A blanket of dark clouds covered sky as their ship traveled across the vast sea. The breeze brushed against their skin, causing the girls to smile.

"It looks like there's a storm coming this way," Kakashi stated, looking up at the gray blanket above.

"Great, just what we needed," Azumi said sarcastically," another obstacle."

From below, the waves crashed into the ship's side, tipping it a bit. "Do you think we're going to make it to the Land of Snow before the storm comes?" Asami asked.

Kakashi admitted," Honestly, I don't know."

"Ne, Kakashi-sensei, how much longer do you think we're going to be on this ship?" Naruto complained.

"It looks like it's going to be another hour or so. It's only been four hours so far."

"Actually, I'm kind of enjoying this! It feels so good! It's not hot like Konoha, so I guess we better enjoy this as much as it lasts," Sakura spoke. Sasuke just stood on the sidelines, watching the wide land of seas in his own little world of peace and quiet.

Or, at least before Azumi barged in.

"Yo, Uchiha, what's up?" she asked, popping beside him.

Though startled by her sudden appeared next to him, he kept his calm posture. "Hn."

"You know," she spoke," you should really learn how to broaden your vocabulary. Maybe a little 'hey' or 'how are you doing' is good too."

"Give it up, Azumi-chan. You can't break through the human ice cube," Naruto snickered, earning a whack from his pink haired crush.

"Don't insult Sasuke-kun like that," she scolded, causing Azumi to sweat drop.

"But Sakura-chan!" came Naruto's usual reply and another punch.

As the minutes passed, the waves became rougher. The wind turned stronger, and the sun was no longer in sight. All along the scenario were gray clouds and high tides.

"I don't think we're going to make it in time," Sakura said worriedly.

"I'm afraid you're right, Sakura," Kakashi agreed, covering his face with his right hand. "This might turn out really bad."

And he was right, because in the next ten minutes, water was flooding the ship. Their large wooden boat tipped over to the right, causing everyone to tumble in the same direction. Heavy rain pelted down onto their heads as they tried to take cover down below.

"Everyone!" Kakashi shouted over the sound of the roaring waves. "Get under! It's too dangerous to be up here in the rain, especially with those crates being in the air!"

The ship was originally a cargo ship, but was later transformed to a travel boat. Still, they never did remove the baggage kept on, so there were four crates hanged up in the wide open air by two thick pieces of rope.

As the storm got more serious, it became even harder to see.

"Asahi-hime, where are you?" Azumi yelled.

"Azumi!" Sasuke called out. He was standing at the door leading towards the lower deck. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for the princess! What do you think I'm doing, genius?"

The Uchiha let out a frustrated grunt. "Just come back and I'll look for her!"

"No! I can do it!"

"Stop being stubborn, idiot!"

"Stop being stupid, moron!"

"Just come back inside!"

"I don't want-" Before Azumi could finish her sentence, a hand snatched out and grabbed her wrist. This sudden action startled her greatly until she realized who it was. "Hime?"

"Azumi!" the teen exclaimed. "Is that you?"

"Y-" The sound of a very loud creaking disrupted their mini conversation. All three looked up. But by the time, it was too late. The next thing they knew, a giant crate was sent flying down towards Azumi and Asahi. Almost on instincts, the white haired kunoichi pushed her client out of the way.

But unfortunately, didn't make it herself.

The last thing she heard was her name being yelled out.

By Uchiha Sasuke.

It's kind of a short chapter, but it's an interesting chapter ^_^ I just got hugged by my crush today! :D Unfortunately, at the end of the day, I found out he liked some other girl (or at least that's what I heard). But anyways, I still like him XD

Updated: September 24, 2010