An Icy Solution

Sayuri had been saddened to have to hand over the entirety of both Hana and Kyoji’s corpses. She had carefully frozen both of the bodies and had them placed in crates, she would have preferred to keep them in pretty blocks of ice so that the true artistry was evident on first glance, but she had received numerous looks of disgust and horror at her concept of ‘art’ and so had begrudgingly allowed some of the guards assisting her to bring the wooden boxes. She had even gone to great lengths to create swirls of ice that looked like vines and flowers, adding what she thought was a good amount of beauty and respect to an otherwise drab shape. But it wouldn’t do for her to upset those that she was leading now. At least not yet, not until her position was better secured and her opposition was a distant memory.

She had dressed the same as she always did when travelling to the Heavenly Emporium, a long white gown decorated with bits of fur and crystals and not a scrap of footwear. She had never had any reason to wear shoes before, and now that there was no one in all of Kirigakure that could tell her what she should and should not be wearing, she felt a moral responsibility to do whatever she damn well pleased. She had arranged for a meeting room to be made available in the Diplomacy district of the Heavenly Emporium, and she made her way there immediately. The crates were carried by some workers that she tipped generously. As a Yuki she understood the importance of paying off those that you intended to use again. She directed them to leave the crates in the corner of the room, and she fought down the urge to open them up once the workers had left. Staring lovingly at dead bodies was among her favourite pastimes, but just like the decorating of ice coffins, was frequently looked down upon by other people.

Sitting on a cushion at the long low table, she would curl her feet under herself and wait for whoever was supposed to arrive from Kumogakure. She had sent a letter to open talks of peace, but she didn’t know precisely who she was meeting with. She played with her white blonde hair as she sat and conversed in her mind.

‘Maybe he’ll come.’

‘Perhaps he will, my Queen. If he doesn’t, remember that we cannot kill people here.’

‘I know, I know. I don’t like it, but I don’t know if we can afford to be forcibly removed from here now. So for now, I will be peaceful.’

Her internal conversation with Jareth was rife with sarcasm. The idea of her being ‘peaceful’ was about as ridiculous as fish walking. The ‘he’ she spoke of was Tamwyn. She had been hunting him since that fateful day when she had awoken in the hospital and he was nowhere to be found. At first she had been angry and hurt, but now she found the process enjoyable. In the same way one might find duck hunting enjoyable. You know approximately where they are and how to catch them, and you can sleep soundly knowing that if you decide to go after them, you can wring their scrawny little necks until they never leave you again.

The air felt thick from inside the cockpit of the airship. As Rin expertly piloted the flying metal contraption through waves of rain and lightning, Seigi held onto a bit of rope canopy that hung from the ceiling to keep his balance. The entire trip had been rather bumpy, but as they got closer to the Heavenly Emporium, the weather seemed to ease slightly, a gentle breeze of mist remaining in the clouds as they came in for their final approach. The view of the city was gorgeous from their descent, even on a dreary day like today. Keeping it classy, Rin would slowly approach the Diplomacy District, having memorized the details of the meeting beforehand so Seigi didn't have to. Landing on top of the building, Seigi would pat Rin on the shoulder.

"Good flying. Keep the engines running. This shouldn't take long." Seigi would say, Rin nodding in agreeance and giving him a thumbs up. Seigi would step out of the side of ship, a group of men meeting him on top of the building. The staff would approach him and an elderly man would accompany them. One of the men would open an umbrella for Seigi and the man, walking them back to the door.

"Aah, this is something I did not expect." The man would say as the door was opened and the sound of the engines of the ship faded away. Seigi found himself in a staircase leading downward, an intricate and ornate pattern of reds and swirls lining the walls. "We had expected Lady or I mean.." He would trail off for a moment. "....Queen Ryuko, not The Second Raikage. This is most unexpected."

Seigi would smile, offering a simple answer.

"Well, Ryuko wasn't any good at ending wars."

The rest of the trip was quiet and uneventful, the elderly man leading Seigi to a simple door, gesturing for him to proceed, opening it for him as he did. Nodding, the door would be closed behind him and he would take in the room's details, most notably, the blonde-haired woman sitting at the table.


Seigi wore his usual robes, leaving the Chakra Armor back at home, but kept his sword on his side nonetheless. Inside the hilt of the sword was a bit of sand that he had stored inside for quick usage, but apart from that, he came empty-handed. His hair was tied up into a ponytail and a single black eyepatch rested on his right eye.

