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flashback

She was walking down the streets of Yukigakure no Sato one morning. It seemed that the sun was shining overhead and she was quite happy that there was not going to be snowfall for the next couple of days. Yuki had suffered from snowfalls and blizzards continuously the past few weeks that snow started to agitate her. She was going to use the next couple of days to her advantage. Because there was heavy snowfall all the way up to the day before, she had been forced to stay in the mansion and train. Training especially solo training was so boring. Her brother had gone on a team mission again and had left her to tend to a nearly empty house. Out of exasperation, she had asked the servants to take a break for a couple of days, telling them that they should take the opportunity of no heavy snowfall the next couple days and go out with their families.

She had felt lonely sitting in the mansion with just four walls every room she went to and decided that it would be much more eventful if she found something to do. And the first thing that came to mind was that she could take a mission. It had been a few weeks that she had last touched a mission and that one had been petty. Even though she had managed to help people in the process, it was still a little boring for her. She was looking for excitement, for adventure and she vowed that she was going to get it on her next mission no matter what. And so she had charged upstairs of her house to her bedroom and changed into a short kimono, tying her katana to her back and then left the house immediately, heading to the Yukikage Tower.

She had missed being in the tower, missed the receptionist and missed the mission board. She wondered if any of the missions that were beginning to mound on the board were taken in the last weeks. She guessed that they must have been since she didn't hear the Yukikage or any of the Village Councils expressing concern about the lack of productivity of the shinobi. Being a shinobi was a job after all and they got paid for doing the job. So she was certain that if the missions hadm;t been cleared yet that there should have been an announcement which would alert all shinobi in Yukigakure to take them and get their butts moving. The people that requested in mission form and posted in the missions board were often people that were in dire need of help and the fact that they weren't taken would equal to shinobi ignoring their plea of help.

She would walk down the very clean main streets of the village with a smile on her face. She actually even skipped down the street almost since it was a rare sight to see the road actually the color of cement and not the color of white that came from the snow that fell on it. This was turning into a very good day. So she may have the chance to actually have her wish come true. She would greet some of the people that were walking on the street or setting up stands there with a wave and a smile as she passed. The Yukikage Tower was just a few moments ahead and she was so excited for what was to come. She was always excited for a mission but never quite seemed to have enough time to do them since she had only completed three or four to date.

She made a little vow to herself that she would try to do all of the missions on the mission board before the Chuunin Exams. This was not just an opportunity for her to get some money while performing her services as a shinobi but also let her strengthen herself in ways that were not training. She would pass the guards that were required to stand at the entrance of the tower, smiling at them both when she passed through. She was definitely not very accustomed to herself being happy. The guards didn't really take notice of her wave and she felt offended that the first time she was actually in the mood to wave a hello at them that they just ignored her.

What happened after that was a frenzy. She had not even been conscious enough for her to remember every detail. The only thing she remembered last doing was her struggling still to get to the surface of the waters even with her leg hurting as it did. She didn't get very far of course but she pushed herself. She was loosing oxygen and was also slowly slipping into unconscious slowly. The last thing she remembered was that her muscles were starting to relax and that her eyes were fluttering to a close. Indeed, her rash actions had made her end up many feet underwater and drifting further down as her body gave way. What she did not know was that she would be saved; barely so. Her limp body continued to drift underwater for a couple more seconds.

And then someone had broke through the water surface too, having seen her plunge into the ocean. He had been walking along the shores of Tetsu no Kuni on his usual business; which was nothing in particular. Today was such a cold day that there was nothing he really wanted to do much less what he could do. He was a villager of Kaminari no Kuni, a Genin who had taken to a little vacation from the village and its duties. After some drifting on a sailboat he found that he was lost in the middle of the ocean. For days he had drifted alone and unsure of which way to go. It was just his luck that he would eventually find his way again as another sailboat came by and led him to the nearest country; which was Tetsu no Kuni. But he had not braced himself with enough clothing and was almost going to freeze to death.

