DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO
"Wake up you sleeping beauty!" a familiar voice called.
"Hn" Hikari grunted in discomfort, the sun rays were unbearable. She wiped her eyes with her hands and slowly opened them to see an also familiar face. She realized she was laying on the grass, she could fell the marvelous sent, so she sat up. She caressed the green herb and looked around her. "Konoha" she said and realized her voice sounded funny. Paying more attention to her surroundings and also herself, she immediately stood up as she realized she looked like a ten year old again.
"You seem surprised" the voice said "well, it surprised me too. I was waiting for you to be a 23 year old beauty instead of a child."
"I'm still 22" she said serious. Suddenly she felt her body had changed. It was her actual self, but she still was watching a 15 year old Shisui.
"That's better" the Uchiha smiled.
"W-what…" the Takishima tried to say.
"It was time for me to show up" he smirked sheepishly.
"I've been waiting to dream with you for almost ten years, you bastard!" Hikari scolded.
"Yeah, well…" he said looking to the side "It was not the time." He started to walk and she followed him. The scenery was very confusing, it was like a hologram, and depending how you saw it, it was old Konoha or future Konoha.
"I don't understand this" Hikari thought out loud.
"You really went far in history, you know" Shisui said cryptically and then added "We're actually on Limbo, so the time is not a constant"
"I DIED!?" she stopped on her tracks shouting. The teen cleared his ear with his pinky.
"Wow, your lungs are fine" he mocked "No, you didn't die, silly suicidal girl. You're just passed out, in a comma"
"Oh!" the brunette said lowering her face.
"Awesome Susanoo, by the way" Shisui grinned.
"How could you…" she asked surprised.
"I know everything" he said wisely. She deadpanned. "How do you feel?"
"I'm fine" Hikari explained, "I'm not hurt at all"
"I mean how do YOU feel" The Uchiha raised an eyebrow. The girl's eyes widened.
"I-I…" she couldn't find the words "Trapped" he nodded in comprehension "I mean, I like being here. But I still feel we don't belong here. These are not our people" Shisui smiled sadly at that.
"You are the ones that make them 'your' people." He explained "Don't feel guilty, you won't be replacing us, you're just moving on" he added "If there was something else you could do, I'll get that you could feel bad, but there isn't. You can't go back."
"How do you know that?" she asked angry.
"Because you are meant to be here." He said serious. "You won't find complete happiness even if you could ever go back. Trust me" and then he added changing his demeanor in a way only he could do: "I told you I know everything" smiling again, he winked at her. She wasn't following but then a thought crossed her mind.
"I-Is Itachi-kun here?" Hikari asked. She needed to know. Shisui's expression fell a little.
"No he isn't" he said.
"Why?" she asked again.
"That I don't really know" The teen said.
"I thought you knew everything" she mocked of him.
"I know he was your first love" Shisui said straight forwardly. She looked at him with attention "And I know you never did anything because he liked Izumi, but in the end, he loved you back and both felt regret."
"That's…" the Takishima's eyes filled with tears that never fell. He knew that comment hurt her but she needed to hear that.
"Maybe it was better that it never really started. You both would have suffered a lot more." He sighed "His destiny might have been another one if some events wouldn't have happened." Silence came between them. It was dawning in the Village. She stopped on her tracks and considered what he had said carefully.
"I guess you are right" the girl finally said looking at the sky. She couldn't see the Uchiha's expression lightening up with her words. "I really loved him, but it was more like a platonic love. He was one of the most important people in my life, such as you. You both are a good memory for me" The light in the limbo became brighter.
"So… maybe… You have found real love already…" Shisui said mischievously "haven't you?" He could see her blushing as she immediately turning to face him. "Come on, I don't like to repeat myself"
"You're annoying!" she said all flustered.
"That first boyfriend of yours was like a mission" he said playfully "You completed it and gained a lot of knowledge and experience. Now it's ShowTime! You're a Special Jounin now" Her head felt on fire.
"I can't" she said dryly and rapidly the sky got cloudy. It called her attention, because it had started to rain.
"Funny weather here…" the Uchiha said approaching to her. "Hey! I know that if you cry in the rain, you think nobody sees your tears. But you can't scam me"
"I can't Shisui-kun…" Hikari said hiding her weeping with the raindrops' help. "I don't belong… They are not… He isn't…"
"Hikari-chan… You belong where you are. You belong to you" he started to wipe the tears of her face as the rain started to calm "They are your people, if you let them be." The clouds started to vanish from the sky "And He is what you want him to be. Don't feel guilty for something that didn't even happen. You said; Itachi was a platonic love. So why do you fear to encounter the real one?" For one last time her eyes widened at their maximum. The clouds disappeared and the sun started to shine.
Shisui had his hand still in her cheek, and even though she was still crying, the weather had recovered completely.
"I have to go princess…" he said smiling at her with love.
"Shisui, please…" she begged, as the light became brighter, she couldn't distinguish the city at all.
"I'm with you always" she wasn't seeing him anymore too because of the light, but she felt his hand wiping her tears…
"SHISUI!" she shouted.
Suddenly, Hikari realized she was sitting on a hospital bed. Next to her there was a dumfounded Izuna, with a handkerchief in his hand. It was wet, and she felt her face wet. 'Was I crying while sleeping?' she asked to herself.
"HIKARI-CHAN!" he exclaimed "Oh Kami you're fine!" he hugged her tightly and she felt a warm feeling in her heart.
"Shisui…" she whispered, and hugged him back with strength. She kept crying, but now she didn't know why.
Before long, hurried footsteps could be heard down the corridor. The door opened widely showing Sakura, Toka, and Takato. Madara, Hashirama and Tobirama were also outside but she couldn't see them, they had just arrived for their shift – actually the Albino had come to check on her.
