It's been ages since I've written in this fandom so I apologize if my characterization is a bit rusty. It's also been quite a while since I've read the manga so this story takes place relatively early in the series. Maybe after the Shichinin-tai story arc.

Mistletoe

Kagome glared steadily at the hanyou next to her.

"I hate you." She muttered without any real feeling, even though she knew he wouldn't take it seriously. Not after everything they'd been through together. As if to prove her point Inuyasha just keh'd in a way that really did nothing to help her temper. His golden eyes were just as sullen and she knew that he disliked their present circumstances just as much as she did.

While Kagome wasn't one who cared to blame circumstances on individuals (Naraku and whole ordeal with Urasue were one of the few exception though) she couldn't help but privately agree with Inuyasha on this one.

This was entirely Miroku's fault.

XXX

Miroku sneezed. It wasn't a simple sneeze. It wasn't the simple, refined sounds that the nobility made, and it certainly wasn't the brain popping sneeze which would have been highly acceptable given their current situation. It was such a sneeze that in that very instant that he knew that someone was speaking about him in a very unflattering manner.

Or at the very least, having evil thoughts.

Rubbing at his nose with the material of his gi, he stared rather mournfully at the vertical bars that were keeping him from Sango. It was highly unusual to see her sleeping so defenselessly, especially considering that Kagome was absent. The taiji-ya always liked to keep at least one person between herself and him before she allowed herself to fully relax in sleep. That she could do so when trapped in an underground prison of a disgruntled daimyou was…unsettling.

And it hurt.

The monk let out a mournful sigh and plopped down next to the bars that barricaded him from the sweet form that lay only inches away. Plopping was not something that he did in the presence of others, but considering everything that had been going lately he felt that just this once his father would forgive him for it. His fingers were itching with that familiar sensation and if she was only a little closer then he would be able to relieve that itch.

Was this what Buddha meant when he spoke of living hell?

XXX

It was a hunt for yet another jewel shard that had started out easily enough.

Rumor was that the daughter of a local daimyou had acquired a shard from her fiancé and liked to flaunt the ebony colored stone. Something about the rumor hadn't quite rung true, but Inuyasha had slowly been going to stir crazy because of the blizzard that had blanketed the small village in several feet of snow, and the daimyou's estate was to the south and by the water. Kagome had hoped that the search could have been delayed a couple of days because, after all, Christmas was only a few days away. Even if it was a holiday that was not widely celebrated in Japan on this side of the well she had hoped that she would have at least been able to celebrate the end of the year with everyone, especially since she needed to head back through the well on New Year's Eve to study for a special make up exam that a teacher was holding for her on the 2nd.

She hadn't given voice to her wishes because, after all, it was a rather foolish thing to do and it would have just lead to another fight with Inuyasha and that really was not something that she was looking forward to. So she had taken one of the gifts that she had brought with her, while leaving the others in Kaede's care.

The searches for the shards never took long when the lead was as solid as the one that they had followed. It was always a hit or miss, and they had planned on returning directly afterwards given the uncertainty of the weather.

Given their past luck and history they really should have known that it wouldn't go as smoothly as they had hoped. The security around the daimyou's residence had been so tight that not even Myouga, had he been present, would have been able to slip by undetected. Although no one had mentioned it, at that moment they were all rather grateful to have a monk in their group. They had been so confident that they would be able to get through. Sango had even made a suggestion that Kagome change into some miko garb, but things had gotten quiet after that.

Inuyasha had gotten sulky, although that was hardly unusual, but Kagome had known that he was remembering the same thing that she did.

Even when she was helping out in the shrine at home, the young miko absolutely refused to wear the traditional scarlet hakama and white gi. The last thing that she wanted was to remind Inuyasha of the ghost that still refused to release him. Even now, thinking back on everything that had led up to their current situation Kagome couldn't help but feel weighed down by everything.

They had all been so certain that they would at least be able to get close enough to see if that muted power that she sensed coming from within the daimyou's compound did indeed belong to a shard.

