Chapter 16: Winter toll

After she bathed in the hot spring that the gorons had in Kakariko Village and dressed, she decided to seek out Inuyasha. Her muscles were still sore as she walked down the stairs of the inn. She could feel a weird tension on the back of her neck. The bruises of when he grabbed her were still visible, just not as prominent. Nervousness crept into her as the rays of sunlight her her face. They needed to clear the air before even attempting to travel. She couldn't imagine the guilt that must be overwhelming him. She had forgiven him, even if the words had cut deep.

Link's presence had helped in her sorrow that she felt towards the situation. They had both woken up a few times, but they couldn't bring themselves to get out of bed. So they just laid there and talked.

Not about the impediment doom that was hovering over them. They talked about their lives when they were younger, exchanging childhood memories. Link was able to open more about his parents and Kagome told him more about her world, not the Feudal Era. At times their fingers would brush against one another, but neither would pull them away. She found herself constantly getting lost in his blue eyes. Taking in the different swirls of blue that kept staring back at hers. A level of comfort and security she didn't think it was possible.

She took a deep breath as she continued walking. She found him where Sango told her he would be.

There was a rocky entrance behind the spirit's spring. She didn't even know it was there. Then again she's never outright explored the entire village.

He was sitting against the rocky wall. His hair was a mess and she could see the bags under his eyes. She could see his hands with dried up blood on them. As soon as she was closer, he got up and stepped away not looking at her face.

Her heart broke at his reaction, "Inuyasha-"

"Don't. Please don't. There's nothing you can say that's going to change anything."

His voice was raspy and filled with regret and shame. Her eyes were shining as she pleadingly looked at him, "Just please listen to me-"

He snarled as he stepped back, "No! I almost killed everyone… I almost killed you… I can still smell your blood in my claws Kagome, mixed with his. "

She stepped closer, ignoring his warning growl.

"It wasn't your fault. You were possessed. Whatever that sword had was too strong. It could've happened to anyone Inuyasha."

He glared at her, "But it didn't. It happened to me. Second time already since we've been here. First it was when I stepped into the twilight when we first encountered Zant and now this. What if it happens again? Who's to say I can be stopped next time?" he swallowed the lump in his throat as he eyed the bruises on her neck.

"Enough!" she yelled at him as she walked up to him, "If you keep thinking that, it will happen again. This world is different from ours. Their magic is different! I'm not mad at you. We will figure this out."

His eyes were becoming bloodshot as he looked at her, "How could you not be? Everything I said," his voice cracked, "What I said to you… how can you just forgive me so easily?"

She took the initiative by wrapping her arms around his torso tightly, "Because you're my best friend."

His eyes were burning more and he knew he wouldn't be able to hold it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose on her neck. He could feel her trembling and could smell her tears. That was it for him. Hadn't he cried for her once or twice before? He wasn't sure.

She was his light but this light didn't deserve him. He knew that although those words came out of him because he was possessed, it had done its damage. Whatever opportunity that could've been, just maybe, was now gone. He didn't deserve her. All he wanted was for her to be happy and it can't be with him. He loved her as his partner, as his friend. Ultimately he could never love her how she deserved to be loved.

She was soothing him as he let it out.

"Kagome I-"

"Stop. I know. Now let me hold you stupid. You really scared me."

And not because of what he almost did, but because she almost lost him.

The kids had been disappointed that Link and the others were getting ready to depart. After Kagome's discussion with Inuyasha, they had agreed on heading out the day after tomorrow. Link did not want to waste any time, he needed to find those pieces again.

Ever since finding out that Ganondorf was alive, he felt bigger pressure on his shoulders. His mother had told him many stories of the Hero of Time and his accomplishments. He just wished he knew the reason why Ganondorf was still alive. Hundreds of years had passed since his terror, and now it was happening again.

He had so many questions.

How did the relationship with Zant start?

Was he in Hyrule already? Or was he still in the Twilight realm?

He was confident in his swordsmanship where he should be, but battling the Thief King himself was a different story that he wasn't sure if he would even come out alive from the battle. He was aware he could not have such thoughts, as it could determine his doom. He couldn't help it however.

