DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto
'I'm Sorry' a sad male voice whispered.
She opened her eyes to see nothing but the pitch black void. But she could see herself; she raised her hands and could see them, pale, glowing.
'I-I'm Sorry, I-I couldn't make it' the male voice broke in pain.
She got up and look around: "Hello?, who are you?"
'I-It's Ok Anata, I l-love you' now a female pained voice answered.
The voices came from everywhere, like they were surrounding her. She started to walk in the void, there had to be a floor, because she wasn't floating, but she couldn't see walls, joints or anything.
Suddenly, a Mirror appeared from nowhere and her reflection looked at her. It was her, but it wasn't.
Her reflection was wearing a white cloak with black magatamas, her hair was longer and darker if possible, tied in a loose pony tail over one shoulder. Her face was almost the same, only she had two small horns like rabbit ears growing from her forehead between her hairs. Her eyes had unique irises; it had all the colors you could imagine, like a galaxy. Actually they moved inside her eyes like one, and the pupil was pitch black, with toad shape.
Her reflection raised a hand and touched the glass, so she raised her hand mirroring her movement. When they touched the woman on the other side smiled sadly at her.
'Kokoro' the male voice again 'Hikari' a foreign voice echoed the other name
The reflection moved away from the glass
'Kokoro' sounded again from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. 'Hikari' the echo sounded again.
"WAIT" Hikari started to punch the glass "WAIT, COME BACK" she shouted as the reflection turned back to look at her. Their eyes locked.
'Kokoro' suddenly a pair of grey eyes full of rings surrounding the pupil appeared behind the reflection, and she was pierced by something through her stomach.
"HIKARI" and somebody grabbed her from her shoulder.
"AAAAAAAGHHHH" the Takishima screamed in pain grabbing her abdomen.
"Hikari, please you were having a nightmare" desperate Sakura tried to soothe her down.
"Imouto, breath deep and try to calm down" Hamura said. "Nii San" She suddenly hugged him, which was odd because he had no body, but then again she could do it. Her Senjutsu had activated without her even realizing, and it fade out as she panted to calm down.
"I-I'm Ok, I just…" sobbing softly, she moved a back to look at Hamura without breaking the embrace. He was surprised by the recent action, and she let him go. "I just had a weird dream, that's all"
"You almost release your chakra without knowing" he said
"Maybe it was because you were working with her seal" Sakura added thinking, and then she remembered "They are here! I was going to wake you up and with all this I forgot about them! They must be waiting" she got nervous and blushed in embarrassment.
"Please, go and greet them, I'll be down in a minute" Hikari said, trying hard to smile.
Sakura nodded, and jumped off the nest landing gracefully in front of their guest.
"Is it everything ok? We heard a scream, but felt no threat" Hashirama asked concerned
"Yes I'm sorry, Hikari had a nightmare. But she's up already" the pinkette answered "we didn't know what time it was, and overslept".
"It's ok, I presume you were tired" The eldest Senju commented "I believe we are early, we didn't actually set a time schedule, did we?" he laughed
Sakura felt her nervousness fade a little.
"That's true, but it doesn't justify oversleeping" she half smiled still embarrassed.
"HAHAHA please, don't worry so much! This is such a beautiful day to be tarnished with worries" Hashirama said carelessly still laughing. Tobirama rolled his eyes; this was obviously going to be a day full of concern and discussion. Sakura seemed to get what he was thinking, because she chuckled at him. Hashirama was too much Naruto-alike.
"Did the nest worked well?" The eldest Senju added kindly
Meanwhile, Hikari spoked to Hamura as she arrange herself a little.
"Can you conceal yourself?" She asked
"Don't worry I already have, also your chakra is safe. Only Sakura and you can see me now, they won't yet." The Ōtsutsuki answered confident. "What did you dream about?"
"I think I saw how Kokoro died…" Hikari answered.
Hamura looked pained "That's why you grabbed your abdomen…" he said absentmindly.
"And I saw a pair of grey eyes, with rings. Like Hagoromo's, like the Rinnegan" she added.
