“Some ‘brother’ you’ve been to him,” Kagome said, crossing her arms at the chest. “Or maybe treachery is just par for the course with you.”

Hirokin smiled, sharp and inscrutable. Inwardly, Kagome fumed.

“You demons,” she muttered. “I really can’t stand you.”

“What a foul mood you’re in, Kagome-sama—and no wonder.” Wrinkling his fine nose, the demon prince cast a disdainful look at their surroundings. “You should live someplace nicer.”

“It’s this way because of you!” the miko exploded, then deflated. “…Well, mostly. It’s because of me, too. That’s why I have to stay—I have to set things to rights, or else what sort of person would I be?”

Hirokin gave an elegant shrug. “The sort who learns from her mistakes.”

“This is more than some ‘mistake’, Hirokin. This is my life, not some game. I can’t just bail and start over.” Kagome shook her head bitterly. “But then, I wouldn’t expect someone like you to understand that.”

Hirokin sighed, looking bored. “All this talk is so tiresome. Dull and dreary as this miserable place. How long will you continue to wallow in it?” Trailing his fingertips along the water’s surface, he met her gaze, a fluid echo of that touch skimming over her from belly to breast. “Come away with me, my lady. Let us go to the coast. The salt air would do you good.”

Kagome’s arms tightened, her cheeks hot from the touch. “See, this is what I mean: all you want to do is fuck around.”

“Not all,” Hirokin said, his eyes glinting at her. “There is much we can do for one another. But if you’d rather have some sport, Kagome-sama, I could arrange that as well.”

“I’ll bet you could.” Kagome’s gaze sharpened. “Have some enemies it’d be convenient for me to dispatch?”

“Always,” he replied, without missing a beat.

“No thanks,” the miko said shortly, glancing away. “I’m not interested.”

“A pity.” Hirokin’s smiling tone darkened. “And here Sesshoumaru-sama wades gladly through rivers of blood.”

“If he wants to extend his territory that’s his business,” Kagome shot back, her nails biting into her arms.

“So you say,” Hirokin responded mildly, as if he were humoring her. “Ostensibly, of course, that is his aim. But are you an idiot, Kagome-sama, that you can’t see he does this for you?”

Kagome’s hackles rose, her eyes snapping to him. “Watch your mouth, Hirokin. I never asked him to go to war for me.”

“Forgive me, my lady, but whether you asked him to or not is beside the fucking point. You are a powerful priestess, but a concerted attack from your enemies would defeat even you.”

“Let them try,” the miko said with a growl.

“Spoken like a true fool,” Hirokin returned coolly. “Or perhaps simply one who wishes to die. But no matter—it shall not come to pass. You are protected, as ever you have been. Open your eyes and you will see it clearly, the path intended for you. For intended you are.”

Reiki wreathed Kagome’s trembling form. “Get out of my house.”

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi