Warning: Child OC
Ryo knew she would die. If not by the hands of the enemy then by the hands of her own clan.
Still, she regretted nothing.
Ryo remained silent as her captors dragged her along, and she did not utter a sound when a rough hand backhanded her for walking too slowly.
She could feel her cheek bruise, but she paid it no mind.
It did not matter. Not anymore.
The enemy's compound was turning up in front of them. Ryo could see the tall walls looming in front of her like the gates of hell, threatening and foreboding.
With each step they took the cold stone seemed to grow in height, aching into the sky as if attempting to reach heaven.
Ryo averted her gaze.
They had reached the gates now, and Ryo could feel the guards' icy gazes burning into her back as she was pushed through the entrance.
Ryo heard people mutter around her in agitation, but her mind had become numb and refused to process any words; their voices nothing but a constant background humming, reminding Ryo of a swarm of angry bees.
The door of the main house was thrown open and two men stepped out of it. Ryo vaguely recognized them as the Senju brothers.
Ryo was both terrified and completely calm when their eyes settled on her.
The younger brother's eyes were cold, his face set in a stony mask of indifference. His brother, Senju Hashirama, however, allowed a flicker of sadness to pass over his face before his emotions were locked away again.
Her mind cleared slightly when she suddenly impacted with the ground and harsh hands forced her on her knees.
"This is the one who tried to kill Elder Seiki?" Hashirama's voice sounded grave. "She cannot be older than seven."
"Yes, Senju-sama," the Senju guard holding her down answered. "We found her next to his body."
Senju-sama nodded once. His face was blank as his gaze settled on her. "Is there anything you have to say, child of the Uchiha?"
Ryo remained quiet and lowered her head.
This was it.
She was only moments away from death now.
Senju-sama looked slightly pained. "I have no choice then, but to sentence you to death."
He moved forward to enforce his judgment, but his brother stepped between them.
Ryo heard the distinct sound of a sword being unsheathed. Her heart thundered as she felt the cold metal rest against her neck.
She closed her eyes and waited for the impact.
"Tobirama-sama!" a weak voice suddenly interjected, "Please stay your hand!"
The sword stopped; the sharp edge only inches away from her throat. "Seiki-san, what are you doing here? You should rest."
"I will," the old man answered. He was breathing heavily. "But I had to make sure that you are not killing the one who saved me."
The murmurs around her started again. They sounded less angry and more confused this time.
Ryo still kept her head down, not daring to move with the sword so close.
"Saved you?" Senju-sama cut in, "Please elaborate, Seiki-san."
"I ran into a group of clanless shinobi. I believe they were scouting the area," the old man answered slowly. "I managed to defeat them, but I was gravely injured. This child found me. Had she not stopped the bleeding, I would be dead by now."
"Clanless ninja? Why are we not aware of this?" Brother-sama demanded.
The metal was lowered away from her neck as her executioner focused his attention on the guards.
The guard next to her shifted. "We just assumed they were thugs hired by the Uchiha clan to assassinate Elder Seiki and that the kid was there to supervise them."
"You assumed," Senju-sama's voice was deceptively mild, "that the Uchiha clan, a clan filled with capable assassins of its own, hired thugs to kill a clan elder."
"And when they failed to fulfill their mission," Brother-sama continued, sounding decidedly unimpressed, "you assumed furthermore that this child was tasked with finishing it, ending our fragile ceasefire for no reason at all?"
Ryo could almost feel the embarrassed anger radiating from the guards.
"We will deal with this later," Senju-sama decided, "Now we have another matter to take care of."
Cloth rustled softly as the man stepped closer to her. "Why did you not speak up, child?"
Ryo's head remained lowered, her lips tightly shut.
Senju-sama sighed quietly. "I have made a decision," he announced, "The child will remain in my and my brother's custody until we reach a consensus with the Uchiha clan."
There were several protests coming from the onlookers, but Hashirama was not deterred. "My decision is final."
The crowd slowly dispersed, and Ryo was suddenly hoisted up and carried inside.
She did not see much of the interior because she was immediately brought to a rather spacious room.
It looked like an office.
