Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by Masashi Kimimoto and Tv Tokyo. I in no way profit from writing this, this is purely for entertainment.

But anyway, I hope you guys really enjoy this, and please review! ^.^

~~Chapter 1: A Beginning and a Friend~~

"Yes, finally!" The young woman said as she rushed through the forest, swiftly jumping from tree branch to tree branch with no effort. She looked about 20 years old, short brown hair and pink eyes, wearing a short white and red dress, with a strap of kunai on her right thigh, and a bandage on her left. She wore wrapped shinobi boots, and had a weapon tools bag strapped to her lower back, along with a chakra blade on top of it, and has bandages on both her arms that stretch up from wrist to her elbow. And to top it off, she has a red bow in her hair, and wearing a red scarf. "I finally get to show my father I'm not a worthless shinobi, that I deserve to be his daughter!"

She hails from the Yuki clan, from the infamos Hyogagakure, from the Land of Water. She and her family reside there, with her father being the Kage and Lord of Hyogagakure and Yuki Clan, her life is plainly difficult. All she wants is for her father to accept who she is. The young woman was sent on a mission to retrieve an important message from a messenger shinobi nearby from an ally to her village. Even though she is a respectable chunin of her village, all she cares is that she gains acceptance from her father. She must not fail him!

She and her father's relationship is just the same as a strict master and an obedient student. Since the girl was young, her father had always been pushing her far beyond her limit whereas she can no longer stand. Her father would be disappointed in her when she could no longer continue, and tell her she was worthless if she couldn't succeed beyond what her limit tells her to. Ever since her father first called her worthless, she's wanted to show her father that she's not worthless, that she deserves to be his daughter.

"I, Akari Yuki, will finally be accepted by my father and the entire village of Hyogagakure. He's going to be so proud of me!" Akari's mind swept through different happy scenarios of what might happen when she goes back to her father with the mission completed. She was so intertwined with her thoughts, that she didn't notice a giant bush of rain clouds rushing towards her.

She quickly caught sight of the rain clouds, but not quickly enough as she was now caught in the midst of it. The extreme storm seemed so unnatural: cutting down trees and blowing them away into the sky, sending boulders flying through trees and any nature standing by them. It seemed almost like a tornado! Akari was helpless to try to get away from the storm, and within and instant, she was blown away into the sky along with countless number of trees...

A young man, in his 20's, bearing the Uchiha clan crest on his shirt, trotted on a trail in a forest next to Konoha. He didn't know where he was going, as long as it was away from where he is now. His eyes were cold and heartless, seeming he wasn't in this world at the moment, but in a world filled with hatred, and where all hope was crushed. He had nearly nothing to live for; no family, no friends, nothing to fight for. All of his family and friends were obliterated one day by the Fuuma Clan, and his life was gone in an instant.

He walked solemnly along the trail, staring down at the ground, his eyes cold, and he looked almost like he was sleepwalking. He wasn't looking where he was going, he didn't care. The trail led into a deeper part of the forest, and he could hear the sound of rushing water nearby. The lonely trail swerved along the bank of the river, seeming to stretch out for miles. The young man stopped and looked over at the water, staring at it, for seemingly no purpose. He dragged his feet along the trail, the trail swimming along with the bank, and the man would occasionally peek over at the water.

He stopped walking and stared at the water, and saw a female figure slowly floating along the bank. He saw that she was unconscious because he could see she was still breathing, but he didn't want to help her, so he only stared at her. But, he stepped into the river, knowing that he didn't help her, his subconscious would somehow haunt him for it. He easily walked through the river, only about a couple feet deep, and the current was slow. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms, and walked back the way he came. He walked a little ways from the trail and set her down on the floor, and he sat and waited for her to wake up.

"Mmm..." Akari moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Her eyes shifted to the figure sitting over her. Her eyes soon focused onto the young man before her. "Who are you? What happened? All I remember is a storm..."

"My name... is Kutsuu... Kutsuu Uchiha" The man said apathetically, ignoring Akari's other question and comment.

"U-Uchiha? From Konoha?" Akari said surprisingly. She was shocked to learn that there was a survivor amongst the rows and rows of scorched bodies on the village floor. She had read a book about the Uchiha, how they had first come to be, and why they're so famous. She had studied the Sharingan, a famous doujutsu and kekkei genkai only owned by Uchiha members. She studied the many variations of sharigan, from two tomoe sharingan, to the legendary mangekyo sharingan.

She asked stupidly, "But I thought you're entire clan was obliterated...g-genocide... by the Fuuma Clan."

Kutsuu turned away from her, maybe of shame, anger, or depression, and he started to walk away from her, back onto the trail, heading the same way he was going before he had saved her.

