Fated to Meet You
Disclaimer: I do not own anything, character or plot, from Masashi Kishimoto's Naruto.
Chapter Fourteen: Healed?
Mai was sitting in one of the rooms for guests. She couldn't find it in herself to sit in any of Elder Mio's usual rooms. With Elder Mio gone, the home felt even more larger. Sumiko had come over to check up on her. And she could hear her friend's footsteps. "I brought some udon!" Sumiko walked into the room. The young mother sat down and set the two bowls onto the low table.
"Thank you, Sumiko-san." Mai thanked before the two females said, "Itadakimasu." together.
Sumiko watched her friend take the first bite before she dipped her chopsticks into her bowl of noodles. Her younger friend had gotten skinnier. The areas around her cheek had sunken in to form hollows. Her neck had thinned just slightly. The kimono shirt she wore appeared to be hanging off her shoulders rather than her wearing it. She still was beautiful. But the youthful glow that Mai once carried was no longer present.
"I eat, Sumiko-san." Mai reassured as she swirled the thick udon noodles around her eating utensil. It had been a week since her incident at the park. She had just started to eat. But to no surprise to her, she wasn't that great of a cook like Miss Ayaka. So, most of her meals consisted of steamed fish, miso soup, seaweed, and rice with sometimes a failed dish. "I'm just not that great of a cook like Miss Ayaka."
Sumiko smiled, caught in her act. "You caught me." She admitted.
Taking one last bite, Mai set her chopsticks down beside her bowl. "Where's Kagami and Sakiko?" Sakiko was Sumiko's youngest.
"Hm." She made a sound as she was chewing. "They're with Kosuke-kun." Sumiko answered after she finished swallowing. Her son was hit hard by Elder Mio's death. The female elder was like a grandmother to him, and she found it difficult to bring him to her home. "By the way, what are your plans now?" She looked around the room. "Since Miss Ayaka won't be working here as headmaid anymore." Mai had told her earlier that the headmaid was no longer working. Ayaka had gotten old, and truth be told, she too was having a hard time adjusting to Konoha life like many other Uchiha maids. All of Elder Mio's maids had created families of their own and decided to remain at home. Ayaka had her own family as well.
"...I don't know." Mai brushed the strand of her hair that fell in front of her shoulder. "This place is too big for me."
"I think you should keep it." Sumiko advised. Her onyx eyes looked straight at her friend. "It's your home."
"Yes, but-" Mai stopped and thought about it for a second. Sumiko was right. This was her home. The scrolls that Elder Mio had accumulated throughout the years occupied its respected room. But other than that, the tea room and Elder Mio's office made this home just too big for her. She gave in. She really couldn't sell the home. "You're right."
"If this house gets too much to keep up with, call me." Sumiko smirked. "I cleaned for Elder Mio's home too many times over already. Plus, it will be a nice side hobby to get away from my house for a while."
Mai chuckled at her friend's joke.
It was nice for Sumiko to see her friend back again after that month. She too lost someone dear to her. Elder Mio was like a mother to her. Smiling, the Uchiha mother swirled her chopsticks in her bowl.
Senju Tobirama stood in front of his brother. Both of them knew that the latest attack on Konoha was not going to be the last. "Kaito was able to obtain information that the village the attackers were a part of is located in the Land of Earth called the Iwagakure." Tobirama informed.
The Hokage leaned back into his chair. "At least we know faintly of one." Konoha had its fair share of foreign spies. But these shinobi from Iwagakure appeared the most. "We already have the three-tails. And I already have the team made up to find the rest."
Tobirama blinked nonchalantly. "Who?" He and his brother had talked about ways to achieve peace. Hashirama thought of the idea to capture the tailed beasts in exchange for peace. It wasn't a bad idea. The hard part was getting all nine of them and then being able to meet with all the hidden shinobi village leaders in one place.
