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She was still sitting in the same position as Ren returned with a handful of twigs and branches. She was impressed by what he had done. With only his bare hands he had enough to make a fire and to add to the fire if needed during the night. Her assumption about him having done something of this kind of nature before was proven correct when it took him a mere two minutes to get a low fire running. "Looks like we'll have to stay the night." he commented as he started to cook the rabbit over the fire. She nodded her head, having expected that from the very start.

She shifted her position slightly as she now turned her silver lobes to gaze at the blazing flames. Sparks were flying everywhere but it did it's job pretty well for keeping them warm and also as a cooking medium. She was staring at the fire as though mesmerized by some unknown pattern within the dancing flames. Noticing her silence, Ren would keep on cooking the rabbit, knowing that she probably didn't want or need questions at that particular time. She placed the palm of her hands near the fire and tried to warm them, all the while not speaking at all. And she would continue to do so until a few minutes later when she decided to break the silence.

"Ren, do you have brothers or sisters?" her voice was barely above a whisper. His response was that he had one younger sister. She then further questioned if his relationship with his sister was good. His answer would be the standard; they had their quarelling moments but that they were close. She nodded her head, acknowledging what he said. Her mind began to travel to the memories of her and her brother. They were scattered and in pieces but she knew that they were like that too. If only she could see her brother again. She give anything to secure that chance. He was her only family and she at least needed to know if he was dead or alive--

They fell back into silence again, her not choosing to continue with her questioning. The atmosphere seemed like such a depressing one that she wasn't sure if talking was beneficial. Instead she was going to stay quiet unless Ren decided to speak. She would find that she would not be disappointed as he chose to continue the conversation. "Do you have siblings, Sayuri-chan?" It felt so strange to have someone call her by her first name. It was definitely a first. She nodded her head in response. She told him that she had an older brother, who was a Chuunin from Yukigakure. But that she no longer knew where he was and that she was going to try her best to find him. He wished her luck genuinely.

There was nothing worse than being seperated from one's family especially if the family member was the only person close. Though he couldn't really understand her feelings as well because he had never been seperated from his family in a way that she was with her brother. But he knew how it felt to be missing family as he often felt towards his wife and children when he had to spend nights out on the ocean. Or simply just being away from them hurt. He was certain that her brother was alive and well and they would meet again very soon one day. Dear God, she hoped so. She needed her brother so so much. Where was he--?

She was more than certain that they'd be able to make it to the island as they came within view of it. From where they were, the island looked small and a little barren. But they were still quite far away from the actual location and so it was hard to tell. The waters of the ocean were getting colder and colder by the minute, cutting against her skin like ice. It was only fortunate that she had the aid of her Yukina kekkei genkai to help her through desperate colds. Or else she would have fallen victim to unconsciousness or something along those lines. Over the year or so of being in that little tow had taught her that she needed to fend off situations on her own, that in desperate measures nobody would be able to help her. This was one kind of situation.

She began to pick up speed even against the chill. She knew that the faster she swam the faster she would able to get herself to the island. At that moment that was her own objective. There were many more problems up ahead but as long as she could get herself to dry land, all the rest of her problems seemed minute. Or so she thought. She caught up with Ren in a couple of minutes and the two sailed through the waters as though powered by a motor themselves. They would stop every five or so minutes to catch their breath before hurrying forward once more. It seemed as though they both had the same firm belief that as long as they got to the island, it would all be well. The duo team saw that they were getting closer and closer as time went by until the actual size of the island came into view.

It was definitely bigger than what she had thought it would be when she had first spotted the island. It was a remote piece of land, deserted at first glance. There were luscious trees and a sandy beach. It was at the sandy beach that the two of them found themselves on first, taking a much needed rest as they secured themselves to safety. She saw that there wasn't much on the island itself except for perhaps an abundance of trees. But that was like all islands far and wide. They were always uninhabited for a reason. They took a few minutes to regain composure before starting to explore this unknown land. Ren told her that this island was not marked on the world map because it was not a place of significance. And she had to agree.

There was nothing exciting about deserted islands. She got up and started exploring the parts, though her clothes were all wet. Originally Ren had been worried that she would catch a cold if she did not remove her clothing but she reminded him that she had no other clothing except this one. She had not brought any attire from the little town. She would have to wait until she reached some place, any place before she could buy new clothes. But clothes was not her primary concern at the moment. There was much more that needed to be taken care of. One such thing was food.

