Hanako followed Tobirama through the forest as the sun set down. He was carrying Amane on his back, while Hanako was taking her sister. Now and then, the man would sneak glances at her and then stare straight ahead as if solving an existential crisis in his head.

Hanako tried to ignore the constant supervision, but it was starting to become awkward. Suddenly, Tobirama stopped and Hanako looked up to the front only to find a man standing in the middle of the way. He was wearing an armor, with the Senju crest in his neck.

"Ani..." Tobirama narrowed his eyes. "You're back early."

The man was Tobirama's brother. So, this is the First Hokage? Hanako thought to herself as she inspected the man in front of them. Unlike any other, Hanako was amazed at how warm his chakra was. Like a fire in a chimney in the middle of winter.

Hashirama Senju had a grim expression on his face as he looked at his younger brother. "Father's dead," he said. Tobirama took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

"Who?"

Hanako looked at the man beside her with worried eyes. He wouldn't forget about his deal now that the situation changed, would he? Hashirama seemed to catch onto her expression and shook his head. "It's not important right now, we'll talk later. Let's get back for now."

Hashirama turned around and continued walking. Tobirama was right behind him, but stopped when he realized that Hanako wasn't moving. He looked over his shoulder at the girl and sighed. "I'm not taking my deal away. I'm a man of my word," he said.

"If they're back, wouldn't that mean the Uchiha are back too?" Hanako looked at him with a frown. "We're going to be in trouble when we get back. We weren't supposed to leave the compound."

Hashirama stopped and looked back at them. "The Uchiha also lost their leader."

Hanako widened her eyes. "Tajima-sama is dead?"

"Yes. We both lost our leaders, that's why we stopped the battle early." Hanako looked at the ground. Madara and Izuna must be devastated, more of a reason for going back. "You shouldn't go back for now, wait for a couple of days for Madara to cool down."

"I would take my brother's advice," Tobirama nodded. "The Uchiha are very sensitive, he might be in denial at the moment. He needs time to come to terms with his loss."

Hanako sighed and decided to listen to them. Anyways, she still wanted the medic to check on Hikari and Amane. "We should get going as soon as they wake up."

"Yeah," Tobirama stopped and looked at his brother. "Ani, can you build a small room here for them to stay? I don't think it would be a good thing to take them to the compound, given the situation."

Hashirama nodded and made a seal with his hands. Four walls made of wood appeared from the ground and joined with a roof. He even left small openings for windows and a door. "You can stay here. We'll be back shortly with candles, food, and sheets."

Hanako gave them a small smile as they disappeared through the woods. Hikari was still unconscious, and now Amane seemed to be in a deep sleep. "I'll just wait for them to come back. They shouldn't take long." Her stomach then growled loudly. "I really hope they don't take long."

* * *

In his room, Izuna was putting his stuff away when he found his new soldier pill recipient at least half empty. Underneath it, there was a folded note. With narrowed eyes, he picked up the paper. His glare softened after he started reading it. The note was Hanako's, and she was excusing herself for taking his pills without permission.

"Well, seems like they really left to Utah's castle..." Izuna sighed.

He heard the door open, and looked over his shoulder to find Itachi at the door. "Madara-san decided it would be best to separate us and have each of us sleep with one of you. I was told to come here," Itachi explained.

"You don't have to be so formal towards me. Just know your place, and we'll be fine." Izuna returned his attention to the note. He put it away back in his drawer. When he looked back up, Itachi hadn't moved from his place. Instead, his attention was plastered on the drawing he had been working before he left to battle. Izuna looked back at the young boy. "You like it?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

Itachi was surprised that he had been caught staring at something. He looked at Izuna, unconsciously placing his hand over his pocket. He had brought the exact same one from the future. So, it means that the boy in front of him was the artist. "Yeah... It's a really good drawing."

Izuna huffed. "Of course... That's your friend, isn't it? That's why you were staring."

Itachi flinched at the tone in his voice. "Yes. That's Hanako."

Izuna nodded. "So, once you guys reunite, you'll be going back?"

Itachi looked at him. "That's the plan."

"Hn."

After that, neither of them said anything else. Itachi sighed and hoped in silence for Hanako to return quickly. The atmosphere was getting to dense for his liking.

