The snow-covered scenery stretched out before the wagon. While the mountains to the north and the forest to the south had lessened the intensity of the pure white that had rolled by a few days ago, it was still dazzling to the eye. Inami squinted her eyes against the brightness of all that white and scoured the horizon for signs of the town she knew they would be nearing. It was nigh impossible, however, for while the area around them was touched only by a persistant snowfall, the remnants of the snowstorm made anything beyond a blur of white difficult to make out. It had started to storm about a day out of Kikaku, any only recently had it let up enough for possible travel without the use of Inami's wind powers. It was Inami's powers that had kept the storm at bay to make for safe travel, but it was sheer luck that she had run across the merchant, Wang Lou, on his way to Tolan -- a fact she was thankful for. If not for the kindness of her ride, she would still be a good couple of days from Tolan.
	The merchant absently reached back into his wagon and pulled out some dried, salted meat. Offering some to Inami, which she graciously took, he chewed on a piece and cast an eye to the sky appraisingly. "It looks like the storm is finally letting up, thank the gods."
	"Mm," agreed Inami, "With any luck it will be only be a slight snowfall by tonight."
	"Let's hope my luck will continue to run as well as it has been. With the storm going on like it has, I will probably be one of the few, if not the only, merchant to have fresh wares in Tolan," he cast his eye on Inami, a twinkle of mischief shining, "and all because I had the luck to run into a young lady with the power to drive back storms!"
	Inami's eyes widened and she started to cough to prevent from choking on her mouthful. Lou laughed heartily and gave her a few gentle slaps to her back. "Don't be so surprised miss Jin Lan! It didn't take a genius to put two and two together. I was in the middle of a fierce storm the night I ran across you, but when I got near, the snow fell as gentle as a baby. Since I took you aboard, too, it's been smooth sailing all the way until the storm let up enough for normal travel."
	Face bright red, Inami smiled abashedly, "Yes, I suppose that is pretty obvious. I'm just thankful you didn't throw me off when you figured it out. Some people are afraid of things they don't understand." 
	"Nah!" Lou shook his head vigorously, "I couldn't turn down an offer from a pretty young lady such as yourself -- you remind me of my niece -- and I wouldn't dare turn down a shichiseishi. Which one are you, anyway? Urumiya? Namame?"
	"I-Inami," she stuttered. She was so surprised, all she could manage was answering his question. Dazed, her brain barely registered the shape of Tolan becoming more visible before them.
	"Oh don't worry, Inami-san! I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to." He grinned, the expression cracking tiny lines across his weather-beaten face. "Of course, I would be grateful if you'd allow me to tell my son that I met one of Genbu's own shichiseishi. He's young, you know, and to hear that his father met a real life legend will fill his head with enough stories to last him a good while. At least it will keep him busy while I'm off on business again."
	Inami smiled and nodded her head. Wanting to change the subject, she commented, "He must miss you, huh, while you're away?" 
	"Yeah," he agreed, "I wish I could stay home longer, but it's impossible, you know, with this living." He sighed and slumped forward a little in the seat.
	"Don't worry. You obviously love your son very much, and I'm sure he knows that. He's young now, but he'll come to understand and appreciate how much he's loved."
	"Thanks." He paused long enough to bite off another mouthful and work it in his mouth. "I'm grateful that one of our countries protectors is a sweet girl like you."
	She blushed.
	"Ah! Here we are. Tolan!"  The city slowly but surely loomed closer until they faced the huge walls surrounding the city. The wagon slowed as they reached the entrance the to city.
	"Thank you, sir! Here is fine!"
	"Are you sure, miss? I can take you closer to where your home is. Tolan is pretty big and it's not safe for a woman to go walking by herself." He chuckled, "But I'm forgetting myself, aren't I? You have nothing to worry about, do you, miss?"
	She smiled as she hopped down to the ground. "I'll be fine, thanks! I'm not going too far." She grabbed her bag and bowed. "Thank you so much for your kindness!"
	Lou shrugged. "It was nothing! Thanks for keeping this old merchant company, miss Jin Lan! And for helping me get here in good time." He grinned again, "Don't worry! I won't tell anyone 'cept my wife and son. You be careful about keeping your secret, there." He started the horse into a slow trot into the city.
	"Yes, I'll try to be more careful." Inami waved as the cart rolled on by. "Bye! Thanks again!" She started on her way through the city streets, winding her way through the markets and into the more residential area, crowded with small houses along the narrow street. She paused before making her way down a small side street and took a big breath. 
	"I wonder how they are," she thought to herself. Further down the street, she saw an old woman struggling with taking a bucket of water into her house. Eyes widening, she hurried to the old woman's side and caught her just as she was about to stumble.
	"Thank you, young lady. I-" the woman broke off as she looked up at Inami, tears forming in her eyes. She threw her arms around Inami and smiled happily.
	"Obaa-chan, I'm home."