Chaos herself's note:
Hey there!
In this chapter Mito and Touka bond some more. Come, see for yourself how those two very different Kunoichi deal with the current situation!
Enjoy and have fun reading.
Chaos
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Chapter 15: The Difference between Magnolias and Stinging Nettles
Mokuren swept into the room, the wind blowing the door shut behind her. As soon as the door was shut, she jerked off the magnolia-mask and heaved a great sigh of relief. "Do you have a bucket? I think I might be sick." She did, indeed, look a little green around the gills. "Please…"
Touka was busy at her worktop again but she wordlessly pushed a pail Mito's way where already some kind of intestines had been dumped. "You pregnant or what?" she said calmly and continued her work like the first time they met. "Good you're here, though...would've sent you a message anyways," the Kunoichi murmured quietly while her eyes were trained on the object she was working on.
"Hold that thought," she managed, hugging the bucket closely. Then, seeing what was inside it, she was thoroughly and noisily sick, just as promised. Minutes later found her panting and pushing the bucket as far away as possible. She took a moment to compose herself, feeling completely out of sorts. "Wish it was just a pregnancy," she breathed, trembling. "I'd welcome it. Sorry for my inelegant display… there isn't anywhere else in the world right now that it's safe to be myself. I… might have ruined everything. Or saved us all, I can't decide which." She slumped into a chair, heaving deep breaths and sweating.
Touka diligently kept on working while Mito emptied her belly. "I see the fresh recruits puke their guts out all the time; don't worry about it," she thwarted that off seemingly disinterested. But after Mito's next words she quietly put the contraption down, slowly straightened her back and turned around to face her guest. "Elaborate on that," Touka said in her wary, deadly calm Irakusa-voice.
"I sent Madara a message," she recounted. "And he answered. I think we might finally be getting somewhere. Or maybe you are getting somewhere. I might be in trouble." She dodged, hoping not to have to say anymore or risk getting sick again. She gave Touka a look, daring her to give insult when she was in such a mood.
"As far as I knew, the both of us had an agreement that you'd stay put when it came to Madara," Touka slowly said. She was so calm it almost seemed eerie. "Why are you sending him a message now, and what does it say?" she inquired. Maybe this was even worse than the insults that might or might not come...
"Madara is able to control the bijuu," she countered, annoyed, "with that damnable eye jutsu of his. I had to do something. Didn't I? With my… 'small hands'? There wasn't any time to form a plan of action. I needed to step in. You needn't look so dour. I was successful, in a way." She took a deep breath, trying to calm the swell of nausea. "I sent him a saffron lily," she said quietly. "Please, don't make me speak any more of it. All you need to know is that Hashirama saw… but he found the damnable lily, too." She shut her eyes, trying to block out the memories of the past several days.
"Why did you let him get a look at your bijuu so he could bewitch them like he bewitched your husband?" Touka stated more than asked; and her calm demeanor still lasted on. "Why didn't you tell me, Mokuren? Are we not in this together? Don't you trust me to take care of the matter?" she seemed more distanced than enraged. "Can't you let an unmarried Kunoichi handle this before you ruin your life and everything you hold high...your husband?" She sighed and knelt in front of Mito to look her in the eye. "If you're in a hurry walk slowly; if you're in a haste have a break," she told her quietly and took one of her hands into her gauntlet gloved ones. "Let this be a lesson to you...and let me handle this mess from now on while you busy yourself with mending your relationship with Hashirama-sama, and stick to the plan from now on," she calmly underlined.
"I was the only choice for this," she drawled. "And honestly, Irakusa, if I'd have thought that you actually cared, I might have thought to mention it. After our last few interactions, I wasn't sure…" She shook herself, clearing her thoughts. She smiled, adopting a different kind of mask. "It doesn't matter now. A chain of events has started, and we'll just have to make do." She placed her other hand over the cold steel.
"You're less of a lone she-wolf type than I am, don't try to act like one," Touka said. "We have two Naras up our sleeve by now; we could have found a different solution...in time. But we're going to rely on these resources this time when we're not standing by and letting everything unfold just like that," she continued with cold determination, "what's done is done. But we still can turn this around to our favour if we amend the plan and stick to it." She stood again and turned her back on Mito so she could pick up her Kunai and play with it in her hands. "We still have to make sure Hashirama-sama is safe...especially now that he's decided to gather more of our enemies," she said and added more quietly: "Besides...if it doesn't interfere with my priority I won't leave a comrade hanging."
