Sorry for the wait everyone!

In this chapter the story truly begins. The previous two chapters were more of a prologue because I did not want to leave out the first two years of Hisako's life.

From now on the chapters will be from about 4K to 7K words long.

Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows.

Rating for this chapter: K

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters. Hisako and all the changes I make are mine.

Summary: Shakespeare. I never liked his plays. So how come that I somehow landed in my own twisted version of Romeo and Juliet, where the feuding families were replaced by warring clans and instead of honorable knights there were shinobi everywhere? SI-OC

Have fun.

Chapter 3

Of Surprises and Heart Attacks

So breakable, unbreakable
I'm shaking but unshakable
The real you I've found at last

I'm standing alone in this world that keeps on changing
But hiding away, my true self is fading!
I hope you give up
There's nothing left to see...
No, don't look at me
I'm standing in this world that someone imagined
I never want to hurt you, so until the end
I'm begging you, please, just to remember me...
As clear as I used to be

― Tokyo Ghoul, Unravel

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
― Mahatma Gandhi

You know those days when you wake up in the morning and want to go straight back to sleep again? Those mornings where you immediately know that a shitty day was awaiting you and the best solution seems to be staying in bed under your covers, not leaving your room till the next morning arrives. Well, today was one of those days for me.

Like each day Haruka, a girl who had been personally chosen by our mother to take care of us while she was pregnant, came into our room a few hours after sunrise with the mission to wake us up. The girl had no mercy, not even for cute little children like us. She shook our shoulders and if we didn't respond she proceeded with ripping our covers off of us. And if that didn't work the girl screeched like a banshee. Sometimes there was nothing that I would have enjoyed more than murdering her. But then I remembered that to do that I would have to stand up. I would never give her that satisfaction.

That did not mean that she really gave me a choice in that matter. I always forced myself to stand up when she threatened to pour a bucket of cold water over me. I never doubted that she would do it.

That morning wasn't anything pleasant. And I certainly wasn't in a good mood.

What made everything even more unbearable was that no one seemed to share my opinion. Everything was just so fucking lovely. The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cold. There were actually freaking birds chirping outside of my room. It was annoying. Couldn't they just shut up? Apparently not. You know what's even worse? Tobirama was so bubbly today that I wanted to puke. I loved my brother, I really did, but sometimes he really needed to shut up and be silent.

''Come, come Hisako! Oka-sama is waiting.'' He shoved me into Haruka and started to prepare himself as good as a soon to be three years old could. He put on his yukata the wrong way around. Sadly, his cuteness did not improve my bad mood. It only made Haruka irritated.

If the day continued going on like this, I would most likely commit homicide. My father wouldn't like that.

''Stop moving, Hisako-hime. Your hair is almost presentable.'' To emphasize her statement she pulled lightly on my hair. It still hurt. She wove my hair into two separate braids and tied them with small cute bows. They were blue like the yukata that I was wearing. '' Now it is ready.''

And then she patted my head like one would pet a freaking dog. This day couldn't get any worse. Wait, have I just jinxed myself? Kami, show me some mercy.

''Now, now Hisako-hime. You shouldn't frown like this or you just might get wrinkles.'' I was a fucking three years-old! ''Come. Butsuma-sama and Ryumi-sama are waiting for your arrival.''

Haruka took one hand from each of us and lead us out of the room. She held our hands in a tight but not painful grip. The girl was a fast learner; on the first day she had spend with us, Tobirama accidentally broke some family heirloom in the hallway because she let us run around without supervision. Her expression after seeing the damage was comical.

Fun days, fun days.

Anyway, I did not get the point of standing up that early. And yes, I wanted to talk about this again. I mean, it was most likely about seven a.m. Did they want us to develop some kind of routine? After all nothing else made sense. We were still too young to help with any chores. Awake we were only a nuisance which needed to be taken care of.

"Hurry, Hisako-hime, Tobirama-sama. Your parents are awaiting you." She started dragging us down the hallway, only slowing down when one of us stumbled a little.

We arrived at the dinning room in what felt like seconds(It was probably a few minutes but lets ignore that.). Sliding the shoji screen open, Haruka entered the room with each of us practically hanging down from one of her hands.

Mother and father were already there, waiting for us. Even Hashirama, who was normally the last to arrive, sat at the table. Luckily, there wasn't any tension in the air and neither did father glare at Haruka for being late. This meant that nothing abnormal was happening. Just a family breakfast.

