(The Togenkyo Chronicles)
"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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Another day, another opportunity for lechery on the part of a certain monk.
A local woman was kneeling on the ground in pain as she glanced back at where Miroku was in the middle of tending to her "I'm so sorry, I suddenly allowed myself to be overcome by the pain I was feeling."
"You have nothing to apologize for." Miroku didn't bat an eye as he continued to do his work on the woman "This is all part of the duty of a monk. So tell me miss,how are you now?"
"I feel better already thanks to your gentle touch and kindness." the woman gave a small smile, but it quickly dropped when she felt his hands move lower.
"Well you need not overexert yourself."
"No no, I'm quite fine now." she quickly pulled herself to her feet.
"I see, that's quite good to hear. Very well then. By the way…"
"Yes?"
"Would you be interested in bearing my children?"
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Meanwhile, on the sidelines…
"Oh for god's sake…" from their place on the sidelines, Tatsu and the others could do little more than groan in exasperation at Miroku's antics.
"Why sound so surprised, it's not like this is anything new." Inuyasha pointed out.
"It's not surprise, it's just exasperation. Seriously, at this point all this scene does is give me the impression that most of the women in this era don't have any standards." it was then that he took notice of the dirty look Sango was giving him "I said most of the women."
"Okay then, shall we be on our way." this was when Miroku made his way back over to the group after parting ways with the woman, only to be taken aback by the dull and unimpressed looks they were giving him "What?"
"You know what monk, you keep throwing yourself at these women and you have nothing to show for it."
"It's not about receiving something to show for it, you of all people should know that you can't expect me to ignore a female in distress."
"And then going on to grab them by the ass, and they laugh you off when you ask them to have our children. There's a word for all of that you know, and it's called simping." he was met with odd looks from everyone except for Kagome "Tell me I'm wrong."
"Well I choose to say that you are, but in any case I believe it's time for us to move on, so let's carry on then shall we?" and so Miroku started down the path again, leaving the others to follow after him.
"Fine, might as well."
"What the fuck gives him the right." Inuyasha grumbled "He's the one that kept us waiting this whole time."
"Give it a few hours, there's a pretty sizable change that karma is gonna swoop in and hit him right in the face."
"And what the hell is karma supposed to be?"
"Well karma is where if you do something good, then something good happens to you. But if you do something bad, then something bad happens to you."
"So you're trying to tell me that because of him going around and flirting with anything that moves and holding us up while he does it, he's gonna have something bad happen to him?"
"That's the short version of it, but yeah pretty much." Tatsu let out a sigh as he glanced up at the sun shining above them 'It's been about two weeks since the whole thing with Hyoga, and aside from having to do some damage control and repairs in the village and for the well, things have calmed down a little bit. No new demons, no jewel shards, no Naraku or anything like that. Not yet at least.'
"Hey guys, take a look up there." Kagome pointed ahead to where a tea house sat along the side of the road a short distance ahead of them "Anybody up for taking a short break?"
"At least we've got a decent reason for stopping this time. Alright Miroku, as the only one of us that actually bothers to keep any money on them, time to do your thing."
"Say no more my friend, I have this covered." to that end, Miroku reached into his robe to pull out some money, only to discover a problem "What the-?"
"What's the matter?"
"My travel funds, my money, it's disappeared! I'm sure I had it this morning."
"Before or after you stopped us to grope the woman by the side of the rode?"
"What are you- Wait, are you saying-"
"I'd say there's a pretty good chance she was a pickpocket."
"No wonder she didn't get mad when you started grabbing her butt." Shippo muttered from where he was riding on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"See, even the kid gets it."
"But that's- I didn't…" Miroku let out a groan "What have I done?"
"Got us robbed to put it lightly, so Inuyasha you wanna do the honors?"
"Whatever, just keep it moving lecher." Inuyasha promptly shoved Miroku forward, and on that rather pitiful note note, the group continued on their way.
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About an hour went by, and that was when things really started to get underway.
Kagome let out a sigh and stopped to catch her breath, but then she glanced back and took notice of how a certain monk had gone missing "Hey guys, where did Miroku go?"
"Hm? He was so busy moping about getting robbed he started lagging behind, I guess kind of forgot about him." Tatsu muttered "But in any case I can sense his Ki pretty clearly, he's not that far behind us. I'll go get him."
"Wait hold on, I'll get him." Sango was quick to follow after him, only to glance over and notice the raised eyebrow Tatsu was giving him "What?"
"Nothing, just thinking about how much of a sucker Inuyasha is."
"...Do I want to know?"
"I'd rather you didn't. But speaking of knowing stuff, you really oughta give Ki sensing a try for yourself. You never know, it could really come in handy."
"But don't I need powers like you and Kagome to learn how to sense things like that?"
"Far from it, I learned how to do this way before I knew about the power that these Fangs had going for them. If anything, being able to sense Ki helps me to use them more effectively."
"Fair enough. So how does it work?"
"Ki is any sort of energy that comes from movement, so it can come from anything human or demon. Being able to sense Ki involves using all five of your senses, not just one or two of them like sight or sound. A person's glance, the rhythm of their breathing, their scent, the way their muscles move, the hint of their presence. Put all of them together and all of that living energy people give off is referred to as Ki. Plus I can combine it with my ability to sense vibrations within the earth, so that gives me an extra advantage."
"That does explain a few things. So to put it simply, I have to focus on more than just seeing or hearing what my enemies are doing in battle."
"Exactly. Use more than just sight or sound to track their movements and attacks, use all of your senses and let your body take in your surroundings. That's the whole point of what I was trying to teach Kagome during the fight with Juromaru and Kageromaru, and with any luck, Koga may have picked up a thing or two."
"He did seem like he had a lot to think about when he left us last time."
"Well with any luck, he learned a thing or two from that fight. That's one of the great things about life, when you fail you have a chance to learn from your mistakes." Tatsu stopped in his tracks and glanced up to see Miroku on the path leading through the forest, and his expression dulled when he saw that was talking to a women "Or you can be like a certain monk, who gets robbed by a woman and goes back to doing the exact same thing without a second thought. Call it a hunch but I have a feeling that all those blows to the head isn't gonna get through to him, I'm thinking we might need to go for an intervention. Seriously monk, this is the literal definition of insanity. Do you just block out anything negative about the women you come across?"
"I take offense to the fact that you think so little of me." Miroku turned to face him "And it just so happens that I've come across something that requires our attention. You two should get the others right away."
"...Alright then."
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About a half hour later, in the nearby village…
"Uh huh." Tatsu shared a look with Kagome and the others as they listened to the story being told to them by the village women "So you're saying the men who went into the mountain haven't come back yet, is that about right?"
"Yes, and we're sure they've been captured by a demon of some sort." one of the women told him "Please we beg of you, do what you can to help us."
'Well at least this one is more than just him going out on another tryst, and these people do need help. Plus they're all married, so he can't do anything to them. Well we'll do anything we can to help you out, won't we monk?"
"Absolutely." Miroku gave his most serious face, which did little to impress the others "It doesn't matter what dangers we may face, we'll go and free your beloveds from the demon and ensure that they return to you safely."
"Thank you, we're ever so grateful." the women promptly bowed to them.
"I take it everyone else understands?"
"More or less." Tatsu gave a shrug "Chances are Inuyasha heard enough to gripe about how he's gonna have to do all the fighting when I do at least half of it myself."
"Yes yes, we've established a normal routine for our group. Let's be off then shall we?" and so the group started on their way.