Then there was the situation with Ilia. The young woman had been keeping her distance from him this time around. He wasn't sure if it was because she was embarrassed that he heard her comment about him always being injured and putting himself in danger. He needed to figure out how to help her, but he wasn't sure how to start. It was a tricky situation. He wanted his friend back. At times he felt like she was remembering again, but then that dream would be shattered quickly. He would have to focus about it some other time.

He had opted out by taking Epona this time as they traveled through Hyrule Field. He missed his mare and all he wanted was to ride her. Kagome was happy to see the strong horse again, that she had begged Link to let her ride with him. He couldn't say no to her, especially when she was snuggling the horse's nose against her face.

They were surprised to see several soldiers outside of the East Entrance to Castle Town when they reached it in the almost late afternoon. Upon landing eyes on Link, they were let through. He let Epona rest on the stables that were at that side of town and then the party all made their way over to Telma's. There were still various citizens in town, but it seemed to be less chaotic since the last time they were here.

They were met by the familiar warmth of the bar as soon as they set foot in. Link was still looking around when he felt strong arms and a beard brushing against his neck as he was pulled into a furious hug.

"My boy! You're okay!"

It took a few seconds for Link to figure out that it was Rusl. He returned the hug to the older man, "I'm fine Rusl."

The older man pulled back and looked at him in the eye, "You really gave us a scare. It's been weeks since you were last here."

The young man let out a dry laugh, "Let's say the desert wasn't fun."

Rusl's brown eyes widened as he looked at him and the rest of the party. That's when he noticed the couple scratches that and bruises that were still fading from some of them. Telma's loud and comforting tone broke through, inviting the party to go ahead and have a seat.

They all walked towards the end of the bar where the other parties of the Resistance were seated.

"Link!" Shad excitedly said as he pushed his glasses to be in place again, "And everyone! Good to see all you young lads safe and sound. Tell us, how was the desert?"

The Resistance group took notice of the looks everyone had, even the young child that was on top of Kagome's shoulders seemed bitter.

Sango decided to answer, "It was… not pleasant. I think that's the best way to explain it."

Ashei scoffed, "Not pleasant? You lot traveled through Hyrule's desert and made way to the old prison. You've gotta give us more details than that."

"Creepy," Kagome murmured.

"Hot as fuck," Inuyasha added in.

Shippo shuddered as he remembered, "And those spirits."

"Kid, there's no such thing as spirits."

Miroku caught the tone of Ashe's voice, "You would be surprised."

Auru decided to cut in, "Were you able to find what you were looking for?"

"Yes and no," Link answered seriously, "We have an idea on where we need to go next. "

"What is it that you're doing exactly?" Ashei interrupted abruptly, "I get that you're the 'chosen one' but what is their role in this?" she pointedly looked at the rest, "What are you lot contributing to helping our kingdom?"

The five from the Feudal Era exchanged looks. Rusl was the only one besides Link that knew they were from another world and it seemed that the older man had not shared that information with the rest of the group.

Miroku cleared his throat as Telma set down drinks for everyone, "We uh… are not actually from here."

Auru's eyebrows raised, "You're from a nearby kingdom?"

Shad seemed to be ecstatic, "Are you from Hytopia? Or perhaps Labrynna?"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes as his friends seemed to be having difficulties answering the question, "We are not from this world. We were transported here weeks ago."

Silence fell upon the table, Link watching them carefully as the other three that didn't know would react to the news. Ashei was the first one to break the silence as she laughed.

"Another world? Please. You expect us to believe that rubbish?"

Rusl looked at them, "It's best if you explain since the beginning."

Ashei turned her head at him, "You believe them?"

Auru raised his hand, "Now Ashei, let them explain. I'm just as confused as you are."

