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

A short distance from the campsite, they landed, Sesshoumaru bracing himself for the irritations to come. As the sun began to set, he walked alongside the miko and her steed, his nose wrinkling as the first of the wolves’ musty hide tents came into view. “KAGOME-CHAN!” Sesshoumaru glared as Kouga burst through the pines, landing

Sesshoumaru watched as she wrung the water from her hair, the front of her haori translucent where her dark heavy waves had rested. Even now, he considered reaching for her again–ripping off her clothes and his own, bearing her to the rock below and making her take whatever he saw fit to give her. Damn

Sesshoumaru knelt down as she slid her slick fingers through his hair, going back for more shampoo several times as she worked her way from root to tip. Smooth and dark and gleaming, his long tresses flowed through her hands, the rich lather turning the strands butter-soft as she piled them atop his shoulder. A

As Kagome’s scattered wits slowly reassembled, the outside world drew into keener focus. She gazed up at the blue-grey sky, party obscured by the silvery granite overhang of the cliff they were on. She remembered the hot spring, its heavy steam wafting over them even now, her left side beading with condensation. There had been

Kagome’s hands flew out before her as she was pushed against a smooth wall of stone, her skin heating reflexively—ready to purify the life out of her would-be assailant. As the claws around her arms tightened in a familiar grip, her initial shock cleared, and she quickly reined her power in. “What made you think,”