Chapter seventeen – Horae
In Greek mythology the 'Horae' or 'Hours' were the goddesses of seasons and the natural portions of time. They were seen as the personifications of nature in its different seasonal aspects. Hora is translated as 'the correct moment'.
Kurou walked with her sister outside the new street of Konoha. They had come by here to say goodbye to Hashirama who was working here today, and to see with their own eyes what was being built.
As they came further down the street Kurou heard the unmistakable voice of Hashirama shouting his signature technique, going into a small passage between two houses they peeked around the corner and saw Hashirama drying his brow for sweat while grinning at his own work.
"Hashirama-san." Said Kurou as they came closer. The Senju leader turned and waved to them as a person came out from the house next door.
"Hashirama, I think the kitchen is a few centimetres higher then the rest of the floor. There is an unevenness in the slab." Said the man walking out, he had long spiky black hair and pale skin. He stopped in his tracks when he noticed the two red heads and they immediately recognised him too. Uchiha Madara.
Hashirama stood uncertainly watching them while they took in each others presence. "Uchiha Madara." Said Mito suddenly and nodded to the man, clearly having decided it was better to act civilized right now.
"Uzumaki Mito and Uzumaki Kurou... I hear you two make quite the seal team." Answered Madara and came closer, his face remained neutral but Kurou had the impression he was merely keeping up a show for their audience, namely Hashirama.
"How's your brother?" Asked Kurou, he didn't see the point walking around the crater when you could just jump straight in. Made for less misunderstandings.
Madara looked darkly back at him, his eyes turning red and the Senju leader stepped forwards to prevent a fight from breaking out.
"Now, now. You know Izuna is fine Kurou. I already told you." Said Hashirama while a second Uchiha stepped out from the neighbour house. He recognised Uchiha Katsu as well, he was looking murderous as Hashirama grabbed Mito by the shoulder and steered her away with Kurou strolling along with them. He gave the two Uchiha a wave while the Senju gave him a frustrated look.
A safe distance away they stopped amongst the trees.
"Nice village, Hashirama. It looks like a very nice place to live." Said Mito uncertainly. Hashirama sighed and stared at Kurou.
"You shouldn't edge the Uchiha at this point in time. The memory is probably still fresh for him, and I'm trying very hard to keep the tone civil around here." He said seriously, and Kurou felt a little sorry for his attitude, 'little' being the key word.
"I can't believe you even would want to live in the same village as them." Said Kurou, both hands in his pocket while looking motionlessly back at the taller man in front of him.
"Madara is a kind man, Kurou. War and destruction can have many effects on people's minds. My friend is still recovering after a very stressful ordeal, I beg you to be more.. careful." He asked quietly. Kurou nodded and looked at his older sister who was agreeing.
"We just really came to say goodbye, Hashirama." Explained Mito with a pointed glare to her brother who was again looking in the Uchihas direction.
"I know. You two will always be welcome back here. I hope you'll come to see our village once everything is finished." Said Hashirama ans smiled gently.
"Are you sure about that welcome?" Muttered Kurou with on eyebrow raised and a sarcastic smile. He then thought better of it and shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'll behave, Hashirama-san. Even though our role here has tensed our relationship with the Uchiha, your clan and theirs are now united. We'll be happy to return and see how everything is going." He said and nodded to Hashirama.
Mito smiled softly to the Senju. "Yes, I have to see the end result as well. Our stay here might have been turbulent, and I wish I had the chance to talk to Naruto before departing, but I'm sure I'll see her again soon." She said as they turned to get ready for the road back to Uzu. "I hope." Mito added as an afterthought.
"Thank you so much for all you've done for us. I'll never forget it, and I'm in your depth now." He said and smiled widely.
"And don't forget it." Grinned Mito, and with a wave from both siblings they disappeared into the close growing trees of the forest.
Naruto was heading back to her cave, she still had half a day away before she was back, but was being delayed because she was taking her time scouting for black Zetsu.
Kurama had been very worried after talking to Son, mostly because he couldn't understand how the ink blotch kept riling up the bijū.
He thought Son's explanation sounded weak and that more must have gone down then he'd let on. At the moment Kurama was thinking out loud and keeping a constant background monologue to Naruto while she tried to concentrate.
