The news from the Fire country's capital spread like wildfire. The daimyo had unexpectedly drawn his last breath the early morning hours and per tradition, he had deemed his eldest son as his successor. The ceremony was to take place in a week from now and all the prominent clan heads in the country were to attend. Typicalities, one would assume and rightfully so. Amidst the war and misfortune, the royal family always had a penchant for pointless opulence.
Uchiha Madara had never been a man of such frivolities. The only time he deemed a celebration as acceptable was when a battle or war was a success, while the rest was simply a waste of time. He sought to make that widely known at his brother's wedding the previous month, where he only stayed for the ceremony and returned home early, just when the banquet was about to begin. Izuna did not say a word, for he knew his brother's solidary tendencies were partially stemming from something else; Madara had progressively been losing his eyesight, a secret kept strictly between the two brothers.
Madara knew that this would not only be placing his position as leader at stake, but it was putting the clan in danger now more than ever. The five years of his reign marked by vicious combat, were a testament to the imposing danger ahead. Aside from Hashirama's growing control though, nobody would wish to hire a clan with an incapable leader. Being the pragmatist he had always been, he knew that an efficient solution was needed immediately. That is why the messenger hawk that arrived via his office's window, the day of the daimyo's passing came as a deux ex machina. It was a personal invitation. One he would be more than glad to accept.
Hashirama was sluggishly resting his head on his hand, following his brother with his gaze as he was trotting back and forth nervously across the room, seemingly oblivious to his boiling fury. He was about to comment on the situation, when his Tobirama broke the tense silence.
"We will have to uproot the problem, or else there will be another war and I don't know if the odds will be in our favor this time"
"Is there no way of trying meeting up to negotiate more peaceful terms? We already have a lot of defectors from the Uchiha. They could come in handy" Hashirama sighed.
"Willing to compromise as always, however do realize that the tides can turn around at any moment." fired Tobirama back in an annoyed manner "bold moves have always been exclusively your privilege…you are the only one who can survive them"
Hashirama did not speak any farther. He hated to admit that the precarious situation they were facing was once again threatening the feeble peace that he had managed to uphold for a few months. Even though the clan had won the last war by a whisker, the Senju shinobi were tired from the brutal fights and the demographic problems plaguing the two enemies were greater than ever. He had been very hopeful for a moment, as Madara seemed to have calmed down in his battle ventures, but the daimyo's passing was threatening to inadvertently set off a chain of events that could be catastrophic for the Senju clan's future.
The first bad omen was already there, and it was in a form of a cryptic message sent from one of Tobirama's spies. The daimyo's second son had personally contacted Uchiha Madara and that could only mean one thing: an attempt at a coup.
Hashirama was idealistic but he was no fool; he knew that such a bold move needed mercenaries and contacting the leader of a clan discreetly yet directly was not something to be taken lightly. They would have to act fast, not cause another war with the Uchiha but at the same time avert the prince from usurping the daimyo position. The possibility of Madara succeeding and claiming the position for his client, would mean the Uchiha solidifying their position as the most influential clan of the Fire country…a catastrophic scenario in Hashirama's eyes and every other Senju involved.
His brother was right. Upfront confrontations were exclusively his own prerogative, a testament to his strength. Same went for Madara as well, however their soldiers could not keep up. If the situation were to go any more south, the clan would not be able to survive its leader. That is why at that moment, he decided to take his brother's advice without any protest.
Tobirama's assumptions were as sharp as his brain and were crucial for stopping Madara. First, no other suspicious moves had been made from the future daimyo, meaning that he must have been clueless of his brother's schemes. Were he to act, that would most probably be by hiring their clan, as realistically speaking, the Senju were the only ones in the world capable of successfully battling the Uchiha. While they had the obvious choice to present themselves at the eldest son and offer protection, another war would break out.
This time, a mission not tied to a client could work in their favor were they to play their cards correctly; an undercover espionage mission. The meeting was to take place in two days. The two brothers had twelve hours until nightfall to come up with an effective plan and another fourty eight hours for its execution which had to be discreet yet flawless. The enemy was Madara himself after all…
"You are wanted by Hashirama and Tobirama. Now."
