Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the perpetually annoying reporters and the rabid fan girls...think I could make a world famous series with them? No? Oh...bummer...

A/N Hi ho, readers! Wow, I really loved all your reviews from last chapter; they were all so nice and inspiring and made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I'm really glad you all found Inuyasha in character and enjoyed the fluff and humour. I tried really hard and I'm glad it paid off! So without further ado, here's the next chapter for you! (And they won't let me use my little symbol thingies anymore so I had to change them! Why would do that to me? Why?! -cries pathetically-)

..:V:..

"When I catch up with you, you're SO DEAD!!!" Inuyasha yelled after his fleeing friends.

"Kouga, wait for me!" Ayame cried after the boy who was quickly gaining speed and leaving her behind.

Kouga glanced briefly back at her before saying, "When we go down this next hill, don't worry about technique; just bomb it!"

When the two of them reached the indicated hill, they both tucked like mad and skied straight down the hill without a thought of turning. They picked up enormous speed and Ayame almost started praying that her skis wouldn't catch any edges lest she fall hard and injury something rather severely.

Finally they reached the bottom and ended up snowing multiple people in the chairlift line while trying to stop themselves. The assaulted individuals glared at the offensive pair as they brushed themselves off indignantly.

Kouga and Ayame mumbled a few apologies before anxiously looking back up at the hill they had just skied down. When there was no sign of their enraged friend, they breathed a sigh of relief.

"Guess he went after Sango and Miroku..." Kouga mused.

"Where'd they go, anyway?" Ayame asked. "I thought they were running away with us..."

"Yeah, but they split off and went down a different hill," Kouga explained. "So it's just you and me again...seems familiar, doesn't it?"

Ayame grinned. "Yeah...brings back memories...like when we freaked that old couple out on the chairlift..."

Kouga nodded his head, reminiscing. "Good times, good times... Well, then, I'm kind of cold. How about we go into the lodge and grab some hot chocolates? It's all on me!"

"How generous of you," Ayame joked. "You'd spend all of one dollar on me? That's just so sweet!"

Kouga bowed. "Well, what can I say? I've got a giving heart."

"Yeah, yeah," Ayame laughed. "Let's just go. I think I could really use that hot chocolate as well."

The two companions proceeded to skate for the nearby lodge. After laying their skis and poles against the rack and trudging into the lodge, Kouga went off to the counter while Ayame claimed an empty table for them. When he came back he set one steaming cup in front of her while taking the other for himself.

They sat there, idly chatting, and waiting until their drinks were cool enough to consume without burning their tongues. Once the hot chocolate had cooled a sufficient amount, they began periodically sipping at it while discussing various subjects, such as the upcoming competition, the banquet and the conditions of the hill that day.

As they were just finishing up, a woman with thick, bushy, brown hair and horn-rimmed glasses came up to them. "Excuse me, but I was just wondering if I could ask you a few questions for 'Celebrities Today'?"

Kouga's fist immediately clenched, but Ayame quickly covered it with her own to offer him comfort in order to prevent him from saying something overly rude.

Without their consent, the reporter began bombarding Kouga with random, personal questions that he flatly refused to answer. After almost a full ten minutes of unsuccessful questioning on her part, the nosy reporter then rounded on Ayame.

"So, my dear; how old are you?" she asked, peering at Ayame over her glasses. Ayame couldn't help but be a little intimidated at the force of her presence.

"Um...sixteen."

"I see, I see..." the woman mumbled, scribbling in her notebook. "And how long have you and Kouga been seeing each other?"

"About, uh...a couple weeks?" Ayame said, realizing she and Kouga had no story for the tabloids about their relationship.

"And where and how did you meet, dear?"

"Uhhhhhh......at a...a...beauty salon!" Ayame sputtered out the first thing she could think off. Kouga gaped at her as she continued. "Um, yeah! I was there to get my hair done and he was there to get a pedicure, and we met while waiting for our respective appointments!"

Kouga buried his face in his hands. "Oh, god, I'm ruined! And I didn't even do it!"

But the reporter wasn't paying any attention to him. "And why did you need to be at a beauty salon, honey? Do you feel insecure about yourself?"

"Uhhh...no," Ayame said, giving the woman a funny look.

