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Chapter 8: In Between Rice Fields

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They reached the village before sunset. It was a small village, not more than 40 houses, situated on top of a little hill. It was surrounded by rice fields on every side that looked like green plains extending eternally. Farmers were still working on the fields left and right of them as they followed the only road that led to the village.

The calling and chatting of the workers was a constant noise in the background. It made the place feel lively, and peaceful. They had finally left the harsh and silent mountains behind them and were among people again, normal workers who minded their own business. Some of them watched the two strangers that were Akari and Tobirama approach their village, but no one came to speak with them.

"Could you let me down? I'd like to walk," Akari asked long before they reached the entrance gates.

"Why?" Tobirama didn't understand, but also didn't stop her from sliding down his back to stand on her own.

"All these people here… they'll get the wrong impression."

He still didn't understand. "What impression exactly? We don't know any of these people, and neither will we likely ever meet them again. So why care?"

"It's just not proper," she kept insisting. "I can walk, so I'll walk."

He wasn't going to argue, so he let her have it her way.

He kept on walking and entered the village through the small wooden gate that stood wide open. Akari limped after him. He didn't slow down his usual pace or make sure she was able to keep up. If she claimed she could walk, then he would treat her like someone who could walk.

Security was low in the village. There was no wall, only a small wooden fence, and no guards stopped them from entering. It was no village like Konoha, but one of the old ones, a clan's village. Tobirama and Akari soon found out that it was ruled by the Houzuki clan, a minor clan neither of them had heard before.

Before the founding of the Hidden Villages, most clans lived in their own villages. Many allowed civilians to stay for their labour and goods. In return, the shinobi offered them safety and living space. In a way, the villages weren't too different from the Hidden villages. Just smaller, less politically involved. The Houzuki's village consisted mostly of rice farmers.

A shinobi eventually spotted Akari and Tobirama, and approached them to ask for their intentions. They explained their situation, and were taken to the clan's head, residing in the biggest house at the top of the small hill the village was built around. It was tiny compared to any of the houses the clans in Konoha resided in, yet it seemed immense while towering over the houses of the farmers.

The clan's head was a fairly young man. Older than Akari, but younger than Tobirama. He was clearly nervous as he welcomed them. Senju and Hyuuga were names that were known all throughout the Land of Fire and farther. Yet he was hesitant about allowing potential danger inside his village.

Tobirama let Akari do the talking. Usually he left that part to his brother, but Akari clearly knew what she was doing as well. While Hashirama charmed people with candour and simple humour, Akari had a more systematic approach, one she clearly hadn't learned from his brother.

Tobirama found himself analysing her strategy as she spoke. He knew a lot about persuasion techniques and proper ways of speaking. He had read books on it. Books written by smart and charismatic leaders. But actually using any of what he'd learned was too big of a bother. And he had found out that his brother, who never read a single book on any even remotely related subject, was much more successful in flattering people anyways.

Akari started the conversation by relating to all the doubts the shinobi opposite of them had. She acknowledged his fears, said she prayed the Iwa shinobi would not attack them again, and not in the village with all those innocent civilians. She made his fear her own.

She then talked about the peace between the Land of Grass and the Land of Fire, the strong alliance. Akari's words were full of admiration for the good relationship between their countries and their future together. Tobirama could only roll his eyes.

Yet it seemed to work on the Houzuki clan heir and he made sure they understood that his clan very much wanted to help them. Because while the Houzuki clan had not moved to the Hidden village yet, they were still very loyal to their daimyo. And their daimyo was loyal to the Land of Fire. But he couldn't help. He didn't have the resources.

"I understand you are worried about your people," she said. "I would be too. It shows what a good leader you are to them. And we don't expect anything from you. But if we could just spend the night here, it would help us immensely."

Akari was a small person. One who, despite having blood on her dress from slitting someone's throat, barely looked like a threat to anyone.

I when she mentioned her capture again, and told him how scared she had been, how she couldn't sleep at night out in the forest, fearing someone would come for her again, the man broke.

"I'll make sure my brother, the Hokage, will learn that you allowed us to stay in your village," Tobirama added, knowing well enough it was the last push the clan heir needed. And Tobirama surely wanted to spend the night in a bed and not on a bench somewhere along the road.

It worked, and the man agreed that they may stay in his village. Under one condition. "I'm afraid we cannot treat you as refugees. Our village does not have the resources to get involved in whatever is going on between you and Iwagakure. We'd like to remain neutral for now. So you will stay here as guests."

