Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, and for that, I think everyone's grateful. We all know how chapter 13 went...

A/N Hahahaha, funny story. So I had eight pages of this sucker written, right? And then my hard drive fails and I lose everything! Oh, what fun that was. So here's the rewritten version, I think even slightly better than before, with the rest tacked on after.

Before I forget, I have something awesome to share with you all. Calum the Angel, one of my bestest buddies, has drawn a little doujin for this story of mine and it is hilarious. It's based on an episode from a Simpsons episode and I demand that you all check it out for added laughs! I'm putting a link to it up on my bio page so go see it as soon as possible!

Oh, and if you wish, you can refresh your memories of what a slalom race course is like by clicking on my listed homepage, also on my bio page. The ski tutorial is still there, collecting dust.

But enough out of me. Enjoy the chapter!

"Are you sure you're okay?"

Inuyasha sighed, having heard this question about five times now. "Yes, Kagome, I'm sure I'm okay."

"You're sure you're okay to race tomorrow though?" the raven-haired girl asked anxiously.

The group was now heading back to ski hill in Kagome's van, which Ayame and Kouga had driven to the hospital earlier that day. The regular six were short a number, however, since Miroku had stayed behind at the hospital so that the nurses could monitor him overnight. He hadn't put up much of a fight due to the fact that he was not scheduled to race the next day, and because he wasn't about to protest if pretty female nurses wanted to monitor him.

Myouga, when he had heard of the fate of his students, had rushed to the hospital in the afternoon and was now also heading back to the hill in his own car. Everyone's respective relatives had checked into a nearby hotel for the night, with the intention of coming to see the race the following day. Sesshoumaru and Rin would also return for the event, picking up Miroku along the way.

"Yes, Kagome, I am. I said I'm fine to compete in the race tomorrow and I meant it. I'm more than fine. Nothing's going to stop me from claiming what is rightfully mine!"

Kagome blew out an irritated breath. "I wasn't talking about whether you were determined to race. I was asking if you were physically fit to race. Don't you think you should take a couple of days off to recover?"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her. "Take a couple days off? And miss the race? There's no way in hell I'm going to do that. I'm racing tomorrow and that's final."

"But–"

"Aw, it doesn't matter if you race tomorrow or not," Kouga piped up from the front where he was driving. "I'll still win either way."

"Yeah, right!" Inuyasha shot back. "I'm gonna mop the hill with ya tomorrow, just you wait!"

"Is it really necessary to mop a snow-covered hill...?" Ayame mused to herself as Kagome rolled her eyes at the boys argument and decided to let her point drop. Sango, meanwhile, caught the victorious smirk Inuyasha and Kouga shared through the rearview mirror. Though she didn't bring the boys' manipulation of her to Kagome's attention, she stored the knowledge that they were capable of such things away for future use.

After ten more minutes of driving accompanied by idle chatter, the group arrived at their destination, Kouga parking in front of the girls' condo. The boys bid the girls good night and then trekked back to their own condominium to prepare for the race the next day.

Inuyasha cast a discreet look at his watch when he and Kouga entered their suite. 9:20. Kanna told him she'd be by around eleven-thirty, so hopefully he could get everything done and get Kouga to bed before then.

In order to get things moving, he immediately retrieved his Tetsusaiga skis and got out his wax remover. Taking his hint, Kouga also brought his slalom skis over to where his friend had sat himself down at the main eating table. As one, the two boys systematically sprayed on the wax remover, waited for a few minutes, then started sharpening the sides of their skis. Once they were satisfied, they reapplied hot wax onto the bottoms and ironed it over. While they worked, they discussed the events of the day and their thoughts on what might take place the following one.

When they had finally exhausted all topics and they were satisfied with the condition of their skis, Inuyasha feigned fatigue and declared he was heading to bed while dropping a hint to Kouga that he should do the same. Inuyasha grew nervous as he glanced at his watch a few minutes later to see it read 11:00; Kouga had still made no move towards his own bedroom and soft murmurs from the television drifted through his door. Finally, after ten more minutes, Inuyasha could hear his friend get up from the couch and shuffle into his adjacent room. Five more minutes of muffled noise and then all was silent. Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief.

As if set to a clock, fifteen minutes later, at exactly eleven thirty, Inuyasha heard a soft knock sound on the condo door. Steeling himself for who knew what, Inuyasha silently opened his door and padded across the floor to the main door. Opening it, he found Kanna looking much like she always did, expressionless and utterly uninterested in everything around her. Inuyasha gave her a questioning look in order to prompt the reason for her late night call. When she ignored it and continued to just stand there, he sighed and said, "Well?"

Again, she said not a word, but instead brushed past him and went directly to the main table where his and Kouga's skis were still resting. She hefted a black case onto an empty spot of the table and unzipped it to reveal a sleek black laptop. She proceeded to turn it on as Inuyasha stared at her, wondering if she'd ever decide to reveal the purpose of this visit and secrecy.

Finally, when her computer had loaded up and she had sifted through some files, she turned to stare at him with large, glassy eyes. "Come. There is a video you must watch."

Inuyasha blew out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Is that all, Kanna? You're just going to show me one of your videos? We can do that anytime. How about you just let me get to sleep for now and I'll watch it after the race tomo–"

"Come," Kanna repeated, cutting in. "This is a video you must watch now. Before the race."

Inuyasha gave her an odd look, but decide to obey her command. Kanna had always been an strange girl. Even though he and Kouga had become friends with her, Kagura and Kikyo, Inuyasha had never really spent a lot of alone time with Kanna, and he had certainly never spoken much with her since she hardly ever said anything at all. Of the three girls, she was the one he found hardest to socialize with and the one he knew the least about. For her to urge this impromptu meeting in the dead of night and insist on showing him and him alone one of her hundreds of videos shook up what little he did know about her and induced more than a few questions about her to bounce around in his head. Nevertheless, Inuyasha kept silent and came up beside her, his eyes fixed on her computer screen.

"I shot this at the race yesterday," was all Kanna gave as explanation for the video before she clicked on its file and brought it up.

Inuyasha could see nothing unusual about it; it was obviously taken from a chairlift and aimed at the starting hut at the top of the race hill. Inuyasha noticed that Kouga was coming up to the starting rod and prepping for his descent. The video then shifted over to him and the rest of their friends as they cheered Kouga on. The picture kept getting closer as Kanna, holding the camera, neared the top of the hill. The image then grew even more as she zoomed in to capture the expressions on all their faces.

Inuyasha let out a frustrated breath. "I'm not seeing anything earth-shaking, Kanna..."