They only got about 5 feet before one of the women said something that caused Miroku to stop in his tracks "Please be very careful on your way to the mountain my friends, it is said in the rumors that the demon takes on the form of a beautiful woman."
"...On second thought my friends, perhaps it would be for the best if I were to journey alone to face this demon."
"And there it is." Tatsu glanced back to notice the dull looks everyone had "Say what you will, I'm personally just amazed he lasted for as long as he did."
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About 45 minutes later…
After Miroku's impromptu decision, Kagome and the others had settled down for a rest in a hut near the village "I don't get it, why did Miroku want to go on his own to go after this demon they were talking about?"
"You're kidding right?" Inuyasha let out a snort "The monk wanted to be alone with the woman demon up there, it's pretty obvious. The bastard never learns does he?"
"You said it, not me." Tatsu glanced over to see Sango emerge from the hut, armed and clad in her Demon Slayer attire "You're gonna go after him aren't you?"
"Of course I am." Sango told them like it was obvious "If that womanizing monk goes up there alone then he's going to end up getting bewitched just like the rest of the men."
"You want us to come with you?"
"Thanks, but Kirara and I should be fine on our own. If all goes well, I'll bring the monk back by the scruff of his neck by sundown." and so she took off, with Kirara following right behind her as they disappeared into the forest.
"Oh yeah, this is gonna end well." Tatsu rolled his eyes and laid down on the grass in front of the hut.
"A girl can hope right?" Kagome's expression brightened as a thought crossed her mind "Hey tell me something you guys, do any of you get the feeling that Sango has the hots for Miroku?"
"Well when I think of that, I'm reminded of a scene from the first episode of How I Met Your Mother, and a certain quote by Barney pops into my head: "Oh yeah, you just know she likes it dirty." Do you get where I'm going with this?"
"No I don't, and I'm not sure I want to."
"Bottom line, yes she's pining after him."
"Wait what?" Inuyasha's head snapped up when he heard this "The hell she is."
"She definitely is, you'd know that if you bother to pay attention."
"What?"
"Yeah he's right, I noticed it a long time ago." Shippo piped up from Inuyasha's lap.
"Seriously?"
"Wow, you're even more dense than I thought."
"But if Sango does love Miroku, then how come she always gets so mad whenever he tries to grab her butt?"
"Well for one he does it without her consent, and for another you have to set up the right kind of atmosphere for women."
"Atmosphere, you mean like clouds and stuff?"
"Oh for- How do you not get this?"
"Kagome, right now we're in a world from before toilet paper was a thing. I'm pretty sure stuff like atmosphere isn't gonna make sense to them either." Tatsu told her dryly.
"...Oh god, they don't have toilet paper?!" Kagome found herself shuddering at the thought, but she calmed herself down after a moment "Look in any case, Sango likes Miroku and that's all there is to it."
"But the real problem lies with Miroku himself."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly sure how he feels about Sango."
"As far as woman go, there's only one thing we know about Miroku for certain. That he's the original simp."
"Well maybe he does have feelings for Sango, I mean beyond him being a lecher. Don't forget that Kazuma was the same back when he was still in high school, before he met Moya."
"Probably not the best example to use, keep in mind that his emotional state was already pretty fragile. I mean we lost our mom, and then two years later our dad. He was in a really bad place during all of that. If anything, she and Akira had become two of the few things that really kept him sane." this caused Kagome's face to fall as he said this.
"I doubt he did anything like Miroku does." Inuyasha let out a snort "He goes after Sango's ass enough, that's for sure."
"There's a huge difference between love and lust. Most of what he does is out of being a perv and mainly driven by lust, but love is something totally different, and it's a hell of a lot more likely to give someone a migraine. Speaking of which, I think I need to cool off a little bit. Anyone up for some sparring?"
"I'll go." Kagome suddenly bolted upright as she grabbed her sword, earning a few looks at how eagerly she responded "I mean, I want to see how much I've improved."
"Yeah sure, come on there's a clearing not far from here." and so he took off, with Kagome right behind him.
"Like anyone wouldn't see that coming." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and laid back, only to notice the look Shippo was giving him "What?"
"What do you mean what?" Shippo bolted upright and promptly rounded on him "You keep going on about how Miroku and Sango don't like each other, but then Tatsu and Kagome go off and you're saying they do? What's that about?"
"Well for one, they both decide to gripe to me about their problems. For another, I can smell the stuff they give off whenever they think about that sort of thing."
"What do you mean?"
"Nothing I plan to tell you about, the last thing we need is another Miroku."
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Meanwhile, with the other power couple…
At the same time, Miroku and Sango were searching for the demon disguised as a woman, only for the two of them to get separated once they entered through a spirit shield infused in the deepest part of the forest. While Miroku came across the woman, a princess that ended up welcoming him into her mansion, Sango came across the missing men from the village, only to find that they had aged dramatically as a result of having their life force sucked out. Though it seemed like Miroku was going to be the next victim, he was able to resist seduction (surprising as that might seem) and free the spirit of the princess from the coyote demon that had stolen it in the first place, allowing her to pass on into the afterlife. Sango took the chance to slay the coyote demon as well, though a large crack formed in Hiraikotsu as a result of this.
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A little while passed, and things seemed to calm down.
After returning to the village with the missing men, Miroku had take it upon himself to create a grave for the princess "I have buried the ashes of the princess here in this humble grave, if all of you are to offer up your prayers then I am certain that she will watch over the village."
"We thank you very much monk." one of the woman let out a sigh "We're so grateful that you've brought our men back to us."
"You have nothing to thank me for, I'm simply doing the duty of a monk who works to aid the common man."
"Hey speaking of which Miroku, you mind if I ask you something?" asked Kagome.
"Of course, what is it?"
"Did anything happen between you and Sango on the mountain? She seemed pretty upset since you two got back.
"No nothing happened, I can't imagine what might be bothering her. I'll go check on her." and so he took off.
"Alright, all in favor of following them and listening in?"
"Only if we get to bring snacks." was Tatsu's dry response.
"I still say you're living in a fantasy." Inuyasha let out a snort "No way in hell Sango would let herself fall in love with that pervert."
"Yeah well it doesn't matter if you see it or not, it's still happening and our bet is still going on because of it."
"Wait, what bet?" Kagome shot a raised eyebrow in his direction.
"Oh see awhile back, me and Inuyasha made a bet. I said that Miroku and Sango would become a couple before Naraku, and he seems dead set that it's not gonna happen. The winner of our little wager gets three packs of ramen and the loser has to sit there and watch the winner eat them, and no trying to run or steal them from the winner." he jerked a thumb at Inuyasha as he said this "I had to put that last part in play just in case."
"...Well okay then."
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Meanwhile, with Sango…
'I can't believe myself.' Sango found herself moping as she sat by the edge of a river, her mind drifting back to the day's events 'I'm such an idiot, how could I be such a fool?'
"Sango?" this was when Miroku came up and sat down next to her "Is something wrong?"
"Not really, it's just… I owe you an apology. I never should've never followed you into the mountains like that."
"Now don't be so hard on yourself over nothing, you're the one that destroyed the coyote demon aren't you?"
"I was only able to do it because you helped me."
"Far from it, if anything I relied on your help Sango, because I had trust in your strength. You made the choice to come with me today because you were concerned about my safety, isn't that the case?"
"Well sure that's why I came, yes of course I was worried about you. You're not exactly the most reasonable person when you're around women. I was absolutely certain you were gonna get yourself into trouble."
