Redesign

by xLilim

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

22. The War For Kurata 3

Chapter 22 | The War For Kurata III

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As autumn dawns, the temperature continues on the rise and Mt. Hyōga loses its defenses.

---

Mio was reminded of the torture. She slept and woke with the memory fresh in her mind, of sharp edges scrapping against bone and the chilling song that rang in her ears as the metal drew a vertical line. She saw the blood slid down her skin, searing against the flesh until it was bright red, cracked, and covered in boils. She relived every death in all their frightening details that took the shape of this war and of the people responsible. She sat at the center of it—the unprecedented artifact war the last two months' events laid a foundation for—as the last hope for the Kuronuma, the clan of many names, with limited power and a fragile heart.

She woke rushing into a seat, gasping for air and enduring waves of panic that turned her skin cold. She shrugged on a fur pelt with trembling hands and hugged herself against folded knees, taking each breath slowly as if in assurance that the plaguing nightmares were afflictions of the past. The slow torture lingered in her head, drawing out the worst of her fears, plucking them from the dark concaves where she stored each and hurling them at her, each another throbbing pain she resolved to forget.

No one stood between herself and the pain she felt that evening or any other. Since she returned as the newly ordained royalty among her brethren, she had been moved to a yurt of her own, located near one of the smaller gaping entrances into the mountain on another isolated plane as her grandfather's home. She had gained attendants and ladies-in-waiting and round-the-clock guards—Kuronuma and Senju alike—coming forward to protect her from the growing dangers beyond the frosty mountain. She was given secondary duties to shoulder alongside her ongoing training—though Okimi had not yet given her the okay to continue with them—that included extensive history lessons combined with artifact identification and a list of warnings. Musashi required that she learned how to create an artifact and how to destroy one, explaining it as one of the many things necessary for a Shugosha-in-training.

There were many things for her to learn and she relented to them, taking in the horde of responsibility without complaint or insecurities because she promised to fight harder and prevent abduction from happening again. She committed herself into becoming the successor Eito always wanted in order to honor him and as a way to prove that no matter how difficult a journey presented was, she would overcome it. She promised to become strong enough to shelter the Kuronuma clan as Musashi had for as many years as he was Shugosha and keep the ten artifacts out of the wrong hands.

She made so many silent promises she found herself regretting with every day that the responsibility fell harder upon her shoulders. A frightening road awaited her, there was no changing that, and she needed to see it through to the end. That was her resolution.

Mio quietly removed herself from bed. She fastened the white fur pelt with an equally pale sash around her waist.

The winds howled within the mountain, calling forth a blizzard far stronger than anyone anticipated and she hoped none of the Senju outside her home froze to death for being too stubborn to accept her invitation to stay inside. Although the news of the Kuronuma and Senju clans working at an alliance left a sour taste in her mouth since it was predominantly done without her knowledge. She was an Uchiha and her clan and the Senju of the Forest had declared an eternal war against one another, so even if she never participated in those wars it was ingrained in her to be uncomfortably angry and bitter about the decision.

However, she acknowledged the alliance was done to favor the Uchiha clan. Some of her clansmen were working for the Mikazuki clan and they were sure to show up in Kurata so it was better for the Senju to assume the Uchiha struck a deal with the Kuronuma clan's enemies rather than the truth. It would shame them. Inner-clan upstarts weren't uncommon, but none in any history had been as terrible as the Uchiha clan's separation of power.

She tinkered in the kitchen alcove quietly, all trace of sleep replaced with an urgency for fresh air. She made tea out of savory herbs and spices that was considered the hot drink of choice on the mountain in a kettle and after tucking her feet into sandals, she stepped out into a faint orange glow with it in her hand.

A gale swept through her, sending her hair flying all around her head and the outer canvas of her home shuddered in response. The wind nearly blew out the small fire shining nearby, but it was the poorly made tent that looked to be suffering in the pre-blizzard weather and the Senju shinobi struggling to stay warm in the unprecedentedly harsh environment.

Among them sat Senju Tobirama, seemingly able to camouflage amongst her Kuronuma with his stark white hair and dark, intelligent eyes, undisturbed by the panic his subordinates were facing as they attempted to secure their shelter. He watched in silence for a moment before standing to offer his help.

She set the kettle besides the now smothered flames of their campfire and with a pair of rocks restarted it. She blew on a small flame to allow it to grow before stocking it with more firewood. One Senju approached her to offer his thanks and she answered his appreciation by handing him the steaming kettle.

"My offer still stands," she informed him.

"That's unnecessary," answered Tobirama. "We were assigned to ensure your safety and we can manage from here."

"The blizzard will grow stronger throughout the night," she continued, coming short of a reason for her sudden spark of kindness towards any of them. I'd rather they didn't die at my doorstep, she reasoned. "You'll get frostbite."

"I've survived worse," he replied evenly.

She resigned to his stubbornness with a sigh and walked on the clearing for a couple of feet before seating herself on the cold ground. She inhaled deeply, the frosty air rushing into her lungs. It sent a shudder down her back before the temperature of her body overwhelmed it with heat.

Above, the sky was starless. Regardless, she dropped down on her back to stare straight into the pitch blankness over her head and allowed a silence to settle in her head while listening to the cacophony of sound around her. The air was howling, the homes were creaking, the river was rushing, and the mountain was speaking to her, whispering her name.

She fell asleep without noticing it.

.

.

The second time she opened her eyes that night, she was buried under all the heavy blankets she used before her training begun and the evening temperature drop made it difficult to sleep. She was sweating under it all, so she tossed several off and settled with the one on her back since she was still wearing the pelt she fastened over her upper body. Someone bothered to build her a fire and with the remaining glow it spread across the silver embroidery on the walls, she saw the kettle returned to its place among her dishes.

She did it again. She allowed the cold to lull her to sleep. It was starting to become a bad habit. Shin figured that since she wasn't frozen to death every time the Senju dragged her back inside meant that she adapted well enough to the black water to survive on the mountain without winter clothes. She still took precautions even though she felt stuffy fast and earned some reprimands from her grandfather to stop dressing in her complicated layers.

She was starting to feel it now. She untied the sash that secured the fur pelt across her upper back and shoulders. She folded everything carefully and set them above her pillow. During the quiet process she considered putting out the fire, but thought it might seem rude. Someone went through the effort of starting it; she didn't want to demean that. So, she slid back into bed and watched the small fire devour its wooden offerings, listening to the logs snap and crackle in the silence of her home.

Sleep didn't come a third time.

---

Mio removed her training weights and handed them off to her grandfather too elated to express how liberated she felt when Okimi assured her she could continue her training where she left off. She warmed up by starting up her running routine a la Agility Training.

"Frostbite."

She turned to Shin. "What?"

"Two Senju turned up at the Medical Center with frostbite."

"I told them to come inside."

His jaw dropped in a way that made it seem she invited all the Senju men back into her yurt to have a naked party. She imagined that his wicked expectations of her teenage years would eventually manifest into a heart attack and kill him for being distrustful with her around the opposite sex, excluding Takuto. He seemed pretty set on organizing an arranged marriage between the two and the last time he dropped a hint, she suggested he be ashamed of himself and so he was for the rest of the day, lamenting it and swearing he would never say it again.

She tugged free the last of her weights and stacked them into his outstretched hand, glimpsing at his expression reconsidering an eye roll. "I want heavier weights."

When he didn't respond, she cast him a harsh glare. "So, you'd rather they endure the cold and freeze to death?"

"Well, no, I sympathize with them. Freezing to death is a terrible fate and I wouldn't wish it upon anyone that isn't a Mikazuki shinobi or a Hiryuu sympathizer, but you are no longer Mio, Shinya's granddaughter, you're Musashi's successor and that requires you to exercise some control in your life, which includes living a male-free existence. Even coming near the opposite sex is a deplorable thing among Shugosha, it's absolutely imperative to remain chaste and unmarried and perfectly committed to the priestesshood that will become defending the Kuronuma's artifacts."

"How do you explain your existence and that of your thirteen other siblings or your mother's place at your father's side?" she challenged.

"Magic. An artifact illusion," he stressed, waving his arms around between them as if to psych her out. "You see, this is all an illusion, I really don't exist and Musashi isn't really your great-grandfather, he's just some old fisherman charged with the protection of the spheres and this crazy snow mountain is nothing but a backwater town on a broken pier."

"I will do as expected of me," she told him with an earnest expression. "I will honor my position as successor and work hard to be worthy of it, I will defend the artifacts with my life for as long as I need to, and I will complete your training, I won't complain, I won't give up, but I'm not going to pretend this is a priestesshood. I want to leave the option of marriage open for the future, so please, don't jump to stupid conclusions. I'm aware of my position, but I am trying to be kind to them despite my being an Uchiha and the blood wars between us."

