UPDATE (1/23/2016): Additional edits and cleanup.

The fighting hadn't lessened when Jiro had flown off. In spite of Nobuyuki venting his full wrath, the giant snow ogres had continued their ruthless assault. True, they tried to back off from him and Satoru, and when Takara struck them she seemed to do lasting damage that kept them down for an extended period, but they still didn't stop. They fought smarter, backing off from Nobuyuki and hitting him with more of those small spears, or attacking him from exposed sides, or rearranging their tactics in other ways to try and minimize damage. Some of them even took up leaping and lunging at the two. They managed to keep them at bay, but the fight only very slowly went in their favor. They could have easily been battling for another thirty minutes.

Yet suddenly, the storm broke. And when it did, the monsters stopped. That was when Satoru used the distraction to implement his "trump card", quickly using the moment to spread more of his moth dust over the entire collection of snow ogres. While they may have been immune to pain, they were at least somewhat sentient and as such a quick trick of magic made them all believe they had won the fight and killed them all. A moment later, instead of renewing the assault, they turned and stomped away slowly. By the time the last of the clouds faded, leaving behind a rather clear, if not deeply cold, sky behind, there weren't even echoes left; just massive footprints of the various snowmen as they went further back and up the mountain.

"…That was a bit stressful." Takara mentioned as she landed, folding her wings again.

Nobuyuki answered by dropping down to all fours, grunting, straining, and then beginning to revert. His extra fur sank back into his skin along with his muscles, his size contracted, his shreds of clothing grew large enough to fit him again, and his animal features became more human again. Akiko ventured forward a bit, finally discarding a spare snowball she had held onto and looked around.

"So…did we finally scare them off? Make them realize they bit off more than they could chew?"

"Hardly." Takeshi answered as he adjusted his own torn clothing and slipped his kunai back to his side. "Satoru just used his power on them. It'll work for another couple hours…then they may come back for more. Maybe they'll get called off before then, though."

The Sand Moth, by this point, had blazed a small indentation in the snow for him to stand on, and he flicked his wrists to make his kusarigamas vanish into a poof of golden dust. He began to let out a tinkling noise afterward, pointing to the distance.

Takara began to cringe. "That's a good point…" She started to look around nervously. "Where's Jiro? He didn't come back…"

Takeshi, in spite of all of his earlier chagrin at the Laughing Frost, began to look about as well. But there was nothing to see. Nothing but clear skies and snow that had been uprooted and turned before them by the snow ogres. As Nobuyuki finished reverting into human form and looked up, he saw no more himself.

The Ghost Hare let out a curse. "Damned kenshusei… I knew his cockiness was going to get him in trouble…"

"Now, now, hold on…" Nobuyuki spoke up, keeping his voice mellow, but still having a bit of unease on it for a change. "Just because he is not here doesn't mean things have gone badly. Perhaps he has already subdued the daimyo and is waiting for us to come to him to take her back."

"Yeah…" Takara threw in, also seeming nervous but throwing in her two cents. "Maybe he can't fly and carry her back…"

"Or maybe he's staining the snow red somewhere…" Takeshi muttered.

"Oh, relax!" Akiko piped up, beginning to move more toward the others now that the danger was gone. "I told you Eiko wouldn't hurt anyone."

"She already killed several, my poor-short-term-memoried lady…" The Ghost Hare muttered.

"Still, we should get going." Akiko added. "If Jiro found her, then I want to make sure he doesn't hurt her."

"Hurt her?" Takeshi echoed, going a bit wide-eyed. He gestured around. "Were you not paying attention a little while ago? Do you think just because those axes were blunt they couldn't have split our skulls?"

Akiko drew herself up. "I'm sure she was just trying to protect herself from more people like Nakamura's men."

Satoru gave another jingling sound, pointing around at the various snowdrifts.

"I have to admit…that would be incredible." Nobuyuki muttered, before gesturing around. "Eiko is nowhere around. When Satoru used his magic, those snow monsters stomped off. That means she didn't need to be around to control them. That they had been independent minds. Even if she had been…heh…I would have been impressed by being able to control about thirty of them independently at once, yet I do not think that was the case. I believe she actually brought them to life."

That made both Takeshi and Takara go still, as well as Akiko blink.

"L…Life?" The noblewoman stated. "As in…'alive' life? Thoughts and feelings and everything?"

"But…but…" Takara began to say as she looked around, shivering a bit both from unease as well as cold and starting to walk to one side to get her cape and put it back over her wings. "That's…impossible. How could a mere mortal create life? No onmyoji can do it…and no yokai, for that matter. Only a god could do something like that…" She paused almost immediately on saying that.

Takeshi himself was a bit more uncertain, and looked to Nobuyuki. "Is that what you're trying to say, Nobuyuki? That we're not dealing with a woman with great magic power, but an actual god?"

The man grimaced a bit and scratched his head. "Not sure what I'm saying. Only that this was no small feat… Possible that she simply summoned spirits into the snow to animate them, but…I've never seen the like."

The hooded man seemed rather nervous now as he ran a hand through his hair and ears. "Gods preserve us all… If she can actually do all that, what if her power is growing? What if that's the only reason that she hasn't frozen the entire country yet? And why wouldn't she? She could turn this whole world into eternal winter and remake it the way she liked it…fill it with creatures that she could create…"

"Alright, stop it!" Akiko suddenly spoke up. Until now, she had been growing progressively more uneasy at everything she was hearing, her cheerful face ebbing a bit, and at this point she held up her hands in a stopping gesture. "Eiko isn't like that! Like any of it! And the longer we stay out here the more I'm not liking hearing you all talk like this! So let's just…stop talking and get moving! The sooner we find her and Jiro, the better!"

The remaining members of the Jido no Hogu-sha picked up on Akiko's change in mood, although it was subtle. Clearly the continuous talk like this was starting to wear on her optimism. Nobuyuki gave a shrug. "The lady is right. No sense thinking all doom and gloom yet. These snow beasts retreated, so already things are looking up, yes?"

The others paused for a fraction of a second. Before any of them could give a response, a different voice broke the silence.

"That's the spirit! I think the exact same way! Always look on the bright side!"

The voice definitely didn't come from one of them, and soon the five were looking around. It continued to talk as they did so. It sounded a tad on the scatterbrained side, full of youthful innocence and simplicity. The end result made it seem dim-witted, but also pleasant-natured.

"Like me, for example. Sure, I could have been upset when one of those big guys didn't look where he was going and trampled me to bits, getting half of me stuck on the bottom of one guy's foot and half stuck on the other… But hey! At least I didn't have to walk out here! And look! The sky's clear and the powder is white and perfect as far as they eye can see! Oh…oh no, wait…sorry, my head was looking the wrong way. There's actually a lot of messed up spots right there and there…"

The five continued to look about for a moment, trying to figure out what was speaking. Yet as they did, small bits of snow…a pile here, a lump there, and a fragment or two there...began to pick themselves up out of the piles from the battle and started to move together, coalescing.

Satoru, being the closest to it, noticed first. He nearly made a tingling sound, but finally frowned instead and simply tapped the nearest individual, Takeshi, and then pointed. He turned and immediately whipped his kunai out again. Nobuyuki, Takara, and Akiko soon followed, as they did they saw another snowman rising from the fragments of snow that had been left behind. This one, however, didn't become as large and monstrous as his brethren. This one was far more rudimentary, taking only the form of basic snow appendages and body parts like one would expect on a well-built snowman by children as he came together. By the time they all focused on it, he was just finished reassembling himself and standing tall. Although Takeshi kept his kunai naked, however, he immediately began to consider backing off. The others relaxed considerably as well.