The Ōtsutsuki looked surprised and then his expression changed to one of deep thinking.
"Why those eyes?" the Takishima asked seeing that he wasn't speaking.
Hamura looked at her, took a deep breath and spoke "I don't know yet. I have a theory, but then again I cannot tell you yet either."
"You're full of mystery brother." Hikari looked at him plainly.
"I like to keep things interesting" he mocked and waving his hands in front of her he added "Now go and greet them, today is an important day" he winked.
Hikari nodded, Hamura could be so weird sometimes! Then she jumped at the exact moment to answer Hashirama's last question.
"The nest is very cozy, thank you" She said as she bowed to their guest. "Sorry for the bother, I had a bad dream, but that's all" she added smiling at their worried faces.
"I believe we're more people than the last time" Sakura said a bit confused, she was calmer now so she could point that fact out.
"Hai, Hai!" Hashirama said, "We never properly introduce ourselves, I'm Hashirama Senju, as you know, and this is my beloved brother Tobirama" the mentioned sweat dropped, they already know their names for Kami's sake! "And this kunoichi next to him is our trusted friend Toka Senju, she was sent by our council to this meeting"
"It's nice to meet you appropriately" Toka bowed at them "I watched you two in our battlefield two days ago and wanted to greet you, you did quite a display fighting and healing" She smirked.
"HASHIRAMA" the unmistakable voice of Madara Uchiha echoed in the forest "It's no good to show up earlier to an appointment of this sort, one could believe you have an ulterior motive"
"Oh, come on Madara, you now I wouldn't do that to you! We've just arrived" the Senju whined as raised his arms defending himself. His brother rolled his eyes, sometimes his anija could be like a child. Toka and the girls just laughed.
"Good morning gentlemen" Sakura greeted the Uchiha. "Please don't pick a fight this early in the morning, it's going to be a long day and we still have not eaten breakfast" her smile hid her temper, as her lips twitched on one corner.
"She has a temper" Kido San whispered to Takato who smiled in response
"We're sorry Haruno-san, Takishima-San" Madara bowed respectfully "You remember my brother Takato, and may I proper introduce to you to our younger sibling Uchiha Izuna". The mentioned looked at them a bit suspiciously, but then bowed and took a few steps in Sakura's direction.
"Thank you for saving my life" He bowed to her. "I hope you can understand this is a bit confuse to my, and I don't know you, so please don't be offended if I can't trust you yet." He was sincere but tough, just like Sasuke at the gates of Konoha. Hell, he even looked like a clone of him.
"It's nice to meet you too, Uchiha-san" Sakura replied smiling a bit nervous
"Don't worry, we take no offence in that" Hikari added "I believe you don't expect us to fully trust you either" Takato and Madara frowned at this but then she said "although you brothers had made enough to prove them trustworthy" and smiled looking at them. They felt a bit relieved.
Madara nodded and finished the introductions: "This is Kido Uchiha, one of the elders of our Clan and also the Head of our Council" the mentioned bowed to the girls, who did the same.
"I'm glad to finally meet you in person" Kido-san said "The boys and our warriors spoke highly about your skills." he smiled kindly.
Both girls blushed a little because of the praise.
"I believe it's time to get hands to work!" Hashirama said clapping his hands cheerfully, everybody present sweat dropped softly.
"Where do you want to set the meeting?" Hikari asked. She saw the man looking up and she objected "the refuge is too small; we're nine people in here!"
But that was not an argument to Hashirama Senju. He released his jutsu and the branches started move again like the first time. The nest gained size and looked like three of them merged together. This time everybody sweat dropped hard, and Kido-san started to laugh hard.
"You sure know how to make a point, Hashirama San!" the elder said. Hashirama smiled cheerfully and put a hand behind his head scratching it.
"We should jump in" He answered kindly.
They all jumped and Sakura was surprised to see that Hamura was still there but nobody could see him. She looked at her friend and she nodded, answering her unspoken question. Hamura smiled at both and went outside the edification to keep watch.
