Frostbite

By: SaveagexGarden

Chapter Ten- Tempest

"Why, temptation, must I give in to thee,
Why fight then fall beneath your cursed grip,
Lost in moment's madness, pleasure see,
The instant of my strength weakness, one slip?

Why, temptation, must your long shadow play
Strange yearnings unseen on my cleansed mind -
Renew thyself in death for thy new day
On one who replete to you's now blind?

Temptation, I have this quarrel with you -
Your peace is but a pause before you strike ;
And worse, before my mortal pace is through
I fear with me you'll do just as you like.
For I am foolish, proud, and not so strong:

Temptation - with me you can do no wrong."

- Unknown author

Kagome rubbed her eyes as she absently flipped through clothes in her closet. Another honk from the car outside managed to resonate down to the freezing basement, but she didn't attempt to hurry up at all. They could wait fifteen more minutes for all she cared. They could wake up her mother with that blasted horn for all she cared as well. What kind of mother lets her emotionally unstable teenage daughter go off into the wild with two hormone-driven teenage boys and absolutely no parental supervision? The car horn sounded again as she slipped into a pair of jeans and a long red sweater with pockets sewn into the front. "I'm coming already!" She cried out in frustration, even though they probably couldn't hear her at all. Quickly slipping into her boots, Kagome grabbed her bags and started up the slim stairs.

When she reached the kitchen, Kagome noticed that her mother leaning against a counter sipping some coffee absent-mindedly. She glanced out the screen door at the beat-up truck stalling in the driveway. Surprisingly, Sango was in the driver's seat instead of Inuyasha. Kagome could only guess it was because Sango knew the way there better then Inuyasha, but she didn't currently have a car. Kagome turned back to her mother who was still nonchalantly sipping her caffeine infested drink. "I'll give you a call when we get there if you want me to, okay mom?" Kagome turned to the door and said a brief, "Bye." Over her should at her mother.

As she reached out for the chilled door handle, her mother spoke up. "Be safe Kagome. I trust you, which is the only reason why I am letting you do this and I'm starting to regret my decision… but I want you to be happy up here so I don't want to shelter you like a child. Just don't misuse my trust, all right?" Korari glanced at Kagome over the rim of her coffee mug before glancing apprehensively at the truck outside.

Kagome bit her lip lightly and nodded. "Don't worry about a thing mom. I'll be fine, I was just exaggerating a bit yesterday." She sent her mother a small reassuring smile. The Kagome pushed the door open and gingerly stepped down the three slippery stairs. It would be miserable to spend her whole break on the couch just because she slipped down her own side-door stairs and broke an ankle or two. One she reached the relative mushy, sticky safety of the snow Kagome quickly stepped toward the black automobile and tossed her bags into the bed of the truck with the other suitcases and hopped around to the passenger side door.

Sango smiled at her when Kagome opened the passenger door. "Took you long enough, Kagome. Well come on, hop in. We want to get there as fast as we can, you know so we can have more time on the mountain." Kagome noticed that Sango was indeed driving the car while Miroku lounged in the passenger seat. He looked half asleep as if Sango and marched into his room, dragged him out of bed, and just threw him into the truck that morning. While she was thinking this, his head rolled to the side while he nodded off to sleep for a moment. Inuyasha was stretched out in the backseat; his eyes were unfocused as one of his fingers drew lazy circles in the fog on the read windshield. With the obvious exception of Sango, who was practically bouncing in anticipation, they all looked as tired and Kagome felt.

"I would get in Sango, but Inuyasha is taking up the whole backseat like he owns the place." Kagome heard Inuyasha mutter something about the truck being his so technically he did own the whole place, but she chose to completely ignore him. "Can't Miroku move to the back seat with Inuyasha and I can just have the passenger seat?" Kagome sent Sango a pleading look. She didn't want to be stuck in the backseat for a couple of hours with Inuyasha right now.

Sango was about to reply when Inuyasha, who was not as out of it as he had originally seemed, cut her off. "What Kagome? You go from kissing me in a park to not even wanting to look at me? You are quite the hypocrite. Or maybe you just got what you wanted out of me and decided to move on to some other groveling boy." His voice sounded disdainful and distant. Kagome stiffened a bit as his hand slid down the window and landed with a dull thud in his lap as he sat up, removing his legs from the other seat. Then he patted the now vacant spot next to him, looking Kagome right in the eye with a smirk.