This snowman was not only more conventional, but was also shorter, only around three feet tall, and seemed disjointed and random enough to have been made by a small child. He was made simply out of snow and ice rather than having any sticks or coal for building material, but he still seemed innocent enough and had living eyes. He merely stood there and smiled a moment at first, but then suddenly blinked and waved at them.

"Hello!"

Normally, this move would have made someone like Akiko, not as accustomed to magic and odd situations such as this, jump or cry out in alarm. But seeing as she had just seen a number of far more intimidating snowmen try to attack them, she stayed mostly calm.

"Oh…um…hello there." She even hazarded a small smile.

"Sorry I didn't get here sooner." The snowman continued. "I ran all the way, but…yeah, you see my legs aren't nearly big as those guys." He drew his chest up and puffed with pride. "I'm here to warn you and everyone citizen of Arender-ken on behalf of Lady Eiko to stay off of Mount Shimo under pain of death!" He grinned cheerily after saying that, as if he had just proclaimed something wonderful.

The five were left a bit dumbfounded at that, before Takeshi scowled.

"…Are you trying to tell us that you're her messenger sent to warn travelers away?"

The snowman nodded. "Uh-huh."

"And that if they don't heed your warning, those bigger snowmen come out and attack them?"

"Uh-huh."

"So you need to give those warnings before people get too far?"

"Uh-huh."

Takeshi's grip tightened on his knife as his teeth began to bare. "And you didn't?"

"Uh-huh."

A moment later, the kunai went flying in a spinning circle, and Takara grimaced while Akiko cupped her hands to her mouth in alarm before his head went flying off all together, landing on the ground at the snowman's own feet. He continued to smile even then, however, blinking a few times.

"…Did I suddenly shrink?" He asked after a moment. He blinked then looked up, seeing his body hovering over him. "Whoa…no one ever told me how fat I've been getting…"

Takeshi snorted as his knife returned to him, only to have one of his ears suddenly seized between Akiko's thumb and forefinger as she ran up behind him. He winced and instantly went rigid before he was yanked down to her level. The other ear flapped around wildly in response. Apparently, that was a big weakness. At any rate, she frowned at him for a moment before letting the ear go, then stomped right by him.

"What was that for?!" He snapped.

"For being so mean to a harmless, good-natured snowman!" Akiko retorted as she went right up to the strange being and bent down to pick up his head.

"Harmless?! Good-natured?! His 'big brothers' nearly killed us back there!" The Ghost Hare shot back as he rubbed his ear. "And didn't I say never to touch the ears?!"

"Hey now," Nobuyuki answered, moving up behind him and patting him on the shoulder. "We're all alive, aren't we?"

"Besides, I don't think it was this one's fault." Takara added as she moved over, resisting the urge to fly and simply walking this time.

Akiko was a bit nervous to actually be handling this creature, wondering if it would have some sort of ill effect. However, in the end, she tentatively picked his head back off of the ground, moved it to the body, and let it drop back on.

"Ah…!" He cried at the drop, a bit of flakes flying from the impact, and his head sinking in slightly into his neck.

The noblewoman grimaced, drawing back and cupping a hand to her mouth again. "Oh! Sorry! Sorry! Are you alright?"

"Jsst…wnn…sccnd…" The snowman answered from his sunken mouth within his chest, before raising his stubbly limbs up to his head, giving a pull, and setting it back on his shoulders. "Ah! Phew! Makes breathing a lot easier…or…you know, it would if I had lungs and not just more snow…" He turned to her with a smile, spreading his arms wide. "Hi! I'm…I'm…"

The snowman paused, and then blinked a few times, crossing his arms and tapping his head.

"Er, darn it…who am I again? I think a few of those flakes that got loose when my head split up had something important…"

Akiko, on seeing the snowman was mostly alright, eased down again. Yet as he tried to think of an answer, she looked to him a bit more closely, and blinked a few times. The others saw a light of recognition come over her face.

"…Osamu?" She asked after a moment, almost hesitantly, not so much guessing the snowman's name as sounding like she genuinely knew him.

"Oh, that's it!" The snowman answered with a snap of his fingers. "Thanks!"

He paused.

"…Have we met before?"

"You sound like you actually know him, Akiko." Takara said as she walked in closer.

"Well…er…uh…kind of." The young woman shrugged. "When I looked at him, I remembered years back when Eiko and I were really little…before she started hiding away all the time…we'd both play outside during the winter, and there was this one snowman we'd make named 'Osamu'. And when I saw him just now," She turned and looked again to him. "He looked just like him."

"Oh, so we have met? Great!" Osamu answered. He stared blankly at her for a few moments with a vacant grin on his face, not moving. He blinked once. Twice. "So who are you?"

The young woman, shaking her head, pointed to herself. "Oh! I'm Akiko." She turned and gestured nearby. "That's Takara-san…"

"Hello! Wait…do you only have one tooth? Oh, you poor creature…"

"Satoru-san…"

The golden-tinted man gave a wave and a tinkling sound; seeming to like that the snowman was more his height.

"Takeshi-san…"

"I've got my eye on you, snowball."

"And Nobuyuki-san."

"Hey there, little friend." He said afterward, bending down to put his massive body more on his level.

"Hi there!" Osamu answered. "Oh, that was really amazing a minute ago when you turned into a giant homicidal walking nightmare beast that ripped all in your path into shreds! I think you actually split me into a few additional pieces! Heh!"

The group was a bit confused at that off-the-wall response, but Takara gave a shrug to it. "Well, I think we can pretty much rule out that these constructs of Eiko can feel pain…at least from physical trauma." She held up her jitte a moment later. "It looks like I might be the only one who can actually do real pain damage to them."

"Oh, and if you get them or me too close to fire!" Osamu chimed in. "Eiko told us all to make sure we don't get close…which is, I don't know, a real bummer to me because I wouldn't mind spending a quiet evening at home curled up in front of a warm fire."

Again, the five were confused.

"You…want to get close to fire?" Takara asked.

"Of course!" The snowman cheered. "I mean, winter is nice and all that, but I just love the idea of burning hot sun and sizzling warm beaches and fields full of flowers… Running around in them would cause me to at least lose a little of this extra weight, don't you think?"

"…Without a shadow of a doubt." Nobuyuki answered with a strange look, blinking at the comments he was hearing.

"Um, Osamu…" Takara began to say. "Dear? I think I need to tell you-"

Before she could get any further, Akiko suddenly reared up and put a hand over her mouth. She leaned to her ear and spoke in a whisper.

"Don't tell him that! It's nice to have a dream! He'll be devastated!"

Takara looked to her, blinking, as she slowly pulled her hand back. "But…he's going to have to find out eventually…"

"Bah." Nobuyuki answered. "Akiko's right. Winter only lasts a season. Why make him gloomy during it?"

Takeshi, however, was still focused on Osamu. "Wait, did you just tell us how to kill you?"

Osamu turned and looked to him with a smile, which turned to confusion on seeing his puzzled reaction. "What? You didn't want to know?"

Akiko looked back to him. "Osamu, you said you were supposed to warn people away from Mount Shimo? Does that mean Eiko is there?"

"Oh yeah!" He answered. "Why?"

"We really need to go see her." Akiko answered. "She's freezing everything in Arender-ken right now…maybe everything in Japan. We have to get her to stop it. Could you take us there?"

"Sure! Wait…no!" Osamu responded, beginning to move only to stop in mid-step and then turn around again. "Eiko told me very clearly that she doesn't want anyone seeing her, especially people who want to kill her. She kind of has a 'thing' against people like that, or something… I don't see why. Heck, that guy over there," He pointed to Takeshi. "Wanted to kill me and he doesn't seem too bad."

"Oh," Akiko answered with an innocent smile and a shrug. "But none of us want to hurt Eiko!" She paused, and then gave everyone else a look that was a bit sharp. "…Isn't that right?"

