Fated to Meet You

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, character or plot, from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto.

Chapter Three: Start

It didn't take long for Mai to become trapped between the white haired man and a tree. To keep her still, his katana nicked at her neck and remained at her neck. The towering, white haired man in front of her stood more than a head taller than her. His red eyes held no remorse for the small child. The moon's light illuminated his white hair like snow and hid Mai's dark ones.

Fear was evident in the air, and Mai fought with herself to keep her onyx eyes steady. She wished that she could end the battle quickly with her Sharingan but not only did she want to keep her identity a secret, she also no longer had enough chakra to deliver an efficient jutsu. Even then, she doubted she could cast a genjutsu strong enough for her to escape- like the one she did on Scholar Akiyama- because although she lacked in sensory, she could feel the man's enormous chakra prowess, and that was more than enough to tell her that even at full strength, her genjutsu might not even open an escape for her.

She could feel the tingling sensation from her neck. When Mai looked for any chance of escape, the man stiffened his grip on his sword, and she involuntarily stiffened her neck. She was really going to die here. The thought of it frightened her. Thinking that the man would drag his sword across her neck, she had already nearly accepted death. But instead he swung his sword in the opposite direction away from Mai. Out of desperation, she concluded that her Sharingan was her only escape, but before she could bring enough chakra up to her eyes, the man immediately reversed his direction and hit the side of the girl's head with the hilt of his katana.

Tobirama knew there was only one person behind the assassinations. The killings seemed to have happened too far apart for it to be a group attempt. But he didn't think the assassin would be a girl, more precisely a child. She barely stood as tall as his shoulders, but in-between the few minutes of their battle, he noticed she wasn't to be entirely underestimated. He doubt the girl would tell him her clan name, but he could care less about that.

Still, he was curious. What clan would send a girl out into the field? Her ebony hair, onyx eyes, and fair skin characteristics appeared in a number of shinobi clans ranging from the Hagoromo to the Uchiha. He highly doubted that she was an Uchiha because, like many clans, Uchiha's rarely ever put women out in the battle field. However, whether she was an Uchiha or not, Tobirama was more concern with the survival of his clan and turning the assassin over to the Kihito Family assumed that position and importance. Picking up the unconscious girl on the dirt ground and lifting her over his shoulders, Tobirama headed full speed back to Steel Village.

. . .

"Team Captain!" Jun said. His brown eyes widened at the body hanging over his white haired captain's shoulders, and a slight tug of a smile fought with his lips.

"That's the assassin?" Kaito questioned to his surprise. He highly doubted that the assassin who killed Scholar Akiyama was a girl. When his Team Captain walked closer, Kaito asked, "Do we just turn her into the family?"

"Yes," Tobirama answered. "Did you inform the family?"

"Yes, we did." Kaito answered. "They will pay half the original amount discussed for the assassin."

Walking into the estate, Tobirama set the girl down on the ground. The pay was just enough for the entire Senju Clan to survive for half a month alone; and although it bothered him to give up someone this young for money, he still accepted it. His red eyes glanced at Scholar Kihito's daughter sitting by her father's cold body. She didn't look like she was finished shedding tears. Her gray eyes looked at the girl he brought into her home and slightly widened with recognition.

"...That's the assassin?" The Kihito daughter asked, her voice nasal due to her tears while she glanced at the white haired man and then looked down at the unconscious assassin on the ground. The recognition in her eyes began to fade, she wiped the tears away from her cheeks, and stood up. Her gray eyes rolled back to the hired shinobi, this time her eyes held nothing but a calm composure.

"Yes," Tobirama answered.

"Mamiko, bring them the payment!"

The throbbing pain on the side of Mai's head slithered her into consciousness. Bringing a hand up to the left side of her head, she pressed into the skin as if to prevent the pain from spreading. She had not yet opened her eyes because the bright light that managed to seep through her eyelids blinded her.

"Well," a familiar female voice began. "You've finally decided to wake up."

