Kitayama village was greeted with summer heat and quiet roads. Late evening was already in full swing in the settlement, but lights were on in small houses, notifying that residents were still awake, despite the moon, which modestly peeked out from behind heavy dark clouds, so gloomy that it seemed they intended to light up the night sky with lightning and thunder.
As always, before a thunderstorm, the air became incredibly hot and seemed to lose its freshness, settling in a thick cloud in the lungs, making it difficult to breathe and causing sweat to appear on the temples.
The environment, imitating the weather around, became unhurried, as if lazy. It seemed that even the leaves fell off with some laziness, twisting and circling before landing on the dusty ground, on which grew tall fragrant grass, not trampled by anything.
The village, as it became clear, was not particularly popular in wide circles. Being far away on the edge of the south of the land of Fire, it lived selflessly, without delving into the conflict of nearby clans. It could be said that Kitayama is similar to Akita, but the main difference was the fact that Akita — the city that Tobirama now hated with all his heart — was known to the whole world by Shinobi, famous for its entertainment, and Kitayama — an unknown village.
Tobirama himself heard about it as a child, when as a child he carried out a courier mission, in which the path lay just through this village. He did not linger in it then, only glanced at it, deciding to go around, but he remembered for a long time: there was a low hill to the northeast of the settlement, climbing up which it was possible to see the village completely, as if it lay in the palm of his hand. Such a peaceful look touched some hitherto unknown threads of the soul, which, in fact, was remembered. It seemed to Tobirama that all Shinobi have a place that they met a long time ago, but constantly visited because of its beauty, otherwise he did not know how to explain the fact that his brother loved to visit the Naka River so much, on which that unfortunate skirmish between the Uchiha and Senju clans took place a couple of years ago.
Entering the settlement and not looking much into the details, he decided to immediately visit the elder's house in order to notify him of his arrival.
Due to the fact that the lands were not so rich in various plants, the houses were not particularly luxurious, but it was not difficult to guess where the elder and his family lived.
Sometimes Tobirama was struck by the vanity of people holding at least some high positions. They seemed to be trying in every way to distance themselves from the "ordinary", despite the fact that they themselves do not represent anything extraordinary.
The house, made of straw and reinforced with clay, with a hip roof and a small courtyard, was slightly different from the others in its size. It cannot be said that the difference was enormous, but it was noticeable that the minka, located in the center of the village, is slightly larger in area than the same buildings on the periphery.
It was absolutely unbearable to show at least some manners, the long journey affected, but Tobirama, overpowering himself, forced his hand to rise and lightly knock on the wooden door, which opened literally a second later.
He was greeted by an unfriendly woman dressed in an overly bright kimono, which, however, was made of cheap fabric. The look, at first heavy and as if condemning, instantly changed as soon as she realized who had disturbed her at such a late hour.
— You have finally arrived, — a wide smile lit up the old woman's face, emphasizing the wrinkles at the corners of her lips, explaining where they came from, — We have been waiting for you so much! Come in, come in, — quickly moving away from the threshold, she let the guest into her house.
Tobirama admitted that the journey really took too much time. Initially, it was assumed that moving from the center of the country to the outskirts at his speed would take a maximum of a day and a half, but as soon as he started his journey, after a couple of hours his body seemed to refuse to obey: he got tired too quickly, forced to arrange three times as many halts as planned. As a result, the road took not a day and a half, as planned, but three whole days. The supplies collected in advance were not enough at all: hunger pursued him as if on his heels, biting at his heels and demanding saturation, which is why Tobiram had to go to villages that met on the way in order to replenish supplies. However, remembering his father's prohibition, he ate only water in which sugar was diluted. This way of survival helped a lot when there was absolutely nothing to eat.
But, finally, arriving in the village, he realized that he was so tired that he was ready to fall asleep right here and now. Exhaustion explained why he was lazy to even knock on someone else's door; if he was in the city, he would have rented a room in a hotel and, after sleeping, would have appeared before the elders, but the settlement was very small, so there were almost no guests here, which eliminated the need to create hotels.
Going deeper into the building, not forgetting to take off his shoes, Tobirama continued to listen to the stories of a woman who called herself Asei Kitayama. Her husband, Shichimo Kitayama, met the guest in a kind of living room, half sitting at the table. His appearance was painful: gray skin showed through blue veins, his eyes seemed to have sunk into the skull and it seemed that the wrinkles were so deep that dust accumulated in them.
According to Asei-san, her husband was very ill and the attacks of "vile scoundrels" only knocked him out of the rut more, aggravating his well-being, Tobirama himself was only amazed at such stories by how frivolously the woman behaved, allowing such rude words in front of a guest.
Sitting down at the table and refusing tea, which, however, was brought anyway, Tobirama began to ask Shichimo-san about the details, not expecting to hear something worthwhile.
— You know, shinobi-sama, — the elder began his speech, not wanting to call Senju by name, despite the fact that he introduced himself, — these robbers have been here for a long time. — a bony finger was raised, as if trying to show the scale of the period of time the narrator is talking about, — but lately they really allow themselves too much. It seems to me, — the old body leaned forward, the man crawled closer, bending over the entire table, whispering conspiratorially, — Ronin appeared among them.
— What are you talking about! — the hostess of the house lightly slapped her husband on the shoulder, laughing nervously, — In his old age he went completely crazy. Don't listen to him, there's nothing like that, — she began to justify herself.
It was funny to observe the difference between their attire: while the woman was dressed too brightly, her husband was dressed in the most ordinary kimono with a light haori over it. Apparently, Asei-san was responsible for their budget, both personal and belonging to the village, who understood that the treasury was too small to pay Shinobi for work. Maybe it was her greed, considering how much she loved dressing up.
However, no matter what the woman said, Tobirama understood that not just robbers were waiting for him. It would be lucky if only Ronin was among them.
Ronin, as understood in the Shinobi world, is just a slightly trained peasant in the military craft. Most often, these were samurai who learned to use the chakra at some initial level and, due to the lack of a normal mentor, without controlling the force, killed their master. Forced to wander the world, they did not disdain to use the chakra for the sake of robbing the houses of rich merchants or vandalism. However, this did not exclude the fact that any opponent should be taken seriously. Sometimes it seemed to Tobirama that he was exaggerating, preparing for a fight too carefully to win in the end without making an effort, but, as he believed, "it's better to overdo it than not to do it."
By the time the conversation between Senju and Katayama ended, the night had already come into its own. The moon, however, disappeared behind clouds, which right now bitterly shed tears, threatening to blur the roads that led to the village, finally erasing the opportunity to both enter and exit Kitayama.
Tobirama always understood that he would never be able to live in a place so small, as he was always drawn to explore something new, which is why, as a child, he, like Anija, sometimes ran away from home to see what was in the forests belonging to the Senju clan, but unlike the same older brother, he never talked to people he met, even if they were from the same clan with him, mostly because they could tell their father that he was walking away from home.
— I will prepare a bedroom for you, — still smiling, the hostess of the house gracefully stood up, heading for the exit of the room. Tobirama, left alone with the elder, wanted to return to the topic of robberies, but he did not seem to hear him.
He became somewhat uncomfortable, so Senju began to examine the interior of the room, which, however, was not particularly beautiful. The most ordinary house with the most ordinary decoration. Apparently, Asei-san's love of beauty extended only to outfits, but did not touch the house.
The temperature inside was cool. Due to the fact that the walls were thin, the wind outside seemed to come inside without asking, disturbing the inhabitants. The windows rattled from the gusts of the elements, but they did not want to open.
Shivering, Tobirama once again in his short life complained about the element he owns. Being a user of the suiton, he could not only cool himself in the heat, but he was not able to warm up in any way. Sometimes in winter it became incredibly cold, not because of the frost outside, but because of the cold water that flowed through the threads of the chakra system.
Shoji gently and silently moved away, and Asei-san entered the room, apologizing for her long absence.
She, leaving her husband sitting in a cold room, without even looking at him, began to escort Tobirama to the room allocated to him.
The corridors were short, not as decorated with paintings as in the main house of the Senju clan, which was logical, but at the same time they exuded an incomprehensible comfort. It was clear that people live in this house, actively use everything inside.
The woman, as if imitating the atmosphere around, walked silently. When she finally reached the right room, she pushed the shoji aside, herself standing slightly to the side, letting the guest pass, who, in turn, froze in the center of the room, awkwardly and imperceptibly shifting from one foot to the other.
Asei-san didn't smile like she had all evening before, just looked at Tobirama thoughtfully. This incomprehensible mutual gazing at each other lasted about a couple of seconds, but Senju still noticed how she blinked thoughtfully and suddenly pulled on the already familiar smile again.
— Sleep well, — she said softly. — Usually they come in the afternoon, so you definitely won't miss such an event, — a lazy joke flew out of her mouth almost inaudibly, as she was already turning around at that time, leaving Tobirama alone.
The latter, finally alone, began to sort out the things he had brought with him. Slowly, as if on purpose, he began to take out his few belongings, changed into a thin white kimono designed for sleeping.
The futon that was carefully laid out in the room was cold, as if those scanty minutes that were necessary to bring Tobirama into the room were enough for him to be so soaked in the icy wind that he walked around the room so freely.
Lying down with some caution, Tobirama wrapped himself in a blanket, wanting to fall asleep and get some sleep as soon as possible. Fatigue had been following him all these three days of the journey.
風 風 風
A soft rumble from somewhere to the left woke Senju, who was lying on a futon in the fetal position, forcing him to jump up and look around the room in shock. He didn't know what he was dreaming, but it was clear that something unpleasant, maybe a nightmare, since he had never woken up so abruptly because of some quiet sound. At the same time, his sleep was always light and it was normal for him to wake up several times a night, but this time he slept through all the hours without waking up. Did the road take so much effort?
The weather outside was chilly, apparently, the rain had ended quite recently. The wind was a cold plume on the floor, biting his heels, so Tobirama began to get dressed as quickly as possible.
Folding the futon and hiding it, he began to clean the room, hiding the weapon as far away as possible. Trying to adhere to the principles that the room should look as if no one was here, he headed for the exit.
According to the plans, the first days he wanted to ask the residents about what was happening. As far as he learned yesterday from a conversation with Asei-san, robberies occur twice a week and the most recent one occurred on the eve of his arrival. The nagging thought that if he had come earlier, he would have been able to deal with this mission in a shorter time, if not for the strange fatigue that haunted him, prevented him from thinking.
Maybe he was so exhausted as a punishment for that incident? It may well be that the plants he was rubbing had worked after all, which was why he was not in his best shape right now.
Having dressed as "normally" as possible, he, throwing on a warm haori, went into the room in which he spent so much time talking with the elders of the village yesterday.
Shichimo-san, just like yesterday, was sitting in the same place in the same clothes. Inadvertently, the thought crept in that he did not go anywhere, spending the night at the table. Asei-san, in turn, was already doing something around the house, running from one corner to another, but when she noticed Tobirama, she stopped.
— You woke up, — the corners of the lips lifted, standing in their usual place, forcing the face to smile. — You slept for so long, apparently tired while getting there? And I still haven't offered you a bath. — putting her hand to her cheek, she began to complain about herself.
Before Asei-san could add anything else, Tobirama hurriedly said:
— Don't worry, I'll use Sentō, — he sounded a little uncertain from his lips.
The woman's eyes lit up, she began to chatter again:
— Of course, of course! Our baths are excellent, you will not regret it. I can ask my son to accompany you, would you like?
About the fact that the Katayama family had a son, Senju heard for the first time. Usually men, even after the wedding, do not leave their father's house, living with their parents, but neither yesterday nor today Tobirama never crossed paths with the mysterious son.
Wanting to start the mission as soon as possible, he gladly agreed, in response to receiving an offer to have breakfast before going to the bath. Tobirama himself considered the time too late for breakfast, but he still didn't mind.
They sat down opposite Shichimo-san and started eating a late meal together. No matter how much Tobirama wanted to talk to him, he still kept quiet, as if offended by something. The suggestion sounded silly, but Senju didn't know what else could be the reason for the silence.
Despite the poverty of the village, the table was decent: fish, miso soup and rice stood next to all sorts of pickles and salad. Anyway, Tobirama didn't eat anything, remembering his father's order.
As soon as he pretended to finish his meal, a wiry man who introduced himself as Akagi Katayama entered the room. Admittedly, he had nothing in common with his parents: his skin was darker by a tone, his eyes were lighter by a tone — all these details were a little bit, but they did not converge with his stepfathers.
Anyway, Tobirama still moved along the road after the man. The sun wasn't even at its zenith, having left this point long ago, so Senju finally fully realized how long he had slept. The heat had already subsided by this time, so it was even comfortable to walk. The village was very small, so the journey did not take much time.
Having already noticed the familiar blue noren (noren is a kind of curtain that was hung at the entrance, at public baths, necessarily blue/ blue) and the laconic inscription "hot water", he realized that their small company was already approaching their destination, and a normal conversation never happened. Trying to rectify the situation, he made an attempt to establish relations:
— Would you like to go together? I plan to go to the temple after, but I don't know how to get there, — he hastily added the second part, so as not to seem strange or intrusive.
Akagi-san, in turn, agreed without hesitation. The man created around himself the image of a typical worker, earning a living all his life by hard work in the field. In other words, he posed no danger.
After paying for themselves at the entrance, at the same time buying towels, Tobirama and Akagi went further into the locker room, quickly changing clothes. It seems that both men wanted to relax in the sauna as soon as possible, warming up.
While Tobirama was pulling off his clothes, he cast a fleeting glance at his stomach, afraid to see that his lower abdomen bulged, but there was nothing like that: the press decorated his torso with the usual cubes. Without noticing it, he breathed out a sigh of relief and walked more confidently further into the building.
Diving into the water was the most enjoyable event of the whole day. The transparent liquid pleasantly touched the skin, enveloping and making you relax.
Throwing his head back, Tobirama just breathed, trying to get out of his head everything that had been buzzing, shouting about unfinished business.
— You wanted to ask about those idiots who interfere with everyone's life, didn't you? — The low voice that came from opposite belonged to Asagi, whose mouth was now decorated with a cheeky grin.
Nodding curtly, Tobirama did not even look at the interlocutor, waiting for the continuation.
— What can I say, — he began lazily. — They come to their settlement, take what they want and go home. Initially, we were unhappy, we tried to fight, but they, the bastards, are strong. Juvenile hooligans, — it was obvious that the man wanted to spit, but he understood that it was impolite.
— Why minors?
— About your age, shinobi-san. I'm sorry, but you're just a kid to me.
Such a comment amused Tobirama, so he chuckled slightly. He had not been called young for a long time: the war years had a bad effect on him, which was why he was constantly gloomy, so it seemed to others that he was over thirty for a long time, which was impossible.
Neither Tobirama nor Asagi wanted to continue the conversation, so they just basked in the water for a while. The older man talked from time to time with visitors, apparently his acquaintances. As soon as Senju heard something about yuna (- bathhouse workers, after closing, some worked as prostitutes), he realized that he had no particular desire to delve into.
Finally finished, they headed for the exit. Passing by the bandaya (- a special elevation in which the attendant of the bath was sitting, from whom you could buy towels, soap, even sweets and drinks), he looked at the clock that hung from above and was amazed at how long he had been in the bath: almost an hour and a half.
— Do you want something? - Asagi offered unobtrusively, not looking at Tobirama and already buying something.
— No, thank you, — Senju did not want to spend a little money on this, given that he was waiting for a trip to the temple.
Now they were on their way to the local sanctuary. Shrines are always worshiped by someone, whether it is the kami-the ancestors of the imperial family or some deities. In Kitayama, a very small village, it was not worth expecting some kind of high—ranking shrine, like jingu. There was only a jinja — a small shrine, whose shintai (-objects located in or near Shinto temples and revered as a receptacle of the kami spirit.) was the nearest low mountain, which did not negate its greatness and beauty.
The sacred place was located on the very mountain in question. A long staircase led to the entrance, at the beginning of which there was a torii (-П-shaped gate without shutters, usually they stand on the way to the sanctuary and mark the beginning of the sacred territory) of bright red color.
Climbing up for some reason unknown to Tobirama was difficult, so by the time they were approaching the temple, he had a slight shortness of breath. Glancing at his guide, he noticed that he was in excellent condition, not tired, unlike Tobirama.
Entering the pavilion at the entrance and approaching the Chōzuya (- a place for washing hands and mouth), made in the form of a canopy on pillars, under which there is a container with running water, he was glad that the temple was somewhat modern and did not have to perform a ritual in a nearby river or spring, as listening to his feelings, he had the feeling that he would rather fall into the water than wash his hands and mouth. So, Tobirama began to rinse his left hand first, shivering slightly because of the low temperature, then his right. Reaching for the bamboo ladle needed to moisten his lips, his hands were touched by the cold evening wind. His body, which had recently not lived in warm water, seemed to be struck by such a sharp change, which made his fingers completely disobedient, wooden, but despite this, Tobirama still grabbed the necessary tool, too tightly, however.
Bending down to wash his mouth, he noticed Asagi out of the corner of his eye that he was seeing him off all the time. Definitely then you will have to thank the man for such kindness, Tobirama himself would definitely not have become a kind of guide for a tourist who accidentally wandered into the settlement of Senju.
Having finished with the ritual, the two of them went into the haiden (-a hall for worshippers), made really huge, which, however, did not distract from the somewhat poor interior.
Passing to the altar, Tobirama admired the beauty of the place where the temple was built. The mountain was not bare and rocky, like most, but on the contrary overgrown with trees that were now blooming and smelling, decorated with shimenava. There was a feeling that all the straw collected from the harvest was spent on tying the ropes, they were so thick.
