For the past couple of days since making his preparations to travel to Kiri, Sanosuke had mentally been preparing what he was going to tell Gin about this whole political situation between Kiri and Kumo. How was he supposed to tell Gin that his own student, would be responsible for causing this political strife between two villages that were looking to be allies? Of course Kiri wasn't entirely guilt free, as Han reminded him, that Kiri might be housing Kaekio illegally. An obvious breach in their treaty that was currently in the works of being drafted. This couldn't be ignored. Also Sanosuke had no idea how he was going to tell Gin about him holding the Kiri shinobi in the village until issues were worked out. There was no telling how Gin would take all of this information. Would she be angry at Sanosuke? Disappointed at him, possibly accuse him for overreacting? At this point Gin must have known something was on the kage's mind as he would often be lost in thoughts of how to explain the situation to Gin. It was only a matter of time before Sanosuke could keep dodging her before he would come home to Gin putting a knife to his throat and demanding answers of what's going on with him. He couldn't keep her in the dark for too long, Sanosuke knew that much. It was time, whether he was prepared to or not, to inform Gin of the situation.

Calling Gin to the living room, Sanosuke waited for the woman to arrive as he knew she was somewhere in the estate. His voice traveled throughout the compound so that she would hear. Silently he would wait until she was here. At the sound of her footsteps, Sanosuke released the breath of air he didn't know he was holding in. Patting a spot on the couch, Sanosuke turned to face the ex Kazekage and began to explain the situation. He told Gin about Kaekio's suspicious letter and how his council believes that Kaekio might have deserted the village. He explained how Kiri might have a role in Kaekio's desertion, and how he is holding Kiri shinobi in his village until Kaekio's whereabouts are found. It was a rather messy situation, and Sanosuke made sure that Gin knew how this was a rather frustrating predicament that forced his hand in a manner he would rather not have done.

With the situation told to her, Sanosuke looked at the woman to see how she was handling the situation. Of course she'll be concerned as technically she is a Kiri shinobi. These were her allies that he was using as hostages until he learns what has happened to his student. "I'm going to Kiri with Kenji to meet with Ayakashi soon. Should I be right about Kaekio's reasoning for desertion, I want you to know that I don't plan on going to war should negotiations fail." Sanosuke explained to Gin as she knew his temper and knew that Ayakashi could easily press the wrong button to set him off. "If everything goes according to plan, I should be in and out of Kiri before you know it. Just promise me you won't do anything while I'm away. Once I come back, I promise you I'll release all the Kiri shinobi once I come back." Everything he said Sanosuke planned on following through. He wouldn't keep the shinobi for too long as war was something he never intended on. Besides, unlike Ayakashi, Sanosuke had standards and wouldn't dare steal from his allies. Looking once more at Gin, Sanosuke wondered what thoughts were floating around in her head. Knowing her, she might be glad that Sanosuke would be out of the house so she can finally have the bed to herself and all the privacy she could want without a certain silver haired man ruining her fun.

A meeting with Sanosuke was nothing out of the ordinary. After all, the two of them practically lived together. Scratch that, it had been months and they were still sharing a bed. Nevertheless, it was the formal aspect of it that made Gin tense. The house had been teeming with guards for the past few days with no particular reason. Sanosuke had dodged her questions about it and had tried to make her seem paranoid, but she wasn't. She counted the guards herself, even the ones that thought they were hidden and out of sight. Moreover, he had been pretty much avoiding her, making sure all of their conversations remained trivial or superficial. This meeting, even if it did take place in their living room, meant that he was finally going to confront her. It meant that whatever this was about, it had nothing to do with them as a couple. This was business, plain and simple.

"So, you finally ready to get your head out of your ass and tell me what's been going on? I'm guessing this has something to do with why I haven't been able to get in touch with Kiri," she said, plopping herself down on one of the armchairs, legs spread widely in what was surely a very unfeminine way of sitting. She had denied his request to sit next to him. It was better this way. She could separate her emotions from her rationality more easily. And for what she was listening to, she needed to remain calm. With every word, her stomach sank and her face contorted into something resembling a mixture of repressed anger and disbelief. After a moment of silence, she finally spoke.

"I hope for both our sakes that this turns out right" Gin sighed, rubbing her temples. Of all the things that could happen, it had to be something that put her right in the middle between two of the most politically and physically powerful beings on the planet. And for once, she wasn't the direct or indirect cause of this. She didn't know if that made things better - in that she was blameless - or worse - in that she was bearing the consequences of something she had no involvement in. She was leaning towards the latter right now.

And then there was the couple in question... Kaekio and Nozomi had a lot to answer to. Maybe it was because she had grown skeptical about love over the years, but Gin had trouble understanding their motivations. Sure, she understood the intense feelings brought about by first love - how passionate and intense they could be - but to risk a war? There were easier ways to get around long distance relationships. Gin would have never tried to pull off a stunt like that at their age. Or maybe she would have. It seemed the worst things in life were born out of love and the intentions carried with it.