"He who has no patience reaps no rewards," Kanna said as way of responding.

Inuyasha gave her an irritated look. "And who said that?"

"Me," she replied simply.

Inuyasha's look slipped into one of confusion. "Oookay..."

"Look," Kanna said, pointing back at the screen and acting as if he'd never said anything at all.

Inuyasha looked back towards the video and saw that the camera view was now traveling up past him and his friends to the other racers awaiting their turn, warming up and waxing their skis. Seeing nothing out of place and becoming bored with the picture, Inuyasha started slightly as Kanna announced, almost triumphantly, "There."

Inuyasha stared frantically at the screen. "What? Where?"

Kanna paused the video then turned and stared at him. "You did not see it?" she asked after a moment.

Inuyasha glared back into her blank gaze. "Of course I didn't see it! It's the exact same as every other one of your videos! What was I supposed to see different?"

Kanna pointed to a figure on the screen. "You did not see Naraku?"

Inuyasha glanced to the image before returning his gaze to Kanna's face. "Of course I did. He's fixing up his skis before his race. What's so unusual about that?"

"Naive!" Kanna suddenly snapped and against his will, Inuyasha took a step back. "Since when does Naraku have red GS skis and since when is that the colour of spray bottle Naraku uses as his favoured instant wax brand?"

Slowly, Inuyasha turned back to the screen and scrutinized it closely. As a fire slowly warms a room, so was the light bulb very slowly illuminating in his head. As the realization of what he'd just witnessed finally fully dawned on him, he dashed over to where his GS skis were and flipped one over to stare at it with attention to the tiniest detail. After a thorough examination, he swore loudly. "The base wax is nearly gone! SON OF A–"

"So now you understand," Kanna cut him off. "And now you see why it is up to you and you alone about what to do next. You have been the victim here and so it is your decision about who to tell and–"

"HE...HE CHEATED!" Inuyasha burst out as if he couldn't hear Kanna's words at all. "THAT POMPOUS, NO-GOOD CHEATING...BASTARD!"

Inuyasha was, at this point, yelling loud enough to wake the whole floor and so it was no surprise when the door to Kouga's room opened and the occupant stumbled blearily out. "Waz goin' on?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes and staring at the enraged boy before him.

"Kouga, get your ass over here and watch this!" Inuyasha continued yelling, though in a slightly lower tone.

Unwilling to further upset his seemingly unstable friend, Kouga quickly obeyed, coming up beside the ever calm Kanna and looking down at her computer screen. The petite girl played the video from the beginning again and as Inuyasha continued to sputter, pointing first at the screen where Naraku was shown doctoring his skis and then to his victimized GS ski that was now laying abandoned on the floor, Kouga started slowly putting two and two together. Soon his rage was picking up as well. "He sabotaged your skis?" he nearly shrieked as his voice rose a few octaves. "He removed a good part of your base wax and beat you that way? That...that...BASTARD! What a low, cheap thing to do! I can't believe he just–"

"Believe it!" Inuyasha cut in, shouting as well. "That bastard has no scruples whatsoever! He just–"

"Yes, it is all rather terrible," Kanna cut in with a bored tone, "But the real issue here is what you wish me to do with this video. With it, we could get him disqualified for the race tomorrow. However, I thought I would leave the final decision up to you, as it is you who has lost the most from this incident. So, what shall it be? Shall I turn it over to the officials in the morning before the race?"

Inuyasha was at first thrown off guard by what was perhaps the most lengthy bit of dialogue he had heard from Kanna at one time, but then quickly regained his wits about him. "Oh, no. No, no, no, no. You're going to hold off on that video for a bit Kanna. I'm going to race Naraku tomorrow." His eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously as he imagined the event. "And I'm going to win."

..:V:..

"WHY THAT LYING, CHEATING, DESPICABLE LITTLE CREEP!"

The girls had just been informed about that which had been brought to Inuyasha and Kouga's attention the night before.

Needless to say, they weren't too thrilled.

"WHY I OUGHTA STRANGLE THAT WRETCH UNTIL HIS FACE TURNS BLUE AND HIS EYES POP RIGHT OUT OF THEIR BLOODY SOCKETS!"

At this outburst, the males of the group wisely took a step back from the screaming, clearly murderous Sango. Even the two other girls, who had, up until this point, been rather vocal themselves, eyed their friend worriedly and leaned back a few inches.

"We're–uh, gonna go in and grab our bibs," Kouga announced before he and Inuyasha fled for the inner safety of the lodge.They waited impatiently in the mob of prepping racers for nearly ten minutes before they were able to reach the table where a few officials were assigning bibs. When they finally broke away from the crowd, Kouga was holding bib number 31 and Inuyasha number 23.

Before they even opened the lodge doors to the outside, they could still distinguish the girls' outraged voices above any others, shouting obscenities and other derogative comments the boys hadn't previously believed them capable of.

As Kouga and Inuyasha stepped cautiously outside, they realized that in their absence, Sesshoumaru, Rin and Miroku had joined their female companions. Miroku and Rin looked astonished at the news the girls had undoubtably just delivered to them while Sesshoumaru meanwhile had an eyebrow slightly raised, but otherwise bore no facial hint of disturbance.

"He...cheated? Naraku actually sabotaged Inuyasha's skis?" Rin kept repeating, as if she couldn't believe. "He really cheated?"

"Naturally," Sesshoumaru slipped in smoothly.

The whole group turned to stare at him.

Finally, Inuyasha found some lost words. "Are you implying...that you knew? You knew all along?"

Sesshoumaru gazed innocently back at his brother. "Was there ever any doubt? I thought it to be fairly obvious – the only questions remaining were what exactly he did and how to prove it. Now, thanks to Kanna, they've both been answered."

In the cold air, steam almost seemed to be rising from Inuyasha's entire body as he seethed and glared at his brother, about to erupt at any moment. His restraint didn't last long and he soon burst out in a string of curses directed at his brother who just stood placidly before him, idly returning a few comments whenever there was a pause.

Meanwhile, Kagome leaned over to Rin. "You know...I can't help but notice Sesshoumaru's been taunting Inuyasha a tad more than usual lately. I don't suppose there's a reason?"

Rin shrugged one of her shoulders. "Well, it just goes to show, never make Sesshoumaru worry about you."

Kagome turned her head to stare at her. "Sesshoumaru's been doing all this, been tormenting Inuyasha so badly because...he was worried about him?"

Rin paused for a moment and then nodded cheerfully. "Yup! ...Oh, but if you ever approached Fluffy about it, he'd never admit it. Best just to let it run its course, no?"