'The gorilla is a proud papa's boy, and was always very reluctant to reveal his own weaknesses. I still say the fact that he attacked that village because their might be a threat there was strange. He might be a stubborn bastard, but even he isn't usually this hot headed, no pun intended. Still, what else would have made him take the trip from the forest of rock country and all the way to fire country? It doesn't add up, brat. I'm telling you…'
Naruto only nodded without answering, she was on high alert and only partly listening. After three days of constant talk from the fox she'd herd it all about four times.
It was an unusual amount of activity going on around her. Naruto had already felt five people moving about, and it was three more then she'd ever felt, except during confrontations. They were in smaller groups and seemed to just be going from one point to the next. Another thing that had her worried was the direction. It was the same as her own.
With a thoughtful expression Tobirama walked through the village, it was two weeks since they had started construction, and most of the buildings were in place by now. His older brother had done a very good job and become quite the carpenter by now. A few people had come by, both Uchiha and Senju came to watch the progress, and especially the sharingan wielders had been impressed by the work done.
Hashirama and Madara had become busy with the plans, but now all the boring work needed to be done as well.
Paperwork and info sheet was being passed to all the members who was being offered to join Konoha. It wasn't forced, at least not for the civilians. No one said it, but any ninja who went against the alliance would be more or less banned. They couldn't have rebels close to their village.
They had decided to wait another two weeks before they official moved in, afterwards it would be celebrated with a founding ceremony the same day.
Tobirama had contacted the fire daimyō in the civilian capital, they were their main source of income and mission request, and they had a lot of opinions about their new alliance.
Since Hashirama was busy with building the village, Tobirama had taken it upon himself to start categorising and evaluating their ninjas. After the founding everyone would be going through ranking, how they would do this was still up in the air though. At least the two founders wanted to see what level everyone was at, and give them individual ranks. Genin, chūnin and jōnin.
Hashirama and Madara was obviously jōnin already, not just because of their skills, but because they had proved able to lead others. They would probably become the judges of the test, or whatever it would be.
The problem Tobirama was more worried about was the request he'd been given from the capital, that someone was to be appointed leader of the village. Some sort of person that could represent them all.
He had immediately thought of his brother, and then gotten nervous about what would happen if Madara was overruled. That Uchiha could be incredibly stubborn, and more then a little egoistic…
"Itama! Your haori is wrinkled, how many times do I have to tell you to hang it up and not leave it wrinkled on the floor? You are thirteen and should be able to remember this by now." Growled Tobirama to his younger brother who like everyone else in their clan was wearing the Senju outfit for today's big ceremony.
The founding of Konoha. The alliance and merging of the Uchiha and Senju.
"Yeah, I'll remember next time, brother. It's fine, just a little wrinkly on the hem. No one will notice." He complained back to his older brother who was staring daggers back at him. His pale red eyes narrowing slightly at his words.
"Next time? A village is only founded once, idiot. You'll be on the front row, Itama. And you're representing the main family of the Senju clan. You better hope no one notices." Toirama snapped back.
"Stop pestering me, mum." Itama taunted back, before averting the subject. "Is Naruto here yet?! Has she come back?" He asked eagerly as their eldest brother came into their brand new kitchen, hands stacked with papers as he balanced them while hurrying across the floor.
"Sorry Itama, everyone's looking out for her though. Hopefully she'll be here soon." He answered as he rushed past into his bedroom, and came back three seconds later with twice as many papers.
"What is all that?" Asked Itama.
"Profiles. We need everyone registered. You filled one out yourself, Itama. It's the alliance agreements everyone signed to join Konoha a few weeks ago." He panted, trying to put on his sandals while balancing the paper tower in his left arm.
"Need a hand, brother?" Asked Tobirama coming up to him and Hashirama nodded gratefully.
"Come on, Itama, it's almost time."
"You'd think it would matter a little to you how you looked, Madara. Especially today. Seriously, why do you never hang up you clothes when you go to bed? They get all wrinkly. It gives a bad impression you know." Said Izuna to his brother as they walked towards the founding ceremony.