Kagome recovered from basically being called a man-eater and crossed her arms over her chest, all the while glaring at Inuyasha. "You're on to talk about being hypocritical. What do you have to say about kissing me, cause you kissed me so abruptly, not the other way around, and then not even speaking to me afterward? What, do I not kiss as well as Kikyo? Should I have used some tongue to keep you interested? Would you have bothered to even say a 'hello' to me then?" Kagome's voice was as icy as the weather.

"As much as I normally love hearing about scandalous activities going on in skate parks at night, this conversation has taken a turn for the worst. You just managed to kill my mood. Now sit down Kagome, you're letting all the cold air in plus Sango-dearest is in a hurry." Miroku smiled charmingly at Kagome, but made no move to change seats as Sango hissed to him something about 'stop calling me dearest'. He obviously wanted to sit next to Sango. With a defeated sigh, Kagome crawled into the back seat and sat down next to Inuyasha who refused to even look at her. This was an absolutely brilliant idea.

Miroku was back asleep within minutes of leaving Kagome's driveway and Sango was completely absorbed in whatever music she was pumping into her ears through her ipod, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha in awkward, stubborn silence. After half an hour of unsettling silence, Kagome prepared herself to swallow her pride and break the silence for sanity's sake, but Inuyasha beat her to it. "Look, I'm sorry okay?" His voice was low and the sentence was grumbled out in a half rushed tone of voice, but Kagome heard it clearly.

"You're actually sorry?" Her voice sounded incredulous and she was sure one of her eyebrows raised in a classic movie-star shocked manner.

Inuyasha turned to her sharply and snapped. "That's what I said, didn't I? Don't try to make me say it again cause I won't." He crossed his arms and sulked like a little kid. Kagome, who was on the verge of actually thinking Inuyasha was a mature human being for a moment, rolled her eyes and glanced out the window. It was true what they said in health class about girls maturing faster then guys.

It was a different road; she knew that deep down inside. This was not the same road that her family had taken to get into Hemlock for the first time. She had actually not been on that road since she had moved up north, but the road looked the same. Snow covered farmland stretched over slumping hills to the horizon, occasionally dotted by the sickening classic Christmas thicket. Kagome smiled a bit when she saw a solitary turkey duck into the bushes beside the road and idly wondered if the stupid beast really did have a death wish lurking around the road like it seemed to enjoy doing. It probably wasn't the same turkey though, maybe this one was smarter and that's why it went into the bushes and not into the road unlike her Thanksgiving friend from the move to Hemlock. It was almost funny to think back onto that road trip now. She never imagined that she would make any friends in her new town or be at least semi-satisfied with life here in the snow. As much as she hated to admit it, she had adjusted to the routine here with very few difficulties, except for being frozen all the time; it was as if she had lived here forever. Kagome continued to stare out the window listlessly.

Kagome didn't know exactly when it happened because the last thing she remembered clearly was starring blindly out the window at the far-reaching expanse of snow, but she started to fall asleep as the truck bounced around on the ice cracked pavement. Her head lulled back and landed on Inuyasha's shoulder with a gentle nudge. In her half-asleep state, Kagome almost expected a rough push from Inuyasha to dislodge her from his body, but instead a firm arm wrapped itself around her shoulders and pulled her a bit closer. It was warmer next to him. A finger started to lazily rub circles on her arm, over the red fabric of her sweater, as Inuyasha whispered something she didn't quite catch in her ear. Then Kagome was asleep.

She was awakened two ours later by the uncomfortable lurch of the truck as it hit a pothole right as a gust of wind caught the truck on it's left side. Sango muttered a few curses under her breath while Kagome attempted to sit up. Inuyasha's arm discreetly unwound itself from her body. She stole a quick glance at him but Inuyasha's focus was on the weather outside. A small frown tugged at the corner of his lips. Now Kagome noticed that it did look like it was getting stormy outside. "What's going on Sango?" Kagome muttered in a sleep-filled voice as she sat up a bit more and rubbed her eyes. Miroku was also awake now, but Kagome couldn't tell if he had woken up before or after her.

Sango glanced at Kagome over her shoulder and grimaced slightly. "We hit some bad weather just a little while ago. If this keeps up, by the time the storm is gone it'll be too late to go onto any of the slopes unless we feel like just risking the threat of running headlong into a pine tree on a dark mountain pass at night." Sango sounded sickened by the idea that they may have to wait until tomorrow to start snowboarding even after all the rushing they did that morning.

