Tobirama pov:

"Please Ni sama, this isn't the time to be sulking." I sighed exasperatedly seeing my brother with a constant pout. He had taken over our father as the new leader of the Senju clan and yet his childish stubborn behavior still seemed to surface every now and then.

"Tobirama! How am I supposed to marry someone I don't even know? Just because we have to join hands with the Uzumaki clan, it doesn't mean I have to marry one of them." He whined and I sighed again. "She is the jinchuriki of the nine tails, her name is Uzumaki Mito and she has a good personality according to people who describe her. What more do you need to know? Besides, you cant say no without even meeting her. This is a union between two of the strongest clans that exist. You know its very important." I said trying to convince him but he sighed and pouted more.

Sometimes I wonder how he manages the clan.

We were interrupted when we heard a knock on the door. "Come in." I said and I heard someone talk on the other side. "Wait here." Then Raito walked in and closed the door behind him. I narrowed my eyes sensing another chakra behind the door. It wasn't a familiar chakra and on a whole it was very different from any kind of chakra I had ever sensed before. Aniki seemed to notice it too and he sat up straight and we looked at Raito as he walked to the table and got down on one knee in front of us.

"Hashirama sama, Tobirama sama." He said and aniki nodded. "You have returned. How was the mission?" "We weren't able to get much Intel. The Uchihas found us and we had to escape. Hatsuko got separated from us and we continued to gather Intel while on the run. We found Hatsuko wounded badly several hours later....but Kuzuma has taken him to the hospital now so he should be alright." I narrowed my eyes.

Uchiha Madara had succeeded the Uchiha clan along with his brother Izuna. Ever since he acquired his mangekyou sharingan, the Uchihas had become even more violent and merciless than before. As a result, the younger ones of our clan were becoming targets. They didn't want us to become stronger and continue the bloodline. Of course, they underestimated the Senju. We were much better than them in terms of knowledge and stealth. Even though they had brute power, it was going to need more than that for them to overthrow us.

But this doesn't mean that I underestimated them. Madara himself was calculating and cunning; using every situation in a way that was advantageous to him. And under his influence, other members of the Uchiha clan were gaining better skill at tackling us Senju.

"I see. Its good that Hatsuko survived." Aniki said and I narrowed my eyes when his expression changed to slight discomfort. "What is it?" I asked sternly and he stood up. He didn't speak for a moment; he hesitated and it made me more suspicious. "Does your silence have something to do with the person waiting outside?"

Hatsuko stiffened and aniki let out a breath. "Judging from your reaction, it must be. His chakra signature is very different and rather strange." Aniki said and I nodded. His chakra was very....hmm, how do you put it? Unique I suppose.

"Actually, when we found Hatsuko, she was with him." "So its a girl?" I asked and Raito nodded. "We thought she was the one who had attacked him, but apparently she had stopped his wound from bleeding out and had put a temporary bandage. She said she was sitting with him for almost four hours." I narrowed my eyes.

Obviously she wasn't a member of the Uchiha then. Her chakra was different from theirs, even the from the Uchiha females since the Uchiha had the ideology that women were just to serve the men who fought and bear heirs to continue the Uchiha bloodline. We had never met one in battle, but e had met a few during a failed negotiation to form an alliance. Besides, no Uchiha would bother helping a person from any other clan; not even on a whim.

"Well, the thing that bothered us most was...." Raito hesitated and I nodded to him motioning for him to continue. "Well....she.....she was able to read Kuzuma's mind." "Read his mind?" Aniki asked a little surprised and I frowned. "Y-yes....she denied it though; saying that she had heard Kuzuma speak but I was there and I surely didn't hear him say anything. He happened to think something like an insult to her hair color and she lashed back at him. Even though she was able to hear his thoughts, I don't think she knows that ability of hers at all."

What was going on? How could a person be able to hear another person's thoughts? Its not possible....even by a kekkei genkai. The Senju had collected details of all existing kekkei genkai until date and none of the clans we knew of had that kind of ability. Could it be that she was from a clan we didn't know existed? This wasn't good. As it is, we were getting prepared for aniki's arranged marriage with a person from the Uzumaki clan to forge an alliance and strengthen the clan. And in these times of war where trust between clans was so fragile, a situation like this suddenly popping up wasn't good at all. A slight suspicion or problem could cause a great disaster.