It was quite possibly the first time that their group had been turned away when Miroku had quite solemnly told the head of the staff of the heavy energy that lingered over the household. To make matters worse, it had started snowing.

There had been little choice but to vault over the compound's walls and get to the rooms that housed the hime so that they could retrieve the shard. Inuyasha had suffered an arrow through the shoulder in their attempt, and another arrow had nearly gone through Kagome's back at the base of her spine. It was only Inuyasha's inhuman reflexes that had saved them.

It was the first time that they had ever encountered a Daimyou with such an efficient guard.

After Inuyasha's injury, when they had managed to find a brief moment's rest in a small alcove they agreed that they would split up with Miroku and Sango providing a distraction so that the hanyou could take Kagome to the hime's room with a plan to meet in a village that was in another province.

Inuyasha had nearly knocked the young royal out when she started screaming incessantly for the guards to come and save her. The shard hung from a hair pin, but Kagome was more then a little annoyed to see that it was a regular black stone—maybe obsidian—and not a piece of the Shikon. There had been no time for her to voice her aggravation. She had just barely managed to confirm it wasn't the shard before Inuyasha was grabbing her waist and they were fleeing the compound. Somehow they had all managed to make it to the meeting point in once piece and without further pursuit. Despite Sango cautioning that it would be best if they found a nearby cave to rest in before heading back to Edo, it was decided that they would find lodging in the village, and of course, this time, there just happened to be a 'genuine' cloud of jyaki over the most wealthy home there.

Even Inuyasha, who had rather been in agreement with Sango that it would better for them to be cautious had agreed to staying in the village despite his aversions to most of them. Miroku had just had to remind him that only recently that Kagome had recovered from a rather dire strain of pneumonia that she had contracted due to the strain of the past month of strenuous shard hunting. So if only to avoid "being further inconvenienced by weak humans" it was decided that Miroku would humbly approach the master of the house and offer to exorcise the jyaki, even though a miko of high rank was expected to arrive the next day.

If any of them had even suspected what would happen next they would have bound and gagged the monk to find a cave that would hide them from any pursuers.

Somehow the daimyou had known that they would arrive there, even though had specifically chosen a village that would be far enough away that the lord wouldn't think to look for them there, but close enough that Kirara and Inuyasha wouldn't wear themselves out in getting there.

It was certainly far enough away that no human should have been able to beat them to the village.

Regardless, the facts were as they were, and within moments a whole group of ronin had surrounded them. It was then that Inuyasha sensed a youki that had somehow kept itself hidden the entire time. It didn't belong to Naraku or any of his wretched offspring, and the hanyou had been unable to place what type of youki the scent belonged to. The youkai daimyou, who didn't reveal or even hint at his true nature, had informed him that they would pay for the chaos that they had caused.

He had decreed that they would spend a week in the dungeons of his compound for the terror that they had brought upon his daughter. Because the youkai had made no mention, and didn't even seem to sense the shikon shards that Kagome had in the bottle around her neck, Inuyasha had followed complacently with the others. Something about this youkai was a little off—and strangely enough reminded the hanyou a bit of Shippou—but he couldn't figure it out.

A short while later, they found themselves in the dungeons located in the lowest level of the daimyou's compound. For some odd reason, although they had done nothing that would make them seem threatening, the group had been separated. Sango and Miroku were each placed in separate dungeons, while Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippou and Kirara were all placed in one.

Kagome sighed as she moved closer to Inuyasha for warmth, while trying to fight off the slight blush that she knew was on her cheeks. That really should have been the first warning that something odd was going on. Upon seeing the state of how rotten some of the wood in their cell seemed to be at certain places Inuyasha had hardly listened to her word of caution. She had tried to reason with him that it would only be a week. Once the week was over they would be allowed to leave, but as usual he had hardly listened to a word of common sense. What had surprised her was that he had responded with a bit of common sense of his own.

"Did you forget that it's winter, Kagome?! Don't be stupid just because it happens to be a little warmer here than it is back home! Your mother told me! You could have died from what you had! The snows will set in on this area any time now. What will you do if you get sick, really sick while we wait the week out?! You humans are too damn frail, and it would be impossible for me to get you back through the well in order for those healers from your time to help you!"