Tobirama was content with how their talk turned out. Whether they had the support of the town's shinobi or not barely made a difference to him.

Akari bowed, and thanked the man, and Tobirama added an appreciative nod himself.

"Are you really sure staying here is a good idea?" she asked on their way outside, once they were far enough away from any of the Houzuki shinobi. "From what he said, I doubt any of the people here would be capable of helping us should Iwa attack again. And we really shouldn't pull any innocent people into this."

"Those samurai we met hardly posed an obstacle to Muu either. He could have killed them all right there and then. The only reason he chose to retreat was the consequences killing them involved. And the same holds true for attacking this village. They want your eyes, but are they prepared to risk national peace for them? I doubt it."

"I hope you are right."

"Besides, we are not responsible for the people here. The clan head is. And he just allowed us to stay." Tobirama was already busy counting his money as he spoke. "We might be able to buy a small room and a bit of food."

Akari remained quiet and concerned as she followed him down the road, looking for a place to spend the night. The sun was slowly setting, and more and more farmers returned from the fields.

The town was lively. And every single person they passed fell silent and stared at them with suspicion. It barely bothered Tobirama, but it bothered Akari all the more.

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They found a small ryoukan that had a vacant room they could afford. The woman showing them their room wrinkled her nose at the dirty armor Tobirama was wearing and the stains on Akari's dresses. The latter were visible despite Akari's best efforts to hide them with hands and arms.

But money was money, so the woman quickly left them alone after explaining that the bathhouse was outside in the backyard. But the look on her face told them she hoped they wouldn't use it.

Tobirama entered the small tatami room, sat down on the floor, sighed, and opened his map to study their location.

He glanced over to Akari again when he realised she was still standing in the door frame. When she noticed his glance, she quickly sat down at the opposite site of the room, as far away as possible.

Tobirama looked back at his map, but his thoughts stayed with Akari for a moment longer, wondering whether she had expected him to pay for two separate rooms. Obviously that wouldn't have been affordable, even if he had considered it. Which he never had.

"We should make it back to the Land of Fire tomorrow. Konoha we should reach the day after," he said.

She only nodded.

He counted their money again. "We have enough left for a small dinner and maybe a salve for your foot. I'd offer to go out and buy everything we need, but after today's events, I'd rather not leave you alone. Even with my Hiraishin kunai."

"I'll come with you. My foot doesn't hurt much, so I can walk."

He could only guess that she was lying. There was no way her foot did not hurt.

Her eyes fell on the yukata that lay ready and neatly folded on the tatami mats. "Would you mind if I took a bath before we go? People keep staring at us."

Tobirama nodded and got up. "Of course. I'll come with you," he naturally said.

It took a while until he realised why she was staring at him with eyes full of irritation and repulsion.

"I mean, I'll wait outside. Just in case anything should happen. Or have a bath myself depending on the location."

Her face was red as she stared at the yukata. For a moment he thought she might want to change, but then she grabbed it and quickly left the room.

Tobirama couldn't help but sigh as he grabbed a yukata too and followed her. He wondered whether this was what Hashirama had to put up with all the time. There was a weird tension between them. One he couldn't imagine existed between her and his brother as well. But why he couldn't tell. Maybe it was because they were strangers.

Tobirama had grown up among brothers, zero sisters. And somehow the team of students he had taken on turned out to be three boys as well. Maybe he was doing something wrong, he wondered. He probably was. Maybe there were differences between male and female students he hadn't been aware of, at least not consciously.

He followed her down the hallway, then out of the building into the backyard. Outside they found themselves in a carefully arranged garden, with a small wooden house in the middle of it. There was a sign saying "bathhouse".

The garden was quiet, and the bathhouse seemed completely empty. Akari vanished behind the door that showed the sign for "woman" before Tobirama had a chance to say anything, explain their plan. He walked up to it, knocked. He didn't expect her to open the door, just wanted some attention before speaking. "I'll take a bath too. Wait here for me if you are done bathing first, alright?"

He heard a short affirmation and went into the men's bathroom. It was small, nothing special. Just a hand shower to wash oneself before bathing in a little tub enclosed by walls on three sides.

He suddenly remembered that they'd left the Hiraishin kunai in their room. He thought about going to get it, but didn't want to leave her. And the walls he could tell were thin enough. She was right there, next to him. He could even hear the running water. So he decided they didn't need the kunai. If anything were to happen to her, it would only take him a second to punch through the wall.

