Firelight was the first thing Inuyasha could comprehend as he regained consciousness, a small groan leaving him as he sat up. Where was he...? Wait, it looked like Kaede's hut, but how had he gotten there? All he could do was wonder, for the place was currently empty and void of any life, save himself. However, pacing footsteps were heard outside, it was starting to annoy the hanyou. Soon enough he attempted to get onto his own two feet, only to feel sharp pain in his left side. Damn, that wound from Jakotsu's blade was still there!
"Awake are ye, Inuyasha?" The familiar voice of the village priestess spoke to him, said demon cocking his head to look at the woman as she said her piece. A sigh left him as she came with sponges, the half-demon knew the procedure by now. He lifted off his kimono top and dropped it beside him, taking off his white shirt soon after so that Kaede could help bandage his wounds until they were healed. "The wolf who brought you here told me everything about your wounds, Inuyasha."
"He what?" Growled Inuyasha, golden orbs glaring at the woman before him as he did so. Damn, so that must have been Kouga pacing outside of the hut. He'd deal with the damned wolf later, right now there was something that was bugging him, and that he needed to get off of his chest, "Kaede, is there any chance of getting rid of these enchanted beads?"
"Let me try, seeing as you shouldn't need them by now. We trust you after all, Inuyasha," The woman nodded as she put two fingers in front of her chest, right before mumbling an incantation that caused the necklace to glow.
However, instead of falling apart or coming off, a bluish-white shining orb came from the beads, shooting outside. It was then a cry of 'What the hell?' was heard, shortly followed by Kouga entering the cabin and hissing at both Kaede and Inuyasha, "What the hell was that? Some strange light shot out of the cabin and into my chest! What happened?"
"You think I know?" Inuyasha glared at the wolf demon as he said this, continually flipping his gaze back and forth from one to the other (the other being Lady Kaede). But, what had just happened anyway? Why did that light come from the necklace and go into Kouga anyway?
"It is just as I feared...I have spoken the wrong incantation," The old woman sighed, which caused Inuyasha's stomach to turn greatly as she continued, "Instead of removing the necklace, the power had transferred to a new body. In this case, Kouga of the wolf demon tribe," Inuyasha's stomach turned even more, he was really starting to feel sick, "Now, he has the power to effectively use the 'sit' command over you, Inuyasha."
This new information nearly made him faint on the spot. Kouga had the power to make him sit? He'd be dead before the end of the week, and that's if he was lucky! "Fix it now, Kaede! Otherwise I'll give the village a real reason not to trust me again!"
"Osuwari!"
The necklace suddenly felt extremely heavy, pulling Inuyasha into the ground (and breaking some of the floor boards with the sudden impact) rather harshly. Groaning, the hanyou shakily used his arms to support him off of the ground, glaring darkly at the now smug wolf demon as he did so. The little fucker...
"I had to do that, priestess. I feared that mutt-face would actually go through with his threat."
"Why I ought to-"
"Osuwari," Said Kouga calmly, smirking once more as Inuyasha was painfully pulled to the ground once more, "I could get used to this. Priestess, how long exactly will it take for you to remove those beads anyway?"
That bastard is gonna be the first to die once these damned things come off! Inuyasha's vicious thought came with a growl as he once again got back into a sitting position, the old woman holding up her hand as a sign for Kouga to do no more, "Please leave him be, wolf. He is still wounded; using the command will only make it take more time to heal."
Kaede continued, looking at Inuyasha with her only good eye, "Once you are human, I shall be able to properly remove it. Until then, you will have to live with the sacred beads and with the command."
"But that's almost a month away!" It was true, unfortunately; the night of the full moon was three weeks and four days away from that day! And that was a really long time; would the dog demon even be able to survive until then? "Can't you at least cancel out the effect without removing the beads?" He pleaded, golden eyes shining as he inwardly sighed, for now he had been reduced to begging.
"I'm afraid not, Inuyasha," Kaede shook her head as she sighed, making Inuyasha's stomach sink even more. So there really wasn't anything the old woman could do to help him... "You will have to be patient, and perhaps this will teach you to be polite. After all, the wolf has agreed to help you destroy Naraku while you were unconscious-"
"HE WHAT?"
Inuyasha was on his feet at this point, eyes wide with both shock and disbelief while switching his gaze from Kouga to Kaede, then back to Kouga again. He'd have to work with the wolf, not to mention the fact that the wolf could use the sit command on him! And he couldn't even use Tetsusaiga properly! How could this situation possibly get any worse? Taking a gulp and seriously looking quite nervous, Inuyasha parted his lips to speak to Kaede once more, "Is...is there anything else you need to tell me that I should be aware of?"
"No Inuyasha, there is not," Kaede smiled at the sigh of relief the hanyou let out, right before she turned to the brooding wolf in the corner, "Wolf demon, is something the matter with ye?"
Startled from his trance, Kouga blinked at the woman before giving her the kindest smile he appeared able to muster, "No Priestess, I only need rest," That being said he left the little hut, the sound of his hesitant footsteps could be heard pacing away.
Without thinking, Inuyasha also got to his feet and followed in all of his shirtless glory, ignoring Kaede's quiet protests. However, upon hearing the protests from a distance, Kouga's head turned to the demon approaching him before he turned away once more, continuing his pacing. That didn't stop the half-demon from striding right up beside the wolf however, he had questions and he wanted answers, dammit!
"Why do you want to work together? About defeating Naraku," The first question that came out of Inuyasha's mouth was spoken in his usual, cocky and rude manner, as if nothing was wrong and to him it was an innocent question. Which it was for the most part, but the damned wolf never expressed the interest of teamwork while Kagome was alive...
"Can't do it by myself, or even if I had Ginta and Hakkaku's help," Kouga grumbled, turning his head away from Inuyasha as he spoke, "Besides, that damned sword of yours would come in use for breaking Naraku's barrier and that sort of-"
"The Tetsusaiga won't transform for me anymore," Inuyasha whispered his interjection, bowing his head towards the ground as he could feel Kouga's crystalline gaze burn upon him, "I don't have anyone left to protect. You might as well try to fight him on your own; I'll only get in the way."
Sulkily did Inuyasha turn to leave, however, he was weighted down by the beads with yet another 'osuwari' command from Kouga, "Stop belly-aching, mutt-face. You're acting just the way Naraku wants you to! Finish your damned job, don't make your friends' sacrifice for nothing!"
The throbbing pain in Inuyasha's head was nothing compared to the sting of the other's words. Dammit...he had to be right. Again. It was really annoying, and he couldn't do squat because Kouga was on the mark! However, a small grunt escaped him when he felt feet on his back; Kouga must have jumped onto him. "Get off," Growled Inuyasha as he tried to get the man off, his blood burning at a low chuckle from the other.
"No, mutt-face. Not until you admit that you need m-my help!" Why he had stuttered there the hanyou didn't know, it was almost as if he were preventing him from saying something else. But, he did shudder when Kouga's breath had touched one of his own delicate white dog ears, almost gasping from the sensation that coursed through his system. What was that?
"Fine...I need your help to defeat Naraku," Inuyasha managed to growl out after a long pause, it was hard for him to swallow his pride like that. To admit that he was weak, and that he needed help...that just about killed him. But, better than getting 'osuwari'-d to death.
A smirk touched at Kouga's lips as he jumped off and landed a few feet in front of the hanyou, showing that smirk as he turned his head towards Inuyasha while his feet began to make him walk off, "That's all I needed to hear, mutt-face."