Took a little while, but here it is, crazyuser. XP Yes, Tobirama is a horrible person. XD This chapter has been polished and updated, and we will now be starting work on Chapter 3, though it's hard to say how long it'll take us.. Lol, at any rate, we hope people enjoy the chapter and we always appreciate feedback. ;D

Chapter Two

Hashirama stood in front of a glass window looking into a small, sparsely decorated room. It was still dark outside- only a vague feeling of fatigue belied the hours that had passed since he'd last slept. He couldn't be sure exactly how long ago that had been; much had happened since he and Tobirama had carried the traumatized Uchiha siblings through the fledgling village, taking a nondescript, roundabout path to the still-unfinished red mansion that many Senju now inhabited. It had been at least three hours since then, and man who would one day be called 'The God of Shinobi' now stood with his arms crossed and an uncharacteristically grim expression lining his features. He stared at the room, in which two spare beds had been prepared for the wounded girls. His eyes were set in a grave, thoughtful manner, but a vacancy in his gaze suggested that he was seeing very little of what was in front of him.

As for Tobirama, he happened to be absent at the moment. He'd been an intensely watchful presence while the medical shinobi had postponed their evening schedule to care for their unexpected patients, leaving only after receiving orders from Hashirama to organize a response to the situation. All the while the sisters had drifted in and out of consciousness, but with their battered bodies now bandaged (both figuratively and metaphorically, thanks to medical ninjutsu), each had received a generous dose of sedatives and slept soundly. Tobirama had not returned since he'd been assigned the task of investigating the attack. Hashirama assumed that he was doing a meticulous job of following orders, as Hashirama had expected and trusted him to. Both of them needed to sleep before much longer, but he personally doubted whether he could fall asleep even now. His mind was preoccupied with Tobirama's report that the attacking shinobi, of unknown allegiance, had managed to commit suicide rather than be captured by his clones. He reported that the enemy had fled a short distance before activating a suicide jutsu which had completely consumed their bodies. Hashirama flared up then, exclaiming that this made the situation much more serious if such high level shinobi had been dispatched.

"This could be an attempt to spark hatred among the clans residing with this increasingly peaceful village!" He had declared. Even now, too much of this situation remained bewildering, and Hashirama found himself unsure of how to act next.

Something about the room he wasn't seeing brought Hashirama's attention back to it, his expression not changing much from a look of vacant discord to one of more focused discord. Both Uchiha remained soundly asleep, though the blue-haired sibling was muttering uneasily. The door was open, and Hashirama strained to hear what she was saying, but her words were too indistinct and unconnected to convey any real meaning. His frown grew more pronounced, his concentration already returning to what he knew of the evening's disturbing chain of events.

Hashirama recalled earlier in the evening, when he'd found Tobirama watching the medical shinobi as they worked efficiently to treat their patients. Tobirama's eyes had been narrowed sharply as he watched them intently through the glass from the hallway outside of the med room. Just then, his brother strode up to him with a serious look on his face. "Tobirama, due to the serious nature of the attack today I want you to put any current assignments of yours on hold and investigate this matter immediately." Tobirama's eyes bugged slightly for just a moment and his jaw tightened as he clenched his teeth at the order but, recovering instantly, he turned on his heel in silent compliance before flickering out of sight.

Hashirama remembered this now, wondering what had caused Tobirama to react at all to receiving such an order. He had seemed less concerned with the serious matter at hand and more... Well, reluctant, if anything, to be assigned the task of handling the matter properly. That really was rather unlike Tobirama, who didn't generally act out of character unless something had him disturbed. Safe to say, that was a very uncommon occurrence, and Hashirama wondered why his overly stoic brother was reacting so unusually to this whole situation. It was strange indeed.

The blue haired Uchiha tossed in her sleep then, leading Hashirama to notice her balled fists and white knuckles. "Damn...Senju..." She began muttering, eyes still closed. "How...dare you...". Hashirama's expression quirked as he listened through the glass. "That's odd." He said aloud. Why would they get mad at us for giving them medical attention at a time like this? He glanced back at the girls once more before heading to his office to take care of other official matters and await his brother's return with any new intel on the situation.

The damn Senju himself was standing in front of the window of his own office, arms crossed. Looking angrier than usual, he glared at the reflection of the dimly lit room. He was having trouble deciding just how he'd be able to handle this situation without his brother discovering the true series of events that had taken place. Furthermore, how he could achieve this without starting a war that would weaken the newborn village and possibly earn them enemies they didn't need to have.

