Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not strap on skis and go careening down snowy race courses in a semi-spandex speed suit in the televised show and therefore...I cannot proclaim to owning him. On another note, Naraku in a speedo is also not televised and we all count our blessings for that every night.
A/N G'day one and all! I'm back again with yet another chapter...in less than a month! I'm getting better! So wipe that shocked look off your face and cheerfully read on!
But first, congratulations to Cattie for being my 1400th reviewer! Thanks a ton for all of your reviews, guys!
And now...the chapter!
"Avalanche!" Inuyasha cried and looked wildly back at the others. In a split second, his mind analysed the surroundings, their situation and their options.
He and Kagome were side by side, and a little further up the hill than where Miroku lay collapsed in the snow, moaning and clutching his broken arm. Sango was a good ways down from Miroku, and would never be able to climb back up to the others before the avalanche hit them full force. Kouga and Ayame had long since gone down, and were probably not even aware of the danger befalling their friends.
The walls of rock rose up on either side of the four still on the run, effectively caging them in. It was a death trap. But Inuyasha spied an irregularity in the rock wall on the left side; the wall jutted inwards before continuing on. It also had a bit of an overhang. He decided to take a chance, for it was the only one they had.
"Kagome!" he called over the rushing sound of the snow. "Grab Miroku with me and ski for that outcropping on the left! Sango! Ski as hard and fast as you can! Get out of here!"
Without hesitation, Kagome followed his lead and the two of them quickly descended to Miroku's side. Inuyasha stooped to wrap Miroku's good arm around his shoulders and Kagome grabbed him around the waist from the other side. Miroku's skis and poles had come free of him during his fall, but they had no time to care about them. Hastily and awkwardly, Kagome and Inuyasha started struggling towards what might be their only chance. Briefly, Inuyasha turned his head to see where Sango was at. To his chagrin, Sango was still routed to her spot, eyes wide at the oncoming onslaught of snow.
"SANGO!" Inuyasha shouted at the top of his lungs. "MOVE! SKI!"
Sango blinked rapidly as if snapping back to reality, and then, letting out a short scream, she launched herself off down the hill.
Glad that she was now moving, but still worried about her, Inuyasha glanced back up the hill. The snow was almost upon them now, and they were still several feet from the wall... Ignoring Miroku's cry of protest, Inuyasha and Kagome ducked and launched themselves towards the wall. They shoved Miroku right up close to the wall before Kagome collapsed beside him, Inuyasha on her right and closest to the open hill. Not two seconds later, torrents of snow rushed by them and above the overhang over their heads.
..:V:..
"Ohmigod, ohmigod, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, ohmigod, ohmigod, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna dieeee!" Sango chanted to herself in a high-pitched voice as she skied as fast as she could down the hill. One frantic glance back told her that it was all in vain. The blood drained from her face as she saw the cascade of snow crash towards her...and then it engulfed her. Holding her breath, Sango struggled desperately as she tumbled through the rush of snow. She made frantic swimming motions, clawing towards what she believed was the surface. Every time she moved, it felt like she was trying to drag her limbs through a vat of molasses – the resistance was incredible. Her lungs felt like they were on fire and she was growing faint from holding her breath so long. No matter how much she swiped at the snow in front of her, more fell into its place and she couldn't see that she had made any headway. Her poles and skis had long since been ripped away, though her kicking feet felt useless with her awkward ski boots still on.
Just as she was sure she was going to pass out, and probably never wake up again, her right hand punched its way through the snow and into the air above. Sango gratefully took a few breaths, but once again drew in a deep one and held it, for the rolling motion of the snow hadn't ceased and she wasn't sure how much longer she'd be able to stay near the surface.
It was a desperate battle against the snow, and Sango slipped below the surface several more times, each time fighting to get back up before she lost the sense of which direction it was in. She could feel the avalanche slowing down, and if she knew anything in her panicked mind, it was that she didn't want to be below the surface when it stopped completely. Finally, just after she'd broken her hand through to the air above yet another time, she felt the snow gradually roll to a stop.
Her face wasn't quite at the surface, but her hand was, and it had created a hole large enough for fresh air to get to her. Sango had been holding her breath again and so now let out an enormous sigh of relief. She was alive. The avalanche had stopped and she wasn't dead. There was still hope.
She tried to bring up her other arm in order to dig a greater hole in the surface of the snow, but to her surprise, it wouldn't budge. She tried wriggling any part of her body, but the only part of her anatomy that would shift any was her torso – since it had decreased in size when she let out her held breath. It seemed that the snow had become hard as cement almost as soon as it had stopped moving. Sango shuddered to think what would have happened if she had not held her breath; as it was, she had just enough room to draw in breaths, but otherwise, she would have had none.
