Disclaimer: This story is based on "Inuyasha," copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi. No infringement of copyright intended or implied.

Invasion

As Inuyasha drifted back into sleep, Kagome smoothed his bangs across his very pale forehead, and stroked his cheek, feeling the warmth that had returned to his skin. Pulling down the heated blanket, she placed his hand back on the hilt of Tessaiga, smiling when his hand tightened of its own accord. Pulling the heated blanket closer to his chin, Kagome once again thanked Shippo in her thoughts, for his clever variation on his foxfire spells. Inuyasha had been so cold last night, by the time they got him to the hut, and his youki aura had been so low and ragged, that she had been terrified that the remnants of Miroku's purification spells would transform Inuyasha into human. Shippo hadn't had any ideas about what could be done for that, but he had thought of heating the blanket, and she had thought of keeping Tessaiga in contact with him—once she'd purified the last few youki off the scabbard that is.

Sighing, she rose to her feet. Stepping down from the platform and into her sandals, Kagome slid the outer door open just enough to take a peek. She shut it quickly. More snow had come down during the night, softening the tracks she had made yesterday. Hopefully, there would be no more trouble today, because she had no intention of stirring from Inuyasha's side unless there was an absolute catastrophe. She hoped that Kaede and the headman could handle anything that happened—and what could happen, on another snow day that would keep everyone inside except for the bare minimum of chores that required venturing outside?

Retreating to the area near the fire-pit, she added a couple more logs to the fire, eying with a sense of satisfaction the rather sizable stack of firewood that Inuyasha had brought in at the beginning of the storm. The fewer tasks to take her outside, the better. She checked the broth she had started earlier, pulling the pot a bit further from the fire, then decided to take another nap. Curling up on the floor next to the fire-pit with the other blankets and quilts, she wished that she could curl up against Inuyasha, under the spelled blanket. Unfortunately, the youki coming off the blanket made her skin feel like bugs were crawling over her, and so she had abandoned that attempt hours ago.

Oh, well. She sighed, pulled the covers over her head, and concentrated on thinking nothing.

… … …

The slamming of the shoji door woke her. Pulling the covers back, Kagome propped herself up on her elbow, and stared at the group of people standing in the entrance. For a moment, she thought that people had heard of Inuyasha's injuries, and had decided to come over to see how she was doing and bring gifts, as they had done when she had first arrived. Then, waking up a bit further, she took in the proportion of men to the single woman, and recognized the man in front. Keshin.

She tossed the blankets aside and scrambled to her feet. "What do you want?" she demanded in a low voice, moving swiftly to put herself between Inuyasha's prone form and the group. "And keep the noise down—Inuyasha's asleep."

"Too late," came the growl from behind her. She heard his grunt as he struggled to sit up. Kagome started to order him to stay down, and then thought the better of it. Instead, she fixed her glare on the men, and repeated her question.

Keshin smirked, dropped a cloth bag on the floor, and stepped up onto the main floor without removing his snow-covered, straw boots. "We're moving in," he announced. "Since Inuyasha refused to fix my hut last summer, and since the youkai I saw in the middle of my destroyed hut was apparently Inuyasha in disguise, I'm taking over his."

"Over my dead body," said Inuyasha, with a distinctly breathy snarl. Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome saw him come up alongside her, leaning on Tessaiga, and naked save for fundoshi and the thicket of bandages on his torso.

"That can be arranged," growled one of the men behind Keshin. Four ofuda-wrapped spears dropped down into attack positions, and Kagome blanched. She stepped in front of Inuyasha, wishing fiercely that she had mastered the ability to set barriers. Over half a year, and she still couldn't seem to find the knack!

"I'm sorry your hut was destroyed," she said tightly, "but that doesn't give you the right to invade our place. If you'd asked, I'm sure we'd have been willing to help shelter you, until your hut can be replaced."

"You think your stinking hanyo can destroy my hut and get away with it?" Keshin demanded, his face twisted in hate. "You think—"

"Your hut was only still standing because of the youkai who had invaded it and your family," interrupted Inuyasha, moving up alongside Kagome again. "If they hadn't, it probably would have collapsed under the snow. It's not my fault that you were too stingy to make a bargain with Miroku last summer, for me to fix it."