Mito was reassured, and she found herself smiling, genuinely this time. "Well," she said after a time. "It wasn't a total loss. After all, the vote you maneuvered turned a positive result, as did some well-placed words from Tobirama-nii-san. It turns out Hashirama will be the First Hokage of the Village Hidden in the Leaves after all. The first kage meeting is nearing. I'll have to go along, so… you'll be on your own for a while. Is there anything you need from me before I leave for it?"
"Yes," Touka said simply, "three things." She produced a Senbon. "Firstly, I think it's necessary that our squad is sufficiently present during that summit. Hashirama-sama will be surrounded by our enemies and we can't let him be exposed to any threat to his life. So I'll be coming along, as Irakusa," she said and snapped up a second Senbon between her knuckles. "Secondly, our squad would greatly improve if we started recruiting Shinobi from now on, too. It would make our work easier if we could access places and situations females couldn't enter so easily." Then a third Senbon appeared and when Touka spun around all of a sudden the needles embedded themselves with centimetre-precision in front of Mito's toes in a straight line. "And thirdly...no more meddling with my lovelife!" she demanded.
Mito sighed and ignored that last bit. For now. "I think we can manage to get away with one or two of our number," Mito said slowly, "but no more than that. You can come alone or bring one other. I will be grateful," she admitted honestly, "for your presence there. Once rumors start to circulate about what I have stored away in these scrolls, anything could happen. I'll feel better to have you there. And you have my permission, Irakusa, to recruit who you think will most greatly benefit our cause, man or woman. I trust your discretion… we've been at this a long time without discovery, after all." She pointedly ignored the last comment. Gekko had been a fine choice if ever there was one. Perhaps Touka just hadn't given him the proper chance.
The Kunoichi nodded curtly. "I think of bringing Akoneito...without her Ninken, of course," she had her strength in mind. With the discretion completely left in her hands Touka seemingly felt no need to elaborate further if or who she had in mind. Thoughtfully she shuffled over to the other end of her worktop and pierced a lemon from her new gift basket with her Kunai, lifted the fruit and bit a chunk out of it without blinking. "Just make sure you don't run into the fire-breather for now...at least until the issue is taken care of," she added in midthought. "I declared it to be my war after all…"
Mito barely repressed a shudder, thinking of those hateful eyes. "Don't worry. The short-lived affair between Madara and I is over, as far as I am concerned." She laughed, watching her bite the lemon. "I've never seen anyone else in the world simply sink their teeth into a lemon," she mused aloud. "You must really enjoy them."
"These are especially grown for my sake, I believe…" Touka answered with a feral grin and took another bite before chucking the fruit into the bile-intestine blend in the pail. "Someone just knows how to make me happy…" She winked, then dusted off her hands. "You know what? We're going to have a sink in the Onsen now. You need the scrub; and I need the relaxation," she decided.
Mito's head tilted to one side, considering it. It was true, she hadn't had a chance to really unwind in a long time. "Actually, that sounds like a wonderful idea." It was then that Mito realized that the entirety of their relationship had been entirely businesslike, and maybe Touka wasn't as irascible as she initially thought.
If Touka had somewhere thought along of these lines it didn't show. However, she simply set in motion and apparently expected Mito to tag along, anyways. The fierce woman didn't talk much though once they left the secluded space of her quarters and were about to mingle with the other villagers.
Mito strode along at the captain's side. She felt awkward there, for the two of them had two entirely different walking styles and fashion. Despite that, it was also comfortable in a way. It did serve to help her realize, though, that she knew next to nothing about the other woman. Perhaps that was why they had experienced the random bouts of hostility…? "Touka-san… how long have you been fighting in the wars against the Uchiha?" she asked conversationally, knowing war was her favorite topic; that much, at least, was common knowledge.
Touka seemed indifferent at the odd pair they made walking next to each other. "As soon as I was capable of holding a blade, of course," she answered calmly. "I had to make sure Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-dono were safe as it is duty to every side branch member to protect the main branch…" Once they entered the baths she realized they were really on their own like Touka had estimated and hoped. Efficiently but a bit reluctantly she unfastened her battle armour as if she had to consider cutting a limb.