Kagome slowly leaned back to her former position. "Riiiight..." she responded, feeling at a loss for words.

While Rin and Kagome were having their own private conversation, the rest of the group had been deciding what to do next. Inuyasha and Kouga had just finished declaring that they were going to head over to the race hill, meet up with Myouga and check out the course inspection. Sesshoumaru and Ayame had nominated Kagome and Rin along with themselves to do some recreational skiing in the meantime. And Sango had decided to stay with her injured boyfriend, who was restricted from skiing until his arm had healed, in the lodge until the race.

With this plan in mind, the group sprang into action. Sango and Miroku headed into the lodge and the others shared a gondola to the top where they then split ways. As they watched Inuyasha and Kouga head off down a slope, Kagome turned to the other three. "So today's the big day, huh?"

Rin nodded. "You betcha!"

"As long as another avalanche doesn't fall on my brother's head," Sesshoumaru responded dryly.

Rin smacked his arm. "Be good!"

Sesshoumaru let out a suffering sigh then straightened imperceptibly. "As long as that doesn't apply to my good friend Naraku. . ."

Rin rolled her eyes then hid a small smile.

"Well, as much as I enjoying standing unmoving atop a mountain, something tells me there's more to skiing than just this," Sesshoumaru said.

Ayame shrugged. "Then lead the way, tough guy."

Sesshoumaru raised a delicate eyebrow at her before turning and starting to push off.

Something clicked in Kagome's head as she saw his body was lined up in the direction of a double black diamond hill. "No, wait!" she blurted. "I'll pick, I'll pick!"

This inevitably earned her another raised eyebrow. Giggling nervously, Kagome rushed past the silent silver-haired man and made her way towards a blue square.

When she was not even a quarter of the way down the hill, Sesshoumaru shot past her, flowing rhythmically down the hill in a similar fashion to his brother. A moment later, Rin too sped past her, though her style seemed a tad out of control as she was concentrating more on having fun than sticking to proper form. Kagome shook her head in amusement as she wondered how she and Ayame ended up alone with these two. Their relationship was the strangest and least solidified one she had ever witnessed, and they were the only two who didn't even notice.

After a few more runs, on which Sesshoumaru finally forced the two less experienced skiers onto black diamonds, they decided to head back towards the race hill to see if the course inspection was complete yet.

As it turned out, they arrived at the top of the race hill a little early, but they decided to wait around for their companions instead of skiing a few more hills. Unfortunately, it wasn't their friends that found them first, but someone altogether different.

"Well, well, come back to the scene of the loss, Inuyasha?"

With confused expressions, the three companions turned slowly around to come face to face with none other than Naraku. He was looking smug until he realized he had mistaken Sesshoumaru from behind for his brother. With this realization, his expression slipped into one more resembling fear or panic. However, this expression was short-lived as it flickered off his face as he mastered himself. Adopting a sickly smile, he addressed the small group again. "Ah, my mistake. You Dareshis all look the same, back and front. I can't distinguish Inuyasha's ugly mug from your rear end."

Kagome sucked in a breath at this insult, fully prepared to charge Naraku when she was stopped short by the look on Sesshoumaru's face. Convincing herself he was far better at handling Naraku than she, she restrained herself in order to let him rip the prick apart as only he could.

Sesshoumaru gazed back steadily at the source of the insult with a slightly askance look. "That, my friend, was crossing a line. You would dare presume to compare Inuyasha's 'ugly mug' with the perfect piece of anatomy attached to my backside? Surely you jest."

Kagome completely deflated as the breath she'd been holding rushed out of her. Rolling her eyes, she heard Rin admonish Sesshoumaru and a strange guttural sound come from the direction of Naraku. Giving into temptation, she looked over at the black-haired racer to see him at a loss for words, sputtering and choking at this unexpected comeback.

On this note, Inuyasha and Kouga made their appearance, along with their ever irate coach, Myouga. They wore excited expressions up until they noticed who was accompanying their friends, and then their faces adopted scowls.

"What's this...person doing here?" Inuyasha asked snidely. "Doesn't he have other people's lives to harass and ruin with his insufferable presence?"

Sesshoumaru shot his sibling a shocked look. "Brother, did you just develop a vocabulary?"

Inuyasha cast an annoyed look in his direction. "Shove off, bro."

Sesshoumaru gave a slight shrug. "Guess I was wrong after all... What a shame."

Inuyasha shot his brother an ugly look before directing his attention back to Naraku. "Naraku!" he cooed in a deceptively sweet voice. "How are you today?"

Naraku cocked an eyebrow at this behaviour before adopting a smug look. "I'm quite well today, Inuyasha, I thank you. And I'll be even better after I whoop your sorry butt in the race."

"What is it with you and behinds today?" Kagome wondered at the same time as Inuyasha retorted, "Geez, is that the only insult and comeback you have? Try to be original for once. Winning something with skill every now and then wouldn't kill you." As Inuyasha spoke, his words became more and more derisive until they were practically dripping in scorn.

Naraku gave his rival a skeptical look as an official announced that the race was about to start. "As much as I would love to boost my community service hours by sticking around to chat with charity cases such as yourselves, I need to go prepare myself to win a race. Best of disgrace to you!" he said cockily as he waved and made his way closer to the starting hut.

Inuyasha watched him go, fuming. "Well," Kagome spoke up. "At least he hadn't used that insult before."

Inuyasha turned to give her a mock annoyed look. "You know, that isn't exactly helping."

Kagome fought to suppress a smile. "Oh. Sorry."

After staring into one another's gaze for a moment, Inuyasha came back to himself and turned to the others. "Alright, here's the deal! My skis are not to be left unguarded at any time! Someone will always be watching over them to make sure Naraku doesn't get up to any of his tricks again." At Kouga's expectant look, he added, "Oh, and that goes for Kouga's skis too..."

"You know, they're probably safe in any case this time," Ayame piped up. "Naraku's racer number 16 so he's going down before either of you." In the face of the uncompromising glares being sent her way via the two racers, she hastily added, "But I nominate myself for first guard duty!"

"So glad to have your eager services, dear," Kouga said, giving her a sarcastic smile.

"Well, aren't we a lovely happy group here just chatting away?" Myouga came up between his two pupils, clapping an arm around each of their shoulders. "However, might I instead recommend warming up and preparing your skis? Hmm?"

Kouga let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, what an idea! Now that you mention it, it doesn't sound half bad!"

"I thought you might share that view point," his coach said, waiting for his racers to obey his "suggestion."

