Mila awoke unusually late. The sun was already well in the sky when she rolled out of bed, eyes still heavy with sleep. She stretched tiredly, finding her muscles still held the last remaining traces of soreness from her journey to the Leaf, and went to get dressed for the day. Perhaps she would explore the village a little, she should bring Aroka too, lest the girl get bored all alone in this unfamiliar place. Yes, that was a good idea.
Soon, Mila emerged from her room and approached her friend's which was conveniently across the hall.
"Aroka? Are you awake?" She knocked lightly.
After receiving no response, she called out twice more before slowly opening the door and peeking inside.
Empty.
"I wonder where she could have gone…"
Heads turned and whispers spread abound as Aroka passed through the courtyard. She couldn't quite make out what was being said but nevertheless paid it no mind. Her cloudy eyes searched attentively through the crowded map of lines, though the one she was looking for still evaded her. Surely he couldn't be th-
"Ouch!" she hissed as she walked right into a stone bench. She cursed under her breath, rubbing right below her knee where she had hit the damn thing.
Regaining her composure after a brief pity party, she continued towards her as-of-yet unknown destination. As unfortunate as it was, running into things was a frequent reality when she couldn't see. She should consider herself fortunate today, really, that was her first collision so far, maybe she was getting better at-
"Ouch!" She had hit another bench in the exact same place. This time she had to squat down from the pain and rub furiously at her soon-to-be bruised shin, muttering broken strings of curses as she reevaluated every decision she had ever made.
"What are you doing here?"
Aroka paused her profanity to look up at the voice, she grinned and popped up so quickly her mind went dizzy for a second.
"Izuna, perfect! I'm glad I found you!"
"How did you get in here?"
"The guards at the entrance weren't looking, I think, but never mind that! I need you to bring me to Madara."
Izuna raised an eyebrow, his brother didn't mention he had a meeting this morning. Besides, what business would those two have to meet privately for?
"Why?" he asked dubiously.
"I can't say right now, but please help me out, it's important." she clasped her hands together, pleading.
"Fine," he sighed; if she said it was important he would believe her. He was sure he'd find out eventually, anyways.
"Great!" she beamed, quickly linking her arm with his, "Lead the way!"
Izuna sighed again reluctantly started towards his home deeper inside the Uchiha compound.
A number of surrounding clansmen had stopped to witness the peculiar sight and, little did the pair know, rumors were already spreading.
Upon reaching the home of the Uchiha clan head, they wove through the complex halls until finally stopping in front of a large screen door. After two soft knocks they heard a low "come in" from the other side.
Izuna slid open the door and stepped into the large, ornate office. Madara's eyes rose to meet his before shifting towards Aroka, still latched onto his arm. The younger Uchiha quickly separated himself from the woman and cleared his throat.
"She asked to speak with you."
Madara scrutinized the seer for a moment longer before dismissing his brother who wasted no time in excusing himself from the room.
Aroka stepped forward slowly, careful to avoid running into anything, and soon found what must have been a chair. Settling down, she smiled at the ever stoic man.
"Madara," she greeted.
"What do you want?" he asked pointedly, already having returned to the documents in front of him.
"I thought I'd come to visit since I'm in town."
"Is that so."
"And I have a couple things I'd like to talk with you about."
"Do tell."
"Why do you want to leave the village?"
Madara's eyes snapped up to hers, dangerously narrowed.
"What are you talking about?" he asked with a mask of indifference, though she could hear the edge in his voice.
"I don't know much about this village, but I do know Konoha has been your dream for a long time. What's changed?"
Madara's lips pressed into a thin line and his eyes shifted red, though that did nothing to deter her gaze.
"You don't have to say anything now but whatever it is, I want to help. You've been more distant from the others lately and they're becoming concerned."
"Why do you say that?"
"I keep an eye out, even from my limited perspective your behavior has changed; slowly but surely. Whatever it is, no problem is unfixable, you might just need to look beyond yourself for answers."
Madara's glare sharpened that even Aroka felt it, the hairs on her neck standing up.
"What exactly did you see?"
"What?"
