Hi readers, it's the one and only, Perky-Thief; your humble and boring writer. Just here to say thank you for helping me to reach my 100 Reviews Goal. THANX! You have no idea how happy you made me. (In the words of my faithful reviewers, dances crazily)

Anyway, sorry it took me so long to update, runs and hides behind computer. Like I said in the last chapter, I was away in Florida. Thank God for making Disney World! And it was SOOOO nice; it was like 80 degrees. And thank you to Tara for making my vacation so special. I loved getting all the Disney Princess's Autographs (yes, we got ALL of them) with you. Time can't ever erase that experience.

Title: Winter Wonderland

Chapter:Sunrise and Breakfast

Pairings: Inuyasha & Kagome, Miroku & Sango

Winter Wonderland

Inuyasha leaped over the trees early in the morning, before the sun had even yet to rise. Although the air was cool and crisp, there was no breeze, thus making it a fairly decent day for the winter season. The powdery white snow covering the ground gave the woods a calm and serene feeling. Inuyasha liked that; this was his forest after all.

Kagome had her arms draped around Inuyasha's shoulders, attempting to hang on due to his incredibly fast pace. Inuyasha had woken her up from her warm, quiet, peaceful slumber only moments ago. And thought she was not happy about it, Kagome didn't complain. Inuyasha told her that he had a surprise waiting for her, and this intrigued her greatly so she did not speak.

They traveled together, both in a silent union with one another. Yet, after a few minutes Inuyasha turned to a drowsy Kagome and whispered, "Just a little bit further. We'll be there soon."

Kagome nodded. "Will you please tell me what you're taking me to see?" She shifted her body to be more comfortable. "You're driving me insane."

Inuyasha smirked, "be patient, wench. We'll get there soon enough. And stop wiggling so much; you're not a fucking worm, you know."

A frown wrinkled Kagome's face as she nudged him in the ribs. "Shut up," she said. "I know, it's just really hard to get comfortable when racing through the woods at a thousand miles per hour."

"Feh," Inuyasha said. "You're making it worse than it actually is. Besides, we're almost there; so just keep your pants on, alright." Inuyasha made a sharp turn left and grinned when he felt Kagome's grip on him tighten. He liked how she placed her head on his shoulder. "Scared, wench?"

Kagome didn't answer, she simply buried her head deeper into the hanyou's silvery-white hair, hiding from the wind and inhaling his scent.

A few minutes and whips of wind later, and Inuyasha had stopped his dashing tread through the forest and came to rest at an enormous cliff. "Kagome," he said, causing her to lift her head up off his shoulder. "Look."

He pointed out into the distance and all Kagome could do was gasp. Before her eyes in the vast expanse were beautifully chiseled mountains sitting in front of a striking sunrise. "Oh, Inuyasha," she exclaimed softly. "It's gorgeous. Was this what you wanted to show me?"

He nodded firmly, his eyes focused upon the vastness. "Yeah. Do you like it?"

"I love it, it's wonderful." Kagome dismounted off Inuyasha's back and walked around to face him. She gave him a tiny quick kiss on his nose. "Thank you," she said with a smile. Sighing deeply, Kagome turned back to the scenery to watch the daybreak with content.

A smirk graced Inuyasha's features as she turned her back to him. Taking a step forward, he placed his arms possessively over and around her shoulders, locking Kagome in his tight embrace. She didn't resist or try to wriggle free; she only leaned more into his hug, relishing the moment. "I love you," said Inuyasha in a faint, but definite whisper.

Kagome smiled widely. "And I, you," she responded.

They stood there collectively for a bit, watching the hues of orange and yellow emitted from the upcoming dawn. Only after the sun had risen to its full place in the sky did Inuyasha and Kagome make ready to leave.

And before long, Inuyasha had himself and Kagome back at Kaede's hut before anyone had even woken.

"Feh," Inuyasha stated, glancing inside at the group of sleeping people. "Stupid mortals. Always spending their time sleeping the day away."

"Excuse me," Kagome said. "But incase you're forgetting, I'm also one of those stupid mortals." She stalked up to his face with a look of anger and annoyance drilled across her features.

