Kagome followed Sango at a distance, watching the demon huntress’s rigid back and angry steps with concern and sympathy. Miroku-sama had really been cruel. Poor Sango-chan! Kagome felt for her friend with all her heart. She knew only too well how it felt to be put in second place.

Through the tree trunks ahead she could see billowing steam rising from a hot spring. For a moment, she forgot about all problems and the tension within her group and sped up her steps. Soon, she had passed the last line of trees and looked down into a little hollow where, imbedded by mossy stones, lay a bubbling, luring spring.

‘Oh!’ squealed Kagome. ‘That’s a nice spring, Sango-chan! And such pretty surroundings!’

She looked around and smiled. The treetops grew over the spring, forming a roof of rustling, whispering leafs. On the moss that covered the stones around the spring grew little white, sweet-smelling flowers.

‘Kawaii!’

Sango grunted and walked stiffly down towards the spring. With angry, forceful movements she began to divest her clothes.

Kagome blinked, surprised when Sango did not join in her praise, but then lowered her head and blushed. Right, Sango-chan had not come because she wanted to bathe or because this was a nice place. She had come because she wanted to get away from Miroku-sama.

Feeling stupid and ashamed, Kagome followed the other girl to the spring. They undressed and stepped slowly and cautiously into the hot water. The rocks under the surface proved to be very slippery. Kagome lost her balance on an especially slimy one and landed with a loud squeal and a splash. But not even her friend’s comical, indignant face at resurfacing could bring a smile to Sango’s face.

The girls bathed in silence that quickly became uncomfortable. Kagome watched Sango from the corners of her eyes, wishing she could think of something innocuous to say. But everything she could think of would sooner or later lead to Miroku and his actions of late.

A shriek that sounded very much like Shippo jerked both girls from their respective musings and they looked into the direction it had come from. A shout of laughter followed and more squealing from Shippo that sounded like ‘I’ll tell them! I’ll tell Kagome and Sango what you said! Perverts!’

At that, Sango huffed and beat her palm with her fist. ‘Damn lecherous monk,’ she grumbled under her breath.

Kagome was unsure whether she ought to dare say something or not. ‘Um …’ she finally conceded.

Sango looked up. Her eyes were curiously bright. ‘Kagome-chan, you said earlier that you felt the divine presence getting closer?’

Kagome blinked, but followed her friend’s attempt at a conversation. ‘Yes. It’s still not strong enough that I’d say it is definitely there, but it got stronger.’

Sango nodded. ‘How long, would you say, till we arrive at that temple?’

Kagome shrugged. ‘I don’t know. Kurokawa-sama only said several days of journey into the west but he didn’t specify what several days is.’

‘Defeated by a demon …’ Sango mused as she soaped her hair. ‘Do you think that could have been Sesshomaru?’

Kagome fidgeted. ‘Um … yeah, maybe.’

Sango regarded her friend’s flushed face. ‘Do you still … er … wish for a repetition?’

‘Uh …’ Kagome dropped the shampoo and went fishing for it, hiding her face behind her hair.

‘Kagome-chan?’

‘Hm, yes, maybe … I mean, I – I wouldn’t say no … er …’

‘The strange thing is that he was so kind. I wouldn’t have thought him capable of it.’

‘Oh, I don’t know.’ Kagome, shampoo in hand, sat up. ‘After all, he has kind of adopted Rin-chan, and she clearly adores him. I suppose we merely started off bad, you know? With him disliking Inu Yasha so much, and then Tessaiga …’

She shrugged, squeezed some of the brightly pink concoction into her hand and began massaging it into her hair.

‘And it’s not that we know him very well,’ she continued. ‘He might be totally different from what we see when he’s with people he likes. Many people are like that.’

Sango gave a hard laugh. ‘Speaking of hidden character traits …’

‘Sango-chan …’

Sango shook her head violently and rinsed her hair.

Another bout of laughter drifted from the campsite. Kagome knit her brows. ‘I really want to know what they are talking about that is so funny.’

A thud sounded, then a surprised bark from Inu Yasha, and Shippo’s scandalised shriek. ‘MIROKU!’

Kagome blushed. ‘Uh, maybe I don’t want to know.’