"Mmhmm..." the reporter nodded knowingly. "It's alright, dear, you can tell me."

"Tell you what?" Ayame asked, confused. "That I'm anorexic or something crazy like that?"

"You're anorexic, honey? Oh, how horrible!" Meanwhile, the woman was scribbling furiously in her little notebook.

"Hey, wait a min-"

"And are you having any troubles with drugs or alcohol? Don't worry, sweetie, you can tell me," the reporter coaxed.

Ayame gaped at her in shock and horror. She'd never been more insulted in her life! She started when Kouga stood up abruptly.

"Excuse me, but by what right do you think you have to ask her those types of questions and assume such terrible things about her?!" he snarled. "She's one of the sweetest girls I know and she would NEVER stoop so low as to do what you're implying! I can't believe your job is to debase and humiliate others by making up wild accusations that couldn't be farther from the truth! I can't believe you even willingly participate in a job such as that! I think I can safely say you're one of the lowest scum on this earth!"

The woman looked taken aback and could merely stare at him. The rest of the lodge was completely silent as everyone stared at the scene.

"Come on, Ayame, we're getting out of here," Kouga growled.

"Uh...sure..." Ayame said, just as surprised as the rest. She stood up and allowed him to take her arm as he led her out of the lodge.

As soon as they had exited the building, Kouga started ranting. "Why I ought to pound her face in! How could that nosy, presumptuous, conniving little bi-"

"Kouga!" Ayame cut into his raving.

"What?!" he snapped. "How could she ask those questions and presume-"

"Kouga!" Ayame tried again. "Calm down. It's alright, really."

Kouga turned on her and she noticed something indiscernible in his eyes. "Didn't you hear what she said about you?!" he cried almost desperately. "Didn't you hear her say those awful lies?! Weren't you insulted?!"

Ayame smiled gently at him. "Yes. Yes, I was very deeply offended. And then you stood up and defended me. And now none of what she said matters to me because the sweetness of what you did made it all go away." With that, she leaned up and gave him a peck on the cheek. "And now; let's continue skiing!" she said as she walked back to where they had left their skis and poles.

"Oh..." Kouga uttered, dumbfounded, as he pressed his fingers to the spot on his cheek where her lips had been. "Oookay..."

..:V:..

"Ski for your life!" Miroku shouted to Sango as he noticed the enraged Inuyasha was gaining on them.

"Stop running away, you cowards!" Inuyasha shouted after them.

"At least his vocabulary's minutely improving," Miroku muttered. Then he yelled, "I wouldn't stop now for a free grope!"

"As reassuring as that is, he's catching up!" Sango said.

Miroku glanced back and saw that Inuyasha's ski tips were practically touching the backs of his own. As they approached the hill they were about to go down, Miroku waited until the last second before reaching out and grabbing Sango's wrist and yelling, "Turn!"

Sango caught on to his meaning immediately and they sharply swerved away from the hill. Inuyasha, however, did not expect this and continued on skiing down the hill. He stopped when he was able, but it was too far to be able to climb back up to the top and catch his friends.

Miroku threw him a taunting wave as he and Sango went off in search of a different run. "See you later, Inuyasha!"

"Yeah, and when you do, you'll regret the day you were ever born!" Inuyasha yelled after him.

He only heard Miroku's careless last comment, "It wasn't even that embarrassing..."

Inuyasha fumed for a few moments before Kagome popped her head over the edge of the hill. "Finally!" she gasped between breaths. "It's hard to keep up with you, you know!"

"Yeah, well I wouldn't be a racer if I weren't fast," Inuyasha snapped, still in a bad mood.

Kagome grinned and came down to stop beside him. "Well, who cares about them, anyway?" she said, guessing at the cause of his grumpiness. "Let's just ski together for the rest of the day and then tonight...when they come back to the condos..." she said with an odd gleam in her eye as she rubbed her hands together evilly.

Inuyasha grinned maliciously. "Yes...tonight...they won't see it coming..."

"Excellent..."

..:V:..

"Whew, glad we got rid of them!" Sango said in relief. "Nice quick thinking, Miroku."

