Fated to Meet You

Author's Note:

My feelings are at the end.

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

Chapter Twenty-Six:

"Auntie, do you have more radish?" Mai heard Sumiko's voice behind her. They two of them were at the market. Mai, too, came along to shop for herself, but being someone who ate simple dishes, she had already finished. Sumiko on the other hand had two children and a husband to feed other than herself.

The Uchiha kunoichi matched eyes with Senju Tōka a few booths away. The two had not seen each other since their mission together. Mai nodded, in greeting to her, and the quiet kunoichi did as well. The Senju kunoichi too was with a friend. The female friend of Senju Tōka raised her hands to show Tōka a handful of green onions. Light bounced off of the friend's hand and hit Mai's eyes.

Mai squinted. It was a jade ring.

"My son loves your radishes, Auntie." Sumiko complimented.

The female merchant laughed. "It's nothing special, Sumiko-san. Just some old Senju farming technique my mother taught me."

The two Uchiha's were in the Senju neighborhood.

"The tea shop in the Uchiha neighborhood. Now, that shop is very special. Who owns that store?"

Mai continued to look around the street and stalls.

"Oh, Grandpa Hiroshi and his family do."

Almost every female who wore the Senju symbol wore a jade ring. Nonchalantly, Mai looked back to her friend and smiled as if she was listening into the conversation the entire time. Her eyes, as it did with every Senju female, lowered to the jade ring that this Senju aunt was wearing.

"Ready to go, Mai?" Sumiko shot her head to her friend with a smile, oblivious to the turmoil that was going on within her friend's mind.

"Ready." Mai smiled back and nodded. "Thank you, Senju-san."

. . .

Mai had parted ways with Sumiko and returned home. Immediately, she went straight to Elder Mio's study. The jade ring laid where it always laid.

Jing!

Mai let out a sigh. Day by day, the Senju man named Senju Tobirama inched closer to Mai's territory. It started at her front door. Then it was her back porch. She never let the man in. In fact, the closest he had been to her home were the back porch area where she always dangled her legs over. There they talked about their questions and thoughts of anything in the world and played a couple rounds of shogi.

"You always know I'm here." Tobirama was already sitting in his spot at the back when Mai walked there.

"You make yourself known." Mai responded before sitting at her spot to the left of the man. A shogi board was in between them. All the pieces were where they were the last time they played. Senju Tobirama won the last five rounds. Mai knew it from the beginning. While Elder Mio taught her how to play shogi. He taught her how to play shogi with tactics and relate it to battle. Mai was having a hard time with that.

"I have a question for you." Mai stared into the pieces on the board.

Tobirama's hand was on his chin. His eyes on the shogi board, calculating his move when it came to his turn. "What is it?"

Mai felt the ring in the palm of her hand. The gold dug slightly into her skin. Setting the jade ring beside the board with a soft clang, Mai asked, "What is this?"

Tobirama's white eyelashes fluttered. "Who's is that?" His red eyes left the jade ring and landed on the Uchiha female.

"I found it in Elder Mio's study." Mai answered. Her onyx eyes left the ring to Senju Tobirama's red orbs. "I don't know what it is."

"This is a Senju Ring." Tobirama held her gaze with complete control.

Mai rose a brow. She leaned back in her seat and stared at the white haired Senju for a long moment. "...Are you sure?" Mai asked.

"It's a classic Senju design." Tobirama nodded. His red calculating eyes remained on her.

"It's just a ring...right?" Mai tried to word her words as correctly as she could and she peered up to the man.

"..." Tobirama paused. "You said this was Elder Mio's?" The Senju Clan was a shinobi clan. They weren't into jewelry. For the entire Warring States Era, for however long it spanned, the Senju Clan didn't have the luxury like the lords of lands to splurge on jewelry nor was the clan ever in desire of it. But jade meant something special to the clan. The jewel held the same regard as marriage, and so the stone itself was reserved for that occasion.

"Well…" Mai let the word extend. "I don't know." She quickened the pace in her speech. "I mean it was in her study. But I don't know if it belonged to her-"

"It belonged to her." Tobirama looked confidently into Mai's eyes. "Most Senju's pass on the jade ring from generation to generation. The design," He nodded towards the ring. "It's an old design. Only a handful of jewelers can make it."

Mai stared into the gold flower carefully placed to hug around the portion of the ring it owned.

"It's a marriage ring, Mai."

Her brows furrowed.

"And it's Elder Mio's. No Senju would accidentally lose it."

Uchiha Mai looked confused. Her onyx eyes darted to the man in front of her. The lack of emotion on Tobirama's face called the truth to his words. Her eyes darted back down to the ring, and then it darted to the green grass off to the side.

And then everything clicked.