This was small comfort, however, and Sango's breathing was soon reduced to short bursts as she suffered a panic attack, terror filling every part of her being. She was stuck. She was stuck and she couldn't move. She couldn't escape. She was going to die. No one was going to find her and she was going to stay stuck under this layer of snow, where she'd die slowly without anyone even noticing. They'd never even know she was there.
Sango quickly started to tremble, which soon turned into full out struggling against the unyielding snow around her with all her might. She tried thrashing from side to side, but to no avail. After several frantic and fruitless minutes of her pointless struggle, Sango suddenly slumped, panic leaving her in an instant so that she just felt worn out. It was hopeless. She couldn't move an inch.
She sighed once more and lifted her eyes to where her hand had broken through the surface. At least she had air... And her hand was above the snow. Maybe someone might spot her and save her after all. It was an extremely small and, in her mind, empty hope, but at least it was something.
It was the only hope she had.
..:V:..
Kouga and Ayame had just reached the bottom of the run and looked back up the hill, waiting for their friends, when the avalanche had struck. At first they didn't realize what was going on, for the hill twisted out of their sight and they couldn't see their friends or the source of the disaster. But when they spotted clouds of snow rising up from the mountain rocks above, they knew something was amiss. The two shared alarmed looks.
"Wh-what is that?" Ayame asked her boyfriend frantically.
Kouga's expression slipped into something more grim. "I'd have to guess at...at an avalanche. Nothing else could cause the snow to shoot into the air like that."
Ayame blanched. "An...an a-avalanche?" she squeaked. "Bu-but isn't that where all our friends are...?" Even knowing it to be true, Ayame hoped against hope she was somehow wrong.
Kouga's jaw set and he nodded curtly.
"Oh...oh, Kouga!" Ayame cried out, tears springing to her eyes as she grabbed his arm. "Wh-what do you think happened to them?"
Kouga avoided her gaze. "I...I don't know, but we'd better get out of here if we know what's good for us. The avalanche is heading down the hill, and there's no guarantee it'll stop before it reaches us here at the bottom."
Ayame straightened. "R-right," she said in a shaking voice.
The two turned quickly and started skating rapidly away, back towards the lodge and first aid hut. Their first priority may have been to get away from the danger, but their close second was to get help for their friends...whether it was already too late for them or not.
Ayame couldn't help the flood of tears that cascaded down her face as they skated. This couldn't be happening. This couldn't be happening. Sango...Inuyasha...Kagome...Miroku... They were fine. They were fine. Of course they were fine. They couldn't have been in the middle of that – there were plenty of escape routes...there were no escape routes. How could they have possibly escaped that? Suddenly it all seemed hopeless. Her meagre hope that they had escaped the disaster somehow seemed ridiculous. They were definitely caught up in it. And they...they might even be dead.
A sob escaped Ayame as a wave of grief washed over her. All she could think about was how much fun she'd had with her old friends and new friends for the past week and a half – almost two weeks – and how it might all be over. How she might never see them again. How in one instant, Inuyasha and Miroku, and Sango and Kagome – her best friends – could just be gone. Memories of their time together flashed like rapid fire through her mind, none settling long enough for her to concentrate on, yet all leaving her with an increasing feeling of despair.
Kouga had to urge her to keep moving several times, his own face strangely tense and his speech staggered. Both felt like they'd been punched in the gut and could hardly think of a reason to keep going...but they knew they must. If there was even a small chance that their friends had lived, they had to get them help.
After what seemed like ages, and long after Ayame's brain had stopped thinking altogether, the couple arrived in front of the first aid hut. There was a bustle of activity all around it and the two guessed that the avalanche had already been spotted. Ayame and Kouga quickly sprang out of their skis, ditching their poles by their side, and staggered up to an official.
With his arm around Ayame to give her support, Kouga said hurriedly, "Pl-please, sir. Our–our four friends were on that run that that avalanche was on! You have to help them!"
The official and many around him stopped cold. "What?" the addressed man yelled. "There were skiers on that run?"
"Ye-es," Kouga said hesitantly.
"But that's absurd!" the man cried. "That run was blocked off! No one should have been on it!"
"But there was no sign when we went down it," Kouga protested. "It was open, like any other run. My girlfriend and I went down first, but the others...the others were still on the hill!"
