CHAPTER THREE

*

"Are you done YET?" Inuyasha demanded for what seemed like the fiftieth time.

Kagome shoved one of Shippo's tiny arms into the jacket sleeve. "I'm almost done, yes. Just calm down and wait a minute!" She continued wrestling the wriggling fox-demon into the coat, then zipped it up firmly to his chin. His bushy tail had somehow got stuffed inside.

"Thank you for these, Kagome," Miroku said, winding a scarf around his neck. His long monk's robes covered most of him, but he had selected gloves and a scarf from the bag of winter-wear. Sango was wearing one of Kagome's spare jackets; Kagome herself had bundled up as much as she could. Inuyasha had refused everything. The sight of him standing barefoot in the snow was making Kagome feel cold all over.

"How come you had this?" Shippo asked, surveying himself with satisfaction.

"It was my little brother's," Kagome said. "When he was a baby."

They travelled for the next hour or so. Kagome tried to keep up with Inuyasha, but the snow was growing deeper. Even though she was wearing boots, she kept slipping.

"Do you need help, Kagome?" Sango called, as Kirara landed nearby.

Before Kagome could answer, Inuyasha landed lightly beside her. "Come on, get on me," he said impatiently, bending over. "If ya don't, we'll never get there."

"Okay." Kagome meekly climbed onto him.

The half-demon jumped from one half-buried boulder to another, his bare feet skimming lightly through the snow. It really doesn't seem to bother him, Kagome thought. She had thought Inuyasha was just acting tough, but the cold didn't seem to bother him. Or if it did, he was hiding it better. The only sign that things weren't okay with him was the tenseness she felt...

"Keep an eye out for jewel shards," he reminded her. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner we go."

"Roger," Kagome said, shading her eyes. "Keeping a lookout. Things feel a little weird, but no jewel auras just yet." As Inuyasha leaped up a rock face, Kagome waved at Miroku, Shippo and Sango, still ridin Kirara a little ways above them. Shippo waved back, and almost fell off.

As the group made its way along a plateau, Kagome suddenly called out, "Wait a minute! I saw -- "

"A jewel shard?" Inuyasha asked, skidding to a stop.

"Just hold on... no... I could have sworn I saw one," Kagome said, frowning.

"You could have... you mean there wasn't one?" Inuyasha asked, peeved.

"I thought there was." Kagome glanced around. "It was really faint, though. If there was one there, it was a really small piece."

"But that doesn't MATTER, because you said it wasn't there," Inuyasha said testily.

Kagome didn't answer. She rested her chin on his shoulder, and wondered if she had made a mistake. After all, she hadn't made any before. And it really HAD looked like a jewel shard...

"I'll check it out," Inuyasha said, jumping higher.

More cold wind blew down the mountainside, sending fresh snow dancing down the slope. Kagome blinked as the raw, freezing wind blew into her eyes, and hid her face in Inuyasha's fire-rat kimono. He only ran faster, with Kirara racing above the snow just behind him.

Suddenly he stopped. "Kagome," he said in a low voice, "can you see any jewel shards?"

"No. Why?"

"Don't you feel it?"

"Feel what?"

"The wind. It's picking up." Inuyasha's white hair swirled in Kagome's face, as if to emphasize his point. "It's getting dark -- the sun's setting. We shouldn't have come this far..."

A low, moaning howl rang out over the mountain, as if the clouds were in pain. Kagome felt tiny cold spots on the back of her neck, and snow began to swirl up around them like smoke. Inuyasha growled softly and began running up the slope.

Then he stumbled as a frigid wind slashed across his face. Kagome tumbled off his back and down the spiky ridge.

TO BE CONTINUED