Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, but you already knew that, didn't you?

A/N *Book hits Super Ceech in head. Super Ceech rubs head.* Ow... I've never had an imaginary book thrown at me before. Interesting...

Wow. Sorry for leaving everybody hanging last chapter, but don't worry; here's the conclusion to that evil ending. And I just want to say to inukagonly that I fully plan on finishing this fanfic. I have way too many good ideas and practically their whole trip planned out not to!

Alright, the moment you've all been waiting for! The grand entrance of who you've all been starting to wonder will even enter this fic or not. Wait no longer, and read on!

"Inuyasha, remind me why we're out here again."

Inuyasha flipped his long, silver ponytail over his shoulder and looked at his best friend, Miroku, who was standing and trying desperately to tie his own midnight black hair into a pathetic excuse for a ponytail at the back of his head. The violet eyes belonging to his friend implored him to reconsider his decision, but Inuyasha ignored them.

"You're just whining 'cause I pulled you away from that girl you discovered next door," Inuyasha snorted. "And if you really want to know, I want to have some fun on these slopes without having to train or worry about stupid Myouga. If I have to sneak out for some night skiing, I'll do it and it's not like you could stop me."

"So then, why are we being dragged out here with you?" Inuyasha's other buddy, Kouga, spoke up as his long black hair, tied up into a high ponytail, swayed in the wind. His bright blue eyes challenged Inuyasha's gold ones, but after a few moments of glaring directly into his fierce gaze, he looked away.

"Quit your griping," Inuyasha snapped. "Does the cold bother you or something? Are you afraid of the dark?"

"Oh, shut up, Inuyasha," Kouga retorted. "We're here aren't we? Now let's get on with it."

"Fine," Inuyasha said as he pushed off down the hill of which they had just been standing at the top of.

He could feel the edges of his skis biting into the hill and swinging him around each turn and he felt all his movements meld together in a smooth, relaxing, and rhythmic pattern. He kept his poles forward and allowed them to balance him as he took wide, sweeping turns down the hill. Then, to mix things up, he began making short, sharp turns to better test his speed, agility and reaction time.

As the run they were skiing on joined another, something caught Inuyasha's eye. Turning his head, he noticed a groomer was slowly making its way down the adjoining hill, and that there seemed to be an object or a figure directly in its path.

Something compelled Inuyasha to act, and so he yelled to his friend skiing beside him, "Yo, Miroku! Take my poles and follow me!" With that, he threw his poles at Miroku who just barely managed to catch them by dropping his own poles and letting them dangle from the pole straps around his wrists.

Inuyasha, now pole-less, glided over to the next run and saw that the groomer was closing in on the figure. Quickly skiing up to it, he realized with horror that it was a person. Seeing that the groomer was practically upon them, Inuyasha scooped the person up in his arms, catching a brief glimpse of her face. What? Inuyasha thought to himself. I thought Kikyo was a better skier than this... Woah! Gotta get outta here!

Obviously the person driving the groomer couldn't see the pair since he kept on coming and Inuyasha vaguely noted to himself that a light illuminating this part of the hill had blown. Hugging the girl close to him, Inuyasha frantically pushed off and out of the way of the groomer just as it passed over the spot where the two of them had been.

Panting from the near-death experience, Inuyasha collapsed on the hill as the groomer continued further down the run. Looking down at the girl still in his arms, Inuyasha realized that her features were actually different than the girl he had mistaken her for. So it's not Kikyo, he thought. Who is she and what is she doing here?

Miroku and Kouga skied up to him at this point and saw what he held in his arms.

"Ah, a beautiful maiden in distress," Miroku commented. "I'll take it from here, Inuyasha," he continued, holding out his arms.

Inuyasha held the girl protectively against him. "Uh, somehow I don't think so, Miroku," he said sarcastically, eyeing his friend.

"What happened?" Kouga asked.

"Dunno," Inuyasha said, looking up the hill. "But, look, her equipment is strewn all across the hill. You guys want to get it before it gets mangled by Mr. Observant driving the big deadly machine over there?" Inuyasha asked, nodded his head in the direction of the groomer.

