Author's Note: Thanks, once again, for the lovely reviews. I'm so happy people are loving this story as much as I am. Truly, it's such a pleasure to write, and I'm very happy to continue it.

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Break came.

Friday signified the last day of school before the three week winter holiday. Everyone was cheerful for the prospect of a very white Christmas, because the forecast predicted an increase in snow as they neared the twenty-fifth. Kagome said goodbye to her friends, avoided committing to the bonenkai they wanted to have at the local karaoke club, and hurried out into the snowy evening before Hojo could capture her again. He had been more persistent than ever, probably presuming that her presence at school meant she was feeling better, which signified she would have to accept his invitation to the movies soon. Biting her lip, Kagome tried not to think about that as she pushed her frost-covered bike down the sidewalk towards the shrine. As she walked, she kept her head down. Kagome did not want to see the merry decorations, twinkling lights, or the happily engaged couples passing by her. The Christmas season was something to treasure: it was a special time to spend with that person you cared most for. But for those people who had lost that certain person, it was just a cruel reminder of the happiness once had. It was the passing of another year: starting a new twelve months. Only the next twelve months, Kagome would be alone, and for the twelve months after that, and after that. InuYasha was never coming back and that put the bitterest taste of loneliness on Kagome's tongue.

Her feet stilled; her bike stopped beside her. Somewhere, a jingle of a Christmas carol was playing softly. It smelled like the tiny pine trees stores were selling, small enough to sit on your kitchen table, but big enough to decorate with gaudy streamers and bulbs. Kagome's eyes were hot as she recalled Shippou's adorable face, his body tangled in a popcorn garland asking "Kagome, what's Christmas anyway?" Sango was behind him, trying to keep Kirara from eating the popped delight while simultaneously attempting to grab at Miroku's wandering hand. Kaede was wrapping berries in long strands of grass, turning the ends into hooks. InuYasha appeared in the doorway with a small pine, about three feet or so, over his shoulder. "Is this too big?" he asked, looking at the tree: "For your Christmas nonsense?" Sango slapped Miroku's cursed hand, her eyes widening when the monk gave her an apologetic kiss on the cheek, holding mistletoe above their heads. Kirara slipped out of her surprised fingers with a mouthful of popcorn and pulled the kitsune with her. Shippou tripped and fell backwards in the mess, laughing with glee. "It's not nonsense, InuYasha. Look how much fun everyone's having." He didn't argue and when he looked about the room, his eyes were soft with a smile.

Hastily, she wiped the tears away and pushed forward, ignoring the cheerful atmosphere around her. By the time she reached home, her cheeks were frozen and felt raw from all the rubbing she had been doing with her coat sleeve.

"Kagome," her mother said, upon seeing her enter the foyer. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kagome replied, sniffing as she gave a final wipe to her face. She was probably red, but she didn't care, and hoped that her mother would leave it alone.

"Are you sure?' she asked.

"Yeah," Kagome said with a nod, gripping the strap of her backpack with both hands. Anything to stop her shaking. Anything to keep those images—memories—away.

"If…if you need anything…" Ms. Higurashi's voice trailed off.

"Thanks," Kagome said, trying to keep herself from choking. "I'm going to my room." Her mother didn't stop her, stepping aside so that she could pass. The dark-haired girl took the steps two at a time, feeling as if she couldn't breathe. It was this place that suffocated her, she thought, pulling the curtains closed. She couldn't look at the Goshinboku, not when it felt like someone was taking a bear trap to her chest, the claws tightening dangerously around her already injured heart.

Throwing her bag onto the floor, she sat on her bed. From somewhere within the pockets and zippers on the knapsack, she heard the gentle hum of her phone ringing. She waited until it stopped before leaning over to retrieve the cell. Flipping open the top of the pink device, she stared at the glowing screen with heavy eyes and read the cluster of characters with an uninterested gaze.

Eri (5:34:41pm): Thursday night the Mandrake. 5pm. Be there.