She guessed that the island did not have much food. And her guess was right. She found a few wild fruits hanging from the trees but they looked as though nobody had touched them in ages. It wasn't even something that looked edible, other than the fact that it hung from a tree. She would go hunting once more, seeing if there were better looking fruits or berries available. But her search came back with nothing. She was starting to wonder whether they'd eat at all tonight. Anything would be sufficient as long as it was sanitary to some degree.

She was thankful that after a few drops of water to his lips, the red haired boy would arouse from his unconscious state. She had begun to worry that if water didn't help to wake him up then she would have no other way of trying to wake him up. As his eyelids fluttered open, she would let out a sigh of relief. It seemed as though she had poured too much water into his mouth that it caused him to choke a little. Tilting the gourd slightly on angle, she would eaae the amount of water flow. His hand grasped the gourd weakly as he silently asked for more water.

In a few moments, he would release his hold on the gourd and she would take it gently from him. She saw that he was trying to clean his face and hair with drops of water. She searched in her pockets for a cloth of some sort but found none. She noticed that his injury wasn't light to his head which needed to be taken care of right away. She wanted to use a cloth of some sort to wrap around his head. But she would need some ice. Looking around and seeing no particular water source, she decided that it would be best that she create ice from the water in the air particles around her. That would be easy enough.

She tore a somewhat perfect looking piece of cloth from her skirt that was enough to wrap around his head. She didn't mind that her skirt was now slightly shorter than it was before since she needed a cloth and since there was none available for her to use, she had to improvise. Being a member of the Yukina Clan, her chakra was Hyouton based which meant a release of it would automatically take the water particles and harden them into a large chunk of ice. After a block of ice was formed, she would wrap the block of ice with the cloth. 

She would hand him the rice cakes that she had placed on the floor beside her before, realizing that he was hungry. She smiled a little at him as he said his name. Shizuka? It sounded oddly feminine but she didn't comment on it. Instead she nodded her head and watched him take the cake. She decided to return the favor. But she hesitated for a moment. Should she introduce herself using her real name or the name her guardian had given her a year ago? She no longer had an excuse of not having memory of her past but she wasn't sure if she could trust him that much to give him her real name. 

After a second of thought, she would decide to use her real name. Another surprising thing she had done since she had never called herself that. Even in Hi no Kuni she had deliberately used the name Ayase Sayaka. But that was before her memory had been returned. "My name is Yukina Sayuri. May I ask what happened?" She had been curious why an injured man would be found in the middle of an uninhabited island and she only had the chance to ask him now. She looked at him carefully, her eyes resting on his face. He was quite a fighter, she guessed.

As she opened her eyes to greet the afternoon, she felt revived and content. She had needed that eight hours of rest that she got and was now in much better spirits than she had been during the wee hours of the morning. She walked down the flight of stairs of the Yukina mansion and saw that her brother was also there, sitting in the kitchen with his usual cup of coffee. She greeted him with a warm smile as she entered the kitchen to find herself a cup of cold milk. The house was so warm and cozy, thanks to the servants who had applied more wood to the fireplace and had turned up the heat while she slept. She sat down on a chair next to her brother and sat there drinking her milk quietly.

"You're going to the Yukikage Tower today, right, kiddo?" She nodded her head and smiled. She remembered from last night that her mission coordinator had told her that to collect her reward for the mission she would have to go to the Yukikage Tower. She was secretly excited for receiving the reward and for also looking for some new missions to take. Reading her mind, he gave her rather stern look. "You're not taking any more missions until I say you can. Don't you remember what happened this morning?" She searched her mind but nothing came up. He told her how he had fainted in his arms because she had been so tired. Ah, right, she had been fatigued and her energy had maxed out. It was just something that she hadn't expected was all.

She nodded her head and promised him that when she got to the Yukikage Tower she would not go and look for another mission to do. But she didn't promise that she wouldn't go and take a look at the bulletin board. Besides, she was right there anyway when she would collect the ryo for her work. She quickly retrieved the mission slip from her pocket and headed out to the warm and sunny streets of Yukigakure. It was interesting to use the word warm as the temperature was far from warm but the sun's rays allowed much of its warmth to shine on her as she walked down the now very tidy main street and headed towards the giant tower at the end of it. She again thought how important it was to reward the crew that had helped them out yesterday since they couldn't receive ryo as a shinobi. She would make a suggestion at some point to either the Kage or the Kage Assistant.

