Of Bone And Ice - Chapter 23

So far, the journey to the land of wind had gone smoothly. The princess had complained a little along the way and had even tried to change course, but Fuyōna had managed to get them back on track every time.

Now they were only a day’s journey from their destination, the capital city of the land of wind.

Fuyōna had reminded his team to remain vigilant now they were in the land of wind, knowing an attack could come at any moment. Fuyōna was leading the princess’s caravan through the desert land. It was scorching hot as the sun was at its highest point in the sky. Unforgiving to those who were not accustomed to it.

“Captain Yuki!” The princess shouted.

“Cant you doing anything about this god-awful heat?” The princess mȯȧnėd, even while one of her maids fanned her to help keep her cool.

Fuyōna gave a forced smile before he spoke.

“I’m afraid I can’t do much about the sun princess.”

The princess scoffed as she fell back into her seat, failing her legs in the air as she did.

Hatsu wasn’t impressed but decided to keep it to himself. Fuyōna had changed their formation now they were in the desert, keeping his team closer together around the princess.

Ozawa was still kept with the princess at all times, they had become more friendly towards one another and Fuyōna couldn’t help notice. Fuyōna and Hatsu led the caravan at the front while Kaga and Sawano kept a tight watch at the back, just like four dots on a dice.

“Hatsu, you see anything?” Fuyōna asked.

Hatsu had excellent sensory abilities, and Fuyōna was relying on him to sense any trouble or danger.

“No captain Yuki, nothing.” He said, checking once more.

Fuyōna was happy with his answer, turning to check on the others he could see the princess and Ozawa talking and giggling to each other, which seemed strange.

Kaga kept to himself and gave Fuyōna a nod when he noticed him looking over at him, which Fuyōna returned. Sawano, on the other hand, was chatting to one of the princess’s maids, no doubt flirting with her. All seemed well and Fuyōna was happy with how everything was going thus far.

“Ambush!” Hatsu shouted suddenly, alerting everyone in the caravan.

Fuyōna could see a storm of explosive kunai raining down upon them. Quickly he slapped his hands down on the ground creating an ice dome all around the caravan to protect them from the fierce rain of metal.

The ice dome held, doing its job taking the brunt of the first ȧssault, even though the ice was weaker thanks to the intense heat of the sun.

“Keep the princess safe!” Fuyōna shouted.

“Where are they!” Fuyōna asked.

“Two that side and two more to my right!” Hatsu shouted as he pulled his sword from his back.

Fuyōna spun around, dodging a thrust at his head by one of the enemy ninjas. Quickly he grabbed their wrist, twisting it and flipping the ninja onto the ground before stabbing them in the head with a bone from his hand.

It was fast and brutal, but Fuyōna didn’t have time to worry about that now. He looked over to see Hatsu currently battling one of the others while two more had already broken past and were heading right for the princess.

Kaga dived into action, clashing his kunai against one of the enemy shinobi’s and they entered into a fierce battle. The enemy all had their faces covered which demon masks but wore the hidden sand uniform indicating they were Anbu members. Their target was defiantly the princess, and Fuyōna wasn’t going to let them have their own way.

Hatsu clashed with one of the enemy shinobi who was also armed with a short sword. The two seemed evenly matched in Kenjutsu each of them holding their own against the other. Blades clashed and clashed again in a stalemate until Fuyōna suddenly appeared out of the blindside of the enemy shinobis vison.

His reactions were impressive, and he was able to block Fuyōna’s thrust, aimed at his midsection. He spun around with superb skill flicking his sword through the air and changing hands with it, thrusting his blade down hard, impaling Fuyōna through his back, forcing him to the ground.

“Captain!” Hatsu shouted as he watched Fuyōna get pinned to the ground by the enemy.

“I don’t think so!” The shinobi shouted seeming please with his handy work.

To his surprise, Fuyōna’s body suddenly started to melt as it turned into ice.

“W-what in the!” He was interrupted as Fuyōna’s clone exploded, sending shards of ice scattering all over. The ȧssassin was too slow to move out of the way and was impaled by the ice shards, his body falling limp, hitting the sand hard with a thud.

Hatsu gave a small grin as he watched what had happened.

“I should have known better.” He said before running to help the others.

Meanwhile, Kaga and Sawano were also locked in battle with the two remaining ȧssassins while Ozawa kept a close guard over the princess and her maids, not letting them out of her sight.