Once inside, Senju threw a coin into a box decorated with patterns and bowed as deeply as he could, expressing all his respect. Clapping his hands, he began to quietly recite a prayer, not paying attention to the world around him. Trying to put into his plea all the regret he feels for trying to kill an innocent child, he asked for forgiveness, really worried about it.
Despite the fact that he had already finished reading the prayer, Senju lingered a little, still experiencing pangs of conscience for behaving hypocritically, asking for forgiveness now, while at the same time keeping his father's instruction in mind.
When the men were heading back home, Tobirama still decided to start a conversation that had started and then subsided before.
— Thank you for helping, — he said, looking into Asagi's eyes, which were the most usually brown in color, not distinguished by originality.
— It's not difficult for me. Besides, the company was quite pleasant, — winking and smiling faintly, he walked a little forward, accelerating the pace and at the same time starting to chatter like a mother.
At that moment, Senju felt the cold, which only prevented his hands from moving normally, flowing throughout his body, constraining his movements. The man's words doused him with unexpected fear and now it seemed to him that Asagi was a danger, that his eyes were full of incomprehensible desire, as if then, in the bath, talking about courtesans, he cast obscene glances at Tobirama. His broad, strong back blocked the view of the road, there were fewer people abruptly, his hands turned from motionless to shaking.
Walking slowly behind the man, Senju tried with all his might to keep up the conversation so that he would not get angry for no one knows what.
As soon as a familiar house appeared on the horizon, in which candles were burning brightly, Tobirama accelerated his pace, still not daring to overtake, just starting to walk step by step.
Approaching the door, which opened right in front of his nose, Senju still could not calm his heart, which was now pounding in his ears.
— You're late, — Asei-san said with displeasure, —Have you had dinner yet?
Quickly taking off his shoes, Tobirama, wrapping himself a little deeper in his haori, hurriedly muttered something about whether he "doesn't want to" or "has already eaten", which was not true.
Leaving the Katayama family behind, he almost ran into the room, regretting once again that he could not check into the ryokan (- a traditional Japanese hotel).
The room was greeted with cold cleanliness. It was obvious that no one came in, which was reassuring.
The body, like yesterday, was exhausted, wanting to sleep, but the body was still tense. Tobirama decided that while he was getting out the futon and changing clothes, he would have time to calm down, since habitual actions would surely convince him that he was not in danger, which he was right about.
Soon, laying down on the same cold futon as the last time, he wrapped himself up and turned to face shoji, not risking lying with his back, regretting that laziness was so useless. Tomorrow he will wake up early and have time to do more necessary things.
風 風 風
The night turned out to be restless, the downpour this time aggressively beat on the walls of the house, as if intrusively knocking at the request to let inside. Cold air was now walking not only on the floor, but also throughout the room as a whole, so no matter how Tobirama tried, he was still freezing.
Throughout the dream, he woke up countless times, it always seemed that someone wanted to come into the room, but each time he was wrong, which is why he did not sleep properly for all the hours.
Looking at the position of the sun, he realized that today he could earlier than yesterday: the time was about nine or ten o'clock in the afternoon. It was still too late for his feelings, considering that he usually wakes up almost at dawn, but literally a day ago he slept for almost a day, so there was a reason for a little pride.
The sun was shining weakly, the clouds were still aggrievedly crawling across the sky, their appearance was depressing.
Hastily dressing as warmly as possible, realizing that the day is likely to be overcast, Tobirama quietly left the room, carefully walking in the direction of the exit. The residents of the house were either still asleep, or had already gone about their business, which was absolutely uninteresting to Senju.
After leaving the house, he looked around, roughly tracing the trajectory of his path. Yesterday, on the way to the bathhouse, he noticed a small cafe, probably the only one in the whole village. Most likely, locals like to gather there in order to relax or discuss someone.
It was early, and if anyone would like to sit over a cup of tea now, it's only gossip girls to be everywhere. By briefly listening to their conversations, you could easily find out everything you need in just a couple of minutes, since they managed to change a myriad of topics in a fraction of a second.
Quietly walking along the roads surrounded by houses loosely located to each other, Tobirama tried to remember where he had seen that cafe, deciding that by walking along a familiar road to a public bath, he would be able to pass by the necessary place.
He was right, because the cafe was very close to Sento. Apparently, all the communal places were located in one place, since a small shop was opened very close, and a little further away children were frolicking by a weak river that did not even reach Tobirama's ankles.
Senju was always amazed at the guys, very young, who woke up very early. As soon as the sun looked out, and the roosters crowed, the children were right there, running to explore the secrets of the place in which they live. Tobirama himself, since childhood, loved to sleep longer, waking up later than everyone else, but as soon as his training began, he had to forget about his former habit of basking in bed.
Approaching the house, whose first floor was decorated as a cafe, he tried to sit not too far in the shade, so that he would not be considered strange, but also not too in the center, not wanting to attract attention. After ordering dango, which he wouldn't eat anyway, he began eavesdropping on the conversation of two old ladies who didn't even look at him.
Tobirama thought it was funny that not only young girls liked to gossip, but also very elderly old ladies. He also heard that discussing other people brings people closer together, but he never tried it on experience, which cannot be said about his brother, that he always knew about everything that happened to people with whom he was not even personally acquainted.
— And tomorrow, according to forecasts, they will come again, yes, yes, — the lady said in a high voice, shaking her head in confirmation of what was said. — I heard that Elder-sama even called someone to deal with them, — seeing that the interlocutor did not believe, she added, — yes, yes.
— That's not the point, she rolled her eyes in response, straightening her black hair behind her ear, which was slowly turning gray, — The point is that Matsumoto-san's daughter seems to have fallen in love with one of those bastards!
— Asuka-chan?! How so, was she a good child? — putting her hand to her mouth, she pretended to shake her head in shock, — And I know who I fell in love with! Do you remember that strange one who breathes fire? Here in it! Yes, yes!
At that moment, Tobirama pricked up his ears, expecting that the women would discuss what the mysterious boyfriend owned behind the breath, so he sat down more comfortably. But they did not live up to expectations, deciding to focus on the unfortunate girl, grinding all the sins that she managed to commit during her life.
At the same time, three dango sticks generously covered with anko paste were brought to his table. The whole view caused his stomach to rumble, drool had already filled his mouth, but Tobirama remembered that he could not eat for thirty days. As far as he remembers, it's only been five days—not even half, so he has to hold on.
The women had already moved on to another topic, discussing Tobirama himself, but they apparently did not know who they were, calling him "a lazy ninja who rests in the bath all day." Such comments amused, but he did not pay attention to it, realizing that he had already heard all the most interesting things and nothing more was expected.
People have already begun to wake up slowly, starting to work. By this time, the children were tired of their games, so they went home in order to have a little rest and return to friends again. Senju, in turn, was wondering where to go now.
Sitting and playing with napkins, he noticed how a small shadow covered an untouched plate: someone came up to his table. Looking up, he noticed two children who were greedily looking at his sweets.
— Excuse me, aren't you going to eat this? — in a village where everyone knew each other, it was the norm that food was shared. No one suspected anyone, so the children were somewhat naive. This amused Tobirama, so he pushed the plate to the children, allowing them to eat.
Taking one stick each, they began to eat the balls for both cheeks. Noticing that there was only one stick left with three dangos, they froze, awkwardly looking at Tobirama, who, despite this, wordlessly allowed them to finish eating to the end. The last, third ball, the boy who was older, gave to the girl, who, licking his fingers, asked:
— Imoto and I are seeing you for the first time. Did they get to Mitsue as well? — The child's eyes widened in true concern. The boy turned sharply to his younger sister, shrieking loudly, saying, — And I said that the robbers would be disturbed by them! Very soon the whole country of Fire will be in demons.
Krometz's exclamation startled the girl, so that she cowered, looking around in fright.
— So, before that, the robbers did not interfere with them? — speaking in a calm voice, he tried to show by his example that there was nothing to worry about.
— They sometimes came running, but my oji-san quickly coped with them! And then the samurai came, who is like a dragon! He spits fire at everyone,— the boy began to actively gesticulate, trying to convey the full scale of the problem in this way.
— Oji-san told me not to talk about it. — the little girl muttered gloomily, quickly calming down.
— Will you take me to your grandfather? They really have been coming to us more often lately, — pouring into their special world, in which mystical beings still existed, he decided to take the situation into his own hands. Maybe their grandfather will be able to tell them more, since he worked with them directly.
The children, completely trusting, immediately began to accompany Tobiram to their house, hanging on their arms and chatting endlessly. Senju did not listen to them, he only tried to maintain his balance.
The house was very close, just two turns from the cafe. Perhaps the fact is that the village, again, was small, along the main road of which it was possible to walk from beginning to end, as if cutting the settlement in half.
An elderly man was found in the backyard, in the garden, where he actively cared for plants. Very soon it will be necessary to harvest, otherwise typhoons will take away everything, because of which there will be nothing to eat, so it was necessary to get as accurate fruits as possible so that the winter would pass without incident.
As soon as the children noticed a familiar face, they screamed and rushed straight into the grandfather's arms, interrupting each other telling a story about "the poor man they got."