Slowly sitting up, she let her head hang while she cracked her eyes open bit by bit to allow her eyes to adjust before slowly looking up to the living body of Kihito Kaori in front of her. Bathed in the sunlight, she was dressed in a fine silk kimono. Glancing behind the standing girl, Mai's eyes landed on the large window that let the access light in.

"Tsch. Escaping is impossible." Kaori scoffed. "I have my guards stationed everywhere."

Bringing her eyes back to the girl, Mai kept her mouth shut. Or rather, looking was the only thing she had the energy for right now.

"What are you? A mute?" The fatherless girl began and she lowered her upper body to peer down at the black haired girl. "A barbaric mute that killed my father!?"

Mai could see the girl's jaw shake but she remained silent while she stared up at the girl and as the throbbing pain pounded inside her head.

Kaori began to laugh hysterically, bellowing her laughter out as if she'd lost control of her mind. Stepping closer to her father's assassin, she said, "I let you into my house." Her voice hard. "And you betray me by killing my father!" Bringing her hand up in the air, she slashed it across Mai's face before Mai could even block.

The right side of Mai's body slammed into the wooden floors of the estate. A shock electrified throughout her entire body causing her to curl up, but Mai felt as if something was missing. Rubbing the right side of her body, Mai winced in pain as she sat back up. What was missing?

...The mission scroll!

She had hidden the white mission scroll inside her shirt on the right side right below the curve of her breast before leaving Steel Village last night. Looking back up at the fatherless girl, the gray eyed girl had anger written all over her face: from her sharp dagger-like-eyes to her clenched jaw. There was no sign of her having the scroll or having any knowledge of the scroll. She wouldn't have called her just 'barbaric' if she knew of Mai's name.

"The Daimyō will never forgive you! I will never forgive!" Kaori screeched and screamed in the background.

But all Mai could think of were the consequences if the white haired shinobi she'd encountered found the scroll. Did he find it after? Mai asked herself. Her eyes scanned the wooden floors as if the answer was there. Her identity would be discovered. One of the Uchiha's hidden weapons in the Warring States Period would be found out. A failure to not only to Lord Tajima but to the entire Uchiha Clan.

"You!" The Kihito girl's voice hard.

Mai immediately looked up to the girl. Her attention given to the mad girl.

But before the girl could go on, a knock on the door along with a voice interrupted her. "Lady Kaori, the Royal Guards are here."

Kaori's mouth formed a fine line while her eyes remained hard on her father's assassin. Stomping out of the room, Kaori threw the door open. As the door opened, Mai saw the familiar, middle-aged servant from before. The door closed but Mai's eyes remained on the portal. She had a feeling there were guards stationed behind the door.

Leaning her head back onto the wall behind her as if to ease the dizziness and pain, the Uchiha child slowly attempted to breathe in. The cool breeze from the window did nothing to ease her pain and worries. Leaning her entire weight onto the wall, she turned her head to face the window. Everything gave her pain: the light pained her eyes, the wind pained her head, and her breathing pained her sides. Gripping at her right side, she slowly inhaled and exhaled. The sound of hammer on wood could be heard in the distance, and only that soothed her.

She was so spellbound in her journey to ease her pain and worries that she did not notice someone enter until that person spoke. "You've been unconscious for an entire night and morning." A female voice said, and immediately, Mai turned her head to face the person. The pain and dizziness came soon after, and she winced. In front of her sat the middle-aged servant she saw the day before. She was wearing the same dark blue kimono as the day before, and her brown hair was gathered into a bun behind her head. In her hand, she held the familiar, white mission scroll. Mai looked up to the woman's face and then back to the white scroll.

Noticing the girl's interest in the scroll in her hand, Mamiko dropped the scroll into the space between them. "The shinobi men left last night." She gestured Mai to take the scroll.

Mai didn't reach for the scroll immediately but waited a few seconds after. With all her strength, Mai reached for the white scroll and set it down on her lap.

"You're lucky they didn't see this. Especially that white haired one." The servant said.

