She came to half consciousness and darkness, wondering where she was. Part of her wondered if she was dead. Lashes peeked open and blandly stared at something inches from her face. Instinctively, finally remembering she was surrounded by snow and ice, she tried to struggle. The was no strength or determination in her body and she quickly found herself trapped.

"Don't move Kagome."

The quiet order sounded familiar and she blinked. Eyes opened a little more and tried to focus on what she was looking at. Fingers curled, touching something warm. And BREATHING. "Nani -" She tried to pull away, but something solid and warm tightened.

"Baka! Didn't I just say don't move?" He sounded irritated that she might pull back and break the cocoon, but he was quite the opposite. It took total will of youkai blood to restrain the urge to pull her face to his to make sure she was awake. He didn't want to admit he felt safe enough to doze, but he did. There was little to worry about except the girl in his arms and all he could do was wait. His sleep was a light slumber, as all his resting was, and quickly cast aside when fingers curled against his chest. Eyes popped open and he ceased to breathe, wondering if he imagined it. Only when her lashes twitched against his arm did he breathe. Since her head was under his chin, he gave in to a small, relieved smile. She was alive.

"Inu - Inuyasha?" She breathed, blinking. A palm turned and she curled fingers behind folds of white cloth, not feeling anything. Something was wrong. Teeth harshly bit her lip. "I still can't feel my fingers." Though she tried to be strong, she was tired and her body was cold. She was only half conscious and barely alert. The thought that she would be unable to use either hand, for she quickly found they were the same condition, scared her more than dying.

Arms tightened around torso, feeling a little worried. Her body was trembling, but not from cold. He could smell her blood start to thin out as it warmed. It was hard to tell what her condition would be after her blood worked properly. He fought a sigh and tucked her head a little closer, trying to still her. Her worry wasn't lessening his anxiety any. "I found you buried under the snow. I don't know how long it'd been."

It didn't take long for the trembling to slow. A blush lit her face, making it tingle at the massive amount of contact she had. If her mind was processing anything, she would've whapped the baka a long time ago. Though she registered the fact that both arms and back felt odd, that quiet voice hummed right next to her ear. It was comforting and she was still so tired. A tiny smile appeared as a thought entered her scattered mind. This was the gentlest she'd seen Inuyasha act since his last meeting with Kikyou.

He startled when Kagome sagged against him and her breathing evened. Eyes widened and his head moved to look at hers. Arms roughly shook her when her breathing slowed more. "Oi!" He hissed, scowling.

She gave a brief moan at being brought from comfortable, warm darkness and snuggled closer to it. "Mama..." She mumbled, resting her forehead against part of the warmth. "Five more minutes..."

With a face burning up, a sweatdrop became larger as he stared at the top of her head. A brow twitched at the partial contented smile he spotted over her bangs. He shook Kagome again, hard enough to open the robe over their heads.

She blinked and stared at white, this time curious about what she was seeing. Since her hands were numb from blood loss and her face was right in front of it, a cheek slowly rubbed against what she felt over her body. When she pulled away, feeling something tickle her mind, her head arched back and met gold. Very confused and wide gold eyes. She blinked. "Inuyasha?"

Seeing the innocent, slightly hazy eyes, he realized Kagome wasn't aware of what she was doing. Otherwise, he was pretty sure she wouldn't be doing it. He broke eye contact, feeling his face warm from her odd action, and scowled. She was making him uncomfortable and he didn't like it. He was forced to see past it, since this whole experience was discomforting. He quietly grunted.

She kept blankly staring at the bottom of his chin, trying to piece the puzzle together. She was covered in white and surrounded by red. Warmth was in this strange cocoon...and so was Inuyasha. Slowly, very slowly, deep brown widened as something came into focus. Strong arms were cradling her head and upper body - Inuyasha's BARE arms. She blinked and looked at the white she was just rubbing against. It was his kimono top over her shoulders. Then...the red covering was his fire rat. A quiet, strangled cry escaped her, gaining his attention.

Inuyasha gave Kagome a confused look. She was looking at him the same way when he was caught spying on her for the first time. He blinked. "Nani?"

He was soon leveled with the fiercest glare she could muster. Her face flamed and she tried to push away, but arms reflexively tightened and irritation entered his eyes. "Iyarashi!!" She hissed. Though she couldn't feel it, her palms pressed against his chest to push away. Arms remained rooted against her weak struggles. Walking for hours in blowing wind and compiling snow, then getting buried under who knew how many feet and for how long didn't allow much strength for anything. She looked at him and found a glare boring her in the eyes.

"Stop." He harshly answered. He was trying to keep cool and not let Kagome go as she wanted for a few reasons. The most obvious - her shirt was in no condition to be worn. If she went outside this cocoon, she would freeze all over again. All her clothes were resting in her pack, guaranteed to be freezing . But the one HE feared...if Kagome left his robes, Miroku and Shippou were bound to wake. If THAT happened and they saw her, so much could happen. He'd be embarrassed beyond belief; he'd most likely get a lecture from BOTH of them; enough looks that he'd have to ignore; and most importantly...he'd have to smack the bouzu senseless WHEN he got near Kagome. In her present lack of dress, that would happen. No...he was DEFINITELY not letting go! "Don't move." He quietly answered, looking away.

Kagome gave an odd look. She quietly sighed and looked to some of his collarbone visible between the kimono. An awkward silence surrounded them. His stubbornness and pride wouldn't let him give in. Brown were on their original spot as she tried to process everything in her still fuddled mind and control the blush on her cheeks. Never did she imagine this to be happening to her! Inuyasha was the first man to ever hold her and here he was doing it AGAIN. It confused her, but just like the others times she was around him, she felt safe and protected. His strength never failed to boost her own in times of need. "Ano...Inuyasha?"

"Nani?" He queried, scowling. His gaze remained off hers until he felt a soft, timid touch from her hand on his chest. Eyes jerked down in surprise, blinking in confusion. Despite himself, a small flush stained his cheeks. "Na - nani?"

A small smile peeked out. "So...what now?"

He surprised them both by resting his chin over head with a sigh. No clue." He murmured. "What is your present condition?"

Fighting another blush and feeling VERY conscious of those arms around her, she removed a hand from the kimono folds and looked at it. The once fair skin was red halfway down her fingers and her nails were a noticeably darker shade. She brought the hand to her face and touched cheeks, nose, lips, eyes, and forehead. As she poked and rubbed the surfaces, there was little or no tingling. Her hands weren't in such good shape. There seemed to be a severe case of frostbite. The muscles worked, but it was painful to move them and there was barely any feeling. Experimentally, her legs shifted, startling Inuyasha. At least there was some feeling to them though. Trying to wiggle her toes got a wince and she stopped. Her boots didn't provide such long-term protection and not only were her feet pretty frozen, her muscles were stiff beyond belief. If or when this was over, she was going to find a way to warm the extra socks in her bag and put them on! "The only problems are my feet and hands." Kagome sighed. "Frostbite."

He blinked and blankly stared. A brow rose at the strange word. "Eh?"

She looked up and managed a smile at his befuddled appearance. "Frostbite. Frost...bite. With conditions that youkai made, the skin freezes. Blood goes to the vital organs to keep the person alive. But, as in my case, you lose the use of your fingers and toes."

"Is it permanent?"

"It CAN be, but that depends on how quickly you treat it and wait to see what the side effects are. I don't know how long we were buried; how long it took me to regain consciousness and dig myself out; and how long we've been under your haori."

"It seemed to take forever." He mumbled, remembering the fear and despair he felt in thinking Kagome might die here. That scared him worse than the last brawl with Sesshoumaru. He thought he finally lost her.

Kagome blinked. Did she hear right? "Inuyasha." She whispered. A small tinge lit his face, as if he just realized what he said, and sputtered beginnings of nonsense sentences. She couldn't help but smile a little. Her eyes left his and stared at his kimono top. She gave a small sigh, content to be held in their shared warmth. Though the initial discovery was embarrassing as it was angering, it passed. She wasn't going to hold this against him because she knew about frostbite from mama before she returned. Her clothes were most likely soaked and if her spare sets weren't, she wasn't sure if the group had her bag.

He went back to staring at his haori andttuning his ears to Kagome's heart and breathing. He was trying to blank his body to the chill of hers and the feel of her skin, but holding Kagome like this reminded him of the last time he held Kikyou. With a mental sigh, his brow twitched. That seemed forever ago and the memory was hard to grasp for some reason. Kagome shifted and partially brought him from the past. A downcast look returned his thoughts with hooded lids. Kikyou...he'd do anything for her. All she had to do was ask and he'd give up his life. There were times in the past, when it'd been just them, that he would've given up his youkai ways. They were so close in looks and forms. If he closed his eyes, he could picture hugging his Kikyou again... The REAL Kikyou, not the one full of bitterness and regret.

There was a quick, almost irritated tapping on his chest that brought him from his fantasy. Pulling away, he looked down into brown eyes. Brown, annoyed eyes that demanded an answer for his behavior. He sweatdropped and his eye twitched in unease at the fire soon shooting out of those Kikyou-like eyes.

She was two seconds away from pulling Inuyasha to his feet and dropping him with 'the word'. There was that same look again! How it aggravated her! Even if she didn't really know why. Inuyasha's eyes held that same emotion he pinned her with just before they went after Kikyou's bones. He was looking at the Kikyou in her. "Oi..."

He felt like panicking and didn't know why. All he knew was, he was in trouble by those eyes. But his pride reared and he gave a jaunty snort. He looked away, only to be yanked by the short tufts of his hair. She was ALWAYS doing that! Irritation flared and quickly died as pain set in. Their close proximity was not a good thing for her abrupt action and she successfully managed to bonk their heads together. He pulled away and shook his head a little to disperse the pain, while Kagome feebly rubbed hers. "Itai..."

He growled. "What was THAT for?"

"Did you think I wouldn't see that look??" She snapped, glaring. "Baka." She cast near glum eyes to his kimono. "Inuyasha...did you save me because I look like Kikyou? Is that why you KEEP saving me?"

He scowled and glared at her head. He wanted to shake her. "You're not Kikyou."

Her jaw clenched. It was a simple sentence, yet she saw two sides to that. Was Inuyasha telling her she couldn't measure up to Kikyou, or was he admitting they were two different people? Two people who shared the same soul. Whatever he meant, she couldn't look him in the eye just now. For some reason, it hurt to do so.

His ears flattened. Kagome didn't understand and he didn't think she did. The baka was always acting odd whenever Kikyou was mentioned and paired with him. He didn't want to say anything because he was never good with words. Silence stretched out again. Kagome was quiet, even more than normal, and gold cast a peek down. Her eyes were closed. Startling slightly, he shook Kagome a little rougher than was intended. "Oi!" He hissed. "Don't go to sleep!"

She was jerked from sleep a second time and blinked. She looked back to gold, seeing irritation. "Inuyasha?"

He couldn't help but glare at her. "Baka, if you fall asleep, you might not wake back up."

"But it's so hard to stay awake and the quiet isn't helping either." She muttered. "Will you talk to me, Inuyasha?"

"Nani?" He queried, raising a brow.

"Well, we've never been able to talk. But that might help keep me awake."

"We ARE talking." Far too much in his opinion. It needed to go back to quiet. If Shippou or Miroku woke up...

"I mean, tell me about yourself. I'll keep awake for that. We've traveled for a while now, yet I still don't know much about you."

Telling Kagome about himself, especially his past, was not something he wanted to do. Though he remembered much of his life, giving information outside the safety of one's mind was dangerous. The best example was his mother. His love for her blinded his reason and if Kagome hadn't saved him, the muuonna would've completely absorbed him. "I don't like -"

Her fingers brushed against skin, getting wide eyes again. "Onegai Inuyasha?" She wanted to know about him since that fated day she turned fifteen, but knew any other time would never come about. This was the perfect opportunity.

