"I'm cold!" Shippo exclaimed and huddled, shivering, against Kagome's chest.
"Yeah, you already said that twenty times, Shippo," Inuyasha said, annoyed. "Bear with it. It's not like we're not cold."
"Perhaps we should stop somewhere and sleep," Miroku suggested.
Inuyasha scoffed. "Yeah, let's stop in the middle of nowhere and wake up frozen. That's real smart, Miroku."
Kagome gazed up at the darkening sky. "It is getting pretty late."
They had been walking for a few hours after leaving the inn where they had gotten some information from. Apparently, there was supposed to be a woman with amazing powers of clairvoyance living in the secluded part of the Awayuki Forest. This woman was rumored to know about several mysterious objects and charms. Thinking she might know something about the Shikon Jewel, the group set out to find her.
The Awayuki Forest had several dead trees. They seemed completely lifeless for there was not even the slightest wind to stir their skeletal, brown branches. And because of the snowfall, Inuyasha and the others had a difficult time walking around. After Shippo had nearly disappeared beneath the snow twice, Kagome decided to carry him. Kilala was also being carried by Sango.
Sango noticed smoke coming from something in the distance. She pointed at it and said, "I think there's a house over there."
After walking a bit more, they found themselves staring at a long, wooden house. The main entrance had two covered walkways. The one on the left led to a longer building, while the one on the right led to three smaller buildings. There was smoke coming from one of the buildings, presumably the kitchen.
The door of the main entrance slid open and a pale woman came out. Her white hair was tied back with a black cord and she wore a black tomesode kimono with a golden obi. She stared at each one of them for a moment and smiled.
"Please come in and get away from the cold," the woman said pleasantly.
Silently, they followed her inside and down the right walkway to one of the buildings next to the smoky one.
"Please sit," she said and left the room.
The room was warm, probably because of the fire in the next room. Each of them sat on the floor with a sigh of relief.
"Are you still cold, Shippo?" Kagome asked.
"No," Shippo said and jumped down from Kagome's arms.
Miroku frowned a little. "There's a demonic aura in this house."
Just then, a tall, slender young woman walked into the room. She had long, pale blue hair tied back in a braid with a bit of cloth, green eyes, and a tiny star-shaped mark on her forehead. Her kimono with its long, furisode sleeves was pale lavender with white flower petals on it and the obi was pink. At first glance, she appeared human, but a second glance proved otherwise. Humans didn't have pointy ears and incredibly sharp fingernails.
"Waagh! It's a demon!" Shippo cried and jumped back in Kagome's arms.
Before anyone could do anything, the white-haired woman walked back inside and laughed.
"Oh, don't worry about Misaki. She won't bite."
Misaki smiled and bowed politely. "Welcome to our home. My name is Misaki."
"She doesn't seem that hostile," Miroku whispered to Inuyasha. "What do you think?"
"I get the feeling this is a trap," Inuyasha hissed back. "Keep your guard up."
Misaki heard these comments and frowned slightly. If you want to see hostile, all you have to do is speak a little louder.
"Now, now, enough," the woman said and turned to Misaki. "Go make the tea, please."
Misaki nodded respectfully and turned around in such a way that she managed to whap both Miroku and Inuyasha in the face with her long sleeves.
Inuyasha grabbed his face and raised his fist. "Hey, come back here!"
Misaki turned briefly, stuck out his tongue at him, and left.
Inuyasha was about to stand up and run after her, but Kagome grabbed his arm and pulled him back down.
"My name is Ekaterina," the woman said as she smoothed her kimono and sat down in front of them. "Now, I believe you have come seeking something because no one comes to see a little old lady and a cat demon for no particular reason."
"Ekaterina-sama, we---" Miroku started.
Just then, Misaki walked back in with a tray with some bowls of tea. She carefully set the tray down on the floor and stared at the guests. Her gaze fell on Inuyasha and stayed on him for a very long time.
"What're you looking at?" Inuyasha demanded.
Misaki frowned thoughtfully and she walked towards Inuyasha. "How can---I mean, you do look a little like him, but you seem half-human. He was a full demon, but you're not." Misaki grabbed one of Inuyasha's ears with her thumb and pointer finger and pulled.
