Around eight years prior to this moment, the elders council of the Senju clan, its head and his advisors had gathered in a room to decide on the fate of Senju Hideki's new born daughter. All of them had imagined the following years going in many different directions, but none of them had expected that they would gather again in the same room, minus three or four people, to once again pass judgment on this same person.
At least not this soon.
The players were more or less the same: Senju Butsuma, Senju Hanako, Senju Yume, all the elders, minus one or two who had died in between, and, of course, the seemingly immortal Elder Fujio.
Except that this time the little girl didn't have her parents to defend her. She stood alone, hair tied in a high ponytail, head held high, expression blank, almost bored.
She listened to the adults talk, some angry, some just curious, most greedy, but all she gave in response was a tiny head shake from time to time. The situation from afar looked almost comical: the highest orders of the strongest clan in the continent, gathered to scold and interrogate a seven years old girl.
But in reality, it was nothing to laugh about.
Always sticking to the rules, Senju Butsuma had made a "full" report about what happened the previous night, and everyone in the clan was talking about this new power that she seemed to have awakened. Some talked about the Rinnegans, some gossiped about Yume's weird relationship with the Senju clan head's sons, and most condemned her for striking and threatening their leader.
After letting the others make her case for an hour, Senju Hanako finally stood up: "Everyone, I think it is time we handle the issues at hand. First of all, Yume attacking our clan head out of the blue like this is a clear sign of her insubordination and lack of care for our clan's rules. I know he was my son, but I will be the first to say that Hideki lacked firmness, and that he raised a very spoiled child. And who the hell knows what that Uchiha woman managed to teach her before she clocked out. And second, her living situation is highly unorthodox. Yume is a young girl, she can't live like this in a house with two unrelated boys around her age. This is highly frowned upon, and our clan has always been conservative. So, with all of this in mind, I ask that you give me back custody of my grandchild. I raised a hero of our clan like HIdeki, on my own, so I can assure you that I will give her all the guidance and discipline she needs in the future."
Whispers broke out in all the room. One elder stood up: "Hanako-san, with all due respect, Hideki might have been a hero, but he also married an enemy. One that killed many of our friends, sons, siblings and even fathers. Why would we trust you with another prospective tool of our clan?"
Before an angry Hanako could retort, a woman also threw in her two cents: "Elder Hanako, I think I understood you wrong, but what you're saying is basically criticising our clan head's parenting. Are you saying that he is not up to the task, and that you could do better?"
Shouting once again broke out in the room. Yume was flabbergasted by how the adults were behaving. She didn't understand much of the politics going on, nor did she get the jabs they were throwing at each other, but they still sounded ridiculous to her.
Her eyes wandered for a while, but then she met the eyes of Elder Fujio. That man has been old ever since she knew him, but he didn't seem to change much over the years. He had been as silent as she had been, but at the moment, he was giving her an amused smile, and a wrinkled wink.
He tapped the floor with the cane he was leaning on while sitting, and calmly announced: "Alright, I've heard enough. All of you had made points. Gome greater than the others. Clear the room now please. I want to have a private chat with Yume-chan, before I give my verdict."
Butsuma frowned: "I'm the clan head, shouldn't I be the one to make judgments here?"
Elder Fujio turned to give him a knowing look: " Normally, yes. But as the person who just got sent through a wall by a seven years old girl, I think your judgment might be a little too clouded by your pride. And since I'm the oldest one here, as well as the one with the most accomplishments, I would like to reserve the decision making right to myself. Unless anyone has a problem with that, of course."
Many people had a problem with that, but none dared to speak up. Little by little, they all shuffled outside of the room, leaving only Fujio and Yume in it. Once the door closed behind them, the old man stood up and started walking towards Yume, his oakwood cane making light tapping noises with every step.
He stood in front of her and said: " Well, that was a total shit show, wasn't it?"
Not knowing how to respond, Yume chose to raise an eyebrow. Out of the blue, he reached out to take her hand, and started dragging her to the other side of the table, where the chairs were, and arranged for them to sit at the end of the table, facing each other. Yume's small legs didn't reach the floor, so she awkwardly swung them, fidgeting with the hem of her shirt.
