Redesign

by xLilim

Complete / Life is a fickle thing, but death is certain. MadaraOC

17. Two Seasons

Chapter 17 | Two Seasons

---

The rainy season came to a rushing start and beneath its mantle, a short-lived autumn awaited.

---

Sachiyo's wrath was immediate and Madara suffered the worst of the consequences.

Mio's betrayal destroyed her chance of allying with the Demon clan of Kurata and chipped several pieces off her hardened heart. Although she said nothing after she damned the young spy to a horrendous death, it hurt her. She had developed a special affection for Mio, one she had learned to treasure, one she had wanted Mio to remember so she felt remorseful. To think about the day she had welcomed her into her home, had invited her to each dinner with her grandchildren, had given her the warmth of her arms when she had needed the comfort, had told her she had a right to choose her future—she had wished those thoughts haunted her like all her demons.

A light drizzle fell throughout the Fire Country, but the weather worsened the farther northwest they traveled towards the Waterfall Country where their only adversary was the raging thunderstorm and the precarious terrain leading into the Ito clan village.

Ito Tomoji met them in the tunnel between the waterfalls and his domain, the two walls lit with lanterns. He was flanked by his most trusted men and upon meeting her darkened gaze, his expression turned sullen, the wrinkles around his eyes deepening.

"Should you not be on the road to Kurata?" His voice was even, devoid of the fury burning in his amber stare. His eyes swept through the barely lit passage and back to Sachiyo's blank face. "You are short one."

"We will speak of this as soon as you show me to my quarters and I have a change of clothes." Sachiyo spared her brooding grandson a glance, unable to hide her disgust at his inability to keep one girl in sight. "You can put Madara with his brother." She paused. "Izuna arrived safely, I presume."

"I'm afraid my daughters are quite taken with your young grandson."

Sachiyo huffed. "I do believe that was the point."

Tomoji gestured to the gangly male at his right. "This is my right-hand man, Takuei. He will take you to the guesthouse with your brother." He turned to a frowning Takuei, his dark eyes hidden under a mop of chestnut hair. "Will you escort my girls to their rooms? It is late and they have an early morning."

Takuei inclined his head and waited for Madara to follow.

Madara shot his grandmother a last furtive glance and trailed after the taller man, guarded and suspicious. He took in his surroundings through the thick sheet of rainfall, almost unconvinced by the alliance his grandmother formed with the Ito clan.

Once the two figures disappeared in the rain, Tomoji took a plum-colored umbrella leaned against the rocky wall and pulled it over his head. "Come."

Sachiyo found the gesture redundant after she traveled through the worse of the storm. She was drenched to the bone and a chill was starting to set in. She needed a warm bath and the quiet to reorganize her thoughts, to calm the tempest in her chest.

Despite her opinions on the gesture, Tomoji waited until she was under his umbrella and she accepted it.

The guest quarters were located in the farthest corner of the Ito's secret village behind Tomoji's home. Both of the structures were linked together by a roofed passage and surrounded by tall grass.

Sachiyo was given the largest room on the first landing where the bath sat within walking distance. She heard heavy footfalls upstairs followed by the almost immediate crash of something heavy and her grandsons' bickering voices. Madara had obviously told Izuna about Mio and he was taking it badly.

Tomoji regarded her with a curious grin. "Will this be an everyday thing?"

Sachiyo set her luggage on top a table, her back to the Ito clan leader. "It will be a persistent thing," she admitted, listening to the pitter-patter of the water dripping onto the tatami mats from her clothes. Izuna's personality was tame in comparison to Madara's, but with the right incentive, his mood could steadily overshadow his brother's. "Izuna was quite taken with Mio. She was essential to him—normal. He needs to readjust to her absence is all."

Above, Izuna's shouts grew louder. "Go get her back! Go get her back!"

"She betrayed us! She's loyal to Taiga! She's been loyal to him this whole time!" Madara spat.

"Betrayal?" Tomoji mused. He cocked an eyebrow. "That explains the girl's absence." He paced around the table, stopping at the window to peer out into the misty rain. Upstairs the skirmish persisted. "Quite taken with Mio? Am I right to suspect he invested his personal feelings into the relationship?"

"Izuna opens up to people easily. Mio was interesting to him. They became easy friends." Sachiyo paused, drawing fresh clothes from her luggage. "That should have been the extent of their relationship." She lifted dark eyes to him. "Although, I wouldn't have opposed to a union once she was returned to the Kuronuma clan."

"You want an alliance with the Sacred clan that desperately?" Tomoji probed. "What obsession have you developed for such a group as theirs?"

Sachiyo decided that she would not indulge his ignorance. "I am collecting my pieces," she spoke vaguely, stepping in front of the doorway.

"What part of she didn't give a shit don't you get? Should I spell it out for you?" yelled Madara.

"This is your fault!" Izuna accused. "You were so cruel to her! She didn't deserve any of it! Now she's gone with that crazy bastard and it's all your damn fault!"

She sighed. She needed to separate them, but they also needed to get the emotion out of their system. "It's best they sleep in different rooms. I'd like to save myself the trouble of attending a funeral."

"It can be arranged," he said, closing the window. "Should I have tea brought in? You can tell me all about this Mio."

She frowned, opening the door. "Only tea, I am too exhausted to speak. Excuse me."

"You should consider separating them for a time, not simply putting them in rooms on opposite sides of the house," he suggested, smiling from ear to ear. "Time might help mend their relationship."

"I assume you have a proposal to make?"

"We will discuss it soon enough."

She left him to his scheming and shut herself away inside the bathroom where a bath had already been drawn for her enjoyment. There were many things she needed to take care of, various nuisances she swore to abolish from her mind, but she did none of those as she sank into the bench on the wall, hands cupping her face asking herself why Mio would betray her. It was unthinkable. She once considered it impossible. That girl was loyal to a fault, believing that to be the only way she had to show her appreciation for the things Sachiyo had done for her. She had tried that much harder to prove she wasn't a waste of time, though her skills as a shinobi were subpar when she came into her custody, her thinking ability had always been incredible. She had great deduction skills that needed little to no refinement and a way of observing situations Jouji had considered genius.

She had inherited her father's greatest assets and her mother's morals and for several years, Sachiyo had been unable to fathom the potential she possessed to become on of the best in her field. But she had been a tool then, had existed to ensure the succession of power for one of her grandsons. Sachiyo had great plans for her, but in the short time they had spent living under the same house, she had developed an almost maternal affection for her that had been so easy it had taken her by surprise.

Sachiyo exhaled deeply, face marred by sadness, and rubbed her weathered hands together. The words fell from her mouth a muted plea. "Why?"

She never cared about the alliance with the Kuronuma clan. It sounded like a convenient excuse because she wanted it to be, but truly, in her heart, she wanted to give Mio what had been taken from her: a family. She went from belonging nowhere, from being the orphan nobody thought worthy of living to having a place where she belonged. There was a whole clan of people that wanted her, to cherish and love her as her parents had tried by shutting her away in that cottage. She thought it was the right thing to do because she had grown attached and wished she could spare Mio the life she had planned for her, life as somebody else's puppet.

It all sounded worthless now.

She felt nothing but pain at what could have been so she tucked the emotion away in some corner where it would stay. There was no use in mulling over it because it changed nothing. Despite the good that came out of the six years for Mio, the young spy traded her for a maniac prone to tantrums that resulted in unnecessary casualties, and Sachiyo hoped she would not regret her decision.

Even if she did, Sachiyo could not forgive her.

---

Tomoji waited in her sitting room, seated before the squared table that held a tray of ceramic cups and a steaming kettle of red tea. A young girl stood behind him, uniformed in a copper colored kimono and a white apron tied around her waist, awaiting the signal Tomoji gave her with a wave of his hand to pour their tea. She excused herself with a silent inclination of her head, wide green eyes passing from the Ito clan leader to his respected guest, the Uchiha Elder, before leaving the room as quietly as her clumsy feet could carry her.

Sachiyo scented the lemon in the liquid as she brought it to her lips and took a small sip. Despite its sour taste, she appreciated the immediate effect it had. It was a soothing concoction that stole away the chill that lingered in her body. The last days in the Waterfall Country came complimented by frosty winds and torrential rainstorms.

