Trey or A Tale Of Three Clans

Chapter 5

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The little puppy nipped and yapped about the surveyor’s ankles as he went about cataloguing the metes and bounds of the green glade deep within the Aburame clan lands. Annoyed at the distraction Shibi called out. “Shino-kun.”

He glanced back when Shino didn’t answer. Standing about eight feet away, the boy was totally absorbed in the first draft of the architectural plans for his new home. Even the architect appeared not to have heard him. Shibi sighed and bent down to pick up the wiggling mass of puppy. The puppy’s short tail was wagging a mile a minute as it tried to lick Shibi’s face.

The surveyor smiled at the perturbed look on the elder Aburame’s face.

“That’s one fine dog Aburame-sama.”

“You think so?” Shibi asked as he studied the animal through his sunglasses.

“Shinobi always have the best dogs,” the surveyor stated before turning back to his task.

Shibi stared at the white puppy a moment longer. This was a highly intelligent animal and definitely a nin-dog although it was not a breed he was familiar with. He’d bet money on it. It was unlike Shino to bend the truth. With hold it, yes. That was a tool of the Shinobi trade as was standing silent in the face of it, but bending it was another matter all together. It was not part of the Aburame clan way.

Holding the puppy tightly, he put the disquieting thought aside and followed behind the surveyor as he checked and rechecked the boundaries of the property that he was proudly giving to his eldest son and heir. Shino needed to build a new home for his new wife and their now growing family. In six months time he would be a grandfather. It was a very exciting time for all of them.

Shino’s lips curved upward in satisfaction. He was pleased with the architect’s preliminary drafts. This was the home that his glorious and refined Hinata-chan deserved. It reproduced the interior elements she most loved from her old home on the Hyuuga estate: namely the high ceilinged rooms, large baths and multiple dojos, but was heavy on the outer design style most favored by the Aburame. And of course it had what he wanted the most, extensive gardens. There was a small one in the center of the house, a kitchen garden behind the house, a huge greenhouse set thirty feet back from that and then another full acre of landscaped back yard.

He glanced down at the much older man beside him. He was the finest architect in Konoha. “This is exactly right Isoroku-san. But where is the dog run? And, shouldn’t the kennel be closer to the main house?”

Isoroku listened carefully to the tall, wiry young man. He remembered when the young man before him was a toddler just learning to walk. He had been the architect of choice for the Aburame clan for far longer than this young shinobi had been living. Yet this was the first time that an Aburame had ever requested a dog run or even a kennel in their building plans, hives yes, barns and occasionally a stable, but nothing for dogs. He twisted his lips. It was impossible to divine any clue for such a surprising request from the heir’s face, covered as it was by the requisite sunglasses, hood and high collar. He would have to chalk it up to the inscrutability of the Aburame clan.

“A dog run?”

Both men quickly glanced back at the very deep, sonorous voice. Shibi stood next to Isoroku, looking down over his shoulder at the plans. He held the small white puppy firmly under one arm.

Shino stood silent although he did not try to avoid his father’s eyes. There was nothing that he was prepared to say.

Shibi coolly studied his silent son before glancing down at the animal under his arm.

“This little thing needs a dog run?”

The puppy yipped loudly and proceeded to stretch up and messily lick Shibi’s face with a long slobbering pink tongue.

Isoroku guffawed heartily at the expression of dismay on Shibi’s face, obvious even through Shibi’s sunglasses.

“I believe you have your answer do you not Aburame-sama?”

Shino’s soft chuckle underscored Isoroku’s ear splitting laughter. The sound was a rarity from his stoic first born. It warmed his heart. He sighed. Shino was happy. Shibi couldn’t help himself; he smiled back at them in return.

“I guess I do Isoroku-san. A kennel and dog run it is.”

The older man beamed like a jolly Buddha despite the fact that he was as thin as a rail and had a full head of luxuriant salt and pepper hair. He bowed low.

“Very good, I will revise these plans and have them ready for you next week. Is there anything else Aburame-sama?”

“No. You and Yasuro-san may stay out here as long as you wish, but Shino and I have another appointment.”

Shino blinked although nothing in his demeanor gave that away. It was nine a.m. He was unaware of another appointment and frankly he was now quite eager for that which awaited him in his newly wed suite. He didn’t want to get into a long discussion with his father on this his last day of seclusion.