He had half-expected an ambush, but currently, everything seemed normal and fine, apart from two crates in the corner of the room, something Seigi kept his lone eye on as he moved over to the table, sitting across from Sayuri.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

As the door opened to the meeting room, Sayuri turned her gaze hopefully towards the doorway. It took but a few seconds for her to be utterly disappointed, and a dark cloud of anger settled on her mind. Tamwyn was not the man who came through the door, the man who did enter had white hair but that was where the similarity ended. She took note of the eyepatch and wondered how exactly he had lost an eye. Eyes were among the most frightening things to lose she had learned. You could threaten to peel a man’s face off with a butter knife and he’d stubbornly show bravery, but put that same knife near his eyeball and he’d cave like poorly baked souffle. This told her one of two things about the man who had come to meet with her; Either that he had been previously tortured and had obviously caved since he still had one eye remaining - making him a normal human with a healthy survival instinct, or that he was exceedingly dangerous given that, based on his other scars, it must have taken a while to get to his eye.

Watching him move into the room Sayuri felt the tingle of a memory. His movements, the way his light shone off his white hair. . . it reminded her of stories she had heard and reveled in from Kirigakure. Of a man so ruthless and with such bloodlust that she thought it might rival her own. A white haired. . . what had they called him? “The Devil of the Cloud. . .” She murmured the title as Seigi sat down, a rush of excitement flooding her and turning her eyes black as her pupils dilated. It had to be him, his clothing, his hair, even potentially his eye if she could see it. All of that paired with him being from Kumogakure, the similarities to the stories she had heard were too close to be mere coincidence. Leaning forward with renewed interest she would place her palms on the table and stare with her adrenaline blackened eyes as she addressed the man she hoped had been one of her heroes in her teens. “I might know you, and frankly I hope that I do. I am Sayuri, leader of the Yuki Clan, and Princess of Kirigakure. I am named Ice Queen and Servant to the King of Lies, I am the right hand of the Abomination and the Princess of Azrael. And I am here to speak of a cease fire between our nations as well as to offer a gift, the body of Hana Kaguya.” She would gesture to the icy coffins in the corner as she said the word ‘gift’. “A gesture of good faith in that we would like to provide proof that we were not knowingly a part of the attack on Moonspire and have since punished those within Kirigakure that were responsible.”

As soon as Sayuri would finish speaking, Seigi would hesitate for a moment, taking his time to look her up and down before smiling.

"I had no idea that Kirigakure had royalty. Must be new." He would say, clearing his throat for a moment. "I am Seigi Chinoike, The Second Raikage. Queen Ryuko was relieved of her duty, leaving Kumogakure and it's best interests in my hands once again. It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess." He would gaze sideways at the coffins of ice, unsure how he should feel about it. Hana Kaguya had been the Mizukage, so it felt odd that they were simply giving Kumogakure the body, despite her crimes. They had packaged her up with a neat little bow that only made Seigi cautious.

"That's quite an interesting.... gift." Seigi would say, leaning back slightly to relax. "But it's a welcome one. I suspect she didn't go down easy, given her nature." In another life, Seigi had been gifted with the strength of the Kaguya Clan. He remembered his powerful his bones felt, feeling the extra density in his every movement. He even could feel his bones protruding from skin when he slept at night sometimes, and it was always slightly unsettling.

"But one body doesn't undo the countless who perished in Moonspire. It was due to lack of oversight within your village that your own Kage was able to do this in the first place, same with Konohagakure. We can talk of ceasefire all we want, but if it's rogue shinobi like your Mizukage that are causing these wars, then a ceasefire will do nothing. In case you hadn't noticed, Kumogakure isn't losing this war." Seigi would lean forward again, his demeanor changing somewhat. His hands would interlock with eachother as he rested his elbows on the table, now throwing manners out the door.
"I need to know that this isn't going to happen again. I need to be able to give my people faith in Kirigakure and that goes beyond fixing a mistake."

She caught the gentle jab of Siegi's word, and she didn’t mind at all. She would have been less impressed with the Devil of the Cloud had he been all sweetness and niceties. Without any confirmation of him not being the shinobi that was whispered about in Kiri, she allowed herself to assume that he was one and the same. It also meant that she now knew a bit more about him, and what he was capable of. The thought of him viciously ripping people apart as he sliced his way through Kiri’s ranks was exhilarating. She let her mind rest on the visions of bloodshed from days past for a moment before quipping back in response to his greeting.  “Well I suppose with Ryuko gone, Kirigakure has the only royalty that matters.” Her sweet smile as she spoke did nothing to conceal the venom laced into her words.

