I OWN NOTHING

Serendipitous House Pet is the one most deserving of love here, remember it!

Hi, this is SHP here. Shower Swordslinger in your affection!

X-X-X-X-X

Kidomaru would've had an easier time deflecting Yura's strikes had he not had to block and weave from strikes by the pugilist. He could feel the energy pulsating from the blonde's fist, "Gah!" He had to quickly move his head to the side to avoid another arrow from the girl but in his efforts to avoid the arrow, he made a slight miscalculation and one of Naruto's fists caught his jaw. He stumbled and almost lost an arm off to one of Yura's slices.

However, he managed to throw her off course with a lucky blade deflection and caught Yura's hand in the tough grip of one of his free hands. With twirl, he threw her right at Naruto, who managed to evade while Yura barely landed on her feet, and jumped back as another arrow came towards him.

Kidomaru gained a vicious grin and yelled as he landed on a tree branch, "Alright, extras, it's time for a good old fashioned boss fight!"

"What, like a videogame boss?" Naruto growled as he and Yura went to Kagome's side, "How do you even know what those are, isn't this feudal Japan?"

"Call it an old life experience!" Kidomaru responded with a maniacal laugh before biting his free hand. A puff erupted below him and dissipated to reveal a giant tarantula, large enough that it could swallow a person whole. It was a gigantic version of the relatively smaller spiders with orange stripes on it's back and had a crazed glow to it's eyes, "Behold, the Kyodai Gumo!"

"Ugh, g-guys?" Kagome squeaked. This was NOT helping her arachnophobia.

And Naruto felt as though he was gaining arachnophobia, "Neat magic trick, spiderman," he quipped, trying to play off his nervousness and slight panic with some humor, "but it's time for us to scram, Yura!"

"On it!" Yura had attached some thick strands of hair to the waist of the other four people and dragged them off in a mad dash back to the temple. They needed to regroup with Inuko to even out the odds against that monster and his pet.

As the chaos unfolded, Inuko growled in irritation when Yura ran off to a screaming Kagome, "What the hell is going on?" She muttered to herself. Inuko could swear that the schoolgirl was yelling over something small like a spider. A giant spider larger than a child which hung from the ceiling like the one in front of her... Wait… "Ah, hell." Inuko groaned as the small spider demon dropped from the ceiling. She backed up one step before she froze, hearing another soft thud from behind. "Wonderful." She sarcastically mutters. 'Of all the nights to deal with this.'

The spiders lunged at her together but she immediately ducked and rolled from under them as their heads crashed together. Inuko may be in a much weaker state but she was still rather nimble, too nimble for these simple things to ensure so easily. As the spiders were momentarily stunned and clambering back up, Inuko grabbed onto her still sheathed Tessaiga and brought it down on the head of the top spider with a sickening crunch which subsequently kept the other one pinned. She roughly removed her sword from the dead spider's head.

"I may be weak now," she brought Tessaiga down again, battering the second one's thorax, "But I won't die," again she landed a blow, "to weaklings," another hit but on it's head this time, "like you!" Another, yet more powerful, strike to its head and it lay still save for the post mortem twitching. Inuko smirked at her handiwork. "Ha!" She then gave her sheath a look over and resisted the urge to gag, "Dammit, I hate bugs." She grumbled. She looked to where Yura ran off to and let out a huff. "Better go see what- Mmph!"

A web latched onto her face. She scrambled to get it off her as she was hoisted up, looking up to see several sets of multiple glowing eyes blankly staring down at her. Had it not been for the web silencing her, the curses which she let out would have echoed through the temple and beyond. Reaching for Tessaiga, she was about to cut the web. However, something strong pulled her down by her legs, keeping her in place. As her instincts kicked in, so did she. Wildly swinging her legs, she attempted to break free, but there was a voice to halt her.

"Hey, it's me!" Naruto yelled, holding her and planting his feet firmly on the ground. "Kagome, Yura, someone, just cut out the web and kill that eight-legged freak!"

"At once!" the hair kunoichi leapt at the spider, "You owe me for this, hanyo!" she told Inuko after cutting the string connecting her to the spider.

