chapter three

Kaede woke shortly before sundown, eyes blinking blearily open with a wince. Her gaze sharpened as it searched the room, cutting to the empty spot where Katsuhide's corpse had fallen. Mito, seated at her bedside, passed her a glass of lukewarm water and watched her guardedly.

Her cousin pushed the cup away. "Where is he...?"

"Sealed," Mito muttered, wrapping her arms around herself. In her lap, a scroll laid unfurled, the ink still fresh.

Kaede's breath caught. "I don't mean him," she said, in an irritated voice, rubbing her temples, "The Senju."

"Which one?"

She received a flat, unimpressed look for an answer.

"Ryoma-san woke up earlier," Mito said carefully, "I told him to stay in bed, but he said he was fine and went out to find Bunta-san and Hashirama. I guess they'll stay here tonight, but they'll journey back tomorrow."

Kaede's hands clenched around her blankets as she heaved herself up. "So they're... around? Heaven knows where? Doing heaven knows what?"

"It's not like I can supervise them," Mito returned wearily, "I felt I should stay with you. And... I don't have the authority to keep them from leaving the outpost... that might make things... uncomfortable."

"Ah, yes, but you have the authority to offer them our hospitality for the night, apparently," Kaede said, pursing her lips, "Because that's just exceedingly comfortable."

"It's safer if we're all in one spot," Mito pointed out.

"Is it?" Her cousin countered, in a tone dripping with skepticism.

"Our alliance isn't broken," Mito reasoned, sighing heavily. "They helped us kill the Nara. If... if they weren't on our side, we'd be dead. Listen, I won't be getting any sleep tonight either. If you want to pull rank on me, you can. Go ahead and tell them they can camp outside. But... there will be a fallout. And we'd have to explain it to Ashina-sama, on top of this whole mess."

Kaede kept quiet, shoulders tense, burning a hole into the wall with her gaze. "Did you re-do the security seals?"

Mito nodded. "I changed up the design a bit."

"Did any of the Senju watch you do it?"

"What? No. Of course not," she frowned. "You really don't trust them."

She was met with a cold, smothering silence as the woman turned away. Mito gave a small sigh of frustration.

"I know it was... shocking, what Ryoma-san did to Katsuhide. But he wasn't himself. The Senju were on our side as soon as we figured out we were being invaded. Hashirama - Hashirama worried for you life, you know. He said our clan shouldn't lose shinobi by their hand. He seemed sincere."

"I don't think they were behind this mess, or even foresaw it," Kaede twitched her shoulder irritably. "They stood to gain nothing from it. But think, Mito. How would the Nara know how to break Uzumaki fuinjutsu seals?"

Her brain screeched to a halt. "It isn't possible... unless he knows our fuinjutsu style... and knows the components making up the seals that were used."

Kaede smiled grimly. "The only clan in Fire Country we share advanced seals with is the Senju."

"You think they've betrayed our sealing style to the Nara?" Mito clasped her hands over her head, staring unblinkingly at the ceiling. "And then the Nara used that knowledge to double cross them, and set up this trap? It is... possible," she acknowledged haltingly. She hated how likely it seemed.

The Senju... Konoha... she'd wanted to trust them, for the sake of the future. But then, Uzushiogakure had trusted Konoha, in a tale she'd read long ago. And they had perished, and Konoha hadn't lifted a finger in their aid. Alliances, she acknowledged with a sudden weight in her stomach, only got someone so far. Only when they were mutually beneficial. If one side started requiring too much aid, started becoming a burden -

She wrung her hands, thinking of Hashirama's beaming grin. Alliances weren't friendships, and perhaps she'd been a fool to blur the line between them.

"But what can we do? How can we know? It is not as if we can interrogate them."

"There's more than one kind of interrogation," Kaede muttered, lips curled into a wry smile. "Sometimes it's best if one doesn't know they are being interrogated at all."

Mito eyed her warily. "We are going to dance around the subject... and wait for them to slip up? Isn't it the wrong time to do this? With things so raw? Shouldn't we let Ashina-sama handle it?"

"This is the best time to do it, with things so raw," Kaede corrected absently, "They are more likely to slip up. If we wait for Ashina-sama, they will talk guardedly through diplomatic missives and nothing will ever come from it at all."

Mito nodded. "I'll trust you with it. Do we wait for their return?"

"I'll wait. Which one do you think would be best?"

"Ryoma-san is close to Senju leadership, he probably knows the most." She shook her head. "He didn't begrudge me the kunai to the shoulder at all. But I don't know if he'll give away any information on his clan... he's old and experienced."

Kaede gritted her teeth in a strained grin. "We'll see."