"Hikari-chan, you're up!" Sakura exclaimed and run to her friend. Izuna tried to let her go, but she was still hugging him tightly. He couldn't understand what was happening to her, the hug seemed desperate. The Senju Kunoichi and Takato were worried. The girl didn't seem fine.
"Hikari-chan" the pinkette called her softly while touching one of her arms around the Uchiha. At her touch, the Takishima parted the hug but was still holding his arms and looked at her friend. She had black bags under her eyes, and her hair was messy. Her eyes went from her to Izuna and vice versa. Seeing the pinkette like that made her come back to her senses. Her demeanor changed completely with that, all the anguish she had showed was gone.
"You pulled another all-nighter, am I right?" Hikari said deadpanning at her as she released Izuna and wiped her face with the back of her hand.
"It was actually more like 72 hours-nighter…" Izuna said mischievously, he was calmer now he saw her talking like that, but he will talk to her later about her actions and also the name she had mentioned when she woke up.
"WHAT!?" the brunette exclaimed. The Uchiha and Toka were less worried too, she seemed herself now. They even sweat-dropped a little. "SAKURA HARUNO, HOW COULD YOU!?"
"Oh come on!" her friend said apologetically, putting her arms up in her defense. "Izuna-san is lying." She looked at him scornfully "It's true I've never left this hospital in 72 hours, but…" she added when she realized Hikari was about to explode again "I've been sleeping here, in the bed next to you." She pointed at the other bed that was neatly done, but she saw that the night table had some of Sakura's personal hygiene stuff. Her brush, a scented soap and a towel and some books with an un-litted candle.
"Oh…" Hikari said, realizing what was going on "I'm sorry then"
"Don't be!" Sakura said. "How do you feel?" the brunette looked at her, that question seemed familiar. She suddenly remembered all what had happened in Limbo, or maybe it was a dream?
"I-I…" she started "feel…" she was really scanning herself up. Her body was fine, but she found out that the void she felt in her chest since they had arrived was missing. She recalled her talk with Shisui and felt warm and comforted. "I am fine" she finally said smiling broadly.
Now it was the pinkette's turn to roll down a tear of relief. Izuna got up from the bed and motioned his brother and Toka to approach. While the Haruno checked her friend's vitals and stuff, everybody entered in the room.
"WOW too many people in here" the Youngest Uchiha said in a full professional mode. The Takishima looked at him and then to Takato, who was smiling at her warmly. She raised an eyebrow questioning Izuna's attitude and he rolled his eyes in response. She couldn't handle it more and burst into laughter.
"Okay, you are completely fine" Sakura said smiling hard too. "But I would like you to stay one day more, here in observation."
"Fine, I'll do it" she said calmed and smiling, her friend couldn't believe she had accepted so easily. The Takishima took a moment to watch everybody in her room. Hashirama, Tobirama and Madara were at the back of the group. The eldest Senju beaming just like Naruto and the other two, seemed a bit concerned but mainly relieved, everybody looked that way. Toka moved next to her and grabbed her hand. She looked at the action and then smiled at her. "Good Morn.. Err whatever the time is, to everybody" Hikari finally spoke to all of them. "Thank you for your concern and for taking care of me. Sorry for the bother" She closed her eyes smiling with all her heart. 'This is my people' she thought.
"OH HIKARI-SAN!" Hashirama exclaimed and bumping into his brother and Madara, and everybody who was in his way, he moved his cousin aside and grabbed her hand with both his hands. He was teary with joy "I am so happy that you are all right! If something happened to you I would have never… OUCH!" a dry noise was heard and he immediately released the kunoichi and grabbed the back of his head, where he had 3 bumps. Behind him there were Toka, Tobirama, and the Eldest Uchiha, with angry faces and their fist up.
"I'll give you a reason to cry" Madara said in a dark voice. The Kunoichi sweat dropped.
"You are impossible, Anija!" The albino said with a murderous look.
"How dare you to treat your family like that!" the Senju woman exclaimed outraged.
Hikari burst into laughter again, and this time Sakura and the other two Uchiha joined her. Someone suddenly knocked the door and made everybody look at it. Ryuuji was standing there with his chart in hand. He knew something had happened because everybody run towards the Takishima's room.
"Hello Hikari-san!" he said with joy, she waved back at him. "I'm so glad you have awoken! Please excuse me a minute" he added and then addressed to everyone else in the room "I didn't want to interrupt earlier, but there can only be two visitors in the room." He looked at his 'classmates' directly. "You both are supposed to be helping me, while Sakura-sensei checks on the patient. You can come and visit once our shift is over"
Hashirama reincorporated immediately red as a tomato and Madara was a bit embarrassed too.
"We'll go right away Ryuuji –sempai" The Senju said doing a military hand sign and started to walk towards the door. The Uchiha sweat dropped but followed him anyway. Once he reached the door he looked back and addressed the Takishima.
"We'll see you soon, Hikari-san. I'm glad you're okay" Madara gave her a one-sided smile.
"Thank you!" she said. He nodded at her, and before leaving the room looked at Sakura and nodded her too.
"It's still too crowded here…" Izuna said breaking the ice "We should go and get some breakfast" he said to Toka. "I'm starving"
"What time is it?" Hikari asked.
"It's almost 7 am" the Senju said "We were heading back from our shift and Izuna came to make you company and you woke. Now that we know you are fine, we can go get some rest and come visit you before our next shift starts"
"That would be nice!" she said from her bed.
"We'll see you in some hours!" The kunoichi waved at her friend and left with the Izuna to find something to eat, leaving the Takishima alone with Sakura, Tobirama and Takato.
