A Dragon's Fang, a Human's Heart

by The Legendary Dragon Reaper

A human with the power of a demon. To many such an idea sounds ludicrous, does it not? Well he's here to prove them wrong. He will journey across time with the love of his life on his journey as he fights for friendship, for honor, for life, and above all, for love. Rewrite of the Rise of a Warrior: Inuyasha. Support my Patreon. /TheLegendaryDragonReaper

48. The Road to Recovery Part I

(The Road to Recovery Part I)

Angel2023: Trust me you don't have to worry, I don't plan on going anywhere. I'm just doing my thing in two places instead of one now. My stories are staying here too, but others will be made either exclusive or given early access on there. We'll see how that pans out in due time.

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The conflict at Mount Hakurei had finally come to an end, leaving room for a brief reprieve.

"Are you sure about this?" Kagome glanced over at the rest of the group as she stood by the edge of the Bone Eater's Well "Is it really alright for me to go back?"

"I don't see any reason for you not to. Tatsu beat you to it already." Koga gave a shrug, only to cringe when he saw Kagome's expression turn downcast 'Fuck me and my big stupid fucking mouth!'

"Right…"

"Take some time to rest at home, I think you've definitely earned it." Sango patted Kagome on the shoulders and gave a small smile "Worst comes to worst, if anything happens then we can just send Inuyasha over to get the two of you."

"Yeah, if you say so." Kagome gave her own small sad smile, then knelt down in front of Shippo and gave him a quick kiss on her for head before turning and leaping into the well without saying another word.

"Looks like she crossed over already." Sango looked back at the others "It's probably for the best though, I think it's safe to say she could use some time away from… well all of it."

"Pretty sure she ain't the one we have to worry about right now." Inuyasha muttered, earning a few looks from everyone else, but he quickly turned away 'Tatsu, you'd better find a way to get past this or you might end up dead… again… And there's no chance in hell I'm gonna let them accuse me of letting it happen… If you're not gonna tell them, somebody has to.'

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Meanwhile, with the main heroine…

'It feels like it's been an eternity since I came home…' Kagome let out a sigh as she made her way across the grounds of the Higurashi shrine and into the main house 'Honestly, I was starting to think I'd never make it back here…'

"Sis hey!" Sota gave a grin as he rushed out to greet her at the door way "Welcome home."

"Hey… it's nice to be back." Kagome gave a small tired smile as she let Sota catch her in a hug, and the two of them made their way into the living room.

"Kagome, you're home." Mrs Higurashi gave a smile from where she and Grandpa sat in front of the TV "Welcome back dear."

"I have to say that you were gone for quite some time." Grandpa noted "It was starting to get hard to come up with excuses for your school."

"Well whatever the case, I'm just glad to see that you're safely home again Kagome."

"Thanks guys…" Kagome gave a quiet nod.

"Are you alright dear? You seem tired."

"Not really tired, just… I'm gonna go rest in my room." Kagome turned to leave, but stopped and pulled a small bundle out of her back that she handed to the two of them "Here you go, a gift I got from the other side. Apparently it's some kind of dried foods."

"Well now, this does sound wonderful." Grandpa gave a grin "I can't wait to try it."

"Great… I'll be upstairs if you need me." Kagome dropped her bag and made her way up to her room, where she promptly dropped down onto her bed, her thoughts quickly drifting to recent events 'He didn't say anything when he left… I have to wonder… Do you even want to see me right now Tatsu? Because I want to see you… I want to help you… I want to find a way to fix that anger festering inside you… but I don't know what to do…' so she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number, only to get no response 'I guess I should've expected that… Tatsu, I can't help wondering, what are you doing right now?'

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Meanwhile, with the wayward protagonist…

'I knew what I would have to do… I just didn't think it would hurt this much…' Tatsu gritted his teeth as he made his way across the rooftops of Tokyo, glancing back in the direction of the Higurashi shrine as he did so 'But even so, I stand by my decision. No one else is going to get hurt because of my hubris or my weakness. I have to trust my gut on this. Everyone else will be better off if I just do all of it myself. I'm the one with the Fangs, I'm the one that's been fucking up, so that means it's my repsonsibility.' he let out a sigh as he leapt off the rooftop of his apartment building 'If nothing else, at least I can use the time we're home to really prepare, and I don't have to worry about anything hitting me in the face.' he opened the door… only to instantly be met with a certain white substance exploding outwards, which he quickly wiped off of his face "Please tell me this is whipped cream."

"No, but you are actually fairly close." the white swamp in front of him cleared away slightly to reveal Raidou standing before him with a katana in hand "Also welcome back."

"What do I need to know about this?"

"There's no good explanation for this, other than your brother having way more free time than he should. Now if you'll excuse me." and so he bolted back through the door and down the stairs.

'...What do they always call it, the never ending battle?' Tatsu grabbed hold of Banryu and didn't waste any time charging through the doors 'Well it's time to end the next round before it can even begin.'

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And now for the source of the white stuff…

'It's times like this I seriously have to wonder how my life came to this point.' Raidou let out a sigh as he rushed down the hall with his katana in hand and flung the door open, revealing a swam of a certain white substance "We're not doing this again Coffeenet."

"You cannot stop me Raidou." a robotic voice sounded within the white swamp "Humans are futile, you shall become one with the foam!"

"Try saying that after I rip you apart with me bare hands." Raidou gritted his teeth as he raised his katana and charged head first into the foam.

It was only a moment later that Tatsu appeared on the scene in a white flash, and his expression grew even more dull at the sight before him "And the bullshit has to be coming from my house because of course it is."

"Apparently the price of trying to make coffee." Raidou found himself tossed out of the foam and crashing into Tatsu's arms, spitting out a substantial amount of foam as he did so.

"...So Kazuma finally got that AI coffee maker working?"

"And apparently named it after the bullshit AI from the Terminator movies, which should've stopped after the second one. And I just happened to be the one that was here when it decided to unleash foamageddon and everything went to shit. At this point I just have to stop and wonder, why is my life like this?"

"A question I've been asking myself for days now."

"You both waste your efforts." the robotic voice echoed from inside the apartment "I will cover the Earth with foam! Bow to my foamy powers!"

"Do we have some kind of plan for this thing?"

"My plan was to stab it until the foam stopping coming out." Raidou told him dryly.

"Okay I've been stabbing or trying to carve people like turkeys for days now. I think we can deal with a freaking coffee maker another way."

"You shall both perish first by drowning in my endless ocean of foam, and your woman will be made into my concubines." that was enough to make a tense silence wash over the entire scene, as demonic energy began subtly radiating from Tatsu's body.

"...What. The fuck. Did that thing just say?"

"You heard me meat sack."

"Uh huh. New plan, hold the big ass sword, I'm ripping that Skynet reject apart with my fucking teeth!"

"Wait what are you-" Raidou was cut off by Tatsu thrusting Banryu toward him, leading him to try and catch it… only to end up falling to the ground pinned under it 'Fuck this thing is heavy, no wonder he never takes the Fangs off. Where did he get this thing from anyway?'

"Guess what you piece of shit, it's ON!" Tatsu let out a snarl as he charged forward into the sea of foam, followed by sounds of loud crashing and cries of pain.

"I was just- OW- kidding! Can't you- OW- take a joke? I yield! I surrender!"

"Not an option! I'm ripping the wires out of your core!" Tatsu's snarling only grew louder as he thrusted a hand through the outer shell of the coffee maker, puncturing it and causing sparks to fly out.

"Tell the blender I love her!"

"The blender can watch you fucking DIE!" Tatsu ripped the coffee maker itself in half with a burst of energy, throwing one half of it to the side "You lay a hand on Kagome and I'll piece you back together just to fucking rip you apart all over again!"

"That's enough!" Raidou finally freed himself from under Banryu and grabbed Tatsu by the arm to stop him, only to pause when he saw Tatsu's gaze snap toward him with a look of dark fury in his eyes "Tatsu. It's over."

"Right… sorry. I just… I got a little carried away."

"That's one way to put it." Raidou paused as he watched Tatsu stand upright and took the chance to get a good look at him, specifically at the various sword wounds, burn marks and other injuries covering his torso "And a hell of an understatement. I'm guessing things got rough on the other side of the well?"

"It's… a long story that I really don't want to get into right now." Tatsu let out a sigh as he went over to retrieve Banryu and dragged it back into the apartment, the door slamming shut behind him "Right now I just want to get a new gi out of my closet, maybe get a snack or something and then head over to the dojo. I have training to do to."

"I'm guessing it involves the weapon that's literally bigger than both of us? Where the hell did you get that thing anyway?"

"I picked it up from one of the enemies we fought over there, turns out he was actually one of my ancestors and this thing was actually some kind of family heirloom he stole."

"Seriously?"

"Honestly based on the law of averages, I feel like it was bound to happen eventually. Anyway I don't know how long I'm going to be here, so I plan to buckle down and train to master this new weapon as much as I possibly can. Nothing else matters right now."

"Uh huh." Raidou paused and looked down at his phone "Well if you're planning on doing that you'll probably have to do it on your own, but at the very least it's good timing since you won't have to worry about school with everything else going on."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning that your brother and his fiancee are on a little weekend getaway, and everyone else is gonna be busy helping out with prep for the cultural festival they're holding at school."

"Oh. That time of year again?"

"Yep, everybody's been pitching in for it. Ayumi is leading the choir, Arashi and that mouthy brunette girl-"

"Yuka."

"Right her, they've been working on food prep, and the one with the headband-"

"Eri."

"She's directing the play, I don't know what it's called but I think the lead heroine is named after pudding or something. And god only knows what roles those two controlling she beasts will end up pushing Higurashi into when she shows up at school." he paused when he looked over and noticed Tatsu flinch "You okay?"

"Yeah, just… gonna splash my face with some cold water. Get a new gi, get a snack, head to the dojo, yada yada. Tell the others I said good luck with the festival, and that if they want they can have some of these." he held up a small wrap from his bag "Some kind of rare dried foods we got awhile back, they're decent." he leaned Banryu against the wall and started wading his way through the foam in the direction of his room.

"So you're not gonna get involved at all?" that question from Raidou was enough to stop Tatsu in his tracks, at least for a moment.

"Not now anyway. I have too much to do."

"Alright, you do what you have to do then." Raidou breathed a sigh as he began dialing a number on his phone "In the meantime I'm gonna call a cleaning crew to get all of this sorted out before your brother gets back."

"Guess we should be glad you're the one of us that has money now."

"You can but I doubt he will, I'm sending him the bill for sticking me with that thing to begin with."

"Vindictive but not unjustified, you do you." and so Tatsu made his way over to his bedroom without another word, the door shutting behind him.

'Okay, all of that from him proved to be fairly unnerving. I know he can take care of himself, but even so…' Raidou finished dialing a number and held up his phone "Hey, it's me. Two things to give you a heads up on. One, you can expect a bill sent your way. Two, and this one is the more important one, Tatsu is back… and I think we should be worried about him."

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Another day came, and with it the sun was shining over the skies above Tokyo.

'You… You cannot be serious…' Kagome was more than a little thrown off by the sight of all the setup and preparation in front of the school building 'So much for forgetting about the Feudal era and focusing on being a normal middle school student. What the heck is going on?'

"Kagome!" it was at that moment that Ayumi showed up on the scene, with Eri and Yuka close behind her "Great to see you back, you've been gone for so long."

"Yeah, it uh… it's been a lot."

"So I guess that means you're well enough to return to school?" asked Eri.

"Yep, back to 100%. Kinda."

"Works for me, because you were gone for a really long time." Yuka looked over at her "What was it this time, an inner ear disease that made you hear all kinds of weird things?"

"Uh… Nevermind all of that, what's going on with all of this?"

"Nothing too much, just more of the preparations."

"Preparations for what?"

"Actually it's not a surprise." Ayumi noted "You've been away for such a long time that I guess you haven't had the chance to hear about any of this."

"This being what exactly?"

"We're having the annual cultural festival."

"...Oh god, we're doing that now?"

"Yep."

"But then… what about classes?"

"Oh we don't worry about that, we're too busy with all of this. We mostly just have our classes in the morning."

'...So I came back the one time that classes weren't even crucial. Of course I did.' Kagome let out a heavy sigh "Great. Just great."