"Got him!" the schoolgirl exclaimed as she nailed the arachnid in the center of its multiple-eyed face. Kagome grimaced as it twitched in death, "Ugh, so creepy!"

"Let's get this off y-" Naruto said in the middle of trying to yank the web off, but Inuko was quick to slap his hand away. "Hey!"

"Mmm, hmm, hmph!" she cried out madly through the silk covering her mouth.

Shippo panicked, "She probably doesn't want us to rip off her flesh. Should I, um, burn it enough to help her breathe?"

"We don't want to scar her for life!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Speak for yourself," Yura commented dully, earning glares. "What?"

"I'll remember that for later." Naruto warned her which made a chill run up her spine. "Let's get Inuko to safety, then we can fight back after she can see."

"Mmm!" Inuko was not thrilled by any of this.

She heard the voices through the webbing and knew who it was, even if they were muffled. These were the last people she wanted her to see like this now. The humiliation only came further when she felt a pair of hands carry her bridal style, she had no doubt at who that was. At the bare minimum of positives she could say about this was that he wasn't a pervert. Though if she had a choice between spiders or this, she was leaning a minuscule amount more towards the spiders. As they were brainless creatures she didn't need to live and they couldn't speak to annoy her further.

"Alright Inuko, hold still." Naruto gently advised as he set her down by the wall and glanced towards Shippo."It'll just burn the web, Shippo?"

"My flames may not be able to harm you guys, but I've been getting better with burning objects… mostly." He said unconfidently.

That didn't settle well with Naruto. "Okay, well, practice with your fire later. Yura, give me your wakizashi. While I'm freeing her, do me a solid and stitch up my wound. Adrenaline almost made me forget I had it." He ordered.

"What, surely I could free her." Yura protested, not all fond of handing over her weapon even to Naruto. She's had her sword since her childhood.

"Yeah, no, give me your sword, Yura." Naruto ordered more sternly.

She hesitated then outright stopped to ask. "Is this about the scar comment?"

The young man was swiftly losing his patience. "The sword, Yura!" The hair demoness knew better than to protest any further and gave Naruto her weapon before focusing on stitching up his wound yet again. "Like I said, hold still. I'll be gentle."

Inuko felt something start to protrude through her web bindings and held still, letting Naruto cut through as best he could and hoping he wouldn't slip up. She would really like to keep both her eyes. To her surprise and hidden relief, she didn't lose an eye nor get pricked by the sword.

"Hn, thanks." She begrudgingly told him.

"Not a problem. But question; why is your hair black?" Naruto asked as he tossed Yura back her weapon after she finished her swift patch job.

He didn't mind the color change but last he checked, dyeing hair didn't become much of a thing until later on in history and he doubted Inuko would take the time to do it. Kagome was wondering the same thing herself though she knew that people could indeed dye their hair even now.

He glanced towards Yura who seemed to be holding in a laugh, "Oh, this is rich..."

Inuko growled and turned away. "Something you wanna say, Yura?" the boxer asked.

"Oh no, why don't you tell them?" She giggled out, eager for Inuko to bear her humiliation. 'Her hair is so common now… if nice-looking.'

"Ignore her." Kagome told the dog girl. "You can tell us."

"She's probably too embarrassed to say it. I don't blame her." Shippo added in, knowledgeable on the subject thanks to his father. "This isn't exactly the best time to be powerless."

"Powerless?" Yura questioned, her giggles coming to a halt. "As embarrassing as her situation is, a simple color change shouldn't detract from her power, right?" Was embarrassment a key factor in power loss? Because if that was the case, she would look to embarrass the hybrid more often when she could.

"Wow, you are stupidly hair obsessed." Shippo bluntly remarked, not at all fazed by her glare or muttered death threats. "A hanyo - woah!" Shippo stumbled and nearly fell on his ass when Inuko suddenly pointed Tessaiga at Shippo.

"Don't you dare say another word." Inuko hissed. If she didn't want to say it then the brat sure as hell wasn't going to speak for her.

"Hey, that's totally unnecessary," Naruto stood between her and Shippo, glaring right back at Inuko. His glare softened when he asked, "Inuko, what's wrong? We're a team, you have to tell us."