"Uh, no, of course not!" Nobuyuki joined in.

"Er…nope! Sure don't!" Takara added.

Satoru rolled his eyes and jingled.

Takeshi frowned and muttered.

"See?" Akiko concluded with a gesture. "Besides, I'm her sister. I'm sure she'd make an exception for me."

"Oh! You're her sister?" Osamu responded, suddenly alarmed by that. "Well, that's something else! Sure, no problem! Unless, you know, you're one of those people who's only pretending to be her sister to trick me into taking you to her so you can stab her in the back at the first opportunity."

Pause.

"…You're not, are you?"

Akiko blinked, and then shook her head. "Oh…no, of course not."

"Well then, no problem!" Osamu cheered, turning around and beginning to waddle in the direction of the other snowmen. "Right this way!"

"Wait a second…" Takeshi suddenly spoke up, causing him to stop and turn back. "She just told you she wasn't lying, and you immediately went with it?"

"Why not?" He answered, before his brow furrowed. "Unless…you were trying to trick me about trying to trick me. You weren't, were you?"

"Of course not!" Akiko answered as she got up, ready to move.

"Well then, no problem! Right this way!"

Takeshi grunted and slapped his hand in his face. "What if she was trying to trick you about that?"

"Huh? Wait…I guess that's true unless you were trying to trick me about trying to trick me about trying to trick me. You weren't, were you?"

Getting a little impatient at this point, Akiko groaned. "Of course not…"

"Well then, no problem! Right this way!"

Takeshi opened his mouth to speak again, before Nobuyuki lightly clonked him on the head with a large fist before moving to follow the two.

"Give it a rest, or we shall be here all night…" He told him.

"Besides, don't get him to think about all that!" Takara chimed in as she went after them as well. "Who's side are you on, anyway?"

Takeshi groaned and reluctantly followed behind Satoru when he started to move. "This queen might be good at homicidal snow ogres, but she needs to put a bit more effort into building sentries…"

Jiro was only dragged on by Eiko for a mile. After that, she came to a halt in front of what looked like a massive ornamented norimono* of ice. It was open-covered and elaborate; definitely the kind of design and splendor that one would expect from someone on the level of the shogun or emperor, only made out of pure, perfect ice. It honestly attracted him a bit. However, it was set on the ground and awaiting her to enter. There were no individuals there to lift it or bear it, although he had a feeling he'd see that soon.

Sure enough, about thirty minutes later, the ground began to tremble again. Jiro turned and looked, and saw the collection of snow ogres stomping toward her. They didn't have a mark on them, having fully regenerated by then. They marched right up to Eiko and the carriage, filing around and looking to her obediently.

"Where's Osamu?" She asked after a moment. Jiro noticed there was genuine concern on her voice.

"Too slow." The one in the lead boomed in a voice that reminded Jiro of Nobuyuki's bear form. It actually made him recoil in a bit of surprise.

She sighed. "I hope he didn't get into anything… Was anyone else trying to climb the mountain?"

"Yes."

Jiro was already pale skinned, which was good because he might have paled a bit more here. He sincerely hoped that his lie wasn't about to come back on his head, for Eiko still had his staff and he was at a disadvantage in the chains.

"Where are they now?"

"All dead."

Jiro reacted again to that. What had that snow ogre just said? For a brief second, he thought the worst… However, he quickly got ahold of himself afterward. He had to think straight. Strong as they were, they couldn't have won. He looked over the snow ogres again. This time, he checked around their eyes and faces. It took a moment, but then he began to see hints of gold dust mixed in with their snow. He struggled not to sigh in relief at that.

However, something new soon commanded his attention.

Eiko's eyes almost immediately widened on hearing what the snow ogre said. And, in response, Jiro felt the air around her get cooler. Even if the temperature didn't impact him, he could at least tell there had been a change. Not only that, but the wind started to pick up. Loose snow began to blow a bit around her.

"Wh…what?" She exclaimed in shock. "I told you don't kill anyone! I ordered you only to drive people away! That's why I blunted your weapons!"

As she said this, Jiro noticed the sky darkened a bit, but only in the local area. Clouds began to form right above them, and they began to generate a few more flakes. As for Eiko, she grit her teeth and grabbed her forehead in frustration.

"Damnit! I don't want any more death! I don't want anyone else hurt!"

The snow and storm continued to pick up for a moment after that, making Jiro more and more intrigued. But even more so when even her beautiful norimono began to emit crinkling sounds, and, before his eyes, began to warp and twist, growing sharper in areas, losing the beauty and becoming more jagged and uneven.

So… He thought to himself. Her power is tied to her emotions… She can't control it when she loses control of herself. And from the looks of it, she's a ball of emotion too.

However, a moment later, the snow ebbed, and the norimono partially reverted, but not completely. Letting out a pained whine, Eiko looked up and rubbed her temple, and then shook her head and began to head for the litter.

"Just…just get me out of here…" She told the snow ogre. "Take me home…away from Arender-ken and anyone else… Here."

At that, she practically threw her end of the chain behind her and toward one of the snow ogres. Before Jiro knew it, he was now being held by one of the snow monsters. And on seeing who it was, the creature gave him an angry look and a deep-throated growl although he did no more. As for Eiko, looking tired and strained, she climbed into the carriage and sat in the chair, crossing Jiro's staff in front of her. In response, two of the snow ogres came forth, grabbed the poles on either end, and then hoisted it up. They began to bear Eiko along, moving perfectly even, toward the north and further up the mountains.

Soon, the other snow ogres followed. And when they did, they gave Jiro a sharp tug, making him gag and nearly stumble.

"Move, puny."

They ended up walking for a good six hours. Jiro hated it. Even if the icy chains didn't freeze him, he detested the fact that he was forced to march and not be able to fly. After all, he usually was barefoot, and now was no exception. And the snow ogres weren't really concerned with being gentle with him either. He spent most of the time trying to think of what he could say to the woman in the hand carriage, who stayed concealed behind an icy veil like any noblewoman might. Yet to be honest, he kept having feelings inside him that he couldn't explain and they distracted him from saying anything for almost the whole trip.

That finally broke near the end, however, when they reached an expanse about mid-day. A deep chasm, long and far reaching, stretched between two mountain peaks: one being smaller than the other, and the opposite being tall and intimidating. Yet what really caught Jiro's eye was two massive, intricate arches flanked either side, made completely of ice. They also had ice chains attached to drawbridges on either side, and when the retinue approached, Eiko drew back her curtain and waved her hand at them. In response, the chains extended and lowered the bridges on both sides and soon they were crossing it. Jiro, currently unable to fly, couldn't help but gulp a bit as they walked across, because only thin ice railings, every bit as clear and perfect as the rest of the carriage, protected them from a drop of several hundred feet into darkness. No one would ever find him even if he survived the fall… What made it worse was, once again, it grew rougher and uneven as they passed over it.

Once across to the other side, the retinue paused, and Eiko extended her hand behind her to raise the bridge. However, no response. She grit her teeth and focused harder, but the chains only pulled up a bit, locked, and then wavered up and down, before collapsing all together.

She groaned, forming another anxious look, before slumping into her carriage. When she spoke, her voice was more tense than before. Even a tad fearful. "Destroy this side."

Two of the snow ogres grunted, nodded, and then turned and went over to the frame of the ice archway. They began to smash their fists against it, pounding away again and again. It held for only a moment, before it started to fracture and break. Ice chains snapped soon after and whipped through the air, followed by a huge groaning. Not long after, the entire assembly bent and wavered, letting out even louder groans, and finally snapped all together and spilled over the edge, sinking into the dark chasm. Jiro winced again on hearing it crash on its way down, shattering even more, but the ogre with his chain pulled it again and made him move. He turned back forward and saw Eiko was being carried onward.

