Once more unto the breach dear friends.

Promises in Snow and Ice.

Chapter 5.

In one of the many outposts that made up the Hidden Sound Village, a young man walked around with a serious frown on his face. The ninja who were out and about at this time scattered to the winds as the leader of their village stalked his domain while radiating a massive killing intent. Many who were unlucky enough to witness one of the surviving scions of the murdered Uchiha Clan were smart enough to not notice his slight limp.

Twenty year old Sasuke Uchiha was beyond angry. He was livid. Turning to the bespectacled, red-headed woman walking beside him, he snarled as he remembered the battle that had caused his limp.

"Dammit, Karin, isn't there anything else you can do for this accursed limp of mine. It's been two months, TWO MONTHS, since that dammed genin fought my brother and I to a bloody standstill and left us on the writhing on the ground with our wounds!", snarled Sasuke as his leg again betrayed him and caused him to stumble.

"Sasuke-kun, I am sorry. I have done everything I can to heal you. You must admit that your recovery to this point is nothing short of miraculous. Any other shinobi with your wounds would still be in a hospital bed trying to wait for their legs to heal up to the point where they can walk.", replied the kunoichi in a demure voice.

"Yeah, right. Any shinobi except for the one I MUST kill! Damn you Naruto for all that the Kyuubi no Kitsune gives you.", thought Sasuke as he again cursed the fact that his former teammate and first friend had advanced healing power and he-the vaunted scion of the deceased Uchiha Clan-didn't.

Whirling back around with a more pronounced glare on his face, Sasuke continued on his way with Karin trailing respectfully behind. In his mind, Sasuke added another name to the list of people he must kill so he could finally begin rebuilding his clan.

Hours later, Sasuke was alone in his quarters glaring at the wall when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is it!"

"Sasuke-san, it's me, Karin."

"Didn't I order you to leave me alone! "

"Yes master, you did. However, a messenger has arrived requesting an audience with you."

"Dammit, Karin. You take the message and leave me alone!", Sasuke growled menacingly at the door.

"Sasuke, the message is from your brother.", replied Karin.

In a flash (or as best as he could with his limp), Sasuke was opening the door to accept the message. Spotting the scroll in the messenger's hand, Sasuke extended his hand for the missive. When it was deposited in his palm, Sasuke closed his fingers around it and used his other hand to wave both his concubine and the messenger away before closing the door.

Out in the hallway, Karin glared at the door as it slammed shut in her face. She cursed herself for loving such an emotionless man but at the same time she loved his tender caresses and the whispered words of his affection she knew were false during those nights he let his facade fall and sought her out to satiate his lust and in an attempt to rebuild his clan. Turning to the stoic messenger, Karin gave him a pointed look and indicated that his job was done and he could leave. Letting a bit of her own killing intent leak out, Karin let the shinobi know that his presence was no longer required and he was dismissed. As the man stumbled over his own two feet trying to get away from what he thought was his imminent demise at the hands of the kunoichi protecting her master like the proverbial guard dog, he was extremely happy that he was getting away from this village and its borderline obsessive psychopathic leader.

Behind the door, Sasuke unrolled the scroll sent by his traitorous brother and started to read. Midway through the message, an evil smile started to spread across his face. For all his hatred towards Itachi, Sasuke had to give the leader of the second tier of Akatsuki a modicum of credit. Itachi was pretty damn smart about setting traps for the shinobi who'd befuddled, shamed, and defeated his fellow members of the first tier of the dreaded Akatsuki Organization.

Putting his hands into the familiar signs for the summoning jutsu, Sasuke summoned one of the offspring of his Chief Summons and ordered the highly poisonous viper to travel to the other Uchiha missing-nin and give him Sasuke's reply.

"I hear and obey, master. Do not forget my reward.", answered the viper.

"Follow your orders and when you return, your reward will be waiting.", replied Sasuke brusquely.

The viper dispelled itself in a cloud of toxic smoke and once again Sasuke was left alone. This time however, the pronounced frown on his face was morphing into an evil grin.

"I have you now, my eternal enemy. In time you will kneel to my superiority and Konoha will bow to the superiority of the reborn Uchiha!", cackled Sasuke as he evilly rubbed his hands together.

That day, the shinobi of the Hidden Sound Village shuddered as a plan that would change the way of the world as they knew it was hatched by the two surviving members of the ill-fated Uchiha. Somewhere in the netherworld, the souls of the dead clan looked on in approval as their successors plotted to bring their defeated clan back into prominence.

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In Konoha, Lady Tsunade made her way to the Hokage's balcony of the arena where the final round of this quarters' Chuunin Exam was to be held. As she entered the specially constructed glass chamber her aged eyes gazed around at those gathering for this event. Approaching her seat, she cautiously adjusted the sling holding her one month old son Senju Hiruzen. A few respectful steps behind the hem of her official robes followed Jiraiya with another sling carrying their daughter Senju Kurumi. As she sat down, Tsunade acknowledged the nod of the Godaime Kazekage of the Hidden Sand Village, Sabaku no Gaara and his family.

Three days previously, Gaara had arrived for the long-awaited (and much delayed) wedding of his sister, the Wind Mistress Sabaku no Temari to her longtime beau; Shadow Master Shikamaru Nara. It had been a time of revelry and celebration for the citizens of both villages as the new Treaty of Alliance had been signed and sealed. Tsunade chuckled as she remembered the foolish grin of the young Jounin as one of the fire monks had officiated the ceremony.

Looking down at the gathered applicants Tsunade sighed as she spotted the angry glare of the second heiress to one of Konoha's most prominent clans. She knew that the fourteen year old kunoichi was still steamed at how her cousin had been defeated in the preliminaries of this round. Her network of information gatherers had hinted at the barely restrained rage of the Hyuuga Clan. Feeling the gentle touch of her husband, Konoha's Godaime Hokage glanced at the renowned author and esteemed super-pervert and nodded. It was time for her to make the opening speech. Taking a deep breath and rising to her feet, Tsunade gracefully stepped up to the carefully positioned microphone and started.

"Citizens of Konoha and our honored guests, I, Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato now decree that the third round of this exam be commenced. After a few words from Master Jiraiya of the Sanin, I will turn the control of this grand event over to the designated proctor."

Finished with her short speech, Tsunade stepped back and allowed Jiraiya to step to the microphone and explain his newly created 'Bracketolgy Jutsu'. When he was finished, Tsunade returned to the microphone.

"Jounin Nara Shikamaru, I hereby designate you as the proctor for this portion of these venerated exams. Sir Proctor, the arena is yours."

And with those words, Tsunade returned to her seat and made herself comfortable.

Meanwhile, in The Land of Spring and Snow, Koyuki Kazahana suffered through another indeterminable meeting with her council. Once again, the topic of this meeting was her continued refusal to name a fiancé'

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Koyuki stifled a yawn of boredom as she again listened to the members of her council as they debated the merits of those applicants requesting the hand of their princess in marriage. Over the past several days, the old men and women had complained, argued, cursed, pleaded, and downright begged for her to make her choice. Each time, she had stood by her steadfast refusal to consider any of her potential suitors and had changed the subject to something she actually had an interest in.

And each time the damn council had dug in their heels and returned to the hated subject.

Simply put, she was bloody well sick and tired of all the angry mutterings.

Shifting her subtle gaze to the window so that the elderly blowhard now speaking wouldn't notice that she again wasn't paying him any attention, Koyuki watched as the children of the land played in the gathered snow and clamored for attention from their friends. Life since her forced return had become dull. The vibrant eyes that usually shined with mirth or flashed with anger now showed a pronounced apathy.

"I came back from an enjoyable vacation in my winter chalet for this?? The topic for this meeting is a travesty. Why in the hell did they send me an important recall just because the Daimyo in the Land of Wind had sent his grotesque son to petition to court me again? A petition I have repeatedly turned down for the last few years! Crap, this sucks!! And to top it off, I wasn't able to send any of my Snow Shinobi to Konoha for the Chuunin Exams!! Dammitalltohell and back, I hate this.", the agitated princess mentally griped as she returned her attention to the blowhard in question.

Sighing to herself, Koyuki resigned herself to the rest of the meeting. She knew that at the conclusion of this meeting, her head was going to be hurting. Leaning back in her comfortable chair, Koyuki grinned as she saw that several of the council members were again grumbling about her actions of a few years previous when she'd declared at another marathon meeting about something they thought important (which she had deemed quite irrelevant, inconsequential and had dismissed out of hand) that from that point on; the gaudy chairs they'd bought or inherited were no longer welcome in the council chambers. Koyuki had given them an ultimatum to get rid of those gaudily ugly spectacles of wealth as soon as possible or face her wrath.

Reaching out for her abandoned cup of tea, Koyuki let her hand graze the special three drawer cabinet that sat beside her chair as a subtle reminder to the babbling councilor that if he chose to continue his unwanted ramblings, she was going to demonstrate her displeasure in the strongest and most violent way she deemed possible. Many councilors still winced at the memories they had when the cabinet had first appeared a couple years back. Several councilors had openly questioned the reason of its placement and had been most irritated when the princess refused to answer any questions pertaining to the drab thing.

Those questions were answered a few weeks later when, during a most intense discussion, the princess had become enraged and had yanked open the top drawer, withdrew whatever was secreted within, and sent the object screaming down the table to impact with the face of a dissenting councilor with a shocking splat. It turns out that secreted inside the drawer were several firm snowballs that Koyuki had no qualms about fastballing down the table to quiet those councilors who angered the princess to the extent where she couldn't speak.

Though it didn't deter some of the most persistent of council members in the least, the good thing about the glistening spheres was that the council members had increased their ability to dodge thrown objects exponentially. The men of the council still remembered the time, one of their younger brethren had so angered the princess that instead of reaching for one of the snowballs in the top drawer, she'd grabbed one of the ones from the bottom drawer and side-armed it in his direction. Unfortunately the poor sod found out the hard way that the bottom drawer snowballs were spiked with rocks and ice when he'd had the misfortune to stand at the exact wrong time only to receive the speeding sphere of snow firmly in the groin.

Every lady on the council had stood and given Koyuki a round of applause at the direct hit as their male counterparts had gazed in fear at the man writhing on the ground in pain and had winced in commiseration. Of course the roles were reversed a few weeks later when it was demonstrated that the princess was an equal opportunity hurler and had struck the eldest matriarch on the council in the chest with another spiked snowball when that well-respected lady had had the gall to strongly disagree with Koyuki over yet another minor issue. After the woman had been carried away by a medical team, the council took pains to purchase protection for those vulnerable extremities.

Koyuki never apologized for her actions whenever she tossed one of the projectiles in any direction and the council quickly learned to not bring up certain subjects.

Sometimes the twenty-five year old princess would toss a snowball into the center of the table just for the hell of it to remind her advisors to relax and loosen up a bit. Of course that occasionally degenerated into a lively snowball fight to break up the monotony of the meetings. As expected, there were times when the tables were turned on the princess and she became the recipient of a flung snowball. It seems that the council matriarch often took a perverse glee in the fact that she could still catch the young woman off guard when the time called for it.

Hearing the room go silent, Koyuki tumbled to the fact that the speaker had finished whatever he had to say and the council was awaiting her response. The princess glanced around the room at the faces and expressions directed her way and took a moment to rid herself of the memories. Out of the corner of her eye, Koyuki caught the disappointed expression of Aoikaze Midori as she returned the snowball in her hand to the correct receptacle. The princess chuckled at the motion and gave the elderly woman a nod of acknowledgement. Taking a breath, Koyuki started her reply.

"For the moment, let us put that topic on the backburner for now and discuss the early return of the heralded ferocious, once-in-a century weather. I am concerned that if the temperature continues to drop and the upcoming blizzards increase in their ferocity, the crops will fail and we'll have to dig deep into our reserves to keep our people fed. I am especially worried about the dwellings of the elderly who can't afford the necessary repairs. Also, the children at the orphanages will suffer from the freezing winds. I do not want to lose anyone this winter since it looks like it is going be exceptionally harsh. After this meeting, I plan to talk to the leader of our shinobi to see if we can cut back on accepting missions that will take shinobi away from our country for extended amounts of time. If he concurs, I'm going to authorize him to withdraw a substantial amount of funds to pay the shinobi from the Village Hidden in the Snow for missions to open the shelters, repair the homes of the elderly, start winterizing the orphanages, and set up waystations all over the Land of Snow for those travelers who are too dumb to know about our winters' harshness for their own good. Also, I will see if I can get Lady Tsunade and Lord Gaara to send some medi-nins to assist those of the Hidden Snow assigned to work the waystations and shelters. Are there any objections?", asked Koyuki as she leaned forward in her seat and placed her elbows on the table.

"Koyuki-hime, if our coffers run low, how will we pay those who assist us?", asked a councilor who was a strong proponent of her marrying the Daimyo's son.

"If needed, I will withdraw an amount to be decided by and voted on by the council from the Kazahana Family Accounts to supplement the funds set aside for such a time. Are their any more questions?"

Koyuki studied her council and saw that they were in full agreement and would support her plan to help her people. Nodding to the council, she asked if there was any more business to be discussed. When none were forthcoming-and to forestall another long-winded speech-Koyuki closed the meeting and dismissed the council. Rising from her seat, she made her way towards the nondescript door that led to the foyer of her office. On the way, she was joined by those who represented the shinobi of the Hidden Snow to clear up any confusion and to solidify her plan for implementation. Once that was done, Koyuki entered her private office, dropped into her chair and sighed. Her private plans for the rest of the day were shot to hell. Leaning back in her seat and gazing at the ceiling, the princess-turned actress-turned empress readied herself for the upcoming paperwork.

