I don't own Naruto.

Hinata sighed as she sat on the front steps of the main house of the compound, just looking up towards the sky at the clouds that passed overhead. It was another one of those days where Mito was visiting, so Hashirama was off with her once more. She chose to stay as far from the redhead as she could, the woman truly didn't like her and yet Hinata had never said a single word to her. It seemed she lingered around more often now, or as Kaira had said... Lingered like a bad smell in a small room. Sure, that was a little harsh, but Hinata wanted to train with Hashirama and the redhead was stealing away any time she would get to do that.

She looked across the way to see Tobirama sitting beneath a tree and sighed, she wondered if he was going to be mean to her today too. A chill went down her spine as she realized she had met his gaze. She looked away, trying to act as if she had not been caught staring although she knew she had. He made his way over to her and she jolted to look down at her feet, not wanting to meet his gaze once more. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet, he was surprisingly gentle with her for once. "Come with me." He grunted and she followed behind him sullenly. He led her to a room in the compound that housed their weaponry.

He opened one case and looked down to the blade within. She just watched as he ran his fingers over the shining steel of the blade. He pulled it out and sheathed it, offering it to her. "The brothers use blades as well as Jutsu. Today you will learn how to use one yourself." He bit out and she nodded as she took the blade from his grasp carefully. She looked over the braided blue, black, and white of the hilt, then back up to him as he reached to pull his armor on. His color scheme matched the blade perfectly and she couldn't help but wonder if the blade was once his.

"Don't stare at me like that. We aren't friends, nor will we be. I don't make friends." He muttered and she nodded as she looked down to the blade in her grasp once more. He secured his armor into place and set some more armor on the table before her. She reached up and ran her fingers over the white armor before her. "Father had that made for you." Was all he said as he turned his back to her once more. Hinata just watched him as she secured her new armor into place. He was still rude, but he wasn't being excessively harsh today which was a surprise.

As if he had noticed her confused stare he looked at her once more, only releasing a sigh. "I figure that since you have wind style, you could possibly learn how to use the wind with a blade to enhance the performance of a blade." He explained, as if having to explain it to her was a bother to him. She frowned but nodded, that wasn't the slightest bit what she was confused about... but whatever. She watched as he grabbed his blade and motioned for her to leave. When they exited the building he made his way out of the compound, not even looking to see if she were following him.

The only sound that signified that she was following him was the soft clinking of her armor. He led her to a large clearing where trees surrounded them on all sides and stopped in the center of it. He approached her and she flinched and squeezed her eyes shut as if she expected him to hit her. She cracked her eyes open slowly to see he was giving her a sad look, but the moment he realized her eyes were open it vanished. "Show me how you hold the blade." He said, his tone stern but not mean. She held the blade out before her tilted to the left slightly. She wasn't sure what exactly he wanted her to do, as she had only ever used kunai. Her eyes went wide as he carefully grabbed her elbows and pushed them to where her arms held the blade straight up.

He placed his hands on her upper arms and used one of his feet to slide each of hers into a proper stance. He then proceeded to urge her to straighten up her form by placing a hand on her lower back and forcing the slight slouch out. A small blush coated her cheeks and he crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at her. "This is the proper stance for sword fighting." He said and she looked around at the way she was holding herself and nodded to him. He fell into the same stance and pulled his own blade, the sheath still on.

"Come at me like your life depends on it." he said and she nodded, gripping her blade tightly as she rushed at him. She raised the blade over her head to strike down at him, but the sheathed end of his blade connected with her chest plate roughly and she stumbled back gasping for air. He just watched as she stumbled backwards and tried to fall back into that stance once more. The slight glimmer of approval in his eyes strengthened her resolve to do so. She wanted him to stop being rude to her, so perhaps if she could impress him... he would stop treating her so badly.