Approaching the thin man, Tobirama stood half a meter away from him, showing that he did not pose any danger. The man sent his grandchildren to the house, claiming that it was time for lunch.
— So you are that Shinobi? — for the second time, Tobirama was struck by the insight of the people of Kitayama. It was as if they read minds and could answer questions in advance. — Well, help me, or something, and I'll tell you what and how.
"Two birds with one stone, hmm," Senju thought with a grin. This old man is clearly not as simple as he seems.
After removing the haori, Tobirama went deeper into the family's estates, quickly figuring out what to do. Repetitive movements calmed, and a low voice nearby lulled, but he did not give in to the atmosphere of calm, carefully listening to the words of the speaker.
— These robbers are in a gang. I don't remember what it was called, but they came often. — the old man spoke quietly, thoughtfully, it seemed that he was just mumbling under his breath, and not telling a story, — Ordinary children who thought too much about themselves. But about a month ago, a stranger joined them. He owns fire, well, you probably already know that. Here's the thing, — stopping, he lifted the skirts of his clothes, showing a terrible burn that went from the ankle up the body, hiding under the kimono. — He's too good, kid. — throwing a frown from under his brows, he fell silent. After that, they worked in complete silence.
Evening was beginning to fall, but this time the sun did not hide behind clouds, taking revenge for those days that it was forced to look modestly at what was happening. The rays fell on the bodies, making them sweat and breathe heavily. Although, it seemed to Tobirama that he was tired much earlier than the man next to him, who, of course, was sweating, but it was worth considering that he worked longer. Maybe it was because the parasite in him began to actively weave threads, mixing with his body? It was worth getting into the fight as early as possible, so he hoped that the gossip girls' predictions were valid.
As soon as they finished, Grandpa turned to his assistant and said:
— Let's have dinner together, in gratitude, so to speak?
Tobirama did not know what to answer: it was rude to refuse, but at the same time, if the owners noticed that he was not eating anything, they might suspect something and start asking questions. Anyway, he agreed anyway.
Passing into the house, the old man first suggested going to ofuro in order to freshen up. For the umpteenth time, while undressing, he glanced at his stomach, comparing sizes from memory, fearing that with each new day he would get bigger and bigger, or maybe Tobirama would somehow wake up at all, and his belly would be swollen, with ugly stretch marks, ready for childbirth.
The table was set modestly, children already familiar to Senju and a young modest woman, most likely their mother, ate with them.
Tobirama began to take small portions and spread them on the plate, pretending to eat, at the same time maintaining a conversation in order to distract attention from what he was doing.
As it turned out from the conversation, this family had been living in these parts for a long time, earning their special tomatoes, which they pickled in a way that was passed down from generation to generation. The children themselves claimed, in a whisper and secretly from their mother, that these tomatoes are the most ordinary, just have a strange color.
Senju was pleased with the newly acquired company, which was clearly nicer than the elder's family. It had been a long time since he had so much fun with children that they sometimes amazed him with their naivety.
The way back didn't take much, more because op remembered how to go. The place of his temporary stay was met with extinguished candles, no one was in the house. He considered it rude to avoid the Katayama family for a whole day, but he couldn't do anything with himself, feeling too tired.
Having entered the already almost native room, met with a familiar cold. He realized that all these days he had never lit a candle, not at all afraid of shadows, as in his father's house, which he considered strange, but not requiring attention.
Falling asleep, he hoped that tomorrow he would wake up even earlier, wanting to correct his sleep regime.
風 風 風
Given all the information Tobirama knows, this gang is actually smaller than previously agreed: according to Yasuo's grandfather, their number is no more than six. This simplifies the task, since it turns out that the probability that he will be attacked by a crowd so that he will not be able to defend himself is lower. On the other hand, why did Asei-san report more if the price increases because of this? Could it be that the unknown Ronin possesses not only the Cato element, but is also capable of shadow cloning techniques? Maybe the fact is that only small detachments go on the "hunt"? In this case, it is necessary not only to deal with those robbers who will come to the village to do their business, but also the remaining ones.
So, the tactic of "kill on the spot" is not suitable. It is necessary to allow them to escape in order to track down the shelter in which they are hiding.
The mysterious ronin still haunted him, but Tobiram was not afraid of the fact that he did not know the entire arsenal of techniques that he was trained in, he was afraid of something else: suddenly the information was false. The peasants could either exaggerate ronin's skills, like children claiming that he is like a dragon, or downplay it. Both alternatives were detrimental to Tobirama.
Was it worth killing them at all? Perhaps the elder wants to punish them differently? But no matter how many times Tobirama passed through the village, he never saw a building that even remotely resembled a prison. Besides, it was too lazy to stand on ceremony with the likes of them — scum.
Senju grew up with strict principles forbidding doing something that contradicted the life values of the clan head. It was believed that it was the head who decides what views the people will adhere to, what faith they will support and what policies they will support. Before the arrival of Senju Butsuma, there was a Council in the clan that performed the function of a certain guide, which balanced the desires of the people and the possibilities of the head, but it was dissolved, because, according to otou-san, the needs of the people are always equal to the needs of the leader: if Butsuma goes to war, then the people go to war.
But this policy has not been spread around the world. The same Nara preferred not to have any particular leader at all, choosing a person representing the people by election, and the head, in fact, did not perform absolutely any function: everything was decided by the Council, whose members were also literally elected by ordinary residents.
Tobiram did not like this system at all, since the main purpose for which the leader was elected was erased. Why do we need a head if he does not play a special role in the life of the clan? Of course, this system took into account the opinion of the people, which is why the probability of an uprising decreased many times, but at the same time the top was oppressed.
But, according to many clans that arose from the nobles, this system was not the most disgusting: Inuzuka and Hatake stood out especially. Because of the proximity with animals, their leader was chosen in the same way as dogs: who is stronger is better. After the death of the last head, strange fights were arranged, in which it became clear who was now leading the clan. Sometimes these fights were really bloody, with numerous victims, but lately this has been happening less and less often. A certain aggressiveness of this method repelled senior officials who preferred quiet wars taking place at the negotiating table.
Due to the fact that the traditions of the clans were so different, Tobirama believed that it was simply impossible to collect them all in one place, since one thing would always collide with another, but Hashirama still dreamed of some strange world, not much different from his father himself, preferring to rule independently in the future, without Advice, which could not suit many.
The very topic of connecting all the clans in one system was interesting, so Tobirama wondered from time to time how he could bring it to life if he had the opportunity. No, he did not consider it possible to create a village, but it was fascinating to try to arrange the clans so that alliances close to each other, like Ino-Shika-Cho, were nearby, and slightly warring only in jest, like Inuzuka and Hatake, away.
A separate task was to come up with something with the Hyuga clan, since the Senju had never encountered representatives because of their geographical location, too far from the forests.
Anyway, all this was done just for fun, not because Hashirama inspired Tobirama.
All these thoughts were in any case meaningless right now, when a bunch of notorious robbers were standing in front of Tobirama.
He woke up in the afternoon, too late in his opinion, and then not because he wanted to. He was woken up by footsteps, trampling, almost shouting Asei-san, who was running towards his room. Tobirama, in order not to seem lazy, immediately jumped up and began cleaning weapons, which was not in vain.
The gossips were right: they were attacked today.
The robbers were stupid and arrogant, shamelessly robbing sacks of freshly harvested crops while other members ran into houses and robbed rooms. The residents of na prevented this, being afraid and preferring to stand aside, conscientiously turning away.
It's funny that Ronin wasn't with them. A couple of people proudly stole, too confident in themselves. This behavior annoyed Tobirama, so he decided that if one of these scoundrels died, then nothing would happen.
He pulled the man by the collar, who was already taking a step into someone else's house, swaying slightly because of a bag full of stolen goods. The man's appearance was very ordinary, brown-haired with brown eyes wide open in shock as soon as he noticed Tobirama, who knocked him on his back.
His friends, hearing the cry of a comrade, turned around, immediately frowning and running to help. The sight of them, full of indignation and anger, could have amused Senju, but caused only disgust.
A plan of immediate action was already being built up in his head, so he immediately began to reproduce it into life.
The problem with attacking the crowd was that everyone was aiming at one place — the head, but any sufficiently experienced shinobi understood that it was right to do the opposite: each gang member should be responsible for a separate limb. In this case, it would be possible to deal with the offender for sure, since it is impossible to protect yourself from a blow to the head and the same leg at the same time.
He dealt with the man who had just fallen quickly — he kicked him in the head so that he lost consciousness and threw him aside so as not to get in the way and jumped aside, throwing the kunai towards the nearest opponent.
The baton, which the man was armed with, flew near his head, slightly grazing his shoulder. Without looking, Tobirama kicked and hit a very young guy in the solar plexus, which caused him to bend and drop the iron stick.
The oldest of them pulled out a kunai from his bosom, awkwardly holding it and swinging like a child. Throwing away the barrier with a shuriken, Senju unceremoniously plunged his weapon into the opponent's neck, sharply pulling the kunai towards himself.