"What can I say? I've always had a knack for it," Miroku said, buffing his gloved fingers on his coat. "After all," he added dryly. "How can I not after knowing Inuyasha for about twelve years? Quick thinking is like your survival instinct..."

Sango laughed. "I can believe it."

"Well, now," Miroku said, seeming to regain his cheerful self. "What should we do next?"

Sango thought for a minute before exclaiming, "Oh! I was wondering if we could practice that last jump you taught me 'cause I don't think I've been doing it just right. I always end up wiping out on the landing."

"No problemo!" Miroku said. "I think we're close to a jump hill here. Let's go see what you're doing wrong!"

The pair skied over to the closest jump hill they could find and Miroku skied down so he was just below the first jump. Then Sango descended and went over the jump, performing the manoeuver Miroku had taught her. She performed it well, but when she landed, her skis flew out from underneath her and she experienced a spectacular wipeout.

Lying on her back, Sango groaned and refused to budge. Miroku's concerned face soon appeared and hovered above her own. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Sango groaned again. "Just fine. I just don't want to get up...too much effort."

Miroku chuckled and held out a hand. "Here, I'll help you. Otherwise you'll become hill-kill for the next jumpers."

Sango smiled at his pun before grabbing his hand and letting him help her up. "So, teacher. What'd I do wrong?" she asked as she brushed some snow off her jacket.

"Well, come over to the side of the hill and I'll show you," Miroku said. "Otherwise, we're just asking for someone to run us over."

Sango complied and once they were out of the way, Miroku popped out of his skis and came over to her. "Now, look. Your weight was completely on the backs of your skis when you landed; like this," Miroku said as he placed his hands on either side of her waist and pulled the centre of her body backwards. Sango stiffened at first in his grasp, but as it appeared he wasn't going to attempt anything, she relaxed. Miroku continued, ignoring her momentary reaction, "Since you were so far back, you were completely imbalanced when you landed; the fronts of your skis wanted to keep going forward, but they left you behind. They shot out from underneath you since they had immense force and speed, but no evenly distributed weight to keep them on the ground. Does that make sense?"

"I think so..." Sango said thoughtfully.

"Think of it like this," Miroku said. "If you're on one end of a teeter-toter, that end is completely driven into the ground while the other end is completely in the air. That's how you were. But if you stood in the middle of the teeter-toter, you could balance your weight out over both sides and make them hover at equal angles to each other.

"When you're landing from a jump, it's harder because you're landing on a slope and to you, leaning backwards feels like you're upright. But instead, you must lean forwards so that you're upright in relation to your skis," Miroku finished. "So you're more like this." He pushed the centre of her body forward with his hands still on her waist, so that the fronts of her shins were touching the insides of her ski boots.

"I think I get it now," Sango said, turning her head towards him and smiling at him. Her eyes locked with his and she stood frozen. For a moment, all she was aware of was the violet depths to his eyes and the comforting (and behaving) hands around her waist. For a moment, time stood still and there was nothing but him and her, and the comforting closeness they shared.

For a moment.

A jumper suddenly came over the jump they had recently abandoned. Like Sango, upon his landing, he completely wiped out and the spray of snow from his accident showered Miroku and Sango where they stood and broke their perfect moment.

They separated in order to brush the snow off of them and they watched as the fallen skier picked himself up and skied down the rest of the hill, avoiding the jumps.

"So," Miroku began awkwardly.

"So," Sango agreed.

"More jumping?"

"Let's get to it!" Sango said enthusiastically, shoving the previous incident to the back of her mind where she could contemplate it further later. With a shove, she pushed herself down the hill and towards the next awaiting jump.

..:V:..

"Come on, Kagome; spill," Ayame pressed her friend once the three girls were alone together in their condo later that night.

"Uhn, uhn," Kagome declared, shaking her head. "I refuse to say anything."

"You like him, don't you?" Sango suggested.

"I have the faintest idea of whom you're talking about," Kagome said in feigned confusion.

"Don't play dumb with us," Sango said. "We know you like Inuyasha; don't even try to deny it. After that public display today, how could you?"

Kagome crossed her arms and huffed indignantly. "We were just hugging! Jeez, you make it seem as if it were more than it was! We're just friends!"

