The sun was setting as Sesshoumaru and his retinue returned to the village. Touching down in a clearing in the outlying woods, the daiyoukai continued on his way alone. As he approached the last line of trees, he saw her. Far from anxious or despondent, Kagome seemed perfectly content as she walked arm-in-arm with her

“Kagome-chan?” Sango asked in surprise as she pulled back the door curtain. “Hi, Sango-chan,” the miko replied hopefully, her arms hugged about her chest. “Sorry to bother you so late. Do you think I could sleep over again tonight?” Sango smiled, holding open the curtain as she stepped back inside. “Of course—come on in.” Nodding

Despite the brave face she’d put on for her friend, a part of Kagome had feared that Sesshoumaru might abandon her after their falling-out the evening before. But as morning rolled around and she left Sango’s hut to collect her weapons and pack, to her vast relief, she saw him. Red-hued by the light of

While the women bathed, Sesshoumaru leaned with his back to them against a nearby tree. As much as he had resolved to keep his distance from her, after Kagome’s inept display earlier that day, Sesshoumaru had been reluctant to let her out of his sight. She did not smell it, but perhaps she was ill

Stiffly, Kagome stood and followed Sesshoumaru to the edge of the campsite. As youki gathered beneath his feet, she moved closer and took a hesitant hold of his sleeve. Rising far above the tops of the trees, they soared high through the cloudless night, out of the southern lands and into the west. Sesshoumaru’s eyes

Sesshoumaru frowned as he regarded her. He should leave. He had brought Kagome here to rest and recover her strength. To remain any longer ran counter to that aim. Yet he asked her all the same, “You wish for me to stay with you?” Her grip on his hand tightened as she nodded, her large

Fire. She was on fire. Kagome’s jaw wired tight, her nails carving trenches into the soft earth below. Tears streamed down her burning cheeks as she scalded from without and within, every nerve and muscle straining to withstand the blaze. No! she screamed to herself. I won’t–I WON’T! Reiki seared through her veins, roiled like

What have I done? Frozen, Sesshoumaru stared down at his bloodied claws, the image of Kagome’s sundered flesh fixed beneath them still. He had mutilated her. With these hands, he had maimed an innocent girl–mauled her, like a rabid beast. Her blood glared up at him in accusation–from his skin, from his hair, from the

Blood red eyes swam briefly into focus. “…Well done, Magatsuhi. It was good of you to bring her here.” Blue lips pulled into an icy smile. “I thought the girl might be of interest to you.” “Oh,” the silky voice replied, “most assuredly…” Darkness swallowed Kagome whole. When she emerged into the low light again,

Sesshoumaru grit his fangs, his claws scraping through his tousled bangs in frustration. Once more, Kagome’s captor had eluded him. Heatedly, he surveyed the wasted mountainside, its blasted slopes scattered with the remains of humans and demons alike. This was the scene of a massacre—yet another bloody scramble for the fractured Jewel concluded in total,