Hello everyone! I hope you all enjoyed the previous chapter. A big thanks to Starsaphire, Mina Monster, and JWolfcat for reviewing! As always, Starsaphire, I loved your review and I'm glad you enjoyed the Tobirama development and the Mito/Hashi scenes. Anyway, everyone please enjoy this chapter and review! I love reading them!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters, just those of my own design.
Chapter 7
The following morning, Mito stepped out of her room in her and her cortege's section of the Senju manor. She lifted her arms in a slight stretch before straightening her white kimono with the green underlay and then walking down the hallway. As she fell asleep last night, she pondered Hashirama's dilemma with the leadership of the new village, if this dream ever comes to fruition, and she believed she discovered the solution. She strode quickly through the halls, looking for the older Senju man before smiling as she entered a small room adorned with various maps and found Hashirama and Tobirama examining a map of the surrounding clans. The pair turned at the sound of a door opening and Hashirama smiled as he stated:
"Good Morning, Mito. I hope you are well rested."
She smiled before bowing to them slightly, which they quickly returned, before she replied, "Yes, I am, Hashi, and good morning to you two as well."
"Did you need something, Mito-san?" Tobirama asked.
The Uzumaki woman smiled and walked over to them and looked at the map they were studying and was surprised to see that it was an outline of, what would be, the new country they would form with the clans and daimyo if the Uchiha agreed. It also, however, still marked the clan owned territories. She looked up from the map and at Hashirama.
"I believe I have found the solution to the problem we discussed last night," she calmly specified.
Hashirama quirked an eyebrow, "Really? Then please, share."
He took a seat in one of two chairs at the small table in the room before Tobirama took the other seat across from his brother. Mito tacked the map they were viewing earlier up on the wall before turning back to the Senjus.
"You see," she began, "In each country that is formed by the joining of many shinobi clans and peoples, there should be one village that serves as the heart of this nation. This village will also serve as the singular home to shinobi of that village and, in the leadership position of these people, will be a shinobi himself or herself. This will ensure that any laws passed by this leader will be appropriate considering the citizens he or she governs are shinobi like they are. It should be noted that anyone in the country who wishes to live in this village could. Now, as far as the governing of the country goes, for any peoples who form small cities and villages in addition to the shinobi village at the heart, that falls to the daimyo of the lands. In short, you have a shinobi leader in control of the shinobi village who works with the daimyo of the country to protect all the peoples of the lands, but it is of upmost importance to protect the village above all else."
Hashirama nodded along with her explanation before looking to his brother as Tobirama asked, "So, you are proposing that there only be two people in control of such vast of a land?"
Mito smiled, "Not exactly. I should have also explained that each leader would have their own council to help guide them. Each council is a separate entity and is composed of whomever the leader wishes. It is also important to note that if there is ever a decision that needs to be made that affects both the village and country, the councils will meet in order to reach an agreement acceptable by both sides. This joined council may include top ranking shinobi in order to create an odd number of members so a tie vote does not result."
Tobirama nodded before speaking, "Well, Mito-san, I believe your idea is well thought out and should, in theory, work. What do you think, brother?"
Hashirama stood, smiling, and stated, "It is a wonderful idea and solves the issue of power the daimyo is so concerned about."
Mito blushed heavily, "You two would have figured it out on your own. You and your brother, Hashi, are just as intelligent as I am."
"You, however," Tobirama stated as he stood, "have the outside perspective. We're both too close to this situation to even see a solution," he chuckled slightly.
"Well said, brother," the older Senju agreed before turning back to Mito, "Thank you again, Mito. Now, how about you find something to do until the festival this evening, hm? I have to oversee some final preparations with Tobirama for tonight."
She simply nodded and exited the room before she felt a light grasp on her elbow. She turned and was surprised to see Hashirama standing there. Mito chuckled and asked:
"Did you forget something, Hashi?"
He smiled and placed a square box in her hand, "I would like to see you wearing this tonight; I believe you will adore it."
