Kagome’s eyes cut west as she frowned. Picking herself up from her perch, she ventured deeper into the forest with bow in hand. But at the sight that greeted her, her defensive posture relaxed a fraction.
“Jakken,” she said as she shouldered her bow and strode toward him.
“Ah.” Sesshoumaru’s retainer sighed, lowering the nintoujou he’d been using to prod at her demonic wards. “There you are.”
Kagome’s gaze flicked past him, to where a small assembly of imps stood shaking, their backs bowed beneath the poles of a bulky travel crate. “…What’s going on here?”
“Sesshoumaru-sama sends his regards,” Jakken replied, tight-lipped and flatly, as though delivering a message whose sentiments he clearly didn’t share.
Crossing her arms before her, Kagome arched a brow. “He does, does he?” Coolly, she nodded toward the crate. “Well, what’s in it?”
Jakken’s features, if possible, became that much more pinched. With a terse wave of his staff, the other imps lowered the crate to the ground, and pulling loose the square pegs that fastened it, slid off the top and sides to reveal what lay within. Kagome blinked, her expression going as flat as Jakken’s—
“A table,” she mused darkly aloud.
Although to be fair, ‘table’ was putting it rather lightly. By far this was the finest piece of furniture she’d ever seen—Modern Era notwithstanding. Whether it was carved of ebony wood or onyx stone or some otherworldly material was difficult to tell without closer inspection, but Kagome didn’t doubt she’d be able to see her reflection clear as day in its glassy surface, even midnight-hued as it was. Edged in a fine, fluid scrollwork no human hands had the skill to render, it was the epitome of understated elegance—or would have been, if not for the quartet of snarling dog sculptures that served as its legs.
Kagome’s lips thinned as she drummed her fingers against her arm. There was another message here, in the subtext of this gratuitous and subtly menacing gesture, and she didn’t appreciate it one bit. She had a right mind to send Jakken and his minions packing back to Sesshoumaru with her own ‘regards’…
But as if sensing this intention in the seething flare of her aura, the imp piped up rather shrilly, “So then…where shall we put it?”
The miko exhaled shortly, not entirely without sympathy for his predicament. Turning on her heel, she set off through the woods toward her home, her reiki barrier parting like a curtain behind her.
“This way,” she said, as Jakken and his retinue of imps trundled forward with their burden shouldered carefully between them.
Remaining outside in the yard, Kagome watched with baleful eyes as Sesshoumaru’s servants unbound the table from the floor of the crate, and with oily sweatdrops beading their greenish brows, began hefting it up the porch steps. The remains of her old worktable had been hauled out and hacked to firewood some days back, and so there was a glaring space within her house to fill. In that narrow sense, at least, this ostentatious new piece of furniture would fit.
A faint rustle in the dead grass wrested Kagome from her ruminations. Glancing sharply over her shoulder, she met the dark gold gaze of the wild dog she’d encountered earlier that afternoon. For a brief moment their stares remained locked together, before the creature drew back into the shadows, and she saw him no more.
Kagome’s fists curled at her sides. Dogs…she was so sick of them she could scarcely breathe. And so after Jakken and his imps had left, and in the wake of their departure Kanako came slinking out from wherever she’d been hiding, Kagome pinned her with a glare.
“Have you been setting out that meat like I told you?”
“Hai, Kagome-sama,” the waif said with a simper. “At the edge of the woods, just like you said—this morning at dawn I placed it. And yesterday, and the day before—”
Jaw clenching, Kagome brushed past her toward the house, in desperate need of another drink. “Then double the poison, and set it out again.”
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
There she goes again being that unapologetic bad bitch Kagome. In love with this version of her. Something about a strong, bitchy Kagome just spices up my day lol
Hahaha! So glad you’re enjoying her ‘bad bitch’ mode in this one <3 <3
Hmmm… not sure what to make of this one. Is the table Sesshoumaru’s way of staking a claim or mocking her? It’s difficult to tell with him. I love Jakken’s not so subtle resentment and suspicion of her–reminds me of his attitude in Transgressions lol. Kagome really has become the antihero of her own story, huh? It’s painful to watch as she devolves further and further from the strong, sweet girl she was. I can’t help but wonder–does Sesshoumaru relish this transformation in her? Does he want her to harden towards the world? Or are things spinning out of his control as well? Love your writing, as always.
Ahh thanks so much!! Loved hearing your thoughts on the events in this chap – so glad you enjoyed Jakken’s attitude here 🙂 I can’t resist throwing in some Jakken cameos XD Transgressions!Jakken was too much fun <3
Hope you enjoy the next part!! <3
Jeez. I mean once upon a time she was THE Dog Lover of all Dog lovers (ok aside from Inu and Sessh’s mamas). It’s hard being so spent while still in an abstract way label yourself a martyr. She’s spiraling downward so fast.
Funny how all she does is attract the ‘wild dogs’ to her now. Like they sense something that calls them blindly to her. Her descent to this stripped bare Kagome is definitely an aphrodisiac to one in particular….
New table, huh? Daily reminder in her home. Sesshomaru is such a smart ass. Lol
She’s resulted to poisoning animals. We know how that goes *coughserialkillercough*. I’m less disturbed by Sesshoumaru and more disturbed by Kagome. She if definitely not the same girl who fell down the well, and I can easily see her being a worse asshole than Ungai was with his resentments.
Sesshoumaru staking claims, courting gifts? Or blatant mockery? Love it.
Thanks, Eryn!! <3 <3 <3
I’ve listened to enough murder podcasts to know it almost always starts with animal cruelty. Kagome must be stopped.
I had to go back a few updates. She did say that he owed her a new table. 🤷🏽♀️ Can’t be mad about that Kagome. Just because it’s adorned with the thing you love to hate so much right now.
He’s still an asshole. Lol
And yeah poisoning dogs now? Girl…. smh. Even to ‘protect’ villagers and the like, you know you’re getting ruthless.
“He’s still an asshole. Lol” Bahaha that he is XD
Thanks so much for your wonderful review on Dokuga, Pebbs!! <3 Great question about when/how I decide to update there and on AO3. (I hate how Dokuga doesn't have a good way to reply to comments, so I'll just answer here! 🙂 ) In the past, I'd hammer out a couple of blog posts and if they felt like part of the same general 'scene' then that's what I'd post together as a 'chapter' on the fanfic sites. But now that I have an actual chapter outline, I'm using that as my guide as far as updating on the other sites 🙂
I like for the blog series to always be ahead of the chapter series on the other sites, so I usually won't post to Dokuga and AO3 until I'm into the next 'chapter' here <3
Dokuga and your blog are on my list of top go to places for pandemic escape. So I’m all over both like way more than I should admit. Lol
Thanks for the clarification!
<3 <3 <3
Is she trying to poison that “wild dog”?🤣🤣🤣 It’s official, my girl is losing it!
Lolol off the rails XD
<3
Two things.
First of all, I love how Sesshomaru went from “damn your table” to probably worrying some craftsman have to death.
Secondly, Kagome needs to get a grip. Leave that damn dog alone. I’d tell her to have another drink but that’s probably what led her to that in the first place.
Bahaha! I love it XD
<3