Shin patted her shoulder, overcome with emotion. "That's my girl," he strained. "Forget Musashi's rules. We can have a yurt built besides yours to fit them in and just connect them, like Musashi's home. Good?"

She smiled with a nod. "Good."

Immediately, Shin relayed the orders to one of the carpenters working on repairing last night's damages to the framework of certain houses and in a matter of minutes, a whole group appeared from underneath the mountain safe house to begin working on the expansion. She should have suggested it earlier, or rather…

"Why didn't you suggest this earlier?" she asked, deciding to pin it on her grandfather.

"Oh, I suggested it, but that Senju Tobirama decided it was excessive and I didn't want to press the issue," he answered strangely. He slipped the weights into the bag slung across his torso and tried to divert her attention with an innocent smile.

"And?"

"And nothing."

"Grandfather," she said sternly.

"And I wanted to say I told you so…"

"To a boy old enough to be your grandson?"

Shin turned away. "That reminds me, Strength Training will start tomorrow evening."

"What about Heat Training?"

"You already ingested the black water, it defeats the purpose. You'll still be using the special spring for all your bathing needs since it contains minerals with healing properties that'll be everything you'll ever need after I teach you the basic techniques, mostly harnessing the black water. We should also see what your chakra nature is, though I suspect its fire as is most in Uchiha shinobi."

"It's not."

"Really?" He sounded shocked. "What are you?"

"Earth."

"That makes two of us," he said lamely. "Kuronuma normally have an affinity for water and wind natures."

"Where did you go wrong?"

"I don't know!" he cried helplessly.

"Before you think of asking, I can't perform any of my clan's fire techniques and if you plan to shame me for it, have at it—I give you ten minutes."

"What did they teach you over there?" He recovered in time to forget his own inadequacy to focus on her revelation, awarding her a disappointed glance to go with the sudden mood change. "Why are you so undertrained?"

"Because my primary occupation was being a spy."

"Yeah, but even spies are allowed to know some jutsu. How many have you mastered in fifteen years?"

"I am well-versed in ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu," she defended, though she wouldn't stake her life on her abilities. She could outrun a person, she was good at that, but those were the results of the laborious training she endured with her grandfather. She naturally felt lighter on her feet. She relied on her physical capabilities more than she would on anything in need of chakra usage.

"More like not versed enough." He gave her a consoling pat on the head. "Don't worry, I will teach you everything you need to learn in order to survive that dark, dark world beyond Mt. Hyōga's bridge. I wouldn't want you running into a dragon somewhere without the right protection."

"Except dragons are extinct."

"Have some imagination."

"I have no need for it."

Shin frowned. "Go off then, see my father. He should be waiting to bore you with more of his artifact talk." He started in the opposite direction before turning abruptly, the same lackluster expression on his face. "I can't believe you planned to let me shame you for ten whole minutes, have a little confidence in your failures."

She stared at him unable to form proper words or do anything about her placid mien. He wanted her to have confidence in her failures. What kind of advice was that? She should at the very least acknowledge them, rectify them if possible, and move on. What is there to be proud about?

"Something happen, Mio-hime?"

She never noticed the affable-looking Senju standing next to her. She wondered how long he had been present. Had he listened to the conversation? Did he know she was an Uchiha now? She thought against the latter because he wasn't looking at her any differently and his form of addressing her hadn't changed, but that didn't ease the suspicion. He could be that good at lying. What if he was the perfect liar and behind that perfect mask of kindness lay a professional plotting her downfall?

He might have approached her seconds ago.

"How long have you been there…?"

She trailed off slowly; ashamed she never bothered to ask his name. Tobirama might have introduced her to everyone under his command, but she must have blocked out all the information. Deep down inside she feared what her association with the Senju clan would do with her standing in the Uchiha clan and tried to stray away from overall friendliness, though a bit of kindness often made its way out through pure convenience.

"Just got here."

He could be lying.

Tobirama appeared in her periphery. "Did something happen?"

"No…"

He scowled. "I don't sense anyone."

The ambience turned uncomfortable fast, perhaps for herself more than the two Senju beside her.

She was starting to think about her grandfather's advice; it bloomed into a thousand other conversations in her mind that were slowly beginning to stress her. She stopped her train of thought after realizing she was seriously considering following his advice.

"I'm going to the Shugosha's home."

Tobirama approved of the explanation with a brief nod and allowed her to go on her way without upholding his duties. Musashi's home and the underground area of Mt. Hyōga were absolutely forbidden for the Senju lodging on their mountain. There would be Kuronuma underground with the rest of their non-shinobi population since the pretense of war against the Mikazuki-Uchiha alliance forced Musashi to take precautions that would ensure the survival of his clan once the skirmishes near Kurata Castle spilled into his mountain domain. Normally, those same shinobi left her be when it came to her visiting her great-grandfather for a weekly affair he called "The Shugosha Hour."

Mio entered the adjacent yurt to Musashi's home, the heavily ornate dwelling that housed the meeting room of the ten artifact guardians if they had ever existed at the same time. The seats were aligned to the gold embroidered walls, positioned all around a short table toppled in maps and open scrolls. She spent the first several weeks of lessons enduring longwinded stories about the history of her clan for hours on end. She was forced to memorize the history word for word and asked to recite it for Musashi's approval, though he often called her out on jumbling some of the facts—she argued her presentation and ultimately won when he was reminded that he himself fed her the muddled information.

Today marked the beginning of a topic of interest: the artifacts. Musashi assured her the next couple of weeks would include the most important material in his lessons and that she would do well in learning it in one fell swoop because the subject of the artifacts was one he'd rather only utter once. She was confident in her memory skills and thrilled with a change of pace. Learning about the artifacts was everything she wanted since she became the guardian of two of them and one warning was not enough to give her a proper reason to defend them. She imagined that if she discovered one at all, it would be through these conversations.

Musashi greeted her from the brick fireplace and offered her something cold to drink.

She found a seat across the table from him and accepted the cup he offered to her filled to the brim with a dark red liquid she suspected was the bitter wine he was so fond of. She took a tentative sip and her taste buds were assaulted by a familiar tartness, though the taste dissolved into something smoother. It seemed the sharp taste was only present at first. Regardless, she decided to slow her ingestion of the wine to avoid drinking so much that the alcohol content impaired her capabilities for the rest of the day.

"Tell me the difference between Shugosha and the guardians," began Musashi, settling into a comfortable position. He smoothed the wrinkles on his robes as he waited for her answer. He was always so impeccably dressed in his layered robes, each made of the highest quality of fabric. The embroidered and dyed pieces would be considered an envy in any marketplace for fashions.

"A guardian is linked to a single sphere. A Shugosha can link to all ten spheres and where one can make use of each simultaneously, a guardian can only be associated with a single one in their lifetime," she recited. "Of course, it's not recommended for a Shugosha to be in possession of all ten spheres because of their parasitic nature, thus the creation of the guardians. Also, the Time Sphere is the only artifact of the ten that cannot be passed onto a person that is not a Shugosha and the only one that chooses who will shoulder its burden based on their bloodline rather than strength."

Musashi nodded with a proud smile that reached his eyes. "And who can be a guardian?"

"Anyone," she said instantly, "so long as they are chosen by the Shugosha or the current guardian of the sphere in question. There was a strange case over a hundred years ago where an artifact other than the Time Sphere chose its own guardian, though it has never been experienced a second time."

"I truly admire your devotion to learning, Mio-chan."

"I am honored to have been chosen to be your successor."

She held his gaze, but a bitter twist in her stomach changed her countenance with the reminder of how she came to achieve the elevated position.

"The sadness has return," he said knowledgably. "You needn't be a guardian for me to sense the discord and you needn't feel guilty for an outcome that was not your fault."

She tried dispelling the doubt as she nodded. "I apologize."

"Apologize for what?" he asked, taken aback. "Being human? It is not wrong to mourn the dead. Everyone experiences it differently, some are unable to surpass the loss of a loved one and some give themselves to the sadness and allow time to heal them. There's no need to apologize for being sad. You should never feel sorry about feeling, nor should you believe that it would get in the way of your duty. We Kuronuma run on emotions, no matter how terrible they may be. Sometimes impulse is a greater asset than a weakness."

"Then I apologize for apologizing," she told him.

"Good," he said smiling, "now, let's move on."

Musashi begun the lesson from the beginning of the history he reveled the last couple of weeks and talked about the first Shugosha and the nine individuals that would eventually become her guardians. He talked about the great power the first Shugosha possessed and how, with it, she forged the ten artifacts with a warless future in mind.

"It is said that her ideal of a warless future was a changed perspective after she failed accomplish what she meant to do with the artifacts," he explained. "Long ago, the land was plagued by a ten-tailed beast and one by one she created an artifact that failed to stop it from rampaging until the Sage of Six Paths appeared to defeat it. And because of her failure, she was left with ten very dangerous weapons that would no doubt be coveted by the world, so she opted to hide them."

