“Kouga-onii-sama!” Ginta and Hakkaku wailed in terror, sprinting off after Ayame. Mounting Entei in a rush, Kagome raced toward the opposite end of the plateau as well. She had nearly caught up with Ayame when the extent of Kouga’s injuries came into graphic view. Her eyes stung at the deep gouges scoring his right side,

Giddy despite the circumstances, Kagome grinned as she and Entei rounded the mountain once more. Part of her couldn’t believe she’d just stolen a kiss from Sesshoumaru—the other part of her couldn’t believe she’d actually gotten away with it. Based on the simmering disgruntlement she could sense from Entei, the horse youkai seemed similarly disbelieving.

Naraku’s incarnation eyed them warily in turn, his leathery wings drawing to sharp-tipped points as he hovered in midair. The mottled gray armor Kagome had blasted off during their previous showdown had mostly regenerated–save for a sizable crack in the very center, approximately where her reiki-infused spear had struck. Through the gap, something faintly glimmered,

At once Kouga dropped into a feral crouch, claws flexed and hackles raised. “Kagura!” he seethed. Smirking, the wind sorceress appeared through a crack in the gates, her pale skin tinted red by the glow of the barrier before her. “My, my, how predictable–arriving here like lambs to the slaughter. Or should I say, wolves.”

All around them, an army of undead wolf youkai began emerging from the rocky soil, swords and spears and axes clutched in their rotting claws as they stalked toward Kagome and her group. Pushing ahead, the living banded together upon a stretch of exposed stone as their enemies closed in around them from all sides.

They were nearly to the top of the mountain when Jakken returned. At the sight of Ah-Un’s hulking form sailing toward them, Kagome let out a breath of relief she had no idea she’d been holding. Let alone why. Sesshoumaru’s impish retainer had never been anything less than rude to her. Nevertheless, she was still

“It’s so eerie,” Kagome muttered, gliding alongside Kouga and Ayame as the wolves rounded another flinty ledge. “Everything’s just…silent. And still. There’s not even a breeze.” “I don’t sense any youki, either,” Kouga mumbled, his bright blue eyes scanning from side to side. “What about Jewel Shards, Kagome-chan–you picking up on anything?” She shook her head.

Kagome awoke with a start–her senses alarming at the vast, powerful youki emanating from nearby. As she rose from the dense fur pillowed beneath her and turned toward the source, a gasp of surprise escaped her. Not too far away, Sesshoumaru stood, the barrier before him already beginning to shiver like a soap bubble in