Kagome tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. Unable to do anything except to replay over and over again that damning conversation with Toutousai in her head. Her mind spiraled down pathways of paranoia that grew so warped and convoluted they eventually overwhelmed her. Her anxious thoughts mercifully short-circuited—until some new fear rebooted her

The youki swirling around Shin condensed, settling over him like a snowdrift—until Kagome realized that the soft pearly fluff that wreathed him wasn’t snow, but fur. Still now in this demonic form, he peered up her with his gleaming, slit-pupiled eyes, coldly and inscrutably. His normally expressive face was devoid of all human feeling. His

Though Kagome sensed Sesshoumaru around, she avoided him. As though sensing her desire to avoid him—maybe in fact sensing this—Sesshoumaru didn’t approach her. Then again, even if they’d wanted to, their opportunities to fuck around were limited. True to his word, Inuyasha was present more in Edo now, since he’d given up his mercenary contracts

Kagome’s thoughts remained hopelessly rattled as the day wore on. She hadn’t felt this shaken in some time, possibly ever. She was still feeling far from easy by the time Inuyasha came home. His glib good humor did nothing to cheer her. If anything, it did the opposite. Sensing this, Inuyasha put Shin down and

Kagome left Sango’s home near dusk. Though she’d succeeded in raising her best friend’s spirits, she herself felt depleted—emotionally and physically. She remembered when she was a girl, her boundless enthusiasm of heart. Where had that surplus gone? It seemed to her now that everything she gave took a toll on her. Nothing came without

After parting ways with Kohaku, Kagome entered Sango’s home, calling out as she did. With it being so cold out, the children were inside, playing quietly together by the hearth. They’d been subdued like this ever since their father’s death. It hurt Kagome’s heart to see it, their somberness and frowning faces.  “Where’s your mama?”

What Kagome thought would be the low point of her day—maybe even her life—was only the beginning. Inuyasha’s high spirits that morning had only sunk her into a deeper depression. When he’d kissed her and left the house, she hadn’t felt better exactly—just not worse.  She whiled away an hour or so around the house,