“We do?”

“Hai. Your hii obaa-chan needs to speak with you.”

His great, grandmother, had asked for him? Guiltily he realized he hadn’t seen her once since his wedding day. He bowed his head in acceptance. He could not refuse a request from his precious hii obaa-chan for any reason.

“Sayonara Isoroku-san.”

“Sayonara Shino-kun. Please give my regards to your hii obaa-san.”

Shino bowed his head in affirmation.

Holding the squirming puppy Shibi made the necessary hand seals; and the two transported much deeper into Aburame clan territory.


Upon entering the small, elegant sitting room - gaily festooned with peacock geisha butterfly curtains, pillows and paintings - Shino immediately prostrated himself on the polished tiled floor before the wizened, pale-pink kimono clad woman reclining against a yellow-beige couch.

His father may be the respected Aburame clan leader but everyone within their clan knew that the real power of the Aburame was his father’s grandmother, his own hii obaa-chan. By herself she was their entire elder council. She was a mighty stone fist wrapped within a thick velvet glove. In her day she had been an elite kunoichi, desired and wooed by many. However she had given it all up to love and marry an Aburame. And, she had not even been from an insect wielding clan. It was the last love match anyone in his clan had known prior to his own marriage. His hii obaa-chan had outlived her husband, her peers and even what had been left of her birth clan. They had been pretty much wiped out during the past ninja wars. She had also seen many a hopeful Aburame bride come and then go. Yet through it all with a fierce tenacity and a fiery intelligence she had guided and guarded all that was Aburame. She was both beloved and …feared.

As clan leader Shibi did not prostrate himself. Instead he bowed low before approaching his grandmother and giving her a kiss on her lined forehead.

“Ohayo Gozaimasu Obaa-chan. How are you feeling?”

“Good morning back to you Shi-kun. I am feeling fine now that you two are here. It is so kind of you to visit an old lady.”

Shino’s lips twitched. He wanted to really laugh. He did not need to look up to see his hii obaa-chan’s old dark brown eyes twinkling merrily. She always liked to pretend that her orders were requests and that she was nothing but a helpless, forgotten old lady. He rolled his eyes, grateful that he was still wearing his sunglasses, as if!

Softly he murmured, “Hii Obaa-chan,” his forehead still pressed to the floor.

“Shino, get off that hard floor and let me see you.”

Shino looked up to see his great grandmother gesturing for him to sit beside her on the couch with a frail hand. He wanted to laugh more than ever. His hii obaa-chan was extremely old school and she would have been highly displeased if he had not shown her the proper courtesies. Still it was funny that she was acting as if he was daft in the head for doing so. He had forgotten how much fun it was to be around her.

He took her extended hand as he sat next to her. Her grasp was cool and soft yet surprisingly strong for a person as old as she.

“Take off your glasses. I want to see your beautiful eyes.”

Shino complied and looked back into his great grandmother’s old but expressive eyes. She stared at him, taking in every detail of his appearance until she was satisfied.

“I can hardly believe it, there is no baby left in you. You are both a jounin and a married man, the first of your generation in this clan. Your father and I are very proud of you Shino.”

He couldn’t help it, Shino smiled bashfully. His hii obaa-chan in many ways had also been his mother when he had needed one. Her praise meant much. He glanced away, only to catch his still standing father staring at him, arms casually folded over his chest. And suddenly a deep feeling of being blessed rose up in him. Shino knew he had what many shinobi did not, positive acknowledgement by a supportive family. These too were his precious people.

His hii obaa-chan reached out to stroke his cheek lightly bringing his attention back to her.

“Shino-kun.”

“Hai?”

“After today, your seclusion ends. The clan has been very generous. You were given far more time than is traditionally allowed.”

Shino shook his head in agreement. It was another custom that he had broken.

“You were given four months instead of the standard three. But our faith in you was borne out. Your sweet wife is with child and according to her doctor’s report, she has safely completed the first trimester. You know as we do that she is carrying a girl.”

Shino nodded again.

“Do you know how much this pleases us, how it in fact pleases the entire clan?”

“Hai hii obaa-chan.