"You wouldn't have approached me over some insignificant details you just happened to notice, you've seen something important. What am I to do that's enough to scare you into intervening?" he leaned forward, voice dangerously low.
Aroka's nails dug into her palms anxiously. She couldn't tell if that was a threat, but knowing him the chances weren't good. Fearing the lines before her might at any moment change against her favor, Aroka decided now was the time to leave.
"That's all I came to say, if you need anything you know where to find me." And with that, she stood up as quickly as she could without seeming in a rush and scurried out of the room.
"Goodness…" she breathed a sigh of relief once she was far enough away, laying a hand over her erratic heartbeat. "This better have been worth it."
"What was that all about?"
"W-!" Aroka's leapt in surprise, she could have sworn her heart stopped for a second there. "Izuna! You scared me half to death!"
"Sorry," he laughed, "That didn't take long, how'd it go?"
"It was fine, just get me out of here please, the longer I stay the lower my chances of survival."
"That bad, huh?"
"Just come on," she huffed, looping her arm through his and urging him forward.
Izuna complied, leading them back to the entrance of the compound then towards the main gate. As well as he hid it, he was very much curious as to what she had spoken with his brother about. It must have been something quite sensitive for her to try to come here on her own, not bringing even Mila along.
"How do you like Konoha so far?"
"It's certainly lively, much more interesting than what I'm used to."
"How long will you stay?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"Well you can come visit us whenever you like, I'd be glad to show you around sometime."
"Oh? I thought you kept busy these days?"
"I'll always have time for a friend."
"How thoughtful. I'll be sure to take you up on that."
Noticing a shift in the composition of lines as well as the growing noise in front of her, she determined they had just exited the Uchiha compound.
"Thank you for walking me out, Izuna. I can make it back from here," she smiled gratefully, though he made no effort to unlock his arm from hers.
"If you don't mind, I'd like to walk you the rest of the way as well."
"Are you sure? You don't have to; I know you must have more important things to do."
"Honestly, I don't know how you made it here by yourself considering how many things you ran into back there."
"Hey! Your compound just has too many obstacles! I made it here just fine, I'll have you know!"
"If you say so…"
"Shush, let's just go, Mila might get worried if I take too long."
The pair continued towards the Senju compound with chatter and friendly banter between them. The sun was warm today, an occasional cool breeze tickled past them, the background noise of Konoha was familiar and comforting: a constant, fluid static.
It didn't take long before the complex entrance came into view. Izuna paused a few feet away, "I'm sure you can make it the rest of the way."
"I'd hope so," she grinned, unlinking her arm and turning to face him. "Thanks, Izuna."
"Anytime."
"I'll see you around then, bye bye!" she waved as she turned towards the compound.
Despite knowing full well the pointlessness of doing so, Izuna found himself waving back. He watched her retreat until finally she disappeared behind the stone walls of the complex.
For some reason, the walk back seemed ages longer.
Aroka dragged her fingertips along the side of the handrails, she had made a point to memorize the way to her room so she was reasonably sure she wouldn't get lost. Of course it certainly helped that Tobirama had given her one fairly close to the entrance. Aroka walked slowly, she was in no hurry, seeing as this was the day she would finally meet the person whose line she had been watching for a while. In fact, according to her best guess, they should cross paths in...
Three
Two
One-
"Excuse me, do you need any help?"
Right on time.
"I do, actually, do you know where Mila is?" she asked.
"Imada-san? I met her just earlier, I can take you there," the steady feminine voice offered. "You must be Imada Aroka, yes?"
"I am, it's very nice to meet you, Mito."
The said woman was momentarily taken aback at this stranger knowing her name, but soon she remembered what she had heard about Aroka and it clicked.
"Hashirama has told me a lot about you."
"I hope it's not all bad."
"Not at all, in fact I hear you were a great help in founding this village."
"Oh, you give me too much credit, I didn't do much," she waved dismissively. "Though I'm glad I could come visit, it's wonderful here."
"That's great to hear, we're happy you have you."
"You just came back from a trip, right?"
"Yes, I was visiting my clan for a few days, I got back late last night."
"You should drop by the Hokage Tower to visit Hashirama, he'll be happy to see you."
"I will, I know he's been rather busy lately so I'll wait a bit before I go."