She rinsed her hair and then turned to Sango to ask for the shower lotion but stopped. The other girl had gone completely silent. Her face was turned into the direction of the camp and there was a hurt expression on it. Kagome suddenly wished with all her might that the boys would make a little less noise.

The sound of wood hitting wood echoed through the forest, and then they heard Miroku laugh.

Sango’s face quivered. A painful sob was wrung from her chest; then she buried her face in her hands and began crying in short, violent gasps.

‘Sango-chan!’ Kagome hurried to her friend and wrapped her arms around the other girl’s shoulders. ‘Sango-chan …’

Kagome began rocking her and gently caressed Sango’s hair and back, whispering nonsensical words to soothe her friend. Her heart ached for Sango, and she inwardly cursed Miroku. She had only seen Sango-chan cry once before and that had been when the demon huntress had mourned her lost family. She did not show her feelings often, usually presenting the world a calm face, so that it was all the more disturbing that she now broke down so completely. Kagome felt her own eyes begin to prickle and she blinked rapidly.

Sango turned in Kagome’s embrace and pressed her face against her friend’s shoulder, searching comfort. Her heart ached and burned, and though Kagome was not the one she wanted to hold her, her friend’s presence and silent support felt good.

‘I don’t understand why he’s doing that,’ she whispered into Kagome’s hair.

Kagome hummed and rubbed her back.

‘I don’t understand it! How can he do this to me? What did I do wrong?!’

‘Hush, Sango-chan, you didn’t do anything wrong.’

‘Y-you can’t know that. There must have been something! But I don’t know what and … and …’ She cried out in pain.

Kagome sniffled and held her tighter.

‘How can you endure that, Kagome-chan? How c-can you see I-Inu Yasha with Kikyo and … and be so unders-standing?’ Sango shivered. ‘I-I tried, I really tried! I … I told myself that it is just … just his way of coping with stress, you know, and that it didn’t mean anything! B-but the way he goes on and on about that Bara … I don’t know what to do!’

‘Why don’t you try to beat some sense into Miroku-sama?’ Kagome suggested quietly.

‘Because that’s useless!’ wailed Sango. ‘I’ve done it all those months! And see what I got? He’s back at … at being lecherous as if nothing happened!’

‘Perhaps he’s waiting for it?’

‘W-what?’ Sango looked up into Kagome’s thoughtful face. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Well, I don’t know, but maybe Miroku-sama sees it as a … a sign that he means something to you? Because, as long as you get angry with him, he knows you care. And now that you stopped …’

‘No,’ said Sango despondently. ‘That’s not … see, Kagome-chan, after that dragon-thing we … um … we talked a lot. And … well, you see, I told him that … that I liked him and …’

A spasm wracked her body and she cried harder.

‘And … and he told me he l-loved me and h-he called me b-beautif-ful a-and said h-he had never f-felt for another w-woman what h-he felt f-for m-me … and then he went and practically drooled all over that Bara!’ she howled. She broke away from Kagome’s embrace and began pounding the nearest rock with her fists, wishing it was the monk.

‘How could he do that!? How could he do that to me? Damn lecherous bastard! Sees a pretty face and – oh! We must not forget she has a fine body, too! And that’s all he c-cares for! That stupid bint! She’s n-nothing more than c-coy smiles and – and stupid fluttering of eyelashes! And h-he f-falls for it! There’s nothing in that cow’s head, but does he care? No! H-he really doesn’t think w-with the h-head that’s o-on hi-his sh-shoulders …’

Her head fell forwards onto her hands and her words drowned in sobs.

Kagome inched closer and put her hand on Sango’s back. She had stayed away from her raging friend and let the other girl yell out her frustration. She knew from experience that one felt better afterwards – a little. Now, she rubbed soothing circles on Sango’s back, listening with a breaking heart to Sango’s pained whispers.

‘How could he do that to me? How could he be so cruel? Why did he do it? What did I do wrong?’

Kagome wiped at her eyes and ducked deeper into the warm water as a sudden, cold breeze made her shiver. Goose bumps formed on Sango’s skin, but the distressed girl did not take notice.

‘Sango-chan …’ Kagome began hesitantly. ‘Why don’t you try and talk to him? Maybe if you told him …?’

Sango’s head snapped up. Her eyes flashed. ‘No! He knows what I feel! I’m not going to run after him!’

