A/N: I named the chapters and changed the summary to better fit the plot! :)


Departures

Is it true that you have taken my little playmate from me? I will give you my red shoes, if you give him back to me.


The chilly wind roared around the boy and the woman as they measured each other. If they had been standing nearer, his white hair could've tangled with hers.

Inuyasha felt his mind tingling from sheer curiosity. This was the closest he'd come to feeling anything in the last few days.

"Who are you?" He asked petulantly.

She lifted a perfect eyebrow and gave him a small smile, but her eyes were still completely cold.

"They call me many things." The demoness shrugged, the very image of self-assurance. "But you may call me Setsumi."

Snow beauty.

"Okay." He sighed. "Why did you want to meet me?"

Setsumi seemed mildly satisfied that he had recognized her call for what it was, like a strict trainer proud of their puppy.

"I want you to come with me to my homeland," she said simply.

Inuyasha frowned and studied her face. He could be obtuse at times, but he wasn't an idiot; the boy knew this woman was a dog demon, and he could see her coloring was the same as his. If this meeting had taken place five days ago, he would've thrown a tantrum and demanded she explained herself.

But this wasn't a few days ago, neither was he the same person.

Inuyasha slowly stepped closer and scrutinized her face. Her long ponytails of white hair turned in his direction with the wind, their ends brushing his shoulders. The woman reached his chin, but something about her seemed to rise far above him. The very air she breathed was charged with power—and authority.

"Keh. I don't even know you."

"Yes, boy, you do." She huffed. "Humans have been talking about me for centuries."

Before Inuyasha could not-so-politely remind her that he wasn't human, she lifted a white, dainty hand to her hair. Taking off a shell-shaped hairpin, she held it out in her palm and froze it.

His gears were turning.

She could do that little trick. She was a dog demon. She'd said people knew her.

"Look, children," Kaede called as she lifted the hanging mat. "The snowflakes look like swarms of white bees."

"No, Kaede! It's so cold!" Kagome protested, scooting closer to Inuyasha under the furry mantle they were sharing.

"Do they have a queen bee too?" Inuyasha asked with interest. He didn't mind the wind like his human playmate.

"Yes, son," the old woman confirmed, letting the pelt drop and sitting next to the children on the futon. "She's a huge white dog, you see. White like snow! The snowflakes come from her fur, which falls as she flies over the land!"

"That's silly, Old Kaede!" Kagome giggled, but Inuyasha could smell her fear.

"Don't be scared, Kagome. Only let her come in here!" Inuyasha said with confidence. "I'll protect you!"

He blinked slowly at the woman before smirking.

"Are you telling me you're the Snow Queen?"

Setsumi gave a quiet laugh, golden eyes twinkling with true amusement as she replaced the hairpin.

"My touch does freeze," she conceded. "Some demons read minds, others spit venom. I'm no different in this aspect. If human imagination decided I am responsible for winter itself, I'm not the one at fault."

After studying her carefully, Inuyasha realized he had nothing to lose. Nothing could stop him, almost nothing could hurt him, and if he died, at least no one depended on him.

"Why d'you want me to come?" He inquired, narrowing his eyes.

"I knew your father," she returned with barely suppressed impatience, which showed she wasn't used to being questioned. "You belong in the homeland."

Belong, huh?

"Fine."

Setsumi gave him a small—and deadly—smile. His chest was hurting again, but he payed it no mind.

He was almost invincible, after all.

"Well, I feel like I just passed a test," she remarked with fake cheerfulness. "You might be tested also."

The blizzard grew stronger at her words, as if the weather were mocking him for his stupidity. Inuyasha might have considered it an omen if he'd actually felt scared, or anxious, or anything at all but curious.

"No one likes to be frozen," Setsumi said, quickly glancing at his chest. "We'll travel fast. Keep close to my fur."

The Snow Queen stepped back, still facing the half-demon, and began to change. Snowflakes swirled around her in a personal whirlwind, and her hair ricocheted even higher. Her face elongated, and a huge snout appeared where her jugular had been. White fur grew from her skin and rich purple kimono.

Other than the magenta markings under its eyes and the purple crescent moon, nothing of the woman could be seen in the beast standing before him.

Glowing red eyes blinked, and Inuyasha frowned.

He'd told Kagome that he felt funny the night before, but now he was sure something was really wrong with him. His heart didn't even beat faster at the sight of the humongous canine.

Setsumi brought her head down with grace and waited for him to climb on. He felt something stretching the skin on the sides of his cheeks—he'd felt it before.

Inuyasha looked behind him at the two small huts. The early morning light was out now, and soon his foster family would be awake.