"There'll always be work, that can wait. Besides, you have important news, I don't think he'll mind."
Mito glanced at Aroka quizzically, "Important news?"
The younger woman only smiled, happily inspecting the recently formed line that nearly overlapped with Mito's, "Congratulations."
The redhead's eyes widened, hand immediately drawing to her stomach. Her voice lowered to a whisper, "How… how did you…?"
"Don't worry," she winked, "My lips are sealed."
"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you!" A voice called from ahead, the sound of footsteps growing closer.
"Hi Mila," Aroka greeted cheerfully.
"Mito-san, thank you for finding her, I hope she didn't cause you too much trouble," Mila bowed respectfully to the said woman, the relief evident in her voice.
"When do I ever cause trouble?" Aroka huffed defensively, "Anyways, let's go, we have things to talk about. It was great meeting you, Mito, see you around."
And with a wave, the two Imada women bid their goodbyes and quickly disappeared down the hall, leaving Mito with only her disjointed thoughts for company.
"You've been hiding indoors for a while now, you should go explore the village, you know, get some fresh air."
"I would but I've been busy chasing you around ever since I got here."
"You worry too much, I can take care of myself, Mila."
The pair now sat in Aroka's room, resting on opposite sides of the bed.
"You still haven't told me where you ran off to this morning."
"I went outside for a bit. You know, the village starts getting busy really early, if only ours was ever so lively."
"It is different here, that's for sure."
"You should relax, go sightseeing or something, there must be plenty to do in a place this big."
"I don't see you exploring."
"Sightseeing doesn't really do it for me, for some reason. Plus, there're less moving obstacles inside."
"If I do go, will you be ok alone here?"
"Of course, now hurry and go see the world for me, ok?"
Mila agreed with slight hesitation, casting her friend one last glance before stepping out of the room. She had been wanting to explore Konoha since her arrival but hadn't yet been able to convince herself to do so. She couldn't help but worry. No matter how much she knew Aroka could take care of herself, the 'what if' always tugged at the back of her mind. Today, at least, she would do her best to be reasonable and give her friend some space, hopefully it would ease her mind.
Aroka leaned against the headboard of her bed, allowing the fine web to fill her sight. Nothing seemed amiss yet a growing unease filled her as she eyed one of the lines nearby her own. He was too close for comfort, she hated being in the same building as him, hated that he was here at all, hated that she knew their lines would meet soon. But mostly, she hated that she couldn't bring herself to do anything about it. He was the last person she wanted to talk to yet some part of her, deep down, still demanded answers.
Knock knock
The tapping at the door made her stomach drop. It was too late to back out now.
"Come in."
She heard the door open and close, footsteps coming closer before stopping not far into the room.
"You're not using your chakra," the all-too-familiar voice observed.
"Why would I want to look at you?"
The man was quiet for a moment.
"You could have chosen not to speak to me, the fact that you didn't makes me think you don't despise me as much as you let on."
"Don't get me wrong," Aroka scoffed, "I despise you exactly as much as I let on, but if I didn't speak to you now you would just keep trying. Say what you have to say and get it over with." Even as she spoke, however, she knew it was only a half-truth.
The man sighed tiredly, "We don't want you to live the rest of your life angry with us, as much time as we've lost, there's still a chance for reconnection. All we want is one chance."
"You had your chance twenty years ago."
"Giving you up wasn't our choice, Aroka, you know that," his voice seemed to wear by the minute.
"Everything happens because of choices, if you had chosen better we wouldn't be here today."
"You don't know that."
"I do, actually. I know because I've seen it, what could have been."
He let out another aged sigh, "We made mistakes back then, I know we did, but we want to make it up to you as much as we can. If you can see what could have been then surely you can see what could be. The past won't change, Aroka, no matter how hard we try, it won't change, but for your own sake please help us give you a better future."
A tense silence fell over the room, what could only have been seconds seemed to drag on for ages.
"Get out."
The man's expression fell, "Aroka-"
"Get out."
Whatever glimmer of hope he had left vanished with her words. With no other choice he cast her one last glance before reluctantly withdrawing from the room.
Maybe this was a mistake after all.