She had avoided the conversation for as long as possible, but when she met his amber eyes that evening, she understood there were no other excuses available to circumvent the exchange. His interest in Mio progressively increased the more observations he made of her grandchildren. Izuna's mood had darkened to a point in which he seemed willing to accept Tomoji's invitation to join his shinobi during training sessions, desperate to find an outlet for his frustrations. He had completely ignored his daughters with whom he had been getting along with up until news of Mio's betrayal reached him. He had sworn to her that he'd rather see the alliance break apart than marry either of them. In a fit of anger, Sachiyo had struck him for many reasons, reasons she spelled out to him because exaggerating over the absence of one girl—a girl that would never reciprocate his feelings because she had a sense of duty and lines she swore never to cross—was foolish. His response had taken her by surprise. He had promised to marry Mio and forgive her betrayal. He had shouted, "She will be my wife," and stormed off, pushing past Madara to disappear down the hall.

Since then, Izuna's only focus had been learning the Ito clan's jutsu, becoming stronger, and growing angrier about the silence on Mio's end, reluctant to consider she no longer cared enough to offer an explanation or even feel a shred of guilt for doing it.

Madara had refused to speak any more about her than he already had and spent a great deal of his time with Tomoji's right-hand man, Takuei, hunting and overindulging in falconry. He had steered clear of his brother, the relationship between them had grown worse, and in instances, she saw the two had started to suffer because it. Without his notice, Sachiyo had watched Tomoji's oldest, Hibari, staring helplessly at him from whatever distance lay between them. Neither had exchange more than a few words since their first meeting and it had looked as though that would never change because there was no bite in her bark and he wouldn't truly acknowledge her existence.

It had only been a week, but her grandsons had adjusted and she cared little for anything outside the fact that they remained on track with their expected duties.

Sachiyo took another deep gulp of tea and returned it to the table's sleek surface.

"There is no avoiding it Sachiyo, you know this," Tomoji said, resting his chin in his hand. "I won't drop the subject."

"Mio is not worth the interest she amasses from outsiders," Sachiyo replied easily.

"Such an enigma, this Mio—to ruin a relationship between brothers with just her absence," he said curiously with an eager smile. "But they are focused and I can't say I mind their conviction to our teachings, particularly Izuna-kun. He is picking up jutsu as naturally as if he had lived here his entire life. He's a natural, not as much need for his Sharingan like Madara-kun."

"Then turn your attentions to Izuna. Mio is no longer important."

"And the Sacred clan of Kurata?" he asked skeptically.

"The Demon clan is closer to an agreement with the Senju clan than they will ever be with the Uchiha clan," she responded, having heard the news as soon as it became known that she had chosen Taiga. The Demon clan had a way of knowing these things. "It is useless to alliance with a clan with clashing ideals and the Demon clan will not fight wars for their partners. The Senju might at least respect that. I would not."

"Well, something about the girl must be interesting enough to have you take her in. You have no love for outsiders and she was just that after she was orphaned. What did you see in this girl?" he queried. "Did she awaken sympathy in you? Or had it always been about the Demon clan?"

Sachiyo thought the question through. She didn't have an obligation to say a thing, but she did. "I found her about to have her neck wrung, surrounded by the bloodied mess that man left behind—her mother's cold body on her lap, almost as if she was still shielding her in death, and her father's limbs in every place imaginable," she started, the dark memory replaying in her head. "I never heard of the girl before, this Mio, never cared for her, she simply was the daughter of two exceptionally skilled shinobi. She had nothing but a future that might just have ended earlier than most. She was raised outside the compound in a cottage where she only knew her parents. Apparently, they promised Eijiro his greatest spy and gained permission to keep her away from the wars so long as they remained present. To me she was insignificant until that moment—I saw her then, clearly. She was neither crying nor cowering; she was staring into his face. Perhaps I saw strength there that day."

Tomoji hummed with interest.

"I gathered reasons to keep her. Found them in the reports sent to Eijiro. I wanted to finish the job her parents started, playing it off as a tribute to my dead student. I had no real expectations of her, not after Kikyo excelled in her field." Tomoji's eyes brightened at the mere mention of Kikyo's name. "I swore there would be no other like her in many generations to come—I might have been wrong. I might be wrong now in saying this, but I wanted to believe the sacrifice had been worth it."

She paused to gather the wayward thoughts threatening to spill, keeping the emotions behind a barrier. "She has a brilliant mind," she started. "She's perceptive, she's careful, she's brilliant, but she has the misfortune of being born in a world where she doesn't belong. She is a strong combatant, but she is dominated by emotions. She feels too freely when it is unnecessary and clamps up when she needs to feel. I swear to you she cried killing a man because she thought it was unfair and yet she never shed a tear for her parents' death. I tried reasoning with her, saying it was all right to have emotions when she's not working, and when she and Madara started fighting every day, she would come cry to me. I thought she finally made a change until I caught her pinching the inside of her arm to accomplish it."

Tomoji chuckled. "I can never imagine you dealing with a girl like her."

"Most times I didn't. She had her confidant, a scullery maid. She had Izuna with whom she spent most her time with and then there was Madara, always bickering those two, but I can't say I minded it. Mio never clamped up around Madara, so I let them fight. She seemed almost normal…as far as that goes for children like them." Sachiyo breathed deeply. "But he made her angry. She did terrible things to him when she had a mood." She felt her mouth curve. "She once fished in the lake for hours until she caught a bucketful of fish and stuffed one in every drawer he owned not caring about the consequences. I imagined forcing them together might help settle their differences because there were moments when they were peaceful, when they could speak to one another without a snide comment, and times when they played outside as one expected of children their age. I think they shared secrets." Sachiyo's dark eyes flickered to meet Tomoji's enthrallment. "Madara and Mio. I always felt they shared secrets. It was natural…undoubtedly so."

"What made you keep her?" asked Tomoji after a lengthy silence. "In the end? If her brilliance clashed with her sensibilities. Why bother?"

Attachment. The word blared in her mind, but she said everything but that. "Potential. She had it. Usefulness. Name it. I made a good decision the day I took her from death."

"And yet she is no longer here," Tomoji reminded her, face molding into an unreadable mask. "She has ruined the relationship between two brothers and you speak of her as if she's died."

Sachiyo steeled herself, jaw clenched. "She's dead to me."

The Ito clan leader looked satisfied with her response. "It is almost time for Madara to leave for the Sun Country," he commented. She was thankful for the change of subject. "Will you see him off?"

"I plan to." She quenched her thirst with a last drink of lemony tea and left her seat. "I need to remind him the importance of this mission. I don't yet think he understands what it means for him to meet the Motou clan, especially since they were enemies to the Uchiha clan for so long."

"Leave it be," Tomoji said, rising from his cushion to join her across the room. "Sometimes ignorance can help mold one's resolve."

She shot him a disapproving look.

He shrugged. "I'm saying that he should understand there is no peace to be given for the Motou clan, they have no right to it and they won't bend to my will—sometimes force is needed to make the stubborn see that there are stronger men outside their religious bubble." He grinned malevolently. "Let him destroy the country if necessary, I have spared him enough men to accomplish just that. The Motou are weak now. It is the time to strike."

Sachiyo's eyes narrowed. Suspicion took root in her heart. How sure was she that he did not say the same about her broken clan to any secret alliance he had?

---

Minako rushed her as soon as she crossed the threshold, completely oblivious to her father's presence behind her. Her small arms wrapped around Mio's neck firmly as she jumped up and down with tangible glee.

"Minako," called Taiga, drawing the girl's attention to him.

"Hi daddy!" she greeted, taking Mio's hand and tugging her into the room. "Mio! Come! Mama made snacks." She gave her father a look. "You're not invited."

Taiga frowned, looking at Mio with the same expression. "I don't see what she sees in you."

"She's in here, come!"

"Sako!" called Taiga as he slammed the door shut behind him.

The group awaiting them in the quiet rest town split on Jouji's orders and he went on ahead to scout a safe road for traveling. Mio stayed because she stood in the center of it all and Taiga wanted her at arm's reach. She would sleep in the room next door while they remained there.

Sako practically stumbled out of the adjacent room. She might have thrown her arms around him if they shared a common, normal love and not the obligation of being cordial for the sake of their three-year-old daughter. There could have even existed the slightest form of possibility in which she approached him in an intimate way if she wasn't terrified of him, especially the death count he left in the wake of his grandfather's confirmed death.

Minako pulled her along past her mother chattering on about the snacks and Mio made eye contact with Sako, who gave her a small smile.

Mio closed the door behind her and joined the girl at the table where she stacked a plate full of rice cakes. She eyed her curiously. "I'm not that hungry."

"Mom says to eat enough."

