Kagome’s expression was flat as she watched a coin purse appear from one of the rich, dark folds of her visitor’s haori. Weighing the purse a hefty, clinking moment in his palm, the visitor clapped it to the guard’s shoulder with a smile. “Your shift is ending, is it not?” the monk asked just as

Suspended in a strange mixture of lethargy and agitation, Kagome endured her days of ‘solace’ in the locked palace room. Grudgingly, she assumed the mindset she’d been forced to adopt countless times during her adventures to collect the fragments of the Shikon Jewel: namely, the mindset of the kidnappé. It had been a long time,

Kagome lost count of how many more days she passed in isolation. In vain. The miko felt herself withering from within. This was a waiting game, she had decided. A battle of attrition. Ren couldn’t keep her locked up like this forever. But just how long could he? It wasn’t that Kagome couldn’t escape. But

“Well, my dear,” Ren said smugly as he entered the room. Striding straight up to Rin, he slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, his wolfish smile fixing on Kagome instead. “Have you shared the good news with her yet?” Stiff with surprise, Rin looked to Kagome, at a loss. Just

Night yawned through the open door. The glint of the stars seemed to mock Kagome as she glared after Ren long after he’d vanished from sight. The first step she’d taken in pursuit of him had been met with a heavy answering one from the guard behind her, and she’d grumbled, “So that’s how it’s

Kanako’s face scrunched up like she wanted to argue, but at Kagome’s stern look, the waif relented with a frown. “…Hai, Kagome-sama,” she said as she bowed, and scampered off to do as she was told. When the bath was drawn and steaming, Kagome stepped behind the changing screen, which was large enough to shield

But as the hours dragged on, the night remained as calm as ever. From the open window, the last cold, dry gasp of winter rattled through the slats of the shutters. Turning over onto her side in the plush futon, Kagome scowled. Her fingers drummed impatiently on the tatami beside her bed, as she wondered

Together, Kagome and Kanako picked their way across the splintery rubble, skirting carefully around the abyssal hole that had caved in half the room. By the guard’s hunched-over corpse, Kanako paused. Kneeling down, she hefted up his fallen katana. “Here, Kagome-sama. You should take this.” The miko frowned. “I wouldn’t even know what to do

“Come on then,” Kagome said to Kanako. “We’ll cut through the woods.” “Hai, Kagome-sama,” the waif replied. Together they set off for the forest’s edge. The dark sky was beginning to lighten a little, and they were able to find their way forward through the trees now without too much trouble. Soft beds of moss

Sliding back the screen door a fraction, Kagome peeked out into the hallway beyond. It was empty as far as she could tell. Tiptoeing across the newly-lacquered floor, she and Kanako crept down the corridor as quietly as possible, straining their eyes and ears for any hint of sight or sound. Up one staircase and