InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lover's Lane ❯ Snow! Shards! Now what? ( Chapter 1 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer~ Unfortunately, I do not own the Inuyasha characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. (I think that's how you spell her name)

Lovers Lane

Chapter 1: Snow! Shards! Now what!?!

“…” talking

`…' thoughts

`This is just great! You'd think he'd know that just because I sense a shard, doesn't mean we have to leave our warm camp and trudge through a BLIZZARD to get it. The shard will still be there when the storm is over!' A small shiver crawled up Kagome's back as she turned to look at Inuyasha who was sniffing the air curiously.

“Oi, Kagome! Ya comin'? Or am I gonna have to carry you?” he growled through the blinding wind.

“Sorry Inu, I'm just kinda c-cold,” she replied, teeth chattering violently as she walked towards him.

“Feh! It's not THAT cold Kagome. So hurry up already!” he hissed at her once she had caught up to them.

“You know Inuyasha, she has a point. Just because hanyous aren't susceptible to cold doesn't mean humans aren't either.” Miroku clearly agreed with Kagome on this one. Normal people did not go walking around in the snow for a jewel shard……..although with their group of humans, demons, and hanyou was far from normal.

“Feh! The sooner we get the shard, the sooner we can go back to your stupid camp!” The impatient hanyou sneered as he bent down, allowing the now trembling Kagome to climb onto his back as she sneezed and shivered in the snow.

“Bless you,” Miroku said, walking up to Inuyasha and looking at his young passenger with concern “Are you alright Kagome?” She nodded. He raised one of his large brown eyebrows in suspicion, “You don't look well, but I guess if you say you're alright then I won't bother you about it. But Inuyasha, you should stop. If not for us, do it for Kagome. She doesn't look like she can take this weather for to much longer.”

“Thank you Miroku. But really I'm fine; we don't have to stop if Inu doesn't want to.” She smiled weakly at the monk who still didn't look convinced.

“This is gonna be a fun trip, I can already tell,” grumbled Sango, her hair blowing softly in the cold wind, “Kinda makes me wish I'd stayed in Kaede's village with Kirara and Shippou.”

“What was that back there?! Your complaining isn't gonna get us there any faster.”

They sighed and trudged after him, hoping that the freakish storm stopped soon. Already the storm had procured three feet of the frozen vapor, with reinforcements coming down strong.

`I could have waited till the storm was over to tell Inu about the shard. But NOOOOOO I had to tell him as soon as I sensed it, LIKE AN IDIOT! Why'd I have to get us in this mess?' Kagome sighed as she snuggled closer to Inuyasha's warm chest, life was so unfair sometimes.

~~~~~~~FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~

“Kagome, where are you going? Why can't me and Kirara go too?”

“Shippou I told you, Kaede needs your skill and Kirara's strength to get ready for the New Years feast next week. She can't do it by herself, she needs you,” Kagome explained while trying to hide the grin that was threatening to overtake her face.

“She is right, I shall need ye help if we are to have a feast at all,” Kaede, after hearing all the commotion, decided it best to help Kagome.

“Well, ok. But how long will you be gone?”

“Look runt, since we beat Naraku we've got some free time. So we're goin' with Sango to her village. Miroku won't let her go alone so he making us go too. We're only gonna be gone a week or so. Stop being such a baby. Gods Kagome! Why do you even put up with the runt!?!”

“Because he doesn't constantly yell at me!” the young time traveling miko flared back. Giving Inuyasha a look that would have made Naraku beg for mercy.

“Feh! Let's just go already. Who knows, maybe we'll find the last 2 shards while we're gone. Coming Miroku? Sango?” He looked at his friends who nodded and followed him, leaving a fuming Kagome by herself in Kaede's hut.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^LATER^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

“This is so stupid,” Kagome whispered to Sango as they trailed slowly behind Inuyasha. “We should just stop and let him go find the dumb shards himself.”

“You know, Kagome,” Miroku whispered, “I'd bet almost anything that if you asked him, Inuyasha would stop.”

“What?” Kagome said softly, blushing ten shades of red. “No he wouldn't!”

“Yes he would, trust me…Inuyasha has a definite soft spot where you are concerned. If you pout a little, I'm sure he will cave.”

“Okay, I'll try. But I'm not making any promises,” she replied, speeding up to catch Inuyasha. “Inu,” she cooed, making a show of rubbing her eyes and yawning. “I'm really tired, will you carry me?”

The snow covered hanyou paused and turned to look at her for a second before he sighed and crossed what little space was still between them. “Hurry up,” he said as he knelt and moved his hair out of the way so she could once again mount his back.

“Thank you,”

“Why isn't she asking him?” Miroku said, glaring at the young miko, “This is NOT what I asked her to do. And she knows it.”

“Hush Miroku, maybe she is just leading up to it.”

“Easy for her, she doesn't have to WALK anymore.”

“Inu,” Kagome said softly, laying her chin on his shoulder, “I'm still cold and it's getting really ugly out here,” she paused letting her hand make its way up to his hair to tug at it playfully, “Do you think that maybe, possibly we could stop and find a place to camp?”

Inuyasha had been about to tell her that no, they could not stop, but when he turned to look at her his eyes met those puppy dog eyes she used on him and he knew he'd been beat.

Later on in a cave Inuyasha found…….

“Inu! I sense a shard! It's that way.” Kagome explained as she pointed in the direction of the shard.

“Alright, let's go.” He exclaimed as he moved to wake Sango and the monk.