"Are you okay?"

"No… I'm going home." she started walking away with her head hung low.

"Hey wait Kagome, hold on a minute." Eri put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"I guess nobody really needs me right now."

"You okay, what's got you so down?"

"It's just… a lot right now, okay?"

"What, is it boyfriend problems?" that was enough to make Kagome flinch, and prompt both Eri and Yuka to swoop in on her like Vultures "Did he do something to you? I swear if he cheated on you or anything like-"

"It's not like that!" Kagome's head quickly snapped up, revealing tears of anger brimming in her eyes "He just… a lot happened and he's hurting… I can tell… But he started pushing me away, pushing everyone away… and I don't know how to help him. And even if I did, as he is now he won't let me. I just don't know what to do…"

"Ah, I think I get it." Ayumi put a hand on Kagome's shoulder "Give him some time, he'll come to you when he's ready. If it helps, we know how you can stay busy until then, maybe cheer you up at the same time."

"Like what?"

"I think I know what she's getting at." Eri sported a grin "How about this Kagome, you should take part in the festival with the rest of us. Plus we could use the help."

"What… What exactly am I going to be doing?"

"Well for starters, I could use an extra understudy for the play I'm directing."

"Understudy being what exactly?"

"It basically means you're a stand in or a substitute." Ayumi told her "Plus how hard could that really be?"

"Okay, I guess it couldn't hurt." Kagome put on a brave face "So what do you guys want me to do then?"

"Well like we said, I'm leading the choir, Eri is directing the play and Yuka is working on food prep."

"Right…"

"I've got something perfect for you." Eri patted Kagome on the shoulder "How about playing the heroine's friend Brilliant?"

"Makes sense, so which one should I do?"

"What else, you're doing all three of them."

"Hold up, all three?!"

"You're the understudy, don't act like such a coward!" Yuka leaned closer toward her "Here's the deal Kagome, we've all gone through weeks of prep and practice but you're gonna be done with all of this in a few days, so doing all three of them at the tail end should be easy."

"...Okay." Kagome let out a sigh of resignation as she followed the three of them into the school building 'What the heck have I gotten myself into.'

"Don't read too much into her." Ayumi leaned close to Kagome and kept her voice low enough that only she could hear "She's a little on edge because she's been handling the food prep.

"She doesn't have help with that?"

"She does… from Arashi. That's been a little taxing for her because… Well he puts Gordon Ramsay to shame, and not in a good way."

"Meaning…?"

"I SAID GET COOKING, NOT SHITTING ON THE CULINARY ARTS!" an enraged shriek sounded from within the school building, followed by a large table being literally thrown out an upstairs window "WE'RE SUPPOSED TO MAKING FOOD, NOT STUFF FOR PEOPLE TO WIPE THEIR ASSES WITH!"

"...Yeah, we have to stop letting him watch Gordon Ramsey at 3 AM."

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Meanwhile, with the main protagonist…

'Okay, time to give this another shot.' Tatsu, now clad in a fresh gi, gritted his teeth as he gripped the hilt of Banryu from where it was implanted into the ground in the yards outside the dojo, slowly raising it and holding it out directly in front of him 'I have to think about this one step at a time. Raidou was pinned under this thing so easily when I gave it to him before, and I felt strain with it when I carried it back in the Feudal Era, even with the power of six Fangs. But even so, Bankotsu was able to carry this thing easily with just one hand, and I have no reason to believe that he couldn't do it without the jewel shards making him stronger… So if he can do it, then I can too! I have to! Okay, it's all or nothing… Banryu… FLASH!" he swung the sword with all of his might and unleashed a burst of crimson-colored demonic energy… or tried to, given that the blade hit the ground right in the middle of his swing, causing the energy to burst out in every direction, sending Tatsu flying and crashing to the ground in a heap "FUCK!"

"Looks like Raidou wasn't exaggerating when he said this."

Tatsu whipped around to find a figure standing directly next to him, and on instinct leapt to his feet and kicked the figure's legs out from under them to send them crashing to the ground… only to cringe as he realized just who the figure was "Oh shit… sorry."

"Yeah well, you'd be a lot more sorry if I had landed face first." Kazuma rolled his eyes as he allowed Tatsu to help him to his feet "Not like you to be snuck up on that easily."

"I just… I got startled okay?"

"Is there any particular reason?"

"I… I was trying to stay focused, that's all." Tatsu moved to grab hold of Banryu, but paused and looked back over at Kazuma "So how long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to see you literally playing with fire, and end up almost getting your face blown off because you're doing it without wearing your Fangs." Kazuma frowned as he pointed to where the Fangs were sitting on their typical necklace on a nearby table "You shouldn't be taking unnecessary risks like that. That's an entirely new level of reckless, even for you."

"One of the enemies I fought there wielded that thing with one hand and didn't need magic dragon fangs to do it, so I should be able to do the same. I have to be prepared to give 120% of myself mentally, and physically to match." Tatsu grabbed hold of Banryu and began holding it out in front of him once again.

"So I've noticed. There is such a thing as overdoing it you know."

"Since when has that been a problem for me?"

"Since I heard about you pulling a Punisher on my coffee maker. Raidou told me about that for the record."

"I figured. Also expect him to send you a bill."

"So I heard. You know even you can go overboard at times, right now you're doing just that, pushing yourself way too hard and it's not letting you be at your best."

"Yeah well, that doesn't matter. There's only one thing that does matter, me being the best and still getting better. That's the only way I can do this." Tatsu swung Banryu in front of him, only for the blade to immediately fall to the ground after, leaving him panting heavily.

"Right, because that's not concerning in the slightest." Kazuma paused for a moment as his gaze softened slightly "I also heard you're not taking part in the cultural festival with the others."

"I would figure not going to school at all would be more concerning to you."

"We crossed over that threshold awhile ago, and frankly this one is a lot more concerning, at least in my eyes. I don't know what happened to you to change this, but no matter how hard you trained, you always made time for fun and being there for your friends. I think you want to be with them right now more than you're willing to admit."

"Naraku is back and more powerful than ever, the same with his henchmen. They're all growing stronger over there, so I have to do the same."

"You have a lot on your shoulders, there's no doubting that… but that never stopped you before, so why are you letting it get to you now?" Kazuma was met with silence "Fine, let me stop trying to talk to you like an adult and start talking like a big brother: What the hell? You've been gone for weeks and now that you're back, you just want to train alone in the courtyard while the rest of your friends are out having a good time."

"I… I just wanna get stronger, that's all."

"Stop pretending like that's why you're not doing any of it."

"So what, you can read my mind now?"

"No but I am working on a neural link device that can let me see through your eyes, but that's for later. I don't need that to know how you work. Arashi may be your best friend and Kagome may be the love of your life, but I'm your big brother. I get how you think. And I know when you're kicking yourself over something big."

"You don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure I don't." Kazuma frowned and crossed his arms "It's pretty obvious we have a lot to talk about."

"I don't want to talk right now okay? Not to anyone. I have to train, if you're not going to help then just leave me alone." and so Tatsu grabbed hold of his necklace and dragged Banryu into the dojo, the doors being slammed shut behind him with a loud bang.

'...Well that could've gone better.' Kazuma let out a sigh and turned to walk away from the scene as he pulled out his cell phone "Hi Moya. Yeah it's me. No, he's still going at it. I'm gonna stay around here and keep an eye on him for the time being. Oh yeah, dried foods? They good? Yes I know, stay out of the kitchen. I wish I could say that my cooking hasn't almost killed people before, but we both know I'd be lying. So how bad is the foam? Ah. Well on the plus side, you did want an excuse to get some carpet down in there."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

"Are you certain of this?" Kaede glanced around the others as they sat gathered in the center of her hut "You mean Naraku tried to use Kagome's eyes for himself?"

"Indirectly through his newest incarnation, but yes." Miroku gave a simple nod "He wanted to make use of her ability to detect the Shikon Jewel shards."

"That must mean that Naraku doesn't know the whereabouts of all the remaining Shikon Jewel shards."

"Not only that, but the fact that he went to the trouble of kidnapping Kagome for her powers must signify that there are shards that remain hidden even from Naraku himself."

"I can't help but wondering why that is though." Sango muttered.

"At this point it's hard to say, but perhaps there is something about where they are hidden."

"Either way it makes one thing pretty obvious." Inuyasha cast a brief look over at Koga, then at the rest of the group "It means even Naraku has limits."

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As night fell over the skies of Feudal Japan, Naraku took the opportunity to pay an in person visit to Mimisenri, a demon with ears that had the power to hear everything that happened in the world. Mimisenri quickly informed Naraku he had heard about him gathering most of the jewel shards, though Naraku informed him that there was only one jewel shard left that had yet to be found, and it had somehow eluded his attempts to find it, so Mimisenri took it upon himself to strain his ears and listen for the location of where the final shard could be hidden.

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Meanwhile, with the main group of the past…

"I believe it's safe to say we have a serious problem on our hands." Miroku cast a glance over at the others gathered around him, those being Sango, Kilala and Koga "Every jewel shard we've collected has now fallen into Naraku's possession. We can only assume there are at most a few that he has yet to claim for himself."

"You can count three right here." Koga took a step toward him "I've got the two in my legs and the one I swiped from that fucker Kyokotsu. I stuck it in my right arm, gives some extra power to my Goraishi too."

"And there's the one that keeps Kohaku alive, so that makes four at least." Sango's face fell at the mention of Kohaku "Which means that if Naraku succeeds in making the Shikon Jewel whole again… it will be at the cost of Kohaku's life."

"So what, he a friend of yours?" Koga raised an eyebrow.

"He's my little brother. Our village was massacred by a band of demons under Naraku's control, we were the only survivors… or to be more accurate, I survived and Naraku brought Kohaku back to life with a Shikon Jewel shard."

"Like what he did with the Band of Seven?"

"Yes, but not counting the graveyard soil."

"Got it. So… that's what you've got against Naraku then. Basically the same thing as why I'm involved in this." Koga paused and cast a glance over at Miroku "What's your story then?"

"To put it simply, this." Miroku held up his right hand covered by the prayer beads "My grudge with Naraku goes back to my grandfather, Naraku cursed him with a hole in his hand that would consume everything around it and eventually devoured him. The curse was then passed onto my father and dealt him the same fate, and now it falls onto me. The only way to remove the curse is to slay Naraku."

"Gotcha. So all the more reason to kill Naraku then."

"Precisely, but in addition to that we need to locate the remaining Shikon Jewel shards before he does. And speaking of which…" Miroku's gaze hardened slightly "I'm sure that this already goes without saying, but we need to be more careful with Kagome. We can never allow Naraku to get his hands on her again."

"He does that and I'll use the Goraishi to tear out his throat." Koga paused as his own gaze grew harder "But frankly it ain't Kagome we oughta be worried about right now."

"Meaning?"

"Meaning the one we gotta be keeping an eye on is Tatsu."

"Ah, I see." Miroku and Sango shared a brief look "We have noticed he's grown a bit… abrasive in recent times."

"That's putting it pretty mildly, and I know why he's like that."

"No you don't wolf." this was when Inuyasha made his way onto the scene with Shippo clinging tightly onto his shoulder "But I do, and it's worse than you think."

"What the hell are you going on about mutt?"

"Shut up and listen and you'll find out. Back when we first fought the Band of Seven-"

"Inuyasha stop!" Shippo leapt up and began clinging to Inuyasha's face, leaving him to get pulled off by force "What are you doing?"

"What the fuck does it look like? Someone's gotta spit it out cause it sure as hell isn't gonne be him."

"But… But we promised him we wouldn't tell!"

"Promised not to tell Kagome, any of these dipshits look like Kagome to you? Plus even if you made a promise, I sure as hell didn't." Inuyasha paused as his gaze softened slightly, but it was difficult to see underneath his usual anger "Plus look how that's turning out. You wanna sit on your tail doing nothing but watching him kill himself then fine, but I ain't gonna stand by and let somebody accuse me of letting him die."

"Hold on a minute." Miroku was quick to jump in between the two of them "What exactly are you talking about Inuyasha?"