"There's no rest for the weary in times like these. I guess I'll start with the documents dealing with the weather."

And with that, the Princess of Snow and Spring rolled up the sleeves of her top and settled into what would turn out to be an excruciatingly long day of the drudgery that one of her exalted status had to suffer in order to help the people of her land.

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Back in Konoha, it had come down to the final bout of the exams. As expected by some, Hyuuga Hanabi had advanced to the final. Many spectators had chosen her to be the overall winner of the match and expected that her opponent would be a pushover for the heiress.

Alas, it had not turned out the way many had predicted.

Hanabi glanced at the large screen across from her and tingled with excitement as the last semi-final match concluded. Her opponent turned out to be the one shinobi she had been chafing to fight since the end of the preliminaries. The young man from the Unnamed Hidden Village who had utterly and ruthlessly defeated her teammate Junichi in what had ended up becoming a very bloody match.

"Ah, I've been waiting to face him. Now I can put my plan into action.", growled Hanabi in delight while hefting the shoulder bag that had been her constant companion throughout this round.

Looking around to see if anyone noticed her, Hanabi headed to the kunoichi locker room one level below the observation balcony where the participants had been standing during the event. Once inside the locker room, Hanabi entered one of the stalls at the far end of the area. Closing the door behind her and locking it, the fourteen year-old Hyuuga Kunoichi slipped her bag off of her shoulders and started to disrobe. When she was down to her undergarments, Hanabi took a moment to admire her figure in the full-length mirror. Knowing that she would always be smaller in the bust department than her sister, Hanabi sighed.

"My plan would work much better if mother had bequeathed to me the genes for a generous bust. At least my opponent will be a little bit distracted.", mused the Second Princess of the Hyuuga.

Shaking her head at the cards she'd been dealt and deciding to just flow with it, Hanabi reached into her bag for the first phase of her plan to enact revenge on the genin who'd insulted her Family and harmed her cousin. Smirking at her chosen battle outfit, Hanabi snorted as she reminisced about who she got the idea for the new battle outfit from.

Downstairs in the arena, Hanabi's opponent was bored. Zaiden had lifted an eyebrow when his opponent had been announced but other than that hadn't reacted much. Walking over to one of the walls, the fourteen year-old shinobi had taken a seat in the shade as he awaited his opponent to make her appearance. After five minutes and no opponent, the Jounin proctor had requested guidance from the Hokage. Zaiden had snorted when Lady Saiga's Jounin sensei had told the proctor to wait ten minutes before declaring Zaiden the winner by forfeit.

The young boy had yawned at the declaration and had promptly put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes. Zaiden was seconds away from drifting off when a shocked silence came over the crowd. Correctly guessing that the silence heralded the arrival of his opponent (plus he could feel her footsteps through the ground), Zaiden cracked an eye in acknowledgment. The eye had started to close when the recorded image made it to his mind. Both of Zaiden's eyes snapped open in amazement as he took in the reason for the silence.

His opponent had changed her attire sometime in the past few minutes. And…damn wasn't her new battle outfit interestingly enticing.

Hanabi smirked to herself as she saw her opponent's reaction to her chosen wear. She knew that her choice of attire was scandalizing the close-minded elders from the Hyuuga Clan with the little it left to the imagination.

Up in the stands, as her sister made her way towards the center of the arena, Hinata cast an evil glance in the direction of the blonde kunoichi of her generation. Seeing the surprised look on the face of Yamanaka Ino, Hinata returned her gaze to the center. Whether she won or lost, Hanabi had a lot to answer for about her appearance and chosen attire to her clan head.

Down in the arena, the younger Hyuuga sister stopped in the center of the arena and faced her opponent. Keeping a straight face was hard as Hanabi watched as her opponent tried to keep his attention on her face and fail. During the speech by the newly married Nara, Hanabi could see that Zaiden's eyes kept slipping to her legs.

Zaiden was wondering what was wrong. His attention was wandering as a slight gust of wind rustled his opponent's battle skirt just enough to reveal the short spandex leggings underneath. Lifting his gaze from the pale, yet firm legs, Zaiden noticed the flat expanse of skin between the bottom hem of her sleeved halter top and the top hem of the skirt. As he gazed at his opponent, a part of Zaiden's mind gave a bit of credit to Hanabi for using a camouflage pattern that mimicked the pattern he wore except for the obviously different colors. Where the pattern on his outfits were various differing shades of grey, black, and white, the colors of her pattern were shades of green and white. Letting his eyes roam to his opponent's footwear, Zaiden saw that Hanabi had chosen to mimic the closed toe moccasin style boots of his sensei. The only difference was that hers had no heel.

Bringing his attention back to the proctor as he finished his speech, Zaiden gazed intently at his opponent and tried to divine her thoughts. When the Jounin finished, Zaiden spoke.

"They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. No matter, your choice of attire won't help. I still think that your vaunted clan is still third rate with a fourth rate taijutsu style. I suggest you give up now. At the moment, I would rather not send you to the hospital like I sent your kinswoman."

"Are you going to talk, or are you going to fight?", replied Hanabi as she crossed her arms over her chest and returned his stare.

"Very well then, I guess you're making a statement."

Hanabi nodded in acknowledgment. Looking up to the stands and spotting the gathered members of the Hyuuga, Hanabi glanced around for the members she was looking for. Upon finding those family members she was searching for, Hanabi reached up to the left shoulder with her right hand and grasped a loose piece of fabric. As she tugged the fabric away, it revealed the emblem the teenager had had embroidered there. When more of the emblem was revealed to the world, the crowd gasped.

There, embroidered in stark red silk, was a representation of a seal that the Hyuuga had, with the ascendance of Hinata to head of the clan, been forbidden to use ever again. The dreaded Caged Bird Seal.

Hinata narrowed her eyes as she realized the implication of the mark as it was being used by Hanabi.

"My god, Hanabi chose to use the mark the way it was designed before it was adapted by the Main Family to use as a way to seal away the power of our Kekkei Genkai upon the death of a member of the branch family. Hanabi is using it as a declaration of her intent to kill her opponent for crimes he's committed against the Clan! This is not good.", thought Hinata as she sat up a bit straighter.

Turning her attention from her family to her opponent and settling into that familiar stance, Hanabi waited for the proctor to start the match. Gazing across the short distance to her opponent, the teenager saw that her actions had not been lost on her opponent. She watched as his face expressed a grudging element of respect before settling his ever present headphones over his ears and settled into his own stance.

As he observed the combatants in front of him waiting for his signal to start the match, Shikamaru Nara shivered at an imagined chill in the air. The newly married Jounin could sense the intense feeling of vengeance roiling off of Hanabi. She had something to prove and NOTHING was going to stop her from proving it. Shifting his eyes to the other combatant, Shikamaru could feel the slight peak of interest radiating from the otherwise bored looking shinobi. Hit by a case of nerves, the twenty year-old reached into his vest pocket and pulled out his crumpled pack of cigarettes and extricated one before sticking it in his mouth and sliding the pack back into his pocket. Using his old lighter to put flame to the cancer stick, Shikamaru got ready for the battle that was coming.

Placing his lighter back in his pocket, the exam proctor glanced from Zaiden to Hanabi. Seeing that both were shaking with restrained energy, Shikamaru took his cigarette out of his mouth and examined the lit end and its ashes. Knocking the excess off, he sighed and prepared to start the match.

"Alright you two, you know the rules. Don't be so damn troublesome. Are you ready? Let's get it on!!", stated Shikamaru as he dropped his hand to start the match and jumped way the hell back.

There was a moment of anticipation, then, with an explosion of killer intent, the fight commenced.

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It was a well recorded fact that most shinobi battles were over in seconds. Ninja were in effect; shadow warriors who arrived, completed their mission, then disappeared into the darkness like ghosts; their mission complete. There had been reports that had battles lasting several minutes but they were few and far between. Even in the rounds of the Chuunin Exam where shinobi do battle for extended periods of time, it was rare for a match between two Genin to last more than five minutes. Matches between strategic and tactical geniuses like the one between Sabaku no Temari and her future husband Nara Shikamaru did last slightly longer but that was the exception; not the rule.

The match between Hyuuga Hanabi and Zaiden from the Hidden Unnamed Village had lasted-so far-for an unheard of forty-five minutes.

Zaiden flipped back to avoid the flurry of Goken-enhanced punches and kicks his opponent had switched to using a third of the way through their match. The strikes that had gotten through his stiff defense had struck with a fierce intensity. At the moment, Zaiden knew he had a slightly cracked rib and numerous bruises and contusions. A cut above his left eye had-for awhile-been steadily dripping blood that had obscured his vision until he'd used a basic medical jutsu to stop the bleeding and temporarily seal the cut. Fortunately for him, Zaiden's CD player was untouched and continued to send a steady stream of music into his ears.

When he had retreated to give himself enough space to think, Zaiden had crossed his arms and studied his opponent with a new eye. What he saw was a determined woman, who even though she was wounded, kept fighting to uphold her family's honor. This impressed Zaiden quite a bit and he revised his original estimate of those of Hyuuga lineage upwards a bit.

For her part, Hanabi was slowly but steadily approaching her limit. Her right eye was swollen shut, nose slightly askew, she limped from what she suspected was a slightly broken leg, and her head was pounding so badly that on occasion she was seeing double. Yet through her wounds, and her blood-soaked battle outfit, Hyuuga Hanabi stood proud. Resetting her form into a variation of the Goken-style, Hanabi settled down in preparation for the next attack from her opponent.

When Zaiden had broken through her Kaiten, fought off her Jyuken, and had shook off her Eight Trigrams, Sixty-Four Palms as if it were a light breeze, Hanabi had broken with Hyuuga tradition and switched to the Goken she'd been training in and adapting to her Jyuken. To her welcome surprise, her opponent had missed the switch and Hanabi had made serious contact as demonstrated by an early reluctance on his part for close-in fighting. A few of the more destructive jutsus known by both shinobi had been tossed around with reckless abandon, as was an attempt by Hanabi to ensnare her opponent in a wicked Genjutsu which he'd speedily and effortlessly broken.

The two shinobi studied each other from across the arena as the crowd went silent. Since the start of this match, not one member of the audience had dared to leave their seats for even a second. The gathered Hyuuga had lived up to their image and several were observing the match with their Byakugan active. Even the clan head had activated the vaunted Kekkei Genkai of the venerated Clan for a moment.

This match was just that damn good!!!!!!

Down in the arena, Hanabi cocked her head to the side as a memory from earlier in the match sped through her mind. Stopping and replaying it several times, the student of Konoha's Golden Whirlwind realized something about her opponent.

"So THAT's how he adapts to his opponent whenever they change things on him during a battle. He studies his enemy and changes his music. When he fought Chitose, I saw it. I observed it again in his matches in the final round. Even against my teammate, this bastard changed his music, and quickly adapted to Junichi when he switched to Naruto-sensei's taijutsu style. Is that his weakness? If so how can I exploit it?", thought Hanabi as she stoically observed the teenager across from her and ignored her various injuries. It was a bitch to think with her slightly fractured leg.

Coming to a decision, Hanabi took a deep breath and rapidly formed several hand signs in succession. Across the way, Zaiden had only seconds to react.

It was too late.

His opponent disappeared for half a second. When she reappeared and attacked, Zaiden was caught off guard and turned to avoid the shin screaming his way. As he turned, Zaiden left his side open.

Hanabi pounced on the rare opening and rapidly changed the direction of her leg. Instead of going for the intended sweep of her opponents legs, Hanabi shifted her weight and altered her attack in the direction of her intended target: the CD player on her opponent's side. The results were expected.

Zaiden was knocked back several feet by the force of the kick and crashed into the unforgiving wall of the arena. His CD player shattered into a million pieces. Rising to his-somewhat wobbly-feet, the shinobi from Hidden Jungle looked at the remains of his player. Seeing the result of the attack, Zaiden stiffened and turned an emotionless gaze to his opponent. Spotting the burgeoning smirk of satisfaction on her face and noticing that Hanabi had unconsciously slipped back into the familiar Hyuuga Jyuken style, Zaiden growled in anger.

Within his mind, Zaiden's two guests mentally discussed this new turn of events with their host. The three came to a consensus and Zaiden returned his gaze to the female across from him. Taking a deep breath and making a hand sign recognized by everyone in the stadium, Zaiden used a familiar jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!",

Instantly the crowd grew ugly. Where did this upstart learn this technique? A wholly Konoha technique, it was unbelievable that a ninja from the Unnamed Hidden Village would know such a thing.

Up in the stands, Naruto Uzumaki grew extremely concerned for his student. More than anybody presently gathered in the stadium, he knew how much damage a pair of shadow clones could inflict upon a Hyuuga. Opening his mouth to call for his student to forfeit, Naruto was halted by the voice of one of his fellow Jounin.

"Naruto, don't. Hanabi knows what to do if she ever ran into another Shadow Clone adept like yourself. Ever since you defeated me with that same technique, she's been training to counter it. When she found out you were going to be her sensei, Hanabi was ecstatic. She could finally study the Kage Bunshin up close. Leave her be, don't ruin her moment. She's declared vengeance and so she shall have it.", stated the head of the Hyuuga Brach Family, Neji.

Grunting to himself in exasperation, Naruto dropped his chin to his chest and kept his quiet.

Down in the arena, Zaiden turned to one of his clones. Opening the bag the clone carried and glancing inside, Zaiden reached in and pulled out what had caught his interest. Turning to his opponent, the shinobi held the object aloft. In the stands, Zaiden's twin older sisters groaned in exasperation.

