world, but the girl I love is being controlled by him like some kind of puppet."

"Fortunately, one of those problems has already been solved." the figure of Ryuhogo appeared in front of him "The girl has already been freed from Menomaru's control. After she shot you with her Sacred Arrow, the grief and anguish she felt put her in such emotional distress that she broke free of his hold over her."

"I see. That's good." Tatsu breathed a sigh of relief, but then his gaze hardened "As much as I want to see her, to take her into my arms and all that good stuff, I think it's safe to say that I've got some work to do."

"Indeed you do. It's as I told you before, the Dragon Cannon is critical to your impending victory over the Hyoga clan. We don't have much time, so I'm going to make this brief. The key to its use is to gather all of the demonic energy from within your body, this means from all of the Fangs that you currently possess, and you have to release it all at once." to this end, he took a few steps forward as his body was engulfed in glowing blue energy and he held out his hands "Once you have it all gathered at one point, you concentrate and let the energy build until it has nowhere to go but out, and then you release it all at once, like THIS!" and with a primal roar, he unleashed a golden-colored wave of demonic energy that hurtled into the distance, resulting in a powerful explosion "That is the Dragon Cannon, and only with this technique and the support of your comrades will you be able to triumph."

"...I just have one more question."

"Which is?"

"When do we start?"

"Right now actually."

"Good, the sooner I can get out of here and back to the others the better."

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Meanwhile, in the Modern Era…

'The well is… am I back?' with her thoughts drifting, Kagome climbed her way back out of the Bone Eater's Well and made her way out of the wellhouse, only to find a surprising sight waiting for her.

As it turns out, Guardian was standing in the middle of the shrine grounds, arms raised above his head and sweat visibly dripping off his chin as he turned to face her "Well that explains where you've been, more or less."

"You're Guardian aren't you? I saw you with Tatsu during that whole thing with the giant demon rampaging throug the city."

"It's not really worth calling a rampage, all it wanted was the Fangs."

"Right, I guess. What are you doing here?"

"At the moment, trying to stop the city from being plunged into a potential new ice age. That is to say, for some reason it started snowing in the middle of summer, and I'm trying to work to stop that. The problem is that right now, I can only keep the snow from coming down on the city itself. I can't do anything for the rest of the country, let alone the rest of the world. I barely have enough energy to concentrate while we're having this conversation."

"Oh. I see." Kagome ended up walking right past him as she drew closer to the Sacred Tree, in which she saw Tatsu slumped against it it 'Tatsu… he's not really there is he? My hands can't touch him anymore… My voice can't reach him anymore… Does this mean that I'll never be able to see Tatsu again? What makes it worse is… I never got to tell him how much I love him…' and that was enough prompting for her to break down sobbing in front of the tree.

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Meanwhile, with Inuyasha…

"What you want more, because I've got a fuckton more!" Inuyasha continued his battle against the swarm of moth demons, ripping through many of them with his claws until he saw an even larger cluster of them coming towards him "I did it once, I'll do it as many time as it takes! You made a big mistake underestimating me! Wind Scar!" and so he unleashed a Wind Scar that promptly ripped through every last moth in his path. With the army of moths finally dealt with for good, Inuyasha took a moment to catch his breath 'Well that was a pain in the ass, but it took longer than I thought it would. I'd better head over there before the others do something stupid and get themselves killed.' and so he took off in the direction of the Tree of Ages.

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Meanwhile, with Kikyo…

'Hyoga grows more powerful by the moment.' from a distance, Kikyo watched as more and more souls were being drawn towards the Tree of Ages, only to glance back to find Sesshomaru and his group standing behind her "You're Inuyasha's older brother, Sesshomaru I believe your name was."

From a distance, Sesshomaru studied her intently, speaking only after a moment had passed "The girl named Kagome, you truly must loathe her. Or is it that you are merely testing her powers and capabilities?"

"I loathe all things. I despise every living creature that is bound to time."

"...Do as you see fit. Though I warn you now, I shall be the one to kill Inuyasha." and so he promptly turned and walked away.

'You say that, yet Inuyasha still claims that his life belongs to me, and my life belongs to him in return.'

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Meanwhile, with Sesshomaru's group…

Tension was high following the encounter with Kikyo, and Jaken was the first one to finally address it "I beg your pardon Lord Sesshomaru, but are you certain it was a wise decision to let that woman go free?"

"Are you blind Jaken? That woman is already dead." Sesshomaru told him flatly.

"What?!"

"Dead, but how can that be?" asked Rin "She spoke as if she were living, so how can she be dead if she's alive milord?"

"Be silent Rin!"

"I'm not asking you Master Jaken."

"What?! Now listen here you brazen child-"

"Lord Sesshomaru wait for me!" Rin chased after Sesshomaru, tripping Jaken and leaving him in the dirt as she did so.

"Why you little-"

"Jaken." came the sharp reply from Sesshomaru "Pick yourself up, I have no intention of waiting for you."

"Yes milord, but may I ask where we're going?"

"Given the current situation, I have business to attend to."

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Meanwhile, with the others…

At the same time, Shippo was leading Kaede through the forest while transformed into a mini horse, and the two of them were discussing Kagome's attack on her, and how she was being controlled by Menomaru, having been placed under the same spell as Kirara.

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Meanwhile, with Tatsu…

'Great, again with the migraine…' Tatsu let out a groan as he opened his eyes, only to blink a few times at the sight in front of him "Uh… hi."