"Exactly what it sounds like." Inuyasha yanked Shippo off of him and threw him to Miroku, then took a breath and looked over at the rest of the group "Back when we first fought the Band of Seven, those fuckers poisoned you two and Kagome… then the temple burning and you guys stopped breathing… I went off looking for them in a rage, Tatsu stayed behind. He tried to use those Fangs of his to drain the poison out of your bodies… and into his own."

"He really did that?" Sango was left taken aback by the revelation "That poison nearly killed all of us… It's a miracle he was able to survive…"

"You three survived… he wasn't so lucky." that was enough to make the gazes of everyone present snap towards Inuyasha in shock.

"Inuyasha… what exactly is it that you're saying?" Miroku asked slowly.

"He drained the poison out of all three of you… and it killed him. The only reason he's alive now is because Sesshomaru showed up on the scene and brought him back with Tenseiga."

"But… Myoga was the one who drained the poison out of us…" Sango muttered.

"He finished the job. Tatsu couldn't before he gave out… he gave everything he had, his own life to save you guys, and it wasn't enough. That's a huge part of what's got him so fucked up right now. You get it yet?"

"And… you've kept this from us?"

"Pretty obvious he didn't want word about it it getting out, not to Kagome anyway. It's why he told the runt not to say anything."

"I… see." Miroku shared a brief look with the others "That… certainly does explain more than a few things about his behavior recently."

"Yeah no shit monk."

"Then tell me something mutt." Koga was round on him "If you knew this whole time why the fuck didn't you say anything?"

"I've got enough of a brain to know he didn't want word about it getting out, and he wanted to take out the Band of Seven more than any of us. Besides…" Inuyasha paused for a moment and looked away "I've already seen enough people die around there, alright? I don't wanna see that happen with anyone else."

"I think I understand." Miroku put a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder, only to retract it as he felt him flinch "In any case, I think it's safe to say we've all suffered serious wounds in our confrontation with the Band of Seven and the events at Mount Hakurei… and some were apparently much more grave than others, and those can't be healed as easily. Tatsu especially."

"Forget it, just leave him alone for now. I know the kind of people he's got over there, if there's anyone that can make him get his shit together now it's him. Now leave me alone, I'm getting a snack." he pulled out something from his robe and began chomping on it.

"Wait, what are you eating there?"

"What, these thing? Got them from those villagers and priests we saved awhile back. They gave us some of the dried foods they make to say thanks. I ain't complaining about free food, and the things are actually not bad."

"Wait, you mean the dried demon fungai? Fuck I used to love those things, hand a couple of them over." Koga snatched one from Inuyasha's hand and began chomping on it… which led to the two of them wrestling over them on the ground.

"Oh for crying out loud." Sango let out a groan as she snatched it out of Koga's hand, earning a yelp of protest "No matter how many times we Demon Slayers have warned them, none of them ever bother to listen."

"Hey I was eating that, and what the hell are you talking about?"

"You said it yourself, the food is made out of demons."

"And we eat other creatures like that all the time, where do you think meat comes from?"

"That's not the point, this is a hyphae of a fungal demon called Shironyudo."

"So what, it's still safe to eat so long as it's like that."

"Yes as long as it's like this, but if you put it in water and heat it-"

"You mean if you boil it." was Miroku's input.

"-boil it, then it results in the birth of a new Shironyudo."

"Actually from what I've seen, you don't even need the water." Koga told her "You just stick it over a fire, let the demon come out and then claw its face off. It's a good way to get a snack and some good training in."

"True, but I'm pretty sure most of us don't want food trying to kill us. It's for the best if all of this food gets disposed of."

"Well that sucks." Inuyasha grumbled from his place on the ground "Those things were actually tasty."

"Why do you think they've been such a nuisance?"

"The dried foods don't really matter, but I am keeping some of them for myself." Koga leapt back onto his feet "All we gotta do is track down whatever jewel shards are left and get our hands on it before Naraku does, we can put an end to all of this. Wherever Naraku is hiding his sorry ass, no doubt he's gonna show up wherever the next jewel shard is."

"Not like it matters wolf, we can't do anything without Kagome here to track the jewel shards to begin with, and she ain't gonna show up if Tatsu isn't here." Inuyasha laid back and glanced up at the skies above 'No idea how that's gonna work out, but it's gonna have to before it turns into something even worse… If it hasn't already.'

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Days passed, and preparation continued on every front… for better or for worse.

"I know what I have to do…" Tatsu gritted his teeth as he held Banryu in front of him, dropping into a stance as he glanced out at the skyline of Tokyo from atop the roof of the dojo amidst the mist surrounding him "I have to keep my mind clear… to focus on what's important… I have to push my body past my limits, to the place where there are no limits… I will be so strong and so ready and focused, nothing and no one will ever catch me off guard again!"

"An ironic statement." a familiar voice echoed from within the mist "And yet here I am, able to appear before you without you even realizing until I revealed myself. It would seem you have changed a great deal since our last encounter, and not for the better."

"Then by all means come out and say that to my face, I have no problem testing out my new weapon by carving off your other arm."

"So you claim, and yet now you appear blind to your greatest shortcoming." the figure of Shin slowly stepped through the fog, though Tatsu's gaze stayed locked away from him "All of the power in the world does not mean anything if you do not know how to use it. That is what you yourself have said, am I correct?" he was met with silence "All of this time you have barely managed to survive your own trials, and yet you expect others to rely on you. Are you that blind to your own hypocrisy?"

"You think I'm the hypocrite? How about the fact that you took my father from me, tried to kill me and my friends and sought out the Fangs to take over the world while acting like you're some kind of fucking chosen protector?"

"The difference being I am aware of my own shortcomings, and I know very well that my own destiny ends with me burning in the depths of hell for my crimes. However, for all of your talk of protecting those you hold dear, you prove yourself to be guilty of the same crime as I: You allow your arrogance to isolate you. How can you expect those that you love and cherish to lean on you when you cannot allow yourself to do the same with them?" Shin was again met with silence, and so he chose to press on "You wish to protect them from myself, and whatever threats may be lurking in the darkness, yet you prove yourself to be not a worthy Guardian, but little more than an arrogant child. A fool that is so blinded by his own anger, he is unable to see when those that he loves most simply wish to help him. Or is the reason that you are unable to let them see you as weak as you truly are? If only they could see you as you are now…"

"Don't you fucking talk about them!" Tatsu whipped around and immediately fired a Dragon Hammer blast from the blade of Banryu… only to find that no one was there, leaving the blast to fly away and detonate in the skies above, clearing the mist away almost instantly 'So he's gone then… or was he never even there to begin with? Fuck, does that mean I'm starting to see things now?'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with cultural festival prep…

"Those two are real pieces of work, you know that?" Kagome was left seething as she stormed her way down the halls "Where the heck do they get off throwing so much on me like that?"

"Better than having it thrown over your head than ripped out from under you."

Kagome looked over and saw Arashi standing along the hall in front of her… while being bound by ropes "Okay, what the heck happened to you?"

"Well it started when Yuka made the mistake of challenging my authority… and then apparently I made a mistake in telling her to crawl back to whatever back of flaming dog shit she pulled her quiche out of. She retaliated by slamming a frying pan where the sun didn't shine, tying me up and leaving me out here bound and with duct tape over my mouth."

"You didn't have any tape over your mouth."

"I managed to make it wet enough because I wouldn't stop talking."

"Even when you were gagged?"

"Esepcially when I was gagged. Bumblebee from Transformers One can eat his fucking hear out right about now." Arashi gave a triumphant grin, which left Kagome non-plussed.

"...Yeah. So putting aside the rebellion against your Japanese impression of Gordon Ramsey, I've got my own problems." Kagome let out a sigh and ran a hand through her hair.

"You wanna vent to your boyfriend's gay best friend?"

"Might as well before Yuka forces even more work onto my plate."

"And she will, she's a fucking tyrant."

"You're not one to talk. Anyway the soloist for the choir got a cold, and apparently Ayumi just up and decided to have me take her place out of the blue."

"Not that big of a deal, we've heard you singing in Disney songs the shower."

"That's not even- Wait you know about that?"

"Your walls are thin and the high notes tend to travel."

"...Right. Anyway then the leading lady in the play hurt her ankle so she can't perform, and guess who Eri picks out of the blue to replace her as the lead. Do I get in a say it? Not according to them! They said I was supposed to act like an understudy, not the freaking main attraction! I was just trying to keep myself busy from…" Kagome paused as her tirade cut short, and her face fell slightly.

"From Tatsu and whatever he's going through?" Arashi's question prompted Kagome's gaze to snap toward him "Yeah Raidou mentioned something to me, apparently he ripped apart that new coffee maker like he was in a live action Transformers movie. Peter Cullen would be ashamed of him for it too."

"He voiced the guy."

"Didn't mean he liked Optimus being turned into the freaking Punisher, but we're getting off track here." Arashi paused as he took in Kagome's downcast expression, and so he let out a long sigh "How about this, I'll go check on him and see if there's anything I can do to cheer him up while I'm there. You go in and try to smooth things over with my competition. Cool?"

"...Yeah sure, thanks." Kagome gave a small smile as he moved to untie him "Figured you'd want someone to help you out with that."

"Not unappreciated, but I was starting to get a feel for it."

"You mean you were losing feeling in your… everywhere."

"That too. Alright good look with the culinary tyrant in there, I'll run and check on Tatsu while you're at it. Oh and quick tip for the theater front, when they say louder and more dramatic, that usually means just ham it up like you're Storm in the X-Men cartoon in the 90's." Arashi gave a quick salute, and then he was gone.

'Well at least there's some hope on that front… Now I can only hope that Yuka doesn't dump any more responsibilities on my plate.' Kagome let out a sigh as she made her way into the home ec room.

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Meanwhile, with the broken hero…

'Okay, giving this one more shot…' Tatsu reached over onto the table next to him and picked up a piece of dried food, which he promptly swallowed as he got into a stance with Banryu, a pulse of demonic energy surging within the blade 'Well if nothing else, those things are tasty. And they give me enough energy to keep going… Now to focus… compress the energy in the blade, keep it focused and FIRE! DRAGON HAMMER!" he swung the blade of Banryu with all the strength he could muster, unleashing a burst of blue-colored energy that quickly hurtled upwards and detonated in the skies above, the same happening with the series of blasts he unleashed almost immediately after, and then another, until…

"Hey man."

"DRAGON HAMMER-!" Tatsu whipped around and swung Banryu with the intention of unleashing another blast… only to end up retracting it at the last second when he saw that it was just Arashi standing at the edge of the courtyard, prompting him to try and pull the energy back into the blade of Banryu, but the influx of energy resulted in it exploding and forcing Tatsu to summon an earth wall in front of Arashi right before an explosion went off, leaving Tatsu to hit the ground with a loud crash.

"Tatsu!" the second the earth wall shattered, Arashi wasted no time in rushing to Tatsu's side and helping him to his feet "Holy shit, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Tatsu went over and grabbed Banryu the second he was back on his feet, though as he did his gaze snapped toward Arashi "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Apparently watching you shooting off homemade demon fireworks and nearly blowing your face off in the process." Arashi shot an incredulous look his way "Not to mention about as subtle as a thunderstorm, I could see you firing those things off all the way from school. Isn't the idea to not let people find out about this stuff?"

"Well it isn't their business, and I don't have the luxury of being subtle. I have shit to get done and I don't have time to screw around" he hoisted Banryu over his shoulder and began storming away "If you don't need need something then you can go. I'm busy."

"Hey come on man, don't be like that." Arashi grabbed Tatsu by the shoulder and stopped him in his tracks.

"Just leave me alone."

"Dude seriously, what the hell is going on with you?" Arashi was met with silence "I'm your friend man, I just wanna help with whatever it is that's bothering you."

"There's nothing bothering me, I just don't have time to fuck around okay? I have training to do, so if you're done you can go."

"...Fine, if you don't wanna talk then I guess that's all there is to it. But if you wanna talk, all you gotta do is say so and I'll come running." Arashi patted Tatsu on the shoulder and began walking away, only to pause as the contents of the table caught his eye "The hell are these things?"

"Just a couple of dried foods we got from the other side, rare and tough but they taste good so if you want a piece then take it."

"Gotcha." Arashi paused and looked back at Tatsu "Call this insensitive if you like, but I've been helping with food prep for the cultural festival and they're looking for something new that will pack a punch for people, so…"

"That's all I have, if you want it then take it."

