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The snows had finally arrived. The landscape was blanketed in a soft layer of cool whiteness. Since it was the first snowfall, it would not last long and soon it would melt and render the ground into mud. But for the time being the world was cast in brilliant splendour and concealed the tension that continued to grip the area. It was deemed that the keep was inadequate to engage in the necessary negotiations for the ending of the war. So it was decided that the concerned parties would adjourn to the main Hikiji castle for the duration. It was a long journey, as casualties were heavy and the men were weary due to the long marches they had endured already. But the Shogun was resolute. And so in a procession longer than anyone present had ever seen they marched away. So long in fact that it took the end of the column two more days to arrive in the city after those at the head had taken up residence inside the main castle. And it was when the last men entered the town limits that the first flakes of snow began to fall. At least the gods were gracious in that regard.
The Shogun was granted the finest room in the castle, which had belonged to Masamune, but he had little say in the matter, as he was still recovering from his injury. Yasuhira, along with Tomoe and Akako were in his private quarters. Noriyuki was in the best of the guest quarters. While the other Daimyo were scattered about to the other rooms, much to their chagrin. Once ensconced however, there followed a long interminable delay, enacted by the Shogun naturally. This further perturbed his retinue of generals, advisors and Daimyo. They had all marched across the length and breadth of the land to stop the silly dispute and now they were forced to wait in some provincial backwater, and to make matters worse the cold of winter was already setting in. So it didn't take long for the elder Daimyo to quit the scene entirely. The Shogun's generals then urged that the armies be sent back to the capital before the snows made the roads impassable. He agreed. Yasuhira disbanded his own troops, as well as the Shadow Hikiji that were still alive. Only those Neko loyal to him and Kenichi's troops remained. And with that Noriyuki sent his own army home, while keeping Usagi's scouts as his bodyguard. Lord Naishi sent his troops back to the Grand Fief under the command of Lord Kaneko. Since the Keep was so close to the Inoguchi lands, the few soldiers and samurai that remained of that clan were permitted to return home right then and there. But what was strange was how few Inoguchi samurai followed their lord into death. That caused some whispering, but it was a small matter. Thus in only a few short days the great armies that had once terrorised the world were suddenly but a memory. And there appeared a restless quiet over the village and the castle.
The man most restless was Yasuhira. He hardly ate or slept since arriving home. It was in that quiet that he realised that he had spent hardly a week in the castle since returning from his journeys. He could not include the brief times he occupied the castle during the war, as he hardly took off his armour during those moments. Now he was home for good. But everything had changed. He hadn't expected things to remain the same when he returned from his wanderings, but the war had made those changes extreme indeed. Yasuhira still hadn't gone to his father since arriving, nor had he spoken to him at all since he defeated him at the keep. What more could be said? No words existed that could reconcile them or make Yasuhira understand his father's reasoning for wanting him dead. Best to leave it alone and forever if need be. He sat by the fire pit in his sleeping quarters, stoking the embers absentmindedly. Every now and then he watched Tomoe and Akako sleep. They were burrowed under some thick bedding, but Yasuhira noticed how Akako had wrapped herself around Tomoe. They slept near cheek to cheek and as soundly as newborn children. But they weren't that by any stretch. Even Yasuhira was shocked to see just how much Akako had matured in the time since he returned and during the war especially. But the girl wasn't really a girl. And that fact made his heart sink. He stoked the fire with a renewed vigour.