" Butsuma-sama, Ryumi-sama, Hashirama-sama." Haruka bowed once and after receiving permission from father she left the room. Or rather almost ran out of it.

I bounced into my families direction and sat down at the low table. You have no idea how grateful I was for my mother's thoughtfulness. It was her who made sure that Tobirama and I received a pair of those children chop sticks. And don't you dare to laugh at me. You have no idea how hard it is to use them with my childish hands. Especially because I was used to forks.

The food was really good though. Only the best for Senju main family. The best being Oyakodon-chicken and eggs on rice- with miso soup.

''I have decided to take Tobirama and Hisako with me to the market place.'' Ryumi bit her lip. She sounded uncertain.

My father looked up from his plate. ''When?''

I hated this. I really did. If you haven't noticed what I mean then let me enlighten you; my mother needed to ask for my father's permission to be able to leave the mansion. Without it she wasn't allowed to go. The fact that she was in her last pregnancy month had a lot to do with that but it did not change the point that Ryumi was seen as Butsuma's possession.

Butsuma regarded us all with an intense gaze. For Ryumi's sake I plastered an eager expression on my face. "You may go. Take a guard with you."

Why would we need a guard? We wouldn't be even leaving the compound. There was no safer place outside of the main house than the market place. It was located in the middle of the compound and there were always at least three shinobi patrolling around it. All Senju got their food, clothes and weapons from there, thus it was one of the best protected areas on our land. Why would we need a creepy stalker bodyguard there?

Mother's fingers clenched around her chopsticks. "Of course."

Father nodded his head, ignoring mother's discontent completely. "Good." He put his chopsticks down on the low table. "I will be taking Hashirama outside of the compound to train. I expect you to be back before us."

Kami, how fast did that man eat? I just finished munching my first bite.

"We will." Ryumi put a piece of chicken into her mouth.

I continued to eat mine as well. That thing was divine. So divine that I couldn't stop myself from stealing Tobirama's last piece when he turned around to look at Hashirama.

" Nii-san? Will you show us chakra after training." Yep, Tobirama still had a slight chakra obsession.

Hashirama smiled slightly. I sometimes wondered where he took all his patience from; Tobirama could be very annoying sometimes. "Only when we have time later. If we don't, I will show it to you on another day. Tomorrow you have calligraphy lessons, don't you?"

Tobirama pouted. "But they are so boring."

"Well, if you try hard to learn something tomorrow then I promise to show you." My oldest brother ruffled my twins hair.

He was manipulating Tobirama into participating in our next lesson. Not that it wasn't necessary; while Tobirama might have been exceptionally intelligent and bright for his age, maybe even a prodigy, he was still a child. Even if he showed some talent at the beginning, the monotonous lessons quickly bored him and he lost his interests in them. Father was irritated because of that. Tobirama was his second son, if anything were to happen to Hashirama then my twin would become his heir. He needed to be adequately educated for that.

"Fine." My dear twin muttered silently and turned towards his plate.

It took my brother only a few seconds to notice that his last chicken piece was missing, but when he finally did he cried out in outrage, "Hisako!"

I must admit that I was impressed by the glare he threw my way. "You stole my chicken." My twin pointed an accusing finger in my direction.

I widened my eyes in faux innocence. "I didn't."

"Did." He was getting slightly red with anger. I was tempted to continue this accusation game by repeating my earlier statement but the reprimanding look mother sent my way stopped me from doing so. You just did not cross mother dearest.

" Hisako, Tobirama, finish your breakfast. We shall be leaving soon." She put down her chopsticks and sat up a little straighter. Or as straight as a woman in her ninth pregnancy month could.

We stayed silent. For a few minutes. That was a record, it really was. Apparently Tombirama then thought that the appropriate time for some payback had come. He did not even hide his intensions, the brat just reached out with his hand and grabbed a piece of my chicken. Then he shoved it into his mouth.

I didn't know if I should have been proud or irritated. So I tried to steal another piece of his chicken, only to remember that I had already eaten the last one. Tobirama grinned, whereas Ryumi sighted in exasperation.

A small fond smile appeared on mother's face. ''Now that there is no chicken left, have you finished?''

Aww, she knew us so well. ''Hai, Oka-sama.'' We chorused.

