Sorry for the long wait, my mind can't pick which story to stay on. But I'm back and here to give you the chapter you've all been waiting for.
Izuna ran as fast as she could without the use of her chakra in order to get away from the Senju compound. She has been running for ten minutes, never stopping to take a break until she was too far away for the Senju to detect her.
Leaning against a tree, she tried to catch her breath before she could figure out which way to get back to her clan. Izuna shivered as a breeze blew through the trees, making her wrap her arms around herself in her yukata to preserve warmth.
The sound of a stream met her ears, just now realizing how dry her throat feels and how dehydrated she was from all that running. Izuna moved her shaking legs towards the sound, intent on relieving her aching throat. Upon seeing the stream just a few feet from her, she made a beeline towards the running water, stumbling as she did before she dropped to her knees in front of the stream. Scooping the water into her hands, she drank the liquid, soothing her throat as she scooped more water into her hands.
"Well now, look at what we have here."
Izuna looked up and felt her blood freeze when she saw three men standing across the stream. Their sickening grins and lust filled eyes didn't give Izuna long to figure out what each of them want with her, seeing how she is the only woman in this secluded area, and in her yukata no less.
Shooting to her feet immediately, wincing at the wound at her side that has yet to fully heal, but masked her pain and fear with anger as she glared at them, taking her fighting stance. She may not have her chakra, but thankfully, she knew taijutsu.
The one in the middle, whom she presumed to be the leader, merely licked his lips with a grin as he traced her form with his eyes, "Don't even try to fight us, little girl. You're outnumbered." he said, as his cohorts chuckled at the shiver that went up Izuna's spine.
Izuna glared harder at them, "Like hell I'll let you touch me." she said in disgust, her fear pumping her with adrenaline as she readied herself for a fight.
With a disgusting smirk, the leader performed some hand seals, "Suit yourself." was all he said before the stream exploded, shooting up into the air to form a dragon that charged after Izuna. Said shinobi made a mad dash to get away from the ninjutsu, cursing her luck that they had to be shinobis, putting her at a disadvantage because of her lack of chakra.
"Damnit." Izuna cursed as she dodged some incoming kunai that shot at her, catching one in midair when she did a flip to dodge the water dragon. Using the kunai she caught, she deflected oncoming shuriken that were aimed at her. The ground beneath her shook, making her stumble before the earth shot up underneath her, launching her into the air twenty feet above the shinobis' heads. As she descended back towards the ground, she maneuvered her body to dig her kunai into the wall of earth that was used to launch her in order to lessen any damage to her fall.
As she was sliding down the wall with her kunai, she was unable to dodge the water dragon that shot at her before she drenched from head to toe and was sent to the ground. Coughing up the water that made it's way into her mouth, she kneeled on the ground trying to get her breathing back into order.
Once her breathing was evened out she looked up, her bangs sticking to her forehead as she glared up at the three shinobi that attacked her. All three of them grinned pervertedly as her yukata stuck to her figure and became somewhat transparent, leaving little to the imagination as they walked towards her prone form.
Izuna grunted as she held her freshly opened wound that was at her side. Using her other hand to support herself against the wall, she tried to push herself up on her feet. However, a sharp pain burned through her ankle, causing her to collapse with a groan. Looking at her ankle, she saw that it was red and starting to swell. "Damnit." she cursed as she saw her attackers getting closer.
The leader laughed, "Nowhere to run now, babe." he said as Izuna darted her eyes around to find her kunai, only to see it lay on the ground away from where she was, out of her reach.
Before she could figure out her next plan, a large hand enclosed around her throat and lifted her against the wall, cutting off her air supply and dangling her off the ground. Not wanting to give them the satisfaction of seeing her fear, she glared hatefully at them, despite the pain she was in as she gripped her attackers wrist.
"Now then, let's see what we can do with your body, I'm sure we'll have plenty of fun, now won't we?" He said, grinning disgustingly at her. She responded by spitting in his face in retaliation. Wiping the saliva off his face, he growled before an idea set it, "Although, you don't have to be conscious for any of it."
