A/N: Yet another exciting chapter I am adding to the series. This one has been somewhat inspired by some real life events that took place last night and also is just inspired by amazingness.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"The Scarlet Arrow"

Chapter 4

Almost

Tayuya shivered a little and snuggled up against Kai tighter than she would have thought possible before today, in the hopes of warming up or at least maintaining a little og her own warmth. Kai was in full sprint across the barren, frozen tundra known as the Land of Ice. The constant sub zero temperatures were dwarfed by the thoughtful warm clothing and the toasty blanket Kai had protected Tayuya with. The only thing that was actually discomforting Tayuya at the moment was the wind. The cold wind of a land offering no protection against weather cut straight into her bone like being stabbed with an icicle. It unnerved Tayuya and pissed her off which wasn't very hard in the first place.

"This wind fucking kills," Tayuya managed to state before regretting to speak altogether. Every breath she took brought more frosty air into her lungs. Tayuya gazed into Kai's face. The man seemed completely uneffected by the weather even though he was not as thickly bound as she was. His eyes seemed fixed on some distant location hidden by sheer distance. Tayuya's eyes stopped at Kai's lips. Her own lip quivered again, not from the cold but, from the urge to kiss Kai's lips. Tayuya grew even angrier at her inability to control her bodies urges or even think of anything else but Kai. Kai finally tore his eyes off the unknown distance and looked down upon Tayuya's face. Her lips quivered slightly and Kai fought the urge to kiss her. Kai knew how bad the weather must seem to the young sound-nin.

"If you bury your face in my neck it will keep your face warmer," Kai offered. Tayuya quickly listened if only for the sake of easing her own suffering at the hands of the ruthless weather. She placed her face close to Kai's neck immediately easing some of her suffering. Finally she completely pressed her face into his neck and suddenly didn't feel the bite of the wind quite so harshly. Kai's pleasant aromas filled Tayuya's nose bringing her a sense of calm still foreign to Tayuya's normally hate and rage filled mind. The soft gentle nuzzling of Tayuya in Kai's neck sent pleasant warm tingling sensations down his spine causing him to cover in goosebumps and smile widely. Kai didn't attempt to hide his smile with Tayuya buried so far into his neck anyways.

"So what is with you?" Tayuya asked, "This weather seems to have absolutely no effect on you."

"Where I come from such harsh weather is normal so I guess you can say I am both used to it and feel a little more at home in it," Kai responded. If anything Kai was known for being amongst Orochimaru's most talkative and open employees. Perhaps Tayuya was intrigued by how open Kai was, and planned to learn as much as he would divulge. With so many question swirling through her mind Tayuya decided her normal headstrong approach would be sufficient. Afterall she was never one to tread lightly around emotions before, why start now?

"Where did you grow up then?" Tayuya asked nuzzling into Kai's neck subconsciously. She felt so damn warm and safe with the broad shouldered man.

"In a land far away from here across the great ocean. This place we called the great plain, because well, it was just that. Just a huge frozen plain, inhabited by hundreds of nomadic tribes. We lived off the herds and grew strong combatting whatever tribes we could find at any given moment," Kai more or less babbled on like a girl when he talked and Tayuya, being a bit of a tomboy, didn't mind this at all. Instead she just lay against him and listened.

"Damn, if all you guys did was fight all the time I bet there are some fucking bad ass ninja out there on this 'Great Plain'," Tayuya commented trying to imagine what the world she grew up in would be like if all they did was fight since the day they could perform a jutsu. She was sure people wouldn't be getting pushed around by Orochimaru quite so much.

"Yes, there are many great warriors back where I come from," Kai chuckled," but I am the first ninja I know of from the Great Plain." Kai had stopped talking for a few moments and Tayuya pinched his chest softly. "Hmmm," Kai asked.

"Well keep explaining shithead. If you are going to insist on carrying me all damn day I will be entertained," Tayuya made clear.

"Alright alright, just not many people want to hear me babble on about stupid shit so I try to refrain from doing just that," Kai explained.

"Well it's not like I have anything to do all day but listen to your cry baby childhood stories," Tayuya teased and immediately regretted doing so. She hated when she called Kai a bad name, and when she cussed excessively in front of him, and she especially hated making hurtful comments towards him, but she was just so used to being that way it was as natural as blinking to her. Tayuya grew angry with herself again. 'I never cared a thing about what I said in front of anyone, or cared what the thought about me. And I know for sure I did not give a fuck about what people thought about the way I dressed, and looked. I have never fucking used make up. Just... When I am in front of Kai it's different. I just want him to notice me. I want him to like the way I look, smell, feel. I want him to touch me, hold me, and fuck I wanna kiss him so damn bad. I just- I- I want... I want him to like me I think... Why him? Why now?' Tayuya was lost in a torrent of emotions and thoughts. Tayuya was also quickly losing patience with herself and her feelings. Tayuya pinched Kai's chest angrily signalling him to continnue along with his story. As Kai felt Tayuya pinch his chest he realized what she must want and began to half wonder if the foul mouthed, scarlet haired, beautiful Sound princess was already training him to her liking. Kai wouldn't mind even if she was.

