Katsuro Senju and his teammates were buried under an indifferent sun. The merciless rays beat down on the throngs of mourners come to grieve beside their hokage and his family.
Hashirama stood at the front of the large sea of black with a face of stone and hidden earthquakes. Mito stood dutifully to his right, a regal and composed exterior enclosing the savage mother who wished to tear at her hair and clothes. To cling to the coffin of her first born with breasts bared. Tobirama stood to the left, trying to ignore the trembling chakra signatures that permeated his senses. Even as he suppressed his chakra, the cries and moans felt amplified, the chakra around him erratic and angry.
His head throbbed.
A small sticky hand brushed across his temple to grab a white tendril of hair, unhindered by the usual happuri. Tobirama allowed Tsunade to slip into his arms as she precariously leaned out from her mother's trembling embrace. She was far too young to understand the unfamiliar language of her mother's wracked, wailing form. So she reached for the closest thing she did understand. Tobirama had a presence that did not shift like her parents or grandparents. He did not flail or cry or yell. He stood. Not even Sakumo could stand as still as him.
He let her dig her elbows into his chest and pull pudgy fingers through the tangle of his hair until she fell asleep to the familiar sound of his heartbeat. She slept with a toddler's certainty that her father would appear as he always did, waking her up from her nap with the usual wet kiss across her forehead.
Two figures were noticeably absent from the funeral.
Sakumo had wordlessly followed Tomo to the edge of the riverbank, where Ryuu sat with his back hunched to them and the rest of the world.
Tomo settled his pudgy body at the boy's feet, while Sakumo flopped into the grass beside him with all the grace of a rice sack.
Ryuu pulled his knees closer to his chest.
Sakumo sighed. Was it even his place to comfort Ryuu? Surely there was someone better, wiser, closer to console his cousin. He looked over the racing river in the hopes such a person would come walking over the horizon. No stranger to grief, he was surprised when Ryuu spoke first.
"We weren't even that close." Ryuu sniffed, swiping an angry palm across his cheek. "He was so much older then me and s—so boring!"
Sakumo watched his cousin's chest heave, his face contort. He remembered the same choking pain, the hand wrapped tight around his throat.
"H-he was always reading or training." There was another long soggy sniff. "Never had time for stupid, little me."
Sakumo swallowed. No one had ever instructed him on the delicate art of comforting another human being before. He opened his mouth to say something—anything.
But Ryuu was not quite finished.
"I just wanted it to be like Dad and Uncle Tobirama, you know?" He said, tears still shaking his voice.
Flustered by his own awkwardness, Sakumo laughed.
"Sorry," he apologized quickly, as Ryuu frowned. "It's just—I mean I always wanted that too."
Ryuu had gone uncharacteristically quiet, forcing Sakumo to inelegantly fill the silence.
"In my village, they would tell stories of the Senju Bothers." He almost blushed remembering how enthralled he had been. Leaning in close with the other children, clinging to every word from the old storyteller's toothless lisp. "They would fight side by side not afraid of anything!"
Ryuu's laugh came out like a bark causing Tomo to raise his head, giving an unconvincing appearance of alertness.
"I don't mean like that." Ryuu looked almost delighted in their role-reversal of childishness. "I mean like how they always know what the other is thinking. How they balance each other. How they need each other."
He petted Tomo thoughtfully, sounding like a stranger to the bewildered Sakumo. "I know dad would die for us—I do—but I honestly think he would die if anything happened to his brother. That's what I wanted to feel about Katsuro." He gave a long, painful heave. "Not whatever the hell this feeling is."
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Kagami volunteered to find the boys when their absence was noted, no longer able to stand the glances his clansmen exchanged as the Senju heir was buried. They looked like boney wolves smelling blood.
Finally, they thought, a weakness in the mighty Senju clan. A wound to Hashirama's legacy.
He grimaced. Talks of rebellion had been rumbling long before today, but never so boldly. Never so gleefully.
Kagami spotted his targets along the bank of the river with their heads close together in whispered conspiracy. It would have been adorable if it weren't so damn heartbreaking.
He took another step forward, intending to clear his throat to alert them to his presence, but Sakumo had already turned his head to meet him with expectant eyes.
The Uchiha was impressed. Most jonin level shinobi were unaware he was there until he allowed it. The boy may have more in common with his father then just that unnaturally white hair.
"Your family is looking for you," he said, nodding his head back towards the direction of the funeral.
Ryuu turned to look at him. His eyes were red and watery, but his stare was firm and determined. It was clear he had no interest in going.
Kagami sighed. And he thought the Uchiha were stubborn.
He came to sit on the other side of the red head, but that was the extent of his plan. The three sat in long, awkward silence with only the sound of the river and Tomo's wheezing to fill the void.
Surprisingly, it was Sakumo who spoke first. "Have you ever lost someone important to you, Kagami?"
If anyone else had asked him, he would have scoffed at the ridiculous question. He was a shinobi. He had lost many. But before the image of his parents or fallen comrades ever came to mind—there was Misa. Lying in a tomb of her own mind.
"Here's some advice, boys," he said, his voice gruff. "Don't dwell on the ones you've lost. Just hold tight to the ones you have."
The two younger boys shared a glance. They did not seem all that moved by his lofty words of wisdom.
