Perhaps I should go home now, she thought, Mom must be hysterically worried about me and... I still haven't cleaned my room, have I? Oh, but I don't want to see that boorish Louis Napoleon again! Maybe I could use Sasuke to scare him off...

The thought sent a shiver up her spine, Sasuke?! I would rather die! Shaking off the visions her head was soon filling with, she looked up once again and saw a face she recognised as she moved up towards a ferry boat.

"I knew the lil' miss was after 'er man!" exlaimed the oarsman, "And lookie 'ere, she even got 'erself that strange looking hog thing too! Congrats from me on yer finds!"

Millie gave a slight frown, dropping her luggage at the docks and allowing the large man to pack them overboard before she gave her reply, "He isn't my boyfriend, he's a Rokakku ninja and... could you please load him on the boat carefully? He's been through a lot in the forest - it's not easy carrying my own bags and him at the same time, so I prioritised."

The bandaged ninja's faced fell to a scowl, his eyes surveying the twisted bramble and thorns that were embedded in the plaster, as well as the rope that was tied around him and worn with drag marks, much like his bandages again.

The jovial man gave a chuckle, setting Sasuke carefully in a horizontal position above the bags, securing him with the rope so he didn't topple over into the river below, "What of that creature you got there, what was that about?"

Millie smiled, obviously waiting for the question to be asked as she related her story of the events of the past few days, "Oh, you see... after I ran after Bonaparte in the forest..."

How could she do this to me? Sasuke began his train of thoughts, having nothing better to do for the trip than lie around in his bandaged shape, She's treating me like I was just luggage... no, worse than luggage! In a contest between me and those two bags she decided to take care of the bags more than me! And that groundhog - Oh, she'll be the death of me yet!!

Sasuke made sure to emote what he felt by crossing his eyebrows together and wiggling around in a frantic state, giving evil glares to Millie each time she overdramatised what happened and gave herself too much glory than was deserved.

She didn't even give me credit for taking that one watch for her!

"Ah," said the boatsman, "That be a great tale you be telling, nearly as good as the last time - nay nay, better still!"

"Thank you," the Highland girl was enjoying this emmensely. After days with Sasuke, she needed someone to tell her how great she was, something the ninja was too thick to understand. However cute he may look, he's nothing but an unfeeling, ignorant male - the whole lot of them are flawed in one way or the other...

The large man sighed, his eyes turning dark very quickly, "It's a good thing the youth's are not yet affected by what's going on back at home..."

Both youth's eyes went wide and both would have inquired as to why, except that one was bandaged, the able one delivering the message enough for the both of them, "What?"

"Well," began the boatsman, "There's the war and all..."

"I know that!" Millie exclaimed, feeling very relieved, "There was a war when I left too, nothing new about that..."

"The Highlanders are blaming us Jowston folk for breaking the peace treaty - say we kill a bunch of them youths down in the mountains... Unicorn Brigade I think it was, whole country's alive with rage. Worst o' all, we never laid a finger on them kids..."

Relief turned to shock and complete surprise, "The Unicorn Brigade? Those were the children of Kyaro! ... but the City State did nothing?"

"Aye! We did nothing... there's talk say that them Highlanders did it themselves but most folk on that side'd hear nothing of it."

The large roll of bandages made muffling noises but was soon silence by a swift kick in the stomach.

"Well anyway," the boatsman said, "Here we are, lil' miss... Radat Town. Now watch your step as you get off the boat and..." The ferryman eyed Sasuke carefully, "Don't forget your bandaged boyfriend too."

Millie hopped off the boat gingerly with her bags, one slung around each of her shoulders, turned around, bent over and got a hold on the rope tied around Sasuke, "Thank you again for the ride!"

"Anytime lil' miss, pleasure as always!"

With that Millie tugged on the rope and tried to dislodge Sasuke from the passenger boat, hitting his head on the side with loud thumps and muffled protests from beneath thick bandage plasters, "Damn it, Sasuke! Can you stop whining?! I'm trying to get you out!"

"Mmmfph Grffrizzle!!" the ninja replied indignantly, unable to move and feeling the pain with each thump.

"You. Will. Break. Free." Millie managed, pulling more and more until the large white plastered Sasuke came flying at her and landed on her, breaking the prison Sasuke was forced to inhabit for the past week.

"FREE!! FREE!!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down on the pier, "I am FREE!! No more thorns, no more dragging, no more throwing me at every creature in the forest as a weapon!!"

Millie glared at the ninja, he clothes were crumpled and she had fallen rather painfully on the wooden pier and all the stupid fool could do was proclaim his ingratitude of her tending to him for the past week! All she needed was one fell oppertunity... just one swift...

"AaaaaaH!"

She always does this to me, always, always.... Sasuke let his mind grumble as his body soaked in the moisture of the river, Always.

