"Attention guests, due to the unexpected rise of snow and wind, we advise to not go outside until further notice. The ski department is closed. Once again, due to an unexpected rise of snow and wind we advice to not go outside. Thank you for your understanding."

"Really?" Naruto stabbed his bacon angrily. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"You can always have sex with Hinata," suggested Sai, smiling widely. "Unless you don't have a dick?"

"Sai!" scolded Ino, turning bright red. "H-Hinata, I'm so sorry!"

Hinata, who froze immediately once hearing Sai's suggestion, shook her head and smiled bashfully, her cheeks burning from embarrassment. "I-It's fine, Ino. I'm sure Sai didn't mean it…in a bad way."

"Oh?" Sai leaned back on his seat in thought. "Was I being too inappropriate?"

"Yes," responded Naruto, the tips of his ears red.

"I apologize." Everyone in the table stopped chatting but it was Ino who reacted first. She grabbed hold of his hand and smiled brightly.

"At least you realized your mistake. Now you won't do it again."

He smiled tenderly at her and squeezed her hand back. "Thank you."

They all heard squealing and turned to look at a young couple. A young woman was smiling widely on one knee as she showed her girlfriend the ring box. With a loud, "Yes!" the woman kneeling stood up and kissed her girlfriend in delight. They glowed in happiness.

"Wow, that's so nice," commented Sakura, looking back at her empty plate. "It's so hard to propose. Especially in front of an audience."

"But it must feel amazing," sighed out Ino, glancing at Sai. Her boyfriend in question kept staring at the newly engaged couple. "What are you thinking about, hun?"

"I wouldn't want to propose like that." The table fell silent. Ino laughed nervously and scooted her chair closer to him.

"Oh? Why?"

"It's a waste of time." He shrugged and turned to look at her. "Why would you propose in front of an audience? What if the person in question rejects you?"

"But you'll take the chance if you knew she was going to say yes," said Naruto. "I think making a big show about it is great. You get to show everyone that you just got engaged to someone you really love."

"Don't…don't you want to get married?" asked Sakura carefully, glancing at Ino.

Sai did not respond. He simply bowed his head and shrugged.

"Hun…wouldn't you want to propose?" asked Ino this time, desperation creeping into her voice.

Once again, Sai avoided eye contact. "I…don't know."

"So this is what we are, huh?" Ino stood up abruptly and bit her lip. Her eyes tear up and hit Sai's shoulder. "I thought you loved me!"

"Ino—" Hinata stood up as well, trying to consult her friend.

"No! He just said he wouldn't marry me!"

"I didn't say—" But Ino ran off before Sai can finish his sentence.

"I didn't say that." He turned to look at his girlfriend's friends. "Why would she…why is she so upset?"

"Ino's tempered," said Sakura, sighing as she massaged her temple.

Hinata remained standing, looking on worriedly where her friend ran off to.

"Hinata?" asked Naruto in concern, grabbing her hand.

She snapped out of her daze and looked back at her boyfriend and friends. "I'm going after her. Sakura, can…you help Sai?"

That's when they realized the young man was staring at the table looking lost. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No," said Naruto immediately, feeling the need to help. "Okay Hinata. We'll take in charge from here." He knows very little of Sai and Ino's situation but with the help of Sakura and Sasuke, he was sure that they can clear this mess up.

"Thank you." With that, Hinata dashed off after her friend.


"I'm so stupid!" sobbed Ino, wiping away her tears with her gloved hands. She snuggled closer to her scarf and looked onto the bright but cloudy night. Usually up in the mountains anyone can see the stars clearly. But due to an unexpected snow storm a few miles away—she overheard a few of the workers talking about it—the ominous clouds now blocked her view of the night sky. This was supposed to be a fun vacation. She thought that this vacation will end with her heart broken or overjoyed. But she screwed it up. She didn't want to push Sai into marriage or bring up the question. She was being too overdramatic about the whole situation which resulted in her yelling at her boyfriend. And her poor love must be so confused. He didn't do anything wrong! But to hear those words broke her heart.

What did he mean that he didn't want to propose? Did that mean that at some point in the future he was going to break up with her? Or does he not believe in marriage? It was true that they talked about everything—mostly it was her—but she was always afraid to bring up the subject of marriage. What if he didn't want to marry? The best choice would be to leave him because she believes in marriage and wants to marry sooner or later. But the problem is that she loves him so much that she was afraid of what his response would be.

What does she do now? Would it be right to go back and apologize for the outburst?

"Ino!" She turned around and her eyes widened when she saw Hinata. She closed the door the best she can and shivered when the cold air hit her. Even though she's wearing two jackets, a beanie, and a scarf the wind still managed to bite her cold.

