Three figures sat lazily among the large branches of an old oak, guarding the village gate as the morning sun rose. Danzo stared determinedly out at the empty road, while Kagami slouched on the branch below, occasionally stirring to brush away the crumbs that fell from Torifu's branch. It would have remained a relatively quiet spring morning, if they had not sensed the approach of a fourth member. Homura walked slowly up to the thick trunk of the oak, shoulders slumped and eyes shadowed with weariness.
"Any sign of them?" He asked, looking up hopefully. The trio shook their head in unison. It had been almost a week since they received word that the negotiations had fallen through and the Senju brothers would be returning home.
"Is she awake?" Kagami called down, rolling off his back to allow his feet to dangle over the branch. Homura took a long moment to clean his glasses before answering, a nervous tick he had had since childhood.
"Well?" Danzo prodded impatiently, bravely leaning over to steal a rice cracker from Torifu's hand. Homura looked up with a snap, his eyes wide and bloodshot.
"Not yet," he answered, his voice strained. It had been nearly a week now since he had gotten wind that one teammate was unconscious in the hospital from chakra exhaustion and the other was missing in action. With Sensei gone and no teammates at his side, he felt as if his moorings had been cut and he was left adrift at sea.
"Don't worry, Homura," Torifu garbled, spewing crumbs over Kagami's lap. "I'm sure Hiruzen just went to meet up with Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sensei. They'll be back soon."
Homura looked doubtfully down at his feet. The three shinobi shared a glance, unsure how to help their spectacled teammate, who looked small and lost without Hiruzen and Koharu by his side.
"Even if that were true," Homura frowned, scuffing his sandal in the dirt. "That doesn't explain why Koharu and that strange kid are passed out in the hospital."
Homura had caught a glimpse of the boy as he was rushing to Koharu's room. In between the bustling medics the kid had looked like a small corpse with a shock of hair as pale as his face. The third morning he had been forced from Koharu's room by an irritated medic, he caught sight of the boy again. Unlike Koharu, who slept with the stillness of the dead, the boy tossed and turned beneath the hospital sheets, muttering and moaning as a small dog whined helplessly at his side. If Homura did not know any better, he would have thought the little dog was their sensei's old summons—but that was impossible.
The young Uchiha scratched the back of his head, a helpless grimace on his handsome face. "Maybe sensei sent her on a mission without telling us." He tried weakly.
Homura glared. "Tobirama-sensei would never send her out on a mission alone. Not after what those drunken mercenaries did to Misa."
"Misa was an air-head," Danzo said dismissively from above. Kagami looked up at his teammate with a warning glare.
"What?" Danzo scowled. The young Uchiha looked ready to snidely answer, when he caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of his eye. Hashirama and Tobirama slowly approached the gate, appearing deep in conversation. By the scowl on Tobirama's face and the look of utter dejection on Hashirama's, it was safe to assume the summit did not go as planned.
Homura squinted, expecting to see Hiruzen at their sensei's side, but the Senju brothers were alone.
"Welcome back Lord Hashirama. Tobirama-sensei." Kagami called, landing gracefully beside Homura as they neared. Torifu and Danzo quickly followed. The intense discussion died between the two brothers. Hashirama's face brightened upon noticing the young shinobi.
"Hello boys!" He yelled, somehow managing to catch all four of them in a giant bear hug. The young men endured the embarrassing display of affection with resigned expressions, knowing that resistance was futile. Thankfully, Tobirama-sensei was there to save them before Hashirama cut off their circulation.
"I don't think they can breathe, brother," Tobirama noted distantly as he walked passed.
"Wait, Sensei!" Homura called, when Hashirama finally released them. "Is Hiruzen not with you?"
Tobirama stopped and turned his head slightly. "Why do you ask?"
"It's just that we haven't seen Hiruzen in nearly a week," Homura said breathlessly, suddenly becoming anxious. "I thought he was on a mission with Koharu, but she came back a few days ago."
Tobirama's garnet eyes narrowed and Homura resisted the urge to gulp. It was not very often he was on the receiving end of his sensei's tiger like glare, but he knew it was simply a consequence of Tobirama's irritation at being caught off guard.
Hashirama came to stand beside his brother, his brows furrowed. "I don't remember assigning either one of them a mission."
"That's because you didn't," the white-haired Senju said, his words dangerously clipped. "Where is Koharu?"
Homura looked hesitant to answer, forcing Kagami to bravely step forward. "She's in the hospital recovering from chakra exhaustion."
Tobirama stilled. The young shinobi instinctively took a step back.
"Now brother, I'm sure she is—" Hashirama made to place a comforting hand on his younger brother's shoulder. But Tobirama was already gone.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Sakumo awoke with fire in his throat and a terrible ringing in his ears. An unidentifiably dull throbbing panged across his body. Was he dead?
How depressing if it was…
Images flashed across his mind, too quickly for him to catch. Sharp shouts and soft voices mingled with an ever-present ringing, until suddenly everything was dark and his mind was still.
Slowly, he opened his eyes, only to immediately snap them shut again. The ringing grew sharper as the bright light assaulted his eyes. For a moment all he could do was let out a long, injured groan. Burrowing deep inside himself, away from the painful ringing, he sought comfort in the dark oblivion—but an insistent nudging against his shoulder prevented his return to unconsciousness.
"Psst…hey," A voice called above the ringing. Sakumo made to tell the voice to go away, but it fell from his lips as another painful moan.
"Hey…HEY! You're not dead are you?" The voice persisted, the nudging against Sakumo's shoulder turning to sharp jabs.
"Cut it out," Sakumo finally rasped, carefully opening his eyes into slits, wary of the painful blaring light.
"Phew." The decidedly annoying voice laughed in relief. "I was afraid they left a corpse in here."
Sakumo slowly blinked, allowing his eyes to adjust as the ringing in his brain faded into a soft hum. Squinting through the blurriness he could make out a strange dark lump against a white screen. As he continued to blink his vision solidified and the lump transformed into a boy with a most assuredly annoying smile slapped across his face.
The kid, noticing his glare, smiled brighter. "Well hello!"
Sakumo frowned at the stranger as he tried to focus his thoughts in the fog of his mind. Where was his mother?
And why had she let an idiot into their house?
"You okay? You look whiter than your hair. I've never seen hair that white before—well maybe Uncle Tobirama's—but I'm pretty sure it's just grey from stress."
The strange kid's babbling was preventing Sakumo from forming a coherent train of thought and the soft humming in his head was turning into a pounding headache. He had to gain control of the situation.
"Do you think you could get me a glass of water?" Sakumo asked, his tongue feeling heavy in his mouth.
"Sure!"
Sakumo watched the annoying intruder as he walked across the room to the water jug on the end table. The boy looked close to his own age, with pale skin and ridiculous red hair flopping across a shiny forehead protector. The room they were in was white and bare, save for the two beds and nightstand. It looked new and well crafted—a far cry from his village's familiar dilapidated interiors.
"Where am I?" He asked, accepting the cool glass of water from the boy. "How did I get here?"