"Seems your powers aren't exactly working as you hoped." He said after a time.

The snow ogre yanked his chain, nearly making him spill into the snow after that. "Quiet."

A sigh came from the carriage. "It's alright. I don't mind. I'd prefer something besides silence…"

Jiro, still grimacing from the yank, pulled himself up and moved his manacled hands to his neck to rub it. After a moment, he cracked it. "Yeah… You've got strength and power, no doubts there, but you've got no experience. You can't even get your power to do what you want it to do all the time, can you? You must have fought me mostly by instinct, didn't you?"

The voice sighed again. "Did you only want me to bring you along so you could insult me?"

Jiro shrugged. "I'm not insulting anything. Just making an observation." He paused a moment afterward, walking along, gradually whistling a few notes, and then finally looking back to the carriage. "I couldn't help notice that it really shook you up when you heard your creations killed those intruders."

The Laughing Frost had a method to saying thatnand it was soon confirmed. Parts of the carriage grew sharper yet. The sky overhead once again looked hazy...

"Why wouldn't I be?" Eiko's voice shot back. "You think I want to hurt people? You think I want to kill anyone? Why on Earth do you think I moved up here, where there aren't any people?"

"Fleeing the scene of the crime." Jiro shrugged. "Escaping persecution. You are wanted for murder, remember that…"

The sky suddenly darkened again, and a fierce wind whipped by momentarily as the curtain went aside and Eiko looked passionately out. "I did. Not. Murder. Anyone!"

Jiro stayed calm, tilting his head. "Really now. So how did Lord Taguchi and his retinue end up being food for the flies, hmm?"

The woman hesitated. She seemed to almost be quivering now. After a time, she exhaled, closed her eyes, bowed her head, and leaned back inside the carriage.

"As much as you and everyone back in Arender-ken must hate my power…none of you hate it nearly as much as I do. Some days I feel like I'd do anything to be rid of it…"

Jiro gave pause here, his calm, carefree look abating a bit. To be honest, that statement got a tad of his ire. He knew how great it was to have powers over cold and frost: everything it allowed him to do, all the freedom it gave him, and all the fun he could have with it. To see someone who had even more power, power even he was envious of, and talk about it like that as if it was something so unwanted… He couldn't help but feel a bit jealous. At any rate, Eiko continued.

"I had these powers ever since I can remember…although they weren't much at first. The earliest I can remember I could put frost on things or make it snow around me. I had been doing it for a while, but that was the time when my parents found out, and I realized not everyone could do that… At first…" She sighed. "They were afraid of me. They thought their daughter had been killed and replaced by a yuki-onna in the night." She grimaced. "I still remember how scared they looked…how they stared at me as if they didn't know who I was…and how horrible that felt…"

She shook her head.

"They eventually realized it was me and they warned me never to let anyone know about my power. They said I'd be accused of being a witch or demon and killed if I did. I didn't really understand at the time, but I obeyed. I kept it a secret for a while, but that was the time when I still played with my younger sister Akiko. I guess we were like a lot of sisters, but it felt like a very good time to me. I loved to play with her. Wading in the stream, running up and down the halls playing one of our silly pretend games and driving the castle staff wild, getting up late in the night and raiding the kitchen, running around the gardens when the cherry blossoms were falling…" She smiled a bit wistfully here. "It was like falling snow to me. But winter was my favorite season, because then I could use my power around her and she wouldn't know any better. Maybe I'd make some flurries or create a snow pile for her to jump in or coat a lake with ice so we could skate around on it. Akiko loved everything I did; never suspecting how I did it and too young to know any better. So much…that I started to doubt my parents. I thought maybe I could risk at least showing it to her…use it to make her happy and excited…

"So, one morning in the middle of a hotter summer, I got up earlier than her, closed the door and window to the room, and I filled it with snow. Some flat, some in drifts, but all what she liked to play in. I built a snowman for her and hung the nicest icicles I could make from the ceiling while molding ice around the walls. I wanted to see her surprise to see that I had made a winter's day for her indoors in her room. I worked on it for a solid hour."

Her smile vanished and she began to tremble as her head bowed once more.

"As you probably guessed by now, I don't get cold. I never did. I have no idea what it's like and at the time I had no idea anyone could even get cold. But then I started to notice Akiko was shaking all over. The thin bedsheets for summer barely offered any protection. I shook her to try to get her to wake up and see what I had done, but she wouldn't." She trembled a bit more; the sky turning gray again, and flakes slowly beginning to fall. "I can still hear her teeth chattering…seeing her curled into a ball… I tried again and again to wake her up but she wouldn't. So I ran to the door in spite of knowing how mad my parents would be and tried to open it, but I couldn't. The ice had gotten thicker and it wasn't obeying me…

"I got scared. I pounded on the door for help. And as I did the room grew colder and the ice thicker. I saw frost form on Akiko and she only shuddered more and more violently. My parents and the guards arrived, but they couldn't get the door open. They had to break it apart in the end, at which point my parents immediately ordered the guards away and went in alone. They got Akiko out, but…they had to treat her for cold and hypothermia in the middle of the hottest summer on record. It was almost impossible to hide, and still the rumors got out. The guards had glimpsed the ice inside the room, after all…and they knew we were in there…

"Father and mother were furious. They punished me severely for disobeying them, but more so for what I had nearly done. Father told me to my face…making me look him in the eye…that if I had been any other child in the world he would have killed me right then and there. They ordered me to start disciplining myself the way the castle samurai did, and told me that I would not be allowed to play around Akiko again until I learned to control my power. After that day, they made me move into a new room and have limited contact not only with her, but with everyone. If my power got out, it might not only hurt people but it might doom the family, after all. If I was branded as a demon, then the entire house might suffer dishonor for it. The shogun might have ordered us all killed for 'harboring the witch'. I could not only hurt people with my power but I might end up being the death of Akiko and the rest of my family…"

She sighed. "But I didn't become 'safer'. As I got older, it only got worse. I started accidentally icing things over. Causing my room to freeze. I withdrew more and more as the years went on, trying to keep people from finding out about it and making sure no one was around to be hurt by it…but it only got more terrible. I grew less able to control it over time. Since it spiked with my emotions, I tried to study to be emotionless all together. To live in a way where I never used it at all. But…"

She raised her hands and looked at them.

"…But it felt terrible. I always had to put on a 'mask'. I could never let anyone in or see who I was… I had to live as a fake and a recluse… But worst of all?" She closed her eyes. "As much as I hate how much misery it brought me, as much as I wish sometimes I could be rid of it, it's a part of me. Being forced not to use my power…it feels like I have two healthy, strong legs but I'm being told to use crutches. Like having a perfectly sound hand and keeping it bound in an iron glove. And the more I bottled it up inside me…the more I could swear it wanted to get out…"

Jiro decided to interject here. "Did you ever think for a moment, um, perhaps…your parents went about this the wrong way?"

Eiko's eyes opened and she snapped to him, almost looking angry. "How dare you! My parents were honorable and wise people! Have you seen how much Arender-ken prospered underneath them? How large it grew?"

"Yes, but the way I see it, it did even better under you…" Jiro answered. "Think that might mean you know better than them in at least some things?"

The queen frowned. "You tell me that to my face and call me a murderer at the same time?" She turned away again. "To answer your question…the night after I was officially made the daimyo for my region and received full authority, my sister…" She sighed. "…once again thinking everything was always going to 'come up cherries' brought one of the nobles to me and asked me to consent to their marriage. She had known him for one evening! I took one look at him, recognized that he was the eighth son of another daimyo and wasn't looking to be the ruler of his own territory any time soon, saw how nice and pleasant and perfect he seemed…far too nice, too pleasant, and too perfect…seeming to have the best answer for everything Akiko could ask and happening to love everything she loved, and I knew something wasn't right. But Akiko…she always has to think the best will come from everything… She already saw herself living happily ever after with that man in a perfect fairy tale and here I was 'ruining it'. We got in an argument, my emotion started to flare, which meant things were starting to get cold…so I stormed away from her and went into a separate room, trying to calm down..."