The answer seemed to satisfy her, so she only let out a small sigh before nodding for us to stand up. We then walked over to the door and opened it widely. Mother was really huge because of which she needed a lot of space to fit through. I was lucky that telepathy wasn't a thing in our clan, otherwise she would have made roasted Hisako out of me. I didn't believe that I would have tasted good.

We soon arrived at the Genkan, the entryway, where we slipped our shoes on. Or rather flip flop lookalikes called Zōri, you know, the ones always worn with white socks. I had a pair of those as well while Tobirama preferred to wear Geta.

Slowly we walked to the market place. Tobirama and I always a few paces before mother. We were actually playing tag and trying to not stray too far away from mother's side.

''You're it.'' My brother laughed in delight while he pocked my side. Then he was gone, running in front of me. I did what any other self respecting child would do in my situation; I squealed and ran after him.

It was a wonder that we did not run into anyone as we got nearer to the bustling market place. More and more people started surrounding us, no one payed attention to the two little children who were running around the place. That is till they noticed our mother and their demeanor immediately changed. Many were looking at her, only a few showing her respect by bowing and muttering 'Ryumi-sama'. I was glad for that as I was sure that the attention made mother quiet uncomfortable.

Anyway, as pathetic as it may sound, I have never been to this market place before. Three years and not once have I visited this place. It wasn't anything grand like it used to be in the Before. There were about a dozen stands. Each stand sold something else. Clothes, vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, one with milk and eggs. I could also see a blacksmith.

The smell of fish was heavy in the air. Don't get me wrong, I liked fish but the smell was really intense. Luckily, it got better after we passed the smelling stand.

I tapped Tobirama's shoulder and ran ahead of him. ''You're it.''

This continued till we were out of breath. At the same time mother decided to stop at a fruit stand. It was small and didn't look particularly fancy, but it had the most fantastic apples I have ever seen. They were the size of a large paprika and had a lovely mix of colors. My mouth watered.

''Ryumi-sama.'' The vendor bowed slightly. ''How may I help you?''

Mother looked thoughtful for a moment. ''I would like to have two nashi, three peaches, this basket full of strawberries.'' She pointed at one of the linen baskets she had taken from home. ''And one melon.''

No apples, I thought and frowned slightly. I pouted and tugged slightly on mother's kimono. '' Oka-sama, Oka-sama.''

Ryumi looked down at me with a disapproving frown. ''Not now, Hisako.''

Frowning now myself, I continued to tug on her kimono. ''But Oka-sama. The apples.''

I wasn't quiet sure if I used the right word, for all I knew I could have said ducks instead of apples. Sometimes I still had slight problems with the language. But I did get mother's attention. She looked down at me once again. ''You want an apple?''

I smiled brightly. ''Yes.''

''You too, Tobirama?'' The Senju matriarch gazed at my twin, who just nodded his head in excitement. Having seen his confirmation she turned to the vendor once again. ''Two apples would be nice as well.''

The man regarded us with hidden amusement. ''Of course, Ryumi-sama.''

After everything was packed mother gave the vendor a few coins. She took the strawberry basket, while I carried the other fruits minus the melon, which was given to Tobirama. He was quiet proud because of that, thinking that he carried what was the heaviest. I personally believe that the strawberry basket was a little heavier.

And so we continued walking through the market. I don't think that mother planned on buying anything else, she just enjoyed being outside for once. For the last two months she had been practically a prisoner in her own home. Tobirama's and my situation was quiet similar, with the difference that we did not have someone constantly watching us. I truly pitied Ryumi.

I was so lost in thought that I never noticed the strawberry under my foot. Only after I felt the unpleasant sensation of stepping at something squashy-For a moment I thought it was poop.- did I notice that something was wrong. There were strawberries all around me on the ground. Turning around I saw the linen basket lying slightly behind me on the street.

''Oi, the strawberries.'' I looked up and froze momentarily. Mother was pale, very pale. Her face scrunched up and worry in her eyes. What was happening?

And did she just pee her...Wait, no, no, no. Oh god. This couldn't be happening. This was the only thing going through my head as I watched mother clutch her stomach in pain. She had contractions! Oh my god! My baby sibling was coming!

I was probably panicking more than the pregnant woman herself. And I was supposed to be an adult. But oh god. The baby was coming!

Later I would thank the heavens for the guardian father send with us. Instead of panicking like us, he kept a cool head and reacted fast. In mere seconds he appeared at mother's side and grabbed her elbow before she could topple over. His gaze moved to me and Tobirama, then somewhere behind us.

