The rubble had all been cleared, but there was still a gigantic hole in the front wall of the fortress, courtesy of Sesshoumaru’s Wind Scar. Wolves on the ground and up on wooden ladders waved heartily to Kagome as she flew past, the magic of the restored wards rippling coolly across her skin.

Outside the cavern, the plateau was clear of the remains of battle as well. A frown pulled at the miko’s lips at the thought of the wolf youkai gathering up the bones of their fallen brothers. With their souls freed from Kagura’s curse, Kagome hoped that the dead, and the living both, would at last find peace. And as for the wind sorceress–well, she still had a lot to answer for…

“Kagome-chan!” Kouga hailed her from the far end of the plateau. Standing atop one of two massive stone slabs, he seemed to be ‘supervising’ the other wolves’ door carving efforts. “Good to see you up at last.”

Kagome smiled back. “You too, Kouga-kun!”

Gliding down the mountain path, Entei touched to the ground not too far away from the plateau. Immediately, Kagome dismounted and began her frantic search.

“Where is it, where is it…”

With battle looming, Kagome had decided to stow her cumbersome pack away for safekeeping. Unfortunately, with battle looming, she hadn’t exactly been in the most organized frame of mind at the time she’d stowed it. As it turned out, the rock “marker” she’d stood up to indicate its location looked pretty much the same as all the other rocks standing around.

Picking her way along the path, peeking behind every boulder and into every cliffside crack, she glanced up as Entei whinnied at her from much farther down the slope. Dubious, Kagome made her way over to him, a happy cry leaving her lips as he reached muzzle-first into a crevice in the flinty wall and tugged out her yellow sack.

“Thanks, Entei-san!” she said, giving him a grateful pat on the neck as she knocked back two pills at once. “You’re almost as good at this as Kouga-kun.”

It hadn’t escaped her notice, back in her room, that her missing bow had been miraculously recovered. Battered, but still surprisingly intact considering how far it must have fallen, the weapon had been resting on a stone shelf near her bed, a scrawled note tagged to it reading, Found this -Kouga.

Grinning at Entei’s affronted snort, she was just shouldering her pack when she met Ayame coming down the steep, winding path. Judging by the way the demoness was lightly dressed and panting, she must have just finished training.

“Ah, Kagome-san–you’re awake!” the wolf girl greeted, dashing a wrist across her sweaty brow. “I’m headed to the spring.” Green eyes swept briefly over the grimy miko. “…Why don’t you join me?”

Before Kagome could answer, Ayame was looping an arm through hers, Entei cantering along behind them as they went. A short distance away, the demoness veered to the side, pressing her fingers to a faint, flower-shaped indentation in the rock. The marking glowed as the illusory wall faded, revealing a carved archway.

“Wow!” Kagome gushed as they stepped through, a hidden spring emerging at the end of a small tunnel. “This is great!”

Skylit, the balmy water glittered in the sun, a few bright blue moths fluttering around the smooth silvery stones that banked it. Stripping down, Ayame slid into the water with a contented sigh, Kagome joining her a minute later. Lying down with one flank submerged, Entei went promptly to sleep, his orange tail flicking out at the occasional moth that landed on him.

“This was my mother’s private bath,” the wolf girl explained as she let down her long red hair, carefully setting aside the iris blossom at her ear. As Kagome extracted her bottle of shampoo, emerald eyes slanted toward her curiously. “What’s that?”

“It’s a special kind of soap—just for your hair.” The miko gave the bottle a shake. “Want to try some?”

Ayame nodded, holding out her hand as Kagome squeezed. “…This scent,” the wolf girl said, giving the dollop of shampoo a delicate sniff. “This is the scent you and Sesshoumaru-sama were wearing a few days ago, when you returned to camp together.”

Kagome blanched, the shampoo missing her palm by an inch. “Ah, you–you noticed…”

Ayame’s expression was contrite. “I’m sorry for acting so jealous toward you, Kagome-san. It’s obvious that Sesshoumaru-sama is your beau.”

“B-beau?” Kagome stammered, dropping the bottle altogether. “…Obvious?”

Ayame blinked, pausing mid-lather. “You mean…you’re not in love with him?”

The miko went scarlet, her voice coming out as little more than a squeak. “It’s not that…”

Abruptly, the demoness stood, green eyes flashing. Startled, Kagome drew back, although the shimmery soap bubbles somewhat dampened Ayame’s fierceness.

“So–he’s the one who won’t commit…typical.” Her arms crossed as she glared. “Kagome-san, take my advice: If you love him and he’s on the fence, you need to lock him down–like I did with Kouga-kun last night.”

“…Lock him down?” Kagome managed weakly, almost afraid to ask. “What do you—”

But Ayame was already plunging ahead, her eyes seizing Kagome’s intently. “You need to tell him that you love him.”

The miko gaped at her. Confess…to Sesshoumaru?! 

“Males are dense. You have to be direct with them,” Ayame continued matter-of-factly, a claw upraised for emphasis.

I think yours might be a special case… Kagome thought with a sigh.

“Ayame-san, it’s more complicated than that…I’m a human.” She shook her head. “It could never work between us, trust me.”

“Have you even tried?” the wolf girl asked shrewdly.

“Well, no, but—”

“Then how can you say for sure?”

Kagome glanced away. She had never even considered the possibility that Sesshoumaru might return her feelings. The best she had ever hoped for, after everything they had been through, was that he wouldn’t actively hate her.

All things considered, Kagome felt like they had made good progress on that front. The last thing she wanted to do was rock the boat. And yet…

“Tonight, after the victory feast,” Ayame said determinedly as she slipped back down into the spring, her hands clasping Kagome’s. “I’ll help you, Kagome-san. You’ll have all the space you need to tell Sesshoumaru-sama how you feel.” The grin that pulled at her lips was downright wolfish. “And then…you can make him yours.”

Kagome stared. So, that really is how things went down between her and Kouga-kun last night…

---

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

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