"Don't squirm so much." Temari gave Ren a mild reproachful look while gently straightening up small wrinkles on his kimono with her hands.
Ren slightly grimaced, feeling small in that moment. Like a kid reprimanded by his mother. It wasn't his fault. He didn't wear his formal kimono often, and thank the Sage for that small mercy! The damn thing was somewhat tight and scratchy.
'Did I get fat?' Ren idly wondered, but chased that thought away almost instantly.
There was no way, right? He had seals that prevented such a thing! The kimono had definitely gotten smaller. Yes, that must be it.
He subconsciously touched his stomach and found it still almost as flat as Sakura.
"There." Temari softly patted his collar with a small, self-satisfied smile before raising her gaze to meet his eyes. "Now it looks perfect."
Ren smiled back with a heartfelt "Thank you," as he gave her a quick and subtle once-over, inwardly noting with a quiet admiration how beautiful she looked dressed up for the occasion.
With not much time to spare, they left their room and reunited with Kankuro, who had holed himself up in his room for the past two days, fully intent on tinkering with the new puppet techniques.
If the meeting with the Daimyo and the subsequent banquet were not so important, he would have no doubt refused to come out. Seeing the scowling boy pulling at the collar of his kimono, Ren had to suppress a smile. He would never tell the boy this to his face, but he kind of respected his dedication to the puppetry arts.
Several other mildly important ninjas from Sunagakure with high positions waited for them alongside Kankuro. Ren didn't really bother to get to know them. While Temari started exchanging pleasantries and polite greetings with them, Ren pretended they did not exist as he stepped closer to Kankuro.
"Prepared for the meeting with the big man himself?" Ren asked with a mischievous grin, causing Kankuro to snort. He knew that Ren wasn't pointing out the Daimyo's position in society with that sentence, but rather, the size of his gut.
"I will disappoint you, our Daimyo is not as fat as the one you have back home." Kankuro dryly stated, only to freeze as he felt a faint killing intent lock onto him. His head slightly turned toward it as cold sweat washed over him, only to notice that Temari was staring at him with a narrow-eyed glare from the corner of her eyes while still speaking with the other ninjas.
Her message was clear. Her entire demeanor screamed 'SHUT UP!'
Ren snickered at Kankuro's misfortune. He honestly did not expect the boy to say such a thing out loud right inside the Wind Daimyo's castle. The walls might have ears, but Kankuro definitely had a mouth on him.
"Thank you for breaking that misconception, then." Ren amusedly replied, ignoring the pleading look Temari threw his way. He wasn't planning on making things harder for her anyway. "This is the first time I am meeting a Daimyo. I am kind of nervous."
He wasn't, really. But if it scored him some points, courtesy of the ninjas hidden in the walls, who were following their every move and word, then a bit of flattery was a low price to pay.
The Daimyo's ninjas on the surveillance duty were quite good, too. Around an average jonin level, if Ren had to guess. Kankuro definitely did not notice them. It was why he was so bold with his previous comment about the Daimyo. Temari, after Ino took her for a training spin, was far more aware.
Cutting her strategy discussion with the other high-ranking Suna ninjas in her entourage, Temari walked toward Ren and Kankuro before she hooked her arms with one of theirs, pushing herself between them.
"Alright, you two. Let's go before you cause a civil war with your inappropriate remarks." She grumbled in an exasperated tone as she started pulling them through the empty hall, toward the door where their guide was already patiently waiting for them.
They proceeded through the castle until they finally reached the throne room, where the Daimyo, alongside his officials, awaited their group.
Before they entered, their group paused, and Temari let go of Ren and Kankuro's arms. Both used the opportunity to fade to the back of the group, letting the other Suna ninjas get to the front.
After all, this was their stage.
The door opened, they were announced, and entered in an orderly manner with their heads held high while several dozen eyes followed them as they approached the Daimyo sitting on the throne on an elevated platform on the other side of the room, surrounded by his most important ministers.
The man looked older than Ren initially imagined, and indeed, as Kankuro so rudely hinted, he was quite slim in his robes.
Temari stopped at an appropriate distance, neither too far to show caution nor close enough for it to be threatening, and, followed by her entire group, she bowed. Just enough to give respect and acknowledgment of the Daimyo's authority, but not enough to show subservience of a vassal.