As it turns out, Rin was sitting in front of him, with Jaken and Sesshomaru both standing off to the side, and she gave him a bright smile "Hi, I'm Rin."

"I'm Tatsu." he glanced over at Sesshomaru "I have a lot of questions about this."

"You also have more pressing matters to attend to." Sesshomaru told him flatly as he glanced over at the Bone Eater's Well, which was now covered by roots to the point where a new tree was growing out of it "The Tree of Ages has grown out of control, and if left unchecked, it will devour all living beings in this world."

"You know a lot about the situation."

"I've lived for over 900 years and travelled all over the continent."

"That doesn't surprise me. So how much do you know about what's happening right now?"

"I know enough. Hyoga is using the Tree of Ages to increase his own power, he pitted the priestess against you and used her in his attempts to kill you, and then the undead priestess forced her through the well before it was completely covered."

"You mean Kikyo? Why would she-" then the priorities kicked in "So Kagome got forced through the well, but was she hurt?"

"The undead priestess gave her a shard of the Shikon Jewel and forced her through the well, but other than that she did no harm to her."

"I see." Tatsu pulled himself to his feet, only to stop when he realzied where he was, in front of the Bone Eater's Well, rather than the Sacred Tree "So you and the others moved me here?"

"How else would you have arrived here before regaining consciousness?"

"Or even if I was conscious, Menomaru did some pretty heavy damage to me. I was barely able to stand, it turns out that the Fangs can't make me heal faster. Plus the fact that I was bleeding out didn't exactly help." he slowly pulled himself onto his feet and looked down, noticing the large burn marks where his wounds were supposed to be "How did…"

"I used my demonic energy in order to cauterize your wounds."

"You can do that?"

"When I wish to."

"...I believe that." so he slowly started to make his way to the Bone Eater's Well, limping and cringing from the pain of his wounds as he did so "Looks like I'm gonna have some work to do to get through there."

"So you still intend to return to your world." it wasn't a question.

"You say that like it's surprising."

"Tell me this then. You're all alone, helpless and wounded. Your comrades have been scattered to the wind. Your adversary is more powerful than ever. What do you intend to?"

"I know exactly what I intend to do." Tatsu turned to face Sesshomaru, his expression hard and unwavering "I'm gonna find Kagome, make sure she's alright." he gently placed a hand on the edge of the well "I can still feel it. Even with the well covered up, even if we're 500 years apart from each other, I'm still connected to her. I swore to her, I gave my word that I would protect her and stand by her, and even now that hasn't changed, especially not now. Once I'm back with her, I'm gonna get my wounds treated all the way, and get ready anything I need over there to prepare myself. After that, we're gonna come back through the well, regroup with Inuyasha and the others, confront Hyoga and end this once and for all."

"...I see. Very well then." to this end, Sesshomaru made his way over to the well and pointed the Tokijin downwards "Azure Dragon Wave!" he unleashed a wave of blue energy from the blade of Tokijin, destorying the tree and all of the roots surrounding and engulfing the well, clearing it all the way, before turning to face Tatsu "Do as you wish."

"I intend to." Tatsu prepared to jump into the well, but before he did so, he took one more glance back at Sesshomaru "Thank you." and with that, he leapt into the well.

'You have nothing to thank me for. Consider this the reward you earned for your victory in our prior battle, nothing more. Now I will observe the path you take, and see that you grow even stronger, so that I may defeat you at your greatest potential.'

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The battle at the Tree of Ages raged on.

Miroku continued facing the uphill struggle that was his battle with Ruri, but this came to a head when he opened his Wind Tunnel to counter the one she had copied from him, and with the two of them being equal in power, nothing happened. In an attempt to win, Ruri used her spear to cut the edge of the hole in her hand, expanding it and making her Wind Tunnel even more powerful than Miroku's. However, it ended up growing out of control once it breached the confine of her palm and she ended up being sucked into the void in her hand, her last words being her calling out to Menomaru for help. Her death left a large pit in the branch of the Tree of Ages, something that Miroku recognized as similar to the grave left behind by his father, leaving him to reflect on how the same fate would someday befall him if he was unable to defeat Naraku.

At the same time, Sango was fighting her own uphill battle against Hari and Kirara (still under mind control), and she tried desperately to reach out to Kirara in hopes of freeing her from the influence. Fortunately, this eventually worked as Kirara wrestled with herself by repeatedly slamming her forehead into the trunk of the large tree they were fighting on, and she was able to break free of the shell that Hari placed on her. After underestimating the bond between Sango and Kirara, she was ripped in half by Sango via a strike by Hiraikotsu, and although the attempt to kill her seemed to be unsuccessful, Menomaru (still undergoing his transformation), rather than resurrect her as he was able to, instead decided to claim her soul, and she was left to die as a result.

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Meanwhile, in the Modern Era…

Mrs Higurashi made her way out of the family household and found Guardian continuing with his actions, only now he was positioned under the Sacred Tree, her eyes falling upon the Fangs hanging around his neck, and her expression softened 'In so many ways, this man- No, this boy- the two of them are so similar.'

"I take it you knew I was out here?" Guardian didn't turn to face her, but still addressed her regardless.

"Father told me that you were out here trying to protect us, so I decided to come out here and check on you. Are you alright?"

"Given the current situation, I'm not sure anyone can really be called alright. If I stop now, what's to stop everyone from being buried alive by the snow? I'm expanding my reach as far out as I can, but for how long can I go on I wonder."

"Father is trying everything in his power to find a solution for this too."

"Do you believe he can?"