"I probably owe you an apology myself. I had to venture into the lair of that demon, but it was mainly because I couldn't ignore the thought of a woman who might be grieving."
"It's not as though I'm jealous or anything like that."
"I never suspected as such." Miroku gently took Sango's hand in his and gave her a genuine smile "It makes me happy that you worry for me Sango, your concern for me means so much more than that of any other woman." this left Sango blushing heavily.
"Wh-What in the world are you saying to me?" Sango found herself red in the face and quickly turned away from him, trying to force herself not to smile 'Oh god no, what in the name of hell am I supposed to do now?'
"I mean it Sango, truly." Miroku looked as if he was about to say something else, but then he looked down and his right hand started moving and… well you can probably guess where this is about to go.
'What is he- Oh come on, again with the hand! Why couldn't he just touch my shoulder or my face or something more romantic?! Anything but grabbing me there for the hundredth time, I mean seriously! Would it kill you to get your mind out of the gutter?!" and cue the slap that sounded throughout the area, and it was only then that she noticed everyone else watching them from afar "Have you been watching us this whole time?!"
"Yep, and we've got snacks." Tatsu held up a bag of chips "These kinds of things can be pretty entertaining on their own, but with snacks this is almost as good of a pass time as anime."
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Another hour went by, and the group had continued on their way.
Miroku let out a sigh as he trailed behind the rest of the group, nursing the large handprint on his cheek "Don't blame me, she was practically begging me to fondle her."
"Yeah sure, whatever you need to tell yourself to make yourself feel better." Kagome just rolled her eyes at him "You know you really should spend more time brushing up on women's feelings, and less time brushing up on their buns."
"Your first mistake is thinking that's gonna happen." Tatsu pointed out dryly, then glanced up to where Sango was walking ahead of the rest of the group, taking note of the giant crack that had appeared on Hiraikotsu 'That however, that's gonna need some work pretty soon.'
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Nightfall came, and the group had settled down for the night.
Tatsu glanced over to see Kagome squirming around as she slept with a book on her face, and then suddenly bolt upright "You have the math dream again?"
"Oh man, so it was a dream." Kagome let out a sigh.
"I'm gonna take that as a yes. You need help getting back to sleep?"
"Mh-hm." Kagome promptly latched onto Tatsu and buried her face in the crook of his neck, and before long she was fast asleep once again.
'Yeah that figures.' Tatsu let out a sigh as he leaned back and let Kagome snuggle further into him as he gently wrapped his arms around her 'That's another thing, ever since the whole thing with Hyoga went down she's been clinging to me like her life depends on it. Or mine. I guess she was pretty shaken up by what happened. I meant what I said though, my drive to protect her is what gives me the strength to keep going.' he let out a sigh as he relaxed himself, but then he caught a glance up at the moon 'Pretty light crescent moon, that means that tomorrow night is gonna be the new moon, which means that Inuyasha is gonna lose his powers and become a normal human. Well normal by his standards anyway, but in any case, this is definitely gonna make things more complicated. I guess whatever happens tomorrow, we're gonna have to be sure to stay on our guard.'
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Morning came and the sun was rising over the skies above, but it was anything but calm because of a certain dog man.
"What?!" Inuyasha was pissed as usual, but this time it was directed at Sango "What the fuck do you mean you're leaving? We have to find the jewel shards and Naraku, I thought you would realize what an important time this is!"
"I know that Inuyasha, but this isn't something that can be avoided." Sango told him, trying to keep herself calm at how angry he seemed "I have some things I need to take care of."
"Like what?"
"Well first, my Hiraikotsu took some damage in the fight with that female coyote demon, and some of my other weapons need to be repaired too. I can't go back into battle until I'm certain it's been repaired, and besides… I have some other things I need to attend to." she appeared rather downcast when she said this last part, but the only response she got from Inuyasha for a moment was a low growl.
"Fine fuck it, you get three days but that's it, and if you're a day later getting back I swear I'm gonna-"
"Grunt and snarl and give the occasional finger gesture." Tatsu cut him off dryly "Here's an idea for you, if you're so concerned about her being late getting back, then why don't you just go with her? It couldn't hurt to have some backup."
"...Fine fuck it, but don't even think about trying to sneak back home because I swear I'll shove my Tessaiga right down your throat. We'll be back at the village in three days."
"Works for me."
"Great, come on Kirara." so Sango promptly leapt onto Kirara's back, with Inuyasha doing the same, and the three of them took off into the sky.
"Okay then, since we can't do anything substantial until they get back, what do you say we head back to cool off for a few days?"
"But you just said-" Miroku paused for a moment "Were you just trying to get rid of Inuyasha so you could go home?"
"Well getting rid of him wasn't the main idea, but if an opportunity presents itself then why not go for it. I'm mainly trying to do two things. One, since the whole thing with Hyoga, my brother has been really engrossed with something he's working on and he asked me to come home as soon as I could so he could try it out."
"What sort of something?"
"I'm not really sure, all he said is that if it works then it could really improve on some of my abilities. Second of all, Inuyasha's in one of his moods because of what tonight is, so I figured that he could use a little bit of backup."
"What do you mean?" asked Kagome "What's tonight?"
"Haven't you noticed? Tonight is gonna be the night of the new moon, Inuyasha's gonna lose all of his power and become a human. With skills like Sango has, at least this way he doesn't have to fend for his life on his own."
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Meanwhile, up in the mountains…
At the same time, a man was running away from something in pure terror, only for an even larger man (and wider too) by the name of Tokajin to stop him in his tracks and confront him about turning his back on his training to become a sage, and then he sucked the man into a gourd he carried and disappeared into the fog.
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Meanwhile, with the others…
At the same time, Kagome and the rest of the group were making their way through an area of the mountains, only to stop when they noticed the fog overtaking the area "Wow look at this, the fog is pretty bad."
"It's not just fog, I can tell you that much." Miroku told her grimly.
"So then what is it?"
"Well-"
"Hey check this out." Tatsu knelt down and picked something up out of the river, and the look on his face went blank "Well that's probably gonna give me nightmares."
"What do you have- Oh damn, that's a human fruit."
"And assuming any of us have any idea what the hell that means…"
"It's the spawn that comes from a demon tree by the name of Nimenka, it uses humans as its source of nourishment, so the fruit it bares resembles human faces."
"So this fruit came from a demon tree? I take it eating it would be a bad idea then?"
"Aside from the obvious cannibalism,it would be the worst idea you've ever had, and most likely your last. You ate the last of the snacks didn't you?"
"I finished off the Doritos while we were watching Sango smack the shit out of you."
"And if history is any indication, you don't focus well when you're hungry. Well going back to the demon fruits, considering how many of them are floating downstream as we speak, the demon tree itself has to be extremely large. There's a great deal of unrest as well, with all of the battles taking place there's more than enough bodies that can be used as fertilizer. But at the same time, there isn't any fighting taking place that deep in the mountains."
"So what then, you're thinking there's something else causing it?"
"Well whatever it is, I think we should go check it out." Kagome told him, gripping Tatsu by the arm as she did so 'There's no way I'm letting go of him again after last time, this time I'm going to protect him.'
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The sun was beginning to set.
Tatsu and the others were continuing their way along the path through the mountains, only to end up screeching to a halt when they saw a volley of fruits with faces drop down in front of them from atop a nearby cliffside "You think we found what we're looking for?"
"If I had to guess, then I would say that the demon tree of the human-faced fruits is most likely high up atop this cliff." Miroku told him.
"You know that actually sounds pretty awkward, but yeah I do see it up there." they glanced up at the sight of the colossal tree standing on the edge of the cliffside above them.