Hashirama turned and began walking towards the front of the house with Tobirama to head down to the village, leaving Mito confused about the gift. She opened the green container and smiled fondly down at the contents. Inside were two black hair combs that were masterfully painted with a large orchid in the center. Additionally, pearls lined the top edge of each comb and the center of each flower was a pink sapphire. Mito couldn't even begin to fathom how costly these combs were, but was grateful for them regardless. She knew that it would be very easy for her to wear these that evening.
When the sun had descended below the treetops surrounding the small Senju village, but had not completely set yet, the clansmen took to the streets to begin the festivities. Mito, who had hooked her arm around her suitor when they left the mansion, was escorted around by Hashirama and found herself to be in awe over the celebration. All around her were various stands that sold foods that she had never tried nor heard of, masks, fans, clothing items, stages where dancers performed, stages where actors recreated scenes from battles or history, etc.
"Hashi, this is incredible," she whispered to the man next to her.
He chuckled, "I thought Uzushiogakure had festivals as well."
Mito turned and smirked at him, "Yes, we do. But they are not on this scale nor are they as lavish. Usually, they consist of a contest to see who caught the biggest fish that day or who has the most interesting story concerning a whirlpool."
This elicited laughs from both of them before Hashirama purchased them some food and they found a small bench beneath a cherry blossom tree to eat it.
"I see you enjoyed the gift I gave you," Hashi stated in between bites of food.
Mito quickly finished her current chewing then swallowing before replying, "I wore them as you requested."
"I noticed," he replied before smiling softly, "You look beautiful, by the way."
She blushed heavily at this comment. She was just fortunate that one of the servants of the house was able to help her procure a forest green kimono that bore pink blossoms decorating the bottom edge with black trim and a black obi that they were quickly able to add the Uzumaki symbol to it. She reached up and delicately touched one of the combs in her hair, being that they both rested in front of the buns she wore her hair in and replaced the gold headpiece and chopsticks with the seal tags she typically wore.
"Thank you, Hashi, but you are quite handsome this evening. You clean up nicely," she chuckled while still keeping the blush on her face.
The man set aside the empty food container and gently cupped her chin before turning her head so he could look her in the eyes as he responded, "If you say so, but know that all the attention is on you tonight."
This didn't help with Mito's embarrassment as she quickly turned away, causing Hashirama to chuckle as he stated:
"I don't believe I have ever seen you so flustered before, Mito."
She looked at him and smirked, "Oh, come now, Hashi. You must know of the affect you have on women."
"I honestly can't say that I know what you are speaking of," he replied, faking an innocent tone as he cut his eyes at her while a smirk grew on his face.
She nudged him teasingly as they both laughed before they both noticed that the lights of numerous lanterns had replaced the light of the sunset. Hashirama stood and extended a hand to Mito.
"Follow me. There's something I wish to show you," he stated as he grasped the hand she offered and helped her stand.
He led her away by the hand from the festivities and back towards the manor before leading her up a trail behind the home. Mito noticed they began walking up a massive hill through the forest before emerging on a large, rocky outcropping that overlooked the small village below and gave her an excellent view of what would be a new country in these tumultuous lands. The moonlight landscape that was dotted with the glow of the festival below took Mito's breath away.
"Hashi," she began before she turned to the man next to her, "this place is beautiful. Why not build your home here instead of where you chose?"
He smiled before looking back out across the land, "I hope to use this as a place to immortalize the heroes of our new nation or perhaps its leaders. Either way, it will serve as a monument to the people of the shinobi village in order to remind them of their proud history."
"Always planning ahead," Mito stated, drawing Hashi's attention back to her.
"Yes, I am," he replied with a smile before suddenly, a loud squealing noise was heard followed by a loud bursting sound and the flash of a bright green color.
Mito jumped slightly in surprise before looking back down at the festival below. Hashi chuckled as another squeal echoed through the valley below them and a large flash of purple filled the night sky.
"Have you never seen fireworks before, Mito?" the Senju leader asked with a chuckle.
