Author's note: Wow! We're one tenth of the way finished with this challenge! Thank you so much to everyone who read, favorited, followed, and reviewed this story! I know its cheesy but your support was the only reason I kept on writing! Thank you so so much and I really hope you enjoy! Please review!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Manami Terumi is my character.
Breathe Again
"I can barely see my hand in front of my face." Shisui said as he dramatically waved his right hand in front of his face. They had arrived at the tiny island near Kirigakure a few minutes ago and after making sure the client was safely back home, they headed towards Kirigakure's mainland. To Manami's surprise, the entire journey had been smooth and the bandits were nowhere to be seen.
"It's called the village Hidden in the Mist for a reason Shisui." Manami groaned out but on the inside she was shaking. Aunt Mei and Shisui were minutes away from meeting each other. She wasn't sure if this day would end in a celebration or funeral, but judging by the way Shisui was acting, she was leaning towards funeral.
Biting back a sigh, Manami grabbed Shisui's arm and they began the not-long-enough-walk towards the Mizukage's office.
A few seconds of silence passed between the two before Manami opened her mouth only to be cut off.
"Yes I'm sure I want to meet your aunt." Shisui said with a knowing glint in his dark eyes.
"I didn't even say anything!" Manami exclaimed.
Shisui sighed dramatically, "Yes, you didn't. But you've been acting on edge even since we dropped the client off. Relax, Manami-chan, I've got this!" Shisui said confidently while giving her a thumbs up.
Do you really though? Manami thought but kept her scepticism to herself.
In what felt like in the blink of an eye, they were standing in front of her aunt's office. As if she was trapped in some genjutsu, she felt herself lift her hand to knock on the Mizukage's door. A few seconds passed before Manami heard two words in her aunt's voice that made her debate grabbing Shisui and running back to the Hidden Leaf.
"Come in."
For a brief moment, Manami saw her fear mirrored on Shisui's face before he broke in a giant grin and fearlessly pushed the door open.
Shisui confidently walked in while Manami trudged in after him, feeling like they were both entering the lion's den. Shisui began to kneel but was stopped.
"There's no need for that, Uchiha-san," Aunt Mei spoke before turning her attention to her niece, "So I see you've finally decided to introduce me to your boyfriend, Manami-chan. It's about time, for a moment I thought you were waiting for me to be on my deathbed."
"Y-yes, Aunt Mei. The opportunity presented itself quite nicely." Manami said looking hesitantly at her aunt.
Shisui kept his eyes respectfully lowered, but he didn't miss the fact that the Mizukage had not asked about the mission. Suddenly, he realized it was because the Mizukage had faith in her niece's abilities and knew she would not allow the mission to be a failure.
In addition, he realized that the Mizukage had called Shisui, Manami's boyfriend and Manami had not corrected her. Unable to help himself, he burst into a grin.
"You're even more handsome when you smile. I can only imagine what you are thinking about." The Mizukage spoke in a teasing tone.
Shisui felt himself flush while Manami gasped.
"Aunt Mei! You promised you would be appropriate!" Manami explained, looking and sounding mortified.
The Mizukage waved a light hand at her niece's dismay, "Don't worry, Manami-chan, I am. I just can't help myself, you've kept him away for so long."
For good reason, Manami thought as she watched her aunt stare Shisui down, the scene reminded her of a predator stalking its prey.
To his credit, Shisui kept his chakra calm and even as the Mizukage kept studying him intently though Manami could see small beads of sweat form at the base of his neck and because she had been around him for so long, she could tell that his stiff, rigid stance was a sign that he was nervous… or more accurately petrified.
Manami's emerald eyes did a quick surveillance of the room, desperately looking for something to comment on when it suddenly hit her. The only people in the room were her, her aunt, and Shisui.
Acting on instinct and the strong desire to keep Shisui's blood off her aunt's floor, Manami asked in a casual tone, "Aunt Mei, where is Captain Ao?"
Thankfully that did the trick. Slowly, the Mizukage took her intense stare off the slightly shaking Uchiha and focused on her niece.
"I sent him on a few errands." Her aunt used a similar tone that instantly told Manami that for the umpteenth time, Captain Ao had said the wrong thing and was now being punished for it.
At least he's still alive, Manami thought.
"Anyways, let's not waste time talking about Ao. I would rather know more about you Uchiha-san." Aunt Mei spoke turning her attention to the dark haired shinobi.
As if he had been preparing for this his entire life, Shisui took a deep breath before sending her his most charming smile, "Of course I would be happy to tell you anything you wanted to know, Mizukage-sama."
Perhaps it was the smile or the way Shisui spoke or maybe it was just the ancient Uchiha allure, but Manami watched in wonder as Shisui and her aunt conversed as if they were old friends. They told each other stories and even exchanged jokes, the conversation was so causal that at one point, her aunt started to refer to Shisui by his first name rather than Uchiha-san. Manami noticed how relieved he was when she referred to him informally.
The conversation flows easily back and forth with light banter from both sides until the next sentence escaped Shisui's lips, "With your skills and intelligence, Mizukage-sama, I can see how lucky and safe the people of Kirigakure must feel with having you as a leader for so many years."
So. Many. Years.
Each sound wave glided across the air so clearly that Manami felt like she could almost see them. In fact, Manami was sure she could see them and they horrifying resembled three deadly poisonous kunai.
The room was so still it seemed like the air particles themselves were frozen. Everything next happened in a slow, excruciating motion. Manami saw the miniscule twitch of her aunt's lip, and predicted that in the next few seconds, a few stray auburn strands would fall from her bangs.
Soon, the smile would come and Manami would be carrying Shisui back in a body bag.
Coincidentally, it appeared that Shisui only had a few seconds to live as well. They turned to each other, horror mirrored in each other's eyes.
Where do you want to be buried? Manami's eyes conveyed.
Somewhere sunny and please make sure no one brings mangoes to my grave. Shisui responded through wide, obsidian eyes.
Then time returned to normal, and both shinobi were rapidly trying to appease the Mizukage who had remained as still as a statue.
"Riding a horse has caused him to be delirious!"
"I guess horse driving has turned my brain into mush!"
"He had too many spices yesterday!"
"I must have confused you with someone else!"
"He's tired from a long journey!"
"By many years, I meant very, very few years!"
"Yes! That's right! They speak in opposite terms in the Hidden Leaf!"
"Right! I'm so so sorry! I've forgotten that Kirigakure does not speak the same way as the Leaf!"
As Manami and Shisui continued to shout out excuses, fumbling and building off each other in the desperate attempt to prevent the Mizukage from killing the curly haired Uchiha, they missed the way she was watching them with an amused glint in her eyes, the exact opposite of the deadly look she was used to sending Ao on a daily basis.
As the two shinobi continued to confess the strangest excuses, limbs flailing like fish out of water, the Mizukage watched for a few more minutes before deciding to put them out of their misery.
She softly cleared her throat, causing both shinobi to look at her cautiously before giving them both a genuine smile, "Welcome to Kirigakure, Shisui-kun."
Manami and Shisui looked at the Mizukage in silent shock before slowly turning to each other, then, as if they truly were one person, they collapsed in front of her desk, letting out relieved sighs.
They both could finally breathe again.
Author's note: Well there you have it! Shisui has finally met Aunt Mei and Manami confirmed that she and Shisui were officially a couple! This wasn't planned but I think it worked out perfectly for the tenth chapter! Thank you so so much for your support, it genuinely means so much to me! Please remember to review and here's to ninety more chapters together!