[{(NOTE: I have tried fixing the typing but it won't work. It looks fine on document and web page but when I load it into FF.net it looks messed up so…I dunno, have fun?)}]
Disclaimer: I have an announcement. I don't own Jack Frost or Inuyasha. Thank you.
Just something that hit me in a dream and wouldn't go away no matter how many times my split personality and I told it to.
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The water was lukewarm against her skin. Snow drifted down to place itself against the earth and landed in the hot springs occasionally. She continued to watch the melting snow with a contented sigh and sunk deeper into the water.
He watched her with great interest. The snow landed in her hair, on her shoulders, and sometimes she would tilt her head to catch it on her flushed cheeks. She used odd herbs to wash her hair and skin and he was more than happy to watch her run her hands over her legs, her shoulders, her body because he couldn't. She didn't even know who he was, Him, one of the most respected demons in this time. Oh, yes. He knew she came from a different time period using that well of her's, he knew that she was a miko, he even knew that she had feelings towards the hanyou who tried to kill her when she released him from the tree that his former lover pinned him to.
It was simple, really, his feelings towards the girl. She fascinated him. He had seen everything that went on between her and her rag-tag group. Without her, the hanyou would have still been in his enchanted sleep, the kit that thought of her as a mother would have died by the Thunder Brothers for trying to get revenge for his father's death and trying to save his father's pelt, the monk would still be off trying to defeat Naraku and would eventually die from his curse without a heir to carry on because he never met the one he was suppose to fall in love with, the demon exterminator would have died, also or would have been manipulated longer by Naraku before he didn't need her services any longer.
It was simple, really. They all needed her and she them. She brought them together, made them able to get along with each other so none of them would be lonely, brought them close together to resemble a family of sorts, and even gave them something to really laugh about, to have fun and be carefree. In return, they gave her a place to retreat to, gave her true friends that she could confide in, and made her feel wanted.
Well, all except the hanyou. He constantly called her names, degraded her, made her feel bad about herself, compared her to a corpse, and made her cry every time she caught him with her, every time she caught him looking at her weirdly or staring off into the distance, every time he whispered her name and all she could do was stand aside and watch him run off in the middle of the night. He gave her no respect and yet she continued to stay, to be hurt and degraded over and over each time he chose the corpse over her.
He admired her for her strength at withstanding the hanyou and continuing to return to her friends. He knew that the hanyou was afraid she wouldn't return one day and he knew that the hanyou still thought of her as another side of the undead miko, his former lover, that she had never shown him. He had convinced himself of it. To him, the only differences between the dead miko and the alive one were their names and time periods. The hanyou truly thought that she was her reincarnation, but he knew better.
Soon, the demon exterminator joined her and they chatted about the earlier battle they had had between a youkai with a shard. She had purified it with her arrows and took the shard, instantly purifying it, too.
He respected her. There were so many things he wanted from her. Her trust, he wanted to be trusted like her other friends, he wanted her to believe that he would protect her like she did the hanyou who protected her from everything and yet nothing. Her friendship, he wanted, also. In all of his life he never had a true friend who wasn't just using him to get what they wanted, he wanted someone that would listen and confide in him, he wanted her to continue coming back just to see him. Her love, he wanted her to love him, to have someone to love, and she seemed the only one capable and willing to return his feelings.
He watched as her chest moved when she sighed yet again. The snow had stopped and she looked disappointed. He smirked, "Better not disappoint her further," he said to himself. He pursed his lips together and, very softly, blew.
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Why couldn't Inuyasha see how much she was willing to give to be with him? Why couldn't she get him to understand how she felt? He always fled to Kikyo and all Kikyo ever tried to do was kill him and her!
She sighed when the snow stopped, it had felt nice to have it play against her skin and melt against the hot air that the spring was emitting. She didn't want to move and so she stayed wishing that the snow would start up again. It was beautiful when it wasn't coming down in all its fury. Her eyes closed softly as she leaned back against the rocks that made up the wall of the springs.