Continuing on her next words were sincere, as was her smile. “It is a pleasure to meet you as well, Seigi Chinoike. Your reputation precedes you and I find that I am most grateful to have the opportunity to finally meet the man behind the stories. Congratulations on your recent re-appointment to the position of Raikage. Power suits you very well.” She punctuated her last comment by drawing her eyes slowly up and down his form, in a similar fashion to his earlier appraisal of herself. Her gaze was perhaps a bit more appreciative.

She was pleased that he enjoyed the gift, she would have been ecstatic to receive a dead body as a present. Her happiness was short lived however as he spoke of the fight that must have ensued in order to kill her. “I was not there unfortunately, by all accounts it was a quick and violent affair. One that I would have desperately wished to be a part of, but alas the duties of my station prevented me from enjoying the spectacle.” Her smile had all but evaporated as he spoke of the ‘innocents’ killed in Moonspire and how somehow that was Kiri’s fault. Or something to that effect.

‘Everyone is always crying over the spilling of innocent blood. Couldn’t they just better teach their so-called ‘innocents’ to defend themselves? Or be less useless?’

‘They cannot, my Queen. They simply are less capable, that is the nature of weaker beings. And besides, if they did that, then who would we play with?’

‘Oh! Fair point. You are brilliant as always Jareth.’

Jareth didn’t reply, he knew damn well how brilliant he was and didn’t need Sayuri to validate him. He would merely chuckle in her mind and she would be left to answer Seigi.

Standing slowly, she would make her way to the coffins and rest a delicate hand atop the one with Hana’s body in it. “Please stop calling her that. Mizukage I mean. She is no longer worthy of such respect. It’s an interesting concept that you bring up, Seigi Chinoike. A ‘rogue shinobi’. One willing to go to just about any lengths to accomplish their goals. You’ll receive no judgement from me on that front, I rather admire you for it. It seems there are many people in Kumogakure that are willing to go ‘rogue’ for the sake of their desires. Never quite aligning with the nation’s wishes.” She had turned and was gracefully moving back towards the table, her bare feet whispering quietly on the floor as she walked. Once she reached the table again she would sit, this time much closer to Seigi should he allow it.

“When I spoke of a cease fire, I did not say I was here to grovel, as much as I would sincerely enjoy that. So if we’re going to speak of terrible things never happening again, I feel we should begin by placing all of our cards on the table. Wouldn’t you agree, Devil of the Cloud?”

Seigi could feel her undressing him with her eyes, watching silently as she sized him up, and he'd be lying if he said it didn't send a certain chill down his spine, and watching as she elegantly moved towards the coffin of ice, Seigi was reminded of his own days as a rogue shinobi. It was true, he had defected because he didn't share the same views as the Raikage, his own former Sensei. Kira Takaiyoba's face would briefly flash into mind and his brief hallucinations where Kira had visited him, a manifestation of his own guilt for failing Kumogakure previously. He quickly brought himself back. He would close his eye, exhaling slowly.

"And yet, whatever ideals rogue shinobi carry with them, they rarely come to fruition. They foolishly follow a pipedream until reality brings them back down, be it death, or something worse."  He would retort as she moved around him, sitting next to him. He would lean back again, this time to show her that he wasn't as tense as he was just seconds ago, his aggressive side retreating for now. He needed to remind himself that he was here to end a war, not make more enemies. He would allow her to sit as close to him as she'd like, curious to see what her play was, but also finding himself wanting to play her game. She seemed to speak in the language of cruelty and lust, and he felt the impulses from the Parallel Seigi, who could respond in kind. It was a dark feeling, something primal inside of Seigi that he felt oddly familiar, as if it had been there all along.


And then she called him that name again.
"Devil of the Cloud."

That had been Seigi Chinoike's title, and the mention of it awoke the sleeping soul, like a song to wake the dead, a seal of words that worked to trigger. Seigi would be quiet for a moment before chuckling and revealing a toothy grin. His aura had seemingly shifted.

