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

Kagome stared after him, still reeling. Still throbbing. Around her, the natural darkness of the cave seemed almost light in comparison to the shadow of his presence. Collecting herself, she crawled over to her pack, dug out her old camp blanket. With it draped over her, she huddled to the cave wall, whispering reassurances to

Kagome turned her face away. Warm breath fanned down the side of her neck. Sesshoumaru spoke her name, dark and furtive, as if it were a secret word known only to them. Her chest drew tight. She shook her head, closed her eyes. “Please, Sesshoumaru. Don’t do this.” “Look at me,” he said. Kagome turned.

“Sesshoumaru,” Kagome whispered, her voice hoarse with relief.  She wrapped her arms around his neck, buried her face in his silken collar. Tears squeezed from the seams of her shut eyes. When she opened them again, she thought that the blizzard had stopped and night had fallen. But as she adjusted to the dimness and

Kagome sighed. Such a silly memory to revisit. It felt trivial to her now, to think back on those times. It seemed almost like another life to her. Almost like a dream. She remembered Inuyasha’s reaction when she’d returned to camp that day, after the spider incident. “Oi, where’ve you been?” he demanded, bounding over

Kagome’s head fell back against the tree behind her. Glaring up at the steely skies, she tried her best to shut Sesshoumaru out of her mind. She was still stewing somewhat when she finally detached herself and resumed her trek toward home. Her run-in with him aside, it had felt good to her, making this

Around midday they reached Yoichiro’s home, a quaint little cabin tucked away in the wooded hills. A dusting of snow glittered on the ground here, giving the place a fairytale feel as they climbed the porch steps to the door. “Yoichiro!” his mother cried, hastening over to him the moment they entered the cozy space.

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