He took off his armor, and decided to try and relax in the hot water for at least a bit.

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The water that ran down Akari's skin was red and brown when she rinsed her hair. She could feel the wound Tobirama had stitched up at the back of her head. It didn't hurt, which she decided was a good sign. Her foot, on the other hand, was still blue, and red, and black. And most of all, swollen.

It took her long until the water dripping down her hair stayed clear. But when she felt that she was clean enough, she stopped washing herself and limped to the bathtub. The water was green and smelled of herbs. Her skin burned as she immersed, but as soon as her whole body was engulfed with hot water, she could feel her muscles relax.

She sighed. The hot bath felt soothing in a way she had not anticipated. Her thoughts were a mess. She was scared of another attack from Iwa, she was embarrassed to share a room with Tobirama, she prayed to be back to Konoha soon. But most of all, Muu's words kept resounding in her head, and she feared them. She feared that something had happened to Inori.

But the water seemed to wash all these thoughts away, and at least for a short moment, she was able to silence them, and concentrate on the scent of the herbs and the tickling on her skin.

She stayed in the bathtub longer than she'd wanted. It hadn't been her intention to make Tobirama wait, but it took her awhile to be ready to step outside again, into the real world.

Just like she'd anticipated, Tobirama was already waiting for her outside. His armor was gone and he wore one of the ryoukan's yukata instead.

She politely apologised for taking too long, but he didn't seem to mind.

They took their clothes back to their room, and left again to buy food and a salve for her foot, which, according to Tobirama, looked worse than bad. Akari objected to spending money on a salve, but he only raised a brow at her and dropped the conversation.

She walked behind him, ignoring the sharp pain she felt whenever she put the slightest bit of weight on her ankle. It was dark outside, but most houses had lights burning, lighting up the little village around them. It felt homely, peaceful.

None of the people they passed stared at them anymore. They either went unnoticed or earned looks of curiosity on who these strangers were. It had Akari feel more comfortable again.

They'd barely left the ryoukan when Tobirama stopped.

"You really shouldn't walk on that foot. I told you, you are risking permanent damage. Is that worth it?"

Akari stayed quiet. She couldn't let him carry her in the village. Not while wearing a yukata anyway.

He frowned at her silence. "Are you always this unreasonable?"

Akari's lips parted as she couldn't quite believe her ears. She was not unreasonable, she protested to herself. If anything, she was the most reasonable among her teammates.

She held her words back, pressing her lips together as hard as she could. Until eventually, she couldn't anymore, and the words came spurting out with much more force than she would have liked.

"What's so wrong about caring for one's appearance? Working on your attitude would do you good too!" It felt relieving, and there was much more she wanted to throw at him. But then she reminded herself that he was still the Hokage's advisor, the second in command.

So instead, she apologised for her words.

His expression never changed. A short: "You apologise too much," was all he replied.

"How could someone possibly apologise too much? It's called having manners. Something you clearly lack." The last sentence made her want to apologise all over again, but she chose to simply shut her mouth instead.

"Just treat me like you treat my brother. There's no need to be overly polite with me."

What a weird thing to say, she thought. Hashirama was like her uncle. He'd been part of her childhood, and he had trained her for years. Tobirama was nothing like that, so she couldn't treat them the same.

"Hashirama would never call me unreasonable," she answered. The word still bothered her. She didn't want him to think she was unreasonable.

"He would if he saw you walking on that swollen foot. But I guess this is none of my concern." He turned away from her and walked off.

"Wait!" Akari impulsively called to stop him again. She wasn't exactly sure what she was going to say. But she couldn't let him walk off like that.

An idea sparked her head. A compromise. One that coloured her cheeks in a soft red.

"Could I… maybe hold onto your arm? That way I could walk, but put less weight on my foot."

She wasn't too sure whether asking such a thing of Tobirama was appropriate. But he'd made her ask that question.

Tobirama agreed like it was nothing, and offered her his arm without a second of hesitating.

The way he acted like this was nothing out of the ordinary felt reassuring to her. Surely her father would think twice about letting his daughter hold onto a man for support, even if her ankle was broken. But there were no second thoughts on Tobirama's face, so she tucked her arm into his and they walked down the road together. And told herself this was fine.

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Akari was a bit glad to be back in the small room with little space. It was tiny, yet still allowed her to get further away from Tobirama than she'd been outside.

The hostess had seen them return, and now that their appearance looked somehow decent again, was polite enough again to bring a can of tea to their room, as a token of their hospitality.