As if merely thinking of her had conjured her from thin air, a delicate blonde appeared over the crest of the bank. She carried a large bouquet of white lilies in the crook of her arm as she walked determinedly past.
"Misa," he called, his voice a croak. She stopped at the sound of her name.
"Good morning, Mr. Kagami," She smiled politely. "Your order is ready at the shop whenever you would like to pick them up." She lifted the lilies in her hand. "I was just delivering these to a funeral."
Kagami did his best to smile, but it must have looked quite pained. "I'm afraid it's in the opposite direction Miss Misa."
The young woman blinked, a delicate rose blush appearing on her round cheeks. He hated the way her cornflower eyes clouded with confusion.
"I would be happy to show you the way," he offered against his better judgment. Her brow furrowed, taking a step back as he stood up. She may as well have punched him in the gut. Where once she had run giggling into his arms, she now could not even bare to walk alongside him.
"The boys and I were just heading there," he added, looking pointedly over at the silent pair. Perhaps sensing the delicate situation they rose to their feet without protest.
Misa looked the boys over carefully. They appeared small, almost vulnerable in their black mourning clothes. The voice of warning faded to a whisper in her head. She reluctantly nodded, no longer able to even recall where it was she was supposed to be going.
The crowd was still gathered, as the small group approached, an agitated sea of black. Ryuu hesitated as they moved closer to the front, spotting his father's tall figure. Noticing his cousin's hesitation, Sakumo's hand snaked out and grabbed the redhead's arm. Sakumo pulled him forward, not even looking back, though his hand held on came to stand beside his mother, though Mito did not appear to notice the arrival of her youngest son, her bright eyes shimmering as they stared unblinking over the coffin of her eldest.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Hiruzen sought out Koharu after the ceremony. She stood with her mother and sisters, a glassy look about her eyes that made it appear as if she was almost on the verge of tears.
He knew better then to think they were for Katsuro. More likely, it was the weeping of her mother and squabbling of her sisters that had brought tears of boredom to her tawny eyes.
"Come with me," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her swiftly past her protesting family. He stopped beneath a small grove of trees, checking that his sensei's attention was still on the coffin before relaxing.
Koharu pulled her arm from his grip, looking him over with impatient curiosity.
"Did you see his body?" Hiruzen asked, eyes cast in shadows.
"Who? Katsuro's?" Koharu snorted at the unexpected question. "Of course not!"
Hiruzen sighed. "Along with his multiple fatal wounds, he had a X slashed across his cheek."
The kunoichi inhaled a sharp intake of breath, struck by a memory of a woman bleeding and pleading with blood gushing down her cheek.
"You think it was the same man?" She asked sharply.
He nodded with a grimace.
"Did you tell Sensei?"
This time Hiruzen could not meet her eye. "I don't have enough evidence yet."
"Evidence?" She repeated in disbelief. "What more evidence do you need? Two members of the Senju clan were brutally murdered and branded by the same scar! What are you waiting for, the number to get to a hundred?"
"Only one of them was a member of the Senju clan. The woman was just a connection." He corrected, glancing up from his feet. Koharu reeled back as if she had been struck.
"Don't let Sakumo hear you say that," she warned.
The Sarutobi heir ran a frustrated hand through his tousled hair. "What I mean to say is the reason she was killed was because she had a connection to Tobirama-sensei. Which could mean any Senju or anyone linked to a Senju is fair game to this guy."
Koharu's eyes narrowed, suddenly guessing the reason for Hiruzen's reluctance to share his findings with their sensei. "You're afraid if you tell Tobirama-sensei, he will blame the Uchiha."
Hiruzen hesitated and then nodded. Team Tobirama worshiped their sensei. They would lay down their lives for him if he asked. But they were not blind to his faults.
"How do you know it's not them?" She asked.
Hiruzen shrugged. "I don't, but what if it's not. Could you stand by and watch Sensei play judge, jury and executioner?"
"I know I can't stand by and watch more of sensei's clan be slaughtered." She countered. They stared each other down for a long moment.
"Tobirama-sensei has cleared you for a mission, correct?" Hiruzen asked suddenly, his eyes alight.
"A scouting mission along the border of the Land of Stone," she answered begrudgingly.
"That's not so ridiculously far from Oshino." Hiruzen said, half to himself.
"From where?" She frowned at the unfamiliar name.
"That's the name of Sakumo's village. Oshino." He said, looking surprised that she didn't know.
"I wasn't there very long," she said tersely, her patience with Sarutobi waning. Hiruzen was worse then a professor, the way he rambled on, never hurried to get to the point.
"I mean you could reasonably stop in Oshino on your way back from the border without drawing suspicion."
"And why would I do that?" She demanded. "I just got back into sensei's good graces!"
"You have the sharpest eyes I know," Hiruzen said, voice thick with flattery. "Maybe you will find a clue I missed."
Koharu heaved a deep sigh of annoyance, about to tell Hiruzen exactly where he could stick his flattery when she noticed the black crowd around them begin to dissipate. Hiruzen glanced nervously past her shoulder, spotting his sensei and the rest of the Senju clan heading directly toward them.
The pair bowed their heads in respect and whispered words of consolation as Hashirama and Mito passed. Koharu could feel Tobirama's searing glance as if he could read every sin from the top of her head, but he continued on without a word to them, Tsunade still asleep in his arms.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
A few weeks later…
"Our mission for today is to find Mr. Tamagashi's prized koi fish," Toka relayed, in the same commanding tone she used to send shinobi into battle.