"You're the best man." Arashi hoisted up the plate and prepared to leave, but paused and turned back toward Tatsu as his gaze softened "But seriously dude, if you wanna take, all you gotta do is say so."

"...There isn't anything to talk about. I know what I have to do. There isn't anything else right now that matters.' Tatsu's demeanor hardened as he ripped the Fangs off from around his neck, then got into his stance with Banryu and swung the blade with all his might.

"Well if you change your mind, you know where to find me." and so Arashi made his way out of the courtyard, plate in hand 'I'm gonna be here when you need me man, but at the same time I've got other people counting on me.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Meanwhile, with the festival prep…

"STOP COUNTING ON ME!" at the same time, Kagome had taken to the roof of the school to scream out her frustration at the top of her lungs, being left panting slightly afterwards 'Great, I think I'm gonna need a lozenge after that.'

"Well that's a tone setter if there ever was one."

Kagome looked over to see Raidou standing at the doorway leading to the roof "Oh hey Raidou, and yeah the tone has gotten… I don't know, what's the word?"

"Aggravating as all hell? Trust me Higurashi, I know that feeling." Raidou made his way over to the edge of the roof next to her "So from what I've heard, you've been taking on a lot of work to prep for the festival."

"If by taken you mean dumped on my head harder than a hurricane, then yes." Kagome let out a sigh of pure frustration "At first it was just helping out a little bit here and there, then before I knew it the jobs just kept getting bigger and bigger. I was supposed to be an understudy, I just did all of this to…"

"Keep your mind off of Tatsu having a meltdown?" Raidou paused as he saw Kagome's entire demeanor turn solemn "Yeah, Ayumi gave me the rundown on that."

"I did want something to keep me busy… I just don't know what to do…" Kagome buried her face in her arms "How am I supposed to help him when he won't even talk to me?"

"Hell if I know." Raidou breathed a sigh as he glanced up at the skies above "My mother died when I was fairly young, so I don't remember a great deal about her, but I do remember one thing she said to me: You can't help someone who won't help themselves."

"Yeah… my mom said that to me too…" Kagome slowly lifted her head to look at Raidou "But to be honest, that's something I never really agreed with. If someone you know and care about is hurting, shouldn't we be doing everything in our power to help them?"

"In terms of the general principle yes, but it's not that simple. If you push too hard with someone then it could end up making them shut down entirely, or even worse, they end up permanently resenting you for it." Raidou paused for a moment as his gaze softened "Look Higurashi I get it, you're not the only one who wants to help Tatsu with whatever he's beating himself up over so bad. But for now just give him some time, let him cool off and come around on his own."

"And if he doesn't?"

"Then we'll figure out a backup plan, based on what I know it's probably gonna come down to big brother to the rescue. In the meantime you have other things to focus on, so I say deal with that."

"I guess… I still have the choir and the play, and now Yuka wants me to find something unique that tantalizes the pallets and packs a punch."

"...What the fuck does that mean?"

"How should I know?" Kagome paused as she pulled out her cell phone "Arashi is texting me. I guess there's a good new bad news situation now. Bad news is he didn't have any luck with Tatsu at the dojo, but the good news is he found new food for the festival and he'll bring it to the home ec room first thing tomorrow."

"I feel like this could easily backfire in a ridiculously spectacular fashion."

"Probably, but if it gets Yuka off my back then I'm all for it."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Nightfall came, and the moon shone brightly over the skies above Tokyo.

'Come on, come on…' Tatsu gritted his teeth furiously as he swung Banryu with one stroke after another, the blade burning with intense demonic energy "Heat… BLAST!" with a mighty roar he swung the blade once more, unleashing a crimson-colored blast of heat from the blade… only for Banryu to fly out of his grip and for him to be sent hurtling to the ground with a loud crash, causing him to cough up blood as he slowly picked himself back up "One more time… I can do this… I have to do this…"

"You can't do this or anything if you end up killing yourself."

Tatsu looked up to see Kazuma standing standing over him with a look of disapproval "Let me guess, you guys are taking turns watching over me now?"

"And with good reason if that last little display was anything to go by, it's a miracle you haven't blown your arms off yet." Kazuma let out a sigh as he held Tatsu to his feet, then slowly pulled the Fangs off from around his neck "You need a break from training, and I'm not taking no for an answer. Come on, let's just sit down and talk for a few minutes."

"...Fine. But I'm working on the blade of Banryu while we do it." Tatsu limped his way toward where Banryu lay and dragged it over to the steps in front of the doors of the dojo, then pulled out a whetstone and began using on the blade of Banryu.

"You know, it's been a long time since I've seen you like this."

"Hm." Tatsu just continued working on the blade with his whetstone.

"You've had a lot of challenges to face over the past couple of months, haven't you?"

"Hm…" Tatsu just kept sharpening.

"The likes of Shin, and this Naraku I've heard about from Kagome. They're both strong, smart and dangerous aren't they?"

"Yeah." Tatsu didn't look up from sharpening Banryu.

"But at the same time, I know if you and Kagome can't handle them, there probably isn't anyone else out there that can. So it raises the question: What's your plan?"

Tatsu said nothing, he just continued sharpening his blade.

"You've got a lot of good people on your side, in this world or that one." Kazuma was met with silence, and so he chose to press on "But you know what you're doing, don't you?"

"You're not the one who knows how to sharpen a sword, I do it my way and it works."

"That's not what I'm talking about." Kazuma took noticed the glare Tatsu was sending his way, but it quickly subsided as he went back to sharpening "At the very least, I take comfort knowing that you wouldn't be reckless or charge off to do anything stupid. As far as that goes, I like to think I'm lucky. We all are. The last thing any of us would want is to have to watch you die in front of us." he noticed Tatsu flinch visibly at that, but chose not to comment on it "I know that you've done well for yourself up to this point, and it does make me proud to call you my younger brother."

Tatsu just hung his head slightly, he just grinded the whetstone against the blade of Banryu, albeit with much more visible force than before.

"You have talent and a good balance of both body and mind, and you're someone that people can depend on."

Tatsu said nothing, he just gritted his teeth as he kept sharpening.

"But the problem is… you can't let yourself depend on other people. Whatever happened to you on the other side, you're hurting worse than you have in a really long time. The people around you want to do everything they can to help you, but you won't let them. And you can't see that it ends up hurting them in return… especially Kagome."

"DAMMIT!" Tatsu let out a snarl as he brought his whetstone down on the blade of Banryu, causing it to shatter on contact, and then he leapt to his feet in a rage "What the fuck are you trying to say here?"

"I'm saying what you need to here. No matter how much you don't want to hear it."

"Will you give it a fucking rest already?! Listening to your blathering is making me sick! You can say whatever you want, it doesn't change the fact that I'm fucking useless! The moment came when they really needed me, and I fucking blew it! And I've been blowing it ever since then!"

"That's not true and you know it."

"What the hell do you want from me?!"

"You want to know what I want?" Kazuma slowly pulled himself to his feet and looked Tatsu in the eye "I want you to let it out."

That one statement was enough to make Tatsu's angry glare give way to another emotion: pure sadness and grief.

"All of the anger and sadness, fear and regreat, the guilt and the same… all of the negative emotions that are brewing inside of you. You have to let it go or it's going to destroy you, and everyone else around you."

Tatsu said nothing, he just gritted his teeth and gripped his fists tightly as his eyes were clenched shut to try and hold back the tears forming.

"Keep in mind, the road to recovery has to start somewhere." Kazuma gently wrapped his arms around Tatsu and sat both of them back down on the steps and held him against his chest as he started crying uncontrollably 'You're my baby brother Tatsu… Whatever happens, I'm gonna be here to pick up the pieces.'

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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

"Okay fuck it, we're not getting anywhere like this." Inuyasha rolled his eyes as he made his way over to the edge of the Bone Eater's Well, with the rest of the group looking on "I'll bring both of them back later."

"What the hell happened to what you said before?" Koga shot him a raised eyebrow "I thought we were supposed to leave Tatsu alone?"

"Yeah well we can't do anything without either of them over here, and frankly he pisses me off a lot less than you do." and so Inuyasha dove into the well without another word, followed by a familiar blue light shining from within.

"...Okay, so that happened I guess. What the hell got into him?"

"Don't think too much of it, Inuyasha doesn't like to admit it but I bet he's a lot more worried about Tatsu than any of us." Sango told him.

"So what, he's just gonna go check on him?"

"Probably, though from what I've heard he also likes to spend time with Tatsu's group of friends over on that side too, but from what Inuyasha told me he just likes the food over there."

"What, you mean like those dried potatoes Kagome gave me that one time?" Koga looked down the well himself "Huh. Maybe there is a little something to this after all."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the future…

"I see." Moya's expression was slightly crestfallen as she sat a mug down next to where Kazuma was typing away at his laptop at the kitchen table "So he was gone by the time you got up?"

"Essentially yes, but he did send me a text at least." Kazuma gave a small shrug as he pulled out his cell phone "He said he'd be back later, just that he… well he had wanted to take some time to think on his own."

"So then… does that mean he's getting better?"

"Honestly, that's hard to say at this point. He's been… volatile to put it mildly, but I'm not gonna pretend I don't know where he's coming from. You remember how I was back when we first met don't you?"

"Yeah. You were, to put it mildly, a wreck."

"It's not hard to see why. I had lost both of my parents and my little brother was all I had left until I met you and Akira, that took its toll on me. I'm not excusing a lot of the stuff I did back then, I'm just saying. But for a long time, I wasn't willing to talk about it with anyone. I was afraid that if I did, all of the pain and grief I was trying so hard to keep buried would just come flooding back. Then the day came when I realized that keeping quiet about everything wasn't going to change what happened… It wouldn't bring back what I lost or get rid of any of the pain I felt."

"You know you never confirmed one thing I asked you a few times… Did it actually help you to talk about it?"

"To be honest, not really no. But I still think it was better than keeping it to myself. And if the way I saw Tatsu break down last night was anything to go by, it would probably do some good for him to talk about it too."

"Do you think he's going to?"

"It's too soon to say, but trying to force him to open up will only end up doing more harm than good. He's the only person that can decide when and if he's ready to open up, and who knows when that may be. Keep in mind it took me almost two years."

f"Believe me I know, but eventually enough persistence can wear you down."

"You pinned me to the ground and pressed your knee against my neck."

"And you told me to press harder, so who's the one with the issues in that scenario?" Moya let out a chuckle as she gave him a quick kiss on the lips "But to change the topic away from how I made you fall in love with me, how's that dried food Tatsu brought back?"

"Oh these things? They're actually not that bad." Kazuma took a bite of one piece from the plate next to him, though he frowned slightly "A little bit on the tough side though."
"Give me a minute, I can boil it for you." Moya took the plate and dumped the contents into a pot of boiling water, then turned back toward Kazuma "Hey before I forget, why did we get a giant bill from a cleaning crew yesterday?"

"Right I forgot, Raidou mentioned he was sending that our way."

"...The coffee maker came to life?"

"The coffee maker came to life, yeah." Kazuma let out a sigh and hung his head "So much for coming up with something creative for your birthday."

"Don't think the effort is unappreciated… but I think we'd all appreciate it if your gift ideas didn't keep coming to life and trying to kill us." Moya let out a chuckle, and then her smile turned more sultry as she brushed a few bangs out of Kazuma's face "Tell you what, how about I cheer you up with a nice hot bath once you finish your snack? I'd be more than happy to join you too."

"That… would be nice."

"Great. I'll go get it ready, come and join me once you're done." she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, then grabbed a bottle from one of the cabinets and made her way out of the room, the door shutting behind her.

'...God I love that woman.' Kazuma let out a sigh as he went back to work on the computer, and after a moment he turned around… only to find a demonic figure emerging from the pot on the stove, to which his expression dulled considerably "Of course."

"What the fuck?!" it was at that moment that Inuyasa had chosen to descend onto the balcony of the apartment and make his way inside, only to end up seeing the creature for himself.

"Oh hi, I was wondering if you were going to show up at some point. Just give me a minute and then-"

"Get the fuck down! Iron Reaver Soul Stealer!" Inuyasha leapt into the air and let a sweep of his claws fly, ripping the demon to shreds in an instant "That must have been the Shironyudo that I heard Sango talking about before. So where's the rest of them?"