Inuyasha lowered himself slightly and started cowering just from seeing her walk towards him. He really wasn't in the mood to be yelled at today, and not by her of all people. Kagome stared him in the eyes and started shouting directly at him, "And just for your information, my dear Inuyasha…" she paused, and Inuyasha was shocked at what he heard next. Her voice came out sounding kind sugary sweet, "We're not all as strong as you." She ran her finger from the tip of his chin down to the middle of his chest. "And ya know," Kagome had lowered her voice an octave. "I really love that you're stronger than me. It lets me know that you're in charge." A smile slowly spread suggestively across her rosy lips.

Standing up to his full height, Inuyasha smirked arrogantly. "Heh, that's right, I am stronger than all you useless mortals. And that's how it should be." He folded his arms neatly across his chest, trying to show off his manliness.

Kagome smiled and cuddled against Inuyasha, still keeping her sweet voice. "You're right; you're exactly right, Inuyasha. You are stronger than all of us. And that's why I think you should be the one to go get breakfast."

Inuyasha's jaw nearly dropped to the ground. "What? Are you fucking kidding me?"

Kagome released him and stood back a few feet with a look of mock-confusion. "I don't understand, what do you mean? I thought you said that you were the strongest out of all of us weak mortals. That's what you said. You weren't lying to me, were you?"

"B-but," Inuyasha stuttered. He stood looking dumbfounded for a minute then sighed loudly. "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

A giggled escaped Kagome's smiling lips, "yup."

He sighed once again. "I thought so."

Inuyasha sunk his shoulders and made way to turn back towards the woods, but was stopped when Kagome grabbed him and locked him in girlish squeeze. "While you're out, could you bring back some firewood, please?" And without waiting for an answer, she said, "thanks, love you."

Skipping inside the hut, Kagome left Inuyasha looking and feeling quite stupid. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Inuyasha muttered. He sulked away towards the woods, deciding that he'd still end up getting breakfast even if he didn't go now.

Kagome stood in the doorway of Kaede's tiny hut, watching Inuyasha's form depleting into the forest. She smiled thinking, 'that's why I love him.' A soft moan sounded behind her, prompting Kagome to turn around. She saw Shippo in her sleeping bag, slowly waking up. 'Hmph, at least he got some sleep,' Kagome thought to herself.

"Kagome," Shippo said, half-asleep. "What are you doing?" He looked around the room, then back at Kagome, "where'd Inuyasha go?"

"Nothing, Shippo," Kagome said. "Come on, it's time to get up. Inuyasha's out getting us breakfast." She smiled, walking towards the young kit.

The word 'breakfast' seemed to be the one thing that got through to Shippo because he immediately perked up at the sound of it. "Yay," he shouted. "I hope he brings back fish. We haven't had fish in ages." Shippo licked his lips in a hopeful burst of anticipation.

Kagome was staring longingly at the adorable little kit when she heard Sango's muffled voice saying, "thanks a lot for waking me up, Shippo."

"Heh, sorry, Sango," Shippo said, red tinting his cheeks.

She pushed herself up from laying down on her bed mat into an upright sitting position. Her dark chocolate hair was disheveled but she seemed well rested. "Good morning, Kagome. Did Shippo wake you up too?" she asked, casting a sidelong accusing glance at the blushing fox youkai.

Before Kagome could reply, Shippo cut in, "no, Kagome was awake before any of us. She made Inuyasha go get breakfast. I hope its fish."

"Oh," was Sango's reply. Suddenly, confusion dawned upon her face. "You mean he actually did this of his own free will."

Kagome grinned sheepishly. "No, not really. I kind of tricked him into doing it. Reverse psychology works really well on him."

Sango smirked. "I thought so. Just getting up and deciding to retrieve breakfast doesn't sound like our Inuyasha. I would've thought that he was too lazy to actually do anything kind like that."

"Who the hell are you callin' lazy?" an irritated voice shouted.

All three of them turned their heads towards the large doorway to see Inuyasha standing there with skinned and cleaned rabbit in one hand, and a brownish-colored sac in the other. He dropped the items he was carrying on the ground. "There you go," Inuyasha said. "Breakfast is served." He took a seat on a woven mat on the floor, leaning back against the wall and closing his eyes.