"So that's where that went! The little snot had it the entire time! Elder sister Nefari's gonna be pissed!", exclaimed twenty-one year old Isis as she leaned back in her chair; her formfitting attire stretching to adapt to the her new position.

"Yeah, she's had to postpone her wedding for several months due to the fact that that heirloom was missing.", replied her thirty seconds younger twin sister Nahira.

Isis glanced at her sister and sighed. With her baby brother wielding the heirloom, he'd completed the secondary-family-ordered -objective of his mission.

Zaiden had no idea that his sisters were talking about him in the stands. He was busy stating his intentions to Hanabi.

"By the end of this match, I will have slipped my families' heirloom on to your leg. Be proud Hyuuga, you've impressed me enough to actually start taking this match a bit more seriously. Let it be known that I've revised my estimation of your clan and their taijutsu. From a third rate clan with a fourth rate style, your clan has moved up on my list to a second rate clan with a third rate style. Now prepare yourself Hanabi of the Hyuuga, I will demonstrate to you and your clan, the true Jyuken.", stated Zaiden.

Hanabi snorted in annoyance. Her opponent was starting to bore her with his grandiose speeches about her family not using the so-called true Jyuken. There was only one style of Gentle Fist and Hanabi was quite an adept at it.

Yet in the back of her mind, Hanabi thought of what she had overheard from one of the clan elders observing Hinata as she'd practiced her style of Jyuken. Bringing her mind back to the present, Hanabi glared at the lacy object in her opponent's hand. She'd recognized it the minute he'd pulled it out and mentally vowed that such a thing would never encircle her legs. Of course, Hanabi wasn't expecting what her opponent did next.

But then again, neither were more than half of the women in the audience.

Zaiden handed the object to one of his clones before turning back to face his opponent. Smirking a bit at the response he knew he was going to get, Zaiden grasped his pants and yanked forward. There was the sound of something ripping then, much to the surprise of the crowd; the Hyuuga's opponent was holding his pants in his hands. Several sets of eyes followed the fabric as he dropped it to the floor of the arena.

Zaiden heard the gasp of the crowd and smirked again. He wasn't done yet. Not by a long shot! Keeping his gaze on his opponent (who was trying to restrain the burgeoning blush on her cheeks), Zaiden reached up to his left shoulder with his right hand and took a firm grip on the fabric of his shirt. Imitating Hanabi's actions from earlier, Zaiden gave the fabric a quick yank. And the crowd went silent.

Suddenly, from the stands, a young and feminine voice rang out.

"DIBS!!!!!!!"

Hanabi groaned in exasperation as she heard the voice of one of her kunoichi classmates. If she wasn't mistaken, that was the voice of one of the Aburame Clan kunoichi's of her age group (somewhere within the Five Great Shinobi Nations, a twenty-year old masked clansman to the vocal kunoichi sneezed).

Hanabi couldn't blame her classmate though; she was seeing the same thing and mentally griping that she hadn't been a bit quicker to stake her claim on the vision of shinobi perfection in front of her. When her opponent had stripped off his pants, Hanabi had been treated to a glimpse of a pair of firm light chocolate legs that bespoke of strength and agility before they were covered by a loose pair of stark white pants that billowed in the wind and were topped by a .loosely tied sash at the waist. However, that sight wasn't what had caused the unfamiliar feeling of want that suffused Hanabi. The sight of a firm brown chest dusted with a smattering of brown hair and a developing six-pack abdomen only covered by a pristine white tank-top did.

Up in the stands, Hatake Anko gave a long and loud wolf whistle that caused her to receive a matching pair of glares directed her way from both her husband and her mother-in-law. There was a sudden flurry of motion as several women fainted and had to be hurriedly revived by the medical personnel there although some of them were having trouble keeping their eyes off of the young man in the center of the ring. Even on the Hokage's balcony, Tsunade was having a hard time of her own breathing as she compared the strong chest of her husband to the chest of the still developing young man below.

"If Hanabi doesn't claim him for her own by the end of his time here in Konoha, I'm assigning her, her teammates, and her sensei to the most brutal of D and E ranked missions for at least two years. Damn, once that boy is of age, he's gonna be a heartbreaker par excellence!", thought Tsunade as she ignored the sudden flicker of anger from Jiraiya.

Back down in the arena, Zaiden had retaken the object being held by his clones and mentally bid them to stand back. They did so as he performed a few stretches and exercises to loosen up a bit more.

"Ah, now I'm not restricted in my movements anymore. What say you Hanabi of the Hyuuga; shall we continue this dance macabre?"

"I'm still game if you are. I do have to tell you that you are not placing that garter on me no matter how hard you try."

"We'll see. By the way, I just have one more question; have you ever been kissed before?"

Hanabi started a moment as her mind processed the question. In that second, Zaiden attacked. Hanabi defended using the Gentle Fist but it was to no avail. The movements of her opponent were too hard to track even with her Byakugan activated. The boy looked as if he were dancing to music only he could hear. Her mind realized that in his motions there were strong hints of the vaunted Jyuken yet they were unlike any Hanabi had seen. Her opponent's movements flowed this way and that, fluidly, sensuously, pristine, emotionally. In Hanabi's mind, her feelings were a commingling of three separate and disparate elements.

One part of her was angry at this degrading of her heritage. Another part of her was in awe at how somebody from another village could perform those familiar motions so fluidly and effortlessly. A third part of her subconsciousness was observing his movements with an analytical eye as she compared this lost version of the Jyuken to what she'd been training in since she was three years old. The last part of Hanabi's mind was focused solely on her opponent and how he was touching something deep within her. Something she'd never realized was there.

As her mind wandered and tried to categorize the information being processed by the fourth part of her mind, Hanabi's body defended. Blocking strikes she could recognize, diverting those she didn't, and striking back when her body saw an opening. All of a sudden, the flurry of movement came to a stop and Hanabi found herself falling to the ground. Before she hit, she felt herself caught by a pair of strong arms. It took a second for all the information her mind had gathered to coalesce into something but when it did, Hanabi found herself unable to move as she felt the chillingly gentle caress of a kunai across her throat.

"Do you yield Hanabi of the Hyuuga?", came a whispered voice from behind that resonated in her ear and sent tingles down her spine.

As the words reformed themselves in her brain, Hanabi suddenly became very aware that she was being held against a firm chest by the arm around her waist. In the background, the teenager could hear the yells and protests of the members of her family (her sister's most strident among them). Trying to figure a way out of this embrace, Hanabi eyes whipped around as she sought an opening, any opening, to turn this hold against her opponent. Before she could take action, she felt the blade press firmly, almost threateningly against her jugular vein and knew that any motion by her head would cause her to slit her own throat.

Realizing that there was no way out without risking death, Hanabi let her shoulders slump in defeat.

"Proctor, I…I…I… I yield.", muttered Hanabi in a low voice heavy with disappointment.

Shikamaru Nara heard the proclamation from one of the best of the new generation and his heart fell. He'd been pulling for the Konoha kunoichi from the start of the final round. Shaking his head in despair, Shikamaru turned to the Hokage's box and officially ended the match.

"Lady Hokage, Lord Kazekage, and our distinguished guests; Hyuuga Hanabi has yielded to her opponent. Thus the winner of the final round of these Chuunin Exams is Zaiden from the Hidden Unnamed Village. Zaiden may I be the first to congratulate you on your victory. You fought well. Hyuuga Hanabi, though you are not the victor, I offer my congratulations to you for making it to this round. As proctor of this exam, I now declare this Chuunin Exam to be complete. Will all participants in this round make their way to the arena floor for closing ceremonies and a word from Lady Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure."

And with those words, Shikamaru departed the arena. Oblivious to the departure of the Jounin, Hanabi felt the kunai move away from her throat and dropped to her knees. She'd failed to avenge her cousin. She'd failed to uphold the pride of both the Main and Branch Families of the Hyuuga Clan. Tears she refused to let fall filled her eyes until everything in sight was distorted.

Zaiden saw how hurt his opponent was and heard the sniffles she was attempting to smother. Shaking his head at her attempt to uphold her own personal pride, he made his way over to the girl, no young woman, who'd changed his opinion of the Hyuuga Clan and extended his hand. In her rapidly deteriorating peripheral vision, Hanabi saw the hand and lifted her head up to see who was offering. Seeing that it was the man who'd defeated her, her first thought was to ignore it. Banishing that thought, Hanabi accepted the proffered hand and allowed Zaiden to pull her to her feet.

"You fought well Hanabi of the Hyuuga. Your actions proved to me that the nobility of the Hyuuga Clan is not an act. They are indeed an honorable and treasured clan. You've shown me that. From this point on, I consider the Hyuuga to be a first rate clan with unbreakable bonds of loyalty to each other and a first rate style. One day in the future maybe we'll be able to spar with each other as friends.", stated Zaiden in a firm voice.

Hanabi nodded in acknowledgment at the kind words though she wasn't actually hearing them. Still grasping his hand, she could feel the honesty and truth in his words they were spoken and something within her responded and she mentally looked forward to that day when she and he could spar without the pressures of the exam. Gazing at her former opponent as he turned to face the approaching medical ninja coming to check on their wounds, Hanabi was taken aback when Zaiden turn to face the stands where her clan had gathered, went to one knee, and bowed.

Up in the stands, the Hyuuga were in shock and didn't know what to do about the sudden action. Those gathered all looked at their clan head for what direction to take. Sitting back in her seat and wondering what to do herself, Hinata was surprised when her cousin subtly elbowed her and told her to acknowledge the honor Hanabi's opponent was giving their clan. It took the nineteen year old a second to realize what TenTen was saying but when she did; Hinata rose to her feet and acknowledged the honor with a nod of her head and the graceful smile she was known throughout the world for.

Tsunade observed the interaction being played out between the shinobi from the Hidden Jungle Village and the Hyuuga Clan and grinned. Turning to Nara Yoshino, Tsunade asked that the glass at the front of her box be lowered so that she could give her closing speech to the participants without the interference of the protective glass. Yoshino frowned her disapproval but nodded and stated that she would have it done immediately. Tsunade nodded and leaned back in her seat while letting her hand drape over the arm of her seat to caress her sleeping children as they lay in the specially designed beds placed beside her seat.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

About thirty minutes later, after the final two contestants had been given examinations by the Konoha Medical Corps ninja assigned to the exam and had their minor injuries healed with medical jutsus, all of the participants in the final round had gathered in the arena and were facing the Hokage and the Kazekage as the former gave her speech closing the exam. Hanabi listened as it was explained that it didn't matter whether they won or lost but their actions were going to be taken into consideration before final judgment was made and promotions given.

The medicine she'd been given to accelerate her healing was starting to make Hanabi sleepy and she was almost wishing that Lady Tsunade would hurry up so she could go home and sleep. Shifting her gaze down the line at Zaiden, she saw that he was impatient about something and that peaked her interest. Wondering what he was impatient about, Hanabi was jostled by an elbow from one of the other Konoha Genin to make it this far in the exam.

Hanabi was about to respond to the rude interruption when out of the corner of her eye, she saw Zaiden step forward and gaze intently at the Hokage.

From his position in front of the genin, Shikamaru hadn't seen the movement from Zaiden and was a bit confused when Tsunade gazed past him at the one shinobi who dared interrupt her words.

"Lady Tsunade, Honorable Hokage of Konoha. I, Zaiden from the Hidden Jungle Village do ask permission to make two requests."

Tsunade eyes narrowed at the child who interrupted her. Usually, she would have ignored him and kept on going with her speech but something in his voice caught her attention and she wondered what the brat could want. Leaning forward and pinning the bother with an expressionless face, Tsunade gave permission for the young man to make his requests.

"My lady, my first request is; I would like my opponent from the preliminary rounds of this exam to be considered for promotion to the rank of Chuunin. Though I did defeat her to advance to this round, I acknowledge her skill and believe that Hyuuga Chitose should become a Chuunin. If she is not, I will recommend to the leader of my village that we of the Hidden Jungle Village offer her the honor of being recognized as a Chuunin in our bingo book."

There was uproar among the Hyuuga at the surprise offer. Tsunade nodded as Hinata quelled the noise with a single look. Crossing her arms and assuming a thoughtful pose, Tsunade told the young genin that she'd consider his first request.

"Zaiden of the Hidden Jungle, what is your second request?", asked Tsunade.

"My second request is simple, milady. I request, no, I demand a match with Konoha's Golden Whirlwind Uzumaki Naruto."

Tsunade glared at the bold teenager as the stadium echoed to the voices of the crowd. Raising a hand to quiet the noise from those gathered, Tsunade was about to deny that request when Zaiden turned towards the Jounin in question and spoke.

"Uzumaki Naruto, Golden Whirlwind of Konoha. I have with me, a message from the Land of Spring and Snow. I challenge you to a no holds barred full contact battle. If you do not accept, I will consider you a coward and will destroy this message. If you accept, you will have to prove to me that you are worthy of receiving this message. So Uzumaki, are you a coward or will you fight?"

Of course, Naruto wasn't one to take a challenge and the accusation of cowardice lightly. Before anyone could stop him, the nineteen year old aficionado of all things orange and rameny, had jumped into the arena with a pronounced glare of exponential intensity and stalked towards the one who dared challenge him.

"Give me that message!", said Naruto in a cold voice as he stopped right in front of Zaiden.

"No. I will not. You have yet to show me why you deserve this message.", replied Zaiden

"Give it to me now or I will kill you where you stand!", ordered Naruto with a glare on his face.

