Inuyasha's POV:

'So cold…so tired…my body hurts…but somehow it feels numb too.' Light licks at his eyelids, but he cannot muster the will to open his eyes. It feels like his body is floating…everything feels so far away. Like he is stuck in a void. A place so very cold and dark. So incredibly cold. And alone.

And then suddenly there is a warmth; a soothing touch caressing the side of his bruised face. It feels nice. He wants to cling onto the feeling. To lean into the comforting sensation, but he can feel himself slipping away again. The touch is drawing back from him, and he wants so desperately to hold onto it. It is the only thing keeping him from the desolate void. He attempts to open his eyes again, but only manages to catch a blurry, bright glimpse of the figure retreating from him. '…Wait…'

….

….

….

The next time Inuyasha wakes up, it is to the mouth-watering smells of roasting meat. Like the first time, he has some difficulty orientating himself, but he is finding it much easier to fight the tendrils clawing at the edge of his mind. Slowly, but surely, he can feel the fog lifting until finally his eyes blink open. The flood of offensively bright light makes him immediately regret his decision, but he forces himself to keep them open. It takes some time for his vision to clear and once it does, he finds himself staring at a rocky ceiling. '…Why…' There is only one place his mind can associate with a rocky wall; he must still be stuck in that forsaken cave. He somehow survived another day only to endure more suffering. Khuzaimah is going to continue to use and tarnish his body until there is nothing left. Panic seizes his body as his heart beats too hard and too fast in his chest. 'Where is he? Where is Khuzaimah?!' The injured hanyou abruptly bolts into an upright position; causing the room to spin violently. His breath is coming out in fast pants and yet he cannot get enough of it in his lungs. 'Where?! Where is he?!' The cavern walls are closing in. They are going to devour him whole before Khuzaimah gets the chance. The dark tendrils are creeping in to yank him back into oblivion. 'No! No! I don't want to go back! Help me! Someone hel—'

"Inuyasha-sama!" The darkness takes refuge in the back of his mind once more, bathing him in a flood of sunlight. As his vision stabilizes the rocky ceiling comes back into view making his heart rate and breathing accelerate once again. "I-Inuyasha-sama?"

His head snaps to the right to find a jade-eyed dragon-boy carefully watching him. The ryu reaches out to help with shaky fingers when the hanyou suddenly pushes himself into a full sitting position. "Ugh." He clutches at his head when the room sways in retaliation to this simple action.

"A-Are you okay? P-Please m-move slower Master Inuyasha."

Peering through his fingers, he realizes there is no way he is still holed up in the mountains. This grotto is much smaller than the last and the cave entrance is covered by a curtain of hanging branches and vines. Through the leafy veil sunlight streams in; warming the entire room and bathing it in light. 'Where…is this…?' The relief of not being imprisoned on the mountain is overshadowed by his dread and confusion at discovering this new unfamiliar place. He looks back at Tatsuya and notices that the kid does not look anymore fearful than usual, but still, Inuyasha wants to know what is going on. His mouth is so dry that it takes a couple of false starts to rasp out anything at all. "What…is going…on? Where is—" His unfinished question ends in a hacking cough which prompts the boy to fetch a nearby cup of water. After gulping it down, he tries again. "Where the hell are we?"

"I-I am not s-sure where this is Master Inuyasha. I m-managed to track you a-and your oniisama to these forests."

"My what—?" 'Wait…so he really did come…Sesshomaru.' "Where is he now?"

"I-I do not know." Tatsuya frowns before offering a meek bow in the face of all the questions he is leaving unanswered. "F-Forgive me."

"What happened to Khuzaimah then?"

His little body jolts at the mere mention of his dragon lord and he casts his eyes subserviently to the ground, before speaking through his indigo bangs. "…I…I d-do not know about that either, forgive me…After K-Khuzaimah-sama was w-wounded, m-my lord flew away, and the mountains collapsed." With every word, Inuyasha can feel the thick haze lifting from his fuzzy memories. Like a dam being broken, the events from the previous nights come rushing forth. 'Sesshomaru was there and he…bonded Khuzaimah to himself instead of just killing him outright…didn't he? Or was it a dream? It had to be, right?! Khuzaimah said that doing such a thing would weaken Sesshomaru—or even kill him, so why would he go so far? Power means everything to Sesshomaru! Why did he come in the first place? Did Miroku and Sango send him? No…he would never take orders from them.' "Ngh." Even if he wants to dwell on all these unanswered questions, his throbbing headache is having none of it.