"Hey, Inuyasha," Kagome said in annoyance.

"Yeah?"

"How are we supposed to this cook this without a fire? We can't eat it raw. I thought I asked you to get fire wood."

"Yeah, I know." Inuyasha seemed undisturbed by her attitude. He hadn't even opened his eyes to glance at her.

Kagome's patience seemed to be wearing thin. Her arms rested against her chest and she was tapping her foot impatiently. "Well? What do you suggest we do?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders. "Make a fire."

That was it; that did it. Kagome couldn't stand his nonchalant attitude anymore. It was driving her insane. She stood up and stomped over to his side. "How are we supposed to make a fire? Huh! We have only raw meat, and nothing else! So you tell me what to do!"

Inuyasha opened his eyes and looked at her. In a serious voice, he said, "well I got the food, just like you asked. I also got the fire wood, just like you asked. But you never, not once, said anything about actually making the fire. If you want that, you gotta do it on your own."

Annoyance rippled through Kagome; she shook with anger. "Inuyasha…" her voice came out in a tight and harsh whisper. "SIT, SIT, SIT!"

A strangled sounding 'huh?' escaped free from Inuyasha's throat, before he pummeled into the floor numerous times, causing multiple dents in the ground and a long tear in the mat. Lifting his head off of the floor, Inuyasha murmured a painful, "why does she always do that?"

Sango took it upon herself to answer his question. "It's because you are so inconsiderate to her, and you don't even notice it." She began packing up her bedroll and placing it to the side. "Why don't you try being a little nicer to her?"

"Feh, whatever," Inuyasha muttered. He looked around and discovered that Kagome was no longer in the hut with him and the others. "Where'd that wench go now?" Inuyasha got up and walked over to the door. He peered out carefully through the side and smirked when he saw Kagome taking the wood and building a fire pit.

Deciding to help her out a bit, Inuyasha picked up the food he had brought back and walked outside. "Here," Inuyasha said, kneeling down next to Kagome whom was currently stacking the wood. He took the rabbit and positioned it on a spit and then placed it over the fire pit. "Hey, um, I'm sorry I was kinda cold to you before."

Kagome shrugged. "It's okay. I was sort of mean too, I guess. I should've sat you. I was just a little annoyed."

Inuyasha put his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to him. "What's bugging you?"

"It's nothing," Kagome said. She resumed her work on the fire, pulling out to pieces of flint and igniting a flame.

"You're lying, I know you are. I know when something's bothering you. You always get this weird look on your face and start acting very distant."

She turned the rabbit over a couple of times. "It's just that… it's just that we never have any time alone together. Or, when we do, it always gets interrupted and doesn't last long." Kagome sighed. "I'm only annoyed because I truly want to spend time with you and I feel like I'm being denied that privilege. It's not fair." She slumped her shoulders and diverted her attention away from Inuyasha and on the now slowly roasting meal.

Inuyasha smiled and kissed her temple lightly. He was joyful inside; Kagome really and truly did care about him. She was actually sad about not being with him. "Don't worry," Inuyasha stated. "Soon there will be a time when it's just you and me. No one else. Just us." He held her tight and murmured, "Sometime soon. Real soon."

At that moment Shippo and Sango came out, with a drowsy Miroku trailing not too far behind. "Good morning, everyone," Miroku yawned. He pulled his blanket tighter around his shoulders, trying to shield himself from the cold. His drooping eyes immediately perked up when he saw the roasting meat on the fire. "Hey," Miroku said. "You got breakfast!" He took a seat, next to Sango, on a log opposite the fire and began waiting patiently for the rabbit to be fully cooked.

"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha said, rotating the spit. "Be patient. It'll be done in a minute."

"YAY!" a joyful Shippo shouted. He was currently holding the brown bag upside down, gawking at a pile of fish which had fallen from it. "Hey look, Inuyasha brought back fish!"

Kagome grinned happily at the adorable sight. She picked up three fish and placed them on the burning hot coals in the fire to cook. "You can eat them in a few minutes, okay Shippo."

