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With yet another sleepless night, a loud sigh left Anju's lips as she stared blankly at the ceiling, just like she had been since Izuna had left to see their suppliers. Without him, she could not sleep. He woke her from the nightmares she could not remember, but he was not here. She would sleep, only to wake in a panic, and the fear she felt for the rest of the night kept her from sleep.
There wasn't much for her to do to keep herself occupied either. She had cleaned everything, done all the laundry, and made sure everything was in order for Izuna's return, which couldn't come soon enough. She missed him and she needed him to keep these terrors away.
Like the previous nights, she wrapped the black comforter around herself and made rounds around the estate. She would stop in her father's old office space, which had now become Izuna's, and sit there for a while, looking at the scrolls Aito left her but she could not decipher their words.
When she finished there, she wandered aimlessly around her estate, and if she felt up to it, she would leave her blanket at home and begin to wander around the clan. Walking around the place she called home brought her peace, but it did not bring her what she needed most – sleep.
In her rounds this night, she walked pass the weapons display room, but this time she stopped. Something compelled her to take a couple steps backwards and peek her head into the room. Nothing was out of place, as expected, but her eyes roamed until they landed on the staff. She felt no energy or chakra emitting from the object, or any sense of life. What had she been expecting? It was a cold, inanimate object. But it was also a cold, inanimate object that had lashed out at Madara.
Or maybe that had all been a hallucination. She had been having a lot of those lately, starting with the stone skipping at the river the other night. Now almost everywhere she looked she saw visions of a very young Madara, and what she had to assume to be a much younger version of herself. Maybe this was a delayed side effect. There really was only one way to know for sure.
She looked at the staff once again, though this time she walked towards it and took it from the weapons rack. She felt nothing as she touched it. Just as she thought, it was a cold, lifeless object. Still, she couldn't shake this feeling she had deep inside.
Whatever the feeling was, she ignored it and until dawn came, she made rounds around the estate with the staff, having missed its company. She was able to watch the sun as it rose and turned the sky into its canvas. Soon she would have to leave to join Eiko and help her around her home, as she promised. It was some much needed sister/sister bonding time, as well as the perfect opportunity for Anju to bond with her very young niece.
She stripped out of her night clothes and into a pair of day clothes, which was a dark blue yutaka with a black obi. As she headed out, she left the staff in her room next the bed, and gave it one final look before leaving. Instead of heading straight for Eiko though, she turned in a different direction, which brought her to Madara's home. It was time to set things straight.
She removed her shoes and stepped into the home that was much like her own, not bothering to knock or announce her presence. If she did that, she would wake Tajima, and she would rather him not know she was here to see Madara.
"Anju?"
Freezing on the spot, the worst outcome happened and she found herself having to turn around to greet Tajima. "Tajima, I thought you would be asleep."
His eyes ghosted over her, but the smile on his lips never left. "I may be old but I still rise at the crack of dawn, Anju. Now what can I help you with?"
It then dawned on Anju that it wasn't Madara she should be asking about what she'd been seeing – she should be asking Tajima. He would be able to answer all her questions, so she played it off as if she had been here to see him all along, despite the slight disappointment of not seeing Madara. "Is Madara around? I have something private I'd like to talk to you about."
Tajima shook his head and held his arm out, signaling for her to follow him. "No, he's not. Ken came in this morning with news from Izuna and Hisen. The Senju are giving them trouble."
"It has to be serious then, if he left in such a hurry."
"It is. Izuna requested him immediately and he left late last night."
Her stomach dropped as her worry for Izuna and her little brother grew. And much to her surprise, she found a small part of herself worrying for Madara's safety as well, as stupid as it was to.
Tajima had her seated at a small round table, where a fresh breakfast had been prepared. "Don't worry about the battle at hand, Anju. It will all go smoothly. What was it you wanted to talk to me about?"
Her eyes flickered up from her tea, and landed on Tajima's concerned face. "It's about Madara… Madara and I."
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Hisen ran a hand through his hair, trying to keep his bangs out of his eyes as he stood next to Madara facing the Senju. On Madara's other side was Izuna, and next to Izuna was Kizuna. But this didn't feel like other battles he had been in. No, something about this felt utterly wrong and made him fidgety. He had a terrible feeling of dread that he could not shake.
'Keep calm, young one. All is well.'
Kouzai's words did not reach him, at least not on a level he actually listened to them. His anxiety seemed to have reached Madara, who turned his head to look down at him. "Do not make the first move. I would like to keep your strength a secret for now."
However, that's not what Hisen was worried about. There was just something in the air, something he had a feeling only he could feel, that was making him want to run. That's when he felt it, and heard it.
Voices. Voices screaming and filled with so much pain and agony. He clutched his chest, his knees trembling at the chakra he felt. It was more ominous than Madara's, and so full of hate. So much hate it made him feel sick, and so treacherous. It felt like there was a dark cloud over him, or he was drowning in a thick, sticky substance.
That's when he felt the anger bubbling in his stomach and in his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, entering the abyss in his mind where Kouzai rested. He was seated on the beasts wrinkled muzzle that was curled back in rage. Still clutching his stomach, Hisen scratched Kouzai's brow, above his new Bakyugan and second set of eyes. "What is it? I feel it, Kouzai. It's making me sick."
