Seasons by Zemmiaphobia

Snow

Snow

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or characters.

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Kagome liked snow. It was wet, it was soggy, and it made everything around it wet and soggy but it in theory wasn't so bad when you were inside. Outside, however, was another story and in Kagome's city bred eyes this was reason enough to dread the white fluffy that fell from the sky but regardless it was through it she found herself trudging to get back to her companions. Already she was soaked up to her knees, conveniently the height of the snow, and shivering. She had not expected the snow so early and thus had been under-dressed when she had returned through the well with her pack of supplies.

She looked up at the falling flakes and heavied a sigh, her breath puffing out. This made Kagome think of a train of thought move to the comical locomotives and she began to mimic them, imagining the steam to be smoke. Giggling, she puffed harder and was rewarded with a snowflake on her tongue. Glancing around for any sign of her friends or life and seeing no one she grinned and started trying to catch them on her outstretched tongue.

While running like this, not watching where she was going she tripped and managed to leave her flat on her back. Now laughing hysterically, she packed a snow ball and threw it at the tree over whose root she had tripped. Within minutes she had progressed to a full out snowball fight with the trees. Laughing so hard her eyes were closed, she threw her last snowball and fell to the ground with a thump. After a few minutes of puffing on her pile of snow she suddenly realized that the last snowball had not made the normal 'thuwack' that it usually made when connecting with a tree. She opened her eyes to see if she had missed and literally felt her heart stop in panic.

There, standing in all his white glory, was Sesshomaru. Vaguely she noticed that he had snow in his hair and partly on his face and when her brain caught up all she could say was, "Oh shit." This had no reaction from the taiyoukai; he only stood there, looking slightly annoyed at her and with an almost amused glint in his otherwise stoic eyes. Quickly Kagome searched her brain for a safe and easy way out of this situation. Coming up with nothing, she then searched her brain for something slightly less safe and possibly dangerous. That produced an idea and with a surge of adrenaline, she scooped up a handful of snow, threw it at the surprised demon lord and raced off as fast as she could in the opposite direction.

There was a swoosh noise from behind her and suddenly he was in front of her, looking even more annoyed then before. She blinked and then realized she was now looking up at him from the ground again. She gaped at him, wondering why on earth he hadn't killed her but instead had pushed her over. He did nothing and after a few minutes of shivering in the snow, Kagome slowly got to her feet. This time she took a step back still facing him. He did nothing. She tried again. Still nothing. Confused but determined, she then turned around and started to walk quickly back to her back. She got ten steps before a sudden sharp icy pain shot up from between her shoulder blades.

Startled Kagome reached back to feel it and came away with snow. She looked back at Sesshomaru, eyes wide in shock, but he wasn't there. Another snowball hit her side from somewhere in the trees and with a sudden realization she realized that he was engaging her in a snowball fight. Ducking behind a nearby tree, Kagome tried to come up with a reason for this as she packed her own snowballs. Revenge came quickly to mind shortly followed by the image of a cat playing with a mouse.

A flash of red flickered out of the corner of her eye and she threw a snowball at it. Sesshomaru dodged this but was not paying attention to the second one she had thrown that hit him on the side of his armour. He turned to look at her and with an 'eep' she ducked behind the tree again. 'This was such a bad idea!' she thought glumly to herself, imagining what they would have to put on her tombstone. 'Died by snowball fight' didn't sound very good and no doubt years after she was gone people would still be giving her headstone funny looks and laughing when they read it. A snowball hit her squarely on the chest and Kagome forced her mind back to the unusual battle she was having with Sesshomaru.

The fight went on for some time and Sesshomaru gave no mercy to Kagome. For every hit she managed out of dumb luck he gave her ten with precision and skill. Finally Kagome let herself fall to the ground exhausted and too tired to care if he planned on killing her. There were a few minutes of silence and then a snowball hit her leg. Kagome didn't move and a few minutes more another followed, hitting her on the shoulder. She heard footsteps come closer in the snow and stop beside her. When Sesshomaru used his foot to roll her over, she groaned and raised a hand to shield her eyes, but otherwise stayed still. "Miko." Sesshomaru growled. "Rise and continue." Kagome said nothing and let her arm flop across her eyes. "Miko." Sesshomaru said, this time deeper and more annoyed. "This Sesshomaru orders you to rise and persist in this activity." Kagome sighed and removed her arm to look up at him prepared to tell him exactly what she thought of his 'activity' and stopped in surprise.

