Unintentional
He is known to be a god in the shinobi world who wields crimson eyes and a deadly name. She is a young girl who is new to the ways of war and happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. When he learns her truth, he is determined to get revenge on his bitter rival using her as his hostage. It wasn't fate that brought them together, nor are they meant for each other. Though their love is passionate, dangerous and anything but innocent; it is true. MadaMito. Rated M for a reason!
"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead."
Quote by Oscar Wilde
MITO
Some would have called the day unfortunate; filled with sorrow and misery. The clouds had been floating heavy for a few hours now, it was about time they yielded. The slate-grey sky had begun to cry as it poured itself out onto the ground as it had been carrying around it's fill of rain water the entire day. But as unusual as it may have been for a girl to enjoy rain showers and thunder storms, Mito had always felt that particular way about them. When it rained, the day always felt fresh and it hinted at new starts and better horizons.
Because she knew that when it rained, a rainbow would always form. The rainbow wasn't the best part about it though. It was the feeling of pureness pouring onto her skin, rattling her bones and shaking her core, leaving it in a good way. When she was being rained on, she loved the faint smell of salt and the wisps of a dewy morning, if morning ever had a scent. So while she travelled through the rain, she did nothing but smile as it changed from a gentle rhythm to a beat that was hard to keep up with, and an unexplainable feeling.
"Mito-chan!" a feminine voice called out to her. It was coming from the carriage. It was that all-too familiar voice of her older sister. There was no mistaking it; that tone that sounded like a mixture between a seven year old boy and their own mother. Even though Mito was the youngest, she often teased her older sibling about it. Saimei used to cry to their mother about it all the time, but Mito never truly meant any harm, she couldn't exactly help it. If Mito had really wanted to tease her sister about it, all she would have to do is pinch Saimei to make her cry. Now that tone was really something.
She turned her head slightly, acknowledging that her sister was speaking to her. But the way she flipped her head sideways, along with her now-soaking wet, red hair. Well, it made it seem like she was trying to be rude. No, that was never Mito's intention. She had never gone as far as to have cruelness towards her siblings, even though she definitely came off that way with her blunt-attitude and her all too-good honesty.
"Kaa-san wants you to come inside the carriage!" Saimei was trying to sound like her mother now. Mito always noticed her using a different tone of voice for every person she spoke to. Though it would always have that touch that always made Mito laugh about it, no matter how hard Saimei tried to conceal it.
Mito turned her head back around to face the open road, ignoring what her sister said. She was more than capable enough to walk on her own two feet instead of being hauled around by the horses like the majority of her family. It was too rainy out and the path was beaten up, it wasn't as if they could go any faster if she was to be inside the carriage with them. Mito hated being put in a tight space for so long with her family, she liked the sweet, tender outdoors air. She loved the feel of nature, but to sit in a carriage with body heat listening to the same old stories…? It wasn't what she was good at.
That goes to say that Uzumaki Mito wasn't exactly what her parents had wanted her to be, anyways. Though they usually didn't have to pay any mind to her, anyways; they had three sons and another daughter, they could be content all they like. Mito was the youngest and the least spoiled out of all of them. She was always branded the black sheep of the family, which always made her feel a little uncertain and caused her to be more rebellious than the others. Her mother always presented Mito as her "other daughter," which made Mito all the more prone to her little outbursts.
When Saimei recognized that Mito didn't care what her mother wanted, she sighed and slid the window shut, knowing that it was pointless to argue with the stubborn Mito. But still, for her mother to want her to come into the carriage was an odd thing; her family usually let her do what she wanted because they didn't feel like an argument. The Uzumaki wife didn't care about ruined kimonos or loose hair anymore because she knew that it was futile when concerning Mito.
Perhaps it had something to do with where they were going. It was only the main branch that was traveling, and it seemed like Mito was the only one who didn't have any sight on what location they were headed to or even what road they were taking. Mito had never taken this road before; in fact she had never been across seas before until now. It was only the main branch of the Uzumaki clan and their guard that was traveling, too. For matters not to concern her father's siblings was unusual, but Mito put thoughts in the back of her mind and focused on walking.
