Shino walked into the entrance of his home, muttering a word of greeting to no one in particular. The Aburame home was kept calm and nearly silent; and unnecessary noise was discouraged. But Shino started to develop this small habit of issuing a greeting to no one in particular when he entered the house shortly after he joined Team 8 — his whisper breaking through the usual stoic silence of the Aburame home.

However, he heard several low voices from the receiving room, and wondered who the visitors were. He would regret his curiosity later.

He sat on a bench near the entrance and removed his sandals, placing them in their appropriate place before rising to walk down the hall toward the receiving room.

The voices were so low that he couldn't quite hear what they were saying, but he could hear the low hum of his father's voice. Something about his voice sounded strained.

Shino reached the sliding doors and knocked.

"Ah, come in, Shino," said his Father.

Shino slid open the doors and took in the surroundings of the room.

In the middle of the floor sat the table his father usually only had set out for business negotiations or important meetings of the sort. On one side of the table he saw two older adult men who he recognized as members of the Aburame clan. They were distant cousins from Kusagakure, though he had not seen them since the war.

Between them sat a very beautiful young women, likely his age or a year or two younger, who looked slightly familiar. She wore glasses like the other two men — and he suspected she was from the Aburame clan as well.

His father and the clan elder sat on the opposite side of the table, and his father was giving him a very tight frown.

The table had been placed in the middle of the floor, and an assortment of papers sat around it. On some of the documents he spied his name, and another that made him flinch as soon as he recognized it. He began to realize what he was walking into.

"Shino, you've arrived home at a good time. Please join us," said his father rather stiffly, motioning to a spot between himself and the elder.

Shino walked in as calmly and stoically as he could, but he was tempted to turn and leave. As he took his seat and looked in the direction of his father, his father nodded at him stiffly and turned to look at the others across the table.

"I'm sure you will find the terms agreeable. We have amended them as much as we are willing to on our end. But much of the deal has been decided 13 years ago," said Shino's father. Again, there was a stiffness and a strong sense of discomfort in his voice.

"That is true, Shibi, but we are not completely satisfied with the amended terms just yet. We think more shares of the estate would suffice," said the younger looking of the two men.

"You are receiving as much as permissible by our clan's marriage laws. You will receive no more," said the elder, firmly. Shino could head traces of anger in his voice.

"Perhaps we could come to another agreement instead," said the older of the two men, looking between the clan elder and Shibi with a smile that made Shino feel uncomfortable.

"What are you suggesting," asked Shibi warily.

"What about an increase in her annual stipend," he said. "By 25%?"

"Absolutely not," said the elder angrily, slamming a hand on the table. "Look here, Shijiku, you money hungry—" but Shibi held up a hand to stop him from continuing.

"No more than 10%," he said firmly, looking at the man called Shijiku with a tight frown.

Shijiku looked to the other man, who nodded. The younger of the two men turned to look and Shibi and extended a hand, saying, "alright. We have a deal."

Shibi glanced at Shino — something no one else noticed but Shino — and he extended his hand and shook the man's hand.

"Well, it looks like you need to get started on planning your wedding, my dear Shiori," said Shijiku excitedly, clapping a hand onto the young girl's shoulder. She smiled up at him warily, then turned to look at Shino and her smile faded.

She straightened her body slightly, and bowed low to him, saying "I look forward to our wedding day, Shino. Thank you for asking to be my husband, and for your generous proposal of marriage."

He hesitated. Because of previous coaching he had received from his father and others he knew what he must do in that moment, but something about her words and the lies that ran through them filled him with a sense of foreboding.

He quickly snapped out of his thoughts — mostly due to the sharp glances he saw his father giving him from the corner of his eye — and bowed to her as well, saying, "I, too, look forward to our wedding day, Shiori. Thank you for accepting my proposal."

For once, he was glad that his tone was normally so stoic or else everyone in the room would've noticed his discomfort with saying those words. He could feel the muscles in his back tense slightly as he lifted up to look at her face to face, eye to eye.

He could tell that she was just as uncomfortable as he was, though not nearly as much as he would have thought she should be when she was about to marry someone she barely knew.

He turned to his father and asked, fearing the answer, "Father, when is our wedding date?"

"You will marry in 18 months," said Shibi.

Shino nodded once as he said "understood," and began to rise from his seat.

"If you will excuse me, I have a mission I must prepare for and a meeting to attend fairly soon." As he started to walk toward the door, he heard someone clear their throat, and he turned to see several faces staring at him expectingly. He nearly forgot…there are things expecting of him…now that he is engaged…

"Shiori. Please forgive me if I don't see you for an extended period of time. But I will be back soon and look forward to spending time with you during the courting period," he said, looking at her.

She smiled at him, and nodded as she said, "I hope your mission is successful and that you come back safe from harm. I look forward to spending time together."

He bowed slightly before turning to leave, closing the sliding doors behind himself.

He walked down the hall, climbed the stairs and opened the door to his bedroom. He walked in, closed the door, and leaned up against it, sighing and tilting his head downward. He exhaled, not realizing he had been holding his breath, and frowned deeply.

He had known this day would come, but it had come sooner than he expected.