I don't own Naruto.

She could smell them. The first scent she smelled was the one that belonged to Hashirama, her fingernails tapped anxiously against the bark of the tree she was currently hidden within. He smelled like the woods during the spring, it was enticing but not as enticing as the scents of the others. She sniffed the air once more, only to catch the overpowering floral scent that Hinata always emanated, despite the only flowers she lingered near were poisonous ones. She sniffed once more, catching the smell of the brothers behind her. Their distinct smell resonated within all those of their clan, the smell reminded her of a smoldering fire the distinct burning smell was alluring to her.

However, the one that drew her to it the most was the one that smelled like a combination of the woods, but something else as well that she couldn't really describe. Kumo couldn't smell whatever it was on him that she could smell, which she couldn't understand at first. She later realized that it was only Tobirama she smelled this particular scent on. She supposed this was what drew her to him, this indescribable scent that drove her senses mad.

"Can you smell anything, Kaira?" Madara called from below and she sniffed once more. She could smell the amassing senju and she wondered if this was the moment they were going to make their attempt at a truce with the Uchiha or if this was an ambush. "Not sure. I smell Hinata-chan though." She said and the brothers seemed to perk up at this. She furrowed her brow as she watched them get excited, it was not about to be a rematch on what they had endured before, she wouldn't let that happen.

"I smell Senju now." She said and the brothers' excitement vanished. "I'm going to kill Tobirama this time." Izuna muttered under his breath and a child ran down her spine. She jumped down and looked the brothers in the eyes. "We are not going to attack. Just watch." She said and the brothers made grunts of disapproval, but Madara just shrugged. "Follow me." She said and hopped back up into the tree and led them around to where they could observe the senju lesser who thought they were hidden. Kumo made his way out into the open as a decoy to see what they would do, but they just made their way up to the large dog and began petting him.

They had become accustomed to the dog's large size and friendly demeanor so they no longer feared him. She took this as they had come to discuss the truce, since none of them really seemed on guard. Much rather they seemed amicable. She hopped down and made her way over to them, only for them to greet her with open arms. Not literally, but they were still talking to her and trying to make nice. She smiled inwardly at this, none of the other clans around them were nice to her this way. Only Uchiha and Senju, the two strongest clans seemed to enjoy her presence when she wasn't flirting.

Hinata and Hashirama came out to greet her as well, although Hinata still seemed to be trying to ignore the fact Hashirama existed. She couldn't stand the Uzumaki woman for this, making Hinata avoid one of her first friends in this place. What caught her off guard though, was the fact that Hashirama's scent lingered on Hinata. She resisted the urge to ask about it right then, but she would definitely be asking about it later. The moment Tobirama made himself known, she couldn't help the smile that crossed her lips. When he returned it, although hardly as noticeable as the one she sent him, her heart jumped in her chest. The urge to flirt with him tried to win, but she was trying to take things seriously right now so she didn't.

He opened his mouth to say something, but the moment he did Izuna lunged from the trees and managed to catch him off guard, that was where things blew up massively. It was an all out battle from all sides of her the moment Tobirama was taken to the ground by Izuna. Kumo rushed on the Senju clansmen, and Madara attacked Hashirama. She grit her teeth as she took in everything happening around her. She looked over to see Hinata looking around like a startled deer, only for her fearful gaze to land on an object on the ground near the two. She watched as Hinata rushed for the blade that had been discarded by Izuna due to a swift hit from Tobirama. The moment Tobirama managed to get up and pull his own sword, she knew she had to stop them.

:-:-:-:-:

Hinata couldn't help but just stare at the sight before her. How had this happened so swiftly? Madara was locked in battle with Hashirama, which she knew that would be how that one went but it wasn't as if he were trying to hurt madara. He was trying to distract him and not hurt him. However, the fight between Izuna and Tobirama was going differently. She knew in her time Tobirama had killed Izuna, but how had Tobirama been taken down? Izuna had managed to get the drop on him and he was just lying there, which she couldn't understand.

Why was he not fighting back? Izuna landed hit after hit on Tobirama, and yet he just lay there tanking those hits. Her eyes drifted over to where Kaira was defending against the Senju, but not seriously maiming them. Where did she fit into all of this? One moment she had been talking to Kaira, and the next... Tobirama was on the ground defending against Izuna's hits. She knew that Hashirama had asked him not to kill either of them, but hitting back didn't count as trying to kill them.