"Again." He said, his voice not harsh, but that of an instructor. She nodded and rushed for him once more, this time she knew not to leave her stomach open to his hits. She swung from left to right, only for him to swiftly to do the opposite and his weapon to connect with her shoulder sending her stumbling down. She winced as she forced herself back to stand once more, that hint of approval at her determination flickering through his gaze once more as he returned to his stance. Her hands gripped the blade tightly and she fell back into that stance yet again. She wanted him to show more of that approval, that was her goal now.

"Again." He said this once more and she nodded as she rushed forward once more, looking for any sign of which way he was going to swing at her. He showed no hints of this, so she tried her best not to either. She swung at the last second, jabbing her blade forward. A shock of pain rushed down her spine and she cried out as she tumbled to the ground once more. He had come from above and slammed his sheathed blade right between her shoulder blades. She looked up at him and he had tied his blade back behind his back, that look of inherent disapproval showing on his features now. He turned to walk away, but she grabbed the blade from the ground and swung it at him once more, her blade connected with his from behind his back and he narrowed his eyes at her as he knocked her away from him with a swift pull of the blade in both hands.

She stood and looked at him once more. He wasn't going to give up on her, she wasn't going to let him. He looked over at her stance and raised a single brow. "Come at me then, if you are so sure you can take me like this." He snarled, his tone no longer that of a teacher. It wasn't harsh, nor was it gentle instructive... it seemed excited, he seemed excited. She gripped the blade tightly and rushed for him once more. He swung down at her from the left, but she countered it with her blade and attempted to send a palm to his gut. He slung her blade away from him and sent a swift kick to her gut. He held his blade in both hands and waited for her to rush at him once more.

She flipped the blade backwards like a kunai and lunged for him, meeting his downward slashing blade with an upward swing. She swung at him with her other hand, only to miss the intended target of his shoulder and connect with the forearm of the hand not holding his blade. He forced her blade down and slammed his forehead against hers roughly, causing her to cry out in pain. He took this chance to lunge at her with his blade pointed straight for her, only for her to twist to the side and slam her wrist down on his forcing the blade towards the ground. In the blink of an eye, he had grabbed the blade with his other hand, wrapped an arm up around her side where his hand gripped tightly on the opposite shoulder, and his blade was at her neck.

Her eyes went wide at this, she had no idea he was truly this fast. She glanced down at her hand here her blade was still held tightly in the grasp of her right hand, but her left arm was pinned to her chest by his arm. She tried to struggle slightly in his grasp, but she couldn't move the slightest as he held her tightly. Her back was flush to his chest and his leg pinning hers so she couldn't move it in the slightest either. She carefully turned her head to see an amused smirk on his lips. Her mouth fell open in surprise, she had never seen the man with this kind of expression before...

He spun her out of his grasp swiftly and she stumbled to catch her footing, clutching her blade to her chest. The slightest blush tinting her cheeks at this, she swallowed lightly and he actually reached over and ruffled her hair. The blade almost fell from her grasp and she scrambled to catch it and sheathe it once more. She only watched him as he left, he turned to look over his shoulder at her and she jolted once more. "You coming?" he asked, the smirk still lingering. She nodded rapidly and rushed to catch up to him. She didn't know exactly what had brough about this change in him, but she preferred him this way.

"Here I was thinking you were an idiot who learned slow." He mused and her mood soured then, well so much for that. She glared at the back of his head as she cradled the blade in her arms as she chased behind him. He stopped walking and sighed as he turned to look at her, pulling the blade from her grasp. She just looked up at him as he wrapped his arms around her, her eyes wide. She felt his fingers brushing over her lower back gently and she began sputtering, only to slam her forehead into his in her panic. This resulted in only her really getting hurt from it as he had his senju headband on, and him giving her an exasperated look.

He sighed and readjusted his hitai-ate as she continued to sputter absolute nonsense at him. The amusement didn't once leave his eyes though as he tapped his hand to the hilt of his sword that was tied to his back. She snapped her mouth shut and looked to see that he had done the same for hers. She squeezed her eyes shut and stumbled over an apology but he only shook his head and chuckled softly. She looked up at him swiftly as he continued to walk away from her. She rushed to catch up once more and looked over to him. She furrowed her brows in thought as she tried to figure out why he was suddenly so different towards her. It was like a light switch had flipped.