Touka's voice startled Hanami. She had been so deeply immersed in making a healing ointment from the herbs she had freshly picked this morning, the cherry on top of an exhausting day. She was so tired that she wanted to get the job done so she could finally sleep, so it was only natural that she never noticed her sister entering her room.
"At a time like this? Please let this be for good." she thought as she took off her apron and rushed toward her cousins' house.
"Hurry. It seems urgent." Touka's voice echoed across the hall as her little sister was searching for her sandals.
Touka's sense of urgency in her voice had Hanami almost running. She entered in such a haste the dimly lit room that she inadvertently tripped, only to come face to face with a perfectly coiffured back of a head. Four kanzashi had been placed on the beautiful updo, glistening from the candlelight. Even if she had not tripped, it was a sight hard to miss. The chestnut haired woman it belonged to, gracefully turned around to see who was making such a ruckus and the only words she uttered were "Seriously? Are you perhaps four again?"
Hanami gasped at the sight of the two beautiful hazel eyes staring coldly at her and only then did she notice Tobirama holding his head in disdain at the pointless confusion that had unfolded in front of his eyes.
"Just startled from the confusion, senpai. I was only wondering how your head could fit through the door with all these ornaments" it was against her better wishes, but her self-restraint was too low, not to make a snarky comment.
"I see you are stooping even lower than your grand entrance" the woman said pointedly, meticulously placing her fan in front of her mouth.
"Will you sit down cousin?" Tobirama abruptly stopped any possible continuation of the spat. Perhaps it was for the best.
Hashirama, who always found situations such as these amusing, decided to handle the conversation from that point on.
"It would be better to get along from tonight if you are going to be working as a team" he said in the most casual way that had the two women in front of him in shock.
"As a…. what?" Hanami raised an eyebrow as she heard the fan of her freshly acquired teammate abruptly fluttering shut in disdain.
"You are not serious Hashirama-sama" the beautiful woman almost shrieked "what makes you think I cannot accomplish such a mission on my own?"
Hanami did not need to look at her to feel her chilling stare, yet she decided to not speak any further. Crafting such a combination for a team certainly needed some imagination. She reckoned it must have been Tobirama's doing and composed herself to hear the mission at hand.
"Two is better than one, Himari" Hashirama answered the woman
"And this mission requires two of you" added Tobirama
That last, seemingly innocent addition rung obnoxiously in Hanami's head "…of you". Over six years had passed since she had been last classified like this; there were many ninja types…the combatants, the trackers, the medics…and them. Those women. She had tried hard to not be part of "them"; she had made a name for herself through hard work, passion and determination and yet there she was again, getting this type of mission out of the blue, getting labeled casually like this. As if her hands hadn't saved thousands of soldiers. What had gone wrong?
When her sister and cousins were fighting in the war, Himari and other women like them were living in the brink of luxury, dressed in the finest clothes, without the slightest scratch on their porcelain bodies. Rich men from all over the world would kill to lay by their sides but sometimes that was not even needed…a dance or a song would be enough. That did not mean the job was easy…the clan was dependent not only on the information those women gathered but also on the ample amounts of money they would bring home for the clan.
Senju ninja were one thing but they were something else. Otherworldly by regular standards. Perhaps that is why they were respected by the clan even though they were shallow at first glance. Still though…they were never truly part of the team and Hanami knew that because of her mother. She had been one of them and if the rumors held true…she had been the best of them too.
**Author's comments**
Hey guys! Long time no update! Thanks for all the favorites/comments I really appreciate it 3
Sorry for the break, but lots of work piled up the previous months and I did not have the time to sit down and actually write. I hope everybody is doing well :) Just so you know I have not given up on the story (I really want to finish it too) but I also don't want to post something half baked.
We are entering a particular part of the story which involves some aspects of strategy (which I suck at lol) so I wanted everything to make sense in order for the story to progress to smoooothly and not get weird asspulls.
This is the timeskip I promised, this time with another aspect of the Warring States era that I thought would be fun to explore. Spies, princes, courtesans, entertainers...sneaky stuff going on behind the scenes. Ninjas that specialize in that type of thing...prim and proper not like the rest of the Senju dorks lol.
Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Will try to post soon but I am too *chaotic* to promise for sure.
xoxo,
CS