The cold breeze developed a calming effect on Hanako as she took a deep breath. The Senju brothers had brought her to the top of a hill, right next to a high cliff. From there, the view reminded her of the same landscape of Konoha from the top of the Hokage Mountain. Nostalgia invaded her senses as an image of her homeland appeared in her mind.

"Isn't the view amazing up here?" Hashirama Senju stood beside her with a bright smile on his face as he enjoyed the sight. "This is the place where I want to build a haven where everyone can live in peace," he said. "I've thought it through countless times, and I've come to the conclusion that the only way to do this is by joining forces with the Uchiha Clan and stop this endless war."

The man beside her spoke with confidence and laughed by himself as he wondered about the future. "I can't decipher the look on your face, but I can tell the view is giving you mixed feelings." With wide eyes, Hanako turned to the Senju. "Regardless, now that we are here, I wanted to ask for a favor."

She wondered what could this man want from her, but whatever it was she'd have to do it. After all, both Senju brothers had been kind to her and Amane. If it weren't for them, their escapade wouldn't have gone as swift. "I want you to talk to Madara about this. Try to make him understand that, no matter what happened between our clans in the past, we can stop this conflict if we unite."

"Why do you think I can make him change his mind about this war?" Hanako asked. Hashirama only smiled.

"I have a feeling you might know something we don't."

She was speechless. How did he know? Did he suspect something about her?

"Anyway," Tobirama joined their conversation with a narrow look towards the girl. "Why did you want to come to a high place?"

Hanako remembered her plan to take back the girls to the Uchiha territory and nodded. "Right. I was practicing a technique before all this happened. I believe this is the best place to complete it."

That piqued his interest. "Technique?"

"A summoning."

"Did Madara teach you to summon falcons?" Hashirama gave her an expectant gaze. "They're not easy to tame."

Remembering how Tachimaru looked at her the first time she met him, Hanako shivered. "Tell me about it." Shaking her head, she sighed. "Well, then." She formed hand seals under the expectant gazes of the brothers and molded her chakra. "Summoning Technique!"

After placing her hand on the ground, a cloud of smoke surrounded her. In awe, Hanako waited for the cloud to disperse, but the excitement dispelled when she came across a sparrow looking back at her curiously.

A scoff behind her made her bite her lip in embarrassment. She managed a glare at the tanned man behind her. He was covering his mouth to muffle the noises of his laughter. It was Tobirama who actually gave her advice: "You're using too little chakra for the caliber of the summoning you want. Try molding more, possibly everything to summon the creature you made a contract with."

With a sigh, Hanako made the seals again. Mold everything, huh? The sparrow disappeared into a cloud of smoke and in its place stood a raven. It cawed.

With a growl, Hanako reversed the summoning and the raven disappeared. "This is impossible."

Tobirama smiled slightly. "I think whatever bird you signed your contract with is messing with you."

The Uchiha let herself fall into the ground, making a huffing sound once her back hit the ground. "It's playing hard to get?"

"Pretty much, the first summoning is always hard. It's the time you get to know it, and get it to listen to you. Maybe, it doesn't want to be bothered by a stranger."

Hanako rolled her eyes. "It doesn't surprise me if it has a sour attitude like Madara's Tachimaru."

"Let's force it to come forth." Tobirama walked to the edge of the cliff, urging Hanako to follow him. "Mold your chakra," he said.

Confused Hanako performed the seals once again, but before she could finish the technique she was pushed into the void by Tobirama. It all happened so fast, Hanako felt the air hitting her skin as she fell mercilessly to the ground. She moved to face the bottom, even though the approaching field scared her to death. Bringing her hand forward, she released her chakra at once. Mid-air, the runes of the summoning formed and shone before smoke appeared. Hanako hit a hard surface, but remained suspended in the air. Regaining her balance, she realized she was holding onto feathers and hair, and following her eyes up she saw the falcon planning down to the ground.

"You... really are stubborn, child." Her eyes grew wide. The falcon spoke to her in a deep voice. "So, you're my new master?"

Hanako was still dumbfounded after hearing the falcon speak. "You... can talk?"

The falcon looked at her with a glare. "My name is Hayabusa. You may not summon me in wet places or extremely hot environments. I don't do well with big bodies of water or deserts."

The Uchiha blinked. "Understood."

