(End of the Band of Seven: Part II)
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With the departure of Saint Hakushin and the dissolution of the barrier, the slopes of Mount Hakurei had been rendered a squirming blanket of miasma with a voracious swarm of hostile demons emerging from every visible point.
"Lightning Claw!" Koga let out a roar as he unleashed a burst of electricity from the Goraishi, vaporizing the demons in front of him on contact, only to see several more bursitng out of the mountain at the seems "Kagome!"
"I'm on it!" Kagome swung the blade of her sword and unleashed a burst of spiritual energy that purified the oncoming demons on the spot, giving her a chance to stop and catch her breath for a brief moment 'There's so many of them…'
"That should be the last of them at least for now." Koga breathed a small sigh of relief as he landed on the ground next to Kagome, though his gaze hardened as he cast a look back up at the mountain 'This is fucking crazy, for every one we take out it's like two more show up to take its place.'
"Koga! Kagome!" it was at that moment that Hakkaku and Ginta came running onto the scene toward them with Shippo and Kilala in their arms, only to stop in their tracks when they saw the demon body parts scattered in front of them.
"Took you guys long enough."
"Would you just- Okay we don't have time for that, we got here as soon as we could. The two of you just up and left."
"Sorry about that. I'm just glad you guys are okay." Kagome took Shippo back into her arms and paused as she looked down and saw Kilala leap onto the ground and transform into her giant form "Kilala, I guess you're feeling better then? What about Shippo?"
"Actually yeah, I feel a lot better." Shippo looked up at Kagome with renewed vigor.
"It's weird, I sensed something happening inside the barrier but then it just disappeared all of a sudden."
"Regardless of whatever was causing it, one thing is for sure The sacred barrier has finally been dissolved." Koga turned his gaze back toward the mountain "And I'm picking up a couple of scents coming from inside the mountain."
"Do you have any idea who it is?"
"No mistaking this rotten stench, it's coming from Naraku and it's a hell of a lot more powerful than it used to be."
"Hold on, here they come!" Ginta and Hakkaku quickly began to cower when they saw the next group of demons headed in their direction.
"Looks like it's ime to get back to doing the real work. I've got these ones, the rest of you stay back! Lightning Claw!" Koga wasted no time in hurtling a blast of lightning from the Goraishi, obliterating the demons instantly on impact "We probably don't have much time before the next ones show up, we gotta get going!"
"But where are we supposed to go?"
"Where else? We're gonna go and hunt down Naraku! You coming Kagome?"
"Trust me, I'm right behind you. Come on Kilala, let's get moving!" Kagome leapt onto Kilala's back, with Shippo doing the same as the group prepared to set off.
"Hey wait up, w"e don't want to get left behind again!" Hakkaku and Ginta both wasted no time as they grabbed onto Kilala by the tails, leaving them to get vaulted onto her back.
"We don't have any time to waste, so let's get moving."
"I just hope the others are okay." Shippo muttered quietly, leaving Kagome to try and pat his back to comfort him.
"Don't worry Shippo, I'm sure they're just fine."
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It was more than just Kagome and Koga's group that encountered the swarms of demons coming from the mountain. The swarm was emerging from every point with little to no care for the destruction they were leaving in their wake… at least until they ran into other groups that were in pursuit of Naraku, specifically those of Sesshomaru and Kikyo. Needless to say, they didn't get very far beyond that point.
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As chaos erupted around Mount Hakurei, a long awaited showdown was about to begin within its depths.
"I know you're there!" Inuyasha let out a snarl as he continued venturing forward with Tatsu right beside him "Get the fuck out here and show yourself Naraku, you're not getting away from me this time!"
'Something isn't right…' Tatsu kept his gaze hard and focused as he looked around 'I can still feel the vibrations so something is definitely up, but I'm not sensing any Ki… Either it's another puppet or… Wait…'
"Dragon HAMMER!" a familiar burst of pink energy suddenly carved through the caves in front of Tatsu and Inuyasha and began hurtling towards them.
"Sea Dragon's CRADLE!" Tatsu managed to raise a water dome around himself and Inuyasha at the last second to protect them from the blast 'I'm still not sensing any Ki… that can only mean one thing… I was wondering how long it was going to be before you showed your face around me again Bankotsu."
Sure enough, the smoke cleared away to reveal Bankotsu standing before the two of the amongst the rubble, Banryu slung over his shoulder and a confident smirk spreading across his face "Nice job blocking that one Tatsu, here I thought this was going to be easy. Hate to break it to you, but you and Inuyasha won't actually be meeting Naraku… because that would mean you have to live through fighting me again, and that sure as hell isn't going to happen."
"Funny. I was thinking the same thing about you." Tatsu's expression darkend as he drew his katana from its sheath "You and I have a score to settle, and let me tell you now, only one of us is walking away with our lives."
"Oh trust me, I couldn't agree more."
"So that's how it is then." Inuyasha let out a snarl as he moved to grab Tessaiga "You plan to block our way, is that it Bankotsu?"
"You're damn right it is. You two and the rest of your buddies are to blame for the deaths of all of my fellow Band of Seven brothers. I'm the only one left, so now it's high time for me to avenge their deaths."
"What bullshit are you spewing on about now? In case it slipped your notice, we never even killed any of your buddies."
"You think I don't know that? Kyokotsu and Ginkotsu fell at the hands of Koga, Suikotsu and Mukotsu were killed by Sesshomaru. But you were the one that left Jakotsu to die Inuyasha, and it led to Renkotsu taking his jewel shard… and I had to return the favor." he gritted his teeth and looked away for a moment, but quickly steeled himself "I'm going to them by killing every last one of their murderers… starting with the two of you."
"Is that right? Then I say come and try it." Inuyasha drew Tessaiga from its sheath and prepared to charge at Bankotsu… only to be stopped by a wall of earth rising up in front of him "What the fuck?"
"You're the one that wants Naraku, so go on ahead and find him." Tatsu hardened his gaze as he pointed his sword at Bankotsu "Six out of seven may be a good start, but the only way this is going to end is when he's nothing but a bloody stain on the ground. Time to send you to reunite with your brothers in the next world."
"Don't give me that whole speech." Bankotsu rolled his eyes "Personally I don't believe in the afterlife, once you're dead that's the end of it."
"Are you kidding me? I literally died once already becuase of you and your kind."
"Really? Then entertain me for a minute, what was it like."
"Honeslty, just weird. All I really remember is meeting a giant red ogre that forced me to take off all my clothes."
"...Are you fucking with me right now?"
"I wish I was. Give me a few minutes, once I'm done with you it'll give you the opportunity to see it with your own eyes."
"Hm… Here I thought I was gonna get a warm up before I got to Naraku again. Guess you can't win them all." Inuyasha turned on his heel as he sheathed Tessaiga "Take this fucker out and then come catch up to me, all goes well I'll have Naraku's head on the end of Tessaiga by the next time we see each other."
"You're not getting away from me! Heat Blast!" Bankotsu waved Banryu and unleashed a wave of crimson-colored energy aimed directly at Inuyasha.
"Sea Dragon's Roar!" Tatsu waved his sword and unleashed a powerful water dragon that collided with the Heat Blast head on, both attacks cancelling each other out and resulting in a large cloud of steam 'Looks like he picked up a few new tricks with his halberd, starting with that blast of heat. Forget about Inuyasha, I'm your opponent here."
"Well what do you know, looks to me like we're about evenly matched."
"Keep telling yourself that until I drive my sword through your throat." Tatsu cast a quick look over at Inuyasha "Enough stalling, if you're gonna go after Naraku then get the fuck out of here already. I'll join up with you and the others once I've killed this piece of shit."
"Hm… I'll be holding you to that. Same with the others." Inuyasha cast a small smirk his way and took off running.
'Now to get down to business.'
"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Bankotsu attempted to hit Inuyasha with another blast from Banryu, only to be met with a white flash appearing in front of him, followed by a swift burst of flames striking him across the face and sending him hurtling backwards into the wall of the cave.
"Here I thought you were better at listening to others. I'm your opponent here." Tatsu landed on the ground and got into a stance as he watched Bankotsu pick himself back up 'Last time I went up against him at Hijiri Island, that halberd of his had his own energy blast attacks, not to mention that lightning blast that pretty much fried my body. Now he's even stronger than he was then, and he probably has more new attacks. I need to be careful about this. Let me take a wild guess, you're using the jewel shards from the rest of your buddies to make yourself even more powerful. Sound about right?"
"You're damn right I am, and I'm using them with pride. I like to think of them as keepsakes of my fallen brothers… If only I had Kyokotsu's jewel shard, then I would've been able to finish the set." Bankotsu's face fell slightly at the thought, but he quickly hardened his gaze "But all in all I have six jewel shards, add in the ones Renkotsu got from Kagome earlier and that adds up to ten. More than enough power to defeat you if you ask me."
"Yeah well, why don't we put that to the test." Tatsu paused as he covered his body in a set of iron dragon scales.
"I think I made the point clear already. You and your friends may not have killed any of my little brothers directly, but I hold you accountable for every last one of them. Now I fully intend to avenge their deaths by killing you."
"That feeling goes both ways. That one friend of yours, Mukotsu I think they called him, was the one who poisoned Kagome and the others, and Sesshomaru gave him what he deserved just as fast. Renkotsu was the one who almost killed them in the temple, and stole Kagome's Shikon jewel shards from but now he's dead… so there's only one real way to avenge what he did to them. And that's by killing you."
"So it looks like we're on the same page. We both know what needs to happen, and there's only one way this battle is going to end."
"When one of us is dead on the ground. One shall stand, and one shall fall."
"And I already know damn well who that's going to be." it was then that the battle officially began as the two of them began rushing forward and clashing with each other, Banryu clashing against Tatsu's remaining katana, though the clash was quickly broken off by Tatsu aiming his katana and thrusting it at Bankotsu's side.
Bankotsu stopped the katana from advancing with a swipe of his Banryu and leapt back across the cave to gain some distance.
"Thundering Spear Storm!" Tatsu coated his iron scale armor with a surge of electricity and fired a barrage of iron spears coated in electricity from his fingertips.
'Shit!' Bankotsu blitzed across the cavern and managed to dodge every attack, and once he noticed Tatsu blitz in front of him he leapt towards him and brought the blade of Banryu forward, their swords clashing once again, though he smirked when he saw a crack start to form in the blade of Tatsu's katana.
"Iron Gauntlet!" Tatsu noticed this as well and aimed an iron-enhanced knife-hand attack directly at Bankotsu, striking him in the side of the neck and sending him hurtling through one of the cavern walls.
Bankotsu was quick to recover and dodged the next barrage of slashes form Tatsu's katana, and once he saw an opening he caught the blade with both hands and threw it aside, taking Tatsu with it as a result "So that's how it works, different elements for different style of attacks. You use metal to make armor for yourself and fire off spears and the like. Pretty clever. Too bad it's not gonna be enough to save you from me." to that end, he blitzed in front of Tatsu nad landed a swift yet fierce kick to the jaw that sent him hurtling across the cavern.
Tatsu managed to stop himself by summoning a wall of earth behind him for him to crash into, giving him the chance to rebound as he wiped some blood from his lip "So what, you don't have anything to show that I haven't already seen?"
"Well you know what they say, you can't beat the classics. Case and point, bringing back one of my favorites! Dragon HAMMER!" Bankotsu swung the blade of Banryu and unleashed a large blast of pink-colored demonic energy.
"Storm Dragon's ROAR!" Tatsu waved his sword and unleashed an enormous water dragon coated with electricity, the two attacks colliding and cancelling each other out with enough force to send both Tatsu and Bankotsu hurtling backwards to opposite sides of the cave, the former taking the chance to spit out some more blood 'Looks like he wasn't just bluffing, the jewel shards are pushing his power way beyond what he had last time.'