Mito noticed the reluctance and chuckled, feeling carefree and relaxed for the first time in… well, months. "We really are very different people, aren't we, Touka-san?" It was a rhetorical question, of course. It only took her a moment to strip and sink into the water, though she took care to hide her scrolls in the folds of her clothing. Her apparel did nothing to protect her body anyway. The water was utter bliss. Why didn't she do this more often? "You going to stand there all day?" she asked playfully.
Touka indeed took more time to undress the different layers of armory and finally she had to unbandage her wrapped abdomen beneath her clothes, too. She quickly grabbed a towel and wrapped it around the surprisingly quite feminine curves she kept meticulously hidden. "I'm not on a run, Mito," she replied calmly and undid her topknot before stepping into the hot water. "I don't usually retreat during war unless really necessary...so I'm not going to change my ways during a bath." Before completely sinking underwater she had to let go of the single layer of cloth covering her tattooed belly, though.
Mito noticed the careful way she hid, but assumed it was battle scars or a sensitive disfigurement, and politely chose not to bring up the matter. Everything about Touka seemed to be somehow related to war. As she sank up to her chin in the steaming bath, the question left her lips. "Can you tell me something about you that doesn't have something to do with war? I just realized that there's so little I know about you. We should be friends, don't you think?"
Once she was below the waterline with her midsection Touka seemed a bit more at ease and she made herself comfortable at one edge where she could survey the whole pool and entrance area. "Well…" she started quietly, "I do consider you my comrade…"
"Comrade?" she laughed incredulously. She shook her head. Touka really did seem to have a one track mind. "Don't you have any good stories? A brother or sister? A lover? A favorite pet? An embarrassing childhood mistake? I'll tell you something if you tell me." Her eyes glittered with mischief, feeling more herself in this environment. No prying eyes or ears, no one to impress… she found she actually did want someone to talk to. About everything. She kept too many secrets from too many people… might as well tell Touka.
"Yes," Touka simply said and blinked from the corner of her eyes at Mito as if ready to take back her minute sign of...well, trust immediately. Then she leaned back more and let herself be immersed in the relaxing warmth of the Onsen. "Most of my closest kin died sooner or later during the battles," she said as if she was talking about someone she hadn't actually met. "I did grow up around Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-dono, though…" she offered in an attempt to at least cover one of these questions.
Mito seemed to understand that Touka was uncomfortable sharing personal details, but hoped that sharing her own might alleviate some of the pressure. "I grew up in the Whirlpool Country," she offered candidly. "I was trained to fight, but I wanted to heal more than kill." She sat up, beginning to slough off dead skin and sweat. "When I was thirteen, the clan elder sent me to the Senju army." She shrugged.
"I'm aware of that," the Kunoichi stated and curtly dove underwater to drench all of her. "I overheard the elders talk about your medic-Jutsu once…" she added as an afterthought. Slightly she inclined her head and watched Mito relax. If it wasn't for her topics she seemed like a normal woman in this surrounding. "At first I wouldn't have thought they'd let the heir marry you, though...and Tobirama-dono was a bit nervous he might get picked instead," Touka remembered.
Mito arched one eyebrow, clearly hearing this for the first time. Once she had set her eyes on Hashirama, it was either him or no one at all. That didn't need to be said, though. "Did anyone say why?" she asked instead.
Touka glanced back levelly. "You know very well how your husband is…" she stated. "Once he got to know you a fraction there was no way he wouldn't marry you." She threaded her fingers through her long tresses to rinse them before she would wash them. "And his brother was quite relieved Hashirama-sama was so stubborn…"
Ah, yes, she thought. She did indeed know Hashirama was. Thinking of him brought back a twinge of regret, though… for he was back at home, waiting for her. Or maybe not. Sometimes he was, and sometimes he wasn't, now. "To think… they might have tried to stick me with Tobirama-nii-san," she said with a laugh. How very different life might have been…
"He seemed horrified at the mere thought of marriage at that time...he still is, I'm sure," Touka said and shrugged once. "I can understand where he comes from, though. We are both warriors looking out for the same person...only our reasons are different," she added quietly.