"I don't think she's a bad person though." I frowned as Raito supported her. He looked down and fidgeted under my stern gaze. "After all, she did help Hatsuko. I don't think anyone would do that unless they are good." He said and aniki sighed. "Very well, we will talk to her and see what to do about the situation. Send her in and then you can leave." Aniki said and Raito bowed. He walked out of the door and a few seconds later, the door opened again and a girl stepped in. She looked younger than us by a few years and when she entered she smiled. It was strange, but she didn't look like a threat at all....and her clothes were rather exposing. But in all, she looked like an honest person.

Then again, how could we trust anyone just by their looks. For all we know.....what if she was a spy?

"Hello! Um, I'm guessing you're Hashirama san?" She asked as she walked closer to the table. I observed her more and narrowed my eyes. She was small in build, she wore a sleeveless shirt and a loose shirt on top of it that exposed her shoulders. She wore shorts and had a bag over her shoulders that looked like it was filled with clothes. Her hair was golden blonde which was a rather odd color and her eyes were golden too. She smiled as she stopped in front if the table and she didn't look nervous about anything.

"I am Senju Hashirama and this is my brother Tobirama." Aniki waved to me and I gave a nod. She smiled and bowed slightly. "Its nice to meet you guys. You can call me Mio." I frowned. The way she introduced herself obviously meant that Mio wasn't her real name. But I pushed it aside for the moment and waited for her or aniki to speak.

"Yeah, so I was wondering....could you give me directions to the subway? The people I met earlier didn't seem to understand, but I really need to get home. I haven't seen my parents in almost a year and I want to meet them before they end up having to travel again because of their work....so could you give me directions to the closest subway station? Or the closest city intersection would be fine too....I could get a taxi from there." She said. Well, what she was talking about was strange but it didn't seem like she was lying.

"Subway?" Aniki asked and she blinked. "You guys don't know what the subway is either?" She asked and I shook my head. "I’m afraid not." I said and she groaned. "Kimakyo....[unbelievable]" She said softly and I narrowed my eyes. I didn't understand what she said and I was suspicious. She huffed and shook her head and I frowned at her strange behavior.

Mi Ho pov:

This had got to be a joke! How could people not know of the subway? It was the most basic mode of transport that thousands of people used everyday!

I shook my head with a sigh but I looked at Tobirama san when he spoke. "Which clan are you from?" I blinked. "Clan? I'm not from any....clan.....as far as I know." I replied and they narrowed their eyes.

The question they asked was rather strange. I mean, clan? Really? And they didn't know what a subway is and they were watching me suspiciously. Both of the people looked really stern and I was a little worried about how things were taking a turn. I suddenly popped up in a forest after I fainted in a subway, then I meet and injured man and I'm pretty much accused of attacking him, then I'm dragged to a clan 'settlement' and these two people also don't know about a subway. So where was I really??

"We heard that you have the ability to read people's thoughts." Hashirama san said and I raised a brow. "No, I don't. I mean c'mon...reading people's thoughts? I’m not Edward Cullen. I don't have some kind of super powers to do that." I said and they didn't seem to believe me. “Edward Cullen?” Hashirama san asked and I put a hand on my hip. “You know, the vampire from twilight? He’s a fiction character?”

I sighed realizing that they hadn’t heard of it but then I got an idea. "Okay, I'll show you guys an address. I guess it will be easier to give me directions if I give you an address." I said and I began to rummage through my bag for my phone book. "Perhaps she is a spy from an unknown clan....she may be dangerous." I twitched as I heard Tobirama san speak and I looked up as I heaved another sigh.

"I already told you. I'm not from any clan....and I'm not a spy. Jeez....why is everyone here so paranoid?" I muttered as I went back to looking through my bag and they seemed to stiffen. I looked up, blinked and shrugged. "What?" I asked confused and Tobirama san narrowed his eyes. He looked a little scary and I frowned as I got a bad vibe.

"You can read people's minds....yet why do you deny it?" He asked me in a low voice and Hashirama san stood up as well. "I don't know what you're talking about. You just commented on me so I defended myself. What's wrong in that?" I asked and Tobirama san came to stand barely two feet away from me.

He was almost a head taller and I sweatdropped as I tilted my head up to look at him. "I thought that and you heard it. And yet you are saying you cannot? From your behavior, its highly suspicious. You're probably a spy, are you not? Don't pretend innocent." He asked and I frowned. "Wait wait wait wait wait...." I held my hands up and frowned more as I took a few steps back. He was totally invading my personal space so I got some distance between us. "You mean, I really heard your thoughts? That's crazy! I've never been able to hear people's thoughts before...."