"I've never seen such a colossal human-faced fruit tree."
"That implies that you've seen more than one before."
"Well in any case, there's also this ominous demonic aura, which means that it must have already consumed a large number of humans."
"So let's stop it before it gets anymore of them." to that end, Tatsu summoned a metal chain from his arm, hurled it upwards and embedded it into the side of the cliff, and he prepared to start walking up said cliffside, only to stop when he noticed Kagome grab him by the arm, looking rather scared as she did so "What's the matter?"
"Nothing, it's just… What are you going to do?" Kagome asked quietly.
"Well with any luck, climb up there and cut down that demon tree within the next 20 minutes or so."
"Well then I'm coming with you."
"Kags there's no need, it's just chopping down a tree. What's the worst that could happen?" he gave her a reassuring smile, and then he started climbing up the side of the cliff, and it was only then that he decided to curse himself 'Fuck, I had to say something out loud didn't I? Well it doesn't matter either way. As long as I have these Fangs hanging around my neck, there's nothing I can't overcome.'
'He's so confident and optimistic, it's because he's trying to reassure me. I know he's trying to do it for my sake, but now whenever I think about us going into a battle again… I keep seeing that image in my mind over and over again, the moment where I attack him. I hurt him. I can't let anything like that happen ever again. Shippo can you take me up there?"
"What are you going to do?" asked Shippo.
"I made a promise to him, I'm gonna stand by him in any way I can. Can you?"
"Yeah!" so Shippo promptly transformed into his balloon form and Kagome and Miroku get on, and he started floating up the cliffside.
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Meanwhile, with Sango and Inuyasha…
'This is taking too long.' growing more restless at the sight of the sun setting, Inuyasha let out a low growl, only to stop when he realized something "This isn't in the direction of the Demon Slayer village, if this is some stupid detour like Kagome makes us do all the time I swear I'm gonna take this sword and-"
"Stick it right back in your sheath, or in your mouth for good measure!" Sango barked at him, which proved to shut him up outright. After a moment, she breathed a sigh "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap like that. To answer your question we do have to make a simple detour on our way to the village, but it's definitely not stupid or pointless."
"It better be worth it then."
"It is, and I could use your help with it. Here we are, take us down Kirara." so once they were on the ground, she led Inuyasha to the edge of a nearby cliff, until they found what it was she was looking for "Here we are."
"This is…"
"Yes, the graves of my father and the other Demon Slayers, in the graves that we erected for them the last time we were here. I figured that since I had to go back to my village in order to repair the Hiraikotsu, now would be the best time to move their graves back the village as well. I did promise them I would do that."
"...We put them here so that their graves wouldn't be dug up by wild dogs or anything."
"And?"
"I can smell it, they haven't been touched. Let's make sure they stay that way."
"Right." Sango gave a small smile, and the two of them got to work.
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Meanwhile, up in the mountains…
At the same time, Tokajin was making his way to where the demon tree was located, dumping out the contents for them to be absorbed into the soil, causing another human-faced fruit to appear, but it didn't satisfy him "Dammit, there's still no fruit of longevity yet." and yet he picked the fruit and swallowed it in one gulp anyway "Honestly, how much I tire of eating these all the time."
"Well that answers my first question." this was when Tatsu leapt up the cliffside and dropped down onto the scene "I take it you're the one that's been feeding the demon tree then."
"Who wants to know?"
'Based on the Ki he's giving off I think he's a human, but he reeks of blood, and if I can smell it then god only knows what it would be like for Inuyasha.'
"Wnat do you want with me?"
"It's not what I want with you, so much as how fast I want to cut down the demon tree, so you might want to take a few big steps back."
"Oh is that so, and what will happen if I don't?"
"Then one of two things will happen. One, you're probably gonna get crushed by the tree falling on top of you. Two, I'm gonna drop kick you so the first one doesn't happen." so he blitzed in front of Tokajin and buried a fist in his gut, only to be sent reeling backwards by the recoil of bouncing off of his stomach fat 'Okay, that wasn't supposed to happen. And for that matter, why the hell was it moist?! Well in any case, this calls for something more serious. I've been wanting to get some more practice in with this one. Iron Gauntlet!" he covered his arm in iron dragon scales and buried it in Tokajin's gut, only to once again bounce off of the stomach fat 'Okay for real, why the hell is it moist?!'
"Here I thought that you were a mere human, but it seems that you are able to wield the power of a demon. Are you a half-demon perhaps? Either way, you are still a fool. I don't know where you come from, but did you truly believe you would be able to defeat a sage?"
"I'm supposed to believe that you're a sage. I am Tokajin, and I am the sage of Togenkyo!" after introducing himself, Tokajin pulled out and opened his gourd, which promptly started expanding in size.
'Great, the gourd is getting bigger. And so is he.'
"I know what you're thinking, you believe the gourd is getting bigger, but it's not. The truth is that you're getting smaller."
'Wait what?' Tatsu glanded around and quickly found that he was shrinking, though there was a certain something that did not shrink with him 'Shit, the Fangs I'm shrinking but they're not shrinking with me! So you're telling me that you really are a sage?"
"I said it already you fool, and I don't like to repeat myself."
"If you really are some kind of sage, then why stoop to something like this?"
"Do you wish to go inside and find out?" he then proceeded to suck Tatsu into the gourd without bothering to wait for an answer, leaving his Fangs behind on the ground "Whatever he is, human or demon he will make for excellent fertilizer."
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Meanwhile, with the others…
Kagome and Miroku were floating on Shippo's balloon form as he tried to carry them up the cliffside, only for his strength to give out from getting them as far as he did, forcing the group to take refuge on an opening on the cliffside, where Kagome discovered a room containing a box village, and in it were live humans shrunk down. It was then that Kagome, Shippo and Miroku all ended up being shrunk down themselves. After being shrunk down, they found a sizeable group of men meditating under a tree, and when they questioned them, the men told them that they had to train in order to become Sages like Tokajin. Upon hearing this, Miroku tried to urge them to stop with their training, or else they would become fertilizer for Nimenka.
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The sun was close to settin, a crimson glow covering the skies.
"I just don't understand…" now having a few monkeys tend to him, Tokajin eyed the Fangs of Ryuhogo on the necklace to which they were attach, baffled by them as he placed them around his neck and tried to use them, to no avail "No matter how I look at them, they're just a bunch of useless fangs, yet I am certain that the human boy was able to use them to give himself great power. What did he do to make them work? Oh well, I suppose it doesn't matter then." so with a simple shrug, he ripped the Fangs off his neck and made his way out of the room.
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Meanwhile, inside the gourd…
'Okay yeah, that could've gone better…' Tatsu's eyes snapped open as he took in his new surroundings, only to realize the big problem he had 'Yeah that's right, the bastard shrunk me down but not the Fangs. Shit, looks like I dug myself in deep this time. Then there's the stuff in this thing and- Oh fuck that burns!' he quickly removed one of his legs from the purple liquid and got onto a dry patch 'I guess I'll just have to cut my way out, Fangs or no Fangs these things are made with their power. Alright, let's do this." so he leapt over the purple liquid and tried to cut his way through the side of the gourd, only for it to have little effect 'Well that didn't do as much damage as I would've liked, but World War II wasn't won in a day.' so he continued slashing at the side of the gourd using both swords, leaving some gashes but nothing that did any serious damage 'Dammit, if only I had the Fang of the Iron Heart to enhance my strength this would be no problem! This must be what Miroku and Sango feel like all the time. Raidou was right about what he said before, being normal sucks. But at the same time, Akira did mention once that I was getting too reliant on the Fangs. I guess he was right too.'