As soon as the body fell dead, the robbers finally realized who they were dealing with. Their faces turned pale, almost green in fear. Apparently, they had never seen a dead body before.
Tobirama, not wanting to linger to give them time to recover, took a step towards the next victim, allowing the remaining ones to grab the unconscious comrade and retreat.
The only remaining man, realizing his position, raised his hands above his head, admitting defeat. The villagers immediately pinned him down, silently and gloomily doing their job while Tobirama followed the escapees.
They moved very slowly, awkwardly dragging the wounded man. The youngest, brown-haired with blue eyes, was shaking all over, turning around and stumbling.
— Can we leave him? — he asked uncertainly, - suddenly someone will be sent for us now? Then we will definitely not be saved!
— Shut up, Rico! — a man with a weak beard, who was apparently in charge, shouted loudly. Having straightened the body that was hanging like a dead weight, he went a little faster than before.
These four people, Tobirama realized, were just pawns, ordinary people without chakra. Where did Ronin go?
The road was short, but dreary. The gang found their refuge on the mountain, in an incomprehensible recess, in which it was convenient to hide. The climb was difficult, it was clear that it was not an additional load, but an unaccustomed one. Apparently, before that, the shelter was located somewhere nearby, in a more accessible place. Most likely, with the arrival of a new leader in the gang, everything changed, which some were dissatisfied with, just like that man with a beard who was puffing and cursing a certain Masakaza right now, calling him pompous and selfish. Masakazu, as Tobirama understood, is the name of ronin, otherwise it is unclear who else to blame for the fact that the shelter is located in such an inconvenient place.
Rico, only noticing the camp, ran towards the tents, shouting something in hysterics, from where three more people got out. According to Senju's calculations, it turned out that there were already eight people. Apparently, the old man's words were false.
What else was a lie? Tobirama, in fact, did not care, since he was able to understand from experience that the peasants pose absolutely no danger. He was afraid that Ronin, as soon as he appeared in the gang, would begin to teach his skills to members in order to terrorize not only the adjacent village, but also entire cities, but this did not happen. Masakazu, apparently, is too arrogant to teach his comrades his craft.
— We have to do something. We could have been followed, — a previously silent member of the team said gloomily, — I didn't see anyone, but that person is clearly experienced. Maybe he's listening to us right now, — he said, lowering his voice to a whisper.
— Murakami-sama told us to wait for him from the hunt, — the plump man next to him said awkwardly, pulping the unconscious brown-haired man in parallel. It was obvious that he didn't know anything about medicine and his maximum was dressing, so all he did was just pointedly trying to provide medical care.
— And when will he be back? — the kid said with a squeak.
— In the evening, as always, — already famous for his beard, the man said, spitting. Jumping to his feet, he began to pace, limping on his right leg. Running his hand through his hair, he turned around to say something, but, waving his hand, continued on his way.
Apparently, these people were really afraid to do something without the leader's knowledge, so they will probably be there in the evening. Tobirama, still unsure, left a clone who would keep an eye on them and, if anything, would inform them if they decided to escape. The clone was just a prototype, an imperfect version of an ideal technique, but even so, it was difficult for Senju to create it.
Quietly and quickly heading back towards the village, he tried to calm his heart, which was now pounding loudly in his temples. Normally, such a small brawl never unsettled him, but right now he was breathing somehow, every once in a while.
Seeing the familiar outlines of the houses, he slowed down, trying to catch his breath. As soon as he got closer, the villagers ran out to meet him, vying with each other to ask questions.
Tobirama, not listening to them, went straight to the elder, who was now standing crookedly at the border of Kitayama.
— I found their hideout. It is located southwest of the village, up the mountain, about twenty minutes of moderate running.— Senju said low, — They have made a halt, so I plan to ambush them in the evening. Send two or three people in half an hour after my departure, — looking around the gathered crowd with his eyes, he headed towards the house in which he had been living all this time, planning to collect the necessary equipment. Shichimo-san remained standing there, but Tobirama didn't care too much.
風 風 風
The branch obediently accepted the weight, without betraying his presence in any way, unlike the leaves, which rustled from the slightest breeze.
Quite recently, the rain ended, short and weak, but still washed out the road, which made it difficult to walk and too loud, so Tobirama decided to walk to the place on foot.
When he reached his destination, he saw already familiar faces that were convulsively gathering. In the center stood a tall man with a mask covering half of his face, with long black hair, nothing gathered. Apparently, this was Musakazu Murakami, who was not helping his comrades in any way.
The man stood proudly, with a somewhat displeased face, while the rest of the gang members ran from corner to corner, dropping things and cursing.
Tobirama, not intending to stay any longer, decided to slowly get rid of each in turn, without causing panic.
Having gone down and hidden in the nearest bushes, he hid, waiting for the victim. Ironically, Rico was the first to approach — the youngest and most hysterical of all.
Grabbing him by the neck from behind, pressing on his nose and neck, Tobirama dragged him back into the bushes, habitually twisting his neck. As the elder instructed him, there really was no prison in the village, and the residents planned to execute the robbers anyway, so it's okay if Tobirama does it for them. The inhabitants could only remove the corpses from the road, so as not to shock a random passerby.
Senju decided to quietly move away to a nearby bush, already anticipating who would come up.
A fat man doing the work of a medic, very close to Tobirama, was collecting food in a bag to make it easier to carry and was very surprised when he felt a cold fist hit his temple with force.
Tobirama always performed his tasks quietly and without witnesses, usually cleanly. He didn't like to wipe the blood off his clothes afterward, considering that she almost never wanted to wipe off. For this way of performing missions, he was widely known.
Dealing with each of them in turn, he realized that this could not last long. Soon someone will notice that it has become too quiet and calm.
And so it happened. A surprisingly intelligent bearded man, whose name Tobirama did not know, was the first to notice that only four out of eight people remained. Frozen, he looked around, looked around, trying to see the reason for the strange disappearance of his comrades.
— Hey! Where did everyone go? — Turning to Ronin, he asked.
The masked man also looked around. Swearing under his breath, he said that he would go find the "idlers", not yet knowing that these same idlers are lying half a meter away in the bushes, lifeless and slowly cooling down.
Tobirama, as soon as Musakazu got far enough away, landed in the center of the clearing, attracting attention.
People, frightened, froze, not knowing what to do, but Senju did not give them time to come to their senses, rapidly approaching one of them, simultaneously throwing three shurikens at those standing nearby. Approaching the bearded man, he slammed a kunai into his eye, causing him to fall down, still firmly holding Tobirama's hand.
Senju liked to get rid of opponents with a blow to the eye: if the weapon was long enough, then it was possible to deal with a person immediately, and since there were not so many blood vessels in the eye, it was impossible to get dirty.
The rest died immediately, from a single shuriken, without even having time to escape.
There is only one person left on the list: Ronin, who possesses fire. Anticipating the meeting, Tobirama turned to meet the man whose footsteps, heavy and loud, he had already heard.
Entering the clearing, the brunette stood rooted to the spot. Eyes darted, noticing the dead bodies of comrades.
— So they were talking about you? You're not that scary, — a self-confident smile blossomed on his face, which was noticeable by the mask.
The arrogant words angered Tobirama. He did not understand what others found so terrible in him.
Moving quickly, he took out a kunai, aiming at the neck. The man stood in a pose, confidently holding a wakizashi in his hands, which he took out from under the skin of an animal draped over a naked body. Having repulsed the blow, he swung in order to inflict damage in return, but moved his hand too far, which immediately caused him to pay, receiving a stabbing blow right in the shoulder.
The right hand was defeated, but the left was not. Seeing the familiar hand signs, Tobirama realized that the man was going to use the technique which is called Katon: Gōka Messhitsu — Uchiha Madara's favorite technique.
A pillar of fire with a large area moved towards Tobirama, but he used water to defend himself. Steam rose above the battlefield, but Senju did not pay attention to the obstacle: his heart began to beat faster sharply, blurred before his eyes, it seemed that now he was fighting not with a weak ronin who thinks too much about himself, but with an experienced shinobi who has the hated name Madara.
His movements became abrupt, impetuous, there was no discernible system in them. Inflicting wounds on the opponent, he did not pay attention to his movements, ignoring everything around him, so a blow to the stomach was a shock to him.
For a moment it went dark in his eyes, a sharp pain went from his stomach up and down his whole body, reverberating in the tips of my hair. Looking up, Tobirama saw a dark figure looming over him. Surely now this person will gag him, twist him and do something terrible.
Without controlling himself, Tobirama took out a Katana, which he did not even plan to use, and impulsively struck with all his might, blowing the opponent's head off.
The body fell, splashing blood in all directions, but Senju didn't care. All he saw was the corpse of the man he hates so fiercely.
When he heard the trampling of numerous feet to his left, he realized that these were the very men he had told to come. It seemed to Tobirama that the villagers had a very bad account: Senju asked to send two or three people, but as many as five came.
