Fire.
A pillar of fire that reached the sky.
She could taste the smoke.
Father was ordering them to burn everything.
Nothing would remain.
Only ashes.
Everyone would forget.
She saw a journal lying on the ground.
She took it.
She hid it.
She would not forget.
::
Izuna did not forget.
She led Tobirama to an old cabin in the middle of the woods.
"This is the home of the late Mio Uzumaki." Izuna told him as they entered.
There were dozens of incomplete seals and old brushes scattered throughout the cabin.
"Uzumaki." He repeated.
Masters of fuinjutsu.
The Uzumaki were close allies with the Senju.
Tobirama glanced at a painting hung against the wall. There was an Uchiha woman standing beside an Uzumaki man.
"Mio-san was an Uchiha?" He asked slowly.
Izuna tilted her head.
"She was born an Uchiha."
"Born an Uchiha."
"She was disowned by my father when he became our clan head and my clan they'll deny her existence." Izuna explained. "My father tried to erase her. She died an Uzumaki like her husband."
Her father did erase her.
She gestured to the various notes littering the cabin floor.
"I disobeyed him."
It felt odd to admit such a thing.
"A-and I hid her notes."
It gave her no pleasure to disobey her father. Still, she had her own morals and convictions. She wouldn't blindly follow his orders. She couldn't. It would break her.
"She deserves to have someone who remembers her story."
"I understand." Tobirama said.
Her journal survived.
"She had some fuinjutsu notes in her journal." Izuna said hesitantly. "I, um..."
Her face flushed.
"Here." She shoved them into his hands. "I don't know how to read them... you like s-seals, don't you Tobirama-kun?"
"You're giving them to me?"
"She wrote using a type of fuin script that I can't read." Izuna admitted. "Not even with my sharingan. I could only identify a couple words... I was wondering if maybe you might be able to decrypt it. You dabble with seals right?"
"I am proficient." He said and flipped the book open. The pages were yellowing and the binding needed to be redone but Izuna had managed to preserve the text. "She wrote this?"
"She learned from her husband, I think."
Tobirama's brows furrowed.
"I recognize a few of the characters that are written with standard Uzumaki fuin notation." He said. "But the rest will take some time. She did a very thorough job encrypting her notes."
"We still have some time before our day truce ends." Izuna smiled.
"Yes," Tobirama agreed quietly and glanced at her. "We do."
::
He couldn't read it.
He had never seen some of these characters before.
"Tobirama-kun?"
He jolted.
"Izuna-san."
"Are you alright?" She asked and then sighed at him. "And you can call me Izuna."
"I am fine." He said, fighting the growing heat on his cheeks. "It's just... I am having some difficulty with..."
"With decrypting the script?" Izuna said sympathetically. "Yeah. Mio-san was very good at what she did."
Tobirama almost jumped when Izuna grabbed his hands.
"W—-wha—-what a—are you d-doing?"
Izuna stared into his eyes solemnly.
"You really are amazing, Tobirama-kun." She said. "You're strong and smart and good with seals."
Tobirama couldn't breathe.
He couldn't move.
Her touch felt like electricity.
He couldn't think of anything.
His heart swooped.
He felt the sensation of freefalling.
Falling.
He was falling.
Izuna sighed.
"The sharingan can copy seals and jutsu easily." She trailed off miserably. "But copying them gives absolutely no understanding of how they work! Or how they are constructed! I mean... I know how to make a storage scroll because I've seen someone do it, but I have no idea why what I'm doing works!"
"I-I'll teach you!"
Tobirama froze.
Why did he say that?
"Um..." she stammered. "I am a member of the Uchiha clan. Are you sure thats a good idea? Wouldn't you get in trouble?"
Yes but...
"You already know how to make storage seals." He said pointedly. "It will make little difference if you know why it works."
It does make a difference...
But...
She didn't know that.
And it wasn't as though she'd achieve master over night.
"T-then... um, I'll help you learn to resist the sharingan!"
Tobirama couldn't believe she said that.
Neither could Izuna if she was oerfectly honest.
"You.. you're an idiot."
She flushed.
"I'm part of the Senju clan!" He told her incredulously. "Don't make offers like that!"
"You started it!" Izuna exclaimed. "W-with the fuinjutsu! A-and..."
And she genuinely liked Tobirama.
"I don't want you to get hurt."
She clapped a hand over her mouth with wide eyes.
I said that aloud!
"Ah—-um, I—uh," she panicked. "I m—mean—-if we weren't e-enemies then I'd want to be friends a-and I'd be sad if you—-!"
