Imperceptible by forthright

Blizzard

Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this winter scene... especially for the one with cold feet. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess.

A Debt of Gratitude: With thanks to Fenikkusuken, who notices little things.

This oneshot was posted on December 17, 2008.

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Blizzard

Kagome blinked snowflakes from her lashes and squinted into the storm, anxious not to lose sight of the dark blob in front of her that she knew to be Miroku. The roaring wind drowned out the soft jingle-jangle of his staff's rings and nearly obscured him from view even though he was just a few paces ahead. She was too cold to think, almost too cold to move, and getting close to being too cold to care. Blizzards were bad, but being caught in one out in the open was definitely worse. I can't believe I thought this snow was pretty when it first started.

Thankfully, the monk was familiar with the area; he knew the terrain from past wanderings and assured them that there was a cave used for a traveler's shelter nearby. He'd described the setting to Inuyasha-within view of the road, marked by a small shrine, and blessed with a fresh water spring. This last point was their best hope to reach this wayside rest in spite of white-out conditions. For once, Sesshoumaru took the lead; all of them were relying on his keen sense of smell. Kagome wasn't sure how he would be able to differentiate the scent of a half-frozen spring from the snow that flew in their faces, but there was little choice but to trust the taiyoukai's guidance.

Kagome burrowed her cold cheeks and nose into the warmth of Inuyasha's fire-rat covered shoulder. "You okay?" asked the hanyou, who'd insisted on carrying her.

"Yes, I'm fine," she assured him. They'd taken Sesshoumaru's usual place at the end of the line, but Miroku had Shippo and Sango had Kirara, so there wasn't any real chance of losing one another. Kohaku and Rin were piled under blankets on Ah-Un along with Jaken, whose short legs made it difficult to wade through drifts.

Both heads of the scaly steed sent up a noisy chorus of grumbling when they confirmed the location of the spring by the simple virtue of walking into it. The thin layer of ice that had formed along the edge of the shallow pool broke under their claws, and they had to be carefully guided out backwards so their passengers weren't accidentally tossed into the frigid water.

Miroku pointed with confidence to the left, and the black maw of a cave soon hove into view. Inuyasha set Kagome down and ducked his head through the low opening, giving the interior the barest of inspections before hustling the lot of them inside.

The still air within the shelter was a relief after hours battling against roaring winds. The space was cold, though, and quite dark. Sesshoumaru examined the cave with greater care, and Inuyasha found a few dry sticks stashed in a corner. "It's not much to work with," the hanyou remarked once the pitiful pile of kindling had been assembled for Jaken to light.

Soon, the fire's glow was enough to see by, and Kagome set to work unpacking food and her kettle. The fire won't last long, so I'd better boil some water before it gives out.

Now that they didn't have to shout to be heard, everyone was comparing notes. Miroku rubbed Sango's fingers, ostensibly to make sure they weren't frostbitten. "Sharing body heat is usually called for in these circumstances," he suggested hopefully.

Sango rolled her eyes and replied, "Feel free to curl up with Ah-Un, Houshi-sama." Kagome stifled a giggle as she reached for her sleeping bag and shook it out next to the fire for Rin to sit on. Kirara transformed into her larger size and butted her head against Kohaku's shoulder before curling around him; the boy reached up and gave the fire-cat a grateful pat.

While he appreciated his friends' ability to make light of the situation, Inuyasha was nearly beside himself with concern. In spite of their determined cheerfulness, Miroku was turning blue, and little Rin's teeth were chattering. We need to get warm-now.

"Are you all right, Rin-chan?" Kagome asked once she had the girl draped in blankets.

"R-r-rin is f-f-fine. J-j-jaken-sama's fire is n-n-nice and w-w-warm," the girl smiled bravely.

And very small, Kagome thought to herself. She glanced around the cave with a worried expression. There was nothing left to burn... or is there. Biting her lip, Kagome returned to her pack; fishing around, she brought out three textbooks. After only a moment's hesitation, she made her decision.

At the sound of tearing paper, everyone turned. "Oh, Kagome-chan!" Sango protested.

"It'll burn," Kagome explained. "It's better than nothing." Setting her jaw, she took hold of a few more pages, but before she could rip them from the binding, her wrist was locked in a firm grasp. Startled by his blunt intervention, she looked up into Sesshoumaru's face.

"No," he stated with simple authority.

"We have to do something," she snapped, her patience worn thin by cold and fear.

"Not this," Sesshoumaru replied, releasing her. He gently closed the cover of the book she held and laid his hand upon its cover. "Knowledge is precious. I will... do what I can."

