Trapped in the Snow by yasha012

Chapter 1

"Stupid Inuyasha and his stupid hard-headedness and his stupid arrogance and his stupid… ARGH!" Kagome exclaimed angrily as she stomped through the snowy forest where they had decided to camp out, her scarf flowing behind her and her hands shoved deep into her sweater pockets.

A harsh, bitter wind blew through, causing her to shudder. She sighed, forcing herself to calm down for now.

"I should probably find shelter soon… There's a monster storm blowing in."

She turned around in a slow circle and looked around.

"Let's see here… Which way did I come from?" she wondered out loud. "Jeez, I really got myself lost this time…"

With another sigh, she turned and began walking in a random direction, hoping to find some form of shelter. Even a meager shelter would be welcome at this point. But then again, she was beginning to think that a meager shelter wouldn't be good enough. The storm was clearly big, and getting bigger. She walked around the base of a large boulder and through a small clearing before reentering the woods. Just as she stepped within the shelter of the trees again, she came across a trail of footprints. They seemed fairly fresh.

'Guess I'm not the only one in these woods…' she thought, suddenly nervous. 'I kinda wish I hadn't taken off now… But then again, there was NO way I was staying with that jerk.'

She sighed.

"I wish I at least had Kirara with me."

After debating it inwardly for a moment, she decided to follow the prints, hoping they would lead to some kind of a shelter. With that thought in mind, she set off down the trail. The trail followed a faint, barely noticeable path that wound through the trees and around the base of wide, tall hill. After that, the footprints left the path and wandered farther into the woods. They went deeper and deeper into the forest before suddenly disappearing.

"What-?" she asked out loud before cutting herself off, worried that she might be heard by someone or something that wasn't particularly friendly.

She looked around, slowly realizing what must have happened. A ton of snow had fallen from the canopy above, burying the tracks in a good six inches or better of snow. She sighed.

'Great. Now how am I supposed to find shelter?'

Grumbling softly in annoyance, she continued the way she'd been walking, hoping that she'd find something useful so she could at least make a shelter if it came down to that. She walked forward for about another ten minutes or so before she suddenly found herself at the base of a large mountain. She blinked, wondering how in the world she hadn't seen it before, when she suddenly noticed the large cave yawning open before her. There was no light within it, so she searched the trees nearby, hoping to find a dry, sturdy branch. When she finally found one, she broke it off, stripped it of its few remaining dead leaves, and fished around in her sweater pocket. A moment later, she pulled out a small gray lighter. She flicked it a few times, waiting for a spark.

"Come on, come on… Light already…"

She yelped in surprise when the branch suddenly lit. Satisfied, she put the lighter away and walked back into the cave.

'Glad I had that with me…' she thought as the darkness of the cavern surrounded her.

She looked down, surprised to see that some snow had already been tracked into the cave. She gulped.

'Guess someone beat me here…' she thought, turning around to head back out.

But of course, the storm chose that moment to hit. Thunder boomed. Snow billowed. Wind howled. She sighed heavily, realizing that she no longer had a choice but to stay here. Another fierce gust of wind blew, effectively blowing out her makeshift torch. It was soaked with snow before she even had a chance to think about relighting it. She dropped it onto the now snow-covered ground at the entrance where she was still standing. Swallowing nervously, she turned back toward the darkness. Now that it was pitch black outside, she realized that she could see a faint light deeper within the cave. It looked like someone had lit a fire. Swallowing her nervous feelings for now, she slowly, quietly walked toward the fire. A moment later, she felt the flicker of a familiar aura just as she stepped into the firelight.

"Sesshomaru…"

He was sitting cross-legged in front of a small fire, staring into it with Bakusaiga and Tenseiga resting on the ground at his left side and his arms also crossed. He looked up calmly at her for a brief moment before looking away again, returning his gaze to the fire. When he said nothing, she sat down across from him, enjoying the warmth of the fire. After countless minutes of awkward (for her at least) silence, she risked a quick glance up at him. She hadn't seen him since the most recent fight between himself and Inuyasha, and that was close to a year ago.

