Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters, just my own.
Kin trudged her legs through the snow covered path. "How much further?" She whined.
"We have been walking most of the day so I'm sure it's not that much longer. Do you need a break?" Jayne asked with concern in her voice.
"No, if we stop we'll start to get cold," Kin said. She actually didn't want to stop because she didn't want to get showed up by a kid. Of course the kid was a ninja and had incredible stamina, but it still hurt her pride.
"Look, there is someone up the road with a cart. We can ask them how much further to the closest village," Jayne pointed up ahead to a cart that was stopped at the side of the road.
As they approached they saw a man trying to get his wheel unstuck from a dip in the ground. He was trying to lift the wagon out but was having no luck.
"Hey, do you need help?" Jayne asked.
The man suddenly spun around in fright like he hadn't noticed them approaching. When he saw it was just the two females he let out a sigh of relief, "Oh, no I just hit a little rut. I will get it out in no time."
"Let us help you. With all of our combined strength it should be much easier to lift," Jayne smiled. Kin let out a small groan. Lifting carts is the last thing she wanted to do in her exhausted state, but once again her pride kicked in.
"Well, if you don't mind, would you two ladies pick up that end?" He instructed them to their positions.
With the combined strength of the three of them they lifted it out of the rut and got it back on to flat surface. The ox that pulled his carriage was happy to finally be free to move around again.
"See, nothing a little teamwork can't fix," Jayne dusted the snow off her hands.
"Why thank you ladies, you really helped me out. What are you doing out here anyways?"
"We are making are way to the village closest to the frozen waterfalls," Kin spoke up. Then she added, "Do you happen to know how close we are?"
"Ah yes, I am headed that way too. It is only about twenty more minutes from here. Why don't you come with me and when we get there I will have my wife get you two a nice hot cup of cocoa to warm you up," the man said.
Kin was about to decline the offer when Jayne spoke up, "That sounds wonderful. I've always wanted to try hot chocolate!"
Kin kept herself from doing a face palm. This kid was too nice and trusting. She shouldn't accept any kind of offer from a stranger so easily. If she were alone, she would be in trouble if the stranger had some more evil motives. But there might also be some good to her kindness.
"Can we get a ride then?" Kin asked as her numb legs shook underneath her.
"Sure thing. Hop on, there is plenty of room!" He patted some seats at the back of the wagon. Once they hopped on he continued speaking, "You must be foreigners if you've never had hot chocolate before."
"We are visiting the frozen waterfalls. I've always dreamed of seeing them one day so I've dragged my sister along for a little journey." Kin decided to do the talking to avoid Jayne telling an obvious lie.
"Not many people outside of the Land of Water know of the Frozen Waterfalls. How did you go about hearing 'em?" the man asked in innocent curiosity.
"Well," Jayne looked at the ground as she tried to come up with something clever.
"Our Uncle travels a lot and has always told us stories of different places he's been. The Waterfalls were always one of my favorites so we came to see them for ourselves," Kin said helping her out.
The man smiled, "Yes, they are quite beautiful."
The three of them chatted the whole way to the village where they reached the man's cottage. Outside his wife was waiting for him. She quickly approached them.
"You're late! Where have you been?" She asked with her voice full of concern.
"My wheel got stuck and these kind girls helped me out. I would still be stuck if it weren't for them!" the man revealed Jayne and Kin to his wife. He placed a hand on Jayne's shoulder, "this one has never had hot chocolate before."
His wife smiled, "Well, thank you girls for helping my husband. I can go make you some hot chocolate right now. Come inside!"
Jayne followed the women inside the hut. The style was so different than what she was used to in Konoha. It was made of dark wood with furs and rugs spread across the home. There were a couple spots for fireplaces around the house but only the one in the living room was lit. Kin and Jayne sat down on top of the lumpy cushions of the couch waiting for their hot chocolate.
The women came out with a tray and two mugs, "Careful, it's hot. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your names?"
"I'm Kin and this is my little sister Abby," Kin said as she grabbed her own cup of hot chocolate. Due to her many travels she has had it before, but she was curious to see what the little ninja thought of it.
Jayne brought the mug up to her lips and let the warm liquid slide down her throat. The chocolate spread through her mouth. The drink made its way down her throat and into her chest warming her heart.
Kin watched as Jayne's eyes widened after her first sip, "What do you think?"
"It's incredible! I never knew a drink could be so good!" Jayne quickly drank some more hot chocolate.
"You've clearly never been to a bar," Kin muttered causing Jayne to blush.
"I'm only 13!" she stammered.
"Well Miss Kin, we have an excellent tavern down the street. It is next to the Inn. Is that where you will be staying?" The women asked.
"Perfect!" Kin raised her mug. She would go there tonight to ask about Zabuza and what the people know about him. The girl won't be able to come but if anyone was going to spill the beans about Zabuza, it would be a drunk man in a tavern.
