A new chapter! :)
Btw, NO. Absolutely not. No three-ways, threesomes, whatever you want to call it. Mostly because I don't ship it, but also because I'm not that great with writing them. Whomever Sakura ends up with, it will only be one of them, and that will be whichever one feels right with the flow of the writing. Though I gotta say, even though I think I like MadaSaku best, I am leaning towards TobiSaku. But we'll see. (points vigorously at that last bit)
In any case, disclaimer and enjoy! :)
Chapter Two – The Newly-weds
This was a day that was supposedly the happiest day of her life, and quite frankly, Mito could see just how that would be. As she stood before the priest in the private shrine, Hashirama by her side, she was trying hard to contain a grin, and hopefully succeeding. She knew a small smile slipped out every now and then, but she worked hard to hold it back. This was a serious occasion, after all. Enough time for her triumphant smiles later at the reception.
Other than the priest, the bride, and the groom, there were also four others. One family member each, for her it was her father, and Hashirama's rather serious brother as well. Their nakodo were represented by an aunt of hers, and rather comically, Hashirama's Uchiha friend. It had been hilarious to watch Hashirama convince Madara to stand in as his nakodo, since it was a spot generally reserved for much older relatives. Madara had said no, Tobirama had said no, then Madara had grimaced and said yes, though Mito suspected it was just because of Tobirama's no.
Whatever worked, it had made Hashirama deliriously happy.
Throughout the rest of the ceremony, Mito focused her attention back on the priest and her new husband. Then once they were done, they headed out separately. Hashirama left with Tobirama and Madara, whilst Mito left with her father and her aunt so she could change into her uchikake.
"A lovely ceremony," her aunt was saying. "And that Senju boy was actually able to be serious for once, quite remarkable."
"Don't be so mean to Hashi-kun, Momoe-oba," Mito scolded. "He's the leader of the village, after all."
"Quite right," her father spoke up. "Now come along, we're almost to the changing room."
Mito and her aunt stepped into the room, even as her father took up guard outside. Momoe helped her out of her shiromuku, and into her uchikake, and helped her to remove then reapply a softer look to her makeup. Once they were all done, Momoe stepped back and gave her a once over, ending it with a sigh.
"You look so beautiful, Mito," she said. "If only your mother could have been here to see you."
"I have you and tou-san," Mito reminded her, and her aunt snorted.
"Sadao has been overbearing the last few weeks," she said. "Be glad he spared that from you, because he made the organiser's lives hell!"
Mito giggled, then snorted in an unladylike manner before saying, "Time to go."
Before they could even move to the door, an unnatural wind struck. Mito let out an involuntary shriek, the door flew open and her father came in, her aunt nearly fainted, and a bright light flashed. Then just as suddenly as the wind had appeared, it disappeared. Once Mito righted herself, she noted that there was someone else here with them now. A girl stood before them, not that much younger than herself, she surmised. She was dressed in a rather beautiful purple and white kimono, with tabi socks, but no geta. Her pink hair, which instantly fascinated Mito, was in an elaborate, yet mussed, style, with a comb and a kanzashi in it. A kanzashi that looked quite familiar.
"What the… who…? How did I get here?" the girl asked, then she saw Mito and her eyes widened. "No way… This is impossible!"
The last word was rather high pitched, and Mito refrained from flinching as the girl stumbled backwards, landing against the wall, hand over her mouth in obvious shock.
"Who are you?" Sadao demanded, fingers twitching like he wished he was holding a kunai. "How did you get here?"
Mito's attention was focused on the kanzashi in the girl's hair. She stepped forward, ignoring her father and aunt's warnings to move back. "Where did you get that kanzashi?" she asked the girl.
The hand she had over her mouth released, and came up to warily finger the accessory. "My shishou gave it to me," she said. "It was her grandmother's. Why?"
"May I see it?" Mito asked, hand outstretched.
With a suspicious look, the girl rather reluctantly pulled the jewellery from her hair. Hesitantly she held it out, and Mito carefully took it from her, not wanting to scare her off. Checking it over, she found what she was looking for. A seal, right behind the delicate flowers, marked and worn with surprising age.
"This was mine," she said. "Here, there's a seal I placed, to make sure it returned to me if someone else tried to wear it."
