I knocked on Shibi's door at 11:55 exactly. He opened it cautiously then, upon seeing that I was his visitor, practically dragged me inside. The folds of his jacket had been ironed to sharp creases, and his hair was scented lightly with an unfamiliar cologne. The general polish of his appearance contrasted sharply with the pale uneasiness of his expression. When he pulled me in and crushed me against him I felt the clamminess of dried sweat on his skin, tasted its sourness on his softly trembling lips. He stepped away too quickly, leading me to his living room.
"You've been decorating?"
The room had been rearranged so that two of his least comfortable chairs sat on each side of his coffee table. He made a pained expression at my comment, and when he spoke his voice was strained.
"As you know, I am the head of the Aburame clan."
He pointed to a chair.
"Sit here, please. As a clan head, I am frequently under certain pressures…in this case, the Kamizuru clan has it in their heads that I should-Oh! I almost forgot."
Clan dealings? So I'm here as a bodyguard today. I'm glad he trusted me enough to ask me for help. I could have come in my old Anbu uniform if I had a bit of notice. It's more impressive for things like this.
I sat in the chair he had indicated and allowed myself a moment to center and expand my chakra field to pick up any approaching signatures. I checked and marked the chakra signatures of Shibi's beetles, forcing familiarity with their presence. Their placements, I realized, indicated that he had apparently already arranged them at strategic watch points around his home, especially in this room.
Another good call. We won't be surprised by any spies trying to poke their noses into clan issues this way.
He left the room and returned with a tea pot and four mugs. He spoke quietly, as if to himself.
"Best not to seem rude. I know who the letter said was coming, but I never really know who they're going to send."
I nodded to the teapot.
"Is this safe to drink?"
He cocked his head to the side and looked at me for a second, then went back to pacing around.
"What? Yes, unless you're allergic to oolong. I think you've had this kind before."
So no poison to look out for. Good, that's not really my style. The windows are locked, and there are two unlocked doors to serve as exits if needed. The spaces around the ceiling and floor seem secure, no one is watching from above or below.
"I haven't explained very well. The Kamizuru clan have taken it into their heads that our clans must either wipe each other out or be joined. I won't be doing either."
"Joined? This is about Suzumebachi."
"I've been handling it by politely refusing to choose either option, but they've sent word that this is no longer acceptable. Their own head and his daughter are visiting today, supposedly. I hope they can be reasoned with, but if not I plan to-!"
He fell silent, his eyes widening at nothing before locking with mine.
"They're here!"
His beetles must have alerted him. I feel two signatures approaching, neither is very strong. Two teenagers, maybe? They're unpracticed. Not a huge threat. I see why he's hesitant to just fight them off on his own now. It wouldn't be a fight, it would be a slaughter. The politics of attacking two teenagers, regardless of location or circumstance, would leave a lasting stain. So I must be here to intimidate. If we scare them off, no further action is needed and no one needs to be hurt. Shibi is more clever than I thought.
His face was drained of all color. He stood up abruptly, straightening his already straightened shirt into exactly the same position as it was when he started. I crossed my arms over my chest to stop myself from reaching out to reassure him.
Is he trying to keep armor hidden under that shirt, or is he just nervous? I don't see the outline of a vest…so if he has one, it's very well disguised.
"You look great, don't worry about that."
He smiled weakly at me, bending down to plant a quick kiss on my forehead before leaving the room. When he returned he was followed by two people: an old man with a long, well groomed beard and a young, angry looking girl. They wore matching wasp broaches clasped over their left shoulders.
The clan head and his daughter. Why is his signature so weak? Is it suppressed?
Shibi gestured to the seats across from us as he welcomed them into his home. His motion was too quick, too sharp for a casual welcome.
"Greetings! Good to see you both again. I am, as always, glad to have you both visit my humble home. I trust your travels were safe? And young Suzumebachi, you're getting so tall."
He poured their tea before ours, then settled back into his own chair. The tell-tale signs of his anxiety were there in the tilt of his head and the way his arms tightened at his sides, but he kept his shoulders straight and his face composed.
"Greetings, Lord Aburame. And…?"
"Kakashi." He supplied the answer for me. "And you need not hold to such formalities. You know my name, I urge you to use it in place of my title."
I bowed my head to them slightly, but neither of them were still looking at me.
Success. Blend into the background so that you can observe their natural, unguarded behavior.
The girl is keeping her arms crossed over her chest and her legs crossed at the ankle. She has been staring out the window without looking around. She hasn't glanced at Shibi more than once since arriving, and I don't think she's bothered looking at me at all. She is trying to subtly move her hand to rest on her hip pouch, but her movements are obvious. Unsubtle. Unpracticed? Probably a weapon in the pouch, but it's not a real or immediate threat in hands as clumsy as hers appear to be. If resting her hand on a weapon makes her feel more at ease, I'll allow it for now. I'm watching you, though, Suzumebachi.
The man moves quickly, despite his advanced age. His chakra signature is suspiciously weak. His movements are all broad and rough, and every time he sweeps the room with his arms he leaves his sides wide open. He is sitting on the very edge of his chair and his legs are tensed as if he might spring out if it at any point, but he has leaned so far forward that any attempt to do so would more likely topple him. He should really know better…no wonder the girl seems so poorly trained, if this is her role model.
Lord Kamizuru spoke, too loud for the room. His voice was gruff and he rounded off all his vowels. He almost sounded more like a caricature of a pompous old man than a genuine person.
"We are not here to foster friendship, Lord Aburame. We are here for your decision." Lord Kamizuru boomed.
"Are you sure you wouldn't like some tea first? I brewed it myself." Shibi answered meekly.