The Senju Elder at Elder Mio's grave. Her head fell forward into the palm of her hand as her elbow rested on the desk.

Tobirama watched Mai's mental breakdown unfold. Still, he was in the dark. "...Mai?"

"-Elder Mio was never married though." She spoke in denial. "No-uh. No." Mai shook her head. By this time, her head was up. And she was already sitting straight in her seat.

"Who is it?" Tobirama asked calmly. He saw through her.

Mai's mouth opened and remained opened as she looked around for the answers that weren't the answer she knew was right.

"Mai," Tobirama repeated. His arms were crossed at this point. Their game of shogi was the last thing on their minds now.

"Senju Elder Hikotoshi." Mai whispered, careful as if the wind was going to carry the words away.

Senju Hikotoshi had a solo mission. He was used to missions like these. All he had to do was take back a scroll that was stolen and deliver to its original owner. The only thing standing in his way was the team of over fifty bodyguards guarding what he was supposed to retrieve.

"Hey! You can't be here!"

Hikotoshi took to hiding behind a wall, knowing well he wasn't the one caught.

"Hey-ugh!"

Curious, the Senju moved closer to the source of the voice.

And there she was.

He was entranced by the female. It wasn't that he had never seen women before. No, he was one of the best shinobi in his clan and he had women willing to accept his proposal if he ever gave it.

This woman was beautiful. And she kept his attention without even doing anything to him. However, Senju Hikotoshi snapped out of it when he saw her standing over one of the bodyguard's body and was in the middle of taking off his uniform. "I don't think that's necessary." He stepped out into the hallway.

The female gasped before stepping away from the body, gaining distance from her and the man that had appeared.

"All the bodyguards are men." Hikotoshi informed the girl.

"And who said women couldn't be bodyguards." The female retorted and narrowed her onyx eyes.

"Well, in this case, Nakamiyo Tenzin." Hikotoshi brought up the boss in this scenario.

"I heard a voice over here! Come quickly!"

The two turned their heads in the direction of incoming guards before looking back at each other.

"Come on." Senju Hikotoshi gestured for the female to follow him.

Reluctantly, the female did so but only after assessing all escape possibilities that turned up to zero. Little did she know, there was a nook in the wall a few steps away, and the two squeezed together in there.

It felt as if her breathing was louder than the guards footsteps, and in response, she held her air in until the footsteps came and stopped to assess the dead guard's body.

"He's dead."

"There's an intruder. Notify Lord Nakamiyo, immediately. And close all exits." One of the guards ordered the group. "Tell every guard to search the compound."

"Yes, sir!"

The female pressed her body closer into the wall. She looked over to the man beside her. Unlike her, he was relaxed and stood tall. He did not attempt to blend into the wall. He stood there just, in her words, full of himself.

Hikotoshi looked down to the female beside him. She was dressed in all black attire. If one looked closely, one could tell she had a few hidden weapons in her clothing. This attire was unique to assassins. "So, I'm guessing you're here to assassinate Lord Nakamiyo." Hikotoshi whispered down to the female beside him after the guards had left.

The female stepped out from the nook and away from him. "That's none of your business."

"I think," Hikotoshi attempted to stop the female from walking away. "We could use each other's assistance."

The female turned her body halfway back to the man somewhat suspicious in his proposal. "How so?"

"Well, if you're here to assassinate Lord Nakamiyo." He stepped forward and he could see the female visibly guard up at his action. "I'm here to take back something he took."

She narrowed her eyes.

"We could form an alliance." Hikotoshi reached out his hand. "Where Lord Nakamiyo is, is where the scroll I need is. I mean, this compound has too many guards that know you are here."

The female lifted her chin. "Unfortunately for you, I think they expect a male intruder." She said before walking away.

"You need me." Hikotoshi said and attempted to stop her again. "We can't do this alone."

She knew he was right. This time she stopped fully in her steps, paused for a moment longer, before turning completely around. Walking up, she assessed the man's face for any signs of deceit. She saw none, at least none at the moment.

"I'm Hikotoshi." Hikotoshi introduced himself to his self-formed team and extended his hand again.

The female looked down at the hand refusing to shake it before looking back up to the man's face. "Mio."

The muscles on Senju Tobirama's face weakened. His mind replayed back to him the time Uchiha Mai had first met Elder Hikotoshi and then to the time she asked about him. The time she said that she would tell him why she was so curious about Senju Elder Hikotoshi when she knew the answer.

"He...He's been there." Mai backed up her claim. "Only three people visit Elder Mio's grave on a regular basis. Elder Jirou, me, and Senju Elder Hikotoshi. But that doesn't mean that-" Mai stopped speaking.

