When it comes to picking up things around him, Daremo like to consider himself a very observant person. Someone who can take notices of the smallest of things about an individual. or the surrounding area, before others possibly could. Having an acute attention to detail homed through his time as a geisha and his time as a shinobi of Iwagakure no Sato. Truly, it would take someone of considerable skill to actually get something past his eyes, and it is because of that, he had picked up on Kaia’s jealous when they had the run in with Akane. Though his lover tried to hide it well, such a change of in her did not go unnoticed by him at the time. There was hardly anything she could hide from him. So it wasn’t surprising that she was jealous of Akane. Chuckling softly at her admitted jealousy, Daremo smiled, “Our relationship is unique, to say the least. Siblings who both hate and love each other at the same time. But, would always have the others’ back when shite hits the fan. Don’t be afraid to butt heads with her.  Stand up to her, and be true about what you feel about her. She ” Shaking his head, “Let you on a secret. The reason why she never liked anyone I dated was that they never stood up to her. None of them was strong enough, not power-wise, but as a person to call her out on her bullshite. She will like you more than she already does.” He admitted. Kaia being the first one Daremo every told about Akane’s unique personality. All the others had to find out the hard way.


Maybe it is because there is a sense of comfortability around Kaia, or it could just be because of the loved he had for the woman before him, but, whatever the case it, he found himself letting his guard around the woman. Letting her into the deepest crevasses of his mind and body, allowing her to see things that only a few others have. The yellow reptilian eyes of his, staring at her in a loving manner, betrayed the monster within them. A monster steady growing from it’s hibernation. An unfathomed thing which reeked of death. And who had no problem in plunging the world into such chaos if it meant protecting what it has deemed him; Kaia and the child(ren) growing inside of her. The windows to his soul opened up for Kaia, allowing her to see the depths he would go through just for her.

He did not know when it started. When he allowed another to get this close to him then only a few others have. But, he did not regret it. He did not regret allowing Kaia into his life, and the world that he once lived in, and teeters on a daily basis. The woman was something else entirely from those he had dated or had a fling with. There was an innocent about her, that despite her past, was still pure as freshly fallen snow, but with the sense of danger that comes along with it. Nothing like his first lover who was as innocent as they could come despite being a geisha who had been sullied by many before him. Not like the Tsuchikage who only saw a glimpse of who he was. Nothing like his former teacher, someone who was more crazier than him, but understood the darkness within his mind. Indeed, Kaia was nothing like them. And, it was because of that reason why Daremo found himself drawn to her, which led to them eventually marrying, and now expecting a child of their own.

A brief flicker of sadness appeared in his eyes as she spoke of the love she held for him. His mind thinking back to the time he was supposedly ‘dead’, and could not do anything to tell her otherwise. How he had to watch the woman before him suffer for the entire week, not knowing that the man she loved was very much alive. “I can’t fathom how important you have become to me either.” what was left unsaid was the distance he would go through just for her, but, his eyes did show her the depths he was willing to go.



Reaching across the table, his hands sought out hers, rubbing them gently as his eyes stared into hers “Love, I am positive that they will love you. Mayuko, my grandmother, is already thrill in meeting her future daughter-in-law. The woman who, in her words, managed to tame a wild Guanyin.” he spoke, chuckling softly. Shaking his head, a smile ever present, “The same can be said about Jinpachi, my grandfather. He is eager to see the woman who tamed his grandson. Though, between us, he is more excited about the idea of being a great-grandfather. If what my grandmother said is true, in the last letter,  he is already buying stuff for the children.” Indeed, it seemed like his grandfather was already buying stuff for the children.

“Now. You are wondering why my grandparents would like you?” this being a hypothetical question, “Let me ask you something. Why wouldn’t they?”, he asked, “You are kind, loving, and a caring woman. Your strength is nothing to overlook. You are able to hold your own against most. But, more importantly, you are capable of putting up with my antics, and call me out on the bullshite. You love me for who I am, not caring about my dark past. You have accepted it, unlike the others who only marginally accepted it. You are not afraid of the darkness lurking in my heart. Something that can’t be said about the others.”
There was a sense of cautious with the others he had dated. None of them being completely comfortable with a man whose past was as dark as his. “You really have nothing to worry about. As far as they are concerned. You are apart of the family.  But, I am curious, why are you scared of meeting them? I really want to know.”

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1044

It had been truly only because of her relationship with Daremo that she had bitten her tongue in the proverbial sense and kept her words to herself. It was because of her love for the man seated before her that she hadn’t given Akane a thorough lashing - either with her tongue or by beating her senseless in what Kaia would likely blame on hormonal rage but which was in fact just a response to the fact that Daremo was hers and she was quite territorial. She had kept her jealousy at bay - as much as she could anyway considering Daremo had caught on and likely Akane as well - simply because she had wanted to keep things peaceful. Daremo was important to her, and by extension those he cared for, and it had been Akane’s only saving grace - but that grace had now passed. That wouldn’t happen next time. No, if Akane was looking for someone to stand up to her then she had met the right person - she wouldn’t be downright evil or mean unless she had to, but she wasn’t going to bite her tongue like a good little girl and keep silent either. Kaia wasn’t the type to run, and she certainly wasn’t the type to give up easily.