Tobirama sat down on a cushion, poured himself a cup of tea, and unpacked their purchase. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing. They had not eaten ever since they left the Land of Stone.

She sat down as well, slightly closer this time. Being near Tobirama did not feel as bad as he had anticipated. She thought there would be something inappropriate between them, something she could only fight off by staying away from him. But their walk had shown her she'd been wrong. Because Tobirama Senju barely ever looked at her. He treated her presence as the most normal thing on earth. So Akari decided to do the same as long as they were on their way back to Konoha.

He took the salve and fresh bandages they bought, and offered to take care of her ankle. Akari's first impulse was to decline, but instead, she simply stretched out her leg and let him bandage the ankle.

She watched him. Something about him was different. He looked different. She'd thought so before, but did not have the time to study his face like she did now.

It took her a while until she realised that his head armor was gone, and that she could not remember the last time she had seen him without it. Tobirama always walked around Konoha wrapped in protective gear.

Her eyes traced the lines of his face while he was focused on her foot. His features somehow fitted his personality, she thought. They were not as delicate as those of Minoru, but more defined, more mature. Around his eyes and on his forehead, she could find a few lines of worry, and she imagined that each of them had its own story to tell.

Strangely enough, she suddenly remembered the question Inori had asked her on their way to the Land of Wind. And Akari couldn't help but think that, maybe, she found Tobirama attractive. More so than Hiruzen, Kagami and Danzo, or even Minoru, who were all good-looking men. She'd be lying if she said they weren't. But there was something different about Tobirama. His hands were rough and big and the skin clearly needed more oils, yet the way he wrapped the bandage around her foot was soft and careful. It evoked a feeling in her that made her look away. But he was so close that his smell mixed with the herbs of the bath water stayed in her nose.

She slapped her hand into her face, telling herself this was nonsense. That it was Inori's fault for planting weird thoughts in her head. She rubbed her forehead, hoping these silly thoughts would disappear.

"Are you not feeling well?" he asked at the sudden change in her behaviour. He wrapped the last piece of bandage around her ankle.

Akari shook her head. "I'm fine. I just remembered something. But it's nothing." Her eyes searched the room for a change of topic. But there was barely anything there. And she didn't know what to talk about with Tobirama, didn't know what he liked or found interesting. She'd grown up right next to him, in Konoha, the Hyuuga compound, guided by his brother. Yet she couldn't think of a single topic to get to know him better.

When she looked back at Tobirama, she noticed the three red stripes on his face. They were much more prevalent now that the armor was gone.

"Those red stripes," she said, "what are they? A tattoo?"

"What else would they be?" he turned away from her again and back to his tea.

She caught herself being disappointed that the distance between them increased. So without thinking, she said, "I don't know. Paint?"

He scowled. "Do I look like someone painting their face every morning? Besides, I just took a bath."

She was disheartened at his cold reaction, and at yet another failed attempt at holding a conversation. She fell quiet, and leaned back against the wall in surrender. Maybe it was better this way, she figured. The thoughts that Inori had planted in her head now stuck deep, and no matter how often she averted her eyes, they always found their way back to him.

Tobirama sipped his tea. Eventually, he noticed the frown on Akari's brow. "These tattoos are a tradition of my mother's clan," he decided to share after all.

"They are?" Akari answered immediately, surprised that he chose to talk to her.

He nodded. "I got them after her death. Sort of as a… memento." He unpacked the food. He'd bought four hand-sized buns, all brown and crispy on the outside, but with different fillings. They were the leftovers of a bakery and were thus sold for half the price. "Which one do you want?"

"Oh, I'm not hungry. But thank you for the offer," she politely declined. She already felt bad enough that he paid for their room and the salve for her foot. She couldn't ask for more.

The look she had tried hard to avoid showed on his face again. He was judging her. He was displeased. Displeased with her politeness.

He took out two buns and threw the rest over to her. "Just eat, for goodness sake," he snarled at her.

"Thank you," she said. It was short and quick this time, with less excited intonation.

Quietly, she took a bite. She'd liked the air around him when he spoke of his mother's clan, and she still felt curious, so she decided to continue the conversation. "Do they hold a special meaning? The tattoos, I mean. You said they were part of a tradition."

He looked at her again, eyed her. It seemed he was considering something. "They simply represent belonging to the clan. The Inuzuka have them too."