"This is more than enough. Here." Mio returned five rice cakes from her plate, leaving two. "This is good, but I haven't had lunch yet."

"I think we're gonna have to have lunch soon."

"Let's wait for your parents to talk."

Minako seated herself beside Mio, leaning into her arm. She smiled up at her sweetly. "Will you stay with me today?"

Warm emotion welled in her, strong enough to calm the maelstrom of uncertainty she brought along with her. She hated separating from the brothers, felt the full brunt of it on the trip to the rest stop with Taiga and Jouji because she had years of understanding how things worked with them and she was clueless with the older shinobi. She did things that normally went on ignored by the brothers, but reprimanded by Jouji and Taiga. She wasn't up to par with their standards and they let her know. It made her uncomfortable—small, insignificant—and she didn't like it.

She felt homesick from the minute she set foot in the town, glimpsed at her foreign surroundings. It was like breathing strange oxygen into her lungs. Her eyes traveled everywhere, a novice mistake that did not go unnoticed by Jouji who reminded her to act normal. She walked behind Taiga stiffly, staring at his much larger figure and wishing it was Madara's back she was looking at and that Izuna strode besides her telling her something interesting. She wanted to run to the house in the countryside for a familiar setting, to sneak into her room and curl on top of her futon while listening to all the noises outside.

The confidence she had done in preparation of betraying Sachiyo and Izuna's trust cracked, and she was wrestling with the worst of it, but as she stared into Minako's round face, the rosy quality of her cheeks, the delighted glint in her dark eyes—the hesitation left her like evaporated water. She looked upon the girl as the sole reason she sat in that room instead of being in the Waterfall Country with Sachiyo and her grandsons. Sako and Minako wouldn't survive the separation of power, not if Taiga spent every waking moment in a mood, and with a heavy heart she agreed to Madara's scheme, swearing herself to his leadership and to a silence only a spy could share with her master.

They were playing a dangerous game. One that didn't make much sense to her. One that Madara probably hadn't finished formulating when the idea struck. The worst of it was that it relied on her as the centerpiece and anything could go wrong.

Hiryuu and Konoe might succeed in getting their hands on her and she would be tossed into Mikazuki Gouki's clutches for who knows what. Taiga or Jouji might start to suspect—or worse, see that she was loyal to Madara—and the mere thought alarmed her.

Today was not the time for thoughts like those.

Mio smiled at Minako, for a moment regretting nothing. "Yeah, I'm staying."

And she was terrified.

---

Mio shared her bed with Minako that first night, unable to close her eyes for even a minute of peace. She heard the sounds theymade in the adjacent room—the quiet whispers, the squeak of the mattress under the weight of two bodies, the moans of a woman that rang in the dead of night weaved of pain and passion. She focused on the light drum of her heart, counting each beat the appendage gave, and the chilling darkness that lingered in the ceiling forming shapes of monsters she promised to forget.

Sako gasped. "Oh please," she begged, her voice a muffled noise through the walls. A breathy plea for something unknown to Mio. "Please."

She squeezed her eyes tight, clamping both hands over her ears. The drumming of her heart grew louder, as if it beat within her head instead of in her chest. She tried to ignore it. She wanted to pretend those noises belonged to some animals outside her window, but their voices grew louder, needier. They rang louder in her head.

Mio felt Minako stir and startled, opening her eyes. She flopped onto her side and placed a hand to the side of the girl's head, covering her ear in the hopes she muffled the sounds next door.

She wished she never heard it.

Sako's voice dripped ecstasy as she called her husband's name, but the name that left his mouth and lingered in the lusty atmosphere was not his wife's…it was hers.

Uttered like a forbidden passion. "Mio." His voice was a low grumble, marked by vulnerability. He sucked in a shuddering breath and spoke it once more—as if in confirmation of a detail she wanted to erase from her memory—soft and yearning. "Mio."

Her blood ran cold.

Mio blinked, the pain sharp in her wrist. A single tear rolled off the bridge of her nose.

---

Mio attempted to diffuse the situation and thrust it into a darkened corner in her brain where she put everything she lacked the maturity to solve. She acted refreshed when she entered their room the following morning to deliver a still slumbering Minako. She waited for the right moment to knock, timed it out perfectly, to ensure she found no trace of last night's intimacy that could potentially remind her of the thing she refused to think of, but had already from the moment she saw Taiga fastening his kimono shirt over a dark long-sleeve underneath.

She heard the name resonate in her head as she had last night and the chill returned to her bloodstream.

Sako appeared to take Minako from her arms with a kind smile and her behavior unnerved her, but she swallowed down the slur of confusion setting in alongside the cold.

She listened to the rain pelting noisily over the roof as she waited to hear the itinerary for that day.

"Jouji should return tomorrow evening," Taiga announced, standing in her periphery.

She berated herself for almost jolting. "Do we just sit here until then?"

"I'm getting breakfast. You guard Sako and Minako." Taiga used the Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself before leaving the room.

Mio was about to do the same when Sako reappeared and invited her to sit.

She liked to think there was another woman in Taiga's life that shared her name. It wouldn't be uncommon. Perhaps, she imagined, he fell madly in love with this other Mio during one of his missions, but had already been married to Sako, making the mere thought of a relationship impossibly forbidden. Not that it stopped him. Marriage was rarely synonymous with love in their world and it was common knowledge that many men relished in taking mistresses to keep them company in whatever country they were stationed.

This might have been a severe misunderstanding and she felt guilty for someone else's crime. Why else would Sako want to speak to her?

"Taiga told me you'll be staying," she said excitedly.

Mio nodded awkwardly. "Yes. I'm loyal to your husband. I believe in him as Jouji-san does," she said, removing the emotion from her voice with great difficulty. "Taiga-sama has important information that can help the clan prosper when the time is right, for now he needs to understand why his grandfather left him with it in the first place."

Sako looked her in the eyes, a vast icy blue that reminded her of snow topped mountains…and Kurata. "Thank you for staying," she said quietly. "I know it's because of us, Minako and me, that you left Sachiyo-sama and her grandchildren. You must feel terrible. I know how close you were to Izuna-sama—"

"I don't want to think about it."

"Sorry," she said lowly. "It's just…I'm happy you're staying. Taiga…he listens to you. Jouji-sama is great too, but he can't talk sense into Taiga…but you can. He listens to you. I don't know why…but I think you can help him, you know, understand why Eijiro-sama left him the information and all."

That sounded painful.

Mio prayed for a distraction because she didn't need Taiga's wife telling her that her husband listened to her, a fourteen-year-old girl he had been extorting the last six years. The last thing she wanted was to sound modest and if she denied she had the ability to talk sense into Taiga, which most days was like talking to a wall, Sako would automatically classify it as the modest thing to say. Mio wasn't about modesty and Eijiro's death did not mean she became Taiga's next guardian.

She noticed she stayed quiet far too long because Sako's expectant look turned to one of concern.

"Is something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I need to use the toilet."

She stood.

"Oh, is that a bruise on your wrist?" Sako pointed at the purplish contusion. "Did you hit yourself?"

"Yeah," I lied. "On the way over I hit the corner of a desk. I bruise like a peach. It barely hurt."

Mio left the room as casually as she could and hurried into her own, sinking back into bed to continue believing there had been no trace of pain in Sako's tone when she put her and Taiga in the same sentence. She stared at the ceiling, the light dispelled the frightening shapes she observed last night, and now more than ever she wondered if she truly did the right thing.

---

Winter crept in with dusk.

---

Two months had passed since the Uchiha clan divided its forces under five of its most influential members: Hiryuu, Tajima, Sachiyo, Hikaku, and Taiga. Although word of the split had been nonexistent, news of each leader's accomplishments traveled fast and enemy clans had begun to suspect the Uchiha was gathering strength in new alliances and they were growing restless for more details.

Mio had heard that the Uchiha-Mikazuki alliance under the joint collaboration of Hiryuu and Mikazuki Gouki, the two men responsible for the deaths of her parents, had garnered praise from two of the most powerful lords in the Fire Country. They had been awarded free reign within domains and the price had been a pledge of loyalty and protection to the aristocrats, their families, their denizens, and their lands. For a mercenary clan like the Mikazuki, this had been too easy a deal to accept because that kind of support would become useful in the future.

Tajima's group had remained in the Wind Country, continuing their territory wars against the three Sand Dome clans, and had since wiped one from existence. His group had remained in alliance with Sachiyo's, both having taken the largest amount of followers they had become the biggest threat to the Uchiha-Mikazuki. However, neither had shown signs of aggression towards one another.

