While most had allowed their doubts to pass, Sakura Haruno's appearance in the river all those months ago was still a mystery that gave him pause. Her tale was flimsy at best. A fool could see through it! On that note, not even Hashirama had completely taken her at her word in the beginning. But, his brother was a soft touch for tears, pitiful stories of loss, and anyone he saw as a victim of the era's endless violence.
Needless to say he offered the suspicious girl sanctuary in the Leaf, and after some time observing her, Tobirama still hadn't seen anything particularly incriminating. It didn't mean she wasn't a strange one, though. Too many things were broadcasting that.
So it came as no surprise when, after the most bizarre mission report he had ever heard, Haruno revealed yet more secrets she'd been keeping. Power like nothing he'd ever seen, that she claimed was granted to her by a goddess sometime before she came to the village.
He downplayed his wariness at the time, asserting his stance that as long as she used that power for the village and not against it, she could stay (monitored closely, naturally). When she had turned up at the compound, rolling up her sleeves and ready to offer her unneeded assistance, he'd allowed it for the opportunity to observe her when her guard was down.
As half-expected, she didn't do anything dubious. She was a little too comfortable being bossy and opinionated with him though. His feelings aside, Toka, Hashirama, Reira and now even Mei-san felt that she was trustworthy. They liked her. As for him…Tobirama hadn't lived so long or garnered such a reputation for the abundance of trust he freely gave out.
Respect? Yes, she grudgingly had earned his respect some time ago. Regardless of if he'd been holding back or not, very few people could defeat him in a spar. Time and again Sakura had proven she was as capable a healer as she was a fighter. To force her from the village would be to lose a valuable asset. To give her a reason to turn against it would be to potentially create a huge threat that would harm everything they'd worked toward. Better to keep her close and under a watchful eye, allow her to build a life in Konoha.
That seemed like the smartest move for the time being. But when it all circled back around to trust, Tobirama was faced with a much grayer choice. He wanted to be able to trust her if only for the sake of his clan. But trust and respect weren't mutually exclusive concepts in his world, and he felt it was warranted to continue to keep Sakura Haruno at a distance.
The only issue was she hadn't caught on. Right now, for example, distance extended to a few yards that were closing fast as she walked toward him. Clad in a strange outfit that prominently featured her legs, upper arms and a moderate but noticeable window of skin below her neck that was snug at her bustline.
Even a four day travel from home, in a remote obscure village, without being summoned, she appeared. If he was a less logical man he might start wishing for her to turn up, just to test a theory and see if the opposite of what he wanted would continue to happen.
Drawing an impatient breath, he turned, eying the cat trotting along at her feet. "At this point I won't even question what drew you here," he grumbled, "But I do insist you leave me be." Of course he knew it would never be that simple to get rid of her if the pattern up until now held true.
"If I may be so bold," an officious voice drawled, bringing attention to an otter in a blue breastplate that nearly stood at Haruno's hip level, "Both of you are trespassers as far as the laws of our lands go."
Wonders never ceased. That was a bit shameful, because Sakura had been a ninja through some of the most critical parts of her life, and as a member of Team 7 she'd seen and done and experienced more than her fair share.
A talking animal for instance, she had long ago learned came with the territory. Why it had slipped her mind that some creatures did indeed possess the ability for human speech, she wasn't sure. Other priorities and all that. When the largest otter started speaking, the others falling in behind him, she most certainly felt compelled to listen.
"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, "I didn't know." A thought struck that if these otters called the area home, and could communicate then maybe they could help her out. "But…do you mind if I ask you something since I'm here?"
The sleek brown one who had spoken narrowed beady eyes at her, and for a minute she thought he'd refuse. But with a twitch of his damp nose and whiskers, he nodded. "Very well."
Sakura had to withhold her urge to gush, instinctively knowing it wouldn't be appreciated. 'Still so cute!'
Politely, she asked, "Have you seen any other unusual human around lately? Maybe one who might have been hopping…on one leg?"
The otter scoffed, "Including you, we've seen a handful of humans coming and going recently, nearly all with an incredibly dangerous aura. None of them locals. Those from this area know to leave us alone. But we haven't been able to do much to chase out those intruders when we have more pressing concerns."
It was at that moment two otters came scampering out of the forest, one of them sporting a gash that seeped blood through its lighter fur. "Captain Noboru!" The one supporting its comrade squeaked, "They're moving in from the east and they've already broken through our furthermost defenses!"
"Damn them!" The otter snarled, falling to all fours and starting to scamper off. "Leave us, humans. We don't have time for you." he tossed over his shoulder.
Sakura cried out, fingers belatedly stretching for the swift animal who'd already darted into the water with his brethren behind him. 'That was the very best lead I had!' she huffed. 'I could always look for more footprints on the otherside of the river, but I have a feeling if I could just talk to those otters a little more…'
A blur of blue darting by reminded her she hadn't been alone. How she'd ever forgotten a person as domineering in presence as Tobirama was right there, she put down to being relieved for a new lead. A lead growing further and further away.
It took a moment of weighing her desire to respect the animals' wishes to be left in peace, and her growing desperation to continue questioning them about at least a description of the humans they'd seen. Sakura had always tried to respect the rules of sentient animals. Katsuyu had been as great a teacher to her as Tsunade in many ways.
Tobirama on the other hand didn't seem inclined to heed the otters' clear dismissal. He shot of across the river to follow them, and she had to wonder what interest he had in them. There couldn't be any chances they were ultimately chasing similar things…could there? 'If I stop and get lost in my own head I'll lose out for sure!' The white-haired Senju definitely wasn't the only one who could be headstrong.
Sparing her cat a quick look, she made her decision. "Usamaro, climb on!" Obediently, her faithful feline leapt to her shoulders, allowing her to give chase across the water without worrying about losing him in the forest.
Tobirama didn't look back, but he had to know she was following too. Funny how she was the one behind him, and yet the phantom burn of a scathing glare still made the hairs along her neck rise. She wasn't about to let his usual surliness chase her off when something so important was on the line.
Pushing forward, she passed him by, managing to catch up to the largest otter the others were following. Unlike Tobirama, he did look her way, but the glare he leveled on her was hardly more amicable. "I told you we want nothing to do with your kind," Noboru growled. "Why do you persist in being a nuisance?"