His fisted hand clenched more tightly, whitening the knuckles and pressing his fingernails into his palm. Those damn Uchiha, he thought, the cold coals of anger in his chest smoldering more brightly. The rebel clan of the village, always causing trouble with their actions, words, and attitudes. Why couldn't Hashirama understand that they needed to be dealt with before they tore apart everything he'd worked for? Tobirama recalled the day that Madara had demanded the life of either himself or Hashirama in recompense for the life of Izuna, his long-dead brother. Izuna had been the casualty of a completely unrelated battle, and yet still Madara had clung bitterly to his need for revenge. Only when Hashirama had made it completely obvious that he would not kill Tobirama had Madara relented. Clearly the man was out for Tobirama's blood, having held him responsible for Izuna's death. Tobirama did not feel that such bitterness was in any way justified, even if he had been the one to strike the fatal blow to Izuna. Such was the nature of wartime. In the heat of battle, it was kill or be killed, and Izuna would scarcely have hesitated to cut down Tobirama had the situation been reversed. This was a prime example of how the irrational, angry mind of an ambitious Uchiha worked. Tajima Uchiha had been the same. He'd seen the same prideful violence in the eyes of those Uchiha girls just that evening. He shook himself out of his stormy contemplations and formulated a quick plan.

Not wanting his brother to pick up on his proximity, he set out to appear busy with the task given to him by carefully covering his tracks. He let out a short, annoyed breath and focused his chakra, reappearing just outside the forest he had followed the girls into the previous evening. Leaping up into the trees, he stealthily landed on a tree limb and focused more chakra, dripping out five water clones, each one hopping onto another nearby branch and forming a circle around him before darting off in five directions. The clouds are already thick and dark enough today that no one would be surprised if the forest experienced a brief shower, Tobirama thought as he turned his face to the sky. The clones, having reached the appropriate distance, each released a basic raging waves water jutsu into the sky, aimed slightly into the center of the large circle they'd made. As it began to rain where Tobirama was, he leapt off into the trees, following the earlier path from above. When he saw the mud pooling in the path and erasing his footprints around the scene from earlier along with other physical evidence he smirked and released his clones. As they splooshed into formless pools of water, the clouds cleared somewhat and the now-visible moon shone briefly in the sky forming a dim rainbow through the fine haze of water.

Satisfied, Tobirama returned to the mansion and made his way to the Hokage's office. Hashirama had been attempting to pass the time by attending to the many responsibilities of his office, but he immediately set aside his papers when he heard Tobirama tapping on the door. He may not have been much of a sensory type, but his brother's chakra was still a familiar presence to him. "Enter," he said, hoping Tobirama had something to report. Tobirama walked in, closing the door behind him with a snick and folding his arms in front of his chest.

"Hello, brother. Have you anything to report?" Hashirama inquired, his tone urgent. Tobirama hid a scowl. Why do you always have to care so much, Hashirama? he thought angrily. His face still impassive, he calmed his mind and answered his brother.

"No. My clones and I scouted the area, but whoever these shinobi were, they knew how to hide every trace of their presence. Beyond that, it began raining shortly before I returned, and much of the evidence has been washed away." Hashirama actually cursed, his eyebrows clenching together angrily.

"Dammit, Tobirama, that's not good enough," he responded emphatically. "We can't afford not to take something like this seriously. You understand the politics here, I'm sure."

Tobirama nodded, starting to wonder if maybe his attempt to divert his brother's attention might have worked too well.

"And there's another thing." Hashirama paused.

Tobirama just watched his brother, waiting for him to continue.

"Earlier I heard the blue haired Uchiha girl damn the Senju angrily as she fought in her sleep... I just find it rather odd for her to be angry at us at a time like this for giving her medical attention after such a dramatic encounter." Hashirama explained, his tone growing inquisitive.

Tobirama scoffed lightly and said, "Well I don't find that surprising in the least bit, brother. The Uchiha have always been out for Senju blood, no matter the circumstance," he stated as he habitually crossed his arms. Again his mind replayed a bitterly defeated Madara Uchiha demanding death in order to resolve his personal issues.