Anyway, he moved back, deciding that his work was over. Walking at a slow pace, he felt strong hands that squeezed his wrist. Turning around, he saw Akagi-san looking guilty for some reason.
— Hey. Listen, if I've offended you in any way... I'm sorry, okay? I'm not trained in ethics at all, — the brown eyes looked really sad, conveying all the feelings of the speaker, but Tobirama was indifferent to his shame and his eyes. Right now, it was as if he was in a bubble, not hearing or seeing what was happening.
The path to the village blurred before his eyes, and the report to the elder sounded like Tobirama had plunged deep under water. There was an unpleasant emotion in his soul, some kind of mixture of bitterness and fear, echoing through his skull. He didn't understand why he felt a certain sadness, since the task ended well — the robbers were killed, and the additional mission from his father must have been completed, otherwise Tobirama doesn't know how to explain the disgusting pain that spread through his veins as soon as Ronin hit him in the stomach.
Thoughts burdened his condition, so that as soon as his head touched the pillow, he immediately fell asleep, trying to forget himself.
風 風 風
My head was buzzing, pulling pain stretched from the back of his head to his temples, squeezing, squeezing. The temples seemed to be pressed against each other, forcing the skull to deform, yielding to an unknown force. Trying to turn around, Tobirama felt how much his neck was numb.
Lifting his head, he realized that his back was too sensitive, refusing to straighten up. Looking around, overcoming the pain, Senju looked around and realized that morning had just come. Apparently, he fell asleep last night right after completing the mission and woke up only today. Maybe he was able to fix his regime?
The sun was shining, this time more calmly watching what was happening. There were no signs that it had rained recently, the roads were dry and clear, not washed away by water.
There was no heat in the morning, but Tobirama foresaw that in just three hours the heat would surely come and it would be difficult to move home. Surely he will be forced to arrange numerous halts, so it would be most logical to move out in the evening when the heat subsides. Another question was whether the downpour would start at night. Tobirama should have checked the nearest weather with the locals, who probably know the signs of impending rain.
When he got up, he realized that he was in his pajamas. Had he changed his clothes while he was in a semi-conscious state? Anyway, Senju quickly changed into civilian clothes, taking a light haori just in case.
Pushing aside the shoji, he slowly walked down the corridor straight into the living room, foreshadowing a meeting with the owners of the house.
He was right, because when he entered the room, he saw the entire Katayama family assembled, sitting at the table, waiting for breakfast. All the members turned around at once, looking at Tobirama, as if they had seen the eighth wonder of the world.
— You're awake! — Asei-san cried out kindly, — We were so worried! You slept for three whole days and three nights, we didn't know what to do anymore, — jumping up from the table, she approached Senju, taking him by the elbow and leading him towards the table.
The information received amazed Tobirama. He didn't expect that he had been unconscious for so long. However, he did not feel any wounds, did not see the bandages adorning the body. Is it really just a matter of fatigue?
Realizing that the woman wanted to feed him, Tobirama protested, thinking out what to do on the go.
— No, I... — my throat was sore from unaccustomed, I wanted to drink something.
— First we go to the sauna. — Akagi-san said, as if noticing Senju's bright reluctance. — After a long sleep, it would be nice to recover, and then eat, — the smile that graced his face was a copy of his mother's.
Hastily agreeing with the man's words, Tobirama literally unhooked the woman's hands from the sleeve, heading towards the exit.
— Akagi-chan, didn't you go together last time? Go now together, — Asei-san said, speaking with an offended intonation. The man who had just been called in such a strange way, not suitable for his age, leaned back on Tobirama, asking for permission. Nodding affirmatively, Senju headed towards the exit, resigning himself to the prospect of spending the whole day in the company of a man he didn't really like.
While putting on his shoes, Tobirama noticed that Akagi was keeping a certain distance, not approaching too quickly. Not understanding the reason, Senju tried to remember what had happened the day before, but could not: the memories were blurred.
The way to the bath took less time than usual, as both people felt a certain awkwardness, which is why they accelerated their pace almost twice. Approaching the entrance, Asagi raised his voice:
— You don't want to... Something? — he said uncertainly, afraid to look in the direction of his opponent.
Tobirama, not wanting to refuse the offer, treated himself to a sweet drink. Brown-haired, emboldened after that, began to have an active conversation. For Senju, all the time they spent together seemed to have dissolved into a puddle, which right now he had instead of brains, so he just didn't understand what the interlocutor was saying, just nodding from time to time. Time stretched out, spreading through the veins with a viscous liquid, then ran with incredible speed, taking with it into the distance.
— When do you plan to leave? — suddenly floating out of an incomprehensible state, Tobirama heard.
— In the evening. — he said indistinctly, only now noticing that he was almost completely submerged under hot water. Maybe this explained his incomprehensible condition.
— It's unlikely to work today, — the brown-haired man muttered, throwing his head back. — The rain is coming. Tomorrow will be better, — he said significantly.
Closing his eyes, Tobirama nodded, not caring if Agaki saw it.
They steamed for quite a long time, it was ten o'clock when they just left Sento. Senju wanted peace incredibly much by that time, so he refused the offer to go to the temple "according to tradition".
Looking in the direction of the departing back, still hearing the echoes of the voice in his head, he decided to go to the very place that had been appearing in his memories all this time.
The way to the hill, which was still in his memory, was much longer than Tobirama expected, since he should not only leave the village, but also turn sharply to the northeast.
Now, passing by familiar places, he noticed small details that had not been there before. A huge clearing a couple of years ago was deserted, as if it had just survived some kind of battle, but now it has blossomed, delighting with flowers of yellow, pink and blue. This pleasantly surprised Tobirama, so he decided not to reach his favorite place, but to stay here, enjoying the smell. Initially, he planned to go to the cliff, from which not only the village of Kitayama can be seen, but also the temple, but the flower field beckoned much more.
Literally falling into the embrace of greenery, he closed his eyes and just rested. For some reason, three days without consciousness had the opposite effect on him. Without realizing it, Tobirama put his hand to his stomach, trying to feel something. Whether it was a clot of an unknown chakra or just an increase in the abdomen, he did not know, but in the end, without feeling anything, he realized that he really got rid of the child.
A child who could grow up to be anyone, become anyone, have they own character and habits, but now it was too late to think about it. Tobirama started thinking too late about the sex of the child, too late he started trying to predict what kind of appearance the baby would be born with. Now, lying in a clearing, peering at a daisy that bent over his nose, he realized that the sin he had committed could not be forgiven. No matter how much he begged the gods to understand the reason, they would not even think about the possibility of allowing such a person a separate place in the Pure Lands.
Anyway, Tobirama was incredibly eager to go and pray. Not for myself, not for his brothers, but for the child who never saw the white light. Senju is not ready to say that he fell in love with the child in the blink of an eye, but he could definitely say that he regretted what he had done.
He realized that he was not sorry for his child, but for a baby a priori, a baby like he himself was once, like his brothers were a long time ago, a baby who could try to be happy in this cruel world, like Hashirama, which opposes not only the Uchiha, but also to his own father, believing in a bright future.
Maybe Tobirama could give the newborn to some clan, so that they would raise him as their own, maybe Tobirama could tell everyone that he was going on a trip, and he himself would raise the child all the time.
But would the child be happy? Would they be happy that he is obliged to constantly hide from others so that they do not understand who they parents are? There's nothing to say now.
Turning on his side, Senju just realized that he had been in an incomprehensible state of drowsiness all this time. It would seem that he is not sleeping, feels what is happening around him, but at the same time drifts somewhere on the periphery of consciousness. Opening his eyes, he looked up at the sky, not surprised that it was beginning to get dark.
Heavy clouds were flying across the firmament, frowning harder and harder with every second. Asagi was right when he said it would rain tonight. I wonder how the residents understood this?
Despite the realization that one should go home as soon as possible in order to hide from the bad weather, Tobirama will not allow himself to do this, heading towards the temple. The journey was a long one, given the reluctance to enter the village itself.
Leaden-gray clouds began to swirl, forcing the luminary to hide behind their sides in confusion.
The sky was split in two by lightning, so bright that it seemed it could blind for a second. A fraction of a second later, thunder rumbled in the distance, confirming that it would rain very soon. The animals began to fuss, looking for shelter, which is why the usually quiet forest began to rustle, chirp and rumble.
Only the trees began to flutter joyfully, welcoming the cold wind, obeying its will and enjoying the escape from the heat.
The first drops of rain began to wash the ground, immediately soaking into the parched soil, which was enthusiastically waiting for a new portion. Finally, other drops are already flying after them, which are becoming more and more. They collide with their sides, hustle, crowd and jostle — each strives as soon as possible, preferably the very first to fall on the hot summer surface of the earth, blurring the roads, preventing the wagons from reaching their destination in the future.
Everyone wants to be the first — after all, it is about the first drops of rain that writers write. At the very least, about the latter, but no one writes about those drops that fell in the midst of the rain. It seems so ironic to Tobirama: everyone in this world thinks only about the beginning and end of life, not paying attention at all to what happens during it.