The others trailed after them, trying to figure out what they would do for the race. Eventually, it was decided that Sesshoumaru and Rin would head down to the bottom with Kagome so they could catch Naraku's race time and subsequently Inuyasha's when he came down. After Inuyasha had gone down and it was nearing on Kouga's turn, Ayame would ski down to the bottom as well and await his run.

Kagome pulled Inuyasha briefly aside as Myouga was instant waxing his skis. "Now...you're not still...depressed at all, are you? I mean about the last race?"

Inuyasha looked down at her, a peeved expression on his face. "Hell no. I'm just pissed off now. I mean, you know what that sabotage means, don't you?"

Kagome looked confused. "Uhh...that Naraku is a bigger jerk than we could ever have imagined?"

"Well, yes, that," Inuyasha said impatiently. "But it also means that me losing...wasn't my fault! I mean, theoretically. Who knows if I still would have lost to Kouga, but at least I probably would have whipped Naraku's butt if it'd been fair. And I'll definitely kick his butt today."

Kagome shook her head. "So much talk of bringing harsh pain to people's rear ends..."

Inuyasha chuckled. "But seriously, I'm fine. If anything, Naraku's underhandedness has invigorated me and I feel determined now more than ever to win today. And I know I can. I mean, there are some tricky looking hairpins and a particularly nasty looking flush, but I think that–"

"Whoa, whoa, now you've lost me," Kagome interrupted. When Inuyasha opened his mouth to explain, she asked, "Do I even want to know?"

Inuyasha shrugged. "They're just vertical gates instead of horizontal ones, but they're all lined up so they're one right after the other and you have to do some really fast weaving–" he stopped at the baffled look on her face. "–but that's not really crucial to your overall knowledge of the universe," he finished, patting her on the head like a child.

In response, Kagome stuck out her tongue. "I could learn if I really wanted to," she pouted petulantly.

"I'm sure you could, honey," her boyfriend replied patronizingly.

"Oh, shove it, you," Kagome shot back, playfully shoving him. "You just love the fact that you know something I don't and you're determined to lord it over me for all time."

Inuyasha grinned. "That pretty much sums it up, yeah."

Kagome gave him a coy look. "Did you know you're cute when you're smug?"

She watched in amusement as his face turned the shade of a tomato. "I-I am not cute!" he stammered.

Before Kagome could respond, Myouga's voice filtered over to them. "What are you two doing over there? You better get a move on if you want to catch Naraku's run, Kagome, and you'd better start getting warmed up if you want to have a hope if winning this thing, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha tossed a reluctant look over his shoulder before facing Kagome again. "Well, I guess I better get moving..."

"Right," Kagome agreed, nodding but not moving.

"Was there something else?" Inuyasha asked since she seemed to be deep in thought.

"Um...yes," she finally said decisively. And with that, she reached up, clasped his face in both of her hands and dragged his head down until their lips made contact. After a lingering kiss, she released him and stepped back to survey the damage. Needless to say, Inuyasha was dazed and seemed to have forgotten where he was or what was going on. With a hidden smile, Kagome waved her hand in front of her boyfriend's face. "Hey, you! You still have a race to win! That was encouragement, not a licence to bail on the whole business!"

Blinking, Inuyasha snapped out of it and looked down at her. "I dunno...I think I'm gonna need more encouragement than that..."

"Ha!" Kagome laughed coyly. "If you do well enough, you may get a reward. But you ain't gettin' anything else until then, got it?"

Inuyasha gave her a yearning look. "You can't be that cruel..."

Kagome smirked. "Just think of it as a little extra incentive on top of all your other million reasons of why you need to win this race."

"Inuyasha! Get your butt over here!" Myouga's voice yelled.

"Coming!" Inuyasha called back irritably. Turning briefly back to Kagome, he said seriously, "I'll see you after the race. And I will win," before heading over to where his coach stood by his skis.

Kagome watched him go with a smile. "I don't doubt it," she whispered to herself. Then, pulling herself together, she turned and headed for a nearby hill where Sesshoumaru and Rin were waiting for her.

"Was slobbering over my brother really all that necessary?" Sesshoumaru greeted her.

"You're so mean, Fluffy!" Rin cut in before Kagome, red-faced, could say anything. "It was romantic!"

"Of course it was, Rin," Sesshoumaru responded blandly. "Along with that toe fungus your cousin had a few years ago."

Kagome wrinkled her nose as Rin sighed. "You're hopeless. Let's just go down and see Naraku's run! It's coming up really soon!"

"Yes, wouldn't want to miss that sure-to-be exceptional performance," her ice dance partner replied dryly. "He's my favourite racer. I hope you brought my 'Go Naraku Go' banner so I can cheer for him properly."

"Why, Sesshoumaru, you sound almost cranky!" Kagome said in mock astonishment. "Is something having to do with Naraku bothering you?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes slid in her direction. "Some of Inuyasha's essence may have seeped into you from your exchange of saliva. You should get that looked at."

Kagome pouted at his renewed reference to her and Inuyasha's kiss. "You ARE cranky. And mean."

Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Oh, how will I ever go on?" he wondered out loud before shoving off down the hill.

Rin turned to Kagome and patted her on the shoulder. "Ignore him; he's just getting tense before the race. He wants Inuyasha to beat Naraku soundly today."

Kagome looked at her in surprise. "Does he tell you all these things?"

Rin gave her a funny look then laughed. "Haha, of course not! You think Sesshy would ever admit to a thing like that?"

"Then...how do you know that's why he's acting the way he is?" Kagome asked slowly.

Rin shrugged. "I don't know. To me, it's obvious. I mean, soon you'll be able to interpret every one of Inuyasha's actions, I'll bet."

Kagome hesitated before plunging into a question that had been burning in her mind for quite some time now. "So...are you and Sesshoumaru a couple then?"

Rin's face adopted an expression that indicated suppressed laughter. "You're a funny girl!" was all she said before pushing off down the hill after the man in question.

Kagome watched her go with a dead panned look. "That doesn't really answer my question..." she muttered uselessly before giving a tiny shrug and following the enigma couple.

When she skidded to a stop at the bottom of the race hill, Kagome saw that quite a crowd had already gathered and a racer was quickly approaching the finish line amid tons of cheers. She looked around and quickly spotted Sesshoumaru and Rin meeting up with Miroku, Sango and a wide array of family members. She made her way over to the group and as soon as they noticed her, her mother, grandfather and brother hastened to close the gap and greet her warmly. Her mother gave her a hug and inquired about how she was feeling as her grandfather muttered under his breath about irresponsible boys getting her in danger and her brother gazed in awe up at the race hill as the skiers came down it. Once she had assured her family that all was well, she popped out of her skis and walked over to where Miroku and Sango were standing, looking apprehensively up the hill.