Kaga span quickly kicking his leg out at the ȧssassins, trying to sweep him. The ȧssassin was fast though, jumping into the air to avoid the kick. The ȧssassin counter attacked as he swung his sword aiming for Kaga’s face. Kaga dodged the first strike as he leaned back, the second was much harder to escape and he was forced to roll back onto the ground.

Kaga rolled onto his hands and used them to spring up onto his feet, just in time to block his attacker’s strike. The ȧssassin had jumped in hoping to impale him with a swift strike to his ċhėst, but, Kaga was able to step to the side allowing the blade to deflect off his kunai and out of harm’s way. Kaga used the deflection to spin, attempting a spinning back fist, but the ninja ducked avoiding the attack.

The enemy grabbed a handful of sand, throwing it into Kaga’s eyes, taking him by surprise and lept forwards going for the kill.

“Arr! Kaga shouted as the sand blinded him. He swiped with his kunai in all directions, unable to see where the next attack would come from, in a desperate attempt to survive.

“You are mine!” The ȧssassin shouted just before he went for the killing blow, thrusting his blade towards Kaga’s heart. At the last second, the ȧssassin stopped dead in his tracks. A white bone suddenly protruding through his ċhėst, killing him instantly.

Fuyōna had taken his back un-noticed, delivering a fatal blow saving Kaga’s life, dropping the sand ninjas corpse to the ground.

“Wash your eyes out, Kaga,” Fuyōna shouted, disappearing as fast as he had appeared.

“Just one left.” Fuyōna thought to himself as he dashed through the caravan to aid Sawano. The princess’s aids and servants had taken cover and were screaming with panic as the sounds of battle and steel clashing continued around them.

Sawano was battling the last remaining ȧssassin, who was proving to be a handful. Sawano could tell from their build it was most likely a woman and he already knew she was much more agile than him.

Sawano blocked her first two punches but failed to stop the kick that followed. The ȧssailant used it to quickly press her foot off of Sawano’s knee, using it as a step to jump into the air, where she delivered another powerful spinning back kick to his face that sent him crashing into the ground.

She didn’t waste any time as she quickly sped past the civilians who made up the princess’s caravan, who screamed in panic and tried their best to stay out of the way.

The ȧssassin quickly reached Ozawa and the princess. Jumping him into the air and spinning, she attacked with all of her might. Ozawa was able to block the strike with her own kunai, but the female Anbu was swift. She spun around hand-planting the floor, attempting a spinning heel kick at Ozawa, who only just avoided the blow. The ȧssassin darted forwards with her blade seeing an opening in Ozawa’s defense and went for the kill.

To her surprise, her blade passed right through Ozawa and her arm got trapped in her body as it partially turned to water.

“What is this!” She shouted as she tried to pull free.

Ozawa smiled and readied her kunai, ready to counter-attack.

“I don’t think so!” The ȧssassins shouted, using her free hand to slap an explosive tag onto a part of Ozawa’s body that wasn’t liquified.

Ozawa quickly released the ȧssassin and pushed the princess out of the way as she did her best to contain the blast with her body. The ȧssassin was able to jump out of the way of the explosion. While in the air she noticed that she was the last remaining member of her squad left alive and so she decided it best to retreat.

Fuyōna watched as Ozawa covered the princess allowing no harm to befall her and rushed after the ȧssassin, quickly forming hand signs allowing an ice mirror to develop behind her.

“Time for me to retreat.” The ȧssassin said as she pulled a smoke bomb out of her weapons pouch.

She raised her arm high into the air about to throw the smoke bomb onto the ground when Fuyōna suddenly appeared and grabbed her wrist.

“I don’t think so.” He said with a straight face.

The ȧssassin used her leg to kick at Fuyōna’s face, but he grabbed her ankle stopping the kick with ease. The woman seemed surprised and quickly attacked with the sword in her other hand.

Fuyōna grabbed the blade, the metal instantly freezing in his grasp. He squeezed hard shattering the sword before he slammed his fist into the woman’s stomach. She suddenly burst into smoke and Fuyōna was left with his fist impaled in a piece of deadwood that she had switched out with.

“Substitution…” Fuyōna said a little pissed he had fallen for it.

“Hatsu can you locate her?” Fuyōna said, not wasting any time.

“She is heading south-west. The direction of Sunagakure captain.” Hatsu said as he opened his eyes to speak.