Kagome hugged the textbook to her chest as the taiyoukai walked stiffly towards his half-brother. Not to be left out, Miroku quickly joined them, and the three were soon deep in conversation. From where she stood, Kagome couldn't read Sesshoumaru's face, but Inuyasha's expressions were easy to interpret. She saw surprise, quickly followed by relief. Miroku rubbed his chin and nodded, while Inuyasha paced off the room and squinted towards the ceiling.

"What do you think they're talking about?" Kagome asked Sango as the monk offered a few comments that made Sesshoumaru's posture stiffen and Inuyasha's jaw drop.

"If they're trying to decide who sleeps with whom, then I'm guessing Miroku-sama has generously offered to warm our bed... and he wants the brothers to share a blanket," Sango opined.

Kagome bit her lip to contain her giggles, then sneezed. "I'm cold," she whimpered.

"Me, too," Sango sighed.

Miroku strolled towards them, smiling with obvious satisfaction; Inuyasha followed more slowly-pensive, but not peeved. It can't be that bad, Kagome decided, wondering what they had in mind.

"Okay... we gotta move everyone back towards that end of the cave... Ah-Un, too," Inuyasha directed.

"As much as it pains me to do so, this needs to go as well," Miroku announced, and he carefully put out the fire, earning a squawk of protest from Jaken. "It wouldn't have lasted more than a few minutes, at best, and we'll soon have something better," soothed the monk.

In a matter of moments, their only source of warmth and light was gone, and Inuyasha led them towards the far wall. Kagome had gathered up her sleeping bag and held Rin's hand as they followed the sound of the hanyou's voice, shuffling their feet on the uneven floor as they tried navigating in the dark. After Rin let out a small cry of alarm when she tripped, Inuyasha gruffly asked Jaken to send a few bursts of flame overhead, which helped them all get their bearings as they regrouped. Now what?

Kagome felt the change in the air, and spun around to try to locate Sesshoumaru. Youki pressed upon her, but she couldn't see him... until the dull glow of red eyes swerved in her direction, pinning her to the spot. She gasped in astonishment as she realized what was happening. Sesshoumaru-sama is transforming!

Miroku, who had salvaged a few of the larger sticks from their first fire, arranged them in a shallow depression and directed Jaken to light them anew. In the flickering firelight, Kagome gazed in awe at the massive white dog who had joined them. Sesshoumaru nearly filled the available space; in fact, he carefully crouching as he balanced on three legs. With a short hop, he pivoted his body, then lay down so that his back blocked the cave entrance, effectively closing out the bitter cold.

"Sesshoumaru-sama should generate enough body heat to keep us from freezing," Miroku remarked, looking very pleased.

Kagome was speechless, but Sango managed, "That's... very generous. Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Oh, it gets better," Miroku cheerfully announced. "Sesshoumaru-sama has magnanimously agreed to lend us even more of his warmth. We'll be bedding down with him tonight... or rather, on him." Large red eyes, luminous in the faint light, turned towards the monk and narrowed dangerously.

"I'm not so sure that's wise," Kagome said cautiously. "Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't seem to like the idea."

"Keh. That look's just because Miroku's being an idiot," Inuyasha interjected. "The houshi's right, though; Sesshoumaru said it's okay."

Kagome and Sango exchanged glances, and the taijiya voiced a final plea for clarification. "You're saying that we have permission to..."

"Cuddle up with Sesshoumaru-sama!" Miroku beamed, turning a deaf ear to the low growl that emanated from the beast towering over them, even while lying down. "I for one am quite curious!" The monk snagged his blanket, set aside his staff and fearlessly approached the massive dog. "I must apologize, Sesshoumaru-sama. I'm afraid my feet will be quite cold."

Sango clapped her hand over her mouth, fearful for the brazen monk's life and limbs as he boldly clambered up Sesshoumaru's side and stood upon his back. Miroku reached up, bracing himself against the cave's ceiling as he looked things over. "Plenty of room for everyone!" he announced. For his part, the inu-youkai seemed prepared to ignore the monk; a low, gruff bark was his only comment on the man's audacity. Rin and Shippo needed no further encouragement. Kohaku gave them a leg up, and all three of them scrambled to the top.

"Come on!" Miroku called down. "Don't be shy!"

Inuyasha snorted, but under the circumstances, he was prepared to be practical. Meeting each of the girls' eyes in turn, he gestured towards his brother's canine form. "You need to get warm, and he won't hold it against you... well, not very much... probably."

With a quick nod of understanding, Sango followed Kirara up Sesshoumaru's flank, accepting Miroku's hand once she neared the top. He offered to help her arrange her blankets, but the taijiya pointedly spread her bedding at a safe distance from the spot he'd claimed for himself next to Kohaku.

