Shiroi Yuki by luzopi

Shiroi Yuki

Title: Shiroi Yuki

Rated: G

Summary: Snow falls heavily one night, and a miko is hurt deeply. Buried under the snow, will she survive?

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...

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[A/N] Shiroi Yuki means White Snow. In case you wanted to know!

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Shiroi Yuki

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White flakes dancing down from the skies, shining in the pale moonlight. On the darkest night of the year, snow covers the trees and the peaks of faraway mountains are capped in white.

In a clearing stands a lone figure, just as pure white as the flurry of flakes surrounding it. Strands of silver swirl behind it, chasing the breezes. Soft streaks of magnenta grace its emotionless face, and a blue crescent moon shines from its forehead. Gray armor stands out from the pristine white of the figure, and a single sleeve flaps gracefully in the icy wind.

A soft snowflake dares to land on the thin colourless lips of the figure, and a cold smile forms. Licking his lips seductively, he savours the taste of first snow. It was time.

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"Oi! Move it, wench!"

A young woman dressed like a miko turns around at the familiar shout. She glares fiercely at the brash hanyou who had, once again, insulted her. "First, my name is not wench, bitch or anything else that you can think of! It's Kagome! KA-GO-ME! Secondly..." There was a moment of suspense, in which Inuyasha gulped. He quickly rethought his words (amazingly fast for his mental capabilities), and tried to avoid his imminent fate.

"Wait, Kagome! Don't-"

"O-SU-WA-RI!" BANG! Instant hanyou-shaped hole. 'Right on Kaede's new garden, too. Pity.' Kagome mused, while pulling out a weed.

She was helping Kaede weed her new garden, even though nothing was growing in it except weeds, since the weather was growing cold and the first snow was expected any moment. However, since Kaede had helped them so much and let them use her place as headquarters for their shard hunting quest, she just couldn't refuse.

'Ah, well. That's it for today, then.' The miko gathered her basket into her arms, and skipped off happily, ignoring the grumbling from the new hole in the middle of the garden.

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"Hey, guys!" Kagome popped up at the doorway of Kaede's hut. The others greeted her too,

"Kagome-sama,"

"Kagome-chan!"

"Kagoooooome!!!" was the only warning she got before an orange bolt shot out and hugged her waist. Kagome laughed and hugged the hyperactive kitsune tightly.

"Shippou! I was only gone for a while. You can't have missed me so badly, right?" Shippou just nodded madly and jumped up to hug her neck, his tail wagging crazily. Kagome smiled and just returned his hug warmly.

"Child, have you finished your work on the garden?" Kaede inquired.

"Ah, sorry, Kaede... Inuyasha kind of turned up and made a hole in your garden...Ehehehe.." Kagome rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

Kaede shook her head slowly, chuckling. "Aye, child. I am sure that Inuyasha must have fallen down on his own, without any help from you."

There was a mischievious twinkle in the elderly miko's eyes as she said this, and Kagome had at least the grace to blush. She was quickly saved from further embarassment when a loud THUMP was heard. She turned around just in time to see Miroku collapse on the floor, courtesy of Hiraikotsu. Sango was still holding onto her weapon, and a vein was popping on her forehead.

'She looks pissed,' Kagome noted, with some amusement. Even after she had accepted Miroku's proposal and confessed her love for him, she still got angry whenever he tried to grope her.

"Well! It's getting late now, and I'm sure someone's tired and ready to sleep...? With this, she eyed an innocent-looking kitsune who stared back at her with cute eyes.

"Mama, please?" Shippou pleaded, adding teary eyes in hope of persuading his mother to allow him to stay up late. However, the effect was spoiled by a yawn, which was quickly stifled.

"No buts, Shippou. Go to bed," she stated firmly. The kit pouted and trudged to his bed, which was Kagome's sleeping bag. Kagome softened at that, and sat down beside the sleeping bag to give Shippou a goodnight kiss. He murmured a soft "G'nite", and snuggled further into the warm sleeping bag. Having settled down her kit, Kagome then turned to chat softly with the others.

"It's turning colder and colder each day. I'm sure that it's going to snow any day now," Kagome commented. The others murmured agreement.

"Hmm, what shall we do about the shard hunt? We can't very well go out in the winter to hunt youkai, let alone fight them. Anyway, they will all be asleep, except for the daiyoukai."

Having miraculously recovered, Miroku brought up the question that had been in everyone's mind since the start of winter.

"Well, I don't sense any shards nearby..." Kagome offered.

"And there haven't been any rumours of shards or strong youkai around lately," Sango added.

"It would be foolish for ye to go out in this weather. Stay with me for this winter, and go out in the spring," Kaede suggested.

Before anyone could agree, a snow-covered hanyou came barging into the hut, scattering snow everywhere. He shook himself off like a wet dog would, and snow flew in all directions.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome hissed, as some snow landed on her arm.

A huge blob of snow landed on the snoozing firecat by the fire, and it woke up with a growl. It brushed off the snow on its back with a shake, and yowled affrontedly at the hanyou who had woken it up. Kirara glared at Inuyasha, who glared back, and settled again on the side of the fire furthest from him.

