The day was beautiful, yet Shizu had nothing to do. She lied in the sun, stretching like a cat and yawning like a monkey every once in a while.

She tried helping Rukia with her chores but the vile girl shunned her away saying she was inconvenient. She'd make sure Tajima hears of that! How dare she? Rukia's mother tried teaching her to do embroidery for that was apparently what they did for fun around here. It was boring as shit, and it looked like shit too, and she cut her finger while at it!

Let us rephrase that first sentence: The weather was beautiful, the day sucked.

Madara was away. He and Tajima made a big deal of this day, although she didn't really grasp what was happening since she wasn't listening. Madara was going to attack that Hashirima boy or something. It didn't even matter. They left before dawn and it was already afternoon.

Finally, she decided to go and take a walk around this village, camp, whatever it was. She couldn't keep counting on Madara for entertainment since she had no idea when he'd come back.

It was pretty crowded as she walked, people were loud; some were selling their goods, others were buying, some were just walking around much like herself.

Every now and then a pair or two of curious eyes would linger upon her for a few seconds, but mostly, everyone was minding their own business. They had seen her before, accompanied by Madara and Tajima, so they have obviously decided not to question it any further.

"Whoa!" Her mouth watered at the sight of delicious sweets that were being sold at the nearby stand. She checked to see if Madara had given her enough money, then went closer to buy some.

"I'll have five wagashis." She smiled excitedly, leaving some coins on the counter and waiting for the man who worked to finish packing the sweets for her.

Once she had everything ready, she went on with her slow walk, eating her wagashi and enjoying the sun's warmth.

Yeah, she had managed to fit in somehow and she did get used to this place to some point, but she was still restlessly trying to figure out a way to get back home. Now she could clearly understand what Madara felt like while he was staying with her.

And also, it made her even more uneasy that he made no effort to even bring the matter up. Ever since a few weeks ago when she just met his father, they never spoke of her going back home.

Staying forever in this medieval place would not even be so problematic itself if not for all the things and obligations she had back at home. By now, she's totally jobless – like, who'd stand it if their employee stopped coming to work out of the blue?

Then, her family and friends were probably making chaos in search for her and it could get very weird once she's back. How was she supposed to explain where she's been all this time?!

Right, she went time-travelling with her ninja roommate! They would lock her up in an asylum!

As soon as Madara comes back she would bombard him with demands to take her home. Apparently, he had changed his eyes – they had this weird custom – since his brother died and his own someshit-gan was getting weak, they gave the late boy's eyes to him. That explains why he couldn't be seen around for a while after the funeral.

Anyway, since he had new eyes, he was unsure whether he would even be able to pull off that time travel thing he had done before. Apparently, it could have just been something that was happening because his old eyes weren't working well.

Good lord! All of that seemed like a bad joke.

"Oi!" She whined as someone ran past her rashly, causing her to drop her wagashi. Now she had only three left!

"They're back—" She heard another passer-by say, so she hurried after the crowd, already guessing that Madara must have returned.

Oh, man. It seemed like another moody week was ahead. Both Madara and Tajima, along with several other men beside them, looked as if they have collectively been pissed on. In addition to that, Madara looked pretty beaten up, and Tajima was obviously angry.

If she bribes him with some wagashi, maybe he'd be in mood to talk about getting her back home? Although, it was very unlikely.

…

Madara couldn't exactly pinpoint which part of his body hurt most. But generally said, it would have to be his brain. His father wouldn't stop nagging and making his pains worse than they already were.

There were two reasons for this, so he screwed up twice. Firstly, he lost a fight to Hashirama, thus failing to avenge his brother's death. And secondly, he had decided to bury the war hatchets with the Senju and work together with Hashirama to accomplish what they had always dreamed of – to build their own village and finally make peace.

He was very agitated about the first one, himself. But the second seemed like a good twist of fate, even though he still had many doubts.

"Go get your wounds taken care of, then come to see me." Tajima ordered, speeding up his pace and walking on home.

Madara really didn't want to deal with the man at the moment (nor ever, for that matter), but it's not like he had a choice. He did as he was told and in about thirty minutes he was at the door of their meeting room.

As he had guessed, Tajima had all the clansmen of influence be there already, obviously wanting them to back him up as he denies anything Madara might say or suggest.

It was silent for a minute, before one of the elders spoke up.

"We're listening, Madara. Explain yourself." The old bat looked down on him, obviously disapproving of what he had done.

"I'm going to unite forces with the Senju and ensure better and safer future for new generations." He put it simply. They all knew what the plan originally was, it was pointless to even waste time on prosecuting him like this.

"Something like that has never been done before. It's ridiculous to think we can just mend out relations with the Senju overnight!" Tajima jumped in, crossing his arms and glaring down at Madara.

The latter sighed, not bothering to hide how much they went on his nerves. "It was never even attempted. All you've ever done was fight whoever we came upon. In your care, we lost half of our clansmen."

The silence he got in response encouraged him to continue.

"Soon enough I will be the head of this clan, and I don't plan to send any more of our children to fight – and neither does Hashirama. That's a good beginning." He smiled cockily at them "Besides, it's already been done. To draw back on it now would surely cause new riots and, as you know, we're not in any condition for that."

He waited for any of them to add something and since they all remained silent, he turned around and strolled back to his room. Hell, was he in pain.

He literally found himself daydreaming of hot bath and a nap, but as he opened the door of his bedroom, yet another obstacle showed up.

"What are you doing in my room?" He glared at Shizu, while she lied lazily on his bed.

"I was waiting to ask when you'll take me home."

Right, he had to return her. He wasn't really excited for the fact, he's gotten used to her – more than he should have – especially after Izuna died. Still, it wasn't up to him to decide whether she stays or goes.

"There will soon be a meeting with the Senju clan and probably ceremony if everything goes well. It wil—"

"Candy?" She interrupted him mid-sentence, shoving some in her own mouth.

Madara went closer to her, but instead of taking just the candy, he took her whole hand in his own. She clearly tensed, obviously taken back by his gentle gesture. So was he, but he had to speak his mind.

"I need you there." He stated seriously, gazing firmly into Shizu's eyes as her own glistered with fluster.

I n-need you? Madara actually said that? Shizu cleared her throat before speaking. "What do you mean?" She questioned, actually getting a little emotional – they had clearly became friends since he was counting on her like this.

"The whole clan is against me in this. I need some kind of back-up, even if it's just you." He was quick to burst her bubble. "After that I will make sure to find a way to take you back."

"Now get out." He added, making his way into bathroom.