"I'm going to make rounds again" the pinkette said "later I'll come back and make you some company as I rest a little." She added grabbing her shoulder and giving it a squeeze before leaving.
"We should go too…" the shinobi said almost in unison, and bowed.
"Wait, Tobirama-san!" Hikari called him. The Uchiha froze for a moment and the albino instinctively looked at him "How is Megumi?" she asked and both men breathed again, though they didn't know each other's reason.
"I've been training her these past days." He explained "I'm sorry I took the liberty of doing that"
"No, It's fine" she said "I'm grateful you did"
"She is very worried about you and comes here every day after practice. I will tell her that you are up, she might come before our training" Tobirama said "I assume she'll come with her grandfather"
"Thank you" Hikari said.
"Hn" he grunted and turned to leave but remembered something "Takato is training Ichigo. I asked for his help" the mentioned came back to reality, he had felt out of place while they talked.
"Really?" the Takishima said smiling to the Uchiha "How's that going?" she enquired. Before he could answer Tobirama excused himself.
"I shall go now," he said serious "I'll find Megumi, I'll see you later." He turned around at the door like Madara had done and look at her "welcome back" he greeted and left.
"He is really something…" she told Takato and he felt pretty awkward.
"I couldn't say…" he said a bit down. She didn't realize his reaction so she kept talking.
"He is a tsunedere, one day he treats you bad, and the other he is worried" the Uchiha didn't want to hear her praising him but he kept silence and listened anyway. "If I had more confidence with him I would punch him in the face. Could you pass me some water?"
"What!?" the shinobi asked surprised, he wasn't expecting that line from her.
"Water!" Hikari said joking "Also, you can sit down if you want to" she pointed the chair Izuna had been siting a while ago. He quickly filled a glass with water that was on the auxiliary table behind him, handled it to her and sat down. She drank it in a matter of seconds.
"Ahh… I was thirsty! Anyway, the actual answer to your question is that he sometimes gets on my nerves." She explained "he is very rude when he wants to, and sometimes even if he doesn't mean to. He ends up apologizing all the time, but man! He remembers me of the Hyuuga I used to train with. We ended up being good friends once he opened up a little, but in the beginning I always wanted to break his nose, boy he was obnoxious" The Uchiha snorted.
"He is indeed opening up" he said above his encountered feelings and she looked at him curious "He was worried about my siblings and I. Of course he came to visit you too, but the night the attack happened he actually said to Izuna that he was growing on him."
"You're kidding!" she exclaimed. "He actually said that?"
"Yes indeed" Takato answered "it seems he has changed since you talked about his student's responsibilities"
"Oh, that" Hikari remembered "Who knew, It's pretty noticeable he is a man of honor like all of you, but I've never thought he would open his eyes so quickly. He seems so stubborn; it must have been hard for him."
"I think so" he said, not really sure of how she felt about the Senju.
"Well! I think we'll end up being good friends then!" the Takishima grinned "Can you give me more water?" He felt relieved when he heard she thought about the Senju as a friend interest, but he found that he didn't want to know if she also considered him a friend. He decided to let that go as he poured more water to her.
"Thank you!" she said and drank a few sips "Now tell me what happened? How did it all end?"
The Uchiha filled in with the treat Hashirama and Madara had done with the Hyuuga leader, and some stuff his brother had told him about Majime and her status within the Clan. She was surprised how everything was handled by the two Clan leaders.
"They will be great leaders." She mentioned with emotion "Hashirama is going to be proposed as Hokage, right?"
"Yes" Takato said "He is very kind and open to people"
"I don't know." She said "I also think your brother, now that I know him better, would also be a great Hokage. It's a relief I don't have to marry him anyway" she laughed.
"Hey don't be mean!" the Uchiha said "You should give him a chance, he is a very good man!" he joked.
"Indeed" Hikari answered "But it'll be like marrying my cousin" they both laughed "I'm sorry what Majime said about your family. I'm sorry for being impolite, but I'm certainly not sorry of slapping him"
"Thank you for doing that" he said "Not only because it was time somebody gave him a lesson, but for defending our family. You don't know what it meant to us"
"I knew what it meant" she answered, and he looked at her curious. "You told me some stuff about your father and your mother in your letters, and given Madara-san's reaction it wasn't difficult to let myself go and slap him"
"You're right… I've told you some stuff" he said. "It seems we used to talk more when we wrote each other, we don't have time now" he lamented.
"Okay, tell me about you. We have plenty time" She said "I think that maybe you won't train today if Megumi comes by to say hi. And I'm positive Ichigo will sneak to accompany her."
"True" he laughed.
"How are you doing?" she asked in a cheery way, I was hard for Takato to see her like this after three days of waiting in worry. Now she did notice his demeanor change. He looked at her with eyes filled with emotion, like if he had been holding up something. She saw him take a big breath and when he sighed he seemed slightly better. "Takato-san?" she asked worried.
"Hn… I must say these days were tiresome. I was worried about you; we all were" he confessed "After all what happened, after what Majime said to you, after the way you saved the kids. You were not waking up. Your health was fine, but you wouldn't react. We kept you company, and talked to you but… It was frustrating"
"I-I…" She wanted to say something but he didn't let her finish.
"Now you're up talking to me about Tobirama's attitude, drinking water and joking as if nothing had happened. I can't…" His voice became hoarse; it surprised him to be this sensitive. She handled him the glass of water. He looked at her not understanding, did she wanted more? The glass was half full.
"Drink some, it'll make you feel better" she said and he grabbed the glass unconsciously and drank.
