Mikito awoke suddenly, her senses tuning to her surroundings. She jumped up, scrambling about out of reflex that another creature was upon her. Her room was quiet, with nothing out of place. Something had awakened her, but not something in here.

"No!" came a cry from the adjoining bedroom, where Syrus and Madara were sleeping.

Mikito slipped out of bed and ran to the door, not even bothering to grab her kimono, not even caring or noticing that she wasn't wearing anything. At the door, she paused and listened. Hearing cries from within, followed by more jumbled yelling, she realized that there was no immediate danger, that this was another of their nightmares, like the one that had gripped them during their first week of observation.

She opened the door and looked in on the two of them.

They were thrashing about on their beds, yelling no repeatedly. Unsure, Mikito started in. But then both of the men calmed and rolled back over, the dream, the vision, apparently ended. Only then did Mikito become aware of her revealing form. She moved back through the door, shutting it gently, then waited for a long while. When she heard no further screaming or tossing, she went back to her bed.

She laid awake in the dark for a long while, thinking of Madara, thinking that she wanted to be in there beside him, holding him, helping him through his troubled dreams. She wanted to help Syrus and console him as well. She tried to dismiss the notion, they had already covered this dangerous ground and had come to an understanding of what must be done. And that agreement did not include her climbing into bed beside Madara when he had nightmares.

The next morning, she found them both on the east balcony of the lodge they were staying in, overlooking the lake and the budding sunrise. Syrus was standing by the very edge of the land, so deep in thought that he did not notice her approach. She moved up slowly, not wanting to disturb him or Madara, and as she neared, she realized that they were doing more than thinking here. They were actually deep in meditation.

She turned and walked away, as quietly as she could.

"Don't go." Madara said to her.

"I don't want to disturb you guys." She said aloud, surprised.

"Your presence is soothing." Madara said.

Mikito considered those words for a bit, taking pleasure in hearing them, then scolded herself for taking that pleasure. But still, as she stood there looking upon them both, their faces now serene, she couldn't deny she was glad her presence was soothing. They seemed to her like young heroes, elite shinobi that had seen the folly of the creed set forth by Hagoromo, and budding warriors of light-and she had no doubt that they would be among the greatest that the Elemental nations had ever known.

And at the same time, they seemed to her to be the same people she had known during the wars in the Desert Region, inquisitive and aggravating, and charming all at once.

"You had nightmares again last night." She said quietly, when Madara at last opened his eyes.

Syrus kept his eyes closed. "We don't have nightmares."

"I heard both of you." Mikito was quick to answer.

Syrus turned to regard her.

There was no compromise in Mikito's expression. "I had a nightmare too. So I know you did."

"I saw my mother." Madara admitted, lowering his gaze. "I saw her as clearly as I see you now."

"It was the same for me." Syrus said.

Mikito moved toward them, putting a hand on their shoulder. When she looked at them more closely, she noted a determination so solid that it took her by surprise.

"I know I'm disobeying the mandate to stay here." Syrus tried to explain. "But I have to go and get some air."

"Go?"

"I have to clear my head. I'm sorry, Mikito. There's things that need to be done." He said. "I don't have a choice."

"Of course you don't."

Syrus gave her an appreciative nod.

"I'll go with you." She decided.

Madara's eyes widened. He started to reply, ready to argue, but Mikito's smile held his words in check.

"That way, you can continue to watch over me." She reasoned.

Somehow she made it sound perfectly logical.

"And that way we'll be disobeying Ahiko's and Takeo's orders."

"I fear that I'm going to be walking into danger soon, and to take you with me-"

"Walking into danger, eh?" Mikito echoed, and she laughed aloud. "A place I've never been before."

"Things change." Madara said, his tone lightening a little.

"That they do. Things change as they are right now."

Madara and Syrus stared at her, hardly believing what they were hearing. They couldn't resist, and their smiles, too, began to widen. For some reason both men did not quite understand, they found a good measure of justification in abandoning the letter of their orders now that Mikito was in on it, and agreeing with the plan.

The trio couldn't miss the stark contrast when they got out of the medical center and saw the brown plains looming before them. How different it was from other parts, a place of green grasses, towering trees, and deep blue waters, with cloud patterns swirling all above it. Where they were was just plains of brown and green hanging in the distance with trees.

"Home again, we are home again, to go to rest." Syrus recited, a common children's rhyme.

"By the hearth and by the heart, we go into the house and rest." Mikito added.

Madara looked over at her, pleasantly surprised. "You know it?"

"Doesn't everyone?"

"I don't know." Madara said.

"I thought it was a rhyme my mother made up for me." Syrus said.

"I apologize." Mikito said. "Maybe she did. Maybe hers was different from the one my mother used to tell me."

Syrus shook his head, but he wasn't bothered by the possibility. In a strange way, he was glad that Mikito knew the rhyme, glad that it was a common gift from mothers to their children.

"They haven't signaled any of us yet." Mikito noted.

"They probably won't, unless we approach them. Things aren't very strict here, usually. Just walk around and enjoy yourself, then hope no one challenges you to a sparring match while you go about your business."

Madara looked at her and nodded. How different things were now than one year before when they had been forced to forge an alliance. He tried to manage a smile, but the edge of his caution kept it from appearing genuine. Too many disturbing thoughts assaulted him. Were his dreams premonitions of what was to come, or a replay of something that had already happened?

They continued their strides, breaking through the brown plains and soaring across them.

"Home." Syrus explained when the skyscapes of their compounds came into sight against the horizon. "Home at last."

Madara smiled with a nod. "Home. We can take care of what needs to be taken care of."

"Sure." Syrus said.

"You can count on me." Mikito said.

"Good. Now there's just one thing left to do." Madara said.

"I guess this is where we'll go our separate ways. For now. Everyone else handled the rest." Syrus said.

After all, if Usagi and Shin were actually on a mission with Himari and Tsugi, that meant Haji moved forward without him. The only thing he had to do was return.

"That reminds me, Syrus." Madara said, slowing his stride down, gliding through the plains. "Since you've conquered the Shadow Lands. What is your opinion of Hagoromo and Ninshu?"

Syrus smirked, shaking his wild hair around. "I think Hashirama makes a fine successor, wouldn't you?"

Madara contemplated it. "Hagoromo, Hashirama, Ninjutsu and Ninshu?"

"Hashirama values cooperation which can bring love in future generations. He wields the power of the Hagoromo. He has the heart of Hagoromo." Syrus said, tone resolute.

He had to give his respect to Hashirama. There's a reason people still feared their cooperation.

"We've surpassed him not long ago." Mikito's tone lightened, her eyes simmering. "Our power isn't found in victory and defeat like his is."

Madara smiled at her confidence. "Ahiko and Takeo fear our power enough to keep us this far from the compound. That tells me everything I need to know. Hashirama needs to come here, after all."

"I just wonder if Hashirama will find it as well."

"It'll be like that old tale..." Mikito contemplated it.