She shivered and rubbed her bare arms.

Kagome shook her head. ‘Guys often don’t know how girls feel,’ she said wisely. ‘Although Miroku-sama is a good deal quicker in this respect than others, he’s still a guy. Maybe he really has no idea how much he hurt you?’

Sango stared angrily at Kagome. ‘Do you really believe that?’ The cold breeze made her duck into the warm water as well.

Kagome bit her lip. ‘Um … if I have to be honest …’

Sango snorted. ‘You don’t, do you? Well, I don’t believe it, either! And even if he didn’t know, he must have noticed that I’m angry and … well, he could at least have asked! But he didn’t! That alone is … argh!’

Kagome closed her eyes as Sango hit the surface, splashing water everywhere, and hugged herself tightly. The coldness seemed to be seeping into the water.

Sango’s chattering teeth made her look at her friend. ‘It’s g-got c-cold s-suddenly,’ she remarked.

Sango nodded and looked up. ‘I w-wonder w-why. O-odd-d. S-such a f-fall of t-temp-perat-ture i-in s-sum-’

Kagome’s sight blurred. She saw Sango indistinctly, as if through thick fog. She opened her mouth to ask her friend what was up, why she hadn’t finished her sentence, but something stuck in her throat. She tried to scream, but no words came. The cold intensified, paralysing her. Her mind swirled curiously and retreated. From seemingly far away, she felt her body shake madly.

Inu Yasha! cried her dimming mind, but not even a sigh passed her lips. Coldness wrapped around her heart, froze her from the inside. Everything went dark. She tried to fight it, tried to see what happened to Sango, but within seconds she had lost consciousness.

---

Someone had removed her from her sleeping bag was Kagome’s first thought as the blackness around her brightened. She was terribly cold and lying on something very hard and uncomfortable. Somewhere near had to be a fire; she could feel tendrils of warmth brush her frozen skin. Inu Yasha. Why have you stolen my sleeping bag?

She twitched and her body began to shiver. She was so cold! Her lids felt leaden and she fought to open them. At first, something huge and red blinded her, and for a second she thought someone was trying to push her into a fire. But then the blur in front of her eyes lifted and she saw that the assumed fire was a lamp hanging from a wooden ceiling and lightening a wall hanging.

Kagome stared at the wand hanging, trying to understand why it was there. Since when had Kaede such expensive decorations in her hut?

Slowly, her mind began to work as her body warmed. Things clicked together. Right, she and Sango-chan had been bathing. Sango-chan had been angry at Miroku-sama, she had cried … suddenly it had got cold. Something had trapped her … trapped her …

With a strangled yelp, Kagome sat up and looked around wildly. Her eyes fell onto Sango, who was lying close to her, covered only in her hair. Kagome looked down her own body and realised she was equally naked. She gulped heavily. Where was she?

She inspected her room, trying to find something that would give her clues. But there was nothing. She and Sango were in a rectangular room with a bare, wooden floor. In the middle of the room burned a merrily flickering fire. The walls were covered with hangings and three gilded lamps hung from the ceiling. That was all.

Kagome frowned. Not in a village or castle, then. But in that case, she and Sango-chan would have been dressed and not lying on the bare floor but on sheets. Where were they? Where were Inu Yasha and Miroku-sama?

Another click in her mind and Kagome gasped. Cold. Something like mist that had trapped her! She and Sango-chan had been abducted by the ghosts!

‘O no!’ Quickly, she crawled over to Sango and began to shake her. ‘Sango-chan! Wake up, Sango-chan! Wake up!! Wake up!!’

Sango growled and tried to escape from the shaking. But Kagome was persistent.

‘Sango-chan! Please, wake up! We must get away! Wake up!’

‘Mmrmmbl,’ said Sango and opened one eye.

‘Come on, Sango-chan! Wake up. We must find a way to get out of here!’

‘Hm?’ Sango struggled to open both eyes. ‘Kagome-chan? What’s up?’

‘We’ve been kidnapped! By the ghosts! At least, I think it was the ghosts. But anyway, whatever it was, we must get away!’

‘Ghosts?’

‘Yes, the ghosts we saw that tried to kidnap the girl Bara. Remember? The serving ghosts that some divine entity must control! The ghosts that have kidnapped all the other girls as well! Oh, come on, Sango-chan!’