The guards standing guard in front of the tower allowed her passage and she went directly to the mission area of the first floor. The reception was already sitting there with a tired look on her face as she approached the desk. She gave her a huge warm smile which was met with just sleepy eyes as she handed her the mission slip in her hand. The receptionist took out a box that she kept safely in a vault under her desk and retrieved five hundred ryo for her. Thank you!: she gave another smile and took the money, tucking it inside her suit pocket. As she turned to leave she would walk up to the mission bulletin. It had been awhile since she had been here and she wondered what new clients had requested missions.

She saw that the little slips were increasing steadily and not enough of it was being completed. Either the Genin were busy training or they were just lazy. She happened to find that the mission she had just completed was the second one on the list. Ah, good, she was still following her original plan of going at it in chronological order. She glanced at what the third mission would be and was just about to take a slip when she remembered what her brother had said. She couldn't take a mission today, that was for sure. But she would wait until her brother left for one of his own missions with his team before she took another one. Satisfied with her plan of action, she hurried out of the tower and made her way back home.

He gave her a wide grin as he came towards the three of them. He first headed to the Chuunin, not really acknowledging her presence at all as he spoke to him. "Go take a nap, man. I'm here to relieve you for a couple hours. We gotta train early today." His comrade looked grateful to him as he nodded his head and started to walk down the snow covered streets. She could tell that the had been trying so hard to stay awake since all he had to do for this mission was to watch over them. Her brother then set down the tray of mugs and looked at the falling snow with a heavy sigh. He seemed so preoccupied with something but she wasn't one to ask him. If he wanted to tell he would tell. He watched them for a few moments, not saying a word.

"Come on guys, I brought some hot chocolate. You guys look like you're going to pass out in this kind of weather." he said after he saw that she had finished salting the other sidewalk. Hiro was definitely grateful to her brother as he put down his shovel almost immediately and went to get a mug. He bowed and thanked him whilst sitting on the sidewalk again, taking another one of those short breaks. But this time they had hot chocolate; her savior. She too put down her pail and ladle and advanced towards her brother. He looked at her with a concerned look to which she only waved off. There was no communication necessary between them. They knew what was going to be said even before either of them opened their mouths so it was rather pointless.

She nodded her head at him and bowed in appreciation. Taking her own cup of hot chocolate, she would sit by her brother this time, her hands emerging from her gloves for the first time so that the heat from the mug could penetrate her hands directly. They were red and so were her fingers. She watched the smoke coming out of the steaming mug and smiled. She loved hot beverages on a chilling day. She wondered how he had known that she was assigned to this street but she guessed that the Chuunin from before was probably on his team and had seen them together before. That wouldn't be surprising at all.

She took a sip of the hot liquid and let the heat remain in her mouth a little longer before pushing it down her throat. Her mouth was instantly filled with a flourish of chocolate taste. She closed her eyes and heaved a sigh of utter satisfaction. It always happened when she drank hot chocolate. Her brother and Hiro couldn't help but smile at her. The same thoughts were running through their minds, she thought. But that was okay; she was naturally a lover of chocolate in whatever form it came and so it didn't quite matter that they were staring at her. She took another few sips of the liquid before returning the cap on the mug and then putting it down on the tray again.

There was still one more cycle to go through before the entire mission would be over. She waited for Hiro to finish, which wasn't long. As soon as he had replaced the mug back into the tray he had taken his shovel and was shoveling the new snow that had accumulated while they were taking their break. The speed of replenishment of snow was so fast that it awed both Genins. But the power of hot chocolate was even more awing as she found that they both had renewed energy have the boost from the energy drink, going faster than they had gone since the start of the mission.

The end of the second of the six hour shift was the time it took her to finish two rounds of salting. By now her hands were slowly starting to numb despite having gloves on. She and Hiro decided it was best that they took a break and the Chuunin didn't object. They had been keeping at it for such a long time now that it felt relatively normal and human that they had some rest. Besides, it would take at least ten to fifteen minutesof continuous snowfall to make the streets covered with enough snow for them to shovel and salt again. The two of them sat at the ends of one sidewalk and just sat ghee for a moment in silence. The Chuunin had gone to make a report to the acting coordinator of their progress she assumed. She would try to stretch out her muscles as they started to ache. 

"This is some pretty heavy stuff, huh? said her partner as they sat on the sidewalk. It was indeed. Though she'd become used to seeing so much snow since technically snow fell all year round. It was hard not to get used to it. But as a child she had thought that the white landscape she saw in front and behind the Yukina mansion. She had taken for granted the fact that snow just looked pretty without giving the fact that there were people out there in the bitter cold trying to make the village safer and the snow more enjoyable to look at. But that was in her childhood years and definitely was not now. 