"All the great warriors here in your land are powerful shinobi and use chakra based abilities as their weapons. Back home on the plains no one uses chakra. Hell most don't even know what it is. It took me a while to feel it myself when I head about it. Instead our battles were fought on horseback and our weapons were our composite bows, and broad swords," Kai explained never once losing Tayuya's attention though he was unaware she was hinging on every word that left his mouth.

"What kind of things did you primitive tribes people fight over?" Tayuya asked once again cringing as she uttered yet another small insult. Suddenly she wondered if anyone had ever liked her. Tayuya was having trouble even liking herself at the moment.

"Same thing anyone fights over I guess. Power, wealth, and women," Kai stated. He really didn't mind Tayuya's foul mouth because it meant she spoke honestly and that made him feel great when he was talking to her. "We didn't value that worthless, soft, shiny metal you civilized cultures find so precious. Our wealth we valued were horses. The richest ma was the man with the most, fastest, purest, strongest bred horses. The tribes practically live in the saddle, learning to ride as soon as you can walk. When we fought over women it was a little different as well. Where I come from women are not respected as greatly as they are in your land. Where I am from it was traditional to steal your wife from another tribe and make her your own."

"Oh really? You must have had lots of pretty wives," Tayuya teased, this time purely playfully.

"Nope, I have never actually touched a woman before. I have always been more focused on my archery. It's custom where I come from to be able to hit a target dead center at full gallop from one hundred or more yards away. I could do it sitting backwards on the horse blindfolded," Kai boasted cheerfully, trying to impress Tayuya a little bit.

"Never touched a woman before?" Tayuya mentally did a back flip while shrieking a girly shriek that girls shriek when something amazing happens to them. "So you didn't have a family back home or something?" Tayuya asked. Ususally this answer that came to this question brought thousands of tears and hours of heartache to any of those who served under Orochimaru's employment, and Tayuya was preparing herself to help Kai cope with whatever would come their way. Then Kai tilted his head back and began laughing catching Tayuya off guard.

"Well my father died to another tribe when I was just a boy, leaving my mother, my three brothers, my little sister, and I on our own. We got by though. My brothers and I were always fighting over who was the best archer, who was the fastest, and who rode the hardest," Kai said smiling widely and blood raced through his veins at the very memory of his crazy childhood.

"How the hell did you end up here then?" Tayuya asked confused suddenly, but feeling happy for Kai that he didn't have the usual dark lonely past the people in the snake lord's service usually boasted.

"Well I was riding the coast one day and I saw this huge tree with one massive white leaf floating in the water with tons of little people crawling all over it like ants. I was naturally fascinated by the foreign object and I decided to follow it along the coast until it got stuck on the shore. Some people got off of it. Well I talked to the people who got off the strange vessel, and they said they were powerful shinobi from a powerful village name Kirigakure, and they came to trade with us and increase both our wealth. I saw they had no horses to trade me and when they showed me their soft shiny metal I laughed in their faces confusing the hell out of them. Well I thought I could help them and I was itching to see where these strange people came from so I asked if they would take me with them in their voyages and let me visit their homeland. They took me on their floating tree and I came here. I trained to be a shinobi as soon as I got here and Orochimaru fround me shortly after that," Kai seemed rather thoughtful after the last comment and began staring off into the distance. After several minute he seemed to rejoin the world of the living and realized he hadn't been hearing much of anything.

"-it head?" Tayuya finished. Kai caught none of what she had said.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was kind of spacing out back there," Kai admitted.

"You seem to be kind of distant sometimes shithead," Tayuya randomly said, "if you want to talk about what happened between Orochimaru and you I would understand. I know what you must have gone through in service to him. Afterall I was in his service as well."

"That's okay Rosuto," Kai said. Tayuya's eyes shot wide open. HOW THE FUCK DOES HE KNOW MY LAST NAME? How did he know? She could not possibly remember telling him her last name. Tayuya never even told any of the Sound Five her last name. She was sure Kabuto didn't even know her last name. Tayuya calmed herself down quickly. She was just going to play it cool and pretend she hadn't heard that. She must just be hearing things she thought to herself. Tayuya did resolve to be a lot more cautious around Kai though. The man was still very mysterious to her. It was just time for her to start playing it smart and using her head a little bit more to try to figure this guy out. For some reason she realized she was much more aloof and out of control around Kai.

"What about you? What is your story?" Kai asked. He obviously hadn't noticed the slip of the tongue that had just occurred. Tayuya quickly and strategically decided to forget the incident. Afterall she may have just said it during one of her random waking moments when he was still treating her. How was she to know? Still Kai could also know much more than he let on.

"Well I was with my family until the age of eight. I enjoyed music very much and wanted to be a professional musician for a while. Orochimaru heard me playing a song on my flute and stopped to have a listen. He offered me a place in his village saying I would be very much appreciated for my skill. I honestly knew he was bad news. I could just feel it in my bones... The little ones..." Tayuya was going to keep talking about it but the words were getting caught in her throat all of a sudden. Her emotions began surging to the surface at the mention of the worst day in her life. "I told him no, I was fine and my family would miss me. He told me to meet him in his hotel room if I changed my mind... When I went home that day-" Tears welled up in Tayuya's eyes and Kai could feel the moisture touch his neck. Just when Tayuya had steeled herself that she thought she would not burst out crying, Kai embraced her tighter and began stroking a hand through her hair. That was enough to send Tayuya over the edge and the massive surge of emotions suddenly became this insurmountable omnipotent force bent on surfacing and showing to the world how she felt. There was just no stopping it now.