"You're in the Hidden Leaf village," the boy exclaimed proudly, his chest puffing out a bit. "Not sure how you got here—you were here before me."
He rolled up the fabric from his left arm to expose a series of thick bandages around his wrist. "Got it caught in a trap," he explained, his cheeks turning a little ruddy.
"That was stupid," Sakumo muttered, shutting his eyes again and praying the boy would leave him in peace.
"Oh yeah," the boy sputtered. "Well at least I don't have amnesia!"
Sakumo opened one dark eye in annoyance. "I don't have amnesia."
The boy looked incredulous. Sakumo sighed. "My name is Sakumo Hatake. I live in the village of Oshina with my grandfather and moth—"
An unwelcome memory assailed him: Run Sakumo, his mother gasped, her hands struggling against the stranger's arm to breath.
Sakumo sat up straight in an instant and immediately a white, hot pain tore across his side. A sharp gasp of pain broke from his lips as his vision went dark for a moment.
"My mother," he breathed heavily, a painful knot tying in his throat. "Where is my mother?" The strange boy looked around the room in helpless confusion.
"I don't know," He answered desperately. "I haven't seen anyone—"
A puff of smoke burst between the pair and filled Sakumo's vision for a brief, uncomfortable moment. As it dissipated, Sakumo's heart felt a little lighter as he recognized the old pug standing calmly in his lap.
"You are awake!" Tomo barked happily, pushing his front paws against Sakumo's chest and licking his face with his long tongue in an unusual display of affection. "The nurses kept kicking me out, but I have been sneaking in to check on you."
"Who the hell are you?" The other boy gasped, almost flopping backwards.
The dog summons turned, cocking its head, equally surprised by the stranger's presence. Tomo took a delicate sniff. "You smell like one of Hashirama's litter."
The boy blushed. "I'm his son if that's what you mean."
Tomo frowned, his grey-flecked jowls drooping lower. "Ryuu is it not? You always used to pull my tail and try to make it straight."
"I did?" Ryuu asked, his brows knitting together. "I don't remember that. Sorry"
"It does not matter," Tomo sniffed. "Sakumo used to do the same."
Sakumo was growing irritated. "Tomo, where is my mother? Is she all right? How did we get here?"
The little dog stilled and his dark, beady eyes grew wet and bright. "I'm sorry, boy," he said his head bent and ears wilted low. "I could not save her…I could only save you."
An animal like howl pulled from his throat as Sakumo fell back into his pillows. His head swam as the room around him began to grow dark.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Tobirama walked swiftly through the hospital corridor. Still dressed in his armor, he looked like a beast of war tearing through the peaceful hall.
"Lord Tobirama!" A blur of blonde hair and fair skin appeared in his path, forcing him into an abrupt halt. Ima, one of the resident medics, smiled up at him with eyes smoky and dark. At first glance, she looked nearly identical to her younger sister, but there was a delicate seductiveness in Ima that could not be found in Koharu's guarded wildness. He found himself taking a step back from the daintily perfumed air around her.
"Are you here to interrogate the boy?" She asked, her voice rippling like silk. Tobirama's mouth twitched slightly, the only indication of his annoyance at being deterred. "The one Koharu brought in." Ima prompted. "He doesn't have any paperwork or your necessary clearance."
Tobirama's eyebrows lifted slightly. It was not like Koharu to break one of his carefully laid rules. "What room is Koharu in?"
Ima's sultry smile dimmed a little as she checked the clipboard in her hand. "Room 34B…poor little baby might still be sleeping though."
But she was talking to his back as he made for Koharu's room. His former student would have been livid if she heard her sister call her a 'poor little baby'.
Koharu was fast asleep in the bed, laid out flat and solemnly in the sheets like a body prepared for a funeral procession. It was so unlike the way Koharu usually slept, splayed out and wild, for a moment Tobirama truly feared she was dead. But as he came to stand beside the bed, the familiar soft purrs of her breathing echoed in his ears, and he was able uncurl his hands from their worried fists.
She was pale and still, her golden hair splayed carelessly against the pillow. This doleful being, so unlike Koharu, put him on edge. Even when she was a little girl, he had irrationally watched over her in her occasional hospital visits, hardly eating or sleeping—waiting for the sharp, indomitable kunoichi to return to him.
As he settled on the window ledge beside her, a sharp, pained howl echoed down the hallway, capturing his attention for a moment. It sounded like an injured beast coming from the end of the hall. Medics ran frantically past the doorway, but he soon lost interest. The hospital was quickly filling with the mentally insane and he was at a loss of how to deal with them.
Taking her small hand in his, he almost started at how cold it felt against his palm.
"Uncle Tobirama!" Ryuu greeted suddenly from the doorway. Tobirama's hand dropped to his side. He immediately signaled for quiet and his nephew sheepishly entered, noticing Koharu asleep in the bed. Tobirama frowned as he noted the thick bandages across Ryuu's hand. His nephew quickly hid it behind his back.
"You should see the other guy," he whispered.
Tobirama decided not to ask. He was well aware of the long shadow his older brother cast upon his youngest son. The Senju name was a heavy weight to carry and Ryuu had yet to exhibit the usual prodigious talent of their clan. His amiable nature reminded Tobirama a great deal of Itama and he knew Hashirama worked hard to ensure Ryuu did not suffer the same fate as their youngest brother.
He was too coddled in Tobirama's opinion, but he remained silent when Hashirama assigned the simplest missions possible to the young boy.
"Is Koharu going to be okay?" Ryuu asked, coming to stand on the other side of the bed.
"Of course," he said, his voice sharper then intended. Ryuu flushed red and the room fell into awkward silence.
"Should you be out of your room?" The older Senju eventually inquired, unable to stand the boy's nervous shuffling. He supposed it was understandable; he had been distant from Hashirama's children for some time now and showed little patience for Ryuu's prankish behavior.
Ryuu shrugged, fiddling with the bandage on his hand. "They just released me. My roommate passed out and I was taking up too much space. The only reason they kept me here over night was because they thought my hand might be infected." The pull of his face showed he thought it was a waste of time.
Tobirama resisted the urge to admonish the boy for shrugging his fortune so lightly. When he was a child the clan healer was just as likely to cut off the wounded limb as to bandage it.
Silence returned for another uncomfortable eternity, until Ryuu spoke again.
"He just lost his mom."
"Who?"
"My roommate, Sakumo. He didn't know where he was for a while and then he was told his mother was dead."
Tobirama leaned back thoughtfully. Ryuu lived a very charmed life having never known what it was like to lose a family member.
"That must be the boy Koharu brought in," Tobirama sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. A heavy tiredness was beginning to set in his bones. There had been little time for sleep during the Kage Summit.
"He has a funny accent," Ryuu said, flicking the edge of the bed sheet. Koharu would not appreciate being seen like this, Tobirama thought and quickly decided to shoo the boy out.
"Why don't you head home, Ryuu. I am sure Hashirama is eager to see you."
Ryuu's face quickly lit up at the mention of his father. "Oh yeah! I almost forgot he was back today."
He raced from the room only to return a few moments later. "Tell Koharu to get better okay."
Tobirama leaned his head back against the wall and rested his eyes, finding Koharu's breathing perfectly soothing, as he considered a suitable punishment for Hiruzen when he returned.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
As fortune would have it, Hiruzen returned to the village later that afternoon, blissfully unaware of the punishment his sensei had divined for him. His stomach growled with hunger, having been forced to live off mostly berries as he tried to track the ghost of a man. As he walked through the gate, he debated between grabbing a quick bite of noodles or waiting for Biwako to fix him something. If he stopped at Biwako's he could satisfy a little more than his hunger…
An excited smile mixed with a lecherous blush as he changed his course—only to have a sharp jerk of his collar pull him back.
"Well if it isn't our very own dead man walking," Danzo smiled.
Hiruzen pulled free as Danzo's words dawned on him. "But sensei wasn't supposed to be back for another week!"
Danzo shrugged. "Negotiations failed."
Hiruzen resisted the urge to gulp, fear replacing the hunger in his belly.
"Is he…?"
Danzo nodded, a wicked smile showing his clear enjoyment of the situation. "He came back to find Koharu in the hospital and you missing in action—you'll be lucky if he lets you keep your head."
The young Sarutobi rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He should have expected this. It was probably best to confront his sensei before he had enough time to come up with one of his legendarily elaborate punishments.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Koharu squinted up at the white washed ceiling above her and could have sworn it was getting closer. The nurse had told her she had been asleep for nearly a week. They wouldn't tell her anything about the boy.
Please…save him.
She let out a deep sigh of agitation and kicked the itchy hospital sheets away from her legs. She had only been awake a few hours and already the room was becoming claustrophobic. Her sister would have a fit if she saw Koharu up and about, but the hospital was still notoriously understaffed and she was sure her absence would not be noticed until she was long gone.
Her legs were shaky as she lifted herself from the bed and she doubted she could trust her chakra at the moment to help her escape across the rooftops.
Out the front door it is then, she thought ruefully.
The late afternoon light bathed the quiet hospital rooms and Koharu was able to walk down the hall undisturbed. Her knees began to feel less like rice pudding as she stepped lightly along the shadows. Perhaps her chakra would return to its full capacity before Tobirama's return. He would certainly not be pleased to discover their impromptu mission.
The sound of an inconsolable whimpering caught her attention as she passed a room with the door firmly closed. Common sense told her to continue, but curiosity pushed her to investigate the source of the tormented cry. For a split second she stopped at the sight of the feathery white hair, her heart pounding. Was that…?
But the being turned to reveal a much younger face then her sensei's. Koharu allowed herself to breathe. It was the boy they had rescued. The way the boy's pallid hair fell at all angles and the manner he set his shoulders so guardedly gave her the sense of what Tobirama must have looked like as a youth. Except for the eyes that stared at her with the sharpness of slate, the boy could have been a miniature clone.
"Are you crying?" She asked before thinking. The boy's shoulders stiffened with indignity and Koharu resisted the urge to wince in embarrassment. She had never been very good with children. Tsunade bursting into tears every time she saw her was a testament to that. The boy turned to her with a deep-set frown, giving him a look of great age.
"No," he answered coldly and returned his attention to the window, his hands settled protectively on Tomo's wrinkled back.
"Oh," she said, suddenly feeling foolish for being there. She made up her mind to return to her escape, when Tomo lifted his head to attention.
"You should thank her," he said gruffly, his eyes glassy as he stared up at the boy. "She saved your life, Sakumo."
The boy slowly returned his attention to her, his eyes dark, bloodshot and uncertain.
"You can call me Koharu."
"Thank you," he said with a voice heavily steeled for one so young. In the light of the early morning and nearly lost in the pillows and blankets, the boy looked small and alone. He's lost everything, she thought, but even in all this strangeness he refuses to show vulnerability. She almost smiled; he was so much like someone else she knew.
"How are you feeling?" She asked, trying to stave off the heavy silence that hung over the room like curtains. He shrugged, but didn't turn away.
Reluctantly he answered. "They said I'm all healed but I can't leave."
Koharu nodded in understanding, remembering Tobirama's strict protocol on strangers in the village. But the way the boy looked so dolefully out the window, reminded her of her own painful claustrophobia.
Quietly opening the door she scanned the hallway for patrolling medics. Sensing that the coast was clear, she nodded her head toward the hall.
"Why don't we go for a walk."
He looked suspiciously at her for a moment, but quickly decided it could not be much worse then wasting away in the sterile room. Tomo, understanding of her intention, remained on the bed as Sakumo tested the steadiness of his legs.
"I'll have no part of this," the old dog sniffed, as he curled into himself for a nap. Koharu was impressed to notice his quiet steps and economic movements. Was this natural talent or had he been trained?
Sakumo took in a deep breath as they released themselves from the hospital. He had never smelled air so fresh. His companion smiled at the reaction, but there was no denying her dark eyes were shining a little brighter in the afternoon sunlight.
They walked for a few moments in silence, before Sakumo's curiosity got the better of him. "Are you a kunoichi?"
"What gave it away?" Koharu smiled as she brushed her flaxen bangs away from her forehead protector.
"I've never met a kunoichi before," he said impressed. Koharu nodded, her smile dimming slightly.
"There really aren't a lot of us," she said. "My mother nearly killed me when I told her my intention."
"My mom too," Sakumo said with eyes bright, but his features immediately darkened, assaulted by an unpleasant thought. He had almost forgotten she was gone. How could he have forgotten so easily…in such a short span of time?
Koharu moved quickly. "So you're a shinobi then?"
The boy nodded with his jaw set. He was using every muscle in his body to keep back a great wave of emotion.
"My grandfather trained me a little," he said, the confession feeling strange in his mouth. He had never been allowed to tell anyone that before.
The kunoichi raised her eyebrows slightly. "Was it just your grandfather and mother living with you?"
Sakumo nodded, though he noted the delicate probe.
"No father then?" This question was plied as casually as the first, but he sensed the heavier interest.
Sakumo shook his head. "I never knew him."
Koharu stared thoughtfully down at him, toying with another question on her tongue, before swallowing it into silence. She stopped at the edge of one of the more concealed training grounds. She tilted her head to the center of the manicured grass, an inviting grin pulled on her lips.
"Care to show me what you got?"
Sakumo knew from the start that he was no match for the older kunoichi, but he knew how to put up a graceful fight. For a while they matched blow for blow and Sakumo was able to push away darkening thoughts and focus solely on the quick motions of his opponent. The kunoichi in turn, appeared distracted, her attention less on the sparring and more on the space beyond—as if she was expecting someone to attack from the edge of the training ground.
Koharu called for a halt when she nearly took Sakumo's head off with a well-aimed kick and he looked at her with eyes too weary to care. For a few moments there was nothing but the sound of heavy breathing. Koharu was the first to recover, content that her taijutsu had not suffered over the course of a week. The boy was surprisingly good. She would have been disappointed if he had not been.
"You're reacting instead of acting." She said, once they had both caught their breath. Sakumo shrugged, digging his hands deep into his pockets.
Koharu thought it strange. He looked so much like her sensei that she had fully expected the kid to fight in the same manner, but where Tobirama was all about controlling a fight Sakumo appeared content to watch things play out on their own terms.
"But otherwise, I'm impressed," Koharu admitted, but she had already lost his attention. Shading his eyes from the afternoon sun, the boy looked over in awe at the carving of Hashirama's face overlooking the village.
"Who is that?" he half-whispered in awe. Koharu moved to stand beside him, taking in the comforting sight with the same wonder as when she had first seen it as a little girl.
"That is our first Hokage, Hashirama Senju." She explained. "He founded the village along with his brother, Tobirama-sensei." Sakumo stilled, like a rabbit sensing the presence of a fox.
"You mean the actual Senju brothers are here!" Sakumo exclaimed, his eyes wide with an excitement that strangely reminded her of Ryuu Senju. "Have you ever seen them in action? Can one of them really use wood-style—"
"ARE YOU INSANE!" A voice howled from across the field.
Koharu looked up in surprise as Homura waved wildly at them from the edge of the field, his glasses glinting furiously in the light. Sakumo cocked his head as the man in the glasses joined them. Was this who Koharu had been tensely waiting for? He didn't look all that scary with his glasses sliding down his long nose.
"Hello, Homura," Koharu greeted innocently. Homura did not seem to be much older then her but he stood a good head taller and glared sourly down at her. She did not appear all that intimidated.
"You're suppose to be in the hospital," he growled and then pointed accusingly at Sakumo. "And he is supposed to be under guard."
Koharu shrugged. "He's just a kid, Homura. I was watching him."
"You're still recovering from chakra exhaustion," he snapped. "I thought you were nearly dead the last time I saw you."
Koharu smiled impishly. "Were you worried about me?"
Homura rubbed his chin with a thoughtful frown; he had been trying to grow a beard to little avail. "Only that you would leave me alone with Hiruzen," he said grudgingly. "Though I have a feeling he's a dead man."
Koharu's mouth twitched with interest. "Why's that?"
"Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sensei are back," Homura sighed. "He was not pleased to hear that Hiruzen was missing and you were in the hospital—to put it mildly."
"Does he know about Sakumo?" She asked, her voice suddenly low and flat.
"Who? Oh, the kid!" Homura nodded his head. "I'm sure sensei will want to question him."
Koharu bit her bottom lip, judging by Homura's hesitation, a long string of lectures awaited her in his office.
"Now?" She asked meekly. Homura's glasses flashed.
"Unless you want him to track you down himself."
Koharu grimaced, then looked at Sakumo. It was probably better if they went to the Hokage's office—more witnesses there.
"Are we really going to meet the Senju brothers?" Sakumo asked excitedly, sounding like an actual kid.
Homura frowned. "This isn't a game, boy."
Koharu elbowed him sharply in the side. Homura looked at her with surprise.
"Did your mother ever tell you anything about them?" Koharu asked, her question slipping innocently beneath Sakumo's radar. Homura lifted an eyebrow, curious as to why Koharu would ask.
"Just that the Senju are a clan of a thousand skills and a thousand enemies," he said solemnly, remembering his mother's words. The two teammates shared a look before Homura left them under the shadow of the administration building.
Sakumo stayed a few paces behind Koharu once they entered the office, noting the wary gaze of two impressively large shinobi. He resisted the urge to gulp—sweaty from their late afternoon practice and having not bathed in a week—this was not how he wished to meet his heroes.
Sitting behind the desk, one man stared solemnly down at a shinobi lowered on one knee, his hands steepled in thought. With his mouth cut so solemnly, Sakumo thought he looked exactly like the stone face on the cliff. Standing directly behind him was a man with arms crossed and white hair falling sullenly over his eyes.
Sakumo gave a start of surprise—he had never seen anyone with hair like his before. He remembered all the times the kids of the village used to tease him for having hair like an old man. He doubted anyone had dared ever laugh at this man about his hair. The third man on his knees was far younger than the other two and held a much more resigned posture.
"Hiruzen!" Koharu exclaimed, taking in his disheveled appearance and knotted hair. "What the hell happened to you?"
"That," a voice, rich but stern, interrupted. "Is exactly what we would like to know."
"Sensei, I can—" The young shinobi on the floor began, but the white-haired man's unsettling eyes rose to his with a snap and the room fell into a sullen silence. Sakumo could only stand quietly in confusion as his eyes darted from the man he knew as the God of the Shinobi to the one who seemed to be half man and half command.
"We have made it no secret that we are grooming you to follow in our footsteps, Hiruzen," he said, finally breaking the suffocating silence. The man's tone was coldly neutral, but each word looked like a slap to the face for the young man. "In order for this village to survive, it will need strong leaders to guide and cherish its people. It will need leaders who act upon wisdom—not foolish impulses."
Sakumo watched as the young shinobi's shoulders visibly stiffened.
The white-haired shinobi stared levelly at him with the cool gaze of a prowling predator. "Your actions leave me in doubt that you are that leader."
The young shinobi frowned. "But sensei you don't know all the facts! We were—"
A muscle worked in the man's jaw. "I know I left you with instructions to monitor the village. I know that I returned to find you missing and Koharu hospitalized. And I know there is only an unsanctioned boy passed out in the hospital for all your trouble."
"I wouldn't have gone if Tomo hadn't asked."
The older shinobi did not move, but Sakumo could see his jaw clench once, and then twice again at the name of the little dog summons. The shinobi known as Hiruzen had the common sense to look contrite, as the white-haired man glared down at him. Sakumo resisted the urge to step behind Koharu, who seemed unimpressed with the raw anger that was filling the room.
"Perhaps you should call your old summons, Tobirama-sensei," Koharu cut in, casually distributing the weight in her stance as if preparing for battle. Sakumo's head jerked with interest at the name. So this was the other Senju brother. He knew of Tobirama Senju's reputation, of course, but the man was proving to be so much more than even the village storytellers' could conjure into fable.
"Tomo was looking everywhere for you and when you could not be found he came to us," she continued, her eyes flashing. The God of Shinobi's stone mask broke as he looked up at his brother in surprise. Sakumo had the strangest feeling he had seen that same stupid expression somewhere before.
"I thought the little dog was dead," Hashirama said, his dark eyes wide and questioning. "After…"
But his brother quickly cut him off. "I fail to see what Tomo has to do with you two disobeying protocol and leaving the village of your own accord."
Hiruzen spoke up. "Tomo said that someone was in danger. We got there just in time to prevent the kid from being murdered!"
All eyes were suddenly on Sakumo who stared bravely ahead despite the fact he wished he could melt into the floorboards. Hashirama's eyes were dark but kind and he tried to focus on them more than the assessing glare coming from the white-haired Senju.
"Sakumo was injured so I brought him back here while Hiruzen went after the perpetrator. Would you have preferred we left the boy for dead, Tobirama-sensei? " Koharu's question cut clear through the room, with an ice that matched Tobirama's tone syllable for syllable. Sakumo found a strange comfort in her cold ferocity.
"And what if all of this had been a clever ploy to allow a spy into our village?" Tobirama growled, ignoring the question but mirroring her glare with narrowed eyes. "You know nothing about this boy—and yet you have practically welcomed him into our home."
"I'm not a spy!" Sakumo protested, speaking before common sense had the chance to tell him to be silent.
Tobirama's frown deepened. "Are we expected to believe you?"
"He's just a kid, sensei," Hiruzen tried to intervene.
"Do not underestimate a person because of their age, Saru," he growled, folding his arms across his chest.
Sakumo was silently growing furious. Did this man truly believe he was here to spy? His mother and grandfather lay dead in an open field somewhere and his home was nothing but embers—and this man thought he was here to spy?
He felt a fire grow in his chest.
"My name is Sakumo Hatake, the last of the Hatake clan. I from the village of Oshino and I will return there as soon as I can. I want revenge for my murdered family. I'm not here to spy on your stupid village."
The room was silent for an unbearably long moment. Tobirama's eyes narrowed into slits, but this time a burning courage allowed Sakumo to meet his eye.
Koharu was the first to break the silence, bravely cutting through the tense moment by pulling a forehead protector from the depths of her pouch.
"He had this on him when we found him, Sensei," she said, setting it on the desk. "Does it mean anything to you?"
Sakumo's eyes widened as he saw his father's forehead protector resting on the desk. For a moment he felt betrayed that Koharu would take his most precious thing from him, but it was quickly mixed with relief that it had not been lost in his battle with the stranger, as he previously believed.
Hashirama's mouth opened as he raised the battle scarred happuri for closer inspection. "Tobi this is yours," he said with slight disbelief, rubbing one of the longer scratches along the side in remembrance. "Izuna nearly killed you with that one."
Tobirama did not bother to look, his attention focused solely on the boy that could have been his own clone. "Where did you get this?" He asked, though certain he already knew the answer.
"My mother gave it to me," Sakumo said sticking his chin out slightly. Was he being accused of stealing it? "It belonged to my…"
A terrible realization hit him as he tried to finish his sentence. His eyes were suddenly bright, as he looked up at the white-haired shinobi in a whole new light.
"Is there something you want to tell us, sensei?" Koharu asked, her voice like flint across stone. He angled his head, a muscle ticking along his jaw.
"All of you are dismissed," Tobirama growledz. "Except you, Hiruzen."
Sakumo did not feel the heat rising in the room or Koharu gently nudging him out of the office. He did not even feel the cold stare resting on his back as he left with Koharu.
Father
Could it really be true?
Sakumo was so lost in thought that he did not even see the ambush that awaited them until it was too late. Four young shinobi pounced as Koharu led the way out of the Hokage building, expertly cutting into the space between them.
"So this is the kid who has been causing all the commotion." One laughed in clear delight. Sakumo took a step back to brace himself for a possible attack, but the four young men seemed more curious than hostile. The one he recognized as Homura, held Koharu in deep conversation, leaving him to deal with the other three.
"I expected them to bring you out in chains," another sniffed, looking clearly disappointed as he scratched a scarred chin with his thumb.
"Don't be silly, Danzo." Admonished the first shinobi who spoke. "He's just a kid!"
"You're far too trusting, Kagami." The one known as Danzo sighed irritably. His companion merely rolled his eyes in answer.
"So tell us your deal, kid." The third and most round shinobi demanded.
"I have a name," Sakumo growled, irritated by the unwanted attention and the constant reminders of his youth.
Kagami's smile widened. "And an attitude to go with it, I see."
Sakumo flushed, but was saved from further embarrassment by the unholy swear that came from where Koharu and Homura stood.
"Sensei's son!?" Homura exclaimed as Koharu slowly nodded with an irritated frown.
Danzo turned to him in horror, as if Sakumo had sprouted a second head right before his eyes. "You can't mean…"
The round shinobi scratched the side of his head with an index finger. "He does look an awful lot like Sensei."
Sakumo never wished more for a jutsu that would let him disappear then in that moment. He stood alone as five pairs of eyes stared at him with the same look he had seen children gaze at caged beasts—a wary, thrilled interest. Never before in his life had he received so much attention in one day. The ache for his mother's soothing presence grew sharper in his stomach. How could she leave him so alone?
It was Koharu who eventually stepped in to brush the silent awkwardness between them all away—waving a hand limply as if destroying a cobweb.
"All right leave him alone," she sighed, nudging past the taller shinobi to stand beside him. "Sakumo's a boy, not a performing monkey."
"Speaking of monkeys…" Kagami said, a glint sparking devilishly in his eyes. "What do you think Tobirama-sensei has cooked up for poor Sarutobi?"
Danzo shrugged in disinterest. "It will be no more than the idiot deserves."
Homura's glasses glinted as he pushed them further up his nose. "I can guarantee he will wish he never stepped a foot outside of the village by the time sensei is done."
Sakumo did not know whether he felt tense from the guilt of causing one of his rescuer's so much pain or from fear he had a father capable of causing such terror. Koharu's forehead protector flashed in the dying light as she tossed her bangs back in dismissal. "Hiruzen will bounce back just like he always does."
"Wait a second," the roundest shinobi turned to her, his small eyes squinted in suspicion. "How come you aren't being punished?"
Koharu scoffed. "I'm not being groomed to become the next hokage am I, Torifu."
Sakumo noted Danzo's face contort as if he had bitten into something sour.
"KOHARU UTATANE! YOU ARE DEAD!" A shrill voice broke across the sky, forcing a flock of birds to flee from a nearby tree. Sakumo watched with interest as Koharu visibly paled as the others around her struggled to contain their smirks. A woman nearly identical to Koharu approached with a killing intent that practically exhumed from her small frame.
The kunoichi swore quietly under her breath. "What do you want, Ima?"
Her sister's face twisted in anger as her fists settled on her hips. "What do I want?!" She growled. "I want to know what the hell you are doing out of your hospital bed!?"
Koharu shrugged. "I felt better!"
Ima looked ready to strangle her. If Sakumo had not seen Koharu in action he might have considered Ima a serious threat.
"Do you know how bad it makes me look losing a patient? Do you!?" Ima howled, her hands waving wildly in the air, causing her short uniform to rise slightly higher up her thighs. The four men of the group were watching her with an appreciative interest Sakumo could not quite understand. "I always cover for you with Mama. No more! Now I'm telling her every time you come home with even a scratch!"
"Oh come on Ima," Koharu protested, as her sister turned to storm away. "Ima I didn't mean to—" But her sister furiously ignored her as she stomped away. Koharu swore again as she was forced to give chase.
"Where the hell are you going?" Danzo growled.
"To fucking stop her!" Koharu shouted.
Sakumo was left with the four strangers—watching Koharu grow smaller with a strange feeling of complete abandonment. He barely noticed as they began walking again, his legs automatically moving without any assistance from his brain.
"You okay kid?" Kagami finally asked, though Sakumo only heard his voice from what sounded like a great distance.
Torifu hit him upside the head, his eye twitching in annoyance. "He just found out Tobirama-sensei is his father. Would you be okay?"
Kagami glared, but quickly changed tactics when he read the blank expression on Sakumo's face.
"Don't worry kid, Tobirama-sensei is not usually that bad! He just doesn't like being caught off-guard like that. I think you'll really like him!"
"Kagami," Homura sighed warningly. "It may not be that simple."
The dark-haired shinobi looked up in surprise. "Why not? He's his son, isn't he?"
Homura rolled his eyes to the sky as if seeking patience there. "Don't you think if he wanted a family, he would have had one by now? He's never really gotten over Lady Yuri after all."
For the most part, Sakumo listened to them with a detached interest, following the four with a body that felt like it belonged to someone else.
"Who is Lady Yuri?" He asked, noting how reverently Homura spoke her name.
"It's getting late we should take you to the compound," Homura said quickly, realizing his mistake as Danzo glared daggers into his back.
"But…" Sakumo protested, but his companions were already moving ahead of him.
"You'll like the Senju compound," Torifu declared. "It's near the training grounds and Lady Mito always makes sure there is lots to eat."
"You'll be seeing a lot of Torifu," Kagami mockingly confided.
"I'm staying with the Senju?" Sakumo asked in shock. Kagami smiled enthusiastically.
"Of course! Lady Mito wouldn't have it any other way."
"Who's Lady Mito?" He asked, half expecting his question to be brushed aside again, but Kagami answered happily.
"Lady Mito is Hashirama's wife. You'll get to meet Ryuu and Katsuro and little Tsunade too and of course Old Man Butsuma."
"Probably not him," Homura interjected quickly. "He mostly keeps to himself. He's practically ancient."
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
The wealthiest man in Sakumo's village was Yoshikazu Ono the butcher. He had made a grand house for his wife right in the middle of their village for all to see. Sakumo had thought he would never see anything else so large, but the massive Senju compound that spread before him made the butcher's house appear little more than another shabby hut. Sakumo stopped in his tracks, taking in the massive walls and decorative gardens, forcing the four older shinobi to brush past him with casual disinterest. They made their way to a woman with the reddest hair Sakumo had ever seen. She sat with a young toddler in her lap, handing her bits of feed to toss into a pond filled with hungry koi.
"Lady Mito!" Kagami waved as they approached. "We have a surprise for you!"
The woman looked up with interest as the toddler continued playing with the fish.
Sakumo had never seen the Daimyo's wife before, but he could not imagine she could be anymore regal than the woman that sat before them.
"A surprise?" She repeated, smiling kindly.
"May I present to you Sakumo Hatake—the newest member of your family." Kagami introduced with an overly ornate bow, clearly enjoying the showmanship. Sakumo felt his cheeks burn a deep crimson as Lady Mito rested her serene gaze on him.
Her eyes grew slightly wider as she took in his appearance. Slowly, she stood, ignoring the toddler's protest as she raised her up on her hip. Lady Mito took a step closer and lifted Sakumo's chin with a delicate hand.
"How miraculous," she murmured, her voice so soft that Sakumo was not even sure he heard her correctly. The toddler wiggled against her grip, stretching her tiny arms out to Sakumo with a grabbing motion.
"Kitty," the toddler shrilled as she leaned closer, trying to grab at Sakumo's hair. Sakumo stood perfectly still; wearily unsure of what to do about the sticky fingers trying to swipe at his head.
"No Tsunade," Lady Mito chided gently, pulling the little girl away. "This is Sakumo."
"Mo-mo." The little girl repeated this new information with a frown, clearly confused.
"Forgive us, Sakumo. She thinks anything with white hair is the house cat. There are days even Tobirama can't escape her."
Sakumo blinked in surprise at the mention of the white-haired Senju and then leaned forward within reaching distance of the toddler. Tsunade gave a shrill of delight as she buried her tiny fingers into his unruly tresses.
"I don't mind," he gritted, as she pulled hard against the roots. He wondered if this was what it was like to have a sibling.
"You are very kind, Sakumo," Mito smiled. "And very welcome here."
A gentle cling of a distant bell interrupted the tranquility of the garden, immediately capturing little Tsunade's attention. Mito gently set her down into the grass, allowing her to determinately toddle towards the main house.
"What wonderful timing," she declared. "Will you be joining us for dinner, gentleman?"
Torifu began to eagerly follow the blonde toddler, when Danzo sharply pulled him back. Homura gave a polite bow.
"I'm afraid we are going to have to find Hiruzen and cut him down from whatever tree Tobirama-sensei has left him hanging by his thumbs in." He explained, as they moved towards the gate.
Lady Mito frowned for a moment. "What could Hiruzen possibly have done?"
"It's a long story," Kagami called over his shoulder as he followed his companions out the gate.
Lady Mito led him through a maze of hallways and chambers, finally stopping at a large room overlooking an intimate courtyard with a single cherry blossom tree producing its first blooms of the spring.
"You can clean up here before dinner, Sakumo." She explained, pushing him gently forward. "I will have a room prepared for you while we eat." She moved silently to the hallway. "A servant will be around to lead you to the dining room.
The room smelled different than the rest of the compound—like the air before a great rainstorm. He breathed in deeply, allowing the comforting scent to calm his tired nerves. His muscles ached as if he had been training with his grandfather all day and there was a slight throbbing in his side.
He moved wearily to the washbasin in the corner of the room. The water felt wonderfully brisk against the heat of his cheeks and Sakumo could admit to feeling slightly better. As he dried his face in wonderfully soft linen, he spied a great suit of armor blinking in the dying light. Sakumo drew closer to examine the magnificent piece that looked as if it belonged on a hero from a mythical tale. Each piece of armor was perfectly plated for swift efficient movement and despite the numerous scratches across the entirety; its deep blue sheen gleamed. He had never seen such wealth in one place! His hand reached out of its own accord to run along a particularly deep gash on the chest that would have meant certain death if the wearer had been without armor.
It was a polite cough that drew Sakumo sheepishly away from his open-mouthed admiration. A young woman with mousy features stood in the doorway, hands neatly clasped in front of a starched white apron.
"Dinner is about to be served if you are hungry, young master." She said, her voice respectfully neutral. Sakumo resisted the urge to check behind him to make sure she wasn't addressing someone else. He had never been called a young master before. His mother had always simply yelled to call him in from the fields.
A hungry grumble from his stomach echoed in the room and the woman nodded in understanding as she began to walk down the hall. Sakumo scrambled to follow, running an agitated hand through his hair in the hopes he did not look half as out of place in the grand manor as he felt.
Lady Mito and Lord Hashirama were talking quietly to themselves when Sakumo arrived. Steaming dishes waited patiently on the large table. Sakumo greatly feared the silence he would be met with when he entered, but that fear was immediately dissipated when the First Hokage, sitting, at the head of the table, noticed his entrance.
"Sakumo, my boy! Welcome!" He greeted, enthusiastically waving him to an empty zabuton. Sakumo quickly settled into the empty space, tucking his legs beneath him as his mouth watered at the delicious food weighing down the table.
"I must apologize," the Shodaime continued. "If I had any idea who you were, we would have had a great banquet prepared for your homecoming—not that terrible interrogation in the office!"
Sakumo managed to pull his eyes away from the food for a moment; only to jump in surprise at the man who suddenly had his head bowed despairingly against the table in deep shame.
"It's all right…I didn't know I was coming," he managed to mumble stupidly. He could barely believe that he was talking to the God of Shinobi—and now said god was apologizing to him.
"You are getting hair in the rice, my love." Mito chided softly, barely batting an eyelash at the sight of her husband prostrated across the table. Hashirama immediately straightened, returning to a perfect picture of poise.
"Hiruzen explained the unfortunate circumstances," Hashirama said, clasping his hands together. "Yet I can only—"
"What the heck are you doing here?" A familiar annoying voice interrupted from the doorway. Sakumo looked up in surprise at the boy he had shared a hospital room with looked him up and down as if he had somehow managed to sneak into dinner without anyone else noticing.
"Ryuu!" Mito quickly scolded, her tone sharper then Sakumo had thought possible. "There is no reason to be so rude."
Ryuu managed to look sheepish as he took the zabuton across from Sakumo. "But this is the kid I was telling you about from the hospital!"
Mito gave him a warning glare. "Well, Sakumo will be staying with us from now on—and I expect him to be treated with greater courtesy."
Ryuu looked prepared to protest, but thought better of it, closing his mouth sullenly. Sakumo tried to mask his relief as the boy stared obnoxiously across the table at him. They were soon joined by two more members of the family. Tsunade quickly took the place next to Sakumo, her eyes beaming keenly up at his hair, while her mother settled slowly next to Ryuu. Kaede, merely acknowledged Sakumo's presence with a nod before warning Tsunade to sit still. Sakumo noted with interest how she cradled the small bump of her stomach as if it were a child already born.
"Shall we begin?" Hashirama laughed, reaching for the nearest steaming plate of fish.
"What about Tobirama?" Mito asked quickly, though most members of the family had already grabbed for a dish.
It did not escape Sakumo's notice that the Shodaime grimaced slightly at the mention of his absent brother, before quickly covering it up with a deprecating laugh. "You know him! Won't eat a bite until all the paperwork is done. He said he would be along soon."
Mito's nose twitched slightly as if smelling the lie off his breath, but she remained tactfully silent.
Dinner was filled with deliciously rich food and a barrage of questions about life in his little village. He managed to answer in-between bites of food, praying the deep blush on his cheeks did not give away his discomfort. The food slowly disappeared and servants came silently to take the empty dishes away.
"So your grandfather trained you," Hashirama said thoughtfully, crossing his arms. Sakumo nodded, scooping the last grains of rice into his mouth. He did not remember ever feeling so full in his entire life.
"Well we certainly can't let your training go to waste," He decided with eyes bright. "You're a little old for the academy, but I am sure we can find you a suitable teacher. I will discuss it with my brother. Perhaps you could even be on the same team as Ryuu."
The two boys grimaced at each other.
Dinner ended with long yawns and drooping lids. Sakumo was led to his room with a full belly and content smile. He fell into his futon with relief and would have soon passed out if not for the irritating licking in his ear.
"What the hell? Tomo?" He grumbled, sitting up straight to get away from the little dog's reach. The pug padded lightly on the covers, sniffing around the room delicately.
"This smells much nicer then the farm," he finally declared. "I can't smell a pig for miles."
"Good for you," Sakumo yawned, compulsively happy and irritated to see the dog all at once.
"I still cannot find Tobirama," Tomo sniffed, showing his teeth in his own form of irritation. "He hides his scent well."
Sakumo frowned at the mention of the stoic shinobi. In a way, he was everything Sakumo imagined. The purest form of a shinobi—cool and composed. Sakumo thought of the fathers of his village. The ones with their back stooped from a long day in the field, their faces dark and wrinkled by the sun. They were broken, tired creatures and yet they managed to stand a little straighter when their sons and daughters ran into their arms, their faces a little brighter. Remembering his cold distance and stern manner, he could not imagine Tobirama standing in the same category as these fathers.
"He won't help," Sakumo growled, pulling his legs up to his chest. "All he cares about is making sure people don't break any stupid rules."
Tomo licked his chops in exasperation. "You would not be the first to underestimate his capacity to care, boy. If I just explain…"
Sakumo turned to the dog in fury, the tiredness replaced with a flashing anger. "What can he do?! My mother and grandfather are dead and he can't bring them back! He accused me of being a spy. He could not care less even if I am his son."
Tomo's ears drooped in discomfort. "It will take time—" The pug began, but Sakumo was done listening. His family was dead. His image of a father was shattered. And he was stranger in a strange land.
The old pug backed away slowly, his jowls pulled down in a solemn frown. Humans could be as stubborn as cats sometimes.
"I'd like to be alone," Sakumo said, his voice barely above a whisper. The little pug nodded in understanding.
"I will see you in the morning, boy." Tomo said, disappearing in a puff of smoke.
Sakumo brushed the last wisps of smoke away with a determined hand. All thoughts of sleep were gone from his mind, replaced by a single image. The face of the man with the x-shaped scar on his cheek was seared into his brain—giving him the same taunting smile he had used on his mother. There was a rage in Sakumo that he never felt before—pulling at his muscles and causing his fists to curl tight. He had never felt such an urge to kill—to see that haunting smile go slack on a lifeless face. How could he think of sleep when his mother's killer still walked on this earth?
In a moment of perfect clarity his mind went blank. He knew what needed to be done.
AbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbAbA
Koharu was out of the house before her mother could get in one more threat of marrying her off to the fish merchant's son. Her long-winded lecture on the virtues of marriage was enough to make the cold spring night feel warm and inviting.
You deserve to be surrounded by children, leave these dangerous missions to the men!
She tried to dull the sound of her mother's voice with the piercing slings of kunai thudding into the small wooden targets of a small training ground nearby.
Thump
Her entire life had been an uphill battle. No one thought she was capable of becoming a nin and certainly no one thought she was worthy of becoming Tobirama's student. She had had to work ten times as hard as her classmates to prove them all wrong.
Thump
But hard work hardly ever matched up against raw talent. She frowned at the memory of the weakness in her knees after the transportation jutsu. How did sensei make it look so easy?
Thump
A flash of white caught her attention from the corner of her eye. She resisted the urge to grimace. Speak of the devil…
She continued her practice, ignoring his presence. She let them fly as easily as she breathed. It had always been an excellent release of her frustration when there was no one around to punch.
Thump
"You're upset," her sensei said finally. She did not need to look over to know he stood with arms casually crossed in his typical dark uniform, his hair the only thing truly visible in the moonlit field.
She paused. All the irritation she had been trying to dispense returning to her in full force. She turned to him with a glare, her eyes flashing with temper.
"What gave it away," she said, her voice unamused and flat.
He sighed and walked towards her. She watched him approach with the instinctive wariness of prey. He stopped only moments away from her. She tried to be discreet looking him over. He looked far more human without his armor and happuri—much more approachable than the war god she saw on missions.
And a little more vulnerable.
She felt her harsh stance involuntarily loosen. "You never said anything about the months you were missing," she said, her voice soft and almost lost in the night.
He rumpled his thick silver hair and let out a resigned sigh.
"I'm not here to talk about that, Koharu," he said, his voice gentle but firm.
She gave a bitter smile and crossed her arms in a pale imitation of his own bearing.
"All right," she said, gaining confidence from her anger and frustration. "Let's talk about something else. How about the long-lost son you are ignoring?"
Tobirama frowned. "I have yet to come up with a practical solution to handle the situation."
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was a strange feeling to have to be his voice of reason. "There is no practical solution to this situation, sensei. You have a son who has just lost his mother and entire way of life—the least you could do is acknowledge him."
Tobirama looked pained. They both knew it was not so simple. He was far too broken to allow someone in so easily—even his own flesh and blood. Koharu let out a long, deep breath allowing her anger to seep away from her. Attacking was not the way to get to her sensei.
"Start small," she advised, her eyes softening. "Like you did with us."
She gave a small laugh in remembrance and Tobirama caught himself thinking her hair looked like melted gold in the moonlight. "I used to be so jealous of Hiruzen when you became our sensei. Everyone knew he was your favorite and I simply felt the deck being stacked higher against me."
Tobirama remained silent, intrigued by her sudden confession and the steely gleam in her eye.
"I was determined that I wouldn't care if you ignored me for Hiruzen and Homura. I decided that it wouldn't get to me. But then I was injured on our first mission to the Land of Hills and when I woke up you were there. I thought you were going to kick me off the team."
Tobirama lifted an eyebrow, but remained silent.
"But you merely glared and ordered me to never scare you like that again," she finished. One of her most cherished memories was of him petting her on her head before leaving. As a young girl had she already known she loved him?
For a moment he is so still his pale skin could have almost been made of marble.
"You have always been beyond my comprehension, Koharu," he said, stoically. She sighed in exasperation; he would have everyone believe he truly was made from stone.
"I mean you show us you care in small gestures and words. Show that to him!" She snapped. "Why are you so afraid to be a father?"
"Because I've been a father before," he said distinctly, eyes narrowed. The cool night air curls into a glacial wind. It was as if his words had summoned the ghost of his dead wife and son to stand between them.
She had never seen him grieve properly over them—over anything. It was as though all such feeling was thrown into the depths of an internal well and the more emotion that poured in, the deeper down he dug.
One day he would no longer be able to dig any deeper.
He was barely a breath away from her; all she had to do was raise herself up on her toes to reach his lips. She wondered for a moment what would happen if she took all the control away from him. Would he forgive her? She thought back to the years it took for him to allow her to get this close…was it worth throwing all that away for a simple moment of retaliation?
Her feet remained firmly planted on the ground. She suddenly felt very tired.
"He isn't a replacement, sensei." She said her voice clipped and distant as she turned towards home.
Tobirama watched her disappear into the dark of the night and resisted the urge to follow her. He had come here to admonish her for risking her life so carelessly—for nearly giving him a heart attack. He wanted to take her into his arms and tell her to never scare him like that again—as he did when she was a child. But it had been some time since she was that little girl and he was that young man.
Now she was fierce and he was made of stone.
He decided to walk back to the compound rather than simply use his transportation jutsu. He needed time to think. The moment he had seen the boy, he should have known. He should have remembered.
Kana
She had rescued him when he was near death. He had cared so little for his life at the time, taking every near suicidal mission he could find, ignoring his brother's protest. Life had not been worth living then. But she would not accept him giving up. She fought him tooth and nail to keep him away from Death's doorstep. He had awoken from his haze to eyes dark and determined and a face almost ethereal.
He had never planned for a life to be born from his weak desperation and her solemn loneliness.
He bit back a growl as the image of the boy came to mind—staring at him with such powerful fury. The Senju compound appeared far too suddenly for his liking and he narrowed his eyes at the oil lamps burning for his return. They were too warm and inviting for his black mood.
As he was deciding to turn around and return to the darker edge of the village, a small crash of movement caught his attention from one of the higher windows. He watched with mild interest as the boy carefully stepped down the shear wall, his body perfectly perpendicular to the stone. He resisted the urge to feel impressed at the boy's remarkable chakra control.
Sakumo's brow was furrowed in deep concentration, remaining ignorant of his audience, a small sack draped at his side.
So, the boy was running away.
Tobirama entertained the thought of letting him go. It was a practical end to the problem if he merely disappeared into the night.
Coward. A voice, Koharu's, hissed in his head. He grimaced—when had he allowed her to become the voice of his conscience?
"Hold," Tobirama commanded, when the boy had made it safely to the ground. The boy's shoulders immediately seized and for a moment he remained perfectly still.
Silence reigned for what felt like eternity. Finally, the boy turned with a fierce look of determination on his face.
The boy has her eyes, he thought with a start.
"What do you think you're doing sneaking around in the middle of the night?" He demanded, folding his arms.
The boy lifted one eyebrow, as if he considered the answer obvious.
"I'm leaving. I'm going to find that murderer and make him pay," he answered, his eyes flashing, daring the older shinobi to try and stop him.
Tobirama eyes narrowed. He did not appreciate the unspoken challenge.
"From what Hiruzen has told me, I doubt you would stand much of a chance against him," Tobirama said flatly.
The boy bristled. "I know how to fight!"
In an instant Sakumo was on his back, the great weight of a foot pressed harshly against his chest. He looked up with pure fury as the older white-haired shinobi stared calmly down at him with arms neatly folded.
"I don't think you do," Tobirama stated, his voice dangerously low. Slowly, he released his weight from the boy's chest and allowed Sakumo to stand. Sakumo's eyes were little more than slits.
"You're nothing like I thought you would be," Sakumo growled.
"I have no intention of meeting your expectations," Tobirama said calmly. It was for the best, he thought, to dispel the boy's fantastical notions.
"Fine," Sakumo said coldly. "Then let me go."
"That does not mean I will allow you to go on a suicide mission. You are far too young to be throwing away your life so needlessly."
Sakumo resisted the urge to roll his eyes in frustration. He was always too young.
Too young to be a shinobi.
Too young to save his mother.
And now too young to avenger her.
"I can't just let him get away with this," Sakumo breathed, lowering his head in defeat as he realized Tobirama was not going to budge.
"I'm not keeping you here to sit around all day and get fat on Mito's meals," Tobirama sighed, his eyes suspiciously bright. "You will train here until you can prove to me that you are capable of taking out the scum."
Sakumo's head lifted sharply in surprise.
"That is, of course, if I don't get to him first."