A Perfect Storm
Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. This story is getting a lot more attention than I anticipated considering how rare the pairing is. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Notation: While I'm not certain if Kagami had any siblings in the anime for the sake of plot purposes, he had an older sister in this story.
Chapter 2
"Hashirama, Tobirama, move." A masculine voice booms throughout the room, waking Suki up.
One that she recognizes all too easily. Suki frowns, but feigns sleep. She needed more time to assess the situation.
"Stop being a barbarian." Tobirama's growl matches the Uchiha patriarch's bellow. "The woman nearly died. She was only given a chakra transfusion a few moments ago. She's not even coherent!"
Suki hears someone dart over to her bedside. The chakra was all too familiar. Madara. "I'm the barbarian? You're the one who murdered my brother. You're fortunate that Hashirama interceded on your behalf. I'm not going to allow you to slaughter anymore of our family."
Hashirama rubs the back of his head. "Can we focus on the matter at hand? We have an unidentified, unconscious woman who appeared out of nowhere and possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan."
She tries her best not to flinch at those words. If she had any chance of flying under the radar in this era, those hopes had just been crushed. The Mangekyo was rare enough that just having that alone would brand her as someone Tobirama and everyone needed to watch.
Still, this could play to her advantage. An average ninja was unlikely to capture Tobirama's attention, but an exceptional one would.
"Once she's awake and well enough to travel, I will take her to my family home to be questioned and cared for immediately." Madara's words were dripping with a not so subtle challenge.
It was almost as if he was daring Hashirama and Tobirama to argue.
Her eyes may have been closed, but Suki could all too easily imagine the future Second Hokage rolling his eyes at that little declaration. Tobirama's voice was also overflowing with distain. "I doubt she's well enough to travel, but she's already awake. There is no use pretending otherwise. Minor fluctuations in your chakra signature have given you away."
Suki frowns as she opens her eyes. "I should have expected as much from a famous sensor-type."
"You feigned sleep to gather more information about your surroundings. That bodes well for your intelligence." Madara arches an eyebrow. "I can only hope for your sake that means you'll answer my questions honestly."
It was jarring. Of course, she knew this type of interrogation would take place eventually, but Suki hadn't expected it so soon. Still, she was reasonably confident her explanations would satisfy them. After all, they were all plausible.
"Madara, give the girl a chance to recover first." Hashirama smiles at his friend, ever the peacemaker. "She just had a chakra transfusion for goodness sake. When Tobirama and I found her she was more dead than alive."
"Stop treating her as if she were a child, Hashirama." Madara scoffs, crossing his arms. "That's no girl. That's an Uchiha woman. No child could ever activate the Mangekyo Sharingan. Anyone who has achieved that level of prowess regardless of their age is an adult in my eyes."
Well, Suki couldn't disagree with that. "You're right. I'm not a child and I'll answer your questions." She takes a shaky breath, expelling it slowly while gathering all her resolve. "My name is Suki Uchiha. The reason you do not recognize me is because I was kidnapped as a small child by a rival village. They wanted to raise me as one of their own in hopes that one day I'd manifest the Sharingan and they'd be able to use that to their advantage."
It was a bit of a stretch. The Clan's family tree indicated a child had gone missing long ago. The timelines would match well enough. Suki doubted they'd question it. She had a Mangekyo Sharingan. Obviously, she was an Uchiha.
"What do you think of all this, Madara?" Hashirama glances at his friend.
Madara tilts his head as he approaches Suki. There was scarcely an inch between them as he peers into her face. "Kagami did have an older sister that went missing when she was little more than a toddler. She does appear to be about the right age and there is no denying she's certainly Clan in appearance." His eyes linger upon hers. "Not only that, she has a Mangekyo Sharingan. I see no reason to doubt her story on the surface, but we will of course take her to see her parents and brother. See what they have to say about the matter. What say you, Tobirama. You can detect someone's ancestry. Is this an imposter?"
Hell must have frozen over. Madara was asking Tobirama for help. Suki couldn't quite wrap her mind around the absurdity of the situation and judging by the skeptical look on the future Second Hokage's face, neither could he.
"Her ancestry is undoubtedly Uchiha. Whether she can be trusted remains to be seen." The white haired ninja gives his regal version of a shrug.
Madara nods in agreement. "Very well. For the moment, your story is plausible. Tell us more. How did you escape?"
Suki bites her lower lip, remembering the night of the massacre. She needed her tears to be real if they were going to be convincing.
"For years, I thought they were my true family. It was only when I was old enough to go on missions and began to see more of the world, that I heard whispers about a Clan with eyes like mine." She slowly sits up, wincing, and wiping away the tears welling up in her eyes. "It took far longer than I'd care to admit for all the pieces to fall into place, but once they did I was determined to get away from them. I tried to slip off in the middle of the night, but they followed me. I was forced to use a powerful jutsu because I was outnumbered. It worked…but nearly killed me." She casts a grateful look towards Tobirama and Hashirama. "It would have killed it for me were it not for these two."
Madara clenches his fist. His outrage at one of his fellow Uchihas being kidnapped palpable. "Did they treat you well at least? What made you decide to forsake them and seek out a village you knew little about?"