Hashirama fixed his younger brother with a stern look. "Tobirama, you know that viewing the situation that way is only going to make things worse. You really should try to understand the Uchiha, rather than assuming that they're all the same."

Tobirama's expression was habitually emotionless, and such habits were serving him well now. Even as he met his brother's gaze with stubborn silence, he thought grimly to himself that Hashirama gave the Uchiha far too much credit. He himself had yet to meet an Uchiha that didn't meet his eyes with the same look of defiant pride that had been in Izuna Uchiha's dying gaze as he told his brother never to trust an alliance with the Senju.

Hashirama sighed. "Well at any rate, the important thing now is to focus on finding out who sent these shinobi."

Tobirama considered the choices available to him. Revealing his hand in the matter was out of the question completely. Hashirama's childish naivete was, in Tobirama's opinion, destructive to the barely-established office of the Hokage. Without a stern code of law, the Leaf Village would find itself facing an insurrection from within, which they could not afford.

Ironically, Hashirama was worried about this event causing just such trouble, albeit for different reasons. Tobirama knew he had to respond, and that furthermore he could no longer continue to avoid confronting the issue that Hashirama was focused on without appearing suspicious himself.

"Of course, brother. However, it will be hard to do that, since the jutsu they used to kill themselves was designed to destroy all traces of their existence. My clones had a limited chance to gather data before reporting back to me. Even I do not know what kind of jutsu it was. And when I returned personally, the scene had been severely compromised by the rain, which I already mentioned." Tobirama watched for his brother's reaction, wondering if he'd made himself sound too much at the mercy of elements he couldn't control.

Apparently not, since Hashirama's only reaction was to frown thoughtfully. "So what do you suggest we do next?"

Tobirama suppressed a growing anger, clenching his folded arms a bit more tightly to his chest. "Focus on the village," he responded, going to redirect his brother's attention. "Ensure that the event does not lead to a situation which we cannot control."

This was a piece of advice that was similar to what he often gave in political situations where they had limited intel, and Hashirama still had a pensive expression when he announced that he was going to bed and that Tobirama should as well. Tobirama walked away from his brother's office, an angry expression on his pale features.

As he entered his bunker style room on the basement level one beneath the growing Hokage's compound, he slammed the door a bit harder than intended. He kicked off his sandals impatiently and cursed, leaning back against the door and covering his eyes with one hand, letting out a long slow breath. There were no windows as it was an underground room, so when Tobirama uncovered his eyes and glared before him into the blackness there was no visual difference until he reached for the light.

Just what the hell do I do now? He thought furiously, stomping across the stone floor and dropping onto his bunk. Hashirama cares too damn much about the Uchiha, especially since Madara left. Perhaps I need to re-ensure that those little rats don't squeal. He glared at the blank, unpainted wall across from him. After all, the one won't keep her mouth shut even in her sleep, and the other was no better.

He punched his pillow suddenly then, breaking open one side and leaving him wrist deep in feathers. Growling angrily, he flung the pillow off of his hand and against the wooden trash bin tucked under a small desk in the corner. This caused three stacked kunai on the desk to slide off, two clattering noisily against the stone and one catching the edge of the bin and sticking into it precariously.

Tobirama's pensive gaze centered on the kunai but he made no move to retrieve either his pillow or his weapons. His thoughts seethed with conflicting impulses, with one in particular resurfacing continuously among the roiling torrent of half-formed plans of action. The girls needed to be kept quiet, or the entire situation would fall out of hand. He glared at the kunai until its tentative balance gave way to the inevitable force of gravity. The clattering sound of one kunai joining its brethren on the floor caused him to jump, a reaction which only made him angrier. He was beginning to feel nervous as well, more than he cared to admit to himself. Element after element of this matter continued to slip out of his grasp, and it was becoming increasingly crucial that he maintain control of it all.

It was then that Tobirama made up his mind to ensure the Uchiha girls' silence by arranging a more serious confrontation than before. That should scare them into silence. He thought to himself, turning over possible ways to scar them more deeply, only this time from the inside where it wasn't plain to see. He sighed deeply and reclined back onto his bed, folding his arms behind his head where his pillow used to be. Anxiety crept up into his stomach and he glared even more angrily at the ceiling. I've got to get to them before Hashirama does, he thought before reaching over to turn off the lamp. He tossed restlessly on his mattress for a bit before slowly closing his eyes and forcing himself to fall asleep.

