;; transcending across time (p/i)

[❥;; bexx]

Sayuri sat on the snowy grounds of this new country called Tetsu no Kuni and watched as the people bustled about her. Nobody seemed to take notice that there was a random girl sitting on a random piece of ground. Well at least she had chosen a piece of ground that had a tree behind her so that she could relax her body. The inches of snow that was surrounding her wasn't an issue, the temperature so low that it would start to get to her veins wasn't an issue. The fact that she was here now. in a place so like her own long lost village, that was the issue. She didn't want to leave at all but also didn't want to stay. It broke her heart that she was now in a place that would constantly make her remember that Yuki no Kuni and Yukigakure no Sato were no more.

She heaved a sigh as she saw there, her eyes closed and her mind blank. There was really nothing she could possibly do now, except sit here and think. Even the thinking part was a little bit trivial since her memory had not yet returned to it's full capacity. What was there to think about other than the fact that she couldn't even remember what she now wanted so much to remember? Being in this country suffocated her, regardless of what it's name was. She would have to take a couple of controlled deep breaths, allowing her mind and her body to relax. Her body was able to relax for the most part, since she was so comfortable with her surroundings that it was relatively hard not to. But her mind, not so much. Homesickness washed over her like a tidal wave and she wasn't able to stop it.

The worst part about being here and now was that she couldn't even recall much of her past to know anything concrete about what happened during the war to Yuki no Kuni but then feel this strong connection that somehow indicated that she knew. It was left in the unconscious and no matter how hard she tried to arouse it, there was just no way. Not now at least. She would it immobilized in this position, with her eyes closed and her head resting gently on the trunk of the snow covered tree. She was now in one of the barren parts of the country, away from all the activity. But she was definitely not at ease. It felt so uneasy that she wasn't even sure what at ease felt like anymore. She was literally torn into two.

But thankfully fatigue and exhaustion would overtake her fragile body at last as she sat there with her eyes closed. Every muscle in her body was no longer required to be tense and she was finally able to relax. Nobody would be able to understand what it meant to be completely relaxed at a bone chilling temperature. Even though she felt the fierce coldness of the morning air upon her skin, there was no stopping her from falling asleep. Only in sleep, in dreams could she find the sanctuary she was looking for where she would be able to go back to the ever familiar grounds of Yuki no Kuni and stay there until she was forced to wake up again. That was the power of dreaming and for the first time in a long time, she welcomed it to consume her.

And she noticed how her dream had complied to her request and would take her back to Yukigakure no Sato, to one specific day some time in her past. She had naturally hoped that her dream would take her back to the moments when she was fighting against the war to protect her village; if she had been. But knowing dreams, they usually took her back to momentarily good things or even petty things that she could no longer draw out from deep inside her brain. She was already grateful that she would be able to dream of her village, of her home and of the one place that she knew so well and yet didn't know at all. It was painful to be in this type of situation.

[❥;; bexx]

Her dream would teleport her back to Yukigakure, transport her back in time to when she was still but a Genin of the village. Like many of her recent dreams she would find herself exploring the part of her past that detailed missions. She wasn't sure how dreaming about her missions in full detail was going to stimulate her present memory of the past but she guessed that was still a part of her past and she needed to respect that. It was still a dream and for the most part she was fine with it. The only question now is what sort of mission she would find herself immersed in this time. And she would have her answer in just a few moments.

What was scary about dreams was that some of them seemed so realistic in the dream sense that she often wouldn't be able to differ between reality and illusion. A dream was a replay of the past for her where it was an illusion of sorts. If she became too immersed in the dream setting, she would no longer be able to pull herself out. But she had much more self control than she gave herself credit for and it would be too much of a problem especially when the place that she was situated in mirrored that of her home country. It was quite the coincidence that they rivaled each other in harsh weather conditions since she had not heard of a place other that Yuki no Kuni which had an abudance of snowfall. 

But the again, she didn't know many many things. She wasn't aware of the mysteries behind Tetsu no Kuni. She didn't know that it was what the new world was, that had sprung after the war had taken out many of the lesser shinobi villages and countries. She didn't know that the grounds she had come onto was neutral land that all remaining shinobi villages respected due to it's neutrality. She didn't even know who governed this land, much less that there were samurai. There was one thing she did know--and that was when she would finally find the will to leave this place, she would take all the memories of her home, of her past with her.

It was strange how memory worked. Sudden sparks of unexpectedness could arouse it or diminish it. In a way it was so fragile; like glass but so strong; like crystal. People guarded their memories of their past, some choosing not to reveal certain if not all details of it for fear of becoming too trusting in absolute strangers. And then there were people like her who desperately hung on to shreds of recovered past and tried to find more with every passing moment; while fearful that the shreds she already had would also disappear in one sudden moment. Fate had made her forget and fate had brought pieces back. So why did fate want to make her forget in the first place? There was no logical explanation for the question.

She remembered how scared she was that one day she landed in the little town, in the middle of nowhere. All around her she couldn't find even a little detail of her past save for the headband that she now wore proudly representing the fallen snow village. Through the year or so of searching, of recovering, of hoping, she had finally started to be able to piece together small pieces of the puzzle. But it was exasperating at times when all she wanted to do was to remember it all and not have it fed to her in little pieces. She simply didn't have the patience to put together puzzles. But she had been forced and so that was what she did for all this time. She wondered when these pieces would finally give her one complete puzzle.