"I believe in him and have faith in him, and I have faith in you too. I can see it within you so clearly. You remind me so much of Tatsu. You're both strong and kind, and you do what's best for others." her expression then saddened "But you bear so much responsibility, the weight of the world itself, on your shoulders."

"Such is what comes with the Fangs. The power they wield is able to do great things, but they come with a great burden as well. I have no family to call my own, and those I call my friends no so little about the real me. My destiny is all that I've known for as long as I can remember." he let out a sigh as he gazed up at the Sacred Tree above him "And yet… I feel as if I don't want things to remain that way any longer. How strange it is, that I've never stopped to consider this before."

"Is it because you're under the tree? It does have that effect on people, I know that from my own experience."

"So I've heard. Tell me, is this tree as important as I've been told it is?"

"It certainly is, at least to my family." Mrs Higurasi let out a wistful sigh as she gazed up at the tree herself "They say the Sacred Tree holds all of our memories, my own and those of the rest of my family. It remembers when my daughter Kagome was born, and when my son Sota was born as well. It remembers when both of them started going to school, when Sota won first place in the school race. The times they were sick in bed with a high fever, the times I embraced them when they needed to be comforted. This tree has lived through all of it with us, through all the times that were both happy and sad. It has always been here to protect us. I believe that the reach goes beyond my family though."

"You're talking about me aren't you?" he was met with the sight of a gentle smile.

"I believe that the tree reaches out to everyone that needs it. But for it to give you what you need, you have to be willing to accept it."

"...I'll remember that in the near future. In the present however, I think there's someone else who needs your wisdom more than I do." he glanced back at the tree.

Mrs Higurashi followed his gaze and found Kagome huddled up in front of the Sacred Tree, visibly upset, and she walked over towards him "Kagome, I'm sorry dear I didn't know you were back. Welcome home."

"Mom…" Kagome didn't hesitate into latching onto her mother as she once again broke down sobbing, leaving her to be comforted by her mother.

"It's alright dear, I'm here for you."

"I-I know…" Kagome sniffled for a little bit, and after a few minutes she stopped crying and looked up at the tree 'Mom is right, the Sacred Tree has always been her for me too. It's where I first met Tatsu all those years ago… This place means everything to me…' she looked down at the jewel shards in the bottle hanging around her neck 'These shards of the jewel… That's right, I'm still connected to their world, even now. I'm still connected. We're still connected."

"I didn't think there was any doubt about that."

Kagome's head snapped towards the wellhouse at the sound of the familiar voice, and her eyes widened at what she was seeing "Tatsu…"

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Meanwhile, at the Tree of Ages…

'This doesn't look good.' after his battle with Ruri came to an end, Miroku resorted to climbing the Tree of Ages, only to see Menomaru's current state within the chrysalis, cringing from pain as he did so 'I doubt he has much longer to go before his transformation is complete.'

"Miroku!" this was when Sango and Kirara swooped down onto the scene."

"Sango you're alright, and you've got Kirara back. I'm glad."

"So how did you do?"

"Well I managed to defeat her, though I did end up overusing my Wind Tunnel a bit in the fight though."

"All I'm hearing is that the two of you finally started pulling your weight."

Miroku glanced over to see Inuyasha drop down onto the scene "Well if your current attitude is anything to go by, I take it you're doing just fine as well Inuyasha. It's good that you arrived when you did, it seems that Menomaru's demonic aura has become much stronger."

"Then you're lucky I'm here. You two get on Kirara and get the hell out of here, I'll take care of this. One clean shot from my Backlash Wave is all that I need to rip him apart."

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Meanwhile, in the Modern Era…

"I didn't think there was any doubt about that."

Kagome's head snapped towards the wellhouse at the sound of the familiar voice, and her eyes widened at what she was seeing "Tatsu…"

Sure enough, Tatsu slowly stumbled his way out of the well house, and he stopped in front of her and gave her a small smile "Hey, sorry it took me so long to get back."

"Tatsu, you… Are you okay?"

"Don't worry about it, I've had a lot worse than this. What about you?"

"I… I'm fine, I just… decided to come back, that's all."

"Really, because from what I've heard, Kikyo made that decision for you." that caused her head to snap up "Yeah, I know all about it. Sesshomaru told me everything."

"Sesshomaru did?"

"Yeah, after he cauterized my wounds and took me to the well. Hell he even went and cleared it for me so I could get through." that caused her jaw to drop "Yeah I know, but that can wait until later."

"Yeah, yeah you're right. Maybe Kikyo did tell me to go back, but… I didn't really fight her that hard on it. Maybe it was because I was scared, and I just ran away sort of."

"Come on Kags, don't be like that. What are you so upset about?"

"I'm sorry, it's just… I just feel so helpless. I let myself get controlled like that, I even ended up hurting you so… I just thought you might be better off without me around."

"Is that what you believe? Kagome that couldn't be further from the truth, I thought you knew better than that." he took a few more steps forward and knelt down in front of her.

"Don't move around too much, you'll open your wounds." she tried to reach out to stop him, only to be stopped by him pulling her into a tight embrace.

"Haven't you realized it Kagome? I need you by my side, you're what gives me the strength to keep on fighting."

"Tatsu…" moved by his words, Kagome let herself quietly sob into the crook of his neck for a few minutes "Thank you…"

They stayed like that for a good few minutes, until Tatsu pulled them apart "Come on, I think we'd better head back. The others need us."