In Sesshomaru's normally stoic, solemn face was the gleam of challenge and a slightly feral look. He had obviously been enjoying the exercise. Kagome shivered, not entirely from the cold, and then moved her arm back to her side. "I'm sorry Se—Lord Sesshomaru," she said tiredly, "But I can't. I don't have any energy left."

Sesshomaru tilted his head slightly as he considered this. "This Sesshomaru was aware that humans were generally weak but I had not guessed that you were more so, miko." He said mockingly. Kagome glared at him and struggled to rise. He watched her and she made it to a sitting position and then stood in front of him, trembling slightly in her wet clothing and a bit dizzy. "I most certainly am not weak!" she snapped. "I'd like to see another human that could keep up with you in a snowball fight for over an hour and not expire of fatigue!" Sesshomaru conceded this with a slight nod and then he scooped up a handful of snow, preparing to continue with their 'game'.

Kagome glowered at him, swaying slightly. "I told you," She said, "I don't have eno—"

Her eyes rolled up and she fainted at his feet. Sesshomaru watched her for a moment and then, dropping his new snowball, reached down and placed a hand on her forehead. She had a fever and was beginning to shake. He looked at her for a moment longer and then after some internal debate, picked her up and placed her over his shoulder. Passing it by, he also stopped to grab her bag before continuing deeper into the forest around them.

A few minutes later Inuyasha bounded into the clearing and looked at the turned up snow, being lost in the falling flakes. After a few sneezes and wiping his running nose no concluded that none of the scents were Kagome's and headed back to the village to carry on with his arguement with Miroku who for some reason insisted that he had a cold.

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Kagome opened her eyes slowly and realized two things. One, she was in a cave. Two, there was a blizzard outside. She shot up and then groaned, holding her swimming head as dizziness over came her. "Be still Miko, you are too weak to be moving." Kagome mumbled her name and let her arms fall to her side to look at him. He was sitting across from her, watching with unreadable gold eyes. Near him was the great two headed dragon that he rode curled around Rin and the toad he travelled with. Kagome huffed and gingerly laid back down, keeping an eye on him the whole while. He said nothing and the silence grew between them like a void.

"Where are we?" Kagome asked finally, unable to stand the constant hush. Sesshomaru raised one eyebrow delicately.

"In a cavern, miko. Are you so ill that your power of observation has failed you?"

Kagome growled at him, ignoring the second eyebrow raise, and crossed her arms. "I know that!" she snapped irritably. "I meant where are we relative to where my friends are. Oh, also, why am I here?" Sesshomaru did not answer her, but instead handed her a cup of what smelled like tea. She eyed him warily but when he did nothing but sip from his own cup, she took a small drink. Instantly the warmth eased her headache and she began to feel somewhat better. She gave a small sigh of pleasure and took another drink.

"You fainted on this Sesshomaru and the storm was getting worse. Taking you back here was not an unpleasant option." Sesshomaru finally said, refilling his cup. Kagome watched him drink and then frowned.

"If you think we're going to be playing snowball again anytime soon you can just think again." She said, ignoring the way he narrowed his eyes.

"This Sesshomaru is not a fool, Miko." He said, his voice dangerously soft. "I know your human body is too weak for such a challenge." Kagome gritted her teeth and nodded. Sesshomaru leaned back against the wall behind him and continued to drink. "When the blizzard has died, I will take you back to the half breed." Kagome could find nothing to say to this so she nodded again and sometime later, found herself drifting to sleep.

The next time she opened her eyes the sun was shining and though there was a good three feet of snow on the ground, the sky was clear and not a snowflake could be seen falling. She stretched, smiling at Rin when the girl handed her some cold meat for breakfast, and by the time Sesshomaru was heading out with his small group, she was ready to go and feeling refreshed. It didn't take long to reach the well, which was where Sesshomaru stopped, motioning Kagome forward to his side.

"This is where I leave you, Miko. I trust you can find your own way from here?" Kagome nodded and started to walk in the direction of the village when Sesshomaru suddenly reached out and brought her to a halt. "Make no mistake, Miko," He whispered in her ear. "I expect you to finish what you started." Kagome froze, her mind furiously trying to figure out what he meant. By the time it hit her and she whirled around to confront him, he was gone, leaving her to stare into an empty forest.

"Shit."

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THE END