Mito blushed lightly and frowned as she looked at him, "I obviously wouldn't have been surprised if I had."
He nudged her gently with his elbow as competing flashes of red and blue filled the sky, "Oh, come now. I'm only teasing. I thought you would-"
Hashirama blinked in surprise as he felt Mito lean her head on his shoulder and sigh contentedly with a soft smile on her face. He found that he was correct: Mito loved the fireworks, a sight she had not seen before. The fleeting bursts of color enchanted her and she blushed lightly as she looked up at Hashirama, who was admiring the display. Mito found herself thinking that as long as this man was at her side, she would be at home. He had done more than any suitor before him had ever done. Hashirama had shown her kindness and shown genuine interest in her rather than solely expressing interest in a peace treaty or feigning compassion only to unleash hatred. Hashirama looked down at her and blinked as he noticed she was staring at him:
"Is something wrong, Mito?" he asked, truly concerned.
She quickly shook her head and blushed lightly, causing Hashi to laugh before she watched as he turned to fully face her, prompting her to do the same.
"Mito, there is something that I have to tell you and something I must ask you," he stated.
The young woman smiled, "I believe I know what the latter is and I hope I know what the former is. But, I would like to say something first, if I can."
The Senju nodded before listening carefully as she spoke, "You see, Hashirama. When my father first told me that I would be entering an arranged marriage based on my interactions with a suitor, I was furious. I saw myself being used as a political pawn and knew that that wasn't what my life was meant to be. I, also, didn't want to be caged. I feared that, if I married someone who didn't truly care for me, I would be looked down upon and not appreciated for everything that makes me, me. So, it became my personal mission to ruin nearly every chance that I had with a suitor until I found one I liked. Anything I found unsatisfactory, I used it as an excuse. I had lost all hope until I met you. Until I met you, I was afraid of what the future might hold, but I know that if you're there at my side, I'm ready for it."
Hashirama smiled, "Mito, I am very much relieved to hear that. If we are sharing confessions, I will make a few myself. I never knew that my whole life had been speeding past me; that my life was a blur. The day I boarded that ship that brought me to Uzushiogakure, I couldn't have imaged in my wildest dreams that I would meet someone like you. I realize now that you are the missing piece to everything in my life. Mito, I love you and would be honored if you would be my wife."
The young Uzumaki smiled brightly as she felt tears of joy welling in her eyes, "I love you too, Hashi, and nothing would make me happier."
They embraced one another before looking into one another's eyes deeply. They leaned in to one another and their lips touched in a light kiss that Hashirama deepened when he pulled Mito in closer to him. The young woman chuckled softly as she wrapped her arms around the man's neck and kissed him in return as the climax of the fireworks show began. They finally separated but pressed their foreheads together as they kept their eyes closed with smiles on both of their faces.
"My father will believe I'm lying to him when I tell him of this engagement," Mito whispered.
"I guess it's good then that he has been expecting this from day one," Hashirama replied in a whisper as well before they both laughed at the thought.
They lifted their heads and looked into one another's eyes. Hashirama lifted his right hand, caressed Mito's cheek, and began to speak before a loud explosion reached their ears followed by several screams and distressed cries. They quickly looked down on the Senju village below them and gasped as they saw shinobi flooding the streets and engaging in battles with Senjus. Hashirama released his hold on Mito before looking at her:
"We must go."
She gave him a short nod before they leapt down towards the village, taking the quick route this time.
Mito and Hashirama quickly arrived in the center of the fighting after making a quick stop at the Senju manor to acquire some weaponry. While Hashirama didn't need more than some kunai and shuriken, Mito was grateful that there was a selection of katana for her to use. As her new fiancé moved about assisting various battles and organizing his clansmen, Mito could only stand in shock and horror as she realized the attackers were Uchiha.
'He's come for me,' Mito thought to herself with a shudder before being drawn out of her thoughts as she saw a man beginning to attack a severely wounded man who was protecting his defenseless wife and child.
