It unnerved her how used to this treatment she'd become. With every meeting, inevitably, all eyes turned to her with judgment and disapproval clearly etched within. If she opened her mouth to propose the clan's next action, somebody heckled in the back.
'Face it, Kazusa,' she noted to herself. 'Until you show them that you're willing to put your life on the line for the sake of the clan, this will continue.'
Even then, that felt too optimistic to be true. This clan-wide loathing could carry over for her entire tenure as clan head. Her future could very well mark her as the most unpopular leader the Uchiha ever followed.
They had greatly loved her father and seen him as a great man. They understood his sacrifices, but saw no such things in his child. All the Uchiha saw was an uncertain girl who never knew the hardships of the warring states era: a pampered creature who grew up knowing nothing other than village life. Beyond that, they saw her as somebody Uzumaki Mito in particular could manipulate. Kazusa could have been named Hokage for all they cared. It wouldn't make her any less of a Senju sympathizer.
"What do you mean we can't take any further action against Yamanaka Yanagi!?"
Of all the people she could hear speak in animosity against her, it had to be Naho. Kazusa felt ashamed upon hearing all the grief in her best friend's voice. Naho had a reason to be angry. Her whole family earned that right, considering this bad news related to her eldest brother's death.
"I thought the village authorized us to act as their Police Force. If you're going to back down this early, Kazusa, then–"
"This one isn't Kazusa-sama's fault." This one. Setsuna stepped forward, taking his place right by the young clan head's side as though he already belonged there. "She–"
'I don't need you to defend me! If this is how they're going to be, then so be it. I won't back down and cave in just because they're upset.' They had a right to be disappointed, but it wouldn't change anything. "Our hands are tied on this, Naho. Do you know what they did?"
"Aside from murder my brother and make it look like a suicide?" Naho's voice came out as hoarse and harsh as a blackbird. She couldn't raise her voice too loud after exhaling so many blue flames. Nobody in her line could shout anymore without risking internal bleeding at the trachea.
By now, every Uchiha spoke in whispers and murmurs, turning to each other to figure out where they stood on this matter. If they had this new authority, then why couldn't they use it where it really counted?
"Do you even care about my family?" They all stared at Kazusa: Uchiha Tenjin and what remained of his brood of children. Akihiro, Masubi, Mitsuichi, Muraki…Naho. Every last one of them wore the same disapproving, accusatory glare. "If you care for us, for me, then–"
"Naho, silence." Setsuna did it again: jumping to her defense. He didn't need to do that. "We can't–"
"There's an active law on the books stating we can't arrest or charge the insane or simple-minded." She'd voice it herself. "The Yamanaka Clan isn't claiming Yanagi acted as a madwoman." She was too rational for such a title to stick. "When Setsuna and I showed up to make the arrest this morning, we…"
Gods. How could she articulate this? How could she aptly describe to the clan what she and Setsuna witnessed at Yamanaka Osamu's estate? "We gave the order for Lord Osamu to turn his sister over to our custody for arrest first thing this morning. That's not happening because–" Already, the uproars started. "Let me finish, would you!? That sick bastard scrambled his sister's brain like an egg, just so we couldn't take her. Our hands are tied."
"Legally, anyway," a man in the back of the meeting room murmured. A few people nodded their heads in agreement. Go figure; it was one of Naho's brothers.
"We're not resorting to that, Akihiro!" She'd shut down anyone who even insinuated taking shortcuts for vengeance. "We're doing this by the book and following the rules because we're the village's Police Force now. We have to set an example!" If they acted like a brute squad, the village would never trust the Uchiha Clan. "I'm not letting the Yamanaka Clan off the hook so easily. I have a plan."
"Share it, then! We want to hear it!" Naho shouted furiously. "And if you do that thing where you simply ask us to trust you, then–"
"We can't go after Yanagi. That door closed the moment she was lobotomized. That does not, however, mean we're barred from making a case against Osamu." The whole of the room turned silent.
"I can justify it. Pouring over the basic law set up in the village during the Shodaime's time, we have justifiable grounds for making an arrest. Yamanaka Osamu tampered with evidence. He failed to turn over an at-the-time sane and mentally sound person to police custody when we requested it." It meant she could argue a case for Osamu harboring a fugitive.
