Chaos herself's note:

Hey!

Here is chapter 12 already. And we get to see Mito again! Let's se how everything unfolds.
Have fun reading.

Chaos

...

Chapter 12: Preparation and Plotting

This time it was Touka seeking Mito out in her quarters in the Senju Tower, without a message, without any kind of warning. As soon as the doors were closed behind her Touka approached Mito with a stern gaze. "What was that?" she asked calmly, but the fierce glint in her eyes told that she was not in the best of moods.

Mito blinked, confused. "What was what?"

"The Yuuhi." She focused on Mito as if she was going to eat her alive. "I know this is on you," she stated.

"Oh, he found you, then?" Mito asked, seemingly unaware of the undercurrent in the room.

"He found the fastest way out of my quarters...unfortunately," Touka replied with the faintest of smiles. Then she turned all serious again. "I very well am supportive of your plans to herd the sheep so we can sift through the dirt for some useful recruits," she said calmly, "...but I won't have you sabotage our squad by these shenanigans."

Mito very nearly rolled her eyes at the joke. That was so… Touka. She supposed she should have guessed. "A husband won't sabotage the squad. I have one," she added, clearly amused.

"The both of us have very different roles in our squad," Touka answered and arched a brow. "If you want me to do my job properly and get rid of our enemies and find all the traitors leave me out of this."

Mito sighed. "I'll admit perhaps Yuuhi wasn't the best match." That was an understatement, she thought with an inward snort. "But matches with the Senju and Uchiha are our means to roping in the best clans, and there aren't an infinite number of us. I hope that you could at least see my meaning. Maybe you could choose a husband that will improve your bloodline, or be helpful to you in some way? Or a complete idiot who wouldn't know left from right and stays out of your way…?" she offered helpfully.

"I have cousins," Touka thwarted the idea like an annoying fly. "And I'm already about a decade over the traditional marrying time for a Kunoichi. Besides I'm already 'married' to my blades; I'm a warrior, I can't be a wife." Touka narrowed her eyes slightly. "So leave me out of this."

Mito sighed again, letting the matter lie for now. Perhaps if the right match came along… but for now… "Very well. It's just as well that you're here. I've just had an upsetting conversation with my husband." She pressed the back of one hand to her forehead, clearly exasperated. The thought occurred to her that this probably wasn't going to help her case with Touka's marriage one bit, but it couldn't be helped.

Touka arched a brow. "I really hope you don't see me as a relationship counsel or an agony aunt…" she seemingly was calmer now that the topic of her marriage was off the table.

"Why, are you an expert?" she asked dryly.

"I don't think I'll give you hints at how to get rid of my clan chief, Mito," Touka grinned ferally but threw her a warning glance that said she was more than intent on protecting Hashirama.

"Not that I don't appreciate your concern, Touka-san… but it's not like that. Hashirama and Madara met. It seems our village has a name: The Village Hidden in the Leaves. And the leader has a name, also: Hokage. But you know what the worst of it is?" She winked open one eye to regard her visitor. "Hashirama is dead set on putting Madara in charge, and he swears not even Tobirama is going to be able to get him to say no." She groaned audibly.

"It's a deathtrap! I knew it from the start...the leaves are going to burst up in an inferno with a Ho-kage who is an Uchiha!" Touka harrumphed and shook her head. "And Hashirama-sama wants to set up the fire-breather in this position...he has to be under the influence of the Sharingan, this is the proof. Otherwise it would be obvious to him that there can't be anyone else governing this pool of madness than the one founding it, the one leading it effectively for all this time," she stated. "So, if we now can be sure Madara has been plotting against Hashirama-sama all along, that he is a traitor...that everyone can see he's a traitor, we can openly act against him. It's a legitimate cause. We can even make this public and have the whole village witness the death sentence carried out," Touka mused aloud and started pacing up and down.

Mito was already shaking her head. "It's not as simple as that. We can't prove he is under Sharingan influence, even if we're certain, and for once, I completely agree with you, Touka-san. I suppose since we're in danger of being led by evil incarnate and you're here plotting its demise, that other thing must have fallen through?"

"Then we'll just have the others realize it...proof or no proof, if we can make it obvious Madara is the traitor and a threat to more than just the Senju, it will be his downfall. And maybe it will open Hashirama-sama's eyes for once…" Touka stated. "And it's always good to have more plans in action to make his death bulletproof," she said calmly. "It's war after all; so we're going to use all the ammunition we can get."

Touka's dodginess was starting to wear at her patience. For today, she'd ignore it, though. Too much had already happened, and she didn't have the energy to argue with the stubborn captain. "Yes," she murmured, almost as if to herself. "More plans…"

"We should get the others to spread rumour and make sure the villagers vote for Hashirama-sama as head of government instead. If he still insists on the Uchiha leading the village towards the hell of fire after their support, everyone will know something is wrong...and they'll point Madara out as traitor," Touka said on cue. "In the meantime we'll prepare further for another assassination attempt, a full force one this time with several backup scenarios so the fire-breather won't know where to cast his Sharingan at when his death hits him!"

"Right," Mito said, completely detached from the conversation, her thoughts elsewhere. "Good plan."