She wondered how long this would last. He looked over at her as well and she looked away. "I didn't think you had it in you to be ferocious like that. Didn't think the scared little mouse held a lion in disguise." He said simply and she just stared at him in awe. "Keep that up..." he began and she looked to meet his gaze once more. "And perhaps... I could change my opinion of you." He said and a brilliant smile broke out over her lips. He just rolled his eyes at her excitement. "That's nothing to get excited over." He grumbled and she lunged to hug him tightly. He froze in place and just stared at her, his eyes wide. She looked up at him and smiled once more.

"Thank you."

:-:-:-:-:

Today everyone else seemed busy, Hashirama with Mito, and Tobirama was off with Butsuma, so she decided she would go back out and collect more herbs and whatnot. Tobirama had scolded her the last time she had come out here without her weapon, so she carried it with her this time. She couldn't help the smile as she though about how Hashirama had reacted to seeing the two of them training together yesterday. He had been so purely happy and excited that it had annoyed the life out of Tobirama. It had only been the second time they had trained together, but that was the thing... they seemed to somewhat be getting along.

She crouched by a patch of flowers that she knew were poisonous and she held one of her jars beneath the bud and gently began clipping them off and watched them fall into the jar. After she had gathered all of those, she placed the jar in her basket and dusted herself off. She continued her herb and flower gathering for another twenty or so minutes, only for her to feel someone's gaze on her. She furrowed her brow, but did not stand from where she was crouched. She activated byakugan and scanned the area around her as she clipped the bud of yet another poisonous flower and dropped it into a jar. When she caught sight of the one watching her, she realized it was not one but two people.

Her fingers trembled as she stood and dusted her knees off once more, only to swiftly scoop her fingers through the loops of the scissors and attempt to send them flying. A hand slapped itself to her wrist and squeezed, making her drop the scissors and wince. She deactivated her Byakugan and looked at the person who had grabbed her arm. Her eyes widened and her lips trembled as she realized who it was. Her whole body felt like it was shaking at this point. She looked over to the tree line and saw his brother walking out of the woods calmly, as if her attempt to throw the scissors at him meant nothing.

"She's shaking in her shoes brother..." the younger one said in amusement and she turned to look at him once more. Madara grasped her chin gently and she squeezed her eyes shut as he turned her face to get a better look at her. "There must be some reason they keep such a weak little girl around." He muttered under his breath softly, only to release her roughly. She felt the tears trying to force their way up now, her whole body trembling in her fear. She hadn't been brave enough to face him before in the war, so she knew she wasn't brave enough now. Especially not with his younger brother right here with him. The younger brother released his grip on her wrist and she pulled both hands to her chest and clutched it tightly.

"She's so timid, Madara look at her." he said as he shoved her lightly. She didn't react, she could only hope that if she didn't react in the slightest, they would leave her alone. She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and willed them to go away, her subconscious mind hoping they would lose interest and go away. "Izuna, what do you think we should do with her?" Madara asked and her eyes snapped open the moment he said that. She watched as the younger brother turned to Madara, his hand on his blade and sliding it out slowly. Her eyes took that small movement as he was going to come at her, she was going to fight for her life now there was no doubt about that. The moment he opened his mouth to speak she struck the base of his neck, making the younger one crumple to the ground. Before he hit the ground though, she snatched his sword from the sheath and pulled her own to use as a defensive blade as it was faced back behind her like a kunai.

The enraged look that crossed Madara's face as he looked down to his brother then back at her shook her to her core. She braced herself as he lunged for her, his blade connecting with both of hers. He was physically stronger so she was being forced to a crouched position by him. She focused her chakra into her legs and grit her teeth as she pushed back at him, his blade almost slipping from his grasp as she did so. She regained her footing and panted as she stepped back away from him. Izuna groaned from the ground and struggled to push himself to his knees as Madara backed up to stand in front of him. She squeezed one eye shut and continued to pant as she tried to calm herself.

