Author's Note: This chapter is dedicated to Aeris Avalon Miyamoto, a.k.a. Dark Magician Girl Aeris, for the appearance of 'Fluffy-Sama'.

Inuyasha somehow managed to crawl back to Kaede's hut; his back was too sore from having the osuwari command used on him and Kouga standing on his back for him to move properly. Still, why had the damned wolf forced him to confess his weakness? Sure, in the end it got him off, but for what purpose if not to taunt him? Now it had forced Inuyasha to think about Kouga, to think about what the hell he was up to. To think about his purpose and why he wanted to help in the first place...

Well, he had stated his reasons and it was safe to assume those were true. But, something told the dog demon that there was more to it than that, but what else could the wolf possibly want from him? It just didn't make any sense to him, none at all. But, did he really have any reason not to trust Kouga anyway? Letting out a sigh, the hanyou came to the conclusion that there was no reason not to trust the other, crawling into the bed with that thought in mind. It still frustrated him beyond all reason that there was no reason not to trust him though.

Dawn broke a lot earlier than Inuyasha had expected however, which caused a small groan to pass through his lips. He hadn't gotten much sleep, but he knew that (no matter how comfortable he was) he had to get back up. And then he had to start training with his physical body if he hoped to stand a chance of breaking that damned barrier, let alone face Naraku in combat! And he was healed by this point so really it wasn't as much of a bother to move, but unfortunately Kouga would know he'd be healed by now...which could potentially mean an endless reign of 'osuwari' commands. Great.

"Hey, Mutt-Face!"

"Would you stop calling me that?" Inuyasha growled at Kouga, glaring evilly as he did so. Why didn't he just stop with the mutt-face crap? He was probably only doing it to get on his nerves and to make him snap just so that the damned wolf would have an excuse to say the word again, "What the hell do you want anyway? I'm busy!"

"All you're doing is knocking down trees, you stupid dog," He snickered at the other, which caused Inuyasha to growl menacingly at him, "What you need is someone to train you, just so that you won't be so weak."

"I'm not the one who's always running away from battle!" The hanyou shouted at the wolf demon before him, poising himself as though getting ready to scrap, "You're always runnin' with your tail between your legs, Kouga! You don't even stick around to finish what you started, so who's really the weak one?"

"Osuwari," Kouga glared at Inuyasha as once again he was weighed down by the enchanted beads, one eye of Kouga's twitching in annoyance, "You had better learn to respect me, Inuyasha. I could kill you by using that command now if I wanted to, but I need you alive and kicking in order to fight Naraku, understand?"

He hissed in response before nodding slowly, ears flattened against his platinum-coloured hair. Still, the dog-demon couldn't help but think about what a little bastard Kouga was, and what was to stop him from actually going through with that death threat once Naraku was defeated? Inuyasha silently prayed to every god he knew of that he could get the beads off before then as he got to his feet, golden eyes glaring at the light blue ones before him, "Fine, what do I have to do?"

And so their training began, for hours did they go at it in hand-to-hand combat. As a matter of fact, it was midday when Kouga finally decided they could take a break, the hanyou collapsing in near-exhaustion when the words came out of his mouth. "Pathetic," Kouga snickered again while kicking Inuyasha's side lightly, right before heading back into the village for a bite to eat.

Why that, that jerk! Inuyasha couldn't help but think as he shakily got to his feet, although peace wouldn't last as he was (quite suddenly) attacked by a familiar demon, "Damn you! Sesshoumaru!"

"Little brother, why so weak? And why do you not draw the Tetsusaiga?" Sesshoumaru smirked at his half-demon brother as he continued his endless onslaught with Tokijin, his own demonic blade originating from the fang of Naraku's incarnation Goshinki, "Of course, perhaps you have realized your own weakness and unworthiness when it comes to wielding father's sword. Have you decided to hand it over to me?"

"You wish!" Inuyasha cried as he prepared himself to attack, cutting his own arm as he did so for one of his classic attacks, used often before the Tetsusaiga came into his hands. Then, he swiped his hands in the other's general direction, crimson streaks going through the air and hurtling towards the hanyou's opponent, "Blades of Blood!"

The other demon merely smirked at the attack, using his Tokijin to stave off the attacks before a clawed hand went straight at Inuyasha. The next thing he knew there was pain in his gut, for he felt the hand going straight through it and tear right through his flesh, the warmth of his own blood trailing down and staining clothing of brighter vermillion. The pain and shock from the strike almost made him pass out, but instead he merely fell back against the ground when Sesshoumaru's hand was pulled out, his hands being used to prevent his back from hitting the ground.

"You do not deserve to walk this earth or to possess the Tetsusaiga, half-breed. But, it has been fun," A sadistic smirk tugged at the taller's lips as the bloodied nails of his hands glowed green, signifying poison, "Die, Inuyasha."

