Me: Well, here I go again!

Inuyasha: What are you going to do this time?

Me: Well, I have several ideas for stories buzzing around in my head, but this one I kept coming back to. I simply couldn't get it off my mind so I had to put words to paper!

Inuyasha: So, what's going to happen this time?

Me: Like I would tell you that! You're such a blabbermouth!

Miroku: *popping in magically* She owns nothing.

"What a beautiful day," Kagome said with a smile. Inuyasha looked out on the horizon. It was true, though he'd never admit it to her. The sun was shining brightly, birds were singing, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky.

Inuyasha and Kagome were hanging back away from the others, walking side by side. Neither had even noticed that Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Kirara had walked ahead of them to give them some alone time. They were just staring off to either side of them, each having their minds on different things, Kagome on the weather, and Inuyasha on wondering what was going through Kagome's mind.

Kagome noticed Inuyasha had been quiet for a while and turned to him. "Inuyasha. Is something wrong?" Inuyasha turned to look at her. His amber eyes met her brown ones and her heart melted a little. "No-nothing is wrong. I was just thinking." "What were you thinking about?" Inuyasha blushed a little. "None of your business what I was thinking about." He walked ahead to join the others and Kagome let out a sigh and walked a little slower.

Why did Inuyasha have to be such a jerk? Why couldn't he just open up to her every once in a while? Kagome let out another sigh and looked up. Looks like they were coming up to a bridge. Well, coming up to a bridge was a relative term. The others were almost all the way across and she was just getting there.

Kagome stepped out on to the bridge and shivered. When did it get so cold? 'I guess it's because I'm above a river.' Kagome looked back out to the other side and saw she couldn't see the group anymore. Had they forgot about her? No, they must be waiting for her on the other side, beyond the trees.

She picked up her pace across the bridge when she stopped again as white flakes cascaded towards her. Was it….snowing? Kagome looked up to see the sky in a hazy gray. When had that happened? "It's the middle of summer, how can it be snowing?'

Kagome was in the middle of the bridge, out in the open, when she heard a roar, just before she was thrown over the bridge. She screamed and grabbed the rope, hanging on as best she could as the river ran beneath her.

Inuyasha, who had been sulking, and the rest of the group, who had been letting Kagome spend time by herself, rushed out of the forest. "Kagome!" Inuyasha cried as he ran towards her, only to be knocked back by the winds of the beast.

It was a large dog-like beast, made completely of ice. It was completely white and had glowing fangs of ice that hung down to its jaw like a sabretooth tiger. Its eyes glowed blue mist.

"Kagome, hang on!" Sango shouted as she rushed the demon with her Hiraikotsu. She didn't even get a swipe in as the demon pushed her back with the blizzard it had whipped up. She fell back on Miroku and they both fell over with a grunt. The beast seemed to chuckle.

Kagome tried to climb up on her own but was continuously blown down by the blizzard that swirled around her. It was getting hard for her arms to want to work right as she was starting to get too cold to move. Her fingers were starting to slip too.

Knowing it was almost all over for her, she gave one final attempt and pulled herself up so that she could climb up easily. Kagome smiled. She was going to make it.

Unfortunately the beast noticed. The creature jumped backwards on top of the bridge, shattering it from the middle outward, along with Kagome's hopes of pulling herself up. The last think Kagome thought before she hit the water was 'I hope the water's not cold.'

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's cries were as loud as they were frantic. Every attempt he made at going to get her was thwarted by the demon's blizzard. He pulled his Tetsusaiga out. "Windscar!" The Windscar was dissipated quickly though. The blizzard sliced through his Windscar like it was nothing! Inuyasha growled.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku called to him. "We'll keep him busy. You go after Kagome." Inuyasha nodded. They split up, Miroku and Sango taking the left and Inuyasha taking the right. Kirara went behind the beast to cut off escape. "Hiraikotsu!" "Sacred Sutra!" Miroku and Sango distracted the beast just as planned while Inuyasha jumped down towards the river.

No one noticed that Shippo was missing.

Kagome hit the water like a bullet. She went in head first, sinking to the bottom of the river. Icy needles hit her on all sides, bringing her back to consciousness and she swam to the surface. It was harder than she thought it would be though and she kept being dragged down.

Just as she thought she would lose consciousness again, she saw a blue light headed directly for her. She focused on that blue light and headed directly for it. She swam for her life, knowing that if she stopped, she would drown.