"Which story is true?"

"Which do you think?"

"The latter, otherwise there would be no point in her creating the artifacts. If that is the truth then the artifacts serve a purpose not yet fulfilled."

"And with the Ten-Tails gone, it will never be fulfilled."

"But if that monster returned, if it exists, what would happen to the artifacts?"

"Why, they would once more serve a purpose, a very important purpose."

"If the artifacts couldn't defeat the Ten-Tails then, what difference would it make if it appeared a second time, I don't know, eighty to ninety years from now? What if it appeared tomorrow morning?" she proposed. "There's no Sage of Six Paths around to stop it this time. There are strong shinobi out there, but you can't expect them to work together. So, should we just let it defeat us?"

"The difference in the two is simple. The first Shugosha created the artifacts and used them completely unaware of their true potential, so she was defeated, but we have generations of uncovering that hidden potential that, perhaps, the right combination might lead to a victory." Musashi folded his arms over his chest and sighed. "But, alas, we can prove nothing other than the fact that they exist and that their power should never fall into the wrong hands."

The conversation went over smoothly before he addressed another topic.

"We currently have three guardians, if we include you that makes four," he said easily. "I am currently holding onto five artifacts excluding the dragon's eye that resides in the mountain."

"Who besides the hag is a guardian?" she asked, feeling bitter about the woman responsible for feeding Mikazuki Gouki prized information.

"Okimi."

"Okimi?"

"She inherited the Reflective Sphere. It's a deceptive thing," he laughed with a shake of his head, "that mirror."

Mio remembered staring at herself in a metal mirror in Okimi's home and suddenly felt that she shouldn't have touched it at all. "Is it made of black metal?"

"Has she shown it to you?"

"She leaves it lying around everywhere," she breathed. "Can she do that? Just leave it wherever she pleases?"

"I suppose so, Okimi is the only guardian that can't activate her artifact," he revealed. "Although, I fear that in your presence it might activate and cause some problems. I'll speak to her about it."

"Great-grandfather, I want to ask what grandfather thought when he gave one of the artifacts to Madara," she begun. "He is—"

"Of great importance in the scheme of things, yes," the elder answered, nodding his approval. "Shin has always had an eye for choosing guardians."

She wanted to pretend she didn't hear that. "What?"

"Your grandfather wanted to extend a hand to your noble clan by awarding it an artifact one that would not pose a threat in anyone's possession and with a shinobi capable of defending it."

"Why him?"

"Shin thought the responsibility too unforgiving on the younger brother. It would be a shame to burden you and him as well. You will need support later and we hope he can provide it for you."

"…What does that mean?"

"You asked me months ago how I knew things, you often questioned my and Eito's ability to read you as a mere coincidence, but it never was," he explained. "I am well aware of your confusion, the depth of it is tangible, and it is as if you are telling me yourself, but it is the artifact that is doing the talking. There's a resonance between the artifacts, one that comes back to me…the rest is a mere guessing game and several meetings with Hag."

The shallow explanation worsened her confusion. "Then it is true that the Hag reads pathways."

"Yes, and she's given us yours. There are so many possibilities in your life that it's difficult to see the outcome, but I am certain that you have already met the people with whom you'll be bonded with for the rest of your existence." Musashi's eyes crinkled in amusement. "Have you a question you wish me to answer?"

She didn't want to know the outcome to anything. She thought she might jinx herself if she did. It sounded like trouble to even know about one pathway, why would she want to know about any others? She could easily see why the Hag's betrayal upset her family as much as it did. She could only imagine the type of information she must possess. Would her clan win the war against him? Could they survive?

She blinked up worriedly, lips parted. "Will we be okay…?"

"No," he responded. "Not for a long time. There is a dark cloud and it's fast approaching. It will hit when we least wish it, when there is no longer a remedy or any hope in salvation, it could destroy us. I fear that it will destroy us. This war is only starting in Kurata, it will end somewhere else."

Us. The way he spoke the word sounded as if it was reserved for the two of them.

"Time will make it better, but you will be hurt." He met her eyes. "Be strong, Mio. Be stronger than you are today."

---

It took hours for Shin to make preparations for the start of Strength Training and his uptight attention to detail had her fearing for the outcome. She stood in wait, uncomfortable in an audience of her brethren and Senju, as Shin wrapped his hands in bandages and stood a pale-skinned half-naked giant across the snowfield. She didn't expect to have spectators. No, she thought the whole training session would be a quiet affair where she would properly have her ass handed to her and not feel terrible about what people thought about while it happened.

She didn't like the trepidation that ensued or the delighted shrill screams the women dispelled at the sight of her grandfather. It never occurred to her that she might have a popular grandfather, but then again, not everyone's grandfather had that physique or looked young enough to be someone's new husband. She didn't believe in good genes or Musashi's argument that there were special properties in the water. They didn't want to tell her something and it was bothering her more than it should have in the most inopportune moment.

"He is fast and potentially lethal," said Takuto at her side. "Keep your eyes open, but if you feel you should be turning in some other direction, you do the opposite."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because your grandfather kicked my ass six years ago and I'm still scarred."

"Thanks," she grumbled, looking up to see Shin finished bandaging his hands. "I'll be joining you in less than a minute."

Takuto wished her luck and disappeared to find a corner to sit in to observe. When she made eye contact with him one last time, he offered her a small assuring smile that should have probably made her feel a little better, but made it harder for her to stomach how first training session.

If she hated anything in particular it was all these people staring at her when she was certain she would make a complete fool of herself. Meanwhile, he grandfather thrived on the attention like an old pervert surrounded by scantily clad women giving him the time of day.

Shin approached her. "Strength Training refers to the strengthening of your taijutsu and the knowledge that you will cross certain boundaries in the teaching itself. The Kuronuma clan is defined, not by the black water jutsu, but by their monstrous strength. It is absolutely necessary for you to overcome the obstacles of Strength Training if you ever dream of successfully mastering black water jutsu. The substance alone is heavy, unrelenting, and difficult to mold. There are times when it will be so inflexible you'll need to use force to shape it. You must eventually recognize the black water as something like chakra that needs be molded correctly if you want to see results and for that to happen you'll need everything I'm about to teach you."

Mio nodded, turning away from her anxiety. She memorized those words. It needs to be molded like chakra; I need to be able to force it into shape if necessary. They were easy to remember.

"The Kuronuma clan has no use for weapons," he told her, "so you haven't been allowed any today. Come at me at full strength, do not hold back."

She felt odd without a kunai holster at her side. She felt lighter without the slight weight of them.

The session would measure her strengths and weaknesses. It was a test. Pass or fail.

Shin went for the preemptive strike as soon as he gave the signal and took her by surprise. He punched her in the stomach; the force knocked the air from her lungs and sent her off her feet and into the hard, ice ground several feet away.

He told her that he would treat her as an equal for Strength Training because she would become Musashi's successor and failing to protect the artifacts was the one thing she could never do. He painted a colorful picture of his expectations, each sounding less attainable than her own resignation to her duties, and made her vow to stand up a second, third, fourth—as many as it took—time. That would be the only way to be a Shugosha and live.

She saw him coming and rolled off to the side before he landed a second punch. She endured worse. She stabilized her breathing and calmed herself. She formulated a plan to avoid him for as long as she could until she could strike back, so she kept herself moving.

Shin caught whiff of her plan and made it impossible for her to form a single thought as he chased her down at top speed to land a barrage of attacks. She blocked the few she could, but every hit felt as though she was being smacked around by a giant. His punches and kicks were heavy, like the hammers he used to bend his metal and came at her with unprecedented force. Her bones took a harsh battering; she felt the pain in the core of them and waited in trepidation to see if they would turn to dust.

She feared for her position, but no matter how many times he knocked her down or how much blood slithered off her skin, leaving its thin burn marks as it went, she stood back up. Her stubbornness to fail was rearing its ugly head and it didn't care how much damage she sustained so long as she gave it everything.

She knew her grandfather was strong, but not this strong. Then again, he did say monstrous strength. She could see it now, a bit blurry, but she wasn't blind to the recognition.

Mio's entire body shook as she dragged herself onto her hands and knees unable to stop coughing. Beneath her, the ground of the wide field was splattered in her blood and the snow under and around it melted until the hard ground was visible. She hacked up more blood; there were definitely a couple broken ribs and a sprained ankle. Her wrist felt as though it was seconds away from falling apart since she landed a single hit on her grandfather before her grabbed her by the ankle and hurled her across the field where she landed face first.

Everything hurt. Everything hurt so much she was starting to numb to the pain and her legs were finally refusing to listen.

