FicWad

The frigid wind blew through the trees and shrubbery that, though it was early fall, was coated in snow or ice. It was around the time back in Konoha where the trees started to change from their attractive shades of green, into browns, and reds, and golds, and oranges. The time when you went outside you may have to dawn a long sleeved shirt or a light jacket. On the other hand, here in the Land of Ice, you had to dress in thick jackets and boots just to stay moderately warm. Unless, however, you were native to the land, like the four who were now walking the group of Konoha ninja to the Ice village, one stationed at either side and in the front and back of the group. They were wearing pants made of a thick cloth that their people were known for making and long sleeved shirts, as well as a range of boots from ones that came to the ankles to ones that came to just below the knee and colored different shades of brown. Each sported a bow and a quiver of arrows, made from ice molded with chakra, a deadly weapon if used properly.

“I still don’t see why they have to treat us with such enmity.” A brunette whose hair was fixed into two buns that rested atop her head puzzled over the foreigners treatment of the two ninja squads.

“TenTen, these people are not used to others outside the Land of Ice intruding. It would be best to remain silent for the time being.” chastised a masked man with silver hair.

“Hai, Kakashi-sensei.” The next few minutes were quiet as the four Ice dwellers led them into their village. The buildings furthest from the base of a small mountain were made from wood, but the closer they got to the mountain the more frequently stone buildings were seen. The snow had been cleared from every street and walkway, yet a few patches of ice could be seen here and there. The Konoha ninja took great care to watch their footing, that is except for a boy with unruly yellow hair. Said boy slipped and fell forward into a taller boy with long dark hair pulled back and held loosely by a tie. Both went tumbling to the ground, to the amusement of the watching villagers who had crept out of their stores and homes to look upon the outsiders with guarded but curious eyes. The dark haired boy stood up, after snapping at the clumsy boy, and regained his composure, his stoic face back in place.

“Sorry Neji-san.” The boy mumbled before standing up himself and catching up with his group who now stood in front of an old stone building. In front of the building stood a tall man of approximately 6’ 5”. He wore dark blue pants and a white long sleeved shirt. He had snow-white hair and blue eyes, an eerie look coupled with his pale skin. The jewelry adorning his neck, wrists and fingers suggested royalty, if the gems woven into strands of his hair didn’t. Currently two of the four archers were talking to him.

“What are they saying? I can’t understand them!” The yellow haired boy complained. A pink haired girl standing beside him rolled her eyes before stating,

“They’re speaking their native language, Naruto. Besides I doubt any of them can understand us either.”

“But Sakura! How will we complete our mission if none of them can understand us?”

“They should have at least one person here to translate.” Neji muttered apathetically. The Lord of the Land of Ice said something, then an archer replied as if in protest and the Lord replied again, this time with authority laced in with it. The man he had been arguing with pursed his lips but then went into the old stone building after the Lord gestured towards it.

“Kakashi-sensei! What’s going on?” Naruto whined. His question was met with silence however and then a girl walked out of the building, followed by the argumentative archer. She had black hair that seemed to be a mix of tangles, braids and loose hair. Bones and beads were twisted and woven into her hair. Long, choppy bangs hung in front of her silver eyes that revealed nothing of what she might have been feeling at the moment. Smokey black kohl surrounded her eyes and was smudged on just right so that it seemed hazy and not much like make-up. She wore an outfit similar to the archers, only in shades of black, and she had a silver ring through the right side of her bottom lip. The white haired lord said something in their language and she turned to them.

“My Lord Kree wishes to know why you have crossed into his lands uninvited.”

“We seek the help of your village. We are at war with Otogakure” Kakashi said and stepped forward. The black haired girl turned to Lord Kree and translated what Kakashi had said. Again, the Lord replied and she translated.

“Why should we give you our help? We have no qualms with the Hidden Sound.” Naruto stepped forward and spoke this time before Kakashi could even open his mouth.

“Even if they don’t give you problems they give everyone else problems. And the men who rules them is evil, vile, and cruel. Not only does he want Konoha destroyed, he has taken one of our friends and-” he was cut off by Sakura who shot the black haired girl an apologetic look. In turn, she glared at the blonde.

“Naruto is right in a way. He is causing many problems amongst the other villages that are not allied with him. It would be best to bring him down before he becomes even more powerful.” Kakashi spoke. The silver-eyed girl looked at Kakashi and without translating what was said to the Lord, she said,

“How do you not know that this ‘evil, vile, and cruel’ man has not already made us the same offer?”

“The people of the Ice do not give away their trust and friendship easily.” Was the reply. The girl smirked and was about to say something, when Lord Kree touched her arm lightly. She turned her attention to him, and without him saying anything, began to translate what was said again. Once she was finished, there was a fat silence. Then the Lord was talking again, quickly, before he turned and walked back into the stone building. The silver-eyed girl watched him leave for a moment and only turned back to the group when some one touched her. She turned so quickly that her hair spun around her head and the group had to wonder if it stung her face when the beads and bones smacked into it. She growled at a boy in all green with black hair and big black eyes, who looked much like a man who was standing next to Kakashi. The boy startled and took a step back, but only one.

“What did he say?” the boy in green inquired. The silver-eyed girl frowned and furrowed her brow before she spoke.

“You are to be given a place to stay for now. You are to prove your trustworthiness to me. If I feel you are not a threat to the people of the Ice then my Lord Kree will consider becoming your ally.” She then gestured to one of the four archers from earlier and spoke to her, not in their native language.