"Right." Kagome wiped away her tears and gave a warm smile, then promptly formed a few hand seals and placed her hands on his chest, letting energy flow through them "Before we go anywhere, I need to treat your injuries properly. I can't let you go into a fight looking like you just came off the set of the Walking Dead. Seriously, putting aside the burns from your wounds being cauterized, both you and your gi are covered in dried blood."

"Points for the reference, a solid 8/10. That's not the only issue though. Sesshomaru cleared the roots away for me to jump through, but as long as Menomaru is still doing his thing, chances are they already grew back. The way I see it, until I'm fully healed I think the best bet would be one of your spiritual powers."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean my sword would probably just rip the well apart, and I don't have any arrows either." she was met with Sota handing her a stick "Well that's convenient, but I still need an arrow head."

"That's another easy part." this was when Guardian got their attention, and with a wave of a single finger on his part, an arrow head suddenly flew onto the end of the stick "Tie the two of them together to make an arrow."

"Right, and Guardian? Thank you."

"You can thank me by doing whatever it is you have to do and ending this."

"I second that." Mrs Higurashi made her way back over to the two, holding something in her hands "Tatsu your brother dropped this off for you a little while ago."

"This is…" Tatsu studied the contents of what she was holding "This is one of my gis."

"Like your friend over there said, you do what you have to do."

"Right. Thank you."

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More and more souls were being absorbed by Menomaru into his chrysalis by the second, to the point where even Kikyo was unable to avoid losing many of the souls that kept her clay body intact, seeing how they were not part of a living body, and as such they were not attached and able to be procured by Menomaru.

The time for the final battle was drawing near.

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Meanwhile, in the Modern Era…

"This is it…" now fully healed and clad in a fresh gi, Tatsu glanced down at where Kagome was preparing to fire a Sacred Arrow down at the well "Are you ready?"

"As read as I'll ever be." so with a deep breath, Kagome fired her Sacred Arrow down into the well, her spiritual power ripping through all of the roots in an instant "It's clear, now let's get moving."

"Right." and so with two simultaneous nods, the two of them dove down into the well.

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Meanwhile, on the other side…

"Foxfire! Foxfire! Foxfire!" in a desperate bid to uncover the well, Shippo was attempting to attacking the roots with his Foxfire, but to no avail, though this quickly became unnecessary when a sudden burst of spiritual power send him hurtling backwards, forcing Kaede to catch him in the middle of it "What the- What happened?"

"You know your shot has really improved." this was when Tatsu climbed his way out of the well (or what was left of it), and helped Kagome to do the same "Seriously, if this were a few months ago it probably wouldn't ended up stuck on the side of the well, you've come a long way since then."

"Tatsu!"

"Yeah tell me about it, I mean it's insane." Kagome quickly shook off the effects she was feeling from travelling through the well.

"Kagome!" Shippo didn't waste any time in throwing himself into her arms "Kagome you came back!"

"Shippo, I'm so glad you're alright. And Kaede too-" she let out a gasp when she saw Kaede with her arm in a sling, and her eyes filled up with guilt "Kaede… I'm so sorry."

"Be at rest child, it's nothing to worry about." Kaede gave a reassuring smile, yet she was still positioned on the ground while Kagome used the Healing Hand on her arm.

"Just hold still, and… done!" once she was finished, Kagome bolted upright "Just give it a minute to set."

"A minute is something we don't have right now." Tatsu pointed out as he strapped his swords to his back "From what Ryuhogo told me, Menomaru's just about done with his transformation and is planning to absorb the soul of every living creature in the world. If we're gonna take him down then we have to do it now. Let's get moving."

"Right. Shippo stay here and help Kaede, we'll take care of Hyoga and be back here before you know it." so she promptly grabbed onto Tatsu by the arm, and the two of them disappeared in a flash via his Dragon Warp.

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Meanwhile, at the Tree of Ages…

'This is it.' glancing over to see Miroku and Sango getting a safe distance away, Inuyasha didn't waste any time in brandishing the Tessaiga as cracks began to form in the chrysalis 'The only chance I have of taking him down for good is to use the Backlash Wave. This move uses the Wind Scar to surround the demon's energy, and then sending it flying right back at him. Here it goes, all or nothing. Backlash WAVE!" so with a mighty roar, he brought down the Tessaiga, taking in the energy being released from the cracks in the chrysalis and sending it right back at it, engulfing it in the powerful explosion that followed 'Good, a solid hit.'

"Points for effort, but I guess we're gonna have to go with the main plan after all."

Inuyasha glanced over to see Tatsu and Kagome flash onto the scene "Yeah well at least I've been fighting this whole time, that's more than the two of you can say. Where the hell have you two been anyway?"

"Well for one I got stabbed at least a dozen times today so I needed some time to get my strength back, and then I spent some time with Ryuhogo in the meeting of the minds learning a new technique."

"Not like you're gonna need it, my Backlash Wave just ripped him apart." this was when the smoke cleared just in time to reveal the chrysalis being shattered into pieces, the debris forcing the three of them to scatter "Fuck, I had to say something didn't I?"

"Well in all fairness, it wouldn't be the first time you running your mouth like a jackass got us into trouble."

"Be silent human wretch!" from within the smoke and debris emerged Menomaru, having now transformed himself into the new lord Hyoga, in the form of an enormous moth demon that towered over even the Tree of Ages itself.

"Okay wow, was not expecting him to be that big."

"That gonna be a problem for you?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in his direction "I didn't think something big would be enough to make you quiver like a pathetic coward. Or Shippo."

