Author's note: I felt like I needed to vent some Inu/Kag fluff, so I'm going to try this story idea. After a few minutes of thinking, I actually came up with a plot, so I decided to go for it.

I promise this won't affect New Reincarnation on the Block. I have a friend who will personally throttle me if I take any more time to update, so don't fear. (Lol, love ya, Jay.)

Enjoy!

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Thunder roared in the blackened sky, lightning leaping furiously from cloud to cloud. Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha tried to force his way through the driving rain.

"Dammit to hell. Where did this storm COME from??" A hand lifted to shield his face from debris carried by the frightful wind, he looked down at Kagome. She huddled closer to him, one arm wrapped around his waist, the other pressed against her chest. Inuyasha tightened his arm about her shoulders. "Are you all right??"

She nodded shortly, clinging to him as a branch came whipping through the air. Cursing under his breath, Inuyasha turned his head to look at the people behind him.

"You guys ok?"

Sango lifted a hand in reply, her face grim from the effort of holding up her boomerang in the wild wind. Miroku held onto Kirara's shoulder, his robes tugging at him. Shippo's tail poked out from the crook of Miroku's arm. As a mighty clap of lightning and thunder rent the air, Shippo disappeared further into Miroku's robes.

Miroku lifted his head slightly, ignoring the bite of the driving wind. "This was a really bad idea, Inuyasha!! We should have gone for cover when the storm first arrived!"

Inuyasha scowled back at him, yelling over the howl of the wind. "Yeah, well if a certain someone hadn't hit on the queen in that last city, maybe we wouldn't have been turned out INTO this storm!!"

"I wasn't hitting on her! I simply wanted to ensure that her family line stayed intact!"

Sango whacked him upside the head. "By groping her and begging her to have your children?? You lech!!"

"But I—"

"Can it!" Inuyasha yelled. "Just shut up and keep moving, all right?? I can see some cliffs up ahead. We should be able to find shelter!"

Nodding grimly, the group trudged on.

Kirara growled softly, glancing over her shoulder at the darkened sky behind them. A moment later, Inuyasha's ears tweaked backward, his stomach lurching over the change in pressure.

"What the hell is that sound??" He resisted the urge to clap his hands over his ears, but the wind behind him sounded like a horde of screaming banshees rioting in his ears. The hair on his arms rose.

Peering out from under his arm, Kagome glanced back at the dark sky behind them and frowned at the wildly waving trees.

"Inuyasha, I'm getting a bad feeling about this!" She squinted, brushing rain and wet hair out of her face.

CRACK! BOOM!

Kagome's eyes flew wide as the entire sky was momentarily illuminated.

"Oh…my…god…" Panicking, she grabbed Inuyasha's shirt and tugged. "We have to get out of here!! NOW!!"

He winced as a flying rock rapped him in the side of the head. "Why? What's going on??"

"IT'S A TORNADO!!"

Inuyasha's stomach dropped into his feet. "WHAT??" Ignoring his hair as the wind ripped it to the side, he glanced back just as another clap of lightning split the sky…

…And caught sight of the tremendous beast of nature following them.

"SHIT!!" Without another thought, Inuyasha swung Kagome onto his back and started to run, his feet slipping slightly in the mud. "Sango, Miroku, get on Kirara!! We need to move!!"

The two glanced back, yelped, and jumped onto the cat demon's back. With a roar, the cat demon took to the air.

Inuyasha scowled as he poured every ounce of strength he had into running, the rain almost painful as it crashed into him. He felt the wind tug him backwards with every flying leap.

"Kagome, hang on tight!!" He felt her nod against the back of his neck and watched her arms tighten about his throat. Dammit, I wish I could protect her from all this. Why didn't I do something when I felt the pressure drop?? Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!

A low growl rumbled out of his throat as he furiously wiped a stray lock of wet hair out of his face. Well, at least it can't get any worse.

It started to hail. Hard.

"God DAMMIT!!"

A bead of sweat streaked down his temple as the horrible screech of the tornado grew louder and louder. A glance backwards sent a sickening wave of fear through him.

The tornado practically filled the sky.

Kirara roared as the wind tossed her about in the air. Anxiously, she sent a glance back at Inuyasha, who was slowly falling behind.

"Just keep going, Kirara!!" He yelled. "Go on ahead, we'll be fine!"

Sango glanced back, a worried frown on her face. "We should go back for them. With that outfit of his, Inuyasha can't possibly outrun that monster!!"

Miroku tightened his grip about her waist, for once refraining from groping about. "Don't underestimate him! Besides, if all four of us are riding Kirara, there's no way she can outrun it. The only chance we have is if we stay apart!" He glanced back, squinting in the torrential downpour. "Inuyasha knows that!"