"Will you be alright around him... after Katsuhide?"

"I can control myself," Kaede said, swallowing. "What about the others?"

"Bunta-san is... cold. He has a temper, though. He might talk if you provoke him enough."

"And the boy?"

She paused, unsure what to volunteer about Hashirama. She didn't quite know what to make of him. At times he was almost overwhelmingly boisterous, dissolving into goofy, lopsided grins, but then, suddenly he'd turn serious and earnest, sharp as a blade.

"Hashirama is friendly," Mito said, at length.

"You've developed a rapport with him?"

"I... we talked briefly. But I wouldn't say that," she muttered, staring out the window at the darkening sky. She'd thought they had, but then, that was all Hashirama, wasn't it? He made himself so easy to like. She doubted she'd come across half as personable, from his point of view.

"You should question him, then. You're closer in age. Perhaps he'll be more comfortable talking to you."

Mito, who had all the manipulation skills of a particularly lifeless house plant, scowled uncertainly. "I'm no good at this sort of work."

"Well, it's about time you learn, little cousin," Kaede leveled her with a flat stare, sighing, "It's all part of being a kunoichi."

"I don't think I can ask him."

"You don't have to ask him. Bring up the Nara. See if he squirms."

Somehow, Mito couldn't imagine Hashirama squirming. He had a headstrong streak to him, an oddly carefree attitude born from a willingness to say what he thought was right.

Still, the hard look in Kaede's eyes told her she'd been given a mission. She could only nod.

She found him by the seaside. Slow waves crawled over the sand in a rush of foam, the gentle murmur of the tide lost in the wind. Flocks of seagulls flitted by overhead, dark specks on the burning horizon. The sun inched down slowly towards the ocean, casting golden ripples across the deep blue.

Mito smiled, despite herself, gingerly taking off her sandals to curl her toes into the sand. Hashirama hunched over as he walked along the shore, the wind whipping violently at his clothes, his bright, distant silhouette small.

He stooped down, picking up something in his hand, and stared out into nothing for a while. Inexplicably, she felt as though he might vanish into the sea.

"Hey!" Mito called out from a distance, her voice carrying. She watched him stiffen, then turn around slowly, his arm raised in a friendly wave. "Hashirama-san."

"Mito," he grinned, trudging towards her with heavy pockets clinking as he ran. "No need to be formal."

"Are you collecting seashells?"

"Hmm," he agreed brightly, turning out his pocket to thrust out shells cupped in his palm. "Would you look at these!"

"These are mussels," she said, "They're very common around here."

"Truly? I suppose they're a delicacy of your country," he pinched a shell between his fingers, squinting at it.

She shuffled from foot to foot awkwardly. How was she supposed to bring up Nara? "Have you really never seen a mussel before? They're not that impressive."

"I've never taken a walk by the sea before. Back home, there's only the river, and by the shore you have all these small stones instead of shells," he stilled suddenly, fists clenching around a handful of mussels and clams, "You'd just skip them... to the other side." He glanced down at the shells distantly, shoulders drooping. "I think I like these."

"Take a few home, then," Mito said, picking up a half buried shell and tossing it at his head. He caught it effortlessly, even as he stared off into the distance, despondent.

There he was, going into one of his moods again.

"So what does the Land of Fire have that we don't?" She asked curiously, elbowing him in the ribs. "Some plants?"

He blinked. "Well, there's many sorts of plants."

"Do you have apples? We don't."

"You're kidding," Hashirama shot her a scandalized look. "You don't have apples? Truly?"

"It's just apples," she muttered.

"What about oranges?"

"Yes."

"Grapes?"

"No."

"No grapes?" He stared at her in open-mouthed horror, catching her wrist. "Mito, quickly, let me smuggle you into my boat! I'll rescue you from the land of no grapes!"

"Oh, thank you, my lord," she said, rolling her eyes, as he pretended to drag her. "How many grapes will I be fed for my troubles?"

"I'll feed you mussels only," he offered, brightly.

She snorted, wrenching her arm away, and kicked up sand at him. He kicked back up at her, then led her on a merry chase along the shore line, flinging fistfuls of sand at each other. To her chagrin, she never did manage to get him, as he danced nimbly out of the way, though she got pelted so many times.

"Stand still so I can hit you," Mito grumbled, shaking sand out of her hair. Hashirama grinned unrepentantly.

She scowled, crossing her arms. She was supposed to be asking him about the Nara and Uzumaki seals. How did she get drawn into such a nonsensical conversation? She couldn't go back to Kaede empty handed. "Listen, Hashira - "

"Can you water walk?"