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Meanwhile, with the glutton…
"Well if they don't have demon power, then they're of no use to me." Tokajin gave a shrug and placed the Fangs to the side as he made his way down to the room with the box village in it, only to stop when he noticed something on the floor 'What is that? Wait a second, those are Shikon Jewel shards, three of them. One shard was all that I required to fend off an attack from that fool from earlier, but now with four shards giving me their power, my body will be stronger than any armor!' he placed the other three shards on his stomach, barking out a triumphant laugh as he took in the power of the shards.
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Meanwhile, inside the gourd…
'Well this could be going better.' by this point, Tatsu had been forced to take refuge on a small dry patch in the gourd as the liquid started getting higher 'The liquid is rising fast, I'd better come up with some kind of plan or I'll melt like the fucking witch from the Wizard of Oz.'
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Meanwhile, in the box village…
Now trapped in the box village, Kagome and Shippo watched as the men trained desperately in their attempts to become sages, though Miroku had his doubts that they would be able to. It was then that a lone samurai caught their attention, tellin them that Tokajin was forcing them to train so they would become better fertilizer for the demon tree, and he had witnessed it for himself before he was thrown into the box village.
Hearing this, Kagome began searching for a way out of the box village, sure that there had to be a way out of there. But at the same time, she was praying that she was in a nightmare, and that it would end soon.
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Meanwhile, with Tatsu…
'Come on, come on, come on!' growing desperate, Tatsu resorted to trying to stab an opening into the side of the gourd instead of just cutting one, only to end up slipping into the purple liquid and burning his leg, causing him to recoil in pain 'Dammit that hurts like hell, I can't remember the last time I took any damage that didn't result from claws, stabbing or energy blasts. My life has gotten really weird now that I think about it. Yeah, if we survive this then I'm definitely gonna need a few days to cool off after this. I do remember Arashi telling me something about a dance coming up at school, so maybe I could see if Kagome wants to go. Wait no, he said it's gonna be girl's choice. Crap. Oh right, back to the life and death struggle. So he slammed himself against the weakspot in the wall he created, earning a sickening crack and leaving his right arm dangling at his side 'Okay no, I imagined that going differently. It's not broken yet, I'm pretty sure it's just dislocated. Not much better.' it was then that he noticed a crack beginning to form in the wall of the gourd 'But at the same time, it did make some progress.' so with great strain, he popped his shoulder back into place and used both arms to grip his swords, and he started focusing his attacks on the crack in the gourd, each stroke of his swords making it bigger 'Come on you big beautiful bastards, keep them coming and get me out of here! Time to blow this gourd!' so with a great leap, he burst through the crack in the gourd and out into the open, allowing him to return to his normal size 'Well that hurt more than I thought it would, but it worked either way, so I guess it's worth calling a win.'
"What the-" Tokajin whipped around and saw Tatsu sprawled out on the ground "Oh, it's just you again, you're that human kid I captured earlier."
"Who the hell were you expecting? Well guess what fatass, it's payback time." he promptly slammed his fist into Tokajin's face, earning a sickening crack, which caused him to retract his arm in pain 'Okay now it's broken, no more like shattered. You've got jewel shards going for you don't you?" he glanced down to see the jewel shards Tokajin had in his stomach, which only confirmed his hypothesis.
"Why you little- You won't get away with that!"
"Where the hell did you get those? He's got four of them in there, but Kagome had- Oh dear god no…'
"Be prepared you filthy wretch, for you're the one who's about to die!" Tokajin let out a primal roar as his skin turned rock, and he leapt into the air.
"Bring it on ugly!" Tatsu swung both swords at him, only for Tokajin to slam down on him full force, slamming him into a crater before picking himself up, leaving Tatsu lying in the crater apparently unconscious, blood pouring from his wounds.
"So this is what they can do…" Tokajin looked down at the jewel shards on his body "It seems that the shards of the jewel hold tremendous power, with these shards I am invincible! Now to deal with this one."
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Meanwhile, with the other members of the group…
Nightfall had long since come, and now Inuyasha (now in his human form, to his great dismay) and Sango had returned to the Demon Slayer's village, and now were finishing with filling the last of the graves "Is that all of them?"
"That's the last of them." Sango let out a sigh as she finished burying one of the graves, and then she glanced over at Inuyasha and gave a small smile "Thank you for helping me with this."
"Whatever, if it gets you to fix your weapon faster then fine." he let out his trademark "Feh" and turned away, but then he glanced back to see the wistful look Sango was giving him "Would you stop doing that, it was weird enough when Kagome did it."
"I don't mean to scare you or anything."
"As if you could."
"Believe me, I know." Sango let out a chuckle "It's just… I never thanked you did it?"
"You just did."
"Not for this, I mean… For when we first met. I was being tricked by Naraku, and with that jewel shard in my back I came after you and Tatsu, and I was out for your blood."
"Tatsu was the one you attacked not me, and for the record I did too when I first met him. He's still mad at me about his sword breaking in that fight."
"Yes, he's mentioned it a few times. But then there's the time I stole Tessaiga from you and tried to trade it to Naraku in exchange for my brother. I knew you were angry with me back then, you had every right to be. I thought you would've cast me out for that, but you didn't. You never even hesitated in taking me back, like there was nothing to forgive. You never even mentioned it again. You even saved me and Kohaku and stopped me from making the biggest mistake of my life and ending it. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you for the kindness you and the others have shown me, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to try."
"...Enough with all of the sentimental crap, just go get started on Hiraikotsu. The sooner that thing is fixed, the sooner we can get back to hunting down Naraku and the jewel shards. You know I'm right about this."
"Right, of course."
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Meanwhile, back in Togenkyo…
'Moist… damp… why the hell does it feel moist?' Tatsu's eyes suddenly snapped open and he found himself restrained by a series of vines 'Oh great, now it feels like I'm trapped in that one episode of Danny Phantom.'
"I see, so you've awakened now." Tokajin glanced back at him, earning a low growl "It's like I thought, you're just a human wielding a weapon with demonic power. The power of a demon is good nourishment for Nimenka."
"The tree that makes fruits with human faces in them, I've heard all of this before."
"Don't interrupt me! Anyway, with you as part of the broth it's surely going to bear the Fruit of Longevity much faster than it would've."
"Not on your fucking life ugly, there's no way in hell that's gonna happen."
"Oh but it will, it's only a matter of time. Be sure to keep struggling as well, if the thorns in those vines pierce your skin then it will be that much easier to extract your juices."
"You realize how wrong that sounds right?" Tatsu glanced around the room he was in, only for a certain something to catch his eye 'That bottle he's holding, that's the one Kagome uses to hold her shards of the jewel. Don't tell me… What the hell did you do with the one who owns those jewel shards you jammed into your gut"
"What are you talking about? I found these shards in that container on the ground, I found them myself."
"Don't fucking toy with me fatass, you stole those shards from Kagome didn't you? What did you do to the girl who had the jewel shards."
"A girl you say?" Tokajin lit up when he heard this, and it was disturbing "This really is some tremendous news, the thought of a girl inside my house. The demon tree Nimenka loves women too, the younger they are the better." and then he left the room.
'Shit, I just had to go and awaken the fat guy's rape face didn't I? Dammit! Please just hold on a little while Kagome, all I have to do is break free and I'll be right there!'