‘Bara?’ Something in Sango’s eyes flashed. She sat up and looked around. ‘What did the damn monk do this time? Where is he? Oh, I’ll make him pay!’

‘No, no, not Miroku-sama. Gods, I wish he was here, he and Inu Yasha.’ Kagome tugged on Sango’s shoulder and looked around frantically.

Sango blinked at the other girl, then at her surroundings. Her mind cleared and her eyes widened. She swore, using one of Inu Yasha’s more colourful curses. Kagome nodded.

‘Yes, yes. But now we must get out of here!’

‘But, Kagome-chan, how? There’s no door! How did we come in here?’

‘I don’t know.’

‘And we’re naked!! Before we find a way out, we must find something to wear. Hey, do you think we can use one of those hangings?’

Sango was about to get up when she suddenly froze suddenly.

‘Sango-chan?’ Kagome eyed her worriedly.

Sango raised a hand. ‘Sh. I hear something …’

‘What?’ whispered Kagome.

Before Sango had the opportunity to answer, a hidden door slid open and a man stepped in. Both girls turned towards him, ready to defend themselves at their best possibilities, but as soon as they got sight of him, all thoughts fled them, and all they could do was stare.

The man in front of them was the most beautiful man either of them had ever seen. He was tall and slender, with broad shoulders, a flat stomach and slim hips. His long, straight hair fell down to his waist and shimmered like spun gold. His features were simple perfection, and his dark brown, almond shapes eyes smiled tenderly at them.

‘Ah, you are awake.’ His voice was musical and gentle. He stepped further into the room, his elegant robes rustling softly, and smiled at them. ‘Do not fear, dear ladies. There is nothing to worry you. You are safe here.’

‘W-who are you?’ managed Kagome, while Sango simply stared at the man with slack jaw and misty eyes.

‘You may call me Shujin, my dearest.’ He knelt down in front of her and regarded her, concern shining in his eyes. Kagome felt warmed by his mere presence. ‘I hope you feel better?’

‘Um … yes. Better,’ mumbled Sango.

A large smile lit up his face. Kagome felt her head spin. He was too beautiful.

‘W-where are we?’ she asked, stubbornly refusing to become addled like Sango-chan apparently had. ‘How did we come here? Why are we here?’

The man – Shujin – traced two fingers over her cheek. The skin burned where he touched her.

‘You are in my house, my pretty one. Do not worry.’

Sango nodded and smiled. Kagome felt a pull at her mind but refused to give into it. ‘But … our friends! Inu Yasha and Miroku-sama and Shippo and Kirara! Where are they? Are they not here?’

Shujin brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Kagome shivered and her stomach fluttered. Angrily, she called her body to order. Why should this odd man’s touch affect her so much?

‘Do not worry,’ he repeated. ‘Those who hurt you will not come near you again. You are safe here, with me. Rest now.’

‘Yes, rest,’ mumbled Sango and laid obediently down, closing her eyes.

Kagome, however, fought the urge to do what the man wanted. This was wrong!

The man noticed her resistance. He bent forward and looked deeply into her eyes. His glowed softly, hypnotising her. Kagome felt herself getting lost in those eyes.

‘Yes, that is good, my sweet lady. Relax. Do not fear. I am here to protect you and to love you as you deserve it. You are so beautiful, so special. Ah, my precious one, you will be my jewel, my first, my favourite! Your fire enflames me. Your beautiful soul ensnares my heart. I will love you, more than you ever imagined to be loved by anyone.’

His soft, tender voice lulled Kagome’s suspiciousness and she allowed him to lower her onto the floor. He caressed her face, her hair, and her arms, all the while whispering sweet words to her.

‘Lie down, my precious one, and rest. You are tired and strained. Here, you will recover. The harsh, cruel world will not reach you here. I am here to love you. I will spoil you as your beauty demands. You shall have everything you desire. Sleep now, my lovely rose, my heart’s delight. Ah, how beautiful you are! More beautiful than a budding rose at dawn, and your skin is so much softer than its petal kiss. Sleep now, and dream, my little bird, and do not worry. I already love you more than I can say. You are my first, my jewel; you are truly worthy, my beautiful one. Yes, you are truly worthy to be mine, my lovely rose, my Divine Concubine.’