"What?"
"What have you been messing with, Mito?"
"How many times have I told you to be more careful with your sealing experiments?"
Three people spoke at once, but Mito ignored all but the pinkette as she released the seal on the kanzashi. "The seal on this is corrupted," she noted. "There's wear and tear, like it's been decades since it was applied. I only ever made them to last for five years, so if this seal really had been on there for decades…"
Three Uzumaki stared at the girl, who seemed to squirm slightly at the attention she was receiving.
"It's not impossible," Sadao murmured. "Our seal masters have looked into it over our history a few times before. Some even had results, questionable though they were."
"But from a corrupted seal?" Momoe wondered. "Only you, Mito, only you."
"This can't be real," the girl was muttering. "I'm hallucinating. Or it's a genjutsu. Actually, that's more believable, though who in the hell did it? Not Ino-pig, I hope, I'll kick her ass for it if she did."
"You're not hallucinating, nor is this a genjutsu," Mito said gently, handing the kanzashi back to the shell-shocked pinkette. "I'm sorry, but the only explanation is that you're from the future, and this is your past."
The girl shook her head defiantly, but whatever response she might have had was cut off when the door was flung open a second time, and three figures burst in, stance ready for a fight.
OoOoO
Hashirama just couldn't get the smile off his face.
"Ah, married life is truly wonderful," he declared.
"How would you know?" Madara spoke. "You've only just been married, you haven't actually experienced married life yet."
Pouting, Hashirama looked to his brother for support, but didn't even find it there. "Come back once the honeymoon phase is over, and see if you still say that," he dead-panned.
Hashirama crossed his arms and pouted even further, before his expression brightened and he said, "Well, at least I have a wife. Just when are the two of you going to settle down, hmm? Can't continue your lineage without a wife, you know. Well, you could I suppose, but then…"
"Shut up," Tobirama interrupted him, even as Madara simply ignored him.
They were already in the small foyer where they were meant to wait for Mito, Sadao, and Momoe. Once they were all reunited, they would be heading over to a reception hall that was generally used for big political celebrations, since it had the capacity to fit in all the clan leaders, the Daimyo or any of his official representatives, and any important civilian figures as well. Everyone else would already be there, waiting on the newly-weds and their bridal party.
"Mito looked so beautiful, don't you think?" Hashirama sighed wistfully. "I'm sure she'll look equally stunning after she's changed, too."
"If you say so," Tobirama said distractedly.
"What is it?" Madara asked, picking up on his distraction.
"There's something… I don't know what it is, just a feeling, but it's coming from the direction Mito and her family went."
"What?" Hashirama asked, instantly alert. "What's happening?"
"…I don't know," was the answer.
There was a bit of silence, then Madara suggested, "Maybe we should check on it? Unless you're just imagining things, that is."
"Just shut it!" Tobirama snapped, then said, "Actually, checking it out might not be a bad idea."
Hashirama worried the whole time they were headed over, especially with how uncertain his brother looked. Normally, Tobirama was more sure of what he was feeling whenever he sensed something, but right now…
"Alright, now I sense it properly," his brother spoke, interrupting his thoughts. "There's a foreign chakra signal right where the Uzumaki's are."
Hashirama and Madara exchanged glances, then all three were off, sprinting to Mito's location. When they arrived, Tobirama burst the door open, and Hashirama saw, to his immense relief, that Mito was fine. So were Sadao and Momoe. But there was someone else there, a woman, and she had a rather confused and terrified look on her face.
Tobirama lunged then, but then Mito was in his way, blocking him, and ordering in a tone that brooked no argument, "STOP!"
What on earth was going on?
So what did you think? FYI, the reason Tobirama felt something indistinct that he couldn't identify, is kinda a delay effect. Like in the previous chapter, it took a moment once the kanzashi was in Sakura's hair for the seal to actually activate.
So, reviews are appreciated, and here's a glossary, including the kanzashi, which I didn't do last chapter.
Kanzashi: A traditional Japanese hair decoration, from simple to elaborate designs.
Nakodo: 'Matchmakers' for a Japanese wedding, generally older relatives or the like.
Uchikake: Japanese traditional wedding dress used for the reception.
Shiromuku: Japanese traditional wedding dress used for the private ceremony.