It had taken a lot of chakra to get the strength to force him off of her. She watched as he yanked his younger brother up to his feet and push him behind him. "Damn, Izu... how'd you let your guard down like that?" he scolded his younger brother, only for him to give Madara a sheepish look. She continued to watch them both carefully as now it was once more two against one. "I want my sword back." Izuna said and she narrowed her eyes at him as he stood back up to his full height. Her chakra pulsed and the veins bulged around her eyes.

"T-then take it." she managed and the brothers smirked at her. She was terrified, but she couldn't show them that. They didn't need to see her fear anymore. Madara lunged at her once more and she stopped his blade once more, only for her to see Izuna appear behind her. She ducked down to avoid his kick and Madara had to duck as well to avoid his brothers kick. The two exchanged glances, she could see the confusion in their eyes as they looked at one another. They had never fought a Hyuuga before it seemed, she had a very minimal advantage since they didn't know she could see in near perfect three-sixty. Their eyes spun red and she knew they were waiting for her to move now.

She was going to need a hand free seeing as they were going to try and copy her movements. She slowly moved to sheathe her blade, not trying to startle them into attacking once more. She held Izuna's blade up in front of her in a defensive slant, while she held her other hand up her palm out flat below the blade. Madara lunged first yet again, this time instead of coming from the back like before; Izuna lunged from the front as well. She blocked Madara's blade with Izuna's, only to see his knee coming up at her as well. She moved to block that but was hit with a strong jab with a fist to the side from Izuna. She recoiled from that and Madara's knee connected with her other side.

She cried out as the two overpowered her and sent her sprawling backwards. She stabbed the blade in the ground and used it to pull herself back to her feet, only for both of them to rush at her once more. Her eyes flicked from one brother to the other, she crouched to avoid Izuna's punch, only to jab at tenketsu with her free hand. He yelped in pain and his right arm hung limply to his side as she attempted to deflect Madara's hit, but instead caused the blade to slice across on cheek while forehead connected roughly with hers. She cried out as she hit the ground a few feet away. She shakily forced herself to her hands and knees, memories of her fighting Pain haunting her thoughts once more.

She looked up to see Izuna snatch his blade with his good arm, an irritated look on his face as he sheathed it and returned to clutching his arm once more. The moment he saw her looking up at him he sneered at her and rushed on her once more, only for her to shove herself up off the ground and lunge at him once more. "Eight trigrams sixty-four palms!" she yelled as her fingertips continuously made contact with his body causing it to jerk beneath her touch. Before she could land the final hit someone knocked Izuna out of the way and took the flat palm to the underside of their jaw instead. Izuna fell to the ground on his backside, only for Madara to be standing there where he had been.

She stumbled backward as he reached for her once more, blood dripping over his chin from where most likely she had made him bite his tongue. When she peered up at him, his eyes were no longer red, nor did they hold the anger they did before. Instead, they held an intent interest. Izuna grumbled obscenities as he scraped himself up off the ground, a shaky breath escaped her as he managed to stand once more. Her Byakugan stared right at his closed off tenketsu, and yet... he could still stand. Her gaze shifted to Madara and she saw the tenketsu in his lower jaw closed off as well, the both of them seemed unaffected by this. 'How?' she thought as she fell onto her backside and tried to scoot herself away from them.

Madara made his way over to her and crouched before her once more. A wicked smirk crossed his lips as he grabbed her chin and looked her over yet again, interest fluttering through his gaze. "P-please... I don't want to die..." she whispered and Madara's smirk turned into a frown at this. Her Byakugan deactivated and his eyes softened slightly, his half-lidded gaze not leaving hers once. He released her chin and looked over to his brother once more. "I think I know why the Senju like to keep her around." He said and she looked up at him in confusion. Izuna made his way over to her and crouched before her as well. Despite the situation she was in, a blush found its way to her cheeks as both of the brothers stared at her for a moment.