Madara and Hashirama placed a lot of protection jutsu and made the nest undetectable. The latter used the mokuton and created a kotatsu in the middle of the room. At this time nobody was surprised by his actions, so the girls grabbed the cots naturally and put them around the table. The Senju sat on one side, the Uchiha on the opposite one. The girls sat facing each other on each free side in between them. Once it was all settled and the laughs were gone they looked a bit tense.
"Umm…" Sakura broke the ice "Where would you like to start? I believe you have two important issues on your agenda, the peace treaty and the formation of a Village, am I right?"
"Yes you are Haruno-san" Hashirama said, he was the only one that wasn't tense. "I propose to start with the easy part, the peace treaty." He looked through some scrolls and added "I brought a draft" and he started to read
'We celebrate here a peace treaty within the Uchiha Clan and the Senju Clan. Both parts agree on stop fighting and ally on times in need. We understand that the only parts benefited with our fighting are our clients, whom use us. We lose shinobi and resources and they do nothing, allying we gain more. The warranties for this treaty stand in not accepting works that go against each other, shall one of the parties break this agreement, the peace shall be considered broken.'
There was a small silence in the room as everybody worked in their minds what was read.
Kido-san looked at his Clan Leader and nodded, "I believe this is everything we are also looking forward, Madara-sama" he spoke.
"Hai, Kido-san" Madara said "Takato, Izuna, what do you think?" he asked his siblings.
"I think it covers the basics. Of course this is only the peace agreement, and as a first step to an alliance seems right." Takato spoke. Izuna was still quiet and frowning in deep thought. Madara was a bit concerned about what his reaction would be. His Otouto was the one that hated Senju the most, but he hoped he would see past his hate.
"Hn" he finally said "It's fine" he added and looked like he was doing a great effort to not to say anymore.
"Speak your mind fully, Uchiha" Tobirama spoke for the first time. "We need to have all the cards on the table if we truly want peace". Hashirama looked at his brother worriedly; it wasn't good to provoke the younger Uchiha.
"Tobi…" his brother started.
"I can't stand being in the same room with you as if nothing happened. I hate you, and it's clear you hate me. You almost kill my brother and me mercilessly two days ago, while we were already down." Izuna raised his voice "You were about to do something dishonorable, and don't let me start on what you did when…"
"IZUNA" Madara intervened looking at his brother with a warning look.
"It's true, I hate you." Tobirama stated calmly. "But don't talk about dishonor, when if we had switched places you would have done the same thing. Don't be such an hypocrite" he added with a look of superiority.
"YOU…" Izuna had his sharingan activated and threaten to stand up and the albino mimicked him.
'CRACK!' the table collapsed under them with a loud noise and both fell backwards because they lost balance. Suddenly a dark aura was all around the pink haired kunoichi, who had her fist clenched over the broken kotatsu.
"Gentlemen" She said with a dark voice. Hikari looked at her amused and also a bit scared, sometimes she could be like her aunt Kushina, his uncle was right. "We ALL KNOW you hate each other. There's no need to keep saying that. It's BORING." Izuna and Tobirama were looking at her like she was an enemy in common. "IF you don't have anything more interesting to say or contribute to this meeting, I shall ask you to leave our place. I don't care if you are the strongest men of your clan, I will beat the hell out of you from here." Now they both look outraged. "Your elder siblings are trying hard to create a future to your clans, and you only look to the past. I know it's recent" she added more calmed "But sometimes peace has to overcome fresh wounds for a greater good."
Hashirama looked at her in awe, and Madara had a proud look on her face. Takato and Kido San smiled to each other. Toka just smirked, she liked this girl, she had nerve.
"I'd like to see you try to beat us" Tobirama spat.
"He's right, I'd like to see that to" Izuna agreed.