News did reach Mio on Sachiyo's side and she had learned that the older woman had taken her grandsons to the Waterfall Country to approach the infamous Ito clan, a band of assassins, for an alliance that had many waiting on bated breath. One that had been confirmed a week after the assumption had first spread to the rest of the world.

Hikaku had taken his Uchiha into the Earth Country and the last she had heard of him was that he'd accepted a mission from a lord that had recently risen to power and had since been conquering one clan after the next on his behalf.

Meanwhile, Taiga's mediocre group of Uchiha had remained obscured and without accomplishments living a semi-normal existence on the run that had been steadily wearing on his patience.

Today, morning was bleak and sullen with overstuffed clouds hiding the sun from her inn room window. A new storm came and went every day they had spent in town, each harsher than the last, and had made it impossible to travel long distances with a civilian and her three-year-old daughter in tow. However, that had only been the cusp of their problems since they began traveling. It had become common knowledge within the shinobi community that Hiryuu was searching for two deserters, the Nameless One and a fourteen-year-old girl with her description, and he had apparently been offering rewards for information of their capture.

It had been worrying her that they were only three shinobi and Jouji's twelve followers with two civilians in a world that wanted her capture and Taiga's demise.

Jouji reentered her inn room, eyes ablaze. "Get away from the window."

Mio stepped away, returning to her seat at the edge of her bed. "Sorry."

He gave her two simple tasks when he left that morning: to not peer through the windows or leave the room without first using a Transformation Jutsu to disguise herself as a redheaded merchant's daughter and she had already grown bored enough to defy him.

The older man pulled up a chair and seated himself. "We need to relocate. There are several Mikazuki shinobi prowling the area."

"Where are we supposed to go?" she asked curiously.

"There are strong clans in the Lightning Country, Hiryuu won't chase us there. We can stay there longer, at least until we can find a place to leave Sako and Minako."

"I think we should go somewhere they couldn't even consider," she suggested after a pregnant pause. This seemed like a good time to make use of the familial connections Eijiro brought to her attention. "The Lightning Country is the perfect choice, but I can think of something better."

"Unless you can get us into Kurata on invitation, the Lightning Country is our only choice." He seemed to have attempted at a joke, but failed. Jouji left his seat. "I'm getting Taiga. He needs to listen to this."

"I can do it," she spoke up.

Jouji had opened the door, but as soon as he heard the words leave her mouth, he shut it and turned slowly. "What?"

"I can do it," she repeated assuredly. She gradually lost confidence in the words she attempted to say. "I think I can…I hope I can."

He approached her bedside. "Can you or can't you?"

She nodded. "I can."

He sank back into the chair he left behind. "Tell me."

"Eijiro summoned me before his death," she recounted quietly. "He told me to find my grandfather, to forget the clan and find him because he would take me to Mt. Hyōga."

Jouji turned pensive, speaking only once the concentration left his expression. "Which of your parents is the halfling?"

"My mother," she said, ignoring the insult in that word. Although, Eijiro never truly clarified which of her parents had the connection to the Kuronuma, it was easy to figure out because she met her father's parents before they passed away, both Uchiha.

"Yes, I heard of this before," he said, interested. "Your mother's parentage had always been sketchy. It makes perfect sense now. The Kuronuma would have never allowed her to stay an Uchiha. If Eijiro told you about the Kuronuma, it could be they found out about you and want for you to join them." He nodded. "But this only secures your safety. The Kuronuma rarely cohort with outsiders and the chances of anyone other than you making it to Mt. Hyōga are uncertain."

"My grandfather isn't in Mt. Hyōga. He's in neutral country."

"How that man made it to the Iron Country is almost as surprising as the fact that he's a Kuronuma shinobi. The disputes between shinobi and samurai have gotten worse as of late, so if they are even suspicious that we are shinobi, we will be captured."

"He's a blacksmith. That's all I know about him."

"And that he will look as the rest of his clan."

"Gigantic and rose-eyed," she said with a nod. "Can we take the risk? Should we?"

The door opened, startling them out of their trance, and Taiga stepped in with a lazy grin. He strode past Jouji and let a hand fall on her shoulder. "We take the risk. No questions."

Mio awkwardly ducked away from his touch, unable to pass even an accidental brush of arms as appropriate. That first night had only been the first of several nights that he had forgotten his wife's name in the throes of passion and she couldn't stand his hands anywhere near her with Sako in the other room.

He noticed. "Something wrong?"

"I have a bruise there," she lied, leaving her bed. "You hurt me."

"I don't see a bruise," he toyed.

"We should prepare for the trip," Jouji cut in. "It will be hard on Sako. She's not used to walking long distances in short periods of time."

"If she wants to keep breathing, she'll need to adjust."

Mio frowned deeply, moving to the window once more.

"Problem, Mio?"

"No."

---

Disguise bought them several days of peaceful travel, but now they were crossing into a bandit-heavy area and their masquerading as merchants was like walking around with a sign that practically begged poachers to beat and rob them.

The bandits attacked in large groups, relying on brute strength and were unfazed about letting their victims hear them coming because in the long trajectory of their thieving lives, they learned to feed off fear.

Heavy footfalls alerted Mio of their proximity. She lifted her eyes to Taiga's back and saw him take Sako's hand firmly. He whispered something in her ear and she tensed before snatching Minako off the ground.

Jouji looked particularly disinterested in the situation.

Mio heard the first booted foot crunch over the ground. She untied the straps to her pack with ease, feeling the weight of it fall from her shoulders and drop heavy on the dirt-packed floor.

The others continued onward, fully aware of her intentions, as she stilled. She turned in time to count seven men stalking closer with wide grins on their faces.

Before the first bandit opened his mouth to demand attention, Mio's kunai was already embedded in his throat. He hit the ground hard, drowning in his own blood. The twitching body startled the men into thinking there were shinobi hiding in the trees when Mio lurched forward, jumping high to ram her knee into another bandit's face. She caught them by surprise long enough to target another's jugular with a set of shuriken, but as soon as the second one had fallen, the others swung heavy, rusted axes at her barely minding their trajectory.

The heaviest swings missed her by a hair, but the third slit the fabric of her sleeve and broke into the skin. It was a shallow scratch, but receiving it from a blunt weapon caused her nerve ends to burst in pain.

"End it!" snapped Taiga behind her. "We don't have time to toy with mice!"

She drew enough weapons to hit the vitals of the remaining five giants and it was over as soon as Taiga ordered it. She wanted to elongate the one-sided battle because she was in desperate need of refinement after weeks of chakra control disputes and Transformation Jutsus. There was no room for training during their travels because it would call attention to them and they wanted to stay invisible.

---

Sako woke with a jolt and slapped her leg reflexively.

Mio sat startled, hearing a rustling behind her. "Are you okay?"

She sleepily rubbed the back of her neck, dispelling a yawn. "Yeah," she said groggily. "I think I had a nightmare."

Mio glimpsed at the sleeping men and Minako snoring with her head on her father's arm. None of them stirred as Sako returned her head to the makeshift pillow and closed her eyes. Once the silence crept in, Mio thought she heard a distant rattling and she glanced back in the blond woman's direction.

---

Bandits chased them to the borders of neutral country where the shinobi wars could no longer reach them and poachers feared death with its teeming population of samurai. It took five hours and five rest stops before they finally reached the first town within reach. It stood strong as a merchant dwelling for travelers that made trades with them from a short list of countries.

Sometime during their travels, Jouji's men had learned that the shipments Kurata received to nourish its small population came from here, from the only established connection the Kuronuma clan approved. It seemed as though they trusted the samurai more than they did their own brethren, but talks of alliances had surface in the last couple of days, most linking them to the Uzumaki clan and others the Senju clan.

Crossing the gates felt like breathing for the first time for Mio. They had undone their Transformation Jutsu and discarded their weapons long before entering the main road. Jouji had temporarily cut his connections with his unit of spies, leaving leadership to his most trusted man, and had helped devise a plan to ensure their safety within the area, one that included fake traveling papers for an artisan family that wanted to start anew away from the harsh world beyond its neutral borders.

If Mt. Hyōga was an impenetrable stronghold, the Iron Country was a shelter for the civilians that functioned under special protection, preventing the war from breaching its borders. It was a safe house, but not for shinobi. Not for the reason war and bloodshed continued—not for the unworthy.