~~~~~~~~~END FLASHBACK~~~~~~~~~~~

“Miroku!” yelled Inuyasha into the now howling wind, “Miroku, hurry up. If we don't stick close together we'll get separated in the storm.” He sighed when there was no answer, and Sango wasn't in sight either, which wasn't good.

“Inu,” Kagome said as she buried her head in his neck to attempt to unfreeze her face, “what if they got lost!? What are we gonna do?”

“They'll be fine I promise. I'm sure as soon as Miroku figures out we've been separated he'll find some kind of shelter for them to wait out the storm in.”

“That's what I'm afraid of.”

“What? Are you seriously worried about leaving Sango with that monk? Don't worry he'll keep her safe, and if my nose has been right these past couple a months, she won't mind either.”

“Inu!” she yelled into his ear, staring at him in disgust. “That's GROSS!!”

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^

“Inuyasha!” Miroku yelled as he huddled next to Sango in the freezing white of the storm. “Come on Inuyasha, this isn't funny! Where are you?”

“Kagome please, I don't feel like playing games!”

“Come on,” sighed Miroku, “We'd better find a place to wait out the storm. We'll freeze to death if we stay out here much longer and it doesn't look like we're going to be able to find them until it passes anyway.” He looked over at her and wasn't that surprised to see worry etched deep into her flawless features. “Sango, she'll be okay. After all, she's with Inuyasha.”

Although she was still worried about her friends, Sango had to admit that Miroku had a point. They couldn't stay out here much longer and live to tell about it. Sighing in defeat, she let him lead her back to the cave.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^

`Kami it's cold. I'm glad mom packed me some sweats with my stuff, cuz if she hadn't I'd be popsicle by now. Okay, time to tell Inu to stop, maybe I'll get lucky and I won't have to beg him.' Straightening up so she could talk right next to his ear, Kagome attempted to convince the dense hanyou to stop. “Inu, it's cold, and it doesn't look like the storm's going to let up anytime soon. So, can we stop? I'm sure by now Miroku's dragged Sango back to that cave I saw him look longingly at earlier.”

A simple, “Feh,” was her only reply, but at least now she knew he'd stop, considering he didn't tell her no.

As he trudged through the mountains of snow covering the ground in search of shelter, Inuyasha began to worry about Kagome. There was a blue tinge coming up in her fingers and lips, and she was rather pale. She was also wheezing and coughing terribly. `I have to get her someplace dry quick or she'll get real sick, real fast.' But at the moment he couldn't see his hand in front of his face, much less some distant cave. Plus the wind made it impossible for him to smell out some shelter for them.

Somehow he managed to find a decent cave and didn't waste time in rushing Kagome in out of the cold. As he laid her on the floor to rest, Inuyasha noticed that she was shivering violently. Quickly, he took off his haori and wrapped her in it. It helped, but she was still shivering. `Well,' he thought, `maybe, I'll get lucky and she was smart enough to bring a blanket.' After quickly assuaging that she wasn't in any immediate danger, he leapt over to the abnormally large bag that she carried during their journey. He dumped the contents onto the floor, ignoring the ramen that fell out, and rummaged around, looking for a blanket. He found one of those weird “batteries” she had told him about, and how you could use it to power one of those “electric blanket thingies.”

