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

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

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

“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

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

As dawn broke, Sesshoumaru alighted once more on the brimstone surface of Toutousai’s volcanic refuge. So, too, did his returning vassal. Catching sight of his lord as he landed, Jakken slipped quickly down from Ah-Un’s far side, concealing himself behind the dragon’s massive foreleg as he pretended to busy himself with tending to the beast.

Sesshoumaru swept back his drenched hair as he broke the surface of the stream. The freezing current flowed around his hips, dampening the fire in his blood. As his muscles tensed at the steadying chill, he combed his claws through his long gleaming locks, moonlight shivering in the droplets that trailed along his skin. His

“…And one cannot speak highly enough of Kimi-sama’s shrewd wit and keen mind for strategy!” Sesshoumaru’s claws bit into Ah-Un’s reins. Perhaps bringing Jakken along with him had been a mistake. Leaving the company of humans for a few days seemed to have invigorated the despondent imp. As tedious as his prolonged suffering silence had been

Later, gathered together with all her friends and allies in Kaede’s hut, Kagome filled everyone in on the events of her journey over dinner. Even Sesshoumaru was in attendance, technically. Leaning against the open doorway, he was about as far from the rest of the group as he could possibly be, his face turned away

Clothed once more, Kagome and Sesshoumaru left the relative privacy of her room and entered the main chamber of the den. All across the vast space, drunken wolves lay scattered—some snoozing from stone ledges, others sprawled on top of pelts or one another. Even shy young Akito had passed out spectacularly. Half his dangling leg