"Shame, I've never made a Princess grovel before." He would say, ending his sentence with a sigh. He would look at Sayuri, the distance between them all but null, lowering his head slightly, straightening his spine. "But I'm curious if Kirigakure is placing all of their cards on the table. Before we get into the gritty part of this, I'm curious... Why now? And what does your ally, The Leaf Village, think? Surely, they can't be happy about this, losing you in a war means all but defeat."

Sayuri sat as close as she could to Seigi without actually sitting in his lap. The closeness to someone who was her enemy, or at least her nation’s enemy, was exhilarating. Even had they not been meeting in a neutral zone she would have done the same, more than likely pushed farther truth be told. She had an addiction to fear and danger, even though she had long since stopped seeing either of those things as detrimental to her in any way. The time she had spent under the influence of Sero’s aura, and then Azrael’s genjutsu had only prepared her mind for the insidious presence of Jareth, her now constant companion. She was not consciously aware of the effect any of those three things had on her, Jareth had gone to great lengths to conceal the damage from her and reassure her that she was exactly as she should be. Which meant that in situations like this she acted impulsively; rage, joy, pain, lust, despair. They were all the same to her and all acceptable as a means of behaving, even during talks of peace.

She would lean forward, twisting her body so that she could still face him even while sitting as close as she was. Her arm rested on the table, pale fingers drumming thoughtfully on the wooden surface as her blue eyes searched his face for the hidden meaning behind his words. She saw his one eye close, the soft and slow exhaling of breath. All signs that there was more to what he was saying than was apparent on the surface. Perhaps she had struck a nerve with her implication that he had been a rogue shinobi. If she had though, she clearly hadn’t struck it hard enough as he remained stoic and polite.

Whatever plans she had been in the process of concocting in order to garner a more extreme reaction from Seigi, were put on hold as she saw his demeanor shift as soon as she called him the ‘Devil of the Cloud’ once more.

Her pupils would dilate as she noticed the change, the chuckle and then the toothy grin. Her eyes turning black as adrenaline filled her, a coy smile gracing her red lips as she looked up at him. “Perhaps you just need to try a touch harder and then she would grovel.” The invitation was clear in her teasing remark as she moved her arm closer to him, her fingers just barely within range of grazing against him. She liked this side of him, quite a lot. It was exciting and a far cry from the stuffy meeting she had been expecting. As he asked his questions about her intentions, she would hum quietly for a moment before cocking her head to the side and answering in a soft voice. “Why now, a valid question. One that I do not think my fellow princesses would appreciate me answering honestly. But you seem like the type to appreciate the heart of things, not just the candy coating. You all but won the war for Iwagakure, it is undeniable that the nation of Kumogakure is quite strong. It is also fairly common knowledge that Kirigakure recently lost its former leader, making our nation. . . well, weak. I am amongst the very few in the world that is content to be on the receiving end of punishment, deserved or not. And it would seem that Kiri’s people being punished for the crimes of Hana Kaguya is not amongst the plans the current leading bodies wish to see come to fruition. So in short, we are apparently afraid of being razed to the ground by you. As for the Leaf Village, I haven’t the faintest idea what they do and do not approve of. Apparently they are harboring two of the people responsible for the attack on your town, so at the very least they are as yet undecided on the morality of the issue.”

Her answer was partly her own and partly Jareth’s influence. He tried to steer her towards a more charismatic approach, however she was willful even by accident. He could not yet force her to say the words that he wished her to say, and so he watched and waited as she smiled wickedly, attempting to rest her hand on Seigi's arm as she continued speaking. “I don’t care what they think, if you would like a truly honest answer. I know nothing of them save what everyone else does. I have no personal ties to their country, nor investment in their future. We did not help them in the last war, so why would we help them in the next? They will succeed or fail regardless of our intervention and it is no concern of mine. I am not well suited to diplomacy, my talents lie. . . elsewhere. I was selected to come here, I believe, because of the three of us I was the least disgusted by dead bodies. Why did you come here? Are you truly interested in developing some sort of peace with Kiri? Or is this some elaborate set up to pick us off?” There was no accusation in her questions, she didn’t mind the idea of someone attempting to assassinate her, she welcomed it. She was curious though as to why someone so obviously better suited to combat would come all this way just to talk.