"I never said it was a dealbreaker, I was just making an observation. Size isn't everything and appearances can be deceiving, now stand back and see that for yourself. This guy isn't gonna scare me, case and point. Sea Dragon's ROAR!" with a wave of his hand, he sent forward a large water dragon, only for it to be ripped through by a powerful breath attack.

"Why go with the water dragon?" asked Kagome "I figured you would've tried out that new technique you were talking about."

"I don't want to reveal it to him just yet. I'm trying to probe around the edges a little bit, trying to test how my own power fares against what he's got right now. I'm a martial artists at heart, so I know that before I can go all-out, I have to understand the scope of my opponent's power and the way they react, and establish what does and doesn't work against them. That way I can use my power in the best possible way."

"But how do you know he won't just make a cheap shot to win?"

"Stop and think about it for a second, you know the kind of guy we're facing. He wants to prove his superiority by taking every attack we can throw at him and crushing it. Give me a little bit of time for this, okay?"

"So you and your companions are still alive, human wretch." Hyoga looked down at the three of them with utter disdain and contempt.

"It's gonna take a lot more than what you've got to make me lie down and die like a dog. If anything, I should be thanking you. Thanks to what I learned from your little trick, now I'm stronger than ever."

"It doesn't matter how much power you generate, it means nothing in the face of the overwhelming might of the great Lord Hyoga. The time has come." Hyoga suddenly sprouted a pair of wings on his back, and from those wings emerged a large number of demons he sent forth.

'So he can summon more than just moth demons, but they look kind of different.'

"Those are the types of demons one would see on the continent. The only real concern in regards to them is the strength they have in numbers. Also, one thing I neglected to mention during our training to teach you the Dragon Cannon is that you have one other thing I also did when I fought Hyoga, something he doesn't have even now."

'And that is?'

"Backup in the form of friends."

'I like the way you think.' he glanced back at the others as he covered his body in a set of iron dragon scales "Get your swords ready you guys, looks like we've got some work to do before we can take him out.

"Now go forth my faithful demon servants, go forth and devour every living creature in this world!" Hyoga waved his hands and sent his horde of demons forward.

"You guys ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be, now get down! Sacred SLASH!" Kagome brought down the blade of her sword and unleashed a wave of spiritual energy that purified every demon that was hit by the attack, which was a lot.

"Nice one, I'd like to give you more credit but we've still got a long way to go. Iron Spear Storm!" to that end, Tatsu fired a barrage of iron spears from his fingertips that ripped through every demon in their path.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha hurled forward a Wind Scar and obliterated 100 of the demons in an instant, though even more of them kept coming.

'Dammit this is going nowhere, no matter how many we take out twice as many show up to take their place. They're like fucking cockroaches. Not to mention the Dragon Cannon takes up a lot of energy, if I waste too much time on the fodder then I'm not gonna have enough energy left to finish off Hyoga himself.'

"Tatsu look out!" Kagome fired a Sacred Arrow at a demon coming up behind Tatsu, piercing and purifying it before it could strike him.

"Thanks for the save, I guess I let my guard down." Tatsu whipped around and prepared to cut down the other demon closing in on him, when…

"Hiraikotsu!" the Hiraikotsu flew onto the scene and ripped through a multitude of demons in its path, courtesy of Sango as she, Miroku and Kirara all arrived on the scene "Sorry we took so long to get here."

"I know that feeling all too well, you guys okay though?"

"We're fine, I'm glad to see that you're okay too. As much as I'd like to continue with the little reunion, we've got a problem on our hands." he gestured to the dozens, if not hundreds of demons surrounding them.

"Say no more, just take a step back. Wind Tunnel!" Miroku motioned for everyone to get out of his way and ripped the prayer beads from his arm, opening the Wind Tunnel and consuming all of the continent demons in its path "Hurry and do what needs to be done, I'll take care of as many of them as I can and Sango and Inuyasha will take care of the rest."

"Got it monk, and thanks. All you need to do is buy time, if all goes well then one clean shot is all I need to finish him." Tatsu then turned his attention to Hyoga "You heard that right? One attack is all I'm gonna need to finish you off."

"You must be consumed by your own madness. Do you truly still believe that a human like yourself can defeat the likes of me, the new Lord Hyoga?"

"I wouldn't be trying to rip you apart if I didn't think I could do it. Oh who am I kidding that's a huge lie, I'd be fighting you even if I didn't think I could stand a chance. Why don't you come and see for yourself exactly what I mean. Sea Dragon's Waterball!" Tatsu launched forward a barrage of water spheres.

Hyoga waved his hand to destroy the waterballs, the force sending Tatsu hurtling to the ground with a loud crash "You waste your time."

"We'll see about that!" Kagome was quick to rush to Tatsu's side, and then draw her sword and drop into a stance.

"In all of my years, I've never seen anything so pathetic. A human who believes he can master the power of a demon, coupled with a worthless mortal girl."

"And what's the problem with humans standing up and fighting against people like you?"

"Look at you Fang Wielder, your predecessor was turned into a spineless weakling by those same disgusting creatures."

"Spare me the prattling already." Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet and placed his swords back in their sheaths on his back "I've got a plan Kags, but I'm gonna need your help for it."

"Just go ahead and say the word, whatever it is you need me to do I'll do it." Kagome told him, her eyes blazing with determination.

"Drop the sword and go for a Sacred Arrow, shoot it and aim for his body. It shouldn't be that hard and aim for his body." Tatsu then dropped into a stance, one hand extended out in front of him 'Like I said, gauge my power against his and go from there.'