Ryuu was, to no one's surprise, the first to protest. "A fish? How the hell did he lose a fish? And why the hell is that our problem?"
Sakumo and Haruki were equally annoyed, though they had the sense not to show it. This could hardly be considered a mission worthy of a shinobi's time. In fact, none of their recent missions could really be considered missions. Cleaning out old ladies' gardens, scrubbing shop windows, and organizing scrolls weren't ninja tasks they were chores.
Toka settled her hands on her hips. "Shinobi do not ask questions. They follow orders." Her tone said the rest. End of discussion.
Their mission was located in the wealthier civilian quarter of the village. Large, impressive houses crowded together jostling to be the most impressive. It gave the area more an air of ridiculous pretentiousness, rather then the striking affluent look it was striving for.
Toka led them to the house that was, without a doubt, the most ostentatious of the lot.
Our entire village could have fit in here, Sakumo thought. And brought in their cows and horses to boot.
A maid answered the door demurely, leading them to a richly decorated drawing room where an empty fish bowl sat as the centerpiece.
The scene of the crime, Sakumo thought sardonically slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Thank the stars you are here!" A jovial voice boomed across the room. Toka was the only one who did not jump at the sudden appearance of what was by far the largest man Sakumo had ever seen. "I have been a nervous wreck worrying about my Kiki!"
Toka's students watched with uneasiness as the man pulled their sensei into a tight bear hug. Surely, now she would lose her patience with these stupid tasks and intervene on their behalf to the hokage. To their utter disbelief she pulled back from the embrace with a smile and a cheerful tone that her student's had not realized she possessed.
"We are at you service Mr. Tamagashi." She continued to smile.
"I can only hope you find her alive." He said breathlessly, his thick upper lip trembling.
Sakumo resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It was generally understood by most intelligent beings that one empty fish bowl most certainly equaled one dead fish.
The smile remained unwavering on Toka's face. "We will certainly do out best, Mr. Tamagashi."
They took each room as a team, fanning out to each corner and then turning to confirm that no fish had been found. All this happening under the watchful, glassy eyes of Mr. Tamagashi.
It was Sakumo who put his foot down when told to search the cellar. "It would be physically impossible for a fish to live long enough to travel down two flights of stairs and three hallways to get to the cellar. You think it was that determined to get to the sake?!"
Again Toka's eerie smile did not falter. "That is where Mr. Tamagashi has asked us to look next and that is what we will do."
Predictably, there was no fish in the cellar.
Ryuu had taken to groaning as he flopped down under every single piece of furniture. Haruki dragged her feet across the floor and only showed interest when they began to search the library.
"I really doubt a fish got into the third chapter of The Tale of Genji, Haruki." Sakumo grumbled, his patience thinning with each new room. The young kunoichi snapped the book shut, dark eyes looking up at him with surprise.
"How do you know about The Tale of Genji?"
He blew a piece of hair from his eyes. "Just because I lived on a farm doesn't mean we were isolated from all of civilization."
"Oh," that earned a thin smile from her. "What made your family leave the farm?"
"Nothing," he answered, voice flat. "They were killed. I was brought here to live with my father."
"Is he a shinobi?" She prodded.
Toka's sharp command to move out spared him from answering.
"Haruki and I will take the bedrooms on the left. Ryuu and Sakumo will take the ones on the right."
By now Sakumo knew it was futile to point out the impossibility of a fish traveling up a set of stairs, so instead he followed Ryuu down the hallway in sullen silence.
Ryuu gave a low whistle. "And I thought our house was big. This place makes us look like peasants."
Sakumo grimaced, remembering the hovels he had seen in his village. "Hardly."
He walked carelessly into the next room, only to stop short, nearly causing Ryuu to collide into his back.
The room was not empty.
"Did you find it?" Ryuu asked, peering eagerly over his shoulder. His cousin's face fell when he spotted a girl sitting in the middle of the floor rather then a dead fish.
"Oh," he muttered, disappointed.
The girl's chin lifted, clearly affronted. "Servants are supposed to bow when entering the presence of a lady."
Ryuu's eyebrows lifted. Not even his mother could match this girl's imperious tone.
"We're shinobi not servants." He began to look around the room. "We're looking for a fish. You wouldn't have happened to see it would you?"
"Oh," the girl sighed, managing to sound bored and yet altogether too busy for such trivial matters. "You mean Kiki."
"Yep," Ryuu confirmed, obliviously lifting knick-knacks off a shelf.
"I buried it in the garden."
Ryuu froze. Sakumo's eyes snapped to the girl, suddenly interested.
She picked an invisible piece of lint from her sleeve. "Father refused to fire my maid, despite the obvious fact she is an idiot."
"You mean you killed it just because you were mad?" Ryuu asked in disbelief.
"It's only a stupid fish." She shrugged.
"Yeah a stupid fish we've had to spend all day looking for," Sakumo growled, interest replaced by irritation at the girl's privileged indifference.
The girl pouted. "That's hardly my problem."
Ryuu's face was slowly beginning to match his hair.
"Besides," she continued. "If my father did hire you, then you are in fact servants. So I don't see what gives you the right to complain."
"We are shinobi," Ryuu managed to say through gritted teeth, unused to being spoken to in such a belittling manner.
