Kibana sat on the porch that connected the outside hallway to the dining and kitchen area; the tearoom sat just behind her, shown through the open paper doors. Her feet hung off the side of the wooden platform, and a gentle breeze ruffled the bottom of her sleeping dress. She held a warm cup of tea within her grasp, her fingers interlocking around the clay cup, as she looked on across the small garden and koi pond that had been erected a few months ago, night was falling, and the stars were shining bright above her, and the trees that dotted the back of the main house. She found the crescent moon in the reflection of the koi pond, and a sigh escaped her lips.
"Ana-chan, have you ever looked to the stars, and wondered on just how insignificant our efforts have been, or will be in the future?" Izuna spoke suddenly, looking up towards the full moon and the many stars that dotted the sky above them as they made their way back to the compound from the market.
Kibana's eyebrows furrowed, looking to the raven-haired male. She looked around her, the budding village was small, yes, but there was in no way to be a failure in founding this village. The market was small, they were low on resources, and very few villagers lined the streets-it was barren, all the buildings that Hashirama Senju had built were left empty, though Kibana had hope that they would be filled soon, was that Izuna's concern? She looked to the male once more, a frown upon her features.
"Izuna-kun… what do you mean? What has been achieved is far from insignificant…" She spoke quietly, as her own eyes trailed to the sky.
"How long will this last though? Peace is not… it is not in our shinobi vocabulary, Ana. Honestly, I do not even remember being taught the word in calligraphy or during my training with father."
Kibana looked sharply to him then, opening her mouth to dispute the boy, before she herself remembered never hearing Hanako-sensei mentioned the word either. The word peace held many important syllables, so would that not be a basic word to be taught? She closed her mouth and looked forward onto the path they walked.
"Mahh… I suppose it may last for however long we fight for it." Kibana's voice trailed, as if she were losing her conviction, and Izuna looked to her, "That is contradictory, but, is it not worth it?" She asked, looking to the male as their steps slowed to take in her words. Izuna mulled over her words, and knew that was a fools thought…, but hearing it from Kibana relaxed him a bit. They moved to walk once more, and Izuna nodded.
"I suppose it is worth it… we shall see in time if Aniki's judgement was accurate." Izuna said with a hardened voice, he was tired of uprooting his home whenever the clan was attacked, he was tired of breaking down whenever Kibana was not in his sight during an invasion, he was just tired of the shinobi life, the constant fighting, all of it.
The moon set high in the sky, as Kibana continued to sit on the outside porch, waiting for the arrival of the clan head and his party. She could hear Izuna stirring in his sleep, and the random maid and Uchiha male fraternizing behind a hut and within the hallways of the main house—truthfully, she found the awkward flirtations entertaining, but she did not purposefully eavesdrop, she would try to tune them out as much as possible, but when it was the dead of night and she had nothing to distract her, she found the encounters quite funny.
Her heightened senses were a product of her heritage, and there were times where she found them quite useful, and times… not so much. Such as when a maid is no longer a maiden, but becomes a tart. Kibana snorted to herself at the thought. Virtue and all that, she does not often judge the women for their ways, but there are at least two servant girls who… give themselves a "break" at least once a week to a different man.
As this thought crossed her mind, she heard the clank of metal near the compound entrance, and soon the whispered grumble of men—at least 6, the same number who had left with Madara. Kibana stood, and walked down the wooden platform to take her teacup to the kitchen, where she quickly washed the item and moved through the main house to stand in the main foyer, by the door. She listened closely as she heard the men approach the center of the compound, where each branch off a different way to go to their respective homes, and a single set of footsteps moved to the main house—Kibana smiled to herself, and moved to stand slightly in front of the door, a few feet to the side with a bow, waiting for the head of the Uchiha to enter the house.
Madara sweat dropped, seeing Kibana there, in the middle of the night, waiting for him. He moved to stand before her, as she lifted her head to give him a warm smile.
"Welcome home, Madara-sama. I trust that your business went well?"
"Koneko, what are you doing awake?" Madara sighed at her, moving past her to go towards the kitchen. Kibana waited for him to pass, before following the male with the wild hair.
"I was waiting for you to return home." She answered honestly.
Madara frowned at her words, and shook her head. "How many times have I told you to not do that? Did you not just fall ill before I left because of those very same actions?"