"I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed after that "You were unconscious for three days and Here I am telling how bad we felt! What about you!? I'm a very bad person"
"Hey! Don't be so harsh on yourself!" She scolded him "It's natural! I used to talk like you every time Sakura or Naruto put their lives in danger and..." She stopped because realization hit her "Hn… Thank you for caring so much about me" she smiled shyly. She could see him widening his eyes and blushing. That only meant that she was right: he actually cared about her, she wasn't imagining things.
"Hn…" he was out of words, so he took another zip of water. They both became silent, but fortunately, it wasn't that uncomfortable. "So…" he wanted to return to the conversation, but he didn't know how.
"So…" she also said, "It's true your brother is obligated by the Clan to get married?"
"I thought you were not interested…" The Uchiha said rising an eyebrow and smirking.
"I'd like to keep my options opened" she joked.
"HN… no, please! I can't see you as a sister in law." He followed the joke, but then he continued so it wouldn't become awkward "I'm sorry to break your heart but he has to marry an Uchiha woman"
"I can't believe they don't acknowledge that inbreeding is wrong" she said "It's the reason that lots of clans have heritage problems. It's simply biology"
"They don't have that knowledge now." Takato explained "Maybe with your help and Sakura-san's you might change their minds. Not only of the Uchiha, but of the Senju too."
"That seems impossible to prove" Hikari said, "but we'll find a way, maybe if some other clan's join the Village in the future they can help. I know that the Only Clan that kept the inbreeding tradition was the Hyuuga, but they were starting to open. Oh wait!"
"What?" he asked intrigued.
"I knew an Uchiha that was a mixed blood!" her expression fell a little "Izumi…"
"How did the Clan handled that?" He asked, holding for a moment the urge to ask about that girl, she had never mentioned but she seemed sad to remember her.
"All I know is that her mother fell in love outside the Clan" She told him "And they refused to acknowledge that union, so she left the compound married the man she loved and had Izumi. Eventually the man died and she moved back to the compound because her daughter wanted to become a shinobi. She had awoken her Sharingan young by witnessing her father being murdered."
"I'm sorry it seems I only make you remember bad things" the man apologized.
"No, it's not that…"the kunoichi said "Although we share some similarities, we were never actually friends. She was supposed to be Itachi-kun's girlfriend"
"Your Itachi-kun had a girlfriend?" The Uchiha couldn't believe it "I know you didn't end up with him but I thought maybe…"
"Oh, no." the Takishima shook her head. "I told you, he was my first love but it wasn't reciprocated. Not in the beginning I mean."
"So he fell for you while having a girlfriend?" he asked confused.
"That's not right either." She smiled gently "Since it seems you have time, and I don't have anywhere to go I'll tell you more about my story."
"Let me get comfortable" he said smirking as he moved on his chair he was delighted they were talking like this. That made Hikari laugh.
"I liked Itachi, but he only saw me like a friend, a sister. And I was a kid" She started "Shisui-kun was always encouraging me to tell him my feelings but I wouldn't do so. Eventually they morphed into a deep loving bond, and all I wanted was for him to be happy. I heard the clan said he was interested in Izumi because they have seen them together eating in the compound sometimes. He never said anything, didn't admit it or deny it. When Shisui died, he and I became closer. I knew he was protecting Izumi because the people in the Clan thought he was the one that had killed our friend."
"Wait, why did the Clan say that?" Takato interrupted.
"They thought he had done it to obtain the Mangekyo" she explained "That silly Uchiha tradition that you acquire it by killing your best friend."
"That's not true!" the man said hurt "That's a bad story they tell about us. Me and my siblings awoke it because of our mother's death"
"I know, I believe you." Hikari tried to calm him down "It requires an extremely amount of deep emotion to awake it, but you don't need to kill somebody to obtain it. I know that by first hand"
"I'm sorry" he said a bit embarrassed. "Please go on" she made a small pause and nodded.
"After Shisui died, we used to hang out a bit more those days but he hardly spoke." she continued "He just stayed next to me in silence, or came to watch me training with shurinken. But he always seemed at ease. The last time I saw him was the evening before the Massacre. He had appeared while I was shopping groceries, and helped me carry them home… "She made another pause "I noticed something was odd when I greeted him with a 'See you later' and he just looked at me tenderly and said 'goodbye'. He never said good bye, not even to his little brother"
"And what happened next?" the shinobi was immersed in the story.
"I cooked for Naruto and I and as was washing the dishes when I felt a huge void in my stomach" she grabbed her sheet tightly "I left Naruto alone at home and run to the Uchiha district. When I arrived everybody was dead, even Izumi. It was one of the most horrendous scenes I've seen in my entire life. I could see not far from the gates that little Sasuke was still alive but unconscious, but suddenly some shinobi appeared and they didn't let me go further."
"I'm so sorry…" Takato lowered his head "I can't imagine how you might felt"
"You know this is the first time I tell this story to someone aside of Naruto and Sakura" she looked at him, she was not sad, well she was kind of down but it seemed she had worked that well in her mind over the years. "I mean not even my parents know this part, they only know what Itachi did, and why did he do it. I understood later why nobody interrogated me for being there. The Hokage knew."
"You never saw him again?" the Uchiha tried not to dwell too much on what she had said. She had trusted him something she had never told anybody.
"I actually did" Hikari said looking at the ceiling. She made another paused and eventually looked at him. She snorted when she saw his face, he had his eyebrows up and his eyes widely open like he was waiting for her to keep telling the story. "I'm sorry, I drifted off. When I was almost 20, before the war started he appeared in front of me while I was sparring with one of my toads summons."
"Really? After all those years he appeared as if nothing happen!?" he exclaimed.