"I-Inuyasha-sama, d-does your head h-hurt?" 'Everything damn hurts.' "Ano, m-maybe I should change your bandages?" 'Bandages?' On cue, the hanyou glances down to find his partially nude body mostly wrapped up in dingy bandages. The only part of him not covered is his face, feet, and forearms. "I will go make some m-more salve. There is a spring a little w-ways away i-if Inuyasha-sama would like to clean his wounds. Ah! Perhaps you require some assistance? W-Would you like m-me to help you to it first?"

"No, don't be stupid. I'm fine, you can just go." 'I've shown enough weakness to last an eternity.'

"Yes, my lord." With another hasty bow, the ryu darts through the curtain of vines leaving the Inuhanyou on his own.

'This is unreal…' He can hardly believe that he is off that mountain prison and because of the actions of his half-brother no less. A part of him does not believe it and will not until he sees it with his own eyes. So, despite his body pleading with him to just lay back down and fall into the sweet embrace of sleep once more, he forces himself onto his knees. Using the wall to help steady himself, he struggles to his feet and pauses to allow the waves of pain traveling all over his body to subside. It only takes a few more pauses of mental preparation for him to let go of the wall and make his way to the cave opening. He meanders out on wobbly legs and is greeted with sunshine and shrubbery. He can tell he is somewhere in the forests and directly below him he spots a small stream he could not hear or smell before. He drops down, ignoring the fact that his knees buckle under his weight, and follows the stream downward. It is slow going and he must stop a couple times to catch his breath and clutch at his throbbing head, but eventually the trees part to reveal a modest spring surrounded by stones.

He slumps against one of the warm stones to recover before removing his hakama and peeling off his numerous bandages. Under them he can see the usual array of bruises and cuts that mar his body now-a-days, but for once it looks like they are starting to fade away. 'As I thought. There was something about that bastard's barrier that was keeping me from healing properly. The only thing that looks rough is…' His examination ends on the prominent scar across his abdomen and his hand unconsciously comes up to stroke the length of it. 'It's possible that it will never heal all the way. A constant reminder of...them…How long has it been? A few days? A few weeks? Tatsuya said the mountain collapsed…what kind of a grave is that for innocent little—' "Tch!" He tries, with little success, to shake the image of watching his pups fall to their doom and focus on the here and now. 'Khuzaimah's ass is mine, but I need to recover first. He is a slippery snake, so I need to make sure the next time we meet is our last. But right now, I need to focus on the things I can do.'

Despite the sting to his open cuts, he sets about the task of making himself clean as soon as he sinks into the deceptively hot water. He dunks himself completely under to wet his mane of snowy locks before resurfacing and starting on the arduous chore of detangling it. Looking down at his body, he notices the hand sized bruises between his thighs, on his svelte hips, up his side, around his wrists, and all over his arms. He can feel the ghost of those disgusting scaled fingers grabbing at his body and all at once he feels sick to his stomach. In a vain attempt to rid himself of the feeling, he begins scrubbing at his skin again with more gusto. No matter how many times or how hard he scrubs at the same spots; he still feels so dirty, so used, so powerless—

'Damn it!' He shuts his eyes to block the countless memories of those filthy hands grabbing at him, turning him every which way, torturing him for the sake of entertainment—he can practically see the dragon lord sneering down at him now and cackling at his discomfort. 'Why? Why do I keep seeing this bastard's face?!'

"Enough!" He is more than startled when he opens his eyes to find Sesshomaru glaring down at him. The older Inu has one of his wrists locked in a death grip and that is when Inuyasha notices how red and raw the skin on his arms are. Some areas are blistered and bleeding. A flood of stinging tenderness immediately follows this realization, and he lets out a low hiss of pain. In his frenzied state he must have over did it with scrubbing his body. Has Khuzaimah truly affected him this much?

(Sesshomaru's POV)

'He actually looks stunned by his own actions. The fool.' "What do you think you're doing?"

"I…"

"Are you that much of a mindless simpleton?"

"Che! Let go of me!" His glare intensifies as his younger brother yanks his hand away and snarls at him.

Seeing that at least he has snapped out of whatever daze he was in, the daiyoukai steps out the water and turns his back to him. All things considered he appears to be back to his usual pigheaded self. It is certainly a far cry from when he found the dying hanyou in that cave. "Hurry up and get out."

"Yer' not the boss of me!" Despite his petulant protest, Sesshomaru can hear the splash of the water as he steps out to get dressed.

He spares a glance over his shoulder and his usually expressionless face contorts into a frown. 'He is incredibly thin.' His honeyed eyes take in the tattered condition of his little brother's body with cold scrutiny. His back is to him as well and Sesshomaru can see the long semi-healed scars marring it. As Inuyasha pulls on his top he turns around and catches the other watching him.

"What are you staring at me for?"

"Hurry up and go back to your humans."

"Huh?"