Seigi wasn't suprised about Sayuri's lack of interest in Konoha, but she gave him the information he needed to make a few judgement calls about her and the true state of Kirigakure. Of course, he took most things high-level shinobi said with a grain of salt; they often never truly told the whole truth. Thinking back towards his own battles in the war, he rarely saw Kirigakure and Konohagakure ninja fighting together, their only common goal seemingly being to simply be against Kumogakure. As Sayuri gently touched his arm, he would feel her skin against hers, expecting it to be icy cold, but there was a certain warmth to it that took him slightly by surprise. His first expectation was to face a stone-cold diplomat, but as she herself confirmed, that wasn't the case.

"I won't lie to you, I considered it." He would say in reference to picking them off. "But if I wanted Kirigakure gone, I would have done it in the last war. It doesn't matter how many villages fall, there will always be another to take its place. That's the cycle of war we shinobi signed on for." He would rotate the arm that Sayuri was touching slightly, adjusting it. "The truth is, we need each other. Humanity's growth has always relied on conflict just as much as it has on cooperation. Who says the two cannot be simultaneous? My very birth was due to the Hozuki attacking the Inazuma Clan. I share an... intimate relationship with the Village Hidden in the Mist. Not only do I want peace, but I also want cooperation. There are forces beyond the walls of our villages that conspire against us; Missing-nin, Organizations, beings from beyond this world, perhaps even this dimension. We've got a lot on our plates and much larger wars on the horizon. Our two villages have always been at war, and we always end up back on the spot. Isn't it time we tried something new?"

They always did say to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Seigi did not remove her hand, or try to stop her as she touched his arm. Her smile at this only widened as he confirmed that he had considered killing her, or at least having her killed. Her fingers would slowly trace along his arm lazily as she grinned in appreciation at his comment. “How positively ruthless. I knew I liked you for a reason.” Unless he stopped her she would continue idly caressing his arm with her fingertips while he spoke, adjusting her arm in accordance with his own. She couldn’t pin down exactly what she found so attractive; the man himself, the potential danger he presented, the power that he held or some combination of all three. Regardless of the why, she could not pull her eyes away from him.

Once he had finished answering her questions she would rise from where she sat, attempting to slowly drag her hand up his arm as she did so that she was passing behind him with her hand on his shoulder. Should that be successful she would trail her fingers teasingly across the back of his neck as she circled him. She made no sudden movements, she did not want her actions to be misinterpreted as hostile. As she moved she gave herself time to think of a suitable reply, her first sentence directed at his final question. “I would love to try something new.” If she wasn’t stopped she would make her way to a side table that had a pitcher of water and some empty glasses on it. Taking the pitcher and two glasses in hand she would bring them back over to the table, setting them down and filling both glasses, passing a filled glass of water to Seigi first and leaving hers untouched until he had either accepted or rejected her offering. She wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t pick up the glass, let alone drink from it, if he had thought of assassinating her then it would be reasonable for him to have the same fear of her actions.  

“So you are the product of war, how very alluring. You want both peace and cooperation, I’m interested to know what you mean by ‘cooperation’. Cooperation in what exactly? Do you wish us to aid you in a war? Or do you mean something. . . else.” Having returned to the table she would place herself near him again, finding that being close to him was her current preference, and if he allowed it once more she would move well into his personal space to speak quietly. “I had not thought to kill you. That is a surprise even to me, most that I meet I arrange their deaths in my head long before it ever becomes a necessity. You though. . . I feel that we are more similar than we are different, and I am interested to know more about you because of it. The man who would lead Kumogakure, the Devil of the Cloud.” She would lean in towards Seigi's ear, her words barely over a whisper as she sought to evoke another reaction from the man. She had noticed his change earlier and she wondered what the depths of that change were. Sayuri had heard him speak of missing-nin and secret organizations, but she was less interested in anything outside the devil in front of her and wanted to hear more.

Picking up the water, he would give a small toast, before drinking from the glass, maintaining eye contact with Sayuri as he did so. Wiping the water from his lips with his sleeve, he would feel as she would begin to move around him, and as she made her way to his other side, whispering in his ear once more, he would set the glass down as she finished her sentence. He could feel her breath against his ear and his skin would rise with goosebumps in return. Even The Second Raikage, with all his swagger, was feeling the allure of the Ice Princess. With the hand he had held with the glass, and if not stopped, he would turn slightly to face her, reaching up slowly towards Sayrui's lips, tracing her bottom lip with his thumb, still cold and slightly wet from the precipitation on the glass. He would lean in, as if to kiss her, only to guide himself towards her own ear, his hand moving down slightly to her throat.