She rushed at Izuna, she had to get him away from Tobirama before he could get his blade back, she knew Izuna had no qualms about killing Tobirama. As if Izuna noticed her running for his blade, he stopped his assault on Tobirama and rolled for it. The moment his hand touched the blade she struck for his elbow, trying to disable it once more. He rolled into a kick and sent her flying away from him once more. At this point Tobirama was back on his feet and was rushing for Izuna brandishing his own sword. A kunai flew at Izuna, which he easily dodged but that wasn't the issue. Tobirama had fallen into that familiar stance and had lunged forward. She opened her mouth to call out to him, but it was too late he was already in progress of the attack.

However, the outcome was not the same as in her time. Tobirama's Flying Rajin slash had not made contact... well it had, but with a clone... the moment Izuna appeared behind Tobirama, she screamed out to him. It was as if all the fighting ceased at this moment. A drop of blood splattered her cheek and she felt another scream bubbling up her throat. Her movements felt slow as she rushed forward, as if something were weighing her down.

The only sound she heard was Tobirama's hitai-ate hitting the ground. She finally managed to get over to him, but he was staring straight at her in surprise. That was when she noticed the only mark he had on him was a scratch going across his shoulder. He gripped it tightly and he was slowly turning to see what had blocked the attack from the young Uchiha. A feral growling was emanating from behind him and Hinata looked around him to see Kaira and Izuna forehead to forehead, her chakra flaring dangerously. Her sharp canines bared at him, like a dog warning of their intent to attack. Hinata had to admit that when the woman got like this, she was terrifying.

"K-Kaira..." was all she could manage as she looked her friend over, checking to see how badly she was injured. She was still growling at Izuna, who had released the blade and stepped away from her. "I told you... we weren't going to attack." She snarled and Hinata saw that one hand was holding the blade tightly, while the other was pinned to her shoulder by the blade as if she had tried to slow the speed of it with her palm. She looked down to see Tobirama crouched while holding his shoulder from where he had pulled himself off the blade. Despite his pain he stood and turned to look at Kaira.

Both Madara and Hashirama had run over at this point and Madara was currently yelling at Kaira, asking what the hell she thought she was doing. Hashirama snapped at him and told him to shut up before he made his way over to her and gripped the blade gently. Tobirama tried to stop him, but Hashirama swiftly ripped the blade from her shoulder making her grunt in pain. All of them began yelling at one another and Hinata couldn't stand it anymore. Tobirama was crouched beside Kaira, who was holding her injured hand to her chest while yelling at the Uchiha brothers. Izuna and Hashirama started yelling back and forth and soon enough Madara joined in that argument as well.

"Stop it!" she screamed and they all looked at her as tears filled her eyes. "Stop fighting! What are we even doing this for!?" she cried out and they all looked from one to the other. "Kaira is injured! Protecting Tobirama from you!" she yelled, pointing her finger at Izuna, who just glared at her. "And you!" she turned that finger on Madara now, who just watched her in silence. "You and Hashirama used to be friends... what happened to that?" she asked and he made a move to speak, but she shook her head at him and cut him off. "I don't want to hear about clan war this and clan war that... can't you see that all we are doing here is hurting each other more? Can't you see... that we are only making the problem worse?" she asked and Madara crossed his arms over his chest.

"You two used to be friends who dreamed of a better life for everyone... and yet here you both are... making it worse for EVERYONE!!" she yelled, only for Hashirama to look down in shame. He knew she was talking about him as well. She was so tired of all the fighting, all of the arguing and all of the death. "It doesn't have to be this way anymore... you both are the leaders of your clans... Madara... why do you think you and Izuna are here alone right now without your clan? They didn't want to fight anymore... they were tired..." she started off strong, but the more she spoke the softer her tone got. She fisted her hands by her side and a hand found its way to her shoulder, only for her to look up and see Hashirama smiling softly down at her.

She knew her part of this was over now, she didn't have to say anything else. Hashirama reached out to Madara, who only stared at him wide eyed. "Can we be done fighting now? I want my friend back..." he said and she watched as Madara's hand twitched up as if he were going to take Hashirama's offer for a truce, but Izuna cried out and lunged for Hashirama while calling him a liar. Her body moved on its own at this point, yet again she saw herself jumping in front of a bright-eyed fool to try to save him.

Hashirama's eyes went wide, mirroring that same look Naruto had held when she had jumped in front of him to protect him from the Juubi attack. He called out for her, but before Izuna could land a hit with Tobirama's discarded blade a swift uppercut sent him flying backwards. Her arms slowly dropped from where they had been outstretched to protect Hashirama the moment she had seen it was Madara's fist that had sent his own younger brother flying. Izuna picked himself up off the ground and stared at Madara in shock.

