The inside of the house was hiding an unusual dread, Hanako felt like there was something wrong as soon as she stepped in. She hurried down the long hallway towards the room the three girls shared and slid the door open.
Hikari was coughing her insides out on the floor, blood trailing down her chin. She looked terrible. Bags under her eyes, chipped lips and a certain look of fatigue. In a hurry, Hanako left the room and came back moments later with a glass of water. "Here drink this."
She accepted the drink with an apologetic smile, as if sorry for becoming a burden. The liquid felt magical as it moved down her throat. Hanako let go of the glass and helped her up. After making sure her sister was comfortable again, she hurried out the door and into the main office.
Madara hadn't really done anything besides review other petitions that arrived earlier, but it didn't mean he had been busy. Hanako supposed he had been slacking the last few days, since he wasn't accustomed to being the clan leader.
"We need to talk," she said once she stood in front of him. Madara glanced up from his work and smiled sightly.
"What about?"
"My sister. She's not okay, is there anyone here who could possibly treat her? A medic? Or someone who knows about medicinal herbs?"
Madara huffed. "We don't have medics. Some women downtown may know about herbs, but mainly for the purpose of treating injuries." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Your sister doesn't seem to have a visible wound, if it's an illness you're talking about then there's nothing we can do."
Hanako grit her teeth. In this aspect, the Uchiha were really inferior to the Senju, but these were thoughts she couldn't voice out loud. The only option she had left to find a possible cure for her sister was recurring to the Senju once again. "Damn, you don't seem worried at all."
He straightened up crossing his arms over his chest. "Why would I be?"
"I would have thought you would be a tad concerned about a member of the clan dying, but I guess you're so used to it that you don't even mind."
With narrowed eyes, Madara stood from his place and walked over to her. His gaze made her feel so small, but Hanako didn't flinch. "Have you ever experienced the death of a sibling, Hanako?" he asked. "Do you think I'd be that heartless if I hadn't already been through it?"
"I'm making sure I don't get to experience it so soon. I do have siblings to worry about, and that's what I'm doing." Hanako looked at him with fierce eyes. "As I suppose you would do if it were Izuna in that situation." Without a second thought, Hanako turned on her heels.
Madara put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her from leaving. "What are you planning to do?"
"Hikari needs a medic. If the Uchiha doesn't have one, then I'll go somewhere I know there is one."
Medics were rare, and Madara knew that. Illness was a grave matter in that time, life expectancy was barely above 30 years due to the war and sickness. But the Senju Clan found a way to deal with that, and they were training themselves not only as ninja but as medics as well. "Don't tell me..." Madara's gaze hardened. "You'll go to that limit."
"If I have to recur to the other half of my lineage for Hikari's health, I will." Hanako turned to him. "Which reminds me, Hashirama-san gave me a message for you."
Madara was astounded. Hanako's actions were sometimes so unpredictable that not even he could tell what she had been doing or was going to do. Hanako continued, "Now that you are both leaders, you can stop this conflict. You can let go of the past, and free the new generations of this eternal battle."
Madara pulled back his hand. Hanako's eyes turned red, and she looked at him. "I found out from Amane that you read her journal from the future."
He didn't say anything. "I supposed something like that would happen if we were to bring it here. But it doesn't really matter, because once we leave you'll all forget about everything. I already set it up." Hanako smiled. "You're not the only one who has been busy in the last three months, Gramps. Thanks for teaching me to plan ahead."
She was about to leave again, but she did enjoy the look of uncertainty in Madara's face. He didn't seem to be aware of his plans for the future, nor the infinite genjutsu that would bring peace to the world. But Zetsu did, maybe... Maybe it wasn't Madara who she had to be cautious of.
"Consider Hashirama's offer," she said. "It's not a hard decision to make."
* * *
Shisui was enjoying too much this little game he planned. He dragged the two Uchiha boys into the kitchen and proceeded to explain the rules. "Listen up. This is no sparring match but a cooking match. Hanako really enjoys food, so what better than to fight while creating a cuisine masterpiece?" He grinned widely. "Deadline is tonight. You both have to prepare the best dish to suit Hanako's taste."
"Cooking?" Izuna huffed. "Are you serious?" He looked at Itachi, who met his gaze with equal confusion.
"Of course!" Shisui smiled. "It's what I call a real challenge."
Amane walked into the kitchen and saw the boys gathered. "What are you guys doing?" she asked. They turned to her. Izuna and Itachi could both feel sweat drops rolling down their necks.
Shisui saw a new opportunity. "It seems like the judge has arrived!"
"Judge?" She raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me... you're challenging them into a cooking match?"
He chuckled. "Well, I thought that it would be fun to see them working on some skills that don't involve fighting. So..." He regained that confident smirk. "Dear judge, what would you like our participants to cook?"
"Cook?" Hanako walked in with Hikari. "Are you guys cooking something?" Shisui could have sworn her eyes sparkled.
"Oh! This has just taken an interesting twist!" Shisui grinned even wider. "Tell us, Hanako, what would best suit your taste?"