“Keep up the good work. Your wife is a very good kunoichi, but we are a small clan. It is my hope, my prayer that since you two are a love match that she will be quite fruitful. One child out of your lovely wife is not enough Shino-kun.”

Shino felt an embarrassed blush rise to his cheeks even though he was not surprised at his great grandmother’s request or rather order. His family had paid an enormous bride price for Hinata and they expected a return on their investment. In addition, his great grandmother had borne their clan two daughters and five sons. She asked nothing of him that she had not done herself.

He murmured, “Of course hii obaa-chan.”

The old woman glanced from Shino up at Shibi her eyes sparkling in delight at Shino’s response.

“Good! However, there is an important matter that must be discussed between us, a matter that will decide how Shino and his wife will go forward from this point on as Aburame.”

Shibi cocked his head in surprise and watched as his son suddenly sat at attention. Shibi didn’t know of any such matter. However he could see that his grandmother was quite serious and he knew she was not one to pull her punches, verbal or otherwise. If she said it was important, then it was important. It had been proven over and over again. She was truly the epitome of the definition of her first name, wisdom. Shibi maintained his silence but waited for her to continue.

Aburame Chika leaned back into the soft cushions of her yellow-beige couch, her faded eyes narrowed and calculating. She folded her wrinkled hands neatly into her lap. She looked directly at Shibi.

“Yesterday morning Inuzuka Tsume paid me a most interesting visit.”

Dryness made Shino’s throat seize. Mirroring his emotions, his kikaichu suddenly went from calm to alert. Why would Kiba’s mother come here? His father clasped a rough and steadying hand on his shoulder.

Shibi asked cautiously, “for what purpose?”

Chika moved her eyes to Shino. The boy - no, no boy anymore, the young man- sat as if he was a marble statue but his silver eyes burned brightly in his face. She spoke slowly.

“It seems a young jounin has gone missing. Shino where is Kiba?”

Shino’s stomach dropped to his feet at the direct question. However he did not flinch although he knew he was as white as a sheet. He said nothing, even as his father’s strong fingers tightened painfully on his shoulder. His heart was beating faster than it ought and his kikaichu were going crazy. He couldn’t hide the devastation in his eyes. He wasn’t wearing his sunglasses, but as was the Aburame way, he maintained his outer cool and said nothing.


After a moment of awkward silence Chika raised her eyes back up to her grand-son and clan-leader.

“Kiba-kun is an important Inuzuka. He is the alpha male of his clan, although not the heir. Since Hyuuga Hiashi refused his eldest daughter to them, Tsume has decided that Kiba’s strength should be directed back into their clan. A cousin has been selected for him to mate with. But he has refused her and disappeared.”

Shibi shrugged before replying.

“Right now Tsume is foolishly displeased with everything Aburame. She feels I took advantage of the dangerous situation between them and the Hyuuga. It seems she was quite willing to fight a bloody clan war to gain for her only son the female of his choice. I told her she was quite delusional to think that she could have ever forced Hiashi to her will. However, that ship has sailed. What does this have to do with Shino’s marriage?”

“Shi-kun, she told me that you two had had words and that neither one of you is speaking to the other. That is why she sought me out, out of respect for the Aburame- Inuzuka clan friendship that has always existed. It seems Kiba refused his cousin on the grounds that he was already mated. However he refused to disclose who that mate is before he disappeared. Tsume has been waiting for him to come to his senses and come home. She is naturally reluctant to go to the Hokage with this.”

Shibi turned his eyes down towards Shino; his heavy hand still holding onto his son’ shoulder. “You swore to me that Hyuuga Hinata was a virgin, and that the Inuzuka had not deflowered her, did you lie?”

“No! Dad, I was the first man to lay with her. I took Hinata’s virginity, here on Aburame clan lands the first night she came here as my fiancée. She gave herself willingly to me...I.” Shino choked.

Chika tilted her head to better observe her great grandson. He had grown into a very fine shinobi. Strictly speaking, he was telling the truth. He would be quite embarrassed to know that her guard kikaichu had reported to her on how very passionate his first coupling with the Hyuuga had truly been. Shino had claimed the girl the way a young ardent husband should claim his wife. There had been ample evidence on the sheets to confirm the tearing of the young kunoichi’s hymen, as well as ample evidence on Shino that the kunoichi couldn’t get enough of him. It was a pity, but those were not the issues at hand. Her voice became authoritative.

