The Ice Daimyō is known as a frugal man, but he offers Kakashi and Asuma proper accommodation fit for honored guests, even though they've just basically trespassed the dangerous Fubuki Border that they almost died treading. It isn't an exaggeration that the wall itself is alive, but the daimyō simply laughs when they tell him about it.
"Oh how silly!" He waves his hand in amusement, even though they know the wall had really tried to kill them.
In fact, Asuma received a welcoming gift from the border spikes—a large gash on his upper arm and it stings like hell. He can only hope it isn't poisoned, even though he already asked and the daimyō assured him with a smile that it isn't.
"Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
The daimyō entertains them with tea in a large room. There are no guards with them, only the daimyō sipping from his dainty teacup, seated across from where they are as a snowstorm brews outside.
"Pardon my insolence, but... I don't know if Yasu-sama has heard..." Asuma begins unsurely before he continues on to how high officials from various villages have been assassinated these past few months. He tells him of the other villages' concern. After the death of their own elder, the Leaf has been on the move itself.
"How does this concern me?" the daimyō asks formally.
"The officials, my lord..." Asuma seems uneasy all of a sudden. "They've all been affiliates of Koori before."
From the other feudal lords, the Ice Daimyō is particularly different. Unlike the others who hold the same rank, Yasu of the new Koori government is unconventionally intelligent. He is no shinobi himself, but his knowledge amounts to many things that even their own Hokage and village elders are lacking in.
And despite his white hair, common amongst his people, making him quite a feeble-looking man, it is a mistake to doubt that Yasu is a formidable individual, one of the few survivors of the Hyō Massacre. Perhaps that's why the people appointed him as the new leader after the fall of Koori's main capital and he is left to govern Fubuki and Kesshō Harvest.
"Do you wish to inquire if Koori is involved in such blasphemy?"
Asuma seems to realize the rudeness of his question then, but even before he can explain himself, he already freezes when the daimyō smiles coldly at them with crescent eyes.
It is a well known fact that Koori fell from grace three years ago. Among the many nations, despite its small land mass, it was a pinnacle of power, the oldest of the countries to set a shinobi village.
They have lived a quiet life throughout the first two wars of its neighboring countries with its advantageous location, but became involved when, at the losing end against Iwa and Kusa, Konoha and Kiri tried to steal from them to support their own war parties during the Third War.
Danzō Shimura had planned the infiltration of the Fubuki Border in order to conquer the country, but the Ninth Heika had only imprinted her figure in history books as a beast in the battle field.
Perhaps that's why it was a surprise when, a few years following the end of the war, she died one night just like her predecessor who followed only five years later.
"What a waste we have become..." Yasu says more to himself than them as he abandons his seat and overlooks the view of the window. Outside, a strong gust of wind blows against the glass as snow barrels the land.
It's as he said.
After the internal strife that ended Hyōgakure, the home of Koori's military power, Koori had lost its reign as supreme as its population also depleted to more than half of its total number in a single night. While its economy still continues to flourish with the abundance of jewels in Kesshō Harvest, it was never the same still with the ruling family dead.
"Yasu-sama..." Kakashi begins.
"We have abused those innocent children to be used as objects. We are only atoning for our sins," the daimyō says. "I don't plan on going back to how we used to be, that's also the principal agreement when our countries have signed the treaty."
To protect the horned children at all costs just as the Ninth have wanted but what her predecessor had neglected.
"Yet it seems you have forgotten the peace treaty that your village offered after the Third War," the daimyō says. "You have formed an allegiance to atone for your own mistakes, but now you're implying our new Koori is committing treachery. Such baseless accusation is enough to be guilty of slander."
"Yasu-sama!" Asuma stands up and the old man turns around to glare at them with those ice gray eyes.
"Tell me why I shouldn't punish you who have stepped and disrespected my motherland now."
In a blink of an eye, two black clad Anbu wield twin weapons to Asuma's throat as another points a kunai at Kakashi's neck behind him. They didn't even sense them, but they've been here with them since they came. It's clear then that the daimyō didn't trust them since the beginning.
"We're not here to raise conflict..." Kakashi says slowly and he stands uneasily still as he feels the tip of the cold blade press against his skin. "I apologize for being impudent, but I assure you it's not our intention. Our respect for the peace treaty is still intact, that's why we came to you first before anything else."