It was the busiest town Mio had ever encountered. There were shops everywhere with merchants drawing customers off the street, gloating about their finely grown produce—"It's the best in the world!"—or their neatly arranged decorations—"You will see no other crafts like these!" there were eateries—decent looking ones—full of people engaged in conversation. There were voices everywhere, a static of sound in her ears like a hive of bees.

Mio probably looked as excited as Minako, who had sprinted forward in her amazement forcing everyone to walk a little fast to keep her in sight. She wanted to do the same, but stood her ground instead, following close behind Jouji. First, they would need to find an inn and blend with the crowds until they grew familiar enough with the area to begin asking questions.

She took care to familiarize with the streets and the different parts of town that might prove useful in the meantime.

Second would be the actual search for her mysterious grandfather. They never talked past meeting the Kuronuma. Taiga wanted to make a decision after making contact and for once, Jouji agreed. Neither of them wanted to jeopardize her safety to the unknown, and she wasn't entirely sure she was ready to meet a direct family member after years of only knowing she had none left. But her grandfather wanted her in his custody, that was what Eijiro said before he died. He said the man could provide her freedom from her duties and a safe haven for a home. She wondered if she overstepped any boundaries by bringing company.

Sako coughed noisily, drawing Mio's attention to the flush crawling up the back of her neck and the limp in her step.

"Sako…?"

She turned with a smile. "I think all this walking's made me sick. I've got a headache and everything."

Mio suspected the blond woman was running a fever as well as experiencing other forms of discomfort. Taiga paid her no mind, too concerned with finding a place to stay in a street lined with too many people for his liking.

Jouji eventually stopped the group upon seeing Sako's deteriorating health and they found a bench for her to sit on in front of a restaurant. Mio bought water and a platter of meat skewers to encourage Sako to eat, but she refused all food. Taiga and Minako got a table and ordered for themselves when everyone else refused to eat. He told Minako everyone else wasn't hungry so she wouldn't ask questions about her mother.

"What if we find a doctor?" asked Mio, removing her palm from Sako's forehead. She was burning up. "There should be someone in this town."

Customers continued pouring into the establishment behind them.

"Oh, Shin-san, what brings you out here?" called the owner from inside, who was a giant man with a bald head, dark beard, and hazel eyes. "I haven't seen you around these parts for quite some time."

Jouji nodded in agreement and rose to his full height. "I'll ask around."

"I'm here to pick up the order my assistant made. Is it ready?" answered a customer. Mio glance over her shoulder as Jouji disappeared in a crowd of people. The tall store sign shielded the back of the man standing beside it and she turned back to Sako, who started breathing noisily, the fever worsening.

"This is quite a bit of food for just you and that niece of yours."

"I have guests."

The storeowner laughed. "Guests? That's odder than seeing you on the street."

Mio soaked a folded piece of cloth and placed it on Sako's forehead. She sat back unable to do anything but hold her hand as she slipped in and out of consciousness when a shadow fell across them. She didn't notice it until the man to whom it belonged spoke to her.

"It's a snake bite," he said, the voice belonged to the man who had just been speaking to the restaurant owner.

She looked back at the olive-skinned man as he stared at her with pale eyes, a closer shade to pink than red, and a crop of snowy hair that fell just above his shoulders. He stood at a near six feet three with a giant's build clothed in a patterned kimono shirt and ordinary trousers.

Mio believed in coincidences as much as she believed in three-eyed ravens. She lost her voice. This man was a Kuronuma.

The man thrust the box toppled in containers full of steaming food into her hands. "You carry that and follow me. I have a niece that knows a thing or two about poisons. Go call your traveling companions."

She sputtered. "No."

"Mio, now," he ordered.

She jumped to her feet when he grabbed Sako. "How do you know my name?"

He arched an eyebrow at her. "What kind of person would I be if I didn't know my own granddaughter's name? Come on, I've been expecting you and your people."

She should have been more suspicions, deep down inside, she knew it was the best thing she could do in her situation, but Kuronuma were hard to come by and this one had a niece that knew about poisons. She felt desperate enough to concede and not near as distrustful as she wished she would be.

Mio poked her head into the restaurant and waved her arm until it caught Taiga's attention. She relayed Sako's condition and forced him and his daughter out of the establishment to meet the giant Kuronuma waiting outside the entrance. They found Jouji on his way to them and one look at the smiling man silenced him.

He shot Mio a secret look. She shrugged.

"Do you have a name?" asked Taiga, breaking the silence.

"Shin," he answered simply. "That would do fine. What would you like me to call you, Oh Nameless One?"

"Taiga is fine."

Shin made a strange humming sound, as if he expected a different answer.

Mio walked in his shadow, completely overwhelmed with the anticlimactic slur of events. She expected it to take months before she found her grandfather and thought he would be a grumpy old thing with deep wrinkles (though this man barely had a hint of crow's feet and laugh lines) that would force her through several tests to confirm she was, indeed, his granddaughter. She felt cheated, but then again, she had never wanted to be assuming that the entire Kuronuma clan comprised of enigmas (or creeps).

Shin took them to the outskirts of the town and up a winding road leading into a steep mountain hill until they finally reached a moderately sized home, which came equipped with a neighboring workshop for his blacksmithing needs. Everything was set outside, the furnace visible as soon as it loomed before them.

"Okimi," he called, feet away from the entrance.

Another Kuronuma emerged from within the house and Mio half expected an Amazoness to step out, one that matched the criteria every male in the clan met, but the woman that appeared was surprisingly normal. She stood an inch taller than Mio with a cascade of white hair tied into a high ponytail and her eyes were a deeper shade of rose. She looked to be around Sako's age with a pretty round face and a shapely figure beneath unflattering clothes.

She read the situation at once, exhilaration lighting up her face. "Snake bite, like Hag said?"

Shin nodded in confirmation. "Snake bite."

"In the room, I already had an anti-venom prepared." Okimi let Shin duck under the door to cross the threshold with Sako in his arms. She offered her a kind smile before disappearing behind him. "Nice to meet you, Mio."

"How did you find that man?" whispered Jouji, taking her by the arm.

"He walked into the restaurant," she explained. "He found me."

"I don't trust him," Taiga announced, Minako in his arms.

Jouji shot him a disparaging look. "It's better that you start. That snake bite could have been fatal."

Taiga rolled his eyes. He didn't need to say what was on his mind when his indifference made it as clear as day.

Minako blinked from one person to the other. "Is momma gonna be okay?"

"Yeah," answered Mio, searching for a reason to remain as suspicious as Taiga. "She will be."

---

Shin approached her as she scanned the tools of his craft with a curious eye, passing the anvil in the center toppled with several melding devices. A subtle wave of heat still radiated off the furnace that looked as though it had not been on for days. "I could teach you if you prefer the life of the common folk."

Mio nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice. He walked without noise it seemed.

"Do you prefer it?" she asked quietly.

He smiled. "I think it's convenient. War and death are rarely rewarding, I enjoy time from it."

"How did you know where to look?" she asked, perturbed by the mere coincidence of it all. Even so, without his sudden appearance, Sako might not have gotten the right anti-venom for a bite nobody realized had occurred. "How did you know I was here?"

"How? That's a tedious question better saved for a rainy day and it looks like a snowstorm is coming." He stared at the gathering clouds with a strangely amused smile. "It's best you learn things in a certain order, you were not raised with the other Kuronuma children so there are things you may not understand. Plus, you're a skeptic like your mother. You just might be the death of me."

Mio's heart leapt. "You met my mother?"

"Kikyo. Yes. Beautiful girl and I'm not just saying this 'cause I'm her father—okay, I am." He grinned sheepishly. "I spoiled her rotten. I'm sure she was a troublesome child to raise. Her poor mother never stood a chance. Eijiro-san said you were a quiet one, her complete opposite."

"You've met Eijiro as well?"

"Yes. He's let me see your reports before his death."

She stared at her feet, fighting back embarrassment and curiosity.

"I never expected you to arrive with this group. Hag said two brothers, but pathways are ever changing. Nothing can be done about that."

Madara and Izuna. She didn't ask him to elaborate on what he meant. She knew he would shoot her down, but there was another question in her head. "Why was it so important to find me?"

"Because I'm your family," he said firmly, eyes on her. "Connections are important in the Kuronuma clan and it is unheard of for anyone with our blood living outside Mt. Hyōga until your grandmother left with your mother in arms."

She didn't want to press the subject of her grandmother. It sounded touchy. "Unheard of?"