The man gaped for only a moment more before he spun and started speaking rapidly into a walkie-talkie. "There were four skiers on the run, I repeat, four skiers on the run, we need a rescue crew out there pronto!" The man turned back to the frantic teenagers before him. "You two go to the main lodge with Charlie here and then wait for further news." He indicated another man who came forward and beckoned them towards the lodge.
Ayame spoke up for the first time. "We're...we're just supposed to wait?" she screeched. "We-we don't know what happened to our friends, but instead of keeping us with you and up to date, you just want us to sit in some lodge and wait patiently without a clue?"
The man shot her an irritated, albeit sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, kid, but you'd just be in the way. Please just go to the lodge. We'll inform you of any new developments – Charlie's got a walkie-talkie as well."
Despite the man's sensible words, Ayame felt herself grow more and more hysteric. "I can't believe this! Don't you treat us like children! We have a right to be here with you, helping to find our friends! I want to know where they are! I want to know if they're alright! I want–I want–!" Ayame could hardly continue speaking as her tears started flowing again and she choked up.
"Ayame...shhh..." Kouga consoled her, his own eyes misty, as she slumped against him and her tears soaked his jacket.
"I want...I want...I want m-my frie-ends...!" she sobbed loudly, desperately clutching Kouga's arm.
Swallowing hard, Kouga swooped down and gathered his girlfriend up in his arms, nodding to Charlie to lead the way to the lodge. He laid his cheek on top of Ayame's shaking head and said quietly to her, "They'll...they'll find them, Ayame. I mean, our friends wouldn't give up so easily – I-I'm sure they're okay."
In his heart, he couldn't help but feel he was lying to Ayame...and himself.
..:V:..
"...Inu-Inuyasha? Miroku?" Kagome asked quietly, timidly even.
The snow had stopped moving a few minutes ago, but no one had dared to utter a word. The three of them had turned around and shielded their little enclave with their backs so any snow that reached them couldn't get any farther in. As it was, the snow from the avalanche had piled up and effectively blocked them in the small area. The rock wall made up two walls of their enclosure, plus the overhang above them. The remaining two sides were complete snow and each of their backs was firmly stuck within some part of them. Inuyasha's back was in the side that was closest to the once open hill, and Kagome and Miroku each had their backs in the wall of snow that was the farthest down the hill. Kagome and Inuyasha's skis and poles were still with them, though they were tangled together and partially stuck in the snow behind them.
It was pitch dark in the alcove and so Kagome couldn't see either of her friends' faces, only listen to their ragged breathing. After a few more moments of silence, Inuyasha finally spoke up. "I'm...I'm alright. Miroku?"
"I'm okay, too...other than this stinkin' arm," Miroku said, and Kagome could almost feel the wince in his voice.
"Kagome? You're alright?" Inuyasha asked next.
"Ye-eah... My back and skis are stuck in the snow, though," Kagome answered.
"Yeah, mine too," Inuyasha said. "We'd best dig ourselves out..."
After five minutes of rigorous digging, the trio managed to get themselves free of the snow walls and Kagome and Inuyasha popped off their skis so they could have more mobility. The three of them then turned around and huddled together against the rock walls, Kagome in the corner where the two walls met, and Inuyasha and Miroku on either side of her.
Several minutes passed in awkward silence as the three of them shivered. Finally, Kagome spoke up, voicing a fear they all shared, "Do...do you think we'll get rescued? Do you think they'll come for us? ...Do you think they'll even be able to find us?"
"Kagome," Inuyasha cut across her ranting tensely. "Stop talking like that. I'm sure they'll come for us. And they've got special dogs who'll be able to sniff us out, I'm sure. We...we have a very good chance. The fact that we're still alive after the avalanche has stopped moving is a big point in our favour."
Kagome was slightly comforted by Inuyasha's words, but in the situation they were in, she could be totally appeased. "Yeah...but how long do you think we can last in here? We can't even see the surface. All we have is the oxygen in this little space."
"And the oxygen in the snow around us. Kagome, please stop worrying so much," Inuyasha said, though his voice too betrayed a hint of anxiety.
Kagome really felt the situation called for more panicking on her part, but at Inuyasha's behest, she tried to control herself. Prying her mind away from their hopeless situation, it inevitably soon landed on her other friends' predicaments. "Hey, what do you think happened to the others?" she piped up with a voice laced with concern. "I think Kouga and Ayame made it to the bottom before the avalanche struck, but...but what about Sango? Oh, god, she must have been right in the middle of it!"
In the darkness, Miroku blanched. "S-Sango..."