"If you can make it this far on your own, then pull yourself together enough to go back home." 'And then I can track that vermin down properly.' With Khuzaimah being marked as his mate he cannot hide forever. Even so, the coward's presence has grown weaker and weaker in such a short amount of time, and it is fading into nothing. Soon it will prove more difficult to sniff him out. If it were not for Inuyasha's condition, Sesshomaru would have caught up to him a while ago but leaving his brother now, leaves him open to all sorts of dangers. He thought of taking the injured hanyou deep within his territory in the western lands, but then he would have to travel farther to get back to his village which could also prove fatal if any trouble arises. He certainly does not expect the little ryu slave boy to put any sort of fight. The daiyoukai also thought about taking him straight to the humans he is so fond of and letting his idiot brother be their burden, but Khuzaimah could be aware of that village. He may try to attack or capture Inuyasha again while he is still weak. Those humans are no match for the dragon and then Rin would be in peril as well. However, more than anything, it bothers the western lord that he is concerning himself with such petty details. He should have just left Inuyasha to fend for himself and taken care of Khuzaimah accordingly. BUT the fact remains that Inuyasha is also bonded to him. Leaving him on his own like this is in direct conflict with his instincts…not that he would ever admit it—not even to himself.

"I have no intention on going back to everyone looking like…this." His stare is as cold as ever as Inuyasha scowls and averts his gaze to the grass.

"You have no choice. It is clear you cannot do anything on your own."

"What was that?!"

"Am I wrong?"

"Got to hell Sesshomaru. I'm not going anywhere."

This bold statement has the lord turning around and charging towards him on impulse. He stops just short of punching him when he notices the way his malnourished body tenses in anticipation. 'He's…flinching?' As if coming to this realization at the same time, Inuyasha stubbles backwards; reflexively reaching for tetssaiga. They both look down when his hand closes around nothing. 'Must still be on the mountain.'

"What? Is it a fight yer' looking for?!"

Being up so close, Sesshomaru can really see how thin he is. His cheeks are sullen, and his skin is almost as pale as his own. 'As if you could put up a fight right now.' "I will not be made to watch over you like a nursemaid. Go back to your—"

"No one is asking you to! In fact, I don't know why yer' here!"

"I would not be here if you were not so weak. I would have slain Khuzaimah by now."

"What?! Khuzaimah is mine to kill!"

"You're wrong."

"Sesshomaru, this has nothing to do with you! Why are you getting yourself involved?! Why did you come?!"

It takes everything in him not to change his mind about walloping his mouthy half-brother, but somehow, he manages to turn his back on him once more. "I don't owe you any explanations."

"Why you!"

"I will kill him and that is final. He has disrespected father and—"

"Sesshomaru," The snarl comes deep from the hanyou's chest, and he is none too surprised to find his Inuyasha back in his face, glaring up at him with unbridled rage. "Khuzaimah is mine. I am going to recover my strength, retrieve tessaiga, and rip him limb from limb. And if you get in my way then I'll just have to take you down too!" Normally, the daiyoukai would have put him in his place for such a bold threat, but the way the anger suddenly dissipates from his eyes give him pause. The foreign emptiness that replaces his rage is not unlike when he first encountered him locked away on the mountain. A sadness—no, an aura of helplessness unlike anything he has seen from Inuyasha before. And just like before, it is enough to send a pang of discomfort through Sesshomaru's chest. "I have to be the one. I must make him pay with my own hands. What he did is—I…" His voice is thick with emotion now and it is clear he can no longer continue. Instead, he cradles his stomach as his eyes gloss over with unshed tears. Thinking maybe he has pushed his body to the limit, Sesshomaru huffs through his nose and starts in the direction of the den they have been occupying. Without bothering to see if the other will follow, he wraps his mokomoko around him to carry him along. As expected, this has the effect of instantly snapping the younger male back to his usual combative self. "Hey! What the hell, Sesshomaru?! Put me down! I can walk on my own! You! Are you listening? Hey!" Even unharmed, it would be near impossible for him to get out of mokomoko's grip but that does not stop the brash youth from trying. Sesshomaru fully ignores his ranting and raving and takes him the entire way back.

Tatsuya's eyes look like they are going to fall out of his head when the two arrive with the hanyou still kicking and spewing profanities. "M-M-My lords!"

With a simple flick of his tail, he tosses the Inuhanyou onto the plush nest the ryu had prepared for him.

"Oof! Sesshomaru you—"

"Hurry up and treat his wounds so that he can eat." He commands without so much as a glance in either of their directions. In the next second, he is already halfway out of the cave.

"Y-Yes, m-my lord!"

"Sessho—!"

"And do not let him go anywhere on his own."