"...what?"

He smiled apologetically, rubbing the back of his neck. "It's okay if you can't, sorry."

"Of course I can water walk," Mito glared indignantly, "What do you take me for?"

"Great," Hashirama said, vanishing out of thin air. Over his shoulder, he called, from the sea, "Race you to that rock over there!"

Mito gaped after him. "Wait - wait up," she sputtered. And then they were dashing over the waves in leaps and bounds, Hashirama hooting as he shot ahead of her, kicking up sea foam, as the first stars of the falling night glittered over them. Watching him pick up speed, she scowled thunderously, pushing her legs harder.

"Keep up," Hashirama shouted, laughing hard.

"Shut it," she yelled, weaving her fingers behind her back. She ran through the handseals awkwardly, clapping her hands. A sharp gale of wind burst out behind her, propelling her forwards in a rush, her feet swept off the water as she flew -

oh no, she thought, shrieking -

- before she crashed bodily into Hashirama's back, sending them both tumbling down into the sea on top of one another. "Oof."

He wouldn't stop laughing, even as they picked themselves up, soaked through to the bone. "That was - hahahahaha! - you - hahahaha - nice jutsu!"

She stammered, her cheeks very red. "You - you had a headstart - I thought it would work, all right!"

Hashirama settled into a straight face with difficulty, a smile threatening the corners of his mouth. "It was a good idea, just -" he burst into cackles, "What will you call it? Oh! I got it. Vortex Gale Propeller Mega Impulse Secret Race Jutsu!"

Mito scowled. "That's the stupidest name I've ever heard," she muttered crossly. "It's just a reverse gale palm."

"You're no fun!"

She gave a weary sigh, staring up at the sky. "We should go back," Mito mumbled, "It's almost dark."

There was a cold splash of saltwater against her side.

"Hey!" She growled, rounding on him. "What was that for?"

"You're too serious," Hashirama grinned.

Her shoulders sagged. "I'm worried," she admitted, darkly.

Mirth vanished from his eyes, as he peered at her with a sudden sharpness. "About?"

She held her breath, avoiding his gaze. He waited, wordlessly, brow furrowed. Mito scratched her nose nervously.

"Listen," she swallowed. "Nara breached our seals. He couldn't have broken them without knowing our sealing style, or the combination of seals."

"You think he has a contact on the inside." He nodded thoughtfully. "A spy."

Mito's lips twisted into a thin, wary smile. "Do you know why it's almost impossible for spies to get to our seals? Uzumaki security clearances are keyed to our chakra signatures. Even if a spy managed to infiltrate our compound, they wouldn't be able to break into any of our archives, because their chakra signature would be rejected when they touched the door."

"So someone leaked them?" Hashirama wondered.

She paused, sighing. "There's always the possibility of a traitor, but leaking sealing knowledge without the Clan head's permission is punishable by death, and not many would take that risk - especially because we have our pride, too, and seals are at the root of it."

The implication was clear - if the betrayal hadn't come from within the Uzumaki, it must have come from their allies - but she didn't voice it. She let it hang unspoken in the air between them, heavy and sinister, as she observed him out of the corner of her eye.

Hashirama didn't seem offended, or even nervous. He looked, if anything, thoughtful, rolling his shoulders as he began walking back towards the beach.

"I'm just worried," Mito found herself saying again, suddenly, before she could help it. "They know our outpost locations, and they know how to break some of our seals. It's..." A shudder ran down her spine. In a way, she was lucky to be alive.

"Hmm," said Hashirama, fiddling with the shells in his pockets. "I am more prone to thinking the Nara had a contact of sorts within your clan or mine." He hesitated, blowing a sigh, and squared his shoulders. His voice rung resolute as he made up his mind. "Bunta found a letter on his corpse."

"A letter?" Mito's eyes widened. Why hadn't she been told anything about this? But then, the implication was all too clear - the Senju did not fully trust the Uzumaki either, allies though they might be.

She ought to have inspected the Nara's body herself, but she'd been all too eager to rush to Kaede's side, and Bunta had discreetly searched the corpse when she wasn't aware. She felt her stomach churn. Uneasily, she asked, "What did the letter say?"

Clearing his throat, Hashirama recited with dramatic flair, "As anthurium blooms over yonder meadow, pluck the tansies by the trees, and I shall send you a bouquet of yellow poppies."

She blinked once, twice, and stood bewildered.

"It's a coded message," Hashirama observed.

She smacked her palm flat on her forehead. "Yes. I'm aware."

His eyes sparkled with amusement, the corners of his mouth twitching faintly. "You don't know?"

"Know what?" She frowned. "Hashirama..."