"However, you have overstepped your boundaries, my boy," the daimyō says coldly. "If you're seeking for answers, I'm afraid you will not find it here."
·
In the forests between the Land of Wind and the Land of River, the snow blankets their expanse quickly in the first days of the winter season. The leaves have all fallen and there is only the cold that rustled the tree branches—and then the faint voice calling her name.
"Kigura," she hears his voice. He is an almost silhouette under the dull sunlight overhead. "It's too cold to sleep out here."
Cold?
She doesn't understand him at first, but as she turns, the snow crushes with her movements as the kasa's tassels tangle more over her face.
She tries to rub her eyes sleepily, stretching her toes like a cat. It seems she's fallen asleep outside again. She's buried in clouds of snow as she pushes herself up from the ground, adjusting the kasa on her head.
One of the other times when the members would rest and relieve themselves, Itachi caught her again. She is bare-footed like all the other times that he finds himself sighing. Konan has brought it upon herself to provide some jinbei clothes for her, but he doesn't know whether to blame the wrong size that Kigura is still a mess of a child.
The clothes had been off-season too, but for a horned child who is used to the cold, it doesn't matter if the clothes are for winter or summer. But for the second time, Itachi finds himself sighing because Kigura only stares at her toes and wiggles them in the snow.
"At least... wear your clothes properly, Kigura."
He raises her pale feet up and ties the discarded straw sandals on her. He then drags her closer, thinking of how troublesome she is as he fastens her robes. He shouldn't be doing this, but it comes naturally for him.
And for a moment, as he looks up at her when he ties the strings on her clothes, he ends up staring at her tilted kasa for a while before a hand pushes it down on her face. Behind Kigura, there is a very disgruntled-looking Kakuzu who looks like he wants to break them apart and Itachi backs off.
It's been several times when Itachi has almost seen Kigura's face clearly, but Kakuzu is always there acting like an unbreachable wall.
Itachi is always tempted to point it out, but Kisame has already made it a habit to annoy Kakuzu about it.
"You've gotten soft, Kakuzu," the blue-skinned man's gruff voice says, appearing out of the blue from behind Itachi and Kakuzu's eyes suddenly harden into an unfriendly glare.
Kisame has been the only one to point it out, but everyone certainly knows.
"Don't start a fight here... We still need to complete Gobi's extraction," Itachi says, turning away. They've only left duplicates of themselves on the husk's fingers. Sooner or later, they have to return to finish their job. "We should head back."
Kisame looks like he wants to say something more when he looks at Kigura behind Kakuzu, but the blue man only ends up shrugging it off. Still, he has time to smile annoyingly at Kakuzu, then at the little Akatsuki. "Little boss says go so... I'll catch ya later with your daddy."
Kakuzu looks like he wants to hit Kisame's smug face, but the blue man already saunters away after his partner with an annoying snigger, which Kakuzu tries to blatantly ignore. Clearly, Kisame knows how to get under people's skins.
"Don't bring flowers anymore," Kakuzu says, fixing up her kasa before standing up again. "They're not edible, if that's what you think."
At this, Kigura decides to offer him another flower from her lap, the white petals drooping like bells. It's been freshly picked only a while ago but Kakuzu sighs like he's given up on her.
This child...
She really is getting more and more insolent by the day.
"Are you trying to poison me?"
Although resistant to the harsh winter weather, the Lily of the Valley is a highly poisonous woodland flower. While it looks like pretty little bells in the snow, it can easily fool anyone gullible enough who knows little about it—just like Kigura.
At his question, she drops her hand on her lap. She thought giving Kakuzu small snacks during the extraction would be nice, but Deidara only snickered at her the last time she visited. She ate five flowers almost three days ago and she's still fine now.
Perhaps Kakuzu's metabolism doesn't work quite the same?
She frowns, staring at the flower.
"Just..." Kakuzu sighs like he doesn't have the energy to get angry anymore. "Don't go far off this time."
His eyes drift from her then, a far away look in them as if he sensed something in the trees. But as he chooses to ignore it, she senses the familiar odor of blood from not too far away.
· ☽ ·
Fubuki Border (吹雪境界, Fubuki Kyōkai) is the gate border that separates Koori from its neighboring countries.
Kesshō Harvest (結晶収穫, Kesshō Shūkaku, literally meaning: Crystal Harvest) is a village of crystal mines in Koori used for trade.