Hayabusa gave a soft nod. "Well, as long as you follow those conditions, we won't have any problems. So, what's your name?"

She murmured her name in a soft voice before asking him to get back to the top of the cliff. With a nod, Hayabusa extended his winds and pushed himself off the ground. In seconds, they were back at the top. Hanako observed as Tobirama and Hashirama waited for her with a sly grin.

"See? You just needed motivation."

Hanako frowned. "You pushed me off a cliff! What if I couldn't do it?"

"Ani would have caught you using his wood style."

With a sigh Hanako asked Hayabusa to fly her back to the Senju Compound. "Are you coming?"

Hashirama smiled. "We'll meet you there." And they disappeared.

"Huh?"

* * *

While in the Senju's household, Amane and Hikari were instructed not to leave the place in order not to rise suspicion among the Clan. It was midway into the afternoon when Hanako finally returned, riding a large falcon. Hikari was sipping some tea Amane had brewed for her, just as Hanako walked in with a wide grin.

"You look happy, little sister." Hikari grinned. "I take it you aced the summoning technique?"

With her smile still on her face, Hanako approached her sister and sat down on the table in front of her. Before she could speak, her eyes fell on a silver haired man walking into the kitchen with bored eyes. He looked back at her and smirked. "Took you a while to get here."

All colors fled from her face as Hanako stared at the man. Behind him, Hashirama walked in and smiled once he looked at her. "Was the ride exciting?"

"What in the name of Samadhi..." Hanako looked at her sister with confused eyes. Hikari shrugged.

"They got her like ten minutes ago."

Hanako looked back up at Tobirama, he only showed her the palm of his hand and placed it over the wall. Around it, a symbol formed and remained there even after he removed his palm. "This is the Flying Thunder. I mark objects with my chakra, and then I use Space-Time Ninjutsu to teleport myself into marked places, or teleport marked objects. I used that to teleport my brother and me back here."

With a faint nod, Hanako let out a long sigh. "I feel cheated." For a second she had forgotten the main objective for completing her summoning, but as soon as she remembered she looked at her sister with wide eyes. "Hurry up! We gotta go."

Hikari put down her tea with nod. "So, we're riding that?" She looked at the window frame, where a normal size falcon had perched itself. Hayabusa looked back at the Uchiha with pointed eyes.

"I'm afraid that sounded quite offensive. My name is Hayabusa and I will be taking you to the Uchiha Clan, after my master's request."

Hanako scoffed. "Look at you, sounding all formal there. Hayabusa, she's my sister. Treat her however you like, I don't mind." Hanako smiled. "In fact, if she offended you, you may offend her back." 

"Hey!" Hikari shot her a glare.

"Be careful, sis. He might decide to make you walk."

"Master Hanako, you might want to leave soon. Didn't you say you wanted to be there by sundown?"

Hanako was left speechless. It was the first time someone had actually referred to her as Master. "Yes, of course. Where's Amane?"

"Right here." Amane walked into the room, where everyone was gathered. "I received a note from some connections I have close to the Land of Waterfalls. Apparently there were sightings of a woman wearing exotic clothes, and red eyes. I think that sounds like Kira, but we might want to check it out."

Tobirama frowned. "Does it have to do with the case you guys were working on when I found you?"

Hanako closed her eyes. "Not exactly but it is important." She looked at Amane. "Now that I remember, we lost the stone. I wouldn't want to go back to the castle, it's just ruins now. We can safely assume the stone is somewhere buried deep."

"Let's forget it for now," Amane said. "I don't think it works anyway." She frowned when remembering about what happened when Hanako touched the stone. Whatever energy that was in there, Hanako had absorbed it. "Our priority is finding Kira and have her return Hikari what she stole from her. Otherwise, you can't go back home. She wouldn't survive the trip."

Hanako agreed with Amane. Finding Kira was their top priority now. They needed to go back to Madara, and report to him their current situation.

"What is this Kira like, we might also keep our eyes open for her." Hashirama asked in curiosity.

"We wouldn't want to exceed our boundaries by asking such a thing," Amane started saying and sighed. "In all honesty, we don't want the Senju clan to be involved. It's tiring enough dealing with Madara, and teaming up might not be wise in this situation."