The young kit nodded eagerly at the thought of fulfilling his cravings. "Mmm, thanks, Kagome."

"You're welcome, Shippo," she said. At seeing the wide grin pasted on the kits face, Kagome could only smile in response.

Inuyasha grunted in annoyance. "Ya know, you spoil him too much, Kagome."

"I do not," she responded.

"Feh, you do too. How's he supposed to grow up and be a man if you keep babying him all the time?"

Kagome stayed silent. She sort of had to agree with Inuyasha. 'I guess, in a way, I do spoil Shippo a little bit sometimes,' Kagome thought inwardly. Ignoring her previous ideas, she said, "Enough talk about that kind of stuff, lets just eat. The meat's ready now."

Inuyasha snorted. "Tryin' to change the subject, huh wench? Well, I'll let it slide this time." He reached his hand cautiously into the fiery pit and withdrew a, wonderfully scented, smoked fish. Gnawing down, Inuyasha ripped out a large chunk as he began to inhale his breakfast.

Later that day

"Kagome," Sango said. "Can I ask you a question?" She glanced around the tiny room once more to make sure they were alone.

"Yeah sure, Sango, anything." Kagome abandoned her task of tidying up and organizing her backpack to talk to her best friend. "What did you need?"

"Well," she started off. "It's about you…and Inuyasha."

A frown graced Kagome's face. 'What does she know?,' she thought secretly. "What about me and Inuyasha?" Kagome was honestly curious as to what Sango had to say to her. She just hoped it wasn't anything too embarrassing.

"Um… well…" Sango drawled on, not exactly sure of how to begin. "Well, I'm not exactly of the time, but... sometime early this morning; I woke up to get a drink from the stream. I was really thirsty," Sango stated, trying to justify herself. She paused, making sure that she had Kagome's full attention. "And everything was fine except for the fact that both you and Inuyasha were missing from the hut." A look half crossed between accusation and worry was written all over her face. "Would you like to tell me where you were?"

'Oh my Kami, what am I gonna do?' Kagome thought hastily. She wasn't exactly too keen on revealing her relationship with Inuyasha without his consent. Taking a deep breath, Kagome looked Sango square in the eye. "No," she said.

Sango's jaw dropped. Had Kagome actually said 'no' to her? That was it; Sango wanted answers, and she was going to get them. "Well…why not?"

Kagome shrugged innocently. "I just don't feel like telling you, that's why?" She swirled around and started tending to her backpack once again.

"But, Kagome..." Sango whined with puppy eyes. "I want to know. Why won't you tell me?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

A sigh escaped Kagome's mouth. This was getting really aggravating. "Because it's none of your business where I went with Inuyasha."

"Ah-ha," Sango shouted. "So you were with Inuyasha." A triumphant smiled seemed to be pasted to her face.

'Shit,' Kagome thought. She mentally scolded herself for letting that information slip. 'I better play this right.' "So what if I was?" she asked. "It's not like anything happened." Technically, she was telling the truth, nothing did happen. They were only watching the sun rise. Kagome was silent for a moment, pondering on what to say.

"Well," said Sango, now anxious to hear more of Kagome's little escapades.

"Well what?" she responded.

"Where were you?" The restlessness in Sango's tone was evident of where her interests were laid.

Kagome sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. 'What the hell…' she thought. Sango already knew a little bit of information. 'What's the harm in telling her where I actually was?' "Inuyasha woke me early in the morning and said he had a surprise for me. So I got on his back and let him take me to wherever he had planned. When we arrived, we were at this enormous cliff. And just beyond the horizons…was the sun. He had taken me to a secluded little spot to watch the sunrise with him." By the time Kagome had finished, a faint blush rested upon her cheeks in remembrance.

Sango was silent; she appeared to be carefully studying Kagome. After a moment, her face broke out into a smile. "Oh my gosh, Kagome," she said. "You are so lucky. Oh, that is so cute, and quite romantic of Inuyasha; I didn't think he had it in him." Sango gazed dreamily out into nothing. Switching gears, she eagerly said, "Did you kiss him yet? Has he kissed you?"

"Now, Sango," said Kagome. "You know I don't kiss and tell." Although Kagome started out being frightened at the thought of dispersing secrets, she now found it very fun and relaxing.