"I have to admit, this is something I wasn't expecting." Bankotsu let out a chuckle as he pulled himself back to his feet "I'm actually kind of glad I'm getting a challenge, truth be told part of me was afraid you were gonna be so much weaker than me by comparison."
"Then maybe you're just not as tough as you try to make yourself out to be." Tatsu gave a mocking smirk as he wiped away a mix of sweat and blood from his face "Seriously, you've got up to 10 jewel shards on you and that's supposed to be the best you can manage? I've seen way better."
"And here I was told Inuyasha was the only one who knew how to talk tough. Too bad for you that having a mouth almost as big as my Banryu isn't going to be enough."
"Whoever said that size matters is a fucking liar, this sword in my hand is all I need to carve those jewel shards out of your throat. Give me a minute, I'll give you a proper demonstration before I literally carve the life out of you. Fire Dragon ROAR!" Tatsu let out a roar, and with it came an enormous stream of flames.
"Here's what you don't seem to understand, talking big can only get you so far if you can't back it up!" Bankotsu used Banryu to launch himself out of the way of the flames, but not without one of his legs being scorched by the fireball, leaving it and part of his outfit singed as he returned to the ground 'Dammit, I got careless with that one.'
"You should've kept on rotting in the ground like the filthy corpse you are, and you can be sure that I'll send you back to where you belong. Thunder Current!" Tatsu slammed one hand into the ground and sent a current of electricity hurtling towards Bankotsu.
"A lot of high and mighty talk coming from someone like you!" Bankotsu quickly went on the evasive, leaping across the floor of the cave to avoid being electrocuted, at least until he found a wide enough area "Banryu Flash!" at that point he brought down the blade of Banryu and released a crimson-colored wave of energy that proved powerful enough to disrupt the current and result in another explosion… which gave Bankotsu the chance to use Banryu to launch himself forward and slam his fist directly into Tatsu's face with enough force to send him hurtling into the wall of the cavern "A lot of big words coming from a pathetic human trying to pretend he can stand against the big bad demons of the world."
"Oh yeah… and what the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Tatsu leapt back onto his feet, a large gaping hole in the iron scales that were covering his face, and he wiped some of the blood from his nose "No wait, that's my mistake isn't it? You're one of those big bad chosen ones destined to wield the Fangs of Ryuhogo and change the world Yeah that's right, I've heard all about those legendary Fangs of Ryuhogo, passed down through two bloodlines that are said to hold the power to change the world. A measly little brat like you who comes from some kind of chosen bloodline has no business criticizing the likes of us that got brought back from the grave."
"Is that what you think? You figure that out on your own, or has Naraku been whispering in your ear like with all his other pathetic little pawns?"
"Actually believe it or not, this is only the second time that Naraku and I have crossed paths in the land of the living."
"Really now, and where exactly are you going with that?"
"I had met Naraku face to face once, before the formation of the Band of Seven. Now that I look back on it, the whole thing seemed like kind of a strange coincidence."
"So what, you're just an old buddy of his then?"
"As if." Bankotsu let out a scoff "Like I'd bother wasting my time befriending demons. Back then I was always in search of a new challenge, always looking to find strong opponents that I could beat. I didn't care if they were humans or demons, just as long as they were strong. Then the day came when I heard about a demon that was so powerful it was frightening that had come into the lifeless forest in which he was supposed to dwell. I found Naraku there, and it turned out that he had killed it before I got there. I wanted to fight him instead as a way to test my strength, but he managed to evade me. Though he did tell me about the Shikon Jewel before he escaped from me. It was after this that I decided to become a mercenary, and Jakotsu and I began the formation of the Band of Seven. Anyway Naraku and I met again after that, and he told me a lot more than he did during our first meeting."
"Enough with the bullshit exposition." Tatsu's gaze hardened as he tightened his stance with his katana in hand "Call it a hunch, but I doubt Naraku brought you back from the dead just so he'd have someone to talk to. Here I thought you were smarter than that."
"I was planning to say the exact same thing to you. Just a glance is enough for you to tell what kind of man he is, anyone with any ounce of intelligence can see that."
"Like you've got any room to talk." Tatsu let out a snort "Naraku is just using you like all of his other pawns, he's making you do all his dirty work while he sits back and watches for shits and giggles."
"Your first mistake is thinking I give a shit, I happen to be a busy man and I have things to do like settling the score with you!" and so Bankotsu charged forward with Banryu in hand.
"On that we can agree." Tatsu rushed forward and met Bankotsu's charge, stopping Banryu with his own katana as their blades clashed over and over again.
"I don't know what Naraku's big game is and frankly I don't care, all I know is that I've been given this second chance at life and I don't intend to waste it!"
"You should've thought of that before you set your sights on the people I care about. You're gonna pay for what you did to them, and you're gonna pay with your fucking blood! Cryo Spear Storm: World Order!" Tatsu let out a snarl as he summoned a gigant sphere of branching ice spikes that spread out, and then he sent them hurtling downwards at full speed.
"Well now, look who's breaking out something new." Bankotsu gave a smirk as he began going on the evasive and leaping out of the way of every single ice spear, at least until he found himself cornered against one of the cavern walls 'He's faster than I thought, this one is getting pretty close now.'
"I've been waiting for this one for a damn long time, and now you're finished!" Tatsu waved his hand and set one particular large barrage of ice spears hurtling toward Bankotsu, until…
"Dragon HAMMER!" Bankotsu let out a roar and unleashed a blast of pink energy that collided with the ice spears at full speed, resulting in a powerful explosion that sent both parties hurtling backwards and resulted in a large chuck of the cavern coming down. It took a few moments before Bankotsu finally pulled himself out of the rubble and wiped away some blood as he picked Banryu back up "He might have brought me back to life… but I'm not doing this because of his orders."
"Yeah… keep telling yourself that…" a burst of energy erupted from within the rubble, courtesy of Tatsu as the water dome surrounding him faded out of existence, though it didn't prevent him from taking a visible amount of damage, his body covered in visible burns and most of his iron dragon scales having been burnt off.
"Oh good, you're still alive. That actually works out well for me, because now I get to do what comes next with my bare hands!"
"I think I made it clear by now… only one of us is walking away from this." Tatsu let out a snarl as he tightened his grip on his katana, and the two of them charged towards each other to carry on with their battle.
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Amidst the ongoing chaos throughout Mount Hakurei, Miroku and Sango took the chance to investigate the strong demonic aura that lure them down a new path inside the heart of the scared mountain, leading them them to follow a shaft that guided them into a large cavern containing a deep dark pit. The two of them peered over the edge into the black void and were shocked to see the face of Naraku staring back at them, only for it to retreat from view.
This moment was quickly interrupted by an attack from Kagura. In an attempt get some answers about Naraku from them, Miroku revealed that he had figured out the connection between Naraku, Saint Hakushin and Mount Hakurei. As a result of having his barrier broken during the last battle at his former castle, Naraku was forced to go into hiding to heal his wounds and reform his barrier. He pressed Kagura for information, but the only response she gave was the release of another barrage of wind blades that shattered the cliff where Miroku and Sango were standing, leaving the two of them to be plunged into the foreboding abyss below.
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Morning came, and the sun was rising over the skies above Monut Hakurei.
"There it is!" Koga continued leading the charge towards Mount Hakurei, with Kagome, Shippo, Hakkaku and Ginta riding on Kilala's back "Looks like we finally made it to Mount Hakurei."
"Hey Koga what's going on, you see all this right?" Hakkaku and Ginta both cast a look around at the barren landscape around them "It's like all of the greenery around Mount Hakurei died all of a sudden."
"We probably got Naraku's miasma to thank for that. Probably means we're heading in the right direction at least."
"It's not the only clue either, I'm sensing a bunch of jewel shards." Kagome told him "But I can feel them coming from two different places, one from below the mountain and one closer to the center."
"Two places huh? Any idea which one is which?"
"Not really, but the one below the mountain is the stronger of the two."
"Which means that's probably where we're gonna find Naraku."
"Most likely."
"In that case lead the way Kagome, we're all right behind you." and so Koga promptly took off ahead of the group at full speed.
"Koga I can't lead if you- Nevermind, let's get moving Kilala." and so the group quickly rode after Koga on top of Kilala's back, only to see a large snake-like demon flying towards them, though Kagome was able to purify it with a quick Sacred Arrow, allowing them to continue on their way, with Kagome feeling her thoughts drifting as they continued forward 'Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, Tatsu… all of you please just hang in there…'
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After being sent falling into the chasm courtesy of Kagura's attack, Sango and Miroku managed to survive, with the former sticking Hiraikotsu into the wall and using a rope to keep hold of the former. Once they reached the bottom of the pit, they came across the remains of the various demons that Naraku had been devouring to regenerate himself in the aftermath of his previous defeat. In addition to that, they also ended up discovering countless clumps of flesh, as if about to spawn something.
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Meanwhile, with the fight to the death…
"I think I made it clear by now… only one of us is walking away from this." Tatsu let out a snarl as he tightened his grip on his katana, and the two of them charged towards each other to carry on with their battle.
"Oh trust me Tatsu, I couldn't agree with that more! Banryu Flash!" Bankotsu let out a snarl as he brought down the blade of Banryu and unleashed a crimson burst of energy.
"Thunderclap STRIKE!" Tatsu brought down the blade of his katana and unleashed a surge of lightning as powerful as he was able to muster, the two attacks colliding in a powerful burst of energy with enough force to send both Tatsu and Bankotsu skidding back, though they were both able to quickly stop themselves 'Shit, it's like every attack I try he's able to dodge or counter no sweat. At this point the only chance I have to finish this battle before it drags on for too long is to hit him with the Dragon Cannon. Of course that's assuming I'd even get the chance to charge that attack without him gutting me halfway through the prep time.'
"What's the matter Tatsu, don't tell me you're out of breath already. Is that why you're taking your time making another move? Or are you just taking the time to think about where you want me to stick your body after I kill you?"
"It's a little something called using your brain, something you wouldn't know how to do if you'd let yourself get used by someone like Naraku."
"Big words, let's see if you can keep putting them out when I finally drive my Banryu through your throat! Dragon Hammer!" Bankotsu used Banryu to vault himself forward and fired another Dragon Hammer at nearly point blank range.
"Sea God's SHIELD!" not having enough time to generate an attack, Tatsu summoned a water shield in front of him, taking the force of the Dragon Hammer head on, cancelling out most of it but leaving a powerful shockwave that sent Tatsu careening back into the wall of the cave with a loud crash, leaving him to slowly pick himself back up 'Okay, it's pretty obvious by now that this isn't working.'
"What's the matter Tatsu? What happened to that raging fire you had in your eyes just a minute ago?" Bankotsu gave a smirk as he made his way toward him "I think you should realize at some point that I can't just stand around here toying with you forever.
'Dammit… As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think my strength is going to hold out long enough for me to beat him like this. I need some kind of plan… Unless… Well it's a long shot, but if nothing else I guess it's worth a try. It's not like things can really be going much worse for me at this point…'
"So what do you say the two of us just end this right now? Heat Blast!" Bankotsu brought down the blade of Banryu and unleashed an enormous blast of heat aimed directly at Tatsu.
"Aqua Javelin!" Tatsu leapt into the air to avoid the Heat Blast, and while in mid-air he formed a spear made of solidified water and hurled it at Bankotsu at full speed.
"No chance in hell a cheap trick like that is going to work on me!" Bankotsu batted away the water spear with Banryu, only to see a white flash appear behind him, and then he found himself being forced to turn around "What the-"
"Iron Dragon SWORD!" using the Dragon Warp, Tatsu materialized behind Bankotsu and summoned a large metal sword on the end of his arm… allowing him to cut through Bankotsu's arm, causing one of his jewel shards to fly out.
"You filthy little… how dare you?"