After a while, he started: "You do know that you're going to have to explain yourself at some point, if you want to avoid punishment, don't you?"
Yume raised her head to look at him quizzically, so he continued: "Now that it's just you and me, I hope that you will be honest with me, and explain the situation clearly. If it helps, know that I'm probably the only person left in this clan who has always been on your side. And knowing Butsuma, he probably got what he deserved. "
These words, Elder Fujio said for a reason.
In his time, Senju Fujio was the strongest soldier of the Senju clan. That's probably how he managed to live for so long. At the height of his career, he even killed the then head of the Uchiha clan, Yume's maternal great-grandfather. So naturally, he was chosen to teach the most promising students of the clan. Around the time he lost his two, very young, sons to the war, he was given two new students, the clan heir and the most promising young shinobi of our clan, Butsuma and Hideki. He took it as a sign of fate, and treated them as if they were his own.
Hideki took to his teaching like a fish to the water. He was a natural prodigy, a fun loving, devoted and earnest kid, who sadly was in need of a father's guidance. They got along very well, and Senju Fujio liked to think that young Hideki took after him more than he took after his sad excuse of a family. Eventually, Hideki also became the strongest of the clan, and he too got his prodigal student, who resembled him so much you would think that they were father and son.
Butsuma, however, was always more complicated, and Fujio understood why. Butsuma wasn't the initial heir to the Senju clan, and not even the spare. He had two older brothers, and one younger than him. They were great fighters too, so it looked like he was going to be just a regular shinobi for the rest of his life, and he was very much fine with it. But then, in a single night, all his brothers were killed. He didn't even have time to mourn them, as the battles succeeded each other, and eventually he was declared heir and sent to Fujio, in hopes that he might teach him well enough to keep him alive until he produces heirs of his own.
Life was never easy for him. The burden of leading a clan, the weight of the lives lost whenever he made a mistake, the politics of it all, that's not something anyone can handle well.
His teacher always hoped that his time with him and Hideki would help him ease up a little. And sometimes, it looks like it did. He was able to let go of his jealousy and become best friends with Yume's father. He fell in love with a civilian woman and actually fought against all odds to marry her. He took Yume in, and treated her as his other times, his ugly side comes out. He just reverts back into being a soulless bastard, that only wants results, and forgets why and whom he's doing all this for in the first place.
Hideki and Fujio long hoped that he would be the clan head to stop this madness of sending kids to the battlefield. But he didn't. Because doing so might put the Senju in a disadvantage for a while, and he didn't want that to happen during his reign. Not even losing his own kids made him relent. He refused to make the decision now, because that would be akin to admitting that it's his fault that Kawarama, Itama and countless others are gone. So he stubbornly kept pushing forward, and blamed it all on the enemy, which made him hate the enemy even more, and that led to more wars. It was a vicious cycle
At her stunned expression, Elder Fujio just gave a light chuckle and continued in a gentle tone: " He said that when you attacked, he was disciplining his son in his office. I know what that is code for. He's so like his father, and grandfather before him. I really don't understand how someone who had suffered from the same thing, could make his kids go through it too. But anytime I say something about it , he retorts that he turned out great because of his fathers strictness, and that he ought to give his children the same teachings if he wants them to be good leaders to the Senju in the future."
Yume frowned at that. Every mention of yesterday's events made her blood boil all over again. Hashirama healed incredibly quickly, but he still had visible bruises in the morning, which made her angrier at herself for failing at protecting him.
Noticing her change in attitude, Elder Fujio cocked his head to the side: "Why was he "disciplining" him anyway? Butsuma never said why, and I have a feeling that it has a lot to do with why you felt like you should intervene."
Yume went back to fidgeting with her shirt. Biting her lips, she tried to think of a way to answer that wouldn't hurt Hashirama later. She knew that Butsuma didn't say anything because he wanted to protect him from being accused of treachery. But before she could think of a lie, he added: "You can tell me anything. I won't judge. I'm on your side."
Yume's head snapped to him once again. She saw no deception in his eyes, and his chakra didn't bear the signs of someone who was up to no good. She just knew that she could talk to this old man, who her father saw as his own father.