As she got closer, she could make out a figure. Kagome did not know if this figure would be a friend or foe, but she did care at this point. So she took a chance and grabbed the figure's out-stretched hand. The figure turned around and began going back from where it came, hopefully toward the surface. It was hard to tell which way was up, it was so dark and she was disorientated by the stream of the river. The figure was small and covered in a blue flame, even amongst the water. She kicked as much as she could to help return herself to the surface.

Kagome popped out of the river with a gasp. The cold air painfully went down her raw throat into her seeking lungs. She gasped for air and blindly flailed for something to grab on to. Finding nothing but water, she slowly cracked her eyed and found nothing but rapids all around.

"Kagome!" Kagome looked around. She knew she heard her name. Something plunged right into her chest and she gasped. She looked down to see a sopping wet Shippo. 'So Shippo was the one to save me,' she thought with a touch of guilt. He could have drowned and it would have been all her fault.

"Shippo, what are you doing here?" she shouted over the rapids. "I came to save you," Shippo shouted back.

Kagome and Shippo were thrown along down the river, bumping into rocks and sharp bits of ice along the way. Kagome was starting to bleed pretty badly. The worst of it was Kagome hit a sharp rock with the back of her head and she nearly lost consciousness. Shippo knew if she lost consciousness, it was all over. He knew he couldn't keep her afloat all the way out in the river by himself.

By sheer chance, Kagome's hand landed on a sharp rock. Kagome's hand was cut, but she was able to hang on enough to pull herself to it. Kagome noticed the rocks were close together, leading to shore, so she decided to take another chance. "Be careful, Kagome," Shippo said. Kagome nodded and reached for the rock. She grabbed the rock and pulled herself and Shippo to it. She did that for the next rock and the next rock and the next. It was too bad that Shippo was too frozen to fly.

Kagome finally made it to shore. The last rock was really close so she only had to sidle close and step to shore. She shivered as her knees hit the snow. Shippo tried to push Kagome up. "Come on, Kagome. We have to go!" Then he looked down. "K-Kagome! Look how bad you're bleeding!"

It was true. Kagome was bleeding from the bad wound to the back of her head, a wound to the front of her head, cuts on her hands, and little pricks all over her body. The snow around her was already drenched in blood.

"I-it's nothing," Kagome said wearily. "We have to find shelter until Inuyasha finds us." And with that, and Shippo's protests, they were off. They walked perpendicular to the river, looking for shelter. Kagome didn't think it likely that they would find shelter that close to the river where demons were more likely to be.

The blizzard got worse. Kagome walked slower and slower. Shippo walked behind her, not wanting to burden her. He worried as she dropped blood droplets behind her. He worried even more as she started stumbling. She stopped to rest by a tree.

And then she fell. She just collapsed in the middle of the snow, right beside that tree. It was a large tree, larger than those around it. Shippo had wondered why she had picked it of all trees to rest by. But then she fell and it was all over. She couldn't be moved anymore.

Shippo ran to her. "Kagome!" he screamed. But she wouldn't wake up. What could he do? It was getting cold, even for him.

Inuyasha jumped from rock to rock going along the river, searching for any signs of Kagome. He had gone a long ways down the river and he hadn't picked up any signs of her. The river had washed away her scent.

He jumped further down the river in furry. If only he had not been such a jerk, this would not have happened to Kagome! 'Kagome, please be alright!'

He then noticed a familiar scent. The scent of blood…Kagome's blood! Growling to himself, he sped up to the select spot that he smelled it coming from. He soon came upon a rock that had Kagome's scent all over it, including a ton of blood all over it.

That led him over to the other side of the river, where the rocks led him to shore. Inuyasha sniffed around. He scented blood…a lot of blood. He gently dug under the snow and found Kagome's blood pile. 'I don't like the look of this,' Inuyasha thought fearfully. He followed the smell away from the river.

He sniffed the ground for the scent as it was slowly disappearing. After a while, he was led to a large tree and a huge snow pile. Inuyasha sniffed the air. The scent of blood was coming from the snow pile!

Just before he got to the snow pile though, he had to look twice. The snow pile seemed to be glowing! 'What the hell is this?' Inuyasha shook his head. Whatever it was, Kagome was under there and he had to get to her before it was too late.

Inuyasha went about clearing off the snow pile. It was a big task but he knew he had to be careful so he didn't hurt Kagome. But he hurried so he could help Kagome as quickly as he could too. Within ten minutes, the snow pile was almost clear.