"Once again, I say no. You say you will kill me where I stand. The two remaining Uchiha tried to kill me a little over a month ago. And I sent them both home with severe wounds. When I finished with them both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke were near death. By now both of them may be dead. If they are I don't care. The Hyuuga should've eliminated the Uchiha when they broke away from the clan and developed the Sharingan several years before the formation of this village.", retorted Zaiden.

The crowd went silent and Tsunade felt her anger start to boil. It took all of her mental ability to not just jump down to the floor of the arena and pound both of the brats into the ground. Well, that and the gentle hand of Jiraiya as he subtly restrained her with his hand on her arm.

Naruto went stock still as he heard the words of the vanquisher of all three of his students. His mind boggled as it tried to wrestle with the implications of what he'd been told. In a flash that was reminiscent of his impulsive early days, Naruto accepted the challenge with a snarl.

"Not here. We will fight somewhere away from the village so we use every last bit of our power and not harm the innocent.", stated Zaiden calmly.

"Wait A Goddammed Minute Here!!! ", roared Tsunade only to be cut off as the teenager addressed the Kazekage directly.

"Lord Kazekage, Gaara of the Sand. I humbly request that you be the referee for the match between Lord Uzumaki and Myself.", continued Zaiden.

Gaara pondered the request from his seat with his arms crossed over his chest. He knew he was caught between a rock and a hard place. If he agreed then the Hokage would be quite furious with him and Matsuri would probably consign him to the couch for the foreseeable future. If he declined, that would open him up to accusations of weakness and cowardice. However, there was something about the way the teenager had worded his request that peaked Gaara's interest in the young man further. There was something about this kid that worried him. Yet there was something familiar also. Closing his eyes and giving the impression that he was thinking about his response, Gaara tried to remember the last time he was this worried. In a flash, it came to him.

Gaara's eyes snapped open as he realized why Zaiden worried him. In the same instant, he knew the reason why this genin had requested his presence as referee of the match between him and Naruto. Sighing to himself, Gaara rose to his feet.

"Zaiden of the Hidden Jungle, I accept your request to serve as referee for the match between you and Uzumaki Naruto for the same reason you made your request. I will make one rule that it's inviolate for either of you right now. Under no circumstances will either of you kill the other. Once I declare the match as complete. The. Match. Is. Over! Do I make myself clear.", stated Gaara in his quiet yet firm voice.

Both Shinobi acknowledged the stipulation. Naruto turned to his opponent and told him to follow. When the younger man nodded, Naruto disappeared in the signature flash of light that had given him his nickname. Zaiden followed a second later by disappearing in a crash of a sonic boom. Gaara watched for a second before turning to his counterpart and asking with his eyes if he could speak with her privately. Ignoring the look of anger on Tsunade's face and doing the same with the angry intent leaking from his wife behind him, Gaara made his way to the sealed room off the balcony where he and Tsunade could speak without any interruptions and without anyone knowing what he was talking about. Tsunade followed after sharing a look with Jiraiya. Jiraiya nodded and grinned that familiar grin that never failed to get his wife's libido revved up.

As Tsunade left, Jiraiya turned back to the quiet stadium and stated that he'd create a variation to his Bracketolgy Jutsu especially for the match between Naruto and the Genin from Hidden Jungle. Minutes later, there was a streak of sand as the Kazekage made his way to the location his friend had chosen for this battle. Gaara shuddered as he recognized the direction he was heading in.

"Of course, he would choose here. In addition to its sentimental value, this is only place where two shinobi with such high power levels can fight all out.", thought Gaara as he approached his destination.

Seeing the two statues that were the landmarks of this place, Gaara looked around. Zaiden was standing on the head of one statue, while Naruto was standing on the head of the other. Nodding to himself as he took his position at the top of the waterfall, using chakra to keep him from sinking, Gaara crossed his arms.

"Naruto of the Hidden Leaf, Zaiden of the Hidden Jungle. I, Gaara, the Godaime Kazekage of the Hidden Sand will referee this match. My stipulations are still in effect. Zaiden are you ready?"

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

"Naruto, are you ready?"

"I am, Lord Gaara."

Gaara nodded at the acknowledgements from both shinobi. Resettling his arms across his chest, he looked around at the location. Though this was his first time here, he'd heard the legends of the area, and felt the remnants of the chakra of the several ninja who'd fought here. Gaara even knew the name of the area and it shook him to his core.

The Valley of the End.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

As she watched her opponent and her sensei vanish into the distance, Hanabi felt something around her leg. Glancing down at the offending object, she cursed as she recognized the thing Zaiden was holding up earlier.

"How in the hell did he manage to get that damn garter on my leg? I didn't even feel it when he did. Crap!", grumble-screeched Hanabi.

Snapping her mouth closed and crossing her arms over her chest, Hanabi griped that her opponent had managed to do what he'd said he was going to do. Musing about how she was going to repay him for his actions, she didn't realize that her lips were swollen. Until her teammate mentioned it to her in the most roundabout way.

"Hanabi, why are your lips swollen?", questioned Junichi with a sense of trepidation.

"What? What do you mean my lips are swollen?", snapped Hanabi as she opened her eyes and focused her angry look on the squirming boy.

Now Junichi wasn't naïve when it came to girls and women. With two Hyuuga kunoichi on his team, he considered himself a bit more knowledgeable about young Hyuuga women than most boys his age. He suspected or knew their moods and how they would react to different things. Unfortunately for Junichi, he had a feeling that he knew what Hanabi's reaction to what he was about to say would be. Deciding that if her reaction played out like he expected, at least he was going to be in the hospital beside the one he loved.

"Ahhh, Hanabi, what I mean is, umm, aahh, your lips look like they've been thoroughly kissed."

At that exact moment, Hanabi remembered Zaiden's last question before the end of their bout. As she did, the faint recollection of a slight caressing pressure on her lips just before the boom of noise that heralded the departure of her former opponent came to her.

"Did he…did he do what I think he did??", mused Hanabi with a thoughtful look on her face.

Junichi watched in fear as his teammate's hand slowly came up to her mouth and touched her lips. His fear changed to confusion with a soft smile flitted across Hanabi's face. The confusion changed to worry as a blush reminiscent of another Hyuuga kunoichi from a few years past sped across Hanabi's. With the redness, came realization and Junichi had to be as quick as he could when Hanabi's eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she collapsed in what would be recognized as the other, secondary Kekkei Genkai of the Hyuuga: The Hyuuga-in-love faint (made popular by one Hinata Hyuuga).

"Aww dammit, don't tell me he just gave Hanabi her first kiss and she's starting to like this guy!", growled Junichi as the deadweight of a passed out Hyuuga kunoichi tugged at his freshly healed arm where he'd caught Hanabi to keep her from hitting her head.

It had been forty-five days since the end of the Chuunin Exam and Lady Tsunade was nearly overwhelmed with work.

As she reclined in the her private bathtub in the Hokage's Mansion, Tsunade gazed out at the starry night sky while the warm blueberry-scented water did it's job and eased the pains in her tired muscles. Wafting in from the kitchen was the scent of a wonderful dinner being cooked by Jiraiya as their children slept the night away in their cribs.

It had been a trying time after the fight between Naruto and Zaiden. The match had lasted for an hour until Gaara had sent up a flare requesting the immediate dispatch of several medical teams. Not caring about how it looked, Tsunade had jumped out of her box at the arena and had shunshined in the direction of the flare. When she'd arrived, the first thing she saw was the pale face of the shaking Kazekage. She couldn't get any coherent words out of his mouth and turned her attention to the two forms lying on the ground. Tsunade' first reaction had been one of horror.

There was just so much blood that she could feel her phobia returning with a vengeance. Forgoing the usual procedures, Tsunade had asked the first responding medi-nins to take both combatants and shunshin to the emergency branch of the general hospital for immediate surgery. Ultimately, both shinobi had remained in the hospital unconscious for a full week and a half.

A week after Naruto and his opponent had woken up; Tsunade received a not so happy message from Princess Koyuki demanding to know the status of her former guardian Uzumaki. At first Tsunade wondered how Koyuki had found out about it until she remembered that after leaving Konoha, Gaara had to stop in Spring for a short meeting with the princess about her policy of refusing to give the Daimyo of Wind Country a positive answer to his proposal.

Once Tsunade had exhausted her rage, she'd composed an incendiary message to be sent to the Kazekage but refrained from doing so when her husband had written up a report coalescing a lot of information from his many spies forewarning of a possible move by the Daimyo of the Land of Wind to declare war on the Land of Snow if certain conditions weren't met.

"Empress Koyuki ain't gonna marry his son no matter how many gifts and baubles he sends her. She's turned down his request several times already, what makes the spoiled brat think that Koyuki's ever going to change her mind. Hell, with her families' fortune and her earnings from her movies, Koyuki-hime could buy and sell the Land of Wind many times over without even breaking the bank. After myself, Hinata and Hanabi, and Temari; Koyuki is one of the wealthiest women in the world.", mused Tsunade as the warm scented and herbally treated water soothed her jangled nerves and melted her tensions away.

Letting her musings fade away on the gentle breeze, Tsunade closed her eyes and relaxed as she waited for her husband to let her know when the light repast he was preparing would be ready.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It was late night in the village of Konohagakure no Sato and the majority of the villagers were either asleep or headed that way.

Over in the shinobi areas like the Hokage's tower, the academy, ANBU Black Ops Headquarters, and Training Ground 44, the third shift of shinobi security specialists were performing their rounds and investigating the dark areas of the village for either a crime or a hostile act against the village. At the former home of the Yondaime Hokage, his son Naruto looked out one of the windows facing the street. Naruto was waiting for the right time to make his departure from the village to start his quest to find Princess Koyuki and once again return her to her rightful home.

In the month or so he'd been out of the hospital after his brutal match with Zaiden of Hidden Jungle, Naruto had read and reread the scroll he presently held in his hands hundreds of times trying to glean a clue from Koyuki's words about her reason to once again pull her infamous disappearing act from Yuki no Kuni. In addition to his reading, Naruto had created and henged several shadow clones and had sent them out to start gathering the supplies he knew he would need for his trip as well as learn every little bit of intelligence he could find about the Land of Snow. After gathering enough supplies and learning additional information about his destination, Naruto started checking the calendar for the perfect night to leave. Tonight was that night.

"Are you completely packed or do you think that you might miss something?", asked his shadowy guest.

"If I don't have it, it isn't important. I'll deal with it when it becomes important.", replied Naruto as he turned to face his guest.

A fading moonlight glinted off of the blades of the pair of machetes the other man carried as his chosen edged weapons. Naruto didn't even blink. The two had a deeper understanding of each other now. Checking his watch before returning his gaze to the empty streets outside, Naruto quirked an eyebrow as he noticed the time and looked at the younger man and commented about his presence.

"Hmm, I thought you'd still be over at the Hyuuga compound receiving the third degree about the style of Jyuken you know. What happened?"

"I got lucky; my eldest sister crashed the conclave and informed me of the goings on of my village in our war against an enemy from the far side of the world. The head of our village has assigned me as a member of one of our infiltration teams. I have to return home immediately so that I can join my team and head out on assignment. Hanabi wasn't happy about it. Ever since the exam, she's been trying to keep me out of the clutches of her fellow kunoichi. Especially Aburame Sayuri; Hanabi-san and Sayuri-san have gotten into a series of fights for my varied affections. I don't know why they're fighting over me like this, I already had to deal with an extremely pissed off elder sister for causing her to postpone her own wedding for so long because I had the family heirloom. I have to leave tonight to keep Sayuri and Hanabi from hurting each other.", commented Zaiden as he examined one of his machetes with a critical eye.

Naruto smothered a laugh. To him, Shino's cousin Sayuri Aburame and his own newly-promoted Tokubetsu Chunin Hanabi Hyuuga were carrying on a similar rivalry as Sakura and Ino. Naruto mentioned as much to Zaiden before grabbing his mission backpack and slipping it over his shoulders and Jounin vest. Turning to the younger shinobi, Naruto saw that he had his own mission bag already situated on his shoulders. Naruto noticed that instead of wearing his bag over his shoulders, Zaiden had secured it to the Chuunin vest he now wore. Extending his hand to the younger ninja, Naruto thanked him for giving him Koyuki's letter and teaching him the two new jutsu's he'd used in their fight.

"Think nothing of it, when my village created the Dome of Protection jutsu, they saw numerous future uses for it. My elder sister Nefari made a copy of the scroll for the Hokage to see if Lady Tsunade can find a way to adapt it for use by medical-nins in the field. The other jutsu is for you-and you alone-to use. If my village hadn't been caught up in this war, the village elders would've made sure that the others like us got their hands on it to add to their arsenal. Unfortunately, we were caught up in a war and Akatsuki went after you and the other containers before we could send out our own ninjas. But remember, the Bijuu manifestation jutsu is one you can't perform on a whim. You have to actually go inside your own mind and fight your bijuu for control. Once your mental battle is finished, then-and only then-will you be able to call upon the link between you to enhance and increase your strength. However, that jutsu demands a high price. If you are willing to pay that price, for a short period of time you will have access to the power of all nine of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's tails.", commented Zaiden in a serious tone of voice.

Naruto nodded as he watched as Zaiden resettled his twin machetes into the stiff canvas sheathes strapped to his thighs. Glancing out the window, the older teenager saw Zaiden's three elder sisters as they stood around waiting for their brother to finish his conversation so the four of them could head out. Turning back to where Zaiden was, Naruto saw that in his second of contemplation the younger ninja had opened the opposite window and jumped out. Bringing his attention back to the window he was in front of, Naruto now saw the group of four as they headed towards the gate that would put them on the path to their village. Resettling his own bag on his shoulders to a more comfortable position, Naruto headed downstairs.