She had never seen Tobirama so confused. There would be times during their shogi game where he was stumped but he never was like this. Senju Tobirama's face was empty but at the same time, Mai could see the gears turn in his brain.

"Tobirama-san?" Mai asked for his sanity.

The Senju man merely blinked to snap out of it. He leaned forward. "Say that the King here." He pointed to the King on his side of the board. "Is the answer we want."

Mai nodded slowly, not understanding why he was speaking in this way.

"How would you go about to find the truth?" Senju Tobirama asked.

"I get the honor to meet you again, Mio." The man sat down beside the female kunoichi. However, he was facing the other way, while Mio faced forward.

"Of all countries in the world and of all tea shops, is it such a coincidence that you are sent here?" Mio looked over to the man that had taken a seat at her tea shop table. "It's more likely that you're following me."

After their first meeting, the two parted ways with their own mission completion to bring to their own homes. Her with the assassination and him with the scroll. And Mio thought that she would never have to see the man again. They didn't even know each other's clan names but yet he would still greet her second time.

"I didn't plan to meet you again, if that's what you're asking." Hikotoshi took a sip of his tea. "So, do you live near here?"

Mio shot the man a glare. To protect themselves, they did not state their clan names. And in their previous meeting, the two didn't try to kill each other given the circumstances. But now, Mio didn't need to keep the man alive. "I could kill you, Hikotoshi-san."

Hikotoshi bursted out a laugh.

The female kunoichi rolled her eyes and drank another sip of tea.

"Well, if you're here, maybe just maybe, we can pull another special mission." Hikotoshi proposed.

Had Mio drank her tea, she would've choked on it. But luckily she was just in the middle of lifting it to her lips. Her brows furrowed in confusion and turned to the man. "I don't even know you."

"All the better, Mio-chan." The man rested his elbows on the table and leaned back to get a better view of her face.

This man sitting next to her, this very outrageous man with no sense of fear or danger at all, was asking for another team-up. "No," Mio answered and stood up to walk away.

"W-Wait! Mio!" The ninja chased after the kunoichi. "It took me a long time to find you." By this time, the two were out of the shop and away from the eyes of humans.

"Didn't you say you didn't plan to meet me again." Mio reiterated his words back to him.

"Meeting you here wasn't planned." The man's eyes were still on the female. When Hikotoshi parted ways with the young woman, all he could think of was her. How she stood, how her black hair fell to her waist, and the most entrancing of all, how her onyx eyes looked so eternal as if they could never age. He did want to see her again, but he never planned to find her. "I have a mission that I think would benefit the both of us."

Mio narrowed her eyes. "I only do missions for a set of people."

"Why can't we just ask him?" Mai asked. The white haired man was working her brain a little too much and she was getting a headache.

"We can't." Tobirama answered. "Elder Hikotoshi isn't that kind of man."

"But he's the kind of man to ask an Uchiha to marry him." Mai countered.

"He was my teacher. Elder Mio was yours." Tobirama explained but didn't explained.

Mai slightly slumped into her seat. Yeah, there's no way he's going to tell us directly. This was a little too close to Elder Hikotoshi to reveal to his student and his lover's student.

In the end, the two completed eight missions total together in secret. Mio helped Hikotoshi and Hikotoshi did the same back.

Hikotoshi was persistent. He wanted to continue seeing her in whatever way he could find. Everytime he returned back to the Senju Village, he asked for the mission that could get him to stay within the Land of Fire. At least, that was where he always seemed to find Mio. His chances of seeing Mio again was higher in the Land of Fire.

And on their eighth mission, Hikotoshi asked.

"Marry me, Mio."

Mio almost tripped over her own two feet. She paused to regain her composure before turning to face the man head on. "I don't even know you." She said with her force monotonous voice. It was a dangerous move he made. Mio could feel it in her gut that it was not going to end well. The two had never told each other what clans they were from.

It was not only outrageous but blind for Hikotoshi to ask to marry someone of a shinobi clan he did not know. He knew that. "I guess you can say it was love at first sight for me." Hikotoshi at this point stood tall. His shoulders were pushed back. And his eyes focused on the beauty in front of him. The beauty he fell heads over heels for the moment he set eyes on her.

Mio's eternal eyes looked at the man very closely before replying, "No."

Hikotoshi kept his gaze firm. His chest felt different when he looked at how her black hair fell over her shoulders and he could feel his skin heat up when he looked at the most entrancing piece of her of all: her eternal onyx eyes.

"The answer is no." Mio stood her ground.

"How would you gain information?" Tobirama asked.

"I would put the person under a genjutsu." Mai nodded with her head high.

Tobirama glanced down to the game in between them. "With the rook? Attacking the king? Surrounded by pawns?" Senju rose a brow. The corner of his lips twitched.