"She's cute, I'll give her that. Even all beat up she's cute." Izuna said and her blush darkened some. Madara released an exasperated sigh at his brother and pinched the bridge of his nose. He slammed his fist down on top of Izuna's head, eliciting a yelp from the younger man. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her at this, it reminded her of another set of brothers she spent her time with. As if realizing she had laughed, she slapped her hands over her mouth and looked at them in fear. Izuna just stared up at her from where his hands gripped the top of his head. "She's cute, brother... like a little bunny." Izuna said, earning him another whack.

Her gaze flicked over to Madara, who was watching her intently now. "You idiot. They keep her because she doesn't want to fight." He sighed and Izuna looked up at him in confusion. "She doesn't want to fight, but she just does to survive. She's no different from the rest of us in her motives. I'm assuming the only reason she attacked you was because of your stupid habit of pulling your blade out of its sheath and letting it drop." Madara said and Hinata's wide eyes landed on him once more. She didn't want to say anything to them, just in case they decided they didn't want to let her leave after they finished bickering back and forth.

She looked from one brother to the other, only for them to look at her once more. A chill shot down her spine and she attempted to crawl away from them, but she found herself too physically weak to do so. Madara stood and his brother followed suit. "Come on Izuna, let's go home." Madara said, only to turn back to give her one more smirk. "See you later... Princess." He said and the tone in which he used sent more shivers down her spine. Izuna lingered behind to look at her once more, but Madara grabbed him by the collar of his black shirt and pull him along with him. "Bye Bunny-chan!" he called behind him as he was drug away.

She closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as she forced herself over onto her side and then eventually onto her stomach. She struggled to her hands and knees, but was caught off guard as blood dripped onto the ground. She sat back on her feet and touched her forehead and looked at her fingers that were stained red. She supposed that headbutt they had landed did some damage. She reached up and touched her cheek as well, the scratch across her cheek was shallow thankfully. It had already stopped bleeding as well. She pulled her sheathed blade and used it to force herself to stand.

She hobbled over to her herbs and hooked her arm through the handle of the basket to bring it back with her.

:-:-:-:

Madara and Izuna made their way back to their compound, only to collapse face first onto the ground the moment they got in the gates. "Damn... I can't move..." Izuna grumbled from the dirt beside him. He turned to look over at his younger brother with a disgruntled look. "You and that damn habit of yours..." he slurred angrily. She had managed to land a few other hits on him as well, which is why he was in pain too. She forced himself back to his feet and looked down at his brother, who legitimately couldn't move it seemed.

Madara released a sigh as he rubbed the underside of his chin, he could feel the bruise that was going to form there already. His eyes narrowed and he opened his mouth and flew through hand signs for a fire jutsu. He supplied the chakra and the air, and yet only a wisp of ash escaped his lips. A wicked smirk crossed his lips then, he touched with his fingers and attempted to force chakra around the blocked tenketsu but it wouldn't go. He shrugged slightly as he reached and grabbed Izuna by the collar of his jacket once more.

"Seems those delicate fingers of hers can close off tenketsu. A nifty trick." He said as he dragged Izuna face down through the dirt and up the stairs. The thump... thump... thump... that followed him amusing him to no end, despite the string of curses that escaped his brother he found the situation amusing. "Lesson one, don't let the bunny touch you." Madara instructed and Izuna nodded after he threw his younger brother onto his mattress. Tajima walked in, having seen his eldest dragging his youngest across the floor.

He looked up at his father and could only grin sheepishly as he rolled Izuna onto his back to prevent him being smothered in the blanket. His father only sighed deeply as he took in the sight of them. "Idiots." He seethed and Madara only grinned wider. "I see you boys met my friend up close and personal." Kaira's amused voice came from behind their father. "You told us where she frequented, but not what she could do." Izuna grumbled and she only laughed.

"I also never told you to attack her. I told you to watch her and learn from her. She is the embodiment of what the senju want right now, I just told you dumb fucks to figure it out by watching her." Kaira said as she made her way over and sat on the bed beside Izuna, only to drag a claw over his cheek gently. When she figured out he couldn't move in the slightest, she seemed to lose interest in flirting with him. He looked to his father for help the moment her hand snaked up to his chin, but there was only an outline where his father had once been. Madara sighed, he guessed that the flirting didn't just extend to him and Izuna then.