He had an empress to find.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Outside the gates of Konoha, the four shinobi of Hidden Jungle conversed among themselves as they jumped through the trees. The eldest, Nefari, cast a sidelong glance at her brother.

"So, you gave him the message and the scroll for the 'Dome of Protection Jutsu'? Did you give him the other scroll you had?", asked the twenty-seven year old Jounin.

"No, I didn't. He's not ready for it yet. Though Uzumaki is strong; right now the Demon Artic Fox Clan elders believe, and their desert counterparts concur, he's still not strong enough to sign the scroll containing the contract to allow him to summon any of Kyuubi's clansmen and clansvixens. Plus, I don't believe the world at present is ready for the sudden appearance of kitsune bijuus more powerful than Kyuubi. Each of the elders of Kyuubi's clan have nine tails, however, the power in just one of their tails is more than triple that of the power in one of Kyuubi's tails. So, for now, it is better if the son of Konoha's Yellow Flash and Whirlpool's Crimson Cyclone doesn't find out about the other jutsu.", replied Zaiden.

Nefari thought for a moment before nodding in agreement. Though Zaiden was young, he knew instinctively when to talk about certain things and when not to talk about them. Shaking her head and dropping the subject, Nefari listened to the nighttime sounds of the forest. They soothed her as well as kept her alert and aware.

Soon, the minute noise of the four shinobi disappeared as they continued on their journey.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

In another part of the village, Naruto approached the gate opposite the one Zaiden and his sisters had left through. This gate wasn't as busy as the main gate and attention of the bored low-level Chuunin guard was easily diverted by a shinobi magazine left by the previous shift. The Chuunin's partner was nowhere in sight and Naruto took that to mean that he was 'otherwise occupied'.

A quick use of the substitution jutsu and Naruto switched places with one of the clones he'd created earlier with the express intent to get outside the gates of Konoha and wait for Naruto to arrive. Now outside the gates of his home village and on his way, Naruto took to the trees and started his journey.

When he was several miles away and sure that his departure hadn't been noticed, Naruto took a break and jumped down from his tree highway and went about clearing a small space for him to eat, take inventory of his pack, and rest for a bit. He knew that he had a long journey ahead and not all of it would be using shinobi techniques.

Naruto was midway through his inventory when he felt a familiar chakra signature approaching. Taking a moment to grumble his displeasure, Naruto stood up and faced the direction of the approaching shinobi. When the person was within ten meters of his position, Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and commented.

"Good Evening, Shino."

There was a subtle buzzing noise then the familiar sound of a shinobi landing on the ground after traveling through the trees. In the dim glow from his small ramen preparation fire, Naruto saw the familiar hooded jacket and dark shades of Shino Aburame; one of the Genin Twelve, Rookie Nine, ANBU tracking specialist, and heir to the Aburame Clan of bug users.

The twenty year old tracker gazed at his friend from the academy through the eyeholes of his ANBU mask. From his kikai and his own observational skills, Shino saw that Naruto was setting out on some sort of journey like his sensei Jiraiya of the Sannin.

"That is odd. There was no mention of any upcoming missions needing Uzumaki's expertise on the ANBU mission boards when I left on this mission three weeks ago. In fact, due to the injuries he'd sustained during his fight with that Genin from the Hidden Unnamed Village, Tsunade-sama had specifically ordered him to take it easy and had taken him off of all ANBU missions. What is going on here.", ran the thoughts through Shino's logical mind.

"Uzumaki.", answered Shino quietly as he slipped his mask off and put his hands in his pockets.

Naruto waited to see if his friend was going to say anything else. When it became apparent that Shino was going to be his usual quiet self, Naruto sighed and went back to inventorying his pack. Finishing that, Naruto turned back around to face his friend. The ANBU operative was still standing in his place waiting for an explanation for why he was out of the village when he wasn't scheduled for any missions and was supposed to be on a Hokage ordered stand down.

"Well Shino, I have to be going. I have places to go, things to do, and people to see.", chirruped Naruto as he shrugged his pack back on to his shoulders and cinched the straps down tight so that it wouldn't shift and make noise as he traveled.

"Naruto, what are you doing outside of the village? If I remember correctly, you are supposed to be at home on a medical stand down. Do I need to send one of my clones to Lady Hokage's residence to find out if you have been put back on active status and are on a mission? You know how Lady Hokage dislikes to be disturbed at home this late at night.", Shino commented idly as he continued to observe his friend.

Naruto whirled around to face Shino with a displeased expression on his face. Unfortunately for him, Shino was not intimidated in the least and just crossed his arms over his chest while listening to his kikai as they nervously moved in and out of his body.

"Damn, this is not good. Unlike some of the others, Shino is not intimidated by anything I do. If I give him the chance, he's going to stand there until he gets an explanation. I can't lie to him because those damn kikai of his would know in an instant and before I know it, Shino would be on his way to baa-chan's place. Crap, crap, crap, crap...", fumed our protagonist as he tried to come up with a plan to get him out of this predicament.

In the back of his mind, something flickered at the edge of Naruto's consciousness. Something that he'd heard in passing while hanging out with the rest of the Konoha Party Boy Posse. The four of them had been at the private pub Jiraiya had had built in the basement of a nondescript building near ANBU Headquarters. There had been several male shinobi hanging out in the place that night. Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba had all returned from their separate missions quite late and wanted to quaff a few beers and some sake after turning in their mission reports and just wanting to fellowship for a bit before calling it a night.

Of course, after three beers and a bottle of sake, Shika and Chouji were pretty much out of it while Kiba was slowly approaching his limits. For his part Naruto was still sober. The quartet had been about to leave when Shino had entered the joint and pulled up a stool at the bar next to his teammate from his Genin days and ordered a magnum bottle of fermented juice and a cold glass.

Naruto remembered the night pretty well because it was the first time he'd ever seen Shino partake of something remotely intoxicating. Shino had filled his cup and downed quickly before almost slamming the glass on the bar and refilling it. Kiba had looked at Naruto with a worried look before turning to his old teammate to ask if something was wrong. It had taken three bottles and several tries before Shino was convinced to reluctantly divulge what had brought on his actions.

It turns out that Shino was frustrated because his clan was subtly pressuring him to find a romantic match.

&&&&&&&&&&&

While Naruto was trying to figure out how to use the freshly remembered information about Shino to his advantage, the princess he had set out to find was busy with some routine paperwork before allowing her council to be recessed for the winter.

Sitting in her chair and gazing at the rapidly falling snow, Princess Koyuki sighed in resignation. With the weather getting worse day by day (and sometimes hour by hour), there was a controlled yet subtle panic filtering through the members of her council. During the meeting two hours previous, Koyuki had sensed the fear permeating the quiet men and women as they cast worried glances towards the windows when they thought their empress wasn't paying attention.

Allowing the council to slide on their actions, Koyuki had brought the meeting to a close and had gone ahead and recessed the council for the winter. Within minutes of her dismissal, the council chambers had been almost empty except for the few elderly members who couldn't move as fast as some of their counterparts and those members who had business with the princess.

Koyuki couldn't blame the council for worrying as they did. She was worried about the worsening weather as well. Koyuki just hid her worries better though they continued to linger in the back of her mind long after the last council members had departed the chamber in the presence of Shinobi from the Hidden Snow Village. Leaning back in her seat and gazing out the window, Koyuki bridged her hands in front of her face. She suspected that the shinobi representatives at the meeting had figured out that their daimyo was more concerned about the storm they she was letting on. Koyuki's suspicions had been confirmed when after the last councilors had left the head shinobi representative had approached Koyuki in her office and reassured her that regardless how bad the weather was going to get, Koyuki could count on her shinobi forces to always do their duty.

"If this horrid weather continues, how will my knight of crimson and gold endure? I know he's dealt with snowstorms before but this blizzard is different. The rage of the Ice Maiden, Sode no Shirayuki is not to be trifled with. Even the hardiest snow shinobi quail in fear when the icy cold breath of Hyorinamru roars out of the North; they know that those winds signify that the ice maidens' anger is rising. What should I do?", thought Koyuki as she shivered from a chill that was either real, imagined, or both.

Coming to a decision, Koyuki turned back to her desk and called for her shinobi bodyguards. The two Jounin were there before she could blink. Rolling up the scroll she'd been working on, Koyuki ordered the two masked ninja to gather her ladies in waiting and to start preparations for shuttering the castle for the winter.

"Once my ladies in waiting have arrived here, I want you to make preparations to move them to their winter residences. With the council in recess and this storm getting worse, I'd rather my court be with their families and loved ones this winter instead of here in the palace. Though this palace was built to withstand the worse the Ice Maiden of the North, Sode no Shirayuki could throw at it; it is my duty as daimyo to look out for the safety of my people. Gather as many of your fellow shinobi that can be spared, preferably of Chuunin and Tokubetsu Jounin ranks, and escort the ladies of my court to their homes. For the first time in the history of our land, I'm recessing the court of the Land of Snow.", stated Koyuki firmly as she padded around the office gathering important scrolls and placing them in a special traveling case.

"Yes milady. We shall carry out your orders at once.", replied the senior bodyguard before both disappeared with a shunshin.

Koyuki waited for the shinobi to inform her eight court ladies of her summons. She figured it would take awhile since Koyuki had given the eight women leave to perform their other duties while she was with the council. Surprisingly, only twenty minutes had passed when the last of her eight ladies in waiting came through the door to the office. Once glance at the eight women ranging from their late teens to their early thirties, and Koyuki knew that the women had been expecting this particular summons.

After casting a subtly evil glance at her manager, Misato, that the other seven women either ignored or did not see, Koyuki informed the eight of her intentions to recess the court and excuse the ladies from their present duties for the next few months. There were gasps of shock and some sadness but the women understood why their mistress was taking such drastic actions at this time. For those that didn't quite completely understand, their attention was directed to the blizzard blowing outside the princess' office window.

When she finished speaking, Koyuki watched as her court returned to their chambers to make preparations for departing the palace. The Empress of Yuki no Kuni knew that the winter homes of her ladies were scattered around the vast country in the capital cities of their respective home prefectures and that it would take at least a week before the lady representing the farthest prefecture from Koyuki's court would arrive home. Wishing each lady the best in their travels as they passed by her position standing by the main door to the palace, Koyuki bid each of her ladies a friendly farewell with hope that they would return in good health to represent their regions again once the weather had eased. Some of the women were stoic, others depressed, and still others were in tears but they knew that their empress had only their best interests in her heart. Many promised to return to the palace the minute it was safe for travel.

Once the members of her court had been escorted to the carriages that awaited them, Koyuki turned to the escorting Snow Ninja and gave them orders to safely lead each of the eight expeditions to their intended destinations and expedite their return to the capital. As each team of six Chuunin and its Tokubetsu Jounin leader acknowledged and exited to carry out their orders, Koyuki felt a sense of calm foreboding and unease. Shaking it off, the princess conversed with the Jounin in charge of the arrangements and directed him to have the expeditions that had to travel the farthest depart first with each remaining expedition departing at hourly intervals.

After observing the last of the carriages carrying her court ladies leave, Koyuki stiffened her resolve and called for the Yukikage. When the middle-aged shinobi appeared, Koyuki was writing on a scroll. Finishing her work, she signaled for the older man to wait while she summoned one of her imperial messengers. The messenger arrived within minutes.

"Messenger, the sealed scroll in front of you is to be delivered to the embassy where the honorable son of the Wind Daimyo is staying. In it, is a message from me to him expressing my regrets that I have not been able to meet with him during his visit this time. It also again expresses my refusal to consider his proposal of marriage and informs him that I will not give him permission to court me. I wish this message to be delivered within the next few days. However, you are forbidden from departing until the Yukikage assigns four of Yukigakure no Sato's best high level Jounins are your escort.", stated Koyuki in an imperial tone of voice.

"Yes milady. I will do as I am bid.", replied the messenger as he bowed.

With an acknowledging wave of her hand, Koyuki dismissed the messenger after giving him some last minute instructions. Once he was gone, the twenty-five year old empress turned to the Kage of the Shinobi Village in her realm.

"Lord Yukikage, take your time in assigning those Jounins to that messenger. I want to be out of the palace and on my way back to my winter chalet in the northernmost small village of Yuki no Kuni before that repulsively boorish man receives that message. By the time that coward decides to respond, probably after scratching his balls in confusion, asking one of his servants what it means, realizing I am again refusing him, and passing on the message to his equally boorish father I hope to be happily ensconced in my little chalet with no hope of receiving ANY messages from anybody before the end of this winter. The Jounin you assign will be there to deter his minions from 'expressing' any sort of unhealthy adventurism on the part of the daimyo's son. In fact, make the Jounin you assign our top kunoichi. That should show the dipshit that this is my final refusal. If he bitches, and I know he will, use one of our homing Snow Owls to send me a message explaining to me what his response was.", commented Koyuki as she stood in front of her office window and watched the snow fall harder and faster.

"Yes your Excellency, I will do as you wish.", replied the Yukikage.

Koyuki heard the unsuccessfully hidden questioning tone in his voice and turned to face him with a lifted eyebrow. Seeing that she was giving him leave to speak freely, the Kage of the Hidden Snow Village continued.

"Excellency, if I may ask, why are you leaving the palace to travel such a long distance this winter? With your twelve and the Shinobi of the Hidden Snow, we can protect you from all harm."