"Hmph!" Inuyasha plopped down Indian-style in a corner of the hut, and sulked.

"Well, Kaede, I guess we should stay then, since it started snowing." Kagome decided, and all of them agreed. Well, almost all.

"No way, wench! We're going out to find shards!" Confronted with glares of everyone in the hut, he hesitated, but plowed on. "Keh! You humans are so weak and slow, it'll probably take us all winter just to get to the next village!"

"But, Inuyasha, there have been no rumours of shards, nor has Kagome-sama detected any," Miroku tried to reason with the impatient Inuyasha.

"Keh! You're useless except for shard detecting, and you can't even do that right! I bet Kikyou could find shards anywhere!" Sango and Miroku tensed, and looked at Kagome. Kaede just sighed, and got up to go to the back room. Kagome's head was bent down, and her face was in shadow. They waited for her to speak, and an uncomfortable silence stretched. When she finally spoke, everyone let out a breath they didn't realise they had been holding.

"I guess, Kikyou will always be better than me in your eyes then, Inuyasha." Her voice was so quiet that they had to strain their ears to hear it. "I guess, that I'm worth nothing at all, to you." Try as she might to hold it in, a hint of deep sorrow still showed in her tone. She lifted up her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

Sango's heart almost broke at the sight of her dear friend's face in tears, and she had to resist the urge to kill Inuyasha right then and there. Miroku, sensing her murderous mood, was tempted to help her in disemboweling the foolish hanyou, but instead, tried to calm her down by putting an arm around her shoulder, and surprisingly, not trying to grope her at all. Even Inuyasha felt a twinge in his heart when he looked at the heart-broken miko.

But, it was too late for words, as Kagome got up and left the hut. Sango started to go after her sister, but was held back by Miroku. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he shook his head sadly. He, too, wanted to comfort Kagome, who was also like a dear sister to him, but they could do nothing to heal her broken heart. All they could do was wait, wait for their beloved miko to return to them, if she did at all.

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Kagome ran blindly through the falling snow, running into the forest. There was already a thin layer of drift covering the ground and she left light footprints on it.

'Inuyasha's forest,' she thought bitterly as she ran. How ironic that she would seek comfort in the forest of the very man who had hurt her. She stopped as she reached the clearing of the Bone-Eater's Well, her way home.

The snow was falling heavier by the second. She walked slowly towards the well, which she could barely see through all the heavy snowfall. Already, the grass was covered and the snow reached her knees. She shivered in her two-layered winter kimono, and tried to wade through the thick snow. She failed, and fell onto the soft drift. She tried to get up, but couldn't. Her feet were stuck deep under the snow. She curled into a ball and started crying, filled with cold and despair.

Now that she was alone, all her feelings came back to haunt her.

She felt like dying. For so long, she had loved him secretly, and tried to ignore the obvious in her innocence. It had all felt so perfect, that she loved him, and one day, that he could love her back. She tried to ignore Kikyou's dark presence in the background, and concentrated only on what she wanted to see.

Inuyasha's care for her, his love.

Then, when she had stumbled upon the two of them entangled with each other, she tried to convince herself that Inuyasha was only saying goodbye to her, so that Kikyou could go back to hell and rest in peace. As Inuyasha disappeared night after night, she convinced herself that it was just because Kikyou only needed company, and that Inuyasha loved her, not Kikyou.

When Inuyasha had started to compare her to Kikyou, and found her wanting, she just thought that it was alright, because he loved her. And he had started to insult her, saying that Kikyou was better. She had failed to come up with a convincing enough explanation for that. That was when her perfect world had started to collapse. She started to realise little faults in him, and hated herself for it. Then, because of all that hate, her love for him had started to fade. It all seemed like a silly little crush now, and she had given up so much for it, that she wanted to hold on desperately to it, in an effort to convince herself that it was not all in vain.

She welled inside her feelings of sorrow, and slowly started to break down. She couldn't move, and a blanket of snow started to cover her. She welcomed the small warmth it provided for a while, but as more snow piled on, it grew colder and colder. Soon, she could not ignore that cold anymore, and started to come out of her shell. She started to scrabble for the surface, for air, and dug desperately. She kicked wildly, and freed her legs. She tried to dig out by scratching at the snow on top of her, but it failed.

Panic was starting to set in, and she feared she was going to go mad soon, as she scrabbled and kicked wildly at the snow on top of her. Her breathing grew laboured, and she lay down, unmoving. She started to give up, smiling defeatedly and beginning to accept her fate. Then, all of a sudden, miraculously, an arm shot through the snow on top of her, and she grabbed onto it in a death grip, holding onto this little piece of hope amidst all the despair. She was pulled out of the layers of snow, and against a warm chest. She immediately curled into her rescuer, and got a glimpse of silver hair and golden eyes.

'It's not Inuyasha..' was her last thought as she fell unconscious.