It had been about four days since he landed on the shores of this icy cold country. He didn't know anything about this place and didn't really feel like asking random strangers in case he got himself in trouble for saying the wrong things. Since nobody seemed to mind the fact that he was here, he decided to stay for a couple of days. He was so used to being chased off country lands that not having such treatment here made it feel oddly comfortable. He now was able to buy a winter overcoat and better brace himself against the winter temperatures of this country. He had been planning on his return trip to Kaminari no Kuni since it seemed as though he didn't know where he was and wouldn't be able to just sail out to the ocean and expect to find his hone country by sailing in all directions.

And he had been just been thinking about this problem that morning when he came upon the odd looking girl. Originally he didn't take much notice of her, thinking that she was just those other people here in Tetsu that seemed to only be concerned with themselves. But something made him stand there and watch her movements. He had been standing but a couple feet to her right but because she had her eyes closed, she didn't know. He didn't go over and make a formal introduction but decided it was best to let her have her personal space. And then he noticed that there was a coat beside her, neatly folded and saw that she herself was shivering from the cold. He had wondered what she was trying to do. Looking at her figure quizzically, he found this girl interesting by the second.

But really shocked him was when she dove into the ocean water. It took him almost a full ten seconds to get himself back to reality. He looked away and then again at where the girl had been standing only seconds ago and found that she was no longer standing there. The waters parted to give way to her body and a few sparks appeared and descended back into the waters. Without hesitation, he took off his overcoat and dove into the water after the girl thinking she was trying to commit suicide. He was shocked that nobody around him seemed to have seen this and nobody bothered to help the poor girl. People were just plain cold-blooded these days.

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--

Her silver eyes traveled to a couple feet from her side as she was still deep in thought. She had almost missed what Shizuka had naturally. Her eyes had caught onto something that she knew she shouldn't have and would probably regret quite certainly. Though she had a passion for fighting; had a renewed passion for allowing the metal blade of her katana to slit across her victims' throats, she was not amused at the sight she was seeing now. It was simply that the body of this man, who had obviously been killed had not died from her hands. She looked at the limp, motionless and lifeless being of what used to be an alive and well individual. For a moment she was not quite sure if she wanted to walk up to it and find traces of who had killed him. What was she going to do that information anyway?

And then she noticed that her companion was speaking to her and decided to finally turn her head from the dead body and actually stare at him. There seemed to be something amiss about him; something that she couldn't quite pinpoint. What was it? Of course she noticed some blood stains on his face and began to question on the inside how he had managed to get blood on himself for a mere short time span. But she retracted her question. The two of them had just met each other and it seemed a little too personal to ask some of the questions that ran in her mind. Instead, she would just listen, as she mentioned that there was another person joining their group. what was this, a party? The atmosphere around them had continued to give off a chill that she felt relaxing but was noting that it was somewhat not the case for Shizuka.

A small smile played on her lips as she saw someone joining the group. She guessed that it was the person the red haired boy was telling her about. She studied the figure closely. His blond hair was what caught her eye and there was a look of mysteriousness surrounding him. And that was when she would give the new person a curt nod. So Shizuka had managed to meet a friend already? Of course she didn't know all that had happened between them while she had wandered off and had dreams which made no real connection one from another but she found it rather surprising that he had met someone here in Tetsu no Kuni so quickly that this person was going to join them. She didn't have a problem with it, but it was surprising nonetheless.

And now, down to serious business as she walked with Shizuka down the path to an inn he said he saw. Apparently he had a plan and she was quite interested. There wasn't much for her to do here in Tetsu. She was an outsider in a mysterious country with no destination, no focus and basically nothing to do. A plan sounded like such an exciting thing. She had traveled solo for so long that any sort of plan had become a part of her imagination. She liked plans; organizing things would certainly be beneficial to doing anything small or big. She nodded her head and smiled back at him; walking alongside him with the new person in the group trailing slightly behind.

They would reach the inn shortly, a distance that was made easier for her because she was used to walking on snowy plains. He would get two rooms for them but she would insist that she paid for her own. She was not a person that was seen easily to take advantage of others. They would settle down at the inn, and Sayuri would wait patiently for the plan that her companion had mentioned. All this time she had not noticed a presence who would be watching them. She was an acute observer but still wouldn't have known that there was somebody following them on the snowy grounds.

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.

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."