Kagome fell eyes on her and she pouted, "I always end up telling it," she took a deep breath, "Well… it all started when I turned fifteen…"

And so she told them the tale. Or more like, she mentioned the important things. Ashei seemed skeptical still, but Auru and Shad were fascinated. The young scholar's eyes were wide as he took in everything that the young woman was saying. The others would add in their parts of their story and his questions seemed to be brewing in the back of his head. By the time that she was done, which was meeting Link, Shad got up from his seat.

"This is incredible!" he said as he paced, his voice raising with excitement as he hurriedly tried to write everything that was going through his head, "This is amazing! How astronomical that there are other worlds out there! Different from ours!"

"I'm still having a hard time believing it…"

"Sweetheart, you always have a hard time believing things."

Auru cut in before the other two would start arguing, "It feels like it's not a coincidence. Maybe our kingdom is at grave danger and that's why our goddesses brought you here."

"We want to help, but we are also trying to get back home," Sango said sadly, "We have unfinished business and honestly, the thought of our enemy running around without us being there to stop him is seriously worrying me."

Rusl noticed the slight sadness that appeared in Link's eyes as he glanced at Kagome.

"Where are you lot heading next?"

Link cleared his throat, "Well, I wanted to know more about Snowpeak. We know we need to go somewhere with snow and that is the only place that comes to mind."

All eyes from the Resistance turned to their female member. She raised a dark eyebrow, "Snowpeak? Well you're right on that. It is the only snowy mountains of Hyrule. Recently I've heard rumors of a beast appearing at the Zora's Domain as of recently. Doesn't seem aggressive, but a few of them are worried about how consistently this beast has been coming around. Also it seems there's been more snow storms as of recently, making it more difficult to travel right now."

Inuyasha looked at Link with his arms crossed, "We should go then."

Link nodded as he looked at the rest, "Thank you. We will let you know if we find anything."

Midna snorted to herself in his shadow. The chances of that happening were slim to none.

"You going to head there now? Do you know how the fields are at this hour?" Ashei asked, her tone undermining as she looked at them.

Inuyasha caught it and glared at her, but before he could say something Kagome stopped him.

"We'll be fine."

Before the knight could say something else, the rest bid them goodbye and started to head out.

"There's a shop we can stop by," Link started, "It's heading over to the West side. My mother used to shop for our winter clothes there for me and my father. I never went but she told me all about it."

"You're always getting our supplies," Miroku started to say but the younger man chuckled.

"It's fine. Working at Ordon had me save up some cash. It's not like I was constantly traveling out of Ordon. Might as well put it to good use."

And sure enough, the clothing store was still open and their prices weren't essentially bad. Inuyasha kept insisting he didn't need anything, but it was an argument with Kagome that he ended up buying a pair of boots and a scarf. Both Miroku and Sango purchased a thick enough cloak that wrapped around them warmly but still being able to move. Miroku had to also get a pair of boots as walking in sandals through the snow was not going to cut it. Kagome purchased a long sleeve gray tunic with black pants that were of thicker material. She had gloves in her pack and another scarf tucked in. Shippo wore a thicker sweater and gloves on his small hands.

Once they were outside of Castle Town, Midna appeared and quickly transported them to the Zora's.

Upon arrival at the Upper Zora's River the group started to make their way over towards the main area of the river. Since they set off early from Kakariko to Castle Town, it was late afternoon when they reached the river. Link was set on asking one of the Zoras questions as soon as they came into view, trying to gather more information before they could continue further.

Upon entering the canal that had the giant waterfall, they noticed a group of Zoras standing talking amongst themselves. One of them quickly recognized Link.

"Hey! That's Link!"

The young hero waved as he neared them, but as they neared him, some shouting on the other side made them stop.

Kagome's eyes widened as she saw something, a giant white creature that should only belong in a story book, making a run for it as he carried something in his hands. Some Zora's shouted and Link wasted no time on having Shippo transform. The young fox turned into a bird while Kirara took her full form. Kagome got on Inuyasha's back as the half demon took a leap to the other side of the domain, where the creature had disappeared into a tunnel.

As soon as they stepped in and continued to follow, they all could start feeling the change in temperature. As they came out of the tunnel, they were met with a blizzard. Snow was as far as the eye could see, and that was barely anything as the blizzard was making it difficult to see anything further in. Link mentally cursed as he could not see the giant creature anymore.

