Karin looked at the young man before her. He was dressed in clothing that she had never seen before.

A long light blue, almost white tunic, with thin gold chains wrapped around his waist. He wore white legging pants with chestnut colored boots up to his knees. Under the tunic was a long sleeve shirt. The shirt was tight and white to match his pants.

The man also wore gold pendants around his neck. The pendants were symbols of an old language that she did not know.

Karin huddled closer to the wall of the tree and away from the warmth of the boy's golden hair.

Why had he warmed her? She thought. she was merely sleeping, sleeping her way through her family's wrath.

"What is your name?" the strange man asked her.

Unsure if she should say, she stared at him more. He didn't seem evil, but there was a war right now, he could easily be an enemy.

" My name is Hanazono Karin..." I utter, softly.

My face began to burn red, as I realized that I am naked.

"He must have seen all of me...no one has seen all of me, not even my own mother."

~.^.~

"Hanazono... I feel like I have heard your name somewhere before. But since I can't place it, I won't ask questions. I would rather not find out something bad about you if there is anything."

Kazune looked at her with growing interest. Now that he had made the decision to not ask any further questions, he wanted to know everything.

"You shouldn't have come out here with no clothes, you'll catch your death that way. "

"Did you drop them somewhere? I will help you look for them if you'd like."

Karin stared at him once again.

"I have clothes." she stated simply.

Kazune's mouth clenched...

"Then why aren't you wearing them?" he asked a little annoyed.

"Because... they became too heavy when the blizzard hit..."

Kazune looked at her in disbelief.

"How the hell can a girl like you run around with no clothes in a blizzard and not freeze to death? Even if the clothes were heavy you should have kept them on!"

"But... I..." she was cut off by Kazune...

"No buts! You were being just plain stupid!"

Kazune seemed to catch himself when he realized what he had just done...

Karin's eyes began to water. She started to cry and he instantly felt bad.

Bending down to hug her, he noticed that her tears were not normal...

looking closely, he saw that they were little snowflakes, perfect and new.

"You...snowflakes...how?"

She wiped her eyes and glared at him fiercely. A cold wind started to whirl around them, tossing her golden brown hair into the current.

Her pine eyes turned to ice, and her skin became blue and sleek.

She dropped the coat, reveling the icicles that had formed on her elbows and forearms.

She was ice, the ice was her, and she was dangerous, as well as the most elegant thing Kazune had ever seen.

Terrified and in awe, Kazune stood and backed away from her...

"You, you're a snow woman... You're who the realm is warring against!"

Her cold eyes held him in place. With a sudden, swift move she had him pinned to the tree's innards.

Burning snow hit Kazune on the face and hands. He felt her cold breath on his neck, sending shivers down his spine, and terror into his eyes.

"I am not stupid." came her chilled voice.

"I would say that you are for taking in a stranger."

"I also find a sort of offence that you are not telling me who you are, and demanding so much of me..."

Hearing her voice and felling her ice-body against him, Kazune started to slip into her grasp.

He was almost ready to just let her take him away for punishment, after all, he deserved it.

Kazune closed his eyes and whispered to the snow woman.

"I am sorry, my name is Kazune Kujyo... I am running from my village..."

He slipped to the ground, in a daze. He saw the ice woman slowly become Karin again.

He blinked slowly, and opened his eyes in a different position. He had fallen asleep on something soft.

He sat up, and looked at the perfect breasts that were now covered with a sky blue kimono that had just been his pillow.

His mind buffered till everything came back to him.

This young lady was a snow woman named Hanazono Karin. She had just spared his life from her wrath.

He watched her breathe as she slept... he guessed from the exhaustion of her rage.

Kazune quickly gathered his things and snuck out of the tree hollow and started to run.

He had to get away from here, if he stayed, surely he would be killed by either her, or the armada for desertion.

He ran as fast as his legs could carry him. He ran till he couldn't see the tree or smoke from the village anymore.

He ran leaving a trail of fresh foot steps behind him. Anyone who saw them, could tell that he was running terrified...

And then, the wind picked up...