"I'll instruct the squad to spread word among their clans then...and to the civilians. It's good no one knows about our identities so we can mingle with the crowd. Also the different ages of our Kunoichi is to our advantage; people will believe it more when Hashirama-sama is praised by the kids and the clan leading generation alike…" Touka added. "It'll take a bit of time but Hashirama-sama is generally liked by lots of people here, anyways, so we're only fuelling the fire while we snuff the other one. In the meantime we should also try various feint-attempts so Madara will be driven into paranoia and alienating himself on his own...and when all comes crashing down we strike for real." She slammed her fist on her palm in a squashing noise.

Mito smiled, snapping out of it. "This is why I came to you, Touka-san," she said, feeling reassured. "I've started my rounds with the clan wives, so you should be expecting a response quite soon. In the meantime, if there's anything you need from me, you know where to find me. And Touka…?" She trailed off, not sure what to say. "Never mind," she dismissed.

"Good. I expected no less from you, Mokuren," Touka said with a grim smile. "But, actually, there is something I need from you, Mito..." she said and arched a brow as she paused for effect. "No more wedding shenanigans for me," she stated pointedly and turned around on her heels.


With this new information Touka had a lot to do. As Mito had said, more clan ladies started coming to the "coffee klatsch" meetings at the Kissaten - women and girls who were either kept out of the loop by the patriarchs of their clans or were worried about their husbands and fathers and brothers and sons. They were Kunoichi, alright, but Irakusa had to test them first and swear them into loyalty to their cause before she could deploy them to missions.

Touka informed Mito of the new recruits, but sent a secret message hidden in a tuft of iris, daisy, peach flower and chrysanthemum to Tobirama es well. She received a basket of lemons in return.

Then the real training could begin. United by the same purpose their squad grew and became more effective as the Kunoichi learnt to team work and use the numerous combinations of their different Jutsus to their advantage. Touka observed everything and together with Sanzashi and Kinsenka she strategized the next steps.

"Other villages are forming. Now is the time to place some of ours amongst their people, so we can assess our enemies and react faster to imminent threats. Especially the desert region worries me," Kadohime Nara concluded. "Do we have Kunoichi who we can send there?"

Touka thought for a moment, until she conceded: "Jigitarisu would be the best choice. She is not bound by a clan, and no one will notice if she joins them." It was risky, and Touka didn't like to send one of her most loyal Kunoichi so far away. But she couldn't trust those who were not sworn to her alone as much as she trusted Sanzashi, Jigitarisu and Tsubaki now.

"Will Chiyo be okay, all alone in a different country?" Kanoko worried and looked at her mother.

Kadohime smiled at her daughter and ran a hand through her hair. "Remember, Jigitarisu has been alone for a long time and she knows how to take care of herself. She also has this team now and she's become a strong Kunoichi. We'll always support her from here," she reassured Kanoko.

Touka nodded grimly. "So it is decided. I'll prepare Jigitarisu for the mission to Suna."


If Touka thought she had made herself clear to Mito she was terribly mistaken. Because soon there came another fool knocking at her door, flowers in one hand and chocolates in the other, hoping to make Touka his wife. Like the Yuuhi Touka invited him in with a polite smile.

He didn't stay long though, and he outright fled her lair screaming like a little girl after Touka had shown him the horrors of her most malicious Gen-Jutsus and threatened him to use all of her manifold blades on him if he ever dared to come back again.

Because Mito was equally mistaken if she thought Touka would let herself be wedded off so easily. No, Touka was determined not to end up as a wife. She was a warrior, she was a Kunoichi, she was squad commander Irakusa. She had vowed to protect Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-dono at all cost.

Defiantly she sent Mito a bouqet of marguerites, oleander and primula auricula. She wished she could add dahlias to the mix, so Mito would let her be. But she couldn't; there was no lover at her side, and probably never would be. Bitterly she bit a chunk out of one of Tobirama's triple cursed lemons.


And then there was Kasumi Uchiha, the woman who Mito wanted to be tested so she might become a part of their team. Inwardly Touka bristled at the thought that an Uchiha would join them. Spy, traitor, foe, her instincts screamed at her. But for Mokuren's sake Irakusa would give her the benefit of the doubt. But only as long as she didn't reveal herself to be the enemy the Uchiha always had been.

Touka met Kasumi at the new hospital building. "You are going to do my hiring interview, right? I'm Kasumi Uchiha," she introduced herself and bowed politely. Touka only inclined her head and eyed the devil in disguise warily. Kasumi smiled. "I feel so honoured that Mito-sama considered me. Every Medic-Nin looks up to her. To work under her is a dream come true," she gushed.

"I see. Have you had a tour of the facilities yet?" Touka forced a smile into the corners of her mouth and invited Kasumi in.

"Not yet," she said and followed Touka into the darkness of the lobby. How naive. The door fell shut with a rumbling thud like a mousetrap. Kasumi startled but walked on as Touka beckoned her through the corridors and into one of the treatment rooms. "I can't wait to work here. Wow. This is the latest equipment. Everything is so forward-looking. Just imagine how many people we can heal here," she still smiled.

But she cried out as suddenly the straps of the treatment couch shot forward, latched onto her wrists and ankles and pulled her onto the treatment couch. She tried to free herself but to no avail; Touka's Gen-Jutsu was stronger. Another strap covered Kasumi's eyes before she could use her Sharingan. "What the hell is this? What are you doing to me?" she panicked.

Touka grinned wickedly. She would have fun putting the Uchiha to the acid test. "Let's start the interview, shall we?"