It was a beautiful springs and she was glad that Miroku talked Inuyasha into stopping here for the night. She heard Sango sigh, too and cracked open one eye to see what she was doing. She was also leaning against the side but her face was flushed more then one should have in a hot spring. Raising an eyebrow ever so slightly, she continued to watch through half closed eyes as Sango's blush darkened and she covered her cheeks with her hands, sighing once again.
"Thinking about Miroku?" She asked amusement clinging to her voice as she tried to keep a straight face and keep her eyes closed. She almost cracked as Sango's eyes came flying open and she blushed even darker and tried to deny it with another excuse, but she was stuttering so much that she couldn't understand.
She gasped and forgot about her teasing Sango when she felt a small drop of cold-water land on her shoulder. Opening her eyes for closer inspection, she noticed it was snowing again. She sighed happily and heard Sango do so as well. Only she thought it was because of the snow, but really, it was because she had forgotten about the question.
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It had taken awhile for the new snow to reach her but she looked quite pleased now that it had.
He had to be very careful not to blow to hard least he made a blizzard, but he was use to it by now. Every winter he went around and made it snow while his brothers did their jobs but they were in different areas and made it different seasons at certain times in certain places. While it snowed here, his brothers were making it hot on the other side of the world, chilly and wet on one side, and spring on the other. They were the Season Children and had a job to do, but he always kept track of her. After all, it wasn't hard to fly across the world when you were the winter season child.
Jack Frost was his name and he had a fancy with Kagome. Yes, the ice demon had taken a liking to Kagome and he wanted to protect her from the stupid hanyou but if he made himself known and she found out that he knew everything about her she would call him a 'stalk-er' like she had the hanyou when he followed her home 'discreetly'…psch, yeah right.
'I don't think that's even part of his vocabulary let alone, he knows what it means' Frost thought boredly.
He watched as she and her companion stood and redressed before returning to their camp. He hopped down to sit next to the water and noticed that she had left something behind. It was a small chain with a pendant on it. It was a snowflake that had light blue diamonds on the corners. He fingered the pendant before putting it around his own neck (he is a stalker, isn't he?) and looked at his reflection in the water. Little ripples from the snow distorted his reflection but he could still make it out. His blond hair ended behind his pointed, demonic ears. His ice blue eyes stared coldly back at him, slanted down the middle (If you're confused, just think of Leonardo Decapreo (I don't know how to spell it) with Sesshomaru's face, sort of) his ice blue stripes across his face and the blue snowflake on his forehead that resembled the one around his neck proved him royalty. Where had the girl gotten this necklace?
He stood and made his way back to his castle to change his attire, his people were having some problems with a demon and they had called on him to help. Despite how much he despised humans he couldn't leave them to die, and oh how he wanted to sometimes but each time a picture of Kagome would flash through his mind and stop him.
Why did she plague him so?
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"What took you so long?" Inuyasha snapped in his usual irritated voice. Shippo was hiding behind Miroku who looked a little ruffled but was sipping his tea calmly. No doubt Inuyasha had tried to hurt the little kit because of his teasing. When would he grow up?
"I was enjoying myself," Kagome replied happily and walked over to her pack. Sango walked over to Kirara and sat down against a tree trunk. The neko youkai happily jumped in her lap when she was situated.
"Feh, just make some ramen," was Inuyasha's reply before he turned to look into the fire.
Kagome sighed but dragged out a couple of instant ramen containers and a pan. She asked Miroku to set up a rock suitable to set the pan on and went to a nearby river they had passed earlier. When she was out of sight she started to hum a tune her mother taught her when she was young to forget that she was alone by herself, and anything could attack her at any moment without warning.
It was half way through her tune when a bush rattled off to her left.
So much about forgetting.