Sakura could have laughed. According to a certain Senju, and now this gruff otter, that was her specialty. But she would gladly consider it a compliment seeing as how her tenacity got the job done. "You said suspicious people have been lurking around lately. I'm looking for someone and—"
"I have no time to discuss it further. Humans aren't the only invaders to our territory now, just the most recent. If you won't leave, you'll be forced to soon enough." He began paddling along faster, cutting through the sparkling water with ease. The others sped up as well, fanning the river in an arrow formation with Noboru at its point.
Both frustrated and puzzled, Sakura was more determined than ever to get her answers. Maybe finding out what effected the otters with such urgency should take precedence though. If she could help solve their problem, beat back whoever their "invaders" were, they might be more trusting and willing to talk with her.
A sudden spray of water sprinkled her, making Usamaro hiss in disapproval.
Using chakra in his feet, Tobirama rode a wave generated by his Suiton, gliding along even faster than ever. A few otters turned and murmured to themselves, but otherwise kept ignoring the humans at the back of their assembly.
Pushing some of her dripping hair back, Sakura gave him a blank expression, pumping chakra to her calves as she ran. "Why are you following them?"
She almost expected him not to grace her with a response. "You aren't the only one with an interest in questioning them." he ground out.
The admission sent her mind into overdrive with speculation. Assuming it had nothing to do with hunting down a wayward god, Tobirama's vested interest in interrogating animals they'd both stumbled on by chance meant he too had come to the river valley with a purpose.
Sakura could wager it wasn't to ask them the best spot to see the sunset from the mountains. And though it probably didn't concern her either way, she had to wonder if his reasons were personal, or something relating back to the village.
Those thoughts would need to be stowed, she realized, noting they had entered a lush area of valley. The ground was green with vegetation and colored by wildflowers; beyond the field an unobstructed view of the mountain range sat. Had it not been for the all-out brawl occurring it would have been a picturesque embodiment of serenity and the pure beauty of nature.
As it was, two of the largest otters Sakura had ever laid eyes on, one standing close to what had to be fifteen feet tall, exchanged blows with an equally large beaver, the shockwaves shaking the ground and sending ripples through the river.
Beneath them, smaller counterparts of both species fought just as viciously, many firing off earth and water jutsu or using weapons made of what appeared to have been large shells or sharpened wood.
Noboru and his reinforcements brushed right by them to join the fray, immediately raining down Suiton on a group of beavers that had closed in on a small group of young otters who were being overwhelmed.
Cries of pain punctuated the air as the water attacks, apparently boiling hot, scalded through the thick, insulated fur of their enemies, driving them back. Sakura winced at the pink, raw skin exposed from second degree burns, trying to process everything happening around her.
She had never witnessed animals with ninjutsu fight each other so brutally, the way human shinobi often did. Admittedly, it was starting to become hard to watch, as an otter was run through and gutted by the sharp wood spear of a beaver.
"What…is this?" she whispered.
"On occasion animals wage warfare like this to settle their disputes the same as clans would," Tobirama replied, coming to stand beside her. He adopted his familiar crossed-arm stance, and Sakura told herself it was a bad time to notice that his short-sleeved shirt revealed how nice his forearms were. "No doubt these are the enemies they're concerned about."
'Yeah…they look evenly matched.' Sakura observed. 'At this rate…'
An angry bellow that pierced the tense air and sent birds shooting out of nearby trees shook the valley. The otter's massive leader blocked an attack from the giant beaver with a wickedly spiked ebony club. "HISOKI!" he ground out, pushing against the equally intimidating blade in his enemy's paws. "Continuing this battle will end in your death!"
Grunting, the beaver twisted his flat tail and slammed it into the ground, sending a shockwave that sent beavers and otters alike flying and nearly caused his opponent to lose footing. "Death only awaits one of us today, Enmei!"
Hisoki held his sword high overhead until it caught the glint of the sun. Sakura glanced briefly at Tobirama, wondering if he was as confused as she was. After all, the move essentially left him wide open.
Enmei had realized it too, leaping back with amazing agility that belied an animal of his size and swinging his club up at the beaver's exposed neck. Instead of the direct hit Sakura had been expecting, the beaver brought down his sword, now glowing intensely, striking the club with a clang that made her ears ring.
Even the otters and beavers fighting had temporarily paused their battle to watch their leaders trade blows. "Killing you with my new trick should be a proper demonstration of my power," Hisoki boasted. "Here, you could use a little sun!"
The white otter roared in pain as a white beam from the sword struck him directly in the center of the abdomen, denting his armor and throwing him backwards clear through the valley's treeline. Sakura gaped, unable to keep her eyes from the weapon that suddenly felt otherworldly and a touch familiar.
Usamaro yowled, digging his claws into her shoulder from his spot as the white otter grasped his middle, struggling to remain upright. "W-What kind of…power…? Where did you—" He sputtered a cough, red falling from his mouth in rivulets and staining his stark white fur. Then the giant creature fell onto his back, unmoving, and Sakura couldn't hide her alarm.
"NO!" The otter who had been fighting beside him cried out, her eyes blazing with newfound ferocity. "Monster!" she screeched. "You escalate conflicts, invade our territory, ignore all calls for a truce and now…" She raised a pair of tightly clamped clam shells secured on opposite ends with a weighty length of chain, spinning the super-sized nunchucks and managing to wrap one end around the beaver's neck.
Sakura tore her eyes from the pair to see the fallen otter still taking shallow breaths as he groaned through what was surely intense pain. "It's not too late!" she realized, darting away from Tobirama and the stunned collection of animals with Usamaro holding on for dear life.
Something about letting the otter die felt wrong, and not just because she wanted their trust and possibly help… If everything she'd heard and seen was correct, then they were only defending territory that already rightfully belonged to them. Sakura's Byakugo was already finished spreading over her skin by the time she reached his side. Struggling to sit up, the otter turned his head and stared skeptically.
"Don't worry," she reassured him, lightly hopping up onto his body to examine the injury. "I'm here to help."
"Y-You're a… human I've never seen…" he hissed, his paws falling away from his wound.
"I'm Sakura," She began to work on staunching the internal bleeding and restoring cells to damaged organs. "I was passing through and saw all this, and I feel like I had to help somehow."
Settling down once he realized he was powerless to stop her, the otter said nothing more. His amber eyes closed with a heavy sigh, and she took it as full permission to continue her work. Sakura had an inkling he was no more ready to die than she was willing to let him. Usamaro finally climbed from her shoulders with a small jump, landing beside her and watching her work.