"If that fat bastard finds out that I've recessed both the council and the court for the winter and am still here, the slob would make it his damn duty to try and be here every day with his pitifully pathetic attempts to woo me. Unfortunately some of my blasted council would support him. That is why I recessed them and sent them away. The other reason why I am leaving the palace is because I just want to be out of the area when the message I know is coming from the Daimyo if The Land of Wind arrives. I can't answer it if I'm not here right?"

"I understand milady. I will do as you order.", replied the Snow Shadow after a moments reflection to her question.

Koyuki nodded as the light of realization and understanding glowed in the aged eyes of the leader of the Shinobi of the Hidden Snow. Clasping her hands behind her back, the Empress of the Land of Snow gave the older man instructions to make the team of shinobi who traveled part of the way with her to her winter chalet ready for departure in one week when those she sent out on the expeditions to escort her court to their respective winter homes returned. Koyuki also told her Yukikage that he should not worry about her right now. He needed to focus on his concern on those of his village.

"About the Snow Academy for Shinobi and Kunoichi, shift the students and instructors to a half day schedule and start the machinations to pre-sort them into teams of Genin. Shuffle the students around until each team is perfectly balanced. This may take the rest of the academy year but you have the time to do so. For now I would like to see all of the students make it as shinobi when they graduate however, I know that some may not make it. I would like tutors to be assigned to those on the verge of not passing. They will be given the chance to become Genin of the Hidden Snow."

The Yukikage nodded and added her directives about the academy to his notepad before closing it and sealing it away. After asking if there was anything else she would like to add and receiving a negative answer, the forty-five year old man bowed deeply at the waist before being given his leave to carry out the orders of his empress. Once the door had shut behind her signifying the departure of the Snow Shadow, Koyuki sighed before dropping into her desk chair and resting her hands on the desk. Right now she was for all extent somewhat helpless to do anything except watch and wait for her expeditions to return to the palace.

Letting her eyes idly roam over her desk for no reason, Koyuki found the personal letter from Priestess Shion of Demon Country that had arrived some time ago. Busy with her council and obstructing some of their plans, fending off the unwanted advances from the Prince of the Land of Wind, setting up the medical waystations for travelers through her land who had no sense of danger, and the other minutia that went along with running her own country; Koyuki hadn't gotten around to reading the letter from her friend and occasional confidante in all things womanly.

"I wonder how Shion is doing. Last time we talked in person Shion mentioned that she had found a suitable suitor to give her what she needed to continue her family line of priestesses.", thought Koyuki as she reached out and pulled the letter over.

Opening the letter scroll that had the wax seal of the Priestess of the Land of Demons and recognizing her friends whimsical writing style as well as the informal girlish tone of one writing to a friend instead of the stilted and formal tone from one of such high standing writing to another of equal or greater standing, Koyuki chuckled as an image of Shion resting on her stomach lazily waving her legs about as she put her words down floated through her mind. During her previous six month tour of duty as Empress, Koyuki had had to travel to the court of the Daimyo of the Land of Demons for a meeting to discuss a trade alliance between The Land of Spring and Snow and the Land of Demons to help strengthen the industrial ties for both countries. Priestess Shion had been there to perform a cleansing ritual at the meeting site and the two had hit it off after dinner that evening as they talked about their mutual orange-wearing acquaintance. Koyuki and Shion had talked far into the night about their differing adventures with the most hyperactive and unpredictable ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village.

At the end of the two-week long meeting, Shion and Koyuki had parted as best of friends with promises to keep in touch with each other by letter. It was a most enjoyable friendship and the letters between them kept them abreast of the goings on in each others lives. Shion had even made a surprise informal visit to the Palace of Spring and Snow as well as one of the locations where Yukie had been filming one of her movies. Returning her mind to the letter in her hand, Koyuki read that Shion had indeed become pregnant and was-at the time of her writing of this letter-maybe four or five months along and under strict medical care as well as presently residing in a secure location she couldn't tell Koyuki about.

It was early evening when Koyuki finally finished Shion's letter. Again cursing her friend for her slightly annoying habit of writing insufferably long letters when writing to friends, Koyuki used her hands to massage her aching back. Looking up, the empress noticed that the lights in her office had been brightened and her curtains had been closed by one of the shinobi assigned as a servant due to recently sustained injuries while Koyuki had been sitting there reading. She vaguely remembered waving the servant in to take care of such things while engrossed in Shion's hilarious retelling of an incident that involved one of her temple guards, one of the maidens from the Daimyo's court, and a rarely used storage room at the temple.

"On one hand we have Shion: nineteen years old, priestess of her land ever since she was young. Now she's pregnant with her first child, which more than likely will be a daughter to carry on as priestess when Shion steps down. On the other hand we have me: twenty-five years old, no husband, no children, and no present prospects. An actress who ran away from her village and position as princess when I was younger only to return with the help of one teenage boy who doesn't give up and always tries to keep his promises. No wonder half of my council want me to marry that fat prince. They consider me an old maid. Bah, screw them. I am my own woman! Do they not realize that the Godaime Hokage did not marry until she was nearly sixty? Hell, I bet they haven't heard the rumors that the Godaime Mizukage is 'supposedly' seeking a relationship with the new Raikage! Who just happens to be the younger brother of the previous Raikage? And she's nearing forty. I will be so happy when those old conservatives retire and are replaced by younger and more qualified people.", griped Koyuki as she slammed a delicate fist on the desk in a fit of frustration.

Hearing her stomach growl, Koyuki left her office and headed to the kitchen to fix herself something to eat. She hadn't eaten since lunch and it was still a few hours away from dinner. In the kitchen, as she pulled preparations for a sandwich out of the fridge Koyuki wondered if she should go ahead and raid the pantry for the large bag of potato chips she'd spotted earlier or not. In the end, she decided that irritating the cook was a fair trade and grabbed the bag from the pantry.

Carrying the bag over to the counter where the loaf of bread and the fillings for her sandwiches waited (Koyuki had decided to fix more than one sandwich. She was hungry damnit!), the empress opened the bag and deposited several handfuls of snack food goodness on the platter she'd liberated from a handy cabinet and proceeded to make several turkey and cheese sandwiches. When she finished her preparations, several sandwiches shared the plate with the chips. Replacing the meat and bread in their proper places, Koyuki glanced at the bag and debated whether or not to return the half-empty bag to the pantry. Shaking her head and grinning, she decided to go ahead and finish the chips in her office. Stepping over to another cabinet, the Empress of Yuki no Kuni saw a large bottle of juice and snatched it to wash down her meal.

Returning to her office, Koyuki dimmed the lights and opened the curtains just a bit so she could see outside as she ate. Propping her feet up on a handy footstool and leaning back in her seat, Koyuki started to eat. As she dined on her frugal meal, Yukie caught an occasional glimpse of color as some of her subjects made their way through the howling winds, bone-chilling cold, and driving snow to take care of business or as they returned to the warmth of home and loved ones. Musing over what could be in her future, Koyuki let her mind wander.

-&-&-&-&-&-

A few hours later, Koyuki sat relaxing in her bath as the concerns for her people returned. Shunting them off to the side for now, she looked around the large tub and imagined different scenarios where it played a prominent part. A remembered scene from a previous copy of Master Jiraiya's Icha Icha series involving a tub, some sake, and quiet music made her blush with embarrassment sped through her mind. It was supplanted by a scene involving two children playing around as she gently chastised them through a loving smile.

Taking a sip from the mug of tea sitting on the side of the tub, Koyuki wondered if that was her much hoped for future. Glancing at the clock and seeing that it was nearing nine pm, the empress rose to her feet and let the water that had beaded on her skin cascade down her body. Delicately stepping from the tub to the warm mat, she reached for a towel to dry off. Once she was dry and had her towel wrapped securely around her naked body, Koyuki knelt down and pulled the stopper allowing the tub to drain of the now lukewarm water. Promising herself that she would clean it out later, Koyuki stepped from the bathroom and into her dressing room. Discarding the towel, she made her way over to a dresser where her undergarments were and retrieved a pair of feminine boxer shorts from the top drawer.

Before slipping the shorts up over her legs, Koyuki gazed at her figure in the full length mirror and assessed what she saw. Nodding in approval, she pulled the underwear on and returned to the drawer to find a top. Deciding to go to bed without a bra, Koyuki found a suitable t-shirt and slipped it over her head. As she entered her bedroom, Koyuki lifted the warm sleeping robe from its hanger, slipped it on, and loosely secured it with the provided belt. Moving over to another dresser, she retrieved a pair of thick calf-length socks and pulled them over her feet to ward off the night chill as she slept.

Giving the room a once over glance to make sure that everything was in its place, Koyuki climbed into her bed and slipped between the sheets and blanket before dousing the candle and letting the room fall into darkness with only the dim light from the softly glowing half-moon outside to illuminate the sleeping chambers of one of the five most powerful women in the world. Cuddling up with a stuffed polar bear and closing her eyes, Kazahana Koyuki, Empress of Yuki no Kuni drifted off into dreamland.

&&&&&&

Two weeks had passed since Koyuki Kazahana had recessed her court and sent her ladies-in-waiting home to their respective provinces and prefectures under shinobi escort. Three days ago, the last of the shinobi on those expeditions had returned and reported that their missions had been accomplished with minimal trouble. The ninja had returned to find the palace in the midst of organized chaos as some of the palace servants packed up the several of the empresses' belongings for her move to her winter chalet.

As another group of shinobi approached with more reports, a frazzled Koyuki directed traffic into and out of her suite of private rooms as the things she was taking with her were packed away and carried out while the things she was leaving were sealed into storage scrolls. She'd already gotten into one argument with her private tailor about what she was going to be wearing on this trip and another one with her charge d'affairs about some inconsequential thing. Both had been suitably humiliated when a pissed off empress in the midst of a biological 'rage' had tossed the offending gentleman out of a window that was presently being repaired by a team of retired shinobi glassmakers who had been called in to replace the frosted glass.

"Of all the….dammit, not more reports!!! Shit, why don't they just report to the Yukikage and he'll inform me about this before I head out!!!", griped an obviously irritated and discomforted Kazahana.

Warning the approaching ninja with a frigid glare that had them hurriedly changing their direction, Koyuki again growled at the bandages chafing her chest. One of her more senior maids had insisted that instead of wearing one of the sports bras Koyuki preferred to travel in, the empress should bind her breasts so as not to give the escorting shinobi any lustful ideas. Of course that had gone over real well with Koyuki and the resulting argument had nearly degenerated into a catfight. The kunoichi in the room at the time had started to mentally make bets on whether the maid would get Koyuki's assets wrapped or whether the princess would punt the maid out the door. Odds had been going 8 to 1 against Koyuki until things had been resolved. The empress really hated having her breasts bound when wearing regular clothes, even though she suffered through that particular indignity when being dressed in her imperial robes.

Deciding to take a break and allow the chaos to continue without her for a bit, Koyuki pointed at a one of the bystanders who seemed to know what was going on and assigned the luckless person as 'supervisor' with a glare and a set of hurried instructions to 'keep everything moving smoothly and not screw up, less he anger the empress'', before exiting her rooms and moving towards the window at the far end of the hallway. There, Koyuki pressed her forehead against the chilly glass and watchedas some bundled up children were outside playing during this lull in the nasty winter storm that had been blasting her land with the angry frozen breath of Hyorinmaru the Ice Dragon as it screamed from the North heralding the continued buildup of the ice maiden's rage. Sighing to herself, Koyuki felt a longing to be out there with the children as they played in the snow letting their glee permeate those in close proximity.

Continuing her observations, the twenty-five year old saw that many of the teenagers and young adults slowly moving around the village enjoying this extremely rare calm day were doing so with their significant others. To the right, there was an older couple sitting on one of the benches watching the children play, the man had his arm around his wife's neck and shoulders as she leaned in his arms with her head on his coat. Across from them another, younger couple happily and lovingly tossed snowballs at each other while their friends laughed and occasionally joined in with the festivities. On their cheeks, Koyuki could see the slight redness brought about by the crisply chilly air as they played and enjoyed the break in the weather though knowing that after today they would back in their homes as the storm raced over the land once again. Koyuki was so lost in thought that she didn't realize how long she'd been standing by that window until a soft tap on her shoulder got her attention.

"Excuse me Kazahana-hime but the packing is nearly finished and the workers were wondering if you would give them leave to return to their homes and loved ones so they could enjoy the remainder of this day?", asked a Chuunin press-ganged into being her aide for the day.

"Hmm, what?? Oh yes, release them from their duties and tell them that I greatly appreciate their help for today. Inform them that they can expect a substantial bonus for their work today. I know that with today being a rarely calm day, they would've rather been enjoying it with their families and loved ones instead of helping me pack for the trip to my winter chalet.", replied the empress as she stretched and pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning against while watching the future of her land play in the pristine white snow outside.

The Chuunin nodded and bowed before turning around and heading back up the hallway to pass her words on to those who needed to hear them. Koyuki watched the young man for a moment before taking a last look out the window and returning to her room, she still had to finish dressing for the trip.

A couple of hours later, Koyuki looked around her office and nodded in satisfaction. All of the classified papers she wasn't taking with her were sealed in scrolls and secured in one of the various safes scattered around the room depending on their level of classification. Her desk work area was devoid of the mess that was usually present and the dark wood gleamed from being recently polished. The floor was clean, the trash can empty; the discarded papers that were classified 'Daimyo's Eyes Only' had been both shredded and burned. Continuing her perusal, the office occupant saw that the closet where several of her clothes were kept was locked up tight; the window behind her desk was sealed shut with a fuinjutsu and covered with a thick set of curtains. Again nodding in satisfaction, Koyuki reached down and opened the top drawer of her desk. After a short search, she found what she had been looking for and pulled it out. Setting the object (a plain look box with a simple clasp to keep it closed), Koyuki gazed at the two objects nestled in the velvet lined interior.