'I'm not as proficient with arrows as I am with a sword, but there's no way in hell I'm gonna lie down and give up to someone like him!' gritting her teeth, Kagome fired a Sacred Arrow forward at full speed, cancelling out Menomaru's demonic aura to a certain extent.

"Thanks for lighting the way Kags, now I know where to aim. Dragon BURST!" Tatsu fired forward a blue-colored wave of demonic energy from one hand, hitting Menomaru dead on and ripping off half of one of Hyoga's wings 'Well it didn't do much, but I guess it's still better than nothing.'

"You wretched insignificant speck, how dare you challenge me. Now bear witness to my unrivaled power!" now thoroughly enraged, Hyoga fired his own powerful beam of demonic energy.

"Shit, everybody get down!" Tatsu pulled Kagome out of the way of the blast and summoned a water shield and earth wall to protect them, both of which were instantly obliterated by the blast as it carved through the earth 'Okay not gonna lie, I wasn't expecting that. Looks like we really went and pissed him off that time.

"I can't believe it, he's so powerful…" Kagome looked on in awe and slight horror at the sight of the carnage left by the attack, only to feel Tatsu grip her hand reassuringly.

"Don't lost heart Kags, we can beat him. We've got something that Ryuhogo had back then, and something that Hyoga doesn't have."

"What's that?"

"Backup, friends that we can count on to have our backs." he gestured to where Sango was ripping through the continent demons with Hiraikotsu, Miroku was sucking in as many as he could with his Wind Tunnel, and Inuyasha was firing one Wind Scar after another at the demons in his path "We've got this."

"...Right." with her resolve renewed, Kagome gave a bright, warm smile filled to the brim with determination "So how are we going to do this?"

"I just need to gather the energy I need to use my new technique, and that should be enough to rip him to shreds."

"What is this?" Hyoga glared down at the two of them "So you've witnessed such a great extent of my power, and yet you still wish to defy me. Come at me then."

"You can still move on your own, what's stopping you from coming to us?"

"That is the closest thing you've done to damage me since you've arrived before me Fang Wielder, and your mouth seems to be the only effective weapon."

"I wouldn't count on that, you keep underestimating your opponents and you're gonna be in for one hell of a nasty surprise. Alright Kags, where do I aim for?"

"His demonic aura is centered around the mark on his forehead." Kagome told him "I should be able to hit it with a Sacred Arrow."

"Then go for it, I'm gonna try and get my new technique ready."

"Right." so with a deep breath, Kagome locked and loaded a Sacred Arrow, and then she fired it forward, leaving it to clash against Hyoga's demonic aura 'Now I just need Tatsu to-'

"You waste your time and efforts you fool, did you truly believe that I would fall for such a tactic a second time?" Hyoga sent forward a series of projectiles from one of his hands, which easily broke Tatsu's concentration and forcing him to dodge the attack, as well as sending the Sacred Arrow off course and keeping it from hitting him directly, but this didn't stop it from piercing through his left wing and cleaving it right off "What?!"

'Well… at least it did something, I guess you just have to take what you can get. Now if only it didn't look like I made him angry.'

"Cursed wench, you will die for your insolence!" in his rage, Hyoga struck Kagome with another breath attack, sending her flying right off of the Tree of Ages, sending her hurtling to the ground.

"Shit, Kagome hold on!" Tatsu quickly blitzed to her side via the Dragon Warp and took her into his arms, and then he blitzed them back up onto the Tree of Ages "That was a close one, are you alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine, thanks for the save."

"You might wanna hang back after something like that."

"Not a chance, I said I was gonna stand by you and that's what I'm gonna do. We're ending this one together."

"...I'm not gonna win this argument am I?"

"It's only an argument if you fight back."

"Fine fine, just be careful and stick close to me alright? And get ready, he's coming. Try and aim another arrow at the mark."

"I tried that before, his aura is so strong he's gonna push it off to the side again."

"It's alright, I've got a plan. I can use your arrow in conjunction with my new technique, and with any luck that's gonna be enough to finish him off."

"With any luck? I'm pretty sure that's not the best way to inspire confidence in a person."

"How about this then, just keep a cool head and trust me. You trust me don't you?"

"That's better. I trust with my life."

"Good, now get it ready. I'll get ready myself." so he droped into a stance with both hands cupped in front of him, his body surging with demonic energy "Iron Heart… Divine Quake… Great Glacier…"

'Okay, it's just like he says. Lock and load it, aim it at the forehead.' Kagome composed herself and locked and loaded an arrow, aiming it at Hyoga.

"I've grown tired of your meddling . The time has come for your insignificant lives to come to an end!" with a confident smirk, Hyoga prepared to unleash an even greater beam of demonic energy in their direction.

'Remember, the most important part of making the shot is absolute focus. Tatsu has always been there to protect me, and he has faith in me. Now I need to return the favor my having faith in him, and standing by him with all my strength!' gritting her teeth, Kagome fired the shot just as the beam of demonic energy was unleashed "This will show you, you mocked us this whole, but now you're about to see what kind of power we really have!"

"When these forces of power unite, the true might of the Fangs of Ryuhogo shall at least be unleashed! Dragon CANNON!" with a mighty roar, Tatsu thrusted both arms forward and unleashed a golden-colored wave of demonic energy that wrapped around the spiritual power of the Sacred Arrow, both forces combining into one 'More like the Sacred Dragon Cannon. You know that actually does have a nice ring to it.'