She had an idea that Ino will be outside since her friend always found the night sky to be relaxing. But as Hinata looked at the sky and saw nothing but clouds, she knew that Ino was over thinking.

"You shouldn't be out here, Hinata." Ino sighed when her friend stood beside her. "It's cold. You might get sick."

"It's the same for you." Hinata smiled and looked at the frozen field before her. The patio had a great view of the mountain. Unfortunately the resort is located on a hill and if one were to peer beyond the railings they'll see that it leads down to a steep slope where eventually one will tumble into the forest next to the resort.

"You knew I was going to be out here." She couldn't help but smile.

"I can still remember when you ran away from home. Sakura and I managed to find you on my rooftop since it had the perfect view of the night sky."

"You always remember the little things."

"If it concerns my friends, of course I will." She turned to look at her friend. "I feel like Sai didn't mean to say what he did." Ino remained silent so Hinata continued. "He was going to say something before you left."

"Really?" She turned to look at her wide eyed. "What was it?"

"He said, 'I didn't say that,' when you told him that he wasn't going to marry you."

She turned to look at the forest below them. She walked towards the railings and leaned against it. She closed her eyes as she felt the cold wind hit her cheeks. But slowly she felt a few tears roll down her cheeks and onto her gloved hands.

"I was so stupid!"

"No, you weren't." Hinata was by her side. She placed her head on her shoulder. "You weren't being stupid. You did over react but that's something that can be fixed."

"You think so?"

"Yes. Sai will never leave you. I believe he understands you more than Sakura and I combined. He was just in shock that you left so abruptly."

"Yeah. You know how hot-headed I get sometimes." She turned to hug her tightly. "Hinata, you're the best."

Hinata hugged her back. "Thank you."

Suddenly a hard gust of wind hit them full force and Ino smiled sheepishly at Hinata.

"Let's go back inside. I need to do some apologizing."

Seeing Ino smile made Hinata feel slightly better. Nodding, they began walking back towards the resort. But a large object started flying towards them. It was a large plastic trash can. Due to the lack of lights, neither saw it coming. It hit Hinata hard on the head that made her stumble back. A yell escaped her lips as her head began to pound.

"Hinata, wait! Be careful!" Ino grabbed onto her friend but they both slipped. They hit the railing hard but the slippery floor pushed them over the edge. They both screamed as they tumbled down the rocky walls and they landed roughly. Their heads smacked against each other causing them to fall unconscious.

The harsh wind carried on and the trash can also fell down the hill, erasing their footprints from the snow.


"Sai, are you okay?" Sakura left Sasuke's side and sat on the chair Ino was occupying.

"I'm okay." Sai looked back at the hallway. "Should I go after her?"

"What do you think?" asked Sakura with a tired smile.

"You're right. I need to go find some flowers to buy her." Sai stood up but Naruto was the one who pushed him back down.

"Look, Sai, obviously no one here sells flowers because it's always freezing, ya know? So why do you think Ino was obviously upset?"

"Does…she want to marry me?" He looked at Sakura puzzled. "She never mentioned it to me before."

"How did she react now?" asked Sasuke causally, eating a piece of tomato from his salad. "She was upset because she thought you won't marry her and then she ran off. Considering this is Ino, she didn't even have time to ask you to elaborate because it was clear that you said that you wouldn't want to propose in front of an audience. However you did not deny the fact that you would want to marry her. Am I correct?"

"Yes." Sai dug into his pocket and took out a ring box. "This is the engagement ring I bought for her."

"We shouldn't be the first ones to know!" exclaimed Sakura, slamming her hands on the table and standing up. Her cheeks burned from excitement and nervousness. "Why haven't you proposed to her yet if you had the box with you?"

"I want to do it in private but I always find a reason not to do it in the end."

"What were your reasons?" asked Naruto genuinely confused. "Don't you love her? Don't you think she'll say yes?"

"Ino…is the first person I've ever felt like this before." Sai placed his hand on his chest. "It feels warm every time I see her smile. Her happiness is mine. I know how socially awkward I can be. I can also be too annoying. I'm afraid that it might push her away. I don't want her to feel obligated to marry me only because I proposed to her."

"She…never indicated that she wanted to marry you?" Sakura was confused. Wouldn't Ino drop hints to him?

"No. She would always blush and look at me strangely every time a wedding scene will come on when we watched movies."

'That's what I mean…' Sakura sighed and rubbed her temple. "This is a misunderstanding then! You need to go talk to her!"

"I'll go help you find her." Naruto stood up and smiled at both Sakura and Sasuke. "You guys should head into your rooms. It's almost ten o'clock."

"Oh woah, look! The trash can is rolling away!" exclaimed a young girl as she pressed her face against the window. "The wind's so strong!"