"You shithead," Tayuya whispered gently in that sad voice people get when they say something as soon as they start crying. Tears swarmed over her face soaking Kai's neck as they did so. Tayuya cried softly in Kai's arms as if she were afraid someone would hear her crying and do something about it. Probably just another survival instinct she had learned in Orochimaru's care.

"My whole family had been slaughtered. I didn't know what to do so I panicked and went to Orochimarue and he told me he would give me the power to seek vengeance on the person who killed my family. He gave me my curse mark and I pledged myself to his service," Tayuya was sobbing uncontrollably, "I did so many horrible things for him in my quest for vengeance," Every tear that landed on Kai's skin caused him to flinch a little. Tayuya's tears seemed to crash around him and crush his own heart and emotions. A little voice cried out from inside him but Kai dropped the hammer and crushed it dead along with all of his surging emotions. Kai knew he had to try to close the floodgate that he had opened inside of Tayuya so he stopped his running and found a nice little out of the way place to sit down. So he did sit down and scooped Tayuya up into his lap and held her tighter still.

"You're going to be okay. I am so sorry about what happened. I promise you I won't let Orochimaru find or hurt you ever again," Kai said running his hand through Tayuya's hair over and over, occasionally wiping some tears from the Sound-nin's eyes.

Tayuya growled and began striking Kai's chest with flailing arms roaring in rage and grief. "I fucking hate you so much you fucking asshole! Everytime I am around you or you are touching me I just lose my emotions to you. Is it some jutsu you are using you sick fuck?" Kai just let her strike him. It hurt a little because she was definitely already getting her strength back but also just because her own sorrow deeply wounded Kai. Once her assault was over she cried even harder.

"I am sorry for being such a fucking cry baby," Tayuya said still crying heavily, "I just never have talked about this with anyone before." Tayuya didn't show a single sign of ending the water works anytime soon. She cried almost silently like she often did every night when she was alone in Otogakure. She couldn't remember a night not crying herself to sleep.

"Now I am even apologizing because of you shithead," Tayuya said in almost a whisper, tears still streaming down her face endlessly. Kai took her by the chin and raised her gaze to look into his own eyes. Her deep brown eyes were practically begging to be loved. Kai just didn't know how much longer he could resist Tayuya's pleading eyes. Tayuya herself didn't even realize how much her eyes were betraying her thoughts. Kai rubbed his hand against the side of Tayuya's face bringing upon her an overwhelming sense of calm.

"Tayuya, you are with me now. Together we will either live or die. You won't be alone anymore and you aren't amongst anyone who doesn't like you. I care about you, and I feel responsible for you, and most of all I want to protect you," Kai soothed. Tayuya had stopped crying and was just sitting in Kai's lap enjoying the feel of his comforting arms, staring into his deep strange eyes, feeling strangely comfortable under his powerful gaze. Tayuya's lip quivered again and her eyes once again began begging Kai to love her, and kiss her. Kai was ready to oblige and could no longer hold back his strong urge to have Tayuya. Kai leaned in to kiss her. Tayuya closed her eyes and pursed her lips in anticipation. What was about to happen felt so right to both of them. Their lips drew to a few millimeters apart.

"What are you two doing?" a voice growled. Buster the bulldog had caught up with them. Kai sighed and reluctantly pulled away and looked at the bulldog. "Now is not the time to be smooching on each other. We have to keep moving to keep ahead of ths guy. I have been doing some recon and I know this guy is not Orochimaru. The man tailing us is Khasar..." Buster said stoicly.

"Fuck!" Kai cursed instantly after the name Khasar was uttered.

"What's wrong?" Tayuya asked desperate to recapture Kai's attention.

"Khasar is an old aquaintence of mine. He is very fast and I have no doubt he will catch up to us before we are able to reach the village. Worse off than that if he catches us we are dead. This guy knows all my moves and he is naturally my exact weakness and he knows it. Why wouldn't Orochimaru choose him?" Kai immediately picked Tayuya back up and took off across the barren terrain once more.

"I laid out several decoy tracks and I have also laid a few traps along our tracks and I tried to hide our real track as best as possible. I would give him maybe a day before he catches up with us," Buster explained. The bull dog hasn't been with them during the journey until now because he had been busy doing as he had mentioned and he also looked quite tired. He had been working at breakneck speed the whole day. Tayuya once again felt worthless and just buried her face in Kai's neck to both feel warmer and hide her shame. Kai was back to running at some unknown object far off past the line of sight. It would be an impossible race to win, but deep down inside. Kai would never let Tayuya get hurt.

A/N: Well that's another chapter. :) Inspired by real life events and well today has been a good birthday for me lulz. I hope to update again soon. Maybe some comments would help? I mean it is my birthday. :P