Izuna's eyes widened for a split second before her head was smashed against the wall, her ears ringing as she was dropped to the ground. Her body, in a state of paralysis, could not protect itself from these men that sought to use it for entertainment.
Even though she was unable to move, she was still aware of what's happening around her as the men started to undo the knot that held her yukata together. She felt her fear erupt inside of her, clouding all thoughts and feelings as her worst nightmare started to come true. She tried to scream, but in her state of paralysis, she could not make much of a sound.
Tears swam in her eyes as she heard them laughing and felt them touch her body. Knowing that it is futile to even try, she closed her eyes, tears streaming out the corner of her eyes, wanting it to be over. 'Somebody...help me.' was her silent plea as she felt her consciousness start to fade.
Her ears picked up screams and bodies dropping. She no longer felt hands touching her; was she dead, did she no longer have to suffer? Cracking her eyes open, her vision was still blurry, but before her conscious faded completely, she was able to make out a white fuzz floating above her.
She didn't know how long she slept, but she felt herself being moved at a steady pace that made her feel relaxed in her present state. It felt like a kunai dug into her skull and pulled parts of her brain out before putting it back in, making it very painful as she struggled to open her eyes. Her vision was still unfocused, but she could see the shapes of the trees and the light that peeked through the treetops, meaning that it was morning now.
Blinking a few times to clear her vision, she saw that the trees were moving around her, making her feel disoriented. Looking around, she realized that someone was carrying her. The blue armor registered in her mind, turning her onyx eyes to the stony face of her lifelong enemy.
"Tobi...rama." Izuna's voice cracked as her eyes widened upon recognition as she stared up at the Senju in shock and confusion.
Tobirama felt her eyes on him, but kept his red pupils on the path in front of him as he continued walking, "You're awake." he said, not looking down as he held her weightless body in his arms.
Izuna stayed silent for a few seconds before memories of what almost happened flashed into her mind: the stream, the men, their attack...their touches. Instantly feeling sick to her stomach, she slapped a hand to her mouth and made choking sounds.
Tobirama quickly reacted by darting to a nearby bush where he allowed her to stand on her good foot and lean her hand against the tree for support as she emptied the contents of her stomach between the bush and tree. The Senju didn't say anything, but he did wince at the horrible sound that came with her sickness.
Spitting the nasty taste out of her mouth, she wiped her mouth with her sleeve as she breathed heavily. "Better?" Tobirama's voice barely registered in her head as she shook from head to toe before she moved away from the spot she puked in and stumbled her back into a tree. Leaning against the tree, she slid down and wrapped her arms around herself, in an attempt to keep the world from touching her.
Tobirama didn't know what to do in a situation like this, since this is the first time he has ever seen Izuna so scared...so vulnerable. Crouching down to her level, he stared into her wide unblinking eyes, "Izuna."
Izuna was unable to respond, her mind was clearly not in the present. She could still feel the pure terror that consumed her while she was helpless at the hands of those men. That moment...where her nightmare became reality.
A hand appeared in her line of sight, causing her panic and slap the hand away before she made an attempt to run. But she was unable to take two steps away before her leg flared with agony as she was sent back to the ground. Laying on her side, she grasped her ankle in an effort to lessen the pain.
Tobirama stared at the terrified Uchiha in bewilderment, for as long as he had known Izuna, he had never seen such fear. Though her fear is understandable considering what he had witnessed when he caught up to Izuna. His blood boiled at the memory of what could've happened had he arrived any later than that.
"Izuna." Tobirama said, getting her attention as he kneeled in front of her prone body. Izuna opened her clenched eyes to stare up at the Senju, gritting her teeth to keep from crying out from her throbbing leg.
Knowing that he had her attention, he continued, "Listen to me Izuna, I'm not gonna hurt you while you're in this state. But if you try to fight me, I won't hesitate to knock you out if it can stop you from hurting yourself further." he finished keeping his eyes locked Izuna's. She looked like she wanted to fight back, to rebel against his order.
With a pained sigh, she resigned, "Guess I have no choice in this matter." she said, breaking eye contact with Senju, feeling her pride go down when she conceded to him.
