The inside of the mountain tower was much changed from the last time Kagome had visited. Crossing the enchanted threshold with Shin in arms, she gaped at what she beheld—
It was a winter wonderland, and nothing short of magical.
There were still the silvery tiered cliffs and the moon-shaped pool. But instead of velvety moss, the cliffs glittered with pearlescent frost and dripped with iridescent stalagmites. The pool itself was partly frozen, rimed at the edges in a crystalline pattern, like an artfully etched mirror. Wisps of steam curled from the clear waters with a crisp mineral scent. Just as bizarrely, a shining stream still threaded down the frozen cliffs, tinkling with a faint, silvery sound as it fell to the pool.
The trees growing throughout the space had changed—they were needled now and evergreen. Sentinel pines of all shapes and sizes, they ranged in shade from pewter to dark emerald and sparkled with feathery snowdrifts that Kagome had the feeling wouldn’t melt even if she touched them. Peculiar as it was, she had the sense the trees were wearing these skeins of snow like a fashion statement.
Human again, Shin wriggled in her arms, whimpering. Extracting him from the carrier sling and coiled fur that held him, Kagome set him down on the carpet of soft, surreal snow.
At once he phased into his four-legged form. He took off up the terraced, forested interior of the tower, barking as he went. Spritely cries sounded from the snow-dusted bushes he burst through. Glowing, moth-like figures emerged. Shin sprang and snapped as the sprites zipped around him, shedding fairy dust in glittering motes and whorls.
“There are other youkai here?” Kagome asked Sesshoumaru, surprised.
“Of course,” he said, arching a brow. “This is a youkai waycastle.”
Kagome bit her lip, gazing around at the interior with fresh eyes. There were vining tapestry walls that served as partitions to the room-like spaces. Within them, she saw ghostly outlines, limning the strange flora and fountains, the carved stone structures themselves. Uncannily, these fixtures seemed to shimmer and sigh, as if repose.
“Just how many are there?”
“A fair multitude,” Sesshoumaru replied, as though this clarified everything. “Many of them have been resting here for decades. And none of them,” he added, in an intonation that seemed underscored with its own forbidding spell, “are the meddling sort.”
Kagome decided she would just have to take his word for that. As she gazed around at this magical space that varied with the season in fey parallel to the world beyond, she was beginning to appreciate that there was still a good deal about the youkai world she had yet to grasp.
“This is your waycastle,” she reckoned aloud, “and the youkai here are your subjects.”
“Yes.”
Kagome nodded. Her eyes strayed to that grand central dwelling space she vaguely recognized from her last visit here. The draping wisteria were gone, replaced by a profusion of overhanging clumps of snowdrops. But the bed of lush furs was still there, even richer and deeper now than she remembered. Inviting to the eye. Beguiling.
Somehow she understood that this bed was hers. She wandered up to it across the snow and the springy golden floor-weave beneath. Her bulky backpack slid from her shoulders. It stood out like a sore yellow thumb amidst the natural grandeur of the loft. She admired the delicate, sweeping lines of the arched dwelling space, which was both airy and cozy at once.
Belatedly it struck her that she wouldn’t be sleeping alone here tonight. Her eyes tore from the bed as this realization dawned. She saw Sesshoumaru regarding her in profile. His golden eyes were rich and warm. Honeyed. Fiercely, Kagome flushed. Her throat went dry. And she’d thought that bed was beguiling…
“I…”
Shin’s return spared her. As he bounded toward her with his jagged tongue lolling and his frisked fur sparking, Kagome put out her arms. She caught him as he leapt, transforming seamlessly into her blue-eyed baby once again. Hugging him close, she looked to Sesshoumaru, crooking a smile.
“So, how about that walk?”
Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi
Revised 5/11/24
Aww! I’ve waited for so long for this update!!
I hope they progress their relationship. But also finally tell Inuyasha
Thank you, Katherine!! Hope you enjoy the next part of the scene! <3
The picture perfect family tbh 💅🏻
<3 <3
Thank you, mim!!
This chapter was warm and cozy☺️ I’m going to take in this warm feeling cause I know things are about to get real angsty in future chapters.
Wonderful read as usual 🩵
Hahaha thank you, Maya!! Glad you enjoyed the cozy scene <3
This is so lovely!! So perfect for the season. It also feels as though Kagome’s becoming herself again without all the guilt and stress weighing her down, if only for a short while.
Now the only thing weighing on her are the eyes of these ghostly voyeurs 😂
“Now the only thing weighing on her are the eyes of these ghostly voyeurs ” – XD so true!
So glad you’re enjoying the wintry scene, friend! Thanks so much! <3
“Many of them have been resting here for decades. And none of them,” he added, in an intonation that seemed underscored with its own forbidding spell, “are the meddling sort.”
pfff is this a reference to Toutousai and Myouga? 🤣 I wonder if the Western Lady’s eyes could reach this castle?
That open bed has sexy connotations which I am SO looking forward to. HELL YES. Finish that walk quickly, Kagome 🤤
“pfff is this a reference to Toutousai and Myouga?” – 😉
Hahaha glad you’re excited to see what goes down next, oskorreia! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!! <3
This chapter’s even more beautiful than the last. I’ve always been like the type to kinda skim over descriptions of places in books because I tend to feel that they always overdo it or use too many words and I lose patience– BUT NOPE. NOT HERE. I am eating it all up I swear. It’s soooo WELL-WRITTEN AND BEAUTIFUL AND I CAN IMAGINE THE SCENERY SO VIVIDLY!
I want Shin !! He’s so flipping adorable skdgdsgdsg.
And KAGOME GET UR HEAD OUT OF THE GUTTER (but not really 😉 stay there for an eternity with Sesshomaru please).
Thank you for the update <3
Aww thanks so much, bella!! So glad you enjoyed this scene! As a writer, I tend to go light on description as well – just my preference too! But with this youkai winter wonderland, I had to indulge a little! <3
Love hearing your thoughts on the scene & events to come! Hope you enjoy the next chapter <3
What a beautiful chapter. 🙂
The imagery is gorgeous.
Aww thank you so much, Topaz Gold! That’s wonderful to hear <3
This chapter is stunning! I can’t get enough. And Shin loves it, which is just a straight arrow to the heart and another win for Sess. I’m happy when pup’s happy XD
Yep, Shin’s a happy pup! 🙂 Thanks so much for sharing, Inupapa Claws!! Hope you enjoy the next chapter! <3
just as everyone else said this was beautiful
Aww thank you so much!! <3
Love this 😍
Yayy! Thanks, Uissuteffu!! <3 <3
We’re in Narnia, babey!! This scene is so alive with magic, it’s beautiful 😍
And as much as she’s mortal, Kagome is simply right at home here with Shin and Sess. Ya love to see it!
“We’re in Narnia, babey!!” – yepp!!! <3
So glad you enjoyed the magic of the scene, Kova! Hope you enjoy the next!! <3
Shin got a taste of his first snow and then a winter wonderland 🥰 I am so fixated on this pup’s happiness 💕
Baby’s first winter! So glad you’re enjoying the scene, hanayome! Thanks for sharing <3
*refreshes page again*
📝
Dear Santa, I’ve been real good this year. I’d like some Wonderbug smut for Christmas plz thx
XDD I’ll put in a word to Santa too 😉
<3 <3