“I’m just bringing you up to speed,” Inuyasha groused to his older brother. His coarse sleeve brushed Kagome’s face as he dropped down beside her, trying to uncoil her from her stiff, fetal crouch. “She’s in a lot of pain, in case you couldn’t tell.” Kagome whimpered, resisting. At his jostling, a fresh wave of

The arrival of spring didn’t do much to lift Kagome’s spirits. Now well into her third trimester, the more-or-less constant state of discomfort she was in made it hard for her to enjoy the nice, warm weather—or anything, really. It was becoming increasingly difficult, just for her to get up and about. Even puttering around

Later that day, while Inuyasha was out on an errand, Miroku dropped by the hut. It wasn’t a coincidence he was stopping by when Inuyasha was gone. Shifty-eyed, the monk slipped past the door curtain without so much as a word to announce his presence. Normally, this would have startled Kagome senseless, but she was

You must know that I love you. Kagome sighed, staring off into the distance. A gust of cool breeze fanned over her cheeks.  The snows were finally melting, sloughing off the eaves of roofs and the branches of trees like old dead skins. The ground was patchy, dark where the drifts had frayed and shrunk

When Sesshoumaru held out his hand to her, Kagome took it. As he helped her to her feet, he pulled her to him. His lips pressed to her brow. Into her tousled bangs he spoke. “You must know that I love you.” Kagome’s eyes flared wide as she gripped his arms. Her heart constricted, as

Kagome stirred awake. She blinked out at the gloom surrounding her, bewildered for a moment until the memories came rushing back in—the snowstorm, the cave, Sesshoumaru… Against her side, she felt the heady warmth of him ebbing through her still. Flushing, she pulled away from his chest and pushed herself to her feet. His fur