"Why hello, Kagome m'dear," Miroku greeted her. "Top o' the mornin' to ya!"

Kagome gave him a strange look. "You're weird," was all she decided to say, however.

"Hey, Kagome," Sango said, rolling her eyes at her boyfriend's behaviour. "Ignore him; breaking his arm and having an avalanche fall on his head has apparently made him even odder than normal."

"Will do," Kagome conceded.

"So are the boys ready for the big race?" Sango asked.

"More than they ever thought they'd be, I'll bet," Kagome said. "I think Inuyasha would have done this race a thousand times over by now if it weren't for the fact that he has to wait his turn."

Miroku chuckled. "That sounds like him."

"So where are we in terms of racers?" Kagome asked, looking up the race hill. As she scanned what she could see of the course, her eyes roved over what had to have been what Inuyasha had referred to as hairpins and flushes: gates set up vertically one after another, alternating red and blue. One set had more gates lined up in it than another and she deduced this was what made the difference between a hairpin or a flush.

Sango pointed up at the racer coming down the course currently. "That racer there is number fourteen."

Kagome's face lit up. "Ah, and Naraku's number 16 so he should be coming down soon. Looks like we got here just in time."

Sango nodded. "Are you nervous?"

"Like nothing else," Kagome admitted. "I really want Inuyasha and Kouga to beat that jerk."

"So do we all," Miroku said in agreement.

The group all waited in silence as racer number fifteen came streaming down the hill and crossed the finish line with a time of thirty-seven seconds and twenty-one milliseconds. A few moments later, the announcer came on the speakers saying, "Racer number sixteen, Naraku Querei, now on course!"

"Alright, guys, it's beginning. Naraku's on his way down. Let the suspense begin," Sango said, clutching onto Miroku and Kagome simultaneously.

After what seemed like ages, but in reality was only about fifteen seconds, Naraku appeared over the rise in the hill and came racing towards the bottom, expertly weaving his way through the course. The short hairpin came first and he practically wiggled his way through it, his weight changed sides so fast. Down a little farther, nearing the end, he encountered the longer flush, through which he wove as if threading a needle. He tucked for the tail end of the course and screamed across the finish line with a time of 36.08.

Sango whistled. "That's the best time yet by a long shot..."

Kagome clutched her arm tighter. "Ooh, don't say that! You're making me even more nervous."

Naraku glanced at his time smugly, obviously knowing it was great, before heading for the opening in the temporary pen erected at the bottom of the race hill. On his way out, he passed Miroku, Kagome and Sango standing on the other side and gave them a cocky grin. "Let's see your loser pals beat that!"

The girls glared at him and Miroku gave him a mildly annoyed look before the black-haired racer laughed and headed on his way. The three friends turned back to the race, impatient to see Inuyasha come down. Unfortunately there were still six more racers to watch before the focus of their attention made his appearance and the wait was unbearable. Kagome couldn't stop pacing and Sango and Miroku started engaging in useless chatter to keep their minds off of how nervous they were.

In the middle of one of her rounds, Kagome suddenly heard the announcer's voice ring out, "Time for racer number 22: 37.25. Racer number 23, Inuyasha Dareshi, now on course." Her heart skipped a beat in her chest and she turned anxiously towards the hill. Taking a few steps forward, she clutched once more onto Sango's arm.

At this contact, Sango turned to look at her friend. Letting a half smile grace her lips, she said, "Kagome. Breathe."

Blinking, Kagome released the breath she didn't know she was holding in a rush of air. She smiled wanly at Sango before rivetting her eyes once more on the hill. Not too long after, Inuyasha's slim red figure appeared over the rise and practically dove down the hill. Kagome burst into hysteric cheers, with Miroku and Sango hooting enthusiastically beside her. Even the various family members that had gathered got wrapped up in the excitement and began screaming for Inuyasha's victory.

If Kagome had been amazed at Inuyasha's skill in skiing at any time before this point, it was nothing to the awe she now felt as she watched him flow through the slalom course. His form was flawless and he wove effortlessly around the gates as if it had been something he'd practised a million times over, committing every curve and twist to memory. He rounded each gate tucked up impossibly close to the inner pole. Since he leaned in so close to each pole, he would hold out the opposite hand in front, so that his pole could take the impact that would otherwise strike him directly in the chest. As he bashed each pole, they would smack down on the snowy hill, then spring back up once he had raced past. Some he even struck so hard they popped out of the hole they were plunged into, or broke entirely at their base. Once that happened, workers stationed on the race hill would hurry out to stick the poles back in their slots, or replace them with new ones.

Inuyasha skied through the hairpin with ease and continued down the rest of the course. He wriggled through the flush with speed unimaginable, striking all of the gates in his way with the same hand since he had no time to switch. Finally, he crouched and skated vigorously until he swept across the finish line, kicking up an impressive amount of snow as he attempted to stop before the barrier of the pen.

Everyone burst into even greater applause and screaming as they saw the stopped time reading 36.07 seconds. As Inuyasha exited the pen and came breathlessly over to where his friends and brother waited, Kagome threw her arms around his neck. "Way to go, Inuyasha! You've got the top time now! You beat Naraku by one millisecond! Holy crap, it was close!"

Inuyasha grinned wanly as he stuck his poles in the snow so he could wrap his arms around his girlfriend. "Well, that's certainly good news, but it's a little too close. We still have another round to go and one millisecond can easily be overcome during that. I have to keep on my toes."

"Yes, really, brother. Is that the best you can do?" Sesshoumaru asked nonchalantly.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "So sorry, brother. I'll try to do better next time."

"Yes, please do," Sesshoumaru responded with a toss of his hair.

Meanwhile, someone had a completely opposite point of view. "Wow, Inuyasha! You were amazing!" Kagome's little brother, Souta, shouted. "You handled that course as if you'd done it a million times in your sleep! Damn! I wanna be a ski racer when I'm older!"

"Souta, language!" his mother admonished him. Then, turning to the embracing couple, she said, "I must admit though, this is all incredibly thrilling. Why, your heart almost stops as you watch your preferred racer come down the hill as the clock keeps counting up more and more. I almost think that the race is more taxing on those watching it than racing it!"

"You got that right!" her daughter agreed. "He may be getting a thrill, but I'm on the verge of a nervous breakdown when I watch him race."

"We're really going to have to cure you of that," Inuyasha said, smirking down at her. "After all, I plan to make you watch a lot of my races in the future. And really, there's nothing to worry about. I always win."