Gin looked at Sanosuke for a moment. Would their relationship ever generate something like this? If the letter her future children had given her was anything to go by, then yes. She would singlehandedly cause the apocalypse. Gin cursed her future self's own stupidity. All of this felt like a giant cosmic joke.

"Basically arresting Kiri shinobi... that won't go well with Ayakashi," she warned. Negotiations would already be starting off on the wrong foot. "She doesn't take threats idly, and anything done to the villagers might as well have been done to her. You should also know that if things escalate and the council tries to use me as a hostage, I won't hesitate to defend myself." Gin's eyes narrowed dangerously. Sanosuke had probably considered this already, but it was worth mentioning. Her being here - sitting back while Lori's shinobi were being used for political leverage - could already be seen as a betrayal by Ayakashi. But doing so was her only option if she wanted to avoid outward conflict. If she had Gin's head for this... well, the former Kazekage would see when it came to that. "In the meantime, I'll try to appease the people here and convince them this is necessary. You'll owe me big time, though," she said, begrudgingly mumbling the last few words. This was going to be a pain in the ass, no matter how it played out.

No matter how he tried his best to break down the situation, it doesn't change the fact that it sounds like Sanosuke himself is the one at fault. Even if his actions may be justifiable by the actions of his former student, the fact that he is indeed imprisoning Kirishinobi was very much true. And Gin saw through this. The silver haired shinobi could see how her eyebrows burrowed deeper into her forehead to show lines upon them to show Sanosuke that she wasn't pleased with the information she was taking in. Sanosuke wouldn't expect anything less from the woman he had been living with for months now. Of course she would be rather annoyed with the developments that occurred between the two shinobi villages that would prove to be quite the annoyance. Gin was only allying herself with Kiri only because she owed the Mizukage her life and was indebted to her. Nowhere on that agreement did she sign up for a war against Kumo. If she responded to this news in a manner that wasn't this, like general concern and worry, Sanosuke would be on guard as this isn't the Gin he knew. At her remark warning Sanosuke that the arresting Kiri shinobi would make negotiations go sour with Kiri, Sanosuke rubbed the bridge of his nose to provide some sort of relief. He grunted in agreement at her warning. He knew that it wouldn't go well with Ayakashi, but that was the only way to get leverage on her in case this spirals into an international incident.

"As if I'd let anything happen to you. They wouldn't dare lay a finger on you." Sanosuke growled with a sudden pang protectiveness over Gin. Despite the fact that Gin deliberately turned down his invitation to sit next to him on the couch so she can hear about this without getting emotional, Sanosuke failed in that regard as he was unable to prevent some of his emotions leak out. His blues eyes clashed with Gin's momentarily as Gin's lighter spheres reflected a dangerous warning, while Sanosuke's darker one reflected that of a paternal sentinel. The reason for that outburst could easily be gained if one looked into the eyes of the Raikage long enough. Before Gin could get the chance to grasp for an understanding of Sanosuke's sudden outburst by looking too deeply at him, he averted his eyes and worked on his breathing to calm himself down.

A single sigh escaped his lips as he could feel his body tense up. He wasn't worried about the most members of his council to have an order to detain Gin by force behind his back, but there were some that made him wonder if they would actually do it should the circumstances fit. He felt the tension in his fist slacken as he breath in slowly. It would have been two weeks since Sanosuke and Gin had a meeting with the last people in the world they'd ever think they would talk to: their own children from the future, with a message predicting an apocalyptic future that stemmed mostly from Sanosuke's death. True Sanosuke had a good idea who might be the killer, but then again this was a change in the timeline with his kids warning him about said future. Couldn't something have changed where his death might come prematurely? Perhaps Gin was thinking about this as well. Sanosuke could still remember the unspoken tears that dripped down her face as she read the contents of the letter. He felt something in his heart bend as there was nothing he could do as she was sworn to secrecy by some covenant.

When Sanosuke looked back at Gin, his eyes were softer than they were previously. He wouldn't die on her, not if he could help it. At Gin's mumbling at him owing her, Sanosuke felt himself chuckle. He hadn't genuinely chuckled like that in a long time, before this whole international fiasco. It felt good to laugh like that, as he could feel the pressure on his shoulders slacken. Similar to how it feels to remove weighted clothing off your body, Sanosuke felt slightly lighter. "Right, of course. I'll pay you back when I come back." Sanosuke chuckled. "And when I do get back, there's something I need to tell you. About us." Sanosuke whispered the last part, loud enough for Gin to hear. Despite him wanting to avert her eyes this time when he said this, Sanosuke couldn't. Her blue eyes had captured his own in a deadlock that he couldn't shake. This whole talk of the future, how they are now, there were some many things to talk about with her. They have been avoiding this talk for months, years really if the silver haired man actually thought about it.