There was murmuring in the crowd, some of the whispers spoke of Eito's training and how it, too, was harsh as well before there was unexpected dissonance.

"Hashirama, stop!" snapped Tobirama.

A careful hand slid under her arm and gently tugged her onto her feet. She only tasted the sharp cold and the bitterness of blood as she opened her mouth to protest. The words escaped her as Shin halted before herself and a taller young man with dark hair and eyes, holding her against her better judgment with a stubborn expression and the complaints to go with it.

"I think she's fought enough," he said firmly.

Tobirama grabbed a hold of him. "We're not supposed to intervene," he told him. "It's in the agreement."

"Your brother has a point," agreed Shin, "but all the same, my granddaughter is to stubborn to admit defeat and she's survived long enough." He turned away. "Okimi, please take Mio to be healed."

Okimi ran into view and with little effort, she pulled Mio's aching body over her shoulder like one would carry a sack of flour. "You'll be as good as new in a minute. Just don't pass out on me."

"You could have insulted them," Tobirama went on, genuinely bothered by Hashirama's interference. He didn't need to raise his voice to express it. "What would you do if negotiations with the Kuronuma clan failed because you can't let them train their people as they have for the last hundred years?"

She didn't hear Hashirama's response because she was out of earshot, but she didn't care for it. She finally met the Hashirama that Madara considered his rival, the only shinobi out there strong enough to beat him. She met the strongest shinobi of their generation and like Tobirama said, his interference could have insulted her clan, but really, she was the only one that felt uncomfortably incompetent that he stopped her from rising to challenge her grandfather another time.

She covered her bloody face. She felt so stupid. It wouldn't have made a difference if he had or hadn't, she would have kept standing up until Shin knocked her unconscious. She should be thankful because this session was done within a controlled environment and she noticed when Shin started to pull his punches. He would have stopped without anyone interrupting because he gauged her limit. She wanted to say the word to end it all because she was facing her grandfather and not someone like Konoe or Gouki where it was absolutely imperative for her to stay stubborn, but in that moment, it was as if she had been transported back to that situation.

She bore the torture Konoe gave her without complaint because she was too willful. She fought back against Gouki because her fear propelled her to go. She didn't want to be stubborn. She didn't want to be angry.

.

.

"Why is it so cold here?" complained the familiar voice of Senju Hashirama.

"We're in the middle of our storm season, it's going to get colder," answered Takuto.

Mio finally opened her eyes to see the two sitting by the fire. Hashirama wore a layer of warmer clothes and held his hands out before the flames in an attempt to warm them. Takuto seemed to be preparing something terrible for her to drink it a deep pot sitting off on the heated stones surrounding the fire.

"It can get colder?" he asked, shocked. "Why would you live in this place? It's so much nicer in the Fire Country. The summer heat waves are the worst thing to ever happen, but the rest of the year is perfect weather…except when it rains, then it gets gloomy."

"We're already used to the cold."

Hashirama peered into the pot. "Is that supposed to be bubbling?"

"Unfortunately." Takuto reached for a corked bottle of wine and spilled half of its contents into the concoction as he stirred it with a ladle. "It tastes like it smells."

"That better be for pain," said Mio groggily, unable to move without a new wave of ache kicking in.

"And exhaustion and for sleep," he responded. "You'll get used to the taste eventually."

"Eventually," she repeated. She expected no different.

"Feeling better?" asked Hashirama. "I better apologize for getting in the way of your training. Tobirama said I shouldn't have. Sorry."

"No," she answered stiffly. "But I am stubborn like my grandfather said, so…I don't resent you for it."

"She's trying to apologize for secretly hating you," said Takuto.

"You secretly hate me?"

She didn't expect the dramatic reaction. "Don't put words in my mouth. I'm trying to be grateful."

Hashirama moved to her side with newfound curiosity when Takuto presented her with a cup topped with the reddish liquid.

"So, you're Uchiha Madara's Mio, right?" asked Hashirama smiling.

She stared at him in silence. She brought the cup to her lips and began to drink the burning liquid, allowing it to set a trail of fire down her throat, still looking at him. A part of her was unsure that she heard his question correctly, the other part heard it as clear as day and was in the middle of a maelstrom of strange inquiries.

"Can you repeat the question?"

Hashirama looked baffled. "Are you Madara's girl?"

"What gave you that impression?"

He grinned like a fool in response.

"I'm sorry," she begun, "but don't you hate each other?"

"Is that a trick question?"

"Perhaps."

"…No."

"You have your answer then."

Mio emptied the cup as quickly as possible and waited a moment for the drink to take quick effect before picking up clothes to bathe and soak in the springs to soothe her aching muscles. She also wanted to avoid the strange question before it could further discomfort her.

She noted Tobirama's absence among the group assigned to her that day and went on at ease through the mountain tunnels to the nearest hot spring.

Mio entered to the sound of splashing water and Tobirama standing off to the side of the pool dripping water with steam rising off his pale skin. His eyes found hers and held their gaze steady as she drew a repetitive blank on the situation, attempting to remain unaffected by the sight of a toned male body.

She broke eye contact and looked down. There wasn't a stitch of clothing on him and the room temperature continued on the rise. She averted her gaze elsewhere unable to look him in the eyes and turned away to go back out the way she came, saying and remembering nothing.

She ran into Okimi deeper into the mountain as she was stepping out from one of the springs towel drying her pale hair. "Feeling better?"

"Apart from everything hurting, yes, much better, thank you."

Okimi frowned. "Why did you come all the way down here? There's a spring right near your entrance."

"Tobirama was in it. Well, out it."

She regretted correcting herself because Okimi stepped behind her and took her gently by the shoulders with a wicked smile on her face.

"Are you telling me you saw him…in the flesh?"

"Okimi, he was just naked," she responded simply. "There's no need to say it any other way. It doesn't get fancier if you say 'in the flesh.'"

"Mio, you're adorable." Okimi kissed the side of her face. "Now, tell me, how was he?"

"Naked."

"No, that's not what I mean—"

"I know what you mean, Okimi, and you're a married woman. Please be a little more reserved."

The medical specialist huffed. "There's no crime in looking so long as I don't touch. Enya is the only man for me, but it doesn't hurt to admire all the handsome Senju on this mountain. You don't know how boring it was growing up around the same people my entire life. These Senju—it's like bringing the confectionary store to the kid, I am in heaven! Oh, Mio, I tell you, if Enya didn't exist, I would be all over Housei-san."

She sighed. "Okimi…"

"So, I will go in to wash your back because I don't want you to hurt yourself and while we're inside, you can tell me everything you saw," said Okimi, steering her into the nearest sectioned spring. "Don't miss a detail. I know how good your memory is, this should be a piece of cake for you. Hey, if I asked you to draw me a picture of Housei-san minus the clothing barriers, could you do it?"

"That requires artistic skill that I don't possess."

"That's fine; you can just describe it to me in detail. A lonely wife can dream, can't she?"

"Enya will be back before the week is out," Mio reminded her.

"I will cleanse my mind of this filth once he is here to fill the void he's left behind."

"You're being overdramatic."

"Don't mistake passion for overdramatic, Mio. This is passion! Passion."

She allowed Okimi to do as she wanted, attempting not to laugh at everything she finished saying, but avoided the subject of Tobirama.

.

.

Mio paid Shin a visit accompanied by Takuto, who remained outside at her request. The inside was something of a mess. There was a couple of bento stacked on the table besides a clutter of sealed and open scrolls filled with writing, underneath she noticed the presence of a traveling bag.

She seemed to have stepped in without alerting Shin because he remained with his back to her, busy wrapping gauze over a purplish red contusion on his bicep.

She frowned. "How did you get the bruise?"

"Ah, I wonder," said Shin in wonderment. He tucked the end of the gauze in and pulled on the sleeve of his robe before turning to face her. "I should praise you, you're taijutsu is better than I gave you credit. It needs refinement, but it's not terrible."

"Thank you, but that wasn't an answer to my question."

"You hit harder than I anticipated and I bruise like a peach."

"Bullshit."

"Do I need to wash your mouth out with soap?"

"No."

"Get rid of your petulance, there's no need for it."

"Stop lying to me."

"Mio, you don't need to know everything," he said firmly. "I have a bruise and it hurts and I probably got it by running into a tree, that's that." He picked himself off the ground and tossed a handful of clothes in the direction of the table. "I'm going to the Water Country. I'll be leaving your training to Uzuki. Obedience is key with her teachings and it is unlikely that you will get away with half the things you do with me, so be respectful."

She didn't want to burst his bubble by saying she was always respectful to her elders and that the only one getting away with things was him since he rarely took anything seriously. She nodded in agreement and remained silent.

"Aren't you going to ask what I'll be doing there?" he asked.

