Shadow (Naruto)

Chapter Twenty One

"Aya-sama?" I piped up causing Lord Ayashi to jolt upright and turn to me with a dazed smile.

"What is it, lovely Mira?" His cheeks flushed with color and I couldn't help but shake my head at his behavior. From the spark of rage, I was sensing in Kakashi's direction, I knew Lord Ayashi was really getting under his skin. Kakashi probably still thought of me as a child and believed me naïve enough to buy into Aya's pretty words and doting behavior.

"Could we go for a walk?" I asked with a sweet smile.

"Of course, let us take a stroll around the gardens." He stumbled as he ran to my side and offered me his arm.

"Oh, I was hoping we could take a stroll around the city, I'd love to see it." I softened my gaze and threw him a pleading look and resisted the urge to roll my eyes as it nearly crippled him.

"Anything you want."

"Ah, I'll get an escort read-."

"That won't be necessary." I cut Haori off, it would only create more distance between Lord Ayashi and his people if he entered the city with a squad of armed guards. "That's why we're here." I motioned to myself and Kakashi.

Haori looked like he was going to protest. Kakashi threw me a curious look and Lord Ayashi linked his arm with mine. "That's right, Haori, we're in good hands."

Reluctantly Haori agreed and the four of us left the estate. The city was huge! All the blocks around the palace were filled with homes with pristine and beautiful architecture, a few blocks out were many shops and eateries for the high class. Aya paused when we got to this block thinking I'd want to look at all the high-end shops, but I tugged on his arm making my way toward the poorer section of the city.

As the craftmanship of the buildings began to decline, the city began to come to life. There were children laughing, people talking, there was music and dancing and I couldn't help but smile as I looked over at Lord Ayashi and found him staring in awe at the liveliness of his people. We received quite a few stares and I could sense Haori growing tense from behind.

"I've never been in this part of the city." Aya noted.

"You have no reason to, my lord. There's nothing here but poverty." Haori pointed.

"The majority of your people are in low income or impoverished families. There are more of them than there are of those nobles and councilmen who just try to line their pockets. These are the people you will govern, the ones who will be under your care." I said softly causing Aya and Haori to stare at me in awe. "You only know one percent of this country's population. What about the other ninety-nine percent?"

"How do you know so much about our country?" Haori asked.

"Why else do you think we've been taking strolls to the palace library and records department?" I asked with a giggle. "I needed to study so I can help Aya-sama."

Lord Ayashi clasped my hand in his, "Marry me."

I almost gasped as I was overcome with terror as I sensed a dark ominous aura coming from Kakashi's direction. "Aya-sama, I'm not going to do that."

We continued on our way and I put distance between Lord Ayashi and myself for his safety. Some kids stumbled onto our path as they played nearby. A small child of eight bumped into Lord Ayashi and lost his balance. Haori opened his mouth to yell at the child but stopped as I knelt down to catch the boy before he could hit the ground.