The girl's eyes leveled as her voice rose. "Like I said—a servant."
Ryuu's voice rose higher. "A shinobi!"
The yelling must have carried down the hall, drawing the rest of the team to the room.
"What's going on here?" Mr. Tamagashi demanded as he pushed his considerable frame through the doorway. "Dumpling, are you all right?"
"Oh daddy I'm sorry!" Tears appeared along the girl's wide lashes, giving her a beautiful tragic appearance. Her voice trembled. "I should have told you."
Her father was immediately at her side, moving with surprising speed for someone of his girth.
"Should have told me what, hummingbird?"
The girl allowed a few fat tears to fall before answering. "That I saw Lin kill the fish!"
"Lin?" He jerked back. "Our maid?"
She nodded her head. "I saw her pick it up and bury it in the garden. It was horrible, Daddy!"
Sakumo looked around the room, half expecting a round of applause to break out in response to such a stirring performance.
"That's not true!" Ryuu burst in with fury, thrashing an accusing finger in her direction. "She said she killed it!"
"Young man," Mr. Tamagashi thundered, straightening to his full bulging height. "I will not have anyone accuse my daughter of lying under my own roof!"
Ryuu flushed crimson. Mr. Tamagashi turned abruptly to their sensei. "I will see that your fee is paid, but I can assure you this incivility will be reported directly to Lord Hokage in our next meeting."
All three of her students turned to her, staring expectantly. Surely now she would…
"I am sure Lord First will appreciate hearing from you, Mr. Tamagashi." She said with a formal bow.
If a head could have exploded from the sheer absurdity of a situation, Ryuu's brains would have been decorating the interior of the room. Sakumo estimated it took a tremendous amount of willpower for Ryuu to hold onto his temper as far as the front stoop.
"WHAT THE HELL, TOKA-SENSEI!" He screeched with arms flailing. "No way that was a real mission!"
Toka gave him a long look over her shoulder, but continued walking away from the house. "If you have a complaint perhaps you should take it up with Lord First."
Ryuu's seething immediately stilled.
"Might want to get to him before Mr. Tamagashi," Haruki whispered unhelpfully, before running after their sensei.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
They were the last team to give their report, but instead of Hashirama at the large hokage desk, there sat Tobirama scratching away on a rather long and tedious looking form.
"Where's dad? Ryuu asked in lieu of a greeting. Tobirama looked up and any intention Ryuu had of complaining about the mission disappeared.
"Lord First is overseeing the new construction in the western district." He answered, compiling the paperwork together with an orderly snap. His attention turned to Toka. "I hesitate to ask, but I assume you have more papers for me?"
Toka's smile looked wicked as she held out a heavy stack in her hand. "The best part is Mr. Tamagashi would like to lodge a formal complaint."
Tobirama reluctantly accepted the report, reading through the papers at an alarming speed.
"This seems like a great deal of detail for a report that essentially says alive fish lost, dead fish found." He growled.
Toka shrugged, unapologetic. "Mr. Tamagashi is an important client. Figured I'd give it the works."
"Very well." Tobirama tossed the papers onto a pile that already looked close to toppling over. "You are dismissed."
Sakumo could hear Ryuu's stomach grumble as they turned to leave and he sympathized.
"Wait a moment, Sakumo." Tobirama's voice pulled him back.
Sakumo hesitated, before turning slowly back around. Had Tobirama found a way to blame him for this absurd mission? He looked at the white-haired shinobi, expecting his pallid face to be settled in its usual detached mask.
Instead, the older man yawned and stood, stretching his arms into the air over his head. Sakumo blinked in disbelief at the human-like display.
"Shall we begin your training?" Tobirama asked, walking past him and towards the door. Sakumo's mouth gaped open; the words slow to compute in his head. Tobirama waited expectantly at the door. Food, sleep and fish were all forgotten. He ran past him breathlessly. "Finally!"
He would soon come to regret his enthusiasm. His grandfather had been a brutal and unforgiving teacher. Even Toka was proving to be strict and unrelenting, but Tobirama's style made their training seem like a mother's kisses.
Sakumo stepped forward to the middle of the training ring as undaunted as a calf standing before a sacrificial alter. Tobirama stood before him with arms folded indifferently at his chest.
"You may begin." He commanded, his tone unhurried.
It didn't seem like a fair start. Sakumo hesitated—and the battle was over. The young shinobi found himself flat on his back with the wind knocked out of him. Tobirama stared pitilessly down at him before offering him a hand.
"A shinobi who hesitates is dead, Sakumo," he warned, his arms returning to their aloof position as he nodded for Sakumo to try again.
This time he did not hesitate.
Expertly forcing the chakra into his feet, he propelled forward with a speed that had often confounded his grandfather in their training. He pushed his fist forward with a triumphant certainty that it would connect with Tobirama's colorless right cheek.
Tobirama disappeared.
Sakumo stumbled, but just as his face was about to meet the dirt a strong hand yanked him by the collar, restoring his balance.
"How did you do that?" The young shinobi asked breathlessly, eyes wide. "Is it chakra control? Or a jutsu?"
Tobirama frowned. He had not taken on a student since training his first team—he had forgotten how unfocused opponents they could be. Sakumo's eagerness pushed him closer; Tobirama took a deliberate step back.
"Do you think your opponent will ever out right tell you their capabilities?" He asked dryly.