"What is this?!" Hyoga could only cry out in disbelief as the power of the Sacred Dragon Cannon proved to be enough to rip apart his energy beam with ease, and then go on to engulf him as well "Curse you human wretches! This cannot be happening! How could a group of humans and a half-demon defeat me, the great Lord Hyoga?!" he could only scream in a mix of confusion and agony as he was engulfed and subsequently obliterated in the massive explosion that followed.

'The same reason why Naraku keeps failing to take us out, because he underestimates us.'

"So is that it, is it over?" Kagome glanced over at Tatsu, only to see that he had fallen to his knees after releasing the Dragon Cannon "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just… just give me a second."

"Tatsu!" this was when Sango and the others rushed towards them "So it's over, you finished him for good?"

"I can't sense his Ki anymore, so yeah I think we're good. Now come on, we've gotta get out of here before this place collapses." so he grabbed Kagome and everyone else, and they all flashed away from the scene via the Dragon Warp.

The Tree of Ages ended up collapsing mere seconds after they left.

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Meanwhile, at the village…

At the same time, Shippo and the others were waiting at the village, only for his face to light up when he saw Tatsu and everyone else appear on the scene "You guys made it, you're okay!" he promptly flung himself into Kagome's arms, leaving her to pull him into a joyous hug over their victory.

"Hey guys check it out." Tatsu gestured to where the Tree of Ages was crumbling in the distance, only or it to collapse entirely "Well I guess that's the last we're gonna be seeing of that."

"In all honesty, it's not that surprising." Miroku pointed out "The tree was created by tapping into the demonic powers of Hyoga and grew to enormous proportions, so now that he's dead it only makes sense for it to return to dust."

"Yeah well, I say good riddance to that thing. Any objections?" he was met with no reply "I didn't think so, and now I think-" he cut himself short as his head snapped in a certain direction, his gaze hardening 'This Ki I'm sensing… If what Sesshomaru tells me is true… Hey listen, I'll be right back you guys. I've got something to take care of."

"You want me to come with you?" asked Kagome.

"No thanks, I just have to check on something. I'll be back in a little bit." and so he flashed away via the Dragon Warp.

'Well isn't that just like him. It doesn't matter if we just finished a huge fight to save the world, even with a torso full of holes and covered in blood.' Kagome let out a chuckle, or she would've if she hadn't felt her stomach churning 'Holes in his chest and blood that I put there. I was the one that did it. I ran him through his poison claws, I stabbed him repeatedly, I wanted him to die and I shot an arrow into his chest. And I couldn't do anything to stop it…'

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Meanwhile, with a certain undead priestes…

'So they were victorious…' Kikyo once again stood on the edge of the cliff, watching as what was left of the Tree of Ages crumbled into nothing and the souls within it returned to her body, and she glanced back behind her "So you combined your powers with those of that girl, and you were able to defeat him."

As it turns out, Tatsu was standing behind her, and to put it in simple terms, he didn't look happy in the slightest "It wasn't an easy battle, but we managed to pull through. No thanks to you."

Kikyo stayed silent.

"Sesshomaru told me what you did to Kagome. You gave her the shard of the jewel Hyoga was using to control her, we're keeping that by the way, and then you forced her through the well against her will."

"If Hyoga were to acquire the jewel shards she had in her possession, then he would have become even more formidable."

"I think he also could've used the jewel shard to make himself more powerful instead of using it to put Kagome under his control, but he didn't."

"It matters not. The fact is that Kagome is an outsider who chanced upon this world that we live in, she has no place in this world."

"And you do?" this was again met with silence "In case you forgot, I came to this world through the well just like she did, so what stopped you from sending me through with her?"

"Unlike her, you do have a strong purpose in this world. I know more about the Fangs you wear than you realize."

"So you do, but that doesn't change anything. Is what you do to Kagome just some kind of game to you, or is it a test of her powers and her resolve? Or do you just hate her so much you want to see her suffer, like Naraku would?"

"It's as I told Sesshomaru earlier. I loathe all things in this world, I despise every living creature that is bound to time."

"Yeah well, some of them aren't too fond of you either. I told you before didn't I? That I would do whatever it takes to protect the people I care about, Kagome above all else."

"So even now, your resolve never wavers. Let us test that then." to that end, Kikyo turned to face him and fired a wave of spiritual energy from one finger.

Tatsu ducked under the attack, burst towards Kikyo and promptly buried a fist in her gut, causing her to hunch over in what appeared to be pain "I'm giving you one last chance, and with it the only warning you're going to get. You take one step backwards from here, one slip up, give me a reason to think you're gonna hurt Kagome again… I'm sending you back to the afterlife. This is the last chance you're getting Kikyo. Use it wisely." and with that, he disappeared in a flash.

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About an hour later, in the Modern Era…

With a sigh, Tatsu exited the wellhouse of the Higurashi Shrine, only to see that the sun was once again shining brightly over the skies of Tokyo "That's definitely a good sign, looks like almost everything is back to the way it's supposed to be."

"This will cause a stir without a doubt."

Tatsu glanced over to see where Guardian was standing at the top of the stairway to the shrine "I figured as much, I can only imagine how many people must be confused as hell about a freak snowstorm in the middle of summer. Still though, I have to thank you for doing everything you did."

"You have no reason to thank me for that. I was fulfilling the purpose of these Fangs and my duty as the Guardian, protecting this world and its people with all of my power. My reach was only able to extend as far as about half of this country through, but any life saved is a step in the right direction. I know there are people and goals beyond my reach, and that even with the power of these Fangs, I cannot save everyone."