She locked away and said in a small voice: "Hashirama-kun….he made friends with an Uchiha. My cousin, actually. His name is Madara. They used to meet by the river near the south border. Tobirama-kun saw them and told his father. And Butsuma-sama ordered Hashirama-kun to spy on his friend to get information. And to kill him if couldn't. But Hashirama-kun didn't want to, so he warned his friend to run away. It all ended with a big confrontation between Butsuma-sama, Uchiha Tajima, Madara and Hashirama-kun, Tobirama and some other Uchiha kid. But fortunately no one died."
She didn't know what to expect once she had told her story, so she kept her head lowered, but her senses were on high alert. The silence prolonged more and more and finally she couldn't stand it and looked at the old man facing her. What she saw was nothing she was prepared for. He was smiling broadly, a big deranged smile. Lost in his own musings, he even forgot to talk to her.
Finally she heard him whisper: "So I was right. It is happening. This can not be a coincidence."
He raised his head to look at her: "Yume-chan, do you know why I chose to let you live, seven years ago?"
Let her live?
She had always known that her existence was generally unwanted, but she hadn't known that it was once a subject of discussion. That stung, but she shook her head nonetheless. The old man chose that moment to stand up and motionned for her to follow behind him. He went to the nearby window and stared through it. The room they were in was in the only two storied building of the compound, near the gates. Being on a higher floor meant that they were now overlooking the entire main street of the compound, and they could watch from the side as the other clan members went on with their lives.
Elder Fujio stood in contemplative had known about Yume for longer than anyone thought. In fact, the moment her mother fell pregnant, her father came clean to him and asked for advice. Elder Fujio was so mad at him at first. He was human too, and he couldn't always look past his hate for the people who took his kids' lives, the lives of his brothers, the lives of his friends. But once he calmed down, he decided to act like any father would. He just wanted to help his son be happy.
They had this whole plan where they would have given Yume to a nice couple to raise somewhere far away. And then, when the Uchiha found out and declared Akari a traitor, he supported Hideki in his decision to leave the clan too, and take both of them away. It was a selfish decision from the clan's perspective, but god knows that Hideki had done enough. He was allowed a chance to be happy, with the two women he loved the most. So you could imagine Fujio's surprise when, after they had some of the most heartbreaking goodbyes he had ever had to make that morning, Hideki came back with Yume in his arms late at night, and called for a council meeting.
During the pregnancy, Fujio had come to an interesting realisation. Uchiha Akari and Senju Hideki's whole relationship seemed to him as a sign that things were changing for the better. If one Uchiha and one Senju, who had been lifelong rivals and enemies, could look past their hatred and love each other, then maybe one day, Uchiha and Senju might stop this bloody rivalry, and live next to each other.
That's why he also recommended Hideki as a teacher for the clan's prodigious heir, a few years later. Aside from him being a very capable shinobi, Fujio thought that if young Hashirama could learn a thing or two from him about tolerance and love, then they would be making a step forward.
When Yume came along, it was a second sign that things would be moving faster than expected. The legendary Rinnegans only come along to change the fate of this world.
Then, they learned that Hashirama had a special ability of his own, something no one has seen before. His grasp on it was still tenuous, but Fujio just knew that it would lead to great things.
And now he was learning that, once again, the strings of fate had dragged together two of the most unlikely individuals to ever have a bond, other than hatred. The heirs of the two most prominent enemies of the continent had made a momentous step forward, even without knowing what they were doing.
Fujio doubted that there was someone out there who saw the bigger picture like he did, but he just knew that something big was preparing to happen.
Elder Fujio's words came after a while: "Do you like puzzles, Yume-chan?"
Yume raised an eyebrow: "Excuse me?"
He smiled mysteriously: "We're all like the pieces of the puzzles. Each one is different from the other, but when you put them together, in the right place, and probably at the right moment, they fit each other and they form a beautiful complete image. I'm a piece, Butsuma, your parents, Hashirama-kun and even Uchiha Madara, they are all pieces of this puzzle too. I saved your life, my dear, because I think that one day, you will be the most important piece of them all. In fact I don't even think that you will always be a piece. I believe that someday, you will be the player, who puts everything back where it should be."
