Stupid Winter

Disclaimer: The characters of InuYasha are not mine; they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz. This story is for entertainment and not profit.

White! Everything was white! And not in a good lying-on-the-ground, life-is-a-wonderland sort of way, but in the blowing-in-my-eyes, freezing-off-my-face sort of way and Kagome had been stupid enough to get herself stuck in the middle of it.

"Stupid Inu Yasha," she cursed. "What made me listen to him anyway? 'Wait 'til morning' he said. "The storm will blow over' he said. Stupid hanyou. Thinks he knows everything."

Not only had it not blown over, but it had created knee high drifts that she now had to plod through to get home. Stupid snow. And it was still falling, or rather being whipped about by the raging wind. She wasn't even sure that she was still going in the right direction, but trying to get back to the village would be just as futile. She could barely see the bow on her fuku when she looked down.

And that was another thing. Her school uniform was far from winter friendly. Her arms and legs were stinging and the only reason that she could still feel her fingers was because she had jammed them into her armpits.

"Stupid winter!"

* * * *

As a demon the cold affected him very little, but even his superior eyesight was no match for this blinding blizzard. He had been returning home from patrolling when the storm had forced him to land, but the thick swirling snow made it impossible for him to know where. He could hear the creaking of branches and smell the faint woody scent of evergreens, if only the wind would stop shifting so rapidly he knew that he should be able to find shelter.

Drawing Tenseiga, Sesshomaru lowered the tip to the snow before his feet and began sweeping it slowly from side to side as he headed forward. The last thing he needed was the indignity of walking face first into a tree, even if there wasn't anyone around to see it.

'Stupid wind. Stupid snow,' he grumbled to himself. 'Stupid winter."

He continued forward until the flat of his sword made contact with something. It was a tree. He could just discern the edges of the slender form through the snow. Looking pass it he could almost make out another. He had found the edge of a forest, which meant that he could get out of this infuriating snow, but before he was able to move deeper into the protective trees something hit him from behind.

* * * *

It was too tall to be the well, too round to be a building, and too smooth to be a tree. Kagome had stumbled into something solid and fabric covered. She decided to risk her fingers in the attempt to learn what it was and if it could be used to help her. Unfortunately, her hands, despite her efforts, had also started to go numb. It was definitely not a tree.

* * * *

Again he cursed the weather. If not for it, he would have seen or smelled the presence of another before they could come in contact with his person. Before he could turn to confront the invader, he dealt cold hands on the backs of his thighs. Slipping Tenseiga back into its sheath, he weighed his options. The hands were moving, as if searching for something, up and around his waist causing the feminine body they belonged to, to lean into him. Readying his poison, Sesshomaru turned to remove the arms that were invading his personal space, but found himself stopped by a familiar face.

Her dark hair was covered in a thin layer of crisp snow and her skin had an icy blue hue to it. Her eyes were squinting up at him and her body was shaking from the cold. She had been out in the storm longer than she should considering her human fragilities. He had startled her when he had turned and her fear-scent rose on the wind. Her eyes were frantically searching the space before them, but in vain. Her human eyes couldn't distinguish the swirling flakes from the rippling fabric that covered his chest.

'Surely the hanyou is not so stupid as to let her wander out here in this alone,' he thought to himself. 'Well, perhaps we will just have to teach him the consequences of letting such things fall into the wrong hands.'

* * * *

She tried to jump back as the object in her arms shifted only to find herself pinned by a strong arm. Lifting her eyes, Kagome attempted to make out the shape of whatever had her, but all she could see was white. As the hold on her waist tightened, mindless panic gripped at her and she lashed out to free herself. As her frozen fingers clawed at her captor they raked across silk and armour causing a familiar demon presence to rise and embrace her. This was no stranger. His name fell from her purpled lips as she felt her feet lifted from the drifted snow.

"Sesshomaru."