Kagome stuck out her tongue at him. "You can claim that after this race, macho man. I won't relax until then."

"Hooligan..." her grandfather muttered under his breath. Fortunately, the only person who heard him was his daughter and she quickly gave him a jab in the ribs for it.

"Heeey, guys!" The group turned around to see Ayame approaching, waving as she did. She skidded to a stop, popped out of her skis, and made her way over to them. "Kouga's about to come down soon. Hey, Inuyasha, you had an amazing start. How was your time?"

"Inuyasha has the top spot now," Kagome said proudly. "He beat Naraku by one millisecond. Isn't that incredible? He got a time of 36.07."

"Wow, that's awesome!" Ayame said. "Congrats, Inuyasha. Keep it up and Naraku'll be running for his mommy!"

As it so happened, Inuyasha spotted Naraku walking past and couldn't let the opportunity go. "Hey, Naraku, what happened? Couldn't pick up enough speed to decrease your time by even one millisecond? Are you slipping?"

Naraku sneered, but didn't miss a step as he continued on his way, calling back, "We'll just see how the second round goes, Dareshi! That'll determine the real winner!"

After Naraku had gone out of earshot, Inuyasha pretended to think. After a moment, he said, "You know, I thought it over and I can't help but come to the conclusion that again, it'll be me."

"It better be, or you'll be getting no reward," Kagome threatened him semi-seriously.

Inuyasha chuckled. "And I certainly can't miss out on that."

"Oooh, listen, everyone! They just announced that my Kouga's on his way down!" Kouga's mother, Atrina, spoke up excitedly.

Not a moment after she spoke, Kouga appeared over the rise and started flowing down the hill like the racers before him. He expertly navigated his way down, bashing the gates just as hard as Inuyasha had and uprooting a few himself. The hairpin and flush gave him no trouble and he crossed the finish line with a majestic flair.

"Time for racer number 31: 36.12. Racer number 32, Daiki Tamaka, now on course."

"You're awesome, Kouga!" Ayame screeched, hardly giving Kouga enough time to exit the pen before she pounced on him.

Kouga grinned as he lifted his goggles off his face to rest atop his helmet. "How'd I do in the grand scheme of things?"

"Weeeell," Sango said as she thought. "As far as I can remember, no one breached 36.20 before Naraku went down and I'm pretty sure he and Inuyasha have been the only ones since then to do so, so...that should put you in third place, I believe. Naraku was four milliseconds faster than you, and Inuyasha one millisecond faster than him."

Kouga whistled. "It's that close? This is gonna be a harsh race... Ahh, I can't believe Naraku beat me though! I'll get him next run for sure! But hey, Inu man, you scraped by Naraku by the skin of your teeth!"

"Just about," Inuyasha agreed, grinning. "Gotta keep it up for the next run, though, eh?"

"Hell, yeah! That weasel is not coming away from this with gold, especially with us knowing what we know. I say we give the next run down our absolute all - no holding back. We pull all the stops and deliver Naraku the losing position he deserves," Kouga dictated grimly.

"I say cheers to that!" Inuyasha agreed. "Now let's get a few more runs in before they finish up the first round and move onto the second."

"Hear, hear!" Ayame cried, raising a pole in the air as sign of her enthusiasm.

"Sango, how about you go with them and ski a few runs yourself?" Miroku suggested. "You haven't been out yet today and I'd hate to think that you'll be restricted for the rest of the trip to Miroku duty. I don't want you to not go out and ski because of me."

His girlfriend gave him a worried look. "I don't think of this as a duty, silly. But are you sure? Won't you be lonely?"

"We'll take good care of him!" Sango's dad spoke up merrily, clapping Miroku on the back. "Just leave the scoundrel to us."

Sango winced. "Did you have to put so literal a term to him?"

Her father adopted an innocent expression. "What? I was joking!"

Sango eyed him suspiciously. "Sure, you were..." Turning back to Miroku, she said, "Alright, I'll go ski with the others for a few runs. Then I'll come back down and watch the rest of the race with you. Please don't listen to anything my father says and I hope to find you in one piece upon your return."

"Well, that just won't do since I fell to pieces the moment I met you," Miroku delivered with an earnest expression.

Sango immediately turned beet red. She looked quickly around at all the people staring and snickering at the couple before hitting Miroku in the shoulder. "Shut up," she muttered, though it was distinctly lacking any trace of anger.

The others laughed, except for Sesshoumaru and Sango's father; Sesshoumaru for obvious reasons and her father since he seemed to be debating between smacking Miroku himself or letting it slide. In the end, the hand he had on the younger boy's back tightened its grip, but the man attached to it remained silent.

"Alright, I hate to break the love birds apart, but let's hit the slopes!" Rin chirped.

After a few more plans were made to reunite between the kids and the family members, the kids headed off to the nearby chairlift. Riding it to its top, which was halfway up the mountain, they disembarked and picked out a hill. They skied down a few runs before checking back with the race to see where they were at. Seeing that they still had a few more racers to go for their first runs, they decided to ski a bit longer. Sesshoumaru and Rin broke off from the group soon after to go rejoin the adults and Miroku.

Eventually the rest of the group returned to the race area to see that they had gone through eleven racers in the second round. Inuyasha and Kouga then popped off their skis, deciding now was a good time to start preparing for their runs.

Myouga rushed over to them, congratulating them on their runs, but grumbling about how they could still do better. His two racers were unusually focused that day, and taking the competition dead seriously. This fact seemed to put their coach off slightly, but it was not an unwelcome change.

Without words, Inuyasha handed his skis over to the older man so he could wax them, and in the meantime, he began to strip down to his speed suit.

Kagome shivered just looking at him. "Aren't you cold?" she demanded.

A mischievous grin crossed Inuyasha's face. "Why, Kagome, I thought you were going to keep me warm!" he proclaimed, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close before she realized what was going on.

"Ahhh! The spandex has me!" she cried in distress, looking to her friends for help.

"You know, I'd help you out, Kagome," Ayame said, wincing, "but I really don't want to get in danger of being sucked in myself."

"Ayame, behind you!" Sango yelled shrilly, pointing to something behind her friend.

Ayame glanced back just in time to see Kouga, his jacket open and revealing his own speed suit, make as if to engulf her with his arms. She shrieked briefly and just managed to skip out of the way as her boyfriend stumbled forward. As everyone laughed, Myouga shook his head. "I knew it was too good to be true..." he muttered bitterly.

Once everyone had settled down again, Sango and Kagome decided to take the leave of the rest of them in hopes of catching Naraku's run. Kagome pried herself free of Inuyasha and the two girls waved as they went off to find a slope to ski down.