  

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

She was back in the familiar area of Yukigakure no Sato. The sun was beginning to set that particular day, which was an unusual time for her to be stepping out of the Yukina mansion. During this time of day, unless she was out training or on a mission, she would normally find herself sitting in the living room of her home, watching television or just relaxing. But today was different, and it was all thanks to her brother. Her brother had gone to one of his extensive training sessions where he trained himself so much that he passed out, woke up and then start training again. She never knew how he could do this and then still remain sane. And so was the difference between brother and sister; sanity. She had originally intended to go out to the marketplace that afternoon to buy some groceries and make a hearty mean for her and her brother to enjoy on a fine quiet day like this but because he was in one of his training moods, that was obviously not possible.

And the servants had been dismissed for that one day, since their services weren't always required and they were helping out around the mansion for so long now that they deserved a little bit of a break. Besides the place would just have her tonight since the elders of the clan were on one of those 'I can't find you even if I wanted to' trips. She had already expected that she would have to face the giant structure by herself. Deciding that it was probably worth the while for her to go buy groceries just to cook for herself and then end up having to clean up the pots and pans afterwards, she was going to go out to eat. Eating at home alone really wasn't fun and she was in one of her lazy moods meaning cooking would be like torture if she was the only one who would really be sampling to food in the end. It was too much work for her, the preparations, the cleaning of ingredients, the slicing and dicing, the actual cooking and the cleaning that came after. What better than to have someone else do all that and all she would have to do was pay money?

She originally thought she may hang around at Reina's restaurant for a bit since she hadn't had the chance to see her friend in a quite a long time. After learning a few dishes and recipes from the father and daughter team, she had been too busy with her shinobi duties that get much of a chance to go to the little town that was on the opposite side of the country. But because she was lazy, walking or even using shunshin to get herself halfway across the country and back just wasn't too appealing. She would have to wait to go and visit her friend. And she knew with the amount of traffic that the restaurant was getting, they wouldn't even time to sit down and have a little chat. She would go bother them at some other time. So now the question was: what was she going to eat? Most of the ramen stands in the village closed early that day so she would have practically no choice but to end up spending the next couple of hours in a restaurant. It wasn't a luxury that she couldn't afford but she would rather have ramen then high end food.

There was a place that was just beyond the main street of Yukigakure that had opened not too long ago. It was one of those places that served comfort food that cost a little less than the other restaurants in the village. It usually bustled with activity because the food was actually pretty good but the price was even better. Most shinobi found themselves here either during lunch or for a late night snack since they opened until four in the morning. She had been to this restaurant a couple of times since it opened and was quite satisfied with the food she ate from there. The service was excellent too as the main host of the place was the owner and manager himself. He was a jolly plump fellow with a balding head and was just all smiles whenever customers walked in. He had excellent customer service and social skills, born for the restaurant business. And since she hadn't been there in some time as well, she thought it would be best to go. Then she wouldn't have to think too hard of what she wanted to eat.

She turned the right down the main street of the village, heading to the spot where a lot of people huddled around in front. If people didn't know the location of the restaurant, there was no need to fear. All they had to do was look for the one spot on a snow covered street with groups of people standing out in front and they would be at the restaurant front. She wove past the groups of people and heard the chatter of activity that came with a full house. And yet these people out in front were still waiting patiently in line for a table. That was how popular this new place was in the village. She hadn't expected so many people but she was in the mood to wait. Not particularly hungry, she stood in line, having told the waitress out in front that she only needed a table for one. Eating solo here meant that there would be a faster chance of getting a table before the groups.

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

And her prediction was correct as a customer walked out of the restaurant, obviously satisfied with the food he had just eaten. After a moment of clearing of the table, the waitress out in front would call to Sayuri, telling her to follow her inside. Nodding her head, she followed the girl's lead into the restaurant interior and to the newly emptied table. She ordered a glass of ice lemon tea to start off and would sit herself comfortably on one side of the small table. The small tables in this restaurant had very comfortable seating and she was able to actually sit back against the sofa-like chair and breathe in the scent of freshly cooked food around the room. Perhaps the only bad thing about this place was the noise level. Since there were many people packed together, it was literally like she was in the middle of a marketplace.

The familiar sounding of a little bell indicated when new plates of food were ready to be served to the appropriate tables and customers. There were speakers around the restaurant that the owner used to play music from. But the amount of chatter and noise from the customers alone was enough for any music volume to be drowned out. A waitress carrying a menu walked up to her and smiled as she set it down. Even the workers here were a lot more pleasant than the other restaurants that she had seen. She had been to another restaurant that had closed down recently where their service was so terrible, she'd come out of the place thinking that she owed each and every living being working there a million dollars or something. The owner must have put a lot of thought into who he hired to work on his staff team, which was equally as important as the food that was coming out of the kitchen.