"No, this cannot be put off any longer. You do not answer our letters, and you have not accepted our invitations to visit our land for years. We've traveled here today for one reason and only one reason. You owe us a firm response. Will you or will you not join our two clans by taking my daughter's hand in marriage?"
The clan head's eyes flashed in anger, his jowls shaking as he spit the question. His daughter's face contorted in disgust for a second before smoothing back into quiet anger. When Shibi answered his voice was tight and measured, and his words were slow.
"As I've expressed before, I don't think that's an appropriate suggestion. She's barely 20 after all, and-"
The clan head cut him off.
"-so you want war between us, then?"
"No, that's not what I said, I want nothing more than for this feud to be set aside and-"
"Then you're going to marry Suzumebachi?"
"No! I just don't think that should mean that this pointless violence between us should continue!"
The clan head slapped his palms on the table, shaking the teacups in their saucers as he pushed himself to his feet.
From this position I need to move left past Shibi to reach my target without risk to myself, or right past Suzumebachi to reach him quickly. She isn't prepared to intercept me. No one in the room has a weapon ready. As long as he stays where he is, I won't consider Lord Kamizuru to be a threat, but if there's any change at all I am prepared to do whatever is necessary.
"Coward! Is your plan to keep us waiting on an answer until she withers up and dies an old maid!"
Lord Kamizuru took a step forward. I bolted right. In less than a heartbeat I was between him and Shibi, who remained seated. The girl attempted to jump to her feet and draw her kunai, but the motion threw her off balance and she fell backwards on the ground. I met the clan head's searing gaze with my own icy glare. I pitched my voice down to a soothing tone.
"I think we should all sit back down to continue this discussion."
"And I think that there will be no more discussion."
He tried to draw something, presumably a kunai from his own hip pouch, and I locked my hand around his wrist. My thumb pushed into the soft flesh above his wrist, and I felt his heartbeat quicken.
"Drop it. Relax your arm and I'll release you."
He let out a grunt of frustration and unsuccessfully attempted to yank his hand out of my grasp. The girl stayed seated where she had fallen on the floor. She drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, watching us. At his yell, she called out to us.
"Kalen, stop. We're clearly outmatched. Just drop it already."
Her eyes shone with tears. She dropped her head onto her knees to attempt to hide them, but this too was unsuccessful. The clan head's form shifted in a cloud of smoke, and a fresh faced young man took his place. He tried to take his arm back again and I released him, hovering close to Shibi. The boy, whom I presume to be Kalen, rushed over to her. He knelt beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She sobbed into her knees quietly now, unwilling to look at anyone in the room. Kalen glared up at Shibi and I. He spat on the floor as if to clear his mouth of bile before shouting at Shibi.
"Can't you see what your lack of an answer is doing to her? Her father won't approve of our marriage as long as you might still be convinced to say 'yes', and he'll send me right to the front lines if you give a firm 'no'. We've been trapped like this for way too long waiting for you to choose our fates. If it's a 'yes', then I challenge you to a duel to the death for her hand. And if it's 'no' then…then we'll run away and become missing nin. But we need an answer. Now."
Kalen's eyes glinted with the sureness of youth. Youth's inexperience was present there, too. Shibi spoke carefully from behind me.
"So you two came without his knowledge, didn't you?"
The girl answered him, barely intelligible through her tears.
"What does it matter? Either set me free with an answer, or just kill us and release us from this suffering."
He stood quietly and moved to a shelf behind him, rummaging around for a moment before turning back and sliding a brown envelope across the floor towards them. It bumped off of Kalen's foot. He opened it carefully, as if he expected it to blow up in his hands, then dropped it when he saw the contents.
"There's so much money in there! What is this?"
"I was intending to give it to Lord Kamizuru, the real Lord Kamizuru, as a show of good faith between our clans. I would like you two to have it. Please accept it as a form of blessing for your union."
"But as long as you're still available for marriage, Father will never let us be together!"
"I'm not."
"What?"
Both teenagers looked up at him, confused but hopeful. I felt my stomach drop, a ball of ice taking its place.
"I'm not legally bound to anyone but uh…I am spoken for. I'm already seeing someone."
It sounded like he was blushing. I didn't check.
If I look at him right now, I won't be able to keep my neutral expression. I'll be useless as a guard. I wonder who he'll say he's seeing? Maybe something about honoring his wife's memory, or maybe he'll just make a nice girl up, or perhaps a woman could be convinced to stand in for a moment…
Both teenagers looked at me. I glanced back at Shibi, who was pointing in my direction. My heart skipped a beat, then made up for it by pounding twice as loud as normal in my ears. I stumbled in place, stepping out a bit to steady myself.
"Him, actually. Tell that to your clan head."
Me!? He's telling people about…but what does that mean? He hasn't considered this fully. I should speak up, tell them it was a joke. That his real lover is away for the day. Or fake my own transformation like Kalen and pose as a beauty for him for a moment.
The kids collapsed into each other, crying tears of relief and clutching the envelope.
Too late.
The girl spoke.
"That…might help. Father isn't in very good health, he wants an end to this pointless feud as much as anyone. He doesn't want to be seen as conceding anything, but I think I could convince him to accept this."
She waved the envelope in the air.
"Especially if you're seeing someone."
Kalen leaned his head against her.
"You've always been so good at pacifying him, Suzu~."
"Just wait, I've already started working on a whole speech. 'A gift of this size is too big to be ignored, we would seem greedy not to accept this clear peace offering', and maybe something about 'not being a second choice' if he pushes it."
"You're always my first choice, baby."
"Oh, Kalen~."
My mind fell to static as the sound of their gushing faded away.
Focus. Focus. Maybe he has some greater plan for this. s.
I felt myself slipping into dissociation and fought hard to ground myself against it. Shibi piped up from 1000 miles away..
"So, about that tea?"