Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but I do own my terrible attention span.
"This looks ridiculous, Ana-chan, must I really wear this?" Izuna said, a disgruntled expression upon his face. Kibana grinned and nodded, and she appraised the overly large dress yukata that was commissioned for the boy. Today would be Madara's birthday, and as celebration the Uchiha were holding a formal dinner. Henceforth, Izuna was dressed up as lamely as possible.
"You're enjoying this too much, Ana-chan." The boy pouted. Kibana shrugged her shoulders as she gathered his discarded clothing, and folded them neatly over her arms.
"I am, Izuna-sama. Forget what you are wearing though, it is Madara-sama's birthday! Go celebrate, and be merry!" She chided as she turned to leave the room, only to have Izuna scoff at her.
"The servants have been given the night off, Ana-chan, what will you be doing?" He questioned.
"I will be in my quarters, catching up on sleep." She told him, her tone a bit clipped. She did not like where he was going with this, and she knew she would not get her much desired sleep.
"You will be with us tonight, Ana-chan! I am inviting you as my guest." He grinned, a proud smile upon his face, as if he just did her a favor. She smacked the side of her face and stared at him in exasperation.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Izuna-sama, but I would prefer to just return to my quarters, if you don't mind..." She trailed off as she skirted towards the doorway, while her longtime friend stood in the middle of the room, talking greatly of his good deeds.
It was a few moments after the door shut behind the girl that Izuna looked around the room to find himself alone. "Ana-chan, you missed my speech of my hospitality again!" He shouted as he rushed from the room to follow the chiming bell of his close friend.
Izuna looked over at his lifelong friend in concern. The girl however, ignored him in favor of examining some flowers set outside the small clothing shop. Two days had past since she had collapsed and she knew they could not spare any more time for her to fully recover.
Kibana could feel Izuna boring holes into her back, and she glared at him over her shoulder. She huffed and continued on her way to the Senju household while Izuna fidgeted in discomfort beside her. He had been worrying over her like a mother hen for the last few days, and she was not too polite to say so.
"Izuna-kun, give me your arm." She said suddenly, to Izuna's surprise. He raised an eyebrow as he held up his arm to her. She surprised him further by hooking her arm through his, and continued on her way, dragging him along at her pace.
"If you do not stop worrying over me, Izuna-kun, I will have to prove to you that I am healthy once more, through means that you do not wish to experience." She threatened, and he chuckled a little under his breath.
Ohyeah, Ana-chan is much better. Izuna thought as he rolled his eyes. The two strolled through the village arm in arm, it was a strange sight for many of the villagers though. It was not often that one of the Uchiha leaders would stroll through.
Kibana noticed that every one they passed would bow to them in some degree, and she felt weird not acknowledging them like Izuna currently was. He would occasionally smile, but other than that, he really seemed as if he did not notice them.
Kibana felt uncomfortable with that, however she knew that if they stopped to greet each person, they would be far behind schedule.
Izuna was simply giddy with having Kibana on his arm, he now knew that should she collapse, he would catch her no problem. He sometimes wondered how Kibana had grown to be so stubborn, but then he realized that she was stubborn when she had arrived at their compound.
Kibana would not be Kibana if she did not act like a mule. He snickered under his breath at this thought, causing Kibana to narrow her eyes at him. She knew he was thinking ill of her, but she did not have the energy to confront him on it.
"Izuna-kun." She called his attention, he immediately ducked his head, afraid of being reprimanded for his behavior. "Is everything alright now?" She asked him vaguely. He quirked an eyebrow at her, and told her with his eyes to continue.
She sighed and lowered her eyes as they walked. "Between you and the Senju, Izuna-kun. That day you arrived with that wound... I thought that you would never have an open mind to a treaty like we have now."
Izuna stared at her blankly, before finally registering what she was asking. He gave her a small smile. "Sometimes, Ana-chan, we must do things we are not comfortable with. Aniki seems happier, right? You are happier. I am happier as well, seeing the two of you at peace. I had just been wounded, Kibana, of course I was angry."
Kibana nodded, and gave the man a smile. "I suppose you are right, Izuna-kun."
"If it were not for you, Ana-chan, that infection would have taken my life." He grinned, and leaned to kiss her on the cheek. Kibana rolled her eyes at his actions and shook her head.
"You would have survived without me, Izuna-kun." She said simply, and Izuna did not have the energy to fight her on the subject. Today was too beautiful of a day to waste bickering over something in the past. The two were content to pass by the new buildings and the smiling faces of the civilians.
They approached the Senju household not long after. They stood outside the gate, along with the Akimichi wife and some of the Akimichi servants. Some of the servants brightened upon seeing Kibana, who left a pouting Izuna's side to gossip with the other servants.
Ayame laughed openly at his forlorn expression and stood by his side as they waited for Hashirama to join them at the gates. "I had thought you would bring more servants with you, Izuna-sama." Ayame said as she looked behind Izuna, making sure she was not mistaken.
"Well, when Aniki assigned Ana-chan and I, I had assumed that was all the help that would be needed." He pouted. Ayame nodded in understanding.
"Lack of communication, I see." She giggled behind her hand and Izuna rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.