"If she wanted she could kill you both immediately with her medic jutsu" Hikari said simply but spiked her chakra to diverge the attention. Everybody looked at her in disbelief. "Come on, I thought you were smarter" she added noticing their expressions and not leaving her eyes from Tobirama and Izuna. "She knows how to take an organ out and can cut you sharper than a Katana with her chakra scalpels" the Takishima smirked and then continued "she can also stop your hearts infusing an exact amount of chakra to your bodies, so don't you dare to mess with a medic nin, especially if that is Sakura Haruno" both men paled. Sakura blushed a little but her expression was still determined.
"Also," the brunette said "she is not alone; of course I'd be delighted to help her. You don't know what I'm capable to do, and I am not scared to face you" and then she remembered something and started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" Tobirama asked with disgust.
Hikari wiped a tear from her eye and said "She made you both agree in something!"
The man almost fell backwards, the rest suppressed a smile but Izuna was enraged.
"I may not know you, but I happen to know that you suspiciously possess our Clan's dojutsu, and also use senjutsu" the youngest Uchiha spat at her "I bet you are just an impostor that took some of our clansmen eyes and plan to..."
"IZUNA" this time both Madara and Takato intervened, the first having risen his voice considerably.
"The issue of the Sharingan will be discussed later" the Clan Leader said. "I apologize for my otouto's outburst Takishima-san" he added "but your eyes are one of the reasons of why Kido-San is here" he looked at the elder inviting him to speak.
"He's right Takishima-san. I would like to ask you some questions and check your dojutsu later if you don't mind" the man tried to sound as polite as he could; he knew this was a delicate matter.
"I believe it's a bit rude to ask that because we are strangers…" she answered with anger in her voice "but then again I'm accustomed to be belittled by the Uchiha because of my eyes" Hikari added looking hatefully at Izuna, that Uchiha brat was an asshole. Sakura lowered her head remembering her friend's past and how Sasuke sometimes called her 'traitor' or 'thief' when he was angry. Takato and Madara didn't miss her look, and also that she had had contact with Uchiha before, they looked at each other and new almost telepathically that they will discuss this later. When the silence became unbearable she continued more calm "Nonetheless I believe your concern is valid, so I shall give you permission" Kido-san bowed rapidly in response. "Just one thing, you must know that if I sense any threat I will defend myself" she said as polite as she could, but still showed her bad temper.
"I wouldn't expect less from a fine Kunoichi like you" the elder said gallantly. "We'll discuss about this later, I'm truly sorry for upsetting you"
"Very well then" the Takishima answered feeling a little awkward by his words. "Senju-San, please can you fix the kotatsu you made? We're sorry about this scene. Please feel free to continue."
"Yes, I'm sorry I was reckless. We will not interfere anymore" Sakura added lowing her head a little to hide her embarrassed face. She failed miserably, because she heard Hashirama and Toka chuckle.
Madara thought she looked cute, and immediately suppressed this thought. How could he think that!? He was a warrior, a Clan Leader for Kami's sake! He was in the making of his beloved peace, his dream of a lifetime. He shouldn't be thinking that a woman was cute.
"Hn" he cleared his throat. "If everybody is ok with this treaty, Hashirama and I will sign it" he spoke "And everybody present in this room too. Haruno-San, Takishima-San, will you sign as witnesses? You don't belong to any clan, so it makes this more legit too."
Both girls nodded. No one had an objection about signing, and Tobirama and Izuna had to obey their respective Clan Leaders and brothers. They wouldn't admit it, but Haruno's words have touched a sensitive fiber on them. Both understood what she had said, but they had become accustomed to hate.
"Peace Settled!" Hashirama said cheerfully "Now comes the hard part, the Village!"
Everybody looked like they thought of the same thing. If the peace was so troublesome but also the easy part, they were afraid of the hard one.
"I've never formed a Village before, neither resided in one. How do we start?" The Senju said carefree.
"It's your idea and you don't even know how to carry it out!?" Madara almost face palmed. "You are truly an idiot, you know?"
"Leaving aside the fact that my brother is indeed an idiot" Tobirama said as if he was talking about the weather "If you say that I presume that you know what to do, because this is your idea to. Am I right?" Madara deadpanned, he hadn't lived in a Village either. "I thought so" the albino snorted.
