Red Thread of Fate (Part 4)
Legend has it, there is an invisble red thread that connects us to those we are destined to meet. Regardless of time, place or circumstances. The thread my stretch or tangle, but it will never break
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Have fun with the next chapter and please keep in mind, that english is not my first languge :)
A few days had passed since that incident with the Uchiha babies. Madara told her both children were fine and would progress just fine, which was good—excellent even. Asuka needed a few days to regain her strength from that night; it was draining. But as soon as she was good again, she was out and doing what she had promised to do: finding the curse holder and destroying the Curse.
Today, she decided to look at the building where she saw the curse holder running the other day. Asuka was standing at a building in front of the Hokage Tower. The curse holder ran into this building; of course, it had to be the most important building in the Village. Of course. But that's the catch: nobody would look for someone suspicious or odd in that building. Hashirama Senju was in there, and he was known for his very delicate Kanchi Taipu ability. Of course, nobody could sneak in if the great and even greater Hashirama Senju was in this building.
People like Asuka weren't like normal Shinobi
Her way of using chakra differed from the kind of Chakra Madara and people like him used. Due to her Kekkei Genkai, Asuka felt a special, almost ancient, and relic connection to the earth and its natural energy. Chakra was something that existed later in history. Bevor, Chakra people used the earth's and nature's natural floating energy. Therefore, modern Shinobi like Madara and Hashirama cannot sense her – or someone like her – with their visual jutsus or Kanchi taipu abilities. She was only visible to them when using one of the Spirits in her body to serve herself on their former abilities. Therefore…. The curse holder – someone from the same world as her – would be unnoticed. He could sneak up behind Hashirama Senju himself and stab him without Hashirama ever seeing him coming.
It was something that made her and people like her the natural enemies of Shinobi
Asuka watched the building from the shadows of the opposite buildings and how people walked in and out. She closely watched which kind of people went in and out. Most were Shinobi – Ninjas – receiving missions and handing in mission reports. Some people who walked in weren't Shinobi; they seemed more like normal villagers who probably had some administrator working there. However, there was no regulation about who could enter and who could not. People – all sorts of people – walked in and out. All the time. Like bees in a hive.
Asuka was about to finish her observations for the day and leave when she nearly walked into someone. Someone had positioned himself directly in her way, purposefully nearly making her run into him.
"Have you Found what you were looking for?" the voice said. It was dark, scratchy, and nearly gloomy, yet it had a little hint of amusement.
"I was just watching the village."
"What are you doing here?"
"I am a resident of this village; I am living here."
"Here? At this very place where we stand?"
"You take everything so literally."
"Don't Tz me. I am still your fiancé". Madara had too much fun with this pretending. He was way too amused by this whole scenario.
"Just so we are clear, I am playing by the rules of your culture and society. Where I am from, we do not behave like this", she lectured him, crossed her arms above her chest, and defied him with an equally arrogant glare in her eyes and body language, screaming, 'I am not afraid of you, so don't even try to intimidate me'
"you could tell me how your customs are so I could adjust my behavior to the liking of my beloved bride." It was ironic, with a heavy, sarcastic accent in his voice. Madara wanted to get the better of herself, forcing her to give him more information about herself, but she was not stupid enough to fall for that. So, instead, she returned the sarcastic favor with an even more sarcastic answer.
"My customs? Getting dressed like a peacock and trying to impress the female like a paradise bird. Please go ahead; I would murder to see you – the mighty Uchiha – getting stupidly dressed like a bird and stumbling around on your two feet."
Madara had to swallow a chuckle. Asuka was amusing at times. The witty and sarcastic sarcasm she used to answer his questions was nothing he encountered before. This was mainly because many people didn't have the grit to encounter him with that fearless and nearly disrespectful attitude. Also, most people didn't understand sarcasm well, and even less how to use it.
"I don't stumble on my feet."
"You stumble around like a massive, dowdy animal whenever you train. I couldn't picture you being elegant."
She meant what she said, what was even more amusing to him. He knew, his enemies knew even better, that he wasn't a dowdy animal. He was silent, precise, deadly, and far from a dowdy animal.
"What were you looking at?" Madara changed the topic by looking at the Hokage Tower. The events from a few nights ago with the Uchiha children were still fresh in his mind. He got a glimpse of Asuka's Power, but only a glimpse—not enough to make out her powers.
"This hideous massive building." She looked over her shoulder and back at the building. "What is it used for her?"
"Administrative tasks. Hashirama official office as a Hokage. People can go in and receive or issue missions or problems", Madara explained shortly, and his aze followed up the building with the big letter of 'Hokage' at the very top of the building. There was a time when he wanted to be in the Hokage and was sour about the villagers, who did not seem to see him as fit for the job. Over the past years, he learned to appreciate that he did not have to grapple with people's minor issues and stupid problems.
"Why?" he returned his attention to Asuka, who shrugged her shoulders and pretended to be nonchalant about it. He hated it when she did that; how effortlessly she could farm information from him, but he couldn't do the same. She did not trust him. She did right by not trusting him. But it annoyed him that he couldn't even get a piece of information from her that would make sense and lift a bit of the mysterious veil around her.
And he damn wanted to break every last one of those seals
She was unique, not like the other females he had ever met
She carried so much knowledge he wasn't aware of, and he wanted that knowledge—every last bit of it.
"Asukaaa," he called out her name in a deep, growling voice. Not to scare her, he noticed by now that he couldn't scare her,… to remind her that she needed to keep him updated on her progress.
"Nothing," she waved up nonchalantly and walked past him, shrugging her shoulders and not giving him anything to work with
The night started, and Asuka was waiting outside the big tower. It was late in the night when she decided to break into it. As far as she noticed, this tower was the heart of the Village. Hashirama—the Hokage—was working there, and the Shinobi of the Village needed to report back to him in that tower.
Besides Hashirama having his working rooms in there, she figures out that the prison cells were also there. It was deep in the ground, so using Jutsus was tricky. Additionally, there is just some paperwork and other unimportant things in there. She didn't think Hashirama would have the finesse to find, control, and release a curse like that, especially because she didn't think of the Senju as a monster that would kill the children of his Village.