She slowly put her arms around herself as she leaned back into the carriage, as if hiding in it.

"When I looked out the window to Arender-ken, I heard something. Screaming. It sounded like pain…terror… And I heard someone shout for help. I looked for the source, and I saw a fire far in the distance, outside the walls and in the city. It was near the inlet, but…I knew almost all of the magistrates and citizens were celebrating the festival for my ascension. They weren't on fire duty, and I could see flames spreading. So…" She paused again, trembling a bit more. "I used my power. I thought I'd drop an icy wind and blast of snow on the fire from this distance…put it out…and no one would be the wiser. But I was wrong. I had never tried anything of that magnitude, and I hadn't really used my power in years. Not only did half the countryside see the streak of icy blue energy come from the castle where I was, but I heard screams when it landed. Panic soon followed. The town criers and watchmen began to announce…that they were dead…impaled on ice…"

Her hands went up to her head as the snow went from flurries to a downfall.

"It looked like there was a fire out there! It did! I swear it did! Maybe I was too distraught… Maybe I wasn't thinking… But seeing them all around me… Growing fearful… Growing angry… Everything my parents warned me about…how they'd fear and hate me but, most of all, how I was dangerous…how I'd end up hurting people…even killing people…it came true that evening. It was too much. My power began to go wild. It came out in bursts from my hands and started freezing things in the room or making pillars of snow and ice… By the time they broke in, I spun around and accidentally sent them flying when my power erupted from my hands toward the floor… I knew I was going to hurt more people…kill more people if I didn't run for it. So I did.

"Time and again I shouted at them to stay away from me. To stay clear. But they only grew angrier. Men started to draw their swords and come after me… Even if I didn't want to defend myself, I got so scared that my power erupted from my hands on instinct. Sometimes knocking them back, sometimes creating ice spikes that tried to impale them…"

"Did you hit any of them with a beam to the heart?"

The suddenly interruption caused Eiko's eyes to open up a bit, and she leaned up and looked out. "What?"

"Did you hit any of them with a beam to the heart?" Jiro responded, innocently enough. Considering what he was hearing from Eiko, he hated to bring her more bad news but he figured he might as well. This was something important, after all.

After a moment, she blinked and shook her head. "No."

"Good. Don't do that. To anyone. Ever." He simply answered. He didn't want to elaborate. By now, there was a steady snowfall and an icy wind blowing around. He figured she was stressed enough as it was. "Itachitoko said you had the look of a demon about you. Like you were hurting as many people as you can when you ran."

Eiko was stunned. "No! That's a lie!" She paused on hearing what she just said, withdrawing a bit, but then firmed out. "Or…at least he's mistaken! I never wanted to hurt Lord Taguchi! I never wanted to hurt anyone! Don't you all see? That's why I ran! I wasn't trying to escape my punishment! It was an accident, but a man died! I know I have to answer for that! But did you not hear what I did to the men trying to stop me when I ran? How badly I could hurt them? If I killed Lord Taguchi by accident when I was calm, how much more damage can I do to everyone else when I'm scared?"

She turned around again and slumped back into the carriage. "That's why I came up here. Here…surrounded by snow, ice, and cold…where I'm free to use my power as much as I want and there's no one to hurt or notice. To be honest," She took in a deep breath. "It feels amazing. Like there was a weight on my chest ever since I was little and it's coming off. I'm finally free…somewhere where I may be alone and in hiding…but at least I can be myself and I can't hurt anyone else."

Again, Jiro had to repress the urge to point out what was going on. Apparently she still had the senses of a regular human being. And her power was so instinctive she had no idea what she was doing even now. He supposed what was happening was due to her letting her power go, but he doubted it. This was more of an effect, at least he believed, of her growing more fearful for her life and others. One thing was certain, however. He believed now without a doubt that Itachitoko had been either lying or mistaken. In spite of having just met her, he believed her story. The nice thing about this power of hers hinging on her emotions, it seemed, was that it acted as a perfect lie detector. She was genuinely distraught about what happened. That meant it had been an accident. That should please Akiko; assuming she could get anywhere near Eiko without her snow ogres tearing her apart.

He decided to change the subject. "The Hachiro guy didn't seem too bad… He actually cut us some slack. Didn't treat us like demons right off the bat. Even seemed to like me."

"…Perhaps. But I know enough to not listen too much to people who always seem to only say things you enjoy hearing."

"Heh, maybe you should try it for a bit. You seem to have mostly only been listening to people who tell you things that scare you to death."

Eiko clammed up at this, not saying another word. The Laughing Frost groaned at what he had done. Now she wasn't talking at all. With nothing for it, he continued to march onward for the time being.

As it turned out, they didn't have to march too much further. A good thing too because they ended up going rather steep. Although the cold, which had to be fatal to most humans now without heavy protection, didn't affect him at all, and he had enough stamina for the climb, the air thinness made him a bit dizzy with all of the exertion. He was looking forward to stopping soon. But before he could, they had yet another deadly path to tread. This time around a rocky ledge spiraling one of the topmost peaks. Again, it was a rather narrow pass; one so large that Eiko and her norimono could barely get through. But once on the other side, emerging into a high valley between this peak and the next that briefly flattened out, Jiro's jaw loosened as he stared in amazement.

A pagoda of ice stood beyond. Flawless…perfect…intricate…and beyond beautiful to a person like him who appreciated all things ice and snow. It stood only four levels tall and wasn't as spread out as Arender-ken castle, but its structure and ornamentation were far more sleek and elegant. It looked like a single, massive, flawless piece of crystal the way it had been constructed. In the light of day, it gleamed like an impossibly large diamond. Even if one disliked cold and snow, they would have been forced to be captivated. So much more Jiro as he slowed his step to marvel at it.

After a moment, he cracked a grin and looked to the carriage. "Not exactly hiding out in a mountain cave, are we? How long did it take you to make that? Three…four days?"

Eiko shook her head behind the curtain. "No. Only…about half a minute."

Jiro's jaw loosened again.

"Did…did you say 'half a minute'? You're not exaggerating on me, are you?"

"A few of the fine details took closer to an hour…things I didn't have in mind… But yes, only about half a minute to build everything you see from here."

"I'm honestly impressed, my lady." Jiro said with a whistle as he looked it over.

He saw the woman shift behind the curtain. "Wh…what did you say?"

He snickered. "Well, you are the queen of Arender-ken, right? I owe a pretty young noblewoman some respect, don't I?"

The woman hesitated a bit at that, but then merely let out a snort before easing back inside.

Soon, the retinue reached the front gates, which opened of their own accord on arrival. Most of the snowmen spread out, and the ones holding her carriage let it down for Eiko to dismount. The one yanking Jiro along gave him one last angry grunt, and then passed the chain back over to the daimyo. Once she had it in one hand and Jiro's staff in the other, she led him through the entryway and inside.

The interior was lovely too. It was the most picturesque castle that Jiro had ever dreamed of or encountered, only completely made of ice. Everything was ice. The walls, the screens, the floors, the décor (including sculptures made to look like bonsai trees), wall hangings, vases, and other articles. He imagined it had to be rather cold inside the interior, but there was no way to tell. Neither of them were affected by it. Their breath didn't even mist. There weren't many guards in here either. He saw two more of the armored snowmen standing as sentries, but then there were a great number of halls before getting to the stairs with nothing. He looked around quite a bit as they went along.