“Shibi sit down. You are the clan leader; you must face what there is to face. Shino the issue is not virginity. I have no doubts that your wife was a virgin the first time you were together or that the child she is carrying is yours. But I am sorry to say that the issues here are both nanshoku and …furin. ”

Shino’s breathing stopped. He heard his father stagger back and fall heavily into a chair. The absence of Shibi’s firm, guiding hand on his shoulder threw him off balance. Nanshoku literally meant male colors. It was the erotically charged term for male on male sexual pleasure. In its fullest sense it meant exclusively homo-sexual love. But that was not accurate for him or even for Kiba. Kiba and he were best friends first. Yes there was love, he wouldn’t deny it or that it was powerful, after all Kiba and he had been uke and seme for a long time. But they also were two men deeply in love with, and committed to the same amazing woman, the woman who was now his beloved wife. He wanted to shout out to the world, at the top of his lungs, that such words should not be used to describe that which was between him and his teammates but he kept his silence.

“That is impossible. This clan’s rules about nanshoku and furin are specific and binding.” Shibi’s tone of voice was crushingly harsh.

“I assured the Inuzuka of that.” Chika retorted heatedly. She glanced at Shino.

“I will be blunt. Shino, do you deny that Inuzuka Kiba, as we speak, is in your bedroom suite, lying in your bed with your very naked wife in his arms and has done so for the past two months.”

Shino’s back stiffened and he held his great grandmother’s eyes his own flashing with pain and pride. Aburame clan protocols were quite clear. On threat of death he could not deny the truth in a direct question from either the clan leader or the clan council, and his hii obaa-chan was the clan council. He gave the ritual answer.

“I do not deny it.”

“Shino, do you deny that you are Inuzuka Kiba’s most constant male lover, and that you have been so for at least the last two years?”

Betrayal was the poisonous emotion that struck like a dagger to the center of his soul. His great grandmother had known about him and Kiba all along? His voice remained steady despite the tears in his eyes. He was a jounin after all.

“I do not deny it.”

Satisfied, Chika looked over Shino’s head at a shell-shocked Shibi.

“So, it is as I said. There is much to discuss. Inuzuka Tsume is seeking recompense for the lost of her clan’s alpha male, or in the alternative, a formal sharing of Shino’s brightly blushing bride between both males. She is even willing to reimburse us half the bride price paid to the Hyuuga.” Chika wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I didn’t have the heart to tell her that no self-respecting noble clan would ever consider the second option.” Chika shook her head. “But does the first option lie in Aburame best interests? And, if it does lie in our best interests can it be executed without insulting the Hyuuga? We both know that Hiashi is crazy when it comes to Hyuuga purity. The fact that his daughter is no longer a part of his clan may not deter him. We might have our own clan war on our hands. Our staunchest allies will think more than twice about backing us against the Hyuuga. Many might agree with Hiashi. I am sorry to say that alone, it is a battle we cannot win. They are the strongest clan in Konoha and there are simply too many of them. Of course the easiest path for all concerned is to send the lusty young Inuzuka packing.”

“No.”

The word had rolled from his lips without him thinking. Shino stood up placing his sunglasses back on his face. He felt preternaturally calm. As if he had found his way into an eye of a raging tornado. In his peaceful bubble he could see the treacherous, cutting winds rushing around him. But he was a leaf shinobi, a jounin and team eights leader. He had to take a stand. He had to lead. Unbidden, the image of Neji’s face, full of jeering amusement and utter disdain filled Shino’s mind. Clenching his fist, he shook the image off. Love could not be taken lightly. He could not abandon it. For him that was at the heart and center of being an Aburame. It was at the heart and center of being Shino. This was his position regardless of the risks. He did not blink as he looked in the direction of his clan leader’s hidden eyes. He knew he just might be buying himself a one way ticket out of his clan.