"Why can't you do it, or at least help?" Miroku whined.

"Because I'm making sure you don't do anything to this girl when you think I'm not looking," Inuyasha retorted.

Miroku's face held a wounded expression as he held a hand over his heart. "I am shocked, Inuyasha, that you think I would try something on this dazzling damsel here. I am truly shocked."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'll bet. Hurry up and get on with it, lech."

After Miroku and Kouga had trudged around the hill collecting the girl's various skiing articles, the three of them slowly made their way to the bottom, being careful of their precious cargo. When they succeeded in completing the run, they saw two frantic girls anxiously looking up another hill.

Skiing over to them, Inuyasha spoke, "Hey, you girls lose something?" He indicated the girl in his arms.

The girls looked at the unconscious girl and gasped. "Kagome!" they cried. "What happened?!" the black haired one asked worriedly.

At this point, Miroku popped himself out of his skis and stepped forward, taking the girl's gloved hands in his own. "Fear not, my gorgeous lady, for Inuyasha daringly risked his life without hesitation in order to save your friend's. He raced over to where this poor damsel lay in distress of being groomed into the very hill and made a heroic rescue as he carried her away in his arms. Commanding his loyal sidekicks to gather her strewn equipment, he began his victory ski down the hill so that he could return his fair maiden to her friends fraught with concern," Miroku finished in an overly dramatic voice.

Inuyasha glared at his friend. "You know, Miroku," he began. "If I didn't have something in my arms at this moment in time, I sure as hell would smack you right now."

"Me? Inuyasha's loyal sidekick? As if," Kouga muttered to himself.

Meanwhile, the two girls were just staring stupidly at Miroku. After opening and closing her mouth a few times, obviously unsure of what to say, the red head stuttered, "I-Inuyasha?" She looked blankly at him.

After a few minutes trapped under her gaze, Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "What!?" he snapped.

The girl shook her head. "Nothing. We just saw you a couple days ago, that's all. I was a little surprised. But, do you think she's alright?" she asked, talking about the girl named Kagome.

"I think so," Inuyasha replied carefully. "But I don't really know what happened before I found her. Want to fill us in?"

"Sure," the dark-haired girl responded, trying to released herself from Miroku's grip. "But do you think we could go inside first? It's freezing out here. The name's Sango, by the way, and this is Ayame," she said, indicating the red head.

"Why don't we go to our condo, Inuyasha?" Kouga suggested. "It's closer than the ones reserved for visitors and recreational skiers."

"Splendid idea, Kouga!" Miroku said. Leaning closer to Sango, who was still trying unsuccessfully to get away from him, he added, "My name's Miroku, by the way."

"Ooooh, Kouga!" Ayame squealed, unnerving the boy. "We heard about you too! You're going to be racing in that ski competition thing next week with Inuyasha, aren't you?"

"Uh... yeah..." Kouga said, looking around as if to find some way to escape the enthusiastic girl.

"Hurry up, you guys," Inuyasha cut in impatiently. "I'm not going to stand around here all night holding this girl."

"I'll carry her if you're too weak, Inuyasha," Kouga offered.

"How 'bout you lead the way instead?" Inuyasha shot back.

Kouga shrugged and popped off his skis, the others following his example. Slinging them and Inuyasha's over his shoulders, he sauntered off as the rest of the group scrambled to follow.

After about a two minute walk, they reached a sizable condominium and went inside. Finding the boys' condo and entering, Inuyasha went and layed the girl, Kagome, on the living room couch as the others removed their ski boots and clothing. When he himself had removed his gear, he sat in front of the couch with his back leaning up against it.

Sango and Ayame then proceeded to tell the boys about Kagome's food poisoning and how she had believed she was fine and that they could go night skiing. ("Stupid girl," Inuyasha muttered.) When they had both reached the bottom of the run and there was no sign of Kagome, they had begun to get very worried. They had waited for a few minutes before the appearance of the boys.

"She's probably fine," Kouga reassured them. "She was most likely just suffering from lack of food and got really dizzy and fainted at a very bad time and place."