"Kuronuma Musashi, the patriarch of the clan, is my father and our bloodline is a tad…particular. We enforce unity more because of it."

She said nothing.

"I suppose that says nothing, but Hag believes your line of descendants are the ones to watch."

Nothing that left his mouth made any sense.

"I'm confusing you. I'm going now."

Shin waved by the door, blinked, and then walked back muttering an apology when he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her in the air and squeezing her tight. She froze mid-squeak unable to process the action and stared wide-eyed at him once he set her feet back on the ground and the warmth of the embrace left her.

He grinned at her. "Happy birthday, Mio."

He reentered him home, waving, and she stood in place, stupefied.

---

Mio had expertly changed the subject whenever anyone had asked for her birthday. She had hated the idea of celebrating the day, and in six years, she had avoided giving a date. That had never stopped Kana from celebrating her birthday in the spring, a season too late, when the weather warmed. She always had prepared her favorite dishes and had baked a cake with an extra candle every year. She had appreciated the effort and the gifts, remembering most of those things brought a smile to her face, but she had learned to ignore the real day altogether.

It came at the start of winter, usually during the coldest week when the trees lost their leaves and looked too brittle to touch. If she said she had spent those days on her own fully aware of her parents' absence would be a lie. She had expected every new year to be the one they missed because the battlefields had been harsh and every shinobi had a place, but when her birthday came around, she had watched both Genji and Kikyo step through the entrance. Most years, they had arrived battle worn, and others bleeding through their clothes from fresh new wounds—once her father had passed out on the way in to Kikyo's unsuspected delight over winning the bet. She had spent the day helping them swathe blood off their injuries and had listened to them exchange information they had acquired, prepping to return, and had asked her to memorize as much as she could. They had quizzed her several times before leaving the following morning after lying beside her until she had fallen asleep.

She sat sandwiched between her parents' warm bodies once staring into the fireplace, the logs cracking noisily as the fire waved restlessly. Beside her, Genji had trouble keeping his eyes open. She felt the difference in her parents' temperature, her father was running a terrible fever and she couldn't fathom what that meant for his health. She turned to her mother, seeing the fire reflected in her careful gaze. "Mom, I think dad's dying. We should take him to see a medic. He might have an infection."

"I'll take his as soon as you go to sleep. You know he can be stubborn," Kikyo said with a small smile. She looked over Mio's head to her husband's scrunched up face. "We want to be here with you. We know how lonely it gets when we're not around and you've been working so hard lately."

"When I feel like dying, you'll be the first to know," added Genji, straightening in his seat with a low hiss. He draped his arm around both their shoulders, pulling them closer so Mio was squished against his side. "Now, we need to decide what to eat before I starve to death."

"Maybe something sweet?" suggested Kikyo.

Genji frowned. "I told you we should have stopped at that confectionary store for something."

"The town was swarming with enemies," argued her mother.

"I can make something," Mio piped in.

"Leave it to me," Kikyo said immediately, leaving the warmth of the blanket draped across their legs. "I'll see what we can do with what's in the kitchen."

Genji enveloped Mio in a warm hug and rested his cheek atop her head. "Let's hope she doesn't kill us all."

Mio giggled. "She's not that terrible."

He snorted. "Oh yeah, goddess in the kitchen that one."

"If you weren't already dying, I swear I'd end you," grumbled Kikyo from behind the cupboards. Despite her tone, it sounded as empty as every other threat she made at her husband.

Genji smiled that secret smile of his that turned his wife's cheeks red without uttering a word.

They had brought her gifts whenever they returned home again, tiny treasures she had kept in a box buried in the floorboards underneath her bed at the old cottage. She had never gone back to get them and she regretted it now. She felt an urge to look through it and remember the memories each called into her head.

Mio sat up, the room silent and dark, and moved out of bed noiselessly.

Shin live in a strange house. The exterior looked too modest and small to house all four bedrooms in a single hallway, a kitchen, and a sitting room. She had been given her own room at the end of the hall. Taiga and his family had been staying in the largest room and Jouji had the bedroom next door. Okimi had taken the remaining guest room in the hall. Shin had pointed out the hallway through the kitchen that led to his sleeping quarters and had told her to find him if she needed anything.

She dug through her luggage and tugged free the wide leather notebook she received from Eijiro years ago. Madara had ripped so many pages out of it the same day it was gifted to her, ruining it for the purpose it was meant to serve. The center of the notebook was in tatters, most of the pages only ripped in half, some dangling off. She tore another page and wrote a short coded message. Even if someone intersected it and read it, they might think it was code for something completely different. She rolled it as one might a scroll and repacked her things.

Mio left her room, appreciating that the bathroom sat in the back of the house. She managed the trip outside without a sound where she was assaulted by snow-dusted winds. Once there she put her hands together to create a clone, to whom she handed the rolled piece of paper.

"You know where to take this," she whispered.

The clone nodded and rushed down the road, out of sight. She hoped the message made it to its destination.

Mio whirled around quickly and walked straight into Shin. She lifted her eyes, heart hammering in her chest.

He yawned. "Goodnight, Mio," he said, stepping past her.

He didn't see.

"Next time use one of my people," he suggested, pulling the door open for the bathroom. "Your clone might not make the trip."

He saw. Mio gulped down the lump in her throat and returned to her room in a rush. She didn't hear him approaching and it unnerved her.

---

Shin pulled a chair in front of her and took a seat, his skin covered in soot from hours spent in front of the furnace. His expression was grave. "Mio, we need to talk."

"I don't like your tone," she told him.

"Well, I want to sound authoritative. So, you'll just have to deal with it."

Mio spared him a glance, fully committed to sharpening a jagged dagger unique to the Kuronuma. She thought it looked familiar, much like the one the Kuronuma Elder Enya had with him the day he took her prisoner in Kurata. "Okay."

Outside Minako frolicked with Okimi and Sako, both women fast friends. Taiga and Jouji were out gathering information from their various connections and she was asked to stay behind because the cold weather had given her a cold.

"I want you to start calling me grandpa. Minako-chan started two days ago—even Sako-chan started calling me papa."

"Pervert." Mio left her seat. He looked aghast. She turned on her way into the hallway. "All you are is an old pervert."

"But Mio-chan—!"

She shot him a firm look. "No."

Shin clamped his mouth shut and stared at his booted feet in defeat.

When she entered her room, she found Shin inside. "No, but really we need to talk," he said immediately.

"Which one is the clone?"

Shin grinned teasingly. "Won't use your lovely Sharingan to help you?"

"The Kuronuma repel the Sharingan's ability."

"Around ninety-five percent of your information on the Kuronuma may be incorrect."

"That statement is a part of the five percent."

"But repel isn't the right word, it implies that it does have an effect and we just resist it."

"What word would you use?" she challenged.

"Null," he answered simply and gestured for her to sit. "We null the Sharingan. There's a difference."

Mio sat on the edge of her bed. The secret conversation was an odd surprise because she felt it overdue.

An entire week had passed since he had caught her sending a clone to a location she had discussed with Madara the day of the agreement and he had acted normal, as if nothing had occurred.

She was naturally suspicious. About everything really. Like the rest of his creepy clan, he seemed to know things one normally wouldn't and she liked to think the whole lot of rose-eyed recluses were perverts that spent their free time stalking people of interest.

She set her hands on her waist. "Okay."

"Sachiyo of the Uchiha never completed your training. I have spoken to Jouji and he wishes to wait before helping you. He believes Sako and Minako need to be removed from your custody temporarily and I offered a nice alternative to sending them into one of the safe houses here. I'm aware Taiga wishes to have Minako trained and I can have that arranged without him turning her into another him."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What alternative?"

"Mt. Hyōga. Okimi is scheduled to leave next week and she agreed to escort them. She also offered to take Minako under her wing once she is old enough," he explained. "Although, it's troubling, the weather in Mt. Hyōga is harsh. For children that know the warmth of the Fire Country; it might be difficult to adjust." He did a light shrug. "Frostbite."

"No," she said snappishly. "They won't go."

"There are three villages in Kurata, one is still under the protection of the clan—it's the heart of the mountain that is the harshest, not those villages," he said soothingly. "It is much like the winter here, a few degrees lower, but the conditions are not as extreme as they are on the actual mountain. It is easier for a person to transition once they've spent enough time in Kurata. Okimi will stay with them after the ceremony."

"Ceremony?"

"Marriage ceremony, Okimi is returning to marry."

"Oh. Shouldn't you be going?"