The next morning, Hashirama awoke to sunlight shining cheerily through the window of his bedroom. Those building the mansion he now called home had insisted upon completing and furnishing this room for him almost immediately after the building itself had been mostly finished. He sat in bed a moment, contemplating his surroundings, feeling somewhat embarrassed about sleeping in this modest but undeniably comfortable room when he knew that so many Leaf shinobi still lacked proper housing.

I wonder how those girls are doing, he thought, pushing his hair out of his eyes. A short time later, he was dressed and walking towards the med room, considering how to approach the victims of last night's attack. He had scarcely entered the room when the green-haired sibling shot up in her bed, looking around wildly. The girl's eyes locked into him and her form blurred as she jumped into a crouch. With the sound of a blade being sharpened, she activated her Sharingan. A vague hint of sadness crossed Hashirama's features as he remembered the experience which had awakened the infamous doujutsu of the Uchiha in his best friend and cofounder of the Leaf Village. The three tomoi now glaring his way bespoke this young woman's maturity as a fighter, both emotionally and physically.

"Damn Senju!" Yanagi exclaimed with a half-mad look in her eye. Don't you dare come any closer. I don't care who you are, you'd better stay the fuck away from my sister!" Dismayed, Hashirama raised both hands to show he meant no harm.

"Please, try to calm down, I have absolutely no intention of harming you or your sister. I promise!" He underscored his point by dropping into a sitting position, crossing his legs and hoping that no other shinobi would come across this tense situation. "Honestly, I've only come to help. Please, won't you tell me your name?"

Yanagi just glared at him darkly through her scraggly, newly-shortened hair with crimson eyes full of suspicion. "I have no reason to trust a Senju like yourself in the least. Just what are you playing at anyway, taking us in like this?"

"You can't be serious," Hashirama protested, still taken aback. He frowned frustratedly. "You needed urgent medical attention and we have the best facilities in the village." Hashirama replied simply, his eyebrows knitting together.

"You should've just taken us back to the Uchiha compound. Our medical facilities are sufficient to heal these wounds," the blue haired girl stated, sitting up in her bed, having clearly been awake for some time.

"I apologize, but I'd rather doubt that," Hashirama replied, his tone respectful but firm. "You probably realize that your wounds were very serious. You in particular required reconstructive medical ninjutsu that only a highly skilled kunoichi could provide. Please try to understand, I mean you no harm." Hashirama said, standing and reaching out to touch her leg through the blanket.

Yanagi hissed at him, tensing to jump forward, but Mizu had already knocked his hand away derisively. "Fool! Instead of worrying so much about us, perhaps you should pay more attention to your brother, though I really don't know how you can bear to call him that," she said scornfully.

Hashirama blinked, his expression becoming one of concerned confusion. "What else should I call him? He is my brother. Please," he said, turning to address Yanagi, "You're not fully healed yet, you should be resting."

"Your response proves your ignorance to your the true nature of your own flesh an-" Yanagi began hotly, but was abruptly cut off by a warning noise from Mizu. The green-haired sibling turned an incredulous eye to her sister.

"Not now, sister," Mizu said bitterly. "You'll only get us killed."

Yanagi huffed angrily before leaning back and supporting her weight with her arm so that she could ease her knee out from beneath her. It was actually pretty painful, even now. She allowed her Sharingan to deactivate, closing her eyes wearily.

Hashirama was unsure how to respond to what he'd just heard. Tobirama certainly didn't make himself easy to like, but their responses indicated that he'd threatened to kill them, which seemed completely improbable to him. Tobirama's temper had never led him to cause that sort of trouble in the past, and Hashirama could see no reason for that to have changed so suddenly. He hesitated, considering his next words carefully.

"This visit has nothing to do with my brother. I know that Tobirama has made no effort to treat your clan respectfully, and I personally apologize for his behavior in this regard." Both girls turned their eyes towards him, not expecting such an incredibly humble demeanor. "Still, you should consider that if he hadn't found you after the attack, you could very well be dead right now." He paused as both girls stiffened with outrage, but continued when neither burst out into an indignant retort. "I mean only to improve matters between our clans. I wish you would trust me."

Another moment of silence almost encouraged him to continue until he heard Yanagi scoff. "I doubt very much if either of us will ever trust a man again."