"But even if we can't save everyone, that doesn't mean we don't try. Now that I do have to thank you for."

"I simply gave you a push in the right direction. Speaking of which, I believe there's someone else who can use that at the moment." he glanced over to where Kagome was huddled in a ball under the sacred tree, obviously upset.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to deal with this."

"Do what needs to be done, and until the next time we meet." and with that, Guardian departed from the scene in a flash.

With that in mind, Tatsu promptly made his way over to where Kagome was curled up under the tree, and he sat down next to her "Hey."

"Hey." Kagome lifted her head up to look at the leaves and flower petals coming off of the Sacred Tree, but she didn't look at him "They're pretty aren't they?"

"Yeah, it's the little things in life you have to stop and enjoy. This tree really is something truly special isn't it?" he was met with the sound of sniffling "Kagome talk to me, what's wrong?"

"Tatsu, I…" Kagome buried her head in her knees as tears continued to flow "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"

"For what?"

"You know what! I hurt you, I stabbed you through the chest like a dozen times, and then I shot you with a freaking Sacred Arrow!"

"Did you do it on purpose, like did you mean to do all of that to me?"

"No of course not but-"

"Then what's the problem?"

"It was horrible, I could see everything I was doing but I couldn't control myself! I couldn't stop myself no matter what did I tried! This morning I said all that stuff about how I wanted to stand by you, but all I do is hurt you. Maybe Hyoga was right… maybe I am your weakness." she was about to break down again, only to let out an eep when she felt Tatsu pull her into his arms and cradle her gently against his chest, causing her face to turn red.

"You don't need to cry anymore, and you didn't back then either. I know this might sound kind of weird, but when I was slumped up against the Sacred Tree, even when I was in the middle of training with Ryuhogo in the meeting of the minds, I could hear you through the tree. I could hear you crying, along with what I thought was a constipated pig at the time, but I now realize was just Guardian saving the city and most of the country." this caused Kagome to let out a small chuckle, but not much else "You had me worried, because you were crying but I knew I couldn't be there for you."

"Tatsu, I-"

"Stop. Stop apologizing, you have nothing to be sorry for. I'm not gonna say I forgive you for what happened, because there's nothing to forgive."

"But…"

"But nothing." his voice was soft and gentle, but with a touch of firmness to it "You know, there's one thing I've noticed since we've been doing this whole thing in the Feudal Era. People like Hyoga, Naraku, Kikyo, hell even Inuyasha on a few occasions. They all think that you're my weakness, that my enemies can get to me and hurt me by using you. They're wrong. You're not my weakness Kagome, you never have been. The bond I share with you, my drive to protect you, those things are what give me strength. You are my greatest strength."

Touched by his words, Kagome slowly stopped crying and relaxed in his embrace, and after a little while she looked up at him with that bright, warm smile that almost made him melt "Hey, so I was thinking. What do you say I make another special lunch for everyone?"

"Yes to the food, no thanks on the demons bent on world domination. I don't want to have to go out and save the world right after eating again, I think it gave me heartburn."

Kagome let out a soft chuckle as she closed her eyes and leaned back into his embrace 'I think it's safe to say that as far as today went, absolutely nothing went as planned. But we did save the world today, so that's a plus. Maybe I can't tell him how I feel today, maybe not even tomorrow, but I still have someone like him watching over me, like some kind of knight in shining armor like something out of a fairy tale. It doesn't get much better than that. What I said before still rings true though. I want you to be happy, I want you to laugh a lot, and I want to see your smile that's kept me going through so many hard times. I don't know what's going to come next, and frankly I don't care. Whatever may happen now or in the future, I'm gonna stay by your side in any way I can. I love you Tatsu. Even if I can't say it out loud to you just yet, I love you with all my heart and soul.'

A/N:

Now that we've made it through the first two seasons of the story, it's high time for us to venture into the events of the first Inuyasha movie, though with a couple of differences here and there, which has now become the longest chapter I've ever written for a story. For starters, Inuyasha is sort of shifted out of the focus of this one, and instead it's more focused on the growing relationship between Tatsu and Kagome. No they're not an official couple yet, they're not going to be for some time, but I can guarantee that they will become a couple before the final battle. Way before the final battle actually, I'm not waiting another 140 episodes to get them together like with Inuyasha and Kagome in canon. I've got a whole plan worked out for when that happens, and it's gonna be one hell of a chapter.

I know what at least some of you are thinking, that making Menomaru and Hyoga into an enemy of Ryuhogo instead of Toga (Inuyasha and Sesshomaru's father, that's his actual name) seems like a copout. I get the complaints, but not every villain they come across has to be about Toga or about Naraku. I wanted to give some more backstory to Ryuhogo, and besides, this movie focuses more on the growing relationship between Tatsu and Kagome. Besides, there's still another movie that's going to focus on Toga, which I am extremely excited to get to when the time comes.

Aside from covering the events of the first of four movies, this chapter does serve another purpose for the story: In order to defeat Hyoga, Tatsu has to learn a new technique, his ultimate technique, the Dragon Cannon. This technique utilizes the power of all of his Fangs in one single blast of demonic energy. I was originally going to introduce it later on, but I thought that now would be the best time for him to learn it.

One other thing I think is worth noting is Tatsu starting to show a greater level of hostility towards Kikyo, mainly because of her actions towards Kagome. Now he's not going to take any actions against her or anything like that, but he's not going to hide his disdain for her either. This is going to go on for awhile, but I do have a plan for resolving that, along with another plot point that I'm going to be including later on for Tatsu's character arc.