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Meanwhile, with Tokajin…
After learning about Kagome's presence, Tokajin was able to deduce that she was in his tiny box village, having been shrunk down along with the others. By the time he arrived in the room with the box village, Kagome and the others had managed to use a large boulder and Miroku's Wind Tunnel to create a hole in the side of the box, but before they could use it, Tokajin appeared and pulled Kagome out of there, squeezing her until she lost consciousness.
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Meanwhile, with Tatsu…
'Dammit, I can't fucking stand this!' Tatsu continued his struggles to free himself from the vine, only for them to be in vain 'I hate it when Akira is right about this stuff, usually because it means that I'm wrong. I never realized it but he's right, I have become too dependent on the Fangs, and now I feel so useless without them. Now I'm on my own and my strength is a fraction of what it usually is, and now thanks to what I'm assuming is the blood loss, I'm starting to get kind of lightheaded.'
"So you're still alive even now are you?" this was when Tokajin made his way back into the room, holding Kagome's priestess attire in his hand, only to toss them aside.
'Kagome's clothes… don't tell me… Where's Kagome, what the hell did you do to the girl?"
"Well ever since you broke my gourd, it's been pretty bothersome to extract the nourishment I need for Nimenka. Don't look at me like that."
"Tell me where the hell the girl is before I grab my swords and stick one down your throat and the other one up your ass!"
"Oh I can see it, your expression says it all. You're in love with that filthy girl aren't you? You don't need to worry, you'll see her soon enough when you reunite inside my belly. The both of you will become the fruit of longevity, and I'll be sure to relish every last bite."
"Then all I have to do is carve out your fucking throat!" Tatsu lunged at Tokajin in his rage, only to be restrained by the vines as they held him back and duge deeper into his skin, drawing more blood as a result.
"You're wasting your time, as you are right now you will never be able to escape from those roots that bind you."
"Why don't you come over here and see for yourself when I rip out your fucking throat!"
What neither of them had noticed was that Shippo and Miroku were poking their heads out from where they were hidden in Kagome's robes "Tatsu's trapped and hurt pretty bad, we've gotta do something!"
"I don't know how effective my Wind Tunnel will be when we're stuck at this size, but it's better than nothing." with a deep breath, Miroku opened the Wind Tunnel, causing the entire room to cave in on the group.
Once the rubble had stopped falling, Tatsu picked himself out of the rubble and coughed up a decent amount of blood 'Don't know how that happened, couldn't give less of a damn either, I have to get Kagome.' he prepared to bolt off.
"Tatsu stop, we're down here." this was when Miroku and Shippo got their attention, the two of them still shrunk down "He took Kagome down to the basement, and there is one other detail to mention that you won't be happy to hear."
"There's nothing about this entire night to be happy about, I think I can handle it. Whatever it is, we'll rush over and get her and then we'll head back and grab my Fangs, and then we're getting the hell out of here. But getting Kagome comes first."
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Meanwhile, with the priestess in question…
'What… Where am I?' Kagome let out a soft moan as her eyes fluttered open 'What smells so… so sweet in here?' it was only then that she regained her sense of awareness and realized that she was naked in a sake bath filled with the demon fruits, and so she quickly opted to try and cover herself 'Where am I, what the heck is going on? What about the others?'
"Kagome!" this was when Tatsu bashed his way through the door, covered in blood and bruises but otherwise alive and well.
"Tatsu!" Kagome lit up at the sight of him and bolted to her feet, giving him an uninterrupted view of her body, and it was only after about 10 seconds passed that the two of them realized what was happening and looked away, both of them red in the face "Sorry, I probably should've covered myself."
"Forget it, as you're alright that's enough for me."
"What about you, are you okay? You look pretty beat up."
"I've had a lot worse than this, the biggest issue is that when he shrunk me down the Fangs didn't shrink with me, now god only knows what he did with them."
"Wait what?! You mean you've been fighting this whole time without your Fangs?!"
"Like I said, I've had a lot worse so it's not that big of a deal. Anyway take this and cover up, it's not much but it's better than nothing." he untied the top of his gi and handed it to her "Better than running around naked with that freak on the loose."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Kagome turned around and tied the gi top around herself, but when she turned back to face him again she let out a horrified gasp at what she saw.
Tatsu sat propped up with his back to the wall behind him, revealing his bare torso (as impressive as it was), only for it to be covered in a number of cuts and wounds from where his body had been pierced by the vines and his earlier encounter with Tokajin "Like I said, I've had worse than this."
"Look down and say that again."
"This is second worst at best, I know how contradictory that sounds but you get what I'm trying to say. Come on, we've gotta get moving." he tried to pull himself to his feet, only to fall to the ground almost immediately as blood contiuned to pour from his wounds.
"Hold on, I'll heal your wounds right away." Kagome formed a series of hand seals and placed her palms down on Tatsu's chest, letting healing energy flow into his body while she cradled his head in her lap 'You haven't changed even after all these years. You've been pushing yourself so hard, even though you didn't have your Fangs. Even when we were younger, back when you were still training with Akira day in and day out, you insisted on doing things nonstop, pushing yourself until you either got it or ended up making yourself sick. Only now do I realize that all of the crazy stuff you were doing to make yourself stronger, you were doing to protect me. You've always protected me, so this time, let me be the one to protect you.'
"So um…" this was when Miroku and Shippo poked their heads out of Tatsu's hair "Would I be correct to assume that this is a bad time?"
Kagome's face went red with embarrassment, and she promptly let out a blood curdling scream that echoed all around the place.
"I'm going to assume that's a yes."
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About 10 minutes passed.
Once his wounds were healed, Tatsu slowly pulled himself back to his feet and did a little bit of stretching "Gotta give it to the Healing Hand, it really is a literal lifesaver. Now if only it could do something about the stench of blood."
"Unfortunately for all of us I'm a priestess in training, not a miracle worker." Kagome let out a chuckle, and then her gaze softened "So you're okay, you can walk now? I know I stopped the bleeding and undid the damage, but I can't restore stamina or anything like that."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, as far as I'm concerned you are a miracle worker."
Kagome found herself blushing as she heard this, but she quickly composed herself "I took a look around and I think we can make it out."
"Good, so take Miroku and Shippo and get going. With any luck, I'll be behind the rest of you by a few minutes at the most."
"Hold up a second, you're planning to stay and fight?"
"I think you know the answer to that, I can't leave without the Fangs."
"But you can't just charge off, we have to figure out some kind of plan." Kagome made her way over to the wall where her sword had been propped up "At least Tokajin didn't seem interested in this."
"The same can't be said for my Fangs apparently."
"Yeah I know, I can't see them anywhere so he must have them with him. It's gonna be up to me to protect everyone, at least until Tatsu can get his Fangs back. We'd better get moving, try and find some way to get out of Togenkyo and launch and regroup." she also picked up a nearby bow and arrow and strapped them to her back "So let's go."
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A little while later, near the demon tree…
Soon enough, the group had relocated to the cliffside where the tree was being kept.
Kagome glanced down the cliffside, and her face went somewhat pale "Well… I guess we can't jump from here."
"Not unless you wanna become a human pancake." Tatsu told her dryly "Plus we still have to get my Fangs back and get Miroku and Shippo back to normal. I've got a plan for that."
"Not happening."
"I haven't even told you what it is."
"Yeah you have, you said before you wanted me to take them and escape alone, which would involve leaving you behind. I'm not turning my back on you!"
"Is someone there?" a new voice drew their attention to something that left the group rather thrown off, that being the head of an old man poking out of a flower pot "Were you able to escape from the box garden?"