Having gone through the painful duties of both shoveling and salting as missions, she knew just how bad the crewman had been working these many years while children like her were just enjoying the snow as it came. The work now didn't make her hate snow. In fact she still loved it a lot and would probably continue to do so for years to come. But she honestly hoped that it would at least let up a bit; she wasn't asking for much really. She never knew that the skies could make so much snow and it irked her that whoever or whatever was controlling weather didn't even give the country and the village's citizens any thought. Overall she was just grumpy. It was easy to tell. 

She and her partner sat on the sidewalk for a full twenty minutes before getting up rather unwillingly to start their tasks again. She went forth to the bucket of salt and found that she still had about half a pail left and it was the original bucket too. By that time the Chuunin who was responsible for them had returned and brought the news that their shift would be cut short by an hour or so because there were reports that indicated the snowfall would cease early and wouldn't commence again until the afternoon. That was always good to hear. Hiro smiled at her and she returned a half smile, not really thinking of anything at that moment. She only wanted the mission to end. But she still had a daunting three hours or so to go. It was just not a pleasant idea. 

As she was throwing the salt onto the ground she was thinking about her comfortable bedw. She definitely was starting to miss it a lot more as the biting cold seeped through her coat and hit her body. It was harder to keep warm now since her body was used to the coldness but still reacted in a way that indicated otherwise. As the night wore on, she was certain that the bitter chill would just escalate in intensity and was definitely going to continue to heighten the longer she stood there. But there wasn't anything more she could do. Absolutely nothing. Tonight was going to be a night she would remember only because she was asked on a village-wide mission.

He would take the pail from her and carry it effortlessly in one hand while telling her to walk behind him so as to block the incoming snow. This made making her way around significantly easier but she didn't really want to have to always rely on the man for help. She would tell him this and only get a heart laugh as a response. "Are all you shinobi so humble?" She raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She wasn't being humble at all. She was merely stating an obvious fact. The two of them continued to walk past small streets and then finally make their way to her assigned streets. There was already someone shoveling there who looked just about done. At the sight of them, he would stop, taking a temporary rest. "Glad you made it! I'm Hiro, Genin." She returned the introduction with her name and rank too. So he was her partner for this mission. 

Seeing that she had safely reached the area and that a Chuunin was watching them carefully, the man decided to walk back to where his own crew was. Before parting with him, she would thank him once more for all the help he had been to her. She wouldn't mind meeting people like that more often--nice and caring. As he left them alone, Hiro would turn his attention back to shoveling. "So I've already shoveled this street once and am doing the second. The first time I got it done there was no salter but this time there is. I'm going to take a break for a few and you can start salting." He would put down his shovel and walk to the end of the street, taking his hat and gloves off for a few minutes. He would also watch her work, not exactly in the keen eyed watching way but certainly watching nonetheless. 

She nodded her head. She saw that the main road of the street had been shoveled clean as well as one sidewalk. The other sidewalk was about to be complete and she was certain that by the time she was done salting the road and sidewalk, the other sidewalk would ne cleared too. She hastened hnr steps as she dipped the ladle into the salt pail, bringing a large ladleful of the salt to light. Almost as soon as the she did that, the Chuunin intercepted and asked her if she understood the mechanics behind salting. She shook her head, as this was her first time doing the job. Exasperated, the Chuunin would approach her, take the ladle from her and tell her to watch him. 

Apparently there was a thing about salting that she didn't know about. It was an art in Yuki no Kuni. He dumped about three quarters of the ladleful back into the pail and told her that one third of a ladle was more than enough for one small sidewalk like the one they were facing. He poured the salt over the snowy ground and it was surprisngly even in distribution. He told her that it would take a lot of practice doing something as simple as this. She nodded her head again and waited until the Chuunin would give her back the ladle so she could commence. At least she learned something new through each mission.

She began to pour a small amount of the pure white substance onto the road first. The fact that they had been so vague as too how much was just right, it made the job that much harder. She tried to calculate as best she could thinking that there was room for calculation. She made the task harder on herself than it really was. The first hour would pass by relatively slowly, with her trying to get the hang of the whole salting thing. Whether she was successful at the end of the hour was the biggest issue. She wasn't counting on the fact that learning how to salt would be that hard since she had seen the people driving the trucks do so and it seemed easy. But that was driving trucks after all.