"I'm a sucker for older men too, too bad he's taken." She said, confirming his suspicions. "What, mother catch you trying your wiles on father and flip her shit?" he asked and she smirked at him wickedly. "No no... he just runs too fast for me to catch up to... you boys on the other hand... can't seem to escape me. You are much more fun..." she said and a pint tint coated his cheeks as her other hand crawled across his lap. "I can't move here... please don't do that while I'm laying here..." Izuna whined and a thought seemed to drift through her mind at this. She looked back at Izuna, who stared at her with fear filled eyes. "I'm honestly not into that." She said and Izuna breathed a sigh of relief, only for her to lean over him and smile at him.

"I can wait until you're... fully functional and then we try." She whispered into his ear and Madara shoved his head into his hands, why did they have to be stuck with the flirt. He looked over to see his brother pale in the face with blood flooding from both sides of his nose this time. "Why? Why do you flirt with us like this?" he asked and she made her way back beside him and crossed one leg over the other and leaned back on her hands that were behind her. "Do you want an excuse or the truth?" she asked and he furrowed his brows at her. She seemed sincere in this...

"What would be the lie?" he asked and she allowed a small smile to cross her lips. "The lie would be that I just want someone to love me." She said and he watched her in confusion. "How would that be the lie?" she asked and he nodded to this. He wanted to know how that could be a lie, when it seemed that was what she wanted. "No one would fall in love with me for who I am if I act this way, they'll just lust after me." She explained and he nodded, he could understand that. He supposed it could be why she did it, to see who would ignore her act and see though it to fall for who she really was. "Oh, sweetie... I think you're thinking too deep into it, rest them brows and un-crease that forehead of yours. You will only cause stress lines trying to understand it fully." She sighed and he frowned as she rubbed her fingertips over his forehead.

"The truth would be that you're trying to find the one it doesn't affect." He said and she jerked to look at him, seemed he hit the nail right on the head. She smirked at him now and he felt his throat go dry at the look in her eyes. "To be honest, I've already found him." She said as she slipped off the bed. He watched as she maneuvered around in front of him, only to slide one knee up over his leg. He watched as one by one those long legs made their way up over his, her movements only ending when she was straddling his lap. He swallowed softly as he averted his gaze from her cleavage that was now in his face. Her fingertips trailing over his shoulders before making their way down his back made him shudder.

"If you found the one that this doesn't affect... why are you still doing this to us?" he asked through gritted teeth and she only smiled as she tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Because... I still have needs..." she whispered and he swallowed once more, not once breaking his gaze from hers. "I'm pretty sure you two pretty boys could help satisfy those." She whispered as her lips hovered over his. Izuna made a choking noise from behind him and he sighed and shoved the woman off his lap, that pink tinge still lingering on his cheeks.

"I'm not a toy for you to use and leave behind." He ground out and an interested look flickered through her eyes, but she didn't make another move on him. He turned to see that Izuna had a goofy look on his face as he held his hands over his nose. Madara only sighed and looked back to the woman who was now sitting on the edge of the bed once more. "Plus, I like you guys. You're fun to mess with." She said and offered a smile to him. He just shook his head and sighed. "Did you ever think that maybe the reason whoever it is has no interest in your flirting because he might not like women?" Madara asked and she smirked at him.

"I'm pretty sure he's not. It's not necessarily that I want him not to accept my advances like you two obviously do... it's that..." she began only to breathe deeply and tap her fingers on her knees for a moment. "How should I say this... I want someone who can throw my advances back at me, I suppose..." she said and he stared at her oddly. She licked her lips once more, only to continue. "I don't want a submissive partner." She said and Madara rolled his eyes. "I'm not submissive." He grumbled and she smirked at him once more.

"Prove it, then." She said and he smirked back at her. "In your dreams, dog."

