𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘌𝘋𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘋 𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘈𝘊𝘠 | ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒ

Fear of Losing Another

FEAR OF LOSING ANOTHER

✧

"Ah, welcome home!" Izuna smiled at Asami as she stepped into the meeting room where the mission for the Fuma had been discussed days prior. He got to his feet and walked around the table to her, pulling her into a hug which she returned eagerly.

The moment Asami got back to the compound she had taken a bath and changed, sending Hikaku with the scroll from the Fuma to speak with Madara. In most cases, she would have been right on to the debriefing the moment she got home, but this time, she was just tired. She knew Madara wouldn't be a stickler about her getting changed before meeting for a debrief either. He was also one to prioritize cleaning up after being out of the compound for a bit.

Madara got to his feet as well, standing from his place at the head of the table. He came over and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "I heard from Hikaku that the meeting went well. You didn't allow them to push you around, but maintained respect and helped strengthen our ties with them. Good job."

Asami blushed a bit at the praise, closing her eyes and giving him a small smile. "Thank you. I'm glad you're satisfied with my performance. Though... preferably... unless the Fuma specifically asks for me, I would like to be assigned another mission."

Madara raised a brow, not having expected that as a response. "Oh?"

She cringed, adverting her eyes. "Yes... well... let's just say the Fuma matriarch is a strange woman."

Izuna coughed at that, going back to his seat. He sat crisscross, hands resting on his thighs as he watched Asami and Madara also take their respective spots, mirroring the meeting they had about the Fuma from before.

"I think we may know why she was behaving strangely." Izuna looked at Madara as though he was testing the waters. With a nod in confirmation from his brother, he continued. "Along with the letter we received from you about the Shimura... which is another thing in itself we need to discuss, we received a second letter from the Fuma."

Asami furrowed her brows. "But I received the letter from Jin about the trade deals? He gave it to me before we left. I gave it to Hikaku-san and sent him to give it to you."

He shook his head. "This is something completely separate. They sent it over after you left the Fuma compound and it only arrived last night. We already looked over the letter for trade that Hikaku-san gave us."

Asami looked between the both of them, neither brother seeming as though they wanted to finish explaining. Izuna had the hint of a cringe on his face, whereas Madara only frowned in discomfort, single black eye staring at her from underneath his mop of spiky hair.

She placed her hand on her thighs and let out an exasperated sigh, shoulders dropping a bit at their lack of words and screwed-up faces. "What are you two keeping from me? Just come out and say it."

"Well..." Madara cleared his throat. "In simple terms, they requested a... way for us to strengthen the relationship between our clans."

Asami squinted at him, confused. "Eh? What does—oh no."

Izuna coughed, looking away from her. "It seems whatever you did while you were with the Fuma, you made them like you a little too well. I would say you did a good job, but this is going to be a weird thing to work out."

She jolted, dark eyes going wide. "Political marriage?! With me! You must be joking! Who in their right mind do they want to marry me off to?"

"Their firstborn, Fuma Tadashi." Answered Madara.