A surge of heat stirred in Xuandou's heart.
He stepped down into the hot spring bath, deliberately moving very slowly, pressing closer to Temari one step at a time.
Not far away.
Temari hesitated briefly, but still kept her chin raised and stayed where she was.
Xuandou stopped a few paces away from her. The thick white mist of the hot spring condensed into beads of sweat on his forehead and trickled down.
"Miss Temari, I've long admired your reputation."
Xuandou spoke first.
"I certainly haven't admired yours, Lord Xuandou!"
Temari let out a long sigh.
"Your reputation was better than meeting you in person."
"I never imagined that the famous Lord Xuandou, the hero whose might shook the Shinobi World..."
"Would meet his prospective marriage partner for the first time in a mixed hot spring bath."
"If word got out, the entire Shinobi World would raise eyebrows."
Temari was very dissatisfied now.
This was not how she had imagined their meeting.
Xuandou should have put more thought into it, either meeting her formally on a solemn occasion or privately somewhere scenic.
Not like this, meeting in swimsuits in a public mixed bath.
"This is all for better cooperation between our two villages."
"Please understand, Miss Tsunade."
Xuandou's gaze lingered on her face for a moment before he spoke with a smile.
"A marriage alliance between two villages is a major affair. When it concerns the state of the Shinobi World, it becomes all the more crucial. We cannot afford a single mistake."
"If other ninja villages learned about the marriage alliance..."
"Ninja skilled in the Transformation Technique might deliberately disguise themselves as Miss Temari to sabotage it."
"So, to prevent any accidents..."
"We had no choice but to arrange our meeting here."
Xuandou paused for a few seconds, softening