:-:-:-:

Hashirama looked around everywhere for her, the woman linked to his arm watching intently as he did so. "What are you looking for?" she asked and he looked down at her. "Hinata-san. I haven't seen her all afternoon..." he said and she made a small noise in response. He ignored her dismissive nature and unlinked his arm from hers. Something deep down didn't feel right, and her clinging to him all of a sudden didn't help anything. He looked around and saw Tobirama looking around as well. He ran over to his younger brother and father, who greeted him softly.

"Are you looking for Hinata too?" he asked and Tobirama shook his head. "Should we be?" his father asked and he frowned. "I honestly don't know, but something doesn't feel right. I know she can handle herself pretty well, but it doesn't stop me from worrying." He said and Tobirama furrowed his brows. "If you say something doesn't feel right, then I trust you." He said as he crouched and placed his fingers to the ground. The moment Tobirama's eyes snapped open and he took off running Hashirama knew his gut feeling had been right.

They all took off after Tobirama, Mito following close behind. She wasn't far from the compound it seemed as Tobirama's run had slowed considerably now. He watched as his brother crouched by some bushes and pulled Hinata's herb basket from them. He rushed over to see that Tobirama was pulling Hinata from a hiding place within the roots of the tree. Hashirama crouched and brushed his fingertips over the cut across her cheek, causing her eyes to flutter open softly.

She just smiled up at them, despite the exhaustion that plagued her, she still smiled at them. "Hinata... what happened to you?" he asked as he carefully pulled her up into a sitting position. He brushed her bangs back and saw the bruise that was starting to form on her forehead. "I fought Madara... and Izuna..." she managed and his eyes went wide as he gripped her arm gently. "Why would you do that?" he snapped and she just stared up at him with confused eyes. "They could have killed you!" he snapped and she just smiled softly once more.

"I know..." she said softly, and he took a deep breath to try and calm himself. He shouldn't be angry with her, he didn't understand why he was. Perhaps he was worried about her? He looked down at her to see she was talking softly with Tobirama and he sighed as he crossed his legs and sat before her as Tobirama had. "Why did you fight them?" he asked once more and she looked over to him and patted him softly on the knee. "I'm ok... it was honestly a misunderstanding on my part." She said softly and he blinked at her.

"Madara asked Izuna what they should do about me... a-and I saw him messing with his sword... so I attacked..." she managed, only to stop and strain to even out her breathing once more. "You attacked first?" he asked and she nodded. He watched her uneven breathing and he motioned for her to lay back against the tree once more. When she did her breathing became better somewhat. "I have three broken ribs." She whispered softly and the two of them stared at her in shock.

"How far did you walk before you got here?" Tobirama asked and she smiled up at them once more. "I was in Kaira's territory." She said softly and Hashirama's hands trembled gently as he lifted her up as carefully as she could. "M-my sword... Tobirama don't leave it behind..." she pleaded softly and he frowned down at her as Tobirama searched for the blade. 'What were you thinking?' he thought to himself angrily. He knew that he had trouble with only Madara sometimes and yet she went up against both brothers and is still smiling.

His eyes softened as he looked down on her, taking in all of her injuries. Why did they leave her alive? Don't get him wrong, he was grateful his friend was still alive, but if she attacked them... he wasn't sure what the Uchiha brothers plan was with leaving her alive after all the effort they clearly put in to beat her down. He brushed the hair out of her face and she just grinned up at him. "I held my own, H-Hashirama-kun." She said and he smiled down at her softly. "I'm sure you did." He said and she just continued to smile.

Tobirama seemed to be seething beside him, he could understand his brothers anger honestly. What he couldn't understand was why his brother seemed to be angry at himself, rather than the two Uchiha that she had fought with. He could see it in his brother's face, the self loathing he held. "Tobirama-" he began, but his brother cut him off. "If I hadn't decided to teach her how to fight with a sword, she may not have been hurt so badly." He bit out and Hinata tilted her head to look up at him, that smile never once leaving her lips.