"Y-Yes! M-My lord!"

"Sesshomaru!"

He stops mid-stride when he notices that Inuyasha is struggling to his feet. "Stay. Put."

"I was serious about what I said! I will take care of you next if you but in. Khuzaimah is mine! You better not go after—"

"I get it already so shut up and sit down."

"You—w-what?" That is clearly not what he was expecting him to say.

"I am telling you to hurry up and get better. Now that he is bonded to me, I will not allow Khuzaimah to do as he pleases. If you intend to be the one to lay claim to his head, you should stop being so helpless and take care of this pathetic state of yours."

"Ngh." The low grumble in his chest indicates his annoyance at his older brothers unkind words, but nonetheless he manages to bite his tongue since it appears the demon is not going against his wishes.

"Also, you would do best not to threaten me until you can wield tessaiga again."

"Keh!"

Sesshomaru steps out and only takes a few steps before stopping and scowling up at the clear blue sky. 'What am I doing? At this rate, Khuzaimah will go into hiding again. He avoided notice for this long, surely, he can do it again. My mark will make it harder but, we are not at all compatible. We are both of the alpha class with him being forced into beta. I am of father's clan, and he is a dirty dragon. And there is also the addition of Inuyasha; weakening the bond more than if it were only the two of us. The only reason the bond took in the first place is because of my undisputed power. I should go after Khuzaimah before it is too late…' The image of Inuyasha staring up at him with those pleading eyes while laying prone in filth and anguish assaults his mind for the umpteenth time that day and he closes his eyes in irritation. "Ridiculous…"

(Inuyasha's POV)

"O-Oh, Master Inuyasha h-how—ano, p-pardon me." Tatsuya shakes his head as he realizes he was getting ready to question the already peeved male sitting in front of him. The boy is staring at his red and raw arms with his forehead wrinkled in worry. "I am sorry f-for this, my lord. T-The salve I made will make this s-sting quite a bit."

Inuyasha can only scoff and roll his eyes at that. "What kind of wimp do you take me for, kid? Just go ahead." The ryu nods and gulps before using a rag to apply the mixture. As he warned it does burn, but the Inu's focus is elsewhere now. He eyes the entrance of the den in sour contemplation. 'What are you thinking…Sesshomaru. I don't know how Khuzaimah disrespected the old man, but I know nothing gets you more riled. You better not go after him without me. I need to be the one. For them. I already broke my promise once. I will never forgive you if you take this one chance for revenge from me. Nothing I could do to that bastard could ever be enough but…I'll still tear him apart and it'll feel SO damn good.' The feeling of the kid wrapping his arms brings him out of his thoughts and he looks over at the fully cooked boar, making his stomach rumble with desire. "You did good for yourself, kid. Didn't think yah' had it in yah' to bring down something like that."

"O-Oh no!" His eyes widen at the mere idea, and he covers his mouth to hide a rare giggle. "Lord Sesshomaru brought that in. I m-merely cooked it. L-Lord Sesshomaru also provided all these supplies."

"…"

"Having siblings must be nice. Y-Your oniisama watched over you and n-never left your side until he was sure Inuyasha-sama w-would be alright."

"Che!" The scoff causes the ryu to peek at him curiously through his bangs. "Yeah well, don't get confused. Having a sibling ain't that great."

"Oh I see…I am finished dressing your wounds, master. P-Please rest while I b-bring you some food."

"Don't forget to eat yourself."

"M-May I?"

"Duh! What kind of question is that?"

"A-Arigato gozaimasu!"

As the boy slices and prepares the meat, Inuyasha finds his mind preoccupied, again, by his aniki. The ignorant little dragon really has no idea how not "nice" having a sibling can be. The callous lord has always been so damn unpredictable. Inuyasha does not believe he will ever understand the way the other thinks or why he acts the way he does. He always does the opposite of what is expected of him. 'Just like…' His fingers lightly stroke the place where Khuzaimah bit him on the neck. Even without checking, he knows the mark has likely changed from the star symbol it was before. Sesshomaru confirmed out loud that Khuzaimah is now bonded to him, so Inuyasha now realizes that was not just some fever dream. Sesshomaru really mated them both to avoid ending the half breed's life.

Inuyasha can feel his face heating up and it only makes him even more uncomfortable. 'Well, no…I don't actually know the reasoning. It's stupid to think it had anything to do with saving my life. I really don't understand you Sesshomaru, but…I guess…It is better this way. Now I can be the one to kill that bastard. Still, I cannot believe Sesshomaru would…Just what are you thinking?'

….

A/N: I apologize if this ch. feels lack luster in comparison to the others (especially the last one), but some filler-like transitional chapters are necessary to this story.