Important Author's nothe regarding upload schedule at the end.
Interlude...predicting a storm.
Golden eyes lifted from the intelligence report in her lap to see the garden out her window, beautifully poisonous flowers side by side with innocent blossoming buds. No one could say her husband's little lover didn't know how to spot beauty, a good reprieve from the tension that usually filled the room. At least for the guests that would temporarily stay there, for the Taisho matriarch, though, that tension was what she reveled in. Watching others squirm was a favorite hobby of hers.
Still, her eyes went back to the reports in her lap; their quality wasn't exactly what she'd have wanted, but the informants they had on the hidden villages could only go so far without giving themselves up. No, Kimi would have to wait until her sons came back and get the report from the young con-artist to be back in their state. The boy had a natural ability for deception and political maneuvering she hadn't been expecting of someone from that clan, then again, his father had outright flirted with her in their first meeting. Oh, the face Toga had when he thought she was about to kill Kanako's new husband had been priceless, so maybe genes had played a part). Even then, one thing was clear...things were changing and at a rapid pace.
All because of the one girl...
Three soft knocks threatened to break her train of thoughts.
"Scram, will you? I don't care about whatever it is."
Whatever it was, it couldn't be that important if it wasn't her husband interrupting her.
"Not even for Darjeeling tea?"
The door opened as the familiar voice reached her ears; not bothering to move from her place in the window, Kimi looked at her husband's lover.
The two of them really couldn't be more different. Against her pure white hair, Izayoi sported the darkness of the night falling in a straight waterfall; her bright golden eyes a direct contrast to her shining silver, and where her features were sharp and refined, the princess' were soft and gentle. Even then, she wouldn't deny Toga's ability to judge beauty; if the man wasn't so in love with the idea of devotion, Kimi was sure they could have some very entertaining evenings of special bonding. Regardless, the young woman certainly felt at home in their states, and it hadn't taken long at all.
"What If I was occupied...or are you two finally warming up to the idea?"
"You send your last partner away this morning," the former princess laughed softly. "Besides, it was too silent for someone else to be here."
"You ruin my fun, darling."
"Are those from Konoha?" Leaving the tray on her paper-filled desk, the gentle woman rushed to her side. "Have they arrived? Are they alright?"
Idly, the Taisho matriarch wondered if it was common to be this worried about her offspring when they were out on a mission. If they thought there was a good chance the kids wouldn't return, they wouldn't be sent in the first place. Dangerous assignments were a reward to earn, not a punishment.
"They've arrived, and it looks like they're getting quite a bit of attention," she drawled.
"Yes, well, both of them are quite dramatic, aren't they?"
"Blame Toga for that one, dear." Kimi scoffed; as much as the siblings liked to argue, they were quite similar in more ways they cared to acknowledge.
"So, how is everything going?"
"So far, everything according to plan." A plan she hadn't been all that pleased about, but if there was something her husband was, it was hellishly stubborn once he decided on something.
"Something is going to go wrong, isn't there?"
"Oh, I just said it was going to plan?"
"You have that look in your eyes," Izayoi commented as she daintily poured her tea and passed her a cup, uncaring of Kimi's pose half-lying in the windowsill. "The one you had that one time when Toga thought he'd outsmarted you."
"My dear husband can be incredibly foolish, can't he?" Laughter escaped her as the memory flew by; really, the man had been delusional. "Let me tell you something, darling...it's when things look like they are going to plan...that everything is falling apart in the background."
A well-learned lesson, and one she enjoyed in the same twisted way the people who shared her blood thrived in battle and conflict. For all of Toga's attempts to keep things under control, her instinct told her chaos was about to erupt. Blood would flow, and her husband would revel in the fight the same way every Taisho before and after did. Whether he wanted to admit it or not.
"...will their return be delayed, you think?"
This time, she suppressed her laughter, Toga may have been looking for something different (the fragile lady Kimi could never be) when he picked his lover, but the woman was not quite as empathetic as she may appear...after all, what kind of sheltered princess could feel comfortable when surrounded by killers?
A/N: I'm so sorry for both the delay and the fact that this is not an actual chapter. Finals are this week and all my assignments went from "mildly time-consuming" to "I didn't need to sleep that much anyway". I don't think I'll be able to get the new chapter in time for next week either since I have way too many things to do and half of them are teamwork based things so... Still didn't want to just not post anything or post just an Author's note so here;s this little interaction between the two ladies in charge of the Taisho clan, they have an odd dynamic, honestly.
Thank you so much for reading, as alway, and sorry for the lack of chapter, any review/comment/criticism is greatly appreciated.