Inuyasha grit his teeth. "Just...just stop thinking about the others, guys. It won't do us any good. Wherever they are, whatever danger they might be in, we're in no position to help them. So don't even let your thoughts stray to them."
Miroku swallowed thickly and yanked his thoughts away from his girlfriend. "Y-you're right, Inuyasha. Heh. And usually I'm the rational one in these situations."
"Yeah, well..." Inuyasha responded awkwardly. "I guess someone has to fix the group when you're not in your right mind to do it."
Miroku let a humourless smile slide across his face as he cradled his broken arm to his chest. "Yeah, I guess so..."
"So, uh...what do we do now?" Kagome asked in a small voice.
Inuyasha sighed and rested his head back against the rock wall. "All we can do, I guess. Wait."
..:V:..
"Any news?" Kouga asked Charlie in a subdued voice. Charlie had led him into a private room in the lodge – a similar one to the one they had met Toutousai in. Now Kouga was seated on a couch, Ayame, who had cried herself to sleep, beside him with her head on his shoulder.
In response to Kouga's question, Charlie raised his walkie-talkie to his lips. "Any new developments? The kids are anxious about their friends."
They waited a moment before a crackling voice answered. "Nothing yet, Charlie... We've got the rescue dogs out searching. Let's just hope everything's in our favour..."
Kouga looked over at Charlie inquisitively. "What needs to be in our favour, sir? What are the chances our friends are okay?"
Charlie sighed and ran a hand through his sandy-blond hair. "I'm not going to lie to you, kid...the chances aren't good. What needs to be in our favour... Well, the best hope is that your friends were able to stay near the surface of the snow as the avalanche pulled them along. That way they'll have more oxygen and part of their body will be visible to the rescuers. Also, it'll take the rescuers less time to dig them out. That's crucial. Trapped skiers need to be rescued as soon as possible – usually less than thirty minutes after the avalanche has come to a stop. If skiers are trapped under the snow for more than forty-five minutes...they rarely survive."
Kouga swallowed hard as he digested this information. "How...how long has it been since the avalanche stopped?"
Charlie glanced at his watch. "About ten minutes," he replied.
Kouga leaned back into the couch, gazing up towards the ceiling with unseeing eyes. "Please be alright, guys..." he muttered under his breath.
Just then, the door to the private room opened and in walked Sesshoumaru, Rin and Naraku. "What the hell's going on?" Naraku demanded imperiously. "They've postponed the ski race to tomorrow and when we asked an official why they told us there was some avalanche or something and that we'd get more answers if we came here...?"
"The race!" Kouga exclaimed. "I'd forgotten all about that..."
"Speak," Sesshoumaru ordered. "What has happened?"
Kouga kneaded his brow with his knuckles as Ayame stirred beside him. "Yeah...there was an avalanche. Ayame and I made it down to the bottom of the hill before it started, but Miroku, Inuyasha, Sango and Kagome were above us and they must have gotten caught up in it. A rescue crew's out looking for them now, but we don't know how good their chances are..."
Something in Sesshoumaru's eyes seemed to harden, and Rin gasped beside him. "Oh...oh, god..." she whispered fearfully. Naraku shifted, not seeming to know what to say. Finally, he just sniffed contemptuously and went to sit down on a nearby couch. Ayame was now fully awake and glaring at him with all her being, as if he were the cause of the avalanche.
The door of the room once again burst open and this time Kikyo, Kagura and Kanna strolled in, also looking for answers. Their expressions turned grim when Kouga explained the situation to them as well.
"So we're just supposed to sit here and wait?" Kikyo demanded, her voice an octave higher than usual.
"That's just what I said..." Ayame replied bitterly. "And apparently yes."
Sorrow flickered across Kikyo's eyes. "Inuyasha..."
Just then, the crackling voice spoke up again. "We've found one! The girl's hand was sticking up through the snow and we're digging her out now. She must have been caught directly in the middle of the avalanche, but she seems to be alright. Five more minutes and we'll have her free. We'll send her down to the first aid hut if her friends want to meet her there."
Eight pairs of feet had dashed out of the room before Charlie could even think of responding.
..:V:..
The three skiers trapped in the snow enclosure were silent were quite a while, sitting tensely and waiting for some sort of signal, anything, to indicate that their nightmare would soon be over. When it became apparent that no rescue was coming anytime soon, Miroku finally spoke up with a bitter laugh. "Well, well, isn't this ironic, Inuyasha? Isn't this just how your dad–?"
"Shut it, Miroku," Inuyasha spat darkly.