"So my hunch was right, that was where you were keeping at least one of the jewel shards. Call it a hunch, but if you keep swinging that giant sword of yours around you'd want to pack some extra power behind it."
"Sounds to me like you took a guess, and now it looks like you've got all the luck."
"Trust me when I say it's a hell of a lot more than luck, and you'll find that out for yourself once I cut out the rest of the shards from. I think I'll start with the one in your neck!" Tatsu covered his body in another layer of iron scales, his arms covered with blades, and began rapidly slashing away at Bankotsu and aiming at his neck.
"You seriously think I'm gonna make it that easy for you?" Bankotsu let out a chuckle as he went on the backfoot to dodge all of Tatsu's attacks, giving him the chance to slug Tatsu across the face and send her stumbling backwards "You don't wanna underestimate me like that little man, you don't have a damn clue who you're dealing with."
"A walking corpse… who's way too full of himself." Tatsu spat out some blood to the side as he regained his footing.
"I'll tell you who you're dealing with. I am Bankotsu Kamikaze, the leader and sole survivor of the Band of Seven, and I've never lost a battle to anyone." that was enough to make Tatsu freeze on the spot.
'Kamikaze… That means he's one of my ancestors? Okay, definitely gonna have to have a talk with Ryuhogo about that later. Assuming that ever pans out again.' Tatsu took a breath and steeled himself slightly as he sheathed his sword and dropped into a combat stance, only to quicklky find himself being forced onto the defensive, summoning an iron club to fend off the series of punches being aimed at him, though a kick to the chest sent him skidding backwards into the wall of the cave.
"You really shouldn't underestimate my strength. I'll have you know there's a good reason why, even though I was the youngest, I became the leader of the Band of Seven!" Bankotsu wasted no time in batting the iron club out of Tatsu's hand with a single backhand and immediately went on the offensive as he assaulted Tatsu with a swift yet savage series of punches "I was able to take control of a gang of murderers using nothing but my own power, and that was long before I was brought back from the dead by the Shikon Jewel!" he moved in and prepared to let another fist fly, until…
"Ryuken!" Tatsu's body was enveloped in a burst of demonic energy that increased his speed enough to let him duck underneath Bankotsu's fist, as well as the series of punches and fists that followed, until he found his opening "Fire Dragon FLAME ELBOW!" in an instant, he let loose a burst of flames from his elbow, allowing him to close the distance before Bankotsu could let another fist fly, slamming his own fist into Bankotsu's face and sending him hurtling back into the cavern wall behind him, giving Tatsu the chance to catch his breath for a moment "Let me take a wild guess, if you had a shard in your right arm then you've got one in your left arm too right? Not really the most crafty way of using them, especially considering how much of a fucked up piece of shit you are."
"So let me guess, you took a couple of those blows to try and figure that out?"
"Didn't have to, I took an educated guess and you basically did the work for me."
"Quite the assumption on your part." Bankotsu gave a smirk as he recovered and wiped away some blood from his face "But it raises the question, will you manage to take my shards from me or will I blow that head of yours clean off? It's just a matter of who gets to land the finishing blow first!" and so he clenched both of his fists and launched himself at Tatsu at full speed.
'I guess there's only one way to find out. One thing is for sure though…' Tatsu's expression grew darkeras he summoned another set of iron scales over his body 'I'm not letting you walk away from this… even if it means I go down with you.'
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In the areas surrounding Mount Hakurei, both Sesshomaru and Kikyo had found themselves kept occupied by the swarms of demons escaping from the mountain, at least until they had all been slain or escaped from the scene, allowing them to turn their gazes toward Mount Hakurei itself with the intention of finally finding Naraku.
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Meanwhile, with the incoming members of the group…
"So then this is the place?" Koga poked his head into a cave leading into the mountain "Is this supposed to be where Naraku's hiding? You sense anything in there Kagome?"
"No doubt about it." Kagome looked into the cave from her place on Kilala's back alongside the others "I'm sensing a lot of Shikon Jewel shards, and they're all gathered somewhere deep inside the cave."
"So then, we're going in?" Ginta and Hakkaku shared a look.
"The others are already in there, we don't have a choice."
"Right… we were kind of afraid you were going to say something like that."
"We'd better hurry and get moving, now come on!" Koga wasted no time in charging into the cave first, with Kagome and the others trailing close behind him.
"If we're gonna do this then we have to hurry, I can feel the jewel shards getting more and more defiled by the second."
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Meanwhile, with the fight to the death…
"Quite the assumption on your part." Bankotsu gave a smirk as he recovered and wiped away some blood from his face "But it raises the question, will you manage to take my shards from me or will I blow that head of yours clean off? It's just a matter of who gets to land the finishing blow first!" and so he clenched both of his fists and launched himself at Tatsu at full speed.
'I guess there's only one way to find out. One thing is for sure though…' Tatsu's expression grew darkeras he summoned another set of iron scales over his body 'I'm not letting you walk away from this… even if it means I go down with you.'
"Go ahead and try it if you can, I dare you!"
"As if you had to ask. Fire Dragon FLAME ELBOW!" Tatsu released a burst of flames from his elbow and let his fist fly forward… only to be caught off guard by Bankotsu using his own fist to stop Tatsu's strike 'He used his own fist to fend off my hand…'
"Did you really think I was gonna fall for the same trick twice?" Bankotsu's grin widened as he slammed his fist into Tatsu's face with enough force to send him skidding backwards into the wall of the cave "Come on Tatsu, don't make this too easy for me. Here I went out of my way to punch with my left hand to make it easier for you to take my jewel shards. Don't tell me that you lost all your fight already." he closed the distance between them in an instant and picked Tatsu up by the throat, then subsequently slammed his fist into Tatsu's gut, causing him to cough up blood and fall to the ground in a heap "Well that's pathetic, I'm honestly disappointment. Here I had thought the one holding the great Fangs of Ryuhogo would be more of a challenge, but I guess that just proves what I've known all along: the Fangs don't make you special. A weakling is just a weakling and there's no changing that." he grabbed Tatsu by the neck again and hoisted him into the air "No need to worry though, I'm not interested in tormenting someone as weak and feeble as you. Weaklings don't hold any appeal to me. Now go ahead and die, and take those Fangs of yours to hell with you." he moved one hand in to land a finishing blow… only to freeze on the spot as he looked down and saw the head of a metal spear piercing his throat, causing him to cough up blood "You little… damn you to hell…"
"Not unless… you go there first…" Tatsu coughed up some more blood and dealt Bankotsu a swift headbutt, forcing him to release his grip andallowing Tatsu catch his breath "I think you'll find… I'm not like the rest of the humans or demons you slaughtered. I may not have a big healing factor like Inuyasha or Sesshomaru, or even Koga… but the difference between me and them is… I know how to get creative." he pulled back the metal spear he had materialized in his hand and looked back to see two jewel shards fly out, allowing him to catch them and slam his foot into Bankotsu's face, sending him crashing to the ground "That makes four… All that's left is the shard in your left arm, and then you're as good as fucking dead."
"Shut up you fool, no chance I'm going to die that easily." Bankotsu let out a snarl as he pulled himself back to his feet "All I have to do is finish you off and take back the jewel shards that you stole from me."
"Right, because they weren't stolen to begin with. Frankly it doesn't even matter if you get them back, because getting out of here is only half the problem. Naraku's gonna hunt you down like a fucking dog so long as you have any jewel shards with you."
"Is that what you think? Well based on what I've heard, he's a lot more interested in killing the likes of you and your friends."
"I've got my own shit to work through, truth be told I didn't even have much of a personal gripe with him… until you and your band of misfit fuckers crawled up from hell. But that's besides the point, just shut up and take a look for yourself." Tatsu jerked a thumb at the entrances to the cavern, where large groups of demons were lurking in the shadows "I'm willing to bet they just want the chance to get a late night snack on whichever one of us walks away from this."
"Huh… Naraku, that piece of shit."
"I don't know what kind of bargain you and Naraku struck when he brought you back, and truth be told I couldn't give less of a shit. He used you and the rest of your buddies as nothing but his meat shields to do whatever the hell he wanted while he sat back and watched."
"...So what if he did use us?" Bankotsu gave a smirk "Keep in mind that the Band of Seven were mercenaries to begin with, we were hired by all kinds of clan lords and none of them gave a shit
about us either. When we became too strong and dangerous for them, they chose to hunt us all down and cut off our heads. I was never stupid enough to trust Naraku from the very start, but now that I've been granted a second chance at life I plan to do as I please. I have no problems with killing anyone who gets in my way, even if it happens to be Naraku."
"Is that what you think?" Tatsu didn't look fazed as he wiped away some blood and sweat from his face "Naraku sure as hell knows how to pick them."
"Enough prattling. Try tellin me your story then, like how you came to possess the Fangs of Ryuhogo themselves."
"None of your fucking business. The only thing you need to know about the Fangs is that I plan on shoving them down your throat before I'm finished with you."
"Go ahead and keep talking the big game, it doesn't change the fact that we're pretty much the same."
"...Don't ever fucking compare me to you." Tatsu let out a furious snarl and clenched his fists to the point where they bled through his iron dragon scale armor.
"Get as pissed off as you want, it doesn't make it any less true. That dried up old saint Hakushin, the dead priestess Kikyo, the half demon Inuyasha, hell even you and me. You live and survive only because of the insatiable hunger you have for life, so don't you dare go around making us out to be the only villains here."
"Shut your fucking mouth. You're nothing but a bloodthirsty psychopath that kills whoever the fuck he wants, and everything I'm doing is to protect the people I care about from sadistic fuckers like you!"
"Yep, and we've killed our fair share of demons too. Not exactly the same amount, but it's pretty close to it. Speaking of which…" Bankotsu's smirk grew wider as he made a beeline for Banryu and grabbed hold of it.
'Shit, guess we're going back to sword on sword violence, and four more jewel shards to boot. I guess there's only one thing to do.' Tatsu grabbed hold of his katana and prepared for the clash to come… only to see Bankotsu dash right past him "What the fuck-"
"That's 991!" Bankotsu wasted no time in bringing down the blade of Banryu one one of the demons guarding the exit, lopping it to pieces with a single stroke, and then doing the same to two more "And that ups it all the way to 993."
"What the fuck are you doing?"
"Give me a minute, you're about to see something really cool. You fuckers go ahead and come at me! 996!" Bankotsu cut down the next three demons hurtling toward him.
'Well if nothing else, at least this way I don't have to worry about getting eaten alive after I kill him. Fire Dragon ROAR!" Tatsu let out a roar amidst a stream of flames and turned it on the group of demons hurtling toward him, incinerating them all in an instant.
"997! 998! 999! And 1000!" Bankotsu let out a roar of his own as he cut down one final demon right down the middle with Banryu, causing its blade to start glowing red, earning a wicked smirk from him "Oh yeah, now that will do very nicely. And now I don't need the rest of you, so just fucking die already! Banryu FLASH!" he swung Banryu and unleashed an enormous wave of crimson-colored demonic energy.
"Sea God's SHIELD!" Tatsu summoned a water shield in front of him as the force of the blast travelled throughout the cavern, leaving him to watch as the remaining demons were vaporized in an instant.
"So what do you think, impressive? I've been working toward that for awhile."
"Yeah, I'm quaking in my non existent boots." Tatsu's expression hardended further as he tightened his stance "I think it should go without saying, but I still have no plans of letting you get out of here with your life."
"That sentiment goes both ways, because I have no intention of going anywhere until I kill you to avenge the rest of my brothers."
"One little transformation to your sword isn't gonna make much of a difference."
"Don't be so sure about that just yet. You know truth be told I was kind of pissed about you letting Inuyasha leave when the fight started, I was kind of hoping to lop off his head to finish the transformation. But then again it might not have been enough, considering the fact that he is only a half demon."
"And what the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"Give it a second and you'll find out first hand!" Bankotsu launched himself at Tatsu and brought down Banryu full force.