She stood up.
"G—goodbye!"
"Izuna!" Tobirama stared after her, his arm outstretched.
Damn.
Tobirama tightened his grip on Mio's journal.
Should I run after her?
The day hadn't ended yet.
The truce was still ongoing.
He made a decision.
"Izuna!"
::
He couldn't see her.
But he could sense her.
"I can sense you." He said and glanced at an innocent flower growing in the shade of a tree.
The flower cursed.
"Curse your supreme sensing capabilities!" It said and then transformed into Izuna.
"Our truce isn't over." He crossed his arms. "I still have to teach you basic fuinjutsu."
Izuna trembled.
"The Uchiha are known as jutsu thieves."
Her face was flushed.
"I don't want to steal your fuinjutsu no matter how simple!" She exclaimed. "It isn't right! I—-I respect you too much for that!"
"You're a kunoichi, Izuna-san."
She stiffened.
"You should be doing whatever it takes to become stronger regardless of how honourable it may seem." Tobirama said sternly.
She scowled.
"I know that!" She snapped. "I know that I'm a kunoichi—-I just..."
She didn't want to be.
"I wish I weren't." Izuna said softly. "Or at least... I wish I didn't have to fight and kill. I wish there was a place where people didn't have to fight each other."
Tobirama froze.
"What did you say?"
"I—a place where people didn't have to fight each other?"
"Aniki once said something like that once." Tobirama stared at her oddly. "He wanted to—-!"
"—-make a village and unite both the Uchiha and Senju." Izuna finished.
"How...?"
"Madara-niisan told me." Izuna said simply. "It's his dream—-one he made with Hashirama-san. One day I'm sure he'll be able to make it a reality. He's a lot stronger than I am."
"You truly believe such a thing is possible."
Izuna blinked.
"Of course! Don't you?" She asked. "If my brother can call your brother his best friend even while fighting him I'm certain it's possible!"
"So they are still friends..." Tobirama muttered.
Izuna clapped a hand over her mouth.
"Uuh... forget everything I said."
Tobirama sighed.
"I won't say anything."
"Good." Izuna nodded firmly. "Because I wouldn't have allowed you to stand in the way of their dream. Hashirama-san and Madara-niisan are going to make it a reality. And I am going to help them."
"I see."
He seemed thoughtful.
"Then," he said. "I'll help too."
She blinked.
"What?"
"Peace between our clans..." Tobirama trailed off. "I... I would like that."
Izuna beamed.
"I'm glad, Tobirama-kun." She said. "Now I can be certain that we won't be enemies one day."
"We aren't enemies." Tobirama declared smoothly. "Don't we have a common goal? You said something like that not too long ago. I agree. I can't think of you as an enemy when we have so much in common."
Izuna stared.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Had Tobirama always been like this?
"G-good." She stammered. "Then we're friends!"
Tobirama felt his cheeks warm.
"Y-yes.. I suppose we could call ourselves that."
"Right."
"Yes."
"Um..." Izuna said. "Please keep the journal. You know fuinjutsu a lot better than I do."
"Are you sure?"
She nodded.
"I am certain."
"Then... once I finish decoding it I'll give it back!" Tobirama promised. "So you can read it."
"I look forward to it." Izuna smiled.
::
Hashirama frowned thoughtfully as he stealthily crept through the hallway. He had just returned from a meeting with Madara when a thought occurred to him.
Tobirama has been going out a lot lately...
"Eh." Hashirama blinked as Tobirama snuck in through the window.
They stared at each other.
"I won't tell if you don't." Tobirama offered.
"Deal."
Tobirama nodded and began walking away.
"Where were you?" Hashirama asked.
Tobirama blinked.
"I don't have time to talk to you." He said. "I need to solve this."
Tobirama awkwardly thrusted a worn out notebook at Hashirama then turned around.
Hashirama blinked.
He gasped.
"You were with a girl?!"
Tobirama flinched.
"Of course not!" He scowled and spun around to face Hashirama. "You idiot, Aniki! Just because you go out to fool around doesn't mean I do!"
"My gosh..." Hashirama's eyes widened. "You're defensive."
Tobirama's ears began to turn pink.
"N-no, I'm not!"
"You like someone?"
"No!"
Hashirama gasped.
"You do!"
"It isn't like that!" Tobirama protested then cursed.
"Who is it?" Hashirama asked eagerly. "Do I know her? Or them. It could be a them."
"Shut up."
"Gah! You're so mean!"