After a thorough glance at the menu pages, she would find that she wasn't craving anything in particular. Though there were a few things she knew she wasn't craving tonight. Anything too oily was not a good choice because she naturally was much of a fan and also she wasn't in the mood for sandwiches. Taking a couple of minutes to decide what she wanted to eat, she would finally make up her mind on a plain and simple Caesar salad. As if on cue, one of the hostesses would walk to her table and take her order. She was craving a little more cheese and so she requested that her salad have a little more cheese on top. That noted, the menu was then taken away and she was left alone to wait for her food to arrive. She looked around the place and found that oddly enough the jolly owner wasn't anywhere in sight. Perhaps he was working in the back of the restaurant, she thought.

The place was lively and filled with good vibes which should come with every restaurant. She looked at the paintings hanging on the walls. Some were of plants, others of food and some were so abstract she didn't even know where to begin to look for clues of what the painting was supposedly drawing. The walls were painted a warm cream color, the sofas and chairs painted in peach. There was supposedly a second floor to this restaurant which was for large groups of ten or twelve people. She personally had never gone up to the second floor because she always came to either eat alone or with one or two of her friends. There was no need for such big rooms. There was a bar area that was seperated from the main part of the restaurant where it was divided between dining and bar. While waiting for their food, some of the people who fancied a drink could head over to the bar and get themselves one before returning to the dining area to eat.

The ding of the small bell near the small window that was designed for hostesses to pick up ready food sounded and soon she would see that her Caesar salad was ready. The salad was bigger than she thought and when she looked at her dish, she was surprised that she found an extra mound of cheese. She had only asked for a little bit extra and they had gone ahead and she got a mound, which was good. She craved cheese after all. She smiled at the hostess as she set down the plate and told her to enjoy her food. Nodding her head, she would begin to eat her salad, a very good salad that the chef had made. For a Caesar salad production this was heavenly. She didn't regret choosing to dine here tonight.

[❥;; bexx]

Mission Name Mail Delivery
Mission Rank: D
Mission Description: A restaurant has asked the help of a shinobi to aid him in delivering a couple of envelopes containing money to be delivered to his mother who lives in the snow country. Because he has to take care of a sudden swarm of customers, he cannot go himself.
Mission Objective: Go to the client's restaurant, take the envelopes containing the money, deliver them to his mother and then report the completion to the client.
Reward: 500 Ryo | 25 EXP

flashback

She was still enjoying her salad when she saw that the jolly owner came from the second floor, his stride quick. She looked up at his face and saw that the jolly nature of his usual plump face seemed distressed in some way. She saw that he had an envelope in his hand and he was pacing up and down the aisles, obviously preoccupied by something. He looked impatient and slight agitated as he paced, mumbling under his breath and checking the gold watch he had on his right wrist and he was running around the first floor of the restaurant in that manner for a few minutes. He was weaving in and out of his staff who were carrying food out from the kitchen or carrying finished plates of food. She would continue to eat and hurry up to finish her plate of salad. She was about to ask for the bill when it seemed that a vibe would set off for the owner finally.

He stopped pacing finally and with an exasperated sigh would holler around the restaurant. He never quite hollered like that because he was a naturally silent person especially in front of his customers. But today he would pop a vein in her body and would lose all the patience that he had. "Are there any shinobi in here?" At the mention of shinobi, she would turn to the owner and look at him quizzically. She wondered why the owner was looking for a shinobi since if he had a mission, he would have requested assistance through the mission board in the YUkikage Tower. The fact that he seemed in desperate need of some help that waiting was just not an option. All of the customers would look at the jolly man with equally curious look that she gave him. After a few moments of complete silence in the house, he had a downcast look on his face. Although she was really not in the mood to do anything, she couldn't think of any possible way to relieve the look of disappointment on the man's face.

"I'm a shinobi." she would say while getting up from her seat. She retrieved into her cape and took out the headband that had been put inside because she hadn't thought she needed it tonight. She would strap the headband onto her forehead and walk directly to the man, her face carrying a very serious expression. His distressed expression quickly cleared as he smiled at her. "May I ask what it is you need?" The other customers seeing that she had answered the question would resume their chatter and eating. The quiet room quickly filled with the same noise level as it had been only a few minutes ago. Motioning her to follow him, the owner would walk back up the stairs, entering the second floor of the restaurant. The stairs were made of oak wood and was only ten steps and had enough space to fit two people walking simultaneously up and down it. She followed meekly up the stairs and as soon as she reached the second floor landing, she would find that the atmosphere was much less lively than the first floor.

Each room was opened with two glass panels and no matter how much noise you made within one, there was an automatic noise cancelling effect. This was a very smart move since more people clustered in one room would equal more noise. She followed him down the main hallway and then turned to the left where there were a few closed doors, one of which had the plate indicating the owner's office. He would open the door and let her pass through before closing the door behind him as he entered the room as well. "Please take seat, dear." she complied and took a seat on one of the two chairs facing the desk. She wondered what was so secretive that she needed to see him in his office. After he took a seat on his own chair facing her, he would lean forward, telling her that he had an urgent mission that he wanted her to take for him. He had already requested it in the mission board but nobody had taken up the mission and he needed it done that night.

"My mother lives in a little town on the other end of the Snow Country and I always give her money on the first day of the every month. Because I've been busy lately with the running of this restaurant, I haven't been able to give her her allowance. And today is her birthday." A very good son to his mother. She nodded her head in understanding. It was important that the money be sent to his mother before midnight that night. He had packed an extra money for her birthday. After a moment thought, she would nod her head again. "I'll deliver the money for you. And wish her a happy birthday on your behalf." she said with a smile and a wink and begin to get up form her chair. It was a great mission to take up since she would be able to help someone that really needed her help.