She reached up and patted him on the cheek with the back of her fingers. "If you hadn't t-taught me... I would be dead." She said and he frowned down at her. He opened his mouth to scold her and she just laughed lightly. "I stole Izuna's s-sword from him." She began, taking a deep breath in between. "And I used b-both swords against them." She said and Tobirama sighed and put his hand over her eyes. "Get some rest you idiot. Quit straining yourself trying to talk to us." He grumbled and Hashirama only laughed as she blinked up at him from between Tobirama's fingers.

Despite the fact she was hurt so severely, she was excited she had held her own against the two, even if she had lost in the long run. "Izuna is p-probably not going to be able to fight for a few days..." she stammered softly and he looked down at her once more, only to see her examining the bruising fingertips of her hand. His eyes went wide and he grimaced slightly as he remembered how it had felt to be on the receiving end of those hands. He had been able to stand back up and fight more after she had hit him but hours later when the full effects of it set in, he had been aching that night. Not that he would tell her that, he knew she hadn't been trying to hurt him.

Tobirama opened the door to her bedroom and he laid her on her bed. He sat on the edge of her bed and he looked over to see Mito standing in the doorway, an unreadable expression on her face as if she was trying to decide on something. "I need the room clear." Was all she said as she stepped in. He and Tobirama exchanged looks, but nodded and left anyways.

:-:-:-:

Hinata looked over to see that Mito had cleared the room of all the men. The redhead then delicately sat on her bed, facing her fully. "I can heal you..." she said and Hinata just stared up at her, she was in too much pain to endure one of this woman's lectures right now. Hinata knew why Mito didn't like her now, she had seen the scowl on the woman's face the entire way home as Hashirama held her. It wasn't like she had jumped into Hashirama's arms and begged him to carry her home, that was Hashirama's decision and his alone. Hinata was internally fed up with the constant jealousy and contempt this woman sent her way. She was just fed up with her in general honestly.

"I know there's a b-but added onto that." She managed and the other woman scoffed at her. Hinata just blinked up at the woman, how could someone so lovely be so insecure? She didn't understand that in the slightest. An insecure woman was her own biggest downfall. She assumed that was why she was also so weak all the time, she was insecure in her own abilities. Hinata looked back to the other woman and sighed. She knew her and Hashirama were together, it was no secret. It wasn't like she was trying to take him from her, which she wasn't. She just wanted to go home... back to Naruto... but she didn't know how to get back to him and that was the issue.

"I want you to stay away from Hashirama." Mito said and Hinata huffed lightly, it wasn't like she got to train with him anymore anyways so why was Mito so worried. "I'm not trying to take him from you, he is j-just my friend." Hinata muttered softly and the woman's fingers found a tender spot in her ribs, causing her to wince. Mito knew exactly what she was doing there, despite the small apologetic smile that rested on her lips. She knew that smile was just fake, it was easy to see through. Hinata had seen her fair share of fake smiles and false sincerity. She grew up in a family consisting of two faced branch members who hated her very existence as heiress.

"It wasn't a request." She said as she began removing the outer layering of Hinata's shirt. Hinata just watched her with a frown. She didn't have the energy or confidence to fight with the woman, so she wasn't going to. The chill of the cold air whisked across Hinata's exposed skin and Hinata closed her eyes, she didn't want to look down and see her own chest exposed to the woman before her. She honestly didn't have the strength to be embarrassed by this either. Hinata continued to wince as the woman's bony fingers jabbed at all the places she was hurting most.

"Say you'll leave him alone." She demanded and Hinata withheld the urge to roll her eyes, but she grimaced once more as those fingers found one of her ribs once more. "Fine. I'll stay away f-from him." She said and the other woman sighed in relief. The warmth of the healing chakra coated her torso and Hinata sighed as she felt her pain ebbing away. Hinata looked over at the woman, only to notice that tears were streaking over her cheeks now. Hinata hadn't said anything to her other than what she wanted her to say, so why was she crying?

"I need you to stay away from him... because..." she began, only stopping to sob once more. Hinata furrowed her brow as the redhead looked at her once more. "Because I'm pregnant... and I'm so scared I'm going to lose him."