She supposed his older brother had never hit him like that before. "Enough Izuna... No more fighting, I am tired of fighting..." Was all Madara said and Izuna frowned but nodded as he forced himself to stand. Hashirama once more placed a hand on her shoulder, only for him to walk around her and offer that hand to Madara once more. She turned and rushed over to Kaira, who was still being held by Tobirama. Tobirama was speaking to her softly and Kaira was only nodding to whatever he was saying. The closer she got the more she heard.

"You're an idiot, you know this right?" she only nodded. "Why would you do that for me?" he asked and she just reached down and poked her finger through the hold in her hand, to which he grabbed her hand and pulled it away from the other with an irritated look on his face. He sighed and grabbed her chin gently, forcing to look him in the eyes. "Hey if yall are gonna start flirting again... just um... let me know so I can leave..." she said softly and Kaira only laughed, but that laugh was cut short as Tobirama pressed his lips to hers. Kaira stared at him with wide eyes, only for a moment though because she then wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled him closer.

Hinata chose this moment to walk away and give the two of them some time to figure things out. She looked over to see Izuna staring at the pair with a sad look in his eyes. She made her way over to him and offered him a hand but he slapped it away, the sound catching the attention of both Madara and Hashirama. Before either of them could make a move to scold Izuna she reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I understand why you're angry. Please just... let this happen. This is all you've known since you were little. You won't have to do this anymore." She whispered and his tense posture slackened. She stepped away from him only to offer him her hand once more. This time he actually took it.

:-:-:-:

Hashirama sighed as he sat on the bench that sat atop a hill overlooking the Senju compound. Mito sat beside him, clinging to him as usual, but they weren't talking. She was once more upset with him but she wouldn't tell him why, which just confused him more. They were currently waiting on the Uchiha to make their presence known, as Madara had told them they were going to return with his parents in tow. He knew Madara was going to go relay the message that they were no longer at war. Despite everything, he knew that Hinata was to thank for this. As if she hadn't moved Madara with everything she had said, it would have been so much harder to convince Madara to stop fighting.

He looked over at Mito but she refused to return his glance. He sighed and looked back down the hill to where he could see Tobirama pacing back and forth outside of their front door. He knew Hinata was inside helping Kaira with her injuries as well as their mother, but he couldn't understand why Tobirama was pacing. The moment Hinata peeked out the front door, Tobirama had turned towards her. As if noticing he had looked down the hill at the two of them, Mito ripped her arm from his and huffed. He was sick of this passive aggressive game she was playing with him.

She wouldn't tell him what was wrong, but she wouldn't let him ask either. "Mito..." he began and she just stood and started to walk away from him. "Mito! I don't understand why you're acting like this. Please... please help me understand." He pleaded with her, and this time she turned to face him instead of just walking away. "We have been together for almost six years now... why are you acting like this now? What has changed?" he asked and she frowned.

"Everything has changed." She said and he sighed as he stood and made his way over to her. "Do you not want to be with me anymore?" he asked and her frown turned into a glare. "You would like that, wouldn't you? Then you would be free." She bit out and he stared at her in shock. "What the hell are you talking about? Mito... I love you... please explain this to me..." he pleaded once more, but she just laughed wryly.

"If you loved me, you would come home with me. Back to whirlpool country." She said and he furrowed his brow at this. He couldn't do that and she knew it, not with everything they had accomplished today. "You know I can't do that... I've worked so hard to get to the point to where we are... this is everything I have ever wanted, to have my friend back." He said, hoping she would understand. He reached to hold her hands, but she only stepped away from him. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"What is really going on? I know it has nothing to do with you being pregnant, because you know I was excited when you told me. What could have you feeling like this? Like you need to keep me away from everyone else all the time?" he asked and she seemed to be shocked that he had realized she was trying to separate him away from everyone else, his family included. He couldn't understand what her end goal was, but he was desperate to know. He loved her, he truly did, but he wasn't sure how much of this he could endure. She was a very controlling woman by nature, but he had just figured it was due to a lack of control in anything else in her life so he had ignored that.

"You still don't understand. You worry so much about everyone else, but you seem to forget about me..." she bit out and he felt a twinge of anger well up in him at this. "You sit there and you make friends with everyone you meet, but you never stop to think that maybe friends aren't what they are and that they want something from you." She said and he was confused at this.