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

He would nod his head and then bow to her, thanking her for the help she was willing to offer. She assured that it was nothing and promised him that she would return to his restaurant before midnight that evening with the mission complete. What she was missing now was the envelopes containing the money. She would have to first make a trip to the mission board in the Yukikage Tower to have her mission slip officially approved and stamped by the receptionist before she could actually carry out the mission. That meant that she would have to go now since the receptionist wasn't at the tower all day. She needed to go home too. Checking the clock on the wall of the man's office, she had exactly three minutes to get there. With her running speed, it was close to impossible. Bowing swiftly as an exit, she would take the money from him as well as a written address for her to get to his mother and then put it in the cloak and headed down the stairs. She really didn't have much time to do anything else if she wanted to carry out the mission before tonight was over. She would have to get a move on.

She would be met by a cold waft of air as she exited the restaurant. She knew that the Yukikage Tower was two streets down and three minutes just wasn't enough time. She would have to use the help of Shunshin to get there in the allotted. It was her lucky day her chakra had been active all this time or else she would have had to build up her body's chakra which would waste at least a minute of her time. The chakra though scattered wasn't scattered so that it would take forever to group it to the balls of her feet. Soon she felt the numbness of the streaming of it in her feet and also the wanting of her energy to push past the chakra points. As she ran down the street, her chakra was released simultaneously to power the run. She was going to have to use Shunshin twice at the D rank level to the maximum distance of ten meters per use. In a few seconds she had already reached the end of the first streets and another few seconds would get her to the front of the tower. Her footsteps were brisk as she passed the guards standing at the door and headed straight to the missions section of the first floor.

Good, she had caught the receptionist while she was still here. The blonde haired woman looked up from the magazine she had been reading and glanced at the clock on her desk. ”Well you're a late one aren't you?” Sayuri nodded her head and quickly walked towards the mission board where she scanned the slips for the one she was looking for. Seeing it as the second one on the list, she quickly took it and headed for the receptionist for stamp and approval. Looking at the slip, the woman would tell her that if she couldn't finish this mission before the tower closed for the night, she could take the mission slip with her overnight. It just must be stamped and approved by the restaurant owner indicating that she had completed the mission before midnight. Nodding her head in understanding, she bowed out of the tower and now was headed out the village gates to Yuki no Kuni. Checking her watch again, she had a little more than four hours. Sufficient time was sufficient!

The walk towards the gates wasn't far from the tower at all. In fact it was but a block or so away distance-wise. She veered right as she came out of the tower and headed down the snowy sidewalk towards the gate. The guards at the gate allowed her passage without a word or motion. They had seen her so much in the last couple of days that any inquiry of her need to leave the village was almost nulled. It was always for a mission. Ether that or she was visiting the neighboring towns and needed to exit the gates so that she could get there. There were no other reasons. Exiting the gates she would enter the country. Yuki no Kuni was just a vastland of snow and she knew from experience that the town her client's mother lived was literally at the opposite end of Yukigakure no Sato. It would take a good forty five to an hour walking distance. She hesitated in using shunshin since she had sufficient time to walk. If anything were to happen to delay the trip either to or from the town, she would resort to using the jutsu but for now she was alright.

She would begin walking, knowing that no matter which direction she walked in, it would get her to the destination in the long run. She started by walking straight, to the north direction. The snow was piling high in her path but she had had enough experience with the inches of snow that it made maneuvering around it much easier now than it had been she had first walked out of the village. She tucked her hands into her overcoat pockets and just walked. It was going to be a long stroll after all. The good thing was there was no snowstorm or blizzard or else the one hour trip may as well take two hours. She was determined to finish the mission within the hours allotted for it.

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

She would make her way to the little town that her client had told her about before she had left to go on the mission. She knew the towns fairly well but she had not quite had the chance to visit this one since it was farthest from the village. She only knew of the place but that was about it. And so she was quite excited to get to go at last, as a sightseeing adventure that just happened to incorporate a mission. She knew that the town was located on the north-western side of the country and so starting at the north direction was a the most viable move that she could make. The trip was long and boring but since she had taken on the mission, she had no choice. Seeing the distressed looked on the jolly man's face just wasn't something she could live with. Especially since she could help him in what he needed.

She found that she always had a soft spot for certain people. People that just naturally seemed to be nice or were genuinely nice deserved a nice treatment from her. Even though she almost always called cold or something by somebody, it didn't mean she didn't have a heart for these people. It just meant that she was cold to anyone that was cold to her. It was all natural and normal. Well, she did have bitchy bitchy moments where she wouldn't give a damn but those were few and far between. The only time she had shown that kind of anger was when she was sparring and only then she wasn't ruthless. There was a different between being arrogant, full of yourself and just trying to play the game right. Yes, she treated every spar like a game and it was always about winning. Losing was just never an option.