"Quite a lovely little abode you have here, my lady. But, heh, aren't you forgetting something? Like a kitchen…with food? Or even a place to sleep?"

"I don't need either of those." Eiko said as she walked along. "I thought I did…but I learned over the past few days that I never get hungry when I use my power. Or tired, for that matter. My body seems like it's 'frozen' in its current state."

"Well, even if you don't need it, wouldn't you like a good night's rest as much as the next person?"

"I can't afford to sleep now if people are still trying to get to me. And definitely not if they're sending people like you after me."

Jiro sighed. "Fine. How about a place to sit, at least? No one was carrying me in a fancy litter."

The woman sighed. "Just a bit further."

After a while, they came into some sort of inner sanctum, or so Jiro supposed. It had nearly transparent ice doors leading in and out of it, and on stepping inside, he found an emblem of a massive snowflake on the ground and several lampstands of ice set up around it. Remarkably enough, they lit the interior. He wasn't sure how the tips were producing a gleam, but they had to be somehow.

This area had several naves on the sides of the chamber. Jiro grimaced yet again when Eiko moved over to one and placed his staff in it. A moment later, she waved her hand and instantly encased it in solid ice. There was no way he could get it now. He needed it to focus his power to break that kind of ice, which meant he couldn't get it at all. Afterward, she put the end of the chain on the ground and, with another wave of her hand, iced it over to anchor it.

Once this was done, she got a good distance, then turned and crossed her arms.

"Alright. I brought you here. You've seen my palace. Now what do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Jiro simply answered.

"You know exactly what I mean. The only reason you're here is to bring me back to Arender-ken, dead or alive."

"Hey, just because I'm hired muscle doesn't mean I can't see things from your perspective. I can sympathize with you now that I know the whole story. Rather than worrying so much about me, how about worrying about yourself?"

Eiko looked taken aback. "Excuse me?"

"I see you made yourself a nice little setup here." Jiro went on, trying to cross his hands behind his head and then sighing and giving up when unable. "But you're not really fooling anyone. Sure, you may be 'free to be yourself' up here, but I don't think you made so many of those snow creatures just to protect yourself. Not after what you did back there when I fought you. Something tells me you want companions. Someone to talk to and to chat with. Something further tells me that's the major reason you brought me here rather than just didn't send me away when I asked."

The woman held a moment, but then frowned and crossed her arms, turning her head away from him.

"I won't say it will be easy, but maybe you should get to work on how you're going to get back to Arender-ken." Jiro went on. "You can't stay up here forever. These snowmen aren't providing you the kind of company you want, are they? And I don't think you want to spend the rest of your life away from human contact…or your sister for that-"

Spikes suddenly came from the floor, aiming themselves at Jiro's chest. Eiko looked up to him, eyes blazing.

"Leave Akiko out of this."

Jiro grimaced at the spikes but then shrugged and looked back to her. "She's part of this whether you like it or not, because you just abdicated the throne and left her in charge of Arender-ken. And as I've met your sister, you should know that's not a terribly good thing. If your suspicions are right about Hachiro or you know her better than I do then you should know she always sees the best in every situation. That's a good thing a lot of the time but not always. Not if you're going to be a ruler. Not if you're going to have to decide to trust some and not trust others. She needs her older, more responsible, and wiser sister."

Eiko snorted. "You think I'm so much more 'responsible' and 'wiser'?"

"I know you are."

The woman turned her head at that.

"I saw the decisions you made. You're not only shrewd and intelligent, but you're also generous, fair, and you understand people and their needs. You're better than almost any other daimyo I've seen. Your country did well under your father, but it did better under you. Your people need you too, my lady."

The woman sighed. "Need me? For what? To freeze families from the inside out next time I get upset? To scare children? To accidentally murder dignitaries?"

"Your sister needs you more than just for leadership and someone to show her along, too." Jiro went on, slowly stepping around the spikes. "Like I said, I met her and she's worried sick about you."

This made Eiko's face soften a little.

"She's going to come out here after you, you know." Jiro continued, lying a bit for emphasis. She would be coming; just faster than she realized. "Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But she's going to try and get here. You should know that better than anyone. And when she does, are you going to greet her with those same 'guards'?"

The woman let out a small noise on hearing that and a few flakes of snow began to gather around that. This was clearly something she hadn't thought of. She cupped a hand to her chest and looked to the floor, and the flawless ice around her feet grew more uneven as she did so.

"I…I have to tell them to lose the weapons… Not to hit…j-j-just push people back away… They're to do whatever they can to keep from killing…"

The Laughing Frost was confused. "Wait, you're not going to call them off? You're going to leave them in place? Even if they aren't armed, they could seriously hurt your sister, you know."

Another ripple of fear visibly went through Eiko and a small wind began to whip around her in response. The unevenness of the ice began to spread. Cracks started to appear beneath her.

"Even if they only throw her down the mountain, they could break her legs or worse. And if she can't move, lying in the snow for hours, alone and far from help, that's a death sentence."

Now, an audible gasp came from Eiko. Distinct fear was in her eyes and the crackling around her began to spread through the entire room. She swallowed, and put a hand to her head and turned away, beginning to pace. She looked like she was desperately trying to think of something.

Jiro was noticing the changes. He supposed he should be enthused about it. If he kept this up, the cracks would spread to his staff and knock it loose and Eiko would be too distraught to do anything about him knocking her out and putting an end to this. However, his normal mischievous self wasn't thinking of that right now. It couldn't, for some reason. He just noticed the ever growing fear that Eiko was in...and part of his heart actually softened to it. More than he thought it would.

"Look, it's really simple. Call those snowpeople off. Then you won't have to worry about her getting hurt."

To this, the daimyo let out a large groan. "Why won't you or anyone else understand?" She responded sharply, as the room began to grow small spikes and more cracks, the colors dimming in the ice candles. "The whole reason I'm even here is to protect her! To protect everyone! So long as I'm here, so long as I'm alone, my power won't hurt anyone! I'll be free to use it however I like and it won't scare or kill anyone or anything!"

Jiro was hearing crackling all around him, and it was honestly making him a bit nervous. More flakes and wind were beginning to whip around Eiko. Her power was flaring again.

"'However you like it'… Something tells me, right now, you don't want your power to make this place go from clear as crystal to dark and deadly…"

Eiko paused again and looked around. She made an audible gasp as she saw what had happened to the chamber and what was still happening to it. The changes progressed.

"Looks to me like you're not really learning much control up here all by yourself. In fact, by now, I'm seeing that your power only does what you want part of the time. The rest of the time it comes out in spasms depending on whatever mood you're in. I will tell you one thing you accomplished coming up here, though…you kept yourself from knowing what far reaching powers you have."

The woman, still confused, drew herself up. "What are you talking about?"

"You're pretty powerful, Lady Eiko…much more than you realize, I think. So much so that ever since you ran off from Arender-ken, you've been slowly making the entire nation of Japan sink into an eternal winter."

Now, the woman really looked shocked.

"Wh…what? That…that can't be… I've never had that kind of power…"

"Maybe just because you never tried. But it's true. The entire nation is getting unseasonably cool and quickly turning cold. As for Arender-ken, by now it's probably snowing there. In a couple days it will start looking as covered as the road up here was. In less than a week it will be as frozen as these mountains, along with every village around it, and it will just keep going from there. Whatever method you thought was going to help you control your power, it's really not working. It's kind of having the opposite effect…"

The woman looked progressively more and more horrified. And, in turn, the cracking grew along with the spikes around the room, forming cruel thin icicles jutting out of various spots. The noise passed through the whole castle. She grasped her head in frustration and turned away, even as the snow around her continued to pick up along with the wind.

"This…this can't be… It can't be true! Damnit…why?! Why was I born like this? Why is it the only thing I can do is hurt people?!"