"I'm going to need some more detail."

"Where the fuck is the rest of those dried foods that Tatsu brought back?" Inuyasha let out a snarl as he brandished his claws.

"What, those things? The one in the pot was the last of it, Tatsu took a few of them as a snack for training at the dojo, but nothing's happened over there."

"...Oh." Inuyasha blinked a few times as he retracted his claws "I guess it's okay then."

"Honestly it's not even that big of a deal, do you really think this is the first time food has come to life and tried to kill us." he was met with a blank stare from Inuyasha "Believe me, the less you know about my cooking, the better."

"I'll… take your word for it." Inuyasha paused and took a sniff around the apartment "I'm not picking up Tatsu's scent."

"He went out awhile ago, wanted some time alone to think." Kazuma's gaze hardened as he cast a glance at Inuyasha "If this is your way of trying to drag him back to your world, let me tell you now that you're wasting your time. He's not going."

"No it's not that, I just…" Inuyasha shifted in a rather uncomfortable manner "Look, a lot of stuff happened this time and I just… I came to see how he's doing, you know?"

"I think I do." Kazuma looked him over again and gave a small smile "At the very least, I think he'll be grateful to know you were worried about him. But I meant what I said, he's not going back now."

"So… he's not okay then."

"He didn't want us to think that. He mostly secluded himself in the dojo over the past week, we tried to reach out to him but he kept saying he was fine." Kazuma was met with silence, and so he chose to press on "He's not. He's lying through his teeth. He's trying to be strong, to keep it inside but it's killing him. He finally broke down last night and told me everything. Well, what he says is everything anyway."

"Huh?"

"I know how he works. He knew that I wanted him to open up so I could help him, but I can tell by the way he refuses to look me in the eye when he talks. There's something else he's keeping from me. From all of us." Kazuma's gaze hardened further "So I'm asking you now? What really happened over there? What would he not want me or anyone else to know about?"

"...Oh fuck." Inuyasha let out a sigh "It's… It's a long story, okay?"

"I've got time, and it's not like I have anywhere else to be."

"Oh Kazuma, the tub is full." Moya's voie rang out from the apartment, causing both of them to freeze on the spot.

"...Okay let me rephrase that, I have one place to be."

"The champagne is poured, and the candles have been lit…" Moya slowly made her way out of the bathroom, clad in nothing but a simple white bathrobe… only to immediately recoil when she saw "And it looks like we have company, what a nice surprise."

"Yeah, we might have to put off our plans for a little bit. Inuyasha and I need to have a talk, as in a serious one. I'll join you when I'm done."

"Great, that way the two of us can finish that… conversation we were having before. I'm looking forward to it." Moya cast a brief look over at Inuyasha "So yeah, good to see you. Should I guess that you'll be here for awhile?"

"I uh… I didn't really plan to stay long." Inuyasha found himself blushing as he looked her over and quickly turned away.

"We really don't mind, we're used to extra company by now. I don't mind setting an extra place at the dinner table."

"Um… I mean sure, why not?"

"Great, I'll be in the bathroom for awhile. Best of luck then." and so she quickly ushered her way back into the bathroom, the door shutting and locking behind her.
"...Sorry."

"Yeah well, so am I. Not like I'm not used to it though." Kazuma let out a sigh as he sat back down at the table and motioned for Inuyasha to do the same "Now getting back to the topic at hand… What is Tatsu still keeping from me?"

"Oh fuck…" Inuyasha let out a sigh "This is… Okay, this is gonna be a lot…"

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Meanwhile, with the festival preparation…

"Okay I have to admit, I'm actually kind of curious." Kagome glanced over at Arashi as the two of them made their way down the halls of the school toward the home ec room "What exactly did you find that's gonna get you back in Yuka's good graces?"

"Just something I picked up from the dojo the other day." Arashi gave a shrug "Truth be told I have no idea what it's called, Tatsu said I could have it so I took it. Granted I'm pretty sure he was trying to get rid of me so he could go back to training, but he said it was good and that was enough for me."

"Uh huh." Kagome paused as her expression became slightly wary "So you saw him at the dojo yesterday? Did he seem… you know…"

"He basically told me to get lost without actually saying it, but I went to check on him again this morning and he wasn't there. Not at the apartment either, Kazuma said he was taking some time alone to think. Far as I can tell he's out of the dojo at least, so I wanna say that's gonna be a good sign."

"Yeah… that's good…" Kagome's face fell slightly at the mention of Tatsu, though she quickly felt a hand on her shoulder courtesy of Arashi.

"Hey come on Kags, he wouldn't want you pouting like this. Plus Kazuma is already on it, if he can't get through to Tatsu then no one can. Come on, let's go get to work. Keeping busy oughta help you take your mind off things." and so he opened the door to the home ec room… only to immediately be forced to duck to avoid a chair being thrown at his face.

"You got a lot of nerve showing your face back in here." Yuka levelled a glare at Arashi as she stormed out into the hallway "What makes you think you can show up back here after all the crap you pulled yesterday?"

"You're the one who picked a fight with the head chef."

"Like hell anyone here would make you head chef, you said it looked like my cooking crawled out of an outhouse."

"I was talking about your attitude, but if the shoe fits. Plus it's your own fault for not respecting my authority as head chef."

"You were abusing your power!"

"And learned nothing by the sound of it." Kagome commented dryly, to which she let out a sigh and made her way into the room and placed the contents of Arashi's bag down on the table, giving her the chance to see the contents 'The dried foods from the Feudal Era? Huh, so that's what he got from Tatsu. Yeah I guess that works.'

"Okay good, that oughta keep him occupied for a few minutes." Yuka wiped some sweat from her forehead as she made her way back into the home ec room, only to pause as she looked over the dried foods "So what the heck are these things supposed to be?"

"Just a little something Tatsu and I picked up awhile ago that packs a real punch and tantelizes the pallet, yet isn't familiar to anyone. This oughta make a real impact at the festival."

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Meanwhile, at the Kamikaze apartment…

"I… I see…" Kazuma held his face in one hand as he listened to Inuyasha finish explaining to him the details of their recent conflicts "So then Tatsu… he really…"

"Died? Far as I heard, yeah." Inuyasha looked away from him "I didn't see it happen… I was off trying to track down the Band of Seven. I never found them. Tatsu didn't make me swear to keep quiet like with Shippo and Myoga… but he made it pretty clear he didn't want anyone else to know about it. He died trying to save them… to save Kagome… and it still wasn't enough."

"So he sees it as a failure on his part, and it's why he's been so hard himself since then. Not hard to piece together from there." Kazuma let out a sigh as he pulled himself to his feet and cast a glance out the window "Feeling like you've failed is one thing… literally dying and coming back from the dead is another… But I suppose I should be grateful to your older brother for that right now."

"You feel however you want, he and I don't have what you and Tatsu do."

"So I've heard. But even so, to imagine what Tatsu's headspace must be like… I can't even begin to imagine it… Aside from doing one thing." Kazuma took a deep breath, and slowly turned back to Inuyasha "When he gets back… don't let him find out you told me. Not now."

"You're gonna keep that from them?"

"Sometimes the truth can do more harm than good, and this is one of those times."

"I mean I guess, but…" Inuyasha paused and took a sniff "Well you ain't gonna have to wait too long for that."

"Meaning?"

"EUREKA!" this was when a loud crash sounded from the outside balcony, courtesy of Tatsu as he landed on said balcony and made his way into the apartment, a cup in hand and a slightly crazed look in his eyes "I finally figured it out!"

"...Okay I was expecting a lot of things, but you being peppy was not one of them. Where did you go?"

"Well thanks to the weight of my emotional breakdown last night I couldn't sleep, so I wound up doing one of those "What am I doing with my life?" walks and I realized you were right: As much as I hate the very thought, me training myself into the ground until my bones are like wet paper isn't gonna solve anything. But one of the first lessons Akira taught me is that what major problems can't be solved with power, can be solved with creativity. And then it hit me like- What the fuck are you doing here?" he immediately turned his gaze onto Inuyasha.

"Stopping food from killing your brother and his woman." Inuyasha told him dryly.

"So the usual, got it. Anyway like I was saying, what hit me was that if I can't protect them all the time, I can at least make sure they can protect themselves." he pulled a journal out of his the pocket of his shirt and placed it down on the table for the others to look at "You've been making new gis out of more protective material for me and a kimono for Kagome, so what if we used that to make new clothes for the others?"

"What, you mean like making them some weird new armor?" Inuyasha gave a raised eyebrow.

"That was my plan but then I thought, why stop there? Raidou made my old katanas out of the same metal that I generate with one of the fangs, what if I made weapons for the others out of the same metal too?"

"So not just armor, weapons too…" Inuyasha paused as he looked over the journal "First off, these drawings are kind of shitty."

"Bite me, I can still draw better than my brother cooks."

"And second, you put a lot of those things on here. You really gonna make that many different weapons for all of them?"

"No the claw is for Koga and the staff is for Miroku, all the blades are for Sango. She's got a lot of those things hidden. But this is gonna work, I know it is! I just gotta do what I did with my own swords, and then all of our problems are gonna be solved!" he was left panting visibly with a slight twitch in one of his eyes as he finished.

"...You haven't slept since you've been back have you?" Kazuma finally asked.

"Nope, and I've had a lot of coffee this morning. Anyway I'm gonna head back over to the dojo and see what I can do to get started on this little project

"Don't think I don't want to be there for my little brother, to try and comfort him in any way that I can, for however little that may be worth. But that would mean telling him the truth. The truth is everything, but before you can give it to someone else, you have to ask yourself if that would be doing more harm than good. In this case, it probably would. It comes down to either clarity of mind and purpose, or leaving a heavier burden on someone who needs all their strength. And right now I think I know what the answer is. Right now Tatsu needs all the strength he has, and for the people by his side to support him however we can when he comes back. However he may be when that happens."

"So what, you ain't even gonna try to get through to him again?"

"I got him to open up on some level, which I feel like I should be grateful for, but one person can only do so much. I did as much as I myself could. Luckily for both of us, there's someone else who understands that side of Tatsu and can get through to him, and he'll be coming back tomorrow."

"Okay… Not sure where the fuck you're going with that. You gonna elaborate?""

"All you really need to understand right now is that if he can get through someone as stubborn as you, he can get through to Tatsu. Anyway there's ramen in the fridge, from what Arashi told me you at least know how to boil water without blowing a hole in our wall so I'm gonna leave you to that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have something more important to attend to."

"More important than keeping Tatsu from falling the fuck apart?"

"Oh Kazuma, the bath is about to get cold." Moya poked her head out of the bathroom again, revealing herself clad in nothing but a towel "We wouldn't want to waste this, would we?"

"...I take back the question."

"Case and point, have fun." Kazuma patted Inuyasha on the back and followed Moya into their bathroom without another word.

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Another day came, and the sun was just beginning to rise over the skies above Tokyo.

'Okay, the caffeine high helped a little bit at least, but in the grand scheme of things that isn't going to do much…' Tatsu let out a sigh as he made his way into the dojo and glanced over to where Banryu was propped up against the walls, but he turned and grabbed hold of one of the wooden swords displayed along the wall 'There's only one thing I can do now… If I want to push my body to the next level, I have to keep my mind clear… and apparently I have a long way to go before I can get back to that point.' so he got into a stance and prepare to swing, until…

"You know it's funny, I see this and I remember something my sensei taught me: The shar pest blade in all the land is useless in the hands of the untrained." a familiar voice caused Tatsu to stop in his tracks "But I don't think he said anything about overtraining."

Tatsu slowly turned around and found Akira standing before him "I… I was beginning to wonder when you were going to get back. Did the tournament go okay?"

"Well enough. They offered to let me stay and referee a couple of exhibition matches, but I wound up taking an earlier flight back." Akira gave a shrug as he picked up a wooden sword of his own "Lucky thing I did too, because I think you and I have a couple of things to talk about in private. Kazuma gave me a call before I took off, said you were carrying one hell of a burden on your shoulders, way too big for one person to carry alone without getting crushed to death under the pressure. And if that look in your eyes is anything to go by, I'd say he's right."

