Dango and his sister Fuyo were heading back to Dango's dwelling when the avalanche started. Dango stopped walking and Fuyo called the sled dogs to a stop.
Fuyo stepped off of the runners of the sled and put on the brake, the teeth of it dug into the snow and ice. "We'd better wait until this is over."
"Emina will be worried if we're late," Dango said.
"Would she rather you be dead?" Fuyo snapped. "Your wife can wait."
"We could always go around," Dango suggested.
"That would take longer than waiting for the avalanche to stop AND picking through the snow on foot through the pass twice. We'll wait."
It didn't take that long after all. When the snow did settle, the sled dogs started pulling on their harnesses.
"Well they certainly seem to be ready to go," Dango laughed.
"Yeah," Fuyo said, confused. She took up the brake and the dogs almost took off without her.
Fuyo tried to skirt the deepest of the snow but the dogs kept edging to the left. She called them to a stop again. Dango stopped and turned around to look at her. "Why don't you drive for awhile? I'll try to lead them from up front."
Dango took over at the sled's helm and Fuyo ran alongside of the lead dog. Despite her best efforts the dogs kept edging toward the deeper snow.
"Maybe we'd better just let them lead," Dango said. "They know the safest way after all. It might be faster if we just let them go."
Fuyo grunted in agreement. The lead dog turned and smiled at her, tongue lolling out, almost mockingly.
The dogs hurried along until suddenly the lead dog stopped. Dango and Fuyo looked at each other when the same dog began to dig.
"What on earth?" Dango said as he stepped off of the sled. He and Fuyo cautiously approached the hole that was quickly being formed. The lead dog broke through a layer of snow and began licking, a man's face!
"Fuyo, get some rope," Dango called as he started helping the dog dig. Once the man's shoulders were free, Dango pulled on the collar of the man's cloak. Fuyo brought the rope and they tied it under the man's shoulders. Using the sled dogs and their own strength, they freed the man from the snow.
He was tall, lean, and had silver hair. He was wearing a winter cloak over a green flak jacket, blue shirt, and pants. He wore a Leaf Village headband.
"A ninja," Fuyo sneered. "We should have left him."
"What does it matter if he's a ninja? A person is a person and-"
"Ninjas only bring trouble," Fuyo said, looking around to see if anyone else was nearby. "We don't know if he was fighting or what kind of problems he was causing. We've brought trouble on ourselves just by helping him."
"I'm sure it's not all that bad," Dango said. "Help me get him onto the sled."
"Are you crazy?" Fuyo asked. "We're probably dead as it is. Let's just leave him and go."
"Fuyo, I love you but we are not leaving this man out here to die. His leg is bleeding and probably broken. We're taking him back to my house and that's final. Now help me with him." Dango grasped Kakashi's shoulders and looked at Fuyo expectantly.
"Bringing danger to your wife," Fuyo muttered as she examined Kakashi's leg. "If we're going to do this" Fuyo said louder now, "it may as well be right. His leg should be splinted before we move him."
Dango agreed and after that was finished, they lifted Kakashi into the basket. Fuyo drove because she was the lighter of the two, Dango ran, and they were off.
A couple of hours later, Dango, Fuyo and an unconscious Kakashi arrived at Dango's home. It was an earthen lodge that rested among the foothills of the Land of Snow.
As Dango and Fuyo carried Kakashi inside, Dango's wife, Emina, came hurrying over to them. "Who's this?" She asked. Then she gasped, "oh dear" and shut her mouth.
"Dogs dug him out of an avalanche. Amazingly, he was still alive. His leg is broken though," Dango informed her. He and Fuyo laid Kakashi on the bed.
"There was an avalanche?" Emina looked at her husband in concern.
Fuyo took this moment to say, "I'd better go take care of the dogs," and exited quickly.
"We're fine, everything's fine," Dango assured her.
Emina continued to stare at him.
"We were never in any kind of danger."
Emina didn't waver.
"You were right, we shouldn't have gone that direction when the pass was in the state it was in."
Emina turned to Kakashi and didn't say a word as she began to inspect the ninja's leg.
"I'm sorry. I should have stayed to resolve the argument instead of storming off. You must have been worried when we didn't come home on time." Dango took his wife's hand and squeezed it.
Emina squeezed his hand back and smiled. "I accept your apology. You're just lucky that there's a sick man here who needs my help right at this moment."
Dango's smile got scared and ran. His wife let go of his hand and he changed the subject. "He's a ninja; Fuyo didn't want to bring him home. She thought he'd be a danger to us."
"Ninja, like any group of people, have their graces and faults. I don't see why bringing him home would be any different than bringing any other stranger."
Silence followed as Emina inspected Kakashi's leg.
"You two did a good job of splinting his leg," Emina said. "I do think we should get this vest off of him though. It can't be comfortable to sleep in."
The couple removed the flak jacket from the limp jonin and laid him back down. Emina removed his headband, set it with his jacket on the floor, and felt his forehead. "He's a little warm too." She turned to her husband, "has he been awake at all?"
Dango shook his head, "not that we know of." Fuyo had just come back inside followed by a pack of fed dogs.
Emina pulled an extra blanket out of a cupboard and draped it over Kakashi. Turning to the two of her charges who were awake she asked, "are you two hungry?"
Their answer was interrupted by the dogs hurrying over to the bed and lying down next to the Copy Ninja. Emina and Dango's eyebrows rose. Fuyo scowled.