Okay so I feel as if I have to warn you...this chapter is horrible. I wrote it at about four in the morning and most of it's crack stuff. So please forgive me and Review even if you hate it. hehe though I very much hope you won't...

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto for if I did Kiba and Hinata would have hooked up long ago...

Sitting alone in the small coffee shop Hinata stared as the rain shot down like bullets from the sky. The streets were deserted and lights in shops were dim. Her hands cupped the hot coffee. 'What am I doing' she thought. 'There's no way this will work.' In only a few short hours Hinata and Niko were scheduled to meet with the Queen and her husband for a final evaluation.

It was almost winter now, it had been Shino's favorite time of year. She remembered the first time she had seen him smile. The whole team had gone on a mission to the village hidden in the rocks; Hinata had never seen snow before, it didn't snow in the land of fire. As they began traveling that morning a few white flakes fell from the sky. One fell on Hinata's nose, she remember how surprised she was when she felt the chill run down her spine.

"It's snowing," Shino softly whispered in her ear as she reached out trying to catch a flake.

"W-what is it?" she asked him as a flake touched her finger tip before melting away. For a moment he didn't answer, he just stood in the middle of the clearing as the snow swirled around him. Then he turned to her and smiled a beautiful, pure, innocent smile.

"It's magic."

Hinata stared out at the rain, it only a few weeks it would begin to snow, she was sure of it. A chill went down her spine as she stepped out into the rain. Drops fell upon her face as she stared at the sky, 'what am I doing?'

Back in the inn Niko happily busied himself with choosing out the right outfit in which to see the queen. He had gone shopping with Mikako a few weeks ago, but he hadn't bought anything that he thought was fit wear in the presence of royalty. 'Oh well, it's too late to go shopping now.' Finally he decided to just wear a plain button up shirt and his black pants. 'It'll have to do.' He thought glancing at the rest of his clothes. 'Ah, I'd better shower too,' he sniffed his armpits and recoiled in surprise. 'I definitely need to shower.' It was early winter and a chill seem to have settled on the village. Gray skies and rain was all the scenery that Niko saw anymore. He stripped own and felt the cold tile under his bare feet, as he turned on the hot water. Steam covered the mirror, letting the hot water run over his body Niko closed his eyes. 'This is the life' He let a soft smile grace his face as he remembered a private joke from long ago. Finally clean, Niko made sure to shave the stubble from his face and put on deodorant so as not to have a repeat of the incident that happened last time. Closing the bathroom door he jumped as he saw Mikako dripping water on the hardwood floor in front of him.

"Shit, what happened to you?" She gave him an icy glare.

"It's raining outside. Make sure you bring an umbrella." She brushed past him into the bathroom, shortly after he heard the shower starting up. 'Mikako,' he saw the clothes she had laid out on the bed, simple black jeans, a dark red tank top with a white sweater to go over it. 'What goes on in your mind Mikako?' his eyes fell on her nightstand. 'What could be going on in your head that makes you like this?' Everything she owned was neatly packed; her weapons case was set next to her pillow within easy reach. She could leave any second, just get up and walk out right now. 'Why do you have to think like that?' Niko flinched as the bathroom door closed with a slam and Mikako walked over to him.

"You okay?" She asked without looking at him. Dressed in only a towel she gathered up her clothes and began to get dressed.

"Yeah…yeah, I'm fine." Niko turned back to his own clothes and began getting dressed himself. He checked his watch.

"We only have thirty minutes, we should probably get going." Mikako didn't look up, just continued fixing her hair, when she finished she walked out the door, only stopping when she realized Niko wasn't behind her.

"Coming?" her voice was cold, emotionless. 'Maybe it was nerves' he thought, 'maybe that's why she's acting like this,' still he followed her downstairs grabbing the umbrella as he went. The rain had stopped to only a few small drops here and there. The two walked in silence down the still abandoned street. Slowly they approached the large mansion; standing on either side of the large metal gates were the Kings personal guards. After Niko showed them a small slip of paper they were waved through. Once inside the mansion Niko glanced down at Mikako, her face was blank, all of a sudden her eyes slowly met his sending a chill through his body.

"What?" She asked. Niko shook his head,

"It's nothing." But she was already walking towards the large wooden doors; hurrying to catch up Niko pushed the doors open.

"Ah! Right on time!" The woman Niko assumed was Queen Fujikaze, sat at the head of a large wooden table, a large, unshaven man sat off to her side.

"Please sit down, sit down." The Queen got to her feet and seemed to flutter around Niko and Mikako.