"Yes, he came to apologize and to say goodbye. He was ill, and was going to confront his little brother so the boy would kill him." She sighed, this time Takato became speechless "He wanted one last spar with me, and we fought. It was a short but filled with emotion. I questioned him about Shisui's death, he explained to me what happened, and showed me everything through a Tsukuyomi. The orders he had received, how he killed everybody, how he was under covered in that organization. He actually was one of my godfather's leads." She stopped her story and for a moment she closed her eyes.
"Hikari-san?" Takato called "Do you feel fine?" he asked concerned.
"Hn. Yes, I'm sorry" she apologized "Too many memories together" she smiled at him "I got out of tracks, after he told me everything I confessed him that I always liked him. He said he knew, and that he liked me back. He had realized that before Shisui died, but at that moment I loved him as a brother. He also confessed to me that if nothing of what happened hadn't actually happened, he would have told me his feelings even If I didn't love him in a romantic way anymore."
"Oh." Takato said, she looked at him "That is so unfair! You both could have had so different lives."
"I am not sure about that" Hikari said "He had become a platonic love for me, a very important person, but I didn't pursue any romantic relationship."
"But you might have" he countered.
"I can't live my life thinking of 'mights'" the Takishima stated, it sounded harsher than she meant to "I mean, we both took different paths, and they were apart from each other. He will always have an important place in my heart, but that's all. Even when he was still alive, I had already moved on"
"I assume he died fighting with his brother, am I right?" That's all what the man could comment. All her personal details were not to be questioned. He felt comforted that she had someone so special in her memory, and also a bit relieved because he wouldn't have to be competing with that memory. 'Wait, what did I just think?' he spoke to himself in his mind.
"Yes" she answered "He also saved his brother by fighting him. Sasuke had been invaded by a demon, and by leaving his body almost Chakra-less he made it release him. His brother didn't kill him actually, he died because he couldn't resist anymore." She made a pause "Sasuke told me so"
"Do you want more water or something to eat?" The Uchiha suddenly asked her. She looked at him oddly, because she was taken aback with his question after all that story. "I made you talk so long, and made remember so many sad things that I feel guilty. Let me bring you something please" he put clapped his hands in front of his forehead in a pleading pose. The kunoichi burst into laughter and he soon followed her. In that moment Madara appeared with a chart.
"Hikari-san how are you…" he stopped when he realized his brother was there and they were laughing together "Hn. I'm sorry I didn't want to disturb" he said the last part eyeing Takato.
"Hi! Madara-san!" she greeted him while she wiped a tear from her eye "You're not disturbing, your brother was telling me that he was going to bring me something to eat. I'm starving!"
"I think I should leave now, I kept you busy enough" he stood up "I'll leave her to your care aniki" The eldest looked at him rising an eyebrow.
"Hey, don't play fool with the meal" Hikari said "I'm really starving, it's not a joke"
"Okay, Okay" he put his arms up "I'll see what I can do. See you later!" he greeted and walked towards the door "You too aniki" he smiled at him.
Madara noticed his brother was feeling better, he seemed lighter. The Takishima girl really affected him.
"What did you do to him?" he asked her as he approached to her bed.
"Why?" the kunoichi answered with another question.
"This last days he was really gloomy, and now he spends an hour speaking with you and he is a completely different man" The Uchiha said as a matter of fact, he saw her getting what he implied and turning a funny shade of red. He decided he would not torture her anymore. "I wanted to thank you Hikari-san" he said. Hikari looked at him feeling more composed. "First for what you did helping save the children, and also for defending my mother's memory. I am also sorry of Majime-san's declarations; he only wanted to mess with the two of us."
"You don't need to thank me." She said to him "neither for the kids nor for how I acted. Your brother had told me how important your mother is for all of you, so I knew that man was stepping out of line."
"Takato told you about our mother?" Madara asked intrigued. His brother had never spoken about her with anybody that wasn't them, Kido or Sora.
"Yes, in some of his letters" she explained.
"Hn." The Uchiha said. That was indeed interesting. "Anyway, I also want to apologize to you because I didn't have on account how you might feel by coming to the Uchiha compound and receiving so much attention from a Clan that made you suffer so much" Hikari was startled with that.
"I-I…" she stuttered "It's Okay Madara-san, you don't need to apologize for that"
"But you were feeling unwell all night long." He continued.
"Yes, I guess I couldn't handle that well" she accepted "But believe me; I don't see in your people the ones that bullied me ten years ago. They are different people, and they don't have the darkness the ones in my time had."
"I appreciate what you are saying" the Uchiha sad "I really do."
"All right! All settled then" Hikari said cheering up "But there's something important we need to discuss…" she paused and he looked expectant "I'm sorry but I can't marry you, you're not my type!"
Madara's face was unique. Of all things he thought he might hear the Takishima say that wasn't one. He blinked a few times and the burst into laughter. It was a vibrant and joyful laugh. 'So this is the real Uchiha Madara. We really need to protect this laughter. Poor Madara of our time, I wonder if he remembered how to laugh like this" Hikari thought.
"Don't apologize, you're also not my type" he joked 'Of course, he prefers pinkettes' she thought 'But I won't tell him that, he might kill me' She also laughed because of what he had said and also because what she had thought.
"But I wouldn't be so reluctant to become an Uchiha If I were you, Hikari-san" he said crossing his arms and rising one eyebrow. The girl was clueless. "There are plenty of Uchiha candidates despite myself that you might find fitting your type. Well, actually there might be just one." He smirked broadly when he made her blush. 'Is he implying…?' She thought. She was going to say something, but she also noticed another thing.
"You seem lighter" the Takishima said trying to compose herself. He knew what she meant; he didn't have the need to ask further.
"You too" Madara answered knowingly.
