This chapter is dedicated to sweety0berries!

Happy reading!

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Mi Ho pov:

Its been a month since we moved to the Hidden leaf village. Things have been going rather smoothly for both the Senjus and the Uchihas. There aren’t any wars anymore and the peace that both sides had wished to see had been achieved to some extent.

Hashirama and Madara get along now. Well, I just see the surface because its been ages since Madara even looked my way. He hasn’t spoken to me even once since we came to this village and I have to say, I miss his company. I mean, I spend a lot of time with Tobirama and Hashirama and I even visit Mito san, but things were very different with Madara….and I miss it.

I have been looking forward to seeing Hashirama’s first child. Mito san is in her 8th month and everyone is excited to see the child.

Besides that, many other clans have been forming an alliance with Konoha and they have moved into the compound. Its good because it strengthens the military force and the status of the village. After much debate, Hashirama became the leader of the village and they gave him the title ‘Hokage’. Hashirama wanted Madara to become the Hokage but there were many people who opted for Hashirama over Madara.

In some ways, I could understand I guess. Most of the people who moved in here didn’t really like the Uchiha clan. The Uchihas had initially fought for their glory and in some ways put down the reputation of the other clans. And even now, even though the Senjus had signed a peace treaty with them, they were still wary. The Uchihas had a slightly secluded compound where they lived and were sort of cut off from the rest of the village.

Hashirama did give them a very highly respected role of protecting Konoha as its official police force, but the Uchihas still felt the slight isolation they had been given. It was rare to see other people talk freely with the Uchihas and I could also tell that they felt the ‘cast-away’ attitude they received.

Madara was particularly feared by lots of people, especially children. But there were noticeable changes in the clan as well. More women stood up to fight as well. They too awakened the sharingan and they were accepted into the military force to protect the village. Madara wasn’t very much for the idea of women working that way, but Hashirama was quite positive about the response and he accepted them whole heartedly.

I spent a lot of time with Tobirama. He was just as friendly as before but so was his distaste towards the Uchihas. He was particularly against Madara, especially since he had sealed off one of my abilities. It was also partially his idea to isolate them to a separate compound instead of being in the center of the village. And when I caught Madara watching me, which was very very rare, it was when I was with Tobirama. And his gaze would always be a mixture of anger and disapproval.

Tobirama has been a little more forward towards me lately. He usually shows his forwardness in front of Madara by holding me to his side with an arm around my shoulder or sticking a flower in my hair and so on. And its definitely not helped the already bitter mood that Madara has been in.

I have come to notice that Madara has become a lot grumpier than before. There was one time when I had wanted to talk to him because I thought that we were starting to drift apart too much. So I had gone to the Uchiha compound. But when I had gone there, he was meeting with someone from the Hidden stone village. He was in a very bad mood and even went to the extent of telling the person to never mention Hashirama’s name in front of him.

After that, I didn’t get the courage to meet him.

There were also several times I had seen him standing by himself and looking over the village from the cliff. It was one of my favorite spots too and I usually practiced my dances under the shade of the trees. So whenever he came up to the cliff, I was able to tell. Well, Tobirama had taught me how to sense other people’s chakras and even hide my chakra almost to zero, so whenever I felt Madara’s chakra, I would immediately hide mine. Its not that I was scared or anything…..well, maybe a little. I didn’t know how to face him.

We had kissed. I had felt the kiss to be different, passionate….perfectly synched. And yet now I was hanging around with Tobirama as if the whole thing between us had never happened. I could tell that he had felt it too. It wasn’t just a momentary reaction. It wasn’t a spur of the moment. It was real. I don’t know whether you could call it love from his side because I had never seen him to be a romantic type of person, but it was definitely love from my side. I loved him and I had acknowledged it by the kiss we had shared.

I had given up because of circumstances I knew of. It was difficult and I still yearned for him to look at me. But I had controlled everything.

But seeing the hidden loneliness in his eyes when he gazed over the village made it even more difficult for me. I didn’t know what it felt like to not be accepted. I didn’t know how he felt to be isolated even though the peace treaty was signed and he and Hashirama shared the same dream. But I knew that it wasn’t pleasant. Even so, because unlike Hashirama, Madara didn’t have Izuna anymore.