* * *

Hanako ate all the food supplies they had in their small bags, along with the soldier pills she got from Izuna's room. She calculated it had been at least two hours since the Senju brothers left, and they still hadn't come back.

"Well, they come from the battlefield, Hanako. They probably have lots of Shinobi needing assistance right now. We're the foreigners here, we must wait." She thought talking to herself might help her calm her nerves right now, but it was only making her more stressed.

Suddenly, she felt Tobirama's chakra walking towards the small room, along with Hashirama and a third person. When he opened the door, Hanako looked up at them. The medic widened his eyes when he realized he would be treating girls from the Uchiha Clan and looked at the new leader with questioning eyes. "Are you sure about this?"

Hashirama nodded firmly. "They went against orders to request our assistance. The least we could do is help them, don't you agree?"

The medic nodded and looked at the two unconscious girls. He approached Amane first and checked her using medical ninjutsu. Hanako recognized it to be the same techniques the nurses used back in Konoha. Medical ninjutsu comes from the Senju Clan? Sweet...

Hanako smiled slightly as she thought about the idea of coming from two of the strongest clans in history. She analyzed her palm, imagining all the abilities she could have. Maybe the healing is a Senju thing as well? It would explain why I'm the only one with it.

"Alright, this one is only exhausted. She used most of her chakra reserves, but she'll be alright in a couple of days once she's rested." Hanako looked at Amane and sighed relieved.

"That's great news, thanks. Will she wake up once she's rested then?"

The medic nodded. "Yeah, you should stay here in the meantime. Not going back to the Uchiha Clan until she's well. The trip back might be rough on her."

Hanako nodded, then she looked at her sister. "Can you check her now, please?"

He looked at the girl lying at the other corner and nodded. The girl's chakra levels seemed all right, but the medic frowned. "The flow of her chakra is disturbed, like if she were inside an illusion."

"An illusion? Is that why she's still unconscious?" Hanako approached him.

The medic nodded. Then he placed his hand on top of her head and closed his eyes. Green chakra surrounded his hand, but nothing seemed to happen. "Her mind is blocked. It's not easy for me to release this genjutsu."

Hanako clenched her fists. "That witch... she trapped Hikari in a genjutsu before coming here." She activated her Sharingan and looked at her sister. At a first glance, her chakra flow seemed normal, but after taking a closer look, there was a disruption of her chakra in the area around her brain. The medic was saying the truth. "What kind of illusion is this? It is only affecting her brain."

"Mmm... What I'm concerned about is not being able to dispel it." The medic looked at Hanako. "Would you like to try? Maybe with the Sharingan you can enter her mind and see what's going on in there."

Hanako looked at her sister and knelt in front of her. "Well, let's take a look." She mimicked the doctor's actions earlier and placed her hand on top of Hikari's forehead and closed her eyes. Focusing her chakra to match her sister's, she found a way into her mind, but then she stopped. There was something like a door right in the middle of the way.

"What the..."

"Where do you think you're going?" Kira was right behind her, glaring knives at her.

"What did you do to my sister?!" Hanako turned and gave her aunt a nasty look. "Each and every time I find out you're involved in something just makes me want to kill you."

Kira scoffed. "Tough words for a girl who can't even reach the top counters of the kitchen without a chair."

Hanako blushed furiously. "Shut up!"

"Your mom and I are both tall, I wonder if your father is short?" Kira put a finger on her chin and looked up. "I don't remember Kenzou to be short. How old did you say you were?"

"Twelve..." Hanako could feel the sweat dripping down her neck. She literally just changed the subject like it was nothing. Kenzou... is that the name of my father?

"Awe, you're still a kid!" Kira laughed. "Don't worry you'll grow up."

"Hey, don't change–"

"Yeah, I know..." Kira shrugged. "Save your energy. I'm not the real Kira, just a mirage left behind to let you know that only Hikari can get herself out of this. There's nothing you can do to help her."

Hanako narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"

"This is between Hikari and I, please don't interfere." Kira smiled. "You see... She's too weak, and it's kind of disgusting looking at a member of our family being so weak."

"Weak?" Hanako scoffed. "If she's weak, then what am I?"

