Wow. Im blown away by the ending of this chapter. I'm so impatient for more. I just have to know what will happen next! Is Kagome back or was it his mind playing tricks? Please update soon. 

And if Katashi is looking for the stone, then I will find him there - Sesshoumaru thought with more than a small dose of anticipation. I will not stop until I smear his corpse into the ground. Father once sought to destroy the artifact he seeks. Perhaps he even feared it being misused, but I - as the son that has surpassed him in every way - fear nothing.

This line is so powerful that it gave me chills. What is this stone? Why can the child sense it? Seems like Sess has a new nemesis too.

I found your story on ArchiveofOurOwn, but since it didn't really seem to have many replies there, I followed the link here. Seems much more meaningful to leave a comment here than on the other site.

I have to say, so far I'm liking this a lot. It doesn't just appeal to me b/c of the Sess/Kag thing, but b/c you've put in so much time and effort to add actual history into it all, and it really makes this universe feel real. I'm a history buff and one of my minors in college is Japanese history. I don't focus on the Feudal Era as a specialty, just overall history. However, what I learned about the Feudal Era makes this story that much cooler in my eyes.

It's so neat how you've involved the provinces, and on your map you even drew them historically accurate. Seeing all the clans in action is way too cool. Japan has a deepseated connection with their mythology, and I'm happy to see you capitalize on that and add to it.

I'm continuing to the next chapter full of expectation. Amazing work, Kyndred Raven.

Interesting...

Wow great everything!! I'v been reading S/K  FF for over 15 years and they have some very talented & special writers on this site (I'm not one)  and you are right there with the best of them!  Great writing skills! I can't wait till the next chapter comes out. Great work! 

Wow great everything!! I'v been reading S/K  FF for over 15 years and they have some very talented & special writers on this site (I'm not one????)  and you are right there with the best of them! ???? Great writing skills! I can't wait till the next chapter comes out. Great work! 

Yayyy! She's back!!! (: 

Okay, anyone reading my former review should know that it no longer applies! The whole story is completely awesome now, no exceptions. :)

I read the disclaimer by another editor, so I decided to make one of my own solely because it reflects on my review. I worked as an at-home-editor in a rather specialized area... I made works conform to standards. LOL, that sounds so utterly pompous... that was work-speak for condensing eighty-seven percent of people's work, expanding two percent, and sending the perfect stuff up to the supervisor. I love perfectionists for that alone!

Why is this a reflection? Because I love how you write! You obviously think on how your sentences read and, judging from the way your subtle plot hints flow, you either thoroughly think out your plot in advance or keep meticulous track of of it as it develops. Both are major flaws for most fanfiction authors... although no disrespect is intended toward fanfic writers. Relatively few are trained as authors, after all; if they have any training at all, it's mostly just in essay writing, which has little in common with composition.

Thanks so much for devoting yourself to the art of writing!

I've loved every part of this story, except for "And if Katashi is looking for the stone, then I will find him there - Sesshoumaru thought with more than a small dose of anticipation. Once I put him into the ground, perhaps I will take that power for myself. Father once foolishly sought to destroy it, but I - as the son that has surpassed him in every way - will make it my own."

I have to admit that the only reason I don't like that part is because it is utterly unlike Sesshoumaru. He made his beliefs very clear in both the anime and manga that relying on a power source not your own is contemptible, so the above thoughts don't mesh with the 'Canon' designation.  Other than that single hiccup, the story is absolutely fabulous!

Uwahhhhh. Kagome is back to normal!! Yayyy! I wonder why Susumu dislikes her so much... thanks for the update! Can't wait for more :)

Ok, so I've finally finished reading everything. You know my reviews tend to get pretty wordy, so just bear with me if you can. Or ignore my wall of text, that's cool too haha. Here is the opinion of all this from a person who was just introduced to this fandom in the past day. Keep in mind that I've never even considered this pairing to be possible.

Holy smokes. This story is seriously bada-- (censored b/c I don't really know how strict cursing rules are around here). I would say that I went from 0 to 80 in just 5 chapters, and that's pretty nutty. What you've done with the characters, the plot, and the dynamics of it all is incredible. Really. I've always adored your writing, but I think that with Pulchra Tenebris and this story, you've taken it to a whole new playing field. 

Your description of the magic ritual with the artifact was mind blowing. I have like a billion theories about where you're taking this, but at the same time I have like no clue about where you're taking this. I can actually see a sort of bond developing between Sesshoumaru and Kagome, and you know what? I believe it.

The closing phrase nearly killed me. "Had We lost it, we would have regretted it for all eternity." So beautiful, and how Sesshoumaru (or his beast or both of them) refer to themselves as We was just perfect. I would gush about this all day, but I actually do have things I need to do to be a productive human being, so I'll leave off on the note that I can't wait till chapter 6, I'm here, I'm following, and I'm getting pretty darn excited about this fandom.

You might have just gotten me into my next addiction. If I break down, start skipping school, and lose sleep over fanfiction, then I blame you entirely.

Cheers,

-TTR

Woops! I just realized that I managed to skip over a chapter. Don't ask me how I did it. These things happen to me a lot. So, now that I've actually read this chapter, things make a lot more sense! 

Hello again!

Oh my goodness. My mind is just awhirl with questions! I'm wondering how the other characters are going to fit into this. What does this transformation means for Kagome? How Sesshomaru is going to react when he wakes up; How Jakken and Susumu are going to react? Gah!

I'm quite sure I could write a book filled with my questions! Any way, I truly enjoyed this chapter. Reading how Sesshomaru was questioning himself was very thought-provoking because most of the time you don't see that at all. He questions others or himself with feelings but never in his rule. I think it makes him a more "real" ruler than just a character. I love the depth you're using for him.

I'm also very curious to see how Susumu will be factored in. He seemed to be important considering how Kagome interacted with him and I desperately want to know besides the holy energy, why he is sad.

Will we see a reappearance of the other characters?

I can't wait to see Kagome's developement. I want to know how much she's changed and what is happening to her. And your villian is going to prove interesting as it seems that our heroine has taken whatever it was he was looking for. 

I'm really looking forward to the next chapter and more dialogue, hopefully with more explanations! Wonderful job!

BTW: Thank you for PMing me back! No worries! I figured you were probably very busy and I was very happy to see an update in my mailbox this morning. :D

And the plot thickens...oh boy. Love what you've done with this chapter and is this the first hint of the major villain?

So is this kid Kagome? Ffffff...so many questions in my head right now.

So I followed the link you gave on your DA profile based on your amazing cover art and ended up reading the first chapter of this out of curiosity. Inuyasha was one of the first animes that I ever saw. It was pretty cool, and I remember liking it a lot. I never considered that Sesshoumaru could pair up with Kagome. The idea seemed really weird to me when I read the description on the cover art page, but after reading the first chapter of this, I'm really curious about how you're going to make this work. I mean, heck, there's apparently a whole fandom dedicated to this pairing that I knew nothing about.

I don't like giving my email away, so I don't want to make an account here yet. I'm glad there's anon reviews. I'll keep reading and see from there. So far, I really like this story. It's way different from your Star Wars and Dragon Age stuff for sure, but it looks like you have a really flexible style of writing which is really neat.

Hiya! This is Kyusuke. I made an account just as promised and wanted to leave a review from it so that you would know who I am in the future. I just read this again before going to sleep last night, like, the whole thing and wanted to say again that this story is so awesome. Please don't ever stop writing, girl.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Why you must give me cliff-hanger?!

#pull my hair

Anyway, beautiful articulated chapter like always...

Good job :D

Awesome update and even more awesome cover art. Susumu looks similar to what I imagined.