Konichiwa again! This is chapter 4 of Cold Heart! I'd love to think all of my wonderful reviewers! To the people who actually review, you don't know how very much it means to me! So I give you a huge thank you!

:Review Response:

kirara goddess: 'cries in happiness' Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! You're the only one who reviewed! Thank you so much! And the pairings are the normal ones; Kagome/Inuyasha and Sango/Miroku. There'll be a little fluff with the two couples later on. This isn't a Sesshoumaru/Kagome pairing if you're wondering.

:End Review Response:

Alright, now for my disclaimer...

:Disclaimer:

Akana: Hello everyone! Thank you, kirara goddess, for being the only one to review! It means a lot to us!
Leiko: It definitely does! Domo-Arigatou!
Akana: 'blinks in surprise' Even Leiko agreed... That just goes to show how much we thank you! But, anyway, right now we must do the disclaimer thingy, so... We don't own Inuyasha!
Leiko: That's right, baka lawyers! Can't sue us now! 'sticks out toungue'
Akana: 'sighs' Leiko's back to normal... Oh, hey! I just remembered; you gagged me in the last chapter!
Leiko: Uh... 'laughs nervously' Who, me? Couldn't be!
Akana: Then who? 'scratches head in confusion'
Leiko: 'sighs in relief' That was close... Alright, everyone, now read and please review!

Chapter 4, Gone

The next day, the group trudged along the path through the woods. Mother Nature had passed by already, robbing her sons of their multi-colored leaves and spreading them out across the ground to create a satisfying crunch whenever someone stepped on them; demons everywhere were disappointed, for they could no longer sneak up on prey as stealthily as before. Unless, of course, they could fly... That was a whole different story.

But now we have gone entirely off subject and must now resume talking of the group that consisted of a hanyou, a priestess, a kitsune, a monk, and a demon slayer. What an odd group...

Inuyasha's group wearily picked their path through the woods. They were on a small dirt trail, true, but branches and small trees reached their branches out to them. It was pretty cold considering that it was only fall, and that just added to the unpleasantness. There wouldn't have been any unpleasantness, however, had Inuyasha not stolen some of Shippou's breakfast. After that, Kagome had told him to sit, and a fight had occurred between the two of them. It was a normal fight, ending with Kagome telling him to sit once more. Since then, they hadn't spoken a word to each other and had instead been as cold as humanly possible.

It's stupid, thought Shippou, riding on Miroku's shoulder. They should get along like they always have!

It's rather childish, were Miroku's thoughts, that they should stop speaking over such a silly thing.

They better get over it soon, Sango was thinking. It's annoying to have to tell them what the other person just said!

Soon they came to a fork in the road. Inuyasha and Kagome, the two in lead, started off in different directions; Kagome to the left, Inuyasha to the right. The two stopped and glared at each other. The others cast sideways glances to each other, knowing that trouble was now afoot.

"Could someone tell him that I think we should go this way?" Kagome asked, obviously referring to Inuyasha.

Shippou sighed. "Inuyasha, Kagome says that she thinks we should go to the left," he repeated.

Inuyasha sneered. "Tell her that this is the right way to go," he replied.

Miroku relayed the message this time.

The two argued for some time in this manner. It was finally settled when Kagome told Sango to tell him to sit. It was so childish that even Shippou had to admit so. He wouldn't do something like that, and two semi-grown up people shouldn't, either.

Finally, after hours and hours of having to put up with the two, it was night; time for sleep and peace. The ones who had suffered would be able to put all aside and slip into the world of dreams, where everything went as they wanted and where they could think about things other than Inuyasha and Kagome.

Kagome snuggled deeply into her sleeping bag, placed as always near the fire. The air around her, however, seemed so cold that even Shippou wouldn't dare go near her. Instead, he slept cozily against Kirara with Sango by his side. Inuyasha retreated into a tree as far away from Kagome as possible without losing sight of them, deeply grumbling. Miroku sighed as he sat against a different tree, one closer, and fell asleep.

The two had still not forgotten the fight.

Sesshoumaru leapt deftly from tree to tree, feeling the cool breeze against his face. He silently landed in a tree near Inuyasha's, making sure his pathetic half brother was asleep before continuing his journey towards the camp. He landed on the ground softly, not even disturbing the leaves that all other demons rustled. Calmly he walked toward the sleeping girl, using his hearing to determine that the others were dead asleep. He walked to Kagome and looked down at her, noticing by her breathing that something troubled her.

Not his problem. He simply picked her up, managing quite easily for some one with only one arm. He then leapt into a tree, not even stirring the girl with his smooth movements. He then continued, seemingly flying as he jumped quickly from tree to tree back to his camp.

Kagome's first moments of awareness were filled with coldness on one side and warmness on the other. Confused, she groggily tried to sort out what could be happening. The coldness seemed to be blowing against her as though there were wind, yet she didn't feel as though she were moving at all. Slowly she opened her eyes to determine was going on, and she let out a startled cry as she looked up and saw Sesshoumaru carrying her to who knew where.

"Quiet," he said, not even looking down at her as he continued his journey. She struggled to get away, but his one-armed grip was quite strong. "I can drop you here if you wish."

Not understanding fully what he meant, she peered downwards and gasped when she saw the ground moving below her. Dizziness clouded her mind as she looked back at him. "Y-You wouldn't..." Receiving no answer, she quickly came to realize that he was actually quite serious. Nausea overcame her at the thought of plummeting to the ground, and soon she'd passed out once more, becoming numb in Sesshoumaru's arms -- Er, arm.

The next morning, everything was peaceful. A faint winter breeze rustled the branches of nearby trees. Mother Nature swept leaves in a blur of color, letting them fall only for a few seconds as she played around with them by using the wind. She let the sun shine brightly, letting it warm things up a little in the few days before winter.

The peace was disturbed suddenly as a hanyou we all know and love found out that someone had disappeared in the night. A loud shout was heard all throughout Japan as he smelled his half brother's scent all over the scene of the crime.

The others of the group had different reactions. Shippou slightly sobbed, hoping that Kagome was alright but doubting that she was. Miroku stared at her sleeping bag, not knowing what to make of the situation. Sango sadly and then angrily clutched at her boomerang.

"Damn him," Inuyasha growled as he angrily grabbed a handful of dirt. He punched the ground forcefully. "I swear, if anything's happened to her..." He let his threat hang in the air, a threat that was far from being empty. He stood and sniffed the air with anger, setting out on the path that Sesshoumaru had taken, hardly even stopping to let the others catch up.

The others grabbed Kagome's things before climbing on Kirara, all wanting to get Kagome back safely. "Faster, Kirara! Please!" Sango coaxed her. Kirara obliged, for even the demon cat wished for her friend's safe return.

Sesshoumaru! Inuyasha angrily thought. If something happens to her, you'll never be forgiven! I swear!