Kaia snorted softly in reply and shook her head. ”I kept my mouth shut out of respect for your relationship with her, but it won’t happen again.”, there was a feistiness in her words, and a gleam in her eyes. If Akane wanted someone to stand up to her than she had met the right person: Kaia would do exactly that, and she would have no qualms with calling her out on her bullshit if it became necessary. Perhaps it was her fiery nature, or perhaps something else entirely, but Kaia felt willing and very able to do whatever she had to do.


The flicker of sadness in his gaze did not escape Kaia’s notice, and it took her mind off of Akane in an instant and back onto the man seated before her. He mirrored her words, yet his eyes showed something even deeper than that. She knew from just a glance he would walk through the hottest and deepest layers of hell for her, that there was no length he wouldn’t go if it ensured her safety. Before she could comment on it however his hands would moving across the table and she mimicked the gesture, her hands grasping onto his even as he rubbed her own. The subject change made her wonder if he was trying to avoid speaking of the sadness and hearing Kaia tell him once more it wasn’t his fault, or if perhaps he was so worried over her own concerns he was putting his own to the side for now.


She listened in silence as he explained that his grandmother was already thrilled at the idea of meeting her future daughter-in-law: Kaia, who managed to tame the wild Guanyin. The thought caused a gentle smile to form across her face - she wasn’t quite sure she had tamed him: sometimes she felt like he had freed her instead, made her more wild and less tame. Likewise his grandfather was eager to meet her, he too being of the same beliefs, though Daremo went on to mention he was also excited about the idea of being a great-grandfather.

As Daremo continued speaking she listened with rapt attention, even as her thumbs gently trailed over his own fingers; a blind gesture in a way as her gaze remained glued to his own. He mentioned her kindness, and how she was loving and caring. He mentioned her strength, her acceptance of him. The fact that she didn’t just accept certain portions of him but rather the whole of him - something no one else in the past had been willing or able to do. He mentioned the darkness lurking within him, and how she was not afraid of it. As he went on to say she had nothing to be concerned about, and that as far as they were concerned she was already a part of the family, she couldn’t help but smile a little more. At his question though she looked not into his eyes but rather down to their joined hands, not avoiding the question but rather gathering up her thoughts - a thoughtful look in her eyes as she did so.

When she was ready to answer, no more than a mere second or two later, she glanced back up again, making eye contact once more. “It’s not that I’m scared of meeting them, my love. It’s rather I was scared I was not good enough for you. I know it’s silly and stupid… but you are the very first relationship in my life as I’ve told you. I see people go through dozens, learning along the way the do’s and don’t, until they satisfy themselves with just one person and stick with that person. I have no intentions on doing that. You are my one person, my only one, the one I want to be with for the rest of my life and well into eternity no matter where that afterlife might be spent… and I guess at times I fear I’m not good enough for you. Half the time I have no idea what I’m doing, I just roll with it and hope it’s good enough.” Silence fell after her words had been spoken, the truth laid out on the table bare and as naked and truthful as possible. She feared not being good enough, not being exactly what he needed. Yet, his words had also molded that fear even before she had voiced her concerns.


”But,like I said, ‘I was scared’. Your words changed that just now. I guess my fears were for nothing with the way you’ve put things into perspective. Of course I accept you, all of you, because I love all of you. No one is without flaws and faults, but I accept you for who you are because I love you so very much. We both have our darkness, we’ve both done things that would horrify others…”, Kaia paused, thinking back to her time in the wild and the years spent there with a cannibal - the things she had done, the horrors she herself had either partook of or started. She had never given her love all of the details, yet somehow she knew he had guessed them correctly that fateful day she had mentioned them. ”I’m not afraid of your darkness, and I definitely have my own - though perhaps it’s not as big and scary as yours..”, she paused, smiling playfully. ”But, you’ve also accepted me for everything I am, and everything I have done. You’ve accepted me for how broken I am, how ruined I was when we first met. So, why wouldn’t I accept you for exactly who you are? You’ve completed me, and fixed me, and made me such a better person in so many ways I can’t even begin to name them… So I guess, in a way, I was foolish to be afraid they wouldn’t think I was good enough for you, I was foolish to think I wasn’t good enough for you.” The fiery and fierce spark was once more in her eyes, like a fire that had gone from smoldering to a strong inferno: as if her own emotional, and mental strength had grown in such a short amount of time.

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