A valid question. Suki would have to play on the heartstrings if she was to get anywhere.
"Well enough. The potential within my eyes made me too valuable to do otherwise. They lied to me all my life. I'd rather take my chances with strangers than those I know to be kidnappers and liars." Suki lets out a painful laugh. "That, and I have the Mangekyo Sharingan. Perhaps it was arrogant, but I thought in the worst case scenario I could hold my own."
Tobirama laughs. "I do not believe any further testing is necessary. That sounds like exactly the same sort of absurd plan Madara would have concocted had positions been reversed."
Madara glares at the white haired ninja. "How is that is an absurd plan by any measure? The Mangekyo is formidable. She merely overextended herself when she was outnumbered and likely after traveling a great distance."
"Come, Brother. I believe our work is done here. This is now a family member and in her current condition, Suki is no threat to the village." He offers Tobirama his hand.
The future Second Hokage looks at her once more before taking his brother's arm. "Yes, I do believe you're right." Nothing further was said as the pair of siblings Flicker off together.
Leaving Suki alone with Madara Uchiha.
Later that evening, Tobirama was still a bundle of agitated energy. Even after training with Hashirama, he couldn't shake the feeling.
"You may as well say what's on your mind." His brother smiles as if nothing was wrong. "You could have dodged those last four hits. You're horribly distracted and I imagine that I can guess the reason why."
Tobirama snorts. How could his brother be so calm about this? "You're telling me that it doesn't worry you an Uchiha woman capable of manifesting the Mangekyo appearing out of nowhere doesn't concern you?"
"I'd be laying if I said that I'm not curious." Hashiram places a hand on Tobirama's shoulder likely in an effort to comfort him. "Madara seems to believe her story and she seems harmless. Besides, at first blush you appear to like her well enough. You really should laugh more often, Tobirama."
Only Hashirama could make a situation about this a debate over whether or not he laughed enough.
"She seems harmless? Did you not see the pile of bodies around her?" Tobirama shakes his head. "Granted the prospect of an Uchiha admitting their arrogance and thanking anyone was shocking. Amusing really, but that doesn't make her any less dangerous. She could essentially turn out to be a female Izuna."
"Those people kidnapped her and were trying to prevent her from returning to her birth family." Hashirama shoots Tobirama an incredulous look. "I would consider that self-defense more than anything."
Tobirama scoffs. "Do not be fooled by the pretty eyelashes. We have only her word to go on and no real way of knowing what she says in the truth. The only thing we know for certain is she is indeed an Uchiha."
Their track record of trustworthiness had been anything, but flawless.
"You think her eyelashes are pretty?" Hashirama grins.
Suddenly, Tobirama feels dread growing in his stomach. His brother was a romantic idealist. He would read far too much into an observation.
"The appearance of her eyelashes is not the point. The point is we know nothing about her and Madara being Madara will open his home to her. What if she's a spy?" Many spies were used in times like these, Tobirama reasons.
She'd hardly be the first. Though they were in a relatively peaceful period compared to before, it would only take one incident to thrust them all back into war.
"That's always a possibility, but I don't view it as particularly likely." Hashirama shakes his head. "In order for your theory to be valid, the other village had to willingly sacrifice several of their people to make it plausible. Not only that, but she exhausted her chakra reserves. She was on the brink of death. They had no real way to know we'd get there and get her medical care in time or that we'd bother to give her medical care in the first place." He crosses his arms as if to dismiss Tobirama's theories further. "They'd be more inclined to believe we'd just take her eyes for herself after she passed on and now, they've exposed the bodies of several of their ninjas to our village. We can learn many secrets about their village. It'd be a plan with a low probability of success and a highly likelihood of giving us advantages over them than the other way around."
Well, he couldn't argue with that logic. "Perhaps you're right. "
Hashirama grins. "Of course, I'm right. Now about those eyelashes?"
Tobirama swats his brother. "I believe you've had too much sake if you believe that means anything."
"I don't drink." Hashirama frowns.
He might as well have. Commenting on someone's appearance meant nothing. It was no different than observing a sunset or a sunrise. Those things were pleasant to look at as well, but that didn't mean you had any intention of touching the Sun.
"That surprises me. You sound like you're intoxicated. Perhaps we should send some ninja cats to spy on the Uchihas." The sooner they had more information about the entire affair, the better Tobirama would feel. "Uchihas are quite fond of them and they wouldn't arouse any suspicion if they were seen around Madara's home."
"Tobirama, this is a Clan matter." Hashirama waves his hand as if to dismiss the idea. "True the village must come first, but as she's no current threat…I can hardly begrudge Madara for wishing to handle a family matter as exactly that. You did state her ancestry is clear. Just look at the girl…I mean woman."
His brother was just as tenderhearted as Madara was ruthless. It was Tobirama's job to strike the balance between the two extremes.
"Very well. I shall leave it in Madara's hands for the moment, but the second she steps a toe out of line, I shall be there." Tobirama sighs.
He couldn't allow another situation like the one with Izuna to unfold. His brother might be blinded by visions of optimism, but he was not. He would do whatever was necessary to protect the village.