Even though she couldn't see them, Kagome looked curiously from one boy beside her to the other. "How your dad what, Inuyasha?" Her question was met with silence. Feeling she was probably butting in on matters that she oughtn't, she was about to drop it when an unnerving thought occurred to her. In a slightly detached tone, she said, "You know...we might not even make it out of here alive... And if we don't, I sure won't be in a position to spread your life secrets to the world. And even if we do make it out, no one will hear it from me anyway. You can trust me, Inuyasha."
There was a few more moments of tense silence and then Inuyasha let out a breath beside her. "You're right," he muttered. "I'm being stupid. It's just that...well...my...my dad died...in an avalanche." Kagome gasped. "It was four years ago... He had just competed and won in the ski racing World Championship with Canada's national team. It was the week after and him, my mom, Sesshoumaru and I were up skiing in the Swiss Alps. Sesshoumaru and I had gone off to some hill and my mom was sitting in the lodge, warming up. My dad went down a hill that turned out to be unsafe and then an avalanche occurred. The rescue team managed to rescue two skiers from it, but my dad died along with five others..." Inuyasha's voice broke slightly.
"Oh, Inuyasha..." Kagome said in a sympathetic voice.
Groping blindly in the dark, she managed to turn slightly and wrap her arm around the front of his waist and give him a one-armed hug. In response, Inuyasha smiled slightly and laid his cheek on the top of her head.
Hesitantly, for she didn't wish to cause him any more harm, Kagome asked, "And...and so what happened to your mother?"
Inuyasha sighed, though not painfully. "She...she was devastated over my dad's death. She just couldn't seem to pull out of that grief slump, no matter what Sesshoumaru or I tried. Eventually nature took advantage of her body's weakened state and she became ill...she never recovered and passed away two years after my dad had gone. She's been gone herself for two years now."
"I'm sorry," Kagome whispered.
Inuyasha let out a small chuckle. "You already said that, dummy. Back when I told you they died when we were with Toutousai."
"Yeah, I guess so," Kagome answered with a small smile. "But you didn't tell me then how they died. So now I must say sorry for that too."
Inuyasha's chuckle turned into a laugh. "Why are you apologizing for them?"
"Well...it's what you say when you've heard someone's sad story..." Kagome tried to explain awkwardly. When Inuyasha just laughed at her again, she continued, "Hey! What am I supposed to say then?"
"I don't know," Inuyasha admitted, his voice filled with mirth. "It's just always struck me as funny when people apologize for my sad story. Especially when you do it."
"What's so different about me?" Kagome asked, pouting.
"You're such a happy person. Are you apologizing for being happy when others have had a few hardships? That seems pretty silly. Because then it seems that you think everyone should be miserable in the world just so everyone's equal," Inuyasha replied with a smirk in his voice.
"Yeah, well... I just wish no one was miserable..." Kagome said awkwardly.
Inuyasha lifted his arm and wrapped it around Kagome's shoulders, drawing her closer. "Kagome...when miserable people like me meet happy people like you, they become happy. So never doubt yourself for a second."
"...There was no way you two could have done all this not in my presence, was there?" Miroku spoke up bitterly. The combination of the cold, the pain of his broken arm, the fear for his girlfriend and other friends, and their situation in general was obviously not doing wonders for his mood.
"It's not like there's much place else to go," Inuyasha replied wryly.
Miroku sighed and tried to relax a bit. "Sorry, guys... This hasn't been my best day."
"Oh, really?" Inuyasha joked. "I could have sworn we were having the time of our lives."
Miroku let out a chuckle. "Sooo...are you two an official couple now then?"
Kagome blushed at the comment, but didn't pull away from Inuyasha. Despite the awkwardness that had haunted the two of them earlier that morning, in light of the recent events, she could care less. They were stuck here, they might die here, and she wasn't letting go of the one boy who had brought her more joy than she could have imagined – all in just a week and a half. Plus, he had just said some really sweet things. Sniffing primly, she retorted, "And what if we are?"
Kagome felt Inuyasha's head lift from hers and knew he was looking down at her in what must have been astonishment, but once again, she didn't care. She just held on tighter. Soon he kissed the top of her head and once more laid his cheek down on it, saying softly, "Yeah...what if we are?"
A fluttery feeling sprung up in Kagome's heart and her mouth broke into a wide grin. Giggling, she snuggled deeper into Inuyasha's embrace. Now that he had agreed that they were an official couple, she could freely admit to herself that he was toasty warm and so damn cuddly!
"Oh, how lovely..." Miroku said dryly. He shifted towards the snow wall and started clawing at it with his good hand.
Hearing the noise, Inuyasha lifted his head and looked in Miroku's general direction. "What are you doing?"
