Author's note: lmao, I love it, Kitsune. He's trying!
Chapter 13: Bloodshed
"Can I ask you something?" Umika's voice trailed along the babbling of the river.
"What is it?" Tobirama called over his shoulder, trying to lean the fishing rod between two boulders. "Are you sure I can't just stab the fish? It would be easier than this."
"No, that would ruin them!" she replied with a giggle. She watched him carefully lift his hands off the rod, backing away slowly, afraid that the slightest movement might disrupt the delicate balance he had managed to achieve.
"There." he mumbled, patting his hands dry on his pants. He stepped back and took a seat next to Umika, under a tree. "Ask away."
"When you first found me…when you offered to run away with me…was it always a plan to bring me back?' She watched him for a moment. He stared out, past the river, deep in thought about her question. "I mean…was there any part of you that wanted to leave this village?"
"There are times…when the life we had before seems simpler." Tobirama admitted. "No shameless politics, no tedious governance, just the freedom to travel wherever and however." He turned his eyes on her and smiled. "But…."
"But?" she repeated, twisting the stem of a flower between her fingers. She glanced up at him when he hesitated to answer.
"If we had stayed in that life…days like this would be impossible."
"Days like this?'
"Us, here together."
"O…." She chewed on her lip. "Because of our clans?" He nodded.
"We would have been locked in bloodshed." Tobirama took the flower from her hands and gently placed it behind her ear, tucking it back with her hair. "It makes me wonder…" His fingers lingered, brushing against her jawline. "If I were to leave and travel on my own, how many others would I lock blades with? Others, that if we had met within the confines of this village, I would have shared meals with, sat on the river with." She averted her gaze and pulled his hand away from her face. "Umika." He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. "If something happened to Madara, would you stay?"
"What do you mean?" She stiffened at the question, as if the thought alone terrified her.
"If he were to defect—"
"I would go with him." The was no hesitation in her words.
"And if he were to die?"
"In what manner?"
"Does it matter?"
"It matters!" She pulled his hand away again, almost disgusted by the insinuation.
"Natural causes. Illness. Accident. On a mission." Tobirama clarified.
"I don't know."
"What if he were to die fighting an internal conflict? Within the village?"
"I could not stay here." Umika said. "If his death was the fault of someone within the village…I would never forgive them." She nervously gripped the grass beneath her, tightening her fists until the blades tore in them.
"Maybe in time you would—"
"No," Umika protested, "there is no more room in my heart for forgiveness. Madara knew it. That is why he never even told me that it was the Senju responsible for Izuna's death. He even forbade others from talking about it near me. But I would hear whispers. I didn't know for sure until you confirmed it, but since then, it has burdened my soul. I kept to just the Uchiha for that reason. I didn't want to find out I had been breaking bread with Izuna's murderer." She tossed the blades of grass down, wiping her hands on her kimono. "And now I can't even—" She choked back a sob. The guilt tore through Tobirama's chest.
"Can't what?" he pried. She shook her head, blinking away tears.
"It's nothing." The fishing rod jumped, pulling Umika's attention. Tobirama watched her reel in the trout and begin her preparations. He had planned on watching for her recipe, but now, all he could do was sit under the tree and consider what she had said. The moral thing to do would be to admit to her that Izuna had fallen by his hand. He would have preferred a prettier story to tell. At least in a straightforward battle, Tobirama could have claimed self-defense. That was not the case. The Senju had ambushed the Uchiha, overwhelmed them in numbers. It was a slaughter by every measure. How could he confess such cruelties to her? She would hate him. She would lock herself behind Madara's doors, and he would never see her again.
"Umika…."
"Here, it's ready." She handed him the skewered fish. "Try it." Tobirama took a bite. It was just as delicious as he remembered. "How is it?"
"It's perfect." He hated himself for the decision, but he opted to keep Umika in the dark about his sins. He was a coward.
They sat and ate in silence before deciding to head back. Neither one of them spoke up until Tobirama turned onto the Uchiha district street.
"W-wait." Umika grabbed his arm, pulling him away. "I go this way." She motioned further down the street. He frowned at the proposed route.
"That way is twice as long. This street leads straight to your house." he reasoned. He took a few steps, and she resisted him
"No, let's just go the other way." she begged in a hushed tone.
"Why?" The crease between his brows deepened when he saw her turn away from the passing Uchiha.
"Is that her?" one woman whispered.
"Yea." her male companion grumbled. "Serves her right."
"Please…let's just go." Umika begged, tugging on Tobirama's sleeve.
"How is she still standing?" another woman mumbled to her friend as they passed by the pair.
"What are they talking about?" Tobirama asked, keeping his eyes on Umika. She shook her head, refusing to answer.
"I'm going the other way." She let go of him, keeping her eyes low, and running back to the main road. In her hurry to get away, she did not notice an Uchiha man stepping out of a shop. She bumped into him. It was soft contact, and initially, the man simply excused himself. It was not until he noticed the girl's face that rage overcame him. It happened before Tobirama could process it.
"You!?" The Uchiha man's fist landed against Umika's jaw, knocking the girl to the ground.
"I'm sorry!" Umika screamed out, immediately covering her head and cowering from the man.
"I told you not to come back!" The man reared his leg back to kick her, and anger ripped through the young Senju like lightning. The sound that should have been the crack of Umika's ribs was replaced by Tobirama slamming the man against the wall of his shop. The building shook from the force. Fissures traveled in all directions.
"How dare you raise your hand to her!" his voice boomed like thunder through the streets, drawing the attention of all pedestrians.
"L-lord…T-Tobir-rama…." the Uchiha man choked out, trying to pry away the Senju's iron grip around his throat. Tobriama's fingers twitched, begging to crush the man's throat for his transgressions against Umika.
"Let him go!" Umika pleaded, pulling on Tobirama's arm.
"Not until he explains his actions." He raised the man's body higher on the wall.
"Please, stop!" she cried.
"Tell me why you hurt her!"
"I-I…." The man struggled for breath.
"Tobirama!" Umika wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his back. She pulled hard, managing to loosen his footing just enough to force him back a step or two. He released the man, who immediately fell on the ground and began gasping for air. She kept pulling him back, as far as she could manage. He felt her soft sobs jitter against him. "Please…please stop. It's not worth it…I'm not worth it. Let's just go." He let out his bated breath, placing his hand over Umika's. He turned his body in her embrace, just enough to wrap an arm around her shoulders.
"Come on. I'll take you home." He shot a final glare at the man, who was now surrounded by his clan, diligently tending to his wounds. Tobirama glanced down at the girl, noticing that she had not been given the same concern or attention by her kin. He stopped to observe the broken skin on her jaw. "Let me see it." She shuddered under his touch, afraid to even look at him. He pulled back her hair, and it was then he noticed two other marks on her forehead. They were jagged cuts, maybe just a day or two old, still swollen and tender. He pressed his thumb against the redness surrounding the forming scab and she flinched. His fingers brushed against another scab buried in her hair. "What happened?"
"Please…let's go." she repeated for what felt like the millionth time. "I want to check on Madara."