She quickly looked around for something to throw at the Uchiha attacker as he knocked down the husband and smirked as she saw an overturned cart of fans. She quickly moved and picked up one of the fans with a sturdy wooden handle before closing it and launching it at the man, hitting him squarely in the back of the head. Seizing his moment of confusion, she dashed forward while unsheathing the katana from her hip and sliced at the man, cutting through the armor on his back. He turned and glared sharply at her before he began to attack her instead, leaving the wife to tend to her husband and get her family to safer grounds.
Mito dodged left and right as she was stunned to see that the man's weapon of choice was a sickle and chain, which allowed him to spin the sickle at a rapid speed before launching it at her. She chose to weave in and out of the attacks as she drew the man away from the village and innocent citizens, as the chaotic nature of the weapons collisions would undoubtedly hurt someone. She also knew that if she made an uncalculated move, she could lose her katana and she would have to resort to using fuinjutsu and her limited arsenal of water release ninjutsu. After several minutes of dodging attacks and blocking randomly flying kunai, Mito and the Uchiha attacker found themselves in a small clearing, giving her the perfect chance to defeat her opponent.
He growled in anger at her movements and sloppily sent the sickle flying towards her. Mito weaved to the right of the weapon and gripped the chain with her left hand as the sickle buried itself in the ground. She wrapped her hand once around the slack in the chain and pulled hard, only causing the man to stumble once. She knew that her physical strength would be no match for the Uchiha before her so she stabbed the katana through one of the links in the chain. Upon releasing her grip on the hilt and dropping her grip on the chain, she began flashing through hand seals as the Uchiha dashed towards her, hoping that she could finish her fuinjutsu quickly enough to maneuver in the proper position in which to plant the paralysis seal on his chest.
The Uchiha reached inside the pouches resting on the back of his hips and withdrew a set of trench knives that he hooked onto his knuckles before he began to slash wildly at Mito. The Uzumaki, still performing the seals as quickly as she could, began weaving in and out of the attacks, getting the occasional cut that only breached the outer layer of her kimono. She performed the last seal and weaved towards the man's body, out of his range of attack, before slamming her right palm on his chest. She flowed chakra into the seal she placed on his chest and gasped as the Uchiha before her disappeared in a poof of smoke. Mito realized all to late that it was a clone as she cried out in pain as she felt one of the trench knives slice threw her kimono and cut the skin of her back between her shoulder blades. The Uchiha smirked after his successful attack and quickly performed a front kick that sent her flying across the clearing. Her wind was knocked out of her as she collided with the ground and rolled, only stopping when she bumped into the blunt edge of the katana she used earlier.
Mito was lying on her stomach and began to push herself up as she heard footsteps approaching. Suddenly, the Uchiha attacker stepped hard on her left hand, causing her to gasp sharply in pain as she looked up into the blood red sharingan eyes above her. The man lifted the trench knife in his right hand and dropped down to his knees, bringing the blade with him in an attempt to stab her.
However, before he could complete such a task, a hand gripped his wrist and threw him into the trees at the edge of the clearing. Seizing her moment and unaware of the identity of her savior, Mito leapt to her feet and drew the katana out of the ground before standing in a defensive position whilst ignoring the pain pulsating from the wound on her back and in her hand.
"Shinzui! You idiot!" an all too familiar voice exclaimed.
Mito glanced at the Uchiha symbol on the back of her savior and knew that she would be in for another battle, but she gasped as the man turned and looked at her.
"Izuna," she stated softly, "I thank you for saving me, but I must ask, why are you here?"
He smirked, "I thought it would be obvious. My brother has been insisting on numerous raids of the Senju anytime we had intel that stated you were here. We finally received something truthful."
Her grip tightened on the katana before her, "You should know I'm not going with you quietly."
"I expected nothing less," Izuna replied with a small smirk before dashing forward with a kunai in each hand.
