KANA POV
With that, I left my Father's study and as soon as I made it back to my room and closed my door, it was thrown open again by Chinami.
"Big sister! What's going on? All of a sudden everyone is bustling about but no one will tell me anything!" I smiled weakly before replying, "Well Chi, I'm going to get married."
That got my sister to quiet down. She knew me well enough to know that I wouldn't be getting married unless it was for an alliance. "Oh Kana…" she trailed off. She made her way to me before curling up before me on my bed. It was the gentle tone that she used that broke me. We both knew that once I was married, I would probably see her very little if ever again. It all depended on my husband. I still couldn't refer to his name and I think that fitted this situation better. Not using his name made him appear like some sort of monster, ripping me away from my family instead of a man trying to ensure peace for both of our clans, though he doesn't look like it.
Without my consent, tears began to slip out of my eyes and onto my lap. Chi took my head and laid it on her lap stroking my hair. "I could speak to Father," she murmured softly. "He could probably switch places, Kana. I'm not too young and let's be honest, I would suffer a lot less than you would."
I sat up, rubbing my eyes. "No Chinami, you're far too young. And even if you were older, I'd never make you do that. This is my responsibility as the eldest and I will uphold it." I said firmly, clasping her hands in mine.
"I had a feeling you'd say that," she sighed before hugging me, her face buried in my shoulder.
I soon came to realize that while it may be called 'my wedding' it was mostly if not completely planned by my mother and abundance of aunts. Which suited me just as fine, considering I couldn't care less what I wore as long as it wasn't uncomfortable. The only problem was that I was required to be there while they made all the decisions, comparing fabrics and flower arrangements. My husband to be, however, was nowhere in sight. His brother and he dined with the few shinobi that accompanied them on their journey. Other than the time wasted on wedding preparations, I spent as much time as I could on the beach and with my sister, the two things I was going to miss the most once I left. I would miss my father of course but it was not an easy job, running a clan, so he and I did not see each other much in those few days.
Just as I was about to slip away after almost a whole day wasted in planning, my mother called out to me, "Kana, don't forget that we're having dinner with Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama tonight. Please dress appropriately and for Kami's sake, do something with your hair." she concluded ruffling my hair. I swatted her hand away before leaving a quick kiss on her cheek and leaving. No one had told me about the dinner until now but it wasn't as if I had much to do other than 'do something with my hair' as my mother had put it. As I turned the corner, I ran straight into someone. Arms grabbed me before I could fall and I looked up to see the eyes of my favourite cousin, Koshiro, shining with laughter. Instead of saying anything, I swung a punch at his gut, which resulted in the desired outcome of his breath leaving him. He hunched over before huffing out, "Charming as ever, Dango" It was a nickname I picked up after getting sick from eating too many of the sweets. My sweet tooth hadn't gotten better with age but I had learnt the limits of eating dangos in one sitting. Koshiro was the only one who really called me that.
"I haven't seen you in forever Ko. What rock have you been living under?" I teased as he stood up straight, only for him to attempt to get a hit in on my face. Thankfully I had the reflexes to dodge it and swipe his legs out from under him, laughing the whole time. Instead of trying to get up, he just sat on the ground and chuckled while grabbing my foot and dragging me down too. While Ko didn't know that I went out into battles in disguise, we had grown up together and sparred a little here and there, enough where it had become a habit for one of us to just attack the other when we see each other. All of course out of the eyes of my mother.
We were both laughing when a deep baritone voice spoke out. "Excuse me," We looked up to see Tobirama himself staring down at us, red eyes glowing. We quickly scrambled up and I bowed my head, forcing Koshiro to do the same as well.
"I apologize Lord Tobirama, we didn't mean to block your path," I said with my head down. When I finally looked up, Tobirama's eyes were focused on my hand that was still on Koshiro's back, which I quickly dropped. The air was heavy as the three of us stood there. With a jolt, I realized that they had probably not even met yet. "Lord Tobirama, may I introduce to you a close friend of mine, Koshiro Aikawa. Koshiro, this is Lord Tobirama, whom I am to marry in a few day's time," I said. Ko's eyes visibly widened as he learnt of who was in front of us, before bowing once more and apologizing again. Tobirama then excused himself and continued on his way. It was only once we reached the courtyard and sat underneath a large oak tree that he spoke again
"So that's the guy, huh? I'm going, to be honest with you Dango, he seems kinda grouchy, kind of like an old man," he said, ruffling his own hair to stick up like Tobirama's. "He's even got white hair! How old do you think he is? He looks old enough to marry gran." he said cheekily.
"Don't be rude, Ko. I'm sure he's not that old if Father is okay with me marrying him," I said staring out at the pond nearby, watching the koi fish swim about.
"Hey, look at me," Koshiro said, pulling my eyes back to him. "How do you feel about this? I could speak to your dad if you wanted me to." I smiled at that. Ko was like a brother to me. He was an amazing warrior and a dedicated member of the Aikawa clan. It was no wonder that Father was considering him as his successor. Father had spoken to me about it a while ago. As much as he wanted to make me his heir, the elders would not stand for it. As much as I wished I could change things, I was glad that if it was going to be anyone, it was Ko. He didn't know it yet and I wish that I would still be here when he found out.
"Thanks, Ko, but this is my responsibility as a daughter of the main branch. We have different places and it's time for us to step up to them." I said gently. We talked for a long time until it was time for me to get ready for dinner. Koshiro waited outside as I got dressed and walked me to the formal dining room.
"Do you want me to pick you up once you're done? This is a pretty early dinner so we could go spar after if you wanted?" he asked as we stood outside.
"Thanks but I'll probably just head back to my room after. Wish me luck," I said, smoothing my light purple kimono over.
