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 The next day dawned another boring day of just labor. She woke up extremely early, opening her eyes to the night sky. The sun had not yet risen and it was technically still considered night time for them. It was their second official day being survivors of the storm and also being on this incredibly barren island. She wasn't one to like being in mysterious places randomly even though it was supposedly not supposed to be this way. It had not been random; it had just been a forceful kind of ordeal. She awoke after having a long night and felt extremely tired. Of course she did; she had fallen victim to an uncalled for injury which had left her leg heavily bruised. Now that she had slept it off, the pain had lessened. 

She would try to stand once more, only to find that she couldn't because a sudden stab of pain would overtake her the second she wanted to. But there were other ways of her trying to get around though. The only thing that was needed was a bit of improvision. Her silver lobes searched the sandy terrain and found that the perfect instrument which would act as her walking stick; at least temporarily. She shifted her body a little to the left and edged her body closer to the  direction of where the branches would be. Ren had managed to chop a lot of wood the day before, enough that she could actually start to help with the formation of the raft. Yes! Something to finally occupy her time with! 

Since she was technically bound to just sitting or light work for the next couple of days due to her messed up leg, there was even less she could do now.  She picked a rather big piece of wood to act as her temporary walking stick. She could have easily chosen to use Yuki no Kami to create one out of ice which would be sturdier but she didn't necessarily feel like needing a chunk of ice in her hand. No matter the sturdiness of it, it would eventually melt as the sun's warmth connected with it. So she was best to use the natural resources she had to her aid. And so she took the biggest piece of wood and tried to stand using it as an aid.

It was certainly quite useful as she could now at least stand. But there was more to it than just standing. She wanted to help Ren do something; a thing that wouldn't require her to become further injured and could be a little more useful. The gears of her brain were in full locomotion as she began to think of just what she could do. With her foot in it's current condition, much of anything physical was out of the question. So then--she would help out using her brain! That sounded oddly cheesy though even for her. But then if not taking that cheesy thought in it's literal sense, what else could she do? This required much more brain power than she thought and so far she came up with nothing.

Her leg began to throb again as she half leaned on the log. She thought it might be best if she would go by the waters and dip her foot in the chilling liquid so as to soothe it. It was always great to apply cold water to a wound, at least for her. She limped slowly, using the log kind of like a crutch and made her way slowly to the water. What used to take only two seconds of walking seemed like forever now that she was temporarily handicapped. The actual feat was tiring and she was almost out of breath and she sat on a boulder that was in front of the water, admiring first it's glistening beauty.

flashback

The journey back to Yukigakure no Sato was amazingly easier than she had first imagined. She found that with the extra weight from her body removed, she was allowed to walk a little faster in the snow. She still needed the help of her staff once in awhile when her foot would meet with hidden black ice. The black ice was so slippery that she was sure that a fall from it would not have been good at all. They needed to salt the area at some point so then people wouldn't get killed just trying to travel. She would have to speak with someone, anyone about this matter as it was a hazard that had been ignored for the longest of time. She was going to have to actually speak to one of the crew representatives some time in the next couple of days. She would make her way back home first before going to the Yukikage Tower.

She made her way down the main streets of the village again and then made her way to the Yukina mansion. She was in a desperate need of a change of clothing that she couldn't wait until she got to the Yukikage Tower to get her mission reward. She ran up the flight of stairs and then went to her room to change her clothing. In a few minutes she was running down the stairs and out the door again, the completed mission slip in her hand. She was ecstatic that she had finished a mission already without meaning to and that she had helped a person in the process. Killing two birds with one stone. She ran down the snowy streets in her overcoat and made her way to the Tower. She noticed that the blizzard was not as strong now which meant that the wave of snowstorm had yet to hit.

The Yukikage Tower was at the end of the main street and after a few minutes of walking, she would find herself standing in front of the building. It was amusing that she had recalled how she wanted to take a mission only that morning and had forced herself not to because she had no interest in taking petty mission. But then she had turned right around and found herself caught in the middle of one without realizing it. She would venture inside the tower and head towards the reception area where she had received the last mission rewards. By this time the receptionist now recognized her. She walked up to her and handed her the mission slip, telling her that she had completed it. Eyeing the title of the mission she would turn her eyes to look at Sayuri.