"How difficult could it be?" the Uchiha fought the Senju. Izuna rolled his eyes.
"If you excuse me," Toka finally spoke "I'd like to address to my fellow kunoichi here" the girls looked at her curious. In fact, everybody did the same thing.
"Where are you from?" The Senju asked "I mean, we actually only know that they were passing by the Merchants village, so they don't live there" she added looking at the males' confused expression. "Do you come from a Village? Maybe you can help with this issue"
Hikari and Sakura were silent. They saw Hamura entering the room giving a sing that everything was ok. Takato flinched, he felt a sudden shiver like there was someone else in the room, but he looked to were Hamura was and didn't see anything. The projection went outside again smirking.
"We don't have a Village now" Sakura said.
"You don't have a Village?" Toka asked confused "What about clans? We sure don't know your last names"
"Toka-san, I don't see what the point of all this questioning is…" Hashirama started.
"It´s ok, Senju-sama, we are indeed strangers. We'll answer what we can." The pink haired interrupted. "I don't have a Clan. I'm the daughter of civilians; I was not even born in a shinobi household. But I was given the opportunity to became shinobi." She continued. Everybody was amazed by her words. A civilian girl with this advance shinobi training? And without even a kekkei genkai!
"I don't have a Clan either" Hikari spoke and everybody looked at her.
"How can it be possible, your eyes…" Kido san started.
"I told you she stole them!" Izuna interrupted spilling hatred in his words "you filthy little thief, she's a traitor" he added but shut up immediately when he saw her dojutsu activated, and her face contorted full of anger.
"I inherited my dojutsu from my mother. I didn't know my grandparents. My parents left me when I was four years old, and that same night my entire clan was murdered." Hashirama suppressed gasp from the impression. Madara felt a pang on his chest and so did Kido, Toka and Takato. She had tears in her eyes, but the Middle Uchiha sibling and Tobirama could sense that they weren't for sadness. Maybe a little, but she was angry, very angry, and upset. "I am the only Takishima left, so that's WHY I don't have a clan. And I won't explain myself any longer. But if you don't trust me, you can see my memories through a Tsukuyomi" Her voice betrayed her emotion and almost cracked, she pierced the youngest Uchiha with her intense gaze. To say that Izuna was a little ashamed was a lie. He felt like he was the stupidest person in the world for misjudging her.
"We don't have a Village, but we used to live in one. That's all you need to know for now." Sakura said, leaving room for her friend to calm down.
"For now?" Tobirama said suspiciously. He really felt sorry for the Takishima girl. He knew she wasn't lying. There was missing information, but what she had said was true.
"We'll tell you more when we trust each other" Sakura said solemnly "I know you can understand that".
There was no teasing in her voice, not a single double meaning. Tobirama nodded, acknowledging the girl. They seem not actual threat right now.
"You can see my sharingan now Kido San. It's already activated anyway" Hikari said calmer but still sounding affected.
The mentioned moved closer to her and activated his Sharingan, and then turned it to the Mangekyo. The other Uchiha in the room looked surprised.
"I've awoken my Mangekyo when my son passed away a month ago" the elder explained the unspoken questions without leaving his eyes from hers. "I know… I'm old and it isn't of use now." He said as if thinking out loud. "I'll ask you some questions while I look at your dojutsu, is it ok?" The girl nodded, suddenly feeling empathy for this man in front of her. He took her hands in his, and she felt it comforting and oddly familiar.
"How old were you when you awoke your Sharingan?" he asked, predicting what her answer would be.
"Four" she said, never leaving his eyes. The other people in the room listened carefully, the Uchiha opened their eyes widely at this information, she had been a little girl! Sakura looked at her friend with a worried face.
"Have you awoken the Mangekyo?" Kido continued delicately. The girl nodded.
"Can you show it to me?" he asked kindly. Her eyes filled with tears again as her sharingan whirled fast and morphed into a trisquel with three smaller tomoes in between its curves.
