Snow White with red hair - Guarded Love Obi x reader

Chapter 2

Zen, Mitsuhide, and Kiki left to attend to some work and they left Obi behind with you. The two of you sat awkwardly on the steps to the castle, not knowing what to say or do.
"Ah, I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Obi. Master's messenger."
"Messenger? Uh, right. I'm (Y/N) I've know Zen since we were little," you tell him.
"You and Master are the same age then?" Obi asked, smiling.
You stared at him in awe. Assassins were supposed to be scary right? Rough and mean? But this young man in front of you seemed so... Kind hearted. His smile was dazzling if you may say so yourself.

"Miss (Y/N)?" Obi waved his hand in front of your face to catch your attention. "Is there something on my face?"
"Eh? Ah no! Sorry. Uh, what was your question?"
Obi chuckled.
"Are you and Master the same age?"
"Oh! Uh yes. Well I guess. I'm two months older." You reply. "How old are you?"
"More or less older than the two of you," Obi smiled.
"That's a bit vague," you sweatdropped. "Well, what brings you here then?"

Obi explained how he was hired to scare Shirayuki out of the castle and after being found out, he became part of Zen's team. You nodded your head in remembrance. You thought you heard that story somewhere from one of the guards. You suddenly laughed, catching Obi off-guard.
"So that was you? I heard that there was some suspicious, cat-eyed man stalking the castle or something. I thought the guards were drinking again!"

Obi stared at you, amused. Slowly, he felt himself smile wider as he watched you laugh. It was quite interesting talking to you. You calmed down and met Obi's hazel eyes. For some reason, you felt blood rush through your cheeks.
"Miss (Y/N)-"
"Please, just call me (Y/N). We're supposed to be partners and all," you tell him.
"About that, I've never been good with working with others. I'm not sure partnering up is a good idea," he says quietly. "I will try to talk to Master about it-"

Obi's eyes widened as he noticed your eyes glimmer in disappointment. You smiled sadly at him and shook your head.
"It's okay. Really! I'll talk to Zen. Or better yet, he might scold us so maybe we can pretend?"
"Pretend?"
"Yeah, err, I'll try to stay out of your way at least."
"Oh, well that's not-"

"Lady (Y/N)!"

You and Obi turned to find a guard running towards you. He was tall and well-built with light brown hair and emerald eyes.
"Shuuto!" You exclaim as he neared you. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. I was just looking for you. I couldn't find you anywhere! I was worried..." Shuuto replied, catching his breath and then noticed Obi. "Who is this?"
"Ah, this is Obi! Err, Zen asked us to work together for awhile," you explained. "Obi this is Shuuto. He is my-"

"I'm (Y/N)'s guard," Shuuto claimed.
"A guard needs a guard?" Obi laughed. "Never heard that one before!"
You smiled.
"Even if she is now an aide to his highness Zen, Lady (Y/N) is still a noble and needs protecting!" exclaimed Shuuto, a bit frustrated.

"Calm down, Shuu. Sorry, he's a bit over-protective. He's been with me since I was young," you tell Obi. "Besides, Shuu, aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on little bro?"
"Ah! Yes. But I was worried where you'd run off to, so I came looking for you..."
You blushed at his words. Shuuto was always caring about you. He never liked leaving your side.

"I suppose I'll come with you then, since there's nothing much to do," you say, waving to Obi. "See you later, Obi!"
"See you!" Obi waved back, watching you disappear with another man beside you.
Something pulled at his chest a little, which felt weird, but he shook it off. His feelings belonged to someone else right now.