Shibi moved quicker than the eye could follow. His fists connected and Shino went flying through the air, and slammed into the far wall across the room. Shino’s kikaichu immediately streamed out of him to set up a defensive barrier and buy him time to pull a weapon, but that didn’t slow Shibi down one millisecond. His own kikaichu blocked every one of Shino’s as he barreled over to a dazed and half-slumping Shino. First, ripping the weapons pouch from Shino’s hands and throwing it aside, Shibi grasped his firstborn son by the throat with both hands and squeezed. This was his beloved child, the only one borne by his long gone first wife, his heir.

Shino didn’t flinch or fight back as he suffocated. There would be no point. He might be a jounin and the same height as the man who sired him but his father was still a physically stronger man and an abler ninja. Shibi carried three times the amount of kikaichu that Shino did. Plus Shibi was his clan leader and this clearly was not an invitation to spar. He would have to take his beating and it was going to be brutal.

“Puppies, dog runs, the Inuzuka always hanging around, the signs were there but I refused to see it. Aburame are Shinobi not Samurai, nobles not commoners. You dare to play uke to his seme?” Shibi’s soft words were devoid of any emotion.

Through sheer force, Shino pried his thumbs up under Shibi’s thick fingers in order to get a little breathing room to answer. He swallowed a moment in order to get his raw throat to work. There was blood in his mouth. He stared into Shibi’s sunglasses; they were actually darker than his own.

“Dad…please, I am no uke. I am his seme, and always have been.”

Shibi held his position as he watched his son wheezing for breath around his own clenched fingers. Things were not as bad as he feared. The clan’s most basic rule about nanshoku had not been broken. He would have snapped Shino’s neck right then and there if it had. He grunted and relaxed his grasp by a millimeter. He murmured grudgingly.

“All Inuzukas are known for their ferocious, unrestrained sexuality. They are … addictive.”

Shibi knew exactly of what he spoke. His back carried many old scars from Tsume’s claws. After his first wife had left him the bold Inuzuka clan leader had been his salvation, opening her long fine legs for him, anytime, anywhere, as he needed. Tsume had been quite clear that his bugs didn’t bother her. He had even done her once in the Hokage’s office. He cherished the memory of how hot she had looked bent over the Third’s sturdy desk with him buried balls deep in her. He had been besotted with lust for her all those years ago. Nothing had pleased him more than to have the powerful Inuzuka kunoichi down on her knees like one of her nin- dogs, submitting to him and howling for more like the bitch she was. What a power trip! A chill ran up his spine. It had been a sweet insanity but he had come to understand that he had not been the one she loved. He had finally walked away without looking back. She never fought his decision. That’s what made it all the more peculiar that they were often mission partners. For years both of them had been professional with one another. But occasionally there were nights when memories of her got a hold of him and he wanted...

If Shino had been experiencing nanshoku with Kiba for two years, and, Kiba was every bit an alpha male, did the feelings between them work the same way as it had between him and Tsume? Or were feelings involved at all? He wet his lips as he asked his next question.

“Shino you begged for this marriage with the Hyuuga princess. I have seen you two together. I know that your feelings for her are quite real. She’s in love with you. Is his presence required in order for you to be a man with her?”

Shino’s male pride was wounded. How dare his father question whether his cock would rise for Hinata without Kiba present? His wife was, well she was fucking hot, and he was an Aburame. Hell, just thinking of Hinata usually got him stiff. He squeezed out his answer with more force than he intended rupturing more blood vessels in his throat.

“No!”

Shibi heard his obaa-chan cackling with seeming amusement behind him. He relaxed his body first and then loosened the grip on his son’s throat a little more. Good, very good. He was proud of his new daughter-in-law. Hinata was an incredibly beautiful woman with sensuous curves that he had been sure would keep his stoic son humming around her like a bee to its honey for years to come. In frustration he shook Shino although his voice remained emotionless.

“Then why? You are supposed to be screwing her, not the Inuzuka. Why is he in the bed with both of you? There can be no nanshoku after marriage. Those are our rules. And have you really forced your new wife to commit furin? I should have all three of you stripped and whipped for that alone.”

Ears ringing and unable to breathe, Shino finally broke Shibi’s more relaxed grip and fell to his knees coughing. Shibi took one step backwards to allow Shino’s hissing kikaichu to return to him.

Lips flecked with blood, Shino raised his head. He held his throat, his voice reduced to a hoarse, raw whisper.

“I need him. She needs him. He needs us.”

