As Kagome put herself at last to bed, it felt more like putting herself out of her misery. Collapsing onto the futon, she let loose a muffled moan. Even as unconsciousness mercifully enveloped her, she knew that in a matter of hours she’d be stark awake with a pair of twin jackhammers pounding away on the insides of her skull and ribs.

A hangover to rival the worst of them. Kagome moaned again in dread. There was nothing for it, though. And only herself to blame for it all, anyway.

But in reality, the night ended a lot quicker than that.

The sun had barely ducked behind the horizon when she was jolted awake by the sound of low growling near the door. Her first panicked, incoherent thought was of Sesshoumaru—had he somehow evaded her detection, even with all the precautions she’d taken to prevent just that? Lurching upright, she brushed her hair out of her eyes and threw a barrier around herself just in case, before the fog of her sake-induced delirium cleared—and she saw Kanako pressed flat against the wall of the entryway, with the dog glaring her down from the pile of blankets he’d appropriated for his own.

“Kagome-sama!” the waif gasped, darting another fearful glance at the bristling canine. “The beast has gone mad!”

Kagome’s barrier vanished with a irritable crack. “No, he hasn’t. Do you see him frothing at the mouth?—you just surprised him, that’s all.”

“The madness starts in the eyes, Kagome-sama,” Kanako insisted, her lower lip trembling as her own too-round gaze swiveled over the dog’s snarling features. “A bloody gleam.”

The miko frowned, tugging at the neck of her robe. “How is Kaede-baa-chan?”

“Sleeping well, Kagome-sama,” Kanako answered meekly. “Her color is better than before.” Edging back a step, she sagged against the doorframe, and the dog ceased his growling. “I got her to eat two bowls of stew today, and to drink some of Rin-chan’s medicinal tea.”

Despite everything, Kagome’s expression brightened at this. “That…that’s very good to hear, Kanako-chan. I’m relieved.”

Except when she was attending to Kagome directly, Kanako normally didn’t do anything without excessive badgering. For her to have gone the extra mile toward caring for Kaede was a pleasant surprise to say the least. As if reading this on Kagome’s face, the waif lowered her eyes to her thin, clasped fingers.

“I try to think ahead, Kagome-sama, in order to please you. To prove to you that I can be of use to you. ” Her silvery eyes rolled upward, to meet Kagome’s own. “Once Kaede-baa-chan is better, will I be able to stay by your side?”

A frown weighed at Kagome’s lips. Of course—here was the catch. There was always a catch, it seemed. Why Kagome had even thought for a second that Kanako would do anything out of pure, genuine sentiment was her own foolish mistake. Not that she was singling out the girl in particular—because it wasn’t just Kanako. It was everyone. All of them were on the take, grasping for whatever it was they wanted by whatever means necessary. The whole world was this way, and Kagome was weary of it.

The selfishness, the greed. The thin veneer of civility that masked the base desires of the heart.

Kagome’s voice was hard as she replied, “We’ll see.” Perhaps sensing her agitation, the dog began to rumble again. Her eyes cut to him. “Ikiryou—come.”

Whether he recognized the new name she had given him or not, the dog rose at her summons all the same. Casting Kanako a parting glare as he circled around her, Ikiryou climbed up onto the tatami platform, and following the course of Kagome’s pointing finger, lay down at the foot of the bed. For a long moment, Kanako stared after him, before creeping over to the corner blankets and curling up herself.

Kagome turned over in her own bed, but sleep wouldn’t come. Her heart was racing, a splitting pain already cleaving her at the temples. In the fading light of the coals, she saw Ikiryou looking at her with his chin resting on his paws. What he wanted, at least, was plain to see. Kagome patted the empty spot beside her, and he wiggled into it, licking at her cheek.

Against her back, she could feel it still—a brooding in the air, heavier and darker than before. She closed her aching eyes, but she couldn’t shut it out. It was a burden that persisted in her subconscious mind, a weighted sensation of want and intention. Oppressed by it, plagued by it, Kagome hugged her arms around Ikiryou and buried her face in his fur.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Yay, the 100th episode! What a journey it’s been <3