"OW! Leggo!" Inuyasha shouted and slapped Misaki's hand away.
Misaki scowled. "There's no way you can be related to Sesshomaru!" she shouted. "He isn't crude like you!"
Everyone seemed to gasp at the same time and a tense silence followed. Kagome broke the silence.
"You know Sesshomaru?" she asked with plain confusion.
Misaki turned to Kagome. "He was my dear, sweet friend from childhood."
Several jaws hit the floor before the whole room suddenly erupted with questions.
"Sesshomaru was your friend!"
"You were friends with that bastard!"
"Sweet? Are you talking about Sesshomaru!"
"Sesshomaru had a childhood?"
Misaki stood in the middle of the circle that Kagome, Miroku, Inuyasha, and Sango had formed around her.
"Um, yes, he was my friend," she answered, a bit flustered. She glared at Inuyasha and asked, "Hey, why'd you call him a 'bastard'?"
Inuyasha scowled. "Because he is one!"
Ekaterina clapped her hands to get their attention and everyone turned to her.
"Please stop this," she said gravely. "Your tea is getting cold."
Everyone silently returned to their spots. Misaki sat beside Ekaterina, frowning a little. Before Ekaterina could speak, she piped up, "How do you know him?"
Kagome smiled. "He's Inuyasha's brother," she said and pointed at the scowling half-demon.
"You're his little brother!" Misaki asked incredulously. "But you're a half-demon!"
"And what if I am?" Inuyasha snapped.
Misaki smiled and shook her head. "No, don't worry about it. I don't want to sound like all those bastards from the past."
"What do you mean?" Sango asked.
Ekaterina cleared her throat. "I thought you were looking for something," she said.
"Oh, right. Um, we're looking for shards of the Shikon Jewel," Kagome said.
"Ah, the jewel you shattered," Ekaterina said and turned to Shippo. "You don't have to sit there with your stomach growling. Go ahead with Misaki and get something to eat."
Shippo stood up and walked over to Misaki shyly. Misaki smiled at him and stood up.
"Let's go," she said. "I'll get you something yummy."
Shippo stared up at Misaki. She was so tall! He felt like maybe she could squish him if she wanted to.
Sensing Shippo's dilemma, Misaki bent down and scooped him up in her arms.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. Now, let's go!"
With that, Misaki left with Shippo. Ekaterina turned her gaze back to Kagome.
"I'll need some time to meditate on your request. Meanwhile, why don't you stay here?"
"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Kagome said.
Inuyasha jabbed her in the ribs. "You really wanna camp outside?" he hissed in her ear.
Kagome turned red with embarrassment. "Oh, right. It's freezing outside."
"Then it's settled." Ekaterina stood up. "Inuyasha-san, Kagome-san, Sango-san, and Miroku-san, welcome to my humble home. I hope you'll enjoy your stay."
Sango's eyes widened suddenly. How did she know all their names? When had they told her?
Ekaterina smiled at Sango. "I saw all of you coming. That's how I know your names. I'm not clairvoyant for nothing."
Now I shall start talking about utter blahness. Actually, I'm gonna talk about Misaki. More of her history will be revealed later on. I modeled her after my friends Fujiko-chan and Kaiko-chan. They both love Sesshomaru and Kaiko-chan wanted me to write a fanfic with her and Sesshomaru (I have no idea why she wouldn't do it herself). Misaki gets sleepy sometimes, is a nimble fighter, has extremely good eyesight and hearing, is a bit hardheaded, but an all-around good person (you know, for a demon). If someone makes her made, she finds a way to hurt them and doesn't like it when people talk about her behind her back.
By the way, since I did a report on geishas once, I know how to describe a kimono using the correct terms. A furisode kimono (one with long sleeves) is worn by unmarried girls. A tomesode kimono (one with short sleeves) is worn by a married woman. The obi is the long sash. However, these are very formal kimono and aren't usually worn every day. I made Misaki and Ekaterina wear them because . . . well, I just felt like it.