"What youkai?" asked Keshin. "You—"

"The youkai who possessed you, and tried to make you kill Miroku," interrupted Inuyasha again. "The youkai who possessed Mari, and made her attack me with her knife, and made Taro attack with his? Or haven't you bothered to wonder why Mari's clothes were covered the blood—my blood? Or what you were doing on top of Miroku?"

"I—"

Kagome saw the hesitation on the other men's faces, and decided to take a bit of a gamble. She raised her hands in the gesture that Kaede used to create her barriers, and invoked her own powers. "Has the headman agreed to this?" she demanded, looking not at Keshin, but the eldest of the other men. "And what does Kaede say? Inuyasha was trying to save Keshin and his family, and nearly died doing so. What gives you men the right to invade my place that Inuyasha built for me?"

"Uh, well…"

"Kaede and Hiroshi don't know a thing about this," stated Inuyasha, ears pinned to his head as he leaned forward, sniffing. "These guys have been drinking—probably why they dreamed up this hair-brained scheme! Too bad a walk in the snow didn't cool their brains down."

Every man's face went red, and three spears wavered. But, Keshin only stepped forward, his fury heightened. "So what, you dirty, stinking hanyo! A man deserves a little relaxation after getting his home destroyed, and his family almost killed! And you're responsible, you damned, dog-eared freak! You should have been run out of this village years ago, not allowed to stick around and contaminate a miko with your rutting ways!"

Kagome's own temper snapped. "How dare you!" she snarled. "I am not contaminated, and Inuyasha is not a freak!"

"Why shouldn't I?" the man retorted. "You came around prancing in those weird clothes three years ago, showing off everything a modest girl should be ashamed to show; you ran away after letting the village being almost destroyed, and then you came prancing back, and open your legs to this beast!" His spear swung towards her. "How many others have you been spreading your legs for, besides your 'dog-boy'?" he sneered, eyes glittering, taking a single step forward. "That married monk? That fox? Normal men not good enough for you?"

Youki flared. Fear flashed in the middle of her own rage, and Kagome knew she stood on the cusp of tragedy. Words flashed through her mind, too fast for mental recitation, and her power had already been gathered, begging for use. She snapped her hands apart, the wall she wanted—no, needed—taking the form from the words and her need. Bright blue coruscated from one side of the hut to the other, and Inuyasha slammed full tilt into it, even as Keshin staggered backwards as his spear hit and rebounded. Inuyasha yelped and went off balance and down to the floor, while Keshin staggered backwards, and had to be caught by his fellows. Spears clattered to the ground, and then, it was very silent.

Kagome tried not to tremble, her head already aching. She glared the at the invaders, trying not to hear Inuyasha's whispered curses, as he staggered to his feet. "You three," she said in the coldest voice she could muster. "Take Keshin out of here and to the headman, so he can make his complaint. Mari-san, you and the children should stay here, warm up and have a meal, until Hiroshi-sama and Kaede-sama determine the best place for you to stay."

The three men nodded jerkily. Keshin resisted, but two of the men grabbed his arms, while the third hastily gathered the spears. The woman looked scared and indecisive, but Kagome glared at her, and she didn't move.

The door slid shut behind the men. Kagome took what felt like the first breath in minutes and clapped her hands together, hoping that would release the spell. The barrier disappeared, and Kagome felt a great wave of weariness. Bracing her legs, she glanced at Inuyasha who was giving her a look of surprise and wary admiration.

"Get back under the covers, d—Inuyasha."

His expression shifted to stubbornness. "What if I don't want to?"

She gave him a smile. "You don't really want to entertain the children with a face-plant, do you?"

Ears flattened momentarily; he gave her a hurt look, then gave in. "All right, all right," he grumbled, turning around, leaning on Tessaiga again. "Just don't feed me any nasty teas, okay?"

"Sorry, husband," she said with forced cheerfulness. "Until that gut-wound heals, it's stinky lotions and nasty teas, as you very well know."

He groaned. Kagome forced herself to ignore him, turning her attention back to the woman who still looked scared. "Mari-san, please come on up to the fire—you and the children look half-frozen. Don't worry about Inuyasha; he barks and growls, but he would never harm you or the children."

She smiled: the woman finally sat down to remove her straw boots, and the children copied her. Kagome turned away to get more wood for the fire, and mentally groaned.

This was not how she had intended to spend her day!

Author's Note: This was written for the prompt "Snow Day," for the "At First Tweak" LiveJournal community. (8/28/2012)