"I'm attempting to dig myself out so you two can share your lovey-dovey moment alone together. I'm bitter and alone, and have never felt like more of a third wheel," Miroku responded, though there was humour laced in his voice. "In fact, we almost have a tricycle going on here."
Inuyasha blushed but laughed and carefully detached himself from Kagome. "We'll help you dig. I'm tired of waiting for people to rescue us. We'll just have to save ourselves."
Kagome moved towards the snow wall as well, considering Inuyasha's behaviour. He seemed a lot more open, and had actually admitted his feelings freely. He seemed perfectly fine – as if they weren't in any danger at all. But she knew he must be fully aware of the severity of their situation.
Perhaps potentially being on death's doorstep changed your priorities a little.
..:V:..
"Sango!" Ayame cried out.
The door of the first aid hut had just burst open and two rescue workers were carrying in the shivering girl. The group awaiting her arrival, excluding Naraku and Sesshoumaru, rushed over to her. Sesshoumaru made his way calmly over to her, for he had never rushed to anything in his life.
"Sango! Are you alright?" Kouga asked anxiously.
Sango lifted her head and gave the group a shaky smile. "H-hey, guys... I'm...I'm alright. J-just c-cold."
One of the workers glanced down at her and then at her friends. "Quite a lot of snow got shoved down her coat. We'll have to take her into the back and warm her up. Please wait here," she said. The group obediently trotted back to their seats.
Ten minutes later, Sango emerged from the back room in fresh clothes, a large wool blanket around her shoulders and clutching a mug of steaming hot chocolate. She went straight over to Ayame, who quickly enfolded her in an embrace and begged her to sit down in the seat next to hers.
Once Ayame was sure her friend was perfectly alright, she hesitantly ventured, "And so...what about the others? ...Did you see what happened to them?"
At this, everyone leaned forward, including Naraku and the rescue crew. Sango looked into all the stares and then gazed down into the depths of her hot chocolate uncertainly. "I...I'm not sure. Miroku...broke his arm. When he cried out in pain, the avalanche started to come down. Inuyasha and Kagome grabbed Miroku and started to make their way to the side of the mountain wall... Inuyasha said something about an outcropping... He told me to ski down because I wouldn't have been able to make it there in time. Bu-but what if they didn't make it...? What if his plan didn't work? What if they're–what if they're–?" Sango cut herself off with a sob.
"Shhh..." Ayame said, tears once again welling up in her eyes. "I-I'm sure they made it... They had to have..."
One of the rescue workers raised his walkie-talkie. "Make sure to check the area next to the mountain wall especially." Looking to Sango, he asked, "Which wall was it?"
"Uh... Looking up from the bottom of the hill, it was on the right side," Sango told him.
The man relayed the message.
"How...how long as it been since the avalanche stopped?" Kouga asked the other worker hesitantly.
The woman glanced at her watch. "It's quarter to nine... That means it's been about thirty-five minutes... I hate to say it, but there's little chance of their survival now..."
The hut grew eerily quiet.
"Heh...what a tragedy," Naraku spoke up, rising from his seat. "Only the likes of Inuyasha could have gotten himself into this type of mess. And now he's caused the race to be postponed. How pathet–" Naraku was never able to finish his sentence as a forceful blow connected with his cheek and he was flung to the floor. Coughing up some blood onto the floor, Naraku looked up only in time to see a long swish of silver vanish through the hut door.
"...Sesshoumaru?" Rin called worriedly after the departed man. "I...I should go after him, to see if he's alright."
"I'll go with you," Kouga said, standing up.
"Me too," Kagura interjected. "Sitting here and just waiting isn't my cup of tea."
"I'm going to stay here with Sango," Ayame said. "I don't like waiting either, but I can't keep my mind off it at this point." Sango nodded mutely beside her.
"I'll stay as well," Kikyo stated. "Kanna?"
"I'll stay," the petite girl replied.
"Alright," Kouga said. "Let's get going, then. I can't even begin to think what's going through that guy's mind..."
..:V:..
"Alright, so about the saving ourselves bit..." Inuyasha panted. "Maybe later..."
The three had dug furiously for a good twenty minutes and had made little leeway. They were buried deeper than they had originally thought and digging their way to freedom was slow going. Their efforts had exhausted them and they were taking a break.
"Well, death by suffocation was always my second choice of how to go..." Miroku piped up in an ironic tone.
"Oh, yeah?" Kagome asked. "And what was your first choice?"