"It's probably none of my business," she answered, attempting to sound complacent and failing. Her annoyance spilled onto her tone and it humored her grandfather in a way that made her feel angrier.

"I'm going to take the Fate Sphere from Hag," he responded. "Your great-grandfather chose to overlook Hag's involvement with Mikazuki Gouki and the danger she poses to you, but I'm not one to overlook something of this caliber. She has broken the trust the first Shugosha placed on her by revealing our secrets to the undeserving and for putting you in this situation. She will pay the consequence."

She stood perfectly still as he approached her with a calming smile. "I'm sorry for snapping at you," he said, running a hand over her damn hair. "So wipe that frown off, it's not needed, and come hug your grandpa goodbye."

"You sound like a pervert."

Shin enveloped her in a tight hug, moving side to side with emotion and humming a strange tune. She hesitated as she reached to return the embrace and jolted at the sound of his voice.

"I won't let go until you hug me back," he decided.

"That's blackmail."

"Oh, it's not a weight on my conscious."

Completely embarrassed, she returned the hug with a twinge or reluctance. He squeezed her tight one last time before letting her go and jabbed his forefinger at her face. She leaned backward.

"Make me proud, okay?"

She nodded.

He turned her around and gave her a healthy push towards the door. "Go get some sleep, you've got running in the morning and lessons in the afternoon. Uzuki will be waiting for you by the great fire in the evening. I don't want you groggy because you didn't get enough sleep."

"Please be safe."

"There's no way I wouldn't."

She smiled and went on her way.

---

Mio observed the battles from a high elevation on the crystalized wall of ice providing its defenses to the mountain and far beyond the valleys, in the gargantuan land where Kurata Castle resided was the epicenter of the decimation caused by the Mikazuki-Uchiha alliance and the willful Senju clan fighting for her freedom. She always climbed to that place to see and remind herself that she couldn't even think of involving herself in a fight so long as the artifacts weren't in direct danger, but the temperature considerably rose since her grandfather left two months ago and the shadow storm was fast approaching. Trade was nearly impossible with the roads blocked and most of the game had been scared off by the warzone. Every day proved more dangerous than the last, the ground was shaken by many powerful jutsu capable of splitting the mountain range in half and sending everyone in range into a pit of black water where it would be impossible for anyone to survive.

A cloud of smoke shot up into the sky and in the following instant a wave of powerful chakra and wind knocked her off the edge of the wall. As soon as she was airborne, that morning's weights turned into an anchor set on dropping her twenty feet off the mountain and into the start of the spiraling road that led her there. She prepared herself for the worst and swallowed the urge to scream and beg for help as she attempted to right herself, but one of the weighted bars fell off and shifted her balance so she headed face first onto pointed ice edges.

She closed her eyes to braced herself and hoped Okimi had the manpower to fix her face after exhausting herself with healing her yesterday after her mother-in-law kicked her ass bloody, proving Shin's point that the woman was a tyrant—a perfectly respected Elder with a gift in training the younger generations, but a tyrant, nonetheless. She'd been working her harder than anticipated, even though her grandfather had already set the bar pretty high in how much pain and suffering was required for her to endure to continue onto the next level. Also, it wasn't as if the healing wasn't good—the Kuronuma's strange healing techniques worked remarkably well, too well. She learned that anyone could receive a mortal wound and survive it with the right concoction, but of course, every brew came with consequences—the worse the injury was, the bigger the penalty.

Okimi and Takuto informed her that she would be feeling the aftereffects of all the training in due time. She would be taking all the hits all over again and told her she better hope she toughened up before that happened or it would put her out like a light for days…much like she expected from the pointy rock face.

The impact never came. An arm wrapped itself around her waist and together along with her savior, she was sent to the ground where she flattened him. Nobody ever expected the black bars to be as heavy as they were.

"Mio," came Hashirama's strained voice underneath her. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but—Tobirama! Don't just stand there—I'm dying—ugh!"

Mio nicked her elbow and she was feeling the pain shoot up her arm when Tobirama offered his hand. She took it, but put most of her effort in pushing herself off the ground so he wouldn't have to bear the worst of the weight.

Hashirama was motionless on the ground. The great Hashirama. She stepped over him. "Takuto!" she shouted loud enough for the mountain to carry the echo of her voice. "Takuto!"

"I appreciate the help," she told them earnestly. It saved her the chance of reliving the situation later when the full brunt of landing face first on ice came back to show her what she missed.

Tobirama poked his brother. "I warned him about catching you mid-jump," he murmured, side eyeing her. "Do you know what he said?"

"I have a guess," she said slowly, though she knew no guess could ever come close to half the things that left Hashirama's mouth.

"'Everyone knows princesses are as light as a feather,'" repeated Tobirama grimly. "I could have stopped him."

"Could?"

"Sometimes he needs to listen."

So you let him do this to himself…

He arched an eyebrow at her. "What?"

"Nothing," she answered, turning away.

Hashirama bolted onto a seat, rubbing the back of his head. "Everything is fine," he announced with a big laugh. "If you don't believe me, climb back up there and I'll catch you all over again."

"She is carrying twice your weight," Tobirama revealed.

"That's impossible." Hashirama wrapped his arms around her waist. "She's light as a feath—" He tried to hoist her up in the air once, twice, and three times before faking a kidney injury. "It hurts. Forgive me, Mio-hime, I can't even lift you when you're so light."

Mio snorted, the laughter that spilled from her lips shocked her as much as it did the two Senju brothers standing around her. Throughout that whole argument, she just couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculous notion that princesses were weightless.

"Did you call?"

She couldn't even greet Takuto properly because she was still laughing at Hashirama. She tried to mime for him to check his head, but failed and decided it might be best to remove herself from the situation and refocus her attention on completing the last three runs around Mt. Hyōga. But she needed to stop laughing first.

"Maybe you should see to her injuries first," said Tobirama, side eying his brother. "Hashirama's kidney can wait."

Takuto glanced in her direction as she stood awkwardly sucking in her lips and shaking with suppressed hysterics. He tilted his head to the side and then turned back to the white-haired brother with his deduction. "She's perfectly fine," he said with a shrug.

"She's shaking," Tobirama continued, trying to ignore his brother as he began to moan about a damaged femur. He stared at her firmly. "Are you cold? I told you to wear layers. The weather here is terrible."

"But she's already very warm," added Hashirama, suddenly healthy. "Most Kuronuma are."

"What happened to your kidney?" asked Tobirama.

Hashirama leaned forward in pain once more. "Oh yes, the pain has returned. Takuto-san, if you would please have a look at my kidney, I would really appreciate it. I have something to prove," he decided, wobbling towards the medical specialist and patted his shoulder. "Tobirama, Mio-hime, go on without me. I will meet you once I'm better."

Takuto stared at him oddly, humor lighting his face. "I wouldn't waste my energy healing you."

"Why not?"

"You can heal yourself and if you were really hurt, you would have done it already."

Takuto waved farewell to everyone and walked away, but Hashirama went with him, determined to have him heal him from something he started to call a Kuronuma Related Injury that only another Kuronuma could heal.

"I…should…keep going," she said brokenly.

She powerwalked up the treacherous trail that almost caused her a terrible consequence injury and begun taking several deep breaths to resist bursting into another fit of laughter especially since her view from the top showed her the sight of Hashirama on the ground sulking. She expected different and received the opposite. The only place Hashirama lived up to his reputation was in battle and she found herself appreciating how differently he was outside it. He almost seemed unreliable in comparison to Tobirama, who she spent more time around than she cared to admit.

Halfway done with the first lap she acknowledged she had grown comfortable around the Senju clan and they, in turn, were at ease with the peaceful Kuronuma clan who shared many of their ideals of peace. If she was a different type of person, she might have allowed her experiences with the Senju clan to forget she was a member of the Uchiha clan, their enemies, but she didn't. Rather, to some degree, she wished she did. She wasn't embarrassed about being an Uchiha, she was incredibly proud of it, but that didn't stop her from feeling uncomfortable that nobody knew (with Hashirama being the exception). She imagined some of the reactions if anyone were to find out. She was certain she didn't want to be anywhere near that situation and also, she didn't want to be the reason the alliance Musashi wanted so badly dissolved.

.

.

Mio rushed from the hot springs to Musashi's yurt to find him accompanied by a striking older woman with smooth skin and sleek, dark hair pulled into a tight, elaborate hairstyle. From the second she stepped inside, the woman found all the imperfections in her wardrobe and her presence. The stranger's stare left her uncomfortable and cold.

"This is our princess, Mio."

She greeted the woman with a polite bow, which was returned by a slight inclination of her head that summed up the type of respect she would receive from her, not that she expect much upon bearing her judging gaze.

"Hm, she is not lacking in appeal," the woman drawled, looking her from top to bottom a second time and with a grimace continued speaking in a measured tone. "I am Hisano."