But from what she heard, his brother was a different kind of person
It was time to find out what kind of person the white-haired Senju was.
It was relatively easy to get into the tower. It was open to everybody who wanted to enter, and nobody asked questions. Well… she got weird looks because nobody knew who she was. The security of this place was worse than bad. Probably because everybody knew the Hokage could stand up for himself.
Well… at least for the things they were known to these people
The building was too big for her to look at everything by herself, so she needed help—but also someone who wasn't known to humankind these days.
She had a spare Uchiha in her pocket to use for things like this
Asuka looked for a quiet place to summon her second Uchiha. A Noro always had more than one spirit on hand. Some even more than two crystals with them, but two was enough for herself. She chose wisely which spirits she had with her and which she wanted to summon. And these two were more than enough.
Fond a silent corner, Asuka took the second Crystal out of her pocket. This one looked very different. While Izunas had a vibrant, glowing blue, this one was way darker, nearly greyish blue. Also, it had a little marble effect with some reddish strings in between.
Every Crystal was unique, like the souls in those stones. They were easy to distinguish, at least for her and every non-blind person.
She held the Crystal in her hands and clawed at it. This one was also very special to her personally. She put the Crystal close to her lips and spoke the spirit's name.
Speaking the name released the soul and set her free. A person's name is precious to them. It's the one thing nobody can ever take away from them. If someone remembers their name, they will never be lost on either side.
A soft blue fog was coming out of the Crystal, enveloping her cushiony. Like his Crystal, the fog was greyish blue with some red nuances. It took the mist some seconds to create the ancestral Uchiha, the origin of their powers and existence. Most of what Asuka knew about the Uchiha, their eyes, and Power, she learned from Indra, not Izuna. So Indra was not only one of her spirits but also a teacher, in some sense.
"Asuka —long time no see." His voice was soft but dark and husky. It was similar to Madara's, but he was still much deeper. Indra always had this calm but strong presence. Every time she summoned him, she felt secure but a little frightened at the same time. This was also the Reason why she never felt fear for Madara. Madara was strong, with no doubt, but he never reached Indra's level.
"Indeed," she nodded and smiled a little bit. Indra was – like Izuna – very special to her. Indra was… let's say, something in her heritage known him forever. "I need you." "Of course you do; why would I be here otherwise?" he spoke calmly to her, as if she was still a child he didn't want to scare. "This Village is cursed by something and someone. I need to find the one who created the Curse-"
"And you think this person is here?"
"I don't know," she shrugged her shoulders.
"But a spare pair of eyes never hurt."
"I see. I will have a look around. See if I can detect something odd."
"Never," he smiled similarly to Madara when he was slightly annoyed by her.
It is incredible how many similarities they had after all those years apart.
Indra nodded silently and was going in another direction for herself. Now – at least – she had some help from someone unknown to this generation of people, which made things much more manageable.
Izuna would have helped her if she had let him out of his Crystal. Izuna was well known to Senju and Uchiha, and explaining what was happening to each of them would have been a pain. It wasn't delightful to explain it to Madara.
After she had looked into some rooms, she found one that was significantly bigger than the rest. It looked like an office, but not only for paperwork. Something was very odd when she entered the room. There was no number or name on the outside of the door; why did she think it would be a broom closet or something?
As she entered, something immediately took her attention.
There was a big table, bigger than anyone would need to do paperwork. It resembled an experiment table for medical procedures more than an office table. Walking closer to it, she noticed some papers lying on it. Some were handwritten, and others were press copies from books.
Izuna asked in her thoughts. He was seeing what she was seeing
"Someone is creating Jutsus," she replied, looking at the notes. A closer look at the notes and books gave her an idea of what this jutsu should be. "Not just any jutsus… summoning death souls into new bodies to fight." Her fingers lightly brushed over all the papers while she read broadly over them.
Whoever worked in this room tried to recreate her Kekkei Genkai without her clan's permission. This was odd; people usually stepped away from this old form of Jutsus and Shamanic use, but not this person.
"Exactly like mine … well... not exactly. As I see it or can imagine, it's more about a slavery contract than a polite question to serve." Asuka looked closer to a paper, which nearly looked finished. On the other hand, the written instructions and hand signs wouldn't do much. They might summon a ghost for a few seconds, but that's it. Nothing valid, but most importantly, nothing is working. On one of the papers, a name was written. It was probably the name of the Jutsu that was about to be created.
"Edo Tensai," she mumbled the name that was written there, which meant something along the lines of 'returning from the dead'. It was clearly supposed to be a summoning Jutsu, but it was dysfunctional. The person who was creating it obviously noticed that, based on all the angry notes, hasty crosslines, words, and additional suggestions written all over the paper.
Then something else caught her attention. The room looked a little odd, uneven, and weirdly shaped, and there was also a weird presence behind one of its walls.
>>Izuna – lend me your Sharingan<<
As she asked for this ability, she felt how her eyes turned, but at the same time, a stinging pain went through her head and eyes. The Sharingan was the most painful but helpful thing.
She was no Uchiha, so her body was not adapted to this eye, and she felt it every time she asked for it. It was excruciating for her to use, and never, could she do it for longer than a handful of minutes. There was something she needed to get a better look at, but she couldn't see through the walls entirely. Behind that wall in the office was something odd. There was a room behind it but no door from either the outside or the inside. There was no window or anything that led into the room. Someone grabbed her shoulder and pulled her harshly away when she wanted to look closer.
"Who are you?" It was Tobirama, and he looked furious. Of course, she had just broken into his office; she would be furious, too. "Uhm-" "An unregistered Uchiha," he nearly hissed at her. "N-No..!" "I saw your devilish red eyes!" he growled back. "Excuse me" – "I never saw you here, and I know every Uchiha. They are all registered, and you are not! Explain yourself." "Simple," his attitude made her also very angry. Such disrespect towards her. Was every other clan member also registered? "I am not a Uchiha, even if-!" she brushed his hand off her shoulder. "Registered?" "You are one. I saw your eyes" "Maybe you need your eyesight checked" "Insolent bint!" he was angry, but calling her bint? Na uh!
However…. This…. Well… it didn't end well.