'It is an ancient and dark chakra as old and as powerful as my own, but it is meant for destruction and hate.' One of Kouzai's four tails – one for each of the chakra natures he had mastered, with only water left to go – came down and wrapped him up in its warmth. Hisen sat on the white tail as Kouzai brought him face-to-face with him. 'What you are feeling young one, that anger and sickness, that is what I feel. I was summoned – created – in the first place to defeat this monstrosity I thought to be banished back to its dimension. Now I – we – will have to do it again.'
Hisen reopened his eyes, with barely any time have passed. The moment he did, his arm became encased in blue chakra as a black tendril shot up from the ground and came for him. He split the tendril in half with his arm, back flipping and sliding a few feet away.
Immediately, Kouzai's white cloak of chakra enveloped him, without even needing to ask or perform hand signs. The blue marks that decorated Kouzai's fur decorated Hisen's skin now, and the four tails of the cloak. Madara may have told him to keep his power hidden, but this was pure animalistic instinct, and he felt it in his soul. He had been attacked, and on instinct Kouzai came to protect him. It could not be helped.
"That's quite a power you have within you, boy."
Sickly yellow eyes and a toothy grin of sharp teeth met Hisen's unwavering sharingan gaze. He growled a deep, menacing growl. This was the man that had nearly taken his sisters life, and it turn, his and Izuna's, for he nor Izuna could have survived without Anju, especially Izuna.
It was time for Hisen to return his sisters protectiveness and work with Kouzai. Whatever it or Kouzai was, he didn't care. What mattered to him was that this man had almost taken his sisters life, and that was the ultimate sin.
The voice that spoke was not his, but a mixture of his and Kouzai's voice. "Neikan."
The blonde was surrounded by black tentacles that stroked him and surrounded him like a shield, nearly blocking out the sun. "Kouzai."
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"But I don't know how to throw a shuriken! No one taught me!"
The younger Madara chuckled and placed a hand on the little girl's head. "Don't worry, Anju. I'll teach you everything you need to know."
She giggled with glee as Madara took her hand and led her back up the bank of the river, away from its cold water and pebbly bank, and up into the lush green grass. She watched with curious eyes as he took a pouch off his side and tossed it to the ground. Shuriken spilled from the pouch and onto the ground before her.
"Pick one up and study it. I'm going to make a target."
She took one of the shuriken from the ground and turned it over in her hands, looking at it so closely in fact that she could see the many scratches on the metal from previous uses. It was pretty. Not in a girly or glittery way, but in a way her young mind could not comprehend.
"Don't get that too close, Anju. I don't want you getting hurt."
A soft, tentative hand was placed on her back and she looked up at Madara's smiling face. She smiled back, holding the shuriken in her hands. "I won't get hurt as long as I have you, Madara."
He chuckled and a light shade on pink came over his cheeks at her words. "That's right. I'll always protect you. That's why I'll teach you to throw shuriken."
With a bright smile, she followed Madara over to tree with a bullseye painted on it. He stood on her left a foot away and pointed to the target. "Try throwing it."
Her young mind tried remembering how she had seen Madara and others throw shuriken before, and she gave it her best try. She drew her arm back and threw the shuriken, hoping to please Madara with where it landed. The shuriken stuck at the base of the tree, quite a few feet away from the bullseye.
Tears flooded her eyes as she fell onto her knees. "I didn't make it."
Immediately, Madara was kneeling by her side and wiping away her tears with a kind smile. "Not everyone makes it on their first try, Anju. You have to keep practicing at it. You have to make it happen." He held her face in his hands and smiled down at her. "Now come on and stand up. I'll show you how it's done. Before the day is over, you'll be throwing these shuriken blindfolded."
At his words, she smiled and took his hand as he helped her up. He then moved behind her and set her up in a position that was uncomfortable in her yutaka. He rubbed the back of his neck as he saw her struggling. When she saw the look on his face, she became concerned and fidgety, playing with her yutaka to keep herself occupied.
"Hey, Anju," a pair of hands grabbed hers and returned her back to the pose he had her in, "it's okay. I didn't realize these were hard to move in. Tomorrow I'll bring a shirt and pants for you to wear, but this'll do for now. Now just follow my stance and I'll guide you the rest of the way."
As Anju explained one of the many things she had been seeing, and even daydreaming of, Tajima sat in silence, picking at his food just as she was. Maybe it was wrong of her to come to him for answers. Maybe this was all in her head.
"Anything else? Is that all you've been seeing?"
She looked up at him, and like Madara, his gaze gave nothing away. "Well, no. This was the first one I saw, but I see many others like it that involve Madara."
The silence filled the room again, as Anju anxiously awaited Tajima to answer her. In the silence, she looked back down at her tea and at picked at her breakfast. The longer the silence droned on, the more this felt like a mistake.
As she placed her hands on the table, ready to get up, a chuckle came from Tajima. She looked up at him, and was surprised to find a soft smile on his face. "There was once a time, a time where we thought you would marry someone else, and not Izuna," she stared at him as eyes full of sadness met hers, "and that person was Madara."