Senju …
They kneeled before an allied clan.
Ashikaga …
They stood tall before the Senju.
"Lord Hashirama Senju, what has troubled you to cross between various lands and kneel before us?" A gruff wall called upon the Senju leader.
"Lord Gorou Ashikaga, my sister Reina Senju needs legitimate protection. Our clan is to fight against the Uchiha Clan! If they get a hold of her it will be too late for most of the Shinobi world. Please, take her in as your own and protect her with your life. That's all we ask." Hashirama dipped his head down as an utter plea.
"Of course, but might I inquire what will happen if we fail our duty?" The man, only a decade older than Hashirama himself asked in amusement.
"If you fail, then can it be agreed that whoever is in charge of her and lets the enemy touch her, gets punished or sentenced to death?" He looked up at the smiling man.
"Agreed." He nodded and the Senju stood up. "Come, child." He waved toward the well mannered girl on the right of Hashirama.
She turned to her brother and hugged him. "Please come back alive. You too, Tobirama."
"I promise, and please behave and listen to whatever they tell you. Stay indoors as much as you can, and if you want to go outside you need a minimum of five escorts. Be light on your feet and keep your eyes peeled. Make sure yo-"
"Brother, I think she understands." Tobirama walked up to her and bowed being the serious one of the two brothers. "All he means to say is be careful. You're very valuable and mean a lot to us. So, stay safe and don't stress over us." He smiled.
Hashirama let go of her and handed her a scroll to give to her servants that had all of her caretaking information on it. "Now go."
She ran to Gorou's side and just as the Senju were about to leave, she called out, "Everyone, I love you! I wish you luck!" They all nodded and smiled at the girl. The smiles disappeared once they reached enemy lands.
"Hisao." The clan lord called.
"Yes, sir." The man bowed to them both. "Miss Senju, please follow me where our maids will take care of you." He walked on, and she just stared blankly as she followed him out of the meeting room and into the main castle which would temporarily be called 'home'.
From that day forward, Reina Senju became Reina Ashikaga. She was a well mannered fourteen year old who was well guarded until the war would be over. The war went on for years along with the echoes of explosions and blood curdling screams. Everywhere a shinobi walked; blood was plastered among the dirt and squashed beneath their feet. Everywhere they looked a body, flag, or ejected weapon lay alone in the cold winds of the night. Every single time they sniffed the air, the stench of iron filled their lungs until they could bear it no more. Every war relic was everywhere until the Senju and Uchiha made 'peace'.
Reina was sitting in the garden dipping her hand in a koi pond while her soldiers stood and watched. She smiled at the fish nibbling gently on her fingers. She hummed soft tunes and sat up with a lily in her hand. The girl stuck it out at one of the men and he took it gladly and placed it in his pouch.
"Thank-you, Lady Reina." He smiled, but it disappeared when he looked at her pouting. "Is something the matter?"
"It's nothing serious, but I mean, listen to me. I've been here for almost four years. You've watched me go from fourteen to seventeen and are pretty close to me. I've told you this over a hundred times, but I'm serious when I give you permission to call me Reina." She stood up and looked at the sun. "One o' clock." Time flew. She was in a daze with her incessant thoughts when one of the maids ran out to her in the garden.
"Lady Reina! Lady Reina!"
"Yes, Kiku?" She asked slightly irritated.
"A message, from your eldest brother!" She handed her the letter which Reina hastily took.
"Okay." She opened it and read. Her eyes widened and she drew in a sharp breath. Tears streamed down her face and she collapsed onto her knees.
"Lady Reina! What's wrong?" One of her guards asked urgently as she shot her hands up in the air.
"I'M GOING HOME!"
Reina hung half way out the window of her carriage as she made her way to her new home called The Hidden Leaf Village. She breathed in the fresh air; clean of must and blood. She took in the sight of open land. It was cleared of dead bodies and flags. The girl squealed, because lastly, she couldn't wait to be able to step barefoot onto the ground once again, and without having to worry about mysterious fluids being lathered on her feet.
"This is great! I can't wait to see what beauty my brother and the Uchiha have created! I mean, THE UCHIHA. It seems too good to be true!" She giggled and flopped back down in her seat. "I'm so excited." She clapped her hands together and crossed her fingers while squeezing her eyes shut in anticipation.
Hashirama was pacing back and forth in front of the new building he created. It would be called the Hokage's Tower. After the war, Madara and Hashirama had private meetings about the village and its future. They discussed how it would be governed and who would be the one to govern the village. That person would be the Hokage and they would live in that tower. It was a close decision, but Hashirama won their little competition. Now, he was marching in front of his new home with anticipation.