Hashirama frowned deeply as the fact of what had been done to them was so rudely confirmed. Though he knew that these girls would think little of him for it, he could feel sympathy swelling in his chest. The fierce spirit in these girls broke his heart, knowing as he did that it had been so harshly abused. "Not all men are monsters," he replied quietly, his gaze locking intensely with hers as she glanced up, his tone catching her attention. "I hope very much that I can help you believe this for yourself. Please, tell me your names."

Yanagi blinked, scowling as her heart began beating faster in spite of itself. She broke the overly heated locking of their eyes, glaring down at her injured knee. Heartbeat notwithstanding, anger was the only emotion coloring as she replied tersely, "Yanagi."

Hashirama responded with a goofy smile which only Mizu saw. "Thank you. And what about you?" He said, turning his gaze toward the blue haired Uchiha and beaming even more widely. The girl just stared back at him, the look in her eyes flat and unenthusiastic.

After a few seconds spent deliberating she replied shortly, "Mizu." After she spoke she dropped her gaze and glanced over at her sister, who returned her slightly nervous expression.

Hashirama's smile grew somehow, becoming the brightest, cheeriest smile the Uchiha girls had seen in longer than they could really remember. Unnerved, Mizu drew her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her shins.

"Don't worry, you really can trust me. I promise." Hashirama said, winking.

At this, Mizu's eye twitched and Yanagi cringed. Feeling extremely awkward about the whole situation, Yanagi said, "So just what is the point in all this stupidly friendly conversation anyway? You're not winning us over or anything, you know." She gave him an unimpressed look, clearly unfazed by the fact of who she was talking to.

Dismay flashed across Hashirama's face. "Must we be on such unfriendly terms? I really do admire you both for your resilience in the face of such hardship. Please," he said once more as he leaned towards Yanagi. "Let me show you what the Senju are really like."

"I already know full well just what the Senju are like!" Yanagi retorted, quickly leaning away and giving him a disgusted look. Her expression then shifted to one of warning, as she contemplated the scope of the consequences of enlightening Hashirama on the ignorance of his words and actions.

"No, I really don't think you do. Why are you being so stubborn about this?" He said, reaching out to touch her leg and having his hand violently kicked away before he even had a chance to make contact.

Hashirama sighed and shifted his gaze toward Mizu. "Look." He began, "I'm going to clear up your unnecessary negative emotions one way or another, so why don't you just make this easy and work with me?" With that, he leaned in with lightning speed and pecked the blue haired Uchiha on the cheek, and then the green haired one before either one had time to react.

Stunned and furious, both girls brought a hand to their faces, momentarily speechless. Mizu's jaw dropped slightly. Yanagi gritted her teeth angrily.

"You ridiculous idiot!" Mizu burst out. She seemed about to continue, but stopped herself, disgust lining her features. She and Hashirama stared at each other for a moment and the room fell silent.

Yanagi exhaled loudly. "Look, I appreciate that you gave the damn to help us out, but we're not interested in your affectionate attention, really we're not." She looked at him, her expression the only indication of how angry she was feeling at what she decided was a rather childish gesture. "But if you really wanna know what happened last night, talk to Tobirama Senju." She said the name carefully, but as though doing so left a bitter taste on her tongue.

Mizu huffed softly, turning her glare towards the blanket in front of her. "I don't know what he's told you, but you should probably make sure to ask for the truth."

Hashirama crossed his arms, frowning slightly. "I trust my brother," he stated firmly.

Yanagi dropped her gaze to her own blanket, her expression becoming intensely bitter. Mizu suppressed a shudder, her fist clenching on the thin white comforter covering her. A thick silence fell on the room.

Yanagi tried to swallow the lump of bitter emotions in her throat to say something when an arm descended on the side of her bed next to the wall. She looked up, scowling, and found herself eye to eye with the First Hokage of the Leaf Village. Even as she felt her stomach lurch in reaction to both his unexpected proximity and the intense look in his gaze, she tensed and leaned away. She opened her mouth to say something scathing, but was swiftly interrupted by his soft full lips pressing against hers.

Her eyes widened with shock, but he pulled away and moved backwards before she had a chance to push him off of her. She sat there, stunned and angry, her heart pounding in her ears.

"Ah, I- You- ah- .. Who the hell do you think you are?!" She demanded, sputtering furiously and wiping her mouth roughly with the back of her hand.

