When it was time for meals in the household, they would often distribute their chores. That particular day, Hanako and Hikari were in charge of the cooking. Thoughts of the meeting she overheard that morning were still eating at Hikari's consciousness, and she didn't know how to look at her younger sister. The reason they hadn't—or rather couldn't—go back home was because she wouldn't survive the trip.
Clumsiness had taken over her actions as a plate fell from her hands for the fourth time that evening. With tired sighs, it was Hanako who cleaned all of her messes. "Tomorrow, we don't have any choice but to buy some new plates for Madara. They do have a lot of plates here, but we still have to replenish those you broke," she announced with a mocking grin. Silence followed, making Hanako look up at her sister. Hikari seemed to be in a trance, her mind somewhere else but at the task at hand. "What are you thinking about, sis?"
Flinching, the girl returned to reality and remembered she had to peel the boiled eggs. "Oh... I just..." She let out a breath. "You don't have to wait for me anymore..." She turned away from Hanako, focusing once again on the eggs.
Raising her eyebrows, Hanako crossed her arms in front of her chest. "What are you talking about? I need the eggs peeled, and you're slowing me down. Dinner was supposed to be ready ten minutes ago."
Hikari clenched her fists. "That's not what I meant."
"Then what is it?" The first egg was peeled and Hanako took it from her and cut it in halves, placing one on each of the plates.
"Go home without me."
Hanako was frozen in place. The sound of Hikari peeling the second egg was the only thing that could be heard. She put the egg in front of Hanako, right next to her knife, but she didn't move. Picking up the next egg, she proceeded to peel.
Without care, Hanako brought the knife over the second egg. The two halves fell to either side. Hikari widened her eyes at her sister. "I'm not leaving you here," she said. "We will leave together, the four of us. Period."
"Hanako, I'm going to die anyway. Just leave me here and go, it's easier than having to face our aunt."
"Even if I leave, she's going to come after me." Hanako glared at her sister. "I'm not going to repeat myself. You're coming. Even if I have to kill Kira with my own hands, you'll be fine."
"A month seems like no time at all," Hikari sighed. Tears threatened to fall down her face as she started peeling the last egg. Her sister took it from her hands and stared at her with firm eyes.
"Call everyone. Dinner is ready."
Hikari felt her lip tremble. "Hanako–" Her voice broke. The girl turned her back on her and proceeded to peel the egg.
"I told you. You're not going to die, sis, so stop thinking about it." Hikari couldn't have been more thankful to hear those words from her sister. "And even if you die, I will go to wherever your soul is and bring you back with us."
The older Uchiha was speechless. Hanako cut the egg and put each on a plate before taking two plates and going to the table. "Help me bring the food."
A smile lit up her face as she went to pick up two other plates, when suddenly a knot built up in her throat. She stopped just in time as a coughing fit took over. She tried to muffle the sounds with her hand, but froze when she pulled away. There were tiny little drops of blood sprayed over her palm.
"Still in thought?" Hanako walked into the room and looked at her with an eyebrow raised. "What else do you need me to say to comfort you?"
Hiding her hand behind her, she smiled. "Nothing, I'm coming." After cleaning her hands, she picked two plates and continued to serve the food.
* * *
That night, Hanako waited until everyone was fast asleep to sneak out of the house. Hikari was already tense about learning her condition, so it was her cue to start looking on her own for her aunt. When enough distance was put between herself and the Uchiha Clan, she summoned Hayabusa.
"Master," the bird glanced at her in curiosity. "It's quite late, what do you need me for?"
"We need to go to the Waterfall Country. There's someone there I need to find."
The bird nodded without further questioning and leaned in for Hanako to jump onto his back. Before leaving, she turned in the direction of the Uchiha one last time. "Let's go, Hayabusa."
The speed in which the falcon flew was remarkable. It took only a couple of minutes to get close enough to a giant waterfall in the middle of the forest. Over it, several small waterfalls covered the entire area behind it. "This is as far as I can take you," Hayabusa declared before landing a fair distance from the water body. "As I have told you before, I don't like humid places."
That said, he disappeared. Alone, Hanako proceeded to search the area to find her dearest aunt. Just when she was about to advance, a presence filled with malice alerted her senses. She turned to a lonely tree and stared up. The same black figure she had come across for three times now was looking down at her with intense yellow eyes. "Zetsu?"
"We meet again, I'd say this is fate." He didn't move, but continued to look at her with a grin.
"I'd say it's an opportunity to question your intentions of attacking Amane and me that last time." Narrowing her eyes, Hanako felt the Hitsurugi heating up on her wrist.