The two guys were unusually quiet, but Kagome was under the impression that they were more upset about waking up early for nothing then the actual snowboarding delay. Kagome had a completely different thought on her mind. She was replaying her fears from last night about being stuck in a cabin during a blizzard and having to cuddle for warmth. The logical part of her reasoned that this was definitely not a blizzard or Sango would have pulled over and Sango was probably completely prepared for a blizzard at the cabin so she would never have to bunk with Miroku under any circumstance. But the irrational side of Kagome was far louder then her rational side. She couldn't decide whether she wanted the blizzard or not in the first place. On one hand, now that she had slept curled up in Inuyasha's side she kind of liked the idea of cuddling with him some more. One the other hand though, he was still acing a bit cold around her and they had had that little argument this morning. Plus he was refusing to make eye contact with her now that she was awake and sitting on her side of the car. Maybe he only liked her when she was silent and asleep?

Kagome was too busy imagining scenarios in her head to notice that the truck and stopped and the others were getting out. She was jerked back to reality literally when Inuyasha leaned over, unbuckled her seatbelt, and tugged her out of the truck in one quick movement. Kagome let out a small cry of surprise at the unexpected yank, but righted herself before the landed face first into the snow. Inuyasha was still holding onto her arm though, so he might have caught her before she fell or he could have dropped her. "Damn girl, can't you stay focused for five minutes?" Inuyasha said in a teasing tone. Kagome as about to snap back at him, but restrained herself when she noticed his small, not-quite-there smile. Maybe one argument was enough for today.

"If you two are quite finished flirting, can we get all this tuff inside? The storm is picking up." Sango tossed Inuyasha's suitcase at him as she said this. Miroku and her were already pulling everything out of the truck as quick as hey possibly could, although Miroku was still a little sluggish from having to wake up so early and sleeping in a bumpy truck. They weren't joking about the storm getting worse though. Flurries whipped around Kagome getting little flakes of snow entangled in her hair where they slowly melted. She was also suddenly very aware of how cold her limbs were and where exactly Sango had pulled over.

The truck sat on and old, cracked driveway that wound its way up to the classic wooden cabin. The outside of the cabin was composed of dark, snowy logs stacked one on top of the other with a few frosted windows scattered about. It appeared to be a one-story building with a very steep roof that was completely white from the snowdrifts forming on the slopes. On the same porch was a large pile of wood, cut and ready for the fireplace. Kagome quickly grabbed her luggage and followed the other three towards the cabin as the shill started to seep into her clothes. She tried desperately not to slip on the icy ground and thoroughly embarrass herself.

Upon reaching the front door, Kagome threw herself into the hallway inside expecting that instant feeling of warmth that one gets when entering a house after spending awhile playing out in the snow. Unfortunately the inside of the cabin was just as cold as the outside air, minus the wind chill. "Sango, this place is freezing!" Kagome managed to wail out through chattering teeth.

Miroku appeared from around the corner instead of Sango though. He flashed her one of his brilliant smiles and pulled her suitcase from her hands. "Sorry about the cold, Kagome. Sango is turning on the heater right now and as soon as we get everything settled inside, Inuyasha and I will grab some wood and get the fireplace going. I'll just show you to Sango and your room for now." He took one step backward and motioned for her to follow him before turning around and walking off with her suitcase.

Kagome let out a small sigh and practically cried when she noticed a puff of air rise in front of her. It was cold enough to see her own breath, but she still followed Miroku deeper into the house. Fortunately the house was a bit warmer as she went further away from the front door, but not by much. Kagome let out a frustrated moan and watched her breath rise again. "I thought I'd be used to this type of weather by now! It's been months…" She shoved her hands into her sweater's pockets for warmth as Miroku led her into a small, cozy room with two twin beds and a couple other dressers and furnishings.

"Thanks Miroku." Kagome said with a genuine smile as he exited the room to start up the fireplace. A moment after Miroku left, Sango slipped into the room too. Kagome had already started to toss her things into a dresser and barely glanced up when Sango shut the door behind her. "Hey Sango." Kagome said as she started to put the last of her things into the drawer.

"Hey" Sango said in response as she fell onto one of the twin beds and watched Kagome unpack. She flipped over onto her back and let out a slow sigh. Kagome turned to Sango, waiting for her to say something else. She didn't have to wait long. "Sorry about the weather. The news said it's be cloudy but nothing about storms at all."

Kagome just shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'm in no rush to make a fool out of myself in front of everyone again." Kagome finished unpacking and took a seat next to Sango on the bed. "Is there something else bothering you?"