* * * *

He found himself savouring the delicious pleasures that raced through him as her trembling body was crushed tight to him. Even as the panic ebbed from her scent, Sesshomaru allowed the traitorous fantasies of his more feral nature to run free. He could already smell the growing scent of her arousal preparing to overwhelm him. Her body was clinging to him still smelling of her initial fear, but it was her hunger for warmth that was winning out. Leaning into her, he lowered his mouth to her neck to feel her shiver under his warm breath, "If you wish to be safe, miko, now is the time to flee."

* * * *

His feet moved quickly over the deepening snow. It was one of the advantages to being a hanyou. Inu Yasha cursed himself for allowing her to run out into the storm alone. He knew that he had to find her before she ended up a frozen ice cube, like one of the characters in her brother's western cartoons. 'No. I can't lose her,' he thought, 'not like that.'

He called her name as he searched, but the wind only seemed to blow it back at him in a barrage of ice. There was no way for him to know if she would be able to hear him even if they were beside one another, 'we certainly wouldn't be able to see each other,' he thought. 'And if she did make it to the well...' He hoped she had for her own sake, but until he knew for sure he had to keep looking for her.

* * * *

None of it was real, not the hot breath on her cheek, not the firm hand gripping her thighs, and definitely not the hard muscular body she was being pressed into. I couldn't be real, but the heat was burning her frozen cheek and the sharp nails were pinching her nearly numb thigh, so it couldn't all be a dream.

Ever since their encounter in the cave, trapped by an unexpected bolt of lightning, she had found her thoughts turning to him; the exciting rumble of his voice and the dangerous arousal of his claws scraping across her sensitive flesh. She had spent months replaying their meetings and imagining what could have been. Their next encounter had only made things worse; the stifling heat, the pounding water, and the temptation of his naked body only inches from her. She let the memory engulf her as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * * *

Her eyes were vacant and unfocused as he placed her beneath the massive tree at the center of the wood. Her skin was a sickly gray and her wet clothing was doing nothing to protect her. `I should leave her here for her friends to find.' He could feel the subtle change in the wind that signalled the break-up of the storm front, it wouldn't be long before someone came looking for her. `Most likely that stupid hanyou that let her out in the first place.'

He knew he should walk away from the unconscious woman, but his feet refused to obey him. He had found himself all too often distracted by thoughts of her; her body shuddering against him, the overwhelming scent of her arousal begging him to take her, and her soft pleading voice whimpering in his ear. He knew that he had to leave now, before the temptation became too great even for him, but he also knew that this battle was already lost.

* * * *

She could hear the muffled voices of her family talking downstairs. Kagome knew that she should get out of bed, but she was finally warm, though she couldn't remember what had made her so cold. Something soft and fluffy was tickling her nose. `Stupid Buyo,' she thought, reaching up to brush the pesky cat away.

"Kagome," her mother's voice drifted up the stairs, "it's time to wake up."

Snuggling deeper into the thick blanket the furry irritant returned. "Stupid cat," she muttered taking another swat at the pest.

Again a voice called to her, "You must wake up…"

* * * *

"…Miko. You must wake up."

The voice was no longer her mother's, it was deeper and more commanding, though just as familiar.

"…Who…" She knew that she should know, but her brain was refusing to help her.

"Has the cold damaged you memory, miko?" The tone was flat, unemotional and unquestionably `his.'

Forcing her eyes open, Kagome found herself surrounded by white. Not the blazing-fury-of-the-storm white, but a more dangerous white, a white that belonged to the demon Lord that taunted her. The voice came from behind her, but his arm was lying in front of her.

"If you do not wake, I will be forced to remove your eyelids." The treat had the effect he wanted. Sesshomaru inhaled the encouraging scent of fear as it surrounded him.

* * * *

He had found the well, travelled through the well and determined that she had not made it home. He was glad that the family had been out. The last thing he wanted to do was stop to explain to her mother that he had lost her only daughter in a snow storm.