The white-haired Senju had thrown her into one of the many prison cells as a punishment, and until she would tell him who she was and why she was in the Village.
>>You needed to call him an imbecile<<
Izuna was scolding her in her head. What was she supposed to do? That Senju was more than unfriendly and disrespectful. He deserved the same treatment back. Asuka rolled her eyes as an answer.
She wouldn't be in that situation if she could use her Kekkei Genkai as she pleased. But it was a little complicated with her and her heritage. She couldn't just use it as she wanted but needed to be careful. She had planned to get into the building and out before someone noticed. But – of course – she let her guard down. "It was not my fault," she said silently to Izuna.
>>It was. I told you he has a bad temper<<
She could hear how gloating he was.
Tobirama put her into the prisoners' cells deep down in the Hokage Tower. He was convinced she was a Uchiha and was even angrier that he didn't know about a new Uchiha in the Village.
He continued talking about how she was unregistered and so on. Asuka explained that she was not a Uchiha, but he didn't believe her. She argued that she needed to be locked away until the question of her not being registered was answered. During this discussion, she called him an imbecile for being stolid, like an old donkey with his bias.
Well…, I guess the white-haired Senju had as bad of an ego problem as Madara. But the Uchiha – at least – wasn't that short-tempered.
At least Asuka understood now why all the Uchiha were in such a bad mood all the time. Being discriminated against like this is injustice. Tobirama was acting like the Senju weren't committing the same war crimes as the Uchiha. Sadly, he was in a greater power position than Madara.
"I never thought... that I would have to bail you out of jail," said this dark, amusement-filled voice. This belonged just to one person: Madara Uchiha.
He was walking down the corridor until he appeared in front of her on the other side of the prison cell. Of course, it amused him. Asuka pretended to be superior all the time, and now she had ended up in the prison cells, which amused him.
"You don't have to," but she wouldn't admit she was in a bad situation and needed his help. She would stay sassy and stubborn.
"I do," he said, leaning closer against the wall beside the cell. He had a smirk on his lips while looking down at her due to their height difference. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction he wanted to see from her.
"Oh, so you get out of here on your own? I am waiting."
She could get out of here—easily even. But that would have involved her Kekkei Genkai, which she wanted to keep a secret. She had a good reason for that, and Madara was the only person in the entire Village who had gotten a glimpse of her Power.
His smirk grew a little, and he stared her down. He knew she didn't want to use her powers for some reason, but this situation was simply God's gift to him. He was finally in a power position against her and intended to use it.
And the stubbornness and anger she was throwing back at him amused him even more.
She was very different from another woman he knew, and it fascinated him even more and more.
"Say it—I will help you," he teased her even more, knowing she would not beg him to help him. "No," she said, standing her ground on this.
"Should I leave you in here to fix your attitude?" He had way too much fun with this.
"I can get out if I want to."
"And I said, I am waiting to see that."
Asuka pressed out a deep and angry breathing before the anger nearly consumed her.
Asuka was also staring into his eyes. Dark – nearly black – eyes which were drowned in amusement.
Men like Madara liked feeling the Power they had over people. They thrived during those power games, knowing they were in a more significant position. But Asuka was not willing to give him that.
She could get out of here on her own.
He enjoyed this way too much, and it made her angry that he did
Another voice was coming closer—fast and hastily. She also knew this voice; it was Hashiramas.
"See, I told you I don't need you," Asuka smirked, but the smirk wasn't leaving Madara's face either. He knew Hashirama would come to get her out of her prison cell. He would have done the same but wanted more information about her.
Madara knew his power position was limited and wanted to see how far he would get. He couldn't know; she would be that hard to break.
Well, he suspected that she was a tough one
"Asuka, I am sorry." Hashirama came to her prison cell and started to open the door with the keys he brought. "Tobirama was not informed about your presence in the Village. He is very hot-tempered." Hashirama excuses himself for his brother's behavior. When she opened the gate, she was walking out of the cell and giving Madara that superior smile she usually had on her face.
"You better be sorry for your brother's behavior," she rebuked Hashirama, who just lowered his head in disgrace about what happened. "I am deeply sorry – I will make it up to you! Also, I am sorry for how Tobirama treated your fiancée, Madara." he looked at Madara, who pretended to be angry about it. "You better be"
"Please agree to my invitation for dinner," Hashirama asked, looking from Madara to Asuka.
"Sure," Asuka answered before Madara could deny the offer. She wanted to look deeper into Tobirama Senju since he seemed to know more about this situation than anyone else.
Or maybe he didn't and got played, too.
As soon as Asuka accepted the offer, Madara gave her a sharp side-eye. He did not want to eat with Hashirama, Mito, and Tobirama dinner. Even if he could endure Hashirama, he hates Tobirama (for obvious reasons), and he thinks of Mito as annoying.
Asuka only agreed to it because she wanted to annoy him.
"Great! Thank you! I think all these misunderstandings will be solved once we get familiar with each other," he said, sounding very optimistic.
She was leaving the tower with Madara, but before heading towards his house, she turned and looked back at it. It was so big, and from what she saw, not all rooms were occupied. Giving it a closer look, it was perfect for hiding in because nobody would think about that possibility.
Whoever was sitting in that room and hiding was a genius.
"What?" Madara followed her gaze, waiting for her to continue walking with him. "Nothing," she said, turning away from the tower and heading towards his home at the end of the Village.
"Tobirama insisted that he saw you, using Sharingan." he started the conversation, which made her smile. "Delusion is also an illusion; I think he suffers from that." Asuka shrugged her shoulders and continued to walk. "After seeing your Kekkei Genkai, you may have it. How is what I am asking"? He specified in his question. Asuka did something he thought impossible, so why not do even more impossible things? Besides that, she shared many of Uchiha's typical features, so maybe she was a genetic hybrid. "You think-" she gave him a smirking side glare in amusement. "I will tell you all the secrets about me? Of course, I won't. The fun would be entirely missing." Asuka winked at Madara and continued to walk.
It became evening, and Asuka needed to get ready for dinner. She only agreed to this to mess with Madara, but now she realized – she didn't want to go either. In the moment she agreed to this, she was so furious at him that she would have agreed to everything to make him feel slightly pissed as well.