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He touched down upon the frozen ground in front of his castle and walked past the guarded doors to his chamber. It was located on the third floor in the east wing and it took a while to get to it, but with his speed he made it in a matter of seconds. It was most definitely the biggest room in the castle and was much bigger than an average sized village. He walked over to his walk in wardrobe and pulled out a pair of ice blue pants (the names have slipped me for the moment so…) that matched his eyes and a matching short-sleeved top. He quickly put them on, tucking the necklace he had found under his shirt and went to check to see if he had any requests from his mother.
He turned down halls until he reached a door with a snowy day inscribed upon it and stopped to admire it before entering. On his desk was a scroll and in a corner was the deliverer. It was a small white ryu that had slanted blue eyes, slightly darker than his own. He was small enough to sit upon his shoulder. It was the dragon his mother gave him when he became of age to take up his duties, and each of his brothers had one, too.
"Tsuki" he nodded towards the ryu before moving towards the note. He had named him Tsuki because he looked like the moon, glowing in the dark, illuminating shadows. He reached his desk and picked up the scroll.
It had a seal of the family crest on it informing him that it was indeed from his mother. He opened it and read the neat printed script in his mother's hand.
My youngest,
It has come to my attention that you are troubled by something (he snorted) and have not been performing well in your responsibilities. I am curious indeed about what has caused this. You are usually the one who gets his work done and does not mess around. I am worried, are you okay?
I have a new assignment for you. I need it to snow in the Japan area heavily in the next two days. Goddess Fate requests that you do it as soon as possible. She says that you do not need to fly but to do it slowly on the ground. She needs the whole area covered. I have asked why but she does not answer. I hope that you will stay out of trouble and get this task done.
I have a surprise for you and your brothers during the spring. I know that you shall enjoy it. We will talk about it when you visit next. Until then, stay out of trouble, my son.
Love,
Goddess Earth
He frowned at her signature. Sure, she was Goddess Earth, but she was also his mother. Couldn't she at least act the part? Goddess Earth, Mother Nature; he hated them both but mother…he liked the sound of that. She was known as Mother Nature from the humans but the Gods and Goddess' still called her by her title Goddess Earth. How he hated visiting his mother in the 'Heavens' as the ningens put it. They said it was paradise but he thought differently. It was no paradise for him but much the opposite. Girls hanging on him and his brothers, but they seemed to enjoy the attention, having Gods and Goddess come up to him, pinch his cheeks or say "I remember you when you were this tall" even though they saw him last century.
He avoided it as much as possible and kept to Earth where no one would bother him. Sure, his brothers dropped by and Lords and Ladies came to pay their respects, but it wasn't very often.
He headed out to complete his task so he could watch Kagome and make sure she wasn't hurt. He decided that he would do that area last so he could finish up and watch over her at the same time.
With that in mind, he picked up his sword, his pouch of different items he might need, and a loaf of bread for later. His sword was an unusual sword. It grew larger towards the tip and was wider and longer then any normal sword. It had beautiful designs of snow falling with a Weeping Willow in the background. His brother, Kiiro, the summer season, had made it for him.
He walked past the guards, giving them orders, and left. He was going to start on the East side of Japan and catch up to Kagome on the West. He pouched the bread and put the pouch on his belt, with his sword on his right hip, and sped up just ever so slightly.
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"He had to go and drag us all the way out here for nothing!" Kagome fumed as she sank to a sitting position under a tree, "Then he had to leave us! What the nerve!" She was still a little riled up with her encounter with 'the thing in the bush'. She had came running, screaming like a maniac into the camp speaking so fast that they couldn't understand her. Finally, after Inuyasha realized that she didn't have any water for the ramen he blew up at her. That got the tale out of her. Inuyasha had went to investigate and also came screaming back to camp. He was so freaked out that Shippo was screaming. Miroku, being the sensible person he was, went into the forest but couldn't find what they were screaming about. He had brought back some water and after the ramen started cooking they finally heard the reason for Inuyasha's disheveled appearance. They had run into a-
"Kagome, it might do us better if you were to calm down," Miroku interjected wisely. She looked at him before she took deep breaths and muttered the alphabet backwards under her breath. She never could say it fast so it helped her calm down when she had to actually think about it.