"The villain always does in stories," Sakumo shot back, flashing a grin.
Tobirama unimpressed, continued. "In the real world you will never know what you are up against. And by the time you do figure it out, it is probably already too late."
Sakumo shoved his hands into his pockets, thinking. He had seen shinobi move fast before, but those were simply quick reflexes—this was something else entirely. Sakumo lifted his hands from his pockets, setting his jaw and coiling his muscles.
There was only one way to find out.
Tobirama was unquestionably faster, but Sakumo had the advantage of size. Surely, he would be able to pivot far easier then the old man. Bolstered with a strategy, he initiated his attack.
Tobirama was ready, but Sakumo changed directions at the last moment leaving Tobirama to swipe through the air. He changed directions again, forcing Tobirama to extend his reach to land a punch. This left his side unprotected and Sakumo sped forward towards the opportunity—but Tobirama disappeared in a flash.
Sakumo expected it this time, twisting his torso to avoid the anticipated attack from behind. Once more Tobirama was forced to extend his reach, presenting another tantalizing opening—this was it! He balled his fist; certain it would connect this time only…
Tobirama was gone. As his fist collided with empty air, Sakumo looked up to see a shadow blocking the sun. Tobirama appeared above him in a flash. A foot collided into the small of his back, forcing him to the ground. Once more Sakumo gasped for breath, but this time it was mixed with the ragged rage of frustration. He had been so close!
Tobirama stood before him with arms folded and zero indication he had even broken a sweat. Sakumo felt like condemned man staring up at his executioner. He waited for the axe to fall.
"You have a great deal of potential, Sakumo." He finally spoke. "You are simply using it wrong."
Sakumo looked up at him in disbelief. There was that same silvery tone, deep and smooth. "I couldn't land a single punch," he protested, wiping sweat from his brow.
Tobirama gave a bark of laughter. "That doesn't mean anything. You have only been training for a few hours."
"I've been training my whole life!" Sakumo said indignantly.
There came a dismissive snort. "You were trained by a man who only knew one way to fight. Hatake was a large man in his youth. He used his muscles to his advantage and taught you to do the same. But you are not built for that style of fighting."
Sakumo lifted his chin indignantly, sensing where this was going. "Are you saying I will always be this short?!"
Garnet eyes warmed slightly and narrowed in amusement. "I am saying you have an aptitude for strategy and a talent for speed. Your height plays no factor in your abilities."
Sakumo frowned. He would have preferred a simple reassurance he would grow.
Rising to his feet he brushed the dirt from his pants as Tobirama glanced up at the sky.
"That's enough for today," he decided, turning toward the Senju compound. "It's been a long day."
"Don't remind me," Sakumo groaned, hurrying to keep up with him. "I don't want to see another fish for as long as I live."
Tobirama arched an eyebrow. "Did Toka inform you of who the Tamagashi family is?
Sakumo glanced up the taller man; an uneasy feeling in is stomach as if he had already failed a test he had not even known he had been given.
Tobirama continued. "They are a wealthy merchant family. Most likely the wealthiest in the Land of Fire. In return for the protection of the Hidden Leaf, they have turned the village into a thriving center of business and trade."
Sakumo found it hard to picture the simpering Mr. Tamagashi as the captain of industry Tobirama described. And said as much.
"Fumio Tamagashi is the younger brother of the head of the family. Fuyuki is the one in charge, though he lives in the capital of the Land of Fire. I suspect he has told Fumio to flex his muscles every once in a while, to remind us we are at his beck and call."
Sakumo blinked up at him in disbelief. He could not imagine Tobirama being at anyone's beck and call. And certainly never over a dead fish.
"People are made up of hidden motives the same as they are made up of flesh and bone, Sakumo." Tobirama said, his voice heavy with warning. "Know your opponents intentions before they can even name it and you will never be caught by surprise."
Caught by surprise… Tobirama said it as if that were the worst fate that could befall a person. Perhaps in his mind it was.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Three figures swayed in the mist like unholy apparitions.
Nervous instinct told Ami to forget the drying laundry and run into the hut where her grandmother sat basket weaving, but her legs would not move.
She stood helplessly as the shadows limped closer.
"There is someone up ahead." She heard one of them, a woman, say breathlessly.
The mist began to part, revealing three worn and weary faces. The woman was followed by two men, one sported a hastily bandaged head wound that oozed slightly. The trio stopped when they spotted Ami, though they did not seem especially surprised to see her there.
"What village is this?" The woman asked, managing to sound demanding and bone-tired all at once.
Ami blinked, then flushed.
"O—Oshino." She squeaked, unable to breathe under the woman's inscrutable gaze. The man without the head injury stepped forward with a grunt, elbowing the woman to the side.
"Kami, Koharu, you don't have a friendly bone in your body," He snapped, before turning to Ami with a smile that almost made her prefer the woman. She took a step back, suddenly noticing the headband they each wore.
"Shinobi," she whispered in horror. The man held up his hands innocently, still wearing the sickeningly sweet smile.
"Hey now! There's no reason to be scared, sweetheart. We're not going to hurt you."
A fresh memory of smoke and ash and a boy with beautiful swan feathered hair crashed across her frame.
"Liar!" She snarled. The two shinobi tensed, while the one with the head injury swayed.