She shifted side to side and crept past the entrance as soon as her great-grandfather gestured her into a seat nearby.

"Tea?" offered Musashi.

She shook her head. "No." Hisano's stare bore into the side of her head and it unnerved her. She felt as though she said something wrong and needed to correct it. "No, thank you."

"Water?"

"No, I just rehydrated, thank you."

"Sit up straight," ordered Hisano.

Mio straightened her back, tucked her legs under her, and set her hands on her lap, which earned her an appraising look from Hisano.

"So you are capable of sitting properly, Ohime-sama."

There seemed to be room for an apology on her behalf, one she wasn't going to give considering she just met Hisano and the only reason she obeyed her order was that she promised her grandfather to be good. That applied to strangers especially, he clarified on the day he set off.

"Hisano-san is here to observe you," said Musashi.

"Observe me for what reason?" she asked politely. She belatedly realized there were several ways to rephrase the question and make it sound nicer than it did.

"You'll be seventeen soon and I believe it is appropriate for you to find a husband," explained Musashi with a quaint smile.

She wanted to laugh. She might have cracked a smile if that hadn't been a pause.

"The continuation of the Shugosha line is absolutely imperative. As you form the next generation it falls on you to provide us an heir."

She nodded. "Understandable."

"Hisano-san is interested in unifying our families and has a candidate in mind for the arrangement."

"Will this interfere with my training?" she asked, concerned.

"Absolutely not," Musashi clarified. "Hisano-san will observe you throughout the following days with the exception of our afternoon lessons, nighttime, and during private affairs."

She could breathe a sigh of relief, but she held it in and said the first thing to come to mind. "I hope I am up to your standards, Hisano-san."

"We will see."

Musashi excused himself to allow them privacy because Hisano wanted to speak to her alone, but promised that the two of them would pick up where they left off on their last lesson. The only thing she worried about was arriving late for Strength Training with Uzuki, but Hisano seemed to be straightforward enough to move the conversation along and she wasn't interested in turning away any of her questions, no matter how strange she found it being interviewed to marry this relative of hers by anyone other than the male in question. Wouldn't that be more practical? She'd be more inclined to accept that without any internal monologue questioning the situation.

Hisano asked her about whether or not she bled on a monthly basis to confirm she could provide an heir and asked if she remained untouched because she would not allow her family name to be stained by such a scandal. Even though, Mio told her that she had had no interest in the opposite sex, thus it being impossible for any man to come close to taking her chastity, she insisted on having her examined by a person in her confidence. She agreed as she didn't have a choice in the matter.

"I understand Musashi has a descendant connected to the Uchiha clan," Hisano begun after piling through the personal inquiries. "One of his children married an Uchiha woman and they had a child. Are you in any way connected to this son of his? You certainly have the features, the bone structure, the proud mien—you give off an energy that is distinctly Uchiha."

She caught onto the woman's ploy and countered. "The son you speak of has already passed and so has his child," she lied, masked in a cool expression that negated the arguments that could surface. She would be an Uchiha on the inside and assume the role of a Kuronuma on the outside, which was nothing she hadn't been doing since the Senju clan came along. "My grandfather is a blacksmith and his wife was a common woman from a village in Kurata. I take after my mother."

"Hm, it is said that few genetic lines are capable of overpowering the rose eyes that run in the Kuronuma clan. I have seen several children like yourself—with only one Kuronuma parent—and all inherited the eyes."

"There is a black sheep in every family, but I assure you my blood is as red as theirs."

"If I were able to read your chakra signature, I would be able to tell—"

"But that would be impossible," Mio interrupted. "I am wearing a protection seal to prevent that for a reason and I would very much like to live to see my grandchildren. I would appreciate it if you accepted my word as truth."

"I shall…for now." Hisano rose from her seat and reached to pull her face up by the chin. Her touch was soft and nonthreatening, but firm and her eyes scanned every contour of her face. "You are not unremarkable. I believe you could make a good wife for my nephew, but first impressions change and you are far from the princess I expected."

Mio sensed a change in the air as the woman released her. Unless that nephew of hers was living royalty then her approach to the arranged marriage could be overlooked, but if she simply wanted to control that nephew's life by providing him with a perfect bride, well, she would have to break one of her agreements to Shin. If this woman planned to humiliate her, she would have to try a lot harder than using sly tactics to get a rise out of her. She wouldn't bend for this woman any more than she did to everyone else attempting to belittle her existence.

She honored Musashi's words on the importance of continuing the Shugosha line, but she had absolutely no intention of marrying now or marrying through arrangement. She could apologize later if her decision upset him.

She smiled and carefully rose from her seat to escort the woman out. "Thank you for honoring me with your presence, Hisano-san," she said politely. "I do hope you find me well suited for your nephew."

---

The shadow storm began earlier than anticipated and the war for Kurata remained unsettled.

---

Further underground, down a hidden rocky passage within Mt. Hyōga and beyond the springs sat a chamber of crystalized rock. The center comprised of a single walkway leading to a circular island surrounded by a cascade of searing dark water that cast a heady mist that made it nearly impossible to breathe. Atop the plinth in the center of the room was a round green object hovering a few inches off the surface casting a bright light that pierced through the smog.

Mio inched closer to it and let her skirts fall to the ground. She reached to touch the circular object intrigued that it looked less like a dragon's eye and more like a round emerald. It emitted a brighter light as soon as her fingertips brushed the cold surface and a gust of icy wind blew against her body furiously. She sensed a steady decline in her chakra that exhausted her and moved away. She knew from the moment she took a detour to the hidden stairwell that she was making a mistake going underground alone, but she realized she didn't like Mt. Hyōga when Shin wasn't around doing something strange.

Beyond Mt. Hyōga there were Mikazuki spilling from Kurata Castle even though she recently learned Gouki was incapacitated. She wondered if it had anything to do with the poison, thought that happened so long ago. She had hoped it killed him, but it would be incredibly stupid of the Mikazuki clan to use poison in their weapons and not have an antidote handy. And he probably wasn't as incapacitated as she would like if his shinobi were making plans to ascend the mountain in Tasuku's name as the shadow storm took root in Mt. Hyōga making it difficult for any remaining Senju to join the fray.

Footsteps.

Mio returned to the foot of the staircase and caught Takuto before he made the complete descent.

He was out of breath, but looked relieved to see her. "Oh, you're here."

"Did something happen?" she asked, walking up to reach him.

"There was an envoy from Kurata Castle and you were nowhere to be found, so…"

"So?"

"I came looking for you."

"Has my grandfather returned to Kurata?" she asked once they reached the top of the staircase.

"No."

"Has he sent news?"

"Oh." Takuto dug through his pocket and provided her with a letter. "He sent this."

She ripped it open and read only to be disappointed in the irrelevant content. 'I miss you.' She appreciated the sentiment, but she'd rather be involved in her grandfather's dealings. He explained nothing about his travels except his intention of taking the Fate Sphere from Hag and punishing her for betraying the clan's secret.

She sighed and tucked it into her robes.

"What were you doing down here? Did the Shugosha-sama lift his ban on your being near the Climate Sphere?" asked Takuto, leading her through the labyrinth-like passages underground to the surface exits.

"I wanted to see it for myself," she admitted. "I did recently learn how to stop myself from activating an artifact."

It wasn't difficult for Musashi to determine her chakra control was easily disrupted when in contact with an artifact and taught her a method of preventing the artifact's parasitic pull from drawing out her chakra without her notice by using the black water in her body as a barrier. She struggled with it for several weeks until she finally stopped activating Okimi's Reflective Sphere, but she had a better grasp now to the point that it was so natural a thing she barely noticed it was there at all.

"That's good. Well, can you do anything about the weather? It's never been this tame during the shadow storm," he said, concerned. "I feel if temperatures continue on the rise we won't have a shadow storm and you know what that means."

"Mt. Hyōga loses its final defense."

A row of torches broke through the darkness and shadows danced across their pale clothing. The air contained a chill quality that only made the discomfort of a constant winter bearable to the Senju remaining on the mountain, but without the harsh, howling winds, most of the Kuronuma felt uncomfortable in their own skin.

Takuto huffed as he removed the loose white shirt he wore and stepped out into the glowing mountain with every opaque light outlining his beautifully sculpted body, each indentation of his tight abdominal muscles enhanced by the play of shadow and light.

She noted the shameless glances a group of girls her age directed at him as they passed them engaged in conversation and how oblivious he remained to even their giggling.