"Beautiful…" He whispered "a pure heart indeed to show such a nice pattern" he added as an afterthought "How old were you?"
"Nineteen" the tears menaced to fall. Sakura was already crying. Madara looked at her and realized that she knew how she had got it.
"May I ask why?" the man asked softly
"M-My godfather…" she started "H-He was like a father to me, he trained me…" but she couldn't continue. Everybody in the room understood the rest. Kido-san felt her flinch under his touch so he held her hands tighter.
"It's ok, Kid" He simply said. Hikari's eyes opened widely and the tears fell free as she moved away her hands from Kido's grasp.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" the elder said. Takato looked at her worriedly and then to his brother who was looking from her to the crying pink haired girl. The rest remained in silence.
"No, i-its fine, it's just…" the girl said trying to wipe her tears but they kept falling "He always called me Kid, even if I was nineteen." She smiled sadly "A-and t-those were his last words, the last he told me I mean, the last time we saw each other." Kido looked at her sadly but curious, so she continued. "I was worried because he was always on dangerous missions, and that last one was absurdly risky. I told him to be safe, he answered 'It's ok, Kid' as he walked away of the village." By the end of her tale se looked calmer.
"Either way, I'm sorry to bring you back those sad memories" The elder told her "Our eyes are cursed by our pain" he put a hand on her shoulder.
"I'm fine, really. I was upset about everything and overreacted. This… maybe was too much for me, for both of us" she said the last looking at Sakura who had stopped crying but had her eyes and nose red.
"True, the attack of the Hyuuga, the battlefield, and everything remembered us the war and our losses" Sakura said "We've lost a lot too you know? More than you can imagine". Madara looked at her and felt the urge to comfort her, but didn't act on his instinct. The feeling felt foreign to him, but at the same time natural. He thought that with all this issues they were stirring a lot of emotion and that's why everybody felt so sentimental.
"War?" Toka asked
"Please don't ask right now" Sakura managed to say.
"Haruno San" Madara called her and she looked at him in his eyes –always sharingan during the meeting- "Once you both feel ready and trust us, please feel free to tell us. We're not your enemies" He said.
"That's right! We need to know about our allies and villagers, don't we?" Hashirama said
"Villagers?" Hikari asked
"Of course! You'll be staying in our village, won't you?" he asked as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Everybody smiled at his attempt to clear up the mood. Even Tobirama chuckled. "You can even join a Clan!" he thought that was a wonderful idea.
"Hn, thank you for your offer. We'll think about it" Hikari said and the Senju pouted "we can't answer you right know, we don't know what we are going to do in the near future." She added, of course they will live at the future Konoha, they had nowhere to go. However they needed to be sure that it had to be created first. "But first you have to create that village. Please do start" she added
"But as you have seen none of us has a Clue" Toka said simply
"Just ask Sakura. She knows stuff" the Takishima smiled sincerely, all the notorious sings of her pain were gone by now, but she still was a bit sore on if you scratched her exterior. The rest looked at the pink haired for an answer and she blushed a little with all the attention.
"Umm… to create a Village you need to have a land to build the structure first" she started a bit insecure "it's like when you set a camp, and you need to have houses and special buildings, like a hospital, a school, a blacksmith, a market, etc. Also you need to build a perimeter that surrounds the Village to protect it. You need a way to gather the resources to maintain it and that could be done by commerce and by the mission system you already got but more organized."
Hashirama was an eager listener and he nodded almost every five seconds at her words taking mental notes. Madara thought that what she said was kind if obvious, but then again he hadn't thought about those simple things, so everything she said was new to him too. Tobirama looked like he had the wheels on his mind already working on a lot of stuff. You could see the ideas floating in his eyes. The other Uchiha brothers were quiet but perceptive. Kido and Toka nodded at her words, but not as many times as Hashirama, though.