If this weren't the consequences of her actions, it could have been beneficial, and she could have gotten some information about what she was trying to find there.
Madara was waiting outside his estate, leaning smoothly against its frame, his head falling to one side. He was waiting for Asuka to be ready so they could finally head to Hashirama's place.
They still needed to keep this act alive. Asuka wasn't finished with her task of getting rid of this Curse she had found. So she needed the status as his fiancé to move freely around the Village. But did she need to accept this invitation for dinner? No, she didn't. She only did it to get on his nerves; he already understood that the second she agreed.
"You look very stress-free; I am glad to see that." It was Izuna who appeared next to him. Since Asuka was here, he and Izuna could get some talks. It felt nice to have his little brother back, but every time he looked into his eyes, he once more knew that he was dead. "Sometimes," Madara nodded to Izunas' statement but smiled slightly. He knew Izuna was dead, but it was still pleasant to hear his voice occasionally.
"You also look healthy, brother."
"You ever worried about that?"
"I did when I knew I would die," Izuna admitted. "But now I cannot worry anymore. It has its positive aspects, such as not feeling anything anymore, but I sometimes miss the feeling of feelings."
"Is it torture for you? Belonging to her?"
"No, not really." The younger Uchiha shook his head with a decent smile on his lip, a habit that washed from his previous living state into his momentary state.
"She a good woman – I am not a slave brother."
"Then what are you? A servant?"
"Protector? Does she need on?"
"Everybody does—even you," Izuna winked at him and smiled. Izuna had not been dead for a long time. He could still remember feelings and gestures, even though they felt empty and were more of a memory reflex than actual acts of feelings and concerns.
"I don't." Madara shook his head
"If you say so," Izuna shook his head and dissolved in fine blue dust. Just a few seconds later, Asuka came through the door.
She wore a simple Hikizuri in the color of his clan – black and red. He had picked for her previously, knowing she hadn't brought anything appropriate for tonight's dinner. Besides, he needed to ensure that Tobirama and Hashirama would believe that Asuka was his fiancée. If they detect their little fraud, things will become complicated. He infiltrated her into the Village, not knowing the slightest bit about her or her intentions. If Asuka turns out to be the enemy, it's all due to his poor decision-making earlier, which would result in him getting banned from the Village. Something Tobirama was rooting for to happen.
The Hikizuri she wore suited her body ideally. Now, he even knew what she looked like beneath those airy clothes. She was a pretty woman with a recent figure—not too thin and bony but also not overweight—he was exactly right.
"Shut your mouth; you'll catch a fly."
But just because she looked like a fine and elegant lady didn't mean she indeed became one.
"You should be more polite during the dinner. Just as a side note."
"Why would I? It's very believable that the great Madara Uchiha would pick a wife who is talking back to him.
"It is. You are not Hashirama Senju. You coming?" Asuka went a few steps ahead and left him standing there.
A decent, nearly unrecognizable smirk flashed over his face, and he shook his head before Madara closed the gap between him and Asuka.
"I also wouldn't let my wife walk over there,e," he hinted, carrying her. One would think it would be a gesture of chivalry, but it was no—not for them. He knew Asuka would hate being carried around like a helpless, stupid puppy, so he only offered to annoy her.
"Your wife would have your eyes for that. Poked out and served on a silver plate."
He would never have picked a wife less than Asuka.
As soon as they stepped out of the Uchiha part of the Village, they entered the big main road, which was empty around this hour. It was quiet – even peaceful. The street was painted soft silver due to the night's glowing moon. Asuka took a deep breath and looked up to the moon. For a second – he could swear on it – he saw her skin twinkle as if a fine layer of dust sat on it and reflected the moonlight.
"Time to go." Asuka looked straight ahead again and started walking. This was the perfect opportunity to ask what he needed to know about her. He wouldn't get satisfying answers, but he needed to try.
"What have you done to Izuna?"
"Done? I have done nothing."
"He is my protecting spirit – he is everywhere I am."
"So he is your protector?"
"Everybody needs a protector, and I choose Izuna."
It was the same Izuna just said to him
"Simply said… I trust Izuna with my life. You did once; you will understand why."
"Izuna is very reliable, but that doesn't explain how."
"How?" she smiled and shook her head.
"I could explain it to you in every detail, but you wouldn't understand it. Izuna died; that's a fact, but his ghost and soul? They never died. People like you are not able to see them."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"Well…. Even a Shinobi like you – Madara Uchiha – with the greatest visual Power of all time, can't see everything."There was again this gloating sparkle in her eyes and the little smirk on her face. She was aware that she knew more at the moment, and he was also aware that he did not.
Knowledge was Power, and he didn't have much of that at the moment.
"You should give me a little more information. Hashirama is fooled easily, but Tobirama is not.t" "Sure about that? He thought I am a Uchiha – can you believe" "I would like to have his head poked with a spear, but he is not an idiot --- I believe he saw the Sharingan in your eyes. I am not sure how it was possible, but I do know that you can do that" this made Asuka laugh. Not just a little, feminine chuckle but a laugh from the bottom, her cranky, shriveled, dark little soul.
"And if he had claimed that I am a two-headed goose, would you have also believed that?" "That you are a goose? Yes. The two heads? Depends on the lighting, I guess," which made her even more laugh.
Anyway, he knew that Tobirama wasn't having a hallucination when he said that
Asuka could use the Sharingan, he was sure of that. He didn't know how, but after he saw how she could summon Izuna, he would have believed everything odd about Asuka.
"You people are so silly. I bet the dinner will be fun! Maybe by the end of it, I turn out to be a silver-coated Kitsune? Huh? Wouldn't that be fun? We should hurry; it's bad manners when you come late to an invitation!"