Hashirama grinned again, pleased that he'd gained a reaction from her that was as flustered as it was indignant. "Don't misunderstand, I have no desire to violate you or your sister-" he began.

"You've a fine way of showing it!" Yanagi interjected furiously. "You have some idea of what we've been through, and yet you want to show some perverted form of sympathy by, by-" she hesitated, searching for words to express the absurdity of the situation.

"-But I can't ignore my own feelings in this," Hashirama continued smoothly, capitalizing on the pause in her rant.

"That's absurd!" Mizu burst out, speaking loudly over what he began to say next. "Your feelings are quite irrelevant! You need to learn some self-control, just like your miserable, domineering brother, before you drive the whole Uchiha Clan away from your stupid village!"

"Let me finish!" He protested immediately. "I may seem inconsiderate right now, but I feel deeply for the both of you, born and raised in a world of anger and violence! You are cruelly scarred in more ways than I'm sure I can see, but the only cure for hatred is love, and love is something I know how to express," he said, meeting each of their gazes by turn.

Yanagi flung her fist outward, her indignation blazing in every fiber of her being. "Don't try to make this out like you love us, or some bullshit like that! You don't even know us! Don't pretend to understand us just because you were once Madara's friend! The way in which you assume that you can heal what you don't comprehend is as arrogant as the way in which Tobirama Senju-" she spat the name this time, her face contorted with outrage- "Assumes that every Uchiha is out to tear this goddamned village apart at the roots!"

"Allow me to comprehend!" Hashirama insisted passionately, pushing the door of the room closed and stepping towards her, his arms outstretched. "It is my duty as Hokage to care for and address the past, present, and future of every single person in this village. My actions may strike you as outrageous, but to me it is unacceptable to allow you to carry unnecessary pain within yourselves. You scoff at the idea that I love you, but believe me when I say that I deeply love everyone- everyone!- in this village that I have somehow been able to create! Everything I do to keep this village together grows from this love, and though I may not fully understand the individual lives of every Leaf villager, I wish to- strive to- understand as much as I can! If you would only allow me to show what it is to love and be loved with the soul's full passion, I know you would understand!"

He paused to catch his breath, gauging the expressions of each sibling. Yanagi's face was unreadable, save for a distinct air of repressed disgust. Her roughly cut hair quivered slightly, making him realize how tensely she sat in her bed, every battle-honed muscle clenched taughtly. Mizu was glaring at him flatly through dark blue hair which fell softly around her slender form, also rigid with unexpressed anger.

He frowned unhappily, determined to understand and be understood. "Don't judge me with the same eyes that you see my brother through. The differences between us cannot be expressed simply, but they are deep and crucial. His thoughts and feelings concerning what is truly important in life have long been damaged by what is now the loss of every other member of our immediate family. I don't know if there is a power in this world to heal his wounds, but I know he often cannot handle his emotions properly. These emotions are twisted by a furious grief that will probably never subside. I believe that he hates himself for being unable control his feelings despite the fact that he endeavors in every waking instant to feel as little possible."

Both girls clenched their jaws more tightly shut to remain silent, each of then wishing vehemently that Hashirama would just shut up and go away.

"I am not my brother." Both girls narrowed their eyes, Hashirama's words striking true in both of them. Mizu's mind began immediately to churn furiously with myriad sharp retorts. Yanagi ignored a quiver of guilt at the suggestion that she might have allowed her anger at one person to color her actions towards another. Valid though his points may be, the fact of Tobirama's emotional state of mind failed completely to justify his actions. She knew that Hashirama remained ignorant of these actions, but continued to doubt bitterly whether he was capable of accepting the true depth of Tobirama's mental instability.

Hashirama moved towards Mizu, encouraged when she didn't immediately lean away from him. He reached out and softly brushed her hair away from her face, all the better to see her charismatic features. Now she leaned away from him, so he withdrew his hand, trailing his fingertips gently along the full curve of her cheek and stepping away from her once more.

The silence that had followed his speech continued to settle around the three of them softly, neither girl able to find the words to respond. He sat carefully on the edge of Yanagi's bed, resting a hand gently on her ankle when she started to pull her legs away from him.

"Please say something," he importuned softly.

Yanagi looked away from him, swallowing roughly. "You're a fool," she replied, her voice quivering slightly from the churning mass of conflicted emotions in her gut. Her words caused him to chuckle softly.