Hashirama looked at Hanako, as if silently reminded her of what they talked about earlier. Hanako chuckled nervously. "Still, we do appreciate your kindness. I hope your plans for stopping the war bear fruits soon enough, Hashirama Senju-san." Hanako bowed in respect. The three Uchiha left after that. Hayabusa turned back into his full size, and carried the three girls back.

Hashirama and Tobirama watched as the falcon took flight and left their territory. The younger sibling looked at his brother with narrowed eyes. "What are you planning?"

"Do you think... that space-time ninjutsu might also have been used to travel through time?" Hashirama suddenly asked. "I think... those girls might be from the future."

* * *

Putting the final details into the drawing, Izuna let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He was alone in his room, having only the breeze as his company. His door suddenly opened, and he looked up to find his brother standing in his room, smirking down at him.

"It's been three days, how are you coping?" he asked.

"Good, I've been meditating." Izuna hid the drawing under a book he had over his desk and stood up to face his brother. "How are those two?" Itachi and Shisui hadn't been a nuisance at all in their stay. At least, they hadn't bothered  Izuna at all. He almost forgot at times that they had company, but he would be reminded during common meals where they would meet and at night when Itachi would sleep in his room.

"They're training outside." Madara tried to pretend not to see what his brother was so keenly working on, but pushed the thought aside when he felt a familiar chakra nearby in the sky. "I guess we didn't need to worry at all."

Izuna frowned. "What are you talking about?"

When Madara looked back at his brother, he smirked. "They're here."

It was almost dusk when Hayabusa landed perfectly on the wide space before the Uchiha main household. Hikari was amazed by the place. It was filled with small wooden houses following specific aesthetics. People still walked around lively, and some even greeted them upon seeing them. She could see the Uchiha crest everywhere, displaying the pride its people felt towards the clan.

Hanako smiled and took a deep breath when her feet touched the ground. She turned to give her sister a speech about the Uchiha Clan territory when the door of the main house was opened. Izuna walked out and Hanako froze in her movements. His eyes were narrowed, and his arms soon crossed over his chest.

"Hey... Izuna," Hanako looked at the ground, as if she just had been caught doing something wrong. Her hand moved in reflex to rub off her neck.

"You stole my soldier pills and went with Amane to Utah's castle when you were supposed to stay here." He said slowly, his eyes soon fell over the third person behind them. "Who's that?"

Hanako looked at her sister and walked to stand beside her. "Oh, this is Hikari. She's my sister. My real sister."

Izuna was about to remark something when Madara walked out, followed by Shisui. The moment Hikari laid eyes on Shisui, she sprinted in his direction to wrap her arms around him. The Uchiha widened his eyes, but received her with a smile. "Hikari, there you are."

Hanako puffed her cheeks and looked at Amane. She muttered under her breath: "I was gone for three months and yet she wasn't that excited when she saw me..."

Amane chuckled and gave her a look of pity. "Seems to me like you're second priority, sis. I'm sorry." She shrugged.

The feeling of being watched made shivers run down Hanako's spine. Behind Shisui, Itachi walked out the door was looking straight at Hanako with fixed eyes. The girl felt like all movement had been rendered useless as she caught the sight of him, and could only stare back. She tried to call out his name, but even her voice was caught in her throat.

Itachi decided to step forward. As the distance between them was cut shorter, she could feel her stomach churning and her vision unfocused. Her lips had become dry, and she could feel her heart beating loudly. "I'm sorry we took so long," he said. "But we're here now."

With a lump in her throat, she felt the first tear fall down her cheek. With a soft smile, Itachi wiped it with his thumb. "Itachi..." Hanako's voice broke, but the boy only pulled her into a hug. At that moment, Hanako felt like reality had come crashing down and every emotion felt heavy on her shoulders. She sobbed softly, and Itachi only hugged her tighter. "I really missed you. All of you."

"I know." He caressed her back in a comforting way. 

Izuna observed the exchange with pursed lips. With a roll of his eyes, he walked back inside, slamming the door closed behind him. The loud noise made all of them look his way, but they could only hear his loud steps as he walked away.

Amane smirked slightly, walking towards Madara. Once she stood next to him, she muttered under breath. "I think your little brother might be heartbroken." She shot him a side look to read his reaction.

Madara only scoffed. "I know Izuna." He looked back at her from the tip of his eye. "He won't be affected by something petty like this."

Amane grinned. "Does that mean he'll try harder?"

"I'm just saying he's not giving up that easily."