Between Kagome’s ears Rin’s words were still ringing—ricocheting like bullets off the inside of her skull. Shaking her head, the miko struck out from the dark little hut, walking so quickly Ikiryou had no choice but to take off at a trot to keep up. In vain she strove to calm herself. She could feel

“Ah, Kagome-sama,” one of the clerks demurred from her side. “Your apprentice has been indisposed these past few days, as I have so humbly informed you…” Kagome blinked. Rin, indisposed? Mikos didn’t catch colds—not for long, at any rate. But most people wouldn’t know this. Calmly, Kagome nodded and held her silence, delegating as she

“I must depart for some time,” Sesshoumaru said to her, as he knotted the sash at his waist. Kagome rolled to the other side of the futon, away from him. Still she could feel when his eyes settled on her naked back, lingering there. Irritation prickled through her. “So? No one’s harping at you to

In her dreams, Kagome knelt at his side. While he drank from the cup she had given him, she simply watched him, waiting in breathless anticipation for him to notice her, for him to acknowledge her in the slightest. But his eyes were fixed somewhere beyond her. She was restless, desperate for him. She was

Kagome’s heart raced. Her palms misted as she clenched her fingers open and shut. She felt lightheaded, dizzy with agitation. She wasn’t even sure what the source of it was anymore, this roiling within her. It bubbled up through her chest, and she was laughing—laughing! “…No,” she gasped out, struggling to compose herself. “No, of

It might’ve seemed like he was extending her an invitation—granting her permission, even—but to Kagome’s hearing Sesshoumaru’s words had the smack of a challenge. At the sound, something like a switch flipped within her. A spark lit her eyes. A jolt of primal feeling stirred the cold, murky depths of her heart. She felt alive

“You ran rampant over my little brother, because he could not hold you in check.” The miko balled her fists to keep them from shaking. “My turn,” she said in a seething whisper, advancing upon him. “You’re a haughty, bloodthirsty demon with a woefully limited capacity for emotion.” Sesshoumaru’s gaze chilled, and Kagome considered it

Kagome’s face flamed as she shoved back from him. “I didn’t put on anything ‘for you’—if I want to dress sexy in my own house, that’s my right. And if you grab at me like that again I’m going to punch a burning hole through your cheek. Now get down,” she spoke through gritted teeth

Sesshoumaru’s knees hit the floor with a blinding flash. Beneath the tatami mats, Kagome could hear the sound of the wooden floorboards splintering outward from him still. The ends of her bangs ruffled as her breath escaped her in a huff. Well that was certainly a bit of overkill on her part—but perversely satisfying nevertheless.