'I can't believe how Inuyasha's been acting around him lately. He's been treating Sesshomaru like he's Naraku Jr. or something,' she thought, hating the fact that Inuyasha started a fight with him on sight every time they met. 'That's probably the reason why we haven't seen him in so long. He seems to be going out of his way to avoid us. Not that I can blame him.'

Despite the time that had passed, he looked almost exactly the same, except that the fur he usually carried on his shoulder was mysteriously missing. Not that him looking the same was surprising, considering the fact that he was a demon and all. She looked down, intending to stare into the fire again, when she suddenly noticed the torn cloth on his right leg. His leg looked like it had been shredded, and while it was obvious that he'd stopped the bleeding somehow, he hadn't bandaged it in any way.

"What happened to you leg?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing," he replied emotionlessly.

"That's a lie and you know it."

He huffed, but otherwise didn't reply.

"At least let me see it," she said, her tone not leaving any room for argument.

He huffed again, effectively blowing his bangs in the progress, but didn't try to stop her. Glad that he didn't argue with her, she stood and walked over to him before kneeling by him. He slowly extended his leg, and she saw a flicker of pain in his eyes for a moment before it disappeared again. She carefully peeled the torn cloth of his pant leg away from the deep gashes on his leg. This wasn't the work of a blade or some creature's claws. Some kind of demon energy attack thing? It kind of reminded her of the damage Inuyasha's blades of blood did. Shaking those thoughts from her mind, she spoke.

"Were you in a fight?" she asked.

"Hn."

"With who?"

Honestly, she wasn't really expecting an answer. So, needless to say, she was surprised when she got one.

"It doesn't matter," he said, not looking at her.

His voice had gained a hard edge, and she decided to drop the subject for now. Instead, she asked a different question.

"When did this happen?" she asked as she carefully examined his leg.

When he didn't reply, she made an educated guess.

"A few hours ago?"

He nodded. Satisfied that he'd responded, she continued in silence.

"I need to bandage this," she murmured a few minutes later. 'But all my bandages are back at camp…'

She thought for a moment when an idea suddenly hit her. She quickly unwound her scarf from around her neck and lifted his leg, feeling a pang of guilt when he visibly winced.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "This is probably going to hurt, but I'll get it done as soon as I can, okay?"

The slight grimace remained on his face, but he didn't object. Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she continued, carefully wrapping the long pink cloth around his leg. Every time she tightened the scarf, she could feel him tense. She felt a wave of relief when it was finally over.

"Okay, done," she said, leaning back on her heels.

He looked down at the makeshift bandage before looking away again. She grew a bit angry. He didn't even thank her! Didn't even acknowledge what she'd done for him! But just when she started to really steam, he spoke.

"Thanks," he muttered, not looking at her, his voice so quiet that she barely heard him.

She smiled warmly, her anger disappearing.

"Your welcome."

She moved and sat down next to him, leaning against the wall, hugging her knees up to her chest. An awkward silence began to fill the air again, and she decided that she didn't like it. So instead of dealing with it, she began to talk.

"It's been a long time since we've seen you."

"Hn."

"How have you been?"

"Fine."

She sighed inwardly.

'It's a good thing he's so talkative, otherwise this would be really awkward,' she thought sarcastically, feeling a tad sullen.

It was silent for a time before she started talking again.

"So, um, where're Jaken and Ah-Un?" she asked, hoping that talking about his companions would get him to open up a bit.

"With Rin," he said simply.

"Oh. Is she still in Kaede's village?"

"Hn."

"I haven't been there in so long…" she sighed. "We've been tracking some insane demon that's been slaying entire villages for the past two and a half years or so. Sometimes I kind of wish I hadn't left. I feel like I'm missing out on my entire life. That village is my home now, after all."

Much to her surprise, he replied.

"You haven't missed much," he said.

"Oh?" she asked, looking over at him with a small smile on her face. "I haven't, have I?"

"No."

"And how would you know that? Have you been there recently?"