Hashirama growled in frustration as he blocked another barrage of attacks from Madara before creating a wooden shield for his division and himself as the Uchihas launched a set of fireballs at them. When the barrage ended, Hashirama leapt above the shield and performed a jutsu that caused vines to emerge from the grounds beneath the Uchihas' feet and ensnare many of them. He looked over at his brother, who was engaging in battle with a pair of men before calling to him:
"Do you know where Mito is?!"
Tobirama quickly defeated his attackers and looked back at his brother, "I thought she was with you!"
Fear gripped Hashi's heart before he shouted in reply, "Find her and protect her!"
Not wanting to question his brother, Tobirama did as instructed. Madara narrowed his eyes at this sight and knew that Izuna needed to hurry up.
Mito panted heavily as she hunched her shoulders slightly while staring out at her opponent. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat and she was near exhaustion. Kunai and shuriken littered the forest floor while many treetops were burned and some places of the ground were now muddy patches. Mito was attempting to control her breathing so as to quell the growing panic inside of her for if Izuna was this strong, how truly powerful was Madara?
"My brother will end this attack if you come with us," Izuna stated.
The Uzumaki scoffed, "He should learn the definition of 'no'. Can't you see he is destroying his clan and these lands, Izuna?!"
The younger Uchiha sighed as he closed his eyes, "Yes, but he is still my brother, and I have my orders."
When he opened them again, Mito narrowed her eyes as she noticed that the three tomoe of his sharingan had transformed into a heavy black circle around his, now red, pupil, with three thick lines radiating outward.
"You leave me no choice, Mito-san," Izuna stated before speaking, "Tsuku-"
Abruptly a large wave of water erupted between them and washed over Izuna, breaking his concentration over the attempted Tsukuyomi and causing Mito to close her eyes and shield them. When she opened them again, she saw that Tobirama was standing between her and the young Uchiha.
Izuna smirked, "So, we meet again in battle, Tobirama. It figures that he would send you here."
"Leave Mito-san alone, Izuna. You know the Uchihas' quarrel is with the Senju, not her," the man replied.
"Be that as it may, this involves her more that she has told you or your brother. When my brother sets his eyes on something, he won't stop until he has it," Izuna replied.
"Mito," Tobirama stated before looking at her, "What does he mean?"
Before she could answer, the single note of a trumpet echoed out across the battlefield, leaving Mito and Tobirama distracted. This gave Izuna the opportunity to dash forward while performing a genjutsu aimed at Mito. When the Uzumaki woman glanced at the movement before her, her sapphire colored eyes met Izuna's spinning tomoe, causing her to collapse on the ground.
"Mito!" Tobirama exclaimed as he moved in between her and Izuna.
Her senses began to fade, as the last sight she registered was Tobirama engaging Izuna in a small skirmish before collapsing forward as well.
Madara growled in frustration as he looked over at his brother and the person he was lugging on his back, "This was the perfect chance to get her and you let her slip right through your fingers!"
Izuna shifted his shoulders as he adjusted Tobirama's weight on his back while speeding alongside his brother back towards Uchiha controlled lands, "I would have had her, brother, if he hadn't interfered."
"Would have is not the same as actually capturing her!" Madara shouted back at him.
"Perhaps though, brother," Izuna stated with a calm sigh, "this situation is better. We now have a bargaining chip."
Madara smirked as he looked at his enemy's young brother with blurry sight, "Yes, perhaps indeed."
Hashirama sighed as he cradled Mito in his arms as Toka and her team surveyed the site of the battle and the surrounding area. Finally, the loyal woman returned before him and bowed slightly.
"Report," Hashirama stated as he kept his eyes trained on Mito.
"It seems that she was battling Izuna Uchiha when Tobirama arrived; the Uchiha's trademark kunais is everywhere. It seems that he was kidnapped," Toka stated.
The Senju leader sighed, "Why were they after her?"
The Senju woman shrugged lightly, "Perhaps when she awakes from this genjutsu, she can provide some insight. Take her back to the manor, Hashirama-sama. My team and I can handle the clean up. You and her father can tend to her."
Hashirama nodded and thanked the young woman before quickly heading off.