"W-wait!" She called out to him. She got to her feet and ran beside him, and matched his pace. "My name is Akari Yuki. I truley am gracious for you saving me. How can I repay you?" She said blushing a bit.

"Yuki?" Kutsuu asked. He stopped walking, and added. "Take me to your village."

"But.. but why?"

Kutsuu turned to her.

"I need to talk to your kage."

"But why?" She asked again a bit annoyed, hating to repeat herself.

"Just do it!" He said angrily, and also annoyed.

"Well... okay... Are you interested in joining or something?" She knew she wasn't going to get an answer, but it was worth trying. She started once again on the trail, hoping she was going the right way toward home, since she was unfamiliar to this area.

And, of course, he didn't answer.

"It must be hard," She said, mostly talking to herself, "Being all alone like that. Well, I know how you feel."

Kutsuu stopped and looked down at the ground, his hair covering his face. He said darkly, "No, you don't. You don't understand what it feels like to lose everyone close to you in an instant; To have everything torn from you without getting to say goodbye."

Akari stopped walking too. She had realized that it was a mistake to say that. She turned to him. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"It's okay. Let's keep walking." So, they did so.

It wasn't long until they reached a harbor and caught a ferry to the Land of Water, which contains many islands filled with mist, lakes, and in some places, snow. The duo didn't talk much during the ride, but only Akari wondering of how she got washed so far from her home. During the ride, Akari and Kutsuu kept an awkward distance away from each other. Kutsuu wouldn't even look at Akari, which worried her, wondering if he was still mad at her for saying that. Akari recollected on this area's geography.

Yukigakure no Sato settled on one of the lone islands. The island is small, but resourceful. Members of the Yuki Clan reside there. Known for their unique ice release, the Yuki clan members are considered very challenging opponents. One shinobi would run from the sight of a Yuki Clan member. The members can be identified by the Hyogagakure headband, which has a picture of a mountain.

Akari sighed hopelessly at the fact that she had failed her father. She was thinking of just letting Kutsuu go in there alone, but Kutsuu would most likely expose her. Akari's mind raced at all the possible scenarios of what will happen in the future when she confronts her father. Will Toketsu throw her into a dungeon? Will he banish her from the village? Will he throw her out into the streets so she could starve to death, and live in loneliness? Or even worse... Will he kill her? Oh no, Akari didn't want that...

"We're here," Said the navigator, "To the Land of Water!"

The boat parked in a harbor with a village next door to it. The village was nearly empty, and the buildings were nearly torn down to shreds, and most of the buildings had unfinished roofs. The village reeked of garbage. The villagers whom the duo saw wore rags, and sandals made of twigs.

Akari suggested they stop by the market to buy a few resources for the trip to their destination. They walked a short distance to find a worn down brown building with the word "MARKET" written across the top. They walked in, and the inside of the building was worse than the outside. The building's walls were colorless, and small scraps of wallpaper lay here or there along the wall. Each of the walls were held up by wooden columns that leaned against the wall, probably to keep the walls from falling over.

"Well, hello there!" Said the merchant. He seemed very old and frail, and his voice was raspy as if he had just eaten a rat. "How can I help you there young folks?"

Akari greeted the man and bought a couple of fruit and some cantines of water, and said goodbye to the man and left. They found a sign pointing to a trail that led to Hyogagakure. The farther they went on the trail, the colder it got, and the more nervous Akari became. She did not want to see her father again. She almost wanted to run away, but what would that solve?

It wasn't long until they had reached a long bridge stretching from the main island to the island that Hyogagakure was situated upon.

"All right, we're here. We just need to cross that bridge, and Hyogagakure should be over those hills." Akari pointed to the hills beyond them.

Kutsuu took the lead across the bridge, which seemed firmly solid, but it swayed every now and then, but they got across safely, and followed the path once again that led over the hills. Neither of them talked on the way.

Once they reached the top of the hill, they both stopped and looked at Yukigakure no Sato before them. The village was much, much larger than Kutsuu had anticipated. Even from his viewpoint, Kutsuu could sense the liveliness of the village. And he wouldn't admit it, but he was a bit impressed.

The village lied on a snowy valley, which seemed to stretch out for miles. The village was filled with snowy skyscrapers that touched the sky, and all the building's lights were turned on, so it seemed like there was a light show taking place.

Neither of the duo moved, but continued to stare at the wonderous sight. Kutsuu recollected his task, and started down the hill toward the bustling village. Akari couldn't help but smile, despite of what might happen to her, and she followed Kutsuu down the hill toward the village...

~~End of Chapter 1~~