Inuyasha scraped off the last of the remaining snow and finally saw what was causing the glow. "Fox fire?" With one swipe, the snow was all cleared off and Inuyasha got the full picture.

She was unconscious. Kagome's outfit was soaking wet. She must still be wet from the river. Shippo was curled up with her, sleeping, with one hand holding out his fox fire. He must have been trying to keep her as warm as possible so she didn't freeze to death. Kagome's wounds were still bleeding, though.

Inuyasha sighed. She must've hid her pain from Shippo for as long as she could. He sat down and went to work. He put his hand over Shippo's foxfire. It was starting to go cold. He licked his finger and placed it in his hand, sizzling the foxfire out immediately. Then he tucked Shippo into the back of his shirt for safe keeping. He would have to thank Shippo later for coming to her rescue when he could not.

Inuyasha then took off his robe of the fire rat and hung it over his shoulder. The then undid his shirt. First he tore off a piece of his shirt from the bottom for her forehead and the back of her head to stop the bleeding. Then he started on the next part. She would need body heat. He blushed and hoped he wouldn't get sat for this. He gently lifted her up and slid off her top, exposing her bra. He then took her skirt off gently and put them in the back of his shirt with Shippo, noting that he slid further down as his shirt opened up. He took off her shoes and socks and tucked them back into his shirt and shivered as they were wetter than the others. He was amazed Shippo didn't wake up.

Kagome was now bare except for her bra and panties. Inuyasha blushed profusely but tried to ignore it. If he didn't do this, she could die. Inuyasha then wrapped her legs in his freshly warm robe of the fire rat. He then wrapped her chest and arms in his shirt (that was still attached to him) so that his body heat sank into her immediately. He was a lot warmer than humans and hoped that would help her. As it stood now, she could freeze to death in her own clothes if he carried her that way. He hoped that once Miroku and Sango destroyed the beast that created the blizzard, it would go away and Kagome would be able to get better faster.

Inuyasha walked as quickly as allowed. He could only walk as fast as he could go with Kagome and Shippo on him without waking Shippo and without jostling Kagome. Inuyasha took up Kagome's search for shelter. He found shelter, ironically, not 50 feet from the place that Kagome collapsed. It was just hard to see because of the blizzard.

Inuyasha set Kagome down inside the abandoned house. It wasn't the best place, but it was good enough. He found some flint and set a fire and got Kagome as close to the fire as possible. He then took out Kagome's clothes, along with Shippo who had grabbed on to them unknowingly in his sleep, and placed them by the fire, along with Shippo, who was still a little damp.

Inuyasha then laid beside Kagome, who was still freezing and covered her with a blanket that he found inside the house. He worried. She wasn't even shivering, she was so weak. He got under the blanket and pressed his body against hers.

'Please wake up, Kagome. Please wake up.' Those were Inuyasha's last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep.

Inuyasha woke up with a start. Kagome's body was pressed against his and he blushed brightly. He blushed even brighter when she pushed up against him, her butt pressing against his crotch.

Inuyasha's heart rate escalated as she slowly opened her eyes. "Kagome!" "Inu…Inu…yasha?" They both looked at each other intently, one forgetting the other's nudeness, the other not realizing. "How are you feeling?"

Kagome sat up. "Warm. Before, I was freezing. Now I feel nice and warm. Did you bring me here?" Inuyasha was about to nod when Kagome let out a shriek. He jumped back. "INUYASHA! WHERE ARE MY CLOTHES?!"

Inuyasha was about to answer when Kagome started in again, a bit more quietly. "Inuyasha, did something happen last night, between you and I?"

Inuyasha's eyes bugged out. "Huh?" Then he got the hint and a huge blush cascaded his cheeks. "N-nothing like that! I had to take your clothes off because you would freeze to death if I left you in your wet clothes."

Kagome blushed. Inuyasha's head swiveled to meet Kagome's. "Wait, why would you jump to those conclusions?" Kagome blushed even brighter. "N-No reason." She had had a dream about him, though she didn't want to admit it.

"C'mon Kagome. You can tell me." He looked at her with those amber eyes and she just melted. "I-I had a dream about you, okay?"

'A dream about me? What could she possibly have dreamt about?' Inuyasha bemused for only a little while, only to blush when he caught the hint as to what they were really talking about.

"Inuyasha?" Inuyasha turned his thoughts back to Kagome. "Can you turn around so I can get dressed?" Inuyasha blushed once again and nodded, turning around briskly. He sat down as he listened to Kagome find her clothes over by Shippo, carefully move him out of the way, and begin to put her dry clothing on.