She looked so innocent and pleading with those eyes...why couldn't he resist? Damn his human side! He looked away in annoyance. "What do you want to know?" He huffed, heaving a sigh as if dealing with something unbearable. His normal scowl appeared.

She managed a small smile and wracked her brain. What to ask first? Her mouth tightened, knowing of one subject to ask, but was extremely touchy for him. Still, if he was offering... "Will you tell me about your mother?" She'd been wondering for a while now, ever since seeing his 'mother' and the first battle with Sesshoumaru. There were times she wondered what kind of mother raised Inuyasha.

Gold flashed and he fought not to reflexively snarl over such a touchy subject. Ofukuro... His jaw clenched, brow twitching. It seemed he couldn't bring himself to do it, but his mind called him a coward. "You saw her that night. She looked exactly like that; behaved like that. That's why...why -" His jaw clenched, "I took her for my mother. She was well-respected and high society." His eyes darkened in anger. "Even if she WAS shunned because of my presence." His anger at the much criticizing toward a once innocent child made him want to kill something, and it took a few minutes for his body to relax. It took even longer for the sneer to leave to be able to talk. "She always worried about my life; my future. She often cried out of worry."

Kagome blinked at the sorrow of his childhood. "But, she still loved you..." She murmured.

"Do you want me to talk or not?" He snapped. A scowl appeared at that nurturing side. He didn't want her pity over something he carried with him for so long. Thankfully, she remained quiet and didn't say anything. "She died a long time ago and I've been by myself since. I've nothing left now but my memories." He scoffed at the idea that came to mind. "She was respected, as was my father, and also feared. When he died, my title didn't matter." His eyes hardened. "When I heard about my father's death, the great taiyoukai, I knew the pressure on my mother would get worse. There was no 'great lord' to protect her from the voices of cruel people. Even people of high rank. My father was a great lord; my mother was of high rank. Sesshoumaru and I both gained titles as heirs, but Sesshoumaru is more prince than I will ever be. Because he is youkai."

"Oji-sama?" She gasped, looking up. Inuyasha wouldn't look at her, but he nodded.

"The black sheep of the family. I knew I was, but I tried to get over it by becoming stronger. The shikon no tama was just what I needed."

Kagome blinked, giving a small, absent nod. His train of thought brought on another question. One she also wondered about since she stumbled here. "Oi Inuyasha...what about Kikyou?" THAT gained his attention. He looked at her with wide eyes. "I am Kikyou, aren't I? In a way, I mean. Tell me about her...but not the Kikyou I met. Tell me about the Kikyou you met."

Why Kagome wanted to know was beyond him, since she seemed more anxious and sensitive to Kikyou's name. His eyes softened as he mentally pictured her face. Kikyou... "She was very strong, much like she is now. She was always serious, but sad from the burden placed on her life." He missed the old Kikyou so very, very much. "She was a master archer, also healer and powerful miko. She was very kind to children and the villagers. So helpful in her home; so beautiful..." Gold slowly closed as he trailed off, longing for her presence.

Teeth bit her lip at the expressions playing on Inuyasha's face. Did he know how open he was right now? From that small frown and upturn of his brow she knew he was still in love with Kikyou and worried for her safety. Dull eyes looked to the kimono. She let Inuyasha remain in his thoughts, while trying to sort hers out. She never liked being compared to Kikyou and now she didn't have to worry. She COULDN'T compare. She was just wondering why Inuyasha loved her so much; what he found inside her. Though Kikyou was cruel and resentful, Inuyasha still saw her as that woman from fifty years ago. It was all mysteriously depressing. She soon escaped it all by falling back asleep.

I am a BEGINNER Japanese learner...so if these are not 100 correct...please let me know if you care to do so. I only have a web page to learn from, a dictionary, and a few months experience to work with.

Translations: Iyarashi-Pervert Itai-Ow/ouch/that hurt Muuonna-Nothing woman Ofukuro-Mother Taiyoukai-Powerful demon Oji-sama-Prince Miko-Priestess