Thankfully, Mito had on a simple kimono that her mother had picked out for her. It was only simple, unlike most of the things she had stuffed in her wardrobes. Those other things included a variety of silk kimonos and even seven-layered kimonos that only feudal lord's wives wear. They all tried to pamper her and make it look like Mito was just another woman who wanted to be pretty and wanted, though Mito hadn't even tried on half of the bloody fabrics in her wardrobe.
As the rain kept slowing down a little over three hours later, Mito found that her calves were getting sore, and she blamed it on anything but herself. Her scapegoat was travel itself. Today it was the tight skirts of the kimono that she wore. She cursed it and when she hopped back into the carriage with everyone looking at her, trying not to laugh, she rolled her eyes and took up an empty spot beside her father and Uzumaki clan leader, Sujin.
Though Mito knew that each and every one of her siblings- and parents- wanted to chuckle at her for walking out in the rain for hours and getting soaking wet, they didn't say anything. Mito was grateful for that, as she didn't need any of her siblings' input. Instead she just folded her arms and rested her head against the softened wood of the carriage. She looked at the world of consciousness one last time before her head slightly bobbed and her eyes drooped. The girl was fast asleep.
The young Uzumaki girl awoke to the sounds of shuffling, and when she opened her eyes the lot of the family was leaving the coach, taking their carry-on bags with them. A few seconds after the last of the members left, she stretched her arms and walked down the carriage and looked at the building that the carriage had stopped at. The Uzumaki clan was walking into a building that was labeled "INN" and was so ordinary that it was so unlike her family. Immediately, Mito smiled, and for that reason she didn't know.
Once inside of the foyer, Mito had to have a look around. Her family were a generous and kind to others and their allies, yes. But on the inside of the Uzumaki family was importance of keeping the family name and making sure that it didn't get stepped all over. Her grandfather would have been furious to learn that his eldest son, his daughter-in-law and their children were staying at some mediocre inn on the way to their destination. If he were alive to see it, that is.
"Uzumaki-sama," the inn owner bowed to her father and showed the seven of them up the sturdy steps and into a four-room suite. They would all be pairing up, but there was an extra room which meant Uzumaki Sujin had meant for a meeting for the family. It was the biggest in the inn and all the inn keep could manage for such an unexpected party. But nonetheless, the lady seemed honored to present the clan with room and board.
Before Mito could even walk into her own room, her father had called them all over. The siblings had arranged themselves in their fitted positions. Her father in front of them all and her mother, Junko a little to the side with the Uzumaki children placed in front of them from oldest to youngest. Iseya was first, sitting like the noble son he was. Followed by Nagata who was very quiet and reserved, then Saimei looking pretty and postured, next was Satoi who seemed to be daydreaming. She sat beside Satoi with bored eyes.
Junko bit her plump bottom lip, causing a smooth but small trail of blood to drip down into the crease of her mouth. Mito could tell she was nervous about something, and that something she couldn't place exactly. She also sat there twiddling her thumbs, which wasn't a very common habit for her to do. Usually she sat much like Saimei; or rather Saimei had adapted her positions and styles from Junko. There was something that they were all hiding and it bugged Mito more than she liked.
The clan guard came into the room as well, shortly after and took their positions sitting as far back as the room allowed. But they still managed to end up close to them since there were about thirty of them, all to protect their more-than-capable Uzumaki clan. They looked uncomfortable in their spots once they did sit down. They stared directly at their clan leader and looked like carved statues made from stone.
"We all know the reason why this meeting had to happen." Sujin slightly nodded at the guard and then to the main family, accepting their presence in the room. The man was stern with glossy rouge hair that reached to his shoulder blades. His forehead was absent with bangs, but he made up for it by the slightly large beard. He looked much older than his forty-two years; he looked more like a sixty year-old man and the thought itself almost made Mito burst into laughter.
"Yes, Tou-sama," Iseya seemed to speak for everyone except Mito. "Of course." Iseya was always the over-achiever. The best with the sealing jutsu, the best at lasting impressions and he was truly cut out to carry on as clan leader once their father was nicely withered away in the dirt. He had taken on a lot of responsibility and didn't mind showing off his power to the rest of the siblings. Sure, Iseya had plenty of honor and wasn't a fool for glory, but all in all he was always the dependant type.
