Stunned blue watches him, too wide and too silent, the black points of her pupils dilating with the implication of his words.

Her lips part, her whisper barely slipping past. "And if you hadn't?"

Sesshoumaru tilts his head, still watching as he lets his youki rise, feeling the macabre façade hidden beneath the surface stretch his face.

Like bitter melon, her fear's tang pierces the air. "What—"

"If I had not"—he leans in, lets his teeth scrape the shell of her ear—"not good."

She nearly collapses, breathing stilted.

Immediately, his youki settles. "Kagome?"

"Take me inside," she rasps.