'Shit!' Tatsu wasted no time in blocking Banryu with his own katana, resulting in a powerful surge of crimson energy that resulted in another crack in the blade of Tatsu's sword, forcing him to break off the clash and use a burst of flames from his feet to launch himself away before he could be struck 'This is insane, the sheer energy that thing is putting out is off the charts, not to mention evil. I haven't felt anything like this since Sesshomaru got his hands on Tokijin.'
"You know when I first met Naraku, he told me about the existence of the Shikon Jewel, a sacred jewel that had the ability to empower both humans and demons!" Bankotsu continued advancing forward in his attempts to cut down Tatsu, forcing him to go on the evasive "Normal humans can't possess demon powers, and I didn't care for spiritual powers, and I wasn't born with the power of the divine or apparently chosen for some bullshit higher purpose like the wielders of the Fangs of Ryuhogo!"
"So that's what this is about." Tatsu looked over Bankotsu amidst his attempts to dodge his series of attacks as a realization seemed to dawn on him "You're from the Kamikaze bloodline, but you weren't chosen to wield the Fangs were you? That's why you're so dead set on proving your own strength in battle, be it against human or demon."
"I don't need some fucking dragon teeth hanging around my neck to prove how strong I really am!" Bankotsu continued his assault, swinging Banryu in Tatsu's direction over and over again as he stayed on the evasive "But yeah, I was born into the Kamikaze bloodline. Apparently at one point the Fangs of Ryuhogo were scattered across the world way beyond just these lands, so getting your hands on all of them was out of the question. They did have one Fang though, and apparently a weapon forged form the metals of the second Fang before it was lost. I wasn't the one they chose to carry on the Fang, that was my older blood brother. He got all the power from the first Fang, and they all looked down on me. They saw me as weak compared to him! So I did what I had to do."
"Meaning what, you killed him to prove your superiority?"
"Hell if I didn't try, but he fought me off. I escaped with my life, only barely, but I did claim the Fang wielders' chosen weapon as a little parting gift." he gestured to Banryu.
'Forged from draconic metal from before the Fangs were divided? Gonna have to look into that later on.'
"I was never able to get my hands on the Fangs of Ryuhogo, but with Banryu in my hand and the only person in the world I could trust by my side, I swore that I would become powerful enough that I would never need the likes of those Fangs. Banryu Flash!" Bankotsu unleashed another burst of crimson energy from Banryu, sending Tatsu hurtling into the cavern walls and crashing to the ground "Truth be told I always thought that in order to become powerful, you would have to make yourself stronger. But it turns out there is one other way, and that's to pour power into an object of your choosing, so I made a wish on my Banryu. Since I've been brought back I finished my first goal of cutting off the heads of 1000 warlords."
"So that's why you fucking stink of dry blood so bad I wanted to puke the first time I had to breath in your stench. Storm Dragon's ROAR!" Tatsu fired off a large water dragon coated with electricity.
"And just now I managed to get my demon kill count up to 1000! Banryu FLASH!" with a mighty roar, Bankotsu unleashed another Banryu Flash that cancelled out the Storm Dragon's Roar with a powerful burst of energy "Besides the wish that I made on it, Banryu is made up of the metal made from those Fangs and has a couple of jewel shards lodged inside of it. A total of 1000 humans and 1000 demons. This demon sword has absorbed the blood and wrath of 2000 lives. You have those Fangs and wield your own sword made of demon metal, I could tell as soon as the first time we crossed swords, but it raises the question: Can it beat my Banryu?"
"I don't need to beat it, I just have to carve out your throat!" Tatsu unleashed a burst of flames to push himself out of the way of Bankotsu's next attack "Every bullshit word you're spewing out just proves further that you never deserved the Fangs to begin with. It's not a matter of power, the Fangs can only be used by someone they deem worthy. They would never have worked for a miserable piece of shit like you to begin with."
"Go to hell you little shit! Dragon HAMMER!" Bankotsu unleashed another Dragon Hammer at nearly point blank range.
"Thunderclap STRIKE!" Tatsu unleashed a blast of lightning from the blade of his sword that carved into to the Dragon Hammer, only for the blasts to cancel each other out, the output of demonic energy resulting in another large crack forming in the blade of his katana 'Shit, that can't be good…'
"A norman human like you who was granted power without having to earn it could never hope to understand my desires! Or maybe you think you understand because you're a human because you were granted that power, is that it?!" Bankotsu brought down Banryu for another strike.
'Only one way to do this!' Tatsu coated the blade of his katana in electricity and raised it in an attempt to block Banryu's attack, resulting in a powerful backlash of energy.
"You can't hope to understand the world of those who have to work for power instead of it just being handed to them, where strength is the only hope you have to survive!" Bankotsu let out a roar as he put more force behind his blade… which resulted in him carving clean through Tatsu's katana and slashing Tatsu straight down the chest himself, as well as resulting in a burst of energy that sent him hurtling backwards through the cavern wall behind him, Bankotsu giving a wicked smirk all the while "Your sword against my Banryu. I think we have a winner."
'D-Dammit…' Tatsu coughed up a considerable amount of blood as he staggered back onto his feet, a large bloody slash visible down his chest, though he quickly steeled himself as he got into a stance, with golden-colored demonic energy surging wildly around his body as he cupped his hands in front of him "Iron Heart… Divine Quake… Great Glacier… Lotus Flame… Thunder Lily… Lost Serpent…"
"And now it's over." Bankotsu began spinning Banryu over his head, resulting in the formation of a huge fiery ball of demonic energy overhead "The wrath of 1000 humans and 1000 demons combined with the power of four Shikon Jewel shards! With this power at my command, I will lose to NO ONE! HATRED BALL!" Bankotsu let out a roar and swung the Hatred Ball forward at full speed.
"When these forces of power unite… the true might of the Fangs of Ryuhogo… shall be unleashed…" Tatsu stuck out his hands just as the Hatred Ball made contact with him, slowly forcing him further and further back until he was against the wall of the cavern, and eventually being crushed in between them… only to begin slowly pushing back against it, a golden wave of demonic energy matarializing in his hands "Dragon… CANNON!" he let out a primal roar at the top of his lungs and unleashed a golden-colored wave of demonic energy with all of the power he was able to muster, sending it hurtling forward and colliding with the Hatred Ball, and after a brief struggle he ripped through it with ease.
"Wh-What the-?!" Bankotsu was left in stunned horror for a brief moment before the Hatred Ball was overwhelmed, and despite his attempts to shield himself with Banryu it ended up being blown right out of his grasp as the Dragon Cannon enveloped him, engulfing him in the massive explosion that followed.
Once the blast subsided, Tatsu was left shakily standing against the cavern wall, though he quickly fell to his knees and began coughing up a substantial amount of blood, though he did manage to pick himself back up and slowly limp his way forward, finding Banryu abandoned amongst the rubble 'Looks like it's over… I did it… By the skin of my ass… So then where did he end up?'
"I don't… understand…" the voice of Bankotsu drew Tatsu's gaze to where he lay half buried by rubble and debris, now missing an arm and one of his legs "How did… you…"
"You were… way too greedy…" Tatsu picked up Banryu and began using it as a crutch as he limped his way over to Bankotsu's immobile form "You were… plenty strong as is… And you didn't need… jewel shards to get to that point… Guess it shows… you're a Kamikaze…"
"Yeah… I guess you're right…" Bankotsu let out a bitter chuckle, though paused as he slowly lifted his gaze to look Tatsu in the eye "But tell me something… How? The Fangs… How do you have them…"
"Right… I guess I don't make a habit… when I'm around here…" Tatsu coughed up more blood and gave a small smirk "My full name… is Tatsu Kamikaze…"
"Kamikaze… not a joke huh…?" Bankotsu looked him over for a moment, then his face fell slightly "In that case… take it."
"What are you talking about?"
"You heard me…" he nodded towards Banryu with what little strength he could muster "Just take it… take my Banryu…"
"Are you serious about this?"
"Me and it… we've been through a lot together… Maybe in some way… I can see where it goes from here…" Bankotsu gave a small smirk, though it faded away as the light faded from his eyes and his head fell all the way back.
'I can't sense his Ki, but I guess that's it… he's dead… It's over…' Tatsu let out a long sigh of relief, only to cough up even more blood, followed by losing his balance and immediately falling forward… only to find a set of arms catching him before he hit the ground 'This Ki…'
"About fucking time." as it turns out, Inuyasha was the one to catch Tatsu before he could hit the ground, slinging his arm over his shoulder "You know how long I had to wait for you to get that shit done?"
"Well time does fly… when you're having fun…"
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?"
"It means he's dead… they're all dead… and I got this…" he gestured to Banryu and moved to grab it, only for Inuyasha to hoist it onto his back.
"Anyway let's get going, we've still gotta track down Naraku remember?"
"You haven't…"
"God knows I've been trying, and mother fucker he's got so many demons running all over the place it's like they're coming out my-" Inuyasha was cut off by the sound of an explosion going off in the distance, followed by the ground shaking beneath them… and then followed by the ground starting to morph into a fleshy substance that swallowed Bankotsu's body and began to do the same to them "What the fuck is going on now?!"
"Whatever it is… it's gonna suck…" Tatsu let out a groan as he looked around at the walls around them morphing into flesh "It's like it's drawing us in… not just the ground either… This can't be good…"
"It's like this entire cave is turning into a giant wall of flesh…" Inuyasha paused as he felt a set of tendrils reach up from the ground and wrap around both of them, with Bankotsu's body being engulfed in the process "Son of a- I can't fucking move!"
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Meanwhile, with the rescue team…
"Okay so just to make sure, you feel that too right?" Kagome looked around as the ground under them began rumbling "Any chance you know what the heck that is?"
"Not a damn clue, but I get the feeling we're gonna find out soon enough." Koga wasted no time in forging ahead further, with Kagome and the others following on Kilala's back… though none of them noticed yet that the caves around them were beginning to morph into flesh, at least not at first.
"Hold up a second." Koga finally came to a halt, prompting Kagome and the others to do the same "Something about this isn't right, it's like it's getting louder in here."
"Doesn't that mean we have to hurry then?"
"Yeah I know, something just-" Koga cut himself short when he looked down and realized he was being swallowed by the flesh forming from the ground around them "What the fuck, what is this stuff?"
"Koga hold on!" Kagome wasted no time as she leapt off Kilala's back and grabbed onto Koga's arm to try and pull him out, with Hakkaku and Ginta doing the same, but despite their efforts it did nothing to stop him from sinking "Come on, come on… Please Koga hang on, I swear we'll get you out of there!"
"...No, you know what?" Koga let out a sigh as he looked down and saw himself sinking deeper by the second "Let it go Kagome, same for the rest of you."
"Wait what?" Kagome recoiled as she felt Koga shake off her grip, the same with the others "But we-"
"Forget it, no chance in hell I'd ever put you in danger, even if Tatsu wasn't gonna put my head on a pike for it."
"Koga no!" Hakkaku and Ginta tried to reach out to him.
"Stay back you guys, this is definitely…" Koga didn't get to finish before he disappeared into the flesh.
"Koga…" the sight of Koga's disappearance was enough to leave both Hakkaku and Ginta in tears.
"Wait hold on, what is this stuff?" Kagome frowned in thought as she reached down and felt the ground around them "It's not stone, it feels so squishy like… like it's flesh…"
"Kagome look!" Shippo directed their attention to where the walls around them were morphing into something more flesh-like
"The cave is changing, but… how?"
"I don't know, but it's like being inside something that… something that's alive." Hakkaku and Ginta shared a look, but they quickly jumped as the walls began pulsating "But if that's it, does that mean we're gonna end up getting devoured too?"
