The Daimyo's Daughter

Unraveling

When you woke the following morning, all three shinobi were waiting outside of your room like watchdogs. You could sense the tension in the air, and for a moment, the happy warmth that had burned in your chest all night began to fade. Had they found out about you and Kakashi's almost shared kiss? Did they know? Had he told them? The fear dropped through your stomach like a stone, bumping and skittering along the notions of civility and regality that caged your chest like sharp wire.

"What is it?" There was no point in beating around the bush.

Tetsu and Maki gave you polite smiles that did not meet their eyes, and Tetsu stepped forward to speak, ever the paradigm of charm. "There is nothing to worry about, Princess. Please, let's begin your day."

Rather than wait for you to turn down the hall, Tetsu and Maki took the lead, and Kakashi lagged behind, as though waiting to follow you. You tried to catch his gaze, but Kakashi stubbornly evaded it.

Nausea bubbled in your gut. Never, in all the time that the trio had graced the palace grounds, had you been sandwiched between them. Never before had they demonstrated such an obvious circlet of protection, least of all with you wholly unaware of their motives. And Kakashi couldn't even look at you. Had something happened? Had you been seen on the outskirts of the forest? Had Kakashi come clean about you?

The fear that you'd so determinedly tamped down before burst forth like the most insidious of volcanic eruptions. The smoke clouded your judgment and choked you with your own confusion. The memory of Kakashi's hands on your skin flickered and burned like hot embers. Maybe it had been a test. Maybe they were checking to see whether or not you'd sleep with a strange man. Maybe the idea of protection was an illusion. Maybe Kakashi had been hired for the sole purpose of extracting your weaknesses and secrets, only to demolish them with an iron fist.

Maybe you truly were alone in this world.

There was no other reason that you could think of for his sudden shame around you.

☽☽☽⚜☾☾☾

But it wasn't shame. Kakashi could not meet your eyes for one reason alone: fear. After being in the ANBU for so long, he assumed he had no fear left in him. It had been trained away in battles, trimmed off like fat to lean muscle. Yet, facing you in the morning made fear buzz through him like a sharp electric shock.

Would you regret the intimate conversations you'd had with him last night? Would you hate him for the almost-kiss? For the way his hands brushed against your skin, enraptured by the simplest of touches? Would you hate him, as you had hated all the other men, for their interest in you? Or would you hate him for not being able to act upon his interest any further?

He was trapped, and, either way, he feared the consequences of your displeasure.

So, he pretended there was nothing there, and he threw himself into work. He'd scoped perimeters and set seals around the palace. He'd learned the poison-neutralizing jutsu that Tetsu had performed. Kakashi had done everything in his power to fix things.

But he could not fix the displeasure that you displayed as the day continued to progress. Especially as Tetsu and Maki lead you from the bathing chambers to your father's private study. In fact, a wild look of alarm, dismay, and betrayal whirled across your features as you looked over your shoulder at him. But there was no time for him to explain what was going on, nor time to ask you why you were so visibly upset. There was only time to watch as Tetsu and Maki lead you into the lion's den.

Seeing you kneel on the floor made him ache with guilt and the longing to rectify your almost certain discomfort. However, he could do nothing besides watch as the Daimyo began to speak.