Water jugs filled to the brim, Kagome and Sango returned to the house. The children had been called in from the yard, fed, and put down to sleep it seemed, but Miroku remained just outside the door, watching their approach. His arms were crossed at his chest, his violet eyes hard and unsmiling as they

As the days passed, Kagome reflected on her actions and the motivations behind them. Reexamining her last encounter with Sesshoumaru, she conceded that she may have overreacted in the wake of learning the horrifying truth. Her brother-in-law had never preyed on the women of Edo before. It seemed particularly unlikely that he would do so

Returning to her home, Kagome peered over her shoulder to make sure she hadn’t been followed before slipping into the woods just beyond the garden and emptying the contents of the vial out upon the ground. The unremarkable dirt, though a shade darker than the rest, blended easily enough away beneath the sweep of her

“Y-you,” the girl stammered out in a hushed, reverent tone, her bulging eyes protruding that much farther, “you remember me…” In truth, it was the name that Kagome had remembered—the name of a victim she had sworn never to forget. The name of the spirit who had led her to the killing ground, who had

With Kanako following close on her heels, Kagome returned to her house at the edge of the village. After hanging back at the doorway, the waif crept haltingly forward, Kagome paying her little mind as she set about making dinner. Kanako was so silent and unnoticeable that by the time Kagome took the kettle off

The next morning, having little else to do with her, Kagome tasked Kanako with assisting Rin in her duties. As the days passed, however, it became clear that the younger miko was about as happy to be burdened with the waif as Kagome was. “She doesn’t mind what I say,” Rin complained to her a

As Kagome descended the porch steps to the yard, there was a scurry beneath the deck—too large of a movement to be a raccoon or some other nocturnal pest. Nocking an arrow, the miko whirled around, her breath catching in her throat. From the shadows between two wooden support posts, a pair of wide, silver-grey

Kagome scowled. Of course Sesshoumaru had prospects lined up—probably a whole year’s worth or more. She certainly wouldn’t put it past him. Her lips thinned as she tore her eyes away from his face in disgust. He really was an absolute dog. The moment his youki cloud touched down in the Western Lands, Kagome broke

After pacing around for a little while, Kagome sat down on a moss-covered boulder to wait. As the minutes ticked by—first in a trickle and then by the handful—her impatience steadily mounted, along with her doubts. What if Sesshoumaru had simply left her here? He’d certainly been pissed off about that necklace… Her fingers drummed

Kagome dug her nails into the rough, craggy tree bark. Holding her gaze all the while, Sesshoumaru plundered the girl’s open mouth, the points of his fangs glaring bone-white as he raked and thrust his tongue inside her. Wide brown eyes glistened in shock, the girl’s fists curling helplessly against his armored chest as she