"I don't know, but if that was going to happen then wouldn't we have already been eaten by this point? In any case, I don't think it really matters." Kagome quickly hardened her gaze as she turned to the others "We can't just leave Koga, we have to go after him." and on that note she promptly took off running through the flesh caves, with the rest of the group trailing behind her, albeit terrified.
"But Kagome we don't know where to go, he just got buried by that stuff!"
"I already know where he is, keep in mind that I can still sense the Shikon Jewel shards in his arm and legs while they're moving inside the fleshy walls. Not only that, but I can feel them moving straight ahead in the direction of Naraku's tainted jewel shards!" and so she continued running until they reached the end of the tunnel, and the path as a whole.
"Looks like we reached the end of the tunnel."
"Yeah that's the good news, but we have no idea where we ended up."
"Wait Kagome, what's that?" Shippo directed the group's attention to the numerous clumps of flesh gathered above them "Are… Are they demons?"
"I don't think so, they seem different somehow."
"Well whatever they are, they're giving us the creeps." Hakkaku muttered.
"The weird part is, I don't think… what is this I'm sensing?"
"Who's there? Kagome, Shippo, is that the two of you?" the clumps of flesh were suddenly cleared away to reveal Miroku and Sango standing amongst them "Up here!"
"Miroku, Sango! Is it just the two of you, where are Tatsu and Inuyasha?"
"Wait, you mean they aren't with the rest of you?"
"The two of them went looking for you guys and went into Mount Hakurei on their own!"
"We haven't seen them since we've been in here."
"But then… where could the two of them have ended up?" Kagome's face fell as she looked down at the thought 'Inuyasha… Tatsu… What happened to you?' her thoughts were rudely cut short as the terrain around them began shaking violently, sending the clumps of flesh falling from above, and Miroku and Sango with them.
"Hurry Kilala, we gotta get them!" Shippo wasted no time in giving the order, prompting Kilala to launch herself out and catch Miroku and Sango.
"Crap, crap, CRAP!" Hakkaku and Ginta found themselves falling as well, until they were both caught by Kilala and hoisted onto her back "Thanks for the save, but what about Kagome?"
"Don't worry…" as it turns out, Shippo had taken on his pink balloon form for Kagome to ride on top of, albeit with visible strain on his part "I got you Kagome…"
"Thanks Shippo, I owe you for this." Kagome breathed a small sigh of relief, but it quickly died away as she looked down and something caught her eye "Everybody look out, I see something rising up from the cavern!" she recoiled as a series of massive tentacles made of flesh rose up from within the pit, with two figures visible in its grasp.
"Get the fuck off me you sick freaks!" Inuyasha wasn't wasting any time in trying to free himself of the tentacles, albeit with little success.
"Inuyasha! Tatsu! Hold on, we'll find a way to get you out!" Kagome prepared to draw her sword, only to pause when she noticed Tatsu lying unconscious in the hold of the tentacles and visibly covered in wounds 'Tatsu, what happened to you? Tatsu! Tatsu wake up!"
'Kagome… that's her voice…' Tatsu let out a pained groan as he slowly opened his eyes and cast a look over to see Kagome and Shippo floating towards him "Kagome… are you…"
"We're fine. Just hold on and I'll try to get you out of there." Kagome wasted no time in forming a series of hand seals "Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen." once she reached him she placed her hands on Tatsu's shoulders and let a wave of white energy flow into his body, causing many of his cuts and burn marks along his torso to disappear "So are you…"
"I'm better now that it's over." he gestured to where his hand was still clinging tightly to the hilt of Banryu amidst the flesh and tentacles.
"You mean…"
"We got ambushed by Bankotsu when we entered the caves. I fought him, and now it's finally over." Tatsu breathed a small sigh, then gave a scowl "And I'm gonna bring it down on Koga's head for letting you jump into danger again in the middle of- Koga's not with you is he? What exactly happened while I was out?"
"We got stuck in these disgusting things." Inuyasha told him dryly.
"Try telling me something I didn't actually now, like where the fuck Koga wound up ."
"Koga was…" Kagome's expression turned downcast "He got caught in these walls of flesh. We tried to pull him out, but he told us not to so that… so we wouldn't get absorbed too."
"So then… is he…?"
"I can still sense his jewel shards, so we still have time but not much. We've gotta get the two of you out of here and fast."
"I still don't have all my strength back, but you healing me like this might-" Tatsu cut himself short as he looked up and his gaze immediately hardened "Get out of here Kagome, now."
"Why?" Kagome looked up as a certain sensation drew hier attention, followed by the sound of ominous chuckling "I know that voice."
"Pretty sure we all do."
"It's him." Inuyasha let out a snarl full of rage "Naraku."
"So Tatsu, Inuyasha, I take it the two of you are having trouble moving?"
"Enough gawking you bastard, get the fuck out here and show your face already!"
"Is that what you wish for? Then so be it." it was at that moment the face of Naraku appeared from within the darkness, a wicked smirk plastered across his face "I must say, all of you have done quite well to get to this point. At least, that is what I would say under a very different set of circumstances… but it's already too late. All of you have already become hopelessly entangled in my intestines, and now it's over for all of you."
"If that's what you're thinking, then you're living in a fucking fantasy!" Inuyasha's eyes were blazing with anger "I'll tell you when it's over, and that sure as hell isn't happening until I rip out your fucking throat!"
"No arguments here." Tatsu tried to move his arm to use Banryu to cut himself free, only to pause as he felt Kagome break off from healing his wounds and stand up on top of Shippo's balloon head "What are you doing?"
"Doing something instead of talking about it, like giving Naraku what he deserves." Kagome's gaze hardened as she loaded an arrow into her bow and fired it at Naraku's face.
"It's over Naraku, and now you're dead! Hiraikotsu!" Sango didn't waste a second as she hurled Hiraikotsu upwards at full strength.
"You fools are wasting your efforts." Naraku let out a chuckle as the Sacred Arrow flew past his face and Hiraikotsu ripped through some of his intestines lining the walls, causing liquid to spew out of them and begin raining down over the group.
"What the hell is this stuff?!"
"Sea God's Shield: Multiplex!" Tatsu managed to maneuver one hand enough to summon a series of water shields over the rest of the group to protect them from the substance 'This stuff is eating away at whatever it touches like acid, if these things keep spewing out like that then the others are done for. Come on, come on! I still can't muster all the power I need!'
"We gotta get out of here!" Hakkaku and Ginta couldn't do much but try to shield themselves from the acid, only for them and the others to find themselves slammed directly against the wall by one of Naraku's massive tentacles.
"Sango! Everybody hold on!" Kagome tried to rush over to their aid on top of Shippo's balloon form, only for the two of them to find themselves caught by a tentacle, Shippo being forced back into his small form and slammed against one of the fleshy walls.
"Dammit, hold on!" Tatsu continued trying to free himself, with Inuyasha doing the same, albeit with little success 'Fuck, my fight with Bankotsu wore me out more than I thought. Of all the times for me to be running on empty!'
"You're all as foolish as you've ever been." Naraku let out a chuckle "You cannot move, for all of you have become entangled within my bowels."
"...You do know how disgusting that sounds right?"
"And yet none of you allow yourselves to understand, the whole of Mount Hakurei has been made into part of my very body. To put it in terms as simple as I can, all of you are trapped inside of me."
'So these fleshy walls are part of Naraku's body?' Kagome looked around at where the others were trapped against the other walls or within the tentacles 'That definitely explains a couple of things, as horrifying and disgusting as it is.'
"Kagome… I'm scared…" Shippo found himself whimpering from his place in Kagome's arms amidst the tentacles "Are we gonna be devoured just like Koga was?"
"Don't let yourself get so conceited, there's no value to have in absorbing the likes of you and your friends. Especially a group of weak and pathetic demons."
"Hey!" that was enough to get Hakkaku and Ginta riled up "We know you're not talking about us you bastard!"
"Not to mention a half-demon like Inuyasha, and the same can be said even moreso a handful of mere humans, regardless of whatever powers or weapons they may possess. To devour the likes of you would only serve to make my body even weaker. Though I will say there is one specimen that I intend to make use of." he held up one particular tentacle to emphasize this point.
'Bankotsu…' Tatsu let out a snarl as he noticed the corpse of Bankotsu half submered within one of Naraku's tentacles 'So that's what he's planning to do…'
"Honestly, the stupidity humans put on display over and over again makes me utterly sick to my stomach, even when it comes to villains like Bankotsu. He came to this place brimming with the goal of avenging the deaths of his comrades, and he chose to fight you to the death Tatsu. I chose to gave each member of the Band of Seven one shard of the Shikon Jewe, and once Bankotsu had come into possession of all of them the smart thing to do would've been to forget about his pursuit of vengeance and flee with them when he had the chance, yet here he is. This is the price he had to pay. They prove themselves to be the biggest of fools every single time, these mortals that call themselves humans." one of Naraku's tentacles dug into Bankotsu's arm and pulled out the last remaining jewel shard, causing his body to decay into a skeleton and leaving the bones to fall into the chasm below "He's outlived his usefulness by now, so I'm sure he'll be pleased to be reunited with the rest of his Band of Seven brothers in the Netherworld."
"You piece of shit…" Tatsu let out a snarl as he tightened his grip on Banryu "You want us to make you suffer for everything you've done, don't you? Because that's exactly what's going to happen."
"Well now, isn't this quite the surprising reaction? Given everything the Band of Seven have done to you and your friends until now Tatsu, I had thought you would be glad to see him be fully rendered dead once more."
"Not when it happens on your terms. Don't get me wrong, Bankotsu was an evil piece of shit and I'm glad he and the rest of his team are burning in hell where they belong. But at least he cared about something other than himself, that's more than the likes of you can say."
"You really have no need to be so worked up by this Tatsu, ultimately you were the one that had defeated Bankotsu in your battle to the death. You avenged all of the suffering that he and his comrades caused since their resurrection." Naraku used his tentacles to reach into the blade of Banryu and pull out the jewel shards from the crack in his blade, followed by another one piercing Tatsu's gi (or what was left of it) and pulling out the other jewel shards, allowing him to take them into himself "At long last I have them, the shards of the Shikon Jewel have returned to their rightful possessor, none other than myself."
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As other groups continued to close in on Mount Hakurei, Sesshomaru and Kikyo detected the presence of Naraku inside the mountain itself. To be more specific, the former sensed the new presence of a powerful demonic aura, while the latter was able to sense the shards of the Shikon Jewel merging into one, a sign that Naraku had finally made his move.
Once the demons had cleared out from the surrounding areas, Sesshomaru ordered Rin to take Ah-Un and get away from Mount Hakurei, while he chose to venture into the mountain in search of Naraku. And Jaken ended up going with him, whether he wanted to or not.
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Meanwhile, in the belly of the beast…
"You really have no need to be so worked up by this Tatsu, ultimately you were the one that had defeated Bankotsu in your battle to the death. You avenged all of the suffering that he and his comrades caused since their resurrection." Naraku used his tentacles to reach into the blade of Banryu and pull out the jewel shards from the crack in his blade, followed by another one piercing Tatsu's gi (or what was left of it) and pulling out the other jewel shards, allowing him to take them into himself "At long last I have them, the shards of the Shikon Jewel have returned to their rightful possessor, none other than myself."
'This is bad, the Shikon Jewel shards are merging into one giant clump!' Kagome could only watch in horror, along with the rest, as the shards were enveloped in a bright light.
"At last, my time has finally come." the light soon subsided to reveal Naraku floating before the group with a new appearance, his attire consisting of a purple and light blue outfit with boned armor along his shoulder, as well as three green tentacles emerging from his back, along with several large hoop bones leding into a large red eye visible in his chest, and two gauntlets with eyes at the wrist and backhand of his arms. And as always, he present behind a barrier with a confident smirk plastered across his face "My newly formed body, complete at last. It really is such a pity too. Look at you, I can feel that each and every one of you despises me with so much of your beings. Yet now that you've finally managed to track me down, none of you can even lay so much as a finger on me."