They closed the door behind them and Ryo half-expected to be thrown down. She instinctively tensed in preparation for the painful impact.
But to her surprise, Ryo was lowered down with an unexpected gentleness and for a short, illusory second she almost felt as if she were a child in their care rather than a captured enemy.
Ryo forced the absurd thought away. They were Senju, she was an Uchiha about to die. Not killing her on the spot was the only mercy she could expect. It was double-edged mercy, too. Her clan would be ruthless in its judgment.
She glanced at the two men in front of her and realized that they had been regarding her silently.
Ryo knew that she made a rather sorry picture. Her clothes were ripped and dirty and her body was littered with some rather nasty-looking bruises.
Considering she had been tasting blood for a while, her lip was probably split, too.
Unsure about what to do, she looked down again, careful to keep her eyes from straying before she could get accused of spying.
Senju-sama's hand closed around her chin and turned her head to the side. Ryo froze but willed her fear down. She would be dead soon. Whatever happened before did not matter anymore.
"This looks rather painful," the man mused quietly. There was concern in his voice and it baffled Ryo. Why would he care about her being in pain or not?
"What were you doing outside your clan's compound?", Brother-sama cut in. "Children rarely run around unguarded."
She stilled at the personal question. Ryo did not want to answer, but Senju-sama's hand was still on her face and way too close to her throat.
"Apricot trees," she answered reluctantly, "Mother loved the blossoms."
Brother-sama's face was blank.
"It's her birthday today," Ryo whispered. "I… I wanted to cover her grave with them."
Silence.
Senju-sama looked at her with an expression that could only be described as sad gentleness. Why was he sad? Why did he look gentle?
Her teachers had always told her that the Senju were cruel and heartless. So why was Senju-sama's hand so warm?
Ryo was confused.
Even more so when the man's palm was suddenly illuminated by a bright green light.
She shook her head. "Please don't, Senju-sama," Her small hand came up to cover his. "I will die anyway. If not by your hand, then by my clan's. Healing me is a waste of effort."
Ryo was surprised at the steadiness and finality in her own voice. Still, hearing herself speak these words out loud made her imminent death more real.
She felt a strange calmness settling down on her. Like nothing that happened from now on could bother her anymore.
It was both a freeing and suffocating feeling to know that you would die – and that nothing you did would change the outcome.
For a long moment, neither of the men knew how to react. How were you supposed to act when a seven-year-old told you with absolute certainty that she would die? The sheer acceptance in her words completely threw them off.
They could not deny that this outcome was possible, though.
Hashirama's jawline tightened. Everything about this situation was wrong. Terribly so. This child had saved a life, and now she had to worry about being killed for it.
No, she was sure she would be killed for it. Sure to an extent that made her think that nothing mattered anymore.
He met his brother's eyes over the child's shoulder. Tobirama's face was carefully blank, but Hashirama knew him well enough to see past his mask.
His little brother was not heartless, just pragmatic, and the situation agitated him, too.
Tobirama inclined his head slightly in the direction of the door.
Hashirama nodded slightly and gently dislodged her hand. "It is not a waste of effort, child" he answered simply, "Besides, I have enough chakra, I can afford to spare some for you."
The child did not protest further, and Hashirama's hand glowed again. Slowly, the bruised flesh mended under his touch.
Hashirama knew the unpleasant itching feeling that usually came with being healed. But the child remained silent, not twitching even once. He wondered if she was worried about angering him or if she had been trained not to lower her guard in front of an enemy.
It was probably both.
He lowered his hand and suppressed a smile when the child touched her unblemished face and he received a tiny, but rather confused "Thank you?"
Ryo did not understand why Senju-sama had healed her. Was it because of Madara-sama? No matter what she had done, he would still be mad about the Senju injuring one of their own.
Ryo did not want Madara-sama to be mad at the Senju. They would only start fighting again. Ryo did not like fighting. The last time they had fought, her mother had died.
She would never feel her warm arms around her again.
Ryo did not want to be the reason for more children being cold.
Brother-sama entered the room again. He was carrying a tray. Ryo had not even heard him leave.
She averted her eyes when he came closer, and her neck itched on the spot his sword had been not too long before.