He looked to the five Akimichi servants and his own Uchiha servant who were all giggling and talking animatedly between themselves, and it made him raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"What is wrong, Izuna-sama?" Ayame asked, concern thick in her voice.
"Ah... I do not know, Ayame-san. I am confused, I suppose." He said as he continued to study Kibana and her interactions. Ayame prodded him to continue and he finally sighed.
"Kibana, the servant girl that arrived with me, she.. I am not sure. She is interacting with the other women as if it is natural, however this is the first time I have witnessed her being friendly with other women outside of common courtesy." He said. Ayame's eyes widened slightly and she looked to the Uchiha girl. She tilted her head in curiosity and finally looked to Izuna.
"Izuna-sama, I do not understand, I often see your head of service being friendly with the Senju, as well as our own, I do not understand what you are confused about."
"When do you see her like this?" He asked her, his eyes widened as this bit of information was new to him.
"When she comes to the market. She often meets with her friends and they make a celebration of meeting with one another. All the maids of the Akimichi household are fond of her you see. I wish I had recognized her the other night at the meeting, I would have thanked her for entertaining our service."
Izuna stared at the woman dumbfounded.
"Does she not interact with the Uchiha women...? Come to think of it, she always comes to the market alone." Ayame said, lowering her head to look at her feet in thought. She had her palm placed delicately under her chin as she pursed her lips.
"Izuna-sama,..." Kibana said as she approached the two, and Izuna scowled. Kibana immediately grinned in reply, and bowed to Ayame. "Good morning, Ayame-sama, you are looking lovely today." She complimented, and Ayame blushed faintly and gave the girl a smile.
"Ana-chan, you're not on duty." Izuna spoke with a clipped voice, and Kibana scowled at him.
"Izuna-baka," She emphasized to Ayame's amusement. "I could not help but over hear your conversation." She said, a sly smile taking over her soft features. Ayame saw Izuna stiffen, and then look away in guilt. Ayame also tried to judge the distance between where Kibana stood now, and where she stood before. Ayame knew they had not been speaking loudly, and there was no way for Kibana to hear them.
"Sorry, Ana-chan, you are just an easy subject for conversation." Izuna supplied and Kibana scoffed. She narrowed her eyes at him and was about to reprimand him when he continued, "Ana-chan, why do you not speak with the Uchiha women?" He said plainly. Straight and to the point.
Kibana looked as if she had been slapped.
"I do speak with the Uchiha women, Izuna-sama,"She seethed. Even the untrained Ayame could see the retrained anger that was emating from the small Uchiha girl. Izuna balked and narrowed his eyes at his charge.
"I mean on friendly terms, not whatever if that you and Yuuki-san do. Ever since Eriko-baachan passed you do not speak with any one other than Aniki and I inside the household." Izuna's temper flared as he spoke. Has he really been so blind to not see her suffering?
"I speak with the kitchen staff, Izuna-sama." She bared her teeth at him.
"But you work with the maids, why are there not any connections there?" He fired back.
"Because all they care for is getting courted and leaving to live as wives. I have no connections with them to bond over, nor do I wish to. I am happier connecting with the Akimichi and Senju, it feels as if pieces of a puzzle are falling into place. Is that not the point of the village, Izuna-sama? To form bonds with our allies?"
"That is precisely right, Kibana-chan!" Hashirama's voice boomed around them. Izuna, Ayame, and Kibana looked up to see Hashirama standing atop the welcoming gate. Kibana took notice of Tobirama who was exiting through the gate with his eyebrow twitching.
Hashirama jumped from his perch to land beside the two nobles, and Kibana immediately stepped to the side.
Kibana bowed to the dark haired man, and gave a soft greeting. He smiled widely and returned the gesture. He laid a hand on her shoulder as he turned to survey the people surrounding the Senju gate. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he only accounted for Izuna and Kibana for the Uchiha portion.
"Ah, Sorry, Hashirama... definite miscommunication." Izuna explained lamely, a hand on the back of his neck in exasperation. Hashirama grinned though, understanding lighting his features.
"I understand, Izuna-kun, it is alright. It is up to the Uchiha how they wish to distribute the work, and if you wish for only you and Kibana-chan to labor, then so be it, who am I to stop you?" He laughed loudly, causing Izuna and Kibana to sweat drop slightly.
"I'll remind you when we return home, Izuna-kun, to gather a rooster of maids." Kibana supplied, and Izuna nodded at her with a deadpan expression.
"So, shall we get started?! Onwards, my loyal subjects, let us find a location!" Hashirama cheered along with a few Senju maids, and the party moved down the roadway. Tobirama, Izuna, Kibana, and the Akimichi party remained behind with exhausted expressions, watching after the wood-user who continued on without a backwards glance.
"This is going to be a long week." Izuna groaned as he followed after, Kibana dragging behind him with a small frown. Ayame and her servants followed afterwards, each baring varying smiles. Tobirama, however, stayed behind while his palm met his face.
"A long week indeed." He grouched.
So, I won't be posting often now. Maybe a chapter a week if we are lucky. ;_;
Anyways, thanks for the support everyone! I hope you continue to enjoy. (:
Typed this with my grandma in the room and kept getting distracted by her commenting on every segment on the news, lol, so if there is major mistakes... forgive me.