"Right, cause I'm about to piss myself cause I'm so scared of you." Tatsu shot a glare at Naraku full of defiance "You went to all this trouble and hid yourself away in sacred grounds, I was expecting you to come out as something a lot more… intimidating. All I see is some pathetic piece of shit waiting to get blown to hell."
"Tatsu don't be reckless, Naraku's demonic aura has changed!" Miroku called out to him from where he was pinned to the wall with the others "It's much stronger than it used to be, don't try to risk engaging him head on!"
"Don't forget that Naraku isn't the only one that's stronger than the last time we saw him, he didn't scare me then and he doesn't scare me now. It doesn't matter what form he takes, he's still the same either way: A psychotic piece of shit that deserves to get put down like the sick fucking dog that he is!" Tatsu let out a snarl as he unleashed a powerful surge of demonic energy that obliterated the tentacles around him, freeing himself and Inuyasha from the restraints and leaving acid to spurt into the air around them "Sorry about the sick dog crack by the way."
"Don't really give a shit, if you ask me it's too good to describe him." Inuyasha leapt onto what was left of the tentacles and barred his claws as he held up his arms to use the Robe of the Fire Rat to protect himself and Tatsu from the acid "Time to put this fucker down. You ready?"
"In a second, I'm gonna need to prepare for this. But I'm still not at full strength, so I can't guarantee I'll be ready as soon as we'd like." to that end, Tatsu gritted his teeth as his muscles bulged even further and he dropped into a stance with Banryu in his hands, blue-colored demonic energy slowly flickering into life around his body 'Don't fail me now, just one clean shot is all I need to get through this… You still got Tessaiga with you?"
"I think you know the answer to that." Inuyasha gave a smirk as he drew Tessaiga out of its sheath, the blade quickly turning a deep shade of red "Just one clean shot right?"
"On my cue… so get ready…"
'This should prove to be interesting…' Naraku gave a smirk and watched with anticipation as the demonic energy surrounding Tatsu continued flaring into life, and his body began to shake from the strain he was putting on himself, until he felt the backlash of energy result in a powerful shockwave, and then enough pressure to rip through some of the intestines lining the walls around him 'Now I can see with my own eyes if my improvements were successful.'
"Ryu… KEN!" Tatsu let out a roar full of strain, the blue aura of the Ryuken surging around his body with as much strength as he could muster, and then he launched himself at Naraku and brought down the blade of Banryu on top of his barrier, resulting in another powerful shockwave erupting… but nothing else happened, aside from Tatsu being blown backwards and having to rebound on another set of intestines 'Fuck, it didn't work!'
"Your efforts are wasted." Naraku let out a chuckle "I think you'll find that this new barrier is quite different from the one that you and Inuyasha managed to break through before. You would be foolish to think I hadn't prepared for that amplification technique of yours."
"Yeah well, you didn't consider me getting my hands on this thing, or the new tricks I'm picking up with it. Dragon… HAMMER!" despite the visible strain, Tatsu swung Banryu with all of the strength he had and unleashed a pure blue wave of demonic energy that hurtled towards Naraku at full speec.
"And I've got no problems cutting you to shreds, now prepare to fucking die Naraku! WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha let out a roar as he unleashed a fully-powered Wind Scar in conjunction with the Dragon Hammer, the two blasts combining into one as they hurtled further.
'Always the fools, they never stop trying in the face of failure… But the moment of truth is here, and we'll see it for ourselves.' Naraku's gaze hardened as the spike on his gauntlets burst out of the barrier and collided with the blast, deflecting it and sending bits of it scattering all over the place… including towards where the others were trapped.
'Dammit, he managed to deflect our attacks so easily?! Sea God's Shield: Multiplex!" thinking quick, Tatsu's Ryuken subsided as he stuck out a hand towards Kagome and Shippo and formed a water shield on either side of them to protect them from the stray energy, and then he leapt in their direction "Sea Dragon's-"
"Shippo hold on!" Kagome tightened her hold on Shippo in one arm as the tentacles were ripped to shreds and used her other hand to draw her sword and embed it into the side of the wall behind them to stop themselves from falling.
'...Nevermind, I guess she's got that covered. But just to be safe… Terra Shield! Sea Dragon's Cradle!" Tatsu turned his attention to where Ginta and Hakkaku were falling and encased the two of them in a water sphere, followed by summoning a series of earth platforms that burst out from within Naraku's flesh and emerged underneath everyone, allowing the water sphere to safely land on it, with Kagome dropping down onto it at the same time 'But this isn't right, why isn't the energy dissipating yet?'
"Miroku stay behind me, I can shield us!" Sango was quick to try and protect herself and Miroku using her Hiraikotsu, though she was quickly blown back into the fleshy wall behind her by the force of the blast, at least until another Sea God's Shield materialized in front of them to protect them from the blast, though not without a large crack forming in it "But I don't understand, what the hell is going on?"
'Not a fucking clue, but at the very least I know I my shields can still protect everyone from the blast, at least for the time being.
"I'm sure you've seen the effects first hand by now." Naraku gave a wicked smirk "As you can see Tatsu, Inuyasha, your attacks have been trapped in the flow of my own demonic aura."
'Dammit, I fell for that one hook, line and fucking sinker.' Tatsu let out a snarl 'I let my anger get the better of me, now Naraku goaded me and Inuyasha into attacking him and he turned them on us and just about everyone else. The question is, how do we stop it? And it's coming again, cause of course it is. Sea Dragon's Cradle: Multiplex!" he summoned a series of water spheres that encased everyone else just as the energy blast came circling back around.
"As I'm sure you can see, your attacks will only continue to circle in here, at least until all of you have been obliterated by its power." Naraku's smirk only grew wider "It is rather ironic, don't the two of you agree? To think that unleashing your own attacks is what will result in the deaths of all of the people you've fought so hard to protect. Excellent, Inuyasha and the rest of his pitiful friends shall die here and at last I've come to possess a new body. There is only one thing that's left for me to do while I'm here.'
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From the outside, Kikyo could sense a source of demonic energy whirling around from the inside of Mount Hakurei. It was then that she took notice of Kagura flying away from the mountain with something in her hands, which prompted her to fire a Sacred Arrow at her.
Kagura was able to dodge the attack and prepared to counter with one of her own, only to be told to stop by the cargo she held in her possession, claiming that she was not supposed to be the one to end Kikyo's life. Kagura didn't object to this, though she was surprised that her cargo was able to speak on its own, and simply fled from the mountain, leaving Kikyo to turn her gaze back to Mount Hakurei itself and wonder just what Naraku had unleashed.
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Meanwhile, in the belly of the beast…
"As I'm sure you can see, your attacks will only continue to circle in here, at least until all of you have been obliterated by its power." Naraku's smirk only grew wider "It is rather ironic, don't the two of you agree? To think that unleashing your own attacks is what will result in the deaths of all of the people you've fought so hard to protect. Excellent, Inuyasha and the rest of his pitiful friends shall die here and at last I've come to possess a new body. There is only one thing that's left for me to do while I'm here.'
"Iron Dragon SHIELD!" Tatsu covered his body in metal scales and summoned a shield in front of his arms to protect himself and Inuyasha from the flow of the blast "Sea Dragon's Cradle: MULTIPLEX!" and then he summoned another water dome around the other parties throughout the cavern (Ginta and Hakkaku, Miroku and Sango, Kagome and Shippo) to protect them from the continuous assaults by the energy blasts 'At this rate I don't know how long I can keep this up, my wounds aren't fully healed and using the Ryuken as I am along with all of these techniques is starting to take its toll.'
"Hey!" Inuyasha let out a snarl as he watched Naraku's barrier start to float up towards the top of the cavern "Naraku you fucking corward, are you seriously trying to run away from me?!"
"He's a fucking coward, it's practically his MO by this point to talk shit and run. Doesn't mean I'm not gonna make him bleed though. Ryuken!" Tatsu let out a roar as his Ryuken aura flashed back into life as he launched himself toward Naraku and brought the blade of Banryu down on top of the barrier, only to end up getting sent hurtling into one of the fleshy cavern walls by the backlash, the impact causing him to cough up blood 'FUCK!'
"Tatsu!" Kagome rushed over to the edge of the earth platform she was on and watched as he dislodged himself from the wall, and then she turned her gaze up toward Naraku, only to take notice of something particularly important 'Is that… Tatsu, are you okay?"
"Define okay." Tatsu spat out some more blood as he dragged himself onto her earth platform and pulled himself onto his feet.
"Can you still fight?"
"I'll make do."
"Then let me onto your back, I think I know what to do from here. If all of this crazy energy is coming from Naraku's demonic aura, then I might be able to disperse it. And there's something else I see in there, there are two jewel shards by Naraku's feet at the bottom of the barrier, and one a little further up And I think they're the ones Koga keeps in his arm and legs."
"You sure about that?"
"Almost positive, Koga is a demon so Naraku might be trying to absorb him into his body to get the jewel shards."
"Not to mention the Goraishi, if he gets his hands on a weapon with raw power that rivals the Wind Scar…" Tatsu's gaze hardened as he held up Banryu in front of him "Stay here, I'll find a way to get through the barrier."
"No." that was enough to make Tatsu's gaze snap toward her "The only way you can do this is if you take me with you."
"Iron Dragon SHIELD!" Tatsu formed another iron shield in front of them to protect them from the blast "I trained with Ryuhogo to break through any barrier and the Ryuken has multiple levels, if I can push it high enough then-"
"Then you're gonna end up killing yourself, and I'm not going to let that happen! I'm not… I'm not going to let you leave me behind again." Kagome's voice was barely audible by the end, but she quickly hardened her gaze and climbed onto Tatsu's back, Shippo clinging tightly onto her own back, as she drew her Seishin Rozu from its sheath "Now let's go."
"...Hold on tight." Tatsu held onto Kagome as he used a burst of flames from his legs to propel himself into the air "The whirlwind of the demonic energy flying all over the place should be centered on Naraku himself, so stay focused and aim one clean shot at him to take him out."
"Right."
'These fools must be out of their minds, to think they would be reckless enough to charge directly into the field of energy like this.' Naraku cast a look of disdain in their direction, only to recoil slightly when he saw Kagome readying her sword 'Is she going to-'
"Here goes nothing, now take THIS!" Kagome leapt off of Tatsu's back and towards Naraku's barrier, giving her the chance to cleave through the energy whilriwnd with a burst of spiritual energy coming from the blade of her sword, the energy travelling towards Naraku's barrier and enveloping it in a pure light 'Did I hit him?'
'Wench. That isn't anywhere near enough for you to harm me…' Naraku looked at Kagome and the others with disdain, though his scowl only grew deeper when he saw the bottom of his barrier open up slightly to allow the unconscious form of Koga to fall out of him, trapped in a strange prison sphere.
"Koga! We have to get him!" and that was enough for Kagome to land back on Tatsu's back as they rushed toward him.
"You fools would really turn your concern toward a friend at a time like this? Even at this point, your unfailing stupidity continues to disgust me so thoroughly."
'Oh thank the ancient ones, that huge energy blast is finally gone… and that means Kagome and the others did it…' Hakkaku and Ginta shared a look as the huddled together on the earth platform Tatsu had made for them 'How in the hell does Koga manage to get through stuff like this all the time?' their musings were cut short by the entire mountain rumbling loudly, and then the walls began spraying out acid and miasma, causing the platform they were on to crumble away, leaving them to start
"So be it then, if these friends of yours really are so precious to you…" Naraku raised a hand into the air… which immediately caused the walls of flesh to start crumbling around them.