"Did you guys see what he was carrying?" Kagome asked loudly as she brought the cloak closer to her face, "It looked like a fish."

Inuyasha's nose twitched, "I can still smell it."

Without a question, Midna had transformed Link into a wolf. He sniffed, hoping he could pinpoint the scent of the fish that the creature was carrying, when sure enough, he got it too.

Shippo quickly went to Kagome so she could wrap him inside her cloak. Kirara's flames seemed to get bigger in order to maintain the two on her back warm. Midna's teeth started to shake as the full force of the cold hit her. Link barked at her and with a heavy sigh, she went back to his shadow.

Link took the lead as he started to run towards the direction of the scent he was sniffing out. It was a rancid smell for a fish. He didn't know fish could even smell like that. The freezing lake that he had to cross over one was slippery, his claws digging on the hard ice to remain on top and not risk falling in the freezing waters. He hopped on each of the icebergs, and he could hear the high wind of the blizzard. It seemed the farther they would go in, the harder it would get to see.

When they safely made it to the other side, he noticed that Kagome, Sango, and Miroku were having a hard time keeping their eyes open. He could see the snowflakes falling in their hair, eyebrows, and lashes.

Inuyasha grunted as he could feel Kagome shaking on his back.

"Shippo, can you try to use your foxfire?"

The small fox poked his head out of his place inside the cloak and nodded. He tried paying no mind to the cold and focused on his aura. He didn't want to burn her, but he needed to keep her warm. Link could see a green aura around the kitsune and soon, he saw Kagome physically stop shaking for the meanwhile. Soon, they finally lost the daylight as nighttime finally fell upon them. Link, Inuyasha, and Kirara had to focus their senses more as their eyesight was more compromised.

As they continued forward, climbing up more, that's when they started to encounter different monsters. First it had been icy bats. He had jumped, quickly snapping one in half with his mouth and then moving to the next one.

The blizzard seemed to want to stop them as well. Miroku wrapped his arms tightly around Sango, hoping that with his body heat will also help keep her warm as well. Kirara could feel them, her own flames growing even more.

The real challenge came when a pack of white wolves surrounded them at one point as they climbed. Sango couldn't fully bring herself to swing her boomerang. Her bones felt heavier because of the snow and she couldn't feel her face.

Inuyasha was limited on what he could do as he had both Kagome and Shippo on his back. It's not like he could set them down to fight them. Kirara could only take a defensive stance, her snarls being threatening as the wolves would size her up.

Link had been the one that had to take out as many of the five wolves that had appeared. They were the same size as him, but eyes as red as Inuyasha's fire rat haori and fur as white as the snow itself. They howled, and at any other situation Link would've admired the beautiful melody that echoed with the wind.

He got a few scratches and a good bite on his leg, but he was able to fend them off from everyone else. The last remaining two, took off running.

Kagome felt her eyes growing heavy, the cold air not letting her stay awake. Shippo kept trying to talk to her, making sure she wouldn't fall asleep yet.

Link wasn't sure how long it took until finally they reached a cave where they were able to get some rest. Their cloaks were almost soaked because of all the snow that got on them. Inuyasha had snapped a tree before they went in and brought the wood in. Shippo quickly set it on fire and Kirara curled herself around Miroku and Sango. Inuyasha had Kagome go inside her sleeping bag and be near the fire, but even then he could still see the blue tint on her lips. He looked over at Link, who was licking his paw where one of the wolves bit him.

"Yo."

The blue eyed wolf raised his head and looked at him. Inuyasha didn't say anything, but instead he tilted his head over to where Kagome was asleep shaking. Link didn't make a sound, but he got up and laid behind her, curling next to her. His thick fur helped to be a second blanket that a few minutes later, she was not shivering anymore.

He rested his head on his paws and he could only hope they would soon find what they were looking for. Switching from being in the blazing desert to the now unbearable cold just left him wondering what else they might be coming across later on.