"I had a weird dream that took off a huge weight from me" She explained so he would also elaborate.
"I had a healing session of my eyes with Sakura-san." The Uchiha said "She also checked me for the Curse of Hatred."
"She did?" Hikari asked surprised. Had her friend spilled the beans with this man?
"Yes, I'm fine actually." He answered "It seems that anytime dark chakra appears my brain fights it, so I'm fine. She also checked on my siblings and they are completely free from it"
"Wow that's awesome!" the Takishima exclaimed. She was going to have a nice talk with her friend when she could and, speaking of the devil, the pinkette knocked the door and entered.
"Well, Madara-san? How's the patient?" Sakura asked in teacher mode.
"I haven't checked her yet," he said "I was apologizing"
"That was a long apology then." The pinkette said, the man was slightly embarrassed. "Don't worry" she assured "I will check on her, Ryuuji and Hashirama-san are expecting you. Your friend needs you to take over helping Ryuuji."
"Hn." He said rolling his eyes. "He can't do anything by himself. I wonder how he will be as a Hokage."
"We all wonder that" Sakura joked.
"True." Madara said "I'll go help him. See you later" He bowed to the ladies and left.
"How are you doing Hikari-chan? She asked her friend.
"I'm fine…" she said with suspense "but you need to explain a lot of stuff to me… You checked Madara's head for the dark curse!?" she exclaimed in a hush voice. Sakura gulped.
Meanwhile Toka and Izuna were eating something in the merchant district. I wouldn't be open until two weeks, but Ryuutaro san's son was still cooking for everyone that needed. They asked for some noodles and onigiri, a light bite before going to rest.
"I am starving!" Izuna said slurping some noodles, the Senju looked at him; he seemed more relaxed now the Takishima had awoken.
"You really care for Hikari-san" she said smiling "that's cute" The Uchiha almost chokes with a noodle.
"Where did that come from?" he said coughing and drinking some water "I'm not cute" Toka laughed.
"Oh, yes you are! But you don't know it yet" she said with a saccharine voice pinching him in the arm.
"Hey!" he tried to defend himself with his chopsticks. "Anyway, of course I care. She's my friend" he said serious.
"You don't have many friends, do you?" the kunoichi asked harmless and he tried to look offended "Come on, I know as a fact that you only hang around with your siblings or me if we don't count the girls"
"Well, yes" he said staring at his food "It was always difficult to have a friend in the clan. Father didn't want that, he only would allow it if we had intentions of achieving the Mangekyo Sharingan"
"By killing them, right?" Toka stated
"Yeah, but that's not true." Izuna argued "My siblings and I awoke it with our mother's passing, and you've heard Kido, he awoke it being old because he lost his son. Also Hikari-san lost her god-father." He paused "It's not that you need to kill your best friend, you need to deeply love and loose. It's an emotion thing of these cursed eyes"
"I don't see your eyes as a curse" she said and then blushed realizing how it might have sound. "I mean, it's a powerful dojutsu if you know how to use it."
For a moment, the Uchiha thought that she was complimenting him, but he felt disappointed as he realized that she was just talking about his family heritance.
"They are linked to emotions, they are unstable" he said bitterly taking a bite of one onigiri.
"But you have controlled them. You're very good at using the dojutsu" She didn't want him to get mad at her "I want to study the Sharingan" she said hopeful "I would like to help your people if they ever have problems, like you and your siblings had" He looked at her astonished.
"You want to learn to help my people?" Izuna asked "Why?"
"There has to be a reason?" Toka questioned "I never hated your clan, I'm fine with them. If you want to know a reason… you are one." Izuna felt his face grew hot.
"H-how?" he managed to ask. She was embarrassed too but she was not going to take her words back.
"You are the one that showed me how good your Clan could be" the kunoichi explained "I could see your kindness and pride even in battle before this peace happened. You cared for your people and especially for your family. That told me that you were not a bad person… Though you were pretty annoying at the beginning of our meetings" she smiled and chilled out a little.
"I-I…" he started and suddenly got the meaning of her last words "HEY!" he exclaimed "You were annoying too."
"I was just your mirror" Toka said wisely biting an onigiri.
"Hn." He said feigning being angry. They continued eating in silence. "You're not bad either" he suddenly said and now was her time to almost choke. "I mean, you're the most powerful kunoichi I've met. Hell you were the only kunoichi I've noticed in Battle. You're fierce and perceptive." She looked like a tomato now.
"I think Sakura-san and Hikari-san have overpassed me in your ranking" she said scratching the back of her head uncomfortable.
"No." he simply said and continued eating. She was speechless, so she also kept eating in silence. After a while the Uchiha spoke again "I like to have Hikari-chan and Sakura-can as friends. I'm glad I've met them, and I know I will learn some things from them; but you still have potential Toka. Never feel overpassed, always aim for be better, if that's what you want."
"Thank you" the Kunoichi said. She was used to him saying her name without the honorifics, he was always rude with her in that way, but this time it sounded different. "Nee… Izuna" she also felt different the way she called his name now "Would you help me improve?"
"I thought you've never ask!" he smirked. She smiled brightly and he found himself mesmerized with her beauty. It was hard for him to stay calm in that moment. He gulped hard and finished his plate.
Takato appeared later looking for some food. He had spoken with Sakura and she had told him it would be fine to get Hikari some onigiri. He looked at his brother eating together with the Senju and he had a warm feeling on his chest. He remembered one of the chats he had with his aniki two days ago.
FLASHBACK
"You knew about Izuna's feelings for Toka?" Madara asked his brother.
"Yes" he answered "I was suspicious, but he finally confessed that to me some days ago."
"You had a fight then" the eldest stated.
