Prologue

If I was able to understand, could I have been able to save him?

This is a question Fujioka Hanae asks herself often.

Fujioka Sousuke was the youngest son of the head of the Fujioka clan. Not unlike his brothers, he was famed across the Fire Country for his cleverness and his mastery of kenjutsu. It was during his twentieth spring that it was decided that he would be exiled from the clan for breaking clan laws by having a child out of wedlock and refusing to marry a Fujioka cousin. He could remember this moment, clear as day, as the rage of the elders swirled fiercely like blossoms in a windstorm.

Fujioka Sousuke was Hanae's father.

Most individuals during the Warring States Era considered exile to be equivalent to death. This was because, at the time, there were limited resources available for survival. Those who had access to these resources stockpiled them to share with their immediate families. As such, the probability of survival of one who did not have a support system was incredibly low.

Hanae's father however beat these odds. The night before his formal exile was delivered, he gathered what money and supplies he had and whisked her away. It wasn't until they were a few villages away from the compound before they finally stopped at an inn to replenish their supplies. Hanae was only a few weeks old then. She ate and pooped very little, and slept all the time.

It was at this village, Yuu, that Fujioka Sousuke found a way to make ends meet.

Although Yuu was large enough to have its own inn and village market, its population was only approximately one hundred people. Situated directly at the center of a valley with the main road passing right through the village center, the town consisted of mostly families with specialized businesses such as shoemakers, food vendors and tailors. There were also farmers who lived outside Yuu that came into the market to sell their crops.

On the morning of their first day at Yuu, Fujioka Sousuke awoke to find the village in a frenzy. A group of bandits was terrorizing the town. It just so happened to be the day of their monthly raid. The Fujiokas would later find out that due to its location along the main road, the village was highly subject to consistent visits from various groups of bandits passing through.

With the speed and finesse of a well seasoned shinobi, the Exile defeated the twenty bandits with ease and ensured all money and belongings were returned to the respective owners.

In awe and appreciation, the village of Yuu agreed to contract the Exile to defend the village from its common thieves and bandits. With this as his monthly earnings, the Exile was able to comfortably rent a one room home for him and his daughter, as well as pay for general living expenses.

This allowed Fujioka Sousuke and Hanae to stay at Yuu for four years.

By the time Hanae saw her fourth Autumn, Yuu had gained a reputation for being impenetrable to foul play and eventually, the thieves and bandits no longer bothered to raid the town. At this point, Yuu had decided to terminate its contract with the exiled Fujioka in an effort to reduce taxes.

At first, Fujioka Sousuke wasn't sure what his next move would be. Although Yuu had been a good home for them, his earnings were really just enough to make ends meet and his savings would only last them for the next three winter months. He then considered his daughter.

At four years old, Hanae was clever and very feisty. With only a father figure in her life, Hanae found it difficult to connect with other girls her age. Most of her time was spent either doing chores or wrestling with the boys. It was because of this, Hanae didn't have any close relationships in Yuu.

In consideration to this, Fujioka Sousuke decided to leave Yuu. He had a general idea of how they were going to survive – he was going to become a mercenary. After all, the Fujioka were one of many renowned clans that performed various missions for compensation. This was what he knew how to do the best. The only problem was how he was to be a mercenary while taking care of Hanae.

Fujioka Sousuke had a solution for this too.

The day after his contract was terminated, the Exile packed their most precious belongings and a plentiful supply of perishable food for their journey. Everything else of value was sold which he was grateful for as the proceeds added an extra month of possible expenditures to his savings. And just as unceremoniously as they had arrived, Fujioka Sousuke and Hanae left Yuu to set off towards their clan temple.

Mori Temple was considered a holy place for the Fujioka clan. It was a place of worship to the clan god, Morizuku, and a place of training. The clan typically made semi-annual visits – one week in February to pray for a prosperous lunar year, and up to several months, beginning June, for clan children to train and learn clan techniques. Visits and stays during the winter months were generally avoided as it was quite troublesome to heat the homes at the shrine.

It was here that Hanae and her father stayed for the next three months. With the help of her father, Hanae unlocked her kekkei genkai under the blessing of the god Morizuku and trained kenjutsu under her father. Although by no means was she comparable to a well seasoned shinobi at the end of the three months, Fujioka Sousuke had deemed Hanae competent enough to be his travelling companion as he found mercenary work.

For the next thirteen years thereafter, Hanae continued to train under her father. At first, her father could only take short-term contracts and was forced to leave Hanae at an inn while he completed it. But by the time Hanae was eleven, she was enough of a deadly force to assist in completing contracts, allowing them to earn a higher income. Moreover, due to the nature of the work, the duo was forced to detach themselves from others and they were never in one place for long.

This made Hanae more withdrawn than when she was a child. Although the girl loved her father for giving her life and freedom, her minimal interaction with individuals other than her parent made it difficult for her to understand human behaviour and social expectations. There had been countless missions where she was to assess, observe or spy on others and it was at these moments that Hanae couldn't wrap her brain around why other people behave the way they do. The science behind the human mind was just something that simply baffled her.

Despite coming to terms with it, her lack of empathy didn't bother her. As far as Hanae was concerned, as long as this characteristic didn't get in the way of her missions, it was inconsequential. She had her father, and her father had her. For the time-being, that was enough for the both of them.

This way of life ended for Hanae when she was seventeen. A few months prior, her father had suffered a minor injury. The wound itself had healed quickly. However, the weapon that had caused the damage was laced with an unknown and slow-working poison. Despite multiple visits to various healers and apothecaries, no remedy they tried had yielded any results. Six months subsequent to the injury, Fujioka Sousuke passed away.

The death of Hanae's father was the trigger that shoved her life onto a spiralling path of pain and loss.

It was this event that lead her to him.

Uchiha Madara.

If she was able to understand, could she have been able to save him?

This is a question Fujioka Hanae asks herself often.

This is a question that perhaps can never be answered.

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