"You hadn't had the mission approved by me, dear." She put down the mission slip on the desk while she heard Sayuri's response. She raised an eyebrow because she knew that the girl wasn't lying. She remembered having approved the mission to the blonde haired Genin early in the morning. She sneered as she was sure that she was not going to give the man another mission any time soon. She took out the ryo box and paid the girl five hundred ryo, awarding her for her hard work. She thanked the woman and turned to leave the tower, smiling at the fact that she had gotten money. It was her lucky day. As she walked out of the tower, she would come colliding with the blond haired shinobi that had given her the mission that morning. She definitely wasn't in the mood to entertain him.

"Lass, give me that mission money." She bluntly refused. He was a gruff and she had no interest and no heart to listen to what else she had to say. She just turned to leave but he would not let her. It was then that her anger was unleashed on her. As he grabbed hold of her arm, she turned on her heel and took out a kunai from her weapon pouch adn took it to his neck hissing that he'd better scram right that very second before his throat was going to have an extra slash. He saw the seriousness in her eyes and heard it in her tone. He nodded his head and then ran back down the streets, not looking back at her as he did so. Good, he knew danger when he saw it.

flashback

The village streets were definitely much better for walking than out there in the disaster known as the country. She didn't know how anybody could make it across the lands to get to the village or from the village to wherever they were going in that horrible setting. Nobody was even responsible for at least shoveling a couple of roads which could allow people to not have to fight their way to get from point A to point B. She shifted the old woman's weight a little as she continued down the main streets, beads of sweat forming on her forehead even though it was bone-chilling cold. It was really hard work trying to trudge across inches of snow. But now that the feat was accomplished she felt rather proud. A couple of people she recognized were looking at her and offer to give her some help. Who was there to help her and the old woman when they were out in the country? She declined their gestures and would keep going.

The hospital of Yukigakure was a large five story building that most consisted of hospital beds and rooms for the injured. There was the Emergency Room, also known as the ER, the ultrasound rooms and also the receptionist on the first floor. The second floor housed all the operation rooms for medical shinobi to perform surgery. Only the very serious of patients needed surgery. The three floors above that were all hospital rooms of different sizes depending on what the patient needed or wanted. Some wanted privacy and would prefer one person rooms. The hospital was able to accommodate to that too. Usually the staff there were bustling around the first floor as most of the walk-ins had emergencies of their own right. Some would think that their conditions were an emergency and would request doctor assistance almost immediately. Others would actually come into the ER with serious injuries or conditions which needed immediate medical attention.

As she stepped inside the hospital through the sliding automatic doors, she would find that it was unusually quiet. She looked at the clock that was mounted on the wall. It was still too early for the usual swarm of people to invade the rather large space. She would put down the old woman gently onto a plastic chair and ask for her basic information. Then she would walk over to the reception's area where a nurse was busy sorting patient records. Upon noticing Sayuri, she would immediately put down what she had been doing before and tend to her with a big smile. At least some people were nice around here and gave a damn! She would give the nurse the basic information of the old woman and tell her what had happened to her. Naturally because of the low traffic at that time, the old woman was admitted into one of the ER rooms immediately, with a doctor waiting for her.

She helped the old woman up from the chair and walked towards the room slowly, her body supporting that of the woman's. The whole examination period took about ten minutes at most before she was discharged with the diagnosis that the only thing wrong with her was a swollen ankle which would need to have weight kept off of it for the next week or so. Thanking the doctor, Sayuri would take the woman back to the plastic chair so that she could sit while she adjusted her clothing to prepare to carry her back to the country and then across it to her house. Again the old woman would want to refuse and again she would refuse to hear it. It was really nothing since she told her she needed her morning exercise. And in a few moments, the girl would have the old woman on her back again and would be carrying her back down the main streets of Yukigakure, making her way to the village gates.

By now the sun was already shining making it a little warmer at least in temperature. The afternoon was fast approaching and she was going to take the old woman back to her house. She told her that her son would be off work soon so then he could go and pick up her grandson from school. At least that problem was taken care of. Nodding her head, she would walk slowly past the guards and once more into the country land. She was surprised to find that by this time the road was much easier. It was probably due to her already growing accustomed to walking in inches thick snow that it failed to be a problem. She would walk at a steady pace, not wanting to go too fast in case she went way ahead of herself and fell down on the snow.

flashback

And she wouldn't need five minutes to come up with a solution merely because there was only one solution that she could see. As previously mentioned they were stranded alone here in the country, the duo of young and old with the old of the two being injured. They were covered in snow with a blizzard threatening to overtake them at any minute. There were only two options available for her right now, either to offer the old woman support so that she could help her get to the village which would require the woman to be able to stand on her feet or she was going to have to carry her. But knowing the conditions that they were surrounded it, she doubted the first option was viable. She would give it a try anyway and found that she was quite right. "I'll carry you." her sentences were short and to the point.