"Here are your seats!" She smiled a cheerful smile seemingly oblivious to Mikako's cold demeanor.

"So Iwoa, did you want to start?" The queen asked of her companion who Niko could only guess was her husband. Apparently it was an arranged marriage, for Niko marveled at the man's ability to ignore his wife. With Iwoa it was a standard interrogation, he asked where they were from, why they had chosen the Snow Country over others. All standard questions to which Mikako had spun a web of lies which both of them had already memorized. Finally after what seemed like infinity, the questions stopped and the queen fixed them both in her sight.

"So you're brother and sister right?" Both nodded their heads simultaneously.

"Tell me what life was like at home?" For the first time Niko was speechless, Mikako hadn't prepared him for this. He glanced over at her, her lips barely moved as she whispered to him.

"Make it up, I'll go along."

"You know whispering strains your vocal chords." The queen said from across the table, her eyes had a steely glint to them Niko didn't like.

"And you two have yet to answer the question. 'Here goes nothing' Niko thought.

"Well, our childhood was very traumatic. We try not to think about it." Mikako nodded in agreement.

"Please explain."

"Ah…well…" Words seemed to fail him, 'right when I need them too,' He thought 'and here comes the bullshit.'

"Our Mother died when I was three years old, right after Mikako was born, personally I think it was because of that that our father abused us, I think he blamed us for her death."

"Oh my! That's horrible!" The queen said startled, while the King just glanced around the room as if trying to find something more interesting.

"Yes, it was very hard, and Mikako was so small back then too," The queen sent Mikako a sympathetic look, which Mikako bluntly ignored.

"And even shortly after that our father turned gay! Anyway, it was so hard to live in that house with all the memories so I took Mikako with me to live in our uncle's home, it was there that we discovered that our aunt was really our half sister and that our family had history in inbreeding." Mikako nodded and the king just rolled his eyes. 'This is pure bullshit,' he thought and glanced at his wife, who was lapping it up like dehydrated dog, 'great, just great.'

"So, when I was sixteen I was sent away to train as a ninja to make money, but unfortunately I lack talent, Mikako on the other hand showed far more potential than me, but Father wanted her to be a housewife for his new partner didn't like to clean." The queen nodded sympathetically while the King shot Niko a disdainful look. Niko let out a nervous laugh and Mikako kicked him under the table.

"Ah well anyway, I secretly trained Mikako, but eventually Father found out and he blinded her out of anger" The queen took a sharp intake of breath.

"Oh my gosh, you're blind?"

"No, in fact my sister is not blind! But I will get to that later!" Niko said triumphantly, he was obviously enjoying all the attention.

"So when I was eighteen, my father tried to marry me to Mikako, we really can't stand each other normally, but having to share a bed was just too much!" This time the king was the one to nod sympathetically, while the Queen looked slightly confused.

"Well, I decided to take Mikako and run away, she's my little sister, I just couldn't leave her, no matter how annoying she is." He said ruffling Mikako's hair; she in turn kicked him in the shins again.

"Oww…Yes, back to the story. Anyway, we traveled to a witch doctor that magically cured my sister's sight, even though her eyes remained white still; she's got contacts for that! Then we realized that it would be best if could have a permanent home and we both love the snow so we thought we try it here!" Niko let out a long breath and smiled at Mikako. She gave him a small smile back and leaned over to whisper in his ear.

"That was shit." Niko let out a chuckle.

"You gave me permission to make it up. What did you expect?" Mikako smile at this and turned back to the queen who was smiling at them.

"You know what? That story was crap and you know it, but it was entertaining. You two are funny. I think I'll keep you around, so just sign a few of these documents and you are officially citizens! Congrats!" The queen was fluttering around them again while the King on the other hand looked rather murderous. Mikako turned to Niko,

"Your shitty story did it." She whispered and kissed him on the cheek. Niko smiled and returned the hug as the Queen passed the papers over to them. One copy each, Mikako and Niko signed their papers and left the mansion as official citizens of the Snow Country.

Back at the inn Hinata couldn't help but smile. They had managed it. Niko that dobe, had gotten them in, she smiled. 'Inbreeding families and stupid witch doctors, it's a good thing the Queen is easily entertained.' She thought to herself, then realized something,

"Niko, how did you know about my eyes?"

"Come on Mikako, you always take the contacts off at night, I was sure to catch a glimpse or something. So do they do anything special? Cause you sure as hell not blind." Hinata smiled, he was right, she would have let it slip eventually.

"No, I just was born with white eyes I guess. Nothing special about them," She smiled,

"They just creep people out."

Alrighty people...do your job and review...PLEASE!