“Shit!” Kagome gasped. Wrenching back her hand, she stared down at the table—and the bloodied root slices swimming atop it. Pain seared white-hot through her wounded finger. In her distraction over Sesshoumaru, she had cut herself open to the bone. Kaede stood, Rin rising as well—their own injuries momentarily forgotten. “Kagome-chan…are you all right?” “Kagome-sama!”

Kagome’s smile was still in place, but there was a flintiness in the curve of her lips, a chill in her aura that would have had Shippou scampering off and Inuyasha’s ears falling flat. Sesshoumaru merely inclined his head. Not waiting for him to rise, she strode briskly past him toward the door, shooting Kanako

As Kagome crested the steep granite steps, sunlight gleamed from the shrine’s gilded eaves, haloed the silvery stone lanterns in ethereal radiance. She drew strength from the shrine’s holy presence as she walked around it, following the paved path to the wooded temple that lay beyond. Constructed only a year ago, the multi-tiered building still

It was just as Seiryuu had predicted. The demons came. First in a trickle, then in a stream. Ridding the land of them proved a grueling, exhausting task—even with the aid of Kohaku and others. Worn down from month after month of constant battle, Kagome felt herself spreading thin. Past mikos had died from such

Kagome sat up with a start. In a brilliant crash, her reiki met the invasive demonic aura, a flash like lightning sparking out across the invisible plane where their energies collided. Purifying vapor blossomed in a shimmering veil between them. As the crackling mist dispersed, a stunningly handsome face stared back at her, faintly smiling.

“What,” Kagome choked out, her cheeks flaring as she reeled, “what are you doing?!” Hirokin cocked his head to one side, his lovely white-gold hair spooling down the exposed curve of his collar. “You seemed unsettled by your lack of clothing compared to mine. I sought to alleviate this discomfort.” “That’s the opposite of what

Kagome blinked after him. Hirokin… What a strange guy. Curling her fingers loosely around the cockle shell, she eased herself down from the slab of rock and waded back to shore. Her head was pounding by the time she had dried, clothed, and dragged herself back home. Still, she upended the near-empty bottle of sake

Kagome dug her fingers into the empty sheets. She wanted to get up. She wanted to go right now, out into the cold gathering dark. She should go—go and press her lips to the unyielding stone of her husband’s grave. But her tired body wouldn’t respond to her wishes. Paralyzed, she closed her eyes and

“Kohaku-kun,” Kagome bit out, intensely annoyed. “What do you want?” Hard and glinting as chips of obsidian, the taijiya’s keen eyes flicked over her, taking her in from head to foot. A fresh flush of outrage rose to Kagome’s cheeks, her fingers clamping that much tighter around the gaping waist and collar of her untied