“Oi, what’s up with toad-face?” Inuyasha asked as he entered the hut, prodding at Jakken with a single clawed toe. Sagged against the doorframe, the near-catatonic imp swayed listlessly, unable to bring himself to utter so much as a ‘Curse you, half-breed!’ Bulbous yellow eyes glazed over with a sheen of oily tears, he continued

“I’ve decided to stay.” Sesshoumaru’s gaze slanted from the heavens down to her. “Stay?” “That’s right,” Kagome said, her lips quirking up at the corners. The doggish pun in all this clearly wasn’t lost on either of them. “Bye-bye, college education. Hello, miko arts.” “So,” he said dryly, “you’re opting for the path of least

Bidding goodbye to Sesshoumaru, who she’d met along the way, Kagome continued on to Kaede’s hut. At least once a day, she checked in with the elder priestess, to see if there was anything that needed doing around the village. But this time, Kaede wasn’t there. As she pushed back the reed curtain, Kagome found

Sesshoumaru didn’t forget. And when Kagome had finished telling her story, he told her one of his own. How, centuries ago, his father had fallen in love with a mortal woman to his peril, how this indiscretion had torn apart not only his demon family but his kingdom as well. How, still young and unproven

Needless to say, Kagome’s whirlwind romantic encounter at the Bone-Eater’s Well left her totally bewildered. Happily so, but bewildered nevertheless. All of her previously-understood notions about her demonic partner were now, once again, in total upheaval. Their lovemaking—and a dreamy expression stole over her each time she referred to it as such in her mind—hadn’t

While he seemed to prefer keeping a lofty distance, occasionally Sesshoumaru ventured to descend among the ranks of mere mortals. There was no rhyme or reason to it that Kagome could figure. She would turn around and there he would be, perched on a rooftop or a fence, standing at the edge of a pool

Not long after dawn, Kirara arrived. Kagome was gloomily silent as she dragged herself up from where she lay sprawled among the roots. At the heavy, knowing glance the nekomata seemed to cast her way, the miko’s miseries compounded. …If cats could talk. To the forlorn young woman, it felt like the equivalent of a

With creeping slowness, dawn approached, tipping fingers of pinkish link over the horizon. Raw-eyed and despairing, Kagome picked herself up from the moss and wandered from the cave. She felt like the worst sort of fool. After all was said and done, she’d been duped by him just like all the rest. She didn’t delude

And this time, when Kagome unclasped her bra and slid it out from around and beneath her, it was only for practicality’s sake. She even mumbled as much to him, although with his habitual silence it was hard to tell whether he actually believed her. Either way, he didn’t seem to mind. As her chest

Of course, Kagome hadn’t forgotten about the glimpse she’d stolen of her supernatural massage therapist. That bright, eerie glint… She’d spent a good deal of time reflecting on it without success. By that point in the session, her recollections had become all too fuzzy. But it was a sudden gleam one evening that sparked her