"Your turn," Inuyasha ordered.

Kagome hung back and asked, "Are you coming, too?"

"Guess so," he replied with a noncommittal shrug. As the hanyou moved to help Jaken coax the two-headed dragon closer to Sesshoumaru's flank, Kagome lingered, looking on as Ah and Un supplied a steady stream of chatter until they curled their lesser bulk against the larger youkai's side and closed their eyes for rest. Inuyasha noticed her reticence. "Stop dawdling, Kagome; he offered."

With dragging feet and a nervous flutter in her stomach, Kagome approached the large inu-youkai. Think of him as a dog... just a big, warm, dog, she coached herself, but it was no use. This was Sesshoumaru-sama-no matter what he might look like on the outside-and the taiyoukai was not a person you just... climbed onto. He kept his distance from all of them, rarely touching or being touched by anyone, and she doubted that preference had changed just because his appearance had. His 'offer' would probably save her from freezing to death, but... This was way out of his comfort zone. Sure, she was curious, but Sesshoumaru's feelings were impossible for her to ignore. He must hate this.

Edging around so she could see his face, Kagome was a little surprised to feel cold air seeping in from around the edges of the blocked entrance. "Your back must be cold," she murmured in concern, and Sesshoumaru's head lifted from his front paws and looked down his nose at her with all of his usual haughtiness. He has just as commanding a presence in canine form. "I'm sorry," she said seriously.

He cocked his head slightly, then huffed and closed his eyes, shutting her out.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" she ventured softly. He slitted an eye and lifted his lip just enough to show a prodigious set of fangs. "Of course you mind; what a silly thing to ask," Kagome sighed. "Thank you for putting up with it anyhow." She turned towards his shoulder just as the dwindling firelight snuffed out, forcing her to blindly reach out. Her fumbling hands found fur-lots of fur. Soft, warm fur... so thick that her arms were buried up to her elbows. "Will it hurt if I pull?"

Sesshoumaru snorted.

Kagome swallowed further useless questions-he can't answer me, anyhow-and hauled herself upwards until she was kneeling just between his shoulder blades, in the midst of the thick ruff that surrounded his neck.

Miroku spoke up, his voice reverberating oddly in the darkness. "Are you with us, Kagome-sama? Take off your wet layers-shoes, too. You're better off wearing nothing than keeping wet cloth against your skin. Use the dry blankets to trap the warmth," he advised.

Inuyasha's voice carried from below as he added, "Night's falling. In the morning, if the storm's blown over, we'll find wood and get a fire going to dry everything out. For now, everybody just find a spot... and stay put."

"Was that directed at me, Inuyasha?" Miroku inquired innocently.

"Yes!" Sango crisply replied.

Kagome giggled as she cautiously felt around for a secure place to set down her pack. Taking a deep breath, she sneezed again. As strange as this situation was, she was anxious to get warm. Draping her sleeping bag around her shoulders for privacy, she shucked out of her damp clothing. At least I have pajamas. Kagome quickly donned dry garments and, after a moment's consideration, decided to indulge herself a little... and left her feet bare. Sesshoumaru's fur is so luxurious... I wonder if his hair is this...

Inuyasha cleared his throat to let her know he was close by. "You warm enough?" he asked.

Kagome turned in his direction, but it was impossible to see anything. "Getting there," she assured him.

"Everyone else is settled, and the kids are already out. I'm going to bunk down by Miroku so Sango doesn't have to sleep with one eye open."

Kagome laughed softly. "That's probably a good idea."

"You okay alone?" he persisted. "I could send Shippo over...?"

"No, no... let him sleep. I'm fine... really."

"Okay," he relented. "G'night, Kagome."

"Goodnight," she echoed, then returned to the task of tucking herself in. She opted against getting into her sleeping bag, preferring to stay as close as possible to her canine heat source. She burrowed into the thick fur, spreading her blankets over the top. As her body warmed up, she relaxed and turned onto her stomach, pressing her cheek against the big dog's back and loosely winding her fingers into his fur. After a few minutes, she realized that she could feel the gentle rise and fall of Sesshoumaru's breathing-slow and steady. The slight motion was soothing, and she stretched, letting her whole body drape bonelessly against the taiyoukai. In that moment of clarity between waking and sleeping, she realized something. "I'm not really alone, am I..." she mumbled drowsily, and the lulling rhythm ceased. "You're here."

Sesshoumaru fidgeted, and at length, he released the breath he'd been holding.

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End Note: This oneshot was written in response to the Live Journal community dokuga(underscore)contest and their oneshot prompt for Week #06-Borrow. 2,545 words.