The old woman would attempt to say otherwise but Sayuri would not hear it. It was futile to argue with her if her mind was set to it. The old woman would try to get up only to moan and sit back down on the snow covered ground afterward. Her point was proven. She told her that carrying her would be the only way that she would be able to get her to the village hospital so that they could have her ankle checked before the blizzard was going to hit them in full swing. It was after this explanation that the old woman would finally let up on the possibility of having her being carried. Sayuri knew that she wasn't being difficult. It was just that she thought it was bothersome for her. It was her job as the mission taker even though the original mission taker wasn't her. But that was beside the point.

She would take note that she needed something to help her balance with the added weight of the woman on her back. Having carried someone on her back before she knew how hard it was to stabilize and walk at the same time. Back when she was in the little town she had carried her guardian once and she needed the help of her katana to support her. In these kinds of weather conditions and with the heavy snow blinding her almost, the need for an object to help her was more than necessary. But where to find this object? She had forgotten her katana at the mansion today because she hadn't expected to take on a sudden mission involving any use of it. There was not even a stick in sight for her to borrow. Her foot tapped the snowy ground, her fingers drumming on her overcoat as she pondered a possible solution.

And it wouldn't take long before the solution came to her. She was going to use Yuki no Kami. Yuki no Kami allowed her to borrow any water source and turn it into anything she wanted meaning that she could turn the water into some kind of weapon to help her in replacement of her katana. She didn't even think twice as she formed the handseals and then released her chakra. She would borrow the water from the air particles around to create a staff out of hard ice. Since she had retrained the jutsu many times, her solidifying ability was very good. The chakra she had released for this jutsu was equal to that of a C rank and the staff would form almost instantly. She tested the staff and found that it was very sturdy. Thank God. And then she would turn to the old woman and tell her to wrap her arms around her so that she could carry her. She complied and got on her back.

The added weight of the old woman was really one that needed the help of the staff. The bulk now on her back was too much for her to handle on normal dry land much less one that was covered with inches of snow. She began to walk, taking first baby steps to test her balance. As she got more adjusted to the weight of the old woman she would continue in bigger steps, walking first to the right for six meters. She was confident that they would be able to get to the village very soon with the help of her staff. It helped her push her body forward against the blinding flakes of snow as the wind blew them against her face. This was quite the mission for her to take but at least she would end up helping someone in real need.

flashback

And as she turned on her heel for a three hundred sixty look of the country as she stopped using shunshin. Her eye was keen, searching for a figure. And soon she would come upon a person that was covered with snow. Her light purple overcoat was literally covered with so much snow that it turned white and blended itself together with the scenery. She had almost missed the light purple while the blizzard blazed on. But thankfully age had found her or else she may really freeze to death under such harsh conditions. She would tread over to the huddled woman. Her stride was slow against the slowly thickening snow.

She squinted against the flakes which came showering overhead. Snow was literally blowing in her face, clouding her already limited vision. She fought a fierce battle with mother nature with mother nature apparently winning most of the time. It was a challenge walking the few steps towards the figure and even though she was wearing boots, her feet would sink into the cold. The cold and wetness of the snow sank into her skin, causing the natural coldness of the winter air to be added with an extra dose of chill. It took a couple of minutes of maneuvering before she finally found herself within range of the huddled figure. 

"Are you alright?" her voice was almost lost in the howling winds. The figure turned as she addressed her. She was indeed an old woman with frail grey hair. Her grey locks were tucked neatly in the hood of the overcoat. The snow that was coming down had only managed to stick to the ends of her hair. Her skin was wrinkled indicating her age. The old lady's eyes lightened up when she saw Sayuri. "Oh dear, have you come to help me?" She smiled at her and then nodded her head. "I'm sorry I took so long." she had wanted to find the woman sooner. 

The little prick that had originally taken the mission had took the slip earlier that morning and had taken his sweet old time doing other things. Only during the only afternoon did he happen to recall in that thick mind of his that he still had a mission to take care of. She sighed and then shook her head. She then quickly assessed the injury of the old woman. There was nothing serious other than her swollen ankle. The old woman must have been out here for a long time. Sayuri brushed off the excess snow on the overcoat and then looked towards the surrounding. It was about a total of twelve meters away from the village gates.

