Fated to Meet You

Author's Note:

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

Chapter Twenty-One: Realization

Hashirama dismissed his younger brother after their meeting. And afterwards, he tried to get back to what he was doing prior to the meeting. Even after the sun had set, his mind was still preoccupied by their conversation.

You see, what his younger brother had, was what he never could have. Senju Hashirama was the first-born son of Senju Butsuma. From birth, he was set to be the next Senju Clan Leader. And that came with sacrifices. His marriage to his beautiful wife, Uzumaki Mito, was arranged to strengthen the bond between the two cousin clans, the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Clan. It was a duty needed to be done for his clan.

It took time after their marriage to build their love for one another, and Senju Hashirama truly did love his wife. However, he knew that love built within an arranged marriage was not the same as love before marriage at all.

Rising from his desk, the Hokage called it a day for him and headed home to his wife and children. All the while, noting that his younger brother was still in his office and never left to meet with his second as he usually would.

Mai knew deep down there was something wrong. She truly was not doing the tasks that she initially signed up for. The tasks that she had been doing for the past few weeks or so had not been tasks that, if she were to be honest, she felt her position needed to do. But a part of Mai enjoyed every bit of it. And she looked forward to reporting to Senju Tobirama at the end of the day at their usual spot with a fishcake in her hand and a shioyaki in his. And this part of her mind bothered her.

But the Uchiha kunoichi pushed the bother to the furthest back of her mind. Nothing was wrong; This was normal; Professionality was still there. These were the excuses she made for herself as if nothing was happening.

At first she thought that maybe she had become comfortable and accustomed with the Senju. However, she had become comfortable and accustomed with Hikaku and Kosei, and this feeling she was having concerning Senju Tobirama was not something she shared with them. Still, she pushed the thought back of her head where it came from.

And when her work changed one hundred-eighty degrees back to what they were prior to pushing paper, it only made her excuses stronger.

"Many of our Konoha shinobi are out on missions." Senju Tobirama began before setting a mission scroll onto his desk that lay in between him and his second. "We don't have enough to make a team of four like we normally would. But you will be paired with another capable Senju shinobi."

Mai stood in front of the Hokage's Advisor's desk almost excited to do something other than to trek back and forth between the Hokage's Building, the Konoha Archives, the Konoha Library, and Academy with stacks of paper and scrolls. Senju Tobirama, Mai found, was very confident in what he did. And he stood, sat, and breathed with confidence. Uchiha Mai came to the excuse that his confidence entranced her. If one were to be honest with her, it would be that he entranced her, but Mai wasn't ready to realize that.

Senju Tobirama looked at the Uchiha female in front of him. He had been ignoring her for days, giving her missions and tasks more befitting for her position and rank, and he didn't even notice that she'd gotten a new kimono shirt. However, within that split second, he shifted back to his neutral, nonchalant face. "This mission will be to deliver one of the Land of Tea's treasured jewels, the Tears of Lady Sugawara, back to it's shrine. You have knowledge of the Land of Tea and the Senju Clan has good relations with the Land of Tea. So, I trust in your ability and your partner's to complete this mission."

Mai nodded before grabbing the scroll. "Who will I be paired with?"

The Hokage's Advisor had already initiated to make himself busy with a piece of paper to examine before having lowered it so he could look at his second. "You will meet her at the gates at high sun. Her name is Senju Toka." was all Senju Tobirama said before going back to his work.

Noticing the atmosphere, Uchiha Mai quietly walked out of the office.

Senju Tobirama's red eyes followed the female as she turned her back and walked out of the room. The deep purple kimono shirt with the Uchiha clan fan sewn into the back imprinted itself as his last sight of her until she returned.

. . .

Senju Toka was a tall woman, who towered over Uchiha Mai, than most kunoichi's would. Her presence and aura that she possessed emitted strength mixed with proud femininity. "Uchiha Mai." She nodded.

Mai nodded and greeted.

Proficient in genjutsu, Senju Toka excelled passed all the Senju genjutsu users and made a name for herself within her respected clan. She was a good friend of Senju Tobirama. She got along better with the calm and collected Senju brother than she did with the overly passionate one. But shared between the two brothers, Senju Toka was their trusted comrade.

And so, the kunoichi duo set out to the Land of Tea. Mai learned from Senju Toka that she too was one of the few females in the Senju Clan. And the two of them felt some form of little similarity they had together. By the end of their trek from Konoha to the Land of Tea, the two kunoichi's could talk comfortably all the while enjoying the silence together. And Mai compared this to her relation to Sumiko but with less talk.

Including the two Konoha kunoichi's, the Land of Tea deployed their own bodyguards. Mai stood in the front and Toka was in the back of the group. The mission was a success and on their way there, they had become familiar with the bodyguards, who told them the origin story of the pair of jewels.

"The Tears of Lady Sugawara are a set of pearls said to be the legendary tears of the Land of Tea's greatest lady consort who died protecting her country from invaders." One bodyguard began. "Long, long ago, when the Land of Tea was under attack and its people fleeing the land from danger, Lady Sugawara used herself as a diversion to let the Daimyō and the people escape."

Another bodyguard continued for the last one. "She chose her country and husband without hesitation. And cried two tears of contentment that turned into pearls before they could hit the ground."

They all sat around a fire. When light were to come the next morning, Mai and Toka were to make their trek home to Konoha. "What happened to the Daimyō?" Mai asked curiously.

The bodyguards' lips straightened and they all looked either into crackling fire or into the dirt ground beneath them. "He only loved her, and lived until his late ages thinking about her."

"Some say the Daimyō scoured the lands to find any way to see her again, but only on his deathbed was he reunited with her." One of the bodyguards ended the story.

The story of Lady Sugawara followed Uchiha Mai back to Konoha. Lost in her thoughts, she leaned back into the bench as she stared blankly into the air.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I am giving you tasks more befitting for your position now." A voice Mai knew all too well cracked through her thoughts.

Blinking a few times, she turned to face the white haired Senju, who had made a seat for himself next to her. "I completed them. I've just-" She paused. "I was just thinking of...a story I heard."

"A story?" Senju Tobirama tilted his head. His red eyes focused on the female in front of him.

It took all her strength to rip her onyx eyes away from the man's red ones. She enjoyed these moments with him, where they sat together talking about anything. She enjoyed his presence. But now, Uchiha Mai truly couldn't excuse what really was happening- at least, what really was happening to her.

Too long had she toned it down and kept it locked away from everyone including herself. She could feel the man's presence but it wasn't his chakra presence she felt. It was his entire entirety. Just sitting there, looking at her. And it made her insides squirm and flutter all at the same time. And no, this was not the same feeling in her stomach when she had first met him in the Land of Steel. She knew what that feeling was. And now, she knows what this feeling is.

"Mai?" She heard him say.

Mai faced the white haired Senju in front of her. He sat there as if this bench was his bench, strong and confident in every little thing he did. No, this is not the same. Mai heard herself talk as she looked into the white of his hair. And there, she was. Lost in the man called Senju Tobirama's presence.

Oh, no.

Visibly, Uchiha Mai froze. And she expelled her chakra as if this was a genjutsu, but it wasn't. "Excuse me," she uttered out.

Stiff and steadily, Uchiha Mai sped to the nearest empty place she could occupy. But there was nowhere nearby for her to be alone. So, there she walked through Konoha's busy streets with full realization what position she was in now.

She would sacrifice herself for Senju Tobirama and Konoha all together. For his happiness and she could do it with full content.

She was in love with Senju Tobirama.

A/N (again)

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