“Okay,” he mumbled, “If she has one of these, then she'll have one of those blankets, hopefully.” It didn't take him very long to find the blanket and hook it up to the battery. `Good,' he thought, `it works.' He leapt back over to where she was laying and smiled when he found her asleep. He laid the blanket over her, tucking the edges under her to trap the heat. After a minute or two, she stirred and eventually woke up. “Hey there sleepyhead,” he said, smiling softly as he knelt beside her. “I got you your shelter and you thank me by going to sleep. Nice to see I'm appreciated around here.”

“I'm sorry Inu,” she said, frowning, “thank you. I wish that I wasn't so weak, then we wouldn't have had to stop.”

“Feh, stop apologizing already, I don't care that we stopped. Besides, have you looked out there lately? I can't see my hand in front of my face, and the wind is screwing with my nose. If we hadn't stopped we'd a gotten lost and then we really would have been in trouble. I'm going to go look for firewood and some food. Don't leave this cave, got it?”

He'd expected to hear some kind of protest, but none came. Turning around he figured out why, she fallen asleep again. `Good,' he thought, `that's all she needs right now, sleep.' And with that he walked out into the blistering weather. He immediately regretted it. He was almost instantly chilled through to the bone. “I forgot that Kagome has my haori, but if I go get it she'll wake up. Great, that means I'm stuck like this! Man! This is one of those times when I wish I was full demon. Then I wouldn't be bothered by a little storm like this.”

He was looking for the wood when he fell suddenly over a rock. After he get up he was amazed, under the rock was a giant pile of wood that was miraculously dry. “Feh! I didn't think I was that lucky.” Finding food proved problematic. He walked around for what seemed like hours before he found a group of rabbits huddled in the bottom of a ditch. “Hello dinner!” he said taking 2 of them he set off back toward the cave.

Inuyasha wasn't surprised to find Kagome still sleeping soundly when he returned. Sitting next to her head he started working on building a fire. He loved it when they were like this, when it was just them. No Miroku, Sango, or Shippou to bother them. Kagome seemed to be the only person who made him feel good about himself, who didn't try to change him all the time. And he liked that. He usually kept his emotions locked up, but when it was just them somehow they slipped out.

She shivered again, and that bothered him. Here she had her clothes, his haori, an electric blanket, and now a fire, but she was still cold? It didn't take him very long to notice that her clothes were soaked. “Duh stupid,” he said smacking himself on the head, “her wet clothes are keeping her from getting warm. But what am I gonna do? Looking around he noticed that her pjs were lying on the floor of the cave. “Huh? They must have been in the bag. But do I undress her or do I wake her up and tell her to?” Inuyasha pondered on this for a moment then decided that the latter was best. “Kagome,” he cooed, “wake up. You need to change clothes or you'll never get warm. Kagome?” Inuyasha touched her face trying to wake her, but he didn't get a reaction. “Gods Kagome, ya think ya sleep hard enough?” After trying to wake her a few more times, the frustrated hanyou sat down and stared at her. “I really don't want to do this, but I don't want her to get sick even more. I sure hope she won't “sit” me when she wakes up.” And with that Inuyasha unwrapped her from the blanket and his haori, then, eyes shut tightly, proceeded to strip off her wet clothes and put on the new ones.

After he was satisfied she was covered, Inuyasha opened his eyes and wrapped her back up in the blanket (he kept the haori for himself). He laid her wet clothes out on the floor by the fire to dry and then sat down beside her preparing himself for the drama that was sure to happen when she woke up. As he did he thought back over the past few months. He thought about how he and Kagome were closer than ever. Smiling, he thought back to the night that had caused them to get so close.

~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~

Inuyasha's POV

I was coming back from taking the bath she said I had to take since I “reeked worse than Naraku” and I noticed that Kagome was still up. She was leaned up against a tree, studying for one of her “tests.” Personally, I didn't see what was so important about them that see had to leave me and go home, but my attention was drawn back to her as she dipped her hand into a glass of water. `Why would she purposely dip her hand in water?' I wondered, growling softly when she brought her hand back up and then flicked the water onto her face! `That's it!' I silently fumed, `Nothing is so important that you have to force yourself to stay awake! I'm gonna take care of this problem right now!'