Sighing, Kagome closed it and put the phone on the nightstand. She did not want to go to a year end party with her school mates. Kagome knew it would be cheerful laughing and dancing, singing and merriment. If Eri was going, that meant Yuka and Ayumi were too. This told Kagome that the room would be filled with not only them, but their friends in the other classes as well. Hojo would be there too, no doubt, especially with everyone trying to help hook them up for ages now. And no one would come to her aid when Hojo would undoubtedly want to sit beside her, keep her all to himself for the evening. As if the prospect of the party wasn't bad enough, having to spend the whole time pretending to be her usual self in the presence of Hojo was the worst.

I could fake sick she thought to herself, that Sunday, as she walked down the empty streets towards the station. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch, what with her constant illnesses for the past few years. But the recollection of why she had to pretend made her frown deepen and her feet move a little faster towards the Plexiglas map. At least when she saw him, things didn't hurt so much.

When she found herself standing in front of the board, Kagome was alone. This did not bother her. Somewhere inside of herself, she knew he would eventually arrive. Sometime while her eyes were trained on the purple line running northwest, he appeared. There was no good morning or comment about the weather or the obligatory inquiry after health, as usual. There was only silence between them, which was okay. Overhead, a woman's voice came over the PA system to announce that someone's wallet had been found. Behind them, Kagome could hear the cheerful chatter of several girls. They were talking about their boyfriends who went to Chubu and what their plans were for the holiday. Kagome had to force her eyes to stay focused on the lines. She did not want them to blur together; she did not want to cry. She would be spending Christmas without them this year. That realization was too painful to think about.

"I want to go north again," he said, bringing her attention to where it needed to be. She did not want to listen to the girls anymore or think about Shippou's popcorn strands, Miroku and Sango's kiss beneath the mistletoe, the feeling of InuYasha's arms wrapped around her in the dark…

"Okay," she agreed, not consciously aware of herself until the words had escaped her lips.

"You sure? It's a long ride," he said, not looking away from the map. This made her look up and stare at him, but only briefly before turning her head away. It was the first time he had inquired after her and it was strange. But somehow, Kagome was fine with this breach of their indifference towards each other.

"It's fine," Kagome replied, walking away from the glass to make it official. She took a few deep breaths when her back was to him, doing her best to keep her stride natural and even. It was hard to convince her heart that it was not InuYasha. The man behind her with those eyes was not InuYasha, no matter how much she wished he was.

After purchasing their tickets, Kagome stopped by the nearest vending machine and ordered a hot coffee. When the can was warmed to perfection, she retrieved it with gloved hands. Before she walked away, she put in another two hundred yen in the coin slot and stepped aside. Although she was young, the concept of giri was not lost upon her. He had brought her coffee one morning, so she would buy him one in return. It was not romantic, she had to tell herself. It was nothing more than the concept of obligation and reciprocation that was held so highly in their society.

Nothing more.

Without a word, he ordered his drink. It took all she had to not openly stare at him, but she couldn't help but observe him silently from the corner of her eye. There was a button on his beanie: the kanji character for "person". In his left ear, Kagome counted two silver rings. Her eyes dropped to the collar of his coat, then down the sleeve to follow the slight ridges in the fabric. Finally, they stopped at his hands, fluorescent blue in the glow of the machine. He had nice hands, she noticed, and long fingers. The middle finger was adorned with a Celtic cross. When he lifted the can from the entry, he used the cuff of his jacket. She didn't look at his eyes.

She couldn't.

Once they boarded the train, Kagome was slightly alarmed at the amount of people inside. Already there had been a breach to the routine, but the second was a bit more disconcerting. The two of them were forced to stand on the commute through Tokyo, side-by-side and closer than usual due to the packed compartment. Kagome clutched the pull above her head tightly during the entire trip, her grip nearly failing upon her coffee when her arm brushed his occasionally.

But as they traveled further north, the train cleared out and became empty, much like the first time they had taken the same route previously. Relieved, Kagome sat down in the seat across from him. His feet stretched out into the aisle again. The red and black were so vibrant against the gray, scuffed floor. She stared at them instead of turning to look out the window at the empty landscape. The spell was broken when Kagome felt a dull vibration in her coat pocket. Pulling the pink device from her jacket, she flipped it open and stared at the message.

Eri (10:22:17am): You're coming to the party. Don't even try to fake sick.