Even Setsuna seemed dumbfounded that Kazusa would suggest such a thing. The way his mouth hung slightly slack in disbelief made it obvious no one in that room believed she'd take this route. "He's a clan head. Don't you think that's a risky move?"
"If we don't make the move, we'll be telling the entire village that clan heads are above the law. They aren't, and neither is the Hokage…or our clan." And if she found out anyone in this room planned to contradict her, then there would be no further backing down in an attempt to pacify the horde. They burned her one too many times. "Love it or hate it; this is how we'll proceed. We're adjourned."
They parted for Kazusa, creating a path so she could leave their private meeting grounds first. It was her birthright and just as the Daimyo would officially announce their Nidaime Hokage soon, her acknowledgment as the official Uchiha head would come on the same day. Kariudo would do the same for the Inuzuka Clan, considering the recent death of his mother in a freak hunting accident.
Kazusa walked a bit slower as she passed Naho, locking eyes with her friend for a moment. Naho's eyes were red and puffy. The kohl she used to exaggerate her eyes ran, leaving gray stripes on her pretty face. It didn't go unnoticed how wary even those who supposedly loved her most appeared. Every last Uchiha made such faces at her.
"There is one last thing I wish to announce to the clan before I leave to arrest Osamu." And she would take note of which people came to help her with this task. "I have made up my mind on who I will marry…once I reach the age of majority."
Three years. She'd make them wait for three years. Now felt like as good a time as any to make them angry, considering they were all up in arms already. The murmurs and whispers began almost immediately. "I'll let my suitor know in private, but he's to keep the announcement silent for his own safety."
She didn't want another Kaizen on her hands. This gave her time to lie for now and choose in three years. There was no suitor decided at this time, but if the clan believed her, perhaps they would back off.
"And I say this because it's not Setsuna. It would be bad form for me to wed a co-captain."
With that, she bid them adieu, noticing as she made her way to the stairs that Setsuna continued to stand right where she'd left him: stunned into disbelief.
The whole of the clan was in an uproar, ranting among themselves. Setsuna tried his best to quiet them down, but he was inclined to agree. What the hell was Kazusa thinking, putting him on the spot like that? But maybe natural selection would work in their favor if that foolish girl was serious about placing the Yamanaka's reigning insomniac under arrest.
"That little girl is going to die." Setsuna turned around to find Tenjin and one of his sons. "Aren't you going to stop her? She's no match for Osamu."
Setsuna shook his head. "What's the point, Tenjin? You heard it yourself. I'm never going to climb to a rank any higher than that of her equal." And only for the force: this joke of a faction given to them by the Senju candidate and his Uzumaki sister-in-law.
He seethed inside. 'Stupid girl. Doesn't she understand that they already see me as a more capable leader? I should have been chosen to inherit. I should have pleaded a stronger case. I should have twisted the elders' arms more to force the marriage.' But he wanted to think that Kazusa would select him of her own accord. "Why should I protect her when she's so inclined to self-destruct? In the aftermath–"
"You think it will go to you?" Tenjin shook his head slowly. "No, Setsuna. She made a fool out of you."
"Just as the Yamanaka Clan made a fool out of your family."
"Speaking of that…"
Setsuna wasn't sure if he wanted to know what was going on with this family. He never trusted them. Tenjin always rubbed him the wrong way and after the incident at Amano's estate, he was more inclined to distrust him than ever before. What choice did he have, though? Kazusa wasn't a puppet he could control. That reckless child would–
"I trust your insight more than I trust Kazusa's. How certain are you that Yamanaka Yanagi had something to do with my son's death? Did we confirm her involvement?"
"…there's no doubt in my mind. It was her."
Setsuna disliked the way the older man looked at him. Tenjin made up his mind on some unspoken action. Setsuna wanted to ask, but feared what he'd hear.
…
"I didn't want to believe he'd do something this barbaric." Mito was livid, squeezing the bouquet of yellow roses so tightly in her hand that she felt the thorns break the skin. Hashirama had been considerate in that regard: always scraping off a flower's thorns before presenting them to his wife.
