Three days passed before the Wind Daimyo made his decision.
The Zetsu-Himari held through the first night. On the second day, its colour began to fade. By the third morning, Tsunade disposed of it and brought the real Himari back from the safe house.
The Wind Daimyo arrived at the mansion's main hall before the sun had fully cleared the walls. He did not send a servant ahead to inform anyone. He came himself, accompanied by four guards and a physician from his own staff.
Tsunade met him in the corridor.
"I am taking my daughter home," he said.
"She is not ready."
"She does not need to be ready. She needs to be in Wind Country, where she belongs." His voice carried the weight of a man who had spent the night convincing himself this was the right decision. "You have done what you can here. I will handle the rest from my own physicians."
Tsunade looked at Wind Daimyo and studied her face. He was neither angry nor desperate. Instead, he was resolved, the way men became when they had backed themselves into a corner and decided the only way out was forward.
"She was found wandering the streets in her sleeping clothes," he continued. "She was taken from a room that was supposed to be guarded. My staff tells me your guardianship has holes large enough to walk through. I am not leaving her here to see what happens next."
"Her disappearance was a misunderstanding. The guards were dealt with."
"A misunderstanding that left her wandering the eastern district alone." He shook his head. "I have made my decision, Tsunade. You can either help me prepare her for departure, or you can watch me do it myself."
Tsunade held his gaze for a long moment.
'The Fire Daimyo won the bet, huh! And I can't stop him now.'
She stepped aside and wondered what to do with Himari now.
"I will have her ready within the hour."
The Wind Daimyo looked at Tsunade and then at the door. He gave a nod and left the place with the people he had brought.
Tsunade stared at their backs and created a clone. The clone left the place, and Tsunade stared at the room where the door to Himari was in. She walked towards it, and Himari was awake when Tsunade entered the room.
She was sitting up, her back against the headboard, her hands folded loosely on the blanket. Her colour was better than it had been in days.
"The Wind Daimyo is here," Tsunade said. "He is taking you back to Wind Country."
Himari's expression did not change at the words. Akane had told her of how Akemi had tried to poison her on her father's orders.
"I heard the commotion."
"Do you know what will happen when you arrive?"
"My brothers will try again." Her voice was flat, acceptance shown in the tone. "My father will pretend not to notice. They will try again and again. Eventually, one of them will succeed."
"That is one possibility."
Himari looked up at the words.
'Possibility? One Possibility?'
"What are the others?" She asked, her mind racing at the thought.
Tsunade walked to the window and looked out at the courtyard where the Wind Daimyo's carriage waited. "A woman in Roran has been informed of your situation. She is your mother's sister. She may choose to act on your behalf."
"She may?"
"She may not. But she knows you exist now, and that is more than she knew yesterday."
Himari was quiet for a moment. Her mind raced, and she wondered who could stop her brother's attacks on her. Then, the dream from before came to mind, and she said, "You are not coming with me."
"I cannot. My duties end here."
"What about the promise? What about the choice?
Tsunade turned to look at her. She understood what Himari was talking about and said, "He will reach out to you when the time is right. Until then, you will survive. As for how, you don't need to know."
Himari nodded slowly in response. She knew nobody owed her anything, and whatever happened would happen according to their choice, not hers.
She swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Her legs held.
"Then I will try to survive on my own too."
Tsunade didn't give any response and started to prepare for the departure.
The convoy departed an hour later.
Himari sat in the carriage, her father across from her, her physician beside him. The curtains were drawn, but she could see the shadows of the Capital through the gaps.
There were so many thoughts in her mind, so much anxiety about what would happen in future and, most importantly, the uncertainty of her survival.
Still, she did not look back. She didn't plan to. She had decided to try to survive while watering the little hope that had sprouted in her heart.
---
The lamps were burning when Tsunade returned to the safe house. Akane was sitting at the table, a map spread in front of him, his finger tracing a line through the Land of Wind.
"She is gone," Tsunade said.
"I know."
"You could have done something."
"I could have." He looked up. "But then we would have a fugitive princess with no allies, no resources, and no path forward. Now she has a father who owes her his attention, brothers who will reveal themselves by acting, and an aunt who has been reminded she exists."
"Assuming the aunt acts."
"She will." He returned his attention to the map. "Even though she does have a daughter of her own. Himari is the only piece of her sister left. That kind of weight does not disappear because years have passed."
Tsunade sat down across from him. "And if she does not?"
"Then we find another way. But I do not think we will need to."
She watched him trace the line on the map. His finger stopped at a small dot in the desert.
Roran.
"You are going there."
"Eventually. Not yet. There are things to handle here first."
"Like what?"
He looked up. "The brothers' network. The Wind Daimyo's court. The people who paid Akemi to do what she did." He folded the map. "They need to understand that targeting Himari has consequences."
Tsunade leaned back. "You are going to clean house."
"I am going to make sure that when she comes back, the board is set in her favour."
----
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