"...Crushing or not, someone has to carry it." Tatsu turned away and was about to go back into his stance… only to pause and slowly look back at Akira "You up for a spar? It's been awhile since the two of us went at it one on one."

"No objections here. The only question is whether or not I can convince you to spill your guts about what's eating away at you." Akira got into a stance with his sword, with Tatsu doing the same, and the two of them charged at each other.

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Meanwhile, with the festival prep…

"What happened, I heard screaming!" Kagome bolted into the home ec room the instant she heard a terrified shriek… only to freeze on the spot when she saw the room in shambles, along with all of the food prep "What the heck happened in here?"

"Hell if I know, we were only out of the room to put out the baked stuff, and that was about 5 minutes at most." Arashi shared a look with Yuka, then turned back to what was left of the food prep "But seriously, it looks like a pack of fucking animals went through here. Or batshit crazy fangirls."

"Well it's not like we can just stand here doing nothing, we need a plan." Yuka pointed out "We can't use any of this for the festival now, and it's not like we can do nothing."

"I'm not really big on any ideas right now, unless any of you are willing to pay the fees for DoorDash."

"Oh come on, they're overpriced as hell and you know it!"

"Uber Eats?"

"That's even worse!"

"Postmates!"

"They're all horrible, anyone with half a brain cell can see that!"

"At least I'm trying to come up with stuff instead of standing there like a fucking mannequin, that's more than you can say!"

"Alright that's enough you two, give it a rest!" Kagome was quick to shut both of them up as she turned to face them with a glint of determination in her eyes "Work with me girls, I've got an idea that just might work. And I can tell you now that it's less expensive than DoorDash."

"That doesn't really say much, but I'm right behind you Kags."

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Meanwhile, 500 years in the past…

"They're taking a long time… I guess they've got a lot going on…" Shippo's expression was still solemn as he looked down into the depths of the Bone Eater's Well "I don't like it when they take so long over there…"

It was then that a soft meow drew his attention, courtesy of Kilala as she pushed a piece of dried food towards him with a flame flickering on one of her tails.

"Oh that? Yeah I guess I'm kinda hungry, they're good but they're pretty tough too. You think your fire could work? I mean I could try my Foxfire but…" Shippo cut himself short as he watched Kilala hold a flame underneath the food, to which he gave a small grin… only for it to immediately be wiped away by a large cloud of smoke blowing him to the ground, and then it dissipated to reveal a large fungal-looking demon looming over them, leaving the two of them to recoil in tower as it closed in on them, until…

"Lightning CLAW!" a blast of lightning appeared on the scene in a flash, blowing the demon to pieces as quickly as it had been revived, courtesy of Koga as he sped onto the scene with the Gorasihi materialized onto his right arm, and Miroku and Sango trailing not far behind him "You okay kid?"

"Y-Yeah… I think so…"

"Okay good, so what the hell was up with a demon popping up out of nowhere in an area full of humans?"

"I think I know." Sango gave a scowl as she took a step forward "That was a reconstituted demon born from a Kurotengudake fungi."

"...Fuck, you're gonna make us give up the food now aren't you?"

"Yep, hand it over." Sango held out a hand in front of the others "It doesn't matter how tasty it might be, it's time to get rid of the dried food before something like this happens again and people end up getting hurt."

"Of course you gotta go and ruin a good thing." Koga rolled his eyes as he pulled out a bundle of dried food and stuck it in Sango's hand.

"Good." Sango then shot a glare at where Shippo was backing away from the scene "Ahem."

"Aw man…" Shippo pouted slightly as he pulled out his own bundle and handed it to Sango, and then he turned his own glare onto Koga "Ahem."

"Fuck…" Koga let out a groan as he pulled out a few more, only to be met with a skeptical look from Miroku, and then he pulled out a few more "Fine that's the last of them, try and search me and I got no problems smacking you with my tail."

"That won't end well for any of us. Anyway we still have Shironyudo, Kurotengudake, the Yumenamazi, Warai Azami, Amadaruma, Kamitsukisuika and the Esedaigoku. How in the world did you manage to have so many left between the two of you?"

"I just had what the kid gave me, how fucking much did those people give you?"

"Apparently a lot more than I thought. But is this is the last of it?"

"That's all we had." Shippo told her "I know Tatsu and Kagome took the rest of them back to their time."

"Wait, you mean they took food made from demon flesh back to their time?" Sango cast a look down the well, with the others doing the same "That can't be good."

"I don't think we have much reason to worry." Miroku assured her "Tatsu and Kagome are both plenty capable of dealing with demons such as these, and Inuyasha is with them as well."

"True, but from what Kagome's told me they don't really let Inuyasha do as he pleases when he's over there. And considering Tatsu's recent behavior…"

"Yes. If even his time isn't safe for them anymore, the anger festering inside of him may become even worse than it already is." the group looked at each other in silence, at least for a moment.

"Well I say that bullshit can go straight to hell." Koga wasted no time in leaping onto the edge of the well "I'm going over there to help them out."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Sango.

"Hey the only reason I'm even alive now is because Tatsu made me swear to protect Kagome, a magic well travelling through time ain't gonna stop me."

"No not that, I mean are you sure you'll be able to travel through the well. None of us have been able to, and we've all tried on different occasions."

"Yeah well I'm the one with the jewel shards, if that ain't gonna get me through I'll just claw my way to the other side with the Goraishi. Hold on Kagome, I'm coming!" Koga let out a roar as he dove into the well head first… followed by the sound of a loud crash and muffled cursing.

"...Well that didn't work." Miroku looked over at the others "If nothing else, this taught us that not even jewel shards can guarantee a person can get through the well. I suppose that will be good to know for the future."

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Meanwhile, with the festival prep…

"Well that's a relief." Kagome let out a heavy sigh of relief as she wiped some sweat away from her forehead "Looks like we made it without a second to spare."

"Yep, and all it took was scarring a clerk for life and probably running a store out of business by buying everything they had." Arashi cast a look around at the food that lay on the table in front of them "But you know what they say, you can't gain something without losing something in return."

"Yeah whatever, but it still raised the question." Yuka frowned as she looked over the spread in front of them "What the hell is this stuff supposed to be anyway?"

"It's a little something called real food, something you wouldn't know if you actually made it, not for lack of trying."

"Listen you little-"

"Alright that's enough, I'm not playing peacemaker with you two again." Kagome was quick to shut them up as she looked down at the spread in front of them "Anyway Yuka, what we've got here is salty pickled potato chips, sweet dumplings in corn soup, pre-cooked salisbury steak with yogurt sauce, chocolate fondue with pickled radishes and a bunch of other things."

"Well damn Kagome, I had no idea that you knew how to get cooking like this when you're under so much pressure."

"Yeah well, let's just say that I've been in my fair share of tight spots lately." Kagome let out a sheepish chuckle "I'm not the only one either."

"Good to know, but it still raises the big question: Are any of these things edible?"

"I have no idea."

"You gotta be kidding me!"

"Actually on second thought, it's probably better not to chance it."

"...You're not kidding are you?"

"Nope, and now that that's done I gotta get ready for the play and my solo in the choir. Thanks again for pouring so much work onto me by the way. Bye!" Kagome gave a quick wave and took off running out the door without another word.

"What she said, except replace anything relating to show biz with me earning future best man cred in the next decade or so. Hasta la vista you self righteous puta." Arashi ducked underneath another chair being thrown at him by Yuka, and promptly took off down the halls of the school after Kagome.

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Meanwhile, with the impromptu therapy session…

"Even now, I just can't get it out of my head no matter what I do." Tatsu found himself steadily opening up to Akira amidst their sparring match, explaining to him the events with the Band of Seven and Mount Hakurei in between their wooden swords clashing with each other "My friends needed me, the girl I love needed me and I wasn't there for them. And even when I was there, I still couldn't save them! I was fucking useless! I wasn't good enough! I keep fucking up over and over!"

"Largely because of the anger inside festering from the first points." Akira gave a simple nod of understanding as he used his wooden sword to block a strike from Tatsu's, leaping into the air to meet a sword strike with one of his own "Trust me, if there's any one of us who understands feeling like they were powerless to help someone they cared about, it's me. I haven't forgotten that day either."

"What are you talking about?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Akira brought down his sword as Tatsu landed on the ground, only to find it blocked by Tatsu's own wooden blade "You still remember it too, don't you? The day that Kisuke-sensei died. The others were basically left in shock, so I had to go down to identify his body. It wasn't fun for me either, believe me. He taught me everything I knew, made me who I am… He was more of father to me than my own dad… and right when he needed me most, I couldn't do anything to help him. I felt like I failed him. Honestly, I still do."

"It… It's been so long since then…" Tatsu's anger quickly faded as he exited his stance and stood back up all the way "I forgot all about that…"

"Yeah. The pain comes and goes, even though it never completely goes away." Akira let out a sigh as he put away his wooden sword and placed a hand on Tatsu's shoulder "But I did learn this somewhere along the way. Failure and fear, anger and guilt, shame and regret… In the lives that we lead, things like these are pretty much inevitable. What matters is how we choose to deal with them."

"...I know that, I do. I just-" Tatsu cut himself short as his gaze snapped in a new direction "What the hell? You sense that too right?"

"Yeah, this strange Ki that feels… kind of similar to Inuyasha, but different too. It feels…"

"Demonic. I know demonic energy when I sense it, and I think it's coming from the direction of the school, but I can't single it out with all of the other Kis around the area. I've got a really bad feeling about this."

"Me too. We'd better head over there and check it out."

"We?"

"You said it yourself, part of the fuckups you're kicking yourself over is rushing off and trying to do everything on your own instead of trusting the others to help you, like Kagome." that alone was enough to make Tatsu flinch "If you want to make up for it then you have to trust me to help you, and keep in mind that a real warrior accepts what he can and can't change. This is one thing that you can."

"...Then grab on." Tatsu quickly put on his necklace containing the Fangs, followed by Akira grabbing him by the shoulder, and then the two of them disappeared in a white flash via the Dragon Warp.

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Meanwhile, at the festival site…

"Well at least that's taken care of." Kagome let out a sigh as she and Arashi made their way down the halls of the school building, the former deep in thought over recent events "I just can't figure out for the life of me who could've done that to the home ec room though."

"To hell with who, I'm thinking more like what." Arashi told her "It looked like an animal ran through that place, or an army of batshit yaoi fangirls."

"...You're never gonna let that go are you?"

"I still have the scars all over my pelvis, how in the fuck could I forget? Anyway we've probably got an easy way to figure out what happened."

"How do you figure?"

"Simple, wait until Kazuma gets here and have him hack into the school security cams to see what went down."

"Huh. I guess that- Wait, we have security cams here?"

"Tell me about it, they have the money for that but not enough to renew the art program. It's official, budgeting is a load of bullshit." Arashi paused and looked ahead of them "And if the Ki I'm sensing is anything to go by, it looks like we won't have to wait too long for that to pan out either."

"Oh really?" Kagome followed his gaze, still too lost in thought to notice the presence looming behind them "Wait, is that Inuyasha with them? They brought him here?! What if people see that he's-"

"Take it easy Kags, we let him out all the time whenever we do stuff. Either that or we just stick him at the dojo with Tatsu or Akira. Anyway look alive, they're coming now."

"Hey guys." it was at that moment that Raidou, Kazuma and Moya rounded the corner in front of them, with Inuyasha trailing not far behind them, only to end up stopping in their tracks at the sight of the figure looming behind Kagome and Arashi "What the hell is that thing?"

"That's a Kurotenmudake! Get the hell down!" Inuyasha didn't waste a second as he launched himself forward, pushing Arashi and Kagome to the ground as he did so "Iron Reaver-!" he was cut short mid strike by a white flash appearing on the scene and blowing him to the ground, then followed by the demon being ripped to shreds in an instant, sending bits of flesh everywhere before they were dissolved "What the fuck?"

"Looks like that actually got timed perfectly. Whatever works I guess." the white flash subsided to reveal Tatsu and Akira, the former holding out hands to both Arash and Kagome "You guys okay?"

"Y-Yeah, I think so…" Kagome accepted the hand first, the two of them locking eyes for a brief moment before she snapped out of her stupor "But what the heck was that?"

"Far as I could tell, a giant mushroom demon about to sink its teeth into the two of you. What I want to know is where the hell it came from."