Zetsu snickered. "Well, I was going to take mother's chakra from you, but after taking a proper glance at you, I believe you could be useful to me."
That statement made her raise an eyebrow. "How so?"
"You seem to have inherited Samara's chakra, just like that girl Amane." Zetsu walked into the moonlight. "That chakra originated from my mother, Kaguya Otsutsuki, after she saved her life using the power of the Forbidden Fruit."
"I'm sorry, I really don't have time for silly stories. There's someone I must find." Hanako turned her back to him, but stopped on her tracks at his voice.
"The stone you found on that ruined castle," he continued, "had a massive resource of Kaguya's chakra left. And for some reason, you absorbed it. I'm surprised you didn't react to it. In fact, it meddled into you quite well."
"What are you talking about?"
"You're a potential vessel for the Ten-Tails." With a frown, Hanako glared at Zetsu. "I'll look forward to meeting you in the future."
A feeling like the space was cracking forced Hanako to look away from Zetsu, allowing him to sneak away. Amane had opened a portal right in front of her.
The youngest Uchiha growled. "You have such an awful timing."
"Why? You were just about to start your search for your auntie?" Amane smirked. "Without me, you stand no chance against her Space-Time Ninjutsu, kid."
If she could land a punch into that devious grin of hers, she would. Amane would just freeze her before she came anywhere near, anyways. Hanako clicked her tongue and turned away, walking as fast as humanly possible in the opposite direction.
"Silent treatment?" Amane sighed. "Fine, do as you please."
* * *
That morning, Izuna Uchiha woke up with a purpose. He had witnessed Itachi leave early for his training routine with Shisui. With a smile, he geared up and, katana in hand, he walked into the training grounds. Metal clanking filled him with adrenaline. A huge grin took over his factions when he took a step outside.
"Mind if I join?" Izuna asked, lifting his sword to his shoulder. "I'm feeling a little rusty nowadays, and you guys look like a perfect match."
Izuna seemed like the kind of guy who found pleasure in fighting. Shisui had heard about his and Madara's runaways just to fight random shinobi. He considered training with a veteran was the perfect opportunity to surpass his limits. He grinned, but then he realized Izuna was actually staring at Itachi with an unfriendly vibe. "We'd be honored," he finally said. Itachi glanced at him, silently questioning his decision. Shisui shrugged it off and stood on the sidelines.
"Oh?" Izuna raised an eyebrow. "Are you not going to fight?"
"I believe what you want is a duel against Itachi. I don't really know why, but you seem to hold a grudge against him." Shisui smiled. "I'll step in if it gets out of hand."
"Heh," Izuna pulled his sword down and glared at the young Uchiha. "Do as you like."
Itachi returned Izuna's glare with one of his own, gripping his knife in his hand. "Izuna-san, what is your fighting style?" he asked. Izuna narrowed his eyes. "MId-range? Long-range?" Itachi took a few steps, enough to stand close to him. "Or close-range?"
Izuna's lips curled up in its sides, eyes shining a bright red. Without replying, he brought his sword forward. Itachi dodged the blade and quickly plunged his kunai towards his opponent. Izuna saw the knife coming close to his face and moved away, just in time for it to nick his cheek. "Nice speed."
The two continued to spar, mercilessly clashing their weapons. Itachi had never felt this sort of boiling feeling in his veins. It was like his blood was increasing its temperature to match the heat of battle. A hidden urge to win controlled his movements.
The same thoughts pushed Izuna forward. He wouldn't lose to him for his pride, for his brother and for her.
"Stop following me!"
The two boys stopped abruptly and turned to the familiar voice. Their match was completely forgotten as Hanako walked into the training grounds, coming from the forest. Amane was quickly walking behind her, glaring daggers at the back of her head. "Didn't you want to find her? Fine! Let's go!"
Hanako darted her Sharingan eyes in her direction. "I don't want you to come," she hissed. "I'd rather get eaten by a snake than to accept help from you."
Amane could have taken that as an offense, but she found it funny. "A snake, huh? Snakes eat rats, are you calling yourself that?"
Without thinking, Hanako felt her bracelet turning into a spear and pointed the tip against Amane's face, only inches apart from her nose. "Stop getting on my nerves." The threat in her voice almost made it harder for Amane to keep herself together. She missed the easy-going, calm girl Hanako used to be. If only Madara had kept his mouth shut instead of revealing her the truth, but he just had to ruin everything. That's right, it was his fault. Hanako should have never found out about it, or else there was no way they were going home.