"Does anywhere else hurt other than your ankle?" her voice was a soft whisper, a tone she only used with elderly people. The woman shook her head and Sayuri nodded. She grasped the old woman's wrinkled hands that were as cold as ice. Sayuri was even more angry as she knelt beside her client. But there wasn't much time to waste. She had to get her to the village hospital to have her ankle checked out. But under these conditions, how was she going to achieve this? There wasn't anything out here except snow barrens and the two of them. She timed herself to at least think of a way to solve the problem in five minutes.

flashback

She had a lot of her body's chakra built up in her legs so that she was able to move without any more trouble or time wasted. She advanced forward, her eyes squinting as she rushed back to where she was. The balls of her feet were carried by the force of her chakra and in an instant she was back to where she started, five meters to the left again. She only needed another five meters to the left again. She guessed that the old lady wouldn't have gone farther than five meters. The wind was now changing direction, hitting her straight in the face.

Five more meters to go she told herself as she focused her chakra to her her feet again. Just a little bit more. She would find that her feet would start to numb again while more of her body's scattered chakra was streamed to her legs. She was starting to love shunshin a lot more as she used it more often. She sprinted forward and it took a mere second of time plus a small amount of her chakra to get her to her destination. It was interesting how she was able to now control how far she went with her energy. The moment she stopped releasing, the moment she would stop running. Both worked together in perfect harmony. 

She was certain that she had finally gotten the hang of shunshin even though she had done so long ago. But since she had not used it as often as her other jutsus, she felt that it was necessary to retrain at certain times just so she could get her game and ease back. It was her first learned Taijutsu and she knew that she would be able to benefit from it when the time came. And having trained now, she felt she had not lost the initial abilities when she first learned shunshin.

{end shunshin retraining}

Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)
Rank: D
Type: Supplementary / Ninjutsu
Range: 0 - 10 meters
Special: Flickering is forward-moving, meaning the user will rush almost instantly to wherever they are facing. The user can flicker once per thread, plus once more each time retrained.
Description: Shunshin no Jutsu is a basic ninjutsu technique used across the shinobi world by all, ranging from the most basic shinobi to the legends of lore. Considered is a high-speed movement technique, it allows a ninja to move short to long distances at an almost untraceable speed - to an observer, it appears as if the user has teleported. Such a feat is accomplished by using chakra to temporarily vitalise the body and move at extreme speeds they would otherwise be unable to reproduce. In the end, the user will appear and disappear in an instant, allowing them to retreat or attack suddenly should they need it. To facilitate the movement the ninja will often use nearby elements such as mist, sand or leaves to mask their appearance or disappearance.
Domain: Shunshin - Universal Ninjutsu.

flashback
{starting Shunshin retraining}

She looked at the falling snow and gave an exasperated sigh. Even though she was technically running as she sped to find the old lady, the heavy amount of snow that was on the ground made it difficult for an actual all-out run. And she only had half an hour! She really needed to pick up the pace. Since she had already loss about ten minutes of her time using just her muscles, she thought it was going to be better if she borrowed the help of her chakra. Namely, she was thinking of a jutsu she'd learned a long time ago called Shunshin. It was a fast moving jutsu and she had learned it once almost a year ago. Now it was time for her to call upon it's services again as she tried desperately to find her client.

Shunshin was a combination of running and chakra. She would have to power her feet with enough chakra to carry her through a maximum of ten meters in distance. Since she knew that she probably wouldn't have to use her chakra for anything else during the mission, she would use a bit of it for this jutsu. It was an ease of movement and if done right enabled the user to move faster than a blink of an eye. Since this was a Taijutsu that used chakra she stopped at a certain point of her search, readying her body's chakra for it. Since she was pressed for time, there was no room for failure. 

The good and bad thing about this jutsu was that the only thing that was of concern to her would be her chakra. Chakra was never an issue for her since she had gained a lot of experience with control. She needed the most effort in streaming of her chakra to her feet so that she could release it for the power run. Her chakra had been dormant for some time now and she was now forced to activate her chakra more. She closed her eyes and felt her chakra starting to run in her body.

She felt that her chakra was starting to become more active as she stood. The snow fell continously around her as she did so. Her feet felt the continuous surge of energy and began to feel numb. She knew that she would have to hurry if she wanted to get through the grounds of Yuki no Kuni at a faster pace she would have to hurry with the process of actually preparing for the jutsu. By this time she had used another couple of minutes of her precious time.

Once she was certain that she was ready with the chakra built up to her feet, she opened her eyes, hit by the blizzard that had once more graced her eyes. She had to  have her pupils adjusting once more to the blazing snow. She released the chakra from the chakra points in her feet and then ran forward with the chakra powering her run. She was definitely feeling the pace level change as she sped forward. Even though it was only allowed to move her forward, she knew it was sufficient for this mission.