Regardless of how much he'd consumed, Taisho hid it well, completely in control of his facilities as they made their way to the bottom of the chairlift. Grateful that it was still running, she slid in beside him, though far enough away that they weren't touching when the chair lifted them off the ground.
The wind was no less harsh as they broke the treeline, their ride swaying slightly. Kagome busied herself by creating a list of everything Inuyasha would owe her when they got back.
"If my brother was so concerned for my well-being, why did he not fetch me himself?"
"Ask him that," she grumbled, pulling the collar of her jacket up to shield her face. "He tried calling you a bunch and then said you wouldn't have listened even if he did show up."
"So he sent you."
"He sent me."
"And you agreed?"
"It was better than the alternative," she said, remembering Kouga's hopeful expression. "Besides, if you died, I'd have to listen to all your girlfriends snivel and whine about how much they miss you."
She'd said it to get a rise out of him, a way of keeping herself busy, but Taisho simply rested his chin in his palm, looking out over the glistening landscape below them.
"You assume much about my social life."
"Oh?" Now she was curious. "Are you saying all the rumours about you having a different partner in every city are false?"
"Yes." His response cut through the wind, and Kagome was startled by the animosity behind it.
"You make it sound like it bothers you."
Taisho glanced over his shoulder, their gazes only locking for a moment before he leaned back against the chair.
"The vultures that run the media feed on scraps, spinning stories for their personal enjoyment, heedless of the repercussions."
In all the years that she'd known him, or rather, since she'd met him, considering she didn't really know him at all, Kagome had never seen him bothered by anything.
Aside from her.
Sighing, she pushed back her ire about being out in the storm instead of lounging by the fire and gave him a contemplative look. If he was so uptight about media gossip, it could only mean one thing.
"You're in love with someone."
His reaction was so sudden that it made the chair sway. "What—"
"It's the only logical explanation," Kagome smirked, trying not to sound too gleeful. "And they took one look at the headlines and decided they wanted nothing to do with you."
Golden eyes glowered behind his goggles.
"I mean, I don't know what they would've seen in you in the first place," she continued, almost bouncing with excitement. "Are they some foreign diplomat? Or a hermit? They'd have to have been living on the moon to even consider—"
The lift stopped.
If the lack of movement hadn't caught their attention, the sudden silence certainly did. Kagome glanced behind them; they hadn't reached the halfway mark yet, the top of the mountain looming above them.
"It is likely just a delay. Someone needing extra assistance," Taisho said, twisting his body around.
Was he trying to reassure her?
"How do you know?"
"The lights." He motioned to the nearby spotlights, the neon bulbs casting tall shadows against the snow. "They are still—"
Darkness.
Kagome cursed violently. "You just had to say it, didn't you?"
"You are the one who asked the question."
"Hey, if you weren't so stubborn, we wouldn't be out here in the first place." Chairlifts stopped all the time, but the lights had never gone out before, and as the minutes dragged on, Kagome became more and more convinced that something was actually wrong.
"You are overthinking things."
"I'm not overthinking shit! We're stuck on a chairlift, the power's probably shut off, and the storm's getting worse," she said, waving at the bending treetops as her eyes adjusted to the dark.
"Becoming agitated will not solve things." His retort was maddingly calm, and Kagome stifled the urge to beat him with her skis.
"What would you suggest, then?"
Taisho looked around, angling his body as he weighed their options, then finally sighed in resignation. "The most logical solution would be to go back to my cabin—"
Kagome scoffed. "And how do you propose we do that, genius? Fly?"
"Your attitude is not helping."
"Neither are your asinine ideas."
Sighing again, he looked over the safety bar. "It is not that far down."
"What?" she shrieked. "You expect us just to jump off the chairlift?"
"Do you have another suggestion?"
She opened her mouth to do just that but came up empty. The wind picked up, emphasizing his pointing as the cables above them warbled, and Kagome looked warily at the ground.
"If we angle ourselves towards the lamppost, we reduce the risk of injury. The snow is not as heavily packed there." Taisho was already removing his skis, placing them behind their backs. Grumbling to keep the fear at bay, she followed suit.
They threw their boots down, Taisho citing that the landing would be better without them. Kagome shot him a dubious look.
"I will go first."
"Of course you will." Kagome thought she heard him chuckle.
"Shall I catch you?"
"I'll take my chances with the snow."
Shrugging a shoulder, he lifted the safety bar, then used the side of the lift to propel himself sideways. Silence stretched out before Kagome heard a discernible thunk as he hit the ground. She gave it a full minute before she sidled over, wanting to provide him with enough time to move out of the way.
"Am I good?" she called, squinting against the darkness.
No answer.
"Very funny!"
The silence stretched on, and she felt the cold grip of panic slide up her spine. "Taisho? Have you moved out of the way?"
Still nothing.
Sucking in a ragged breath, Kagome positioned herself, making sure she didn't follow the exact path that he had, just in case.
Just in case.
No matter how much she'd braced herself, how far she'd lowered her expectations, the landing was still jarring, rattling her teeth and stealing her breath. Choking on snow, Kagome pushed herself onto her hands and knees, grateful she still knew which way was up.
"Taisho, I don't know what kind of game you're playing, but this isn't funny." She but back a whimper, then looked around, trying to locate her boots. Luckily, she'd decided to indulge in something more noticeable, the neon pink plastic standing out in the darkness.
Brushing the snow off her feet as best she could, she pulled them on, then gingerly got to her feet. The trees, paired with the luminous clouds, provided little light, so she tore off her gloves then fumbled for her phone. She jerked, the light making spots appear in her eyes, before turning it around, searching for Taisho.
So she could kill him.
If he'd up and left her, she would not let him hear the end of it. Abandoning her when he was the only reason she was out here in the first place would be a whole new level of asshole.
A flash of red caught her eye. "Found you, jerk face. What are you—" Kagome's tirade trailed off as she realized he was face down in the snow. Alarm bells sounded in her mind, and she scrambled closer, ears ringing.
Pale, blonde hair shone in the darkness, his braid having come loose at some point, and she reached out a tentative hand, shaking his shoulder.
"H-Hey, the joke's over now. You got me. We need to get out of here before—" The wind sang through the trees, the angry chorus knocking large packs of snow from their branches. Kagome yelped and covered Taisho's body with her own, shielding him from the falling debris.
They'd been far enough away from the treeline to avoid hitting anything on the way down, but the ground where the chairlift had stopped was uneven, trees bowing as shadows danced.
Leaning back, she nudged him again, pushing his hair out of his face, then gasped when her fingers slid into something sticky. She turned her flashlight on him, the snow turning red.
Blood.