Shouldering her weapons and satchel, Kagome left her home early the next morning and made the short trek over to Kaede’s hut to borrow her horse for the journey ahead. Onyx eyes regarded her steadily as she approached the backyard paddock. Like his owner, Jiro was an aged yet sturdy creature—and a little on the

Ascending the steps of a wide veranda, the two women drew to a stop before one of the palace’s outer doors. Mayuri bent low at the waist, the ends of her loosely bound hair nearly brushing the floorboards. “Let me know if there is anything at all that you need.” “Thank you, I—” “Kaa-san!” Both

‘Keep the secret’ resumed with a vengeance, Kagome and Mayuri raising the stakes absurdly higher with each successive round. By the time they squeezed back through the fence, both women were in mute, red-faced hysterics. The moment the vines swung shut behind them, they doubled-over, laughing themselves hoarse. “We did it,” Kagome gasped, clutching her

The bow slipped from Kagome’s fingers, her strung arrow clattering to the floor. She should have known her spell wouldn’t be strong enough to throw Sesshoumaru off her trail. Maybe he hadn’t been in close enough range until now, or hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Maybe she’d let the enchantment slip during her sleep,

Kagome tore through the forest in blind desperation, sheer adrenaline fueling her as she crashed through the brush and branches that attempted to ensnare her. Her yukata snagged and ripped, her hair and skin as well. As the night wind lashed against her, she raced back toward the castle as fast as her tripping feet

It was well past dawn when Kagome awoke, her eyes crusted and body aching from the cramped position she’d passed out in last night. Lying partway on her stomach, she dragged her pruny fingers out from the sticky seam of her thighs, a grimace pulling at her lips at the sensation. With a groan, she

Kagome reeled, scarcely managing to reach the river’s edge before a torrent of scalding bile ripped up through her throat. Her nose seared. Her eyes streamed as she retched out the dregs of her empty stomach into the muddy current below. Frigid brown water soaked through the knees of her hakama, her quaking arms straining

Bent low over Jiro’s back, Kagome clung to his neck as much as his reins, her lungs striving for air against the crushing weight of her anguish. Her eyes bleared, blood trickling down from her raw, busted knuckles and sealing her clenched fingers shut. The road before her obscured as Jiro raced on at her

Thunder boomed on high, a tepid breeze stirring the air around her. As lightning split the sky and the scent of ozone suffused her senses, Kagome curled down at the base of her husband’s grave and drew his red robe over her with a whimper. She had been wrong. There was nothing here for her,

Kagome stood alone on the porch, watching after Kohaku long after he’d left. Leaning heavily against the outer wall of her home, she tried to bring her whirlwind of fears under control. The vial. The detection charm. Were Kohaku to encounter Sesshoumaru with it, he would know. And if he knew, if he knew… Kagome