Xiba stared nervously at his plate, and the others at the table. He wanted so desperately to devour everything in sight, but knew that he had nobody's approval as they awaited their guest. He sat between Natsu and Leixia, who kept glancing at each other as if the looks on their faces were enough to distract a tense Leixia. Underneath the round table, Leixia's hand met Maxi's and they exchanged squeezes of nervosity. Beside Maxi sat his old friend, Xianghua, who would be seated next to Mitsurugi, who would be next to Natsu. She felt it wasn't her place to be the one directly beside him, but she made no comment. Their meals were already placed.

Finally, a strange man entered the room, remaining on his feet as he glanced about the room. "Is this everyone?"

"Yes, I'm sorry my husband couldn't be here tonight, but I understand the two of you have already spoken," Xianghua confirmed before standing up and showing the guest to his seat, which he accepted with gratitude as he thanked her.

"Leixia, honey, this is your guest, Mitsurugi," Xianghua introduced, but Leixia stared at the table.

"Hello, Leixia," Mitsurugi greeted in a friendly manner, but she rejected his presence nonetheless.

"Leixia, don't be rude," her mother urged.

"Please don't be so hard on her," Natsu broke the tension and gained Xianghua's attention. "She doesn't want to do this. Telling her not to be rude isn't going to help. She has to warm up to this in her own way. It can't be forced."

"Absolutely," Mitsurugi agreed with the blonde. "Maybe you might feel differently if I explain my situation to you."

Still, no response was heard from Leixia.

"Please do," Maxi spoke for his girlfriend.

"It would be my honor..." Mitsurugi trailed off before Maxi realized what he was trying to say: his name.

"Maxi. Captain Maxi," he introduced himself with hostility before doing the same for the others. "Natsu and Xiba."

"Hello," he nodded to the teens before looking back at Leixia, who still did not return the attention. "As I have already explained to your parents, your skills in battle are quite impressive."

"My battle skills are my mother's. You should praise her, not me," she spoke to the table.

"But it takes true strength, discipline, and energy to master a set of skills. Even if they are not yours."

Natsu's hands crawled under the table and she mimicked her friend's inattention. Both girls stared at their own laps now. Only Xiba seemed to notice this, as he sat in between the girls. Xianghua kept her attentive eyes on her future son-in-law, while Maxi exchanged glances at Mitsurugi and Leixia. Xiba caught a glimpse of motion under the table, and upon realizing that Natsu was up to something, decided to look back at Mitsurugi and avoid drawing unnecessary attention to his ninja friend.

"She is quite amazing, isn't she?" Maxi perked up, snapping Leixia out of her lap stare. "In fact, I'm willing to bet money that she could defeat you in battle."

"Maxi, don't! I have no interest in fighting or marrying you," Leixia quickly shifted her attention from her boyfriend to her future husband.

"He is right, though," Mitsurugi added. "Maybe not today, but ... as you can see, I'm not so young anymore. Soon, my bones will be unable to support me for the battles I endure. My wounds will not heal so easily. I have much to protect and it would benefit me if I were to have a young, energetic wife to accompany me."

Natsu's hand slipped onto Xiba's thigh under the table, startling him. He had unintentionally drawn a small amount of attention in his jerk, and so he waited for eyes to leave him before looking down. Her hand was dangerously close to somewhere it shouldn't have been, but out of the corner of his eye he could see that she was pressing something against him, a small white object, paper maybe - that she wanted him to see. Eyes shifted, and he glanced down. Sure enough, it was paper. It was a note. In all capital letters was written one word: DANGER.

Xiba's heart raced, as he knew not what in particular this message could mean. However, he trusted Natsu's judgement and understood it was a simple statement about the stranger across the table. When he looked back up, Natsu removed her hand carefully to avoid suspicion and ensure that the message would remain on his lap. He understood why she did this. She was trying to warn Leixia.

"I still am not interested," Leixia stated coldheartedly.

"I understand," Mitsurugi accepted her words. "I am in dire need of companionship for my travels."

"I'm not very travel-friendly," she argued.

"Which is why I am prepared to make an offer. The deal has already been settled by your father, but I do wish for this to be worth it to you as well."

Xiba awkwardly forwarded the note to Leixia. Maxi caught a glimpse of his hand invading her thigh and gave him a threatening look, but Xiba paid no attention. He kept his eyes on Mitsurugi. Maxi couldn't help but look down at Xiba's hand, which quickly retreated to reveal the message. Maxi read it in one glance and looked at Xiba, then Mitsurugi. Again, Xiba paid no attention to Maxi but Natsu stared him straight in the eye. He knew it was her message.

