Sesshoumaru stood, his stiff joints cracking at the motion. At once, the humans ceased their chatting, looking up at him in surprise as he strode past them to the door. “Wait,” the girl said, her voice pitched with anxiety, “where are you going?” “Out,” he replied flatly. “But it’s cold out,” she protested. “You should

The girl was discontent, that much Sesshoumaru could tell. Her shoulders were square and tense as she glared down into the bowl she held, the pace at which she was shoveling its contents into her mouth undeterred by her dismal mood. He resented being attuned to her emotions as much as he resented being attracted

The walk back to Kaede’s hut felt much longer than the outbound trek to the stream. The pitcher of water dug bruisingly into Kagome’s hip, her tired fingers straining to maintain their hold. Still, she felt confident in her resolve as she shoved past the heavy curtain and marched over to Kaede. “Here you go!”

It was a short walk through the woods to the closest stream. Kagome’s thoughts raced as she made the trek, Entei following along serenely beside her. As she knelt down on the bank and dipped the clay jug beneath the frigid surface, her youkai companion lowered his muzzle to the water as well, steam billowing

For a moment, Kagome forgot how to breathe. 

Slow and steady, his heart beat under her palm. Drawing in a measured breath, Kagome attempted to steady out her own. “I was lying on my side, next to you, trying to stay awake,” she began. “But I must have dozed off at some point. The next thing I knew, I was lying underneath you.

Kagome’s heart stuttered. In her earlier preoccupation over the bite marks on her breast, she had completely forgotten about the ones on her neck. They were fainter–just the barest of indentations, a neat set of pin-pricks in her skin. But now they tingled and twinged like bee stings, and the way he was pressing down

Hair still uncomfortably wet, Kagome hastened her way back to Kaede’s hut, bare arms clutching about one another in the chilly air. Knowing she’d just have to clean and re-bandage her wound, she’d decided to forego the long sleeves for the moment–cold though it was. Maybe it was the pronounced drop in her body temperature,