Madara looked at his younger brother with one eyebrow raised and a sceptical expression which more or less meant. 'And most don't have a bad impression of me already?'
"Come on, we've got to show the Senju up a little. We're Uchiha damn it. We take stock by our reputation, big bro."
"Well, you saved the day Izuna. Thanks for lending me your yukata. But now you will be the one looking shabby." He said grinning. "The sacrifices I have to do for you, big bro..." Muttered Izuna.
There was a large gathering by the town hall, two divided groups of around a hundred in total. Some wearing the same light coloured outfit, meaning they where Senju, or the varying darker shades of the Uchiha members.
"I can see Yuko over there. I think I'll see if she has a good view for the ceremony." Izuna said cheekily and hurried over the brown haired young woman while Madara walked towards the middle of where his clan members had gathered.
The two clans stood separated on each side of the newly built town hall. Some amount of tension running through all of them. In the middle was a post set up with two banners hanging down. One was blue with the Uchiha crest, next to it was a light purple banner with the Senju symbol.
Looking around the faces of the Senju clan Madara saw many faces he recognised, a man he'd cut down on his hunt for Hashirama, a woman who'd killed his second cousin once divided, another man who lost his wife to Izuna.
It was utterly absurd, standing here face to face with the people he associated with death and pain without any metal in sight. No weapons, no ninjutsu, just people.
The woman looked strange without her green armor on, smaller and almost harmless looking. He peeked over his shoulder at Izuna who was looking surprisingly alright today. His brother had been very reluctant at first, but he was slowly easing up a little. He was using the ceremony as a way to chat up Yuko, telling how he had been forced by Madara to wear his wrinkled clothes since he was such a slob.
Grinning he turned back towards the Senju who had started parting to let someone to the front. Hashirama came strolling through the crowd while the members of his clan bowed.
He was a respected leader and clearly loved. Madara had seen it plenty of times on the battlefield. When someone managed to break through ranks and come up on Hashirama from behind while he was distracted by Madara. Butsama had lost his life using himself as shield to save Hashirama. No one but Izuna would consider that for Madara's sake.
Not that he had ever needed anyone to sacrificing themselves for him, but the action left an impression on you. It was a powerful act that spoke volumes of both the person being protected and the protector.
The tall Senju leader was smiling from ear to ear as he came towards him, stepping out from his clansmen and walking towards the middle. Madara followed suit.
Hashirama then stood next to his ally and addressed everyone around. His eyes wandering from the faces of his clansmen to everyone within the Uchiha clan as he spoke.
"Welcome everyone, to this blessed day. The Uchiha and Senju will from now on be united. Working together, fighting together and living our lives together as family. From today we are kin, and will stay that way until Konoha no longer stands. Today we confirm the wish to ally ourself with those we've fought and struggled against. Choosing to forgive our many hard losses, but never forget the price we payed. It will take time, it will take effort, but for the sake of those of us still standing. Our children and our grandchildren, we will from now on work together." Madara nodded as he spoke, showing he was agreeing and paying attention while his eyes wandered through the rows of people.
Itama, the young Senju with the funny two coloured hair was standing next to the ever serious Tobirama, who as always had his hands folded in front of him.
Izuna wasn't flirting with Yuko any more, but paying attention to the words being said. He saw Katsu standing next to him, his face less strained then he remembered it had been only a week ago. The man was standing next to Hana who was holding his hand, and the sight lifted his heart.
Suddenly Madara felt with conviction that this was right, and that this was the way to create a secure future for his people. He started smiling. Smiling more easily then he'd done since skipping rocks by a long gone creek in the forest.
People were eating and talking happily with one another by the tables Hashirama had made with his wood release. It was a large feast put together to celebrate the union.
The members of the two clans was still not voluntarily joining each other, but Hashirama and Madara made an example by sharing a table in the middle with their two very sour looking younger brothers.
Izuna seemed to have taken insult by his loss against Tobirama and Kurou. While the middle Senju brother had never been the most sociable, and didn't make the situation any lighter with his silence. Itama was eating greedily while Hashirama and Madara was content looking at their long awaited dream becoming reality.
"What's wrong?" Asked Hashirama. Madara didn't realise he was talking to him, thinking the Senju was trying to lighten the tension between Izuna and Tobirama at first.