"You've been so angry lately, more so than usual." Kagome spoke up. "The least you can do is say why like you usually do."

Inuko kept up her glare but her lips were twitching, "Fine..." She knew she couldn't keep this up and lowered her head, her hair hair shadowing her eyes. "During the new moon, hanyos change. They're more human. More vulnerable. Even you had to notice by now."

Now that she said it, she did appear more human. Even her dog ears were gone.

That led Naruto to put the pieces together and he questioned her. "You're human, aren't you? Your demonic side is completely buried right now, isn't it?"

Inuko glared right at him again. "Yeah, that's right! I'm just some weak ass human now! No powers, just a damn rusted sword!" She nearly roared, frustrated to be seen like this, to practically be some helpless maiden with a weak sword. She was expecting to be mocked and ridiculed, even by Naruto.

Instead, Naruto softly asked, "What's wrong with being completely human for just one night?"

"Ever stop to think I like being a demon? That I'm fine with my demonic side, that I like power?" Inuko retorted bitterly.

"I'm not disrespecting your father's side. I'm just asking, what's wrong with your mother's side?" He told her with the utmost sincerity. "If anything, that's the side that loved and cared for you, right? Even if there's a lot of morons who treat you like crap such as your sister or other humans, you can't tell me that woman didn't love you."

"What's the matter with you!?" Inuko snapped, furious at his words and how tender they were! "I don't want to be tied down by anything or anyone! Humans lie and manipulate! Demons at least do as they say! My mother's affection held me back and I could care less for it!"

It was then that Inuko knew she messed up.

"You're lucky you actually got to have someone to call a mother!" Naruto yelled, putting his face inches from hers, then grabbing the former dog girl by her collar. "Don't give me that crap of you not caring! You are too damn fortunate to see your own mother! Everything about how you cared for her, the way you wanted to see her! Not many can get to feel that!"

"You..." the dog girl growled, but was interrupted yet again.

X-X-X-X-X

Outside, Kidomaru was getting impatient.

"Time to play..." the leader of the demon spiders whispered to himself with a wide smirk, licking his chops. "Remember, all of you, the boy with golden hair is my main meal! You all can eat the others, but he is my prey to kill and devour!" he hated the boy more than anything, everything about him brought back memories which boiled his blood, "You shall pay, you damn brat! I may have fallen once, but this time I shall make up for more than the humiliation of failing Orochimaru-sama!"

His servants ran to the room the group was hidden in and rammed against it, "What now!?" Kagome asked in shock.

"Quick, use Tessaiga!" the familiar voice of a certain flea snapped them out of their stupor, "It can be used as a protective charm! Just nail it to the walls!" at Myoga's command, the schoolgirl was quick to grab said sword and do as told, stabbing a wall with it. "Inuko-sama, I humbly apologize for not coming here sooner! I was doing some research around these parts regarding the Shikon Jewel and young lady Kagome, but at the last minute I was ambushed by these spider demons!"

"Wait, you seriously do that?" Naruto asked with some disbelief.

"Um, well, I...I wouldn't say ambushed, more like…" Naruto's expression caused his honesty to surface, "I was found by them and promptly had to escape. However, it is true, I've been doing my best to serve my lady in finding answers about the jewel and yourself, Naruto-dono. Your connection can't be a coincidence, but seeing the head of these demons cements the fact there's a strong link between all of them."

"What do you-" Naruto's question was stopped when the walls shook.

A loud hiss from a spider demon echoed into the room from the outside, where their leader snarled, "Bust open that place, I don't care how long it takes you!" he roared and stomped on the spider whose body got burnt by the magical barrier Tessaiga cast on the building. "Bring me that boy or you'll wish for death!"

"That's Kidomaru, head of the spider demons, and someone who seems to hold a grudge against you, Naruto-dono," Myoga crossed his arms and let out a sigh. "Demons of specific circles have talked about you, as soon as tales of a golden-haired warrior with whisker-like birthmarks spread around, many demon clans moved out."

"Any reason why?" Naruto asked, then frowned. "Could it have something to do with that flute girl?"