"Oh, you know. I was hoping I'd be thrown into a pool of starving piranhas so that my flesh could be gnawed off of me with excruciating pain. And then I wanted my skinless body to be thrown into a vat of salt so I could feel it that much more. And then–if I was really lucky–I could finally be hanged and then decapitated and have my gruesome remains be on public display for years to come. But–alas–I'll only be suffocated. What a letdown." Miroku sighed forlornly. "At least it's the next best thing, right?"
Inuyasha snorted. "Glad to have your optimistic view with us, Miroku."
"Wow..." Kagome spoke up. "It's like your personalities have been reversed."
She could suddenly feel two glares sent her way. "What do you mean by that?" the two boys demanded simultaneously.
Kagome giggled. "Inuyasha, you're being so nice and optimistic and Miroku, you're being so...uh, bitter and pessimistic. Usually it's more like the other way around..."
"Oh, really, sweetheart o' mine?" Inuyasha said in a voice dripping with sarcasm; it gave Kagome the uneasy feeling that she was about to be pounced on.
Kagome edged away nervously. "Eheh...I meant it in a good way, of course..."
"Oh, yeah," Inuyasha responded dryly. "Because there is a good way to mean 'bitter and pessimistic'."
"Well...yeah... If you, you know, tilt your head to the side...and squint..." Kagome explained awkwardly.
Inuyasha snorted and Miroku sighed. "I can't believe I've been compared to Inuyasha..." the latter lamented. "How incredibly depressing..."
Inuyasha scoffed. "Oh, you'll get over it."
"And damn is it cold," Miroku continued his complaints. "Some snow got down my jacket when I fell. I think there's only one possible course of action here..."
"What's that?" Kagome asked.
"Kagome, I think we both need to strip and huddle together for warmth," Miroku replied confidently.
Even with no light to see by, two fists unerringly connected with the top of Miroku's head. "Lech!" the angry voices of Kagome and Inuyasha shouted.
"You have a girlfriend, in case you'd forgotten!" Kagome sniffed primly, shifting closer to Inuyasha. "So who do you think you are to say those things to me? Especially in a situation like this?"
Miroku rubbed his sore head with his good hand and pouted. "Hey, it was just a suggestion... Body heat is the best source of heat."
"Isn't one broken arm enough?" Inuyasha snarled. "Or did you want another?"
As Miroku laughed nervously, Kagome clapped her hands together. "Oh! Your personalities have switched back! Oh, this is fun!" She could practically feel the incredulous stares. "Well, hey...when you're trapped in a tiny snow cave with no exit and possible death in a short amount of time, you have to find something to amuse yourself with!" she stated defensively.
Inuyasha and Miroku were silent for a minute. "Let's keep digging," Inuyasha finally said. "Before Kagome goes totally crazy on us."
"Yeah, I agree," Miroku said, shifting once more towards the snow wall as Kagome pouted in the dark. "Besides...the air's getting pretty thick in here."
..:V:..
"Poor thing never stood a chance..." Kouga said, sorrow heavy in his voice.
Kouga, Rin and Kagura gazed down upon the mangled remains of what was once a vending machine. Sesshoumaru was proving surprisingly easy to track by the numerous scenes of destruction in his wake. So far, they'd come across a door off its hinges, a torn up couch, a broken table and now this battered vending machine. The trail had carried deep within the lodges depths, to areas they hadn't known existed.
"We must be getting closer," Kagura said dryly. "I mean, if he keeps taking the time to kill all these things, it must slow him down..."
"You'd be surprised what Fluffy can accomplish in a short amount of time," Rin piped up humourously, though she wore a worried expression.
"Pretty impressive guy," Kagura mused. "Especially with how he handled Naraku..." There was a sadistically gleeful look spread across her face.
"Yes, well..." Kouga said, edging nervously away from the joyful girl. "I suggest we find him before he starts moving on to people..."
"He already took out Naraku," Rin pointed out.
"Yes, but Naraku isn't classified as a 'person'," Kouga explained patiently. Kagura and Rin gave little shrugs to concede he had a point.
Suddenly, a panicked man's voice cried out, "N-no! Please sir, that's fine china!"
A low and dangerous voice oozed back, "And now it's even finer."
The three searchers exchanged uneasy looks. "I think we may have found Fluffy," Rin said. The other two nodded.
As the three of them rounded a corner in the direction of Sesshoumaru's voice, they found a harried staff member being stared down by the tall, silver-haired man and a small pile of powder at their feet.
"Um...Sesshoumaru...?" Rin ventured, stepping forward hesitantly and laying a hand on the his arm.