"Serves you right, ingrate." Millie scowled down at him as her head emerged from the pier side, "They really aught to teach you ninjas some manners..."

"What?! INGRATE?! It's because of you that I was in those bandages! And that... that..."

Bonaparte stuck his head over the side, staring curiously at Sasuke with it's small black bead eyes.

"THAT THING!!" he finished, pointing an accusing finger at the groundhog.

Millie swiped him with a dufflebag, narrowly missing as he ducked his head beneath the water, "Come out so I can deck you, Sasuke!"

After several failed attempts, and being made drenched by Sasuke splashing back in retaliation, a small crowd had gathered in the pier, none of which were too happy.

"There! A Highlander! Let's teach 'em for breaking the peace treaty, now shall we?!" a voice yelled, causing a roaring agreement.

"It's because of them that my son has to go back into the war!"

"Dogs!"

"Treaty breakers!"

"GET HER!"

Millie couldn't believe what she was hearing, this was worse than Sasuke's intolerable behavior... this was a mob out to get her! She turned to the side, looking at her options quickly.

The boatman's gone... so I can't use that... the Highland girl looked at the pier, That's filled up... What about...

"Hurry up!" Sasuke warned, grabbing Millie by the leg and, with one swift tug, dragged her into the water with him, swimming away in a fevour. Millie, for the most part, gargled and sputtered along as he continued to drag her through the water by her leg.

In the world there are people destined to meet one another, held together by nothing more than subconscious will - and fate - as their unique bond takes them from place to place as both grow to love and respect one another.

"This is all your fault."

And there are others who are simply bonded together for no tangible reason whatsoever.

"Because of you, I'm dripping wet and half of my belongings are now useless to me!" Millie hit Sasuke in the gut with a clenched fist once they were on dry land.

"I saved your life!" he protested, doubling over against the sluice wall under the bridge.

"And you nearly half-killed poor Bonaparte!!" Millie complained, pressing against Bonaparte and releasing what seemed to be an endless flow of water, "Don't worry... Millie's here to save you from the horrible ninja who nearly killed you..."

"But I did it all to save..." his hand went forward and accidentally fell on Millie's leg, the same leg he had used to drag her all the way to the bridge.

*slap*

"And that's for taking advantage of me!" Millie yelled, "Saved my life... you were just looking for an excuse to feel me up! Stupid hentai..."

Sasuke knew it was futile to say anything and, after inspecting his cheekbone's intactment, went along gathering logs of wood together, holding them together with a sturdy rope.

"What do you think you're doing?" Millie asked, curiousity preventing her from keeping a silence that she knew made Sasuke uneasy.

"I'm making a raft."

"What for?"

"We'll go up the river on the other side of the sluice to some place where we can get off without you being hunted."

Millie didn't reply. It sounded like a good idea except for one small problem, "How are we going to get on the other side of the sluice?"

"You're going to dress up like a ninja of Rokkaku from those clothes you got from Kasumi's closet."

Again it sounded like a good idea... but there was still something wrong.

"Don't you dare look."

Sasuke ignored her and went around securing the raft together, setting aside a place for the mast, plunging it in so that it would fit. With his raft done, he turned around to voice an opinion on how wonderful his backwater boat looked, only to be left gapemouthed and dumbfounded at what he saw.

Mille was fuming. "I TOLD YOU NOT TO LOOK YOU STUPID HENTAI PERVERT!!" She quickly covered herself up with disgarded old clothes and kicked Sasuke in the jaw, "AND KEEP THAT SHUT!"

Having no choice but to turn his head again, Sasuke obeyed obediantly the whim of the fiery pheonix behind him. At least it was a nice view, he thought.

"I heard that."

"How could you?!" he turned around again, "It was a though- AAAH!!"

*kick*

Millie drew back her fist from Sasuke's face, "That doesn't matter, now get a move on, I want to get away from this horrible place."

By this time, Sasuke's jaw was too weak to reply and stayed locked to the rest of his skull, the nod being his only way of communication as he lugged the heavy raft over to the other side of the sluice. Millie's ninja attire and the fact that she was right next to an authentic ninja of Rokkaku made it so that she was left unmolested on the journey from the south of the dam to the north of it.

"What a cute couple!"

"Remember when we were like that, Fred? We even had the matching attire."

*whistle* "That guy sure is lucky..."

Comments and catcalls followed their path, no one the wiser that Millie was actually Highlander, but the quiet whispers were enough to drive the both of them insane.

Like him/her?! You've gotta be kidding, I'd rather die!

"Hurry with the boat, Sasuke," Millie complained, "I think this is much worse than being hunted."

Setting the raft into the water, the boy ninja bounced in, taking a place at the back where the steering oar was and letting Millie in to the front, "I know what you mean... It's just so insulting..."

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"I didn't mean it that way!"

"Yes you did!"

*slap*