"Ami, child, what's all this noise?" Her grandmother's voice croaked from the doorway. The comforting sound warmed her muscles, releasing them from their frozen fear and allowing her to run into the safety of her grandmother's considerable bosom.
"Good morning, Grandmother," The shinobi continued to smile. "Our apologies for the fright. We are only looking for a bit of shelter and medical assistance and then we will be on our way."
The old woman looked dubiously at the injured shinobi, whose head looked as if a blind man had bandaged it. With a sigh she stepped to the side to allow them in—there was just no fighting her nurturing nature.
It was Ami who refused to budge.
"You can't," she said desperately, the normally sweet face twisted in terror. "They could be the same shinobi that killed Sakumo and his family!"
The grandmother gave a sharp tsk. " Do not be ridiculous, child. That poor family perished from a fire."
Ami opened her mouth to protest, but the injured shinobi chose that instance to slump to ground in a dramatic faint.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Koharu studied the young girl as she tended to a pot of rice porridge. She appeared to be the same age as Sakumo. Perhaps they had even been playmates.
"Did no one ever teach you how to properly clean a wound in that fancy village of yours?" The old woman chided as she tended to Ken Haruno. Koharu looked at her teammate shiver, unconscious beneath the covers. It was difficult to summon any sympathy for him—it was his own stupidity that had gotten them in trouble in the first place.
"I'm afraid we are shinobi not medics, Grandmother." Koharu resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Shoichi Uchiha was nothing like his older cousin. Kagami was naturally warm and considerate where as Shoichi was so unnaturally pleasant and polite that she always felt as if she had been bathed in oil every time she was forced to converse with him.
"No reason you couldn't be both," the old woman muttered beneath her breath, putting the finishing touches on Ken's clean bandage.
Koharu's attention returned to the girl who was stirring the porridge with the same unblinking intensity as a monk reading a sacred scroll.
"You said a family was recently attacked by shinobi." Koharu tried, at last grabbing the young girl's attention. The grandmother also looked up, pursing her lips as if sucking on something sour.
"Not shinobi," the old woman growled. "A fire."
Koharu ignored her. The old woman reminded her a little too much of her own grandmother whose only purpose in life seemed to have been to tell her to sit still and be quiet.
"What did you see, Ami?"
The young girl looked hesitantly between her grandmother and the kunoichi. She gulped, before remembering a pair of warm, dark eyes and strong, determined hands pushing her to safety not so long ago. Sakumo's spirit deserved more than just a silly girl remembering it.
She took in a deep breath. "I brought flowers to their grave. I would bring them every day. I thought—"
"I told you to stay away from that place," her grandmother interrupted, indignant at being disobeyed. "I told you its haunted. I told you its—"
Koharu cut her off with an icy look. Ami continued.
"I thought I was alone up there, but a few days ago a man appeared. A shinobi with a forehead protector like yours appeared out of thin air."
Koharu frowned. Had Hiruzen gone back for some reason?
"When he saw me he thanked me for taking such good care of them. He said he was glad there was someone there to take care of his family."
The old woman snorted. "Such nonsense. Those three were the last Hatake in the world."
Ami shook her head furiously. "But there must be another one. He said he was Sakumo's uncle."
"What did he look like?" The kunoichi asked, ignoring Shoichi's baffled glare.
"He was shaved like a monk with a horrible scar on his cheek like an x. He told me that shinobi had come and destroyed them. He said that more would come that they would be like wolves pretending to be dogs."
Koharu felt her chest constrict. This girl was lucky to be alive.
"Would you be able to take me there?" She asked.
"Are you crazy?" Shoichi objected, leaping to his feet. "We're still on a mission. We don't have time to be chasing down peasant ghost story."
Koharu stood up as well, matching his height to Shoichi's chagrin. "As team leader I decide the parameters of the mission. Ken will need a few hours to gain his strength, it won't hurt to have a look."
Shoichi flopped back down onto the tatami mat. "The minute he's awake we are out of here," he warned. "Whether you're back or not."
Koharu smiled, but it chilled him to the bone. "I'll take my chances."
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Koharu had seen more death and destruction in her twenty years then most had seen in a lifetime. Yet, when she followed Ami into the clearing that used to be Sakumo's home, her heart broke. The last time she had been here there had been a distracting whirl of violence, blood and fire. Now there was only ashes and silence.
Ami wordlessly gravitated to three little headstones pocking awkwardly out of the ground like rotting teeth. Koharu moved next to her, glancing over the three names.
Hibiki Hatake. A body sprawled on the ground with a warrior's heart that had finally given out.
Kana Hatake. A beautiful woman with tears and blood streaming down her cheeks.
Sakumo Hatake. A boy she prayed was safe at home.
She could not stand to look at his name very long. It felt like an ill omen. As if the empty grave was just patiently waiting for the boy to fill it.
"Where did you see the man?" She asked quickly, eager to be gone from this place.
Ami's head snapped up, jerked from her own thick thoughts.
"He was huddled in the house. In the part that didn't cave in from the fire." She moved suddenly towards the dilapidated home. "I'll show you."
The little girl crossed the crooked threshold before Koharu could pull her back, sharp eyes suddenly noticing the nearly invisible trip wire pulled taught across the doorframe.
"Ami! Stop!" She ordered, but it was too late.
The young girl stumbled and a flash of smoke filled the air.