"Be careful for what you wish for, Princess." His hands would tighten slightly, not quite enough to hurt her, but just enough for her to know he was here. "I didn't get that name without a reason." He would move his head back, away from hers, releasing his grip on her as well, resting his arm on the table.

"In one month, I want to hold a Kage Summit with all the leaders of the Hidden Villages. There, I wish to negotiate peace with Konohagakure. If they refuse, I want Kirigakure's help in convincing them otherwise. One way or another, the war will end on that day. If I can count on Kirigakure's support, then I will approve of the ceasefire and withdraw my armies from the frontlines immediately..... and then afterward, perhaps you and I can play." He would tease her, his words and his tone all intent on matching her own seductiveness. Standing up from his seat, he would grab his glass, slowly moving over to the icy coffin of Hana Kaguya, observing the remains of the former Kage. He had heard about her, but not much beyond that. The warrior in him wanted to fight anyone who put up a worthy challenge, and that often included Kage. It was a shame he hadn't been there for it himself. Taking his katana off of his hip, he would remove it only barely from it's sheath, cutting a small bit of ice from the edge of Hana's coffin, before placing it in his water.

"Now, with that out of the way, I have a personal request unrelated to Kumogakure." He would cut her some ice from Hana's coffin as well, moving back over to her and placing it in her drink, but still standing, pacing as he did so now.

"I hear rumors that the Uzumaki Clan has relocated to your village. Now, I'm not sure if my intel is good, but I have a certain interest in the Uzumaki, specifically, their Fuuinjutsu. I merely want a copy of their clan techniques, is all."

There was a primal energy that Sayuri could feel coming from Seigi, or perhaps she was just imagining that she could feel it, projecting even. Could she tell for certain whether it was real or imagined? Did it matter? The distinction between fantasy and reality had never been noticed by her before and she didn’t give it any thought now. She kept her gaze fixed on his as he drank, impressed with his willingness to drink the water without fear. She would not stop him as his hand moved to her face, an audible gasp of breath sounding as his thumb brushed against her bottom lip and she felt the icy coolness from where he had held the glass. As he leaned in her own hand would rise to gently encircle the wrist of the hand that had moved to her throat. Not to stop him, her grip was an instinctive reaction to something she enjoyed and wished to continue. Feeling his breath against her ear she would shudder, her fingers tightening slightly before releasing him as he pulled back from her. “I know exactly what it is that I wish for.” Her voice was laced with desire as she struggled to keep her composure.

His next words evoked a look of pure delight, the emotion clearly evident on her pale features. “A Kage Summit? All of us in one place, how. . . convenient. I approve and would like to offer the support of Kirigakure as well as my own. On the subject of support, Kirigakure would like to pay reparations towards those affected by the attack on Moonspire. One million to be paid to Mr. Darhk’s immediate family and two million to be paid to the families of the workers. Personally I can’t wait, it seems like such an exciting event, though I dread having to wait a month for it. I am not an excessively patient person, in fact I find anticipation to be rather torturous.” While she had used the word ‘torturous’, from the look on her face she may as well have used the word ‘wonderful’. Despite the extreme sentiment, she did not appear to be truly distressed with the idea of anticipation. To his final remark a deep crimson would spread across her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. She was not immune to her own game, and if it was a game that Seigi was playing, she fell for it hook, line and sinker. Normally in situations such as these she would force the issue, seeking to bend her companion to her will. With Seigi however, she found herself wishing to be bent. “I would very much like to play.”

Her black eyes sparkled as she saw him cut off a piece of the elaborately formed ice coffin of Hana and place the ice within his cup. It was a higher compliment than he could have known reasonably, she had dedicated a significant amount of time and energy into the ice sculpture and she thought it was stunning. Remembering the horrified faces of those that had helped her transport it she would sigh happily and sit up on the table, leaning back with her weight balanced on both arms as she watched him cut another piece of ice. This time he walked over to her and placed the ice into her glass and began pacing as he spoke.