The concern that she had observed there was certainly not something that she was used to seeing in Inuyasha. His words had been more forceful than usual and something about the way he was acting had touched her so much that she simply had been unable to find the strength to say no. It had taken little effort for him to shatter the rotted wood and the daimyou's guard had been slow to respond. They had only been able to take advantage of that enough to escape and find some shelter from the bitter winds. There hadn't been time to go back for Miroku and Sango, especially when they weren't even sure where their cells were located.

Which was how they now found themselves in their current situation. They had been rather fortunate to find a large cave not far from the compound. The narrow entrance prevented the harsh wind from reaching them, even if it did howl horribly in their ears, and there was a hidden alcove just above from where they sat that they could use to hide in case any of the youkai's guard discovered it. Inuyasha didn't seem to doubt for a moment that the cave was on the daimyou's maps, and he found it too odd that they hadn't heard any search parties. Which was why it had been decided that Shippou and Kirara would go out and scout the area while Kagome and Inuyasha worked out some type of plan to free their friends.

She glanced over at Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye. He seemed to be staring at the cave wall opposite of them rather sullenly. She studied his profile for a moment and tried hard not to shiver. The air had more bite to it than she had expected and she wondered if perhaps it wouldn't have been better off to stay in the dungeon.

Would he push her away if she tried to get closer for warmth?

She felt really foolish. She reached into her skirt pocket for the gift that she had intended for Inuyasha and brought with her on a whim. Gods, if she couldn't even find the courage to huddle closer to him when it was half freezing outside how did she ever expect to be able to give him her gift?

I'm such a terrible person. She thought rather mournfully. Sango-chan and Miroku-sama are still trapped and here I am worry about giving Inuyasha that…

Maybe his words were starting to influence her more than—

"Kagome."

It was more the feel of his palm against her forehead rather than the suddenness of his voice that startled Kagome out of her thoughts. When she noticed those warm amber eyes concentrated on her with a concerned intensity that she really wasn't used to, she suddenly found it very hard to breathe.

"Are you feeling alright?"!

The fact that there was a thick emotion in his voice that she certainly couldn't recall ever hearing from him before certainly did nothing to help her blush.

Inuyasha turned fully so that he was completely facing her as he studied her, his hand still pressed against her flush skin. He swore softly under his breath when he felt the increase in temperature as he pressed the pads of his fingers against the soft line of her jaw. He was completely unprepared for the way she pulled away rather abruptly.

"It's nothing Inuyasha!" He raised a brow at the sudden way she scooted back, excuses spilling out of her mouth.

This wasn't good. Miroku and Sango weren't as frail as Kagome was, but they were only human. They would freeze to death without proper warmth so he couldn't waste the time needed to take her back through the well. Although he wasn't keen on the idea, she would just have to wait and bear with whatever she was coming down with until he could get the others out. He could only hope that Shippou would back soon with a report of the current sentry activities around the—

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he observed another shiver that briefly shook Kagome's body.

"Damn it, bitch." He growled, "why didn't you tell me you were cold?" He took no thought on how his actions might be taken or how uncharacteristic they were. Half standing up, he reached forward and wrapped his hand against her bicep, effectively stopping her backwards retreat. He tugged her forward, not minding the way she half fell against him before bringing his arms around her lithe form to hold her close, letting the long sleeves of his haori cover her as much as possible.

It took quite a bit of self restraint to prevent himself from leaning forward to bury his nose into her hair and breathe in her sweet scent. He instead decided to content himself with tucking her head under his chin. He really didn't care for the way that she was nearly frozen against him, but he still didn't release her until her body finally stopped shaking. By then she had relaxed slightly, and he loosened his grip just enough for her to find a more comfortable position but not enough to escape the confines of his arms. Hell, it was so damn comfortable, having her lying against him like this that he was sorely tempted to just leave the others in the dungeon. They would, at the least, be able to survive until tomorrow.

"Inuyasha?"