''I will take care of them.'' The female voice came from behind me. It was a pretty girl in her teens, seventeen at most. She had light brown hair and green eyes.

The guardian, Tamaki, Takuma or something sighted in relief. ''Bring them to the main house.''

''Hai, Kaneki-sensei.'' He was gone before she finished talking, my mother along with him.

Tobirama seemed to be completely confused. He had no idea of what was going on and so he looked at me in search for an answer. ''Hisa?''

I tried to smile reassuringly. ''Our baby brother or sister is coming.''

His eyes widened and he grinned. ''Where?''

Oh boy. Tobirama still didn't get the whole baby concept. Deciding that it wasn't the right time to explain it I turned towards our knew 'nanny'. She seemed as lost as I was. '' Let us pick up the strawberries and then I will bring you home.''

That's exactly what we did. We picked up the strawberries and put them into the basket. Then the girl, she told us to call her Naomi, took hold of one hand from each of us and started to lead us home.

Halfway there she needed to start carrying us because we were to tired to continue walking by ourselves. By then she probably regretted volunteering to help.

Entering the mansion, we could instantly hear mother's screams. Kami, all this made me reconsider ever having children myself.

Haruka rounded the corner and took us from Naomi's arms. Then she proceeded leading us in front of mother's room. There the screams were only louder and more menacing. I knew that this day would be horrible. Hopefully my younger sibling would be alright. In these times giving birth could be quiet dangerous. I did not want to think about all the things that could go wrong.

And I didn't because soon father's and Hashirama's arrival offered me the perfect distraction. They must have been inside the compound, otherwise it would have taken them much longer to come back.

I would have laughed at father's expression if I hadn't been so worried myself. He looked worried and worn out. For the first time I saw him for what he truly was. A young man who would be soon the father of four children, whose wife was currently in childbirth, which she might not survive.

Regrettably, there was nothing any of us could do, so we were forced to sit in front of the shoji screens, waiting for the baby to scream.

We did not have to wait long, about forty minutes if I had to guess. This was mother's forth child, which lessened the labor's duration considerably. I suspected that the contractions had begun some time before Ryumi's water broke and that she must have just written them off as nothing. I did see her flinching from time to time.

The baby's cries followed mother's last blood-curdling scream. They were loud and pierced the air like the whistle of your coach signaling the end of a game. Relief flooded me and made my tense shoulders relax immediately.

A medical-nin shoved the shoji screen open and stepped outside. It was a blue haired-Were did all that colors come from?-woman in her early twenties. Her eyes spotted our father and she spoke up, ''Butsuma-sama. It is a boy.'' I almost snorted. As if the baby being a boy was currently the most important thing. ''Ryumi-sama and the baby are both fine. There weren't any major problems, just a little bleeding.''

Butsuma frowned. ''Bleeding?''

I stood up from my sitting position, attentively listening to what the woman said next. ''After your son was born, some bleeding from the uterus occurred. It could have become a danger for Ryumi-sama if Suzuki-shishou hadn't healed it.''

Father nodded in understanding and asked,''May we go inside?''

In any other situation I might have laughed. Butsuma asking for permission? Hilarious. But this wasn't the right situation and neither the right time.

Moving to the left, the medic raised her arm in a welcoming gesture. ''Of course, Butsuma-sama. But I should advise you to not stay too long. It has been a tiring day for Ryumi-sama and she needs rest.''

Without waiting for anything else-after all the medic gave us her permission-I stepped forward and entered the room. My gaze immediately zeroed in on mother and my new baby brother. She was sitting on a futon and leaning against the wall behind her. The baby- this whole situation was still so surreal to me- was wrapped into a white blanket and cradled into our mother's arms. I have never seen mother looking so exhausted, yet so very happy. For a moment I stood frozen in place, not wanting to destroy the beautiful scene in front of me.

As if she could feel my hesitation, mother's attention moved towards me. She smiled softly. ''What are you doing there, Hisako? Come here. You will be the first to meet your baby brother.''

My legs seemed to move of their own accord. I soon found myself kneeling at my mother's bedside, trying to peer at my new sibling's face. It was red and slightly scrunched up. His eyes were closed. Maybe he was sleeping? Babies sleep a lot, don't they?