The first object she pulled out was talisman of her office, a white gold ring with the Kazahana Family Seal engraved within the metal. This ring, when dipped in wax and applied to her documents, designated those papers as official documents. Koyuki was only allowed to use this ring within the confines of her office with only two witnesses in attendance; a shinobi from Yukigakure (usually the Yukikage) and the senior-most member of her council. The only documents that needed Koyuki's official seal were Treaties of Alliance, Declarations of War, and papers destined for her counterparts. Those papers also needed her signature to make them official. All other, less-sensitive documents, were sealed with a seal designed specifically for Koyuki and were sealed with a wax that was two levels below the wax for the more important documents.

After slipping the ring on one of her fingers, Koyuki reached in to the box again. This time she retrieved one of the most famous artifacts in all of the lands. The last gift she received from her father all those years oh so long ago.

The Hex Crystal.

With its simple and common rope and its lavender color, The Hex Crystal didn't look like nothing special. If one didn't know its secret, one would assume it was just a piece of jewelry given to her by a long departed costar or an heirloom from her mother. However, for those that new the true reason of the Hex Crystal, they would say that it ranked second only to the necklace of the Shodaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato in worth.

In her 25 years on Earth, Koyuki knew of two major battles that had been fought for possession of the small crystal. The resulting loss of life resulting from those battles saddened the empress at the pettiness those corrupted by greed and power would go through to possess something so unassuming. Yet at the same time, Koyuki knew that if the power of her Hex Crystal to bring spring to the Land of Snow by activating the heat generators in the Rainbow Glacier fell in to the wrong hands, things would be much worse.

Usually, The Hex Crystal never left Koyuki's neck. Today, however, she had taken it off this morning and placed it in her desk because she knew that since it shared the box with the royal seal, Koyuki would have to return to the office to retrieve the crystal before she left and thus at the same time she would remember to grab the ring from the same location. Slipping the Hex Crystal over her head and letting it sit in its usual location in the valley of her breasts as the chain hung from around her neck, Koyuki nodded. Now she was ready to leave the office.

Rising from her chair, Koyuki turned to where her jacket hung. Slipping it on over the long sleeve sweater she wore on top of the two shirts she was wearing, Koyuki zipped the jacket closed and allowed its fur-lined hood to rest on her shoulders. Exiting the office with one last glance, Koyuki closed and locked the door before stepping back and allowing the two Snow shinobi seal specialists to do their job and seal the door. Placing her hand on the center of the door when prompted, Koyuki channeled the little bit of chakra she did have into the array inked onto the door so that it would only open for her when she returned after her winter retreat. The sealing pulsed once before fading from view and Koyuki removed her hand.

"Kazahana-hime, I report that your office has been correctly sealed and is now secure.", reported the shinobi to her right after her tested the seals and read the words that glowed briefly in the door forbidding anyone from attempting to open it.

Acknowledging the report with a nod and a smile, Koyuki glanced at the door once before turning on her heel and striding for the front of the palace. With the varying levels of security on her office door, she knew that her office was secure. From the midlevel Genjutsu applied to by the seal to make the door look unassuming to the high-level Raiton Jutsu that critically wounded a persistent spy allowing him or her to be captured for interrogation, the office of The Daimyo of the Land of Spring and Snow was secure.

Padding towards the front of her home in her white and grey winter boots, Koyuki acknowledged those who were remaining here just in case a wing of her palace needed to be opened up for refugees from the Rage of Sode no Shirayuki , the ice maiden. When she reached the front door where the shinobi who were escorting her halfway to her destination waited with the horses, Koyuki stopped and gazed at the hardy steeds. Now these weren't your usual breed of horses, these were horses specifically bred and trained to work in the coldest of winters. With extra thick hair covering their bodies so they seems somewhat shaggy to strong legs that rarely fatigued. With their tall size and massive chests that allowed them to bulldoze through all but the highest of snow drifts, these sure-footed draft horses were ready made for traveling during the harsh winters. If during the trip, the worst were to happen to Koyuki and her companions, the horses could be euthanized and their bellies (once opened) could be used to keep the travelers warm till rescue arrived. Though some would see it as a cruelty to mercifully kill such majestic beasts, it was generally considered a successful last ditch survival device. There were so many stories of such actions passed around at the pubs and taverns scattered around her land, that Koyuki had no reason to not believe the tales.

Stepping down off of the front porch, Koyuki went over to her horse, a gleaming black mare that snorted as her rider arrived. Standing a head or two beneath the massive beast, Koyuki placed her ungloved hands on the horses' side and proceeded to give the occasionally stubborn mare a gentle scratch. Through the thick skin and hair, Koyuki could feel the sense of enjoyment from her steed and giggled. She loved riding this particular horse during the winter and her horse loved being ridden. Finishing her bonding, Koyuki strolled over and conversed with her escorts for a moment. Once that was done, she donned her gloves, slipped her hood over her head and cinched it down before making her way around to her horses left side and being helped into the saddle. Once securely situated, Koyuki leaned over and accepted the traveling pack being passed to her and put it on her shoulders. Looking behind her, the empress could see the other heavily loaded horses in her group.

Frowning at one of the smaller horses that looked to be overloaded, Koyuki told the rider to lighten his load and bring the excess to her horse where it could be strapped down. Since her horse was bigger and stronger than the horse in question, Koyuki knew that the mare wouldn't be affected by the increase in weight. In fact, the extra weight would help stabilize the horse and rider in some places of the trail. Nodding again, Koyuki looked around one last time.

"Is everybody ready? Are all of the pack straps tight? Do we have everything we need for this trip? We do, well then have everyone mount up. Its starting to get dark and I want to be well on our way before the capital city gets slammed by bad weather again. Hey you, honorable Jounin, make damn sure everyone has their snow goggles on, I don't want any of them getting snow blindness on this trip! Has the Snow Priestess blessed our caravan and prayed for our safe journey? Alright, then I take it we are ready.", shouted Koyuki as she watched the members get situated.

Nodding to the expedition leader to take charge and get everyone moving, Koyuki hitched her reigns up and mumbled soothing words to her mount and patted her neck. Sitting up in her saddle, the empress shifted her attention to the man on the lead horse. Seeing that the forward scouts and outriders were now starting to trot towards the edge of the city to take up their duties, Koyuki trembled in excitement. Things were finally starting to go her way. The burden and stress that had been her constant companions for the past few weeks started to melt away as the expedition leader gave the signal for the main body of the caravan to move out. With the first steps her mare took in the hard packed snow as they started their journey, those stresses and burdens disappeared and her shoulders started to feel lighter with every step her horse took.

Her horse sensed Koyuki's increasingly positive emotions and started to increase her pace. Koyuki felt the increase and her smile got bigger and bigger. By the time the caravan turned on to the main street leading out the city, Koyuki had lowered her hood and was enjoying the cool air as it blew across her face. Opening her eyes, she saw that crowds had gathered to watch her departure and were cheering and shouting their happiness as their empress made her way down the street. In return the members of the caravan, who could, waved back and acknowledged the cheers from the crowds that were growing larger and larger as word got around.

In the midst of the joyous tumult, the shinobi leader of the expedition looked at his number two and nodded. Receiving a silent nod in return, the leader rose up in his saddle and looked back at the horses behind him, waving his hands and catching the attention of the other riders, he gave a few hand signs informing the others that they were going to circle the center of the city one time to allow the people to see their queen. The others acknowledged with signs of their own and then passed the message on back. As they started to circle around, the expeditions vice leader got a hint of inspiration and leaned over and whispered his idea to the expedition leader. Behind his mask, the leader grinned and agreed. Once more turning in his saddle to face those behind, he passed the idea on to the others. Receiving acknowledgments back in support of the vice-leader's plan, the leader halted his horse and got him to side step a bit.

Not knowing the expedition leader's plan, Koyuki just sat back and enjoyed the cheers with a smile on her face. She started a moment when the line of horses turned to circle the city center but realized what was going on and just flowed with the moment. Letting the events of the day and the happiness of her people relax her further, Koyuki was surprised to notice that the leader of the expedition was suddenly riding beside her. Since she hadn't seen the flurry of hand signs passed around by the riders, she wondered what was going on. She was extremely surprised when the leader gave her a salute before starting to speak.

"Milady, the caravan is in formation. Would you do us and the crowd the honor of leading us out of the city?", asked the shinobi as he held his salute.

Koyuki was taken aback and whirled around in her saddle. Sure enough as soon as her eyes were able to focus behind her, Koyuki saw the caravan had indeed formed up. Now the caravan's horses were marching cavalry style, two by two. Turning back to the front to chastise the expedition leader, Koyuki allowed those words to fall from her lips unspoken as her subconscious mind allowed her to hear the upswing in cheers from the crowd as the horses had fallen into alignment with her at its head and the expedition leader and vice-leader riding slightly behind her. With a gleam in her eyes that promised of minor retribution later, Koyuki returned the salute of the shinobi and nodded as she moved her horse slightly ahead of the rest and centered in between the leader and vice-leader. As she did so, Koyuki heard a whistle blow behind her and turned to ask about it. In the midst of her turn, out of the corner of her eye, Koyuki caught a glimpse of the tautly waving banner of the Kazahana Family snapping in the wind. The staff the banner was securely attached to was being held by the expeditions' vice-leader in his right hand while his left smartly guided his horse. Sighing to herself, Koyuki happily resigned herself to the show of loyalty and allowed this moment in time to take her away.

As the caravan approached the center of her capital one last time, Koyuki looked to her right and saw one of the repaired and updated orphanages. Coming closer to the building in question, the sight she saw nearly brought tears to her eyes. There waiting on the porch for the parade (and by now it was a parade) to pass by were several of the orphans cheering wildly for the one who had ordered her shinobi to repair, winterize, and upgrade their home for the children. Standing with the children were the many kindly chaperones that watched over the children and made sure they got everything they needed to grow up healthy and with the love and care they deserved.

Letting gentle eye roam over the group of children, Koyuki lifted an eyebrow as she caught sight of one little girl, no more than seven or eight years old standing with the chaperones and holding a bouquet of origami flowers while wearing a kimono ill-suited for the weather. On a whim, Koyuki halted her horse. As the formation came to an orderly stop behind her, Koyuki dismounted her horse, stepped over to the expedition vice-leader and took the staff bearing her royal banner out of his hand. With the banner in her hand, Koyuki stepped over towards the little girl and knelt on one knee.

Smiling at the shy child who blushed and hid her head behind the leg of her chaperone; Koyuki detached the banner from the staff and spoke to the girl.

"Little one standing out here in this cold air, will you do me a favor?", asked Koyuki in a soft and friendly tone of voice.

Seeing the shy nod, Koyuki gently wrapped the banner around the child and saw that her slight shivering started to slow, the empress continued with her gently request.

"Will you take this banner and watch over it for me while I am away? It is a very important banner and it needs a very important person to watch over it while I can not. Are you that important person? Will you watch over and protect this banner? This banner is a special banner; it only allows those it thinks are special to watch over it. Are you and your friends special enough to watch over this banner?", asked Koyuki while enfolding the little girl in a hug.

"Yes Koyuki-hime, I will watch over this banner with all of my heart and soul. I will make sure your banner is safe.", replied the girl in a quiet and shy voice.

"What is your name, protector of my banner?"

"My name is Yukiko, Kazahana-hime. Hasegawa Yukiko."

"Yukiko-Hime, thank you for performing this favor for me, our land greatly appreciates the task you have taken on to watch over our flag. When I return, with all my heart, I promise to honor you and your friends properly. Little one, before I depart I want you to do me one last favor? After all of the horses have departed, please little one, promise me you'll go inside and warm up. I do not want you and your friends falling ill."

The little girl nodded and smiled shyly. Looking up at the staff member holding her hand, she received a supportive nod. Shyly stepping away from the older woman, Yukiko hesitantly gave Koyuki the bouquet of flowers and told the empress that she had made them herself with the a little help from the matrons. Koyuki accepted the bouquet and thanked the girl with a kiss to her forehead before she wished the children and staff the best for the rest of the winter. Before she was assisted in remounting her horse, Koyuki took one of the flowers from the bouquet and placed it in the child's hair while telling her that they could have all the hot cocoa they wanted for the rest of the day.

Once back on her horse and situated in her saddle with the bouquet nestled in her hands, Koyuki gave the children and wave and a smile before getting her mare moving. Glancing back at the orphanage as it receded behind her, she could see the one child, whose heart she had touched and acknowledged standing there waving her little hands. When it finally passed out of her sight, Koyuki returned her attention to the front and saw that they were approaching the road out of the city.

"Now finally, my trip begins in earnest!! What awaits me at the end of this voyage; that I wonder. Yes I do.", Koyuki thought as the last of the buildings passed behind her and into the distance.

&&&&&&&

Finally!!

He'd made it to the Land of Spring and Snow. It had been a rough trip. What with the many nuke-nin, highway bandits, hostile shinobi, Gato-style gangsters, and others causing him too many damn problems on his quest, Naruto had wondered if he would ever make it. To top it all off, there had been the run it with two members of the second tier of Akatsuki while he was just trying to eat a simple meal at a dimly lit tavern just across the border.