She turned on the west direction as she came to the halfway mark of the walk. She could tell by how close the town entrances were to her that it was just about right to right. Since it was the last town that she would come across, there was still quite a ways to go. There wasn't even basic sightseeing around the country, just town entrances and the ever so abundant snow that seemed to grace the country every couple of days. All in all the country was boring to look at and boring to be in but she loved Yuki no Kuni. The primary reason being she loved Yukigakure no Sato that just happened to be part of the country. She maneuvered her way through even thicker snow, as her feet sank deep. She had chosen to wore boots today which was much better than the sandals she would wear with her current set of attire on a normal day. The snow was quite heavy from not having been shoveled for a few days already.

And there was expected to be more snowfall coming on tomorrow. She wondered when the village council would finally realize that walking in such thick snow with black ice at the bottom of the white fluff a great way to kill of citizens of the country or the village if the snow wasn't cleared on a periodic basis. But then again with the amount of snow that the place got on a given week, they had their reasons for pushing it back. There was a blizzard every couple of days that add to the already heavy snow any ways. So the possibility of sending out crew to clear it every day was a waste of money that Yuki really didn't have. Well she guessed she could forgive them but at least the ice needed to be properly salted because people could slip and cause major injuries. She remembered how an old lady had sprained her ankle because she slipped on black ice.

And just as she was thinking this, her left foot would give way to a slippery substance from underneath it. Shit! She slipped on the ice that was literally invisible under the mounds of ice and fell forward into the inches of coldness. Fortunately the snow was in large volumes and that she was young or else she would have suffered injuries. Instead she would get up with a rather annoyed expression on her face and brush off the snow on her coat. This was definitely not a good day for her.But she had a mission to do so she didn't have time to complain, bitch and moan about how she hated snow. That could come later.

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

She would arrive at the entrance of the last town some half an hour later, having felt the lag in movement by the increased amount of black ice embedded in small mountains of snow nearer to her destination. She was now slightly wet from the fall which added to the cold feeling she had already had to deal with in the temperature change between country and village. She was definitely a little tired of having to constantly treat the grounds of Yuki no Kuni like a warzone. She walked through the entrance and immediately noticed the difference between the town and the village. And it wasn't just the obvious size difference that struck her.

The size of this town was one of the smallest. Having been to almost to every town and done a thorough sightseeing adventure at each, she noted that the towns were obviously smaller than Yukigakure no Sato since they were home to the non-shinobi population that couldn't necessarily afford to live in the village. They would conduct their shopping and other needs in the village though in case their town wasn't sufficient for that. She noticed as she walked into this particular setting that she had reached the poorest of the country. Not a lot of people resided here. There wasn't much on the main street that led her through the town. In fact there wasn't much at all. It was a main residential town that had almost no businesses.

She now knew why the restaurant owner had wanted her to deliver the money right away to his mother. The town was barren, save for the small shack sized houses that were grouped together. It was small to the point that there was only one street. From what she could tell of the people who came out of these houses, they weren't peasants but they were not far from that level. She really wondered why nobody had ever asked for the council to do something about this town. But then like the annoying snow out in the country, they probably had a million different reasons to deny funding. She guessed this was also the reason why the town was the farthest from Yukigakure no Sato.

The house which her client's mother lived in was in the middle of the cluster of small houses. It was easy to find as there were only a small number of houses in the clutter anyhow. She would find herself staring at the place with a pitiful eye. She didn't understand why his mother didn't just go to Yukigakure and live with her son since she guessed they couldn't possibly live together in this very confined space. She walked to the front door of the house, the door hinges almost falling off completely and tapped it lighting with her knuckles as though any harder and the whole door would fall down. After a few seconds of waiting, the door would be opened by a frail old lady with dark grey hair.

She was a lot shorter than Sayuri which was of course the case because of her old age. Her face was wrinkled and her eyes were droopy. She could tell that she had probably interrupted the old lady from taking a nap. It was getting late any way and most elderly people took naps or just simply went to bed earlier. The girl gave the woman a bright smile but was met with a suspicious and cold stare. Sayuri had a secret fear of old people because they were normally not what people would assume them to be; old and without a temper. This one certainly had a flare in just the look she gave her, adjusting the bifocals so that she could see clearer.   

  

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

It would seem like forever before she was done scrutinizing the girl standing in front of her house. Sayuri guessed the old lady didn't get visitors that often and so this was probably something new to her. She asked her who she was and what she was doing here. And that was when the old woman noticed the Yuki shinobi headband. "Oh did my son send you here, dear? Come on in!" she opened the door wider to allow Sayuri to walk through. Well that certainly changed fast. The old woman smiled at her, showing a row of missing teeth and then offered her to sit down on the only chair that was in the house while she bustled about the place, trying to make the place look cleaner.

There was certainly no need for her to do so since the space only had enough room for one small wooden table which had a chipped wood dents everywhere on it, a chair that was more like a wooden stool than a chair and a small bed that was one of those folding beds. It wasn't even considered a bed save for a worn out pillow and blankets on it. Again she wondered why the restaurant owner would let his mother live in these conditions. It was unhealthy for an elderly person. Seeing her look around the room the old woman give an embarrased chuckle. "I'm sorry this place is a mess, dear!" she would pour a cup of hot tea for her. She bowed her head in appreciation for the tea warming her hands around the cup and shook her head at the woman's statement.

"Oh no no, it's no mess at all" was all she could manage to say as the old woman sat down on the bed. Sayuri brought the chair closer to the woman and produced the white envelope that her client had given her. She handed it to the lady with a small smile saying that it was from her son. "And we both wish you a very happy birthday."