''Have you already thought of a name?'' My father's voice startled me. I was watching my little brother so intently that I never noticed the rest of my family entering the room. That was...surprising.

Mother nodded her head, while Hashirama and Tobirama sat down besides me. Similarly to me they were peering down at our newest family member. ''Yes. There are three names which I like. Reidama, Kawarama and Hiroto.''

The name ''Kawarama'' tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. My whole family looked at me expectantly. ''I like Kawarama.'' Why did that name seem so familiar? Have I heard it somewhere before? No. I shouldn't be thinking about this right now.

''I like Kawarama too.'' Tobirama voiced his opinion.

Father looked at us intently, searching for something and obviously finding it. Then he leaned against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest and nodded in agreement. ''Kawarama he shall be.'' He did not ask to carry his new son. Butsuma seemed content to just observe us all.

Mother, knowing better than trying to pressure father into doing something he did not want to, focused her attention on me. She had this glint in her eyes that made me want to run away and hide in a dark corner. ''Stretch out your arms and do not forget to hold his head, Hisako.''

''Oka-sama I...'' I did not even get to finish my sentence before father interrupted me. ''Hisako, listen to your mother.''

And so I snapped my mouth shut. There was no way that I would fight both of them on this. Or rather there was no chance for me to win such an argument.

I stretched out my arms and prepared them to hold my little brother.

Giving me no chance to decline once again, mother placed little Kawarama into my arms. He was small, so small. Light as well. I studied him, the way his tiny nose scrunched up in displeasure when the sunlight streaming through the open window blinded his light blue eyes, the tuft of blonde hair gracing his small head, and I thought, I will protect you. No matter what.

I leaned down and kissed his forehead. Some of my open hair fell onto his face, making the little boy giggle cutely. It was the most adorable sight I have ever seen.

''May I? May I?'' Tobirama's voice was excited. He was standing behind me and leaning on my shoulders to get a good view at our younger brother. His weight was pushing me slightly forward, but not enough to be alarming.

While shrugging my shoulders slightly as an indication for Tobirama to move, I made sure that I had a secure hold on Kawarama (I haven't had much to do with infants in the Before, however I was quiet certain that letting Kawarama fall down on his head or something like that would have had really bad consequences.). Then I slowly rose from my sitting position, which was quiet a feet if I might add, and turned towards my twin. He was looking at me expectantly.

''Sit.'' My voice held as much authority as that of a soon to be three years old could. Tobirama obeyed without batting an eyelash. And that was a good thing; the chances of Kawarama getting harmed if anything bad happened were almost nonexistent like this. I was a paranoid little thing.

After my twin sat down properly, I carefully placed our little brother into his arms. ''Hold his head.''

Tobirama adjusted his grip on Kawarama and looked down at him in awe and wonder. Soon a delighted smile graced his lips. ''He's so light.''

Mother laughed loudly at that. ''You and your sister were even lighter than Kawarama when you were born.''

His eyes widened comically. ''Really?''

''Really.'' It was Hashirama who answered. A small smile graced his lips as he gazed upon us.

Tobirama stared at him in disbelieve. He seemed to think that our brother was lying. If I might be honest, I did not believe him either. And I didn't mean the part with us being lighter than Kawarama (Twins weighted generally less than single born children.), no, I mean the part where he claims to remember how much we weighted the day we were born. Young children did not have such a good memory.

''You haven't even held him.'' Tobirama pointed out. He kept sending Hashirama suspicious looks.

Mother luckily decided to cut in before a fight could ensue. ''Hashirama isn't lying Tobirama. It's because you're twins; you shared the...food while you were in my womb, thus weighted less than normal babies.''

''Does that mean that Hashirama doesn't have to share his sweets with us?'' Nope, he did not really get it.

Father covered his laughter with a cough. Mother just sighted in exasperation. But in Tobirama's defense, Ryumi wasn't the best in explaining different things. Mother was many things, however a teacher she was not.

Hashirama patted his head affectionately. ''Don't worry. If you really want sweets, I will get you as much as you want.''

There truly was no other love like the love from a brother. I couldn't stop myself from pinching Hashirama's cheeks. I know, I know, some time ago I complained about people constantly doing the same annoying thing to me. But I just couldn't stop myself. He was so cute at that moment.

And while I watched my family interacting with each other, I couldn't help but think that altogether that day was a good day. One of the last peaceful ones we would probably ever have.