"I wish I could tell you, but they all are intent on ending your life, and none of them seem fond of any past they've had with you," Myoga informed him tiredly.

"Seems master is quite infamous," Yura commented dryly. "We better prepare for what's out there after we deal with this oversized pest."

"That's right, my underlings!" Kidomaru yelled some more, sadistic excitement in his tone rather than sadistic frustration this time. "Show me your total loyalty!"

"What's that bastard on about now?" Naruto muttered under his breath. Between the horrible ambush, all this drama with Inuko, and the fact he was missing out on sleep, Naruto just wanted this night to end. Then he and the group heard the sizzling and cracking outside the room starting from where the entrance of the temple was then heard the sound spread around. "Aw, what the hell is he actually doing now?"

Outside, Kidomaru let out a sick chuckle. "Won't come out? Fine then. I'll do whatever it takes and use any means." He was breaking out into a full on maniacal laughter now and he watched his horde charge then fling their comrade's burning bodies into parts of the temple, ending up burning themselves! Their flaming cadavers used by their other living comrades to repeat the process at the will of their master's homicidal pursuits, "Yes, yes, yes! Let that fire burn and consume the brat!"

After a nervous gulp, Myoga informed the group with an important piece of information. "Uh, not to rush you all but take note the charm only prevents the demons from entering this place. Fires are another matter entirely."

"I'll bury you in rubble and if that doesn't kill you then I'll watch your skin char in a blazing inferno! The pain I went through will be one you'll feel tenfold!" the spider man shouted. He wanted it personally and he knew this was the only way to get them out on his terms. A good rule to killing your target is controlling the battlefield itself. "Die in there or die to me, those are your only options now."

"That crafty, crazy son of a bitch!" Naruto punched the wall in a brief moment of rage before he pulled himself back together. As the smoke began to reach his nose, he said, "We've only got so long to make a plan now. Way I see it, we're gonna have to go out and rush him with all we've got or else we'll be slaughtered like animals in a pen."

"We'll be slaughtered if we rush out to face him, master!" Yura argued, not at all too eager to face the head spider demon.

"If you got a better idea then say it, Yura!"

Naruto and Yura argued on what to do, Kagome tried to calm both of them down, and Shippo was scrambling by the comatose body of Nazuna as he panicked on what to do. Inuko sat and thought about Naruto's words before she felt something. A tingling sensation was going across her fingers and ears. It must almost be daylight which meant only one important thing.

"Hey!" Inuko spoke and all eyes were on her. She had a cocky, lopsided smirk on her face and said, "I've got some good news for you morons, and a decent idea."

Meanwhile, Kidomaru let out a sigh that indicated his disappointment. "The place will be engulfed in flames and he still hasn't come out. I wanted to torture him face to face, but conserving his skull as a trophy is good enough, too." Licking his chops, he stomped to the burning wood, then felt the ground shake. "What…?"

A thud, muffled by the sound of wood creaking and turning crispy, reached his ears. Followed by another one, which also made the dirt beneath his fists quake. More and more, the earth-moving strikes resonated, creating echoes which made him shiver. Kidomaru ground his teeth, grabbed another one of his minions, and flung the spider at the door. And it opened!

"Grr..." Inuko growled, the flames getting closer to her by the second and using her cloak to cover herself.

However, the massive hole on the floor froze Kidomaru's blood, "That blond bastard went underground! Quickly, bring me that brat! Crawl through the fire and dig after him! If you don't capture him this instant, I'll make you wish the fire consumed your ashes!" stomping into the burning room as the demonic underlings who followed him rushed into the hole, "It seems you'll either be bait or a snack, little bitch."

Reaching for Inuko, he intended to grip her neck and hold her up, ignoring the fire which would make the building collapse; such was his hatred for Naruto, he didn't think straight, "You done goofed!" said 'Inuko' a second before taking off the cloak to reveal Naruto with a fist reared back.

"What the-" Kidomaru had to halt his question when his fangs and mandibles were cracked and pieces of his teeth flew off!