"Me? What do you mean? Nothing is wrong. Not today at least." He said looking over at Katsu and Hana again, they where sitting a little distance away with Izumi.
"Come on, something is clearly on your mind."
"No, nothing on my mind, except that the meat is a bit dry." Madara said and pointed to the half eaten dish on his plate.
Hashirama instantly became moody, and his head dropped in disappointment.
"Eh..?" Said Madara, his eyebrow twitching as he realised that even if Hashirama had grown in hight, it didn't seem he'd gotten rid of his annoying neurosis.
"Oh, come on!" He exclaimed as Hashirama didn't light up.
"I cooked that..." He muttered still looking down at the table top.
"Seriously! Still? you need to do something about that attitude!" Madara said while pointing accusingly at Hashirama.
"You don't like my cooking..."
"You fucking sour puss, it's fine. Completely edible!" Madara sighed giving up to Hashirama's manipulation.
"Good! Then tell me what's wrong instead." He said, becoming happy in an instance.
"For crying out loud, there's nothing wrong." Snapped Madara back.
"Is it that Naruto isn't here? I'm a little worried you know. Out of all of us I though she'd be here." He said hitting the hammer on the nail.
Madara grimaced and looked towards the direction of the gates.
"I'm sure she's fine, Madara. Probably… Eh.. making amends to Ashina-dono, maybe?" He said looking over to Itama who seemed suddenly interested in their conversation. Tobirama and Izuna looked curiously over as well.
"Ashina? Uzumaki Ashina?"
"Yes, as you know Naruto stayed in Uzushiogakure for two years before she came back with me and Itama. You met her right afterwards when she put up the barrier around the Uchiha village." Explained Hashirama. "But she really screwed up doing that. Or well, is it screwing up when she knew the consequential but did it anyway?"
Madara felt uncomfortable in his seat, he knew she'd gotten on the wrong foot with the Senju, but not the Uzumaki as well. "Anyway, she stole the seal from Mito after she put up the barrier for us. Sneaked out in the middle of the night too. Mito was furious, their really close friends you see. Her brother was pretty upset as well, since the Uzumaki didn't want to get involved in the mess at all, and there Naruto went and used their fuinjutsu skills for you without anyone's consent." He smiled reminiscently while Tobirama huffed and rolled his eyes.
"Idiocy I say. The girl got banned from the Senju village when she returned. Going off helping..." He trailed off uncomfortably and said no more.
"I think it was really brave you know." Said Hashirama. "She knew we would be angry, knew her family would get furious-"
"Family?" Asked Madara.
"Yes… Well, not close family, Naruto went to Uzu to see if she had any family there. Her mother was named Uzumaki it seems, and they did some blood seal tests while she was there, which proved she was actually related to the main family of Uzushiogakure." Hashirama explained while gesturing with his hands.
"What?" Madara said, his eyebrows raising into his hairline. "I didn't know that..." He mumbled but then pressed on. "What do you mean by making amends? Are they still angry about the barrier?" He thought out loud.
The Senju leader shrugged, his expression clueless while his youngest brother looked worriedly down on the table. "I hope Naruto comes back soon. She's much more fun to hang out with then all these U-" He stopped suddenly, and it was apparent Tobirama must have stepped hard on his foot by the moans the teenager was making.
"Would you stop pining for that troublesome Namikaze, Itama? She can do whatever she likes." Muttered the white haired man while Itama blushed at his bluntness.
Madara watched as the bothers start to bicker to one another, while Izuna who hadn't paid attention looked wishfully over at Katsu's table where Yuko had just sat down.
Madara eventually lost interest as Itama exclaimed Tobirama was a snob and boring. The Uchiha leaned back in his chair looking up towards the mountain behind them.
"We start tomorrow with work right? You sorted out the transfer of our missions to our new village?" Asked Tobirama changing the subject completely while Itama sat with his hands folded as he sulked in his chair.
"Yes, first mission assigned to the Senju originally, will be fulfilled by Konoha." Answered Hashirama and looked over at Madara. "I'm sorry, I haven't seen your mission transfer yet, so I just went ahead. If you have any that needs done just get them and we'll do those right after."