"Well --- the last Kitsune I met had black fur. Such a beauty and so charming. But what else could I expect? Their nature is to be charming," She said, with that tint of humor in her voice. Was that a hint that not everything he said was unrealistic? Kitsunes are mystical creatures, nothing more than folklore that get told to children to enrich their fantasies…. Or scare them. Depending on the folklore. But ghosts were folklore, too, and he just saw one. "Does that mean they are true? Folklores?" "Every Lore has an origin. Or do you think that someone just sat around one night, drinking too much, and made up the story of demons, spirits, and ghosts? I saw people drink, and I heard what nonsense they were speaking. None of them could ever come up with a story like those." "So they are true?" Madara asked, curious, eying her intensely to make out if the following words out of her mouth would be sincere or jokes again. "Well…. Didn't you see a ghost? Of which you thought weeks ago that they are just folklore?" Asuka smiled at him and headed towards the center of the Village, where the dinner would take place.
So, were the folklores he grew up with – his mother reading those to him- all true? Demons and evil spirits existed in this world? It must be! Otherwise, this Curse Asuka tried to break wouldn't exist either.
"So the curses…. How do they get created?" he closed the gap to Asuka and tried to get as much information as possible. "Curses are simple but effective and strong. They feed themselves on something, which humans have plenty of." "Which is that?" "Hate. Humans love to hate. I am not different; nobody is. So the Curse in the Village is having a feast." "A feast?" she nodded and looked around. "Clans that fought each other for years and killed each other dearest ones cannot live in peace together. I am sure you have realized that"
Yes. He did. It was tough for him and any other Uchiha Clan member. They saw the Senju, Hyuuga, and other Clans every day, which killed their members. Same the other way around. There was much more work to be done than just putting them together in a village and declaring peace.
Hashirama was the driving force behind the peace contract between Senju and Uchiha; that was true. He hesitated because it would be only peace on paper. In silence and darkness, there was still that never-ending hate toward each other. It got more complicated every time Hashirama invited a new Clan to stay in the Village.
Some clans lived together in peace, but just because they did long before, they entered the Village, like the Yamanaka, Naras, and Akimichi Clans. Others would never live together in peace, like Hyuuga and Uchiha. Madara wanted peace, but it wouldn't come this way. Forcing all those different clans to live together was not bringing them peace but suppressing their anger.
"Also, people like Tobirama are not helping. Hashirama is an idiot, but he has a vision." Asuka nodded and looked up. They had arrived at the center of the Village—the Hokage Tower. As she noticed, it was more like a big building with several office rooms than a place to hold a dinner.
"This way." Madara pointed to his right side and signaled her to follow. After a few more minutes of walking, they reached a house. It's straightforward, nothing big or decorative. It was less bigger than the estate of Madara, but it seemed more welcoming and warm. It blended in with the rest of the Village just fine, which was probably the main purpose of it. It didn't even have the Senju symbol anywhere engraved, but the Symbol of the Village above the front door frame.
"They are here"! Hashirama was excited and looked at the table with all the beautiful and luscious foods Mito had created. She had been cooking the whole afternoon since the invitation for dinner came late, and even later, she was informed about it. So, she did the best she could with the time she had. It was a lot of work, but she managed to get a decent meal together, which would be enough for five people.
"I am very curious about the woman Madara-sama chose to be his future wife! Very…. Curious". Mito smiled at her husband, who was noticeably excited about this. "She is annoying," Tobirama answered the question and sat at the table. "Is she?" "In fact, she is exactly like the Uchiha himself. Full of evil and hate", the white-haired Senju growled to himself like a frustrated little child. "Tobirama! You exaggerate!" "Hm." "Be nice!" Hashirama gave him a little side glare before he headed over to the door. But before he opened it, he hesitated for a second. There was something odd about his two guests; it was very odd.
He clearly could feel Madaras presence, even his chakra, how it calmed down his body, but…. He couldn't feel Asuka. He knew she was there, he heard their voices, but his Kanchi Taipu ability did not seem to figure out if a person was standing next to Madara.
In his mind's eye, he could see Madara: his chakra, his features, his body language, and he could see he was talking to someone to the left of him. But I couldn't see Asuka, as if she was there.
"What is? You do not want to let them in?" Mitos's voice sharply interrupted his thoughts and brought him back to reality. "I am sorry, I will now." he pushed aside his front door and welcomed his friend and Asuka.
She is there…. But why….?
"Asuka, Madara, my dear friend!" he welcomed them both by stepping aside and inviting them into his home.
Behind Hashirama was Mito, who just peeked from the living room to get a first little glare at the future wife of Madara. Mito had high hopes for her since they would spend much time together in the future! Not to mention that Madaras's image would improve drastically with a woman by his side! Tobirama was generally a very skeptical person – which she admired for the sake of the Village – but he could be a little pessimistic about people.
Mito tried to glimpse Asuka, stretching her neck to get a view of her next to Hashirama's broad shoulders.
And when she saw her, she gasped
A beauty she was, long in the moonlight reflecting black hair – even darker than Madaras. Cat eyes shaped eyes with long lashes, which gave her eyes more expression and framed them. Her face was not round and bubbly like her own. No! It was a little sharper but not manly, more like she…. the most talented artists crafted her there was—a delicate but pointy nose sitting perfectly between her symmetric face.
She suited Madara in every way, nearly complementing his features and making them better. People would eat her up alive just because she was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.
Mito realized something fundamental to her belief, making her stomach heavy.
Asuka will not become a help for her or even a companion
Asuka would become her foe in every way
"My wife! Mito Uzumaki” “Uzumaki…” " Asuka mumbled her last name with a slight smirk on her lips before she respectfully bowed her head towards the red-haired woman. Something in her voice made Mito swallow hard. Even her voice was perfect! It was a little rusty and deeper pitched than her own—probably way easier to listen to her than her own. Her voice sounded more like a deep whisper.
"Asuka Noro," she introduced herself to Mito. "N-Nice to meet you." Gosh, WHAT was wrong with her? As if she would have swallowed a frog and couldn't get a word out of her throat. Mito took a deep breath to rearrange her inwardly.
"Noro? I have never heard of that Clan name before!" Mito felt a little more confident about standing her ground as the leading Lady of the Village. "Nobody did. There's no need to feel sorry". Asuka smiled, but Mito knew that fake smile from the woman she consorted with regularly.
Asuka was dominant and didn't hide it
She thought she had the most Power in the room
In terms of women in the room, Mito had more Power as the legal wife of Hashirama. Asuka was still just a fiancée to Madara.