"Hn."

"How's Rin?"

"Fine."

He paused for a moment before continuing, taking her by surprise.

"She's grown."

Her smile grew wider.

"It must be a bit hard for you to get used to," she murmured, watching him study the flames. "The fact that she, humans in general really, age so quickly."

He nodded slowly.

"I can't believe she's thirteen already," she laughed. "It seems like it was only yesterday that she was only ten years old."

"…Yeah."

"So what's Jaken doing there?"

Much to her surprise, the corner of his mouth twitched up in faint smirk for a moment before disappearing again.

"He insists on taking care of her still," he said. "And she kept saying she missed him."

She grinned at him.

"That's the most you've said all day."

He looked at her for a moment before looking away with a soft huff, blowing his bangs again as he did so. Still smiling, she continued to talk.

"I wish my life was as easy as hers sometimes," she said honestly. "I mean, first it was Naraku and Kikyo and the Shikon Jewel and now it's some crazy demon bent on the complete genocide of all human beings and, God, it's just so annoying! And Inuyasha acting like a total jerk the whole time hardly helps."

He looked at her again, a slight frown on his face.

"What did he do this time?" he asked seriously, causing her to sigh heavily.

"Oh, it was nothing, really. Not this time, anyway," she replied. "He just scared some people, that's all."

He looked at her skeptically for a moment before saying, "You're not saying everything."

"It was nothing."

"Liar."

"I seem to recall having this conversation earlier, except our lines were swapped."

"Hn."

"Kind of ironic, isn't it?

"Stop changing the subject."

She sighed again.

"He… We got into a fight… after he scared those two villagers. We got into an argument over it, and he said… that I was stupid. That… I don't know anything. That I'm weak useless."

"And?"

"And… that I was always just a shard detector. And that now… I'm just nothing. I don't matter."

Tears were sliding down her face by this point, and she buried her face in her hands.

"Am I really nothing anymore…?" she whispered, not expecting an answer. "Do I really not matter?"

It was silent for a long time. Then, just when she was sure he wasn't going to reply, he spoke.

"You're not nothing," he murmured, his voice so soft she was almost certain that she hadn't heard it and that she was imagining things.

She lifted her face and looked at him, tears still sliding down her face. He was staring into the fire again, looking thoughtful, as though he didn't really know what to say.

"I'm… not?" she asked, feeling stupid the instant the words were out of her mouth.

He frowned slightly, still seeming to be at a loss. However, despite this, he spoke again.

"You're not nothing," he repeated. "You're… far from nothing."

She looked at him in amazement. Though it seemed small, from him, she knew that this was a rather high compliment. She looked down at her feet.

"But I'm still weak. I mean, even after three years of training, I can still barely use my powers, and I still can't survive without having Inuyasha there to protect me all the time," she said.

"You're not weak," Sesshomaru said firmly, surprising her once again. "Stop doubting yourself."

"But I-" she started to say before he cut her off.

"You're not weak," he repeated. "You come from an era where peace comes easily and wars are rarely fought, yet you stayed here and fought, not only to save this country, but to save the world. You are not weak."

Kagome was stunned into silence. Slowly, a smile spread across her face. She wiped her tears away with her sleeve.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru," she murmured. "That… means a lot to me. And it means even more, coming from you."

"Hn," was all he said as he continued to stare into the fire.

Still smiling softly she leaned against his arm, enjoying his warmth. He stiffened, but didn't tell her to move. Feeling a flicker of victory, she snuggled closer to him, slowly allowing sleep to claim her.

When she woke, she was surprised to find herself curled into a tiny ball in front of the now long dead fire. She sat up and turned back to the wall where they had been sitting earlier, a small smile forming on her face at what she saw. Sesshomaru was lying on his right side, facing the wall, with his arm under his head in place of a pillow. He was sound asleep. There was a small frown on his otherwise peaceful face, and she reflected on the fact that this was the first time she'd ever seen him sleep. She very quietly moved closer to him, watching as he slept. His breathing was slow and even, and he seemed completely relaxed, save for the slight frown on his face.

