Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki left to attend to some work and they left Obi behind with Kana. The two of them sat awkwardly on the steps to the castle, not knowing what to say or do.
"Ah, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Obi. Master's messenger."
"Messenger? Uh, right. I'm Kana. I've know Zen since we were little," Kana told him.
"You and Master are the same age then?" Obi asked, smiling.
Kana stared at him in awe. Assassins were supposed to be scary right? Rough and mean? But this young man in front of you seemed so... kind hearted. His smile was dazzling if she might say so herself.
"Miss Kana?" Obi waved his hand in front of Kana's face to catch her attention. "Is there something on my face?"
"Eh? Ah no! Sorry. Uh, what was your question?"
Obi chuckled.
"Are you and Master the same age?"
"Oh! Uh yes. Well I guess. I'm two months older." Kana answered. "How old are you?"
"More or less older than the two of you," Obi smiled.
"That's a bit vague," Kana sweatdropped. "Well, what brings you here then?"
Obi explained how he was hired to scare Shirayuki out of the castle and after being found out, he became part of Zen's team. She nodded her head in remembrance. Kana had heard that story somewhere from one of the guards. She suddenly laughed, catching Obi off-guard.
"So that was you? I heard that there was some suspicious, cat-eyed man stalking the castle or something. I thought the guards were drinking again!"
Obi stared at her, amused. Slowly, he felt himself smile wider as he watched her laugh. It was quite interesting talking to Kana. She finally calmed down and met Obi's hazel eyes. For some reason, Kana felt blood rush through her cheeks.
"Miss Kana-"
"Please, just call me Kana. We're supposed to be partners and all," Kana told him.
"About that, I've never been good with working with others. I'm not sure partnering up is a good idea," he says quietly. "I will try to talk to Master about it-"
Obi's eyes widened as he noticed her eyes glimmer in disappointment. Kana smiled sadly at him and shook her head.
"It's okay. Really! I'll talk to Zen. Or better yet, he might scold us so maybe we can pretend?"
"Pretend?"
"Yeah, err, I'll try to stay out of your way at least."
"Oh, well that's not-"
"Lady Kana!"
Kana and Obi turned to find a guard running towards them. He was tall and well-built with light brown hair and emerald eyes.
"Shuuto!" Kana exclaimed as he came near the,. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. I was just looking for you. I couldn't find you anywhere! I was worried..." Shuuto replied, catching his breath and then noticed Obi. "Who is this?"
"Ah, this is Obi! Err, Zen asked us to work together for awhile," Kana explained. "Obi this is Shuuto. He is my-"
"I'm Kana's guard," Shuuto claimed.
"A guard needs a guard?" Obi laughed. "Never heard that one before!"
Kana smiled.
"Even if she is now an aide to his highness Zen, Lady Kana is still a noble and needs protecting!" exclaimed Shuuto, a bit frustrated.
"Calm down, Shuu. Sorry, he's a bit over-protective. He's been with me since I was young," she told Obi. "Besides, Shuu, aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on little bro?"
"Ah! Yes. But I was worried where you'd run off to, so I came looking for you..."
Kana blushed at his words. Shuuto was always caring about her. He never liked leaving her side.
"I suppose I'll come with you then, since there's nothing much to do," she said, waving to Obi. "See you later, Obi!"
"See you!" Obi waved back, watching Kana disappear with another man beside her.
Something pulled at his chest a little, which felt weird, but he shook it off. His feelings belonged to someone else right now.