Mito suddenly had an odd thought. She had considered that Touka's personality was too strong and cool for a traditional marriage, and there had been times, on the road with Hashirama, when she'd had the same thought about Tobirama. But these thoughts, she kept to herself, and merely smiled. Touka had said so herself… she might as well be married to her blades. That didn't mean Mito couldn't… try… to impart some of the same happiness she'd found onto other people who deserved it. After all, she'd been as stubbornly single herself, once. "We should do this more often," she said at the end of long and contented sigh. Touka didn't seem to like to talk much… but maybe she would, given time.
"Bathing...or talking about your husband's past?" Touka replied with an arched brow and a slightly upturned corner of her mouth. "I come here almost every week...to meet up with Hotaru and Youko," she admitted and sunk deeper into the water. "But mostly I enjoy the time when no one else is here to disturb…" she trailed off.
"Bathing. And you invited me here…" Mito said carefully, misunderstanding.
"Yes, I did." Touka looked at Mito again as if she was studying every tiny feature. "I thought you might have wanted to wash that Uchiha off your body after all…" she said calmly. "At least I did after my encounters with him…"
She shivered, the hot water failing to hide the chill. "I could live the rest of my life in this Onsen, and still never wash the Uchiha off. The vileness… I feel as if I've swallowed it-" she had to fight the bile as she realized her words were more true than she intended, "-and I can't get rid of it. Do… do you ever feel that way?" she finished on a whisper.
Touka looked at her almost blankly, not even her eyes betraying a fraction of emotion. "I'm hundred percent Kunoichi...while you're also a wife, Mito," she said. "I can't afford to...feel anything about it. I don't have a right to have second thoughts...because of my duty, and because of what I devoted my life to, because of what I decided to sacrifice." Beneath the water her hands curled around the skin of her navel as if to protect it and shield it.
Mito's eyes widened. "You're a Senju… you have a right to whatever you want to have rights to," she voiced, not even daring to think that it might be otherwise. She frowned, returning to the other subject. "Why is it, though, that I don't flinch snapping bones with my bare hands, but I can't sleep after only a few moments with him?"
"It's because of who I am that I can't," Touka objected calmly, almost nihilistically. "It's because of what I just said," she answered and cautiously approached Mito slowly, "you're a different kind of Kunoichi than I am. You have a husband, you live your love and you have the freedom to choose your destiny, you have morals and ideals and the conscience of a woman in a relationship...it's natural that different things steal your sleep than mine." Her voice had adopted a reasonable tone and her eyes found back to life, even if her gaze was still as guarded as ever.
She met Touka's gaze levelly, considering the full weight of her words. She was right; of course she was. She took comfort in the knowledge that-although things were tense right now-she did have a husband. A damned good one, at that. But still… "Do you ever wish that things were different for you?" It was an honest question, born of simple curiosity.
As if Touka had realized the shift in Mito's perspective she nodded faintly. At the question, though, she looked just as impassive as she usually did. "I don't know it any different...and I have all I could ever hope for; that should be more than enough to do as expected of me," she replied calmly before she flashed a brief lopsided grin. "Besides...I do get lemons every other day, don't I? I can't ask for more in my life…"
"Lemons," she repeated dubiously. She laughed shortly. "Life gives you lemons… and you find perfect happiness, is that it?" Her smile was mirthful, completely at ease once again.
"War is coming. What do you expect?" She grinned and shrugged again. "At least I do get lemons at all...could be worse I think," Touka rolled her eyes and huffed in a clearly staged dramatic mimic. "On the other hand...I don't even believe in happiness," she then answered more seriously.
Hearing so made Mito sad, but she figured she had made Touka uncomfortable enough. "What do you believe in?" she asked, beginning to feel sleepy for the warmth.
Touka shot her a deadpan gaze. "That you should really know by now," she said and started washing herself before she repeated again: "War is coming; war is always coming… but this is more than belief, this I am certain of." Then she leisurely waded towards the other side of the pool. "I do believe, though, that we can win...if we work together."
Mito shook off the sleep and followed. "That, too, is more than belief. For I, too, am certain of that."
Before emerging from the water Touka stilled as if she had to consider baring her skin again. "I believe...in my only two comrades, too," she admitted very quietly, then stepped out and reached for her towel, blackness flashing briefly on her skin.