There are already so many raindrops that they merge into continuous streams and the rain diverges, merging and rejecting the drops again.
The temple was empty, even its servants were not visible, which made it seem that Senju was alone with the gods right now, that they would strictly listen to his prayer.
Approaching the altar, Tobirama tightly squeezed his eyes shut, as in childhood, when he wanted to put into prayer all the feelings that were raging inside. Asking to give the unborn child a chance at life and caring parents in the future, he only hoped that his request would not be too brazen.
He had a long way to go to the elders' house, a long and awkward dinner, a long change into pajamas and long attempts to sleep, but right now he was screaming, begging the Gods to listen to the request, sincerely regretting that he could not fulfill his mission to be a parent.
風 風 風
Tobirama never even dared to imagine that the massacre of the pitiful people terrorizing a small village could lead to such a strong adoration. The villagers, as soon as he woke up, immediately surrounded him, loudly rejoicing at the usual meeting.
Already familiar children, who claimed that their family's branded tomatoes did not differ in anything remarkable, were right now trying to push a bundle of vegetables into his hands, thereby thanking him. Their grandfather was standing a little apart at that time, smiling thoughtfully.
Others almost pursued Tobirama, importunately thanking him for "salvation". The old ladies almost cried, saying what a service Senju had rendered them, believing that now they could "die peacefully without worrying that their grandchildren would starve." It's funny that the same old ladies called him lazy a couple of days ago.
Tobirama found it terribly unpleasant. In his clan, things like good mission performance were unconditional. No one was praised for it.
In fact, he was not praised a priori, considering that everything he created: techniques, seals, was taken for granted, since he was the heir of the clan and that is why he dedicated all his creations to his relatives, like any other "good heir". Tobirama doesn't remember from whom he heard this pathetic excuse, but he was sure it was from Hashirama, since only he could say something so stupid.
Anyway, it was necessary for Tobirama to move out now. The villagers annoyed him so much that he was ready to leave almost in the morning, as soon as he encountered such attention, and not in the evening, as he had planned.
The sun was already meeting the horizon, turning the whole world blood red. With every second, the heat was leaving along with the luminary, who calmly went to bed, tired of a day of honest work.
The whole forest in the sunset forests seemed to be transformed: the green color of the plants is becoming more saturated, more contrasting.
Having already lifted his foot towards the forest, Tobirama heard someone call out to him. Turning around, he saw Akagi. It seemed that he saw this man more often than his reflection.
— You have chosen a good day, — slowly approaching the interlocutor who was forced to keep up the conversation, he looked thoughtfully at the sky, squinting, as if he had forgotten that the day before yesterday he had dissuaded Tobiram from moving on.— I noticed that you haven't eaten at all these days. Diet? — grinning, he began to rummage in his bosom, wanting to get something. Tobirama at this time almost shuddered, once again realizing how observant the inhabitants of this village are. The very same attitude towards the man was contradictory: Senju still remembered the irrational panic, it is not clear why it arose in the company of this man. —Here, — Akagi said, handing Senju a small bottle whose contents were pleasantly white. Milk, apparently. — It is unlikely that you will eat sweets, so... — the hand remained hanging, it was obvious how uncomfortable the man was. Tobirama, waking up just now, hastily stretched out his hand, taking the gift.
— Thank you, — he said softly. Hiding the bottle in his travel bag, which was already stuffed to the brim with things handed over by the villagers, adjacent to the report, securely hidden in his pocket and the payment hastily thrown anywhere, he began to turn around quietly, still looking at Akagi, believing that he still wanted to say something. Maybe it was, but the man did not say anything, thoughtfully looking at Tobirama that he had already picked up speed and was hurrying home.
風 風 風
Quickly running past the familiar gate with the inscription "Senju", Tobirama hurried into the room to finally just take a nap.
The evening has only recently come into its own, decorating the sky with patterns. The firmament was burning at the horizon, but from above it was dark and menacing. Lonely stars at times burned with a white light, as if asking the sun when it would finally go to bed and give them the opportunity to shine. But the luminary was in no hurry, slowly meeting the horizon, as if tired of their daily meeting.
More and more stars appeared in the sky. There was a feeling that they were more and more actively forcing the sun to leave, impatiently waiting for the moon to delight lonely animals with their beauty all night long.
Lowering his gaze, Tobirama headed towards the main house, ashamed to look at the tree grown by Hashirama. It seemed to him that everything around him was looking at him with condemnation: the grass, sometimes rustling under his feet, and the trees, whose leaves play fervently with the wind, which has become more active only now, and even the clouds that slowly crept across the sky in order to better see Tobirama.
Probably, even the houses on the way to the main house also looked disapprovingly at the heir of the Senju clan. What can we say about the place where Anija lived? The windows were crying, as if foreshadowing Hashirama's reaction to the news that he would no longer become "the best oji-san in the world."
The lungs burned, they actively demanded oxygen, wanted to live and help the body to exist, forcing them to take more and more shameful breaths.
Bursting into his father's office, he froze, pretending that he was not trying to catch his breath right now. Standing with his back indecently straight, he waited for Otho-san to allow him to read the prepared report.
Surely on purpose, Butsuma slowly raised his gaze, looking from under his brows, thereby giving consent. Listening attentively to his son's words, he almost literally pricked up his ears when it came to the battle that had happened the day before. At that moment, he was somewhat like a dog who finally heard his favorite word "walk", "eat" or something like that. The man did not pay attention to the fact that, given that the way back took four days, it took a total of two weeks to complete the task, preferring to pretend that this fact does not matter, which, of course, was not the case. The mission was originally supposed to be a long one, of course, but Senju never allowed themselves to linger on the task, limiting themselves to a week, since at any moment an active warrior may be needed to heroically stand up for his clan, should the enemy attack. Tobirama himself could not properly explain how it happened that he was so tired, which caused the days to stretch for many hours. Quietly thanking Akagi for his gift, which gave him a lot of strength when it was necessary, he understood that the cause of exhaustion could lie in the long hunger that he was experiencing, however, this excuse sounded stupid, since he had not eaten for a long time before, and the symptoms never prevented him from working so much.
— And what about the problem? — Butsuma asked, leaning forward conspiratorially. Tobirama was amused that his father avoided the word "child" as much as possible, using euphemisms.
— The child died during the mission. — not wanting to give in to his father's desire to gossip, he said it smoothly and without hesitation, as if he wasn't worried about it so much a couple of days ago that he managed to catch a cold in the rain while praying in the sanctuary. Now he didn't understand why otou-san wanted to "gossip" so much, speaking in a half-whisper. After all, there was no one in the room, rumors wouldn't have spread if only Butsuma hadn't told someone. Tobirama certainly did not plan to spread about this story not just to acquaintances, but also to the closest people.
Ignoring the menacing look that Butsuma threw at him, Tobirama waited for him to be released. My eyes were sticking together, and it was getting harder and harder to open his eyelids from each other every time. It seemed that he would soon fall asleep standing up, considering how much his body swayed at times.
It was obvious that Butsuma did not want to let go of his son, his eyes were literally burning with a thirst to somehow sting, insult, but without indulging himself, the man allowed Tobirama to retreat to his room.
Passing through the corridors, which this time became unusually long, Tobirama, no matter how ashamed he was, did not want to communicate with anyone at all, especially with his brother, who would surely welcome him with open arms, simultaneously asking how his nephew was doing. Senju, in fact, did not understand his brother's confidence that he would have a boy, since the term was still too small, but he no longer thought about it, since it was too late. No one will be born anyway: neither a boy nor a girl.
Tobiram was literally haunted by the desire to lock himself in a room, starting from the moment he left the village. He wanted incredibly badly to lie down on his bed, cover himself with his head and just fall asleep. Preferably for the rest of his life, since Tobirama was simply tired of not ending problems that did not want to end. The persistent nausea that appeared the other day only worsened the already bad mood.
The room was greeted as the owner had left it a little more than two weeks ago: clean, tidy, but with a thin layer of dust. It was definitely necessary to scold the servants that allegedly cleaned their house.
風 風 風
Sitting at a low table in his room, Tobirama tried to catch his breath. Quite recently, he woke up with a jerk, feeling that very soon that insignificant thing in his stomach would come out. And he was right. Morning sickness woke Senju up in a disgusting way, forcing her to run.
Due to the fact that he had not eaten for at least fifteen days, Tobirama, feeling stomach contractions, did not pull out absolutely anything, just suffering from cramps. At some point, he felt bile, acidic and unpleasant, flowing down his throat, wanting to get out of his body, and there was nothing he could do against it.
It is not known why, but these incomprehensible convulsions lasted too long, according to Senju, so that during this time he managed not only to turn pale, but also to turn gray. It seemed that the body wanted him to almost turn his organs inside out, mercilessly contracting.
After the incident had exhausted itself, Tobirama realized that he had clearly not just caught a cold in the rain. After asking the servant to call his elder brother, he returned to his room, waiting for Aniju as the executioner. The thought that this condition was a punishment from the Gods only made his panic worse.