Still…. Asuka was so beautiful ---- it was so intimidating to her somehow.
"Uhm…" Hashirama cleared his throat a little bit to break the intense situation between the two women. "Should we….. sit?" he tried to break the situation entirely, but Mito and Asuka wouldn't move even an inch. They were looking at each other, not even saying something.
Madara took a deep breath and slightly tabbed Asuka on the back between her shoulder blades to sign her to move. "Sure," she nodded and followed Hashirama's guidance into the dining room.
"She is lovely." Mito smiled at Madara, who rolled his eyes in his inner. Mito hated Asuka and Asuka hated Mito. That was very clear by the time those two women met. So, what Mito just said was a lie, and he hated it when people lied to him so obviously.
"She is," Madara answered, following Hashirama and Asuka into the dining room.
This dinner was about to be interesting.
As Asuka entered the room, she saw Tobirama giving her an evil little death stare.—like a growling puppy who tried to be more intimidating than he was. Not to get the wrong idea here, Tobirama was a strong and acquainted Shinobi, just not for her. And she was still uptight about what had happened earlier today.
She would LOVE to show him what he had actually done and whom he had disrespected like this, but she couldn't. At the end of the day, she was just... an ordinary woman for those people.
She couldn't wait for the second she could leave this place!
"Have a seat, Asuka! Wherever you like!" Hashirama was always so kind and friendly towards her, but she felt a little bad that she couldn't stand him either. It was not because of what the brown-haired had ever done but just because he was….. so disgustingly nice.
"Thank you," she said, sitting down somewhere. Mito sat directly in front of her and just looked at her. She was not just looking; it was as if she was measuring her. She already felt that way when they had met earlier.
Asuka knew the Uzumaki clan just too well. It was a strong clan, maybe even stronger than the Senju and Uchiha together, but Mito was not from that branch of the clan. She probably was just forced into this marriage because of an alliance.
Like many women these days, we were
But there was also something else about Mito she couldn't figure out. She smiled and laughed, but something was wrong between her and her husband.
Passion and Love looked different
"Tell me more about the Noro, Asuka. What is your clan's specialty?" And Mito was curious. It could be too much for her good.
"Knowledge," Asuka answered, making sure with her tone of voice that she was not interested in further questions.
"Knowledge! Great, knowledge is Power; we all know that – what else do you bring to the table?"
"To the Village! We all have to participate in its well-being, so what do you bring?" – "Mito!" Hashirama interrupted her and shook his head before he cleared his throat a few times. "What my wife wants to ask is… what are you doing? Like… how did you get my dear friend's attention? Because I tried to marry him off for years, but he was as cold as a stone". "What did I do? My occupation?" "Yes." "Well-"Asuka grabbed her tea cup and took a few sips. She never actually thought of how to describe what she was doing. She cannot simply say she is a Shinobi, which is untrue, so what else should she say?
"Do not be shy about it! Tell us!" Mito said as she smiled at her. Something about that red-haired woman was not right with Asuka, but maybe it was the whole setup that was not right for her.
“I …. Am…. Some sort of…. A…. you know…. Librarian!" Oh wow…. Great Asuka! This was great! You couldn't possibly come up with something more boring and unrealistic than that! A Librarian! Really?!
As if Madara would have read her mind, he was giving her a side eye, and Asuka could see the question marks in his eyes. It was not her best cover, but it could work if he put extra effort into it.
"Librarian?" Hashirama repeated the word with a fascinating facial expression. He hadn't eaten it yet, but he tried to. If they couldn't even fool Hashirama, how in the world would they fool Tobirama and the rest of the Village?
"Make sense." Hashirama nodded. It did. "You liked to read since I knew you. However, if I had known it would be that easy to lure you into marriage, I would have given you more missions to Libraries!" Hashirama bought it! But a quick look over to Tobirama and Mito revealed that these two weren't on board yet.
"Well, it's not just that!" Asuka smiled, and indeed, she had a better explanation. "I am not just a librarian. Well, certainly, this would probably be the most suitable term. I am more like a…. patron of knowledge. My family, generations back, were trusted with the greatest thing to humankind: knowledge. Since then, they have tried to defeat this knowledge against people who would do badly with it. So I am not just sitting in a room full of books and writing down who came and left. But rather, I am more someone who decides who is allowed even to glimpse that knowledge". With that, she had fully wrapped Hashirama, and he was buying it, but not Tobirama.
"Protecting knowledge from who?" Tobirama asked, "People who didn't know what to do with that knowledge." Asuka answered back, "But shouldn't it be your task to make people understand knowledge?" Tobirama said, getting a little more aggressive with his voice, "There are things between earth and sky which are not meant to be for certain people. And I care that those do not enter a world they do not belong to." Asuka was staring down Tobirama, who did not break eye contact either. The tension in the room got thicker and thicker, and it was clear that Madara and Asuka shared the same antipathy for Tobirama.
"A world they do not belong to?" Mito again tried to dig deeper. "Well,"—Asuka smiled and needed to develop something quickly.
"There is a lot that we do not know. Some knowledge should be divided into smaller portions for certain people". Madara engaged in the conversation to help her out a little bit, which was nice. She felt like drowning a little bit with those three inquisitive people.
"And also, I find it discourteous to beset her to the point she gets angry," he added with an impassioned look, staring down, especially at Mito and Tobirama. They silenced. Not because they were curious anymore but because their fear of Madara was greater than that of Asuka. Of course, it was that way, which was fine ---- this time!
A short break of silence followed Madara's words. Hashirama was cautious that what they did to Asuka was not very polite, and since Mito didn't dare to say a thing without her husband, she had also shut up.
"There is more to you, Asuka." It was Tobirama who wasn't backing off. And Asuka didn't expect him to do so. He was not like Hashirama and shared a mild fear towards Madara, which was described as caution and distrust rather than fear. "I saw what I saw, and it was the Sharingan in your eyes. How can it be that a person who is not related to the Uchiha has it?" Tobirama had to mention it. Of course, he had. He probably had wrapped his mind around it for the past hours. As Asuka wanted to answer, Madara anticipated that she should release a sound from her throat. "Ridiculous. I would have rather believed you if you told me she is a goose with two heads than that." Madara soaked his sentence with sarcasm and taunt to mock Tobirama in the most insulting and obvious way.