As children, they heard stories of tailed beasts. Their destructive powers were said to be demon-like. When Tobirama and Hashirama were traveling to Uzushiogakure, they encountered the three-tailed beast. It was only after they had fled from the beast safely that Hashirama concocted of a plan that these beasts could be used for peace. It was in this battle that the two Senju brother's found out that the Wood Release's ability to manipulate, suppress, and absorb a target's chakra could be used on tailed beasts. Maybe it could be used to control tailed beasts. Afterwards, they returned with Uzumaki Ashina, the leader of the Uzumaki Clan famed for their sealing techniques, to prove their hypothesis true. Ultimately, sealing the three-tailed beast within a sacred jar.
"You, me, Uzumaki Ashina with two of his trusted shinobi, Takeshi, Kaito, Jun, Uchiha Kosei, and Uchiha Mai-" Hashirama listed off.
"Brother!" Tobirama interjected. "Uchiha's?" A team of Uzumaki, Senju, and Uchiha?
"If we are going against tailed beasts, we need the strongest." Hashirama countered. "You've seen the Uchiha clan in battle. You know what they are capable of. They rivaled our clan for centuries."
"Why those Uchiha's then?" Tobirama asked. Of course Uchiha Hikaku couldn't be a part of this mission. He was the Uchiha Clan Leader.
"Lord Hikaku said these two were who he trusts." Hashirama answered. "Both of them, to my knowledge, are also Uchiha Elder Apprentices. They're exceptional shinobi."
"Who have recently lost their teachers." Tobirama added. There were two things he wouldn't send to the field: an under qualified shinobi and a wounded shinobi. Sending either of those shinobi was suicide. And he knew those two were emotionally wounded from the attack. Rather, he at least knew one of them was emotionally wounded.
"We don't have time to wait, Brother." Hashirama stated. "We can't have another attack."
Tobirama gave in. He knew his brother was right. They couldn't wait any longer. And truth be told, Tobirama knew the bringing Uchiha shinobi on this mission could increase their success in capturing all tailed beasts. If the Senju Clan's kekkei-genkai could control tailed beasts, maybe the Uchiha Clan's sharingan eyes were capable of that too.
Mai stared into her bowl of udon noodles. She wasn't with Sumiko this time. This time, she was with Hikaku. She blinked up to her male friend who was in the middle of slurping his noodles. "Are you enjoying your noodles?" Mai asked.
Wiping his mouth, Hikaku answered after. "I am." The clan leader leaned back in his seat. He saw the very same thing Sumiko saw. His friend had lost a lot of weight. If she hadn't had years of kunoichi training, she would have looked sickly.
"What?" Mai picked up her chopsticks.
Uchiha Hikaku's face was straight. No one could tell what he was thinking of. "Are you ready for a mission?"
"Hm." Mai hummed as she ate. "I am." She answered after swallowing. "But," She pointed her chopsticks at her friend. Ayaka would go livid if she saw her do that. The former head maid was always proper. "I thought I don't report to you anymore."
"No," the Uchiha Clan Leader answered. "But I still do check on the shinobi of my clan, Mai."
Moving her chopsticks away, Mai blinked a few times at her friend. "I'm better now, Hikaku-san." She swirled a few strands of noodles around her chopsticks. She wasn't going to answer how she got better. The night with Senju Tobirama was clear as day in her memory. And she didn't want to talk about it. It was too vulnerable for her liking. And Mai didn't want to admit it but she was embarrassed. She had never been that vulnerable in front of anyone in a long time.
"I'm not going to ask why." Hikaku told her. He knew his friend. As close as he'd gotten with her over the years, he knew Uchiha Mai didn't like getting personal like that. He'd already seen her at her worst. And the last thing she needed was for him to ask how she got over that.
Mai looked up at her friend and smiled, giving her thanks. Setting down her chopsticks, she asked, "What have you been up to this past month?"
"Nothing much." Hikaku answered. "The Uchiha neighborhood, for the most part, has calmed down since the attack."