"If you're lying, you'll be in big trouble." This time, Hashirama san spoke and I flinched. "I'm not lying ok? As far as I remember, I've been very very normal." They watched me skeptically and I sighed. "Look, all I was doing was trying to get home to my parents. There was an accident, I fainted and when I woke up I was in a forest. End of story. I'm not special in any way." I said and they looked at each other. They looked back at me and Hashirama san spoke. "Which clan are you from? And are you a ninja?"

"I'm not from any clan. I live in Seoul city in South Korea....and I'm most definitely not a ninja. I mean, I know people learn karate, kung fu and all those fancy martial art stuff, but I'm not a ninja and I've never met one before." I said honestly and they narrowed their eyes. "You've never met ninjas?" I shook my head no. "We are all ninjas. And among ninjas, we are the Senju clan....one of the most powerful." Tobirama san said and I raised a brow.

“Look, I really have to get home ok?” “I don’t think so. With that kind of suspicious ability, we’re going to have to keep you here under watch.” Tobirama san said and I groaned. “I really really appreciate your hospitality, but I’ve got a job and I have people waiting for me and I’m gonna get my butt kicked if I don’t turn up for dance rehearsals. My sisters are rather punctual and strict.” I said.

“You have sisters?” he asked and I nodded. “Well, we’re not blood related, but we’re a band so we kinda fit in well. And our manager is a guy who’s like a brother to us and he’s lenient. But my sisters make up for his lenience.” I laughed sheepishly, hoping they would let me go now but they only narrowed their eyes further. “That does not concern us. Besides, even if you refuse, you wont be able to escape from ninjas.” Tobirama san said and I scratched the back of my neck.

"Ok hold on a minute....I'm just a little confused. You're saying that I'm in a world where ninjas exist?" I clarified and he nodded. My jaw went slack and I widened my eyes. "No frikkin' way! Don't tell me this is some kind of inter dimensional travel! Even with all the technology we have, no one has figured how to time travel....let alone inter dimensional travel.....this has got to be a dream. A very detailed, realistic and bad dream." I held my head and closed my eyes.

I just wanted to go home! How did all of this happen?! “Wake up..Wake up..Wake up..Wake up..” I mumbled to myself.

"Alright, please calm down. I think its best if you meet our father first. We should ask him what we should do about this situation." I opened my eyes and looked at Hashirama san. I pinched my cheek and it hurt. “Ouch.” I mumbled and sighed. "This is real, isn’t it?” I asked and he shook his head. He turned to Tobirama san next.

"Tobirama, make sure that news about this girl doesn't get spread to anyone. Tell Kuzuma, Hatsuko and Raito to keep this confidential. If any other clan or even the Uzumaki clan find out, it could cause problems.....especially with the Uchihas." He mumbled the last part but I still heard it. I didn't know who the Uchihas were so I shrugged it off. They were probably just another clan or something.

After Hashirama san had given him instructions, Tobirama san disappeared in a puff of smoke and I jumped. My eyes widened and I looked at Hashirama san. "How did he do that?! That was so cool!" I said and he smiled. "That's a very common ability among ninjas. Although it takes years of practice, hard work and skill to become a ninja of that caliber....to be able to teleport and move at very quick speeds. He’s one of our best ninjas." He said and I nodded. "Wow.....sounds tough." "Come, we should go to my father." He said and I nodded and followed him out of the room.

We walked through the building and I looked around at the garden that surrounded it. It was rather strange. The building here too looked rather primeval....no concrete or steel; just wood. But it was really big and the plants and flowers that grew there were really pretty. I also saw some birds flying around and I smiled at the serenity. This was something you didn’t get to see in the busy streets of Seoul everyday.

But my sightseeing was interrupted when Hashirama san stopped walking. I almost bumped into him, but since my reflexes were good, I stopped before I really crashed into him. He looked at me and I watched him curiously. He looked down at my feet and I blinked. "Are you really ok walking with those? They look rather uncomfortable and they're a little noisy." He commented and I looked at my stilettos. I chuckled and shook my head.

"I'm used to them. I've been wearing them for a very long time....but I guess they are noisy on the wooden floor." I said and I reached down to take them off. "Its all right, you don't have to take them off." He said but I shook my head as I held them in my hand.

"That's alright. It attracts too much attention." I said looking at a few people who were looking our way and he too glanced at them. He laughed and shook his head. "I suppose. Well, you don't really seem like a bad person." He said and I rolled my eyes with an amused smile. "Gee thanks." I chuckled and he turned around we continued to walk to where we would meet his father.

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