"You've no idea how often I hear that," he said sincerely, moving his hand so that it rested on the curve of her shin. This time she did pull away from him, glad that he wasn't trying to feel up her wounded leg.

"Are you proud of that?" Yanagi asked, her tone scathingly bitter.

He considered this a moment before responding. "I wouldn't call it pride. Many consider me foolish, but I consider it foolish to deny my human emotions simply because I live in a world which, due to the facts of recent history, grows crueler with every passing generation. If we allow the harshness of this life to kill our hearts, then life will only get harsher."

Yanagi felt as though her guts were freezing through as she recalled the many Uchiha warriors who had fought and died believing that only anger and pride could defend one against the cruelties of a war-torn shinobi world. She had been taught from an early age that love led to pain, a pain far worse than any wound of the body. Only by hardening oneself to affection could one survive without being driven completely mad. Her own love for her sister, fierce and irrepressible, drove her always to become a stronger warrior because she could not bear to excise it from her being. The traumatic experiences of the night before had forced her to realize what it would mean to be unable to prevent the death of her only sibling, and the very possibility of it threatened to drive her into a frenzied desperation. Just like she'd always been warned, love loomed in her mind as the potential cause of an agony which could destroy her very soul and bring about the extinction of her identity as a person. She could barely comprehend allowing herself to form such a dangerous bond with a person whom she wasn't even related to. As far as she could tell, such a thing would not only be intensely stupid, it'd be damn near suicidal.

"I suppose it's all very well for you to have decided that," she finally responded, her voice thick with many emotions. "Hashirama "Wood-Style" Senju holds the uncommon and possibly unmatched ability to fight any opponent with ease, even the strongest of Uchiha. With that ability, you must surely defend what you hold dear without fear of defeat, or of failing to keep your promise of love and being left with only bitter defeat and fading memories," she said bitterly, unable to meet his eyes.

"You think I don't fear failure?" Hashirama responded quietly. Yanagi's eyes flicked to his, which were now staring at the deep blue sky outside, filled with a sadness decades old. "I have failed many times to preserve what I hold most precious. The Uchiha slaughtered half of my family, and instilled in the rest a bitterness so deep that even in death it lined the face of my father and mother both. It distances my only living brother from me every instant of our lives. My best friend-an Uchiha- tries regularly to kill me and I'm still unable to understand why, because he refuses to tell me. Maybe he's unable to tell me, or maybe he doesn't even know himself. I still spend hours trying to figure it out, even though I know more or less why he has made the decisions he has. I simply don't understand why nearly every shinobi clan who's ever been in long-standing conflict with another- all of them- must be completely unable to resolve their mutual conflict. Even with alliances between clans forming at an unprecedented rate, we remain at the point where politics between clans remain perpetually limited to violence which leaves them only with broken families. Now it's just happening on a larger scale, between coalitions of multiple shinobi clans." Hashirama fell silent, his jaw clenching unhappily.

"But you see," he continued after a moment, "I've learned that it's only by continuing to form meaningful bonds with many people that one can sustain the pain of loss without being broken by it completely. If you only have one person in this world, then of course you would collapse if they disappeared forever. But even having a few people in your heart beside that can be enough to support and sustain you through the deepest emotional pain. Closing yourself off to love is the fatal mistake, not the other way around."

So saying, he looked at Mizu, who was staring at him, her expression completely unreadable. "In this world of shinobi, it happens regularly that one loses everyone in their life, beloved or otherwise," she said quietly. "Love can't block the slice of a knife. Love means nothing when you stand in a corner facing insurmountable odds, watching everything and everyone you care about try and fail to survive them. You may not even be there when the world comes crashing down, but you still must remain with only the shattered shells of a hollow dream. This is true of every person, even those who, for now, remain unaware of it." Her tone was impassive, but her chest ached with the undeniable truth of the fallibility of human nature.

"But love means everything on the battlefield!" Hashirama replied emphatically. "Both you and your opponent are fueled by the fear of losing the things that you love most dearly! It's that fear that drives war and it won't stop until people agree to trust one another." Then after a pause he half whispered, "So trust me.", letting his gaze drop to the floor for a moment.