How Gin would take this blindside, he wouldn't know. Would she be annoyed that he's bringing up a trivial thing like their current relationshup status during a time like this, or would she dodge the question. He needed something to change the subject. That's when he got an idea. "But in the meantime, I've been working on this project lately. Grab that scroll for me on the top shelf will you?" Sanosuke asked. When Gin retrieved the scroll, Sanosuke would unravel it to reveal the details of a body seal. "It's this project I've been working on during my downtime. It's a body seal where two people that have identical seals, can communicate with each other through their dreams no matter the distance. I've been meaning to have it done before I leave for Kiri, but I just can't seem to wrap my head around the Zen Advanced Principles of Sealing. Think you can help?" Sanosuke peaked his eye from the scroll to see if Gin would help, while patting a spot on the couch for her to join him hopefully on this mini project.

He just wanted Gin by his side. Even though he wouldn't want to admit that he felt more at ease when she's close, maybe when he returned he might be able to tell it to her face instead of experiencing feelings of longing to speak his true feelings about her. If the two worked together, like this body seal project he proposed, there wasn't anything they couldn't conquer. That, Sanosuke Flynt knew, was for certain.
[exit]

If there was one thing Gin had come to know about Ayakashi over the years, it was that the woman was uncompromising and more than willing to make the sacrifices she viewed as necessary in order to uphold her views of justice. If a few innocent lives had the be given up along the way, so be it. The Mizukage would bear that weight on her shoulders without letting it slow her down. In other words, hostages were almost useless in this situation. And that was what the former Kazekage seemed to be now – a hostage. She sighed. She might go along with that game for now in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but she was by no means the type of person that would just let herself become a tool or a bargaining chip. She would rather die than be humiliated and trampled over like that. Still, it wasn’t like that was Sanosuke’s intention. She knew that much. However, she had to keep in mind that he wasn’t the sole ruling figure within Kumogakure. Gin would have to keep her guard up more than the usual for the time being. Maybe stationing a Shadow Clone to guard over her while she slept would be a viable option. Sure, that would mean that she wouldn’t get a full night’s rest, but it beat being stabbed to death in her sleep. What a pathetic way to go that would be, after everything she’d already been through.

Sanosuke’s sudden protectiveness made her tired gaze soften. She smiled, despite herself. If anything, it meant that he was still himself and that he wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his own principles, regardless of how negotiations went down. That was a relief to know. He looked away, probably trying to keep Gin from getting a good read on him. It almost made her chuckle. All that was missing was a blush and a belated “but don’t believe it’s because I care about you or anything” for the scene to shift. That wasn’t going to happen, no matter how entertaining the thought was. This was still business – a sort of preemptive dialogue before the real negotiations took place. “I appreciate the sentiment, but I’ll be on my guard anyways. I know you wouldn’t sanction anything against me, but if a war were to break out, I’d instantly become a prime target in enemy territory,” Gin said, trying her best to sound practical and rational. There was more to what she was thinking, though.

Hidden behind a thick veil of aloofness and slight annoyance, she was nervous and worried. She honestly had no idea how this would end up. A fight between Sanosuke and Ayakashi breaking out would without a doubt be in the latter’s favor. Sanosuke would be outnumbered, even if he did go with an escort. Best case scenario, they would all have to die to buy him time to escape. Worst case scenario… well, both Kage died and a war broke out anyways. And in the meantime, Gin would just be sitting in Kumo, without being able to do a goddam thing. She hated feeling powerless. However, she knew it couldn’t be helped. At least she would have Kero to keep her company in the meantime. If the guards tried to so much as touch the cat, she would rip their balls off and shove them down their throats.

The silver haired woman was still glad to see that she had made him laugh and relax, even if only a little. “I’ll look forward to it,” she answered. Whatever this was about – even if it was bad news – it wouldn’t trump the feeling she would get just by seeing him alive and well again. It was probably about the other elephant in the room that they had been ignoring. If their future children were anything to go by, their future together was all but written in stone. It was something they had to talk about and iron out at some point, no matter how awkward that could get.
Shoving that thought aside for now, Gin stood up to reach for the shelf as Sanosuke had instructed. “Aww, won’t be able to stand not talking to me for a week? Aren’t you sweet,” Gin said, mocking him lightheartedly. This was how she dealt with difficult situations, usually. She tried to make light of them, to appear that she didn’t take them as seriously as she actually did. She spread the scroll out on the coffee table and sat in front of it on the floor. Mimicking Sanosuke, she patted the ground next to her and waited for him to move instead. She inspected the markings that the scribbled notes along the margins, quickly making sense of the man’s progress so far. “I bet I can solve this before dinner,”[/color] she challenged. It would be nice to do something together, the way they usually did. In moments like these, the two could exist happily, isolated from the dark clouds looming overhead.