Madara raised his eyebrow while Izuna finally turned his attention back to his own table.
"I do actually have a few missions that has been neglected because of our new settlement here. I wouldn't mind if it got first priority actually." Madara answered, it was perfectly true, but he also didn't like Hashirama going over him in these sort of matters.
"I'm sorry, but it's the same with us, we've been focusing on the construction the last couple of weeks, and our client is getting impatient." Hashirama replied, the tension around the table going up a notch as they looked intently at one another.
Itama had cooled down a bit and didn't understand the problem. "Does it matter? It's not like we've changing teams yet is there? The Senju is with the Senju, and the Uchiha with the Uchiha. Just send out the teams at the same time." He said and Tobirama sighed.
He leaned down to his little brother and said in a low voice but still loud enough for everyone to hear. "I think this is more about who gets the right to say they preformed the first mission of Konoha."
Itama rolled his eyes and dug into his food again while Hashirama and Madara kept seeing who would crack first.
"Maybe we could flip a coin?" Said Hashirama eventually. The Uchiha was about to agree but then thought better of it.
"You know…" Said Madara with a glint in his eye. "I think we should race to the top instead." He said while pointing towards the mountain.
For a moment the two sat frozen in their chair looking at each other, and with a loud bang they both disappeared in a flare of over turned furniture and food flying haywire behind them.
Their brothers and clan members watched as Hashirama and Madara pelted away at an insanely fast speed. Only a trail of dirt and dust in their wake indicating the direction they were heading.
Tobirama sat on the ground after getting knocked out of his seat at the abrupt race-start, and watched as the dust slowly started calming down. "What the hell is wrong with them?" Izuna and Tobirama said exclaimed at the same time.
"I'll so win this time." Panted Madara as they ran next to each other. Hashirama pushed into his side, attempting to knock him off course. Gritting his teeth he pushed right back as they started running vertically up the mountain.
Hashirama was a step in front of Madara. 'No way in hell am I going to let him win this time!' Thought Madara as they saw the top coming closer.
The Senju might be taller, but Madara could move his feet faster. With an enormous effort he took over the lead by half a foot. The smile was hard to fight off as he jumped over the edge of the top and landed half a millisecond before Hashirama.
His hands raised in the air he shouted his victory while Hashirama moped like a kid next to him. "Hah! Won fare and square there, Hashirama. No cheating this time." He gloated to the overgrown child.
"I admit defeat..." Muttered Hashirama and got a hold of himself.
Madara looked out over the horizon then, his eyes going from east to west over what was starting to become Konoha. They just needed a few more buildings to complete the village The academy would be to the east side, and his own house had been done by Hashirama last week while the hospital would be closer to the mountain. It had to be dead useful during the war to have someone with wood release building houses in less then two minutes.
"We did it, Madara… Later then I expected, but maybe now we can relax..." Said Hashirama looking to their clans still feasting outdoors, they were now their people. All of them people to be protected.
"It's kinda beautiful isn't it? Even at night." Madara said quietly.
"Yes, You did good, dattebyo." Said a feminine voice behind them.
Neither turned to look at Naruto. Both of them had known, somehow, that she would be here. They just didn't realise it until they stood here now.
"Naruto, come look at our village." Said Hashirama and pointed down towards the gathering far bellow.
"I've been watching for a while you know. Good speech Hashirama. Really inspiring." She laughed and walked to stand in the empty space between them, watching the light from the fire underneath the star filled sky.
Madara turned to look at her with a soft smile. "Thank you, Naruto. For saving Izuna." He told her sincerely.
She smiled back and winked. "Of course, Madara. I had to. I hope you'll accept me into you village, though. The only clan I have any roots to is the Uzumaki, but I hope this village isn't exclusively for Senju and Uchiha." Naruto said cheekily.
Hashirama laughed and hugged her. "To me you have been just as big a part in achieving this as me and Madara." He said releasing her. Happier then any of them had seen her she laughed loudly, the gathering down below could probably hear her.
"I'm sure you would have managed on your own. I took it on myself to make sure as many as possible would get to enjoy it when you did." She chuckled, and then turned to Madara and tilted her head with a soft smile. "I'm really proud of you both, dattebyo."