She caught Hashirama and a group of Senju drinking with Enya and his friends staring in their direction completely aghast. She wanted to know what Enya said about her. Hashirama remained with the group of twenty Senju shinobi left on the mountain and was tasked with her protection since Tobirama went out to the fray to lead against a recent attack that nearly reached the valleys between Mt. Hyōga and Kurata. He left accompanied by Saiko, a Kuronuma elder, who took several capable Kuronuma shinobi to remain in the valleys on standby as the final defense before the mountain range was breached.

Musashi worried that it wouldn't be long before the Mikazuki-Uchiha alliance managed to make it past Saiko despite the Senju being able to knock them back. The Mikazuki clan remained a relatively unknown clan that only recently came into power with the help of the Uchiha clan (or at least that was the rumor going around because Taiga developed the sense of cleaning up after everyone's mess). They were mostly known for their ability to mask their chakra, their use of poison weapons, and for their nintaijutsu. As far as any report brought in from the warzone, the Mikazuki clan wasn't in possession of a Kekkei Genkai.

Mio suspected as much, but for a Sharingan to be rendered useless by that secret technique of theirs irritated her. The only clan capable of negating dōjutsu that way was the Kuronuma because they had the black water and that thought alone evolved into a thousand questions that turned her away from admiring Takuto's physique in silence.

"You mentioned an envoy from Kurata Castle…" she started, berating herself for overlooking something that important.

Takuto paused and turned to her, his eyes darkened—changed with the reddish opacity of the fire lighting their pathway to Musashi. "He made it to Saiko-san's group in the mountain range with a letter addressed to your great-grandfather. It arrived by…bat."

She shuddered to think a bloodsucker trespassed into Mt. Hyōga and jolted when something nudged the back of her hand. One of Musashi's white bears snickered on his way past her and cast her an evil look.

"You did that on purpose," shouted Takuto at the furry bear.

It continued on its merry way, cutting between the street to enter through the aperture of a house. Musashi used his summoned animals to aid them through the shadow storm and most of the younger bears were tricksters, complete troublemakers that enjoyed pulling pranks on people and scaring others. That one especially liked to torture her.

"You promised there wouldn't be any bats," she told him.

Takuto laughed. "Well, it's usually too cold that Saiko-san rarely summons them unless it's absolutely necessary," he admitted. "Oh and watch out for Hashirama—"

Mio yelped at the feel of hands on her waist hoisting her up high in the air onto Hashirama's broad shoulders and sat on the verge of tears from the second scare in a row. Her heart pounded noising in her chest as she wondered where to put her hands and whether or not she might have been digging her heels into his sides, but he didn't seem to notice it. He held her by the knees ensuring she stayed perfectly in one place and seemed to smile at Takuto, who returned the gesture with his own, looking up at her in the process as if one warning was enough to survive Hashirama.

"Are we going somewhere?" asked Hashirama casually.

"To Shugosha-sama," answered Takuto.

"Oh yes, about the message. We should see what Mikazuki Gouki's demands are; though it's obvious one is already on my shoulders." He lifted his eyes to her, a smile on his face. "Should we go, Mio-hime?"

"It's urgent," she said, attempting to relax.

The difference between this and the mountain she was knocked out of a while ago was that she saw Hashirama around Enya. Enya was in league with Musashi and Shin in the way that they were synonymous with alcoholic beverages. Being around them meant exposure to quality wine and all their bad habits. She believed Hashirama was at least tipsy because he was swaying where he stood.

She decided to be unaffected by it…or tried to be.

Musashi stood outside his home surrounded by the usual people crowding him in the last couple of weeks. Uzuki and Tenma, two of the eight wise Elders on the council that acted as the Shugosha's advisors, were pouring over the suspected letter with furrowed eyebrows while Hisano stood beside her great-grandfather with an air of superiority. With her proximity and presentation, she could easily be mistaken for his wife.

As soon as Hisano saw her seated on Hashirama's shoulders, she shot her a look that left her cold and extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to shrink into nonexistence, but kept her chin up and remained composed. This moment would come back to haunt her later that day and she could already imagine the sort of outburst cooking up in Hisano's mind. The last time she caught her babysitting Minako with Takuto's help who together they were tasked with chasing her down the entire encampment following her very twisted interpretation of hide and seek. No matter how many times they found her and that was saying something because she had a gift for being difficult to find, they were supposed to say and do nothing until she was out of sight again. The game was endless and Hisano appeared when Takuto was whispering in her ear to prevent Minako from overhearing, who was squatting behind a crate giggling quietly.

Not only did Hisano snap at her, she cancelled her free time and forbade Takuto from being too friendly with her, and once she found out Sako had the audacity to allow someone of her standing to babysit a child, she hunted the blond woman down to put her in her place while returning Minako to her. And then, Hisano rounded on her a second time, asking her to be more aware of her position. Mio was too shocked to say anything and just agreed with everything she said to get her to stop shouting at her.

Hashirama moved towards Uzuki and Tenma. "May I see the letter?"

Tenma handed it to him. Mio leaned forward to read it. The Mikazuki made the obvious demand and one that took her by surprise. Scrawled neatly on the brittle paper it said, 'Mio, the Kuronuma princess, and Shinya of the Black Sphere, two lives for those of our Senju prisoners, the civilians from Kurata's villages, and every man, woman, and child on Mt. Hyōga.' It was signed by both the Mikazuki clan and Uchiha clan. She recognized the handwriting. It was Hiryuu.

She pointed to it. "Uchiha Hiryuu wrote this."

"Uchiha Hiryuu? I never saw him in the battle. The Mikazuki were being led by a man called Rikuto," said Hashirama.

"Uchiha Hiryuu is a strategist. He may not be in the warzone, but he knows all about it and has probably been the one moving everyone around."

"You're certainly knowledgeable about the man," commented Hisano.

"I like to read." Mio flexed her hand towards the letter. "Can I see it?"

"We've spent enough time staring at it and there's nothing wrong with it," said Tenma.

"Have a little faith, Mio's previous profession dealt with this sort of thing," defended Takuto. "If anything, I think there may be a message in there just for her."

The letter was already in her hands and she was analyzing it. There was definitely a hidden message somewhere between the lines or in the paper itself. She knew if she wanted to decipher it properly, given that it was a message from Hiryuu, that she needed her Sharingan.

"Can I keep it?" she asked absently, absorbed in rereading and deconstructing it.

"Yes," Musashi agreed. "Come to any of us immediately if you discover something."

She folded it and tucked it inside one of her overflowing sleeves. "I assume we have a time limit."

"Without a doubt," Musashi answered. "We are not in a position to negotiate because Shinya isn't here and Mio is not an option."

"It's a bad game," said Hashirama. "Kuronuma Shinya is not an unknown name outside Kurata and he didn't leave Mt. Hyōga without making his presence known. This is a ploy to make the negotiation a failure."

Tenma removed himself from the group announcing that he would send an answer to Saiko, so she would be able to relay the information to Tobirama. Musashi offered him more information to relay before the older man took his leave and Mio waited impatiently for the conversation to continue.

There were too many lives at stake. Would Mikazuki Gouki slaughter another village of innocents to prove a point? Yes, he would do it in a heartbeat because he made it clear that he would repeat the cycle of violence to get his hands on her.

"We suffered his cruelty once as a declaration of war," started Musashi. "To assume he will only slaughter those he has named in that slip of paper would be pure ignorance on our behalf and I have lived far too many years to allow a pair of arrogant brats do with the people of Kurata what they would like."

"But Shugosha-sama, if I may," said Takuto hesitantly, earning a nod from her great-grandfather. "The shadow storm is going on strong; no light can pierce the darkness that stretches between this mountain and the mountain ranges of Kurata. Do we have to rely on our shinobi on the other side while we remain here like sitting ducks?"

"You make a good point, Takuto-kun, but I don't plan for more innocent blood to be spilled when this mountain has seen enough," he answered stringently. "I will do the only thing I am capable of doing. I will deactivate the Climate Sphere and allow the shadow storm to dissolve. I will order Saiko and the men accompanying her to defend the valleys while we prepare our own assault against them and—"

"—Or we surprise them," Mio interjected. She thought of it on the spot, this horrible and rash idea of hers that might result in buying the Kuronuma clan enough of a distraction to save all the endangered lives. Everyone seemed to be listening at this point and she faltered before continuing. "I have improved much since I first started Strength Training with Uzuki-san and have even managed to perfect a new jutsu. I may not be in any position to make a request like this, but—"

"I decline," said Musashi strongly, his usual gruff tone dropped into a low menacing growl that should have marked the end of the discussion. He watched her with awareness in his rose-hued eyes and a strong disapproval that molded his expression into a harsh one. "You are my last successor and your duty as one is the only thing that should be important to you."

"It is important," she tried hesitantly. "But I don't want that massacre to repeat itself. There are people I care about here and I don't want to play into Mikazuki Gouki's game again."

"The Fate Sphere is on his side. You will always play into his game. The only way to prevent this is by going to war. We must believe that we are stronger than they are."