Mito rolled her eyes, and when she looked back up to her father, her mother was in the background mouthing words, obviously giving her trouble. Everyone was forbidden to make fools of themselves or do anything that was caused any emotion out of anyone in the room. No japes, no obscure gestures; it was only listen and speak when spoken to; but as usual her father's rules didn't stop her from letting out a yawn that she couldn't contain.
The redhead almost choked on her saliva when her father looked directly at her. "This is in regards to you, so it would be in your best interest to hear what I have to say." that only made Mito want to ignore them all the more. As Mito assumed, the meeting was probably to discuss her recent unruly behavior. Well- not exactly recent, but lately it seemed to Mito that she was being a little too annoying for the likes of her family. Or at least that was what she thought.
"I'm sure whatever scolding you're about to bring upon me can wait until morning, Tou-sama." in response, her father's pale skin had now turned a fathomable shade of pink, if he were to turn anymore red; it would match the milky-redness of his hair. It was obvious that her father wasn't pleased with her, but Mito couldn't exactly recall a situation that would make them so angry as to call the entire clan to discuss the matters. The issue would usually be sorted out the old fashioned way, by tying Mito to a wooden post for a few hours.
"Mind your tongue, Mito." her eldest brother glared at her with chestnut brown eyes, and the eyes themselves were reprimanding her. Iseya didn't even have to remind Mito of her disrespectful words, his glossy brown eyes did just that. All of the Uzumaki's eyes had that similar trait, the honest, molten eyes that spoke for them and did the bidding.
It took a moment for everyone to regain themselves, for everyone to straighten out and be reminded that clan meetings call for high respects and folly wasn't tolerated. Even Mito decided that she would rather get the damned thing over with and listen to her family's words, words that currently everybody knew except for herself that is. Sujin, her father, found his composure once again and his rosy cheeks that were previously filled with frustration; died down. His face was pale and hard again, like steel.
"This is with great political reasons, and this gathering wouldn't have happened otherwise," her father took out a scroll from the folds of his well-kept hakama and opened it slightly, glancing over the fine words that were written there. "Instead of a scolding, Mito, I bring you a contract. You may have thought that you were called so that we could teach you a lesson, but that assumption is wrong in every respect."
Said child bit her tongue, refraining from anything else coming out of her mouth. The way she looked now, with her mouth shut and her pose held straight, made her look like the very definition of beauty and purity. To others, she would have looked like a porcelain doll without anything but innocence, she looked so strong and fragile all at the same time. But as per usual, in regards to this façade that she accidentally put on, the dream was smothered moments later, which made it apparent that there was no hope for her.
The young redhead wanted to question this certain contract. It was meant for her, as her father clearly said, but what was it? Surely her family wouldn't go as far as selling her to a slaver, or giving her up to a family that needed hard work out of her. Even though Mito tried to look for a better and certainly more pessimistic view on what the contract would be- she forced herself to swallow as if there was a lump at the base of her throat.
Her father unraveled more of this scroll he was holding, and once he was satisfied with its position, he turned it around so that everyone in the family would be able to read it. It was a big school, not exactly huge, but it was larger than the average scroll. Though the size of the scroll wasn't the problem, it was the giant letters in the center of it that caused Mito to gasp.
There was a variety of writings on the scroll that her father was holding up. Two names at the top of one huge word and below that very small fine print and at the bottom two different sets of signatures. The lettering that stood out to Mito in bold lettering was 結婚. Marriage. A commitment. It was written between this Senju Hashirama and herself. The redhead wasn't a boob, and even at sixteen years old she knew what that meant. It meant that the entirety of the young girls' life was meant for this one moment.
Mito, at this very moment, realized that she was nothing more than an object to be sold. She was a means of truce and peace between some other clan and that stung her greatly. The girl always knew that those born into the warring clans always had to sacrifice their daughters and sisters to other clan's in order for tranquility to happen. It just so happens that being born into the famous Uzushiogakure's Uzumaki clan meant the same thing.