In most cases, she'd remove thorns from bouquets before giving them to others, including her daughter and daughter-in-law. Yanagi, though, was special. She always kept the thorns on for rose-like Yanagi: beautiful to behold but capable of causing great pain to those who rough-handled her. "She's his sister."
She wanted to know if the rumors were true. The entire village spoke openly about Yamanaka Yanagi being suspected of foul play in Uchiha Kaizen's death, perhaps more. The new Konohagakure Military Police Force didn't even attempt to keep their suspicions under wraps. The whole of the village needed to know the Yamanaka Clan was in the hot seat. At least the bad dreams stopped.
"I can believe it," Daichi responded, gesturing for the redheaded widow to give him a chance to free her hands of the bouquet. He wouldn't be any less of a man if he carried flowers for a woman. "I've known Lord Osamu since he was a youth."
"As have I!" Mito was on the emotional rampage today and ready to snap at the heels of anyone who dared to get on her bad side. "They were children when they came to the village, barely fourteen."
The first time she laid eyes on the Yamanaka twins, she was taken in by their tragic beauty and their frail bodies. They were like a pair of waifs: in constant danger of wasting away if they weren't shown enough love and care. Mito's heart went out to those children, especially that sad-eyed girl.
In that first memory, Tobirama still had the bruise around his neck from where Yanagi possessed him and forced him to tie a crude noose. He told Mito about the utter disaster from Hashirama's attempt to negotiate with Osamu's lunatic uncle. Even Madara had a tinge of green on his face when the twins joined under the banner. He refused to shake their hands or even bow.
Mito was the first woman Yanagi ever opened up to. She saw a little lady who felt every bit as unfamiliar with this new world as Mito did. They bonded. As Yanagi blossomed into womanhood, they shared their goals and dreams: well wishes for the future kunoichi of Konohagakure. Of course, they hadn't always agreed.
…
"It's official, as of this morning. Our little ladies will have a separate program to teach them the feminine arts!" Mito's arms outstretched over the beautiful patch of land Inuzuka Okami generously managed to acquire for this exact purpose.
The Konohagakure Expansion Campaign was in full swing, taking more land in all directions. The village would grow to the size of a city in their lifetimes. It felt attainable, but so did their shared dream. "I pitched the idea to my husband. He loves it. Our kunoichi preschool program has been authorized."
"Preschool?" Yanagi's brow furrowed a bit, but at least she still managed to smile. She tucked some of her pale gold hair out of her face and laughed. "I didn't propose a preschool with you, Mito. Why didn't–"
"We don't want to alienate them from the boys in academy. It's groundwork they need to know ahead of time, right?"
"Yes, but–"
The redhead grinned and gave her friend a playful one-armed hug, pulling the tall blonde close to her. She caught a whiff of Yanagi's hydrangea perfume, savoring the delicate scent. "I'm working on him," she whispered. "I knew he'd say yes to a preschool because our little girl is around the same age as your Hanako."
Indeed. She was one of the few who knew the dirty little secret about Osamu and Yanagi's "cousin." Mito kept that secret from everyone and paid the midwife handsomely to keep her mouth shut. What happened to her friend before the village existed needed to stay in the past and there was no point to condemn that child to scorn and shame, just because of who the father was.
"Our girls will belong to the charter class. They'll learn to sew, dance, cook, embroider, arrange flowers, make music, sing, and how to carry themselves as ladies."
"It's a good start," Yanagi responded, but Mito could see the disappointment in her gray eyes. She sat on the cliff, letting her long legs sway back and forth as she kicked them about like a little girl. "But it's not everything we talked about."
Yanagi's full proposal involved a side program for the more enthused girls that would last until their fifteenth year: around the time girls could become courtesans. The more advanced coursework involved training these specialized kunoichi in poisoning, mind-altering substances, how to get pregnant or cause a miscarriage when it best suited a long-term mission, and even how to seduce. "I suppose it was too much for Hashirama to think about."
