It took three long weeks before the snow had let up enough for traffic to travel safely. Many families took the brief opportunity to contact loved ones, bring them back to their homes, and cry tears of relief to see them all safe and sound.

Natsuki and Reito had made it to the snow mobile shop when they finally met with their search and rescue team.

"Were you able to make contact with Ms. Fujino before arriving?"

"No," Reito sighed.

The members of the team took turns looking at each other and Natsuki and Reito. A short, foreign woman cleared her throat, while the others shuffled out of the shop. "I understand that your friend is up in those mountains. However, I need you both to know, that we have no idea what we're going to find up there. Are you sure you're both up for the ride?" Although Reito and Natsuki nodded firmly, the foreign woman stared at the pair long enough until they hung their heads over their shoulders.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this." Reito moved to sit on a bench in front of the shop. "You'll have to go without me."

The foreign woman nodded, then turned to Natsuki, her gaze the same as before. "I'm going." Natsuki lifted her head over her shoulders and stared at the other woman square in the face. "You wouldn't know the way otherwise."

The snow had covered the mountain floor with six feet of snow. As the team rode on, Natsuki knew that if those orange markers were still tied to the trees after all that Mother Nature had put them through, they were too far deep in the snow to be recovered before nightfall. The only thing the riders had to go by was Natsuki's incessant sense of direction that knew the cabin lay somewhere northeast of the snow mobile shop.

The leader of the team, an older man by the name of Takuya, signaled the riders to stop. "Is everyone here? Good. Listen," Takuya's voice was low and gravely. "We've got about four more hours until the sun starts to set. And my snow mobile is beginning to get low on gas, how's yours?"

Natsuki bit the center of her bottom lip before nodding with the rest of the team. She knew where this was going. "Kuga-san," Takuya laid softened grey eyes on the blunette.

"I know. But we can search for at least two hours more."

Takuya hummed and then replaced his goggles, "You heard the woman."

Natsuki sped off before the others had time to rev their snow mobiles. Her eyes swung from side to side, search for any sign that would lead her to Shizuru.

Hang on, Shizuru. I'm coming. Just hang on.

Takuya had finally caught up to the blunette. "Slow down! You're going to get hurt!"

Natsuki ignored Takuya's pleas to slow down or pull over. The blunette continued on her hunt until the foreign woman pulled up on Natsuki's opposite side. Trapped between the two team members, who kept edging toward her snow mobile, Natsuki was eventually forced to stop her vehicle.

"Are you out of your mind? We're here as a search and rescue, if you get hurt then we all, yes, all, have to return back to the shop to make sure you have the proper medical attention. That was stupid!"

Takuya held out a hand toward the foreign woman to stop her tirade. "Natsuki," his voice like a disappointed grandfather, "we all want to find Fujino- san. But we won't be able to find her unless we think clearly."

Natsuki gripped the handles of her snow mobile. Her teeth ground against each other and the tears welling in emerald green eyes threatened to spill over. "I shouldn't have left her out here alone."

Takuya and the foreign woman locked eyes until the rest of the team caught up to their side of the mountain. "We'll split into two groups. You three will check this side, and double back to the shop in an hour. Don't forget to place your markers. We'll head in this direction. Again, double back in an hour and do not forget your markers. Good luck."

Each group set off in their respective direction, and Natsuki found herself cruising at Takuya's sped. "Does anything look familiar?"

"Everything looks the same."

"Snow tends to do that. We'll keep looking."

Natsuki's thighs pressed harder against the metal body of the snow mobile. She wished for something, anything, to find Shizuru's cabin. Eyes moving toward the sky, Natsuki noticed a fading plume of smoke in the distance. "There!"

Natsuki pressed on faster, leaving Takuya and the foreign woman behind.

The cabin grew larger, and relief blurred Natsuki's vision. A flickering fire could be seen through the window when Natsuki finally parked next to Shizuru's snow mobile. Takuya and the foreign woman weren't too far behind, and Natsuki could hear Takuya's low voice radio the other members of the group from behind her.

"Shizuru?"

Natsuki felt Takuya and the foreign woman come behind her as they walked into the cabin. The group walked in the sitting room, Natsuki spotting one last log laying before a rapidly dying fire. The warmest blanket was laid over top the rocking chair facing the fire, and even Natsuki could see, tan colored hair just over the chair's top edge. A vice grip settled around Natsuki's heart when she saw that the rocking chair, nor the body in it had moved since the group had arrived.

Takuya and the foreign woman moved into action before Natsuki had a chance to blink.

"This doesn't look good," the foreign woman muttered under her breath, blue eyes flickering over to the blunette. "I'll have the team head down to the shop instead and ask them to prepare an ambulance. She's barely breathing. Natsuki!"

Natsuki's head snapped in Takuya's direction, "Yes?"

"Are you going to be okay riding back down to the shop?"

Natsuki swallowed the lump forming in her throat when she saw Shizuru's head loll forward, "Yes."

"Good. Grab as many blankets as you can find."