Halfway through the job, with only the quiet thrum of the chakra releasing from her palms and the steadying breaths of the otter in her ears, Sakura decided the fighting must have stopped. Craning her head as best she could while keeping an eye on her patient, she immediately spied a distinct lack of beavers around. Although the female otter with the nunchucks was present, and as far as she could tell all the surviving otters too.
'How'd they get away without me noticing? And come to think of it, what was up with that sword he had? It was almost like he charged it with sunlight…was that a normal technique for a beaver?' Animals skilled in ninjutsu sometimes had their own hidden arts, unique to their species. But if that were the case, why had the beavers been able to take the otters off guard? Enmei's state spoke for itself; he hadn't been expecting the move at all. 'Something's definitely going on that needs more investigating…'
A powerful aura fell over her like a shadow, signaling the arrival of Tobirama. He didn't make comment on her work, only watched with thoughtful eyes. Finished, Sakura pulled her hands away and allowed the seal to recede. "There, how does that feel?"
Enmei cracked one eye open. "It feels like I'll breathe another day, thanks to you." Large footsteps quaked the ground, and then a more literal shadow momentarily blotted out the sun as the female otter approached. She carried the club in one paw, pausing to look down with a furrowed brow. "Enmei?" she breathed, clear worry hushing her tone.
"My beloved Chuya," Shifting underneath her feet alerted Sakura to the fact that the animal was getting up. She took Usamaro and hopped down with Tobirama choosing to follow suit. Once standing again, the healed otter reclaimed his club. "I…I was taken off guard, but I am fine. Thanks to this human."
Chuya blinked wide, green eyes at the kunoichi. "You…? You saved him?" Sakura slowly nodded. Though the otter's eyes still swam with bemusement, her stance relaxed considerably.
"I heard that they've been intruding on your land. You were trying to protect your home, so helping was the only right thing to do." Sakura called up to her.
A slow smile made the giant animal all the cuter, her paws clasped in front of her. Unlike her male counterpart, she was a haunting silver, fur fluffier than the average otter's with round green eyes. "You saved my mate. We owe you a debt."
"That's alright," Sakura waved a hand. "Actually, I'd settle for just asking some questions."
"This again?" The same belligerent otter from earlier popped up, his armor dirtied but looking none the worse for wear. "My lord, this human wants to know about the suspicious people that have been prowling around recently. We have no time for those inquiries, as I've already told he—"
"Hold on, Noboru. This human saved my life. A question seems like a harmless enough thing to ask in exchange, wouldn't you say?"
Grumbling, the dark otter threw up one paw. "I suppose if it's not burdensome for you…"
"Sakura, was it?" The white otter questioned.
Smiling up at him, she nodded. "Yes,"
"I am Enmei, fifteenth leader of the otters of Choshu's Neck. This is my mate, Chuya. If it's within our power, we'd happily answer your questions."
"That easily?" Noboru gawked. "This could all be a trap of some kind. They are humans, need I remind you." Cutting Tobirama a hard glare, he said, "This one in particular has a gruff demeanor."
Sakura snickered into her hand, though by the look she received from the Senju, he heard it all the same.
"You're one to talk, creature?" Tobirama sniffed. "And if your leader is feeling amenable to answering questions, I have a few of my own."
Sakura began to protest, but Chuya gave a delighted coo. "I was preoccupied, but I saw you help our forces chase off the last of the beavers. You both must be proud to have found such competent mates in each other."
Tobirama's face soured in irritation, but then he schooled it into indifference. "That's not our connection. We hail from the same village and apparently had ideas of traveling to the same location for answers."
"Oh," Sakura was sure if otters could, Chuya would blush. "I…I apologize." She cleared her throat, "Well, regardless you both helped us today. I agree with Enmei that we will answer your questions if we can."
"But Lady Chuya, we've only just beaten back Hisoki," Noboru reminded persistently, one paw clenching around a sword strapped at his side. "Letting our guard down out in the open wouldn't be wise."
"You make a good point, my friend," Enmei admitted, "I think we should continue this discussion elsewhere. After we attend to our fallen, of course."
Noboru smirked in victory. From the way things had been going for him since they'd arrived, he probably felt like he needed the win. It was clear he was used to his suggestions being taken into serious consideration. "Of course, a rational pla—"
"Normally it would be out of the question, but I think under these circumstances, you've earned enough of our trust." Chuya clapped. "It's settled—climb onto me and we'll carry this conversation back to our Couch in Prisms Cave."
The gasp Noboru released was so high-pitched it could have been mistaken as a squeal. "H-Hold a minute!" he cried, "Humans in The Couch?!"
Sakura got a very strange mental image of being lost between the crevices of giant couch cushions, though she had a feeling that wasn't what they meant.
"Trust us, if not them." Enmei shifted, lowering his head.
Noboru took a moment to calm down enough to respond, babbling out incomprehensible words in the meantime. Expelling a deep breath, he sulked an affirmative response. "Then I will take some of our group and bury the dead."
"Thank you," Chuya beamed, her eyes crinkling.
He was very obviously still unhappy about the whole thing, but he turned around and commanded about fifteen otters to follow him as they set about collecting their fallen.
"Are you all ready?" Enmei prompted, drawing the attention back to the two of them. Tobirama didn't think twice about teleporting himself up onto the silver otter's head, making his decision clear. Not to be out done, Sakura collected Usamaro and leaped, Chuya's soft fur tickling the backs of her legs.
The whole thing had happened in a sudden bout of inspiration. Just a typical break from the office when he happened to pass by the very same lacquer-ware store they had all visited not long ago. That was when Hashirama remembered how impressed Sakura was by the furniture and something just clicked.
She'd been so down the last time they spoke—or maybe that was more of his problem—and trying to cheer her up felt like a good way to show friendly solidarity. There was perhaps a more subtle way than his grand gesture, but admiring the sparkling new furniture arranged in her home, it was probably too late.
Hashirama couldn't resist patting himself on the back for a job well done. Everything from the golden cabinet she had eyed in the shop, to the other accent pieces he had carefully chosen, fit so well. If Sakura could get over any hesitance she had about accepting gifts of such a notable price, he was sure she'd enjoy her living space more than ever.
It might be somewhat harder to sell her on the Uchiha currently taking up occupancy in her kitchen, though. Madara watched him from over his tea cup with the most casual, unbothered expression.
