Together, Kagome and Yoichiro set out for the forested ridge that lay to the north of Edo village. A swift icy creek ran through the pass, sheer and deep at the mouth, making a direct approach from the south too treacherous. Fortunately, Yoichiro knew a shortcut to where the ground leveled out that she didn’t.

Scowling, Kagome hefted herself up and trudged to the door. If this was old Hatsumi again, worrying over that rash on his elbow she’d told him repeatedly was nothing… Steam was practically pouring out of her ears as she seized the reed curtain and ripped it aside. The words, For the last time, it’s not

The chill of winter returned with sudden vengeance. One last bitter hurrah, it seemed, before yielding the mantle to spring. Trapped inside for the majority of the day, Kagome was going stir-crazy enough before Inuyasha burst through the door and dropped a literal bombshell on her. The dead, bloody boar had scarcely crashed to the

For days afterward, Sesshoumaru’s cryptic response left Kagome feeling distinctly unsettled. The only silver lining to it all was that Inuyasha’s petty blinders toward his elder brother were more firmly set than ever. This would’ve given Kagome some much-needed space to breathe—if in his gloating Inuyasha wasn’t clinging to her incessantly, escorting her wherever she

What marriage? The ladle slipped in Kagome’s bloodless hold. “Why? Why would Sesshoumaru say such a thing?” There was no keeping the quaver from her voice. When Inuyasha’s glare snapped from his claws to her, her breath froze in her chest. “I didn’t know what to make of it back then,” he said lowly, rising

Inuyasha’s ears flattened. Next to him, Kagome paled. “Half-nephew then, you arrogant prick,” the hanyou grit out, as Sesshoumaru resumed his departure without another word. Scowling, Inuyasha turned back to her. “What an asshole.” Kagome swallowed slightly, recovering. Only her own hand was pressed to her belly now. At the tractor beam of enmity radiating

As the days grew lighter, Kagome only seemed to grow heavier. In body, in spirit. She felt tired all the time. Her back ached, her head ached. The smallest exertions left her feeling drained. At night she struggled to find a comfortable sleeping position and woke up feeling about as rested as she had when

As Sesshoumaru disappeared into the trees, Kagome crushed fistfuls of melty snow to her face, trying as best as she could to scrub the blood from her skin. Her mouth, cheeks and chin were so numb after a few attempts she couldn’t tell whether she was making any progress or not. Her frozen hands were

Kagome’s mind went frightfully blank.  When she came to herself again, her hands and face were smeared with blood. There was nothing left of the organs but a rusty stain in the snow. Nothing left of the rabbit but skin and bones, one of which she was gnawing as Taiyoutori shredded the bloody hide into

After Inuyasha left, Kagome paced around the hut. She tried to keep her restlessness under wraps. Just a few more hours, she told herself, and then she’d get some relief. Her nails dug into her crossed arms. Her mouth salivated, out of control. All the while her stomach growled, like there really was a cranky