"He told you about that?" Takato was surprised his otouto would have been so open to their aniki.
"Yes, but he didn't told me why you fought" he said "Just that it was a middle-brother/youngest-brother thing"
"Well, that's true" his brother answered. "It was a fight that maybe we should've had earlier. But we're fine."
"I'm worried about you both" Madara said.
"Look Aniki" the middle Uchiha said "you don't have to be. Our bond is stronger now. We needed that fight. We confronted our feelings since childhood. I treated him like he had never been serious in his life and told him he was childish and jealous. He told me I was a coward that didn't confront my feelings, and never wanted to get my things together and because of that I had let Suzumi die."
"How…?" The leader was angry "How could you say stuff like that to each other? You're family"
"We needed that." He cut his brother scolding "I'm sure you've realized both of us seem different these last days. We've bonded more than what we've bonded our entire life. This is also happening with you. The Uchiha siblings are getting stronger, not in power but in union." He made a pause; he could see the eldest was moved with his words. "As you said, we are family" he smiled at him.
"I am going to fight for your happiness Takato." Madara said suddenly "Yours and Izuna's. I am not going to let him live a life where he has to hide his feelings. I won't let him get bitter, nor won't I let you too."
"I'm fine" Takato said.
"No you're not." His brother responded serious "I know you're worried for Hikari-san, and I know about your feelings"
"That bastard…" the middle brother rolled his eyes "I'm gonna punch him when I see him"
"Why didn't you tell me?" the eldest enquired with hurt.
"I don't know" his brother said "You mocked me, I wasn't really considering my feelings until some days ago that I started to feel jealous about her and Tobirama… I assume the Old lady also told you that didn't he?" Madara smirked.
"You can't lose to him" he said to his sibling "You're better than that Senju."
"We're very similar actually" Takato said with Irony.
"You're more charming" The Patriarch elbowed him, but then he talked serious "I know you're worried about Hikari-san, you can count on me. Talk to me. And don't worry I won't marry her." He smiled at that.
"That's good to know" the youngest smiled at him.
"What are we going to do with Izuna?" Madara asked.
"I guess we could encourage that relationship if it's meant to be" Takato said "and help them hide it until you can solve this problem. I've seen them interacting and they are almost like a couple."
"Agh…" the leader exclaimed "Mother would have been a great help here"
END OF FLASHBACK
"Hello you two!" Takato said smiling.
"Nii-san what are you doing here this late?" Izuna asked surprised. "Shouldn't you be resting for training?"
"I came to buy some Onigiri for Hikari-san." He answered "Sakura-san told me so"
"You're just leaving the Hospital?" Toka wandered, it had been almost an hour since they left.
"Well, yes" he said "I spent some time talking with Hikari-san"
"Oh, you don't lose your time, do you?" The Senju elbowed him "How is she doing?"
"Fine" the middle Uchiha said passing on her joke but looked at his brother with a pointy look. The other Uchiha looked dumbfounded, he got what his brother implied with that look and he had certainly not told Toka about him and the Takishima. "She seems lighter, like she doesn't have that anguish aura surrounding her. Remember? She started to be like that since the day we have the meeting at the Hokage tower." The other two understood what he was talking about.
"But she was pretty anguished when we arrived" the kunoichi mentioned "She wouldn't let you go" she looked at Izuna.
"That's true" he said in deep thought remembering something.
"What happened, how did she woke up?" Takato asked.
"It was weird" Izuna explained. "She was tossing and turning on her bed and started to mumble and cry in her sleep. I wiped her tears and called her name but she wouldn't answer. Then she suddenly sat up shouting her friend's name"
"Itachi-kun?" Takato and Toka asked in unison.
"No" the other Uchiha said serious. "Shisui"
The rest of the day went by rapidly. Megumi, Ichigo and Ryuutaro had visited Hikari at the Hospital joined by Tobirama that had told them the news. They were interrupted by Takato that brought the kunoichi some food. He excused himself, handled her meal and waited outside. He didn't want to intrude. The Takishima told Tobirama that they should take the day off. She would be out from the Hospital the day after and they would resume training. The albino wasn't very sure about this, but thought that some rest wouldn't hurt the children for once. That allowed them to hang out a little more with their 'sensei'. Ryuutaro and the Senju left the Takishima talking with the kids that were over Sakura's bed.
As he got out the Room the albino told Takato that he could go to get some rest, because there won't be training.
"I will go to the Hokage tower and settle some things up" he said "The decision of Hokage will be taken in a month, so our siblings need to tell the people these days."
"That's good!" the Uchiha said "I was going to say they have been lazy with that"
"Indeed." Tobirama smirked "Anyway, once you've rest would you come by? I would like to talk to you about the Academy Idea"
"Really?" Takato didn't know why but he felt proud that he was considering him, the Senju nodded "I look forward to, I'll be there by two. Now I'll go get some rest"
The next day Hikari was ready to be discharged, it was 8am. And she was dressed up waiting for Sakura to tell her to leave. She needed to go to their home so Hamura would get out and become Matsu again. The pinkette arrived with her discharge papers and told her to take it easy.
"I'll go home and then I'll stop by the guy's training." The Takishima said "But I won't do anything too demanding don't worry"
"Just to climb the mount" Sakura said rising an eyebrow.
"Only that!" her friend smiled sheepishly "I'll do it from the easy part, just walking"
"Okay" the Pinkette said. "I've talked to your shift-mates" she smiled at that "You'll reduce your night hours a bit for these days. You'll enter at 8pm so you can rest a little more."
"But you…" Hikari complained.