The panic around the caravan had settled now the enemy had been dealt with, Fuyōna turned to look at one of the corpses and confirmed they were all hidden sand Anbu.

“Those bastards,” Sawano said, wiping a bit of blood from his lip.

Kaga had also regrouped with the others, having washed the sand out of his eyes.

“Captain… Does that mean the hidden sand intends to start a war with us?” Hatsu asked.

Fuyōna kept a straight face while speaking.

“For now, let’s get the princess to the capital safely. Once there, we can see what the Daimyō has to say and get a message to lord Mizukage.”

The others nodded in agreement and Fuyōna dismissed them, telling them to return to their posts. Fuyōna walked over to Ozawa, who thanks to her hydrification technique was unharmed by the explosive tag.

The princess was being tended to by her servants who scattered around trying to keep calm. The princess not looking pleased in the slightest.

“Ozawa are you alright?” Fuyōna asked.

She looked at him while taking a sip from her rather large water bottle he had failed to notice.

“Y-yes captain… As long as I keep hydrated, I will be fine.” She said in her quiet voice.

“Good. Rest up and keep an eye on the princess.” Fuyōna said before walking over to the princess.

He wasn’t even given time to speak as the princess suddenly dived into his arms.

“Oh, captain Yuki! Please tell me they are all dead. You killed them, right?” She blurted out as she wrapped her arms around his body.

“Princess p-please let go of me.” He said suffocating under her ċhėst.

She did as asked and unwrapped her arms, letting him go.

“Who on earth were they? Do they really think they can attack me and get away with it!” She said, changing her tune pretty fast. Ignoring the fact her brėȧsts were still firmly pressed against Fuyōna’s face.

Fuyōna was able to get free and regain his composer rather well before he spoke calmly, although still a little red in the face.

“I can’t say for certain princess, but you are safe for now. The sooner we get you to the capital, the better.” He said, lying to her.

He thought it best not to tell the princess all of the details for now. It would be better to wait and see what the Daimyō had to say.

With that said and done, Fuyōna was able to get the caravan ready to travel in a short space of time and lead them through the remaining desert to the capital city of the land of wind.

Thankfully no more attacks had come, the sun was getting low now, and everyone was exhausted. If Fuyōna didn’t know any better, it would be the perfect time to launch another attack. Thankfully one never came and instead the faint glow from the lights of the capital came into view as they crossed the last large sand dune.

“Look it’s the capital!” Someone shouted alerting everyone in the princesses caravan of the sight.

Fuyōna could feel everyone’s spirits lift knowing they were so close to their destination and out of harm’s way. The city was rather large and sat atop a large lagoon that didn’t fit its location in the middle of the desert. Green palm trees surrounded the city, giving it a much better appearance than the surrounding desert.

Fuyōna had only ever been to the capital city of the land of water before, and a few other large towns of other nations. This had to be the largest city he had set his eyes on in this world so far; however, Fuyōna couldn’t help wonder how many dangers lurked inside.

Fuyōna led the princess to the capital’s gates that were guarded by non-shinobi. Fuyōna presenced the documents and paperwork for them to enter the city with such a large amount of people. The whole process didn’t take too long, and they were soon welcomed inside and met by an advisor of the Daimyō himself.

The advisor greeted the princess and led all of them to a large apartment complex where they would be staying while in the capital. The princess wasn’t impressed but accepted it never the less.

“I do hope you will find everything to your liking, princess Mizuko.” The advisor said, rubbing his stubby little hands together.

The princess nodded.

“Yes, yes this will do. Please tell the Daimyō of my arrival and that I will see him right away!” She said not even waiting for the advisor to respond.

The advisor nodded and bowed as she walked away, looking to Fuyōna, he gave a smile.

“Please give the princess my regards.”

Fuyōna nodded and watched as he walked away into the broad streets of the city. Once gone Fuyōna turned to the others, gaining their attention.

“Hatsu I want a report of how many shinobi are within our location. Ozawa and Sawano stay with the princess at all times.” He said, looking at them.

“Kaga. You’re with me.” He said, turning his back to the others no waiting for their reply.

Fuyōna used his body flicker to move quickly to the top of the apartment complex that the princess would be staying. The entire top floor had been reserved for the princess and her party, with guards placed at the entrance of the building.

Fuyōna was pretty sure the guards were only there to keep tabs on the princess reporting anything to their commanders.