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As Kagome returned to consciousness, she could feel a rough and wet tongue lick her cheek. She blurrily opened her eyes, and saw white. She blinked a few times, and looked around. She was somewhere dark, and surrounded by something warm and white. She felt the tongue lick her again, and looked upwards to see a giant white dog licking her cheek. She was leaning against its side, and curled up into its soft fur. Its head was bent towards her, and it was sniffing at her face.

Without thinking, she hugged its snout, which was wider than her. It whuffed and blew at her stomach, tickling her. She giggled, and let go. It bent its head to her level again, and she stared deep into its golden eyes.

She knew him.

What she didn't know was why he had saved her. She looked deep inside those golden depths to search out the answer. When she found it, she couldn't believe it. Never in the few times she had met him, had she ever seen so much emotion shining in his eyes. And above all, it was love. What she had wished so much to see in Inuyasha's eyes, she now found in his half-brother's.

"Sesshoumaru..." She whispered his name into the darkness, and his eyes glowed golden before he transformed back into his humanoid form. She stood up and stepped back and watched, transfixed, as his youki surrounded him and glowed brightly.

Then, in a flash of light, he stood before her, in all his ethereal beauty. He was still wearing the same clothes they always saw him in, without his armor. He stood, and walked to her. She stood frozen in her spot as he approached gracefully. He stopped right in front of her, and she looked up to meet his eyes. While his face was still as emotionless as before, his golden eyes were burning with his emotions.

She saw..Pride. Desire. Patience.

Love.

Love, for her. He lowered his head to hers, and his eyes shone questioningly.

She searched deep inside herself, and found an answer.

She reached out with her hand, and caressed a long magnenta stripe on his cheek. He bent down even further, and their foreheads touched. They leaned in together, and their eyes met before their lips followed. Cobalt blue and amber golden closed, and the kiss was deepened when he tilted her chin up. It was her first kiss, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that he was gentle with her. It ended sweetly, when they both pulled back.

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They spent that night in each other's company, Kagome resting in his arms. They sat, snug and cozy, and watched the snow fall outside their cave in peace. Kagome leaned into his strong arms, 'His arms are stronger than Inuyasha's..'.

She caught herself, and mentally shook her head clear of thoughts of the hanyou. 'No, I don't care about him anymore. I have Sesshoumaru now...'

She tilted her head up a bit to look at her new love. He looked peaceful, somehow, watching the flakes of white floating down from the sky. His eyes were a bright amber, rather than gold, and his hair was of the purest white. She reached out to touch the pink stripes on his cheek,'Pink.' She giggled, and Sesshoumaru's eyes slid to hers.

She giggled again, and he raised an eyebrow at her giggling. 'Nope, not pink. He's far too manly for that.' Another giggle. Another eyebrow. This time she smiled at him, and he nuzzled her cheek.

'Magnenta. His stripes are magnenta.' she decided. She continued studying his face, and him hers, until Kagome finally fell asleep with a soft 'Aishiteru...' and a warm smile on her face.

Sesshoumaru looked at his miko and almost smiled. Almost. Instead, he pulled his fur closer and wrapped it around his precious bundle. He reflected on how he had fallen in love with her, slowly but surely.

After meeting her in his father's tomb, he had become interested in the miko who had dared stand up against him. Then, in consequent meetings, she had earned his respect by daring to stand up to him to protect his half-brother. He remembered those traitorous thoughts when she had shot an arrow at him.

'She should be protecting me, not that worthless half-breed.' It had shocked him so much, that he nearly fell over, but luckily, he had held his stance. That simple thought had held much meaning, and as he reflected upon it later, it shocked him even more.

His inner beast had already chosen the fiery miko as his mate.

What made him fear for his own sanity was the indication in that statement that he would need the miko's protection. No, he wanted it.

Somehow, without him knowing it, he had wholeheartedly chosen the miko as his mate. That had led to close observation of the miko to ensure that a spell had not been cast to seduce him, and that had slowly led to love for the miko.

The first indication had been when the hanyou had insulted her again, and the taiyoukai, hidden in the trees, had to fight the strong sense of killing the hanyou for insulting his mate. That situation had quickly been remedied when he watched the hanyou being subdued with one word. In the following days after that, his respect for her grew, and he started to take pride in her. That, had grown into love.

Then, when the first snow had fallen, he came to collect his mate. Instead, he had found her half-dead and frozen under a snowdrift. After rescuing her, he took shelter from the snowstorm in a cave. Which was how they ended up here.

After finishing his thoughts, and ensuring the cave was protected, he held her closer to him and dozed with his head on her shoulder.

'Aishiteru, koishii...' he whispered against her soft cheek, and she unconciously curled even more into him. Somehow, with his new mate's scent and her small body held against him, Sesshoumaru fell into a deep sleep for the first time in years.

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Japanese Words

Miko - Priestess

Hanyou - Half-demon

Osuwari - Sit

Kitsune - Fox demon

Hiraikotsu - Sango's bone boomerang

Daiyoukai - Greater youkai, like Sesshoumaru

Youkai - Japanese demons

Aishiteru - I love you

Koishii - Beloved

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[A/N] And that was my first oneshot! Hope you liked it!

Should this be continued? Please message me and vote!

-Misheru Tenshi