Following her lead, Ren clumsily bowed, too. While doing so, his lips twitched as he faintly remembered all those arrogant protagonists from the stories from his previous life who would absolutely find it unbearable to show even a hint of deference or respect to anybody who was supposedly in a higher social position than them.
But this was only normal. The man was a royal, and even foreign princes would give him a bow to show respect for his position. There was no reason to cause trouble for something as unimportant as a simple show of respect.
Temari straightened up and, with her hands cupped together in front of her face, she slowly spoke in a measured tone, "Greetings, my Lord. We humbly thank you for granting us this audience."
Hearing her, just from the first sentence, Ren was inwardly choking at the amount of bullshit he was hearing.
"Umu. You are welcome. We are pleased to be in your presence, Lady Temari." The Daimyo replied, but unlike the high and mighty self-important tone that Ren expected, the man's old voice sounded dignified but also somewhat cautious.
Yet, despite his measured expression and tone, his intently wandering eyes betrayed his not-so-pure intentions toward Temari. "Your beauty is radiant as always."
For a moment, the Daimyo glanced away, and his eyes met Ren's amused gaze with a hint of restrained disdain. Ren, however, only raised his eyebrow at him, not reacting in any other way.
During the past two days, he and Temari were quite unrestrained in their intimacy. She did not want to use the privacy seals either, despite being extra loud. If Ren had any doubts about the purpose of that, then the sour look in Daimyo's eyes cleared them fast.
Temari was very annoyed about all the letters and proposals the Daimyo had sent her over the years, and this was her way of getting a bit of innocent revenge.
The Daimyo's desire for Temari was obvious to anybody who bothered to look into the situation. The ridiculous thing, and as far as Ren knew, what annoyed Temari the most about it was that it had nothing to do with her 'radiant beauty'.
To put it simply, she was Rasa's daughter. That was it.
The Daimyo's harem was made of top-tier beauties gathered from all around the Land of Wind and even outside. He didn't want Temari for her looks. He just wanted to fuck the daughter of the man who continuously spurned him.
It was that simple.
Ignoring the compliment, Temari started going through general pleasantries and some pointless banter she skillfully used to steer the discussion toward the issue at hand. The relationship between the Daimyo's court and Sunagakure.
Surprisingly, the Daimyo didn't make it hard, and soon enough, he restrained his gaze toward her as he became completely serious, finally showing the competence of a man who ruled one of the biggest nations on the continent.
With the decisive victory against the Iwagakure's army, Suna had shown they were still a force to be reckoned with. And the Daimyo had to respect that. He could not show the same overbearing attitude as previously.
Even if he could wipe Sunagakure out once he mobilized his samurai and army, the cost would be unbearable for his reign. The noble families at the top might be content to be in second place after the Daimyo. But that was only if the Daimyo was strong. Once he showed a weakness and they sensed an opportunity, they might just pounce. And that wasn't even speaking about the external threats.
He wanted to get Sunagakure under his control precisely because the village was weakened, and it would have cemented his family's position for the generations to come.
Right now, there was always that threat of some noble family persuading Sunagakure to join their side if a civil war broke out. Such worries were actually not all that unfounded, either. With his current relationship with the village, it could totally happen.
A lot of Suna ninjas absolutely hated his guts for literally starving them for years. Ren didn't know whose advice the man listened to, but his advisor clearly dropped an idiot ball that the Daimyo eagerly caught.
Unfortunately, once the grudge was formed between him and Rasa, it wasn't an easy issue to fix.
Even worse, he had missed his opportunity. Or rather, there was no opportunity to begin with. Sunagakure was never going to become his personal attack dog in the way he desired. In which case, it was much better for him if Suna stayed in its current position. Changing his attitude now that it was clear he wouldn't be getting what he desired was a sign of his competence.
The whole negotiation was pretty much a done deal before Temari even set foot into the room. They didn't need to meet or discuss it. They both already had a very good idea how this was going to end.
Everything else? All the showmanship around it? That was just trying to get additional benefits from each other.
Their talks started... and Ren pretty much dozed off with his eyes open. He was sure Kankuro could give him the short version after they were done.
Heh. The poor bastard had to pay attention in case his input was required.
'Man~, I can't wait for the banquet to start.' Ren's mind wandered, thinking about what was to come after the negotiations. He couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement as he gulped, barely restraining a hungry smile. 'I wonder what delicacies they will be serving.'