Without thinking, reached out and gently brushed his bangs out of his face, watching with a smile as the frown slowly faded from his face. She repeated the action, stroking his hair contentedly as he slept. At one point, he shifted slightly in his sleep, and she quickly pulled her hand away, worried that he was waking up. However, he soon relaxed again, and slowly, she allowed herself to do the same.

Not long afterward, she started to drift off again, only to get startled awake again when her head started to fall as she was nodding off. She blinked drowsily, rubbing her eyes a bit. She looked over at Sesshomaru, a bit surprised that he was still asleep. It was then that she realized something. The wind had stopped. She sat up quickly, listening hard. The wind had definitely stopped. She moved back over to Sesshomaru and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Sesshomaru, wake up," she said quietly as she gently shook him a few times.

He frowned slightly, eyes flickering open for a brief moment before closing again. She shook him again, hardly having the heart to wake him anymore.

"Sesshomaru," she called softly.

This time he stirred, sitting up and quickly rubbing the sleep away from his eyes with his sleeve. Her hand slid down his arm as he sat up before she quickly removed it from his personal space.

"The wind stopped," she said. "I think the storm passed."

Without a word, he stood, bracing himself on the cave wall. She immediately noticed that he was putting most of his weight on his left leg, and she felt a pang of sympathy for him, realizing that he was still in pain.

"Can you walk…?" she asked hesitantly.

He nodded once and seemed to force himself to stand normally. He picked up his swords and slid that back into his sash at his side where they belonged. Still remaining silent, he led the way out of the cave. Once they were outside, she couldn't help but twirl around, her arms stretched outward at her sides.

"It feels so good to be outside again!" she exclaimed. "And it's so pretty out here…"

He shook his head lightly, though she noticed a faint sparkle in his eyes.

"Um, I don't suppose you can help me find my way back…?" she asked hesitantly, ceasing her twirling to face him. "I kinda got lost on my way here."

He breathed in once, frowning slightly as he did so. For a moment, he looked vaguely puzzled, as though he couldn't find her scent, but then he nodded. He still remained silent when he began to walk, and she jogged to catch up with him. She didn't speak either for a while, but finally, she just couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Can I ask you something?"

He glanced at her and nodded.

"And I want your complete honesty."

When he didn't reply, she continued.

"This has been bothering me since yesterday," she said truthfully. "And I don't want you to say that nothing happened, because that's a damned lie and you know it."

He glanced at her again, frowning a bit more than before, seeming to know what she was talking about.

"So I'm going to ask you again," she continued. "What happened to your leg?"

Much to her surprise, he actually sighed.

"Why does it matter to you so much?" he asked.

"Why won't you just tell me?" she countered.

"Because it doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

He stopped walking and turned to face her.

"Why do you even care?" he asked seriously.

"Because you're my friend, and I don't like it when my friends get hurt," she replied.

She noticed the way his frown deepened almost imperceptibly when she called him her friend, though she said nothing about it. He looked away, looking deep in thought, before turning and resuming their walk. She followed him in silence for a few minutes before speaking again.

"Why won't you just tell me?" she asked.

He didn't reply.

"Come on, Sesshomaru. It won't kill you to tell me."

"I know that."

"Then why won't you tell me?"

"You won't like the answer."

"So?"

He was silent again. She opened her mouth again and was about to say something when he suddenly stopped walking. Before she even had a chance to ask what was wrong, he spoke.

"Inuyasha's coming."

"Inuyasha?"

As if on cue, said half demon leapt out into the small clearing they were in, sword drawn and a snarl erupting from his throat. He slashed at Sesshomaru, who dodged quickly, leaping out of the way and landing a safe distance away while Inuyasha leapt in front of Kagome.

"Bastard!" he yelled, glaring furiously at his half brother. "What the hell are you doing with Kagome?!"

"Inuyasha, he didn't do anything to me," she protested, trying to defend the older of the two. "He was helping me find my way back."