"Kagome, maybe a dip in the hot springs would help sooth you from the…problems you've been having today," Miroku suggested innocently.
"Hm, good idea Miroku! Sango?" Kagome asked as she gathered her shampoo and soaps along with a towel.
"Well, since Inuyasha isn't here to watch Miroku, I'll stay and we can trade off watching him," she said, watching Miroku carefully.
"What about Shippo? He always stops me! You can leave Shippo to watch me," Miroku suggested while Shippo hit him over the head.
"You always cheat! You can't say that there's a chocolate bar in Kagome's book bag this time!" He yelled helping the girls with his decision.
"Okay," they shrugged as Kagome began to head off and Sango went to her pack.
"Really?" Miroku asked astonished. If they actually bought that then he would have to use that excuse more often!
"No," Sango said dryly as Kagome disappeared from sight.
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He had just gotten done doing the South side and had half a day to do the West. His neck was sore from the pressure put on it and his feet hurt but he was eager to continue.
His head lifted to look at the gray clouds above him in the evening sky and with his hands in his pockets (just humor me, okay?) he, once again, pursed his lips and blew out the cold air his throat created. Behind him, snow fell to the ground, following his progress, as he took calm, calculated steps to make sure he made the snow heavy enough. His eyes dropped a little but his back was straight as he watched the sky turn to a darker gray, signaling night was soon to come. His eyes were glazed as he concentrated on his task. He was so concentrated, he didn't notice the bushes next to him shake.
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"Darn bushes" Kagome muttered at them. All she had wanted to do was look on the other side of some bushes to try to find a hot springs but they had to be bushes and be difficult. Now, she was half in, half out of one and frankly, she didn't really care which side she ended up on. As if by luck, she fell through them onto the other side.
She sat up quickly and brushed herself off. She started to gather her things when she felt something fall on her arms and legs. Looking up at the sky she saw snow falling, and by the looks of it, it had just started. She hurriedly picked up her stuff, eager to find a hot springs and enjoy her new fortune. When she stood up however, she found a back, a muscular back, about ten feet away from her.
It seemed that he either had not heard her fall out of the bush noisily or he had just not cared. She opted for the second one seeing as it was extremely hard not to have heard her.
She was about to speak up but she noticed he was looking at the sky. She followed his gaze and saw that he was blowing snow into the air.
Thousands of questions raced through her mind and so she decided to follow him. He didn't seem to notice by the calm, sleepy look on his face and his steps never changed. He continued to blow snow into the air only stopping to breath and then continue.
'Wow' Kagome thought. Who was this guy? She needed to know.
"Um, excuse me?" she asked timidly. He didn't stop but continued on.
"Excuse me?" she asked, with more force behind her words. He blinked and stopped blowing. He stopped walking and brought his head down to look in front of him. Then, he slowly craned his neck to the sides just slightly. He shook his head and stretched his arms above his head before sitting down on a nearby log messaging his neck and taking something off his belt.
"Excuse me," Kagome repeated now that he could hear her. He turned around swiftly and was in a fighting stance before her before she could blink.
"Who are you?" he asked, his icy blue eyes still glazed over from his duties. Creating ice and snow was hard after a while.
"Um, I'm Kagome. Who are you?" she asked unsurely. A look of recognization passed his face before just as quickly leaving before he answered, "I'm…Jack Frost."
She gasped and quickly covered her mouth with her hand, 'Jack Frost? I thought he was just a made up character!' flew through her mind. She looked him over again and saw the marking so much like Sesshomaru's yet so different. His icy eyes were still glazed and unfocused, but it was starting to fade.
"So what are you doing out here all by yourself? It's dangerous, you realize?" he smirked revealing glistening fangs.
'He's a demon?! Jack Frost is a demon!!!?' It was getting interesting now.