Tobirama nodded before carefully picked her up bridal style, making sure not to hurt her as he stood at his full height. Izuna almost wrapped her arms around his neck out of reflex, but she forced her arms to her chest, grasping the front of her yukata as Tobirama started walking in the direction of the Senju village.
Neither of them spoke as Tobirama kept his eyes on the road in front of him while Izuna's eyes remained on her knees, unable to look at the Senju holding her.
"What you did today was absolutely foolish, running off the way you did, in your yukata no less." Tobirama chastised, breaking the silence as he stared ahead.
Izuna glared in front of her, still refusing to look at him, "You also want to say that it's futile trying to escape." she said in an annoyed tone.
"You are correct." Tobirama paused, "You should also consider yourself lucky that I found you just in time." he said, feeling Izuna stiffen before curling into herself slightly.
Izuna stayed silent, her grip on her yukata tightened at the horrible memory, still fresh in her mind. Closing her eyes, "You're right. So I'll only say this once; 'Thank you...for finding me.'" she said, almost reluctantly, but still grateful to the man holding her. "Had you not found me, the damage would have already been done, and I wouldn't be able to live another second in this world as a broken woman." she added, knowing what would've happened if Tobirama hadn't shown himself.
Tobirama stopped himself from growling at the thought of those men, any man, touching and defiling Izuna in such a way. He truly wanted to kill those guys again for what they almost succeeded in doing; yet he couldn't understand why as he unconsciously tightened his hold on the Uchiha.
He was brought out of his thoughts when he felt Izuna shaking in his hold, making him look down to see Izuna tremble, "They almost took me...I can still feel their hands on me." she said, tears streaming down her face since she couldn't keep her emotions inside anymore.
Tobirama's eyes widened slightly, this traumatizing event affected the Uchiha more than it should. 'This must be the reason why they disguised themselves in the first place, so that men could never touch them like that.' He thought to himself, realizing that Izuna's male persona in the past was not only her cover, but her shield.
He held the Uchiha tighter, "Those men are dead Izuna, they're not gonna touch you anymore. Not now, not ever." he said, feeling very possessive of the girl in his arms.
Izuna looked up at him, and saw anger in his eyes. Anger she can understand, but never when it's for her since their previous encounter have always been him being angry at her in their fights.
She sniffled as she nodded before wiping her tears away, not wanting there to be evidence of her despair and save what's left of her dignity. Looking down again, she said, "Thank you."
Tobirama grunted in return as they got closer to the Senju compound to see Hashirama and a few other Senju running towards the entrance, alarm written all over their faces when they caught sight of the Senju carrying the Uchiha.
"Tobirama, what happened?" Hashirama questioned as Tobirama got closer, the former stared at his younger brother in shock as the latter carried the slightly shivering Uchiha who kept her eyes away from the Senju.
Tobirama ignored his brother as he ordered the other Senjus, "Take her to the medics, her leg seems to have been broken and she has a concussion at the back of her head." they nodded before Tobirama passed the Uchiha over to them. Once she was deposited in another's arms, she looked at Tobirama in apprehension, not ready to be left in the presence of other men. She feels much safer with Tobirama since her ordeal, and was not sure if she could handle being around other men that can heal her.
Tobirama gave heran encouraging nod, telling her that she will be alright. Izuna returned that nod, albeit hesitantly before she was carried off to the healing ward.
The moment she was out of sight, Tobirama turned to his brother's concerned and bewildered expression for what he just witnessed. "Tobirama, what happened out there?" he asked, wanting to know what just occurred between his brother and Izuna.
Tobirama sighed, "I'll explain everything inside." he said as Hashirama followed him into the compound so that he could tell him what happened.
This was all I could squeeze out at this time of night. That traumatic event Tobirama saved her from is the turning point in their relationship.
Leave me a review if you enjoyed this chapter and tell me what you hope might happen in the next chapter. I might write it out for you.
Until then, thank you for reading this and for favoring/following. I truly appreciate it.
See you soon.