“Lord Kree wants the outsiders in his guest house. They are to be given food once they’re settled in.” The archer hesitated then asked,

“Would that be all Lady Ikari?” When Ikari nodded, the woman bowed and gestured for the Konoha ninja to follow. The guesthouse wasn’t very far away and was among a few others that looked like it, though they weren’t nearly as big. They were made out of ice and, when Naruto asked the woman about it, she told him that the ice was fused with chakra to keep it at a moderate temperature and to keep it from melting when it warmed up a bit in the spring and summer times. After that, it grew silent for a few moments until Naruto came up with something else to ask.

“So what’s your name? Mine is Naruto Uzumaki.” The woman smiled slightly and brushed a strand of strawberry colored hair from her face before replying.

“Mine is Sayoko.”

“That’s a pretty name!” Naruto exclaimed and earned a punch atop the head from Sakura. Sayoko giggled and opened the door to allow them into the main hall of the guesthouse.

“So what was up with that one girl, you know the one with the bones in her hair?” TenTen asked Sayoko as everyone looked around the main hall. Sayoko smiled nervously and shook her head.

“She isn’t from this village. Hers was destroyed when she was very young. As you may already know, three villages made up the Land of Ice. There was the Hidden Snow, the Hidden Ice and the Hidden Frost. Hers was the last, the Hidden Frost and it no longer exists.”

“What happened to it?” Sakura asked; everyone was paying attention now. However, before Sayoko could answer, Neji’s quiet voice informed them.

“War. For about 2 decades now, the three villages have been at war with each other. Hidden Frost was smaller then the other two and was easily destroyed by Hidden Snow.”

“How do you know of this?” Sayoko asked Neji.

“My father was friends with the Lord of the Hidden Frost. He helped their family once.” Sayoko gave the light violet-eyed boy a peculiar look before continuing with her story.

“Anyway, Lady Ikari stumbled into the village with her cousin, Eri. Both were maybe five or six years old at the time. Lord Kree’s father didn’t want to take them in but the persistence of his son and his son’s friend swayed him. The two boys were the only ones Ikari-san would allow around her or to touch her, the only ones she trusted. Even now, it is very similar. Winning over Ikari-san’s trust will be difficult.” Nobody asked any more questions after that, didn’t have a chance to because the door slammed open and a very irritated looking Ikari walked in, followed by a few people carrying trays of food.

“My Lord Kree wishes that you stay on the first floor. It has enough rooms for your company. You can eat now if you wish, the dining room is through that door.” Ikari pointed a pale finger towards a door to the left.

“If you have any problems hunt down Sayako-san. She will be attending to you while you stay here.” As soon as she finished what she was saying, she turned on her heel and left the building as quickly as she came.

“Seeing war at a young age has made her that way?” TenTen asked Sayoko.

“I supposed so, but the way she acts at times makes me feel that she used to be like that for a while before the destruction of her village.” Sayoko said softly. “I do pity her, though it means death to any that show her or Eri pity. Best keep that emotion to yourselves. Sometimes I wonder how lonely the two really are on the inside. When they were young, Lord Kree, Lady Ikari, Eri and the Lords friend, Fayne, were known to play in the forest. It was their favorite thing to do; besides pester the cook in the castle. But, ever since Lord Kree’s father died, things have changed for them.” Sayoko looked sad for a moment. She had a faraway look on her face as if she were remembering what they were like when they were young.

“What do you mean ‘things have changed for them’? Couldn’t they be the same?” Naruto asked.

“I’m afraid not. They are in important positions now that keep them from acting childish. Lord Kree took up his fathers position on the throne, Fayne has taken over as General for the army. Lady Ikari and Eri are both part of the army, but Lady Ikari is also one of Lord Kree’s advisers. Used to, they were full of mischief and fun, even though Ikari and Eri never smiled or laughed, you could tell by the look in their eyes. Now, they are as dull as ever and people have come to dislike them and some even fear them.”

“Why? What’s so scary about them?” Naruto asked. Sayoko looked uncomfortable and Kakashi stepped in.

“Naruto, I think we have asked Sayoko enough questions. She has her loyalty to her people to consider, you can’t expect her to spill everything.”

“But Kakashi-sensei! How are we supposed to gain Ikari’s trust if we don’t know anything about her!?” Naruto complained. Sayoko laughed lightly and said,

“I can give you a tip or two. For one, don’t irritate her. Asking a lot of questions, especially unnecessary ones, will only anger her. Second, don’t lie or act suspicious. She’s really good at seeing through most people and will catch on pretty quickly. Therefore, if you do anything that she thinks may harm our village or her friends, then she will not trust you. And lastly, do anything she asks of you, no matter how weird or how strongly you object. Unless she absolutely hates you, you won’t come to any serious harm. Mostly they will just be tests of loyalty and trust. It will be up to you to make a good outcome.”

“Thank you for your advice Sayoko-san. It has helpful.” Kakashi smiled warmly.

“It was no problem at all. I should be leaving now, I have other things I need to take care of before I turn in for the night. If you need anything, my house is two streets down, next to the flower shop. I’ll leave you to your dinner.” Sayoko bowed to the Leaf Ninja and left, closing the door silently behind her.

“We could have gotten more information from her.” Naruto huffed.

“Why get all of our answers from her, when Neji seems to know a bit about the Hidden Frost.” Sakura said, turning to Neji.

“And I refuse to tell you what I know until I think the time calls for it.” Neji remarked. Sakura, Naruto, TenTen and Lee looked like they were going to complain, but Kakashi said,

“That’s perfectly fine Neji. Now, it was a long journey. I don’t know about you kids, but I’m starved and intend to go see what kind of meal the Hidden Ice has provided us.” Kakashi turned and headed to the dining room. After a moment, the five teens followed.