"Right! Hook! Uppercut! And..." after delivering three swift punches, Naruto tilted his body to the side, using the motion for an upwards swing which grazed the floor with his fist, "SMASH!" Kidomaru's jaw erupted with spit and tooth bits flying off while the boxer smirked, "Thank goodness coach made me watch Makunoichi's matches with Sendo."

As Kidomaru rolled out of the building from the punch, he heard his spiders scream in pain as they died one by one. Looking up, he saw that under the building, in that part separating the floorboards and the dirt below, Kagome was taking potshots at his underlings. Like shooting fish in a barrel. Yura's hair was quick to ensnare and cut them to pieces. Shippo, unable to fight, was quick to drag Nazuna away.

As for Inuko, "Yo, dick-munch..." she had a wide smirk as she walked to Kidomaru. She hefted an unsheathed Tessaiga on her bare shoulder and wearing only her undergarments, a white loincloth which went right between peach-shaped buttocks and bandages around her ample bosom, "Time's up."

Kidomaru swiftly looked between the half demoness and his target then snarled. "I-"

"Hold that thought!" Inuko, in one smooth motion, turned with her sword out and slashed the oncoming Kyudai Gumo down the middle. It was sliced clean in half vertically and crashed near its master in a shower of blood. Inuko turned back with a blood thirsty smirk and said. "Alright, feel free to say your last words now."

"Last words." Kidomaru muttered, his eyes were bloodshot and his hands were shaky, the only sounds registering to him being the oncoming footsteps of the half breed and the loudmouth. Once they were merely a step away from taking his life, Kidomaru vomited a shower of golden webs which covered his limbs, chest, and head in a hardened substance. He roared, "I've come too far to simply die again!"

Two of his hands dug into the ground then shot up in effort to impair the duo's vision. Inuko quickly slashed her side of the debris cloud away with an annoyed click of her tongue. As expected, Kidomaru went straight towards Naruto in a flurry of claw swipes. Naruto was doing well avoiding more damage, aching injury aside. When he blocked a strike he winced when his fist made contact with the hardened webs.

'Damn, looks like he traded some speed for that power and defense.' After that thought, Naruto began to churn up that power of his as best he could. Once Inuko came and took some of Kidomaru's attention, making him block a sword strike with two arms which cracked the armor, Naruto let his glowing fist bury itself right into the spider demon's chest plate, cracking it and causing Kidomaru to fly upwards. "Direct hit!"

Kidomaru coughed up some blood and couldn't reorient himself in time before Inuko cut away at one of his limbs, his left leg to be precise. He screamed and lashed out his fists, knocking Inuko, who blocked the retaliation with her blade, away. Almost like that of a cat, he landed on his hands and rushed towards Naruto in a nearly blind fury. He shot out a web that covered one of Naruto's legs to the ground, making sure to hold off the loud-mouthed boxer's fancy footwork.

"Just quit already!" Kagome yelled, taking a moment to shoot an arrow at the spider demon in the back as the spider demons were down to their last legs. It struck, nearly hitting his spine, and Kidomaru let out a cry of pain, frustration, and rage. Despite that, he willed himself to keep crawling towards Naruto, even as a second one hit him. He was sluggish after those blows to say the least.

"I won't stop here… not until I gut you." He wheezed, blood flowing from his jaws. "I will… we will be avenged."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Naruto growled. The blond hated to admit it but he was actually feeling some pity for this guy. He was determined, he'd give Kidomaru that. "All this just for a grudge?"

"Fuck you… you and that bastard… took my life away." Kidomaru growled. He closed his eyes and decided, just as the sun was coming out and bearing down on his face, to try yet again. 'My last ditch effort.' He solemnly told himself.

A sickening crunch and gurgle sounded off in his throat which momentarily bloated until, like the cap on a greatly shaken soda, his head popped off with his fangs bared. He was going to kill Naruto even at the cost of his life. He may have succeeded had Yura had not been able to catch him in a vine of hair.

"Bold. Foolish yet bold." She mocked him with a purr. Kidomaru, in his last few seconds of life, stared Naruto straight in the eye. It was a look that promised that it was far from over. With a fluid motion of her hands, Yura had reduced Kidomaru's head into ribbons and the head spider demon was no more.