Jiro, getting nervous again as he looked around, turned back to her. "I'm...guessing you can't just snap your fingers and stop it, can you?"

"If you did, don't you think I would have the moment you told me?!" She snapped back; looking up, face streaked with pain, anxiety, and tension as the wind and snow continued to rise around her. "I've never been able to just 'turn off' anything I've done! I've always had to wait for it to melt! But now…now I'm actually freezing everything? Gods…I could kill everyone! Not just in Arender-ken…in all of Japan!"

As things continued to escalate, Jiro extended his hands. "Alright…alright, now that we have everything on the table, just calm down…"

She didn't even seem to hear him. She grasped her head again in frustration as she turned away. "It's always the same! Fear! Pain! Misery! Damn it, I'm so sick of being afraid! I'm so tired of never having control! Never being able to stop it! How can I do it now?! It doesn't want to go back inside this time! It feels like it will tear me up if I try!"

Jiro began to walk forward. "Look…just take it easy…"

Eiko clenched her eyes tighter and held her hands up to the wall. However, even without looking, she could hear the result. Rather than smoothing anything out, it just made the cracks deepen; the ice grow more irregular.

"Stop it! Just for once…stop it when I tell you! It's my sister out there! I'll kill her and everyone else if I can't! Curse it…what do I have to do to stop this?! Kill myself?! Go to the ends of the Earth?! Live totally and completely al-"

Suddenly, Eiko felt someone behind her grabbing her shoulder. Before she could react, it yanked her around, and put her face-to-face with Jiro, whose earlier amusement was gone and replaced with a fierce, stern look.

"Calm down!"

The sudden shout was too much for her. The shock of it coming out of nowhere made Eiko freeze immediately. However, the shock was enough for the wind and snow around her to immediately die.

"Look at yourself! You're a total mess! You're nothing but a ball of emotions and fear! You're a smart woman, so haven't you understood by now that your power is tied to your emotions? The more you cry, the more you fret, the more you pace, and the more you keep working yourself up into despair, the less and less control your power is going to have! Get ahold of yourself!"

Eiko, by now, had recovered, and so she frowned and shot back. "That's easy for you to say, whoever or whatever you are! You have control over your power! I've hurt people with mine! I've killed people with mine! And I can never make it cease!"

"Be that as it may, you're only making it worse! For years all you've done is fear yourself! All you've done is be scared every waking moment of your life that you'd kill someone with your power! And you're proving right here and now the more afraid you get, the worse it becomes! So why not try being calm just for once?"

The woman scowled. "What do you think I've been doing? I'm trying not to feel any fear or any anxiety but it's hard! When everything you do makes you scared, how can you not feel fear?"

Jiro creased his brow.

"I didn't ask you at any point to 'not feel anything'. I asked you to 'calm down'." He answered a bit more quietly. "There's a difference between the two. The latter will help you control your power. The former will make it worse. Haven't you noticed?"

Eiko paused momentarily, and her frown ebbed a bit. Her own tone quieted. "What would you know about my power?"

"Um…hello? Yokai with power over cold here, remember? And since I have a few decades on you, I'd like to think I know a thing or two about how your power works."

The woman's frown continued to fade. After a time, she straightened and looked at him warily. However, for the first time, she also showed a bit of hopefulness in her eyes as she realized what he was saying.

"...Are you telling the truth? Can you really show me how to control my power?"

"Possibly. It'll depend on you too. Plus there's no guarantees that my power works exactly like yours. Yet I don't see why it shouldn't. Of course… If I'm going to help you, I can't do it like this."

"What do you mean?"

The young man held up his manacles and chains. "I'm going to need full use of my body. I can't very well do much chained up."

Immediately, her brow furrowed. "No."

Jiro snickered. "Considering the fact that I just walked up right behind you a moment ago and seized you, you still feel that I'm 'waiting for the right time' to kill you? Look…my lady, I honestly don't blame you for not trusting me considering how we met today. But trust is a two-way street. I can't try to earn your trust without you giving me a chance."

The woman continued to hesitate. While her desire to learn to control her power was almost desperate, she still had enough of her wits and common sense to not jump too eagerly at it. It was a rather huge decision for her, with temptation shaking her to her core on either side. She was genuinely torn, so Jiro decided to push her more in the right direction.

"Tell you what. Give me five minutes free, and I bet you I can get you to turn this room back the way it was before. If I can't, the chains go back. Otherwise, they stay off. Five minutes. Deal?"

Eiko hesitated. It seemed she was impressed by the offer itself, and what it might mean for her, but at the same time, she was nervous about letting him loose. And, in truth, Jiro really did want to get loose more than anything. However he meant his claims as well. And in spite of how nonchalant he seemed about this, he felt an urge inside him to assist this woman. Who knew? Maybe doing that would help end everything sooner; although, with only a day and a half to go, he didn't have a whole lot of time to "dilly-dally"...

Finally, she made a decision. Holding up a hand, she moved her fingers, causing a key of ice to form in them. She handed it to Jiro afterward. He accepted it, and quickly undid all of his restraints; probably so fast that Eiko was actually a little surprised at his speed. Once he enjoyed a taste of freedom, he tossed the key aside (sure that Eiko would make another if she put the restraints back on), and exhaled.

"Alright…first off, you have to put yourself in the proper mindset. You look at winter, and what do you see? You see death. You see pain. You see hurt. You see everything that's more exclusive to you and your interpretation of things than anything else. And there is a side to winter that brings death and hardship. But that's not because winter itself is 'evil'; it's simply because it's a part of nature. And everything in nature has sides that are good and sides that are bad.

"Winter is a time for silence…serenity…calmness…peace. It's every year's time to pause and think, you might say. The other three seasons the world is growing and reproducing and hunting full tilt, but when winter gets here, everything stops. Everything quiets down. Everything just seems a little more wondrous and magic and a little less routine. You have to get yourself in that line of thinking. Seeing everything calmly, quietly, and easily."

Eiko groaned. "But how can I-"

She was cut off as Jiro held up a hand.

"Calmly…quietly…easily…" He repeated, softer this time. "Forget Arender-ken. Forget the cold snap. Even forget Akiko for a little while. Just be at peace. Think of all the fresh snow out there, the quietness, the stillness…and try to be like that."

"But-"

When Eiko was cut off this time, she actually went wide-eyed for Jiro leaned over and pressed two of his fingers lightly on her lips. To be honest, the Laughing Frost didn't know why he had done it. It just seemed the right thing to do. It actually made the daimyo turn a shade red for a moment, but Jiro managed to keep his composure and recover.

"Calmly…" He repeated, even slower and softer. "Quietly… Easily… Picture a soft, gentle winter. Close your eyes."

She nearly said something again, but Jiro cut her off.

"Remember, I get five minutes. Close your eyes."

The queen held as the young man removed his hand from her lips, clearly hesitant about this part, definitely starting to feel this might be a trick, but she didn't protest anymore. In the end, her desire to control her power was enough to make her chance it. She slowly and reluctantly closed her eyes and stood still. She seemed rather rigid. Very tight, very tense, primed to do this and move on to the "next step", whatever it was.

"The most beautiful winter scene you can think of. The sky clear and the sun shining down, making everything glisten. The snow crisp, even, and fresh. The air quiet and still. One of those scenes where everything just looks so perfect that you don't want to go out in it because it'll ruin it and yet, it's just so inviting that it seems a crime to stay indoors…"

Eiko kept her eyes closed as Jiro slowly moved around behind her. He talked as he did so, letting her know which way he was going. However, she remained pretty tensed up. At this point, she spoke. "If you were only going to tell me what to do, then why did you need your hands-!"

The woman cut off with almost a cry as Jiro raised both of his hands and placed them on her shoulders, clearly getting a shiver though not from cold. On the contrary, Jiro was happy that this was the first person he could recall touching without giving them a cold chill. Still, he spoke quickly, keeping his voice soft.