"I got a pretty good idea about that." Inuyasha gave a scowl as he picked himself up off the ground and made his way over to the two of them "What I wanna know is what the fuck the two of you were thinking."

"What are you going on about?"

"You already know damn well what I'm talking about, you two brought those dried foods back with you didn't you?"

"...Yeah, we're gonna need more info than that."

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One brief explanation (and stop for food) later…

"Okay hold on, let me see if I've got this." Tatsu glanced over at Inuyasha as the group took their leave of one of the food stands "You're telling me that if you heat up those dried foods it turns them back into whole living demons?"

"You're telling me you didn't know that?" Inuyasha shot him a raised eyebrow as he downed a bowl of ramen in his hand.

"If I knew that I never would've brought them with me, and I sure as hell wouldn't have given let Arashi take them here unsupervised. The guy is fucking nuts."

"Damn straight." Arashi caught Tatsu in a high five, only to pause and look at him "Wait, why the hell did I high five that?"

"Because you're a sucker for a high five."

"Damn straight I am!" he caught him in another high five.

"Anyway I guess griping about it isn't gonna do anything, the best thing we can do now is track them down before they do any real damage."

"So pretty much what we do in my world, got it." Inuyasha cast glance over at him as he finished slurping down the rest of the bowl in front of him "So I have to deal with demons around here too then, kind of a pain in the ass but I guess bitching about it isn't gonna do any good. So how many of them did you bring?"

"I didn't really count the number I brought with me, but I left some for Kazuma and the others and took a few snacks to have while I was training at the dojo. By the time Arashi showed up, I think there was only about four left. Lucky for us that's not too many, and I think I sense them somewhere in the crowd." Tatsu threw away the skewer in his hand and frowned in thought "The only problem is, it's gonna be hard to track them with so many people around."

'Great, so he's going off to do it alone… and leaving us behind again…' Kagome's face fell as she turned away, until…

"We're probably gonna have to split up." Tatsu let out a sigh as he felt the others turn their gazes onto him "I… I can't track them down alone. And I don't think I should. Not if we don't want anyone else getting hurt. If you guys are up for it, I could use the help." he was met with silence for a moment.

"All you had to do was ask." Kazuma was the one who broke the silence as he took a step toward Tatsu, with the others following close behind "You might be the one with the Fangs, but that doesn't mean the rest of us aren't capable in our own way."

"Right… so I'm thinking we split up, but into teams of two. Except there's seven between us so one of us would end up being the odd one out."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Raidou jerked a thumb in a certain direction "One of us is about to be taken off the table."

"What do you mean?"

"Kagome!" it was at moment that Ayumi came running onto the scene and came to a halt in front of the group "We have to hurry, let's go!"

"...Oh. That's what's you meant."

"Um… What's going on?"

"Jut call it team building, nothing to really worry about." Raidou gripped Ayumi's hand and gently pulled her aside "I'll give you the details later, but for now I take it you have something else to deal with?"

"Yeah, I actually came looking for Kagome. The choir performance is starting and we need her for the solo."

"Right, I just… give me one second." Kagome turned her gaze back to the others "You sure you can handle this without me?"

"We'll figure it out, don't worry." Tatsu waved it off, but paused and looked back at her "But after that, can we… can we talk later?"

"...Yeah, sure. That sounds good." Kagome gently gripped one of Tatsu's hands and squeezed it reassuringly, and then she followed Ayumi down the halls of the school.

"Well… at least that's progress on some level." Tatsu cast a glance back at the others "Okay so now we're down to six for the time being. Like I was saying, if we're gonna cover more ground then we should split up, but do it into teams of two. Inuyasha and Akira, you two head out and cover the front side of the school with the crowds and stands. Kazuma and I will head around the back side of the school. That leaves Arashi and Raidou to cover the interior. If you find one of the demons then send out a group text, and just in case, take one of these." with a quick surge of energy he materialized a metal club in one hand and handed it to Raidou "Just… be careful, over there alright guys?"

"Got it. Now let's get moving." Raidou gave a simple nod to Tatsu and dragged made his way down the halls, dragging Arashi with him.

"Alright… good luck guys."

"You got it." Akira gave a nod and turned to Inuyasha, and the two of them took their leave of the scene.

"And then there were two."

"The brains and the brawn, now let's go put it to use." Kazuma patted Tatsu on the shoulder and gave an encouraging grin "We have some demons to track down and a festival to save. So let's get to it."

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Meanwhile, with the team in the front…

"I say this is a load of bullshit." Inuyasha let out a snort as he and Akira made their way along the grounds in front of the school buildings "I don't need any help to deal with a bunch of weak dried demons like those, and I don't need a fucking babysitter."

"Good to know you value my company so highly." Akira commented dryly as he wandered alongside Inuyasha "You could do a lot worse than me you know."

"Not the point, I can do this shit on my own."

"Well you yourself said griping about it isn't gonna change anything, so give it a rest and let's just get this done."

"Fine, there's only four left so they gotta be hiding around here somewhere." Inuyasha paused and took a sniff, then gave a scowl "Fuck."

"You can't pick up their scents?"

"Not with all the food smells around here. Can you do that weird sensing thing?"

"There's too many people around to narrow them down."

"Well so much for teamwork winning this whole clusterfuck."

"Hey say whatever you want, but this is meant to serve more of a purpose than just finding those demons."

"Like what?"

"Mostly for Tatsu and getting him to let others help him. Based on what I know, a lot of the grief you guys went through involved him rushing off on his own and nearly getting killed god knows how many times. Long story short, it's mainly doing this to help him."

"Uh huh…" Inuyasha paused and looked over at Akira "So… how much do you really know about that?"

"Only what Tatsu told me. Basically that you guys had a lot of close calls with death, Kagome and some of your friends in your world specifically, and he wasn't able to save them. He's been kicking himself over it ever since."

"Yeah… that's the short version anyway."

"You're telling me there's more?"

"Uh… Well he-" Inuyasha cut himself short as something else caught his eye, which caused him to turn pale "Oh fuck, not again…"

"What, do you see a demon?"

"Worse… the stuff that burns my tongue!" and he took off running away in terror.

"...What?" Akira followed Inuyasha's previous gaze, and his expression dulled at the sight of the curry stand in front of them 'Oh yeah I forgot, Tatsu said he hates spicy foods. Well fuck it, I still haven't eaten today.'

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Meanwhile, with the oncoming choir performance…

'I know the demons are hiding somewhere around here.' Kagome cast a look around from where she stood lined up behind the stage along with the rest of the choir 'I can't narrow it down but I can sense the demonic auras somewhere in the crowd… But I can't just sneak away now, that would mean letting Ayumi and the others down after all their hard work. I guess I have no choice but to leave it ot Tatsu and the others…'

"Look alive everyone, it's time for us to get started." Ayumi quickly ushered everyone out onto the stage while she stood in front to conduct the choir, and then the performance began.

"Over yonder shining bright

Is the light of the Shikon Jewel

Even in pieces the jewel's power

Remains ever so strong and true

On both humans and on demons

It slowly shows its effects

'Over there, it has to be one of the demons! I've gotta do something!' Kagome saw one of the demons poking its head out of the bushes at the back of the crowd and prepared to rush out to confront it… only to end up being frozen in her tracks as she started her solo "On both humans and on demons… Oh for crying out loud, this is no time to be stuck with a solo that I never even wanted! But I can't just screw over Ayumi and everyone else by up and bailing on them at a time like this… She's my best friend, she's put so much work into this, not to mention they'd never let me borrow their notes again… But I can't just ignore the demons… God it's times like this I hate having a conscience… But I don't even need to think about it! I know what's more important! It's why I have these powers to begin with!' so with a breath caught in her throat she prepared to rush out onto stage, until…

"I got it!" a blue flash appeared on the scened in an instant, in the form of Akira as he brought down his wooden sword directly on top of the demon, the blow causing it to evaporate in mere seconds "And that's what you get from dedicating your life to the art of the sword. Online dating can suck it."

"And now we hope that the last shard will brightly sparkle over peace…" Kagome finished her solo and let out a sigh of relief amidst the final verse of the song 'Akira, you're officially my hero.'

"And now we hope that the last shard will brightly sparkle over peace!" the song came to an end.

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Meanwhile, with one of the other search teams…

"Looks like we just made some progress." Raidou glanced over at Arashi as the two of them made their way down the halls of the school "Akira just sent out a text, he managed to track down one of the demons during the choir performance."

"So that just leaves two more then." Arashi cast a look around "Nothing on our end. So is that supposed to be good or bad?"

"Good in that we won't get our asses handed to us, bad in that there are still two giant demons running around god knows where." Raidou paused as he pulled out his phone again "And I just got a text from Ayumi, the choir was a big success but now there's the play. And Higurashi just got kidnapped by the other two girls. This is why Ayumi is the only one of them I like."

"She's the only one that isn't judgmental or nosy as fuck, so you're not alone there."

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Meanwhile, with the theater setup…

'Okay so that worked out, but I can't count on a second miracle…' Kagome bit her lip as she finished changing into her costume, that being an elaborate pink gown 'The only way I can really handle this is to end the play early.'

"Kagome." that was when Eri made her way over to Kagome, clad in an elegant green dress with a matching hairband "Try and take it easy, you don't really need to be so nervous."

"Right… you know I'm not actually that nervous."

"Well here's a little bit of advice for you justto be on the safe side. When the curtain goes up you won't be Kagome anymore, in that instant you'll become Escargot Pudding." she grabbed hold of Kagome's hands and clasped them in her own "If you allow yourself to become one with your character then your lines will come naturally, you just have to believe in yourself."

"Yeah right, I'll be sure to do that. Thanks for the input Eri."

"Sure. Also one more thing." Eri's expression darkened in an instant "If you screw this up then I'll never let you forget it. Good luck and see you on stage!" and so she took her leave with an off putting smile.

'...Well that was unsettling.'

"Hey Kagome." it was at that moment that Hojo made his way onto the scene, clad in a his own blue costume with a hat and sword "You ready to do this?"

"Um… yeah, I guess so."

"Kind of nervous huh? Yeah, I'm sort of the same way. Well we just have to do our best, and if you need anything just let me know." he waved in her direction and took his leave without another word.

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A few moments later…

"Looks like the show is about to start." Ayumi glanced over at Arashi and Raidou as the three of them sat down with the rest of the audience "What is this play about again?"

"Give me one second." Arashi pulled a brochure out of his pocket "As far as I can tell, this is more or less a retelling of Romeo and Juliet but with characters named after food. The heroine is literally called Escargot Pudding."

"Which means what exactly?"

"Long story short, her name basically means Snail Pudding." Raidou told her "And trust me, it's about as appetizing as it sounds."

"...Good to know." it was then that the lights in the auditorium shut off as the curtain opened over the stage in front of them.

"Josephine!" it only took a second for Kagome to make her way out onto the stage "Where are you Josephine?"

"Here I am Lady Escargot Pudding!" Eri quickly stumbled her way out onto the stage, though she had to suppress a scowl 'What the hell is Kagome doing? She just skipped right over 7 pages of the script!'

"I know that this may sound unexpected, but I wish to get married immediately. I'm sure that you'll find someone suitable for the task, will you not?" Kagome turned away from her to try and hide her nervous sweating 'I'm sorry, this is the only real choice I have!'

"As you wish miss, but… Do you not think that could wait, at least for the time being?"

"I beg your pardon Josephine!" Kagome quickly rounded on her "Do you mean to tell me that you refuse to obey me?"

"Of course not, I'll take care of it right away!" Eri turned to rush off the stage… only to trip and fall flat on her face, forcing her to slink off the stage, causing those in the audience to burst out laughing.

"...I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that." Raidou glanced over at Arashi "Wasn't this supposed to be a tragic love story or something?"

"Meh, wouldn't be the first time they took something serious and made a ridiculously huge joke out of it." Arashi gave a shrug "It works for Hollywood, so why not here. Either way it looks to me like Kags has this in the bag.

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Later, during the climax of the play…

'Looks like it's my time.' Hojo took a breath as he made his way onto stage opposite Kagome and began his speech in an overdramatic fashion "Lady Escargot, to me you're a muniere, an oyster on the half shell!"