Madara couldn't help the surge of pride rushing through him at her words, Hashirama seemed just as effected. Trying to think clearly he held up his arm. "First though… Befoer you join Konoha you have some questions to answer, Naruto." He said and Hashirama's smile faltered a bit seeing the serious expression on the Uchiha's face.
Naruto looked curiously at him, his shoulder were tense and his eyes was boring into her own. He gestured to the mountain edge and sat down with his feet dangling over the steep end.
Without a word Naruto and Hashirama followed suit, the blonde situated in the middle as Madara kept his eyes on the people down bellow.
He exhaled once and turned his head towards Naruto. "First of all. Is there something we need to know about you? Something you haven't told us?"
Naruto was surprised by the direct question. It looked like Madara was hinting at something as they sat there in the darkness. Hashirama leaned forwards and peaked at their serious expressions.
Naruto hesitated, the smile still lingering on her face had slowly melted away and she looked out over the small village. There were no lights inside the houses, and she felt they were in a completely different place then they'd been just a minute ago.
The lights weren't cosy, but alien, glimmer of hope in the far distance. For some reason it was harder to tell the truth to these two. With the Uzumakis they had felt like people she didn't know, she hadn't cared as much about what they thought of her. Naruto had grown to love them afterwards, but that was not the case here.
"Yes. I haven't told you some things, and you're right, there is something you need to know about me before accepting me into your village." She said and leaned back on her hands. Her feet stretching out a little before falling down again.
"I'm a jinchuriki." She said quickly, feeling how Hashirama stiffened next to her and Madara's insistent eyes piercing into the side of her head. "I've been one for a long while… I have the kyūbi sealed inside me. His name is actually Kurama." She said not looking at either of them.
She noticed how even Madara's breathing stayed during her reveal. He was very good at counselling his emotions, she knew that, but he didn't show any hint of surprise as he waited for her to continue. Naruto didn't have the chance though, since Hashirama suddenly grabbed her shoulder tightly. Realising he was clutching her rather hard his grip slackened but he didn't remove his hand.
"What? Why haven't you told us this before?" He asked silently, the others having to strain their ears to catch the words properly.
Naruto chuckled with her head going from side to side before meeting the Senju's dark eyes. He seemed nothing but concerned for her.
"I rarely have good reactions when I admit to being a jinchuriki. Who wants to be friends with someone like that? But you both need to know now, dattebyo." She said bitterly and her brows furrowed.
"You have the kyūbi sealed inside you, were you going to tell us if I hadn't asked?" Wondered Madara and crossed his hands in front of him.
Naruto glared at him and nodded. "Of course I was. You got ahead of me with the question." She retaliated and watched as a flicker of emotion crossed his features.
"Where are you from? You said you were from Itanika, but I can't find any documentation of you. Not even in the orphanage." he said and ignored the sound of surprise that escaped Hashirama's lips.
"That doesn't surprise me. I didn't stay there all that long, and I only slept in the orphanage for two days. The rest was spent outside on the street or in the forest." She said and looked up a the sky. This was a dangerous topic, how was she supposed to come up with a good enough story for how she was raised without lying?
"You were six years old and you're trying to convince me you survived on your own? What about before? What about the village you were born in?" He pressed on insistently.
Naruto felt unnerved by his questions, Madara was asking the right ones. The ones that she would have to lie about, and it puzzled both her and Kurama that he was wondered about these things specifically.
"My birth village is gone, I can't remember where it was exactly. You don't seem surprised though. I just told you I was the jinchuriki of the nine tails and you shake it off as I was commenting on the weather. Did you know already?" She asked finally looking at him directly.
The circles underneath his eyes were as pronounced as ever. His face looking both strained and insistent at the same time.
"Yes. At least I suspected as much." He replied while Hashirama again looked as lost as ever. Clearly he hadn't suspected any such thing.
"How?" Naruto demanded, feeling an unexplainable anxiety filling her puzzled mind.
"… You used the kyūbi chakra during the last battle." He said uncertainly, feeling both the urge to tell her everything, and at the same time resentful to show her all his cards. She was clearly not telling them everything, why should he?