Akari nodded. In a way, the Sun Seal was like that as well. It was a symbol of belonging. At least if one left out all the power it held over the wearer, and the fact that it was a symbol of belonging to the inferior part of the family.

"I'm sure you know that Hashirama is technically only my half-brother. We have different mothers. Most don't even know my mother's name or the clan she belonged to."

Akari blushed as she realised that she was one of those people. She had once heard that Tobirama and Hashirama did not share the same mother. But she never knew that his mother was no Senju. Somehow, she always assumed she'd been.

He smiled, which took her by surprised. "Don't worry about it. As I said, it's not something a lot of people know. And I do consider myself a Senju."

She took another bite, still ashamed she had never even considered the possibility of Tobirama only being half a Senju. He surely looked nothing like his brother, or any of the other Senju she knew. But marriage between clans was a concept that was close to alien to Akari.

"So what clan did your mother belong to?"

He seemed surprised, like he hadn't expected her to show any more interest.

"The Kouri clan. They are not exactly well known. A small clan from the Land of Frost."

"Oh, they must be proficient in ice release then. Is that how you learned your ice jutsu?"

He only answered with a short "maybe", then disrupted the conversation by getting up and preparing the bed. "Let's go to sleep. There is still a long journey ahead of us. I'll start with night's watch, just in case."

Akari was disappointed their conversation ended there. But it seemed that was all he was willing to share with her, so she let it go. "Don't worry. I'll hold watch. You sleep."

"We both need the sleep. You should feel exhausted after using the Byakugan that much. At least that's what you look like."

She tried a smile and a little joke. "I'll just sleep on your back tomorrow while you carry me across the country."

"I'm not letting you fool me two nights in a row. I'll take the first watch, and I'll wake you once it's time."

Akari reluctantly lay down. And Tobirama lit a candle to read some old book he'd found on the table of their room.

"Does the light bother you?" he asked when he noticed her glancing at him instead of sleeping.

"No, it's fine." Akari quickly turned around to face the wall instead.

Her eyes were heavy, and she really did feel exhausted. Yet she couldn't go to sleep. Her thoughts were racing. Sometimes, she did doze off, but awoke with her senses on high alert again, unsure how long she'd been asleep or whether she'd been asleep at all.

It always took her a moment to realise where she was, and to find Tobirama still sitting calmly next to the candle, reading his book.

One time, her mouth felt dry, so she sat up, rubbed her tired eyes.

Tobirama offered her some tea. It was cold, but exactly what she needed. So she crawled over to him and poured herself a cup.

"We can change shifts now," she said as she took a sip.

Tobirama didn't move, nor put the book away. "It's early still. I haven't even finished the book."

Her eyes fell on the title. The Old Gods of the Lost Kingdoms.

He noticed, and showed her the cover. "It's a book about mythology of the Land of Grass and the gods they used to pray to. Not a bad read. I was planning on finishing it tonight."

"I don't think I'll be able to go back to sleep though. So I might as well keep watch."

"Bad dreams?"

Akari stared into her cup. The tea looked black in the darkness. He looked at her, waiting for her to share whatever it was that bothered her. The candle's light flickered, but it bathed half the room in a comfortable warm light.

"Do you think Muu spoke the truth? When he said they had acquired a sharingan?" she eventually asked. "What if Inori is-"

He cut her off. "I don't know and it also doesn't matter. Our goal is to get back to Konoha."

His reaction took her aback. She'd wanted him to listen to her worries, and then discard them. Because maybe she could believe the words when they came from Tobirama. She wanted to believe that there was no need to worry.

"But if they took Inori then…" This time, she didn't finish her own sentence.

"Then what? Do you want to turn around to check, just in case?"

Her head dropped. "I'm just worried. I don't know what I should do if I come back to Konoha just to find Inori missing."

He sighed. Akari wondered whether she was a bother to him.

"You trust my brother, don't you?" His voice was as soft as Akari thought it could get. Which was not a lot on her scale, but she noted the effort. So she nodded. "My brother would not let anything happen to Inori. He sent me after you knowing I could bring you back. And if someone actually managed to take Inori, I am certain he would think of a plan to get her back as well. So instead of worrying, you should trust Hashirama."

Akari slowly nodded.

"Go back to sleep. I want to finish this book."

She emptied her cup and laid back down. Somehow, it felt like she was cut off from her own life, from reality. She didn't know whether her friends were alive or not, whether the rest of her team was in Konoha or somewhere completely else. It was a weird feeling, weird and distorted.