Sango frowned, her joy lessening a bit. "Make an exception, please."

A sneaky grinned allowed itself to sneak up onto her face. "Well, if you really want to know," Kagome said. "…yes, we kissed; millions of times." An exhilarating blush shone brightly on her features.

If Sango's squeal was loud before, then the one she just released had to cause earthquakes somewhere. "Oh, Kagome, this is so great. Someday, the two of you will announce your love to the world, and everybody will be happy. Then you'll end up getting married, and then you'll both have kids. Of course I'd be known as Auntie Sango. Oh you'd be such a great mother, Kagome."

"Sango please," she said. "I think it's a bit early to start thinking about things like that. Let's just let time tell."

After relaxing down slightly, Sango replied, "you're right. I'm getting a little ahead of myself." She took a long calming breath, though the beaming smile never vanished from her face.

Kagome grinned both inwardly and out. Although the thought of it made her turn to a crimson color, Kagome really didn't mind the idea of being married to Inuyasha and having his children. 'Someday,' she told herself. 'Someday soon hopefully.'

Once again, sorry it took me so long to update. PLEASE FORGIVE ME! Don't forget to Reivew:)

ReViEw ReSpOnEs

kl – WOW! That's a lot of reviews. Did you really like it?

Anime-Devil-101 – Thank you very much. Sorry it took me a while. I did have a nice time, it was really fun. Where did you go when you went? I'm interested.

Kalara – Yeah, I know. I like criticism, strange huh? But I HATE flamers. So be nice. I've been thinking about it and I decided I won't wait until I have a certain amount of reviews, but it may still take me a while to update. I'm making this story up as I go, so if you have any ideas, just shout 'em out. (And please please please don't make people suffer, j/k.)

Rayia – I hope you liked it. Yeah, I want Sango and Miroku to have a growing relationship, too. But I'm not sure if it'll go as fast as Inuyasha's and Kagome's.

lyn – Enjoy!

anonymous – Thank you so much.

Jolaine – Hey, thanks. Did you like this chapter?

Liz - grins widely thank you. I'm glad you liked it and I'm always happy to make my readers laugh. I tried to keep him as close to his actual character as possible.

XXAerisrmffXX – I think I said this to someone else too, I've decided to wait for a certain amount of reviews for updates, I'm just gonna wait till I'm ready for them. Thank you very much; I tried my best to capture their personalities. Don't worry, it takes a lot to offend me, you'll probably never be able to do it.

InuandKagforever – Thank you, thank you, and thank you. As always, I love your reviews. Those were my favorite parts also; I have a really fun time writing them. Why wouldn't I respect your judgment? I love what you have to say, it's fun to read. I agree; I want to treat Inuyasha's and Kagome's relationship like a real one. It has to progress slowly. Sorry that it took me so long to update, I've been away. I a wait what you have to say about Chapter 10.

hanyouluver67 – Thanx a lot.

Lady of the Westlands – It's alright, just let me know what you think of this chapter.

Glittelbug – Thank you. I like your name, it sounds cute. :)

tracey – Wow, I got someone hooked, dances stupidly. Thank you.

sesshy'zgurl – Ha, I guess that kinda is a funny sentence, but honestly, I don't review what I write. I just type it. So be on the look out for more dumb statements, there's probably a million.

Mistress Inuyasha – Thanx.

Inu-Fan-5 – Thank you. I can tell by your name that you're an Inuyasha Fan, so I guess that's a big complement. HEY, I got 2 reviews from you. Hehe. This another time is coming soon.

Felina Noctis – Alright, alright. I'm writing!

Inuyasha's Only Daughter – Thank you very much. I know how that feels. I used to read stories during my free time at lunch, and I'd always be so subconscious of someone watching what I read. (A lot of the time it wasn't meant for prying eyes.)

drummergrrlrox – Gee, thanks. blush blush. I get embarrassed when people say I'm a good writer. But thank you, none the less. I like your suggestion; if I use though I'd be sure to give you the credit. Who knows, it may come up in a future chapter. But thanks, comments or thoughts are always appreciated by me.