'Shit, now the whole place is breaking up!' Tatsu tightened his hold on Kagome and Shippo as the fleshy walls and tentacles began coming down around them, with miasma hissing out from spots on the walls 'And there's miasma now, because of course there is. The others won't last too much longer, and after last time they got exposed to poison…' he paused as he summoned an earth pillar underneath his feet, and his gaze darkened 'No. Never again. No one else is dying here today.'
"I'm not unwilling to show compassion to the likes of all of you. Since this is the end for you, I promise that all of you can rest together in the same grave." Naraku's smirk turned even more malicious as he floated up and out of the mountain entirely, laughing maniacally all the while with one goal on his mind 'The time has come Kikyo… I shall be seeing you face to face once again very soon.
"Keep fucking dreaming out your web hole." Tatsu let out a snarl as he launched himself own into the pit after Koga's prison sphere, catching Hakkaku and Ginta with a set of iron chains he sprouted from one arm as he did so, only for Koga to disappear from view amidst the falling tentacles and clumps of flesh from the wall, forcing him to summon another sizable earth pillar to land on "Shit."
"Koga no!" Ginta and Hakkaku looked on in horror as he disappeared into the dark chasm below them "We have to do something!"
"We can't do that if we end up dead!"
"Shut the fuck up and get moving!" the voice of Inuyasha drew their attention to where he and the others were mounted on Kilala's back "In case you idiots forgot, we're trying not to fucking die from miasma in here!"
"But we can't leave Koga!"
"Forget it, there isn't anything you guys can do for him now! You wanna die yourselves down there?"
"But… But he's our leader! He's our friend, and we can't just…" Hakkaku and Ginta shared a look as tears began streaming down their faces.
"And he saved me too." Kagome's face fell as she looked down into the abyss "And he would still be with us…
"If we just… if we could've helped him…" the two of them began huddling together amidst their tears.
"...Then that settles it." Tatsu gently let Kagome off his back and summoned a series of iron chains from his hands that he promptly hurled upwards and latched onto Kilala's back, before handing them to the Hakkaku and Ginta "New plan, you two take Kagome and Shippo, get to the others and get the hell out of here."
"Wait, but then… what are you going to do?"
"What else? I'm going down there to save Koga."
"But Tatsu, we can't just-" Kagome was cut short by the fierce look in Tatsu's eyes.
"Grab hold of the chains and use them to stay connected to Kilala, then Inuyasha will pull you on with them or let you."
"What… What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying go without me, get the hell out of here and I'll grab Koga and join you out there when I can. I'm not going to leave anyone wondering what they could've done different or if they could've saved him. NO ONE else is dying here today." and so he grabbed hold of Banryu and dove down into the abyss without another word.
'Tatsu… please, be careful…'
"Sis." Ginta drew her attention as he tightened his hold on the iron chain "I think… I think we have to go. Right now."
"Yeah, I… I know." Kagome wrapped her arms around Ginta's neck, with Shippo keeping a tight hold on Hakkaku, as the two of them were hoisted into the air by Kilala via the iron chains.
"Quit hanging around like a pack of fucking idiots, we don't have time to screw around in this hell hole!" Inuyasha quickly hoisted the group onto Kilala's back, with Hakkaku and Ginta both hanging onto the back by her tails "You okay?"
"I… I'm fine…" Kagome's expression was still solemn as she looked down at the chasm below them, which didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha.
"He doesn't need you worrying about him now." that was enough to make her gaze snap towards him "If you think Tatsu is gonna let himself get killed by something like that, then you don't know a damn thing about him. He's gonna come out of there just fine."
"Yeah… thanks…" Kagome gave a small smile, though it did little to curtail the worry that she felt 'Tatsu… please be careful, and make sure to come back to us safe…'
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At the same time, Kikyo watched as Mount Hakurei began to erupt and implode. This was nearly immediately followed by a maelstrom of demonic energy and malevolence rolling down the slope in her direction, only for it to crack open steaming fissures of miasma and then swirl to a halt in front of Kikyo, revealing Naraku standing before her.
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Meanwhile, in the interior implosion…
"Dammit, this isn't working!" Sango was left looking frantic as she and the others looked around the top of the mountain, only to find there was no way out "It's no use, it's like Naraku went and sealed off the openings!"
"Tough shit for him then, cause I don't know about the rest of you, but there's no chance in hell I'm giving up! I'll blow an exit open myself if I have to! WIND SCAR!" Inuyasha wasted no time as he leapt into the air, drew Tessaiga from its sheath and fired a fully-powered Wind Scar to obliterate the rubble and debris falling towards them, until a light began shining down on them from above.
"Yes, nice work Inuyasha! Now let's get out of here!" and that was enough prompting for the group to fly out of the mountain and watched from afar as it began to cave in on itself "You guys see this right? It can't be good."
"No shit, but what about Tatsu and the scrawny wolf?" Inuyasha took a sniff and gave a scowl at what he got "I'm not picking up their scents…"
"Don't even think about something that. Tatsu wouldn't let himself be killed like something like this." Kagome shot a firm look in their direction, though she failed to notice Shippo flinch at her word choice "If you think that then you don't know him at all. I just wish I felt as confident as that right now. Tatsu, you'd better get out of this okay. You promised you'd come back to us in one piece.'
"Yeah, you… you're right." Inuyasha looked down at Mount Hakurei as it continued imploding on itself, only to pause as a vision appeared before his eyes 'Is that… Kikyo…? What the hell is going on? Why am I having visions of Kikyo at a time like this?'
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Meanwhile, with the wayward protagonist…
'Well on the one hand, the sixth fang does its job at making me resistant to poison and corrosive substances like the miasma.' Tatsu found himself covering his nose as much as he could, which wasn't very much given how little of his gi was still intact 'On the other hand, it doesn't do anything to fend off the stench of the miasma. Or the dried blood all over me. Or the stench of burning flesh from how many of my injuries I've had to cauterize.'
A loud splash snapped him out of his musings, courtesy of numerous tentacles and pieces of flesh hitting the pool of miasma below him.
'Fuck, if Koga fell into that there's no chance of saving him… and apparently there's some kind of giant bubbles all over the place that I hope to god aren't what I think they are. Dammit Koga, give me some kind of sign.' Tatsu cast a frantic look around until he found Koga trapped in his bubble on a piece of dissolving flesh 'There he is!' so with one swift movement he brought down the blade of Banryu on top of the bubble, popping it in an instant and using it to life Koga up and sling him over his shoulder, then promptly used a burst of flames from his leg to propel himself out of the pool of miasma 'Any longer and he would've dissolved for sure. There's no doubt about it now, Naraku planned to devour Koga to get the jewel shards in his arm and legs. Add in the power behind the Goraishi… no chance in hell we could let that happen.'
It was then that Koga snapped back to consciousness from where he was slung over Tatu's shoulder, and immediately began coughing up water "Fuck… I'm not doing that again…"
"Okay so you're not dead, that's a good sign I guess."
"Tell me about it…" Koga let out a groan, and then his eyes snapped open "Where is he, what the hell happened to Naraku?"
"I'll give you the run down later, first we've gotta get the hell out of here."
"So then… what about Kagome? Is she safe?"
"I can't sense her Ki close by anymore, so as far as I can tell she and the others got out of the mountain already. Your wolf buddies included."
"Good… they're safe…" Koga gave a small pained smile of relief, until he looked up and saw the way out being sealed off again "Where the fuck… do we go from here?"
"Well it looks like the exit got sealed off by the mountain collapsing, and trying to blow open a new one doesn't guarantee it won't all come down on top of us at once."
"So what the fuck are we supposed to do, get buried alive?"
"Not a chance. I don't know if I told you about this at any point, but I've got one ability from the Fangs worth using in times like this."
"Quick pussyfooting around and spit it out already!"
"Fine. Two words: Dragon Warp." and on that note, the two of them disappeared from the scene in a white flash just as the entire mountain began to crumble down entirely.
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Amidst their inevitable confrontation, Naraku wasted no time in showing off his new and more powerful body to Kikyo with an enormous degree of smug confidence. Kikyo was left seething at his audacity and wasted no time in explaining that she knew that Kagura had already escaped from the mountain with something, and demanded to know what it was and what Naraku's true intentions were.
Naraku took the chance to toy with Kikyo by revealing to her how he had manipulated her into coming to Mount Hakurei. It was then that he made his move and slashed at her, snapping her bow into pieces and cutting her across the chest with one of his talons. Kikyo was left to fall to her knees with her life force gushing out, as Naraku told her that he was no longer being held back by the heart of Onigumo, and now he was able to kill her. This led Kikyo to the realization that it must have been Naraku's human heart that Kagura was carrying away from the mountain before, but she didn't have much time to process this before Naraku delivered his deathblow, as he impaled her on his claws, propelling her over the edge of the fissure behind them and into the torrent of miasma that lay below them.
As she fell, Kikyo's thoughts turned to Inuyasha as she called out his name.
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Meanwhile, with the mountain escape team…
'Come on Tatsu, please be okay…' Kagome could only watch afar as she and the others were left to watch Mount Hakurei collapse from afar, until something caught her attention that made her stop in her tracks "I… I can't sense them…"
"Wait what?" Sango's gaze snapped towards Kagome "What are you saying?"
"Koga's jewel shards… and Tatsu's Ki… I can't sense them in there…"
"I… I can't pick up the scent in there." Inuyasha paused as he leapt to the ground and looked on at the destruction of Mount Hakurei, then turned his gaze back to Kagome… only for something else to catch his attention, in the form of another vision of a certain figure 'Kikyo… again with this, what the fuck is going on?'
"Tatsu! Koga!" the second Kilala landed on the ground Kagome rushed over to the edge and could only watch as Mount Hakurei caved in on itself entirely "No… No, they can't…"
"...Hold on." Inuyasha paused as he took a few sniffs of the area "There's something else… It feels… weird.
"What?" Kagome whipped around just in time for an energy surge to nearly blow her right off her feet, only for Inuyasha to grab her by the arm to keep her steady.
"Stupid fucker, of course he had to show up out of nowhere like that."
Sure enough, it was at that moment that a white flash appeared before them, and it dissipated just as quickly to reveal Tatsu standing before them, Koga still slung over his shoulder, and he let out a heavy sigh of relief 'That… That was close, and it took a lot more energy out of me than I was expecting.'
"Tatsu!" it barely took a second to register before Kagome launched herself forward and threw her arms around Tatsu in a tight hug… only to pause when he failed to return it, which led her to break it off "I… I was worried. Are you…"
"I'm fine. Koga's the one that needs your attention right now." Tatsu gently laid Koga down on the ground between them "He's in worse shape than I am."
"R-Right." Kagome quickly turned her gaze back to Koga and knelt down before him as she made a series of hand seals "Rin. Pyo. Toh. Sha. Kai. Jin. Retsu. Zai. Zen." she placed her hands on Koga's chest and let healing energy flow into him.
"Kagome…." a low groan drew her attention as Koga looked up at her "Are you…"
"I'm fine. I didn't get hurt getting out of the mountain."
"Not… Not what I meant…" he looked up to where her gaze drifted up to where Tatsu was looking away from them.
"...Try not to talk or move. You need to regain your strength."
"She's right. Just stay there and let her heal you." Tatsu walked away from the two of them, which left Kagome to heal Koga, and he turned his gaze to where Inuyasha was looking away from the rest of the group "What's wrong?"
"I don't know, I just keep seeing-" Inuyasha cut himself short as his gaze snapped in a certain direction "What the-"
"What is it now?"
"I don't like this… I've got a bad feeling about something." and so he took off without another word to the others.
'What the hell is he doing?' Tatsu watched as Inuyasha took off running, only for his gaze to snap in another direction "Shit."
"What's going on?" Kagome quickly turned her gaze toward him "You sense something?"
"I can sense it. Naraku's Ki." that was enough to make everyone's gaze quickly snap towards him "Sesshomaru too." and then he was engulfed in a white flash.