For a moment Kagome thought Sango might not answer her. Sango was just starring at the plain, cream colored ceiling intensely and licking her lips/ "It's about Miroku…" She drawled off for a moment as Kagome sat up a bit more and turned toward Sango. Kagome lived for this kind of stuff. She read Jane Austen religiously and could smell a good troubled, romantic plot a mile away. Maybe that's why she kept imagining Kikyo and Inuyasha together. Its as if their whole relationship was spewed out of a dime store romance.

"What about Miroku?" Kagome feigned an innocent, naïve voice as if she had no clue they were secretly in love with each other, but Sango was too headstrong to admit to it and Miroku didn't know how to approach Sango because he had never felt so intensely about another woman in his life before now so in his fear of denial, he reverted to his perverted tactics in an obvious attempt to protect his truly fragile heart from the pain of rejection from his one true love. But of course Sango would be upset if she knew Kagome had seen through her all along.

"I don't know what to do about that damned pervert! If he feels me up one more time I'll… I'll kill him!" Sango growled out fiercely. "What does he take me for? How can that man think I will just fall in love with him cause he smiles at me and compliments me all the time then feels me up?" Sango got up and stomped out of the room, leaving Kagome dazed and confused.

"What just happened?" Kagome muttered to herself, starring at Sango's now vacant spot. Maybe she needed to stop jumping to conclusions like that. Thinking for a moment, Kagome shook her head. No, she was right about her friends' troubled romance… Sango just needed to realize it too.

An old clock hung over the wall opposite of Kagome's bed. The simple, circular object indicated that it was still fairly early in the day. It was only a little after ten o'clock, not even lunchtime yet. But Kagome could still hear the hiss of wind as it swept over the steep, tin roof and the noise was increasing. If anything the storm was gaining momentum, building itself up. She continued to stare blankly at the clock, which slowly ticked off the seconds, and considered the group lucky that they had left so early. Sure, they were going to be stuck inside the cabin together, but at least they managed to get off the road before the worst of the storm had hit.

She was startled out of her thoughts when someone knocked on the open doorframe. Glancing to her right, Kagome noticed that Inuyasha was leaning against the frame watching her in an absent-minded manner. His eyes seemed glossy, hazed over and his mouth was slack instead of the typical scowl or smirk. He was simply just there, no particular emotion at all. "What do you want?" Kagome snapped irritably as his blank stare and silence started to innerve her. Kagome's harsh tone seemed to snap Inuyasha out of whatever reverie he had been so absorbed in. He pushed himself off the doorframe and stood erect as Kagome stood up too. She didn't want to give Inuyasha any advantage by letting Inuyasha stare down at her while she meekly looked up at him. Sure, he was still quite a few inches taller then she was, but with him a few feet away from her it barely made a difference. Still Inuyasha hadn't replied yet. His eyes were in focus; his full, pale red lips were in a firm line, and he was standing straight now but he hadn't said a word. "Well?" Kagome pressed impatiently.

Inuyasha took a few decisive steps forward, closing the distance, as Kagome took one feeble step back. He was now no more then a few inches away from her body, and unfortunately unless she wanted to stare at his chest all day long Kagome had to look up to meet his eyes. Kagome swallowed nervously, somehow suddenly shy. Her legs felt like jello and it seemed a miracle that the complex mush of muscles, tendons, and bones could keep her from collapsing. His eyes were just so deep she could lose herself in them as silly and sentimental as that sounded. He leaned in closer and his eyes seemed to get larger. She couldn't look away even if she desperately wanted to. She didn't want to look away though; she didn't want him to look away. She wanted to feel like it was only the two of them and that she was the only one in the world. She wanted to feel loved and important so desperately hat is blocked out all rational thought. Yes, she wanted him to kiss her.

But he didn't kiss her. She was faintly aware that Miroku had called his name somewhere in the cabin and that she had blinked. She had broken that eye contact and suddenly the world wasn't theirs anymore. He shifted his body and glanced at the open door behind him. No one was there; Miroku must have called for him from the guys' room or from the common room. Inuyasha took a step backward before turning to look at Kagome who must have looked like a doe caught in headlights. "Sorry about that too…" Inuyasha muttered, mumbling the words. "I just came in here to tell you that we were going to eat lunch early since Sango is a lunatic and wouldn't let anyone eat breakfast." He flashed Kagome a weak smirk, trying to grab onto some thread of the normal.