"Really good friends," Ayame said, nudging Sango.

Kagome glared at them and spoke in a dangerous voice, "Well, at least I have ONE really good friend... It seems the others who I had thought to have been good friends were content to stoop so low as to spy on me and embarrass me in the process. It seems they have no respect for my privacy and thus decide to invade it while deceiving me outright."

Sango and Ayame shot each other a nervous glance before slowly edging away. "This is gonna get worse before it gets better..." Sango muttered.

"Come on, Kagome," Ayame pleaded. "Calm down. I mean, it's not like we'll tell anyone or anything..."

"Give me one good reason I shouldn't hurt you painfully right now," Kagome said, walking towards them with a sadistic glint in her eye.

"Um...um...I'll tell you a secret!" Ayame practically shouted. "I...uh...Kouga defended me against a reporter today and then I kissed him on the cheek! Please don't hurt me!"

Kagome looked down at her with an amused smirk before rounding on Sango. "And what do you have to tell me...?"

Sango looked to Ayame for help, but only found that her other friend was looking at her just as expectantly as the evil one advancing on her. "Um...um..." she sputtered. "I...alright! I, um, kinda think that maybe I think that...uh...Miroku might be more than just a pervert to me!"

A slow smile spread across Kagome's features as she sunk back onto the couch. "Really...? Now that's an interesting bit of information...yes, that will do very well..."

"Uh...do well for what?" Sango squeaked.

Kagome glanced at her with a satisfied grin. "Well, if you ever try to spy on me again, I won't hesitate to tell Miroku what you just told me."

Sango gaped at her. "That's not fair! Y-you can't do that!"

Kagome continued grinning. "Says who? I think it's a fair trade."

"And what could you do to prevent me from spying?" Ayame asked coyly.

Kagome smirked. "All I have to do is tell Kouga that you've been madly in love with him since the night you first met him."

Ayame plunked herself down on the other couch. "You're evil, Kagome."

An evil chuckle arose from her friend. "Oh, I know."

..:V:..

"So have you made funeral plans?" Miroku asked Kouga.

"Not yet, but I'm thinking I might like to have a mahogany coffin," Kouga said. "They're really nice, although I think they're pretty expensive."

"I'm thinking I might ask for a cremation. That way all the bruises won't be on display at the visitation," Miroku interjected.

"That's true," Kouga said thoughtfully. "Who do you want to write your eulogy?"

"I'm not sure yet; I'm still debating on that one...maybe Sango..."

"Nah, better forget her," Kouga said. "She'll probably be participating in her own funeral after Kagome gets through with her. Which means Ayame probably also won't be alive to perform mine..."

The two boys let out depressed sighs.

"Think it'll be fun being dead?" Kouga asked Miroku.

"Who knows? I only hope he makes it quick; I don't really want to suffer," Miroku answered.

Suddenly they heard the condo door bang open and Inuyasha's sickeningly sweet voice call out, "Oh, Miroku! Kouga!"

"Do you think there's time to make a final confession?" Miroku asked Kouga hastily as they heard Inuyasha scrambling out of his ski gear.

"I don't think so! I'm sure the big guy will forgive you!" Kouga responded quickly.

Inuyasha walked into the entrance of the living room and saw his two friends sitting rigidly on one of the couches. Cracking his knuckles and chuckling malevolently, he taunted, "Oh, boys...there's hell to pay."

"Eep."

..:V:..

A/N Eek, what horrors will Inuyasha do to his evil spying "rodent" friends? Too bad Kouga and Miroku didn't get those funeral plans finalized...

Okay, I'm in the middle of writing the ski tutorial (yes, I haven't forgotten about it), but when I'm finished, I think I'll just set up a link to it in my bio because there are a ton of you who want it and I think it would be easier overall that way. I'm not positive as to when I'll get it up, but rest assured it'll be before the competition starts in the story!

And I've just started a new fic! It's called "In the Shadows" and I've just posted the first chapter of it with this chapter. It's kind of an eerie, creepy, thrill down your spine fic, but it's going to be really cool! I'm really excited about it so if you guys could check it out and give me your thoughts, I'd be eternally grateful!

So I'll talk to ya later and don't forget to tell me your thoughts on this chapter!