It made Asuka smile that Madara used the same phrase she had used earlier to make fun of him. A nice and fine way of showing her that he might deserve more trust on that topic. He was here to help and grant her permission to be all over the Village to solve this problem. He should get some more pieces of information to…. Make arguments like this suffocate.
"I saw it!" Tobirama was grinding his teeth and clenching his jaw – so hard that you could see the muscles on the side of it pulsing. "Oh, she could be a goose, but the two heads might depend on the lighting. Like in your case." This time, it made Asuka chuckle a bit before she tried to cover it with a sip of her tea. "Tobirama, enough! We invited them to apologize for what they have done! Not to accuse her of anything!" Hashirama stepped in after his brother was utterly dismantled. It made the white-haired man furious, but he had to swallow his pride and anger in order to keep his face.
"Asuka—really—I am sorry for what happened to you". Hashirama's apology was honest, as expected from the man he was. "This is not how we treat new members of the Village! Actually, what I wanted to do with this dinner is to welcome you!" He seemed a little frustrated that the evening wasn't going as smoothly as he hoped. It was not his fault but rather everybody else's fault.
When Asuka and Madara came back to his home, Asuka excused herself very quickly. It was merely midnight, and she still had something to do.
She changed into way more comfortable clothes and sneaked out of his housing. Her active times were definitely during the night in the moonshine, not during the day. Her behaviorisms had a great resemblance with the ones of a cat
Asuka choose one of the houses as a resting spot. It was in the middle of the Village – empty of humans – when she let her glare wander over the empty streets. Only the moonlight was giving her a source of light so she could see. Curses – or twisted souls – were also nocturnal things. They liked the darkness, when they could jump from shadow to shadow without ever been seen. They were like rats and the she was the cat to hunt them down.
"Peaceful," Izuna appeared next to her. His constant appearance and vanishing calmed her as if she were watching waves on the beach. She knew he was always around her—always with her. But it was way nicer when he actually was there in his physical form.
"I give them that they tried."
"Don't be so harsh on him, Asuka."
"I am not here for comforting words, Izuna- Neither are you. When the job is done, we will leave."
"I know," Izuna couldn't say. He did not feel anything anymore. That was the downside of becoming a protecting spirit for a Noro. All he had left was the memory of emotions and sensations. He couldn't feel anything, not even the light evening breeze on his skin. He hadn't been dead for too long, so his memory was very fresh on those things, but still, he sometimes wished he could feel something. But there was nothing.
The drawback of being dead.
"I cannot feel it," Asuka whispered as she hunted over the Village. "Neither can I." Izuna shook his head. "Is it gone?" she asked, but he shook his head. "A curse does not vanish like that. It's hiding. It knows you are coming." "Curses were never the brightest. It has to come out eventually – even if it was just for eating." Asuka raised her chin and looked directly into the moonlight. Its soft silver shine was falling on her, like liquid silk, hugging her features and curves. The moonlight had the same effect on her as the sunlight for other people. It was like a warm bath for her soul, to stand there and soak in every bit of it. And Izuna watched her while she was doing so.
Her skin was blazing in luminescence—not just an elegant little sparkle. No. She was like water, reflecting its light in all directions. It was part of her Kekkei Genkai, something framed into her skin, and its beauty was only shown during nights like this. The Name Asuka means 'tomorrow,' but ironically enough, her true beauty is only shown the night before tomorrow. Asuka was mesmerizing; it was a shame that he was the only man who could truly admire it.
"You know, your beauty is very much wasted on a dead man like me," he interrupted her as she smirked. "Who else could I show it to?" "You will find someone one day. It would make my job easier. Looking after you, I mean", he joked, which made her shake her head.
"I offered to release you from your contact, go into the afterlife, and see your family."
"I know." he nodded and smiled
"But you choose me. And I am willing to take this task seriously until the moment your very last breath will leave your lungs."
He noticed she was sneaking out during the night.—she was doing it every night. He didn't bother to look after her. She had a job to do, and she should finish that as soon as possible so she could leave her life again.
Even when she was fascinating to him, she caused chaos in his life. He liked peace and quiet.
People didn't want him in the Village, and that was fine, even a little bit welcoming to him. He could finally relax a little bit, and then Asuka showed up.
Dancing on his bare nerves and driving him crazy.
In the past weeks, he has thought about murderers more often than he did during his active wartime. He found her amusing, from time to time., refreshingly obstreperous sometimes, making him think he would have chosen a woman like her as his actual wife.
The way she made him feel stupid and uneducated was driving him crazy. He was crazy to the edge of his sanity, and he wanted to punish her for it so hard. But she was not afraid that he could even lay a finger on her. Izuna protected her every second of his existence; he could not come close to her even if he wanted. He liked having Izuna around – well…. Whatever that means. Izuna was not around. His physical appearance and character were there, but there was not much more of him being in the present. The fact that he was dead was just underlined with every time he saw him with the empty eyes and faked emotions.
It made him angry and even more realize that Izuna was gone forever.
He wanted to scratch her real surface just once to make sure he could. He wanted to reach that level, that he was sure he could do something to her if he wanted to. Asuka was his natural enemy. Sure, there was still Hashirama, but that was different. He faced Hashirama multiple times and even got him good at times. There were still scars on Hashirama's Body that couldn't even be healed by his cell regeneration, which he caused.
She was like a perfect diamond, able to resist anything, and every attack would pearl off her perfect shield.
He wanted to be the one who could reach so close he could give it a scratch. She shielded herself with her mysterious Kekkei Genaki, knowledge, and probably other techniques he couldn't even imagine.
How could he get that close?
She was intelligent, wouldn't be mindless around him, and let her guard down.
Nothing is more dangerous than an intelligent and powerful woman.
The next morning, he found her at the table in the kitchen. Her head rested in her arms as she fell asleep on the table again. She was not a morning person. The cup of tea in front of her was still smoking.
She must have fallen asleep recently
He watched her, studying her breathing style to ensure she slept.