"Kagome?" "Yes?" "Before you're done, can I take a look at those cuts?" Kagome hesitated at first, but nodded. She already had her skirt on and she covered her breasts with her shirt as Inuyasha inspected her legs, her arms, her hands and her stomach. He hadn't noticed before, possibly because he was too focused on her face to notice her body, but she had a nice gash along her stomach that made her flinch when he touched it. He then removed the piece of cloth from her forehead. It was nice a bloody but the cuts to her forehead and back of her head were not as bad, just bloody.

Inuyasha finally took a step backwards. "Okay, I think you'll live. Just be careful so that wound doesn't start bleeding again," he said, pointing to the wound on her forehead. "And that wound on your stomach looks bad. Be careful with that one too." Kagome nodded and finished getting dressed, Inuyasha respectfully turning away again, though knowing he didn't have to this time.

After she was dressed, Inuyasha turned back again. The blizzard wasn't letting up and they would need to do something soon. He walked over to the still sleeping Shippo (how he could sleep through anything, Inuyasha did not know) and gently shook him. After a little shaking, Shippo finally opened his eyes. "Kagome!" He sprang to life quickly and ran over to hug his friend. Inuyasha gave him a sharp tug on his tail. "Be careful," Inuyasha told him. "Kagome has a wound on her stomach and marks all over her body." Shippo silently gasped then nodded with a look in determination. He walked up to her slowly and gave her a soft hug on the knee. "I'm so glad you're okay, Kagome"

"I'm glad I'm okay too, Shippo." Inuyasha turned to Shippo. "That reminds me Shippo. Thanks for protecting Kagome until I got there. You were a real hero, using your foxfire and your own body heat to keep her warm underneath all that snow."

"Shippo, is that true?" Shippo blushed. "Aww, it was nothing!" Inuyasha shook his head. "Nothing? You used your foxfire until you were freezing and unconscious! And even then you kept using it while you slept, lighting a beacon for me to follow. You're a real hero Shippo!"

Shippo blushed. He had never seen the older half demon give such praise. He must've done a really good job. Too bad he didn't really remember much of it after he fell asleep. But poor Kagome! She probably didn't remember anything after she lost consciousness!

Inuyasha's face hardened. "Shippo, I have a job for you." The younger demon's eyes lit up. "What is it, Inuyasha?" "I need you to go find Miroku and Sango and tell them where we are. I can't because Kagome is still injured and I don't want to take any more chances. Do you think you can do that?"

Shippo nodded and squeezed Kagome's knee again before bounding out the door, vanishing in a flash of foxfire.

Inuyasha turned back to Kagome. She was sitting on her knees, seeming to be in idle thought. He sat closer to her, suddenly wanting to be nearer to her. "Kagome, let me take a look at that wound on your stomach again."

Snapped from her thoughts, Kagome looked up at him to his worried, amber eyes. She nodded slowly. "Sure," she said, lifting her shirt, showing only the wound in her stomach, covered in dried blood. Inuyasha stepped outside then quickly reappeared, carrying some snow. "The blizzard has stopped. Miroku and Sango must've slayed the demon." Kagome smiled happily. Now they could get back and maybe get some food! She was starving!

Inuyasha sat down beside her. "This is going to hurt. I'm sorry, but I have to see how bad it actually is." The young priestess gulped and nodded solemnly. Inuyasha took the snow and rubbed it on her wound. Kagome gasped in pain. "Hang in there Kagome." He quickly tried to wipe away the dried blood without opening the wound again.

When he was done, he didn't like what he saw. The wound was deep. It looked like it had been gouged in by a rock or an ice spear. The icy water had probably slowed her blood enough down to prevent it from bleeding everywhere. But it was still going to need to be stitched.

He looked up and saw a single tear fall from Kagome's eyes. 'No, no, no! I didn't mean to make her cry!' Inuyasha, without thinking, reached up and kissed the tear away, causing both him and Kagome to freeze in place.

Inuyasha was the first to move. Trying to recover from his embarrassment, he slowly pulled away and raised to kiss her forehead, like a parent would kiss a child. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Kagome…" As he pulled away from her forehead, she opened her eyes and their eyes met.

His amber eyes sank deep in to her brown ones and time stood still. Inuyasha found himself gravitating towards her but he didn't care. They got closer and closer together and the room became still. Then their lips met and it was like and electric current went off. Their lips parted and his mouth was one with hers, moving his lips together with hers. They were perfect together in perfect harmony. Inuyasha sank himself down on top of Kagome, being careful not to put any of his weight on her.