Kagome closed it without answering, a little irritated. Her plan was ruined now and, knowing Eri, she would come to the house to drag her out by her hair if she refused. It looked like Thursday night was going to be dreadful after all…She tried to wipe the annoyed, disappointed expression from her face as she pocketed the phone, wondering if she succeeded or not.

"Nice phone," he commented.

"My mom picked out the color," Kagome said. Seconds after she said that, she wondered why she divulged this little piece of information. "I didn't want a phone."

"Why's that?" he asked. The red foot was tapping again, softly against the linoleum.

"Because," she replied, trying to stop herself before she said anymore. But her tongue was quite in the mood for it and she was unable to bite back the rest: "The person I want to talk to the most will never call." Even with her gaze downwards, Kagome could feel him looking at her.

"I'm waiting for that call, too," he said.

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The skies were dark as night by noon.

At one, the train halted on the tracks. Kagome looked away from the blizzard outside and around the empty cabin for an explanation. The boy across from her appeared just as confused by their sudden stop. The intercom came on with an apology from the conductor, who informed them that they had to make an emergency stop because of the storm. Apparently the ice build up on the rails was too dangerous for traveling. With nothing to do and nowhere to go, they waited in silence, watching the snow build up beyond the frosty windows. Kagome could barely make out the shapes of mountains in the distance. The black webs of power lines whipped in the fierce wind. Inside, the lights flickered briefly.

An hour later, the train pushed forward, coming to a screeching stop outside of a run-down station. It was a small, two room establishment with bad lighting and poor heat. Inside, they were told that they were fifty miles from the city of Koriyama.

"You will have to wait here until the storm clears up. The return train with service to Tokyo will be here soon," said the woman behind the glass. She bowed to them. "We're sorry for the inconvenience. Please make yourselves comfortable in our lobby for the time being." The two of them had no choice left but to do so. The dark room was only lit by the orange glow of the furnace and it smelled heavily of soot. Around the coal heater, there were ten chairs in the form of a square. Faded pillows lay lifelessly on the seats to provide some form of comfort for the occupants waiting. They were a little lumpy, Kagome discovered upon sitting down, but not terribly uncomfortable. She stretched her legs out in front of the heater to get warm, pointing her booted toes inwards to take up less space. He sat beside her, putting his ungloved hands out to fend off the cold as well. Kagome held very still as she focused on his hands: the same hands that she had found so attractive back in Tokyo. She tried to focus on the ring on his finger instead of the gentle press of his knee against hers.

It truly was a day of firsts. Never before had they sat next to one another. Kagome found it difficult to breathe again, especially when she caught sight of his eyes. It was unfair how amber they were, burning liquid gold in the warm light.

"I didn't think the snow would be so bad," he said, a somewhat apologetic tone to his voice.

"Me neither," she answered, pulling her coat tightly around her. It fell silent again. He leaned back in the seat next to her while Kagome stayed perched on the end of hers, staring into the embers beyond the grate. An hour passed. Then two. Kagome eventually reclined in her seat to get more comfortable, her eyes feeling heavy. She tried to keep her mind empty, clear from those thoughts that normally pervaded her unconsciousness. She did not want to think about InuYasha or Shippou or Sango or Miroku. She didn't want to think about any of them, even those good memories where they were laughing and carefree. She especially did not want to think about the day they died so prematurely…Kagome's hands balled into fists beneath the sleeves of her jacket, trying to physically control herself in order to banish those thoughts. She didn't want to think about them or what happened during that final battle. In addition to that, she didn't want to wonder why she felt the closest to normal when she was with this nameless stranger, with those golden eyes that looked so familiar…

After a while, she wasn't sure how long they had been waiting. All Kagome knew was that she was warm and comfortable. The heater lulled her into a state she hadn't felt in a long time; almost like she was beside Kaede's fire pit, resting her cheek on InuYasha's shoulder…it took her sleepy brain a moment to comprehend that she was resting against someone. Much like her hanyou's had been, this shoulder was strong and comforting. And most of all, it didn't pull away.

"I don't even know your name," she said, eyes half-way closed.

"I don't know yours either," he replied.

"I'm Kagome," she answered.

"I'm Inuyasha."

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Word Count: 2,653