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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.

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.

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.

The snowy terrains and bitter temperatures were welcomed by her as she began to tread the grounds of what would be Tetsu no Kuni. The land wasn't really as special; or so she thought anyhow. Maybe because the place bore resemblance to Yuki no Kuni that nothing seemed like a surprise to her. Did things really begin to lost their shine if they looked too like something else? If so, then that kind of explanation would be more than enough to explain the feeling she felt inside.

Everything looked too familiar in the not so familiar kind of way. She had to remind herself again and again that she wasn't in Yuki no Kuni but everywhere she looked made her think of the demolished village. The crunch of the hard snow beneath her feet was more than enough for her to start making connections. The temperature was at the right level; bone-chilling yet heart-warming. She was crazy; crazy with a sudden wave of homesick that she hadn't felt since the day she found her mysteriously in a little town some one year ago. The snow that accumulated on the ground made her feel so much at home that she had the urge to call it her new home.

No, she reminded herself crossly, this was not Yuki no Kuni. She wouldn't possibly be able to find her village unscathed in this new country. This was Tetsu no Kuni. As she walked alongside her new companion, her mind was busy controlling itself from making wrong moves. They had just landed on the country. She couldn't afford to have a repeat of what happened in Hi no Kuni, especially because she wasn't alone this time. She had Shizuka to account for, had him to consider with every small move she made. She was supposedly trying to help him find his memories. So she didn't matter in the equation at all.

They would walk aimlessly for a couple of minutes, not really sure where they were going. She stole a look at Shizuka, still a little troubled that he wasn't wearing a shirt. Wasn't he cold? She was used to this temperature so she actually felt warm. So warm that she would take off the coat he had given her on the boat and return it to him with a smile. "You mustn't catch cold. I'm fine in this weather. Please take this back." she would hand it over to him. She bit back the urge to say that it felt so much like home to her that she actually wouldn't mind being cold. That was none of his business. 

Her silver lobes would cast a quick glance at their surroundings, picking up nothing in particular that was of interest. There seemed to be an abundance of people, but that was about it. The fact that Ren had set the country's location was supposedly secretive and that it had so many people really surprised her. Guess it wasn't such a secret after all. She would turn to her companion and ask if there was anywhere he would like to go, anywhere at all, or would simply walking up and down the country's snowy grounds be enough. She herself didn't mind either or.  

It was quite surprising to note how she suddenly would remember Reina while trying to cook an edible meal on a stranded island. She did need to thank both Reina and Reina's father. They both allowed her to spend much of her free time at their restaurant, helping out in the kitchen. A lot of the techniques she now knew today were thanks to the teachings of her friend's father andhis team of men. How long ago it felt since that day when she met her culinary friend. It had been a long time. Back then she had only been an academy student and today she was starting to climb the ladder of the shinobi ranks, realizing her dreams one rank at time. She began to wonder where Reina was since Yuki no Kuni had been destroyed by the unforgiving war.

It was hard to imagine the losses the family had to suffer because of the sudden events. Their business would have fallen to ruins, their family forced to flee the country. It sort of brought her mind to focusing on what had happened to the Yukina Clan. She was certain that the elders would have retreated to another land by now since they were masters of the clan. But what of the other clan members and the villagers of Yukigakure no Sato? She knew that Yuki was overall a small village compared to the great shinobi villages and the country therefore was also smaller, but there were hundreds of people living on the land. Where had they gone?

She was not particularly pleased that she didn't know the fates of the people she had lived with. There were many elderly people who she knew must have suffered when they were trying their hardest to flee as she recalled that the village's neighboring little towns were inhabited mostly by the elderly or small children; two of the most vulnerable groups of people. They would not have had the ability to defend themselves against the force of the war. She only prayed that everyone was safe either in hiding or having pledged allegiance to another nation and it's village for security. Just like Tomomi had done.

This was why she hated wars and even fighting in general sometimes. Though it differs when she becomes totally insane because insanity takes away all rationality out of a person. But in her sane state she hated wars as they did no good except destroy things--physical buildings and sometimes everything that a person had gone to so much trouble trying to build. If she had had a house in Yukigakure and the war had demolished it, she wouldn't be too happy. It merely seemed like no one cared about the consequences of wars; only that they had to happen for some sort of gain. It was unfathomable why the world turned into such a horrible place. 

Why had Yuki been hit too? Though she felt for all the other small countries and hidden villages which had been demolished by the war, she was perplexed at why Yuki was hit too. They were one of those countries that didn't really fit in with the other countries. Not many people wanted to visit because of the constant blizzards and heavy snowfall. There was little to nothing that could be gained with the striking of Yuki even though she was more than aware that this was just her opinion. She hated the fact that there were so many unknowns and that she wouldn't be able to find out the real truth unless someone were to tell her what really happened during that time. If only she could find the Yukikage--

From that day onward, Reina and Sayuri became the best of friends. They shared recipes with one another and would use the wee hours of the morning to raid the restaurant kitchen before the official kitchen staff came in to experiment. Sayuri would take quite awhile trying to learn that one dish that Reina had shown her. But as her friend had said; practice did make perfect. She had made many errors, big and small over the trials of trying to cook the dish but after about ten tries, she finally was starting to get the hang of it. It felt so good to her to be able to do something right. And so, one day she would go back to the little town restaurant and coon for Reina, to return the favor.