"It was too much for me to think about at first," Mito confessed, "but I recognize the need. So long as men are men, there's going to be a need. So…" She nuzzled up closer, chuckling. "How would you feel about coming over for tea later? We can celebrate and discuss who should be our first instructor."
"…you." Yanagi didn't even hesitate. "It should be you. Give those little girls and their families every opportunity to love you."
"But, Yanagi–"
"I'll take over the advanced courses once they're approved. Is it a deal?" She held out her hand. Mito graciously accepted it, beaming as she shook. "I even have a few girls in mind."
…
Just as Hashirama had his core set of friends to help him build the Ninja Academy, the laws, the regulations and rules; Mito had her own favorite visionary in the young Yamanaka. Yanagi had so many ideas, so many brilliant and feasible notions on how this village could train their girls…
And Osamu did what he did best: ruin everything. When Mito and Daichi came to visit Yanagi, both in disbelief that Osamu had it in him to do this awful thing, there was no greater proof of the Yamanaka head's depravity as the blank and dull smile on his sister's face when she opened the door. Yanagi didn't utter a word, but grown women weren't supposed to smile like that. No one over the age of two should.
She repeatedly attempted to pour tea for her guests from an empty kettle and offered it. When Daichi refused, she cried like an infant until Osamu came to carry her into another room. This wasn't her friend. Her friend was dead, but her body was too slow to realize it.
"I'll never forgive him," Mito swore, hissing in angered air through her nostrils like a lady dragon. "Uchiha Kaizen committed suicide. Yanagi would never–"
"Don't be blinded by your love for your friend. Hashirama made similar mistakes with Madara and it won't do you any favors to repeat the same folly. There's ample evidence of Yanagi's involvement. Do you think Osamu would have done this if he believed his sister to be anything other than guilty?"
Mito wanted to place as much distance from the Yamanaka district as she could. Were she to stay in there any longer—not that she wished to concern anyone—but the seal began to kick back and ache. That horrid thing she sacrificed herself to contain for the safety of the village knew her heart hurt. It smelled a weakness.
"Escort me home, Daichi-san. Please be a gentleman and don't tell me what she did or didn't do. It's moot now. My friend is…" Her cheeks turned scarlet and her eyes stung from tears. She buried her face into her rose-scratched hands and sobbed.
Mito felt so alone. All her other friends were secondhand from her husband. Yanagi had been hers solely. 'Who else is going to care what becomes of our women? We were going to make this a more equal society. As Hokage, I'd rely on her more than ever. She…'
Were Tobirama here, he'd coldly tell her to get up and insistently offer his hand. Daichi, at least, didn't. He merely stood there, averting his gaze because he didn't want to watch a woman openly weep, and gave her a moment to cry.
'I'll stand on my own, then. I'll win the Daimyo's favor, prove myself gradually, and move the next generation of our women to my cause.'
And if any lady within these walls could stand alone, Mito could.
…
She missed him so. On those long missions where Tenjin didn't have time to spend with her, Kaizen always stepped forward as the junior parent. Whenever Naho played with her bang snaps, gunpowder, and accelerants like the little arsonist-in-training that she was, Kaizen made sure she never burned herself.
Kaizen was the one to nurse her back to health after her botched attempt to master the family's foxfire technique left her with that awful scar on her chest. Now the house population consisted of her heartbroken father and four remaining brothers…each of whom had a proverbial axe to grind either with the village, the Yamanaka Clan, Kazusa, or some combination of the three.
Every member of the family offered food and incense to Kaizen's house shrine, but Naho was the one to remain on her knees. She caught the scent in her nose, savoring the burnt fragrance, and thought of her brother with every whiff.
"I wish to update you on what's transpired since your death," she whispered. "We're seeking permission from Lord Amano for Kozue to move in with us. It's a gesture of his undying love for you. We vowed to protect Kozue in your stead, even though otou-san didn't approve of your relationship."
But that was alright, Naho supposed. Tenjin wouldn't approve of her secret relationship, either. "The house feels quiet without you. Otou-san barely leaves the house. He just sits there, feeds his fish, and sleeps in your room. And now Kazusa tells me we won't be able to bring your killer to justice. Yanagi will get away with it."