"Nobody invites me to important functions. There is always wine and I get intolerable."

Shameless. She told herself to congratulate the woman when she had the chance because it might seem rude if she didn't, knowing and all.

"That reminds me, you've met her fiancé, Enya, he's an Elder."

"The one that doesn't shut up?"

"Don't let her hear you say that, she'll destroy you and everything you love." Shin leaned forward. "He never shuts up. It's like he's vomiting words and sentences and questions and stuff that makes no sense—annoying little beast that one, but he treats her right. They're surprisingly perfect for each other. He's an idiot, she's an idiot—idiots in love are the best sort of idiot."

"I hope she hears you say that."

"She won't, but I don't keep my opinions to myself. Chances are I told her this already."

"Will Sako and Minako be okay in the village?" Mio asked seriously. "If it's an inconvenience I will make sure they're fine in a safe house if they cannot stay there."

"Don't misunderstand, Mio, I offered the alternative to ensure they're safe. Nobody in their right mind would dream of hiking through Kurata. For one, it's cold. Second, nobody wants to mess with a shinobi clan they know nothing about. Three, said shinobi clan is pretty feral about the wellbeing of their villagers. Four, it's not like it hasn't been attempted and failed. The temperature is too low for anyone to survive without proper equipment and even with proper equipment they don't stay alive longer than a day or two."

"I was there before…I went into the mountain ranges and it wasn't so terrible."

"Because you were nowhere near the third village, let alone the mountain itself. What you experienced that day was a breeze for us? It's a cool morning after a hot summer."

Mio wanted to think it was a lie because it was cold enough with Enya's borrowed pelt and the Elder had walked around in a scant shirt. That was cool to them? It sounded crazy.

"I'd take you to prove a point, but…frostbite." Shin sighed. "Kurata is the safest area. It will be for as long as Minako needs it to be. I have already spoken to Taiga about it. He agreed to most of it. I don't think he trusts me, but at this point, he has no chance of anything. He needs to learn a few harsh lessons, just as you need to learn to be a Kuronuma."

She blinked, perplexed by the whole statement. "Will Sako and Minako be okay?"

"Yes. I give you my word."

"Can I trust your word?"

"Yes."

Mio relented with a nod.

"I must tell you now," he said, stepping in front of her. "Black Water Jutsu is a precarious thing. It is easiest for Kuronuma to learn it because we undergo the training you will undertake from the moment we're infants. The heat and the effect it has on the human body is different for us and it is difficult to master if you have not had the early training."

"Why teach me?"

"Because you have something you've got to accomplish, but why sit around and do nothing. You have the boy you're loyal to conquering a country with an army of shinobi, a psychopath that would lock you in a basement if it prevented his enemies from reaching you, and an old spy that only knows craft and not how to teach it. These men will ship you off and marry you the first chance it becomes convenient for them," he said strongly. "I want to give you a gift for all the years I could never spend with you or your mother, but I want you to earn it. Be strong. Be loyal to you. Life isn't about living obediently, no, not even if you're a spy. You can pay back your debts to that Uchiha family some other way."

She lowered her eyes to her lap, his words sinking in quickly. "Can I learn it? The Black Water Jutsu?"

"Not immediately. We won't start that training until you've grown accustomed to the heat. But we're not at the level where this'll be easy. We'll start somewhere else. The basics." Shin pulled a folded letter from his pocket and placed it in front of her face. "I had one of my men follow your clone. Don't look so shocked. He's loyal. He retrieved what she couldn't. Your master has left a note."

Mio took it from his hand, bothered by the master comment. "Will you tell them?"

"Taiga? Jouji? Who will I tell?"

"They're not supposed to know," she whispered, unable to stop herself from talking. "We made a promise nobody would know…except us."

"I can help you. You only need to let me." Shin stepped to the door. "I'll leave you to read the letter."

"You're the clone."

He smiled. "Nope."

She frowned.

The door creaked shut behind him.

Mio opened the letter carefully and read the coded message:

The hag is angry. Izuna is going through a phase, but the Ito clan like him. I was shipped off to the world's most annoying country.

Tajima took control of the Wind Country. Hiryuu won't stop hounding the house.

Don't be annoying. Avoid the borders.

Don't get caught.

She tore another page from her notebook and wrote a simple correspondence to the shallow update he provided:

I know, stupid.

The Iron Country is safe.

Remember the Kuronuma Elder? The one that caught me? He's marrying my cousin in a week.

Sako and Minako are going to Kurata, to live in the third village. It's the only one still under Kuronuma protection.

She folded it and left the room to find Shin meandering in the kitchen. She held it towards him. "Please help me."

He took it. "Same place?"

She nodded.

"You need to switch areas constantly. It's never safe to leave something in the same place for a prolonged time. Someone usually finds out and you're in the most danger. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Good." He slipped it in his pocket. "I'll have it left in place."

---

Okimi and Sako shared secrets while Mio chased Minako around the back of the house listening to her grandfather hammering a new weapon. Jouji and Taiga were gathering information as always, only showing their faces when in need of supplies.

Every day was like this. Whenever Jouji and Taiga were missing, nobody talked of the battlefields giving them a semblance of peace. Shin worked hard to lessen his workload and spoke no more of training her than he had the day he suggested it. Okimi's title as a blacksmith's assistance proved to be only for show since she spent most of her time avoiding her uncle. Sako and Minako finally looked at ease with their surroundings, having found a place to live without the fear of being killed at another person's whim.

The amount of normalcy was stifling. She wanted to do something. She wanted to run, long and fast, until her lungs ached and her muscles throbbed. She didn't have weapons to practice throwing. Practicing any sort of jutsu in the Iron Country required special permission she didn't have and an amount of exposure she didn't need. Permission was only given to Kuronuma shinobi.

She never realized how hard she had worked under Sachiyo's care, every day she had something to do and when she didn't, she had done something to keep her mind off the boredom. Here and there, she had spent time with Izuna and they would walk to the lake when the weather was good so she could fish, she had stayed in the verandah and had watched the brothers sparing, always amazed with the high-level jutsu they had mastered and wondered if she could ever become a spy to match their stride. Sometimes she had argued with Madara (or most times) and all they had were Sachiyo's punishments to bridge the peace. She wondered if they had returned back home to the countryside, the betrayal having not taken place, would Sachiyo force them to sleep in the barn as she had promised.

Mio was suffocating. It all seemed too normal. The Kuronuma clan was anything but, so the picturesque days she spent with two seemingly prominent members seemed more like a lie every day…until finally change arrived.

Okimi and Sako would be leaving.

"Mio."

She snapped out of her trance and found Sako. "Can we talk before I go?"

"Talk?" Mio asked, dumbfounded.

Sako took her by the wrist and gave her a gentle tug toward the entrance of the house. "Yeah, let's talk. We haven't had much time to talk since we got here. Okimi-san—she's so distracting, I can barely keep up with her."

Okimi and Minako played in the snow. Mio looked at them one last time before Sako shut the door behind them.

She could still hear her grandfather's hammering as she took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs, across Sako's place. Sako's cold hands still held hers and a smile lit her face.

"If Shin-san wasn't your grandfather, there's no telling where we would have ended up," Sako started, as she did most conversations with an appreciative tone. "And he's helping us so much. I mean, sending us to Kurata with Okimi—it's incredible. She says we'll be safe there…from everything, did you know about it, I mean, before today?"

"He told me a while ago," she admitted. "He wanted to make sure I was okay with it. I talked to Okimi-san too, she promised to take care of you like she would a sister. I don't doubt it."

Okimi's attachment to Sako had been immediate. It worked both ways. They were closer in age and liked discussing subjects Mio found uninteresting. One night they had stayed up all night talking about their ex-boyfriends and once Okimi realized Mio had remained silent too long, she had started directing the questions at her.

"Do you like a boy?" she'd asked, much like Sako had in the compound.

She didn't understand their persistence with the subject. She'd merely shook her head and replied with a curt, "No."

Sako giggled. "I think you have a thing for the brothers. You've been so restless since you've been apart from them."

Mio had opened her mouth to correct her when Okimi cut in, "Brothers? Wow, so which one's your favorite? Older or younger."

They had left no room for her to defend herself as they took off with the subject, creating an elaborate fantasy with her as the protagonist of a story where the two brothers fought for her affection. She'd much faster die than cross that line. She never looked at Izuna any different than she would a brother and Madara, well, she had no opinion of him.