"Bunta had no clue either," he snickered. Mito tapped her foot impatiently.

With a sly smile, he carried on, "Well, anthuriums are a flower traditionally symbolyzing hospitality, and yellow poppies stand for wealth or success, usually. Tansies," he frowned, "tansies mean war."

Mito stared blankly. "How... how do you know all of that?"

"Hanakotoba is a noble ancient art!" Hashirama argued, crossing his arms defensively. Then he slumped over in dismay. "Why does everyone look at me like that... First Tobi... now you too..."

"Sorry, sorry," she said, patting his shoulder. "Please translate for me."

"As anthuriums bloom - someone knew your clan would be offering mine hospitality. Pluck tansies - they ordered him to sow conflict. Send you yellow poppies - they promised success or money," he explained easily.

"So what you're saying is... there's a spy," Mito surmised, rubbing her temples. "I see." It sounded reasonable enough, and she wanted to believe in him, for her clan's sake.

But there was also the distinct possibility he was feeding her the whole story about the message, merely to cover up his clan leaking their seals. She couldn't blindly take him at his word, and she felt a lump rise in her throat, inexplicably.

Hashirama was watching her, out of the corner of his glittering, dark eyes.

She caught his gaze, quirking him a guarded smile. "I'll look into it," was all she could promise.

"Of course," he nodded calmly, not seeming offended at the suspicions that he must have seen on her face.

He could be oddly perceptive sometimes.

They walked back to the beach somberly, dead silent, each lost in their own thoughts. A cloud of unease loomed over them, unseen but palpable. As they climbed over the sand towards the outpost, Hashirama spoke up with a sudden weight in his voice.

"A friend," he began quietly. "A friend once told me that it was impossible to have a true alliance, because there was no way to show one another your guts."

Mito regarded him sharply. "Do you think that?"

"I don't want it to be true," he said, slumping over in a cloud of despair. "That's why..."

"That's why you told me the things you did," she concluded. "For your clan and my clan to have a true alliance, huh... that's a worthy goal. Thanks, Hashirama."

He sighed faintly as he dragged his feet onwards.

"Your friend who said this," Mito muttered, thinking of a man with spinning red eyes, "must have been very saddened by a reality like that. I hope you can prove him wrong."

"I will," he choked out, forcing a grin. "This friend I have... though I suppose if you asked him, he'd say I had a friend. If he even admitted to it at all." His eyes dimmed.

"Hmm. Did you betray him?"

"What? No," Hashirama recoiled, looking disgusted at the very thought.

"Were you honest with each other?"

"Yes." His mouth quirked up sadly. "We were. To the last."

"You showed each other your guts. Then why would he say you're not friends?"

"There are... circumstances beyond us," he answered weakly, looking down at his feet. He didn't elaborate.

"Then you just have to wait for the circumstances to change," Mito said, shrugging. "Or change them yourself."

"That's what I'll do," Hashirama nodded firmly. Then, quieter, to himself, in a whispered vow: "That's what I'll do."

Author's Notes: Thanks so much to everyone who followed, favorited or reviewed, you guys are the best!

Guest 1: Thank you so much for your kind words. Ah, I think you have the right of it. I'll make the mokuton a surprise after the timeskip, and you know Hashirama is going to be so horribly nonchalant about it... like, yeah, hey, I grow vicious man-killing vines from the ground now, by the way, how've you been?

Ayee: No death by shark in Bunta's future, I'm afraid. I LOL'ed though.

cwrywn: Thank you! I'm so glad you like it. Hm, right now, she is scrambling to find contingency plans for Uzushio, but it's hard because 1) she doesn't know much about the circumstances of the attack, 2) all she knows it's so far in the future she'll be old/dead by the time it happens. So right now, she's thinking either A) join Konoha under its immediate protection, B) an advanced barrier seal of some kind, but that'd need a lot of chakra to sustain it. Like, a lot. Re: Madara, she'll meet him after the timeskip, as teens, and won't that be a blast. His entrance will be very... let's say.. dramatic.

ReadingnerdOtaku: OMG, they do! I'm so glad you pointed that out. Why does canon never give us anything on Tsunade and Mito's relationship? Mito lived to old age, you know... she definitely helped raise Tsunade... so why no flashbacks *cries*

Elise142: Yay, thanks for the fic suggestion! I really liked it. I thought I'd be a bit lost since I didn't read the other installments from the universe, but it stands super well on its own too.

brakes yeah: more seals next chapter ;)

xenocanaan, jotitoboy, Aurora9871, BlackDove WhiteDove, and various guests: thank you so much, you guys are all wonderful :D