Already preparing answers to far from pleasant questions, Tobirama sat hunched over, pressing his palm to his forehead, feeling cold sweat on his temples.
Surely some brother would ask about the child, worrying not only about Tobirama's condition, but he did not know what to answer in this case. "I'm sorry, Anija, the baby is canceled"? Hashirama will definitely get angry at his father, will blame not only him, but also himself. Maybe even arrange something extraordinarily stupid.
At the same time, Tobirama believed that nausea was not a symptom of a cold. He had heard that pregnant girls often experienced morning sickness until they gave birth, but he was not sure if this knowledge was true.
Unfortunately, Oto-san has never been concerned about the education of children in... The intimate sphere of life. Perhaps Butsuma believed that they themselves would guess what was being done and how, without his help, which was true only with regard to Hashirama.
As soon as he grew up enough, he began to visit the red light district so often that he became almost a regular customer, explaining his behavior with an interest in ... whatever it was.
Tobirama was ignorant in this sense, being more interested in his studies than in carnal pleasures. It may well be that it was his shyness, or maybe disgust, but he actually even, in a sense, missed a period of strong interest in self-satisfaction, spending it on sleepless nights in the laboratory.
But, as it seemed to him, his brother, too, like him, did not know much about the topic of pregnancy and childbirth. Previously, it seemed to both of them that the girl was walking with a baby in her stomach, giving birth quickly and that was the end of it, but Tobirama understood in his heart that maybe everything was much more complicated. He could, of course, attend to this issue, but it was not at all as important in this period of his life as masturbation a long time ago, when Tobiram was about fifteen.
To be honest, he even thought about searching the library for medical reference books on this topic, but now, feeling some kind of emptiness in the depths of his soul, Tobirama realized that in the near future he probably wouldn't even be able to catch a glimpse of even the illustrations of the child.
At the same time, he did not understand why Anija was not interested in this. After all, Hashirama was known as an excellent healer, able to cure almost all wounds received in battle. So why did such a good healer not take care of such a seemingly fundamental topic as pregnancy and childbirth? Tobirama did not understand this, it seemed to him that if you are good at something, you must understand all the subtleties of your field.
The thin wooden door slid open, rustling softly and attracting attention. Looking up, Tobirama saw his brother, who quickly entered the room. It was evident that he was slightly panicked by his abrupt short movements.
The brown-haired man sat down in front of his brother, who turned in his direction with some reluctance. Stretching out his hands, Hashirama began to run his slightly glowing green palms over Tobirama's body, focusing on his stomach.
— Well, what are you? Got a cold? — quietly complaining, clearly asking rhetorical questions, Hashirama began to speak. — You can't do that. Suddenly the nephew will also get sick! — the phrase sounded ridiculous at best. It seemed to Tobirama that his illnesses certainly would not have affected the child in any way. How can a creature that can't even function normally get sick at all?
While Anija continued to wail, Tobirama realized that he had to tell him that the nephew he was waiting for was no longer there. No, and it won't.
But how? Tobirama's older brother was everything. Hashirama, like the sun, guided and admonished, his love was everything, so the prospect of becoming a hated native person was hateful. After the incident when Tobirama told his father and his brother's secret meetings, their relationship was greatly shaken. He still remembers the bitter disappointment that blossomed in Anija's eyes like a fragrant bouquet when he learned about the heinous act of his younger brother.
The echoes of that quarrel were still heard in conversations, as soon as the brothers began to differ in opinion. Tobirama has not forgotten how glad he was recently that Hashirama simply did not just look at him, but saw. I saw his younger brother, who was now carrying a little man under his heart, who would certainly be able to work miracles in the future. Tobirama kept somewhere deep in his soul the look that Anija threw at him, glad to hear about the pregnancy. At that moment, it seemed to him that everything was not so bad, that everything could work out. Maybe he will still be able to raise a child, give him a happy childhood if his older brother is around?
It seemed to Tobirama that for the sake of such a feeling, he was really ready to do the impossible. After all, he so rarely felt loved.
Will he be able to feel the same in the future, when he still decides to have a child? It is unlikely, of course, that he will decide to bear a child again, but, in the end, he can simply get married. What if the news that his hypothetical wife is pregnant will make Aniju remember about his dead nephew, and he will not be able to be happy for his brother? Suddenly, the unborn child will hang over Tobirama like a dark cloud, all the time reminding about himself.
It seemed to him that such a punishment would be ideal. After all, he didn't deserve to be forgiven.
— You know, I recommend that you just rest, — Hashirama finally said, having carefully studied the condition of his younger brother before. — It seems to me that this case is an isolated one, so let's not panic, — a smile blossomed on his face, as if warming random interlocutors. It's funny that the only person who really panicked in this family about this was Hashirama.
Tobirama, however, agreed with his brother. Just think, did you feel bad in the morning? After the long training sessions conducted by his father, it was absolutely normal for him to feel disgusting at any time of the day.
Tobirama remembers how, as soon as he learned to run, his father immediately began to train him. Unable to properly hold chopsticks in his hands, he has already tried to wield kunai.
Hashirama at this time tried to draw his brother into a dialogue, constantly mentioning that he could not wait to meet his nephew, which seemed to only worsen Tobirama's condition, which was drowned with guilt.
The brown-haired man, however, realizing that nothing was working out, left the room as quickly as he entered it. The whole conversation was so unsettling that both Senju brothers walked around with a strange mood all day after.
Tobirama wanted incredibly badly to finally do something that would suit both his father and brother. He, realizing that, despite all the disadvantages, he still values his father, felt a certain dislike for himself. Why does he love such a terrible person? Why is he still holding onto the ephemeral pride that Butsuma sometimes seemed to feel for his youngest son?
Tobirama, to be honest, is tired. Tired not only of the war that has been going on throughout his life, but also of what he feels constantly. Emotions drowned him with their intensity, forced him to drown in a wave of uncertainty and need for close relationships. Tobirama, trying to distract himself, always went to his laboratory, I forget myself in exact sciences and questions that require answers, but now, when the memories of the sin committed were still fresh, he realized with sorrow that he could not go into his office. He will not be able to see evidence of his attempt to commit an even worse sin, he will not be able to recall again the state of the nebula of the mind that was persecuted throughout the entire action.
Falling asleep after a long day that had begun in an unpleasant way, Tobirama prayed that tomorrow morning would be nicer than today.
But he turned out to be wrong in his hopes, just like yesterday, waking up with a jerk due to nausea. This time, the body's desire to turn inside out was much stronger, so that the spasms seemed to last forever.
Paler than ever in his life, he was sitting at his desk again, waiting for his brother, realizing that something was clearly wrong. Was he poisoned?
Hashirame, even more restless today, literally ran into the room, immediately starting to run his hands over Tobirama's body. Without even muttering something under his breath, he actively tried to cure an unknown ailment that probably attacked his dear younger brother. Every time Tobirama asked the servants to bring his brother because of his poor health, Hashirama behaved more and more paranoid and paranoid.
— You're healthy, ototo, — the brown-haired man said, looking at his brother with bulging eyes. — I don't understand what's wrong.
It was obvious that the man absolutely did not understand what was going on. For days he tried to figure out what was wrong with his brother, but from time to time he faced failure without feeling at least some kind of illness.
Tobirama, in turn, was pale not because the endless nausea made him suffer. He, after all, overpowered himself, recently went to the library after reading books about the course of pregnancy. It was easy to compare what was happening with his body with what was written in the medical directory. It was then that he realized that that battle had not helped at all. He's still pregnant. The child is still growing in him, developing.
How did it happen? Tobirama remembers the pain he felt that day, remembers how for a second he seemed to be blinded by how much his head was pounding, how for a moment it seemed to him that everything was over, and that was the end of his life.
Had the Gods decided to give him another chance? He remembers how he begged them to give the child a new life, but could not think that they would give him another chance. Is he really obliged to give the baby life now? Is he really obliged to educate what appeared in the course of the perversion committed on him?
At the same time, Hashirama didn't understand what was wrong with his brother. Was pregnancy supposed to be like this? All the women, speaking about this period, claimed that they did not feel any problems. Could it be that it's about the baby? What if the child kills his brother?
The realization thunderstruck the heir of the Senju clan. He was faced with a choice: either a dear younger brother, or a baby. How could Hashirama choose anything? Was it possible to neglect someone?
The only remaining brother held a special place in Hashirama's heart, no matter how rude he was at times. The elder believed that no one chooses his family, so he is obliged to love, no matter what the representatives may be.
What if a child conceived in sin is cursed? What if the child is born so ugly and greedy that he will do something terrible? What if the child will only aggravate the war going on between the Uchiha and Senju, and not improve, as Hashirama hoped?
No, he can't do that! How dare anyone decide whether someone deserves to live or die?
Heavy thoughts pressed on Hashirama, forced him to lower his gaze lower and lower, until he rested his eyes on the tatami that was in Tobirama's room.
What should they do now?