"Is this a competition or something? Why are you acting like an overly eccentric reality show host?" Hanako glared at him. Hikari scoffed, covering her mouth to muffle her laughter. Itachi smiled slightly, averting his gaze from his best friend. Shisui sighed and straightened himself.
"Why do you always have to be the party pooper?"
"The hell is a reality show host?" Izuna asked. "Was that a joke?"
"Your ideas seem to be funnier in your head. From my perspective, you're overacting." Hanako grinned. "Nevermind, Hikari is sick. If you guys want to challenge your cooking, why don't you prepare a soup for her to feel better?" She smiled.
Shisui widened his eyes. "You're sick?" All jokes were gone from his voice. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't want to worry you guys," she said softly, lowering her head. Shisui put a comforting hand on her shoulder, and made her look up.
"I bet you didn't want to feel like a drag, did you?" He frowned. "Hikari, your health is just as important to me. Please, don't keep these things to yourself. We all deserve to know."
Hikari felt her cheeks warm. "Yeah, I'm sorry."
Hanako smiled at the two. "Well, how about Hikari is the judge? She'll stay here to watch you guys cook. Shisui can continue his awful presenting to keep things interesting."
"What about you?" Itachi inquired. "You're not staying to watch?"
Hanako smiled at him. Such smile made Izuna roll his eyes as he played with a kitchen knife and tugged on his apron. "Amane and I have something to do. We'll be back shortly."
* * *
"What are you going to do?" Amane asked once she and Hanako had walked well into the forest.
"Hikari's condition is worsening each passing day. I'm going to the Senju to ask for their medic to give her a checkup."
"You're going back to the Senju compound." Amane stopped. "I thought you didn't want any help from me." Hanako noticed Amane's doubt and turned to her.
"I wasn't completely honest with you, either. Amane, I was testing you earlier." Amane was dumbfounded.
"Testing?"
"With just a glance, I am able to know your past, your present, your future, and even what you're thinking about." Hanako's eyes turned into a bright red. "That time I lashed out on you, I saw your intentions were sincere, so I accepted your apology. I'm mad about Hikari getting affected by something that was meant for me. Ultimately, the one to blame is Kira, not you. But I want to know exactly what she did to my sister so that we can gain enough time to find her."
Amane frowned. "If you learned everything from getting into my mind, then you probably also know about—"
"Yes, I know Madara read the journal Shisui brought from the future, but I already knew that would happen if it came to this timeline. So, I prepared a technique that would erase the memories of our interactions with anyone as soon as we left. Therefore, everything he learns will be wiped out." Hanako smiled proudly, she normally didn't like the effort it took to plan things out, but damn it was gratifying to see everything play out the way she wanted. "After seeing Hikari in the castle, I realized time continued on without us. If this is an alternate timeline, then we're not changing our past. We are changing the future of this timeline's version of ourselves. This timeline might mirror our own, which means we both exist at the same time but in different dimensions."
"I don't think I'm getting a hold of it..." Amane sighed.
"Don't worry. It's not something you need to understand, it's just a theory." Hanako picked up her pace once again. "Let's go."
* * *
Izuna turned off the fire with a smirk. "I'm done."
As soon as he said that, Itachi too placed his soup in a bowl. "Me too."
"Our two participants have finished their cuisine." Shisui had found a broken bamboo culm and used it as a microphone. "The judge will now try both dishes."
Hikari had in front of her two bowls of steaming soup. Itachi's bowl smelled like chicken and a bit of mint, while Izuna's gave a more appealing smell of honey and different mixtures of vegetables.
"Seems like our judge is already tasting the dishes through her nose." Shisui inhaled loudly before releasing a long breath at once. "This smells great seriously, I'm really hungry."
"Hurry up and take a sip," Izuna sighed. "I want to win already."
"Let's not get impatient," Hikari sighed nervously. "All right, I'll taste Itachi's dish first." With a chuckle, she grabbed her spoon and filled it with the strong yellowish broth. Sipping it, she felt all the flavors spread on her tongue. The taste of mint left a fresh feeling in her mouth and down her throat, helping her breathe better. The soup had bits of chicken as well, mixing well with the flavor. "This is good."
Itachi smiled slightly and looked at Izuna from the tip of his eye. The boy only rolled his eyes and waited for Hikari to try his dish next. Unlike the freshness Itachi's dish provided, Izuna's broth was sweet. Each piece of vegetable she bit, was juicy and savory, making Hikari enjoy each and every spoonful of it. It immediately made her feel well and full. She was left speechless at his ability.
"So, do we have a winner?" Shisui asked. Hikari nodded.
"Itachi's dish was refreshing, really good. But when I tasted Izuna's dish, I was suddenly reminded of home and that made me feel better almost instantly." Hikari's eyes were filled with tears. "Izuna's dish is definitely the winner."
Izuna grinned widely at Itachi, who only sighed in disappointment. "Seems like I'm ahead of you now, but alright, my cooking skills are hard to surpass."