Lobotomy be damned. All Naho saw was a woman who bypassed the law and would spend the rest of her days pampered and spoiled into oblivion. Destroying Yanagi's brain didn't make Kaizen rise from the ashes of his funeral urn like a phoenix. Nothing would.
As two of her brothers came to kneel and pay their respects, one on each side of her, Naho felt even more heartbroken than before. Akihiro glanced at her for a moment, offering a small smile in the hopes of calming her down. All he found in exchange were more tears from his young sister.
"I miss him so. Akihiro, I miss him so badly it aches. Were it I who died in his place, then–"
"Don't go there," Akihiro cut Naho off, offering an orange to the shrine. "He's gone. The only person who could correct that wrong would be the candidate our brother's killer tried to endorse." Akihiro didn't elaborate, but he cast a glance toward his youngest brother. Mitsuichi nodded in silence.
They had a plan in the works: one that would not only right the wrong of what happened to their fallen brother, but bring Yanagi and the whole of her associates to justice. Beyond even this, they sought to disqualify or eliminate all remaining candidates both for the Nidaime seat…and for the Uchiha Head seat.
"It's nothing you need to concern yourself over, sister," Mitsuichi stated with a terseness that alarmed his sister. He'd always been the sweet one. "Just be sure to stay away from Kazusa-sama today."
'What are you planning? What do you intend to do?!' But she knew they'd do the same thing her father always did: keep her at an arm's length until she became essential. "You'll tell me when it's over, I assume."
"Naho…" Akihiro ran his fingers through his hair to tie it back into a tight ponytail. "You don't want to be an accessory to this. What we're doing has already been set in motion. Stay out of it."
But she already noticed what he carried with him: his arson kit. 'Whose house do you plan to burn? Will anyone be inside, Akihiro?' But he'd tell her nothing. He'd keep his secrets. "Very well. I suppose I'll be a good sister and wish you good luck, then. Goodbye, brother."
After Naho departed, Akihiro's attention turned toward his younger brother. "Do we need to go over it again, or do you think you understand your part?"
Mitsuichi took in a deep breath. 'Masubi already made his way to the Archives, trying to find Tobirama's trump card jutsu. So long as nobody finds him, we'll be able to right most of the wrongs done against our family.'
Masubi had the most interesting part of the three-tier plan, Mitsuichi felt, but he wasn't going to say it because he was younger and needed to respect his elder brothers. Akihiro and Masubi both carried seniority over him, but it felt nice to work together as a trio: as the remaining blood-born sons of the Son of a Thousand Fires. Sure, Muraki existed, but he was their brother by adoption only. This didn't concern him.
"Do you think the jutsu even exists?" Mitsuichi whispered, scooting closer to his older brother. "What if it doesn't and Tobirama simply told everyone he could summon the dead so we'd fear him more?"
A low snicker caught in the older Uchiha's throat. "I wouldn't put it past some people, but Senju Tobirama? He probably kept it under wraps. Having a jutsu like that is a game-changer." But it did mean that if they succeeded, they'd have their brother again. "The Edo Tensei is an abomination and a violation of every known natural law, but–"
"I know, brother. I know." Mitsuichi glanced at Akihiro's arson bag and smirked. "And you'll deliver justice today. I wish I could be there to watch that brain-scrambling whore and her brother catch fire. That would make our sister's teammate the new Yamanaka head, wouldn't it? One our family could control?"
And the Uchiha had reached out to Hanako in this time of crisis. Even though she was oblivious to this plan and fully innocent, it wouldn't look that way. Hanako would be a fool to forget that. "But on the subject of clan heads, Mitsuichi; whoever finds our reigning idiot needs to silence her permanently. Kazusa's foolishness has gone on long enough. We won't be able to function as a clan with Mito's lapdog in power."
'I understand, just as I understand that my role is perhaps the most important out of the three. Masubi's hunting for a solution. You're delivering retribution. I…' The mere thought of it left his heart a-flutter both in terror and excitement.
'I get to take down Uzumaki Mito, Senju Tobirama, and Shimura Daichi in one fell swoop.'