He merely grunted, and shifted so that the one piece of rock that jutted out of the cave would stop poking him in the spine.

"Inuyasha? Inuyasha, what about the plan?"

Scowling, Inuyasha looked down at Kagome not entirely liking the way she had just effectively ruined everything. Weren't girls supposed to be able to read the atmosphere or whatever her silly shoujo manga called it?

"Keh, we can't do anything until that damn runt gets back. Once he does we'll do what we need to. If it comes down to it we'll just get in the same way before…although you should probably stay here." Even though he was no longer looking down at her, Inuyasha could practically see the glower that her expression was already set into. Even though he had heard her admit on more then one occasion on just how bloody useless she could be on a battlefield when her arrows would do no good, he knew that she hated the thought of being left behind more than anything. Some of that was his fault. Maybe if he hadn't compared her to Kikyou so much in beginning and hadn't belittled her so much, she would be more confident about her uses.

She would probably never know or understand just how much he appreciated her, and he would probably never be able to tell her.

Suddenly Kagome let out a squeak and Inuyasha was forced to release her when she started squirming on his lap. Fortunately, it wasn't too close to his particularly sensitive spot. His amber eyes trailed down to where her attention was that had her scrambling so franticly. He had just barely spotted the piece of greenery before her hand closed over it.

"Kagome?"

The look she gave him was sheepish and he couldn't stop the worry that he felt when her face reddened even more.

"It's nothing Inuyasha." She gave him one of her forced smiles.

"Kagome." His arm snaked around her waist and he pulled her back to him. He knew that how he was acting was completely different, but she had been acting strangely ever since she had returned from her home after recovering from her illness and he wanted to know why. Knowing that it would most likely elicit another 'eep' from her, he lowered his head and whispered into her ear, making sure that his breath brushed against her skin, "What's in your hand?"

She went completely rigid, and there was a slight arousal in her scent that he was completely unprepared for. He couldn't say that he particularly minded it, but it brought forth all sorts of images and things that he would like to do and couldn't. The fact that if they started to act out those little fantasies, then she could possibly get sick again was one of the minor reasons. While Kikyou still walked the Earth he would never be able to act on anything. He no longer wanted to die for her, but Inuyasha knew himself well enough that he couldn't predict what his reaction would be if he was given a choice like that.

It really wouldn't be fair to Kagome to start a relationship with her when he had so much unfinished business with the undead miko.

She was refusing to look at him, but reluctantly the futuristic miko raised the piece of greenery so that he could see it. He took it from her, curious, and turned it over in his hand.

It was larger than he had first thought it was. A little larger than his hand, it had long, narrow leaves that spread across and over his palm. At the apex of each of the section of leaves there was a cluster of pearlescent berries. He cocked his head as he studied it, not really certain why she was so embarrassed about him seeing it. "What is this?"

She adamantly refused to look at him, her blue-grey eyes were trained on the ground as she spoke. "It's mistletoe." She murmured softly.

XXX

Miroku didn't know how used to cold Sango was, but even she had to be feeling a bit of the chills that were now racking his body. They needed to escape soon or they might really die.

"Ne, Sango? Do you have any weapons on you?"

He became more then a little concerned when he didn't receive a response.

"Sango?"

"No, houshi-sama." The curtness of her voice made him almost wilt.

"No weapons?"

"Nothing that we can use to escape." She was silent after that.

Somehow, Miroku couldn't help but think that he had really messed up, in convincing Inuyasha to try and get a place in that village. Was it really so wrong to want the woman that he loved to not sleep in the cold?

He sighed dramatically. Ah, the world was such a cruel place.

XXX

During the time that he had spent traveling through the well Inuyasha had learned quite a bit about the different customs and odd quirks that could be associated with Kagome's time. Most of them had come as a courtesy of her brother on those days when he had come through the well to retrieve Kagome, only to discover that she wasn't yet finished with that damn school thing. During that time Souta had taken it upon himself to explain many of the customs that were so foreign to the hanyou.

Mistletoe was one of them.