After debating on what to do for a while, I decided to pick her up and jump into the nearest tree with her. She protested and tried to get free, but it didn't faze me. She could struggle all she wanted, it's not like she was strong enough to actually get free.

“Come on Inuyasha!” she whined, “Let me down. I have a huge exam next week that I need to study for. Let me go. Don't make me “it” you!” She put on her best “I really don't want to do this” look and glared at me.

“Nu-uh, you're not getting out of this one. Those stupid tests ain't worth it. You're going to sleep, and you're gonna go to sleep now,” I said matter-of-factly as if that settled it.

“But Inu...” she never got to finish her sentence, because I chose that moment to start running smooth circles on her back with my hands. All she could do now was moan deeply, and I had to stop myself from kissing her.

“Shhhhhh,” I said softly, “Just go to sleep. I'll make sure no one bothers you, don't worry.” I started to glide my fingers up and down her back. After a moment or two she'd greatly relaxed, and with 1 final groan, she shifted lower into my lap to sleep.

~~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~~~~

Normal POV

`I kinda have ta thank those tests of hers,' he thought, rabbits forgotten. `If it hadn't been for them I might never have become this close to her.' After that night they'd slept that same way every night. Kagome would study till he thought it been long enough (which was never really long), then he'd scoop her up, take her into a tree and massage her back till she went to sleep. She also had started to call him Inu instead of Inuyasha, to his delight. They would sit up there and talk for hours, while Miroku and Sango slept peacefully below them.

“Well, might as well get some sleep before she wakes up,” Inuyasha said in between yawns, leaning back against the wall for support. But after trying to get comfy for a while he gave up, “Okay, I can't sleep without Kagome in my lap anymore. It just doesn't feel right. Plus I'm cold, that blanket will keep me warm too.” He gently tugged the blanket out from around Kagome, pulled her into his lap, and wrapped the blanket around them snuggly.

Kagome woke up feeling warm and comfy. All she could remember was that she had begged Inu to stop for the night and he had brought her here. `Where is he anyway?' she wondered, `Surely he didn't leave me here.' But a small shift under her told her exactly where he was, under her. But, that didn't bother her in the least. She knew now that he would never take advantage of her. She'd known this since last summer when they'd been in this same situation.

~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~

Kagome's POV

Inu had taken me to a valley he knew I would like for a couple of days, while Miroku and Sango “bonded” in Sango's village. We'd been walking in the sun just enjoying our new freedom of not having to wonder where Naraku was, since Inu had killed him the week before, when a thunderstorm came up suddenly, and we had to make a break for the little shack we were staying in. Halfway there, I collapsed. I was too cold and wet and it was getting difficult to me to move.

Anyway, when I woke up I was naked! And I had almost sat Inu, but at the last moment I saw my medical remedies book open to hypothermia and I stopped. He had only done it to keep me safe, and I was going to sit him for it? I could tell how relieved he was when I told him I wasn't mad at him. It had been annoying when he kept apologizing for it though. But I forgave him.

~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~~~

Normal POV

Kagome shifted so she could look at his face. She loved how he looked when he slept, with his hair flowing around his shoulders and his ears twitching every so often when he heard something. He always looked so peaceful. As if nothing in the world could bother him. Gathering up all her courage, she leaned over and kissed Inuyasha's cheek. Of course, if she had known how he was going to react she might not have done so.

Inuyasha lowered his head onto her shoulder and began nuzzling her neck. And, as if she wasn't red enough already, he began licking the spot where her neck joined her shoulder, and he even started to nip at it playfully.

`Okay, calm down Kagome,' she thought, `he's still asleep. He doesn't realize what he's doing.'

But she couldn't know how wrong she was. Inuyasha was very much awake and he knew exactly what he was doing. He just didn't know how long she'd let him do it. He had woken up right before Kagome had kissed him, and decided he'd mess with her a little. He could feel the shivers run up and down her body whenever he touched her. `Well,' he thought deviously, `since she likes it so much, I guess there's no reason for me to stop.'

Kagome was feeling very uncomfortable at the moment, but she knew she'd have to kill herself if he stopped. `This will probably never happen again, so just relax and enjoy it.' She closed her eyes, attempting to drink up as much of the moment as she could.