"I was in search of a hot springs" she replied breathlessly. He frowned and looked around for a second. When he looked back at her his eyes were clear and he was looking straight at her, "A hot springs? Why, may I ask? It's kinda chilly and you might get a cold."
"I just like sitting in a hot springs when it snows," he shook his head in agreement before sniffing the cold air between them. He turned to face the direction he was walking towards earlier and turned back, "There's one further up the path. If you would care to join me, I shall escort you there," he offered with a sly grin, even more charming than Miroku's but still promising a little something else and an offered arm.
"That would be wonderful, thank you!" she smiled brightly at him and took his offered arm.
"My pleasure," he purred and led her down the path, still blowing snow into the air while Kagome played with it, trying to catch it with her tongue and dancing in it.
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"So," Kagome said, breaking the silence, "you're the one who makes it snow?"
She already knew the answer but decided to start a conversation. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, stopped blowing, and said as seriously as he could, "No".
She turned to him in surprise and found him grinning as he started up again. Realization dawned on her and she tried not to grin. With a straight face she said, "Oh".
It was his turn to turn to her in surprise. Was she serious?
At the look on his face, she burst out laughing. He looked so comical with that expression on his aristocratic face. His face moved back into its normal stoic look before he mumbled something along the lines of "Women…surprising you…never know when to stop…women…should have known…women," before continuing. She chuckled and thought, 'I have to deal with a Sesshomaru, Inuyasha, Kouga, Miroku mix. He has Sesshomaru's stoic look down but is as charming, if not more, than Miroku, mutters just as well as Inuyasha, probably just as stubborn, too, and has Kouga's smirks down better than Kouga'.
They reached a huge hot springs that had three pooling into one big one in the center. He continued to blow into the air until it started to snow there, too. He finally stopped and turned to her.
"Well, have a nice, relaxing dip. I would love to join you but I have to get the rest of the West done tonight or Lady Fate will find some form of punishment. Last time I had to help a human village harvest their corn and all they did was sit and glare at me as I did all the work!" they laughed together before Kagome turned curious eyes up to his about a foot above her. She just realized that he was so much taller than her. He looked down at her and raised his eyebrow.
"You know Lady Fate?" she asked in an awed tone. He simply nodded his head and sighed.
"Oh, well, thank you for leading me in the right direction!" she smiled at him and he took it as his leave.
"No problem, I was already heading in this direction, anyways," he winked seductively before slowly backing up back onto the path in the trees, "till we meet again" and he left. She waited for a minute until she saw it start to snow a little ways ahead of her and she knew that he had truly left.
Sighing, she undressed and got into a smaller hot spring that connected to the others with a waterfall. This was definitely something she had to tell her family. She smiled as the snow played on her skin.
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'Hey, I've been working hard, I deserve a break,' he thought while he sat in a tree to watch out for Kagome. He leaned against the trunk and set his pouch on the branch he was occupying. Pulling out the half loaf of bread, he sank his fangs into it and watched Kagome go through her ritual of cleansing.
He was memorized by the sweep of her hair and the grace she used when she rinsed her body, but it appeared he was not the only one. He looked down at the purple figure that had broken the trance he was in. It seemed he, too, was memorized. So much in fact that he didn't notice him leap beside him.
'I think I'll play around with him for a bit,' he decided and conjured a plan in his mind.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" he asked as he leaned against a tree next to the one the monk was hiding behind. He heard him squeak but left the dreamy look on his face. He saw the monk turn to him and jump in a fighting stance but he merely leaned against the tree watching her giggle as the snow tickled her (don't ask, I don't know how snow can tickle you).
"What do you want?" Miroku asked suspiciously, his guard never dropping.
"I want Kagome," Jack said smoothly and turned his eyes towards the perverted monk. He watched in satisfaction as his eyes grew rounder.
"How do you know her name?" he questioned. It looked as if he was about to yell out to warn her.
"I met her just a little while ago. I helped her get here and in return she told me I could watch her bath," he explained calmly knowing the monk would not fall for it. He was satisfied when Miroku looked at him in disbelief.