"The Kuronuma clan won't fight," she retorted. "The Kuronuma clan was tasked with protecting the artifacts and this mountain is host to one. If we leave, we dishonor what our ancestor wanted. We can't let them come into this mountain, so we have to distract them. Is there a greater distraction than me? I'm the one they want. They will chase me wherever I go. I'm the only one capable of holding all the artifacts and if I left without anyone's knowledge, their threats would be unnecessary."

"No," Hashirama decided. "You're not going. Running away is as good as giving up and we can't confirm that doing this would stop them from releasing the prisoners. It could become more of an incentive to use them as bait in order to draw you out. There's no need to be so drastic. Once we receive a response from the other side we can convene, there's a better plan to every stupid one."

Mio tried to stop herself from trembling in a strange combination of frustration and anxiety where both emotions fought for their right to her reaction.

"Okay," she conceded without further argument. She would burst into tears if she went on any further reminded that the whole Kuronuma clan was all but a big family of embarrassing relatives, one she didn't want to lose at her expense.

They were home when she relinquished the roof Sachiyo provided. She learned harsh lessons here, she changed because of these people, she challenged herself and sought to become better because her grandfather always had the right words to say. Everyone supported her here. Everyone loved her here. Everything was perfect on Mt. Hyōga.

She experienced her fair share of terrible things since becoming Musashi's successor and it would get worse, but she wasn't expected to sit around being protected by the Senju clan forever. Shin, Uzuki, and Musashi told her time and again that she was getting strong to protect herself because a Shugosha should never need anyone protecting them. If she left now with her training unfinished, she would probably be able to protect the mountain from being attacked, but if she didn't, it was inevitable that so many lives would be taken because of her. She didn't need more death burdening her. Death was all she knew.

She wanted to believe someone could think of a better plan like Hashirama mentioned. She wanted to believe in his words because she had nothing else.

---

Mio returned to see Musashi later that evening upon deciphering the coded message Hiryuu left behind. Certain she would understand it, no new information was provided in between the lines, the secret message was written in Jouji's preferred method, which she learned before Eijiro's death. For many silent minutes, she stared blankly at the paper and tried to let the initial shock wash away. It persisted. It ate at her nerves and weathered down against her chest. It clogged up her lungs and cut her respiratory functions. It numbed the senses and painted a sinister picture in her head. Every word lingered, every word hit harder.

Hashirama had questioned her reaction when Takuto snatched the deciphered message from under her ink-stained hand and as soon as he read the opening bit. The taunting introduction to a nightmare she couldn't forget about a useless little girl that lost her parents and it went on to depict it detail by detail, even the minor nuances she believed were hers to keep, even the words her mother spoke in that broken voice that told her she was loved.

"What is this?" Hashirama had asked, eyebrows drawn.

Takuto understood it without explanation and opted to return the long, drawn out letter when she snatched it from his hands. She decided to go to her great-grandfather to show him the letter. He took the deciphered message in his hand and read it with a hardened stare, occasionally pausing to sigh on certain words that she assumed were the grisly murders that Hiryuu took time to draw out in exquisite detail. She wished the message ended there, but it continued into a second story about the same nameless girl that found a home in a snowy mountain surrounded by great, white giants. He described the layout of Mt. Hyōga in a way only a person who had seen it with their own eyes would be able to do so and talked about what would happen after the initial demand was met. The last few words were what really upset her and she repeated them in her head.

The princess will run because she will learn of something terrible the great Shugosha has avoided in all their lessons, the story of what happens to the guardians that are no longer necessary. She will try to save more than she is able, but it is the person she wants to save the most that will be the one to die and that, Ohime-sama, is the only pathway in her future.

Musashi returned his gaze to her. "You mustn't listen to the lies in this."

"I don't care about the lies," she returned, keeping an even tone. "I want to know what he meant to say by what happens to guardians that are no longer necessary."

He exhaled, troubled with the subject. "Sit."

She did and prepared to listen, heart hammering in her chest. Was it that terrible?

"The parasite and host relationship between sphere and guardian is simple. The parasitic nature of the sphere draws chakra unknowingly from the host and it does this for as long as it takes for it to be given to a stronger host to provide what it already depleted form its current host," explained Musashi. "Of course, there are benefits to carrying a sphere because even though the relationship is one-sided, the artifacts have a tendency of preventing further aging to elongate the periods they are allowed to remain with a single host. You can say we are stopped from continuing to do so after we've reached our prime and remain there for as long as it takes for a new host to be found."

She took a calming breath. "What happens to the previous host?"

Musashi faltered. "The previous host dies," he said quickly. "It is a drawn out, but inevitable process." He paused at the horrified look that dawn on her. "There's more. If during a certain host's time, the host named any successors and was near passing the sphere onto the next host before that host died, the current host suffers negative damage from the sphere when it restarts its parasitic life cycle."

She swallowed thickly. Her mind drew a blank because the idea threatening to roll off her tongue was one she didn't want to say. "What is that supposed to mean?"

She couldn't hear the sound of her voice and in the long stretch in time between Musashi's next answer she imagined he hadn't either.

"It quickens the process. It mars the skin with terrible, painful bruises that slowly cover the skin. Before the sphere passes onto its new host it releases something like a poison that slips into the bloodstream. It is a last burden for its previous host and it is mean to kill them after they have finished passing on their knowledge to the new host. Once it reaches the heart, it's over. It's incurable."

The ugly bruise on Shin's arm came to mind. That awful reaction he had when she asked him. Did he want to hide this from her? She closed her eyes and held her face in her hands unable to listen to more.

"Such is the life of the artifact guardians, once a sphere has found a new host there's no need for an old one," he finished. "If there were two, three hosts with every artifact, it would defeat the purpose of protecting them because one could easily target an ex-host and use them. It's impossible to have two when there can only be one."

She felt the black dangling earring brush against her hand as she pushed her head back to breathe. "Is my grandfather going to die?" she whispered painfully. She couldn't believe it. She had to repeat it, over and over again until it sunk in. "Is he…is he going to die…?"

Musashi closed his eyes, saying nothing and his silence spoke louder than any words he could have spoken.

---

xl: Part 3 of 3.

I just hope everyone was completely aware that Hashirama never put Mio down during that serious conversation and I just want you to imagine being everyone else talking about this while that's going on. I had every intention of cutting that out, not the conversation, but Mio being on his shoulders because it was supposed to be a serious moment, but I couldn't. It was just so ridiculous I wouldn't have forgiven myself if I did do it..

Heavier edits are coming to this chapter once I am re-energized. I did my best. I apologize for the shameless content, the shoddy characterization, and for literally tearing my outline for this chapter to shreds in order to write this. With this chapter I am done constructing the foundation of what will be the rest of the story and I hope everyone has enjoyed the journey so far.

I want to thank everyone that recently added this story to their alert or favorite lists (or both) for giving it a chance. It's never had a presentable summary and it's very slow on the uptake and there are lingering mistakes that I promise I will go back to fix and overall it's a very weird. I always write without expecting feedback and it doesn't help that I'm a pessimist and I don't trust my writing ability, but then there are people that go out and say they enjoy it and it really makes a difference to me. I want everyone to know that I appreciate each one of you and want to thank you all for helping Redesign reach over 80 reviews and a combined number of over 100 favs/follows.

Also, extra thank yous to the people that took the time to review the previous chapter, you always make me happier than a firefly in heat: Loteva, Xanette, YamiKitsuneKami, Aries01xD, MaxFlyFan, WarFlower, and Pyre Mikadzuki. Don't ask about my comparison, I know it's terrible.

If anyone is interested in a preview to the famous Madara chapter, visit my profile to read up on how to find it and other extras you might appreciate.

Things to expect in Ch. 23 - ? "On the Battlefield"

- Madara and Izuna POV. Predominately the former.

- Madara and Shin interaction.

- Some memory segments woven in between. This included Madara's time in the Sun Country and some ridiculous recollections of his llama pen wars with Mio.

- Sachiyo and the Ito sisters.

- Madara and Taiga confrontation.

- Yayoi causing drama because why else would I create her except for that and being perceptive enough to tell you all some deep, dark secrets.

- There will be Mio. There will be Mio and Madara. There will be Mio and Izuna. There will also be Mio and Sachiyo + Saori and Hibari. But where there is Mio, you can expect there to be Mikazuki Gouki and Kurata battle update.

So, while you wait in anticipation for the greatness that will be part one of the next mini-arc (because I will pull out all my guns to make these be most perfect chapter I can churn out), I will be off spoiling my All I Wanted readers because I owe them 3 chapters and I'm almost done with one. But to make your wait easier, I will post a bunch of previews for the next mini-arc...so go off to my profile to see how you can find these previews!

Thank you for reading! :)