Sesshomaru stood within the cover of the trees watching Timmain and Gulden intently. He stiffened slightly as he felt the presence of his brother approach him from behind. He could detect no hostility in Inuyasha so he ignored his half-breed brother as he walked up to stand beside him.

Inuyasha stood quietly beside his brother watching the fight between Timmain and Gulden. After a couple of minutes he broke his silence. "Aren't you going to help her?"

"No." Sesshomaru answered simply.

"Why not?" Inuyasha asked stubbornly.

"Because she doesn't need my help."

Inuyasha looked at his brother. He could never figure him out. Sesshomaru always seemed so cold and calculating. Always claiming he cared nothing for Inuyasha or humans. Yet Sesshomaru had the power to destroy Inuyasha and he could have done so countless times but he didn't. Then there was the little girl Sesshomaru cared for and now Timmain, the demon slayer who he had traveled with. It didn't make sense to Inuyasha. He was fine, believing his brother was a bastard, but what Timmain said had made him start to think twice about Sesshomaru. But now watching his brother just standing there not lifting a finger to help Timmain started to make him doubt his brother would ever change.

"You have a lot to learn Inuyasha. As long as you're still alive you can still fight." Sesshomaru said as if he were speaking to a child.

The two brothers continued to watch the scene before them in silence. When they saw Gulden grab Timmain's leg and break it Inuyasha flinched and growled, grabbing for his sword. But Sesshomaru grabbed his wrist firmly before he could unsheathe the deadly sword.

"He's going to kill her and you're just going to stand and watch!" Inuyasha yelled.

"This is her fight and it's her right to kill that demon. You're always in such a rush to protect people. You have no confidence in their abilities."

Inuyasha, ready to deny his brother's comment, stopped when he noticed a change come over his brother. His eyes were no longer focused on Inuyasha, his face a mask of concentration.

"What's wrong with you?" Inuyasha asked as he yanked his arm away.

"I wouldn't expect you to feel it considering you're only a half demon," Sesshomaru answered sarcastically.

"You know you're a real bastard Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha shouted at his brother.

"Silence, Inuyasha!" Sesshomaru commanded.

Inuyasha was about to protest until he sensed his brother prepare himself to attack.

Timmain looked up at Gulden. His eyes were camouflaged by the black band that circled around them like a blind-fold. But she knew they were laughing down at her as he sneered. Then he spit in her face before lifting his foot from her neck chuckling to his self. Reaching for the sword that pinned Timmain to the ground he pulled it out roughly causing more damage and let the point rest against her throat as he planted a foot on either side of her.

Timmain glared at him with pure hatred. Her body was growing numb and it seemed that this was the end for her. But Timmain was stubborn she wasn't going to let Gulden defeat her a second time. She grew angry with herself for allowing the acceptance of defeat to take over. She had been given this second chance and she wasn't going to waste it by letting herself get killed. She may have felt she was prepared to die. Part of her had been ready for it but another part wasn't so willing to give up. A cool calculating gleam in her eyes replaced the look of hatred. The corner of her mouth lifted in an evil sneer of her own. She then cleared her mind of all thoughts and emotions to allow her basic instinct of survival to take over.

Her body relaxed and her face softened. To Gulden she looked ready to accept her fate at his hands and he smiled evilly as he lifted the sword to finish what he promised he would do. He would kill the great demon slayer Timmain.

Timmain watched as Gulden lifted the sword not really seeing the gesture and smiled as she heard a voice tell her, "You allowed your emotions to control you instead of skill". He was right, she thought. I should have listened to him from the beginning. But it's not too late. A vision of Sesshomaru standing with the moonlight streaming down upon him came to Timmain. It made her long to be standing next to him once again and she would do whatever was necessary for that to happen.

Gulden hesitated for a moment when he saw her smile. It made him a little uneasy that she would do such a thing when she was about to die. But he wouldn't let that stop him. He lifted his sword higher ready to plunge it into the soft skin of Timmain's throat and stopped.

Timmain didn't even feel her hand fly toward one of the daggers she kept on her belt. It seemed it had moved on it's own, a separate being that thought for itself. She surprised to see that she could react as fast as she did. She wondered what Sesshomaru would have thought. He probably would say I was still too slow, she laughed to herself. But there it was, proof that she was capable of allowing her skill to control her and not emotion.

Gulden stood over her like a statue, his face a mask of disbelief. The dagger point had driven itself smoothly through his neck pushing the jewel shard out from behind. With no jewel shard to protect him and a dagger, inscribed with a spell to subdue demons, lodged in his throat Gulden fell sideways completely paralyzed.

Timmain turned her head to the side to look at Gulden. She saw the fear in them and smiled, satisfied that she had gotten her revenge. Forcing her mind and body to ignore the pain that threatened to flood over her she rolled over to retrieve her sword. Once the blade was firmly in her grip she crawled over to Gulden dragging her broken leg along.

Gulden continued to watch as she kneeled on her good leg and lifted the sword. He made small, pathetic noises of protest before he finally managed to beg for his life.

But Timmain ignored him bringing her sword down without hesitation to sever his head from the rest of his body. After the deed was done Timmain grabbed Gulden's head and tossed it aside. Looking around her she located the Shikon jewel shard and picked it up. Now that she had accomplished what she had came to do she was ready to allow the pain to wash over her and submerge her in unconsciousness so her body could heal itself.

But before she collapsed she felt a whirlwind of demonic energy surround her. The demonic aura produced was so intense it nearly knocked Timmain over but she kept herself steady by plunging her sword into the ground to hold on to for support. She had never encountered such a strong display of power and she bitterly wondered how she was going to handle this demon in her condition. As the whirlwind died down Timmain found her self, looking upon the point of a sword held by a demon she had never seen before. But she didn't have to guess who he was.