Koharu took a powerful leap back, managing to drag the girl with her, as a figure began to emerge. A kunai was in her hand long before the man with the x-shaped scar stepped into the light.
An eerie smile played across his lips until he noticed Koharu and Ami. It fell into a disappointed frown.
"Oh for the love of…" He cursed under his breath, glowering at the pair.
Koharu's grip on her kunai tightened.
"You're not who I wanted at all!" He shouted accusingly. His voice was surprisingly high, like a child's on the verge of a tantrum.
"Who were you expecting?" Koharu growled, moving to put herself between the child and the obvious psychopath.
The man rolled his eyes as if it were obvious. "Well the boy of course! Do you think I'm stupid? I saw you ferry him away!"
Koharu did her best to seem relaxed—uncaring even. "You're wasting your time. The poor kid died from his injuries."
The eerie smile suddenly returned. "What a beautiful liar you are, Koharu Utatane."
She gave a start, heart leaping into throat. "How do you—."
"I know a lot, Koharu Utatane." He shrugged smugly. "For example, I know that Tobirama's son is alive and I know Hashirama's son is dead."
His head jerked suddenly as if he had a brilliant thought. "Do you think the Senju brothers would be upset if you died?"
Ami shrieked as the man lunged towards them, a sword suddenly in hand. Koharu grunted as it clashed against her kunai, the weight of his attack pushing her backwards.
"I was hoping the little brat would return to pay his respects." He laughed as he leapt back to avoid Koharu's kunai slashing his chest. "Guess he doesn't care as mush as I thought he would."
He charged towards her again. Koharu widened her stance, knowing she couldn't move without exposing the little girl. The sword flashed in an arc, using the full weight of it's master to bare down on her head.
Koharu breathed serenely. This was a move she has seen before. Her hand flashed upward towards the sword, but instead of crossing steel it cut against delicate flesh and bone. Her opponent hissed and the sword clattered to the ground. Taking advantage of the moment, she swung her foot around to meet his chest, forcing him back with surprising strength.
He grimaced as he was forced to land on his healing leg. Why did all these leaf nin have to put up such a fight? His breathing grew heavy as his hands formed into seals.
This would take care of the bitch.
A thousand kunai appeared around him, held up by invisible string, patiently waiting for the order to attack.
The man's smile was maniacal. He had them!
With a flick of the wrist, the kunai descended on the helpless victims like a deadly rain. They died meekly without a word of protest. He smiled as he approached, prepared to brand them as he done with his previous victims. But as he bent to carve the kunoichi's porcelain cheek—the bodies disappeared with an irritating pop, replaced by two logs.
Koharu carried the shivering girl on her back as she raced towards the village.
"Shoichi!" She shouted as she skid gracelessly into the yard. He appeared in the doorway, leisurely finishing a rice ball.
"Took you long enough," he mumbled through a mouthful of rice.
"Grab Ken," she hissed frantically, Ami still on her back frozen in fear. The Uchiha, sensing the urgency, disappeared into the house. It did not take him long to Reappear with a pale, unconscious Ken on his back and the protesting grandma on his heel.
"What's going on?" She wailed. "What's happened?"
Koharu made a snap decision. "We're taking the girl. She'll be in danger if she stays."
"But—"
Koharu cut her off. "There isn't time. If a stranger appears, you never saw us!"
The leaf nin and her granddaughter were gone before the old woman could form another word.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Sakumo fond himself on his back for what felt like the hundredth time that afternoon.
"You're improving," Tobirama said, lifting him back on his feet. Sakumo wondered if that was sarcasm.
Noticing the boy's dubious look, he sighed. "Sakumo, this village was not built in a day. These things take time."
The boy tapped his foot impatiently. "I've been training for weeks now and I haven't even managed to give you a scratch!"
"If a shinobi were measured by ego alone, you would be on par with the Sage of the Six Paths," Tobirama said wryly.
Sakumo flushed furiously. "I didn't mean—"
"I have been training since I could hold a kunai, Sakumo," he said, his tone suddenly serious. "My brothers and I grew up with a bounty on our heads that would have bought a small nation. We did not train because we wanted to be the best—we had to be or we died."
Sakumo knew he was being lectured. Knew he was being admonished for his Hatake pride, but he didn't mind. He savored every word, every second of attention.
Training with Tobirama was brutal. His muscles were sore, his eyes could not stay open and most days he looked like a walking bruise. But he was without a doubt the happiest kid in the world. This man—no this god—was his father! Perhaps he had not met his previous expectations of a father but that was when he been comparing him to other mortal men.
Sakumo brushed the dust from his pants and then settled into a fighting stance, ready for another round. He was beginning to understand his father's strategy, though he had not yet figured out how to counteract it. Tobirama would start out carefully, getting a feel for Sakumo's own stratagem, and then he would hold back. Punches would be restrained, his footwork would slow, his timing would be off. And Sakumo fell for it every time—thinking he finally had the advantage. And every time Sakumo would find himself on his back with the wind knocked out of him and Tobirama standing smugly over him.
Tobirama's eyes glinted in amusement as he faced the boy, but before he could initiate his attack a jonin appeared apologetically in front of him.
Sakumo was beginning to realize that it was Tobirama who ran the village in all but name. Messengers with problems and emergencies constantly interrupted training and yet they were all taken care of brilliantly. Tobirama never hesitated. Never faltered. He did not make mistakes. He did not fail.