Inuyasha let his arms slide around her waist and pull her closer to him. She wasn't resisting him, which was good. He almost started talking to her, until he remembered that she still thought he was asleep, and if he talked she'd know he was awake and he'd have to stop. And that would be bad. She was probably only letting him do this because he was “asleep” and she didn't want to “wake” him.

She felt Inuyasha's hands slip around her waist, and she had to fight to control herself. She wanted to turn around in his arms and kiss him again, but then he'd wake up, and he would stop. `Just pretend that he is awake and that he willingly doing this to you,' she thought, while trying to keep the thought that `he was dreaming about Kikyo and all this was just part of his dream' out of her mind. `It's me he wants, not her,' she kept telling herself, but she wasn't sure. He was always yelling at her, or making fun of her. Maybe she was just his shard detector. But that thought was soon swept away with a brush of Inuyasha's lips against her ear. She shivered, glad that he was asleep and couldn't see the effect he was having on her.

`Gods, she smells like an angel,' thought Inuyasha, `I wonder how long she'll let me drag this out? Okay, less thought more action time.' He slowly moved one of his hands to her hair, running his fingers through it and massaging her scalp. His other hand was not idle; it was shifting closer to her to tease the skin just above the edge of her pants. She moaned again, but did nothing to stop him. `Hmmmmmmm, I wonder how far she'll let me go?'

Kagome knew she was getting wetter and wetter and couldn't take it anymore. Her hands went into his hair as she turned around and kissed him. She licked his lower lip, eager to explore the depths of his mouth. And then just as suddenly as it had started it was over. Inuyasha leaned against the wall again and Kagome turned around to wait for him to “wake up”.

After he thought they'd been silent long enough, Inuyasha opened his eyes and leaned up to Kagome's ear, “You taste like an angel Kage,” he whispered seductively.

She turned around, wide eyed to glare at him. “YOU WERE AWAKE!?! For how long?”

“Since right before you kissed me the first time.”

“That means you were awake for the WHOLE thing!”

“Yep.”

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“Why would you do something so mean?” She whimpered as she crawled away from him, tears threatened to cloud her vision. He had played with her heart, and yet he could talk about it this casually!! This was too much. She thought she knew him better than this. He had probably just pretended it was Kikyo or something. How could he????

“How is it mean? Are you saying that I didn't really want to!? Is that what you're saying? Well, you're wrong! I've never been happier in my life then how I just felt! I just didn't think you'd let me do it if I was awake, so I pretended to be asleep. Obviously I was right, I'll never do it again, I swear! Please Kagome, don't leave me!”

All Kagome could do during the confession was sit with a look of pure shock on her face. As soon as he finished he leapt to the other side of the cave. Now she just needed to figure out the best way to word her reply. Her thoughts, however, were interrupted by a soft, muffled sound that was slowly filling the cave. `Is he crying?' She walked over to him and he turned his head, trying to hide his face from her. She sat down next to him and gently wrapped her arms around him. Turning his head to look at him she wiped the tears from his face and said, “I will never leave you Inu, I couldn't. I need you to much.”

His tears stopped, but she could tell he wasn't convinced yet. So she elaborated, “Inu, if I'd known you were awake I wouldn't have stopped you. I'd probably have urged you on. I thought the only reason you were acting that way was because you were asleep. I wanted to kiss you so badly but I thought you'd wake up and stop. Do you get it yet? There is nothing that could make me leave you, not permanently. Those few days I spend away from you when I go home for a test are pure torture, all I can do is count the seconds till I can come home to you again. I love you.”

Upon hearing those last 3 words Inuyasha's heart sipped a couple of beats. She loved him! He was shocked. “Kagome,” he said softly, “I always thought if I told you how I felt you'd reject me like everyone else. I didn't want to lose you so I kept quiet.”

“Inu, how many times do I have to tell you? I like you just the way you are. I don't care if your human, hanyou, or full demon.”

“I know. Now, since we're both awake what do you say I clean up these rabbits so we can eat?”

“Sounds great.”

A.N. Ok, hopefully this sounds a little less corny now. I've spent the past couple of hours editing this, which is saying something since I HATE editing. Well, I hope you enjoy it and hopefully I can edit some of my other works soon.