Kagome halted in place. It was as if an invisible chasm had opened between them. Even if she’d wanted to reach out to Kohaku, she felt that she couldn’t. And so she turned and left.

Sliding back the door, a touch of blood rushed to her cheeks as she saw Kanako crouched and shrinking on the other side. Wrathfully, Kagome glared down at her, as she snapped the screen shut behind them.

“So,” she said to the waif, with terrible slowness, “you were listening all the while, were you?”

“Kagome-sama,” Kanako whimpered, “I’ve only just returned here, after that wild dog of yours ran off.”

Kagome had to wonder who’d really run off from whom. But what difference did it make? After a moment of heated deliberation, she decided she didn’t care, and stepped past Kanako down the stairs.

Following after, the waif murmured, “You ought to consider his proposal, Kagome-sama. Kohaku-dono is besotted with you; so long as you show him favor, he will do as you say.”

Outside of the tower, Kagome whirled. “I suppose you’d like that, wouldn’t you? Me having a husband who’ll ‘do as I say’. Or maybe you just like the fact that he used to be a demon slayer.”

Kanako drew back from her, her eyes silvery and wide. “But, Kagome-sama, what more could you hope for in a man? Unlike that samurai, he is eager to please you.”

Kagome’s eyes flashed. “You really have been spying on me, haven’t you?”

Staring back at her, the waif didn’t even try to deny it. Incensed, Kagome continued on her way, with Kanako slinking after.

Inside Kaede’s hut—now Rin’s, the miko forced herself to remember—the three of them ate dinner together in brooding silence. Rin’s normally bright expression was so overcast it worried Kagome immensely. Maybe it hadn’t been a good idea to give this house over to her, after all.

“You know, Rin-chan, this place is kind of small, don’t you think? And far from the hospital district.”

“I like it here,” Rin said with a frown. “It reminds me of Kaede-baa-chan. I don’t want to live anywhere else.”

Well, Kagome thought flatly, so much for that. Glancing around, she wondered if some renovations couldn’t be made to help lighten up the place. And then she saw it—on the wall beside the door, a hanging scroll bearing a beautiful painting of a maple tree. Kagome stood and wandered over to it.

“Did Sesshoumaru give you this?” she murmured, her eyes trailing over the delicate brushwork.

“No, Kagome-chan,” Rin replied, hesitating a moment. “Ren-sama gifted it to me, after the funeral.”

“Ren-sama?” Kagome said, glancing sharply back.

Wariness shot through her spine. The respectfulness of that address distinctly unnerved her.

The young miko blushed, averting her gaze. “I was too quick to judge him. He’s a rough man, but he’s been generous to me—to the hospital, too. He’s building a whole new ward just for mothers and children, and he always makes sure I get the supplies that I need, even before I think to ask for them.”

Kagome ground her teeth. That bastard. So, he’d already started working on Rin behind her back, as an insurance policy against her no doubt. But, what could she say? Rin was a teenaged girl—raising concerns about him would only push her toward him that much more.

Smiling as teasingly as she could, Kagome said instead, “It sure seems like he’s trying to impress you, Rin-chan. I can hear the wedding bells ringing already.”

To Kagome’s relief, Rin’s expression chilled and darkened, her posture going straight. “I’m not going to marry him, if that’s what he’s after; Kohaku-kun’s the one I love.”

Setting down the bowl of rice she’d choked on when Kagome had made her last remark, Kanako snorted, smiling nastily at Rin. “Well, he doesn’t love you. Just today, he proposed to Kagome-sama instead.”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi