A/N: Fugaku and Mikoto have an argument, and Morino celebrates a special birthday.
"Fugaku, don't you get it?!" Mikoto's voice, angry and loud, echoed through their room. "I will not just stand by and allow my husband to be used by that- that disgrace!"
"Do not speak of him in such a manner! What if he decides that you are of no use to him anymore?" Fugaku shouted right back, practically nose-to-nose with his wife.
She didn't back down from the intimidation tactic, instead standing her ground and seething right back at him. "I can handle myself just fine, Fugaku. I was raised as a warrior! All of us were, as Uchiha! I fought alongside you in the war, remember?"
"I haven't forgotten that. Your service was truly exemplary!" He argued. "But this situation is so much different! Have you forgotten that we are all expendable to him? At any moment he could order that I get rid of someone else!"
"He would not dare," she growled. "He knows that I am far too important to kill. He will spare me."
"If not you, then whom?" Fugaku bellowed, throwing his hands in the air as he stalked around the room like a lion in a corner. "He could tell me to get rid of Sasuke! He could tell me to test him like he did with Itachi! He could demand I allow Naruto to be done away with just to see Sasuke take up our curse of hatred! The gods forbid he tell me I need to get rid of the Hayashi girl, lest we all be in for a nightmare!"
"He knows full well that he cannot push us too far, and that's the ticket," she tried to reason. "He knows that if he told you to get rid of any one of us, be it Naruto, or Sasuke, or even Hayashi-san, then his plan would be ruined! He needs us alive! His only trump card is burning Morino to the ground a second time!"
"Do not speak of that tragedy," Fugaku hissed. "I was forced to do it once. I will not do it again."
"And why ever not?" She challenged, stalking closer. "Lest you forget, Morino was needed to flush out the rebels! They've been far too quiet for far too long. It's only natural that he's going to see this and order you to flush the rest of them out of hiding!"
"I will not do it, then!" The king cried. "We've already killed more than half of the townspeople, I will not do it!"
"If you do not do it, he will kill you," she breathed slowly and deliberately into his ear. "You will die."
"Then I choose death," Fugaku murmured, clenching his fist. "If my punishment for taking back control of my kingdom is to die a traitor, then so be it. I would rather perish than see him burn our legacy to ash alongside us."
With that said, he pushed away a stunned Mikoto and stormed out of the room, the tears burning his eyes.
Mikoto watched him silently, her own eyes wide. Then, slowly, she grit her teeth together, eyes narrowing in determination.
"If you do not do this," she repeated quietly to herself, "then you will die."
She blinked rapidly as her concealed emotions finally made themselves known as tears, and she had to turn away so that she could sink to the ground and weep.
"Where did we go so wrong?" She mourned to herself, hiding her face in her hands. "Why are we forced to follow this tyrant?"
The image of Itachi, her gentle eldest son, flashed through her mind's eye quickly, and she sobbed bitterly when she remembered how he'd been treated.
"Itachi, I always thought you would one day be the one to take over the throne," she thought, recalling how much he loved sitting in on Fugaku listening to the problems of their people. He always had an idea of how to help them, and genuinely listened to each word they spoke as if they were made of gold. "You always made me so proud."
She touched her neck, fondly recalling the day she'd given him the Uchiha family necklace. It had been an engagement present from Fugaku to her, as was tradition for their family. She had given it to him the night before he turned against them, hoping that it would steer him back to their side. Unfortunately, it seemed that destiny didn't wish it to be so, as he proceeded to murder one of Fugaku's chief advisors and flee into the night after knocking Sasuke unconscious.
She remembered the pain in his eyes when she gave it to him. He had politely rejected the jewelry with an air of desperation, his eyes screaming "Please don't do this, please don't make this harder than it has to be." She had hoped with all of her heart that she'd gotten through to him, that she'd managed to get him to remember how happy their little family could be... but fate had other plans anyway. In a night, their world was shattered beyond repair, and she was left to try and pick up the pieces as her husband distracted himself with him and her son retreated into himself in his grief over losing his beloved brother.
She cried and cried and cried, wrapping her arms about herself as if they were her husband's, her head hung low in guilt and shame.
"I'm... I'm a horrible mother," she wept, clenching her eyes shut. "I could not even save Itachi... how can I hope to save Sasuke?"
"I'm so sorry, darling… I'm so sorry that I couldn't keep my promises." She sniffled, blowing her nose into a handkerchief. "I wish I could have stood my ground against him… but what could I have done? What can I do?"
After a few more moments of solemnly thinking to herself, her sobs quieted as she realized something. Something that stilled her cries, making her look up to the tapestry on the wall. It had been made by Fugaku's mother (long since deceased), given to her the day before their wedding almost 32 years before.
The scene depicted was one of a mother defending her young child from a large wolf, the sword in her hand held to the beast's belly, drawing blood. Though the woman's stitched coal eyes betrayed no real emotion, Mikoto imagined a passionate rage burning within them. Something that spoke to her.
Her eyes narrowed as she rose up. "Forgive me, Fugaku, but I know what I must do."
Eyes as dark as the night held a bitter fire as Mikoto tied her hair up and clasped a cape about her neck, flinging up her hood to cover her face.
Fugaku was most likely training his katon in their little gymnasium to calm down, so she knew he wouldn't discover her until someone brought forth evidence.
Still, she felt a little hesitant to leave the palace without telling him. She knew he had an issue with her leaving without him knowing of it; still a leftover from the war they'd grown up and fought in, a leftover trauma that still kept him from good dreams some nights. Still, as she gazed out of their bedroom window she knew it had to be done.
Inside her wardrobe, behind her dresses and skirts, sat a katana, long since relegated to being an antique, with a smooth leather handle decorated with jade at the tip. On the sheath was etched a flower - a lily. One of the only remnants left of her war-torn, bloody past - and yet somehow in this moment it felt right to take this instrument in her hands once more.
"If you want something done to your standards," her voice was low, with a dangerous edge as she secured the sword that hung at her side, "then you must roll up your sleeves and finish it yourself."
She sent one last glance at the painting of herself and Fugaku, hand-in-hand, in the royal robes they'd donned on his coronation day so many years ago, and steeled her façade just as she'd once been taught. Still, a tear slid down her face, obscured by the hood as she left the room in a hurry.
"It is my duty as queen and as a mother to protect my family from evil."
Jiraiya stirred from his light nap, an alarming sense of danger suddenly overwhelming his entire being. His heart pounded in his chest, but for what reason, he couldn't fathom.
"Something is wrong," he thought, looking around. It settled in his stomach like nausea, and it was strong enough to send him out of his tent.
He looked around, trying to sense something, anything, but he didn't notice any chakra signatures anywhere near their camp. Everyone was going about their evening like usual, talking and laughing and eating the last of dinner. Everyone was accounted for, even those still bathing in the nearby pond.
Still, his sense of danger did not wane.
He sought out Tsunade's tent and found her brushing out her hair on her bed, still fresh from her bath.
"Jiraiya!" She exclaimed upon seeing him. "What is it? Did something happen?"
"No, but I fear something's about to happen," he deadpanned. "Send a messenger to the faction at Morino. They need to leave no later than tonight."
"But I sent out a team with supplies this morning," she protested as she hopped to her feet. "Are you certain? So soon after?"
His serious frown immediately quieted her. "I would not joke about this, Tsunade."
She nodded, worried. "I'll send out a messenger at once, although it will take until tomorrow morning to get there."
"Happy birthday, Hideki!" The group cheered as the boy entered the building.
He startled at the exclamation before turning to Daitan, who was smiling with a small cake in her hands. Slowly, a grin blossomed on his face and he began to laugh.
"I didn't think anyone remembered," he confessed as he sat down at the table.
"How could I forget?" The silvery-haired young woman answered as she sat the cake down before him, a flickering candle in the center. "After all, you only turn sixteen once."
"Go on, blow out the candles!" Karin urged.
He glanced at the faces around him before closing his eyes. "I hope my confession will go well," he thought before opening them and gently blowing the candles out.
The small group cheered and Shizune stepped forward with a knife and plates.
"It's not much, but it's what we had on hand," she explained with a guilty smile. "Sorry it's not more extravagant."
"I'm just happy I have people to celebrate with," he soothed with a beaming grin. "Thank you for the cake, it's wonderful!"
Shizune patted his head with a smile and began to cut the cake.
Once everyone had a slice, Daitan tugged his hand to lead him outside to eat alone.
Several curious pairs of eyes followed them, and Boruda spoke up. "I'm going to make sure they're gonna be okay."
"The boy's a man now," Karin playfully retorted, nudging him with her elbow. "I doubt they'll need chaperoning at this point."
The man sent her a Look. "Don't you wanna see if he's grown some balls yet?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied.
"C'mon, everyone here can see just how hopelessly goofy those two are." He gestured to the door with an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "If he doesn't man up and confess now, I'm afraid we'll have to pick up the slack."
"He's officially of age now, let him do as he pleases," Shizune scolded gently.
After a moment of silence among the adults, she continued, "But it wouldn't hurt to supervise, now would it?"
A mumbling of agreement rippled through the group.
"It's a beautiful night," Daitan commented as the two sat up in a tree. "Do you remember the first time we spoke?"
"In this very tree? How could I forget?" Hideki replied with a fond laugh.
She smiled up at the sky. "You were so kind to me then... though I didn't know you, you didn't hesitate to comfort me in one of my darkest moments. Ever since then, I've found your company to be the most soothing in this camp."
The ginger-haired young man gave her a soft smile. "I've found your company to be best, too."
The two sat in silence for a few moments, eating their cake. The evening was fast-approaching, the sun just dipping below the line of mountains on the horizon. It cast a rosy sunset glow across the sky, a beautiful blend of pinks and oranges that soothed their frayed nerves and made them shift just a little closer to each other.
Their legs touched, and both simultaneously looked up at each other.
Daitan smiled at him, her cheeks dusted with pink, and he smiled shyly back before looking away.
"Is there... something you wanted to say to me?" She asked quietly, setting her plate aside. "Something... important?"
The orange-haired teenager swallowed before nodding, willing himself to look back at her. "Yeah... something that I've been meaning to say for a while."
She nodded encouragingly, and he took a deep breath before continuing. "I... um... I've had a crush. On you. For a while now."
Her pretty jade eyes widened, and her cheeks flushed a bit more.
"If it isn't too forward of me..." he looked down and fidgeted with his hands, "... would you like to... give us a try?"
Daitan was worryingly quiet for several long moments.
Hideki's heart sank, and he found his lips moving. "If- if you don't want to it's fine, I just thought I'd ask since-"
She lunged at him, her lips meeting his and almost knocking them both off the branch. He made a muffled yell, eyes flying open wide, but he quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled in.
Neither made a move for several seconds until they pulled apart breathlessly, staring into one another's faces.
Daitan, once she caught her breath, began to chuckle. It started out soft but soon grew in volume until she was giddily laughing and hugging him tight.
He was a bit confused but found himself joining her, both locked in an embrace as they hung upside down. Her long braid fell and tickled his cheek as she held on tightly, their legs locked around the branch.
As their laughter died, their faces bright with color, he tentatively asked, "So... is that a yes?"
"It's more than a yes, it's an absolutely!" She replied, eyes soft as she rested her chin on his shoulder. "I've been wanting to ask you for a long time now, Hidekun."
He let out a breathy chortle before closing his eyes and squeezing her tighter. "I'm so glad... you've made me the happiest in the world, Dai-chan."
The adults cooed over the two from the doorway as they watched. While it was alarming to see them hanging off the tree by their legs, their confession to one another had made hearts melt among the crowd.
Karin clasped her hands over her heart, a soft smile on her face even as Boruda placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed. Both caught each other's eye and nodded in solidarity.
"Ah, young love," Shizune sighed, her fingers interlaced. "Now if only Jiraiya would buckle down and confess to Aunt Tsunade, everything would be perfect."
Aika watched the young couple with a longing in her eyes, a gentle, mirthless smile softening her visage. "If only Shinji could see them now," she thought solemnly. "He would have been so proud."
Aoi watched her silently for a few moments, guilt panging in their heart. "If only..." They began, before their thoughts trailed off and they turned their eye onto the new, happy young couple. "No. I shouldn't keep feeling sorry for myself. I've made my choices, and I have to live with them. I'm sorry, Rokuda. I'll look after her in your stead."
A/N: This may look pretty familiar to readers of the original... but please don't spoil it!
Please tell me what you thought!