"Oh truly Pierre Pannacotta, you make me so happy!" Kagome clasped her hands together as she made her own dramatic declaration "I think I'm deeply, madly, ravenously…"

"You don't have to say it. Come to me my lady, allow me to feel your embrace! Escargot!"

"Pierre!" the two of them rushed forward to embrace each other… only to be stopped in their tracks and subsequently blown backwards by a loud crash erupting in between them (with Hojo being knocked out cold in the process), to which she pulled herself back to her feet and got a look at the source 'What the- Tatsu?!'

Sure enough, the smoke cleared to reveal Tatsu lying in a small crater, and he let out a groan as he pulled himself back to his feet with Banryu in handand cast a glance over at Kagome "I found the last one. It's big, ugly and stupid, but it hits like a fucking truck."

"What?" Kagome quickly helped him to his feet "Are… Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I-" Tatsu cut himself short as he and Kagome locked eyes "I… I'm not." he didn't even notice as Banryu fell out of his grip and hit the ground "I'm not okay… and I haven't been okay for awhile."

"Tatsu, I…" Kagome paused as she looked out at the crowd, prompting her to grab Tatsy by the arm and pull him away from the edge of the stage "Please my dearest, don't blame anyone else. I am the one to blame for this."

"Okay can we not have you trying to ham it up like Storm from the X-Men, I'm trying to be real here."

"Yeah but we're still in the middle of a play and I didn't plan on you crashing through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man. I want to hear you out, but I need you to follow my lead okay?"

"...That's the only way I'm gonna get through this isn't it?"

"The only way we can get the best of both worlds."

"Fine." Tatsu let out a sigh as he leaned against the wall, feeling Kagome gently grip one of his hands in hers "Look, when this whole thing first started… you asked me if I was okay, if there was anything bothering me. I told you I was fine. I lied. You knew that too, but even if you did try to approach me then I wouldn't have admitted it. But there's a reason for that. There's a big reason why you don't see me acting like I'm not fine, okay? It's basically what I've trained myself to do for years. I've been getting beaten down, shot at or blown up in one way or another for ages… I can handle that happening to me, but not to everyone else… Not to you. So when you and the others got poisoned and almost burned alive… and I found out that you were almost raped… I wasn't okay…" his voice became hoarse as he slid to the ground "I'm still not okay. I haven't been since then… Not just because I let them get away… Not just because I kept getting hurt and rushing off like a maniac… Because I knew that I had failed… I failed you… I guess all this time I just never realized that I could lose you if my grip slipped even a little… And I just decided that the version of me that fails and fucks up wasn't the one that you wanted to see… so I ended up pushing you away. I ended up pushing everyone away… and you can call it stupid if you want, but… I even ended up pushing myself away too. And I let you down. I let down a lot of people."

"I just… all I wanted was for you to be honest with me. I wanted to help you. I'm not the only one either."

"I know, it's just…"

"Yeah. I know." Kagome slid down to meet Tatsu at eye level as she gently tightened her grip on his hand "I never stopped wanting to reach out to you… I wanted to text you a bunch of times over the past few days… but then I realized that they cancelled my phone plan because I've been on the other side so often, so gonna have to fix that later. Then I figured it was just better to try and talk in person, but I knew you didn't wanna talk and… I just miss you… I don't know. I feel like I'm messing up the wording."

"No, I get what you're saying." Tatsu buried his face in one hand "You were right. About all the stuff you said to Koga I mean. I did just give up… but not on you. On myself. I kept rushing off like a fucking madman because I was so angry at them, at myself, over what happened to you and the others. I kept thinking that if I could charge in and finish them fast, I could stop you or anyone else from getting hurt… But I just made things worse every time… and after the river explosion, I saw you crying… and I knew it was my fault… then I left you behind at Mount Hakurei and after I saw you again… I kept pushing you away because… I didn't think I deserved to be with you after everything I'd done… I couldn't stand the thought of you getting hurt again like the Band of Seven did to you, but… I broke my promise to you… I left you behind and just pushed you away…" his voice became slightly more choked We promised that whatever came our way, we would face them together… and I let you down. I've been letting you down ever since… I'm sorry… I spent years being in love with you even though I didn't think you'd ever feel the same way, and I completely fucked it up… Now I probably don't even deserve to-" he was immediately cut short by Kagome pulling him in close and wrapping him in a tight hug, his head resting in her hair "I… I actually thought you were gonna be a lot more pissed."

"I was never mad at you… I mean yeah, I was mad and a little hurt… but I knew you were hurting, and I just didn't know what to say or do to make it better… I just… I missed talking to you like this…"

"Yeah… me too…" Tatsu took a brief moment to compose himself and let out a chuckle "I think it says a lot when Koga's the smart one between him and me, and not in a good way."

"Well he has his moments, good and bad. He's really come a long way since we met him."

"Pretty sure a lot of that can be attributed to you. You have a good effect on people."

"I don't know about that." Kagome blushed slightly and let out a chuckle, only to pause as both of their gazes harened "Tatsu?"

"Yeah, I sense it too." Tatsu glanced back just as the whole auditorium began shaking violently, followed by a monstrous watermelon-like figure bursting through the stage "And I think we just found the last one, I thought I sensed something around here."

"Oh god, everyone is gonna find out now. And after I tried to keep all this a secret."

"Yeah, that could be what happens. Or…" Tatsu glanced out at the audience as they started cheering at the top of their lungs "Or they're gonna think it's part of the show and want a total bloodbath."

"So then… they haven't figured it out yet?"

"Nope, and I never thought I'd say this but thank god the internet made people stupid. But in any case, we should probably take care of this thing before it tries to eat them."

"Right… so how do you wanna do this?"

"As much as I got a lot off my chest, I still feel like blowing something up, so I'm gonna go ahead and deal with this one myself, okay?"

"Alright, just be careful."

"Don't worry, this is over before it even starts." Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet and quickly picked up Banryu off the ground, the blade surging with demonic energy as he pointed it at the watermelon demon "One clean shot from this thing is all I need. Dragon Hammer!" he let out a roar as he swung the blade, unleashing an enormous blast of demon energy that vaporized the demon on the spot… while also blowing a gaping hole in the auditorium building 'Oh yeah, that felt good… If a little bit overkill. Well it's not that big of a deal, worse comes to worse I can just use my metal manipulation to fix it. So… we done here?"

"Um… yeah, I think so." Kagome snapped out of her brief stupor and grabbed onto Tatsu by the arm "Come with me my dearest Pekopon, I beg of you to take me away now while we still have the chance. Lead me away beyond the skies!"

"...Okay seriously, you're hamming it up like this and you've never watched the OG X-Men cartoon?"

"Can we not have this talk right now?"

"Fine, let's just go." so with that in mind, he hoisted her into his arms bridal style and leapt onto the roof of the school building "You gonna do a closing monologue or something?"

"I guess I might as well." Kagome cleared her throat and waved at the audience "Farewell to all of you, and rejoice in the knowledge that I, Escargot Pudding, will be freed from all my worldly burdens and will live happily ever after! Farewell!" and then they disappeared from the scene in a white flash, leaving the audience in a stunned silence.

"...OH FUCK YES!" Arashi was the one to break the silence as he leapt from his seat and began cheering, with the rest of the audience following his lead "Broadyway can suck it comapred to this!"

"That's… one way to describe it." Raidou paused and glanced over at the others "Legitimate question, what are the odds he has no idea what actually happened?"

"To be honest, probably about 50/50." Ayumi gave a small shrug "So when were you going to tell me about… whatever it is you guys were planning?"

"About as soon as I saw you after the choir was over. You want the long or short version?"

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Meanwhile, with the runaway couple…

"Well that happened I guess." Tatsu cast a look at Kagome from where the two of them stood on top of the roof of the school "And if the text messages I got from Arashi and Raidou are anything to go by, I'd say it went off without a hitch."

"Aside from the giant hole in the wall." Kagome pointed out dryly, then let out a chuckle "I have to be honest, I was really worried there. At least it turned out okay, more or less."

"Meh, worse comes to worse I'll fix it myself or-" their conversation was cut short by the ground beneath them shaking violently "Or worry about that right about now."

"What the heck is happening? It feels like an earthquake!"

"Either that or it's a demon, and it's gotta be a strong one if it can make earthquakes."

"Wouldn't count on that." it was at that moment that Inuyasha leapt onto the roof next to the two of them with a large figure slung over his shoulder "I found this thing on the roof while you were off doing… whatever the fuck all of that was."

"So that's all of them?"

"Yeah, I think this is the one Sango called a Yumenamazu." Inuyasha sat the demon down in front of them… revealing it to be a giant fish with a moustache flopping on the ground "Talk about a hell of a disappointment. I was kind of hoping for a fight or something."

"...You think we can eat it?"

"I dunno, probably."

"Good enough for me." Tatsu quickly pulled out his cell phone "Better let Arashi know we found a new pick for the main course."

"I can think of a lot of things wrong with this." Kagome commented dryly.

"Say whatever you like, but I'm pretty sure people aren't gonna be forgetting this festival any time soon."

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Hours passed, and the sun was setting over the skies above.

"Oh thank god, it's finally over." Kagome let out a sigh of relief as she took her leave of the school, with the rest of the cavalcade travelling behind her in various groups "That had to be one of the longest days of my life. I'm totally exhausted."

"Not even in my top five, but I get the sentiment." Raidou noted dryly "Frankly dealing with a pack of fungai demons were nothing compared to getting eaten by a dragon."

"I wasn't talking about the demons, otherwise they'd have nothing compared to Naraku and the Band of Seven."

"Sounds about right from what I heard. You guys went through a lot."

"Yeah… and it was really rough." Kagome let out a sigh, then gave a small smile "At least we can finally put it behind us now."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Raidou was met with an uncertain look from Kagome, and so he chose to elaborate "Take it from a voice of experience: When you're dealing with emotional truama and pain like that and trying your damndest to hold it all in, it can be pretty easy to end up backsliding. Trust me on this, there's one way Tatsu's gonna push past this. He's gonna have to do it himself."

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Meanwhile, with the other group…

"Well that's officially six hours of my life I'm not getting back." Tatsu let out a sigh as he and the rest of the group took their leave of the school "Frankly I'm just worn out."

"Like hell you got anything to gripe about." Inuyasha let out a scoff "Those demons were a pack of fucking weaklings, they've got nothing on fighting Naraku and the Band of Seven."

"What do you think I'm worn out from? We went through a lot over there. I just… I needed a break, you know?"

"I think I know." Akira made his way up to the two of them and gently patted Tatsu on the shoulder "So… you and Kagome patched things up?"

"We're talking again, so there's that."

"That's good." Akira paused as his gaze hardened slightly "Listen Tatsu, about what we were talking about earlier… you took a step in the right direction, but you have a ways to go."

"You're gonna have to elaborate."

"I can still see it in your eyes. The anger you're carrying, the feelings of guilt. You have to let them go at some point. One of the most important lessons I learned from Kisuke-sense is that as both warriors and people, we have to accept what we can and can't change." that was enough to make Tatsu stop in his tracks.

"...Yeah. I know. There's a lot out there I can't change." Tatsu slowly turned to face Akira as his expression grew darker "But what those things are… I'll decide for myself." and so he walked ahead of the rest of the group.

"Well shit."

"Pretty sure that didn't work." Inuyasha noted dryly.

"Don't fucking remind me." Akira let out a sigh as the two of them walked side by side "At least I managed to reach him for a little bit. Pretty sure it's why Kazuma asked me to come back early from my tournament. But Tatsu still has a long way to go on the road to healing, and right now it seems like he's heading down a dark path… and what really scares me is that he may end up having to travel it alone."

"I'm afraid you're more right than you think." this was when Kazuma made his way alongside the two of them as he pulled out his phone "I just got an alert from the new global surveillance system I've been working on… it discovered another temple. We just found the seventh set of Fangs."

A/N:

For those that suffer through pain and suffering, the road to recovery can be a long and hard one. Tatsu is learning this first hand as he sinks deeper into his own inner darkness, but it seems that his friends and loved ones are slowly managing to pull him back out and get him on the road to healing… but that doesn't mean he's done yet. No, he's still got a long way to go, and his greatest emotional trial has yet to come, and you'll see what it is next time. I'll have more to say in the next chapter, so tune in for that one next.

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.