"Whatever you are prepared to offer me, I assure you I am not interested," Leixia insisted with rolled eyes and exaggerated motions that led to her eyes landing on the note in her lap. She looked suspiciously around for clues about the note, but realized that she herself was being suspicious. "You don't understand. I want to marry for different reasons than most do. I'm sorry, but whatever deal my father made with you does not stand with me."

Not saying another word, she rose from her chair, ending the night for all. Without hesitation, Maxi followed her, mumbling something about how he should "make sure she's alright." And so to her room he followed her.

"She'll be fine," Natsu insisted. "I'm sure she'll be back down in no time."

Xiba stared at his food before him, watching the steam rise from the cooked rice. He needed not say a word to Natsu.

"Go ahead," she told him, sensing his hunger, and he did. She then turned to Xianghua. "May I speak with you about something ... private?"

"Private?" Xianghua was instantly confused, but accepted the confidentiality in her daughter's best friend, even if her own daughter was upset with her. Natsu stepped into another room, and Xianghua followed her closely while leaving Xiba to finish his plate instead of speaking to Mitsurugi. "What's the matter?"

"That man is dangerous. Leixia can't marry him," Natsu rushed before her best friend's mother could interrupt her defense. "And I'm not saying this because she doesn't want to. I'm really concerned about her safety, so if you care at all about her well-being you won't let her marry him."

"Dangerous? What are you talking about?" Xianghua inquired in a hushed tone.

"You're probably going to think this is crazy, but please hear me out," Natsu begged as Xianghua looked her straight in the eye, giving her full attention to Natsu's message. "I believe he may know the whereabouts of Master Taki. And I don't really want to go into detail about it, but he has something that belongs to her, and that's all I can say."

"Taki? She's been missing for a long time, hasn't she?" Xianghua remembered.

"Yes, and now I think I may have a lead on her. But ... just keep in mind, please, that whatever he's done to her, he won't hesitate to do the same to Leixia."

"I trust you, Natsu. I'll figure out a way to stop it," she promised the girl, who turned around with a "thank you" forming on her mouth.

When Xianghua and Natsu returned to the dining room, they found Xiba alone with an empty plate before him.

"Where is he?" Xianghua demanded to know.

"He's outside," Xiba answered. "Probably felt the tension and didn't want to cause any trouble. By the way, your cooking is amazing."

"Thank you," Xianghua accepted the compliment.

"You're very welcome," he smiled piggishly at the woman.

"I'll check on Leixia," Natsu narrated, leaving Xiba alone with Xianghua.

"Xiba?" Xianghua spoke up.

"Huh?"

"I need you to be watchful of Leixia. Natsu has just informed me of Mitsurugi's danger. Please keep her safe until I can devise a plan to protect her.

"Why does she have to marry him?' Xiba asks, confused.

"Because her father already arranged it. Mitsurugi has already given the key to his weapon forge to her father. It's a done deal, unless we can find a loophole."

"There's always a loophole. Have her marry someone else. I'll do it."

"Please! Anything!"

"Really?"

"Just kidding."

"I'm serious," Xiba stated.

"No."

"Are you even listening to me?" he asked as he reached for another biscuit, almost devouring it in one bite. "I'm offering a perfectly reasonable solution to the problem, so I'm not sure why you won't take it up. You must not be as concerned about her safety as I am."

"Don't ever say that. There are reasons why I can't allow you to marry my daughter."

"Such as?"

"You're too young."

"I'm older than she is!"

"Yes, but it's common practice for women to marry older men. Just because you're older than she is doesn't mean you're old enough to be married to her."

"That's absurd," Xiba argued. "Please let me do this. She's my friend. Wouldn't you rather marry her off to someone you know and trust, than a stranger who has already been deemed dangerous?"

"I plan to call off the wedding, Xiba. However you can't be the one to marry her and get her out of this."

"Why not?! Do you doubt me for some reason? I mean I know I'm young and all, but isn't the purpose of this whole marriage deal to just get her out of marrying a psychopath? Why does any of it matter? Just let me do it. It makes no difference to me who she marries, but do you see anyone else here offering to get her out of this?"

"Xiba, please trust me. You can't marry her. But thank you for your offer. I'm sure Leixia would be grateful enough to have someone willing to go that far to protect her. She is blessed to be your friend and because of that, you will always be family to me. But please understand that there are reasons I cannot explain that would hinder you from marrying her."