"You could say that, so who are you?"
"As ashamed as I am to admit it, my name is Sennin and I was Tokajin's mentor."
"So then you're a sage like he is?" Tatsu's gaze hardened "You did say that you were ashamed of making him a sage right?"
"I am ashamed yes, but that's not entirely accurate. I was Tokajin's mentor, but I was not the one that made Tokajin into a sage. It was Nimenka."
"You mean this demon tree we've been hearing so much about?" Tatsu glanced up at the tree in question.
"Yes, this took place about a month ago. Tokajin was always impatient with my teachings, even though I told him time and again that it was the only way to become a true sage. He never learned though, but then it all went wrong when he discovered a shard of the Shiko Jewel and flung it into the bark of Nimenka, giving it the ability to speak, and the tree then convinced him to eat the human-faced fruits. What he didn't tell Tokajin was that the fruits contaminate the heart of the one by which they've been ingested. When one eats the human-faced fruits from this demon tree, it turns them into a slave to Nimenka."
'...Well in that case, I'm glad I didn't eat any of them.'
"Tokajin obeyed the command of the tree and turned me into fertilizer so that it would bear the Fruit of Longevity."
"So then who was it that turned you into a plant?" asked Kagome.
"The fruit alone isn't enough for one to achieve longevity. You see, the fruit itself has to be soaked and made into a potion, and I am the only one who has the knowledge of how to complete this process correctly."
"Which is the main reason he let you live?" Tatsu guessed.
"I have no other reason to do so." this was when Tokajin appeared before the group, the Fangs of Ryuhogo once again hanging around his neck, his skin once again hard as rock, and he barked out a laugh at the sight of them "We meet again, so this is where you had escaped to."
"And somehow you got even more hideous in the past hour and a half."
"Appearances mean nothing, I have power unrivalled."
"This is bad, this is really bad." Kagome told him "I can sense the power of the shards increasing even now."
"Tokajin is no longer human, you must slay him." Sennin told her grimly.
"You didn't need to tell me that, he's a monster."
"That's right old man, I am no longer human." Tokajin barked out a laugh "Humans like these filth spend their miserable days slaving in the mud, and then they grow old and die. Both of my parents lived and died in such a way as well, but I refuse to live such a weak and senseless life as that."
"I can't believe you, you're no better than they were! How many innocent people did you have to sacrifice just so you could have longevity. That's nothing but evil and sadistic!"
"Who cares what it is! I am more powerful than anyone you've ever known, and that is all the reason I need for why I can take advantage of the weak! But I don't expect you to understand such a thing as that!" Tokajin waved his staff and unleashed a wave of vines.
"I'll tell you what I understand." Kagome drew her sword and unleashed a wave of spiritual energy that ripped through and purified the vines before they could even touch her "What I understand is that you're a monster, praying on people like that."
"Be silent! The Nimenka was what made me strong, and since I obtained the power that comes with these shards of the Shikon Jewel, I have become invincible! I shall have eternal life and turn mere weaklings like you into fertilizer!"
"You're a filthy beast!"
"Don't waste your time on the insults Kags, he wouldn't understand your logic." Tatsu stepped forward as he drew his swords off his back "I've been wielding the power of a demon just hanging around my neck for as long as I can remember, and it was only recently I realized what it was and what it meant. I know all too well how weak people can be, I can get wanting to be strong and having a reason for it. But that's the only thing he's got going for him, you're right about him being a monster."
"How dare you lecture me, especially in your condition. You reek of blood."
"So do you fatass, at least I can say this is my own blood. Kagome stand back, I know you can handle this but I've got a point to prove." and so he charged towards Tokajin at full speed, not as fast as normal but still fast by human standards 'I've gotta get a grip on those jewel shards before they melt into his body.'
"Your blood will stain these grouds!" Tokajin brandished his staff and swiped it through the air in his rage
Tatsu leapt above the attempted swipe and began kicking and slashing at Tokajin from a series of different angles before he landed a solid two-legged uppercut kick to Tokajin's jaw, the force of the blow sending him stumbling back but also resulting in a loud sickening crack that forced him to retreat a short distance, but also sent him stumbling back into a large clay pot, shattering it and spilling its contents "Okay, I imagined that going differently."
"I'd like to say I did too, but I kind of saw this coming." Kagome quickly formed some hand seals and placed her hand down on Tatsu's newly broken leg, healing it enough to let him stand back up "Don't be so reckless about this, let me fight him-"
"No." the reply was sharp enough to make her cringe, and he winced as he realized his mistake and let out a sigh "I didn't mean to sound so harsh, but I want to fight him by myself."
"Tatsu this is insane, he's a literal beast and he has your Fangs!"
"But he doesn't know how to use them it's pretty obvious looking at him. We can't sense any demonic aura coming from him, so that means he can't use them. But putting that aside, I really do want to fight him on my won."
"But why, what good reason could you possibly have to want to fight him alone like that?"
"Peace of mind." that just caused her to blink "For so long I've been dependent on having the Fangs by my side, starting with the first one my dad gave me. Whenever I went into a fight or trained until my bones cracked, I always had that Fang with me. It wasn't just about the power they gave me. It was like a piece of him was still with me, driving me to keep moving forward, to excel in everything I did. Now for the first time, I feel like I had to do it without him, like I'm really on my own. But the thing is… I'm not scared of it. There's no point in being afraid of the inevitable, right?"
"Tatsu…"
"I couldn't depend on him to hold my hand every step of the way, not anymore. This is a bridge that I need to cross right now, and I have to cross it alone, no matter how dangerous or insane it might be. If I can't make it to the other side on my own, then I know that it just wasn't meant to be. So please, let me do this."
"...Alright." Kagome placed her sword on the ground "If you have to fight him on your own to get some piece of mind then I won't stand in your way, but I can't guarantee I'll stay out of it as far as the jewel shards are concerned."
"I figured as much. And Kags? Thank you." so with a deep breath, Tatsu picked himself up and made his way back over to Tokajin "Sorry to keep you waiting."
"I was wondering how long you were going to keep preaching." Tokajin barked out a laugh "It's too bad you didn't choose to try and of the Fruit of Longevity from Nimenka either, I'm not stopping you from taking any of them. After all, if you were a little bit more lively then this may actually prove to be entertaining."
"Not on your life. I could go on and on with some huge speech about the morality of not eating fruit made from people, but there's one other big reason. Unlike you, I don't need to depend on that fruit."
"What?!"
"If you're nothing without the power, then you shouldn't have it. You're nothing without the fruit, and even with it you're desperate and dependent on it. You're pathetic."
"Be silent you wretched fool!" Tokajin sent forward a volley of thorned vines.
Tatsu cut through the vines as he made his way forward and aimed another kick at Tokajin's jaw, only to be met with the sound of a sickening crack 'God dammit, and I just had Kagome heal that leg too.'
"You are nothing before my might!" Tokajin dealt Tatsu a severe uppercut punch to the jaw, sending him hurtling into the air, and then he followed up with a vicious smash attack to the skull that sent him crashing to the ground, causing him to cough up some blood "It seems that you're all talk and no action!"
'Dammit, with the power of four jewel shards he's a lot tougher than he looks. Hey Kags, I know we agreed the jewel shards were the exception, so…"
"You don't have to finish that sentence." Kagome locked and loaded an arrow with the bow she had from her back "One clean shot is all that I need."
"It's useless, you're wasting your time." Sennin told her grimly "Tokajin cannot be brought down with a single arrow."
