The study in the Royal Palace, in the Land of Snow.
Through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, part of the Capital's streets and the green plains in the distance lay in view.
It was a sight the Land of Snow would once never have dared imagine, but thanks to the previous Daimyo, Kazahana Sōshun, it had become reality.
The Geothermal Generator was not a marvel a father had left his daughter, but a leader's contribution to his country's development.
Two large desks stood side by side in the center of the study.
One was neat and orderly, piled with thick documents and files. Kazahana Koyuki sat bent over it, utterly focused, her pen racing across the paper. Occasionally, she paused and knitted her brows in thought, every inch a diligent queen.
Her time as Daimyo had stripped away much of her youthful innocence, lending her features a greater maturity and resolve. Only her long, deep blue-green hair remained unchanged.
The other desk, however, presented an entirely different picture.
Its surface was bare save for a few carelessly discarded skewers from finished Three-Color Dango and empty Rice Dumpling wrappers.
Mitaraishi Anko lounged in the high-backed chair behind it, leaning back with her legs crossed and propped brazenly on the polished desktop. She was not even wearing shoes.
A Senbon dangled from her lips, and her hands rested behind her head. She looked bored out of her mind.
Her raised toes were faintly visible through her black stockings, twitching unconsciously now and then as she hummed an off-key tune, utterly at odds with the study's solemn atmosphere.
Kazahana Koyuki had long since grown accustomed to Anko's behavior and could not even be bothered to spare her a glance.
She knew this special bodyguard sent by Konoha was powerful and flighty, but absolutely dependable