From his position on top of the building, Fuyōna could see out across the entire city. It was bursting with life and noise, a true oasis. People littered the streets as they drank and partied without a care in the world. It was very different from how a ninja village looked. In some ways, it reminded him of how cities in the real world looked, just not quite as modern.

Kaga joined Fuyōna on the rooftop and noted his impressive speed.

“What’s on your mind, captain?” Kaga asked.

Fuyōna didn’t turn to look at him as he took in the stimulating sight of the city, taking him back to his carefree life in the real world.

“Captain?” Kaga asked again.

Fuyōna snapped out of his daze and turned to Kaga.

“Sorry… I was just lost in thought.” He said with a smile.

Kaga nodded and remained silent, waiting for Fuyōna to speak.

“I have a mission for you,” Fuyōna said, turning to look over the city once more.

“Yes sir?” Kaga said not even asking what it was.

“I need you to inspect and survey the meeting area where the princess will sit with the Daimyō tomorrow.”

Kaga nodded. “You think it could be a trap?” He asked.

“I’m not sure,” Fuyōna said, crossing his arms over his ċhėst.

“Make sure you go unseen.” He added. Dismissing Kaga, who vanished to carry out his mission. Fuyōna took one last look over the city before also disappearing into the darkness.

Inside the princess had unpacked most of her belongings, or rather her servants had done so while she told them where to put everything.

Ozawa remained quiet sipping on her water every now and again, while Sawano was helping do some of the heavy lifting as the princess barked orders.

Fuyōna slipped into the room quietly and stood next to Hatsu, who was the only one to notice his arrival.

“Did you find anything Hatsu?” Fuyōna asked quietly.

Hatsu shook his head.

“No, captain. I have detected no threats within the city. Whoever those Anbu were, they aren’t here.”

Fuyōna nodded. “Keep me updated if anything changes.” He said.

The princess noticed Fuyōna standing next to Hatsu and shouted over to him, as the room was rather large.

“Captain Yuki!” The princess shouted, running over to him.

“Where have you been! And why are you sneaking around, have you heard from the Daimyō yet? Why would he contact you over me, that makes no sense.” She said all at once suddenly talking to herself.

Fuyōna smiled awkwardly.

“Everything is fine princess. You have been scheduled for a reception tomorrow morning.” He said.

The princess didn’t answer him and instead shouted at Sawano who put a large vase in the corner of the room.

“What do you think you are doing! That doesn’t belong there!” She shouted, running over to him.

Fuyōna slipped back next to Hatsu while she was distracted.

“I want a guard detail around the princess 24-7,” Fuyōna said before vanishing. Hatsu giving a small nod agreeing.

It was early into the morning now, and Fuyōna had remained on the roof of the building until Kaga reported back. His report was all clear, saying that there were no traps that had been set.

Fuyōna trusted his report but would check one last time before the meeting to make sure it was safe. After keeping watch almost all night, Fuyōna was finally able to get some rest, letting Sawano take over his watch on the perimeter.

The morning of the meeting soon came, the princess was up and dressed in only her finest clothes as she prepared for her meeting with the Daimyō.

Fuyōna had already briefed his team about the details of the day. They escorted the princess to the office of the Daimyō with nothing seeming out of the ordinary. The princess and her most trusted attendants walked through the streets, Fuyōna and his team covering her as her bodyguards.

Civilians littered the streets to see what all of the commotion was about, thankful the city guards were helping keep the crowds under control and it made the escort of the princess much easier.

They arrived at the Daimyō’s palace and were greeted by the Daimyō’s head of security, along with the advisor they had meet the night before.

“Greetings princess Mizuko. I trust you slept well.” The stubby little advisor said.

“Fine, thank you.” The princess replied, looking down at him.

The head of security nodded at Hatsu, who nodded back.

“I am captain Dulark of the Daimyō’s guard if you will follow me, please.” The large man said.

The princess followed the guard captain along with her servants. Fuyōna and his team keeping close to her as they entered the palace.

“I’m afraid I must inform you that only the princess and her aids will be permitted entry into the Daimyō’s chambers,” Dulark said, speaking to Hatsu.

“I’m afraid where the princess goes we must go too,” Hatsu said.

“I’m afraid they are the rules. No shinobi are permitted to be in the same room as his eminence.” Dulark said, not backing down.

Hatsu was about to protest, but Fuyōna stopped him.