He clutched his head with his hands while Tobirama laughed in amusement. "What if she doesn't like me?! What if she doesn't recognize me?!"
"Brother, calm down! This is a reunion not a 'meet the family' situation." He crossed his arms with a stoic look, but his eyes widened and made a sour face when his brother got up in his face and said-
"Do I smell?"
"No! Get your nasty pits away from my nose!" He coughed and cackled until the sound of horse hoofs could be heard.
"Brother! Do you hear that?!" Hashirama clutched his brother's collar and lifted him off the ground. "It's the faint sounds of our little sister's arrival!"
"Or it's the new shipment of scrolls! Whoa!" A thud and cloud of dirt erupted with Tobirama's butt colliding with the ground. "Ow. Was that necessary?!" Tobirama stood up and rubbed his bum with a pout.
A couple wearing the Uchiha insignia started laughing at the conflict and dropped their groceries trying to catch their breath. Hashirama just waved at them, while his brother got up in his face. He was about to yell when a carriage pulled up and the servants of the Ashikaga clan in charge of Reina, bowed to the quarreling brothers and opened up the carriage doors. Hashirama's eyes widened and his mouth pried open, waiting to see his beloved sister. Tobirama, just stood with his arms crossed and slapped his brother upside the head.
"Stop being a weirdo."
"Ow! I'm sorry!" He turned his attention back to a foot making contact with the ground. A girl in a pink kimono with golden leaves stitched elegantly onto the cloth stepped out and removed the fan she carried from her face. She turned to her brothers, bowed, smiled, ran up to them and jumped into their arms. "I'm so glad to see you're safe darling!" Hashirama let a tear escape his eye and stream down his cheek.
"Welcome home, sister." Tobirama hugged her and set her on the ground. "Look how much you've grown!"
"You're beautiful!" Hashirama gave her a kiss on the forehead and examined her. "Seventeen and already a knockout!"
"Hashi, you're going to make me blush!" She giggled and wiped her glistening eyes.
"Oh, sis I'm so happy!" He grabbed her arm and took her towards the tower. "Come! Let me show you our new home! Then I'll give you a tour of the village!"
"That sounds great!" Reina grinned and ran off with her two brothers.
There was urgent knocking on the door of the Uchiha Clan Lord's mansion. The married man and women stopped when two guards opened the door for Madara's messengers' to step out. The couple bowed and the messengers bowed back. The four of them made eye contact and one of the men spoke.
"State your reason of your presence."
"A new person has arrived in our village." The wife spoke. Her husband looked at her and continued speaking in her place.
"You see, we were watching Hashirama and Tobirama Senju goofing off when this beautiful young girl arrived. She didn't seem to be a threat, but we became worried about how we are going to go about letting strangers into our village. What if someone does want to harm us after our struggle?!" He bowed. "Please inform Uchiha-sama on this!" They bowed and walked off.
Madara Uchiha lay in his lounge with a glass of wine in one hand, swirling it and admiring the legs of it running down the sides of the cup. Admiring the wrong kind of legs he was looking for. He adjusted his yukata and stood up, setting the glass down with a light tap. He took in a deep breath and sighed. There was supposed to be a meeting between him and Hashirama that night, but he didn't know what to talk about. Just as he was about to yell to his servants there was a knock on the door.
"Come in." He demanded; noticeably frustrated. The two messengers came in and kneeled uncomfortably on the waxed marble floor. Even though he wasn't the village leader, he was living a better lifestyle than Hashirama's by far. "What brings you here?"
"Lord Uchiha-sama, two clansmen were out in the village shopping when they saw a young girl arrive before Hashirama and Tobirama Senju."
"Was she pretty?" He asked plainly.
The men looked at each other, lost for a moment, wondering why he would ask such a question. They shrugged and the other man spoke. "We personally don't know, but the husband said she was beautiful."
"Interesting." He sloshed down the rest of his wine as the Uchiha finished his statement.
"But, the point is they were worried about who we are going to let inside our village or how we would monitor it. They said she opposed no threat, but if someone did, how could we prevent that?"
"Very well, I'll discuss this with Hashirama tonight …" His luck. The guards were about to leave when Madara yelled to them in a serious tone. "But!" They turned to him and bowed out of fear. Madara smirked at the intimidating affect his power had on people. "Call in the clan elders, my brother, and the other council members. We must have a meeting before I leave for the Senju." He walked between the men and went into his meeting room where his master-plan would begin to take shape.