"I don't care if he can or not, I'm not just going to stand by and do nothing while someone I care about is in pain. I just have to aim for the jewel shards in his stomach." she prepared to fire the arrow, a faint glow surrounding her body.
'This girl has a sacred aura surrounding the bow and arrow, does this girl possess the power of a priestess?'
"I hope you're ready Tokajin, because this ends now!" Kagome was about to fire the arrow, but then the bow suddenly snapped on her 'What the- What gives, why did it just break on me like that?'
"You waste your time girl?" Tokajin barked out a laugh as he tightened his hold on Tatsu "The shoddy craftsmanship of the bow and arrow of a vanquished soldier would never be able to work on me!"
"You're not the first person to say that… not gonna be the last…" Tatsu spat out some blood as he tightened the grip on one of his swords "But you know what you have in common with all of them? You let your arrogance blind you, and it comes back to bite you, like THIS!" with a mighty roar he swung the blade of his sword, cleaving through Tokajin's left eye in an instant, causing him to howl in pain, release his hold on Tatsu and then stumble backwards, Tatsu being free to get back on his feet and catch his breath as he retreated back to Kagome's side "Well that could've gone better, but it could've gone a lot worse too."
"Your optimism never fails to amaze me." Kagome breathed a sigh of exasperation "And to be honest, that's not always a good thing."
"You're welcome."
"Hurry you two, you have to slay Tokajin before it's too late. I was the one who taught him in the first place, so consider this as my way of making amends." Sennin was suddenly engulfed in a white light, and when it subsided, in his place was a bow and a single arrow.
"He turned himself into a bow and arrow. So is he…?"
"I think he is." Kagome's voice was soft and somber "The old sage, he squeezed out his last ounce of power."
"So can you do it?"
"I'll give it everything I've got."
"In that case, so will I."
"I'll tear the two of you limb from limb!" Tokajin charged towards the two of them in a blind rage, grabbing Tatsu by the throat and slamming him against the trunk of the demon tree.
"Kagome, do it now!"
'I can see it, the jewel shards are glowing through his back. Thanks for giving me a target I can work with." with a deep breath and eyes blazing with determination, Kagome let the Sacred Arrow hurtle forward and strike Tokajin right in the small of the back, causing the jewel shards to fly out of his stomach and causing him to howl in pain.
'The jewel shards, so that means…' Tatsu didn't waste any time as he snatched the four jewel shards with one hand, dealt Tokajin another uppercut to the jaw, this time with his good leg 'At least this time I didn't feel the bones shatter.'
'So it worked, now Tokajin is back to normal… Or how he was before.' Kagome watched as the arrow disintegrated in her hand, its ashes scattering into the wind 'Thank you old sage, I only hope that now you can find peace.'
"You filthy wench, how dare you interfere with me!" with blood still pouring from where his left eye used to be, Tokajin set his sights on Kagome and charged at her in a blind rage.
'This isn't how I planned on this going.'
"Kagome get down!" Tatsu launched himself forward towards Tokajin with one of his swords drawn, and with one clean stroke he sliced through Tokajin's neck before landing on the ground in front of him, before Tokajin's head was severed from his body, both of them falling into the ravine below, leaving the Fangs sitting on the ground where he once stood. With the battle finally over, Tatsu breathed a sigh as he fell to the ground and glanced at Kagome "Are you okay?"
"Well I think I've had worse. I think."
"So have the rest of us." this was when Miroku and Shippo both suddenly returned to their normal sizes.
"You're both back to normal?"
"It would seem that when Tokajin died, his spell on us became undone. The men in the box garden have more than likely reverted back to normal as well." the group then glanced up to see a number of lights emerge from the branches of Tokajin "And thus is another. Now that Tokajin is dead, the souls of the victims he used to make the human-faced fruits can move on to the afterlife and find peace.
"Speaking of which…" Kagome picked up the necklace with the Fangs of Ryuhogo from where they were sitting on the ground after Tokajin's decapitation, and she held them out to Tatsu "I think these belong to you."
"I think you're right about that." Tatsu lowered his head and allowed Kagome to gently place the Fangs around his neck, his body briefly surging with demonic energy as he did so "Oh yeah, it feels good to be back. But just to be safe…" his left hand started surging with demonic energy, and he unleashed a blue energy blast aimed at the tree, obliterating it in an instant "I figured better safe than sorry, so that way nothing like Tokajin can ever happen again."
"Good idea, I don't ever want anything like this to happen again. I think we should get out of here, who's with me?"
"Actually, can we hold off on that for a few minutes?" Tatsu glanced up at where the sun was rising over the skies above "After all the hell we went through tonight, I want a few minutes to just sit back and enjoy this."
"...Yeah okay, I think you've got the right idea." so Kagome scooted closer to Tatsu and smiled as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, and after a moment she ended up drifting off to sleep.
Tatsu took the opportunity to lay back on the ground and hold Kagome close to him, his own thoughts drifting as he rested 'As relieving as it is, I have to wonder, why wasn't Tokajin able to wield the power of the Fangs?'
"Whoever wears these Fangs, if they be worthy, shall possess the power of Ryuhogo."
'Which translates to what exactly?'
"To put it in simple terms, it's not as simple as just wearing the Fangs to gain the power that lies within. When I first created the Fangs, I placed an enchantment on them, just in case anyone who was unworthy were to come to possess them."
'And the enchantment does what?'
"The strength one possesses inside, the strength of one's character, and the strength within one's heart. These are what is considered when deciding if one is worthy to wield the power of the Fangs. Tokajin had none of these qualities, and as such he was unworthy to wield such power."
'Which works out just fine as far as I'm concerned. But you know I have to be honest, this whole experience has made me realize something.'
"And what would that be?"
'Since I learned about the Fangs, I believed that I could do anything as long as I had them with me, but I became complacent, dependent on them. These Fangs, they're more than just some sort of training tool, and they're more than just a way to connect me to my dad. The Fangs became a crutch. I don't know if I would say I've changed, but now I know that I can't let myself forget that again.'
"What are you saying?"
'What I'm saying is this. You can take away my magic dragon fangs, you can take away my kickass swords that can cut through almost anything, but there's one thing about me that no one can take away. I'm me the kind of guy who will do whatever it takes to protect the people he loves most.'
A/N:
Now we kick off season three with a bang, starting with Miroku and Sango having some relationship drama, and then we see the two part special where the group ventures through the Togenkyo region and encounter a corrupted Sage and a tree of the human faced fruits.
Yeah I know it might seem like a copout to cut Inuyasha from the Togenkyo episodes by having him leave with Sango, but I'm going somewhere with that for both of them, so bear with me on this. I wanted to give Tatsu some spotlight, as if that wasn't obvious by this point in the story, and this chapter actually does have a fairly strong purpose: to show what he's capable of without the power of the Fangs at his disposal. After all, to paraphrase the moral of Iron Man 3 and Spider Man: Homecoming: If you're nothing without the power, then you shouldn't have it.
One other thing thing being included in this chapter is some character development for Sango, as well as a growing dynamic between her and Inuyasha. Looking back at the show, I've noticed that these two don't have many moments where they interact with each other, so I wanted to add a moment in with them. I'm actually looking to have Inuyasha have little bonding moments with each member of the group. He's had more than a few moments with Tatsu, then a few with Kagome, then one with Miroku, right now he's having one with Sango, and then I plan on having him have one with Shippo a few chapters from now. All of these are going to act as buildup for something I have in mind later on. As for what that is, you'll just have to wait and see.