Mai hummed and moved the chunk of hair that made its way in front of her left shoulder to behind her. A few of her fellow Elder Apprentices lost their teachers as well, Uchiha Kosei included. That isn't to speak for Uchiha shinobi who lost their lives. But the act of Konoha shinobi helping in the Uchiha Clan's time of need only increased Uchiha morale with Konohagakure.
"You're already done?" Hikaku peered up at the Uchiha woman. Her bowl was empty.
Mai nodded after she wiped her mouth. "I need to gain more weight if I'm going on a mission."
Hikaku had told her that when she saw a brown falcon circling above her in the sky, that was her que to go meet the Hokage. And there she was surrounded by Senju's with her only familial partner besider her, Uchiha Kosei. She glanced at the male Uchiha before looking back at the tanned Hokage sitting behind his desk.
There, Senju Hashirama grinned. He was hopeful with the team he had created. He asked Uchiha Hikaku to give a description of the two Uchiha's in the room to him. Only for him to find out that Uchiha Mai was considered the Uchiha Clan's best sensor and Uchiha Kose was considered the Uchiha Clan's best swordsman behind their respective and deceased teachers of course. They were considered the clan's elite shinobi. With his elite Senju squad led by his younger brother, he had the highest amount of hope.
"I'm glad everyone is here!" The Hokage said with too much passion.
"Brother." Tobirama glared at his brother. The older brother of the Senju duo was always too unpredictable.
Hashirama cleared his throat and started again. "Let's get started." He couldn't withhold his excitement. In the first time in history, this was the first team were Senju's and Uchiha's worked together. "This mission will include everyone here, Lord Uzumaki Ashina with two of his most trusted from Uzushiogakure shinobi, and me."
Mai furrowed her brow. Why was the Hokage going on a mission with them?
"This mission requires everyone's highest secrecy. No one outside this room must know about it. Understand?" The Hokage waited for everyone to nod before going on. "We will track, locate, and seal the nine tailed beasts."
Mai had heard stories of the tailed beasts. They were demons with immense power. And here she was, on a mission to capture them all. And she couldn't wrap her head around it. It was impossible, wasn't it?
"As you all might already know, there are nine tailed beasts in the world." Hashirama informed. "This mission will be a long-term mission for all of us in this room. And you all will be needed to find and capture every single tailed beast." His dark eyes glanced at everyone in the room. The Hokage knew they had questions, especially the Uchiha shinobi in the room. However, all they needed to know was their mission. The rest was for him and his brother to know.
"We have located the one-tailed beasts in the Land of Wind. We leave tomorrow at sunrise." The Hokage Advisor added. "Lord Uzumaki Ashina will meet us at the gates."
Mai was still in shock. She was on a mission to locate and capture all nine of the tailed beasts. She looked to Uchiha Kosei beside her. He had the Uchiha training to remain straight faced. She looked at the Senju's on the other side of the room with her. They looked like they already knew of the mission.
She wasn't in the greatest shape to go on a mission like this. But that wasn't going to stop her. When she reached home after the meeting, she immediately brought out her weapons. Uchiha Mai wasn't the type to fight with a certain type of weapon. A katana was too long for her. And if a katana was too long for her then certainly a spear was too. She didn't like long distance weapons like senbon needles. Fans were not her style as well. So she stuck with usual kunai knives and shurikens.
She brought out her black kimono shirt, with the Uchiha Clan symbol sewn into the inside of it. On top of the shirt, she set her black bandages and two pouches into a neat pile.
She was ready to go.
Mai looked down at the rectangular piece stone on the ground. Engraved on it was the name of Elder Uchiha Mio with the Uchiha clan symbol. The sky had yet to see the sun. Mai felt the wind on her back.
She heard someone walking up behind her. She knew who it was. "Hello, Kosei-san." Straightening her back, Mai took one last look at the gravestone before turning. The male Uchiha was adorned in armor. His katana latched to his back.
"Shall we head out." She tightened the Konoha forehead protector.
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