A part of Amane still wanted to fix it, it was her own mistake for bringing people from the future to the present. If only she hadn't been curious and greedy at the time. None of this would have happened. She deserved the weapon aimed at her, and the one holding it had the supreme right to end it all. Tears threatened to fall down her cheeks, but she clenched her jaw to remain strong.
Hanako's eyes revealed something more than anger. Sadness, disbelief, betrayal... She really had trusted her, and she felt like a used toy. "Forgive me," Amane broke down. Her knees hit the ground and she bowed completely. "Please, forgive me."
Everyone was stunned. Shisui had walked to stand close to the girls, Izuna and Itachi following. They didn't understand what was happening, and much less why was Amane suddenly apologizing to Hanako.
The girl put down the weapon and let out a long breath. "I guess...it really isn't your fault, what Kira did." The Hitsurugi returned to its original bracelet form. "I'm sorry for lashing out on you. I'm still minding it."
Amane looked up at her in disbelief, she hadn't expected Hanako to forgive her so easily. She wasn't even looking at her, but that was okay. Izuna took a step forward, earning a glance from Hanako. "What's wrong?"
The concern in his voice was genuine. Hanako realized none of them were aware of Hikari's situation, they probably thought they were on a small break to recover before going back home. Amane stood and gave Hanako a sad look before saying: "Sorry, it was my fault." Hanako widened her eyes. Was Amane going to tell them? "The truth is... Hanako had brought with her an important pendant from her father. She gave it to me to take care of it while we explored the ruins of Utah's castle. When Kira suddenly attacked us, I lost it. I believe she has it, so we need to find her. That pendant meant so much to Hanako..."
"Amane..." Hanako couldn't believe it. She had just lied, but she could also swear she was saying the truth, even though she knew she had no such pendant. Izuna turned to her almost immediately with worry in his eyes.
"Is it that important to you?" Hanako didn't know what to say. She had never seen Izuna so concerned about something as petty as a pendant.
But Hikari's life... It did mean a lot. "Yes. It means everything to me. I can't leave without it."
Hope glistened in the back of Izuna's eyes. Hanako wasn't leaving yet. It was more time he could spend with her. "Then I will help you. Don't fret."
"We'll help you too," Itachi smiled softly at her. Izuna's annoyed gaze moved towards him.
For the first time, Hanako seemed to notice a certain tension building between Itachi and Izuna. Her eyes then fell on the several signs of fighting spread around, such as kunai on trees, burnt grass, and marked footprints. Her eyes met Izuna's. "Were you guys fighting just now?"
"Training." They replied at the same time, almost rehearsed.
Hanako gave a curt nod, deciding not to press on the matter anymore. They had been roomies for almost a week now, they were probably bonding like most shinobi did. With a slight smile, she returned inside with Amane. Leaving the boys at the training grounds.
"Can't you guys make it a little more obvious?" Shisui sighed desperately, crossing his arms over his chest. "Now I get why you are so tense around each other. Izuna," the aforementioned turned to him with a glare. "You like Hanako, don't you?"
"Who are you calling, Izuna? Don't drop the honorific so casually, we're not friends."
"I believe I'm older than you." Shisui grinned. Izuna rolled his eyes. He had no interest in continuing his match with Itachi, so he turned away. "You're not denying it. You like Hanako, don't you?" Shisui asked again.
Taking a deep breath, Izuna looked at the boys from over his shoulder. "So, what if I do? There's not much I can do about it."
"Well, I'm not gonna lie. This is amusing. You both like her and are silently trying to surpass the other to prove your worth." Shisui seemed to ponder something, when suddenly a thought brought a mischievous smile to his face. Itachi didn't like it, not at all. "I once heard that when two Uchihas liked the same girl, they would fight each other, and the winner got to keep her."
"Yeah, that was a while ago. Although, it only applied to those on the same hierarchy. Obviously, if you had to choose between the leader's son and a peasant... well there's not really a choice to make." Izuna's words held arrogance as he looked at Itachi, believing his blood superior in the matter.
"Then, you're both in the same hierarchy." Shisui smiled. "Perfect."
Izuna's smile was wiped off his face. "What?"
"Oh? You didn't know?" Shisui was perhaps the one enjoying it the most. Itachi just wanted to go back inside. "In our time, Itachi is the leader's son too. In fact, he's the heir of the Uchiha leadership."
The look in Izuna's eyes changed entirely. Now it wasn't a casual match between them, it was a full battle. This time, Itachi noted, Izuna was serious. And so, he was serious as well.
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A/N: Well, I had thought I had lost my writing style after not updating for a while but I think I finally managed to get it back, heh. Sorry for the constant delays tho, and thanks to all of you who are still constantly voting and commenting on this book. I appreciate you are putting up with me.