"Lord Tobirama, you said to inform you as soon as Koharu Utatane returned with her team."
Tobirama nodded. "Have her wait in my office to report."
The jonin hesitated. "I think you will have to meet her in the hospital, sir. Apparently, they ran into some trouble in a little village called Oshino."
Tobirama stiffened. Sakumo's heart stopped.
The white-haired shinobi moved with the intention to instantly teleport to the hospital, but a hand caught the sash at his side.
"I'm coming with you," Sakumo said, clearly not asking permission.
"This doesn't concern you, Sakumo." He said, his voice level even as he pictured his only female student lying in a hospital bed. Again.
"Oshino is my village," Sakumo persisted, his eyes like steel. "What if she has information about the man who killed my family?"
Irritated by the delay, Tobirama had half a mind to just leave him in a flash of dust, but he doubted that would solve the problem. The boy was just pig-headed enough to show up at hospital right behind him.
"Hold very still," he ordered, resting his hands on the boy's small shoulders.
Sakumo blinked in disbelief. What had once been an open training field had suddenly transformed into a cramped hospital room.
Tobirama felt his shoulders relax upon seeing Koharu, uninjured, sitting on the windowsill.
There was a frightened squeak from the bed at their sudden appearance. He turned his attention to the small girl in the hospital bed staring up at him with eyes the size of an owl's.
"Ami!" Sakumo shouted in disbelief. The young girl went impossibly pale, her mouth ajar in terror.
"He's not dead, Ami." Koharu stepped in quickly, remembering the empty grave. "We brought him here to keep him safe. Just like you."
The girl's lower lip trembled, her wide eyes taking in every detail of Sakumo's bewildered face. She suddenly held out her arms, looking pathetically vulnerable in the large hospital bed.
In an instant Sakumo was there hugging her back.
"Don't go away again, okay?" She mumbled into his sweaty shirt. Sakumo looked down at her helplessly.
"Okay," he promised. And he really meant it.
Tobirama watched the scene with an unexpected irritation. He had not given much thought to Sakumo's life before he came to the Hidden Leaf. He would prefer to think the boy had been clay, brought to life by lightning at the gates of the village, but this girl was living proof that Sakumo had left behind a life of memories and connections. He was suddenly forced to see Kana, big and round and glowing as she protectively carried the boy within her for nine months. He saw Sakumo taking his first steps, forming his first words, learning his first jutsu. He felt cheated.
Another lifetime ago he had made plans for a little boy—he had been cheated out of fathering him too.
"Sensei," Koharu's voice cut like ice through his heated thoughts. "Could we speak outside?"
Tobirama glanced at the young pair, but they had no interest in anyone in the room but themselves. He reluctantly followed her into the hall.
"Your mission was in the Land of Stone border. How did you end up in Oshino?" He asked, secretly wondering if Koharu was on a one-woman mission to give him a heart attack.
Koharu grimaced. "We had to reroute. A scouting party caught wind of us."
"That doesn't explain the girl," Tobirama retorted, nodding his head toward the room.
Koharu suddenly looked reluctant to answer. Tobirama frowned; he had never known her to hesitate.
She explained everything to him in what felt like a single breath. Their suspicion. The burnt farm. The graves. The booby trap. The man with the x-crossed scar on his cheek.
Tobirama's gaze grew darker with every word. By the time she was able to pause and gasp for breath, Koharu found herself looking at a mask of false composure and eyes that flashed like summer lightning.
"You've certainly been busy, Koharu," he finally said, his words painfully clipped.
To Koharu's credit, she did not flinch.
"You could have come to me," he continued, tone cold and distinct though his garnet eyes had softened ever so slightly.
Koharu desperately wished that were true.
"He's after Sakumo, sensei," she said, her gaze steady. Daring him to take action. Daring him to protect his son, as any decent father would. It was the same look a little girl had given him years ago on the Academy training ground, when he had all but dismissed her as a potential student. It was a look that demanded he not fail her.
He sighed. Seeing her now, a full-grown woman, made him feel unbearably old.
"I will protect him, Koharu," he promised, more offended then he cared to admit to see her visibly relax at his words. Had she truly believed he would allow harm to come to the boy?
Tobirama sensed Sakumo before he appeared in the doorway, looking tired but happy.
"She's asleep," he explained, moving to stand beside Tobirama. The taller Senju stepped away in a motion too minute for Sakumo to notice, though Koharu's eyes narrowed.
"What did she tell you?" Koharu asked, though she well knew the answer.
"She said you were attacked by the man who killed my family." He answered, voice flat.
She opened her mouth, though she didn't know if she should be apologizing or comforting. Sakumo cut her off before she could speak, staring with cold detachment at his sire.
"Would you have told me if I hadn't insisted on coming?" He asked.
Tobirama met his offspring's flint stare with a level gaze of his own. "No."
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Author's Note: Thank you so much for the amazing response! I have been trying my best to give you guys the father/son moments you have all been asking for, but for some reason Koharu keeps butting into the plot and I find I can't stop writing about her! I'd like to apologize for not using any Japanese honorifics, my understanding of them are far too poor and I'm afraid it would be distracting.
I would also like to apologize for the ridiculous time it takes me to update, but thank you for the patience. Your reviews, especially the feedback, have been incredibly helpful and I can't wait to read what you think of the new chapter