When they skidded to a stop at the bottom, they saw the rest of their fan club lined up against the pen already. Rin noticed the two of them and beckoned them over urgently. "Naraku's on course right now!" she yelled over the din the other fans were making.

Kagome and Sango popped out of their skis hastily and rushed over to stand beside her. They looked up at the hill to see Naraku rocketing down the steep part of the slope, taking all the gates in stride and showing perfect form. They glanced at the clock with bated breath, seeing the low time slowly increase. In their heads, they slowly begged for it to speed up so that he'd have a higher time as he crossed the finish line.

Twenty-six, twenty-seven...

Naraku aced the hairpin and continued at lightening speed for the flush.

Thirty, thirty-one...

He navigated smoothly through the flush and raced towards the finish line in a deep crouch.

Thirty-four, thirty-five–

"Time for racer number 16: 36.02."

The group huddled around the pen felt their stomachs clench up. None of them spoke for several seconds before Sango tentatively said, "That...was faster than last time. He beat Inuyasha's last time too!"

"Well," Kagome said shakily. "It was only five milliseconds faster than Inuyasha's last run. I mean, it's not totally out of his reach yet. He can make that up. Don't you think so?"

"Of course he will make it up," Sesshoumaru retorted expressionlessly. "He's not a complete incompetent. He does have some of my blood in him after all. If he doesn't win this, he can consider himself disowned from the family."

"I can't believe you just said that!" Kagome cried, shocked.

"Oh, no! Don't worry about it!" Rin hastily insisted. "Sesshy threatens to disown Inuyasha nearly every day! He's not serious!"

"No, not that!" Kagome corrected, still in shock. "Sesshoumaru just admitted that he shared blood with Inuyasha and that Inuyasha wasn't completely incompetent! Is he feeling alright?"

Sesshoumaru gave her a look that spoke volumes. "I trust I'll never hear from you about this again?"

Under the chill of a glare that could rival the bite of a dozen icebergs, Kagome lost her resolve and started quaking. "O-of course. I heard nothing."

"That's what I thought," he replied mildly, focusing his attention back on the race.

Interestingly, Naraku didn't come over to taunt them, but stayed at another spot around the pen, watching the rest of the race intently. He seemed tense, bearing the look of one who's done all he can and is now waiting to see what fate deals him in return.

The others felt relief at this break from him, especially since they were all shook up from the amazing time he'd just attained. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath as they waited impatiently for all the racers between Naraku and Inuyasha to come down. As a reflex, they'd check each skier's time, but their fears were always put at ease as none breached even 36.15. Nevertheless, their mental resolve was put to the test as the stress of awaiting Inuyasha's last run continued to build and they had to wait through each of the other racers' runs before he was up.

After what seemed like a century, the announcement they'd all been waiting for came over the loudspeaker. "Racer number twenty-three, Inuyasha Dareshi, now on course."

Instinctively, Kagome latched onto the nearest person to her. Unfortunately, that ended up being Sesshoumaru, but he surprisingly didn't pull away. He hardly gave her a glance at all, in fact, so intent was his gaze on the race hill.

After a while, when the clock read fifteen seconds, Kagome's grip tightened in panic. "Where is he? Shouldn't he have come over the rise already? Is it just me or is he taking too long?"

No one answered her, but they didn't have to since not a moment after the words had left her mouth, Inuyasha nearly flew over and down the crest of the hill, leaving decimated slalom gates in his wake. If he had looked determined on the previous run, this time around, he looked like the idea of losing didn't even exist in the same universe as him. He ripped through the course, cutting around the turns with indescribable grace and unimaginable speed. He left the snow behind him looking completely undisturbed, and it was as if he'd never been there in the first place.

The whole crowd at the bottom of the hill held their breath as he descended, watching the clock tick up with dread. For Kagome, it was the opposite situation as the one where Naraku had come down – she was wishing that the clock would slow down to allow Inuyasha to make a speedier time. As far as she could tell, however, he wasn't any farther ahead than Naraku had been in terms of time and where he was on the course.

Twenty-four, twenty five...

Inuyasha came out of a particularly tight turn with ease and made a beeline for the hairpin. Swishing through it as if it weren't even there at all, he continued his rampage towards the finish line.

Twenty-eight, twenty-nine...

As Inuyasha took on the flush, his body moved almost akin to a wave, flowing back and forth as he shifted his weight from side to side.

Thirty-one, thirty-two...

The gates in his path stood no chance as he knocked them on his way through. For the finish, he tucked down and skated towards the line as if hell's demons themselves were on his tail. Rocketing across the finish line, he swung his skis to the side so as to stop his incredible speed. An impressive amount of snow flared up and Inuyasha skid so far as to make his body parallel to the ground. Without resistance, he flopped down on the snowy surface, expending only so much effort as it took to raise his head from the ground and see his time on the display board. He was hardly aware of the deafening amount of noise resounding behind him as only one voice broke through it all.

"Time for racer number 23: 35.96."

Inuyasha let his head drop back to the ground as a choked laugh came out of his throat. Another one soon followed, and another after that until he was full-out laughing and clutching his sides for lack of breath. Slowly, the rest of the sound he'd previously tuned out crescendoed in the background and he could finally hear all of the cheers and whoops that drowned out everything else.

Eventually, once he'd finally caught his breath and gotten his laughing under control, he rose unsteadily to his feet and shuffled out of the pen. Almost immediately, he was assaulted by a small figure whose arms latched around his neck and whose lips burned his in a searing kiss.

When he and Kagome broke away from each other, Inuyasha grinned wildly down at her. "That was definitely the reason I sped so fast to the bottom."

As she giggled in response, Inuyasha suddenly noticed that they were surrounded by the rest of their friends and family. . .in other words, witnesses of their quick exchange. His face immediately turned a few shades redder, but he was really too exhilarated to care. Kagome didn't even seem to notice anyone but him, which was probably a good thing since her brother was making gagging motions, her mother had a slightly shocked look upon her face and her grandfather looked like he was about to have an aneurism.

Miroku clapped his buddy on the back with his good hand. "Way to go, man! You smoked that course!"

Inuyasha was still breathing hard, but he managed to address the crowd around him. "I was at the top prepping with Myouga when we heard Naraku's time announced. It was a bit of a shock, but I knew I could beat it if I put my absolute all into it. There was definitely no holding back on that run," he admitted, panting.

"And look who knows it," Sango spoke up, pointing at something a distance behind him. Inuyasha turned and caught sight of Naraku with a particularly nasty expression on his face. This made Inuyasha grin again in exultation.