Of course, Kagome had no idea that he knew what mistletoe was used for. If she had, he severely doubted that she would have brought it with her. He never would have thought Kagome capable of using something like that. Even though a part of him warmed at the thought that she appreciated him in that way, he couldn't stop the feelings that settled into his gut like a jagged piece of rock.

He had already made this decision. He had already decided that he wouldn't do anything with her until things had been resolved with Kikyou, at least. It really wasn't fair that she had to go and thrust this little temptation under his nose.

He wanted to kiss her very much.

His amber eyes regarded her slight form as he looked down at her. Considering that she was the one that had brought it in the first place, she really wouldn't be in a condition to refuse him, and with her softness pressing against him it was so very, very…tempting…

Inuyasha was hardly aware of his own movements. Already he was dipping his head down as one clawed hand reached down to cup her cheek. She looked up at him, confused and was about to say something—possibly ask for it back—when his lips brushed against hers.

His other hand held the mistletoe over their heads as he had seen couples do it in the pictures that Souta had shown him.

The crimson blush that stained her cheeks only served to increase his fervor and he was getting ready to claim her lips more possessively when an annoyingly familiar shriek rent the air.

"Kagome—!"

Inuyasha would have cheerfully strangled that runt at the way she practically threw herself away from him, as if she couldn't get away quick enough. Scowling, he dropped the mistletoe even though he knew the kitsune wouldn't understand the significance of the plant.

"Took you long enough runt." He muttered.

Kagome had her head turned away from the both of them, and he knew that she was trying to hide her blush.

Shippou stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha as he bounded over to Kagome. "At least I didn't get caught." The kit pulled himself into Kagome's lap and looked up at her, cocking his head to the side. "Kagome?"

"Yes, Shippou-chan?"

"Why's your face all red? Are you getting sick again?" There was more than just a little hint of worry in his voice.

"It's nothing, Shippou-chan." She ruffled his russet locks before lifting him off her lap and stood up. She refused to look at Inuyasha. "What did you find?"

The hanyou only half listened to Shippou's report on how a vast majority of the lord's guard had disappeared. After some further searching, he had discovered that a rather large search party had been sent in the opposite direction. Only the barest amount of sentries remained at the compound. Even while a part of him was whispering "ambush" his thoughts were more centered around what could have possibly happened if Shippou hadn't interrupted.

He hadn't intended to go back for a second kiss.

"—so I think now will be a good time to get them out. Inuyasha! You listening!" It was only when the young kitsune threw a small pebble at the hanyou that he even realized that he had hardly been listening to the report at all.

This is why they weren't supposed to do anything! This was all Kagome's fault.

"I'm listening, runt." He muttered. Well, there wasn't much they could do about it now. It had already happened, and he was more than a little interested in repeating the action. Maybe once they got back to the village…

"How are we going to do this Inuyasha?"

He looked over at Kagome, who gave him a small, almost shy smile.

"Keh. If that youkai's stupid enough to lax his guard completely that's his problem. Come on, Kagome." He squatted down so that she could position herself comfortably on his back, Shippou perched on her shoulder. It was then that he noticed that there was someone missing.

"Oi, runt! Where's Kirara?"

"She's back at the compound. She wanted to be a distraction."

His lips twisted into an arrogant smirk as he brought them to the entrance of the cave, hesitating only a moment before leaping into the cold air and onto the nearest tree. Kagome's grip tightened on his shoulders and his smirk softened into an almost smile.

Things were probably going to be messed up for a while, but they wouldn't be able to do much shard hunting once winter completely set in. Maybe, just this once, he could do the irresponsible thing.

Maybe he could try to forget Kikyou, if only for a little bit.

XXX

It wasn't until hours later, when the chaos that had gripped the compound during the escape of that small group had eased, that the youkai daimyou emerged from his quarters. His servants were already working hard to clear the courtyard of the rubble. They were working so hard they would hardly notice the missing jewels and silks from the hime's private rooms.

Living in comfort like this certainly did have its advantages, but it was getting dull. He was looking forward to a hunt.