[/b] The old woman's grin widened as she looked at the envelope in her hand. From the look on her face Sayuri guessed that she already knew what it was and so she put it gently on the bed beside her. This wouldn't be the first time she received money from her son but why didn't see use the money to buy some furniture for her house?

She asked Sayuri if she had eaten dinner yet and if not there were some very good rice cakes in the oven. She declined the offer for the cakes but thanked the woman for the offer. She would get up from the chair then, replacing the stool back at it's original place. She bid her farewell, apologizing that she could not stay longer because she had to return to the village immediately. She had taken a longer time getting to the town and only had about an hour to get from here back before the clock would strike midnight. But she guaranteed that she would come again to visit the old woman and would help her say hello to her son when she got back yo Yukigakure. 

After one last good bye, Sayuri would start to head back to the countryland of Yuki no Kuni. She quickened her step as she walked the only street of the town and made an exit. She intended to keep her promise; the promise of going back to visit the woman whenever she had time. It wasn't a waste of time at all and she did have a feeling her rice cakes were delicious since her son was such a good cook himself. Glancing up at the sky, she would see that nightfall had descended completely upon the entire country making her walk back even more enjoyable than before. She turned left immediately upon leaving the town and would start walking down the long line of towns slowly. [/blockquote][/justify]  

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

The night sky proved to set a lot more obstacles for Sayuri than she had first thought. Not only was there an added hazard of walking in the snow, but she literally could not see her way past about two feet from her. The night came down quickly, overcoming the sun's rays almost immediately after the sun sets. And now that it was getting closer to midnight, it was even darker than before. In broad daylight she still had problems maneuvering in the inches of snow on the ground, having to take precautionary steps. So the night would be a true obstacle challenge when it was close to impossible to see ahead. There was no way she could make it back to the village gates with just a little over an hour left to go. She would need assistance to get her there. And thankfully, she knew just what she needed.

She noticed that her chakra was still active from the shunshin jutsu she had used before. The chakra had not moved since she had last called on it to release to the balls of her feet. She had originally planned to use this jutsu again because it added speed; much faster speed that would allow her to get back to the village in less than ten minutes. Such was the power of an enhanced chakra run. And this was especially the case now that her vision became impaired due to the night fall. She would ready herself and run across the snow, her feet carrying her as fast she could with her normal speed and then using her chakra, she would power the run with the speed that was faster than lightning. When she had first learned this jutsu, she had been awed at the way it was used and knew that she would be using it for awhile to come.

She made haste for the village, first going in the left direction as she had come from the right, traveling eastward past the long line of towns. This would take no more than a few minutes because her chakra had done most of the work. There would be chakra drain though that would be felt the second she stopped releasing it from the chakra points in her feet. As the chakra was retracted, she would then skid to a sudden stop, almost falling face first into the snow again as her foot slipped on yet another piece of black ice. Black ice certainly didn't like her very much she noted. She would then veer her direction to the south, traveling approximately another five minutes or so before she would finally get to the gates.

The power of shunshin was quite evident as the village gates slowly came into view. She noticed that the gate patrols and guards had been changed to the night time shift. How difficult it must be for them to hold graveyard shifts out here in the cold. If it was less cold in these bone-chilling temperatures, she would have guessed it would be somewhat easier for them. But the fact that they would have to face the cold as well as any snowstorms that raged during the night was quite deserving of some sympathy as she knew snowstorms tended to rage during the hours that she would be fast asleep in the comforts of her own bed. She wondered when the next snowstorm would hit; hopefully not any time soon.

The guards looked at her quizzically as she moved closer to them. They had probably seen her walking slowly before she had used the shunshin jutsu twice to get to where she was at now. Because they weren't familiar with who she was, she flashed the mission slip and her Yuki headband to show that she was no some intruder wanting entrance into the village. Satisfied at the evidence she had shown them, they would allow her passage into the village gates. Good, now she had over half an hour which was sufficient time for her to get back to the restaurant owner.

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

Her boots carried her swiftly down the main street of Yukigakure no Sato. She felt a little safer now that she was in the village rather than out there in barren country land. She broke into a steady run down the cleared streets of the village and turned right at the end of the street. It would take her approximately five minutes to arrive at the front of the restaurant doors again as she skid to a stop. This time she didn't need to use shunshin, thankfully. She had already started to feel chakra drain when she had finished performing the last of the jutsu to get to the village gates. And chakra was drain was more than normal since she had used shunshin more than five times in the past couple of hours. Her chakra pool was still low and thus she was going to have to suffer energy drain as a result. Hopefully when she was strong enough, she would be able to try sustain her energy level so that she wouldn't become fatigued so easily.

She noticed as she stopped in front of the restaurant that the original customers had left from dinner and another group of customers had arrived. Since it was almost midnight now and the people that needed to eat would have finished eating a long time ago. These new customers were here to have a drink at the bar, which formed much of the revenue the restaurant would receive. The cost of alcohol and the charge on it as a service was very different. But because the place opened later than any other restaurant in Yukigakure, it pretty much took all the revenue that would have been equally distributed had the other restaurants been able to think of closing later in the night. She weaved around this new group of people, her eyes scanning around the interior of the restaurant again.