Sesshoumaru straightened and looked down at her. "Yes, Rin?" he asked calmly.
"Are...are you okay?" she asked uncertainly.
"Oh, yes. I'm perfectly alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have some laps to swim." Without even a glance at the other two people who had come along to find him, Sesshoumaru turned and walked away briskly.
"I think we'd better follow him..." Rin said.
Kouga shrugged. "You know him better than us. Let's go."
The three of them left the shocked staff member and continued tracking their target; making sure to not follow the ice dancer too closely. Their chase invariably led down to the pool and they removed their boots and socks while Sesshoumaru changed into his...'swimsuit'. They entered the pool area to see Sesshoumaru being surrounded by the same girls who had been falling over him the day before.
"Ooohhh, Sesshoumaru!"
"Will you take us out for drinks again?"
"Are you going to swim?"
"Can we watch?"
"Oh, please..." Kagura rolled her eyes at the air-headedness of the girls. "What do you think someone's going to do if they enter a pool area in their bathing suit?"
"I dunno..." Kouga responded doubtfully. "...Pose?"
Rin giggled and Kagura smirked before Sesshoumaru's voice brought them back to the scene before them. "You're in the way, you stupid girls. Move aside."
Sesshoumaru's demand was met with several shocked gasps and uncertain titters.
"B-but...Sesshoumaru...!"
"I have no need of your useless twitters or brainless dialogue. I am here to swim, not push my tolerance level. Move aside." Sesshoumaru made no threatening moves, but his glare alone caused the girls to whimper in terror and flee the pool area.
"Wee bit touchy, isn't he?" Kouga said dryly.
"He does have a reason," Rin said quietly. "I mean, his brother could be...could be..." She coughed and pulled herself away from that train of thought. "Even if Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha don't act like it, there's a bond between them that's deeper than any of us could hope to understand... I don't think Sesshy would take it lightly if he were to lose Inuyasha..."
Kagura and Kouga gazed over to where Sesshoumaru had slipped into the pool and begun to swim furious lengths. "Why do I get the feeling this won't end well...?" Kagura spoke up sadly.
..:V:..
"Are we getting any closer to the surface, do you think?" Kagome asked with laboured breaths. "It's getting kind of difficult to breathe..."
"I don't know, Kagome," Inuyasha responded worriedly, attacking the snow with ferocity. "But we probably shouldn't have talked so much... Should've conserved our air supply."
"Then we shouldn't speak anymore now," Miroku said grimly. "To save whatever little air we have left."
The other two voiced their agreement and then fell silent. The three of them had made fairly substantial headway on their tunnel, though they had no idea how close the surface was. They had to dig diagonally so that they themselves could move upward with the tunnel, which invariably made progress towards the surface that much slower.
For several minutes the three of them dug silently and desperately. Though they were trying to conserve their air, every breath they took was harder to take in and with three people in the small space, the little amount of air that was left was quickly being used up.
Kagome stopped momentarily at one point to check her watch with its little indigo button. The digital face read a quarter after nine – which meant they had been stuck under the snow for around an hour. Kagome drew in a shallow breath and continued her digging. She was feeling a little light-headed.
Miroku shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't voiced it out loud, but his arm was killing him. Digging with one hand was frustrating, but every time he moved his broken arm, it shot a fresh new spasm of pain through it and he had to bite his lip to keep from crying out. As it was, he grimaced and drew in a few thick breaths.
Inuyasha glared at the unseen snow before him and clawed furiously at it even as his senses reeled from lack of air. He wasn't going to die like this. He couldn't die like this.
The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, a voice inside his head mocked.
No, Inuyasha insisted. This is not the aspect of my father's life I'm going to imitate. I'm not going to die like him. I've got to live...I've got to go to the World Championship like he did...I've got to win it...I can't die here...I can't...I can't...
Inuyasha felt his digging slow down as lifting his arm became more and more difficult. He was just so tired. And every time he breathed in, it felt like he was trying to breathe through a blanket for all the air that reached his lungs.
"Miroku... Inuyasha..." Kagome whimpered beside him, breaking the silent rule as she groped around in the dark for their hands. Just as her hand connected with Inuyasha's, he heard her collapse to the ground with his suddenly muted hearing.
"Ka...gome..." he struggled to say. Another thud reached his ears from beyond Kagome and he realized his other friend had fallen. "...'Roku..."
With one, final, rattling breath, Inuyasha too collapsed to the snowy floor, a blackness darker than anything around them engulfing him.
A/N Dun, dun, dun... Are they dead? Am I that cruel? Guess you'll have to tune in next time to find out!