He raked a clawed hand through his crimson locks. Although he had been more than a little appalled at the color the illusion had changed his hair to, he could admit now that there was something…soothing about this shade of red. Certainly more appealing then the boring black locks that he had been expecting. Still the illusion was heavy against his ki, and he hoped that his patron—his lips curled in distaste at the word—would come soon so that he could leave. A fleeting thought caught his mind as to what type of chaos the compound would be thrown into when they discovered the real daimyou's corpse.

"Yoko." The voice that spoke was soft and even.

Even though every fiber in his body rebelled at the very act, Yoko bowed low before the silver haired, regal figure that approached him from the shadows.

"Sesshoumaru-sama." He waited until the inu youkai inclined his head before standing. Yoko's golden eyes, muted to a green-gold by the illusion, took in the sight of the human girl in a checkered yukata. She grinned toothily up at him, and he wondered what circumstances could have brought a mortal into the care of the great youkai lord. Knowing what he did about Sesshoumaru it was most likely that it was more of a whim than extenuating circumstances.

"I see everything went as planned, and that you did not wait until the deception was over to take anything of value."

Yoko smirked. Now that his task was done and he had given Sesshoumaru the respect that he was due he was already anticipating the coming hunt.

"The humans had no time to notice, and it was as per our agreement. I was permitted to take what valuables I wanted in exchange for my services."

Sesshoumaru didn't bother to comment.

Yoko stared at the youkai that was probably the closest thing that he had to family. He didn't know if he should consider himself fortunate or not. All because of the inu youkai's great-great-great grandfathers had indulged in a tryst with Yoko's great-great-great-great grandmother. It was one of the reasons why he would never be able to refuse the other youkai anything, but being forced to indulge in such a meaningless charade, "Why did you have me do it, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

Sesshoumaru's frozen golden eyes flicked over to him, as if contemplating his worth. A rather uncomfortable silence settled onto the empty hall.

"That half breed's very existence is a disgrace to our family line."

This Yoko already knew. After all he had heard it countless of times, in one form or another from his own family.

"That he allows himself to be in the presence of the very humans that taint our blood is bad enough."

Slightly bored—because it looked like this was going to be one of Sesshoumaru's long speeches—he wrapped a finger around one of the captivatingly scarlet locks.

"However, these things are nothing compared to the fact that as of yet, he has not found a satisfactory mate."

Yoko stopped playing with his hair to stare at the silver-haired taiyoukai. That was something that he had not heard before.

"The miko that travels with him," the inu youkai's lips twist up into a rather unpleasant expression as if he just remembered one of the numerous, unpleasant encounters that he had been graced with by his half-brother, "although her manner of dress is something to be desired, she has all of the necessary traits needed for an ideal mate. The only problem is her human blood. Given that Inuyasha is a pathetic half breed and has courted a miko in the past it is highly unlikely that he will ever take a pure blooded youkai as a mate. Therefore, after everything is taken into consideration, that strange miko is the best option."

"So this whole charade was merely an excuse for your half-brother to try and seduce that miko?" Yoko shook his head, trying hard not to laugh at the pure ridiculousness of the whole situation. "I think you should worry more about yourself Sesshoumaru-sama."

The strange look that the inu youkai suddenly fixated upon him had ice racing down his spine, and his youki gathered in a defensive action. There was amusement in those golden eyes, and amusement as far as Sesshoumaru was concerned was never a good thing. Something about the look in those eyes, and way he just brushed past Yoko, had the youkai glancing down at the human girl.

His green-gold eyes widened at the way his distant kin's hand was curled around the girl's small hand almost possessively.

Yes, Inuyasha is a bit OOC near the end but I really couldn't help it. This is actually kind of a side piece to a series of one shots and drabbles that I'm working on. It will be a YYH/Inuyasha crossover, and will take place on the other side of the well most of the time, but I plan on writing another collection of stories that are side pieces to it that will take place on the Sengoku side of the well. It's been so long since I've written in this fandom. I'm going to try to continue the other stories that I was working on so that they will actually get finished. Are there any particular stories that you would prefer me to update from this fandom? Let me know!