"It's alright. I'm not trying anything…" He gave a firm yet gentle grip. Slowly, his hands began to move, making manipulations. A little trick he learned from Takara.

"What…what are you…"

"Ssh…stay focused, like I said."

The woman remained tense. After all, this wasn't a very safe position. But Jiro had a way with things at times like this. While villagers and children might be tense around him at times, even fearful, he had a way of disarming people. After all, he was "like winter" at times himself. Calm, gentle, soft, and serene. He continued to move his hands, pushing them in and out, slowly manipulating the muscles, which were as tense and hard as rocks. Eiko continued to hold but slowly, as she realized he wasn't hurting her or trying anything, she gave way to a tremble instead. Jiro realized that she probably hadn't been touched like this in…ever, either due to her nobility or her power. To have a young man, at least physically, doing this… At any rate, she reluctantly closed her eyes again and let him work.

"Now…take long, slow, deep breaths…" He continued as he gently kept working. "Inhale in five…exhale in ten… Keep that image in mind. Imagine it flowing through you…from the top of your head to the bottom of your feet… Make your inhales and exhales last that long. Ready… Breathe in."

Eiko did as she was told, as she slowly felt her body start to ease.

"One…" He counted. "Two…three…four…five. And exhale…one…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten. And inhale…one…two…three…four…five… And exhale…one…two…three…four…five…six…seven…eight…nine…ten…"

He kept counting for a while, and Eiko did as she was told, breathing in and breathing out. It took her a time or two to get herself in the right pacing, but she managed to get it going properly. And as she did, and Jiro continued to work, he felt her rigidness and tension gradually melt away. After a while, he began to move his hands down her back. She trembled a bit at his new touch, but then adjusted and let him keep working.

"Keep the image in mind… Now…make yourself like that. Hold onto that image…let it move through you… Don't stop breathing. Keep that up too. But start at the top of your head. Feel the crown of it…focus your attention on that…and then slowly start to move down. Take your time…move down…and start to feel the muscles in your face. Are you holding any tight? Move slowly through it…and if any are tight I want you to let them go. Relax them…let them go totally loose."

It took a few moments, but slowly Eiko did so. It was likely she didn't realize how tense she was. Even not looking at her, he could tell her face alone relaxed.

"Now…move down to the neck…do the same. Think knotted ropes slowly undoing themselves…"

Slowly, he felt her neck relax, not only due to her own tension, but also due to her not holding it tight. She actually breathed a bit more slowly now, seeming to not have realized how tight she had been holding it.

"Down to the shoulders…"

They slowly loosened as well, her arms hanging down lower. From there, they went on, moving slowly down her body, loosening each part a bit at a time. Slowly, Eiko stopped concentrating on breathing slower and just breathed slower. Jiro continued to speak in a soft, even soothing, voice and continued to work her muscles. He felt her relax more and more as time went on, until she practically was falling down right there. She may not have needed sleep, but Jiro could tell she was exhausted. She had to have been running around continuously for this entire time, and growing more worried and fearful every waking second. For a moment, he thought she'd almost fall asleep standing up as he continued to work.

The five minutes came, and Eiko didn't even notice at this point. She was so focused, breathing slow, the image running through her mind, and easing into Jiro's massage that she seemed almost hypnotized. But at this point, Jiro slowly stopped, and then pulled his hands back and folded them in front of him. Eiko was left standing there, the pleasant sensation still pervading her and making her stand still a moment longer.

"Now…" Jiro said in a somewhat louder voice. "Open your eyes."

Eiko did so. It took a moment for her to become aware, but when she did she gasped.

The chamber was back to the way it was before. The cracks had melded back in to form flawless ice, the spikes had smoothed, and everything had returned to being beautiful. The woman cupped her hand to her mouth. She looked around herself, seeing how everything was again a lovely shade of blue and without blemish.

She looked to Jiro, but he casually placed his hands on his hips, leaned back on one leg, and smiled at her. She blinked a few times.

"You…you did this, didn't you? You used your own power…"

He simply shook his head. "Nope. All you."

"But…that's impossible. I didn't even try to…"

"In case you haven't noticed, you've been doing a lot of things you haven't been intending to lately. Including making this room look dark and uneven. All I did was get your spirit to be more peaceful for a few minutes. I got you to adjust what you were from the core of your being. It was only temporary, of course, but it had a nice result, don't you think?"

Eiko held a moment, but then began to approach him again. Much of her earlier fear and apprehension was gone. Now she looked more intense and hopeful.

"Can you teach me how to control it all the time? To make it do things only when I want?"

"Now…that's going to be a taller order. It took you five minutes to quiet your soul enough to do this. You've trained yourself your whole life to naturally be fearful and afraid. That's not something that someone can just undo one day. You'll have to not only think in a new light, but feel in a new light. You'll have to learn how to keep your spirit serene and 'winter-like' all the time, and that's not going to be done over the course of a week or a moon. Until that time, you'll have to constantly take a moment to do it. In other words, you'll have to train yourself to do it. That's going to be rough. Now…you're going to 'stumble' from time to time. You're going to make mistakes. You're going to have slip ups. I'm warning you in advance. When that happens, you can't do what you did a little while ago. You can't fly into despair or start a worry cycle. You have to calm down or you won't regain control. Finally, your power isn't like mine. Not exactly. A lot of it's the same but you have a different center."

The woman looked confused. "Center?"

"It's a bit hard to explain…but it's the primary source of your power. The emotion that resonates the most with it. Yours…seems to be all over the place. I've never seen power like that before, but I don't think I've seen the true center yet. Anyway, this is going to be a lot of work and time, so you're going to need to be patient."

Eiko hesitated. She folded her hands in front of her, looking back out the door that she had come in on. After a time, she looked back.

"And…how long will it take to just get me to 'still my soul' enough to stop the winter?"

Jiro paused. He put a hand to his chin and rubbed it.

"…Hard to say. But if you're thinking that it won't take as long as full mastery, you're right. It depends on how good a student you are…and how good a teacher I am. Yet if you're doing it by instinct, I don't know. Anywhere from a few days to a month."

Eiko grimaced on hearing that. "A month… By then the growing season will be over… People may have died already…"

"Like I said, it depends on you. And you, in turn, depend on how relaxed you can stay and how much you work at this."

The noblewoman exhaled.

"Very well. It's not like I have much of a choice. It's this or let my power keep going out of control…" She turned to him and gave a nod. "It's a deal. Let's start right away."

Jiro couldn't help but crack a smile at this. He wasn't exactly sure why. Being a "mentor" wasn't exactly his style. Especially since he didn't even remember fully who he was. Yet even if he didn't, he wasn't the type of person to do this sort of thing. He usually didn't care so much in situations like this. What he would have done, in any time out of a hundred over the past five minutes, was knock Eiko out and call the others in to say "mission accomplished". And yet, he couldn't help but feel happy about this whole thing. It made him smile both internally as well as externally to see Eiko having controlled her power, even if only for a moment. And although he normally hated the idea of wasting time teaching people things, he not only thought this sounded good, but, in spite of all of his talk and warning, he realized he wanted to do this.

Was it because he liked the idea of teaching her for some reason? Of seeing more ice powers from someone who had them? Or was it because he wanted to just be around her? Any option was equally valid…as he felt all might be true, and he had no idea why…

Only that this was stirring something inside him the same way his dreams did from time to time.

"Well, much as I'd prefer a non-empty stomach," Jiro answered with a hand clap. "That's not an option, so let's get started."

To be continued...

*A norimono is a type of elaborate litter, or a coach of a sort carried by people rather than pulled by animals. It was important in Japan where land to raise horses was at a premium.