(A/N: Ayato has already filled the boys in on what the hokage has told him about Jayne)
Itachi watched as the port was slowly drifting further away from them as they sailed off in the boat they had just boarded. It took a while for them to get a boat and crew to take them to Taki Island. They were already running late and the crew they found did't want to travel through the dangerous waters around the Port of Taki Island so they are taking a detour. Itachi looked over at Ayato who seemed to be very frustrated. Shisui was sitting next to Itachi with his back up against the wall. He seemed deep in thought, probably because of all that Ayato had told them about Jayne's clan. Soryu was standing against the deck with his eyes closed. He probably fell asleep. How? Well, that's just part of his charm.
Thinking he should start up conversation, Itachi spoke up, "What are you thinking about?"
Shisui looked up at him, "I am just worried. I wish Jayne would have talked to us rather than just running off."
"Yeah," Itachi sighed.
A large wave hit the boat rocking it a little and Soryu fell over. Yup, he definitely fell asleep standing there. He quickly sat up after being woken up. He looked around a bit like he had forgotten where he was.
"How can you fall asleep like that?" Shisui asked.
Soryu looked back at them and shrugged nonchalantly. Ayato came over and stood next to Itachi.
"So, what did Nozomu do when you asked permission to come with us?" Ayato asked Soryu. They had learned that Nozomu was his other teammate.
"Well he got really excited that I was going with you guys. He got a bit teary-eyed," Soryu said.
Ayato smirked, "sounds like him. He is incredibly emotional. Small things excite him, he cries easily, and he is always super happy. When I first met him I had no idea how to handle him."
"It's hard to take him seriously," Soryu sighed.
"When the time comes he can be serious and even though he may not seem like it, he is pretty strong," Ayato seemed to be thinking back to his time on his team.
"This is unrelated, but when are the next chunin exams?" Itachi asked.
"Sometime next year. You don't have to worry about them right now," Ayato said.
"Where is it going to take place?" Itachi continued asking.
"It was in Suna last year so it will be back in Konoha this year. We will invite all hidden villages like usual but if they accept or not is up to them."
"How do you think we will do?" Shisui asked.
"As long as you keep training and we go one more missions I'm sure you will all do fine," Ayato assured them.
Itachi looked out at the sea thinking about succeeding through the ranks of ninja until one day he can become anbu, then hokage. His thoughts then turned to Jayne and Shisui. Ayato's teammates were big influences in his life and he is still on good terms with them. Itachi hopes for a relationship like that with his team. He can picture Jayne and Shisui at his side supporting him no matter what happens. He knows they will always be there for him. This is why he was determined to get Jayne back. Without her they weren't a team, and a team is what they needed to be.
*Later that night*
Kin sat at the bar with a bottle in her hand. She didn't mind being "undercover" as long as it was in a tavern. She took another swallow of her drink. Yup, better than hot chocolate. She decided to approach some tough looking men sitting nearby her.
"So, boys, who is the toughest guy out here on this island," Kin asked.
"Well, you're looking at 'im," a large tough guy pointed at himself.
"Really? Is that so? What makes you the toughest guy on the Island?" She batted her eyelashes to give off a flirty vibe.
"Lee, here, has beat up more men than I can count," the large man's friend said.
"Wow, even ninja?" She gave an impressed look.
"I've taken care of a few of 'em. They know to leave me alone," The man leaned back in her chair smugly.
Kin touched his arm in a playful way, "Even someone like this infamous Zabuza I've been hearing all about lately?" she batted her eyelashes once again to give herself a look of innocence when mentioning Zabuza's name.
The third man that hadn't spoken yet scoffed, "Zabuza, ha. His name seems to have been all around town today. Some little girl running around asking where she can find him. If she knows what's good for her, she will butt out of other people's business."
"Zabuza isn't going to like knowing his name is being spread around. I'm sure someone's already told him about the little brat. He'll take care of it soon," the man named Lee said.
"Is he close by then?" Kin asked hoping they would keep talking.
"Yeah. He could be in town right now for all we know," the second man said.
"Shut up, Jun," Lee smacked him in the head. "You talk too much around pretty ladies."
"Aw, you boys think I'm pretty?" Kin smiled. She got all the information she wanted for the night, now she had to find a way to escape back to the inn.
"Of course, now why don't you have a seat and tell us about yourself," Lee smiled, revealing a few missing teeth.
"I would really like to but my boss would kill me if I showed up for work late again," Kin hoped this would be enough to get away from them.
"And where would a pretty lady like yourself work at this time of night?" The third man leaned forward on his elbows.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she winked and turned to leave. She made sure to sway her hips and give them a good look at her ass as a reward for their unknowing cooperation.
When she exited the building she took a right to head back to the hotel were Jayne was waiting for her. She stopped to glance up at the window that was theirs to see Jayne's head poking above the windowsill. She smiled to herself and started walking again. She only got a few steps when she was suddenly yanked into the alleyway by a strong force. She felt the pressure of a blade at her neck. She glanced down to see a giant ass sword being held at her neck.
A deep voice growled, "Have you been looking for me?"
A/n: Ermehgerd what's going to happen next? Please leave a review!