The wind carried most of their words away, but Inuyasha still picked up on their conversation.

"Don't you dare come back here for me!! I can protect Kagome. Worry about yourselves and get the hell out of here!!" As he spoke, he tightened his grip on Kagome's legs. Don't worry, Kagome, I promise I won't let anything happen to you.

She lifted her head out of his hair. "You heard him! We'll be fine!! Go!" She sent a weak smile before burying her face in his neck again. Please let them be safe…and please, whoever's out there, look after us!!

After a moment of hesitation, Sango leaned forward on Kirara. "Let's go!"

The cat roared and doubled her efforts, slowly pulling away from the pair…and from the beast of nature behind them.

Breathing heavily, Inuyasha cursed his bulky clothing as it dragged him back in the wind. His muscles burned from the effort of fighting the wind, his face red from the biting wind and hail. Another lurch of the stomach warned him that the pressure was still dropping…

…Which meant that the thing was catching up to him.

"I-Inuyasha! Try going at an angle!"

"What??" He tipped his face back in an effort to look at her. "What are you talking about?"

"Maybe if we're not going straight along its path, we can get away from it!!" She tightened her grip on him. "If we keep going this way, it's going to catch us!"

"Feh." Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha changed direction, angling himself slightly to the right of the tornado's trail of destruction. Ice flowed through his veins as he felt the tornado come closer. "I hope you're right, Kagome!!"

Heart pounding, he watched the tornado loom closer out of the corner of his eye…

…And watched it disappear.

"H-Huh?" Blinking, he glanced around, still running at full force in the wild wind. "Where'd it go?"

Kagome lifted her head. "It pulled up into the clouds?"

"Looks like it!" Then why is my skin crawling? Frowning, Inuyasha looked straight ahead, watching the lightning warily.

WhrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOARRRRRR!!!

Inuyasha nearly lost his lunch as the pressure plummeted…

…And the tornado dropped down, directly in front of them.

"HOLY SHIIIIIIIIITTTT!!!!!!"

In a last-minute burst of panic, Inuyasha whipped Kagome off his back and held her tight against his chest, burying his face in her hair. He vaguely heard frightened yells from Sango and Miroku as he tightened his arms around Kagome.

I'm sorry, Kagome!! I'm sorry!!!

They both screamed as the tornado sucked them up, and the world went black.

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Groaning, Inuyasha slowly lifted a hand to his face as he lay sprawled on the ground. Peeling his eyes open, he squinted at the bright sun and blue skies about him.

"What…the hell…?" His voice sounded raspy in the quiet clearing about him. "What hap…" His eyes flew open as memories crashed to the forefront of his brain.

"Oh my god, Kagome!!"

Ignoring the painful protests of his muscles, Inuyasha lurched to a sitting position and looked frantically around.

"Kagome?? Kagome, where are you??"

"…Ungh…"

Inuyasha spun about at the soft moan behind him. Kagome lay on her side a few feet behind him, her clothes in tatters and her backpack, straps broken, flung several yards beyond her. Her face was tilted towards the ground, her matted hair draped across her face and obscuring it completely. Worry winding itself in his stomach, Inuyasha rose to his knees and crawled over to her. He gingerly lifted a hand to her shoulder.

"Kagome? Are you all right? Can you hear me??"

After a moment, the girl groaned and opened her eyes. Wincing, she sat up.

"I…Inuyasha?" She blinked blearily at him for a long moment before her eyes flew completely open. "Oh god, Inuyasha!!!"

Ignoring the pain that raced through her, Kagome flung her arms around him and buried her face in his chest. Relief and leftover terror raced through her, making her body tremble. Closing his eyes, Inuyasha returned the embrace, crushing her against him.

Thank god she's all right…

Kagome sniffled, her face still buried in his chest. "Oh god…Inuyasha, I've never been so scared in my entire life!! I thought…I thought we were…"

He tightened his hold on her, allowing himself to rub his cheek on the top of her head. She's alive. She's okay.

After a long moment, they drew apart. Inuyasha craned his neck, attempting to get some kinks out of it, then proceeded to stretch his arms and back. Sniffling, Kagome wiped at her eyes and glanced around.

"Um…Inuyasha?"

He paused, arms stretched over his head. "What?"

Kagome took another long look around, her heart sinking.

"Where…where are we?"

Blinking, Inuyasha lowered his arms and looked around. Nothing looked familiar, nothing smelled familiar. He felt like they weren't even in Japan anymore. Heart pounding, Inuyasha swallowed and returned his gaze to Kagome's.

"I…I have no idea."

They stared at each other, the same thought racing through their minds.

We're lost.