All of the chefs had already retired home since there was no need to serve any more customers. The restaurant had now formulated the atmosphere to mirror a bar where the only thing offered as food would be some light snacks. She was still searching around the restaurant when one of the hostesses came towards her. She guessed that she was looking for her manager who was in his office. Thanking the girl, Sayuri would make her way up the stairs again, along the deserted hallway and then to his office. A knock would follow and she would be asked to enter the office. Tilting his head up from his paperwork, the jolly man acknowledged Sayuri and grinned. "Did you make it alright? It must have been a long trip and so pressed for time too. Please do take a seat." She complied and took the same seat she had taken the last time she was in the room.

She retrieved the mission slip from her cloak and handed it to the restaurant owner. He stamped that it had been completed before midnight of that day and thus the mission was supposedly accomplished. She then told him about his mother and couldn't help but ask why she lived in such humble conditions. He explained that his mother believed money wasn't meant to be spent but saved. She wanted to see her son get married in her lifetime and use the money he gives her to save up for the event. He remarks that it's silly but it's an elderly kind of tradition. He had wanted his mother to move in with him here but she told him that she was perfectly comfortable living in that shabby house. He had to respect his mother's wishes and so he didn't force her. She took the mission slip from him again would bid the man farewell, telling him that his Caesar salad from before was delicious.

Now it was time for her to finally head back to the Yukina mansion. It seemed that what started out as being an uneventful night turned quite eventful after all. She got to meet different people, got to go around the country even if it was slippery as hell and she got a mission done! She wondered why it was that every time she didn't expect a mission to pop up that it just would and smiled to herself. Tonight she would have a great nice rest and tomorrow would be a new day where she would go first thing to the Yukikage Tower to collect her reward. It was so much fun to do missions even if she had to do them alone.

[❥;; bexx]

flashback

She would wake up bright and early the next morning despite only falling asleep at around two in the morning. She felt strangely energized and smiled to herself. The mission slip from the night before was on her night table and she would literally jump up from her bed and quickly changed into her normal attire. She had woken up so early that even her brother had not woken up yet, which was like a miracle in itself. Walking down the stairs of the Yukina mansion, she found herself sitting at the kitchen table, waiting for her hot chocolate to be brewed from the machine and watching the snow that now covered almost twenty inches of her backyard. It was great when she could just spare some time to look outside from the comforts of her own home since she rarely had that opportunity; only when she woke up early or when she didn't have something urgent that needed to be taken care of.

Once the hot chocolate was finished brewing, she would poor herself a cup and sit back at the table, her eyes shifting from the backyard to just around the kitchen. The servants had done a good job trying to keep the place as clean as they possibly could. The only reason why she was drinking hot chocolate now instead of rushing off into the village streets and to the Yukikage Tower was because she knew the shoveling crew would still be hard at work trying to clear the new snow that fell on the ground from the few hours of overnight. It was a good thing that she had gotten home before the storm hit or else she would be caught in the middle of a blizzard yet again. This was why she loved her house so much. It was one of the biggest homes in Yukigakure as it was the most notable clan of the village.

She finished her drink, rinsed the cup thoroughly with detergent and water before heading outside. The snowfall had made the temperature seem colder than it had been earlier or perhaps it was the effects of the hot drink she had had just now. Whichever it was, she would walk down the familiar path of the main street of the village and make her way to the Yukikage Tower. She might as well make the tower her second home as she came in and out of it so often, taking mission after mission and then returning to it again to claim her reward. Even the guards at the village gates recognized her for being a mission-holic, if there was something like that in existence. The walk didn't take long and the cold air allowed her body's muscles to get a little jump start to their day. She was just thinking of whether it would be wise to take another mission, for fun.

She decided against the idea as she neared the tower entrance. Even though she enjoyed mission-taking and also enjoyed helping people, one every two or three days was her principal. Besides it was more fun when missions hit her unexpectedly because then she would get the thrill of not having anticipation for it. She would eventually start back at the mission boards and actively taking slips from there but the possibility of that happening today was slim. Besides, she needed to train. Since she had been doing missions, she had forgotten all about training. If the elders of the clan decided to give her one of their special tests, she would fail miserably. Training definitely came first at least in the eyes of her clan. Everything else was a waste of time.

Sayuri moved to the reception area of the first floor of the tower again. Upon seeing her, the receptionist could already guess that she had completed the mission from late last night in the allocated time. Giving her a warm smile, the blonde haired woman would pull out the ryo box, take a look at the mission slip and then approve the payment of her fourth five hundred dollars. Sayuri wasn't really in it for the money. The monetary reward was just an added bonus as a little something for her to work towards whenever she took on a mission. She thanked the receptionist and would once more head out back the way she came for one very boring day of training.

[marvolous.]

+120 EXP.

[❥;; bexx]

Sayuri would wake up with a start, a little surprised for a moment that it sort of mirrored Yuki no Kuni. It would take a few before she would remember that she was in Tetsu no Kuni and had only fallen asleep while sitting against tree. Sighing, she would get up from where she was sitting and brush off the snow on her clothes. She may have to find a place to stay for at least the rest of the night. Her companion had left on his own little adventures and she was going to have to wait on him for his return. They had come together and she wasn't going to leave without him. Like her, he couldn't remember anything about his past, just his name and it was just not safe to leave him around in a country on his own. She was going to take him to Kaminari no Kuni.