She would pick up the glass and sip on the water, enjoying it more now that she knew what it held. The essence of death. In her mind the flavour was exquisite, less intense than the flavour of pain or fear, but delicious all the same. Hearing of his interest in the Uzumaki clan gave her pause, and she would blink slowly as she watched him pace. Setting the glass aside she would push herself off the table and move to stop his pacing, attempting to place her hands on his arms as she stood only a breath away looking up at him. “You wish for me to aid you in obtaining more power? How could I refuse when, were I to grant your wish, it would only make you more alluring? And you are. Alluring. I know not of what you speak, however I can find out. And I will. Though I feel that it would be a difficult story to justify were I to receive nothing in return. The other two are. . . more rigid. Not in a good way. So, tempt me Devil of the Cloud, and let us see how easily I am swayed.”

He would allow her to touch him once more, letting her get her fill of him, or at least, as much as he'd allow.
"Ah, well, ice can be just as rigid I hear..." He would entice her once more, letting a heavy breath fill the silence after his sentence before chuckling and pulling away from her.
"Bring it to me at the Kage Summit and I'll show you firsthand what I plan on doing with it. I hear their chains are... interesting." He would say seductively, laughing a bit more at the end of his sentence, wandering away from her.

"Nonetheless, I won't hold it against you if the other two stop you." Seigi would turn to face her again, placing his glass on the table, the glass sliding around the empty bottom, clinking against the side as it did. "I know how hard it is to make decisions when others are in your way. Either way, next time we see each other I'll have a gift fit for a princess such as yourself, one that will make the other two know their place."

Stepping towards the door, he would knock on it once, and it would open from the other side.

"In one month, we will convene in the Land of Iron. Until then, I will pull my troops from the frontlines and a stalemate will be issued between our villages, but ONLY our villages. The war with Konohagakure continues. Please do take care, princess." He would say, then pointing towards the coffin of ice. A group of men from outside would move into the room.

"Put it on the ship." He would command, then would bow to Sayuri.

"Oh, and one last thing... that name, Devil of the Cloud... thank you, for the reminder. Should you decide to pay Moonspire yourself, please come see me. Maybe I won't make you wait the whole month."

And then slowly, Seigi would raise from his bow, smiling to her, then exiting the room.

[Exit w Hana's Body]

His teasing was enthralling and she found herself letting out a delighted and frustrated whimper as he pulled away from her once more. It seemed she had found someone who was better at her own game than she was. And she adored it. He seemed intent on giving her orders and being in control and she didn’t mind one bit, at least not enough to stop him. As he spoke of showing her what he planned on using the techniques for, her interest was piqued. She momentarily forgot her frustration as the idea of chains being involved with anything that he might show her firsthand was fuel for her very vivid imagination.

She appreciated his comment about others being in her way, and his lack of judgement regarding her ambitions unspoken as they were. And she was very ambitious. She had dreams of ruling a world of ice and blood from a frozen throne, the screams of the wicked and innocent alike echoing over the icy plains. But none of that was possible with two do gooders with hearts of gold standing in her way. “You seem to know my position well, and I appreciate your candor. Whatever you may offer me, I hope that I am worthy of it. Kirigakure will respect your position and cease hostilities against Kumogakure until further negotiations at the Kage Summit.” Sayuri was more than willing to entertain a semblance of peace with a nation led by the Devil of the Cloud, especially when it proved likely to benefit her personally.

His bow was reciprocated with a half curtsy, a simple gesture that was more respect than she had shown anyone else thus far. And one that got a baffled ‘Oh, what is this?’ from Jareth in her mind. She ignored Jareth and watched as a group of men moved the ice coffin of Hana Kaguya out of the room. “I was unaware you needed reminding, but I will be sure to continue to remind you. It is in my better interest to do so, the stories of The Devil of the Cloud are near and dear to my. . . heart.” She looked amused as she spoke, her subtleties being not so very subtle. “I likely will pay Moonspire personally. I hadn’t planned to, but seeing as there may be an exciting excursion involved. . . how could I leave it in anyone else’s hands? Until next we meet then, it cannot come soon enough.” She watched regretfully as he exited the room, wishing for all the world that she could simply order her Sentinels to stop him. Her rage and desire had reached a dangerous peak and she made her way with haste out of the Heavenly Emporium. She had to relieve her bloodlust, and in one of the only known neutral territories would be the worst possible place to do it. An unwary traveller would do, she knew that there were bandits that preyed on such having dealt with them herself. A quick slice of a throat and a spray of blood was all it took to calm her soul temporarily. At least now she had a goal, one that was more tangible and easily accomplished. She had to see him again.

[Exit Thread]