Mai listened and watched the middle-aged servant with her eyes open and ears perked. So the white haired man was the hired shinobi bodyguard for Scholar Kihito. That even more explained and corrected her unnerving feeling.

The servant didn't say anything after. But neither did she leave. Mamiko looked at the child. The girl was so small. Her black hair was a disheveled mess with stray hairs unbound from her tied tail. She had dirt on her face and the furrow of her brows showed the fact that she was in pain. She was just a child; a child that was paid to kill. I guess that's the life of a shinobi. Mamiko thought to herself.

When the servant did leave, only then did Mai hide the scroll safely back into her shirt.

Shortly after, the Land of Steel's Royal Guards bombarded into the room Mai resided in, and she was taken from the Kihito Estate to the Daimyō's. Lord Atsuchiyo was a rather skinny man, almost ill-looking. The hollows of his cheeks had sunken in and engulfed his entire face, and his graying hair made him look as if he's seen over seventy summers. His rich red kimono hung off his thin and weak body. "If Mamiko had not told me about you, I would not have known." His raspy voice did nothing but prove his old age, and a sickly smile formed on the Daimyō's face. "...I always knew Uchiha's were more exceptional than Senju's." The Daimyō whipped out his fan with his thin, wrinkled fingers.

Kneeling in front of the Daimyō, Mai silently watched and listened. Her eyes laid blankly on the Daimyō's feet out of respect.

The Daimyō's dark eyes looked at the Uchiha girl. "Is it just you?" He asked. He continued to fan himself.

"Yes, Lord Atsuchiyo."

The Daimyō exhaled in awe. "Talented and beautiful. My…You Uchiha's are as beautiful as they say. It's a shame you all have the wrong blood." The Daimyō commented and continued to fan himself. "Tell me, what are these 'red eyes' everyone associates with you Uchiha's?" He tried squinted into Mai's onyx eyes that were directed at his feet. "If you care to share."

Raising her onyx eyes to the Daimyō, Mai replied, "I'm sorry, Lord Atsuchiyo. I don't quite know what you're talking about." She lied. Every Uchiha stressed the secrecy of their kekkei-genkai, the Sharingan. No man outside the clan was supposed to know of its abilities, and Mai followed the rule. Very few survivors had seen of the Sharingan and word spread throughout the land of their kekkei-genkai. Some true, some not.

The Daimyō sighed in disappointment. "Of course, you're a girl." Clicking his fan shut, he exhaled sharply, almost too sharply that it sounded like it could pierce through his fragile chest. "The late Scholar Kihito's daughter wants to have you executed." He returned to business.

Mai kept her eyes leveled on the Daimyō. Death seemed to be closer to her a lot today.

"But I would rather not have the blood of an Uchiha on my hands. After all, I would like to use your clan again in the future." The elderly Daimyō said and leaned back into his seat. "You, however," he pointed at Mai. "can never set foot on the Land of Steel ever again."

Letting the words flow into her head through the gears, Mai let out a relaxed and steady breath. "Thank you, Lord Atsuchiyo." She laid her palms flat onto the ground and bowed.

A strange feeling greeted Mai as soon as she could see the Uchiha Village. It was a little past midday and the birds weren't chirping as they usually should. There were four people at the gate rather than the usual two. Showing one of the men the mission scroll as proof of her leave, another man said, "Elder Mio wants to see you immediately."

It didn't surprise Mai that she was to meet with Elder Mio. After all, after every mission prior to this Mai went straight to meet Lord Tajima. It was standard protocol, she guessed.

The heart of the village, to Mai's surprise, was empty. All doors were closed, and the only sound evident was the occasional wind. Her footsteps seem to echo slightly louder than usual. Making her way to Elder Mio's home, she found Ayaka already outside as if waiting for her arrival. Standing up, and with her mouth formed into a line, Ayaka said, "Come." before turning and walking into the home.

Mai followed suit. The Uchiha girl couldn't help but stare at Ayaka's black kimono. It was not normal for a head maid to wear entirely black. But thinking back, all the four men at the gate were also wearing all black. Mai opened her mouth to ask, but closed it. It wasn't her job to ask questions.