She began walking towards the shoreline again, looking out at the waters and then giving a sigh. She really wanted to stay here but didn't know if she could possibly being at a place that reminded her so much of home but then realizing that it wasn't her home. She took a step forward, her eyes staring blankly at the ocean waters. Ren wasn't there yet as she knew that perhaps he was still trying to find himself a boat from his friend. Her silver lobes took in the glistening liquid, her frail body absorbing the impact of the chilling air that was now washing over her. She then realized she was still wearing the coat Shizuka had given her while they were coming to the country. It was why she felt unusually warm even under such harsh weather conditions.

And it made her uneasy. as warmth had slowly become uneasy over the years. Even though she had lived in the tow for such a long time and had not been trudging in chills that could mirror that of her home village, warmth still made her uncomfortable. And it wasn't just because it was the difference between temperatures that made her uneasy. The fact that she was deprived of the only physical feeling that she still had with her country, the only thing she remembered when she woke up in the town that could tie her to her past had disappeared. And as more of her memory came back, so did her search for snow. But the little town never snowed. So it made her feel homesick--

She took off the coat and placed it on the ground, neatly folding it so that if Shizuka was to walk on these snowy grounds again at some point in the near future, he would be able to pick it up again. The bone chilling weather overcame her completely and she shivered, closing her eyes. She would stand there for what seem like an eternity, having the icy air come over her in constant streams. She was freezing, her pale skin losing of all color on her face, her fingernails beginning to turn a bluish-purple color. But she would stand there and not move. Her eyes still closed, her frame was turned towards the ocean. She was not sure why she needed so much to be cold.

As the coldness began to feel painful against her skin, she would cross her arms. In this kind of weather and with her current attire, she was really trying to freeze to death. No matter how much she thought about it, she still hated herself for not being able to recall any of the details of her time as a Yuki genin. She did recall it through dreams which only managed to recall her memories but not the feeling. She couldn't remember when she had been truly happy or what she was doing then to render the happiness. It was as though someone was only playing a movie back for her in her mind. None of the memories connected with emotion--

[❥;; bexx]

The trembling sensation merely continued. She took little to no notice of the people around her who were stealing glances at her. It wasn't a normal sight to see a girl standing with a skirt and a short-sleeve shirt. Everyone around her could tell that she was freezing and yet her expression did not change whilst she stood. It was evident that she was trying to freeze to death and yet nobody would walk near her. People were like that; caring and fending only for themselves especially in a mysterious like Tetsu. They probably had seen something like this before and so nobody paid her much mind, bustling behind and around her. Of course she was oblivious to that anyhow as she was lost in her own world of chills and thought. She only wanted to feel cold--as weird as that sounded.

And finally she would open her eyes once more, her eyes adjusting their focus to the waters again. It seemed that she was being possessed or controlled or something. But whatever force that was holding onto her, its clench tightened around her body and was forcing her to throw herself in the ocean waters. There was no need for much force to be enforced though as she had a certainly liking for cold water too. She knew that if she sank her body into the ocean, she would be able to feel the coldness lock in in her body and cold was definitely what she sought now. Within a few minutes, she would take her body even closer to the shoreline of Tetsu no Kuni and in one fluid motion would dive into the inviting arms of the ocean. As she entered the waters, her mind would be completely blank again.

It was as though she didn't know what she was doing. She broke through the surface of the water and plunged deep within, allowing the first sign of the cold rush surge through her veins as she went. The ocean was deep and as she plummeted, her body taking in all of the cold bitterness that now surrounded her. Yes, this was the kind of cold she was looking for. She would stay underwater for as long as her body permitted or rather that her breathing was permitted before she would have to return back into the surface. But it was interesting how she didn't quite see the need to get herself back up to the surface. Unlike a regular dive where she was looking to save her own life from possible dangers of death, she wasn't. She only looked for the thrill of being underwater. It was all but a dream for her.

She plunged deeper and deeper underwater. Her body wasn't making even the smallest move to stop. She merely let it float, closing her eyes and relaxing her muscles. It was one of the reasons she enjoyed swimming and also became proficient at it. Did this girl have a death wish? There was certainly a possibility of that happening. Her body almost felt lifeless encased in this massive body of water. Everything happened in such sporadic speed and order that they were just uncalled for. It felt like hours before she would finally open her eyes, realizing what she was doing like a brick had hit her head. The first thing she noticed was that she was in the water and that the water was cold; extremely cold. She tried to see where she was but her sight underwater was not the best. And so she would focus on just getting herself back to the surface--if she could get there.

It would prove to be more of a feat than she had imagined possible. Her body became numb and her right leg felt a sudden stab of pain. Had she pulled a vein? No, this wasn't the time. She tried to push through the pain to swim upward but it became too painful for her too. She was too deep in the water to call for help, not that anyone would even hear her. She found herself slowly falling deeper, like falling into a black hole. Looking downward, she could see that everything was black and mysterious. Was she going to die here without even wanting to die in the first place? There was so many things left yet to do for her, places she needed to be, she couldn't die yet. Her eyes slowly closed, entering the world of eternal darkness.