She was taking down her hair when she felt him enter, the whisper of his youki trailing like a tangible shadow over her skin–even through the layered fabric of her clothes. He didn’t bother to announce himself as he stepped across the threshold, and in her mind she added another strike to his tally of

Six Months Earlier Kagome knelt before the altar, placing a few fresh sticks of incense into the small burnished bowl. As fragrant smoke rose before the granite face of her husband’s grave, she bowed her head in love and remembrance. Warm spring air ebbed and flowed around her. A few loose strands of her hair

As they descended the steps of the shrine together, Kagome and Sesshoumaru’s conversation fell into the usual, well-worn routine. She spoke to him of the progress Rin was making in her studies. He spoke to her of the state of affairs in the Western Lands. She told him of the measures she’d taken to further

Shortly after dawn, Kohaku arrived with Kirara in tow. Outside on the porch, Kagome was armed and ready. Giving the transformed firecat a pat of greeting, she readjusted her bow across her back and swung up behind the waiting taijiya. At once the three of them took to the sky, heading north toward the village

It was midday by the time Kagome, Kohaku, and Kirara reached the remote northern village–a small scattering of sturdy huts nestled in the foothills of a snow-capped mountain range. Isolated as they were, the residents were understandably wary of outsiders–and especially of kitten-sized Kirara. But after Kohaku and Kagome introduced themselves as close acquaintances of

Taking a deep breath to clear her lungs, Kagome turned toward the victim’s parents, who were waiting just beyond the door. The father stared blankly on as Kirara cleaned her fur on the opposite side of the entryway, the mother’s somber eyes lifting to Kohaku and Kagome. “Thank you,” the miko said, bending at the

“Ashamed…” Kohaku echoed in contemplation, the blasted ground crunching beneath his boots as he stepped up beside her. “It would also explain why he took the trouble to return Kanako’s body so close to her home village.” Eyeing the claw marks laid into the blackened tree a moment longer, he turned to Kagome. “Let’s see

Sensing the magic of Kagome’s approaching barrier, Kirara rose from her curled position with an inquisitive mew. Beside her before the fire, Kohaku glanced up at the miko as she stepped into view, dropping her own small radiant shield and recasting a larger version around their entire campsite. “There’s a predator nearby,” she said as

But the nightmares didn’t stop. Even after returning to Edo village, visions of the blackened grove and its phantoms continued to haunt Kagome’s dreams. Each night, more horrors of the past re-emerged, rising corpse-like from the depths of her consciousness to linger floating at the surface. Silver hair tangled with dark twisting branches, demon blood

That night, for the first time in weeks, Kagome’s sleep was dreamless. Groggy and stiff, she awoke the next morning with a refreshing clarity of mind. While she would never stop hunting the Beast, her brother-in-law had been right in one sense—she couldn’t let herself be driven to destruction in the attempt. She needed to