She, however, was ignored. Inuyasha glanced down, looking at Sesshomaru's leg.

"Keh. Still haven't healed from that, huh?" he asked with a smirk, seeming like he was proud of himself, though she couldn't figure out why. "Guess you're not as tough as everyone thinks, huh asshole?"

"Inuyasha, how did you even know about that injury?" she asked quietly.

She had a feeling that she knew, and now understood why Sesshomaru had said that she wouldn't like the answer to her earlier question, but she really hoped that she was wrong. When she didn't get a reply she spoke again.

"Did you do that?" she whispered in disbelief.

"Keh. The bastard deserved it and you know it."

"Deserved it?" she asked, starting to feel outraged. "And what did he do, huh? What did he do to deserve that?"

"He deserves to die," Inuyasha snarled, causing Sesshomaru's eyes to narrow coldly, not answering her question.

Now she was furious. Inuyasha lunged forward and Sesshomaru took on a defensive stance. Kagome jumped in between them, her arms stretched outward, shielding Sesshomaru from what would likely be a lethal blow to her. Inuyasha skidded to a halt, barely stopping himself before he hit her. Sesshomaru's aura radiated shock and confusion. She ignored it for now.

"Kagome, what the hell do you think you're doing?!" Inuyasha demanded furiously.

"What does it look like?!" she yelled back. "I refuse to stand by and watch while you attack him for no reason! He didn't do anything wrong! He was helping me! I don't know what you damn problem is lately, but I refuse to let you hurt him!"

Inuyasha glared at her heatedly for a moment before speaking again, sheathing his sword, much to her extreme surprise.

"So that's how it is, huh?" he asked quietly, clearly furious.

He looked over her shoulder at his brother.

"This isn't over, Sesshomaru," he said venomously. "I'll still kill you."

He looked back at Kagome.

"We're over," he said simply before turning and walking away.

"We were over a long time ago," she whispered, lowering her arms slowly before turning to face Sesshomaru.

He was still frowning a bit, looking, for the first time, visibly confused.

"Why did you do that?" he asked quietly. "Why did you try to protect me?"

She smiled sadly at him, reading into his eyes like an open book, one it had taken her years to decipher.

"Sesshomaru, do you love me?"

He froze, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly. He looked away, rather quickly she noticed.

"You do, don't you?" she asked. "That's why you've been protecting me since Inuyasha's started… you know."

She took a step toward him and continued when he didn't reply.

"Don't think I haven't noticed," she said with a small laugh. "How else would I still be alive right now? And I've also noticed that, no matter what Inuyasha's done to you these past few years, you've never, not once, tried to hurt him back. That was for me too, wasn't it?"

When he still didn't reply, she moved so that she was standing directly in front of him. She reached up and gently cupped his right cheek in her hand, prompting him to finally look back at her. For the first time, his eyes were completely open to her; confusion, wariness, a faint glimmer of hope, a trace of fear, all completely visible to her for a moment before he suddenly locked them away again. She could feel his walls going up, and so she did the only thing she could think of to stop him from closing himself off from her again.

She leaned in and she kissed him.

He stiffened, his aura once again radiating with shock, before slowly relaxing and returning the kiss. She didn't know how long the moment lasted. All she knew was that it was perfect and beautiful, and she never wanted it to end. Only when the need for air became too great did she finally pull away from his soft lips. Seemingly unable to resist, he leaned his forehead against hers as they both panted in unison and stared deep into each other's eyes. When she caught her breath, she couldn't help but smirk at him.

"I can't believe that was your first," she teased, earning a soft huff and a slight roll of the eyes from him.

She laughed lightly, enjoying the feeling of his cheeks warming ever so slightly beneath her hands.

"I love you too," she whispered softly, meaningfully, loving the way his eyes lit up for the briefest of moments.

She pecked him on the cheek before wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Take me home?" she asked with a smile. "I'm sure Rin's going to want to know about this."

"Hn."

With that, he scooped her up into his arms and flew off in the direction of Kaede's village while she eagerly thought about the future, and the life they would now share together.