"Tatsu wait!" Kagome tried to reach out to him, only for him to disappear before she was able to reach him, much to her dismay 'Tatsu…'
"Kagome." it was at that moment that Koga leapt back onto his feet "Come on. Let's go after those two fuckers."
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Meanwhile, with the mastermind…
"And yet again, I feel nothing." Naraku watched as Kikyo disappeared into the torrent of miasma below them, a wicked smirk once again spreading across his face "I'm sure that you see it now, do you not Kikyo? At last, the new body I have desired for so long is now." it was then that a surge of energy drew his attention from behind him "And I see that you've come to face me as well Tatsu."
Sure enough, Tatsu stood before him with Banryu in hand, his skin covered by metal dragon scales and his body surging with demonic energy "You really thought I was gonna let you get away after all the shit you've pulled?"
"Oh believe me, I had no doubt you wouldn't try to stop me. You and many others." Naraku cast a brief look behind him as his smirk widened "And it would seem you are not the only one to take the moment here and now."
Sure enough, it was at that moment that Sesshomaru appeared on the scene, with Jaken right by his side "I must say, you took extraordinary steps to kill a mere woman Naraku."
"I do what I must with purpose, and it seems that the same can be said for you Sesshomaru."
"What I do is as I please."
'This arrogant wretch…' Jaken was left seething as he levelled a glare toward Naraku 'He's come to show such a lack of respect to Lord Sesshomaru, it's obvious that he's grown far too full of himself.'
"Jaken listen to me, you need to stand well back." Sesshomaru cast a brief glance down at Jaken, prompting him to back away a short distance.
"I must say, I never expected the both of you to follow me like t his." Naraku cast a smirk over at both Tatsu and Sesshomaru "So the two of you find me that interesting then do you?"
"You only put yourself out there when you piss off people you shouldn't. It's why most of us want you dead to begin with." Tatsu kept both hands on Banryu as he pointed it at him "Case and point, it's why I'm about to carve out your tongue."
"This is my battle." Sesshomaru took a step forward as he drew Tokijin from his belt "I do not require any assistance."
"He wants to test his power on you, and I have a lot of rage I need to let out. If you ask me, we both get what we want this way. Also I have no intention of backing down, but I'm pretty sure you already knew that."
"...Hm. Do as you will, so long as you don't get in my way." Sesshomaru's gaze hardened even further as he turned his gaze onto Naraku "Since you've allowed yourself to emerge from your barrier, I can only assume that you're now capable of producing a much more significant amount of power."
"An interesting theory." Naraku let out a chuckle as he turned around to face them "Why don't the two of you see for yourselves. Allow me to start." and so the battle began as Naraku made the first move, extending his claws and sending them tunneling forward underground, forcing the two parties to scatter in opposite directions, and then hurtling out of the ground.
"Dragon Hammer!" without wasting any time, Tatsu's body pulsed with demonic energy as he used Banryu to carve through every claw and talon being sent his way, and with a mighty roar he launched himself forward and unleashed a blue-colored wave of demonic energy.
"Azure Dragon Wave!" Sesshomaru unleashed a blast of his own from the blade of Tokijin at the exact same time, the two blasts engulfing Naraku on the spot and reducing him to a jumbled mass of flesh, both combatants having the same thought process 'That won't be enough to finish him.'
'The question is, what can he do when he attacks back without using an opponent's own attack against them.'
"I t hink you'll find that I'm more than capable of standing against the likes of you now, as you'll see for yourself, when you have to face your own power." Naraku let out a chuckle as what was left of him was encased in his own barrier, creating an enormous blast of blue demonic energy and hurtling back at Tatsu and Sesshomaru, forcing both of them to use their blades to block the blast but them still being pushed back by the sheer force.
"Ryuken… times… THREE!" Tatsu let out an ungodly roar as he pushed his Ryuken as high as his body was able to bear at the moment, then with a burst of strength he cleaved through the blast and launched himself forward, and with one final strike he used Banryu to cleave his way through Naraku's barrier and sliced clean through Naraku's neck "GET HIM NOW!"
"Azure Dragon WAVE!" seizing the chance, Sesshomaru launched himself forward and fired one last Azure Dragon Wave, the blast cleaving Naraku's head right down the middle.
"You fools waste your efforts! I will never die!" Naraku let out a cackle as he quickly began regenerating his body, and in a matter of seconds he was engulfed in a cloud of miasma before disappearing from the scene entirely.
"Dammit, he… he got away…" Tatsu let out a snarl as he returned to the ground, though it quickly faded as he coughed up a small amount of blood and fell to one knee "Looks like I went too far… My body can't handle the Ryuken… to that extent right now…"
"A choice you made of your own volition." Sesshomaru turned his head slightly to lock his gaze onto Tatsu "With purpose I imagine."
"The first level didn't work when I tried it before. He probably reinforced it somehow, so I had to try something else."
"Hm. He considers himself to be crafty, but it's another sign of his impudence." Sesshomaru cast a look in the direction that Naraku had retreated as he stowed away his Tokijin "It was as you had said initially. He wished to use me as a means of testing the power of his new body."
"He says he can't die, but he still runs away like a filthy cowward." Tatsu wiped away some of the blood from his mouth and "And quick word of warning, I'm pretty sure that Inuyasha is on his way here right now."
"I picked up his scent as soon as I arrived."
Sure enough, it was at that moment that Inuyasha finally rushed onto the scene and found the group waiting for him "Sesshomaru."
"Inuyasha. I see that you're still alive."
"What the fuck do you think you're doing here?"
"My business is none of your concern." Sesshomaru paused and glanced to the side "It would seem that Naraku's main interest was not yourself or your group, but rather the true objective he sought was to kill that woman."
"What the fuck are you-" Inuyasha cut himself short as he looked over towards the fissure and found Kikyo's broken bow lying on the ground "Kikyo's bow… Don't tell me… Kikyo!" he rushed over to the fissure and picked it up, his mind racing 'What happened here? Did Naraku really kill Kikyo…? No, he can't… He couldn't have… She said that he couldn't because he still had Onigumo's heart… I don't understand…'
"Wait a second, look down there." Tatsu directed Inuyasha's attention to where a single Soul Collector was chasing the tatters of Kikyo's sleeve until it followed it into the miasma, leaving it to vaporize itself 'So Sesshomaru was right then… she really is gone…'
"Dammit…" Inuyasha's denial turned to grief as he peered into the chasm "Kikyo… I failed you all over again… I allowed you to die… I wasn't there for you when you needed me… and you died alone…"
"This miasma is terrible, even by Naraku's standards." Jaken recoiled in disgust as he peered into the chasm "There's no way she would be able to survive something like this." he was met with a rock hitting him in the head and knocking him to the ground in a heap "Why…?"
"There's a time and a place imp, and this isn't it." Tatsu hoisted Jaken into the air by his staff and handed him to Sesshomaru "I'm guessing you're gonna track him down yourself."
"My business here is concluded." Sesshomaru hoisted Jaken onto the back of his fur as he began to walk away from the scene.
"Hold on Sesshomaru." an outright snarl stopped him in his tracks as Inuyasha turned to face him, his expression full of anger "Did you just stand around and watch her get killed? Didn't you do anything to help her?" the only response he received was Sesshomaru walking away from him again, which enraged him to the point where he grabbed hold of Tessaiga "I told you to fucking stop!"
"I don't know what your connection to that woman was, nor do I care to know." Sesshomaru at last came to a stop as he turned around to face Inuyasha, his expression cold as always "The one responsible for the death of Kikyo was Naraku… but also you. You were the one that failed to save her. If you are to blame anyone Inuyasha, let it be yourself rather than me." that was more than enough to shut him up "Rather than waste your time taking your anger out on me, you would be wise to go after Naraku." and on that note, he turned and walked away from the scene without another word, the two of them disappearing into the distance.
With the conflict over and other opposing parties gone, Inuyasha was left alone with his sense of heartbreak as he fell to his knees, struggling to bear this grief "Kikyo… forgive me…"
All the while, Tatsu could only watch from afar as he hoisted Banryu out of the ground, his own expression solemn 'Inuyasha… I'm sorry… The irony isn't lost on me either… I once said that I was willing to send Kikyo back to hell myself… Now that she's really gone… The only thing I see is a friend in pain…'
"Tatsu! Inuyasha!" it was at that moment that the rest of the group (basically the whole group plus Koga) came rushing onto the scene, with Sango leaping off of Kilala's back as rest of the group came to a halt "Are you two alright? What happened?" she was met with silence from both of them "Is Naraku…"
"Just… not now, okay?" Tatsu cast a brief glance over to the remains of Kikyo's bow, which quickly led Sango to pick up the hint.
"Is… Is she…?"
"Yeah…" Inuyasha's voice was quiet as he slowly pulled himself back to his feet "Naraku wasn't after me, or any of us. Kikyo was the one he wanted. He… He wanted to kill her…" that was enough to instill a shocked silence among the rest of the group.
'Inuyasha… I can only imagine what he's feeling… Losing the woman he loves…' Tatsu cast a brief glance toward Kagome, the two of them locking eyes for a brief moment, before he quickly turned his head away 'Though I think I already have… and if I didn't… then I fear I might soon enough… I still can't help wondering what dad would think if he could see me now.'
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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…
'Well it's as the old saying goes, desperate times call for desperate measures…' Kuroga looked over at the charred corpse that lay by his feet, then gritted his teeth as he turned his gaze back to the carving he was making on one of the temple walls with a sharp rock 'Kuroga Kamikaze alive, held captive by Shin Asakura…'
"Have you truly resorted to carving messages into the temple walls?"
Kuroga whipped around to find Shin standing before him, though he refused to let any fear show itself "Let me guess, you think that's a whole new level of pathetic?"
"I consider it to be a desecration. These temples are considered to be sacred after all."
"If you wanna talk desecration, take a look at what you did to my family." Kuroga let out a snarl of barely suppressed anger "You know you can't keep me as your prisoner forever."
"Perhaps not, but who is to say that I intend to?" Shin held up a single crimson-colored Fang in front of him for Kuroga to see "The first of the guardians known as Taiyoken has finally been vanquished. The first half of the seventh set of the Fangs of Ryuhogo belongs to its rightful user and master, the Guardian. Which is me. Before long, I will have the power to do anything that I desire."
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Back in the Feudal Era, far away from Mount Hakurei, Kagura had stopped to rest from her flight and took the chance to voice her grievances about being forced by Naraku to hold the new burden assigned to her. It was then that a voice spoke up from within her cargo, which had taken the form of an infant, and it told her that Kikyo was dead by Naraku's hand…
A/N:
And here we are, it literally took years (or at least feels like it) but we've finally reached the end of the long and arduous conflict with the Band of Seven and the Mount Hakurei arc. Naraku has returned and is more powerful than ever, and our heroes have barely escaped the latest conflict with their lives, but at a cost. Kikyo has apparently been killed by Naraku's hand. Not only that, but it seems that Tatsu and Kagome's relationship has been damaged by recent events, and his mental state may only get worse from here. And that's before we get to the epilogue.
Aside from the recap and stating the obvious, there are a couple of other things to note here. For starters, Tatsu has lost both of his katanas, but in defeating Bankotsu he claimed Banryu for himself. Also he finds out that Bankotsu is actually his own ancestor, which I'm sure nobody saw coming, and that Banryu is meant to be a sort of treasure and signature weapon of his bloodline. Truth be told that was a decision I came up with not too long ago, but I liked the idea and I decided to see how it could play out. And I have some ideas for what will come of it in the future, so we'll see how that goes.
In other news, while relatively unimportant to the Mount Hakurei arc itself, Shin has managed to acquire the seventh Fang in the Modern era. Both main villains are growing stronger by the day, which can't mean anything good for our heroes.
Anyway that's all I have to say for the time being. Thank you all for reading, and please support my Patre0n at the link provided in my profile page.