There she was, just an arm's length in reach, and he could scratch her perfect little surface. Just for him, just for his ego, so he knew he could.
His fingers were twitching
"Don't even think about it." Izuna's voice rose behind him. Since Izuna was this kind of ghost, he could never feel him coming or going. It was like Izuna was just a shadow flashing by.
"I wasn't thinking anything," he answered coldly and distantly, reaching his head back to glare at his younger brother. He was standing there, arms crossed above his chest and leaning against the wooden countertop of his kitchen. "I know you don't touch her," Izuna warned him as he shifted his weight. He was now walking past him and sitting down next to Asuka.
Which was still sleeping like a rock
"As I understood it right, you cannot talk about anything she does not approve of, bevor?" "Kind of." he nodded and gave her a brief look, ensuring she was okay. "I can in emergencies. But this is not one, and please do not create one", he warned his brother.
"Is it like the summoning jutsu?"
"Kind of, but not quite."
Madara let out an annoyed groaning when Izuna gave him that spongy answer, which made Izuna smile.
"Frustration never suited you. You tend to turn into a toddler when you are frustrated." Izuna chided him a little to make him feel annoyed. Even though Izuna did not have feelings anymore, Madara had them! And Izuna could vividly remember how to press his brother's buttons.
"You get all snarky and start to sulk."
"I do not-!" he took a deep breath and nearly released it all with a growling little grunt
"Mother used to call you little Marmoset when you did that. You know, like this little monkey."
"I remember". It was not one of his most favorable memories when his mother called him by his embarrassing nickname whenever he felt….. pouty. It also made him even more annoyed when she used that name. That was a petty name for a warrior like him.
"Mother still uses it whenever you pout," Izuna explained.
Still? Like in…. she is…. There?
Izuna did not leave the confusion; he briefly brushed over his face unattended. He smiled softly and nodded to Madara. "I must admit the last time we talked was years ago." "You talked?" "Yes. She was worried for you after I died". Izuna shook his head.
He hadn't thought about her in a while. His mother died when they were still children, meaning Izuna had even less time with her and himself. He forgot to remember her for so long that he only had little fragments of memories of her left himself. All he could recall was her voice and that she had a soft demeanor. His mother died a long time ago – he should leave it like that, but something about what Izuna said, was not letting his thoughts settle.
"You talked?" Madara asked again and sat across from Izuna at the table, ignoring the sleeping Asuka for a while.
Izuna nodded gently, taking a fake deep breath, probably a muscle memory because he did not need to breathe anymore. "She is with our father and our siblings. She likes that some are still children, even though she was sad about it for a while. She was worried about you like she always was. She asked me if you finally had found a wife and made some children." Izuna humored him a little, trying to push his buttons, and it worked a little.
"Where do you think souls and spirits go after they die? Just vanishing into nothing?"
"No," Izuna shook his head, amused even. "They go somewhere. I was there for a brief moment. Just enough time to have a little chat with her. Which is funny, because I couldn't recognize her when I saw her. Guess I was too little when she died." Izuna was too little when she died. He couldn't possibly remember a lot about her, but Madara did. He did remember a lot. He always could, even when he tried to. Now that Izuna was speaking about their mother, the memories were appearing in the back of his mind one after the other.
"You and Mother look a lot alike, Brother," which threw Madara off; his perfect façade was crumbling, and his mask was slipping.
"What?" his voice was a little shaky and crackling.
"Yes," Izuna nodded. "You share the same eyes. You hide it well, but you are a lot like your mother. And you know it. I know you do."
"Just stop". He was not ready to roam around in his long, shoved-aside childhood memories. His mother was dead. His father was dead. All of his siblings were dead. Izuna was dead, and even though Izuna was sitting across from him, his eyes were empty, glassy even. His facial expression was off, stony, and cold, as much as the color of his pale skin was not sitting right. Izuna was a living corpse, not even that. A living soul without emotion, just faking them, playing them like an actor to make him feel better. Izuna was dead. At the beginning he liked hearing Izunas voice but it was a monotone, empty voice. This was actually more torture than he wanted to admit, and now his dead brother was talking about his dead mother like she was sitting in the other room and would come and greet him with that warm smile on her face like she always did!
At this moment, Izuna was dissolving into this fine radiant blue dust, disappearing into nothing and getting sucked back into that Crystal around Asukas neck.
Had she listened to their conversation? All of it?
"There is a reason why people like me and people like you are not mixing well." Her voice was less biting than usual, calm and soothing even, as if she felt sympathy for him—real emotions, not faked ones.
"And the reason would be?" he asked back, still a little pissed but trying to calm himself down.
"I learned that death is not the end, but also that you cannot bring someone back from death. Summoning a soul from the other side is not bringing them back. However, they go into an afterlife where we will join them. Therefore, they don't just die; they are temporarily separated from us," Asuka explained with a softer voice than usual. She could see the turmoil in his eyes. She could read him like an open book. After all those weeks she had spent here, he noticed people were biased against him and didn't try to understand him. It was probably strange or even complex for them to try to understand the grumpy Uchiha
It was easy for her, surprisingly easy
Beneath all the growling, grumpy grunts, and death stare, he was…. He was simply a man who had lost everything that ever meant something to him. Madara Uchiha was a man, that needed a purpose to thrive. With Izuna gone, he did not have a purpose in life anymore. With the Uchiha clan adjusting to this massive village life and them being safe, he didn't even have a purpose as their protector anymore. Therefore it was easy for her, to see all of that in him.
"Izuna is gone. He won't come back. And the summoning of my Kekkei Genaki is not the Izuna you knew. However, you will meet him again. In the afterlife. It does not matter if you believe in it or not. But you will meet him there. All of your deceased family members. That may give you peace of mind."
Something in her eyes in that moment, was making him feel a strange sensation in his inner. Something he didn't know he was capable of having. She was not pitying him. No, she was… she was just…. Just… just giving him an alternative he could or could not believe in. He was not a man who believed in things; never in his life had he been. But Asuka showed him that these things he thought believing him were stupid were real. Very real, even.
Allowing himself to believe in what she offered him to believe in would…. Help him. Heal him a little
But at least, it was a maybe