Ayaka announced their arrival and slid open the papered door. Mai lowered her head to Ayaka and stepped in. Walking in, she sat herself down in front of the female elder where she sat days earlier.

Elder Mio spoke after sipping her tea. "You came later than I thought you would." Elder Mio set her cup of steaming tea on the brown table.

"..." Mai picked at the hem of the maroon kimono shirt she wore. "My apologies, Elder Mio. There were some... complications." She thought back to the white haired man, the gray eyed girl, the servant, and the Daimyō.

Elder Mio's eyes scanned the child's face and narrowed her eyes at the purple-blue bruise on her left temple. "Hmm." Elder Mio hummed. "You should be more careful next time." She gestured to Mai's bruise. The blotch of blue and purple looked as if a painter accidentally spilled paint on his perfectly white canvas.

Mai immediately brought her hand up to her left temple to where the white haired man had stricken her. "I will." Mai said and made a mental note to check it later. Quickly, her eyes laid on the female elders black kimono wrapped firmly around her body neatly and respectfully. Her brows furrowed with question. "...Did someone pass?" She finally asked looking back up to the elder's face.

Elder Mio's mouth formed into a line, almost mirroring Ayaka's. The moment before Elder Mio's answer felt too long to just be three seconds, like time had stalled itself. "...Lord Tajima succumbed to his battle wound two days ago."

What? Her face fell. Her brows un-furrowed themselves. All her facial muscles lost their strength. That was impossible. She heard Lord Tajima was wounded in battle, but Lord Tajima always survived. It wasn't possible for the wound to be that great, was it? Looking down at her hands on her lap, her maroon shirt had fuzzed up at the hem where she picked at. Her thoughts, her memories swarmed her mind. The last time she saw Lord Tajima was when he met with her to give her a recon mission, and that was over a month ago.

"Listen to me, Uchiha Mai." Elder Mio leaned forward, and Mai immediately looked up.

Quickly bringing her head up, the Uchiha child gave the elder her full attention. Although, in her mind, she was still shocked and frozen from the news.

"You should already know that Lord Madara will succeed Lord Tajima as Clan Leader."

Mai nodded. But then a thought popped into her head. Did the young lord even know of her existence? She had never met the heir, who was six years her senior, and Lord Tajima never talked about him to her; only of the missions he gave to her.

Who was Mai suppose to serve now? Lord Tajima trained her and provided for her, but no longer can he do that. It's highly likely Lord Madara did not know of her. Adding to that, Lord Madara and Lord Tajima are not the same people; therefore, life before can never go back to being the same as it was.

The female elder could see panic and worry cloud over the young girl's face. Even she was surprised and taken aback when she heard of their clan leader's death. Every time Lord Tajima returned with a battle wound, he would be standing tall and healthy the following week. The news of the Uchiha Clan Leader's death hit every Uchiha alive: men, women, and children.

"Lord Tajima was the only standing ground to keep the Elders stable." Elder Mio explained. "There will be strife within the clan once Lord Madara officially becomes Clan Leader." Elder Mio looked at Mai. Everything about the kunoichi paralleled with her, just like what Elder Jirou said.

"Lord Tajima uses her skills on many recon and assassination missions because he knows she's skilled. Perhaps, almost as you were in your youth, Mio... If not more."

Every Uchiha Elder had a student of their own. Elder Mio had some of her own also. "Had" being the important word. One by one, each of her students fell onto the battlefield of war. Stacked with elder work, the female elder stopped taking in students. While she sat at the latest Uchiha Elder Council Meeting, she could see that her fellow elders were no longer sitting on their cushion pillow. Each of them having a strong student standing behind them, and then there was Elder Mio. Sitting and alone. Even she could not take the chance and sit idly by as the stability of the Uchiha Clan slowly began to crumble.

After a long thought, Elder Mio decided.

"Let me take you under my wing."

A/N (again)

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