"You lie! Lady Kagome would never say such a thing!" he whispered furiously and pointed his staff roughly at him.
"Suit yourself, but you can't change what she said. Would you like me to prove it?" he asked, a grin spreading across his face. Miroku looked at him in interest and in a smug satisfaction, "Okay, please do." Jack only grinned wider and he calmly made his way over to Kagome. He could hear the monk shuffle to get behind the tree again before Kagome took notice of Jack strolling across the ground. Miroku peaked his head out and watched in anticipation.
"Kagome, enjoying your bath?" Jack asked seductively causing Kagome to jump slightly before ducking under water. He chuckled.
"Jack? I thought you had to finish," Kagome answered meekly and unconsciously pulled the towel into the water to wrap up in.
"I did and decided that I would join you after all," he replied nonchantly as he began to remove his top letting it slide down his shoulders and show off his chest. He could hear Kagome's breathing hitch in her throat and the monk leaning in closer to catch what they were saying and grinned widely.
"Uh…um…er," was all Kagome could get out. Her mind had turned to mush at the sight of the well-chiseled chest before her. She heard him chuckle but couldn't stop staring.
"Like what you see?" he asked her and her gaze automatically flew to lock on to his eyes as a deep shade of red covered her cheeks. He just grinned cheekily and removed his top completely. He began on his belt.
"Wait!" Kagome screeched and ducked further under water. He frowned.
"What?" he asked her and her blush further darkened.
"Well, in my…village…we don't share bathes with members of the opposite sex," she replied, her face burning red. His frown darkened.
"But my brothers do it all the time with girls they just met," he decided to play innocent and act like he didn't know why she didn't want him to bathe with her.
"W-what?!" she asked in surprise.
"Well, yeah. Last time, Haru, Season Child Spring, brought this girl he picked up on the way to the reunion of the seasons and they bathed together every night. He said it was a lot of fun," he replied with a look of remembrance on his face that turned into a curious one, "he said that I should try it sometime and since I usually don't meet a lot of nice people, let alone young ladies, I would give it a try with you," he shot her a charming smile, "You're really nice!"
Kagome looked at him in disbelief and shock before dazedly replying, "Thank you." Jack purposely took this the wrong way and removed his belt, working on the tie on his pants.
"What are you doing?!" Kagome yelled, stopping him yet again. He held back a sigh, "I'm joining you". He continued on and smirked as she turned around when his tie gave loose. Dropping his pants to the floor, he entered the hot springs and waded right behind her. He leaned over to whisper in her ear so the monk wouldn't here.
"Are you the youngest of your family, too?" he asked deeply in a sexy voice that made her breath hitch again. She turned to regard him over her shoulder before saying, "No, the oldest. Are you?"
"Yes, I have three twins, all of whom are older than me. I can finally tell them that I took a bath with a charming young lady," he replied with a dazzling smile showing both of his white fangs. His ear twitched as Miroku went to tell the others of this new discovery, but they wouldn't believe him and he would probably get knocked out for disappearing before he could tell them. He had no worries.
"So that's why," Kagome said to herself. He knew what she was talking about but he was supposed to be innocent right now.
"Why what?" he asked in confusion. She looked up sheepishly and shook her head.
"Nothing," he just nodded and leaned against the rocks with his forearms behind his head in a relaxed position and closed his eyes. She watched him as his chest moved up and down as he breathed, his face a look of calm serene, and his stance of great confidence and royalty even when he was leaning against a rock sexily. She blushed.
This was gonna be a long bath.
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I don't know why I had to write this but it just wouldn't leave me alone, so I wrote it but then something told me to post it. I did, now I'm just waiting to see what others think about it so review because I'm curious. Should I continue?
Japanese Dictionary:
Neko-cat
Youkai-demon
Ryu-dragon
Tsuki-moon
Kiiro-yellow
Haru-spring
(5,216 words not including ANs, twelve pages, and a tired Dani)