"Damn, you guys have no idea how good this feels," he told them all with a laugh.

"About the exact opposite of how you felt after the last race?" Kagome asked.

"That about sums it up!" he replied cheerfully.

"Well, you certainly deserve it after what he did to you," she said, nodding in Naraku's direction.

Hugging her tightly, he said loudly, "Man, this day can't get any better!"

"Inuyasha!" Everyone turned to see Ayame approaching. "I heard your time from the top! That was incredible! Congratulations!"

If possible, Inuyasha's grin widened. "Thanks, Ayame! I gotta say, I'm pretty overwhelmed by it myself right now."

"Well, just so you know, Kouga's determined to beat you," she retorted, but with a joking smile at the corner of her mouth.

"That's what I like to hear. Not like he can, but he's welcome to try," he replied, though his expression matched hers.

After more congratulations were offered to the elated racer and he took the group around him through every turn of the course blow by blow, it was Kouga's turn to come down the race hill. They all turned towards the slope filled with eagerness.

Not too long after, Kouga shot over the rise and ripped up the course lying before him. Like Inuyasha had done before him, he nearly destroyed the poles on his warpath towards the finish.

"Man, he is going as fast as you," Sango whistled to Inuyasha.

"If it's one thing that guy knows, it's how to pick up speed," Inuyasha replied, his eyes rivetted on the boy screaming towards them. "He has a little more difficulty navigating the tight turns of slalom usually, but that doesn't seem to be slowing him down today."

Kouga proved this last statement of Inuyasha's as he zipped through the hairpin and flush in record time, sweeping across the finish with an impressive time of 35.97 seconds.

The crowd immediately burst into cheers and hollers, along with many people banging their poles together for more noise.

"Talk about close times today!" Sango shouted over the din. "He was one millisecond behind you, Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha was the first to greet Kouga as he came out of the pen. "That's what I'm talking about, man!" he shouted, sharing a one armed guy hug with him.

"Hells yeah!" Kouga replied, breathing hard. "Now to figure out if that beats Naraku. He only got 36.02, right?"

"Yeah," Miroku spoke up as he came up beside his best friends. "Which gives him 72.10 seconds overall. Your first run was 36.12, right?" When Kouga nodded, Miroku continued, doing the calculations in his head, "So that would give you...72.09. Damn, you beat him by a millisecond!"

"What is it with that number?" Sango wondered aloud, though she soon abandoned the train of thought as she joined in with everyone to congratulate Kouga.

"And you, my friend," Miroku said, addressing Inuyasha, "will have overall...72.03. You soundly took away this one. Unless some other racer magically pulls something inhuman out of his ass, you've got this one in the bag."

Suddenly a string of crude epithets brought their attention to the one member of the congregation that wasn't too pleased with the turn of events. Naraku stood not too far away, swearing and cursing with a downright foul expression on his face. He kicked at the snow harshly and looked as if he'd love nothing more than to tear something, or someone, apart.

As for the group watching him, they shrugged and went back to celebrating amongst themselves. "Okay, now this day can't get any better!" Inuyasha proclaimed.

"Ah, but what about tonight's banquet?" Kagome replied archly. "You know, when you'll awarded gold in front of everybody."

"Oh, I give up! Today's just pure awesome!" Inuyasha laughed.

"I agree!" Kouga said, pumping a fist in the air.

"Oooh, and how about when we deliver Naraku his just desserts?" Kagome continued.

Inuyasha looked down at her in mock frustration. "I've already declared my position on this day. But speaking of which...we should probably find Kanna. Has anyone checked in on the girls' race?"

"Why do you think I'm without a father today?" Miroku asked dryly.

"Ah," several people chorused around him.

"Shall we head over there now and check in?" Ayame suggested. "We can tell Kanna the good news while we're there and give her the okay to hand in her video to the officials."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Kouga said, and the others consented as well.

"Well, if you kids are going to head off, us parents are probably going to head back to the hotel," Kagome's mother spoke up as the kids were preparing to leave. "Congratulations again, Inuyasha. Kouga, you as well. Amazing job, boys."

"Thank you," Inuyasha replied earnestly as Kouga nodded.

"Are you going to come back for the banquet tonight?" Rin asked the various family members.

Mrs. Higurashi looked a bit surprised. "I thought that was only for racers and their dates."

"Well...technically," Rin admitted. "But don't worry; Sesshoumaru can get you in."

"Are you sure?" Mrs. Higurashi asked uneasily.

"Have faith in the man, Keiko," Sango's father told her. "He somehow got a bloody helicopter to come pick us up. I honestly believe there's nothing he can't do."

"I like this man," Sesshoumaru told to the crowd. "He has a glimmer of intelligence."

Sango's father chuckled humourously then beckoned to Kohaku. "Come along, son. Time to head back to the hotel. In fact, it might be better to go shopping for something decent for the both of us to wear to this thing tonight. When I heard my daughter had been swept up in an avalanche, my first thought wasn't exactly to pack my good dress clothes..."

At this comment, the various family members all conceded this was a good idea and began to depart, bidding their sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, or grandchildren good-bye. Finally, the original six friends were left alone with Sesshoumaru and Rin.

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha stared at each other for an extended period of silence, in which the others grew distinctly uncomfortable. Finally, Sesshoumaru said slowly, "Congratulations, brother. You did something right."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Thanks," he said dryly.

After a moment more, during which it became quite obvious that Sesshoumaru was not going to offer anything more, Sango piped up, "Well? Shall we go see Kanna?"

"Lead the way, m'dear," Miroku encouraged.

"I would absolutely love to, except for the fact that I don't know where the girls' race is being held..." Sango replied wryly.

"Ah. Well, then follow me!" Miroku commanded, starting to walk away.

As the others trailed behind him, shuffling slowly on their skis, Kagome came up beside Inuyasha. "Was that the best Sesshoumaru could manage?" she asked. "Couldn't he have lightened up for once and given you a real congratulations."

Inuyasha chuckled. "That was a 'real' congratulations. At least for Sesshoumaru. Anything else and I would have been disturbed for the rest of the day. The foundation on which all my beliefs are based on would have been completely shaken. After all, if there's one universal truth in this world, it's that Sesshoumaru is constant. Never wish for him to change 'cause I think the world would end if he did."

A/N ...And there you have it. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and stay tuned for two more chapters and a special surprise at the end! ...Though it also got deleted along with everything else on my hard drive so I'll have to retype it...

Anyways, don't you think it's a bit unnerving that doctors call what they do practice? (Once again, courtesy of George Carlin)