Yume frowned. His musings didn't offer a lot of clarity, but deep down, she understood that they made sense. The thing about the puzzle pieces anyway. But something still bothered her: "What if I don't want to be?"
He turned ever so slightly to stare at her and asked: "What do you mean?"
She lifted her head to stare at him dead in the eye, and said very seriously: "I don't want to be the player. I don't care about the big image. I don't care about the Senju clan, or the Uchiha. I don't care about this world. I don't want to save it, or change its fate."
Now, Elder Fujio was intrigued. He turned to face her properly and asked again: "Then what is it that you want out of life?"
Yume had to think about it. She had never cared to put her true feelings into words, and to summarise them now was difficult for her. But she tried: "I want to protect them. I want to protect Hashirama-kun and Tobirama-kun. Only them. Because they are my family. If it was possible, I would have wanted to run away with them, leave the shinobi life, and the three of us could go live somewhere peaceful and safe. A small village where we could be farmers, or have a shop. But they will never want that. They have big dreams for the future, and they won't stop until they achieve them. Especially not Hashirama. So I need to be strong. I need to be the strongest to always be by their side and help them. Especially on the battlefield. And if I can't do that, I will settle for dying with them."
The surprise on Elder Fujio's face couldn't have been clearer. Of all the answers he could have expected, this one was the weirdest by all standards. After all, who didn't see their life as a story where they were the main character? But this little girl in front of him had already pushed herself to the background, in favor of someone else's hopes and dreams.
The perspective was both intriguing, and terrifying. In a way, such a devotion to the future leaders of their clan assured him that Yume would never turn on them. That the full capacity of the powers of the Rinnegans would be put in the service of their clan. But on the other hand, this description of the way she felt reminded him too much of her Uchiha lineage. He had heard rumors about a curse that fell on their rival clan. A curse of passionate love, and immense hatred. And it always ended in blood and grim.
He turned back to the window and thought about his next question carefully: "Could you explain to me how you managed to use the power of the Rinnegans? What jutsu did you use?"
Now that was an excellent question. One that Yume knew the answer to. Her training with the Great Snake sage hadn't covered that particular Path, but after thinking about it the previous night, she knew that she had just used the Tendo path, one of the most powerful of them all. When they covered the theoretical part with her Sensei, she had been warned that once she poked a hole in that particular dam, it would be irreversible and barely controllable. Meaning that, once she got in sync with the Rinnegans, she always should check her emotions, because her control over her powers would become instinctual, a characteristic that was great in battle, since she wouldn't have to think about her next move much, but bad in social situations.
But she wasn't ready to let others know yet. She needed to be extremely in control of her powers before she let the others know about them. She just knew that she would need to be able to threaten the clan, before she came clean to them, otherwise who knew what they might do to her. And given his silence on the matter, she knew that Tobirama agreed with her.
So she stubbornly faced Elder Fujio's questioning gaze, without answering. After a while, he chuckled: "You're not going to tell me, are you?"
She shook her head. He got serious : "And if I threatened to take you away from your family, and give you back to your grandmother? Would you tell me then?"
If Uchiha Akari had taught her daughter anything, it would be to always hold her ground. No compromises, no bowing to the enemy. Even in the direst of situations, if you let yourself be intimidated, then you have already lost in the game of life.
So she once again held his gaze, calm, and unwavering: "Then I would leave the Senju clan altogether."
It was true. She would leave. The previous night, she had explored her options and she had decided that if it came to it, she would go live in the Ryushi caves for a while. The snakes clearly welcomed her, and thanks to the other animals she could control, she had a way of keeping an eye on Hashirama and Tobirama. It saddened her to no end that she might lose the close proximity she had with them, but it was a price she was willing to pay for her goals. Her bigger image.
Elder Fujio raised a threatening eyebrow: "And go to the Uchiha?"
Yume frowned: "For the last time. I have as much relation with the Uchiha as I do with any other clan. Which is none."
The two glared at each other for a while.
Interesting. So she seems to think that she has other options. Safer options. This girl is definitely hiding something.
Out of the bleu, he broke into a hearty laugh and said: "Good for you Senju Yume. You definitely take more after your mother, than your moron of a father. Good for you."