Returning quickly, Inu Yasha resumed his search, thankful that the storm seemed to be letting up.

* * * *

Kagome felt her cheeks go red as she realized her clothing had been removed while she had been asleep, but the anger and embarrassment of her own nudity was short lived. They were quickly replaced by a much more confusing jumble of emotions at the realization that she was not the only naked body beneath the fur.

She watched his lips curl into a seductive half smile, "Perhaps we are even now," he whispered eyeing her exposed skin. Kagome nodded as she remembered crouching behind bushes and watching the powerful Lord unaware as he bathed.

"But you still need to be punished." The undefined threat brought the scent of her renewed arousal to mix with her still present fear.

Kagome inhaled sharply as she felt his teeth close over her throat. It was only a gentle bite, meant to ensure her submission, but the fierceness of the action surprised her. Sesshomaru drank in her surge of fear before lowering his mouth to taste her skin. He moved his hand to draw slow circles across her abdomen as her mouth slid down to the rise of her breast. She gasped as he took her erect nipple in his teeth, and shuddered as the sharp pain became a rush of heated pleasure.

He could smell her need, was on the brink of drowning in it, and knew what she wanted. `But this is supposed to be punishment.' Letting his hand drift lower, he felt her shift to allow him access. `No,' he thought evilly, `not until I hear you beg for it.'

* * * *

The storm had dissipated making his search easier, but there was still no sign of her. The drifting snow had erased and tracks she might have left as well as buried her scent trail. All that surrounded him was a pristine field of white with no sign of Kagome. But even that was not completely true. There was something, a familiar scent that made his eyes red.

`I have to find Kagome?'

* * * *

She whimpered as his fingers skipped over where she wanted him to touch causing her to reach for his hand. A warning growl rumbled in his throat. Kagome stop and turned her eyes on him pleadingly. He could feel his own body aching to give her what she wanted, but by shear will he restrained himself and continued his teasing caress of her smooth inner thigh.

She wanted to touch him, to direct him, but every time he caught her reaching for him she was stopped by a throaty growl. His kisses all came with teeth that would gently nip at her jaw, her neck and her breasts, causing the tension to build below her waist.

"Please," she squeaked as his fingers once again came torturously close to her heated center.

"Please, what?" he smirked against her breast.

"Please," she breathed, attempting to calm herself enough to speak. Her eyes locked onto his. "Please!"

The fire and need in her eyes was too great for him. It would have to do. She was begging, even if he couldn't get her to say it. Lifting himself slowly she moved to give him easier access. Positioning himself at her slick entrance, he plunged in swiftly. Her back arched off the ground as she cried out and clamped down around him. She was hot and tighter than he had expected. As her body relaxed, he pulled back and thrust deeper. Again she arced to meet him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. Her body was completely under his control.

* * * *

He continued to scent the air as he made for the tree line. Sesshomaru was definitely there. That bastard was in his territory, what little he actually had. Springing into one of the trees, Inu Yasha heard a feminine scream from the center of the forest followed closely by a demonic roar. His heart froze. He knew those voices.

"If he so much as touches her…" His thought died as he took off in the direction of the sound.

* * * *

His mouth was slightly parted and resting by her shoulder. Her body was still shuddering with the unexpected ecstasy of the moment. She was no longer cold, the comfortable weight of his body and the insulating fur covering her were more than enough.

`Stupid pretty hair,' she smiled to herself, "stupid winter." With a deep sigh, she allowed herself to drift off to sleep.

* * * *

He spotted her clothes, or what was left of them, before reaching the tree. They were shredded, but looked as if they had been arranged into a careful pile. He could smell her now, but there was something different about it and he didn't like it.

As he walked around the trunk, he felt his blood begin to boil. Nestled between the exposed roots of the large tree lay Sesshomaru, wrapped only in the boa that normally hung from his shoulder, but it was what was under his half-brother that cause a growl to grow in Inu Yasha's throat.

"Kagome!?"