"… You need three systems, political, economic and health, and the three of them need to work together fine. With politics, you'll make external bonds, like alliances with other Clans, and Villages, and internal ones such as unity in between your people. It also includes decisions that will be the ones that settle the bases of the Village itself like creating places to train children, and a mission system, etc. With economics, led by political decisions, you'll get and manage the funds to keep the Village running and make it grow. It also will lead to external and internal commerce, and inside business creation. And Health system will have to be at the base of the pyramid too, with it you'll keep your people safe and sound. At times like this, a strong health system can be a tempting way to gather more clans to join"
"Good point" Madara said "but it seems too much to handle. How do you expect such a thing to keep working?" he asked looking at Hashirama. Before he could answer, Hikari interrupted.
"By choosing a leader" she said "it's the same as in clans, but in a bigger scale. The village has to have a Leader chosen by its people, and that leader will need to have a council that helps him making decisions and stuff."
"You both sure know a lot" Toka said.
"I was trained by our village leader" Sakura said "so I learnt a lot of stuff"
"And I worked under her orders too" Hikari added.
"Her?" Takato asked curious
"Um, yes the leader was a woman, one of the finest kunoichi you'd ever known" she grinned to the Uchiha. He smiled to her grin; it felt nice to see her in a better mood.
"I don't know many Kunoichi, but if she is like you both, she must be an amazing shinobi" he said to her still smiling. She blushed a little at that, it was a heartwarming and sincere compliment, and it seemed he had no even realize it could be understood that way.
With all the information the kunoichi gave to them they started working until long past noon. They stopped to eat something and kept working. By the evening they have everything almost planned. Hashirama and Madara revealed they had a place in mind with natural defenses, and they'll have to speak with the Daimyo, and once everything is settled they could start working with their mokuton to build everything. Both clans have settled their warranties and they didn't have a problem with each other's requirements.
"The issue is the health system" Takato said, "We don't have many resources, or even procedures to sustain a strong one."
After a moment of thought, Sakura looked at Hikari and remembered what they had spoken with Hamura.
"I'll be in charge of that if you don't mind" she said timidly "what I mean is, I can help you form a health system and a Hospital so you can put someone suitable to manage it" she added immediately, she didn't want to sound conceited.
Hashirama beamed, and Madara looked surprised behind his façade –and pleased inside-.
"So you'll be a part of our Village?" the Senju asked hopefully
"Yes," Hikari answered "although we prefer to stay Clanless for the time being if you don't mind."
"That's wonderful! Has anyone got an objection to that?" he asked looking everybody but spent more time watching his brother. Tobirama grunted and nodded in response. He was starting to trust if only a little this girls, they seemed worthy allies, and also he could keep an eye on them if he had them close enough.
"I have one" Izuna said out loud. All of them looked at him worriedly, expecting another outburst like earlier. Hikari gazed at him like he was the most annoying person in the world; she could also be a brat sometimes.
"I can't understand how you can accept this when we were so rude to you." He said simply, lowering his eyes a bit ashamed. Hikari's expression dropped and felt sympathetic with him for the first time.
"Because we will see past that if it means to help create something wonderful" she answered. "Rudeness is common on Shinobi world. You were being hateful, but it's understanding since that's the world in which you were raised." He opened his eyes a bit wider and looked at her. "Although that doesn't oblige you to be a bastard" she smirked, and so did he. He would not say that he was sorry, and she was accepting that. A small bond was born at that moment between the youngest Uchiha and the Takishima. Hikari felt like she felt Shisui back at her side messing with her.
"We will form part of your Village, and we will protect your dreams of peace" Sakura said "we will protect the children too; they are the future of our world. Senju-sama, Uchiha-sama, you both remember me a dear friend of mine. You have the will of fire, and will extend it to others."
"Will of fire?" Hashirama said looking at his Uchiha friend, who looked amused.
"Uchiha fitting, I like that" Madara said.
From the treetops Hamura smiled. They still had hope.
*** AUTHORS NOTE ***
It took me forever but it's done! Hope you like this story. I'd like to think Izuna is the "Otouto" we all wanted to have and beat the hell out. He's lovely and a brat haha
Thanks for the Favs and Follows, and for the reviews!
Read you soon!
BellaHikari