"Thank you, brother," Senju-sama took the tray and smiled at his brother. It made him look ages younger.
Brother-sama inclined his head. "Of course. If you have no need for me at the moment, I shall go and deal with the guard situation."
"Please go on," Senju-sama answered calmly, "I will handle things on this end."
Brother-sama exited again, and Ryo was left alone with the clan leader.
"There is a bowl of water if you want to clean yourself up a bit, and a platter of rice cakes," Senju-sama informed her calmly. He leaned over to grab one of the rice cakes and bit into it. "Help yourself to them, they are delicious."
Ryo was hesitant. She had been taught to never accept anything from an enemy. But would it really be so bad? The worst thing they could do was poison her, and since she was going to die anyway, it did not really matter.
Her decision made, she reached for the plate and stopped when she saw the single apricot blossom lying next to it.
She picked it up with a trembling hand.
How did it get there?
Had Brother-sama put it on the tray? Why? Why had he done it?!
Ryo stared at the fragile bloom in her palm. "I am sorry mother," she whispered softly," I could not get your gift. Please don't be mad."
Suddenly the blossom started to change. First, it birthed a small green point. But then the point got bigger and fuller, and the green slowly turned into the distinct color of an apricot.
Ryo was so fascinated by the entire process that she did not even feel her Sharingan activating in response to her emotions.
But the transformation did not stop with the apricot. The flesh slowly melted away until only the fruit kernel was left and something green tentatively poked out of the hard core.
The green vine wound its way up, sprouting its first, tentative leaves. Ryo could feel the seedling shudder slightly in her palm, and it grew even higher and stronger. The soft green hardened into a strong trunk.
The small sapling had now reached the size of Ryo's forearm, sprouting tiny, but solid branches. It looked like a newborn tree expecting its first spring.
Ryo's Sharingan spun wildly as the slow growth burned itself into her mind. She was completely mesmerized by the tiny tree and the countless blossoms being birthed by it.
Cautiously, she brushed her fingertip against one of the tiny branches. It ached into her touch, and Ryo could feel something brush against her chakra. It felt like a greeting. "Your gift is beautiful, Senju-sama."
"Thank you, child," Senju-sama placed a heavy hand on her head. "You could plant it on your mother's grave. I am sure she would enjoy it."
Ryo smiled sadly. "That would have been nice. I won't be able to do it, but thank you, Senju-sama." She gently handed the tree back to him. "Seeing this was enough for me. I am tired. May I rest for a while?"
"Soon," Senju-sama answered, "But before that I need you to answer me a question."
Ryo tilted her head.
Senju-sama's face was serious. "Why did you save Elder Seiki?"
Ryo fiddled with her torn shirt. "The funeral pyres. The smoke clouds the sky every night. I want to see the stars again. Only when they shine, nobody has to cry."
Senju-sama was quiet for a while. Ryo thought that he looked sad again. "You may rest now, child," he told her quietly.
"Thank you." Ryo curled up on the hard floor and allowed exhaustion to claim her. The last thing she heard was Senju-sama's soft whisper.
"I, too, want the stars to shine again."
The first thing Ryo noticed were the arms around her. The second, the fact that she was moving. Or rather, that she was being moved.
She blinked and looked up to see Brother-sama carrying her. The man looked down on her. "Good, you are awake. We are about to meet your clan leader and I prefer you to be conscious for it," he informed her.
Ryo was immediately wide awake, and her heartbeat quickened slightly.
"My brother has already informed him of everything that has transpired. Once we have reached the meeting place, you will be returned to him."
She nodded quietly. There was nothing else she could do.
They had reached a clearing now. Ryo recognized it as one of the borders between the Uchiha and the Senju lands.
She could already see the tall figures of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama in the middle of the clearing.
Brother-sama sat her down, and Ryo mentally prepared herself for her master's judgment. She threw a last look at the white-haired man and smiled tentatively at him. "Thank you for the apricot blossom, Senju-sama. Please take care."
She walked towards her fate.
Author's note:
What will happen now? You decide - or read:
Happy End: Chapter 2
Sad End: Chapter 3