Yume's eyebrows shot up. She didn't know what to make of his reaction.
Then Elder Fujio turned and started walking towards the door: "We can't have you leaving our clan, now can we? Rest assured child, I will sweep this matter under the rug. In any case, I always thought that Butsuma needed a good smack over the head, and with my hunched back, I can no longer reach that far. But you will have to apologise to him. Mean it or not, I don't care, but it has to be believable if you want to stay in his house."
And without further ado, he left the room.
Yume finally let out the breath she didn't know she was holding. Man, does old age make people weird!
Realising that the ordeal was finally over, she also left the building. By the door, she recognised the two silhouettes waiting for her. The moment she stepped out Hashirama and Tobirama noticed her too, and ran towards her.
As usual, Hashirama forgot all about social boundaries and the concept of personal space and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her slightly as he asked: "Yume-chan, how was it? Are you okay? Did they punish you heavily? If they did, I will go talk to them. You only got into trouble because of me. If they punish you, they will have to punish me."
Yume was already a blushing mess, by this point. Noticing that she was about to start hyperventilating, Tobirama glared at his brother and forcibly detached him from her: "Anija! Let the poor girl speak before jumping to conclusions."
Hashirama gave him a pout, but it only made the younger brother more exasperated. Finally, he gave in and awkwardly brushed behind his neck: "Sorry, Yume-chan! Go ahead tell us what happened."
Fortunately, Yume was shinobi, and she recovered quickly, so the three of them started walking back home as she told them what happened. Of course she omitted the part about her own dream and her threat to leave, but the story was still complete. In the end Tobirama stated: "Good. Considering everything, you got off easy. An apology is hardly anything difficult. And Father is way too awkward with you to make you grovel too much."
Hashirama nodded: "Couldn't agree more. And I know that no matter what, he won't let you leave our house. Mom loves you too much, and he's terrified of her."
The younger two nodded, with amused smiles, and they continued their walk.
Out of nowhere, Hashirama put his arms behind his back, trying to act nonchalant, and looked at the distance while saying: "But I have to say Yume-chan, you're acting very SNEAKY when it comes to the Rinnegans. Whenever they are brought up, you SLITHER your way out of the conversation."
The younger two stopped dead in their tracks, and so did he. Both stared at him, once kind of amused by his really bad puns, the other red with rage at his ridiculousness. Finally, Yume turned to look at Tobirama: "You told him didn't you?"
Having once again been caught snitching, Tobirama was embarrassed and did what he always did when embarrassed, he lashed out at his brother: "Seriously, anija! What's the matter with you? Did you think that you were being subtle? Just how the hell are you the heir of the clan? You're going to lead us to our demise with such skills!"
Hashirama had a smug face: "Well it worked, didn't it?" He then turned to Yume and excitedly started: "So it is true? You can summon snakes from the legendary Ryushi cave? And other animals? And that thing you did with the Rinnegans, was it on purpose? And can you show me your summons?"
Yume laughed: "Yes, yes,yes, no and maybe some other time. I'm under some heavy scrutiny at the moment. I can't risk others finding out about me, yet."
Hashirama nodded and the three started walking again. Yume turned to the older Senju and said: "It goes without saying, that you will have to keep it a secret too. You can't tell anyone about this. Under no circumstances. Get it?"
Hashirama pouted: "Of course, I won't! Rest assured your secret is safe with me. Promise."
She gave him a pointed look, but then she smiled slyly and turned to Tobirama: "I'm more worried about this one. Man, you really can't keep a secret!"
Tobirama got even redder: "I can! Better than both of you! But he sensed that we were hiding something from him, and he cornered me. And you know him when he gets serious about something. Like a dog with a bone."
Hshirama laughed: "Yeah, yeah, blame it on me. Trust me Yume-chan, it was way too easy to get him to spill the beans. When we grow up, I will force him to take counter interrogation training, just to be safe. My advisor can't be this easy to break."
Tobirama bellowed at him: "Well, who the hell wants to be your advisor anyway! Go lead the clan without me. Let's see how you will do."
And with that the merry band of three continued their way back home, the brothers bickering, and Yume teasing one or the other.