He might never see Kagome again.

His inner beast whined at that, clawing at his unrelenting heart, but Inuyasha ignored it. He knew how much they all had given up to be with him; maybe his departure was for the best. The boy understood his former playmate was of age to be married, and what would happen then?

She deserves a shot at happiness. I deserve a shot at… something.

Anything.

This.

Giving the Goshinboku's limbs one last, long look, the half-demon climbed through Setsumi's paw to the scruff of her neck. His hands were trembling when he fisted the white fur.

His figurative dog howled, calling him a traitor in its own language.

His frozen human heart kicked it silent.


Kagome was already awake when Kaede lifted the hanging mat of her hut a little to the side, just enough to look in.

Muttering something under her breath, the old woman walked away, the sound of her footsteps muffled by the heavy snow.

I think the blizzard is over, Kagome mused. She'd woken more than once during the night because of it.

Deciding that it was best she got up and saw what her neighbor wanted, the girl lazily stretched her body before sitting up and combing her hair with her fingers. She decided to wear two cloaks over her green kimono and white undershirt, knowing the cold would be biting outside.

When Kagome looked at the hut to the left, Kaede was sitting on a stool at the door—scowling.

"Good morning, Old Kaede," she greeted walking over. "Is something the matter?"

"Hello, child." Kaede sounded tired. "I thought Inuyasha could be with you. He left in the first light of morning."

Dread pooled in Kagome's belly.

She remembered their talk from the previous night, remembered her heart giving her a clear warning.

The girl knew Kaede wasn't prone to controlling the half-demon, but the last five days had made her weary of his roamings. It was no wonder; he seemed to come back stranger every time he went away.

"I'll find him," Kagome promptly said, trying hard to mask her uneasiness.

It was then that she heard startled voices approaching.

Turning her head, she saw a group of half a dozen villagers making their way to the door. Surprised they had visitors (and feeling it couldn't be good), Kagome put her hand on Kaede's shoulder instinctively.

"Good morning," the old woman greeted, holding the girl's hand to stand up. "What brings you lot here?"

"Didn't you see it, Old Kaede? The beast flying over the village?" The chief inquired as he stepped closer, small eyes dark with fear.

In her fifteen years, Kagome had never seen the sturdy man like this.

"Beast?" She echoed.

"It was huge and white," another said. "Sky's also white, so it was hard to see—but it came really close!"

"When?" Kagome asked, the bad feeling in her gut spreading all over her body, making her shake like a leaf.

"An hour ago, at most," a bald merchant said. "We thought the half-breed might've smelled it, so we came here to ask him what it was."

"He's not here," Kagome snapped, feeling a violent urge to grab the man's head and bury it in the snow.

Huffing, the girl stepped away and decided to look for her friend.

Those morons had delayed her enough as it was.


Huge paw marks made her vision swim with fear.

Kagome stumbled in the heavy snow and grabbed a tree, barely keeping her balance. Her sweaty hands were cold on its rough bark.

She needed to track them, needed to find him, needed him to be okay.

The wretched men from the village were following her from a distance, no doubt trying to get to Inuyasha. She heard them gasp at every paw mark they'd passed on the way.

The last one was by the frozen river.

It was impossible for a beast like the one they'd described to walk over the ice without breaking it, which meant it had flown away.

It also meant she couldn't follow it anymore.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called, her voice sounding hoarse.

He has excellent hearing. He'll be here in a moment.

Her heart protested at her trying to deceive herself. If anything, Kagome had always been honest.

After two hours of searching the woods and the clearing, she couldn't ignore the truth anymore. Inuyasha wasn't there, hadn't been there since the wee hours, and she had been sleeping.

"Inuyasha!" She still called, more to keep reaching out to him than receiving an answer.

Kagome saw the brief look of pity crossing the chief's face, and it only made her scream louder.

"INUYASHA!"

Someone touched her shoulder and she reacted violently, pushing their soothing hands away.

"Don't!"

"Kagome," Lady Higurashi said pleadingly, brown eyes shining with unshed tears.

When did mother get here?

"Come home with me. You've been out in the cold for too long, you didn't eat before you left…"

"Mama!" The girl lifted her hands to interrupt the woman, "Inuyasha disappeared. He vanished. I can't think of eating anything right now."

"Give it some time, girl," the chief said. "He seems to be a strong one. He'll come back soon enough."

The man was blatantly lying to her, and it made Kagome want to spit his pity on his face.

You never gave a damn about him, about us.

Spare me.