"Don't worry, they will call us if there's an emergency" she said. "I'll do my regular shift until 6. I'll see you at home. Now leave" he waved her hands and motioned her to go. Now that Hikari was completely fine, Sakura could feel at ease again.
That evening the announcement that the Hokage will be named in a month was made. Tobirama, Madara and Hashirama went to each compound and also spoke in the Civilian district. People were eager to finally have a leader.
Ryuuji wanted to stay those two hours Hikari was resting so Sakura allowed him and she went back home to relax with her friend, it had been a long time since they could chat casually, without the fear of spilling the beans.
At their home Matsu was waiting her with a meal, and her friend was sleeping sonorously on the couch. She suddenly awoke when the pinkette closed the door.
"Oh! You're really here" she greeted "You should eat what Matsu prepared, it's delicious. I ate so much, I passed out." he had made some sort of chicken potato pie.
"This looks so good!" Sakura smelled it. She left her belongings, washed her hands and sat at the table to eat. Hikari took this opportunity to interrogate her so she stood up from the couch and walked to the kitchen.
"What did you tell Madara about the curse?" she went straight to the point. Her friend was taken aback with that.
"O-only the basics" she shrugged innocently. Her friend looked at her with an accusing look "Okay, I'll tell you everything" she added and told her about the chat they all had that night after she fell unconscious and how the Uchiha Siblings wanted her to check if they had the Curse. Eventually she told her about her conversation with Madara. She tried to skip some stuff but both Matsu and the Takishima noticed.
"So you told him that he was developing darkness!?" Hikari exclaimed "Are you Insane!?"
"If you really paid attention, I didn't tell him that." Sakura raised her voice. "I just told him there was evidence that he had had darkness, but now it was gone."
"But you told him you'll give him tools to cope with that." The brunette was walking back and forth inside their kitchen "You even told him about Sasuke! You're meddling too much!"
"Of course I Am!" the pinkette shouted "I am sick of being cautious with the whole future thing. If we're here to stop bad things to happen then this is one thing I definitely want to do." Then she looked at Matsu "You brought us here! You're not giving us much other options"
"Hey! Don't get mad at him now" the Takishima defended the Ōtsutsuki for the moment "You're the one that make your own decisions"
"I'm sorry ladies" Matsu said "I'm sorry for what I've done to you, but the truth is that there are no rules about what to do in a situation like this. But it is possible that you can change small things, and that will make things develop at their own pace. While you don't do things for your own egotistic interests we all be fine."
"So you're giving us free card to play?" Sakura asked the man.
"Yes" the Ōtsutsuki answered "I never put rules anyway. Follow your gut" The anger was slowly fading inside the brunette. At least the anger she felt towards the pinkette.
"I'm sorry I blamed you" she said to her friend "It's difficult to act sometimes around here. And YOU…" she said looking at Matsu "are unbearable." The man made a guilty face.
"I'm sorry!" the Ōtsutsuki said "I wouldn't have done this if I wasn't sure this was going to be for the best"
"It's fine Matsu" the pinkette told her. "Also Hikari-chan, it's okay. I'm happy to know that we don't need to be counting every step we made."
"HN." Hikari said eyerroling at her brother, and then shook her head. "You know? That's right!" she smiled.
Days went by smoothly for everybody. Uchiha and Senju worked together. Some of them have started to form friendships outside the clan because of their kids. Tobirama and Takato were working in the Idea of the Ninja Academy, it was just the basics, and once they have something more elaborated they would consult Sakura and Hikari.
Hashirama and Madara were occupied meeting with everybody and explaining to them that there will be only one Hokage and that they thought the best option for a leader was the Senju. Hashirama assured everybody that he would have a council and he would have the Uchiha as an advisor, almost like a second Hokage, or a Hokage in the shadows. Most of the people were fine with that, but Madara had to put a lot of effort when he spoke to his Clan. It went better than he had expected though; the majority had a high concept of the Senju, they had seen him leading the negotiations with the Hyuuga, and also he seemed approachable. The idea of having their leader as the Villages right hand was also appealing. The Patriarch finished convincing them when he said them that Izuna was now an apprentice of Sakura and he was aiming to be a great medic as she was. It was a matter of pride, and it had done the trick. The old hag band of the council of course opposed everything they have said, but actually they didn't care because for Hashirama to be accepted as Hokage they needed Majority, and it seemed they already had it.
Almost two weeks later, Hikari had just arrived to the night shift. She was now doing regular time schedules. That day the albino hadn't showed up for training, he said he had some stuff he needed to finish at the Hokage tower. Ichigo had taken the day to spar with Takato at the Uchiha forrest, so it had been just Megumi and her.
At the hospital's doors she encountered Toka and the Uchiha Siblings and they entered the building and met with the day shift. They were just finishing the information exchange when Tobirama appeared through the front doors. He greeted everybody and then approached to Takishima.
"Hikari-san" he said in a low baritone voice "I would like to spar with you tomorrow." He asked leaving the kunoichi and the rest of the group dumbfounded.
***AUTHORS NOTES****
Hello Everybody! This was more a Hikari centered chapter, but come on… she was away for two whole days!
I keep receiving messages about people that don't like OCs (not mine, in general) or think OCs are OP (that was about mine, but it was about the 1rst chapter, so what would they know?). The ones that have read my whole story until now know that even though My OCs might seem OP, they are really not. I work hard to give them weaknesses and flaws so they can grow over them. Okay, Hikari did Susanoo and Hirashin last chapter, but it almost costs her life. They have not altered the canon story much, and they have not surpassed the actual Founders. Actually, we will see more about that next chapter :V
I can't understand something though; if they don't like OCs and in the descriptions says OC, why do they read and comment?
Anyway, thanks to Ania980 and Blu3b3rryta as always