Kibana bristled. "Mah, I did not fall ill from not sleeping, it was simply an adjustment to the seasons change." She argued and the Uchiha male rolled his eyes at her attempt to cover her own butt.
"Make me tea, and then go to bed, Koneko." Madara demanded, as they entered in the kitchen of the household. Kibana nodded, a small smile twitching at the corner of her lip, as she moved passed the male to go to the stove-tea already heated and ready for her camellia leaves. Madara's eyebrow twitched at this, as she loaded a tray with two cups, and waited for Madara to show her where he wanted his tea.
They ended up sitting in the spot Kibana had not long since vacated, the two watching over the garden, and sitting in relaxed postures on the porch of the main house, neither speaking a word.
When the teapot was half full, Madara set down his cup, and leaned against a wooden post. "How have the preparations gone?" He asked suddenly, his voice breaking the quiet of the night.
"They are going well, it was decided to make the celebration all day, and all night-we have been in the middle of building a grand hall for the Akimichi and Senju, and a "picnic" area of sorts for the Uchiha, and civilians. Hashirama-sama has also chosen to dedicate this grand hall for other such events as well throughout the year, and Ayame-sama only needs two more vendors to completely fill the streets of the village." Kibana smiled widely, her large canines glistening in the light of the moon.
"And what have you been doing, Koneko?" Madara tried to tease her a bit, but her next words surprised him.
"Mah, Tobirama-sama has been training me with water jutsu, and we have made a side project ourselves of making games for the children."
Tobirama? Why has Kibana been spending this preparation time with Tobirama? Madara was going to ask, but he figured he would find out tomorrow as to what the dynamics were between the rag-tag group of party planners. He sighed softly, turning to reach between the two of him to pour himself another cup of tea, but not before casting a small fire jutsu to reheat the liquid within the clay pot.
"I'm glad you're getting training in your element, Koneko, I know the water scrolls I find are few and far between. Of course, I'm sure Tobirama has been a demon of a teacher."
Kibana shook her head, "Actually, he is quite patient… though after about 10 failed attempts, he will start to get a bit… demanding." She laughed a bit, remembering watching Tobirama go red in the face when they spent a good half of a day just trying to get her chakra to mold with the jutsu.
Madara nodded, he knew she was giving the Senju a bit more credit than he deserved, but that was Kibana for you. He reached up towards his shoulder, and began unfastening his armor letting it fall to the floor of the porch. Kibana watched in indifference, the sight normal to her after so many years.
"Mm, will you be joining us tomorrow during the preparations?" She asked quietly, and Madara nodded in answer to her question.
"Of course, it would not seem right if I did not help a bit during the planning for this celebration. I received a letter from Hashirama while I was away, he said that the Sarutobi officially joined the village, is that right?"
Kibana nodded, "Tobirama-sama mentioned that the Hyuga have also inquired as to the workings of the village, he and Hashirama-sama have extended an invitation for them to join us during the Cherry Blossom Viewing. Hashirama-sama also made a comment on the Sarutobi joining, saying that it would not be long for the Yamanaka's, and Nara's to be on their way—though Ayame-sama said they have been corresponding quite frequently, and the only thing stopping them right now is a prior contract that needs to be completed."
Madara started chuckling lowly as he looked to her, and her bottom lip pouted out, and her cheeks puffed in indignation.
"It seems you have made a place for yourself when it comes to the heads of the clans, eh, Koneko-chan?" He teased, and Kibana frowned at him.
"Well, my heightened hearing does not help matters any either, you know? Honestly, whenever Tobirama-sama and I take a break, Hashirama-sama and Ayame-sama are always there to fill us in on the new gossip they heard from their servants." Kibana smiled softly, and Madara chuckled with her.
Servant girls have more purpose than just serving, they are a valuable source of information as well.
The two fell back into quiet, and as the moon moved across the sky, they found the teapot empty, and both dozing against the wooden posts of the porch, sleeping comfortably in the warm weather of spring, and a gentle cool breeze touching across their faces.
Izuna panicked the next morning when he entered the kitchen to find Kibana missing, he checked her bedroom, checked the bath house, checked the gardens-and upon searching through the gardens, he saw his older brother, and their amber eyes friend dozing quietly as the sun began to rise in the east. Izuna took this chance to attempt at making a breakfast for Kibana, and his brother, and even though the edge of the eggs were a bit blackened, he was content in his culinary skills.