"Of all the… it just had to be that bastard Itachi and his new partner. Dammit!!", growled Naruto as his battered and bruised body staggered through the chest high snow drifts.

He remembered everything quite well. Upon entering the tavern to request a room for the night, Naruto had applied a henge to cover his distinctive features from some shinobi he sensed inside the building. Retrieving his room key after paying, Naruto had headed to his room to rest and bathe before returning up front to partake of the fare he could smell cooking in the kitchen. Stepping out after taking care of the necessities, he'd bumped into a couple heading up to the front. Making his apologies, Naruto started to step around the male of the couple only to find himself staring into a familiar pair of cold black eyes. There had been a second of recognition before Naruto felt the familiar effects of the Mangekyou Sharingan as it wove its usual Genjutsu. Luckily, Naruto had trained enough with Kakashi-sensei and his Sharingan to recognize the signs and had forced all of his chakra (both natural and demonic) out in a massive explosion that shattered the developing illusion that even impressed the elder of the traitorous Uchiha scions as evidenced by an eyebrow quirked in acknowledgement and the hint of an approving look on the usually emotionless face of the most familiar of the Konoha missing nins.

Gritting his teeth and forcing his way ever deeper into Snow Territory, Naruto continued his cussing. It felt somewhat cathartic to swear out loud to the questor. Now if only the damn blizzard would cease with these roaring winds so he could hear himself!!! He was pissed dammit, and his cursing couldn't be called therapeutic if he couldn't hear himself!!!

Steeling his resolve and with his sense of determination keeping him warm in this accursed weather, Naruto just leaned further into the howling wind and dancing snow and kept trudging, one foot in front of the other. Ever forward to a goal only he could see.

&&&&&

Koyuki Kazahana was sitting in front of the fireplace of her private chalet and relaxing. She'd arrived from her palace in the capital city over a week ago and had spent the first couple of days sleeping in and decompressing from her affairs of state. Free from wearing the robes of her position, she usually wore a warm sweater topping a pair of jeans and some cute pink boots she'd found during a shopping trip that she'd just had to have. Now sipping from a mug of hot apple-cinnamon cider and listening to the radio while watching the snow as it swirled around and fell in snowflakes of ever-increasing size, Koyuki felt fully relaxed for the first time in several months.

For the vacationing empress of Snow Country, today had been a day to laze around. The pantry was full of food, there were several logs of firewood stacked just outside her back door, and there was plenty of water. The cheerily blazing fire in the fireplace was keeping the first floor of the little chalet quite toasty and Koyuki enjoyed it. Earlier in the week she'd had to make her way to the center of town to pick up a few supplies and to send a batch of letters (including her reply to the letter Priestess Shion had sent her awhile back) while the lone shinobi mailman was in town for his weekly stop to drop-off and pick-up mail. At the time, the weather was pretty bad and Koyuki knew that if she didn't get her letters out now, she might not get another chance to send them out.

Pausing in her reading of an old copy of an Icha Icha novel, the twenty-five year old empress sighed. Marking her spot and closing the book, Koyuki rose from her seat and went over to the window. Crossing her arms over her chest and shivering slightly, she wondered where her golden knight was at that very moment. Shaking herself out of that somewhat melancholic mood, Koyuki returned to her seat and started to pick up her reading again. Putting it down on the end table, she instead reached for the wrapped up bundle of reports she'd been avoiding for the past few days.

Using a handy kunai knife, Koyuki carefully slit the ribbon binding the report scrolls together. Placing the bundle of scrolls on the coffee table in front of her, Koyuki reached for the first one while folding the ribbon up and putting it in her pocket. Maybe she'd find a use for it when she returned to the capital.

Seeing that the report in her hand was from the local waystation she'd had set up, Koyuki sighed and settled in to see how things were going.

It was late when Koyuki decided to call it a night. She'd finished reading the reports, read a few more chapters in her novel, eaten a warm meal of chicken and rice, started an official letter to the Daimyo of the Land of Water expressing her interest in a state visit, napped for a bit, went outside to retrieve some more wood for her fireplace, and basically enjoyed her vacation. Damping the fire till the coals glowed a dark orange, Koyuki shut off the lights and used a flickering candle to navigate her way upstairs where she changed out of her jeans and into a pair of woolen pajamas. Setting the candle on her nightstand, Koyuki climbed into bed. Snuggling up under the handmade blanket, Koyuki blew out the candle and closed her eyes.

&&&&&&&&&

As the empress was getting comfortable, a bedraggled figure staggered against the wind that was increasing in speed and tenacity. His clothes were tattered, his eyes glazed over with exhausted determination. What had been a dusting of blonde peach fuzz adorning his cheeks and the space beneath his nose had grown into a full beard and moustache of sun-kissed blonde; though both were coated in snow and ice. On his head in place of his hitai-ate was a dirty orange bandanna keeping his ever-growing hair out of his blue-eyes.

It had been two weeks since he'd crossed the border into the Land of Snow. In those two weeks, Naruto had been trying to figure out where in this vast land Koyuki-hime was. With the weather as bad as it was, he figured that she might not be in the palace and had not even headed in the direction of the capital city. Following his gut, Naruto angled further north knowing that he was going further into the storm that was tearing through this land and blasting it with an almost continuous snowfall. On his way, he'd found and helped out several travelers by giving them some of his dwindling supplies and forming one of his shadow clones to help them reach the nearest shelter. Sadly, Naruto had also come across some of those for whom help had been too late. All he could do for them was dig them a shallow grave and make a note of its location along with the names of the travelers if he was able to find some sort of identification on those cold corpses. A scroll he carried with him noted the locations of the graves he'd dug as well as the names of those buried there that he'd pass on to the wayward empress.

During his moments of solitude, Naruto wondered why he would go through such an icy hell for such an escape artist. Was it because he promised her that he'd always find her, or was it something more to it? He didn't know and it occasionally frustrated him. He was about to revisit these confusing thoughts when his nose caught the scent of burning logs. Looking up Naruto saw that there was a building a few hundred yards away. Through his snow goggles he spotted the wisp of smoke lazily floating away from the chimney only to be caught by the winds and dispersed. Changing his direction, Naruto headed towards the building. Before he could take a step, he had to stop for a moment and convince his exhausted body that now was not a good time to lie down and stretch out in the snow to sleep for a moment. He knew that if he gave in to that temptation, he'd die. Forcing himself to take one step, then another, and another in the direction of the building, Naruto forced down his weariness and directed his consciousness to block out all other external stimuli and focus his concentration on the building.

Every step he took was sheer torture. Every breath of the icy air through his mask was like a sharpened senbon needle piercing his throat. The speed of the wind increased exponentially as it tried to blow the figure who dared to stand against the icy breath of the dragon. But Naruto doggedly kept on, even when the wind shrieked in anger and hid the building that was his salvation from view as sheets of snow continued to fall. So determined was this now twenty year old shinobi to reach his destination that everything else was forced out of his mind. The scathing remarks of his tenant, the bitter cold, the howling winds, the darkness of night, and the healed cuts he'd received on this expedition; nothing was keeping him from reaching this shelter for the evening.

So focused on his destination, Naruto never felt it when he stepped from the snow covered ground to the wooden deck surrounding the building his senses was telling him was some sort of small chalet. Staggering up to the door, Naruto attempted to raise his hand to knock on the door. Unfortunately he misjudged his distance and instead of knocking with his hand, Naruto stumbled and fell face first towards the door, smashing his nose against the wood in the process. This sudden impact had the effect of shaking Naruto out of his lethargy for a moment. Sighing in a silent victory for reaching his destination, Naruto slowly turned around to face the direction he'd come. Already, his tracks were being blown away by the winds howled in anger at his success.

Raising a clenched fist, Naruto shook it at the wind and snow.

"I beat you, you bastard! I Beat You! Nothing's going to stop me in my quest, you hear me, Hyorinmaru you Son of a Bitch!! Nothing's gonna beat me!! Not you or any pissant wind you send my way! Nothing!", yelled Naruto in a voice ravaged by cold weather and non-use.

Collapsing to the ground with his back against the door, Naruto laughed, although it came out more as a croak than the laugh he was known for. As he laughed, the weariness and exhaustion caught up with him. Now that he was out of the direct path of the wind, he could set for a spell. Watching the dancing snow with tears of joy freezing on his face, Naruto started to drift off into a light doze.

&&&&&&&

As Naruto dozed, the occupant of the chalet stormed angrily downstairs with her candle leading the way. Koyuki was not happy. She had just been drifting off to sleep when she'd heard a loud thump against her back door. Shaking it off as a clump of snow dislodged from the chalet eaves, Koyuki had closed her eyes and started to drift back into la-la land, only to be rudely roused by the strangled shouting heard right outside the door. Scared at first because of the lateness of the hour then angered because whomever it was who had the gall to do such a thing, Koyuki grabbed the kunai her bodyguards had insisted she have and stuck it in the pocket of her pj's, jumped out of bed, and stormed down the stairs only stopping to grab the oaken club at the foot of the stairs.

Heading for the door with mayhem on her mind, Koyuki placed the candle holder on the table after blowing out the flickering candle. Stepping up to the door, she reached over and flipped the switch for the porch light and tightly gripped the club. Grasping the door knob, the empress psyched herself up for what was to come.

Slowly turning the knob so as not to alert the person on the other side of the door, Koyuki stepped back and jerked the door open. As the door came open, Koyuki caught a glimpse of a falling figure and swung her club with all of her strength….

&&&&&&

……and felt the club miss as he tumbled through the door that-seconds ago-he'd been leaning against to regain his strength before knocking on the door and requesting shelter for the evening. Coming to an abrupt stop against an unknown impediment to his rearward travel, Naruto opened his eyes and looked up. Up into a pair of the angriest eyes he'd ever seen.

Glaring down at the interloper who dared interrupt her vacation, Koyuki started to speak. Before she could, the bearded stranger gazed up at her with his exhausted eyes and offered up a grin.

"Excuse me lady, are the Snow Goddess of Death or are you the Snow Angel of Life?", asked the young man before he passed out.

Shaking her head in frustration Koyuki leaned her club up against the table and bent down to drag the man inside out of the horrible weather. She may be cold-blooded and ruthless as the Empress of the Land of Spring and Snow but right now she wasn't the empress, she was just plain ole Koyuki Kazahana.

Sighing to herself, Koyuki dragged the man further inside before closing the door to shut out the gale force winds.

And on that note, the fifth chapter of 'Promises in Snow and Ice' comes to a close, several months after it was supposed to be finished and posted online.

Once again, I thank those of you who've waited this long for me to finish this chapter. In the intervening time since the posting of chapter 4, I've received several emails regarding those who've added this saga to their favorites list as well as to those who've subscribed to this story. I am deeply grateful for your continued interest. I deeply apologize for making you wait so long for this chapter. I also thank my most awesome beta-reader Lovesrainscent for prereading this story. Though she hasn't gotten back to me about corrections and additions to this chapter, I trust her to let me know whereupon I will make the corrections and additions before reposting this chapter.

The way I ended this chapter had me vexed for the longest time. I didn't know and couldn't figure out whether to end the chapter with Naruto's words or with Koyuki's actions. I ask you, the readers, for your input on the choice I ultimately made.

On a side note, I realized several chapters ago that I had screwed up and made the Konohamaru Corps (Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon) genin when they should be at least Chuunin or Tokubetsu Jounin by now. Once I finish this story, I will probably return to that part and correct it! By the way, could somebody answer me this, aren't Moegi and Udon grandchildren of Koharu and Homura? I'm curious about that and can't remember their family names at this time.

On another side note, Chapter Five finishes the interaction of Hyuuga Hanabi and my OC Zaiden of the Hidden Jungle Village for now. Though they may have cameos in later chapters, their story branches off into a side arc of its own that may yet see the light of day once 'Promises in Snow and Ice' is finished.

Once again, I deeply thank the patience of the readers of this story for sticking around I once again apologize for the extreme tardiness of this chapter. To the reader who reviewed and mentioned that it had been nine months since I've last updated, though I addressed that in a private message to you, I will also address that here in my end of chapter notes:

"Yes I know that it has been nine months or more since 'Promises' Chapter 4 appeared, but in the time since then, I've had to work my way out of numerous plot holes and other things that affected my writing as well as deal with certain events that have happened in my life job-wise. There are times when I've sat in front of my screen looking at this story for hours trying to come up with the next sentence. Please give me a break since I'm writing all of this from the top of my head and not using an outline (I hate writing outlines. Didn't write one and can't work from one to save my life!). Though I do ask for your forgiveness and the forgiveness from the other readers, I do ask that you please refrain from chastising my tardiness. There may be times when it takes me over a year to update a story and there may be a time when I update a story pretty quickly. All I ask is to just be patient. For now, I consider your chastisement forgotten and will not bring it up again. I hope you do the same. Sincerely, Knightewolfe."

To the rest of my readers, within the next few days time allowing, I will start on Chapter Six of 'Promises of Snow in Ice'. Most of the time, I usually don't post one chapter unless I have written down a third of the next chapter. This is an exception to my usual way of posting. Hopefully, it won't take as long for me to get Chapter Six out as it did to get Chapter Five to you. Since I've finished this chapter and brought the two protagonists together, things should move much faster.

In the next Chapter, after I get some things situated, I'm going to jump ahead a bit in the timeline of this story. How far I've jumped ahead, you'll find out when Chapter Six is posted! For now, the Knightewolfe is signing out.

Please enjoy this chapter.

Knightewolfe

Knightewolfe's Lair 3/10