Naruto looked hard at him before she snorted and turned to Hashirama. "You're a sage, Hashirama. You could actually feel my chakra during that fight, did you think I was using bijū chakra?" She asked sarcastically and turned back to Madara before Hashirama could do as much as shake his head in answer.
"You should know, Madara. That I can detect untruthfulness because of Kurama's influence. It's not as pronounced since I'm not using his chakra, but you are exactly five centimeters away from me, so I can pick it up right now. You. Are. Lying. Dattebyo." She said getting more and more annoyed.
On reflex Madara moved away from her, for the first time showing any surprised.
Hashirama was wondering what sort of discovery came next, he'd learned quite a bit in the last few minutes, and it seemed more was still coming. "Guys, lets not jump to conclusions here. We can solve this without accusing one another and whatever have been held back has probably been done so for a reason." He said, but his words fell on deaf ears.
"I'm not lying." Said Madara stubbornly.
The blond pointed accusingly at him and bristled. "You are not telling the whole truth, dattebyo."
"If you can withhold information why should I share mine with you?"
"Because the things you're not telling is about me, and I want to know so I can tell if they're truths or lies. I don't want you to go around with wrong assumption!"
"So tell us what you're hiding, and I'll tell you what I am hiding." The Uchiha replied now very frustrated about how tight lipped she was being. Zetsu had been all about talking when Madara had not wanted him to, Naruto was the complete opposite.
The girl turned her torso so she was facing him properly, it wasn't lost on her the hostility radiating off the black haired man. "There are things I wont tell anyone, Madara. They are private, and very personal and I'm not sharing them with you or anyone else."
Eyes narrowing he turned his head away from her, staring down over the view and could only think of how unfair and impossible Naruto was being. He had wished for her to calm down his suspicion, wanted her to realise he needed her to. "You have to, if you wish to join Konoha." He muttered, he had said it in the heat of the moment because he wanted to hurt her, but instantly regretted it.
Naruto stared shocked back at him, and with gritted teeth she got to her feet, her fist clenched and eyes speaking depths of unpleasant wishes for him.
"Fine." Was all she replied, and without a glance back at them she marched away. It took the young men two seconds to follow after her.
"Naruto!" Shouted Hashirama as they saw her run into a cave a little further ahead. It was hid behind two boulders, and had they not come from this direction they would never had noticed it.
It took her five seconds before she was out again, now clutching something in her hand while she glared daggers at Madara. She held it up with one quick movement and showed them her old forehead protector.
"This is mine. It has the design you came up with when we were kids, it's scratched into the metal. I've waited to use it since I wanted the village to be built first, but I guess I won't be needing it after all." She said and showed Iruka's old forehead protector into the startled man's hand. They both stared curiously down at the worn metal. It looked used alright, but she did travel a lot so the damage could have come from anything.
Next she put something else into his hand. A book.
"This is yours. Thanks for the loan." She said and walked back into the cave without a word.
'Clan Dictionary' was written on the shabby cover. It looked to have been dipped in water at some point and was stained and tired around the binding.
Madara who had completely forgotten he'd loaned this to her was staring at it for a few moments while Hashirama gave him an annoyed look and followed Naruto inside.
"Naruto! You can off course join Konoha. You belong in Konoha, we both know that. He's just being a hot head, you both can be too stubborn for your own good." He said to the girl sitting on a make shift mattress surrounded by varies belongings around her. Furthest in was her rugged backpack, and the ground was littered with various ninja weapons. A sweater was lying on top of the mattress, and the covers was kicked into a corner.
"You live here?" Asked Madara coming up next to Hashirama, the blond gave him a quick glare and crossed her arms without replying.
The Uchiha looked hard down at her. "I spoke hastily before, you can join Konoha, Naruto… But why wont you tell us, though? Why do you need to keep this secret? Nothing you say could possibly be worse then the war between the Uchiha and Senju, and look at us now." He said and gestured towards Hashirama.
Naruto felt some of her anger melt away as she took in his words. In a way what she had to hide was worse and better at the same time. Worse because of the future she'd left behind, and better since this had very little to do with them if things went according to plan.
