"Ao?"
Mei Terumi furrowed her beautiful brows, hurried to the window, opened it a crack, and scolded him in a whisper:
"Are you out of your mind? Why come looking for me now? Xia Yu is right next door. What if he spots you?"
"As a fellow man, I'm quite certain he can't possibly notice me right now, nor does he have the time..."
Ao's figure slowly emerged from the mist.
He slipped through the window into Mei Terumi's room, looking conflicted, stammering without knowing how to begin.
Mei Terumi growled irritably, "What is it? Out with it!"
Ao took a deep breath, his expression grave and resolute. "Lady Mizukage, the Daimyo has decided... tomorrow's plan... is canceled!"
"?"
Mei Terumi froze. Although she was very surprised, she remained unusually calm.
"Tell me why..."
Ao gave Mei Terumi the briefest possible account of everything that had just happened, along with all the information on Xia Yu.
"..."
"No wonder he's so handsome. So he's an Uchiha man..."
"Huh? Lady Mizukage, what did you say?"
"Oh... nothing."
Mei Terumi changed the subject, her face expressionless:
"The Daimyo made the right decision. We really don't have the strength to contend with Konoha yet. I'll follow the new plan tomorrow. Hurry up and leave. If Xia Yu notices you, we're in serious trouble..."
Ao turned his head, listening to the sounds next door with a wry smile. "What's with those two, only remembering to consummate their marriage in the middle of the night? Good thing they picked this time, though, or I really would've had trouble sneaking in..."
Mei Terumi's cheeks instantly flushed, and her gaze instinctively darted away. "You've got it wrong. They didn't start at midnight. They've been at it since evening..."
"What? How is that possible!" Ao could hardly believe