Shino shook his head trying to rid himself of the loud ringing in his ears. His thoughts were frantic. How could anyone charge his very prim and proper Hinata with furin? Hinata would faint at such an accusation. His wife wasn’t cheating on him with Kiba. She was loving him with Kiba. He raised his eyes to his father and continued.

“Please Otokooya, is it adultery if they have my permission? We own each others hearts. We can’t give each other up. We are three.” Shino paused to painfully swallow before gasping for more air. His heart felt like it had been wrung out like an old, useless sponge. The disappointment radiating from Shibi’s body was tangible.

“I understand…. I have no right to ask…there is no place for our love among the Aburame. If it exists at all it surely must exist in death. So do with us as you will Otokooya.”

Shibi raised his eyebrows, shocked at the wretched despair in Shino’s voice and his use of the formal ‘Otokooya’. Shino had never called him anything but Dad his entire life.

“Do you intend on killing all three of them?”

Shibi felt his grandmother tightly clutching his arm with quivering, aged fingers as she leaned in on him. Shibi sighed and shook his head no. He was an elite Shinobi, but God damn the Hyuuga, he was no Hiashi.

“Thank the heavens!” Large tears fell on Shibi’s arm. Before he could ask what the hell was going on Chika gestured to Shino and began speaking.

“Help me boy to get to my knees before our wise clan leader. Once again I am reminded why I have been honored to be a member of this remarkable clan for sixty-three years.”

Shino scrambled to his feet while his father vehemently protested against his grandmother kneeling before him. As he stepped forward Shibi held up one menacing hand warning Shino not to move. He froze.

“No. Obaa-chan I will not allow it.”

Chika paused and wiped her tears with old, gnarled hands. “But you will allow a trey, an Aburame trey?”

“Yes, what ever that is,” Shibi nearly shouted. His grandmother was the only person in the world who could upset him so. He watched as the old woman relaxed.

“A trey is a formal, legitimate threesome. It is a sexual partnership. Announcements are made and instead of being called a couple they are called a trey.”

“There is no such thing.” Shibi retorted irate. His grandmother stilled, her elderly eyes filled with a strange, faraway sadness. Her voice turned brighter and softer.

“Yes there was. It existed in one clan, in my birth clan. It was quite common for the men of that clan although not tolerated anywhere else. But it once existed, and it was approved by our Kage.

I… I was the product of such a union. My clan name was Wakahisa but my blood father was Kawagushi Shigero. He was an elite shinobi, specializing in strength and taijutsu. It is his blood flowing in your Aburame veins, his blood that has made this clan the unexpected physical strong men that they are. He was also a proud uke to Wakahisa Minami like Kiba-kun is to Shino. They were in love with my mother and she adored them both. She was a kunoichi and a Wakahisa by birth. Minami and she were third cousins. I am named for her.”

Shibi couldn’t believe his ears. He stared down at his grandmother. She was their clan elder. She was damn near worshipped by the Aburame. He spoke carefully.

“Seventy years ago the Shinobi village from which the Wakahisa originated was obliterated badly by fire, so much so that the ashes of it cannot be found. All surviving Wakahisa came to Konoha. Yet, despite their name meaning forever young, Wakahisa no longer exist. All were killed in the great ninja wars. This trey thing of which you speak is buried in the bone yard with them.”

“You are correct. All the Wakahisa and for that matter all the Kawagushi are buried in the grave yard, all but me. But the yearning for trey runs in the blood. It is a yearning that cannot be denied. I had hoped that I would not pass it on. But it is clearly in Shino. What can I say? The world is yin and yang, good and bad. If you believe I have brought good to the Aburame then please accept also what you believe to be the bad in me.”

“Grandfather knew this about your clan?”

“There were no secrets between us.”

“And, he accepted this?”

“Of course he did, he loved me completely and I loved him back. I gave him everything, everything that I was.”

“Our Hokage won’t approve this.”

“Tsunade-hime will approve it. Once she searches the archives, she’ll find that the second Hokage signed a proclamation that any descendant of the Wakahisa who requests trey must be granted it. Whatever the rest of the village may think the Hokage cannot impugn a negative value to trey.

“Obaa-chan you would resurrect this thing into our clan?”

