Disclaimer: If you think you are reading a story right out of the original author's hard drive on a fan fiction site, you've got problems.
The wind whistled sharply between the trees as it carried millions of snowflakes and threw them back into the faces of my small traveling party. I shivered as I pulled Inuyasha's large haori closer to my body. The hanyou was presently a few feet in front of me, head bowed against the wind as he led the way. He did not seem to be overly affected by the cold, as evidenced by his bare feet and the fact he had given up his haori to me, but his visibility and sense of smell were severly hampered. I hoped we were still headed in the right direction.
Behind us, Miroku and Sango trudged through the snow. Miroku's arm was around her waist and for once, Sango did not seem to mind. However, I suspected this was more because she was having the most trouble of all of us. Sango's haraikotsu, which was firmly strapped to her back, seemed to act as a bit of a sail in the wind, one that Sango's small body weight seemed to have serious problems controlling. Behind them, Kirara moved doggedly forward against the wind and a tiny Shippou attempted to hide in the fur of her neck.
We had been moving like this for at least an hour. The blizzard had come with little warning. One moment it was merely a cold and exceedingly gray day; the next, we could barely see the noses on our faces. Inuyasha insisted that if we just headed north we would run into a town. Apparently the wind coming from the north held the distant scent of wood smoke. So we did the only think we could do: keep moving.
Traveling in this weather seemed to cause a lot of uncomfortable aggravations. My eyes felt dry with trying to squint into the wind. The snow at my feet had gotten high enough that not only was it difficult to walk through, but it came over the top of my boots and melted, making my socks wet. Unable to feel my toes walking became difficult and I had stumbled a number of times.
I was concentrating on these problems when I failed to notice Inuyasha stop in front of me and I suddenly walked right into his back. I gripped onto his shirt to prevent myself from falling and was surprised at how cold he felt.
"I told you I'd get us here," he said with satisfaction. Startled, I looked around and realized that 'here' was the beginnings of a village. I could just barely make out the outlines of a few small huts through the snow.
"This way," Miroku called through the howling wind as he and Sango approached. Too weary to question the authority in his voice I moved to follow him as he lead us to the right. I was surprised when Inuyasha did the same without hesitation.
The monk, still holding Sango, lead us to a larger compound. Several meters ahead of me, I could see him pounding on the gate but no sound reached my ears amidst the wind. He seemed to speak with someone very briefly and then I was following him inside.
The heavy gate slid shut behind us, leaving us in a sudden and eerie silence. Shaking the snow from my shoulders and head, I started to look around the sparse room. Miroku and a man I did not recognize stood in one corner speaking. Sango was leaning against the wall, looking pale and tired. I imagined I looked much the same. Even Inuyasha's eyes seemed dulled with exhaustion as he began to shiver uncontrollably. In fact, he seemed to be the worst off of all of us.
"...can't say just how grateful we are," Miroku was saying.
The other man was older, probably in his fifties. He was dressed well, but practically for this cold weather. He spoke to Miroku as though he knew him quite well. "Please, Miroku-sama, it is my honor to house you and your friends for as long as you require the shelter. But you are all frozen stiff; follow me and we'll get you thawed out."
I did not have time to wonder about how the monk knew this man as we were quickly ushered into the compound's kitchen where we huddled around the fire gratefully. Udo, as the man turned out to be named, bustled around behind us, preparing some warm broth in order to "warm us good and proper from the inside out," as he said.
As he worked, I laid a worried hand on Inuyasha's still shaking shoulder. "Are you alright, Inuyasha?" His skin felt cold even to my half frozen fingers. He kept his gaze fixed on the fire and nodded rather unconvincingly.
"Miroku-sama," Udo said almost apologetically as he handed Miroku and Sango two bowls of the broth. He turned to grab two more. "Forgive me for asking, but are you here to see Leiko-sama?" I looked up just as he spoke to see Miroku flinch at the name.
Curiosity quickly got the better of me. "Miroku, you have been here before?" He had not mentioned anything on the journey even before the ridiculous weather prevented any sort of conversation. Now it seemed that not only was Miroku known here, but well respected.
Udo looked as if he were going to say something, but Miroku smoothly interrupted him before he even spoke. "Kagome-sama, I have done much traveling in my life and helped many people with my knowledge of the ways of Buddha."
"M-m-m-more like m-mooched off them," Inuyasha stuttered through clenched teeth.
Miroku ignored him as he sipped the warm broth from the bowl. I had to admit, the broth made me feel worlds better, although exhaustion was setting in quickly.
"Yes, yes," Udo said happily as he took my empty bowl from me. "Miroku-sama has been most kind to our village in sharing his wisdom and strength. There will be many happy reunions tomorrow once this nasty bit of weather is past."
I glanced over at the monk. He seemed a bit uncomfortable at the man's mention of reunions but smiled easily. It was hard to tell with Miroku sometimes what he was actually thinking. "Udo, much as I would like to talk about how much has surely changed since I was last here, my companions and I are rather tired..."
"Think nothing of it," the small man said shaking his hands and looking appalled at the thought. I got the impression that he took his responsibilities as host very seriously. "Follow me, follow me," he said as he ushered us into another part of the compound, setting Sango, Shippou and I in one room and Miroku and Inuyasha in one right next to it.
I was worried about Inuyasha; he had been unusually quiet as well as having a hard time recovering from the cold, but Miroku gave me a quick wink, which clearly told me he would take care of him. I was too tired to put any more thought to it or our lodgings for the night. Within moments, both Sango and I were sound asleep under generous blankets with Shippou and Kirara curled up in one of the corners, snoring softly.
A/N: Hiya, pals! Long time me no writey. Ok, that's not a real sentence. Anyway this is the first chapter of my shiny new fan fiction; isn't that terribly exciting? Yeah, you're right not really. So not much going on yet, but never fear, stuff shall happen or as they say, "Shit shall hit the fan." I'm just setting the shit right next to the fan in this chapter... Let me know you're reading, even if it's only to say, "Hey, I'm reading." Thank ye much.