"You're different. You were blessed with your abilities. True, Hikari doesn't have the same advantages you have, but it means she just have to train harder. That's what I'm making her do."

"Training?" Hanako raised an eyebrow at her. "Quite hard to believe. You first try to kill me, and then you say you're helping Hikari get stronger?"

Kira smiled. "You have to believe me when I say I have nothing against you, Hanako. I was given a mission and I follow orders. It's not me who you should be against."

"Then who? Danzou?" Hanako scoffed. "I'm up against anyone who's a threat to me or the people I care about."

"Fair enough..." Kira smiled. "Then, that'd be all."

Hanako was suddenly being dragged away from the door. "Wait!"

Back in reality, Hanako opened her eyes. Nothing had changed around her. "Nothing, huh?" The medic sighed. "Well, I supposed so. This is one strange Genjutsu."

"I was in her mind for a few minutes. Kira was there, but there was also a door that wouldn't let me into her mind."

The medic looked at her incredulously. "Minutes? No, you closed your eyes for like three seconds."

Hanako returned his glance. "Well, I guess time works differently in that illusion."

The man looked at the girl with pity. "Poor thing. I don't know for how long she's been in there, but it must have been days or even months for her."

Hanako understood perfectly how tired Hikari must be mentally because of that illusion. Come on, big sis. Only you can get out of there. You can do it.

"Who's Kira?" Tobirama asked with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Hanako had almost forgotten the Senju brothers were still there. "Was she the one who beat you up?"

"Not exactly..." Hanako sighed. "She was the one who put my sister into that illusion. She's after me, though."

"I see..." He nodded. "It looks like she has some dangerous techniques under her sleeve."

"I can see that..." Hanako frowned while looking at her sister.

The medic stood back up and looked at the Senju leader. "My job here is done. They are all fine, so I'll get going now."

Hashirama nodded at him with a smile. "Yeah of course. Thanks for your service."

Once the medic left, Hashirama turned back to Hanako. "I believe I haven't introduced myself properly." Hanako looked at him. He was smiling brightly. "My name is Hashirama Senju. As of today, I'm the new leader of the Senju Clan. Nice to meet you, um...?"

"Hanako," she bowed at him. "Hanako Uchiha."

"Yeah, nice to meet you Hanako. I'm glad Tobirama is finally starting to open up to someone of the Uchiha Clan."

"I only did because she has Senju chakra. She must be related to someone from our clan," Tobirama shrugged.

Hashirama smiled. "Whatever reason, I'm still glad you did."

"Well," Hanako interrupted the two brother's discussion and looked at her sister. "At this rate, Amane might be the first one to wake up. Once she's recovered, we'll be heading back to the Uchiha Compound," she said. "I know you told me to wait until Madara-jii's better after losing his father, but I'm still worried about him and Izuna. We should really return as soon as we can. They will come looking for us either way."

Hashirama nodded. "I understand."

"Thank you for your kindness. I will remember it next time they speak badly about the Senju." Hanako bowed deeply.

Hashirama barked a laugh. "Don't worry about. We do have a tense background." He then cleared his throat. "You know, I would feel bad by making you and your sisters stay here in this uncomfortable wood thing, so... Why don't you come to the compound with us?"

Tobirama looked at him with wide eyes. "ANI!"

"What is it?" He looked at his younger brother with a smug look. "I thought you said she was also a Senju? What's the problem?"

Tobirama pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Everything will be fine, don't worry," Hashirama assured him with a smile. "Just for a few days until they're fully recovered."

Hanako smiled at the easy-going man. He was comfortable to be around. "We won't cause any trouble." At that moment, her stomach growled again. She had eaten anything in the last two hours.

Hashirama laughed loudly. "It's decided then! Let's go."

* * *

Hikari was trapped inside a loop. Every time she tried to do something to escape, the same things would repeat over and over again.

Kira was standing in front of her with a smug look on her face. "How many times do I have to tell you?" she said. The only way you can get out of here is by giving up."

Hikari pressed her lips into a thin line. "There's no way I'm giving up on my sister..." She was panting. She had been in there for a long time now.

"Hikari," Kira insisted. "You should really just give up right now."

"No!"

"Then," her voice darkened. "You're not going back to her."