"So..." Inuko started, hefting Tessaiga on her shoulder with a grunt of annoyance. "First the flute player and now a spider demon. What bloodthirsty deadly demon or spirit doesn't hate you?"

"Actually, the question is how many," Kagome retorted. "That spider said 'we will be avenged' on his last breath. Meaning somehow Naruto did something to them."

"Maybe it's a past life thing?" Shippo interjected, having emerged from the bushes where he hid. "Granny Kaede says Kagome is a reincarnation of her old sister. Maybe Naruto was an old monk or sage who slayed demons many years ago."

"You'd think there'd be people noticing or talking about it," Naruto groaned, crossing his arms. "I mean, these guys obviously recognize me, but we haven't heard any tales of a demon slayer with golden hair." With a dread-filled sigh, he shut his eyes and decided to be blunt, "Our only chance is to find the flute lady and get answers from her, but she seems to still hate my guts. Then again, she did tell me to talk to her about finding others like her. Which means other demons hoping to see my head on a steak, and some of them will want the Shikon Jewel in their hands… claws… whatever they may have."

"Another reason to travel around this place," Yura told her master. "I'll protect you as you find answers, master."

"By that you mean trying to get more of my hair, right?" the blond retorted.

"Yes, of course, but also keep you safe so our future children get to hear wonderful tales of our conquests and victories!" the kunoichi laughed at the end. "Imagine it! Peasants bowing to us and paying tribute as a wonderful set of loyal and loveable spawn of our union keep the world in line!"

"Glad to see you're honest," Naruto said dully.

"Hey..." the group turned to Nazuna, who hung her head low. "I want to say-"

"No need," the blond replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"But I treated you all so horribly..." the girl started, then looked at Yura with some stink eye. "Some rightfully so."

"Hey!"

"However, you and that hanyo..." bowing down, the petite girl finally got the words out. "Thank you."

While Naruto took it in stride with a smile, Inuko looked away with a weird, unfamiliar feeling in her chest. The blond noticed and spoke up, "I said no need, but I can take any mean comment." he motioned to the dog girl, and the small ponytailed girl understood.

"I'm glad you were here..." she told the half-breed. "Not all monsters are bad."

"You wish, runt." Inuko growled, but looked away with a faint blush, glaring at the smirking boxer. 'I'll find a way to make you pay, asshole.'

Noticing the obvious tsundere vibes, Nazuna giggled, "I will let you see for yourself."

X-X-X-X-X

After saying their goodbyes, the group decided that Naruto had to try something. Back on the present age, the only ones capable of traveling through the well stood and waited with their arms crossed. Naruto had a few scars from his last fight, but nothing to worry about. What he was concerned was finding the shut-eyed musician who could out-curse a sailor. And it didn't take long for her to appear.

"What the shit are you doing here, fuck-pump!?" she swore after stopping her music. Then she turned to the others, "And who are these?"

"How can you see us with your eyes closed?" Inuko asked with some curiosity.

"I'm a spirit, the whole eye-closing and opening thing is… Fuck's sake, answer my damn question, you shitters!"

"I faced a spider demon who seemed to know me," Naruto told her. "In the past, several centuries ago."

"Are you fucking high on something or did you finally decide to get a lobotomy?" the pink-haired spirit asked flatly.

"It's complicated, but you must believe us," Kagome started. "After all, you're in charge of taking kids to the afterlife playing music and only us four can see you."

"...fine, I guess shit is going to be weird when it involves this festering bleached asshole..." Tayuya finally gave in.

"All natural," Naruto defended himself, pointing to his do.

"Piss off or fuck yourself, ideally both in either order," the musician snarled. "Anyway, spider, you say… I got an idea of who it might be, but you gotta explain this time traveling bullshit first." And so, after a detailed explanation, the pink-haired woman had one thing to say, "That's the most bullshit I've been expected to swallow, and that comes from me after facing a guy who could rip out his skeleton to kick ass."

"Alright, your turn," Kagome said, then sighed. "Also, can you tone down the, um..."

"I speak however I damn please, even if I am pissing on a wall!" the spirit snapped.