Kagome nodded weakly, also trying to drag herself out of her stupor and resume her normal attitude. Why was she upset at him again? "So I guess she storm isn't going to die down anytime soon." Kagome said this as more of a statement then a question. She allowed a small smile to grace the lips Inuyasha was mere centimeters from kissing.

Inuyasha returned the smile with his typical hybrid smirk/smile. "Yea, the storm is getting worse by the minute. Sango is completely put out by the whole ordeal, even though we're going to be here for a while." His voice had regained the arrogant tone now. "But you're probably pretty happy about the storm, huh?"

Kagome frowned a bit. "Why would I be happy being stuck in a cabin with you?" She smiled a bit, happy to be mocking him instead of going weak in the knees over him.

Inuyasha just laughed lightly as he started to make his way out of the room. "Cause you have one less day of embarrassing yourself out there on the slopes." He grabbed the doorframe and swung around to face her, a teasing smirk plastered on his face. "Oh yea, and don't even try to deny the fact that you adore the idea of being trapped alone in the woods with me. I mean, what girl wouldn't love that?"

He managed to duck out of the doorway with a short laugh as Kagome chucked one of her boots at him. "You arrogant asshole! Who would ever want to even be in the same room as you!" Kagome yelled after him. Jerk… who would ever want to kiss that monster. She certainly wouldn't even dream about it. Kikyo could have him for all she cared. Kagome let out a little sigh and set her other boot beside her bed. Then she walked over and retrieved the other boot, setting it beside the other one. Then she left the room to meet the others for their early lunch. It was almost eleven o'clock now. Had long had they stood starring at each other?

Kagome walked down the hall, not really knowing where she was going but following the sound of her friends' voices. Kagome walked through the wooden arch into the common room where Miroku, Sango, and Inuyasha sat waiting for her before they started to dig into their lunch of turkey sandwiches and chips.

The rest of the day went by smoothly inside the warm cabin as the fireplace crackled and the storm outside raged fiercely. Kagome was never caught alone with Inuyasha again. The group of four stayed together in the stuffily warm common room sitting at the table playing cards or just talking. As the night dragged on, the storm quieted and they could no longer hear the tin roof roaring or the wind knocking on all the doors and windows. Finally the sun set and the weather outside was silent, but no one was really in the mood to start snowboarding so late. Instead they gathered around the small television and popped in a movie.

Miroku had already fallen asleep on the couch during the end of the movie and Sango seemed about ready to collapse as well. The space around the television didn't have much furniture. Besides the couch, which Miroku and Sango occupied in their content exhaustion, was just one other plush chair. Inuyasha had allowed Kagome to have that last chair. Kagome had curled up in the chair instead of letting her legs dangle over the side so Inuyasha could sit in front of the chair and lean against it during the movie. Sango succumbed to sleep and let her body rest against Miroku's steadily rising and falling chest.

Kagome closed her eyes and was completely prepared to join her other two friends in sleep, but she was interrupted. One arm slipped under her torso and the other arm hooked under her knees and pulled her body off the chair and into a firm chest. Kagome's eyes fluttered open and starred up into his face, blurred by grogginess. "Inuyasha?" The loose, cotton fabric of his shirt muffled her voice.

Inuyasha carried Kagome down the hall toward her bedroom, leaving Sango and Miroku curled up together on the couch as the fire in the fireplace turned to embers. "You'll be more comfortable in bed then on that chair." He whispered quietly as he slipped through the open door frame and nudged the door closed behind him. "Besides I don't want you to try and get out of snowboarding tomorrow by complaining about stiff muscles from sleeping in the fetal position on a chair." He smiled down at her faintly, not a full-fledged smile but a hint of one. Kagome smiled too as Inuyasha set her down in bed and tucked her in. He leaned over and kissed her forehead, letting his fingers move her hair out of her face. "Good night Kagome."

A/N: I am sorry about the long, long delay, but this chapter is 8 pages long, but I didn't go back and re-read this chapter after having typed it up so I apologize for any grammatical errors. I was just so thrilled to finally be publishing the chapter. I ended up having to write his chapter between seeing my boyfriend and the Georgia graduation tests. It's been a hassle, but I think I managed to pull out a well-written chapter. Oh, and I am also currently writing a new story, I don't know if I will put it out sometime this week or wait till I finish this story but I want to write it while I'm still excited about the idea. It will be based off a book I just finished called Repossession by A.M. Jenkins. It's a really quick read; I ended up finished the 200-page book in under 24 hours, but it was very cute. I hope you guys will check out that story too when I publish it. Please review!