“I am sorry Shi-kun. I am truly am. But you must accept this, if not then kill Shino and give his precious Hinata back to the Hyuuga.”

“You were expecting this.”

“I suspected Shi-kun. Shino often reminds me of my blood father. He has the same silver grey eyes and broad shoulders, but I wasn’t sure until today, until now.”

Shibi pulled away from his grandmother and ran both his hands through his hair. He exhaled. He looked over at Shino who was listening quietly. He couldn’t tell what the boy was thinking from his body language. But his sunglasses were cracked and askew, his hair a mess. Blood was still dribbling from a corner of his mouth. It was pouring from what appeared to be a broken nose. He was holding his shoulder awkwardly and there were ugly bruises forming on his neck. Shibi cleared his throat.

“I won’t accept any bride price from the Inuzukas. Hinata is married only to Shino and that is final.”

“You don’t have to,” Chika soothed. She shuffled sideways to pat Shibi’s broad chest reassuringly. “Trey doesn’t require that. Kawagushi Shigero belonged to my parents equally and they to him even though my mother technically was unmarried. However since Shino and Hinata are already married they will stay so. And, Shino will have to give his permission in writing for Hinata to enter into trey with Kiba. As a married woman Hinata will also have to give her consent, in writing, to accept trey with Kiba. So too, in writing, will Kiba have to consent to trey with both as a unit. He will have to acknowledge the unequal relationship that they have with him because they are married. They belong to each other first and to him second. Once the permissions are signed, they and the agreement of trey must be filed in the Hokage’s office. The end result is that Kiba will become an Aburame-Inuzuka and the three of them will be in a legally binding trey.”

Chika gazed worriedly into Shibi’s hard face. She couldn’t see his eyes but the set of his lips and the tension with which he held his chin told her that this was too much for him to accept. Now was the time to add a special incentive to the deal.

“Don’t worry. I will personally pay Tsume any monies she demands for the lost of her alpha male. If you sweet talk her she may even take it in installments.”

Behind his sunglasses Shibi cut his eyes hard at Chika. So his crafty old grandmother knew about him and Tsume as well. And, she might very well have all the necessary monies. She had inherited all that was left by the Wakahisa. As far as he knew she had never touched those assets since becoming an Aburame at age twenty-five more than fifty-eight years ago. He flared his nostrils.

“And if Kiba doesn’t want this?”

Chika shrugged. “Then Shino has placed one half of his heart in the wrong hands. He will have to live with the consequences of that. There can be no physical contact with a party who has rejected the offer of trey. And once offered and rejected it cannot be offered again. The Wakahisa did not believe in playing games and neither do I.”

“You’ve got it all figured out don’t you Obaa-chan? What about Hiashi? Didn’t you just say that he is rabid about Hyuuga purity? Didn’t you just say we cannot beat him in a clan war?” Shibi couldn’t keep the hint of a sneer out of his voice.

Chika pursed her lips in thought. She turned away from Shibi to look at a silent Shino. He was bleeding all over her good side carpet.

“Shino, why are you still here? Isn’t today your last day in seclusion? Your father and I have much to discuss. You are free to leave.”

Stunned, Shino nodded; brushing back his hair and straightening his jacket before focusing on Shibi for confirmation of his dismissal.

“Hai, get out and take that damn puppy with you. It’s tied up outside.” Shibi added roughly.

Shino stepped forward to prostrate himself on the floor in farewell but Shibi waved his hand. “Don’t do that. Just go.”

“Sayonara hii obaa-chan” Shino whispered politely while making a quick but very formal bow.

“Sayonara Shino-kun.” Chika smiled brightly up at Shino. He really had turned into a wonderful shinobi.

Stiff but proud Shino retrieved his weapons pouch and carefully crossed the room heading for the door. But he stopped when his father called out his name. Unable to turn to face Shibi, Shino stood still and squared his shoulders despite the considerable pain.

“Hai Otokooya?

“Remember, Shinobi not Samurai, nobles not commoners. Always be seme. That can never change. This is our clan rule.”

“Of course Otokooya.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Excuse me Otokooya?”

“I don’t like Otokooya. Call me Dad.”

Shino turned and gave a deep bow. “Thank you Dad.” And then he was gone.