"It's not worse per say… Not to you at least." Naruto replied and looked over at her backpack where she knew Sasuke's forehead protector lay securely out of sight. "It's just none of your business, dattebyo." She finished while Hashirama and Madara sat down in front of her.
"I've told you I'm a jinchuriki. I'm alone and I have nothing to offer Konoha except my strength and the promise to protect our village with my life. You should know by now I never go back on my word, and I will never betray this village. Can you accept that? Is it enough to know this, and understand that I don't wish to share some things about my past with anyone." She said looking more at Madara then at Hashirama.
The men peeked at one another and Madara eventually relented. She had told them she was a jinchuriki. That was something at least.
"We hope one day you'll trust us enough to tell more. For now I believe you. I have never doubted you were anything but faithful to Konoha." Said Hashirama and smiled genuinely to the blond. She returned the gesture half heartedly.
Madara was still observing her living arrangements with one eyebrow raised when he realised both of the others was watching him. "I already choose to trust you, Naruto. I owe you that much for saving my younger brother and helping me protect my clan. It doesn't stop me from wanting to know though, and you shouldn't expect me to forget about this even if I'm not opposed to you joining Konoha. I'm stubborn that way." He said and gave a small crooked smile at the end.
Naruto rolled her eyes but felt her mood lift a bit. "When are you not stubborn, Madara?" She added while Hasirama chuckled relived that the tension was going away.
"I can be quite insistent, I know that." He replied staring back at her without braking their contact.
Madara wasn't sure what he felt about her anymore. So much time had passed since the days by the creek and he wasn't the same person who'd developed a crush on her at the age of twelve. All these suspicious thoughts and the changes happening around him made him feel different about a lot of things. For one he wasn't trying to kill Hashirama anymore.
"Come on, Naruto, let's get you settled into the village, we have an appartment available which you could move into." Said the Senju and got to his feet again.
The girl looked searchingly at Madara before she agreed, and followed after along with Madara while he was lost in thoughts.
Hashirama seemed to understand her uneasiness and patted her on the shoulder. "You will be a member of Konoha, Naruto. If you leave then Madara and I will have to hunt you down and drag you back kicking and screaming if necessary. This is your home. It was since we dreamed of Konoha when we were kids." He said in a kind and caring way.
She released a breath she hadn't known she was holding, and looking nervously over at Madara. The Uchiha looked into her sky blue eyes and tried to figure out where he stood with her.
Was he even her friend anymore? Maybe the foundation of friendship would have to be built up again. It was the same with Hashirama and their relationship, it just wasn't the same after everything that had taken place.
His head buzzing with thoughts as he took in the blond with a renewed impression. He really must have changed, since Naruto looked different to him now then what he had thought in her long absent. He couldn't point his finger at exactly what it was, and it had taken until now to realise it.
Coming outside and walking up to the edge of the mountain they noticed how some of the lights from the gathering had gone out. It seemed the party was over by now, and people were heading to their new homes.
Madara volunteered to show Naruto to the apartment, and the group split up in two as Hashirama went back to his own home.
Walking in silence he sighed when he came to the conclusion that he just had to see what would happen. Maybe Naruto was someone he loveed, but she also might be a reincarnation of Ashura out to destroy him. The thought sounded stupid even inside his own head.
As they came up to the front of her new dwelling he stopped her before she could go inside. "Here. You should start wearing that." He said and held out her forehead protector.
Naruto smiled and took the metal out of his hand and bound it around her forehead. It really did suit her.
"I wish you would trust me more, Madara." Replied Naruto and met his eyes with a sad smile. "No matter what you think, ever since I met you and Hashirama up on the mountain top I've wished for you both to be happy, dattebyo." She added and adjusted the protector a little higher up.
He smiled gently and ran a hand through her bangs, clearing them so her spiky hair wouldn't fall into her eyes and the girl blushed. It looked like she remembered the last time he had touched her hair well enough. Grabbing her by the shoulders he looked at her for a moment before hugging her tightly. Naruto laughed in relief and hugged him right back.
"Welcome home, Naruto." He whispered in her ear.
Author note: Thank you so much for reading!
Please forgive any grammar mistakes, english isn't my native language but I still try to avoid them the best I can.