"Really?" Ayame beamed at him. When he nodded, she said, "Thank goodness! I mean, we were so worried and she wasn't coming down and it's our fault for letting her go and if you guys hadn't been there, I don't know what would have happened and we're so grateful!"

Everyone stared at the girl who seemed to have a never-ending oxygen supply in disbelief.

"You're welcome...?" Kouga said slowly.

~*~

Kagome's eyes half-opened as she returned to a semi-conscious state and she noticed something silvery white laying before her. "Shiny..." she mumbled as she reached out to grasp it.

~*~

Inuyasha felt something yank at his hair and he spun around to find the girl he rescued asleep with a few strands of his hair gripped tightly in her one hand. "Do you mind?!" he yelled, startling her awake.

The girl sprung straight up, but quickly winced and put a hand to her head. Looking around and at the boys in confusion, she finally asked, "Where am I and how did I get here?"

Inuyasha glared at her and rubbed his abused scalp. "You're such a horrible skier that you fell on a hill that you should have been smart enough to stay off of and almost got mangled by a snow groomer. You're lucky I got there when I did, but maybe I shoulda just left you."

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Oh, it's you, is it? The great Inuyasha himself; the fastest seventeen year old alive with the worst egotistical attitude ever to be encountered. And for your information, pal, I got food poisoning and ended up falling down that hill involuntarily! As if I'm that dumb!"

"You look like it to me," Inuyasha said.

"Hey-!"

Kouga cut her off by smoothly stepping into her line of vision. "Excuse my, uh, 'friend', miss, he's not the nicest guy in the world."

Inuyasha snorted. "You're one to talk."

"He's being a lot nicer than you are," Kagome shot back at him.

"So, uh, Kagome," Sango started. "I take you're actually feeling better this ti-" Sango froze as she felt a foreign pressure reside on her backside. Slowly turning her head around and seeing Miroku behind her with his hand on her butt, she quickly jumped back as if she'd been standing on hot coals. "Pervert!" she screeched as she slapped him full across the face.

"Ah, but my dear lady," Miroku protested, rubbing his raw cheek. "You do me an injustice. For what else could anyone do when presented with such a pleasing posterior?"

Sango's face became cherry red, but whether from anger or embarrassment, Inuyasha couldn't tell.

"Uh, who's that?" Kagome asked uncertainly.

"That is Miroku, a lecher, and I, Kagome, am Kouga," Kouga replied. "But you may call me... Kouga."

Kagome blinked. "Okay..."

Inuyasha sighed and looked to the ceiling as if searching for a divine sign. "Why do I have to be stuck with a bunch of crazy girls and my friends who are determined to make fools of themselves?"

"Why do I have to be stuck in the same room with an arrogant jerk who thinks he rules the world?" Kagome mocked him.

Inuyasha snorted. "No one's keeping you here. The door's right there," he said, pointing.

"Then you won't mind if I use it!" Kagome snapped, stomping over to the door, still attired in her ski outfit.

"Not at all," Inuyasha said, taking her place on the couch and stretching his legs out to rest on the coffee table in front of him. "You go right ahead."

"Are you guys coming?" Kagome asked her friends in an irritated tone.

Sango and Ayame quickly scrambled into their discarded equipment in fear of Kagome's wrath. As the three girls were leaving, Ayame turned and said, "Bye, Inuyasha! Bye, Miroku! Bye, Kouga! See you guys later on the hill!" to which they heard Kagome mutter, "Heaven forbid," as the door slammed shut.

A/N There ya go; I hope I'm forgiven now. Was it good? Did you like it? And gangsta-girl, do you want your book back? Kagome's not hurt or nothin'. I mean, what could I do with the story if she was stuck in the hospital for the rest of the trip?

Oh, oh, oh! The next chapter is where the real fun begins! I'll try to get it up for Saturday, but the rest of my week and then my weekend are gonna be pretty hectic, so no guarantees on the date. I'll do my best. Next week, though, I really will have to study for my exams (Biology, Math, Physics [can't study for English]). But then I get a whole week off in which I should be able to write a bunch.

So stay tuned, since the havoc begins next chapter, if it hasn't already, and you won't want to miss it!