"Please," Naruto told her, then narrowed his eyes.

"Fine..." sighing deeply since she was also curious about the mess connecting her to the blond, the piper swallowed her pride. "Many - and I mean countless - years ago, you and a pack of shitheads were shinobi. A group of rookies who went after this asshole who betrayed your village for power. Long story short, I was taking said backstabbing son of a bitch to meet my master, and when you and your fuck-buddies went after my team and I, we lost. I croaked, but was given a chance to play this shitty tune as a way to atone for my sins. The others? Well, they cared more about your head under their heel to hear it crunch."

"Okay, cool, so I was a ninja..." Naruto said, getting a mental image of himself dressed in black and slaying demons with a sword like a certain videogame hero. "Anything else?"

"I wouldn't call you one like the ones in this era," Tayuya replied. "You were louder and I took shits with more brain cells than you back then. Not like it's much of a difference now."

"Heh, I like her," Inuko told the blond with a smirk.

"Pain in the ass, isn't he?" Tayuya smirked back with a shrug.

"Listen, past life and all that aside..." Naruto started, then ruffled his hair. "None of this rings a bell, but that spider guy still had his memories. Why did I find him in the past?"

"Huh..." Tayuya cupped her chin and thought out loud. "Fuck me, that's… A good point. I mean, I was obviously spared from going to Hell, but if the others became demons and still remember their grude, either at least their reason for staying there is revenge or… Ugh, no, I got nothing else."

"Better than nothing," Naruto replied with an exhausted sigh. "Apparently, I come from an ancient ninja and my enemies want me dead, but I can only find them going into the past through a magical well."

"I'm not your fucking mom, I don't know your life story or care if you piss against the wind," Tayuya growled. "All I know is I'm stuck in this asshole of a job because of you."

"Sorry won't cut it, I know," the blond started, then looked at her apologetically. "Maybe we can talk once I find another one of those guys. They were your friends, and, well..."

"No, they were merely dipshits I was stuck with," the piper groaned. "I chose to move onward, they care not about fighting you as demons. They made and pissed on their bed, they can sleep on the stains."

"You're taking it better than you said you would," Kagome pointed out.

"Ugh, you..." Tayuya ground her teeth, then turned away to fly off. "Gotta do my shit job, so leave me the fuck alone already!"

Yura finally spoke up as she turned to Inuko, "Are you two related?"

"I wish," Inuko grunted as she remembered her big sister.

X-X-X-X-X

And that's my rap!

Sorry for the wait and length of this chapter. Real life plus the current situation with the pandemic hit both SHP and yours truly hard. I hope you enjoyed this addition regardless and get ready for the next chapter. Maybe we'll keep diverging in several parts - we did skip the toad demon episode -, but we'll ultimately try to make this fun.

-Omake: Learning from the best-

Kiryu never thought he'd be in the same position an aging foreigner put him into. He was glad the circumstances were quite more selfless. Although the fact the pupil in the scenario he was in was dealing with mob after mob of gangsters didn't make it any less disturbing. Thus, he checked his strengths, weaknesses and potential with a little spar. Even nearing his 50s, the man was a force to be reckoned.

"How...are you...so strong…?" Naruto panted doubled over, his hands on his knees. "You're a damn chain-smoker, too."

"Fighting on the streets is way different than a ring, boy," Kiryu started with a soft, proud smile. "Alright, now, since you're a boxer and your only reason to fight is to protect your friends from the worst, I got the perfect technique for you. I know you balance defense and hit-and-run tactics with your footwork and weaving and bobbing skills, but counters are needed, too."

"I've got those down, you're too damn fast to make them work," the blond replied.

"Picture yourself fighting someone faster than me," Kiryu warned him. "In such cases, you need the fastest counter, one capable of sending back any charge regardless of weight and size difference. This technique I speak of is the Tiger Drop. Once used to counter the ferocity of a tiger jumping right at you, it is perhaps one of my if not my most powerful technique."

"You mean you punched out a tiger?" Naruto quipped with a playful smile.

Kiryu smirked knowingly, "Only a desperate stubborn man would fight a tiger head on."

X-X-X-X-X

Swordslinger out!