This was it; Inuyasha was really going to die. But...he couldn't die, not now! Not with so much to fight for! He had to avenge all of his friends' deaths, and their shattered dreams! Not to mention it'd be doing the world a favour to get rid of Naraku, but...It was useless to fight. Without the Tetsusaiga to protect him, he'd never be able to fend off Sesshoumaru, let alone defeat him. He might as well give up there with this 'unfortunate turn of events' and accept his death. At least, he would have been able to had Kouga not appeared out of no where to stave off the attack.

"Great, another annoying dog demon to deal with!" Kouga growled as he unleashed his onslaught of kicks upon the other, although the wolf seemed surprised that every single one of his strikes were blocked, "At least this one will be a challenge!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha growled at the demon, jumping right onto his feet as he did so. Unfortunately, that action caused the hanyou to stumble to the point where it nearly made him fall again. But, he was stronger than that and managed to keep his balance, that burst of strength being used to watch the pair fighting in front of him, "Stay out of this, Kouga! I fight my own bat-"

"Not in your condition, Inuyasha!" Kouga called out in response as he continually fought Sesshoumaru, "You're too weak right now, let me handle it from here!"

"Spare me your pompous heroics!" Sesshoumaru swiped his Tokijin at Kouga, causing the latter to cry out in pain and go flying, hitting the ground quite a distance away. Then, slowly the dog approached the wolf, his sword being held in front of him while a glowing aura came around him, "You will die for your interference, Kouga of the wolf demon tribe. Dragon Strike!"

The hanyou could hear his own heart pound into his throat as the attack hurtled its bluish bolts towards the weakened wolf, and without another thought he was in front of the blast. Tetsusaiga in hand, Inuyasha gave his sword a mighty swing at the last second while the demonic winds collided and swirled around the blade, "Backlash Wave!"

A mighty collision of sheer power happened in the middle of that small field he and Kouga had trained in. And so far, Inuyasha's attack was losing. "No..." Whispered Inuyasha, holding his sword while his arms quaked with weakness. He couldn't hold off the attack much longer, but they were both going to die at the hands of his brother if he gave up though! However, the hanyou's form tensed and stopped moving when he felt someone wrap their arms around him, muscled and tanned arms going along his own to grab the hilt of the blade. Blinking, golden eyes turned to Kouga, showing obvious confusion, "What the hell do you think you're doing? You're getting burned by Tetsusaiga's barrier!"

"You think I care, mutt-face?" With a wince did Kouga wink at the smaller, giving him a confident grin, "You said this thing only activates when the wielder wants to protect something, right? Well, we both have something we want to protect, so shouldn't it be twice as powerful if I help?"

Inuyasha froze before nodding, turning back to the task at hand while raising the blade once more. Still...for some reason, being close to the other like this made him blush. But, he couldn't think about why he felt like that now, they still had to defeat Sesshoumaru! Soon enough (and with Kouga's help) the sword was swung back into the other blast, Inuyasha giving a mighty shout, "Backlash Wave!"

Colossal power was the result of this new usage of the Wind Scar, crashing right into the force of Sesshoumaru's Dragon Strike. And repelling it right back to the source. Roaring winds surrounded the pair, but as quickly as the attack had been issued, the winds were gone, revealing a weakened Sesshoumaru. The other dog demon, however, stood up straight and chuckled, "You can only provide a challenge when you have help? You really are helpless indeed, Inuyasha." And with that, he bolted off, leaving the battle-weary demons be for the moment.

At long last, Inuyasha let out a long sigh, collapsing onto the ground with sheer exhaustion. That bastardous brother of his had made him lose so much blood, he could hardly move, or see straight, or anything like that. He could hardly summon the strength to put Tetsusaiga back into its sheath before staring blankly up at the sky, his entire world spinning greatly.

"Inuyasha?" The demon blinked at the blurry image above him, the ringing voice in his head sounding oddly like Kouga's was hurting him so he ended up wincing, "Come on, you've lost a lot of blood. I'll take you back to Lady Kaede's hut."

With a grunt, Inuyasha felt the stronger arms of the other wrap around his legs and pick him up piggy back, his own blood spilling onto the other's armour and fur, "Why are you helping me, Kouga...?" His lips parted weakly to ask the question as he was being carried back towards the village, the question earning a small chuckle from the wolf demon.

"Because I want to, idiot. I wouldn't if I didn't," Kouga simply responded, shrugging lightly as he nodded towards the village, "You're a lot tougher than I give you credit for, mutt-face. But...I wouldn't have it any other way."

Inuyasha honestly would have asked what exactly Kouga meant by that, but he was so tired, he couldn't even move on his own, remember? He'd just sleep now...