She had always thought that her clan was different from all the rest. Compared to others, her clan was genuine and friendly yet powerful and respected all at the same time. Even though somewhere deep inside her she knew that one of her siblings would get the short stick and have to do something outrageously generous for the clan, which meant either going to war or being sold; it's just that Mito had never thought it to be her.
Saimei was always the one preparing for this kind of thing. She was pretty; she talked with manners and had always fantasized about being married to some heir of a great clan. The girl had more clothes than anyone she had ever known, she was young and able. Yet there she sat, her name was still Uzumaki and nobody had given her any reason to be given away. It truthfully made Mito all the more mad, even though she always forbade herself from being jealous of Saimei.
"I'm the least favorite of your children, I know this." Mito hid the muffling of her voice in a voice that could rival even the bravest kunoichi. "But how could you put this duty upon me? How could you choose me for this fate instead of Saimei who has wanted this since she was a girl? If you want me to leave, I will do so, I just don't underst-" In the middle of her words, she was interrupted. Not by her father, nor her mother, not even her brother. But her sister.
"You don't understand, that's the problem, Mito-chan." Saimei whispered. Her voice was frail as if she had no true conception of the world around her. Her sister sounded timid and afraid, which was very out of character for her as Saimei was driven on confidence and tended to think of herself as being the perfect image of what a young kunoichi should look like.
"You never understand, even when I try telling you things. I have spent my life trying to outdo you in every way possible. It never works. I have realized this long ago that you are far superior to me. But you still don't get it. You were chosen and it is a great honor and will bring good fortune upon our clan and family, yet you sit there complaining as if making fun of me." Saimei started to cry, and it was the first time Mito had ever seen her do such a thing with true, meaningful reason. Those tears were an accident.
Once the girl broke into a quiet sob, her father looked at her with those Uzumaki eyes that Mito knew meant disappointment. "You're not our least favorite child, Mito. You are wrong in every way to think so, put those thoughts to rest because they are untrue. We thought this would make you happy. You're to be married to Senju Hashirama, a very fine shinobi, and the clan has asked for you personally." And Sujin looked calmer and much more considerate than he did before. It seemed Saimei's tears drove a weakness from him.
"You are wrong to think that this arrangement would make me happy, Senju or not." Mito looked to her crying sister, and before now she had felt sadness for the oldest Uzumaki daughter, but now all she sees are lies and deceit. They had hidden this from her for who knows how long, and once Mito found that recognition, she instantly knew the reason they were travelling so far. Her family was delivering her right to the clan.
"I have never asked anything of you, not like they do." Mito pointed to her siblings. "I've always been least dependant than the likes of these four, and yet you still find a way to punish me. If it's for my past mistakes, I apologize. But you insist on putting me through hell because it will bring good fortune upon our clan?" Mito stood up from her place at the meeting, which would be considered quite offensive. "Look to your idiot of a son, Iseya or your pitiful rat of a daughter, Saimei. They can bring you better fortune than I ever could."
Uzumaki Junko, her mother, finally jumped in to say something. "Mito, if you think this marriage will be annulled, then you are only kidding yourself. At this very moment you are in a betrothal and it would go against our Ancestors if you were to do anything to break that oath." Mito knew how it went. Her father along with the Senju clan leader had sworn the vow to their worshiped Ancestors that were acting as gods. It was all troublesome.
Before Mito walked out of the room, she looked towards the whole of the family. "I despise this arrangement with all my heart, but I am not as lowly as you all seem to think I am. I'll proceed if that means not having to deal with you people for the rest of my life." The redhead slid the door open to their sleeping compounds and shut it back again, causing it to slam. Nobody dared to follow the fiery girl now.
Burning with raw anger, the redhead exited the inn as fast as she possibly could without running. She had sped down the steps and out the door, and the inn keep looked at her like she was some monster rampaging about, but lacked to say anything to her. Mito walked off the porch and feasted her eyes on the crescent-shaped moon glow and the tiny specks of stars that looked like dust scattered into the darkened sky.