Reina decided it would be best if she stayed in the kitchen with her friend while she cooked, just to give her any hints here and there if she needed it. Not that she was particularly scared Sayuri would set the kitchen on fire. The taking out of the ingredients and washing of them as well as the preparation of the bowls needed weren't much of a problem. Reina nodded her head as she saw how fluid her movement was around the kitchen. There was no anxiety, no panic. She could tell that her friend definitely did a lot of practice before she showed up at the kitchen wanting to cook for her. She was pleased at her progress.

It was like watching a performance pm a personal stage in a kitchen. The chef was the only actor and the food was the final product. The process would be like the singing or acting that came in between. She smiled encouragingly at her friend as she continued. Sayuri did have a very good memory as the positioning of all utensils and knives were different from her own kitchen. But again there was no panic involved. She knew where everything was and took what she needed when she needed it. It seemed that she followed the exact of steps that Reina had shown her earlier without flaw. Definitely impressive

She also noted that she wasn't quick to finish, focusing on the details of everything that she did while carrying it out within reasonable speed. Reina had seen many people have the mistaken belief that cooking with speed automatically meant that the person had to whizz through every step. Often the final product would come out sloppy and lose presentation points. Thank god Sayuri wasn't like one of them. She was more methodical and organized, focusing a little heavier on fine details. It was great to watch her work. Reina could see the determination in her eyes and on her face as she carried out each task. This was what real chefs were like. The end result wasn't all that mattered. Everything in between had their individual significance. 

She watched as Sayuri went from dicing, to chopping to grinding and then washing and finall to cooking. Every step was followed in sequence and she never had even a second of hesitation. She was able to grab hold of the flavoring techniques too which Reina had originally thought would have caused problems for her. Perhaps it had once upon a time. But now it was like she had been born to be in a kitchen cooking. It was definitely one hell of a performance from a mere academy student. She was more convinced than ever before as she watched Sayuri cook that she would be one of the greatest chefs with more practice. There was talent and skill which unfortunately some people who called themselves renowned chefs merely lacked and boasted about half the time.

The final parts in the cooking of the dish would end with the creamy sauce that would be poured on top of the steak. She would first open the carton of cream and pour a little into the still hot skillet. The cream would need to be reduced under high heat so that clumps wouldn't form. Taking the second of the two spoons, she would gently stir the cream, adding some butter and a little bit of milk and just let it simmer for a bit. She still wanted the creamy texture of a sauce so overheating it would be a problem. It was relatively important that she grasped the right timing. She would also take a basil leaf and just add little pieces of it into the sauce to add color and flavor.

As the basil was added, Reina would turn down the heat. She took a little taste of the cream sauce and decided to add a pinch of salt as it was lacking and then turned off the heat altogether. Then she would bring the sauce over to the plate and lavish it in spoonfuls on the steak. Once this was all done, she would take the leftover sauce which wasn't a lot and drizzles it lightly onto the pasta, giving it added flavor. The other basil leaves she had prepared were used as decoration as plating was just as important as the actual quality of the food. Food needed to look visually appealing for customers to want to eat it. Then she would bring out the salad from the fridge and plate that into a medium sized bowl with sone extra cheese on top.

So now the cooking was finally done as she cleaned the plate a little with a white cloth in case any of the oil from the skillet touched it. She was a very picky person. She brought the plate out to the bar table and told Sayuri to enjoy while she herself back into the kitchen to take care of the pots and pans which needed to be washed. Reina disappeared into the kitchen again as Sayuri set her notepad on the bar table and say on the high chair, marveling at the plate of food before her. Only while seeing her cook did the thought of hunger come to her. She hadn't eaten all day. Now she was dying to taste it. She would start with the appetizer.

Caesar salad seemed easy enough to make back she knew it was hard to make to taste good. She used her fork and jabbed at a lettuce, almost like she was attacking it. The crispiness of the romain was definitely there since she almost had a hard time just eating it because it was so crispy. But she'd always been a fan of Caesar salad and so it was natural that she would like what Reina had done. The sauce wasn't overpowering at all as she hadn't out that much on it and the whole appetizer was very appealing to her tastebuds. She would then take to the main course of the dish.

And the moistness of the steak would surprise her. Sayuri wasn't too fond of beef because there were always some restaurants in Yukigakure which would serve very hard to chew beef. She had become so sick of the blandness that she hadn't had any kind of beef in a long time. She smiled as she took the first small bite out of the steak. That was the texture that she liked. It was moist and tender, what beef should be. The pasta was also rich in garlic and onion flavor without the garlic being overwhelming. The cream sauce was perfect for both components of the dish. Reina had done a very good job and Sayuri was beginning to envy her skill.