I remembered when he had told me that ever since he lost Izuna, he didn’t have any goal or anything to look forward to. The kind of bond and protection he had for Izuna was stronger than any other bond I had ever seen. He never showed it openly, but it was there. And that was one placed I didn’t know how to console him in. I wanted to hug him, to hold him gently and comfort him, even if it was just a little, like the time I had done back in the Uchiha compound.

I looked at the starry sky from my backyard. It was a cool night and I shivered as a cool breeze passed by. I wrapped my arms around myself to shield myself from the cold. I was somehow missing Madara more than usual today because of all the things that had been happening recently. Earlier today, I had seen him gazing at Hashirama and Mito san as they walked around the village happily and people spoke to them with warm smiles. People spoke to him too, but their smiles and words of concern were all fake.

Madara was just so lonely that it made my chest clench.

I snapped out of my daze when I felt a blanket being put over my shoulders. I looked back to see Tobirama watching me with a smile. “Why are you standing out in the cold like this?” I smiled and looked at the stars again. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it? I was just lost in thought.” “Lost in thought? Is something wrong?” he cupped my cheek, making me turn to him. I smiled at the concern his eyes but it still didn’t make me feel calm like I wanted to.

“No….I was just thinking of home.” I lied but he seemed to believe it. “I see. You should come inside before you catch a cold.” I nodded. “By the way, how did you come inside?” I asked and he smiled. He held up spare keys and I blinked. “I knocked several times but you didn’t answer. I got a little worried so I used the spare keys.” He said and I laughed. “Sorry. I tend to float away when I’m in thought.” I apologized.

“Do you want me to stay for a while?” He asked gently as he caressed my head. I just watched him. He was a really nice person but…. “No, that’s all right. I’ll stay here for a little longer and then head to bed.” I said. “Alright. Good night.” He kissed my forehead gently and walked out of my house. I lost my smile and touched my forehead. I sighed not feeling right. I shook my head and went back to looking at the stars.

“You’re rather comfortable, aren’t you?” I heard Madara say in a low annoyed voice. I sighed but I didn’t look at him. “I don’t think it concerns you.” I said tiredly. He jumped down from the tree he was standing in and landed a few feet in front of me. I looked at him this time and my heart throbbed suddenly. I clenched my jaw to prevent myself from showing any reaction and he narrowed his eyes. “So it was Tobirama all long.” I didn’t answer his statement and I continued to watch him.

The silence was dense but I didn’t break it. My eyes stung slightly at the evident pain in his eyes and I looked away. I shook my head helplessly as I turned around to walk back into the house. “Running away, are we?” He growled stopping me in my tracks. I gave an airy chuckle without turning around. “That’s a fancy question to ask….especially coming from someone who’s been pretending I don’t even exist.” I snapped back and the next moment he was in front of me. “Are you mocking me?!” He snarled.

“Oh, I wouldn’t even dream of, Madara sama.” I walked around him into the house but he grabbed my wrist tightly and pulled me back in front of him. “I didn’t say you can leave.” “And I don’t need your permission to leave.” “Woman!” He was glaring and it only made my eyes sting more.

“What is it you want, Madara? What do you want me to do? I cant be like you okay? I cant hate the Senjus and I cant hate the people of this village. I cant do anything about the way you’re being isolated. I…..I cant live for someone else. I live for myself.” I told him and then looked away. “I know…..I remember what happened before the treaty. I know that I kissed you on my own and I’ve acknowledged my feeling for you. But I already told you, I cant do this. I don’t want to get hurt. Its difficult enough being friends with you and with people who like me more than they should. I don’t need you to make it even more difficult for me.”

I looked back at him as he watched me silently. “I know I have a loud mouth and I talk back to you most of the time. But….I have other emotions and ambitions too. I cant be like you.” I said almost desperately. I touched the bottom of my eyes with my thumb removing the tear that threatened to fall.

“Come with me.” I frowned at him. “What?” “I plan to leave the village. I don’t want to be in a place where friends or my own clan have lost their respect for me. I will gain power and I will find a way to rule this world. Come with me.” “Rule the world? Right.” I said with a laugh and walked into the house with Madara following. “What is it you find so amusing?” He asked. “The whole idea of ruling the world…its not good to be too greedy, Madara.” I said. He narrowed his eyes at me annoyed.

“Madara….please. Lets find some other way. Maybe I was wrong too. I will accept my feeling and cherish what we can have for as long as I’m here. But you have to stop getting so angry and isolate yourself deliberately. If you try, if you put some effort, people here will accept you too.” “That’s enough.” He said as he walked to me. Even before I could react, he grabbed the back of my head and crushed me against himself as he kissed me hard. I was startled and I couldn’t move.