The crickets were singing a tune in their usual harmonic, optimistic tunes. She could also hear the faint sounds of the midnight toads, meanwhile smelling the cool midnight air. She envied all these animals that seemed to live to the best of their abilities. They didn't have to go through arranged marriages and keep oaths sacred. They did what they want when they wanted, and they made beautiful sounds while doing so.
It was ironic how the nature of the simplest things like birds and bees were so… peaceful compared to those of human morals. Though there are predators, and there are preys, only man kills another for the sheer feeling it brings; for the intense pleasure. One should only ever take another's life by means of survival and protection, not because warm blood feels good on their cold hands. Notions like that made Mito scowl in defiance, having been born to a great clan who didn't at all mind killing others just for future generations and that sick belief about the legendary names.
It was the name that lives on, her father always told her, and that in years to come nobody will care about Mito, herself. Nobody will care who her father was, and they certainly won't care what good or bad that he had done. He could have saved a hundred lives, or taken a hundred lives and people wouldn't care because the clan name was legend in itself. People in the future will only know about the Uzumaki clan as a whole, nothing more, nothing less.
The patterns of the orchestra of crickets died down as did with the toads, and suddenly the forests and road beside the inn became silent save for the occasional breeze swooping through the coniferous trees and throughout the long blades of grass in the ditches off the roads. Mito felt that feeling of loneliness attach to her like a parasitic leech, she usually felt that way once she grasped the fact that her well-being was inessential to her immediate family.
That wasn't to say the night was lonely. Though it had been soundless- and too much so, Mito couldn't drop the itch that her gut was threatening her about. Her chakra had sensed something however big or small it may be, but nonetheless it was still something. But as usual, Mito had put the emotions that she deemed unnecessary aside, it was better off that way. She would much rather try and focus all of her emotional energy on something that mattered, like anger.
Mito walked slowly to the edge of the property that was owned by the inn keep and the road that went past it. Compared the one before, this path was one that was used frequently as she could tell because it was smoothed almost as if it had grown there naturally. She couldn't tell where she was exactly; all she knew was that she wasn't on the small island that she called her home. She was on a different land, and one that she hadn't bothered to ask her family about.
Perhaps it was the Land of Fire. That would make sense because that was the whole purpose of the family traveling. The redhead had always known that the Senju developed from the Land of Fire, and where else would they be besides that place? From what she could reconcile, their two lands weren't all that far away and there weren't many lands that lay between the two; maybe minor states and establishments but that was it. It wasn't like Mito didn't know how to perceive a map.
The road led eerily into a forest that was blackened and you couldn't see anything beyond the woods at that point because it caused heavy shadows. It was so weird, that absence of vision, which was why Mito didn't notice the silent approaching carriage that looked so awfully battered, coming down the opposite end of the road. She had been lost in a train of thought, and when she had seen the coach with two horses carrying it, the Uzumaki had realized something then and there.
She could feel it in her chakra, as strong as any Uzumaki could. She could sense that there were six men in the carriage with their signatures drawn low as if hiding. The driver of the coach eyed her as if she was a piece of lamb waiting to be eaten. He gave her a grin that made it apparent of all his rotten and loose teeth, it was repulsive. When he halted the horses and the carriage stopped, he spoke. "Excuse me, girl; do you know where this road leads to? I am a poor old man who has nobody to guide him."
Mito raised an eyebrow at him, about ready to punch him in the throat for thinking her an idiot. She was an Uzumaki, dammit! She was about to roll up her sleeve to give the old man a beating, when the redhead found that she couldn't move. Various times she had tried but to no avail, and she also felt her abnormal amount of chakra being depleted by the second.
"I'll scream if you-" and in an instant, a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties came behind her and covered her mouth for her. He was one of the men who had one of his chakra signatures on the down-low. She knew that there were at least three out of the seven men maiming her. The one from behind, the one taking her chakra and the one with the chakra strings. Luckily, Mito had a trick up her sleeve.
"I will see you when you awake." Mito had fought for her consciousness as much as she possibly could, but it was to no effect. He had cleanly knocked her out in one good swoop and the last thing that she remembered was being smelled as she fell into the stranger's arms.