He moved his hands on to her face and she moved her hands in to his hair. They kissed passionately, moving as one creature. She moved her hand up to his ear and he let out a small moan. He pressed himself further into her mouth, briefly making her lips soar, but she didn't care.

He parted from her only because she needed to breathe, though he needed to as well. They both gasped for oxygen, she more than he. They both looked at each other and blushed and kissed once more before he helped her up.

"Inuyasha I-" Yep, after that, it was time to tell him. "Kagome, can I say something first?" Inuyasha interrupted. Kagome gulped, but nodded anyway, preparing for him to say that it was a one-time thing and he still wanted to be with Kikyo. "Kagome. I don't know how to tell you this so I'll just come right out and say it and stop being a coward." Inuyasha took a deep breath. "I'm in love with you."

Kagome gasped and her jaw nearly hit the floor. "I'm not quite sure how you feel about me but I've felt this way for a long time now." Kagome was floored. Still, she managed to gather herself enough to whisper, "But what about Kikyo?" "Kikyo? Well the way I see it, Kikyo is my past. I loved her once. And I've been going after her for a while now because I feel like I owe her for dying for me. But that's done. I know who's worth dying for now and I don't know why I didn't see it before. I'm such an idiot. I'll still always care about Kikyo, but only as a friend. You're the person I'm meant for. If I had to choose, I'd pick you. You've been picking me from the beginning and it's high time I return the favor anyway."

Kagome threw her arms around Inuyasha, sobbing. Inuyasha turned white. "W-what? Did I say something wrong? Don't cry!"

"No, Inuyasha. You said everything right. I'm in love with you too. I'm just so happy!"

Inuyasha responded by happily kissing every single tear that fell down her face, followed by kissing her forehead, then her neck, and then her lips. They fell to the floor again with Inuyasha on top of her, careful not to crush her. He kissed her lips and sank his nose into her hair that was now covering her face. She smelled like lavender. He would never get tired of this sent for as long as he lived.

"Uhhhh….Are we interrupting something?" Inuyasha and Kagome sprang apart quickly and looked toward the door. Miroku was standing in doorway with Sango, Shippo, and Kirara behind him. Inuyasha and Kagome blushed. Kagome laughed while Inuyasha tucked his hands into his sleeves.

"Miroku, Sango, Shippo, Kirara! Inuyasha-ah, can I tell them?" Kagome said, turning first to the group, then back to Inuyasha. Inuyasha blushed then nodded.

"Inuyasha told me he loves me!" "Congratulations," Miroku said, hugging Kagome, rubbing her bottom, and then patting Inuyasha on the back, the former earning a smack from Inuyasha and Sango. "I knew he would do it someday, Kagome," Sango said, hugging her heart sister gently, seeing all the cuts and bruises all over her skin. Shippo walked up to Inuyasha. "Took you long enough, Inuyasha. Guess that's why you wanted me out of the house, huh?" He earned himself a smack for that. "It. Just. Happened," Inuyasha snapped back.

Inuyasha carefully took Kagome back to his side. "She has a lot of cuts and bruises. She has two head injuries and she has a wound that needs to be stitched. We need to find a village with a healer. We also need to find food since she hasn't eaten since before that ice beast."

The group nodded and turned to leave. He took hold of Kagome's hand. "You guys go ahead. We'll catch up." They left without looking back.

Kagome looked up at him questioningly. "I think I accidentally opened your wound a little when we were on the floor." He slowly lifted her shirt, making sure he had permission, to find a droplet of blood getting ready to fall from her belly. He pressed his lips to her belly, getting every last ounce of blood until he was sure the bleeding would stop.

Inuyasha rose to meet Kagome's eyes, pulling her swiftly in to a passionate kiss. They held themselves that way for several minutes before pulling apart, breathless. He ran is fingers through her hair. "Are you ready?" She nodded. Inuyasha held his kimono out to her. "It still has my body heat on it. It'll keep you warm." Kagome smiled and took it gratefully. She climbed onto his shoulders and they went off to join the group. Together.

Me: Longest one-shot I've written!

Inuyasha: That was a good story! Lots of kissing for me and Kagome!

Me: I know! That's how I fantasize you and Kagome make-out scenes!

Shippo: Wait, you're how old? And you fantasize about Inuyasha and Kagome? Gross!

Me: Shut up!

Kagome: Review please!