I lifted my hands and pushed against him breaking the kiss, but he pulled me back and kissed even harder. My lips hurt and I was sure it would be swollen but he didn’t let go. I slowly lost the will to fight as his kiss and my feelings molded together perfectly. My eyes that had been stinging were now watering and tears made their way down my cheeks. I lifted both hands wrapping them tightly around his neck as I kissed back.

He loosened his hold and brought me into a warm embrace as we kissed. We tilted our head getting lost in the passion of the moment and I shivered when he rubbed his tongue against my lips. I put my hand into his hair, gently caressing his head as I parted my lips just a little bit. Our tongues met in a gentle dance and he groaned into my mouth.

He pulled away after a few minute leaving me slightly out of breath and tears still running down my cheeks occasionally. He lowered his head and softly kissed the base of my neck. I let out a shuddery breath and he rested his face in the crook of my neck. We didn’t part from the hug and I silently caressed his head with my thumb. I closed my eyes lost in the warmth of the moment.

We pulled away and he kissed my lips lightly again. He let go and walked away from me back to the backyard. “Where are you going?” I shivered at the loss of warmth. “To reach a greater height.” I didn’t understand what he meant and he turned back to me with his sharingan glowing. “We will see each other again in time.” I frowned at him. “What are you…?”

I couldn’t complete my sentence and I gasped when he did hand signs and thrust his palm into my gut hard. I doubled over and coughed, out of breath. My bad and belongings were thrown at me and suddenly everything around me faded. I appeared in a place that looked like a blue swirling portal and I was being stretched in all directions possible. It was hard to breathe and I shut my eyes tightly wanting this to end soon.

A few seconds later, I landed on hard ground and I rolled several times before coming to a halt at the base of a tree. I hit myself hard on the back as it met with the tree trunk and I coughed again. I stayed with my eyes closed in pain for several minutes. When I felt a little better, I opened my eyes slowly and looked around me. It was still night, but I was lying in the middle of a forest instead of my house in Konoha.

What on earth had happened? What had Madara done? Where was I now?

I sat up while holding my aching stomach. That moron! I cant believe he just hit me in the stomach! That really hurt! I was so going to rat him out for that when I see him! Stupid Madara!

Leaving that aside, I had to find out where I was right now. I winced as I stood up taking the tree for support. I looked around and frowned. “Madara? Tobirama? Anyone?” I called out but I got no reply. I could hear some sounds from my right and I decided to follow the noise. Hopefully someone was there and I could ask them fro directions back to my home.

It took a few minutes to reach the sound. I stepped out of a few trees, cursing as my bag snagged on a low branch. I pulled it off in frustration, breaking the branch in the process. I took a deep breath to calm down and I looked up. But the next moment, I froze at what I saw in front of me.

There was a huge compound, at least 20 feet high and it had a huge board on it with the word ‘Konoha’ written on it. Wait….Konoha? That’s the same village I was in, right? I don’t remember in having such a big entrance gate! And there were so many people bustling about inside. It looked like the population was much more than what I remember seeing. Besides, all the buildings looked taller and denser and….why were there so many? There weren’t supposed to be so many!

I looked at the cliff that I usually went and my eyes went as wide as dinner plates. On the cliff were carvings of Hashirama, Tobirama and three other people I didn’t know. It looked like some kind of lineage and why were they there? I remembered that to honor the Hokage, Hashirama’s face was in the process of being carved out on the cliff. But now there were four other people besides his!

Had I gone through some wormhole and magically popped up in the future? Well, that wouldn’t be surprising since I had come to this weird dimension in the first place. Besides, just before Madara punched my gut, he said he would see me in time. Even if he did send me to the future, wouldn’t it be a few years in the future? Judging from what I was seeing here, I was probably more than 100 years in the future! He no longer would exist here!

What was that doofus thinking, sending me all the way here??! Uggh!! This is so frustrating!

Either way, thanks to him, I was stuck here now. First of all, I would have to figure out where I really am and what year it is. If this was really Konoha and it was being ruled by a Hokage, I would have to go directly to them and get the answers I wanted. Well, here goes nothing!

I straightened up into a dignified stance, pulled my bag over my shoulder and walked towards the huge gates.

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