Hashirama frowned. 'I knew I forgot something…like replacing the seals she put on the door.' He'd removed them the first trip to the shop. After unloading as much as he could, he returned once more to pick up the rest of the purchases. But he was positive he hadn't been gone longer than a half hour. Madara must have swept in during that time.
Finishing a strong, slow sip from his cup, Hashirama's old friend decided to acknowledge him at last. "Considering you didn't ask for my advice, I admit you did a decent job here." So saying, he got up and walked the kitchen area and smoothed a hand down a find the Hokage was particularly proud of. A black table that was meant to be the new centerpiece of the kitchen.
It could comfortably seat at least five, a blooming plum tree in all its delicate splendor decorated the entirety of its surface. The mighty trunk stretched down the base of the table with thin branches of perfumed white flowers winding their way to the tabletop and around the edges.
The art was so masterful it gave the illusion that some of the petals had blown loose and were fluttering to the ground in a spring gust. Hashirama adored the piece the minute he set eyes on it, almost buying it for himself. But the deed was supposed to be for Sakura's benefit, so he dutifully brought it to her house instead.
As he watched Madara's fingertips graze over a three piece canister set on a matching rack, his mind once again drifted back to what Sakura might think of the surprise. Each jar depicted several cranes down on a riverbank.
Some bobbed their long necks toward the water, beaks open for fish. Others arched their downy white wings behind them and turned their heads to the sky mid-song. The artisan had brightened the lacquerware's dark background with not only the white of the birds, but the green and orange pops of color that made up the bank and the tall foliage at the water's edge. "But," Dark eyes regarded him dully. "I can't help but think you've overdone it. You seem prone to that."
Hashirama huffed in disbelief. "What are you saying? Unsurprisingly it's hard for you to give out a compliment and leave it at that."
The Uchiha chuckled, letting his hand drop. "I'm only pointing out that this is a great deal of effort to go through for someone you aren't courting."
"It sounds like you're the one overreacting." Hashirama tutted. "Sakura-san will appreciate it as the gift of friendship that it is! You'll see."
"Oho, friendship is it?" Madara plopped himself back at the table where he'd been drinking tea. There was a teapot with steam still wafting from it, and he poured himself a fresh cup.
"Yes, and if you spent half as much time actually talking to her as you do antagonizing her, you'd see how interesting Sakura-san is to spend time with." Sighing, Hashirama dropped down on his knees across from his best friend. "Er, and on another note…Why are you here anyway?"
The raven-haired man made a face as if the tea scalded him, but from the strong gulp he took that probably wasn't the case. "Tell me Hashirama, when your brother broods, as he so often does, how do you handle it?"
The question gave him pause as the all too familiar picture of an irate Tobirama came into his head. "It really all depends on how bad it is," he cringed. "Normal levels of moodiness I've gotten accustomed to. But if it's showing signs of escalating into a full-blown wrath, it's better to stay clear."
"Huh," he set down his tea, shaking his head. "You can't even stand up to your own brother."
"Is that the way it is?" The Senju's brow lifted in amusement. "I don't think the question was random curiosity. I don't suppose you're avoiding Izuna right now, hm?"
Glaring, Madara all but spat his reply. "That's different. Anyone can handle a shinobi in a volatile mood. At least that makes for an interesting spar. But I'm going on a lack of sleep and five straight hours of being serenaded by the same somber flute pieces."
A sly smirk curled up the edges of his lips. "Really? Because when you put it that way it sounds like you ran from music."
"It wasn't just any music. It was the most sorrowful music I've ever heard. I think…" Madara explained. "The curses of memory loss include not recalling that when he's upset, Izuna plays everyone to tears on the shakuhachi. Naoko claims it's part of his coping process."
Hashirama was still failing to see what was so wrong about a few lonely songs on the flute. Alternately, Madara didn't remember experiencing the brunt of Tobirama's temper, which was usually laced with some manner of killing intent.
Armed with memories, he wouldn't complain as much about Izuna's more reasonable hobby to relieve stress. His brother's 'coping process' was challenging whoever he was angriest at to a spar (and that often happened to be him) and then unceremoniously attempting to drown them.
Although, interest was starting to niggle into his thoughts. "Coping with what exactly?"
Madara shrugged a shoulder and stretched one leg out underneath the table. "He thinks he upset Haruno before she left the village, but he hasn't explained how."
That drew a slow blink of consternation from the Hokage. Izuna was tied to the frantic way Sakura left so suddenly?
"I personally don't think it's any reason to sulk. I irritate Haruno purposefully and often, and I haven't suffered any cosmic consequences," Madara boasted.
'Yet.' Hashirama silently added. One day he was going to push one too many buttons and then Sakura would be using Madara's face to scrub bark off a tree. "I guess I can understand the anxiety,"
Truthfully he couldn't judge Izuna when he had initially experienced a similar level of panic at the thought of ruining the growing friendship between himself and the pink-haired kunoichi.
A part of him pitied the younger Uchiha brother and was rooting for him to work out his lament when Sakura came back. Whenever that was. "But Izuna's playing aside, you seem pretty comfortable for this to have been your first time over."
And, in true Madara fashion he made no pretense to hide his ironic sneaking. "I've visited before, if that's what you're fishing for."
"Visited?" he pried, finding the wording a little hard to believe.
"You know, you claim that if I spoke to Haruno more, I'd see how interesting she can be. But who's to say I don't already have any awareness of that?"
Maybe Hashirama should have seen it coming. Since meeting her, Madara reveled in infuriating her as much as she once proclaimed to despise him. Lately, their dynamic didn't seem as full of outright animosity, but it was no less intense. Somehow, someway, he had missed the possibility that it could be due to a reason like this… Madara had interest in Sakura that wasn't strictly aggravating her.
Mouth dry, Hashirama murmured, "You're sure?"
What a question! When was Madara ever unsure? Truth be told, the Senju didn't know why he needed confirmation at all. When he let the fact settle, it came as no true surprise.
Only a minute earlier he himself said Sakura was someone interesting, worth getting to know. Without Hashirama even realizing it, his friend had gleaned that too. His ways of going about it were unorthodox and certainly ill-advised, but in a strange way he and Sakura did seem closer since the mission to Sekai. Shinobi often forged a bond over shared survival of a difficult mission…
"That's doesn't mean it'll lead anywhere. Who can say?" The Uchiha's tone was hushed and thoughtful. "Since coming back to the village, I realize my body remembers what the heat of battle feels like. The…dance that sent my blood soaring every time. Haruno makes me feel something similar to that. I won't deny I like the familiarity."
That was an interesting Madara-esque view on the situation. It explained how he approached the kunoichi. If he enjoyed the thrill of evoking her temper, Hashirama wondered when he was going to get his fill. "Are you sure you aren't conflating the way you feel about battles with the way you feel about Sakura-san?"
"It's possible but unlikely. Haruno has other merits that interest me."
"You're both very passionate people." he noted, spreading his fingers against the tabletop and leaning further into his elbow. "For better or worse."
"There's that," the Uchiha smirked, polishing off the last of his drink. "But most women around me are a bit too eager to mold themselves into the constraints of the clan. Save for of course Naoko. Haruno has no clan affiliation, no sense of duty to tradition, no coyness about the fact that she is a kunoichi who gets her hands dirty. All of that balanced with a frankness and vulnerability that shouldn't work, are things I find intriguing."
Knowing the man for as long as he did, it wasn't difficult to pick up on the unspoken message there. It didn't quite stop at a mild intrigue if Madara chose to appear in her home when she wasn't there.
It was bold and rude but…if he had grown that attached to the exchanges between them, maybe he missed it…no, missed her? Undeniably there was attraction growing. One Madara was cognizant of and embracing. He still wore the bracelet gifted to him on his birthday, claiming there was no deep meaning behind why.
'Should I feel some form of jealousy?' Hashirama thought. 'If they were to court at some point, then there connection would only grow deeper. Much deeper than any friendship I could offer her…' The intention had only been to come and prepare a gift for when Sakura returned.
Instead he found himself turning the thought of his childhood friend and newfound friend as a couple, and wondering if that should elicit a negative response that was currently absent from his thoughts.
Typically speaking, there would only be cause for adverse feelings if he too shared an interest beyond that of friends. Well, that, or jealousy could just be absent from the equation because sharing a hypothetical attraction didn't seem off-putting. Not that there necessarily was one on his part. "…and you?" the deep voice droned.
"H-huh?"
Madara looked him over with undisguised exasperation. "I asked what draws you so close to Haruno?"
"I like making friends," he blurted instinctively.
"…How unoriginal."
What kind of answer was Madara hoping to pull from him exactly? "Sorry, I didn't know I was being judged on creativity," the brunette added cheekily. " But if you want my honest opinion: Sakura-san is a clever conversationalist, a highly skilled medic, thoughtful to a fault," he paused for a breath. "Doesn't it seem strange to discuss her in such depth when she's not around?"
If Madara had more tea to slurp, he probably would have snort it out on a sneer. "Don't be such a naïve simpleton." he retorted. "Women do the same when menfolk aren't present."
"O-Oh," Hashirama cocked his head. "Is that so? I never really considered…" And he also itched to ask how the proud Madara Uchiha (still struggling with amnesia) knew so much about the thought processes of the opposite sex. But with everything they had already discussed in one conversation, it was likely a better topic for another day.
The Couch didn't have over-sized cushions, but Sakura wasn't ready to discard the possibility of getting lost in it just the same. The true home of the otters, the depths of Prisms Cave (the likes of which didn't appear on her map), was where they resided in comfort beside an underground river. Safe in their spacious haven, otters dove into turquoise water clear enough to see the bottom far below, from a row of small precipices.
The sides of the cavern were dotted with elaborate stick huts the otters curled into. Their brethren that emerged from the water did so with a bounty of freshwater fish, clams and shrimp.
As Sakura followed the hulking form of Enmei deeper in, they passed a sparkling mound of pearls heaped innocently in one cove. Otters cracked open clams and slurped out the insides, spitting out more tiny priceless orbs. 'I've never seen such a haul before in my life,' she marveled. 'A treasure hunter would kill to get their hands on those. They'd kill to find this place at all.'
All around them, the rock walls themselves shined in a wavy ripple of reds, oranges, greens, blues and purples. 'That solves the mystery of the name.' Up above their heads was even more stunning, the ceiling literally glittering with bio-luminescent light. Sakura couldn't make out what caused the glow, but the fact that they were being entrusted with something precious wasn't lost on her.
"As you can see," Enmei rumbled, "To allow outsiders to find our home would be disastrous. For generations we've spent our days as guardians of The Neck. It's even been called The Pulsepoint of the Valley because of the fertility of the river banks and the abundance of life." Sakura reached out with careful fingers and brushed them along the rock wall as they went. It was hard to put it on her imagination when she felt the flare of energy skim her skin. "And the location of our Couch is the best kept secret of all."
"I can see why," she breathed. "It's nothing short of magical down here. Thank you for showing us."
"We have always been wary of humans," Enmei looked over his shoulder and smiled. "However, you have proven yourself to be different. You healed not only me but all our injured. And so quickly! Not many human healers are as efficient as you… that much I know."
Sakura flushed, scratching her rosy cheek. "W-Well I—"
"Your companion also is clearly a powerful shinobi. I presume you are as well."
"I'll admit he's strong. And my skills have been expanding a lot lately," she explained. Sentient warrior animal or not, would Enmei care to know she housed the power of a dragon in her body? Noboru had told them plainly dangerous, suspicious humans were lurking in the river valley. This close to having her questions answered she didn't want them to decide she was too big a threat to converse with.
He stopped and ushered her forward into a giant alcove with a wave of his paw. Inside, Chuya hummed as she threw mounds of fish and shrimp into a huge pot on a fire and stirred with a scooped shell.
A cluster of young otters, no doubt juveniles, bounced around an impatient Tobirama, asking him questions about the 'human world' and tugging on his clothes. One brave soul had even crawled onto his shoulders, resting its little upper body on his head.
If the sight wasn't comical enough, the fact that he was hunched into a tiny stone chair meant for the small rear end of an otter nearly sent her into hysterics. The Senju might be intimidating to human children and even grown men and women, but apparently nothing about that dictatorial aura did a thing to spooky curious baby otters.
"Mrrpt!" Her cat's cry echoed through the room. Sakura found him standing between two more otter pups who threw a purple urchin back and forth to each other over his head. Usamaro made quite a few impressive leaps in an attempt to grab it, but all of them came up short.
'So this is where they've both disappeared off to while I was tending the wounded.'
"Right on time!" Chuya called, looking up from her cooking. A large, cooking otter. Sakura was yet again reminded of how shinobi truly lived in a world far removed from the mundane lives of civilians. Usamaro saw her and came scampering over to launch himself into her arms and mew out complaints. "I'm almost done here. It isn't much, but we had to thank you both for all your help today, and welcome you to our humble home."
"We should be thanking you," Sakura bowed. "You trusted us enough to invite us here."
"Please sit," Enmei offered. Some of the mirth at Tobirama's expense dropped away when she noticed she was being offered a small seat next to his at a stone table already set with cups of water.
With a hidden grimace, Sakura carefully planted herself into the uncomfortable seat, not wanting to be impolite after the otters went out of their way to be accommodating. She was fairly sure Chuya was only cooking the food to suit their tastes. Plenty of the other otters she had seen were fine catching and eating their fill of raw river food.
The otter matriarch stopped stirring, her whiskers twitching uncontrollably as she tilted her head a bit.
Sakura had to contain another outburst, Usamaro groaning as she accidentally squeezed him. 'The bigger they are, the more adorable!''
"Yes, The Couch here in Prisms Cave is our ancestral home. We're naturally very proud and protective of it. I was telling your mat—um, friend, that we've lived in unsteady peace with the beavers for generations. Their territory is Tenryu's Crown, in the northernmost area of the river valley."
"What caused the change?" Sakura wondered. "What made it escalate into all-out war?"
"That we haven't been able to really determine," Enmei sighed. "Months ago they began to ignore the treaty, encroaching slowly into our territory. Provocations have only grown. We've fought with all our might to drive them off. But until today it's been a bitter stalemate."
He made his way over to the pups surrounding Tobirama and gently plucked them up one by one into his massive paw. Viewing the size scale between them and the abnormally big otter only made the difference more alarming.
They whined at the loss of their new "playmate", the one who'd latched onto the man's head even starting to whimper and cry. When their leader reached for the pup, it dove off Tobirama's head and into his lap, where it curled itself under one of his arms.
Enmei lowered all the other pups to the ground and told them to run along to their families. They complied, but not before waving goodbye at their human guests. Their lithe forms turned the corner with excitable whoops echoing behind them.
Returning his attention to the last stubborn little kit, Enmei rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I apologize. Little Arisu lost both her parents in the last battle against the beavers. The poor thing is so young she hasn't even started talking yet." Quietly, he whispered, "…She's been searching for someone new to latch onto."
Sakura's heart broke over the pitiable creature, desperate for affection she certainly wasn't about to find in the likes of Tobirama. He stared down at the baby animal with an unreadable expression, and she was afraid he might just brush her out of his lap.
Instead, a pale hand finally came to rest on her head, and with just that meager bit of acceptance, Arisu preened, closing her eyes in elation. "Never mind this," he grunted. "I'm more interested in hearing about these human trespassers you've been dealing with."
While he may have taken attention from the purring pup clinging to him, Sakura didn't miss how his hand would occasionally stroke down her rust-colored body.
'Could cute animals be his soft spot?' she mused. Who'd have ever imagined that discovery?
"Ah yes, Noboru did say you were keenly interested in that earlier. Enough to follow him to the battlefield."
"Maybe it was kismet," Chuya suggested. She heaved the boiling pot off the fire and then shot a squirt of water from her mouth into the flames to smother it. "Without you, I'd have lost my mate today, and the beavers would have dealt us a decisive blow we may not have been able to recover from."
"The humans who have been coming and going do so from the border that had been declared neutral territory, further into the mountains." Enmei reached up onto a natural rock shelf and pulled down a stack of various sized clay bowls. He passed them to his mate, who ladled whatever was in her pot into each of them. "It leads to a series of underground passages that come out into the fields where the—"
"Herbs the Senju collect twice a year grow. Those fields are invaluable to my family's medicine stores." Tobirama interrupted. "I tried investigating the usual route we take, but it's been walled off by mountain that wasn't there before. Attacking it did nothing."
"Mountains don't just crop up," Sakura murmured. "And the right jutsu or a good punch should be able to reduce them to rubble." She thought back to when she first encountered him along the bank. 'But I guess what he was doing when I found him earlier makes sense.'
"Both facts I'm well aware of," he snapped, "As loathe as I am to say it, the circumstances aren't ordinary. Your unwelcome visitors may have something to do with it," he told the animals.
Chuya finished putting food into every bowl she was handed, then let out an ear-piercing whistle that reverberated through the entire cave. Suddenly more otters spilled from near every crevice, flashes of browns, silvers, tans, and reds.
They clambered around the long, stone table to join them. When a bowl was sat in front of Sakura's nose, Usamaro growled softly as he leaned into it. The pinkette jerked him away with a disapproving glare, which he returned. She had to admit though, she understood the temptation. The smell rising from it was tantalizing, an aroma heavy with the scent of shrimp and fish from a dish that appeared to be chowder of some kind.
A smaller, heavily filled bowl was sat next to hers, Chuya winking down at Usamaro. The cat meowed his praise before hopping from her arms and onto the table to throw his face into the dish. Only with a well of restraint did Sakura remain calm as she picked up the shiny piece of shell in the bowl and spoon food into her mouth.
The first bite was plenty hot and packed with chunks of shrimp and a thick plant reminiscent in taste of seaweed. Somehow, it only enhanced the taste of the creamy chowder, the delicious flavor spreading over her tongue.
As Tobirama's statement hung in the air, the head otters shared a concerned look. "Well neither the beavers nor the otters have much reason to venture into those fields. And with our territory under constant threat of invasion, we'd had to hold off on investigating further, as I'm sure Noboru informed you." Chuya continued. "But I can tell you the people we've seen were all completely covered. They wore dark clothes and masks and carried strange weapons. They've never interfered with us in anyway, but it's clear that they're dangerous."
"When was the last time you spotted them?" Tobirama demanded. Sakura had to hand it to him; even with a dozing otter pup in his lap, sitting in a stone seat much too tiny for him, he maintained that commanding demeanor.
"A week ago," Enmei recalled. "They headed through The Neck and then off into the mountains. But if you're thinking of heading off after them, I should tell you what once was neutral land, the beavers have now seen fit to claim for themselves. Come to think of it, that black mountain wall's been there since they have a month or two ago."
"Didn't you say that's when the beavers got more aggressive?" Sakura was starting to get an even worse feeling than she initially had. And an idea of what Tobirama was doing in the region.
The Senju had been crippled by a pox not even two months ago, and while she was never fully briefed on the circumstances, the admission that the clan gathered herbs from the mountains here was significant. 'Especially if it was a deliberate attack. The inn owners knew the Senju visit Tenryu for that reason. They definitely aren't the only ones. If someone really wanted to find an indiscreet way to attack the whole clan at once, and they were patient and cunning enough—'
"Yes it was," Enmei confirmed. "We never thought there was any true correlation before now. But that weapon Hisoki had today was like nothing either side has ever possessed before. There isn't a doubt in me that it was given to him, not forged by the beavers."
"Forged!" Sakura gasped. "I…I've been looking for someone who forges. The locals here call him Ippon Datara and say he disappears deep into the mountains for long periods of time."
Enmei rubbed his chin. "A one-legged fellow?"
Heart thrumming in excitement, she nodded. "Yes!"
"He comes and goes peacefully every season," One of the eating otters sitting diagonal from Sakura said. "Never bothers us any. He's another odd sort."
"Have you seen him lately though?" Sakura pressed, clenching the edges of her bowl and ignoring Usamaro wolfing down food beside her.
"Almost a moon cycle ago he went off and hasn't come back down the mountains." A brown female otter chimed in. "We saw him out on our patrols."
"A blacksmith capable of making frightening weapons, and individuals who have similar weapons and may be involved in meddling with my clan," Tobirama grit out. "I'd like to find this weapons-maker for myself if it leads to information on them."
"But why would he give the beavers a weapon like that?" Enmei grumbled. "We've never had any issues with him, nor he with us."
Sakura helped herself to several more bites of chowder. "It sounds like right now the most prudent thing to all of us is finding out more about these people. Our problems may be more intertwined than we thought."
"That would mean fighting through one of the beaver's strongholds." Chuya clicked her tongue. "It's held by Hisoki's sister Hatsuko."
"Yes, and she's ruthless and more deranged than her brother." A dark gray otter with half of one ear missing hissed. "She cleaved through two units of our finest with no issues."
Tobirama didn't bat an eye, staring into his chowder. "If going through her is the only way to progress further into the valley, then she'll find humans can be just as ruthless if properly motivated." There was dark promise laced in his words, a warning best heeded to anyone who stood between him and the answer of who had harmed his family.
"Teaming up with humans to battle the beavers?" Noboru squawked from somewhere further down. "That's…that's—"
"Just innovative enough to work, and our best option, given how things went today." The otter with the torn ear concluded. "Granted Lady Chuya and Lord Enmei find it permissible." All eyes fell to the two at the head of the table.
"I have no trouble joining forces with these humans," Enmei spoke. "Would you do us the honor?"
"Seeing as we all have something to gain I suppose so," Tobirama conceded. "Haruno, you'll come with me to Tenryu tonight."
The sudden declaration made Sakura swiftly lift her head. "I'll what?"
Giving her a flat stare that brooked no argument, he continued eating in silence. Sakura rolled her eyes and returned to her own food. He either wanted to interrogate her properly about her presence in the valley when they were away from the otters, or include her in whatever strategizing he was hatching. Either way, he could stand to be less glacial about the whole thing.
He was no more open than he'd been the brief time she had spent learning water jutsu from him. It made the less severe look he sported without his happuri and armor misleading. Tobirama was no doubt as mentally and verbally sharp as ever.
'And I have to find a way to cooperate with him again,' Sakura was already exhausted by the prospect. There was no Hashirama around to pop up and offer a silly story to defuse tensions. 'I'll just be honest and explain why I need to know if this blacksmith is who I'm searching for.' With any luck, that would be enough to placate the impassive shinobi. If not, Mizuchi's mission would become that much more difficult with a distrustful Tobirama trailing her every step of the way.
Twilight had arrived by the time they left The Couch. Haruno tromped grudgingly several paces behind him on the road back to the little village. Her cat, equally as wary, walked in her shadow, far away from him. He still couldn't believe she'd brought it along in the first place.
Although a great many things took precedence, namely the alliance cobbled together with the Otters of The Neck. The attack they would need to mount on the Beavers of The Crown's stronghold.
And perhaps most importantly what Haruno was really doing in the area at all. Hashirama knew better than to send someone along when he explicitly said he would be fine alone.
Yet the otters had taken them back to the river bank where they'd all met and left them a while ago, and still the silence stretched on. A yawning chasm by this point. The forest was behind them, the scenery having changed to field after field of farmland. Livestock grazed behind sturdy fencing with the smell of grass and cowpies in the air.
Occasionally they'd see a young farmhand who would stop and tip his hat before continuing to tend to the animals. The people here were so content with their quiet, simple lives. Tobirama wondered what it may have been like to grow up far away from the bloody, tragic life of a shinobi.
Somewhere like here in a small farming village. He couldn't imagine it. But if they all kept striving to make Konoha a haven for ninja and civilians alike, maybe someday a Senju child would be born only knowing the kind of peace these people lived in.
In the meantime, plenty of work was left to do. When they returned to his room at the inn in Tenryu, he intended to get the truth, the full truth, of what Haruno's objective was. Something told Tobirama it was related to the troubling antics she was always claiming her goddess pulled her into. And there was no proof this deity was in anyway benevolent, only that Haruno followed her instructions.
"Hey," the pink-haired woman's voice began. "What's going on over there?" Before he looked he had sensed trouble in the form of four young men in the field up ahead. They were loud, dressed in finer clothes than any farmer would be wearing, and laughing as they startled horses and made them thunder away.
None of them seemed to care about having an audience either, content to carry on with their mischief. "I can't believe the things people are willin' to part with under the right sort of persuasion." A young man with oily hair to his shoulders clutched his stomach and snorted. "But is this really the shit rich bastards wear?" He pulled at a sleeve of the deep purple kimono with a grimace. "The old man's clothes are sorta scratchy."
Tobirama was over the fence and looming behind him in an instant. Breath barely had time to hitch at his sudden intrusion before the Senju had delivered a less than gentle blow to the bandit's neck, sending him careening to the ground with a thump. "Then slip into something a little more comfortable—like unconsciousness." he sneered down at the prone body. Thieves who preyed on the vulnerable were no better than the disgusting parasites of society in his eyes. He'd never tolerated them before and he wasn't about to start now.
Despite having him outnumbered, the man's companions— all decked in ridiculously flashing jewels and clothes that were as stolen as their leader's—took off in a run without a glance back.
'No honor among thieves.' Tobirama knew he wouldn't even need to break a sweat to catch them, no matter how much of a head start they had. But the pink blur that sent a hard round-house kick into another bandit's face told him there was no need to trouble himself. With a frightening battle cry Haruno had dispensed of all the others attempting escape, cat on her shoulder and all.
Dusting her hands in satisfaction, the kunoichi looked down her nose at the groaning, unconscious band of rogues. Her cat jumped down and landed on the first body he found, yanking a sparkling ring from unclasped fingers and strutting off with it.
For the time being, Haruno focused on berating the criminals they'd apprehended. "If you're going to bully people out of their belongings you should at least be strong enough not to be defeated easily." Pulling her eyes away from the three she'd taken out, she walked over to the leader, crouching close and wrapping her arms around her knees for balance. "…Unconsciousness? You hit him pretty hard…are you sure he's—"
Tobirama placed his hands on his hips, scowling at the implication. "The last I checked only one of us was a sensor. He's still wasting space and sucking in breath." He glanced between the blood dribbling from the bandit's mouth and the teeth scattered in the grass. Pointedly staring Haruno in the eyes, he smirked. "And knocking a man's teeth down his throat was the only way to stop him, surely."
She had the grace to blush, "Alright so maybe we both overdid it. Now what should we do with them? We can't ask who they took these things from and—Usamaro, what do you think you're doing?!"
The spotted cat had climbed onto a horse's back, lazily draping himself there as the larger animal flicked its tail and broke into a slow trot.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed to suppress a frustrated growl. Why exactly did she have to bring her cat?
ASiT
The caravan the thieves robbed turned out to be long gone, but the local farmers whose livestock had been getting harassed lately were happy to accept the jewels and fine clothes in compensation. Their captured bandits woke up, one urinating himself on the spot when he saw Tobirama again. The red-eyed glare of doom probably had a lot to do with it.
After the group babbled apologies and promised not to cause more problems, the duo left them tied up and under the supervision of some irritated farmers, who vowed to put them to work in the fields until they had adequately made up for the harm they caused.
Sakura couldn't muster up any pity for them, and Tobirama definitely didn't have any to spare. Of course, that didn't say much. He wasn't the type to go around giving out pity and patience and second chances, always maintaining a staunchly earnest attitude.
It was only a matter of time before the rapid fire questions started up, and they were closer to Tenryu than before. They'd probably arrive in time for dinner. Not that eating was high on the agenda after how well the otters fed them.
"Haruno,"
'Here we go…' Sakura braced herself to the best of her ability.
"What do you know about this Ippon Datara?"
"I haven't been investigating long, but from the information I cobbled together, there's a local blacksmith by that name. He's pretty mysterious and wanders off a lot. I'm looking for him because…well," Sakura chewed her lip until it started to get sore, "I need a weapon that's effective against some of the threats that aren't exactly human. I don't know if he's the one I've been searching for or just a normal blacksmith with the same general appearance."
Tobirama remained silent, to the point where she wondered if he would just pretend he had never asked. "Then you've come out of your way on what's essentially a hunch,"
She could just feel him judging her, and she wasn't about to stand for it. "You made it perfectly clear in Lord Hokage's office that because of my position, I had a responsibility to use my power to protect the village. I couldn't sit around waiting for a better idea," she asserted. "It was this or risk being overpowered when the time comes."
They were cresting the final hill in the road, Tenryu sitting down below. The far off sounds of a dog barking and children shouting drifted up to them.
"…Well said,"
Praise falling from his lips was about the last thing she expected. "You're...leaving it at that?"
"For now." he muttered. "My priority is dragging whoever dared to target the Senju from whatever shadow they're hiding in."
"And then?" Sakura urged on.
"And then it'll be time to pay the favor forward," Tobirama's tone was so diplomatic to be discussing murder she almost had to laugh. "So if your blacksmith has any involvement, I hope you procure your weapon before I find him myself."
Sakura understood then that she would have to do just that. She had enough firsthand experience to know headstrong shinobi didn't just end their crusades for revenge because someone asked nicely.
'Mizuchi, this weapon had better be worth it...'
Last chapter the little boy from the inn (Shou) tells Sakura that the people have dubbed the mysterious blacksmith Ippon Datara, which is sort of a clue in itself. Ippon Datara is often depicted in Japanese lore as one of several things, but most commonly is described as a yokai with a single leg and a single eye that lives in the mountains, normally without disturbing anyone. Except on a particular winter night, when it becomes aggressive and will crush anyone it encounters with its one giant foot.
Because of this folktale, it's considered an unlucky day to wander in the mountains in the regions of the country where it's said to appear on that particular day (December 20th). Other people have different explanations for who/what exactly Ippon Datara is. It's been said to be the ghost of a famous one-footed/one-eyed bandit named Hitotsudatara, or possibly the ghost of a woodcutter who once cut off his own leg in penance for a crime. Though stories of the last version are a bit more obscure, my favorite telling is that it's the alias of the degraded blacksmithing god Ame no-me Hitotsu no Kami. For obvious reasons the arc reflects that, and the conflicting information Sakura was getting is largely because of the many versions that exist in real myth.
You may remember a chapter or two back when Sakura accompanied Hashirama and the others to look for birthday gifts, she was really taken in by the pieces of furniture in the lacquer-ware store. Remembering this, Hashirama buys out half the store to surprise her when she gets back. Nothing says "let's keep things platonic" as much as buying your lady friend a very expensive new furniture set. Lavish.
The shakuhachi mentioned is a type of bamboo flute that dates back to early feudal times in parts of Asia. It's pretty culturally significant as far as traditional music goes. In my mind, Izuna plays it so well he could be a bard if he ever stopped being a ninja. Sadly when you're moping around over your secret-only-to-you crush you play the blues and chase your elder brother away from home with it.
This chapter also properly introduces their new allies the Otters of The Neck, who are animal characters I have been dying to add in for ages now. Yes, they will be crucial in this arc. An added fun fact is that a group of otters has lots of potential names. They can be called a family, a lodge, a bevy, a romp or a raft. The last two in particular are my favorites. And their dens can at times be called a holt or a couch. I think it's hilarious that TobiSaku got taken to visit the Otter Couch. As mentioned here, it's a beautiful bio-luminescent cave unknown to humans and their enemies. The otters take shells and fashion them into weapons as well as using pearls they collect from the clams as their currency. Baby otters can be called pups or kits, so I will use both interchangeably.
As the holidays approach I will be probably taking an extended break. I may try to update once or twice more before then, but we'll see. Please review—thanks. More twists, turns and TobiSaku headed everyone's way.