Mizu's bottom lip stuck out, her features growing even more defiant as she crossed her arms, mumbling, "It's just not that simple." Rolling her eyes away from him, she caught a glimpse of her sisters expression and noticed that she seemed to be a bit emotionally overwhelmed by the Senju's presentation.

A little surprised, she turned her gaze to the floor and scowled at it for a bit, annoyed at this whole ordeal. Not wanting to meet his eyes, Mizu shut her own after feeling her Sharingan spin with rippling emotions.

She quietly took a long deep breath and tried to relax and keep her cool so she could stay focused and not frustrated. After allowing the silence to expand for some time, she decided to give the Senju a response.

"If you truly desire to gain our trust then trying to charm us won't help at all." Mizu began in a calm monotone. Raising her face she continued, "Madara warned us that the Senju were sneaky and he was absolutely right. You all preach about love and peace but have an entirely backward way of expressing it. How could you carelessly trust someone who openly disrespects you? True 'love' and 'peace' require mutual respect."

Hashirama gazed sadly at the girl as she spoke, confusion and pity mixing into his fiery expression. "I have nothing but respect for the Uchiha or any clan opposed to this endless war!" He cried emphatically once Mizu had finished speaking. "As you know, the vast majority of your own people were forced to abandon their leader and risk their clan's pride just in hopes of having a future after witnessing almost everyone they know eventually die in vain! Because of their intense desire for peace, Madara finally agreed to sign the Senju proposed truce which now grants you protection by Konoha! As hokage I feel obligated to preserve this peace and resolve any rising conflict as smoothly as possible."

He paused, dropping his tone and adding, "Not to mention you two would be valuable allies to the village and it's defenses, considering how developed your Sharingan are. I'd hate to watch such experienced shinobi as yourselves follow in Madara's footsteps and leave the village angrily resenting the Senju. If there's anything I can do to win your trust and prevent that from happening again, I will try my hardest to succeed."Hashirama concluded, shooting them both a hopeful smile.

Yanagi looked away from him then, saying nothing as she fought against the tangled emotions that still knotted her throat. She heard him step forward and take a seat at the foot of Mizu's bed where there was plenty of space (as the girl's legs were folded beneath her).

"I think the two of you just need some proper appreciation to soothe your emotions and recover from this experience." Hashirama began again, reaching forward to touch Yanagi's ankle through the blanket. However he stopped abruptly upon hearing the door behind him open, casually dropping his hand onto his own leg.

Mizu struggled to not yelp in shock when she saw that damn red-eyed Senju from yesterday step through the door, closing it behind him as he entered the room. She silently prickled with disgust, her palms sweating and teeth clenched. Glancing at her sister, she noticed that Yanagi's posture had become rigid, her muscles tense as she too struggled to suppress her rage.

"Well good morning Tobirama!" Hashirama said, greeting his brother cheerily. "Come to see how these girls are feeling too?" A grin flashed across his face.

Tobirama just grunted at his brother in response, looking rather more annoyed than usual. "And I suppose that's what you're doing here?" He asked, his sharp eyes skeptically assessing his brother's overly innocent demeanor. He seemed to be quite anxious, Mizu observed.

"Of course!" Hashirama replied simply. He watched as his brother turned and strode across the room, opening a drawer and removing a couple rolls of clean bandages before pushing the drawer shut a bit too roughly. The sharp resounding snap of wood against wood made both girls jump. "Brother. I know you have a lot of official documents to address again today due to the recent surge of clans and civilians immigrating to the village." Tobirama said to his brother as he approached the door. Hashirama blinked, unsure of what Tobirama was getting at. "Perhaps you should not waste too much more time here." He added over his shoulder coldly before exiting the room, giving neither of the girls so much as a glance.

Sighing deeply, Hashirama stood up. "I suppose he is right, I do have a lot to take care of today..." Turning his gaze toward the sisters, who were feeling relieved at the prospect of being left alone for a little while, he smiled and said, "You may leave when you decide you feel well enough, though I really would recommend taking it easy for a few days. Also, expect to see me around again soon." Ignoring their mutual grimacing at this, he continued speaking as though he hadn't seen their reactions. "I'll come to check up on you two when I have some time." With that, he left the room, turning and giving them a quick wink before closing the door with a click.

Moments later, two pillows thwacked with surprising force against the now-closed door. Mizu and Yanagi leaned back onto the remaining pillow (each of them had been given two) and fumed silently as they struggled to process and come to terms with everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.