Uchiha Mai, the woman he loved, as much he loved her, she was almost comedic when she didn't understand something. She was a fast learner, but relating Shogi to battle tactics wasn't her strong suit. And she would blurt out the oddest answers or pull the weirdest moves.

Those actions of hers always stumped him during their shogi games.

"I already said no, Hikotoshi-san." Mio rolled her eyes to the said man. It seemed like everywhere she went, the man was there. But Mio believed the man when he said he wasn't purposely out to find her. Whatever it was that she kept seeing the man, Mio just knew it was too much of a coincidence.

Hikotoshi stood tall, his eyes firm with reason. "I will wait for you, Mio."

Mio glared at the man before letting out a sigh. "Well, then." She nodded her goodbye.

"I'm going to war soon." Hikotoshi interjected.

Mio rose a brow and her facial expression showed every word she was thinking.

"I'm not trying to guilt trip you into marrying me." Hikotoshi held up his hands in defense.

His response settled Mio. If the man had dare to try and guilt trip, she was leaving.

"I just want you to know that. If you don't see me anymore." Hikotoshi relayed.

Deep in her gut, her stomach felt like it was being sucked in. Was it a coincidence that Mio also had a war to fight as well? She just hoped that Hikotoshi wasn't on the other side. Because, if she returned alive, she decided that she would marry Hikotoshi.

"It's not funny, Tobirama-san." Mai complained as she watched the man cover his mouth to hide his smile after whatever she just said. Mai didn't know what she said.

She rarely ever saw Senju Tobirama smile. But she had never seen Senju Tobirama act this way. The man could not contain his laughter. It was a soft laughter, and it sounded odd coming from The Senju Tobirama who always held a hard, stoic exterior.

However, his laughter was so contagious that it started to make her laugh. "Tobirama-san." She said through her smiles and laughs in an attempt to stop him.

After a few kills, a kunai knife flew towards Mio. Aimed at her eye, Mio turned so that it would only nick at her forehead. And after regaining position, she saw who she never wanted to face. In the sound of earth exploding and swords clashing, Mio frowned at the sight of Hikotoshi wearing the symbol of her clan's rival, the Senju Clan.

Hikotoshi's mouth opened ajar at the shock of two things: his enemy and the scar he had inflicted on his lover.

"Go," Mio said in between her breaths. The blood ran down her forehead. She could feel her clan coming behind her.

"Mio." Hikotoshi whispered under the sound of war around them.

"I said go!" Mio stood up and faced her lover- no, attacker. Her red sharingan activated.

Senju Hikotoshi visibly shook at the sight of the sharingan before regaining his composure. The sight of Mio possessing the Uchiha kekkei-genkai would forever remain in his memory. Of all the people in the world that he could love, he loved an Uchiha. "I'm sorry, Mio." As he watched the blood trail down her face from the wound he had made above her eyebrow.

"You need to leave." was all she said. "Now!" This was her last warning. Her back-up was coming, and she needed him to get away as far as possible.

"What would you do?" Mai asked the man. The entire time Senju Tobirama had asked her. And now, the moon was already up in the sky.

"I would move the gold general first." He picked up the said piece and placed it near the king. And in doing so trapping the king in a corner.

Mai squinted her eyes in question. "What does that translate to?"

The two had survived the war, but Mio could not face the man again. Still, she knew deep down that Hikotoshi would try every effort to see her again.

She sensed the presence she had been trying to avoid. Her head was down above her tea cup.

"You always love your tea, Mio." Hikotoshi sat down in front of her. He knew if he searched every tea house, he could find her.

"What do you want." Mio lifted her head.

His gaze remained on the scar he had made on her face. Still, she was still as beautiful as when he met her the first time. Hikotoshi's face straightened. "I meant when I said I would wait for you."

"I can't leave my clan, Hikotoshi." Mio countered. "Nor can you."

The Senju man fell silent but his face still held the determination he always held since day one. "I will wait for you." He set down a jade ring on the table in between them. "You're the only one I want to be with for the rest of my life."

"The King is trapped." Tobirama continued. "The information is no longer with the King but in the rest of the board."

Mai's eyes widened at the fact that for some reason every one of Tobirama's pieces were all separated from each other. And each was surrounded by her pieces. "So you want us to break into his home?"

Tobirama had to remind himself that he loved this woman. Even at her quirkiest. "No," He tried to hold a smirk. "The information is amongst those close to Elder Mio and Elder Hikotoshi."

A/N (again)

I'm mad too. I'm mad just like you all. Why is it that I can write a fast-burning love story of Elder Mio but not of Mai!? Sorry for any mistakes. I wanted to share this to you all fast.