"It just flew over the resort!" yelled a young boy next to her, looking up at the ceiling in wonder. "Poor trash can…"

"We should go now, Sai," said Naruto gently, grabbing the ring box and handing it to the young man. "I think Ino would want to hear this explanation."

Sai stood up wordlessly before bowing at Sakura and Sasuke. "Thank you."

"Um, no problem really!" Sakura shook her head and raised her hands. 'I never really understood why he bows. He's Japanese, right?' thought Sakura.

Both men left the cafeteria and began walking down the hallway.

"Where do you think she is?" asked Naruto, placing his hands behind his head.

"Ino loves to see the night sky. But she can't be outside. It's dangerous out there."

"Yeah, you're right." Naruto cupped his chin in thought. "Maybe in your room?"

"We should check, yes." After walking along side each other for a full minute, Sai said, "Thank you for helping me out. I'm never really good with words."

"No problem!" Naruto smiled widely. "I would like to have help too if I ever got caught in your situation."

"But you spoke passionately before. You said that you wouldn't care if you proposed in front of people. Do you plan to marry Hinata?"

Naruto blushed and scratched his cheek in embarrassment. "That's a little too soon to ask. But I think I'll love to. I do know that I want to be with her for a long time."

"Forever?"

"Yeah. Forever."

They arrived in front of Sai and Ino's room and Sai opened the door. The room was dark and had no occupants inside.

"That's weird," said Naruto as Sai stepped in first. Sai turned on the light and looked around the room.

"Where would she be then?" asked Naruto. He snapped his fingers suddenly and started going out. "I'm going to check if they're in my room. Hinata followed Ino after all." Once Naruto left, Sai looked at Ino's luggage which was opened. A few of her clothes lay on the floor but he immediately noticed her purple jacket was missing along with her scarf and gloves. His eyes widened as he looked for her boots and found to his horror that it was missing too.

"No," he whispered and Naruto entered their room.

"So they're not in my room. Where could they be?" Naruto scratched his head but paused once he saw Sai's worried expression.

"They're outside," said Sai as he grabbed his own coat from his luggage.

"What do you mean? Why would they be outside! It's freezing cold out there!" Naruto then felt his heart stop. "Sai, what do you mean?"

"Ino's jacket, scarf, gloves, and boots are missing. That means that she must have gone outside for a breath of fresh air. The problem is that they haven't come back."

"Maybe they're somewhere else?" suggested Naruto weakly, feeling a shiver run up and down his spine.

"Is Hinata's winter wear in her luggage?" asked Sai, zipping up his jacket. "Why would those specific articles go missing? I know Ino loves going outside. Right now she's too emotional to outweigh the pros and cons of a situation."

Naruto ran out of the room and slammed their door open. He unzipped Hinata's luggage and started to rummage through her clothes. To his horror also, his girlfriend's jackets', beanie, scarf, and gloves were missing.

"Go ask around the resort," said Sai, appearing in front of Naruto's room. "I hope they didn't go outside. But they're not here. We should check around and see if they're not in the resort."

"What if they're outside right now, ya know?!" yelled Naruto. "They can be freezing to death."

Sai looked conflicted before nodding. "We can't take any chances. I'll go outside on the patio and look around. I doubt Ino went to the front because we didn't see her come back to the cafeteria since that's the only way to go outside from the back. Go ask around. Tell Sakura and Sasuke too." Both men went their separate ways.

As Sai ran down the hallway towards the patio, he whispered, "Please, Ino, don't be outside."


Ino's eyes fluttered open and she was immediately hit with a cold sensation. She moaned and immediately took a sharp inhale of breath when she tried to move. She looked down and realized she was lying on the snow covered ground. Her leg was pulsing and when she tried moving again, she realized that she must have twisted something. That's when she heard the harsh wind and looked around to see she was on the bottom of a hill. She looked up and saw the lights of the resort. Puzzled, she tried to remember what happened but her head began to throb.

She turned to her side and tears gathered in her eyes.

Lying beside her was a motionless Hinata. Her beautiful dark hair was spread out. A bit of snow began to cover her body but it was the dried blood on the side of her head that made Ino's heart stop.

"Hinata," whispered Ino, slowly crawling towards her friend. Every movement shot a burst of pain throughout her body. But right now her friend wasn't moving. Right now they were both hurt and in the snow storm.

"Hinata, hey, I'm here. Please, are you alive?" Ino pushed her friend's body closer to hers, brushing off the snow. She placed her icy, shaky hands on Hinata's neck and breathed out when she felt a pulse. "You're alive. Okay. Don't worry. They'll realize we're missing." Ino gazed up at the hill where the resort lies.

She licked her lips and screamed,

"HELP!"