“That is understandable. I trust she will be safe under your watch.” He said allowing his aura to flare just a little, causing a chill to run down Dulark’s spine.

“Y-yes. You have my word that no harm will befall the princess.” He said feeling a little uneasy at the way Fuyōna had just looked at him.

“Don’t worry, captain Yuki. Nothing will happen to me here, the Daimyō and my father go way back!” The princess said, not seeming worried in the slightest.

They soon arrive at a set of rather large doors that had two guards stationed at them. They instantly came to attention at the arrival of their commander and the others.

“Please allow me to escort you inside princess,” Dulark said, as he nodded for the guards to open the large doors.

The princess nodded.

“How kind of you,” she said before turning to Fuyōna.

“Don’t worry captain Yuki. I won’t be too long.” She said, giving him a wink.

Fuyōna nodded while he and the others all had to wait outside under close surveillance by the palace guards. It was understandable. No Daimyō would want shinobi from a foreign nation to be in the same room with them. It came with to .many risks.

Fuyōna was sure the princess would be safe; after all, he had already swept the room for any traps in the early hours of the morning. If the Daimyō wanted to harm her, he wouldn’t do it here.

Time passed relatively slow as Fuyōna and his team waited for the princess to finish her meeting with the Daimyō. They had been taken to a waiting room and served some tea. Fuyōna expected that they would be chatting for a while, mostly boring subjects he was sure. Hatsu was also getting impatient and Ozawa had fallen asleep on one of the comfy chairs in the room.

Fuyōna had allowed Kaga and Sawano to head into the city so they could scope out the surroundings, making sure nothing was happening while their attention was focused on the palace. They also had the job of preparing the princess caravan for travel once she was done with the meeting.

After a few hours, the princess had finally finished in her negotiations with the Daimyō. The doors opened and she walked out with her servents. Fuyōna and his team were all present and bowed as she came closer.

“Evening princess, I hope your reception went well,” Fuyōna said.

The princess smiled.

“You could say that, it’s always the same with politicians. They just chatter on and on, in love with the sound of their own voice.”

Fuyōna nodded and turned to escort the princess out of the palace.

“My orders are to escort you back to the land of water without delay princess. I have already prepared your transport and all of your belongings for the apartment complex.” Fuyōna said.

The princess nodded.

“Very good, I’m rather tired now, so I shall retire to my carriage.” She said, smiling at him.

Once outside of the palace, the princess bid fair well to the advisor of the Daimyō and captain of his guard, who had also escorted them to the exit. The princess was then helped into her carriage by Sawano and joined by Ozawa. Who would stay by her side just like the journey to the capital.

Fuyōna gave the order and the princesses caravan started to head out, leaving the city behind as they made their way back into the desert.

It was mid-afternoon now, the sun still high in the sky and the caravan was making good progress. So far, Fuyōna and his team had not detected anything out of the ordinary; the only thing they had come into contact with was a group of civilians traveling to the capital themselves.

Hatsu had the lead once again, using his sensory abilities to ȧssess for threats. Ozawa was with the princess inside of her carriage, keeping a close eye on her. Kaga had the port side, and Sawano had the starboard, once again chatting to some of the female maids to pass the time. Fuyōna had the rear so he could keep an eye on everything.

The princess had told him that she had spoken to the Daimyō about the ȧssassins from the hidden sand, which he had declared he knew nothing about. He had warned that his relationship with the current Kazakage was tenuous at best, given the current circumstances and times. He had given his word that he had nothing to do with it and if anything else happened, he would not stand by the Kazekage in trying to start a war with the land of water.

Fuyōna wouldn’t feel safe until they were out of the land of wind. Even if the Daimyō had granted them safe passage, the Kazekaga could still act independently and send another kill squad after them. He would have to remain alert until they were out of the land of wind; even then it wasn’t a guarantee they would be safe.

“Captian Yuki!” Hatsu shouted, quickly gaining his attention.

Fuyōna dashed to the front arriving next to him in the blink of an eye.

“What is it, Hatsu?” He asked, sensing the panic in his voice.

Hatsu was frozen with fear the entire caravan halted due to his lead stopping, everyone wondering what was going on. Hatsu gulped before speaking and pointed into the distance.

“Take a look captain.” He said.

Fuyōna looked into the distance, the sun glinting in his eyes, making it hard to see. He used his hand to help block out the sun, able to make out who stood before them.

“It cant be…. That’s the Kazekage!”