She admired their capabilities and accomplishments, but her emotions didn't function that way. She grew fond of them in a different sense, in a way that a group of children raised together might bond. Izuna was her confidant; she went to him to find peace. Madara kept her secrets, all the time they spent mopping floors and cleaning animal pens did something—albeit accidental, but it had happened.

She wasn't in a position where she could feel freely. There was no need for unnecessary emotions where she was headed.

Avoid the nonsensical. Obey power. Erase the unnecessary. She followed her mantra to the last detail. Romance fell under two of the three categories. She didn't have it in her to want to be with another person and she wasn't sure she wanted that from the start.

Sako drew her attention back with a response.

"What?"

The young woman smiled. "There's obviously something on your mind—tell me," she urged gently. "What is it?"

"I'll miss Minako," Mio offered quietly.

"Only Minako?"

"You too."

Sako giggled, giving her hands a gentle squeeze. "Me too."

She hated how awkward she felt in Sako's presence. Clammy and insecure next to her. She never let it show. What would she think if she saw?

"I'm happy you'll be staying with Taiga."

She didn't want to talk about Taiga. She avoided him every day since that day. The only reason she hadn't lost her sense of professionalism was because she'd stop functioning without it and there was always a possibility that there were other girls named Mio in the world. "Jouji-san will keep you informed if anything happens," Mio said, changing the subject. "Okimi will be your messenger. If you need me for anything, please have her contact me. I promise to visit as many times a year as I can, so don't think I'm going to help your psychopath abandon you in Kurata."

That made Sako laugh before she reached over and wrapped her arms around Mio's neck. "Take care of him," she whispered, voice overturn with strange emotion. "You're the only person he cares enough about to allow it. I don't think he's a terrible person, so please make sure he doesn't get worse."

Maybe Sako was too stupid to understand or care how wrong it was to be some other woman's substitute. To be in a relationship where it's expected for you to bow your head to his will because you're terrified of being killed. If Sako had asked for help to run away in the short time she spent in Sachiyo's manor with her husband, Mio would have recruited Izuna to help escort her somewhere safe where Taiga might never find her and keep her protected. But she never asked for help. Why deal with it?

"He cares about Minako." She didn't want to be a name on that list.

"And that's the only reason I'm still alive," Sako whispered, holding her tightly. "Minako and you. He might have killed me from the start if you weren't around to interfere, but…I won't have to worry if I'm in Kurata and he's here. I can have some peace of mind." Sako pulled back, pale eyes flooded with tears. "I'm sorry you had to hear what you did."

Mio's heart clamped up. "What?"

"I noticed," she said quietly. "You don't let him put his hands on you anymore, so I figured you heard us and I'm sorry."

The lump started forming in her throat and she avoided making eye contact. "It could be someone else…"

"He only cares about you, Mio," she restated, holding her shoulders gently. "He's always watching you, he laughs at things you do, he likes having you near—he acts reasonable with you around. He listens to you."

Stunned, Mio could only shake her head in denial.

"You're a pretty girl, Mio, and already fifteen—how hard is it for you to acknowledge that someone might be interested in you?"

Interested in me?

Sako was insane. Did she expect her to snuggle up to her husband while she was gone?

Mio lurched out of her seat and pushed Sako's hands off her shoulders. "Because he's your husband."

The word must have hit her like a ton of bricks because Sako stood before her, dumbfounded. She recovered quickly. "I know that, but you said it from the start—that I deserve better."

That infuriated her. "And I don't?"

The sound of Shin's hammering grew louder, pounding like the rhythm in her chest.

"Don't misunderstand, Mio," she sputtered.

"Stop. Now." Mio's voice was firm. "I will bid you a safe journey and we will never speak of this again."

"Mio, please, don't be angry—"

"I am not angry," she said strongly, heading out the door.

No, she was furious, but she didn't let it show on her face. Her tone must have given her away.

"Mio!" called Shin.

One look silenced him and she made her trip down the steep road. She heard Sako shouting her name, practically begging her to return, but she needed to clear her thoughts of the young woman's stupidity.

How could anyone be so stupid?

This information held no place in her head.

---

"The girls asked for you before leaving."

Shin waited for a response, but received none and sighed. He seated himself under the snow-dusted tree beside her. He stank of smoke, sweat, and metal.

"No problem," he said simply. "You will visit as often as you can. I will escort you there myself."

Mio suppressed the urge to shiver when the blistering wind hit her back. She remained quiet. The last thing she needed was to seem whiny over something she'd rather ignore—should ignore.

"You know, shutting yourself out to the rest of the world solves nothing. If you have feelings, you speak them. Sometimes it's best to overreach than not react at all," he went on. "You may take pride in your ability to say nothing for months, but that, dear girl, is something a brat does to cause trouble."

"Am I not allowed to be angry?" she challenged. "To express it however I see fit?"

"By all means express it," he replied strongly. "Shout, cry, throw things—do something impossibly stupid, but learn from it. What can you learn from saying nothing?"

She exhaled deeply, saying it before she thought it through. "Can a woman be so stupid as to allow herself to be a substitute for another?"

Shin narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously. "Should I be worried?"

"I am not interested in romance."

"You're a boring teenage girl," he deadpanned.

"You're an old pervert," she retorted.

"Touché."

"Answer the question."

"I cannot speak for women, but that man, whoever he is, has done a terrible thing to his woman."

"I want to understand."

"Then you should ask that woman for a reason." Shin rose and held a hand out to her. "Let's return home. It is time I teach you of Mt. Hyōga."

Mio took it and with a gentle tug, he pulled her onto her feet. They slowly began to make their way to his home up the hill. "What is there to learn? It is a series of mountains where the Kuronuma have their hideout."

"And yet it is always winter and our seasons are vastly different from what you are accustomed."

"Is that possible?"

"I'll teach you all about possibilities once we cover the basics," he replied. "We divide our years, not by seasons, but by storms. We have months of peaceful snow days, of devastating blizzards, and months of darkness."

"Darkness?"

"The worst of months we endure. Night is eternal. Pitch-black and starless. We live off stores and once they are gone, we live starved. It is the harshest of winters and one that has taken several of our warriors and many more of our children." Shin stared on ahead. "The shinobi world thinks we sit and meander in Kurata hiding from war, but we do nothing but endure the consequences of their actions. We experience hardship as well, but is it right to misjudge us for wishing to keep our war in Kurata and drag our name through the mud? Demon clan, they call us, and for what? Petty rumors they themselves created. Are we demons?" She was taken aback by the passion in his voice. "No. We are not. We are shinobi, just like them, and because we do not justify this war, we will await for it settle before they are worthy to have us in their ranks."

The strength in his words left her flabbergasted.

---

xl note: I apologize for the massive delay, between schoolwork, housework, baby sitting, and the fact that I turn into an owl four days out of the week since Daylight Saving Time...it's been hard. Besides, I hope the length and creepiness of this chapter make up for my delay.

The set-up for the following 3-4 chapters is as follows:

- Divided by seasons, starting with spring.

- Told in Sachiyo and Mio's POVs.

- Will be 10,000+ words per chapter depending on how much of the outline I don't toss out my window.

Things to expect:

- The start of Mio's "Kuronuma" training.

- Mio and Izuna run-in.

- Shin, Sachiyo, and Tomoji having a conversation.

- Mio going through her teenage angry phase. I think this chapter is enough to give you a gist as to why.

- More Kuronuma stuff explained.

- More creepiness.

To WiltingInsanity, Dusk Nisshoku Valentine, Aries01xD, and crazyuser your reviews have been a treat to my overworked heart. Thank you very much for making my hobby worth overindulging in.

I am partially sorry for the anticlimactic introduction to Mio's grandfather, but trust me on this one. I'm handing you something before I explain it. (This applies to the Sako and Taiga thing.)

At this point, Madara 16, Mio 15, Izuna 14. Izuna will be 15 at the start of the next chapter.

If you have questions leave them, especially if you're confused.

On a different note, I have a question for you lot. I initially planned to divide these chapters in Mio, Madara, and Izuna's POVs, but scratched them out to shine some light on Sachiyo, who has a lot of secrets and will always be in a position to keep you posted on what her grandchildren are doing, not to mention Izuna will always be near her so you'll see him often enough.

So I want to know if anyone would be interested in seeing Izuna and Madara's POVs in the following chapters. That's the question. Or just Izuna? Just Madara?

Thank you for reading! Please continue voting in the poll. For the winner of this current poll I'll have something special prepared. :)