Her little brother was standing in the clearing, his hands nervously wringing the hem of his shirt.

It was like a bucket of cold water.

Inuyasha had been gone for less than a day and she was already panicking, acting like a lunatic. Sota looked at her with fear in his eyes, making her feel guilty. The girl was worrying him for nothing—she wasn't even sure if something had really happened to their half-demon friend.

Liar, her heart seemed to whisper.


On the third night of Inuyasha's disappearance, Kagome entered Kaede's hut to find the woman crying.

Like in a mirror, her face was instantly wet, too.

Old Kaede was sitting on her small stool and holding one of Inuyasha's white undershirts. Seeing Kagome standing there, she quickly dried her tears with her wrinkled hand.

"I'm sorry, child." Kaede took a deep breath, "this shirt needed mending, and I j-just…"

Kagome shushed her gently, approaching the old woman and kneeling next to her. Unable to stop her own tears from coming, the girl decided to offer her silent presence as consolation instead of words.

Kaede dropped the shirt on the floor to hug her, and Kagome cried harder. The woman was the epitome of both strength and kindness, and seeing her like that was scary.

"He will come back, Kaede," she said with conviction.

"I know, dear." Kaede sniffled, letting go of Kagome's shoulders. "The house just feels empty. He's lived with me longer than with his own mother."

I never thought about it that way, she mused. Kaede has been more of a mother to Inuyasha than Lady Izayoi had a chance to be.

"I'll keep searching tomorrow," Kagome promised. "We've already covered three neighboring villages. He can't have vanished."

Neither spoke about the flying dog, still hoping it had nothing to do with their beloved boy.


After two weeks of searching the proximities with her mother, Sota, and four village men that the chief had spared, Kagome was more than convinced Inuyasha wasn't in the vicinity. They had traveled to every neighboring village, even the tiniest ones, expecting to find him wounded and unable to come home.

Needless to say, people didn't react well when being interrogated about a half-demon.

He's not wounded, a little voice kept saying inside her head. He heals fast.

Then why isn't he home?

Kagome refused to consider the next possible explanation for his absence. If she were rational, she would. If she weren't a hopeless optimistic, if she didn't plan on scolding him when she saw him again.

If she didn't love him so very much.

With winter still punishing the land with its unbearable coldness, the searching party couldn't go very far without ending up dead.

Kagome was losing her mind each day she went without hearing Inuyasha's voice.

The village people started saying she was becoming insane, but they also said Inuyasha was dead; so the girl didn't listen.


What long, dark winter days those were.

The chief had called the searching party to a halt, saying they had already looked everywhere nearby. Kagome knew he wouldn't go searching far when the weather got better; they didn't believe Inuyasha to be alive anymore.

On the first day of spring, she woke up early to walk to the woods and put fresh flowers on both Izayoi's and the stranger's graves. Humming a song, she put on her white undershirt and favorite green kimono.

Each time a dark thought like Inuyasha is dead and gone crossed her mind, Kagome looked up at the sun, felt its warmth, and didn't believe it. Her best friend couldn't be gone, not yet.

They had too much to live.

As if sensing her thoughts and agreeing with them, the wind picked up and shook the Goshinboku's limbs, taking away the last vestiges of snow with it.

Winter was over, and so was her time of mourning someone who was still alive.

She left jasmines for the half-demon and the usual camellias for Izayoi. Taking a moment to kneel by the woman's resting place, Kagome asked for protection during the journey she was about to undertake.

The girl had shared her plans with Sota, and he'd promised to keep them secret—after she'd told him numerous times that no, there was no way she would take him with her. Kagome didn't even know where she was going.

At least I know where not to go.

She went home after doing her duty to the dead, arranged food and an extra cloak in a yellow leather satchel, and put her red scarf around her shoulders (one that Inuyasha had never seen).

Then, the girl kissed her sleeping mother's forehead—and left.

Looking back on it, Kagome would be able to tell how naive she had been, and how many things could have gone wrong.

She would never regret it.


A/N: So, I hope you're enjoying this half as much as I've been thinking about it lol.

Setsumi mentioned Inuyasha's father just in passing on purpose; this will be addressed later. I know it didn't take much for her to convince him to leave, but Inuyasha's already reckless in his normal state, let alone when unable to feel fear!

Oh, and his heart is freezing metaforically here! He's becoming unfeeling and uncaring as his demon blood emerges, but there's no ice involved (fairytales and their lessons, you know how it is). The shard does bother him, though.

As always, I'm very grateful to anyone reading this. Leave me a review *winks not-so-charmingly*.

Ps: other beloved characters will show up soon enough!