"You think that Madara is going to use me to get something he wants?" he asked and she just scoffed at him. "I'm not talking about him." She just glared at him after she said this. No... she wasn't glaring at him; she was glaring past him. He looked down to see her glaring at both Tobirama and Hinata. A sigh escaped him as he realized she was talking about Hinata. "Are you serious right now?" he sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"You're jealous of Hinata-san?" he asked and she just focused that icy glare on him now. "You don't have to worry about her, she's my friend... well she was... but I assume you attempted to fix that little issue, didn't you?" he asked, his voice stern now. "You were so focused on things that weren't an issue that you made it one. Are you proud of yourself now?" he asked and she just sneered at him.

"You didn't see what I saw! You didn't see the way she looked at you! I did!" She snapped and he sighed once more. "She was falling in love with you!" she snapped. He had been trying to keep himself calm, but Mito was making it hard. "You were falling in love with her too... I saw her braid, Hashirama..." Mito whispered and he closed his eyes and sighed once more as he turned to face her. "Mito... I love you... She was my friend and you took that from me." He bit out and he watched as all the fight seemed to leave her.

"I'm loyal to you... I still love you... but you make this so hard when all you do is accuse me of having feelings for someone else." he said softly, and she made her way over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Then why don't you just leave if you're so tired of me?" she asked and he frowned as he hugged her back. "Because I love you." He sighed and hugged her back gently.

"Now come with me, Madara and Izuna are nearby, I feel their presence." He said and offered a hand to her, which she actually took this time. Hashirama knew he had some kind of feelings for Hinata, he knew this, but he wasn't going to act on them. He felt like the only reason they had started to form was because Mito was pushing him away. He had been looking for comfort and Hinata had been able to provide some comfort as he enjoyed her company.

They made their way down the hill and Madara seemed to be happy to see him, even if it only showed in his eyes. However the moment Madara caught sight of the heavily pregnant Mito by his side, a grin spread over his lips. He knew where this was going. "Hashirama!" Madara greeted excitedly and Hashirama only smiled at him. "Who's this?" he asked, leaning to look at Mito once more.

"My soon to be wife."

:-:-:-:

The moment Hashirama had said that, he knew that the words were forced. Madara raised a brow at the brown eyed man, but said nothing. Even he knew the man felt trapped by the pregnant woman. Hashirama was a loyal man, he knew this solely from the fact he had promised him as children that they would one day stop all the fighting and form a village. Hashirama stood by his word, that was for sure. Madara felt sorry for him, but he wasn't going to fight with the man.

Madara's eyes drifted and landed on a certain dark haired woman and he couldn't help the smirk that crossed his lips. She was free game now, it seemed. "Hello there, princess." He said and she only huffed at him and looked away. He grinned at this and tossed an arm over her shoulder. "Come on now, I just want to be friends." He said as he rubbed his cheek against hers, only to look up to try and gauge Hashirama's reaction.

The redhead by his side only glared at Hinata, while Hashirama seemed to be glaring at him through his smile. Oh, so he had hit the nail right on the head there. Hashirama had a little crush and his very much pregnant girlfriend was extremely unhappy about it. He leaned and whispered in her ear, causing her face to flush dark red and she yanked herself from his grasp.

"No! Y-you're bad!" she managed and he couldn't help the laugh that escaped him. He tried to make another pass at her, but Hashirama had looped his arm with his and was now dragging him away from Hinata. He smirked at her as she crossed her arms over her chest and looked away from him, that blush still coating her cheeks. His smirk was swiftly wiped from his lips as he felt Hashirama's chakra focused solely on him. "I'll kill you." Was all he said and a chill took over his form. Hashirama was serious about this, and Madara knew it.

"Then why don't you leave the redhead?" Madara asked and Hashirama only glared at him as he released him so he could walk with him. "Because I am a man of my word. Our child was unexpected, but I still love her." He said and Madara nodded. "Then why can't I have Hinata?" he asked and Hashirama glared at him once more. "You don't want her. You just want to mess with me." Hashirama said and Madara shrugged.

"So, you're just going to let Hinata spend her life alone?" he asked and a sadness overtook Hashirama. Madara felt bad for him, but he had to point it out when he was being selfish as well. "You're right... she deserved to have someone that will love her, but that person isn't you." Hashirama said and Madara choked on his air. "Well damn... I see how it is." He grumbled as he followed Hashirama into the room his parents were in.

His mother and Hashirama's mother were chatting amicably, while Butsuma and his father were just side eyeing one another. This was going to be interesting, that was for sure. He sighed as he heard a crash and yelling. Tobirama came running into the room and stood by Hashirama, a wicked smirk on his lips. Madara only raised a brow at this, what had the man done?

"Tobirama!!!"

Ah... he had been messing with Izuna. Madara only chuckled as his younger brother came flying into the room, only to have his gaze lock onto Tobirama and he came flying through the air towards the Senju man. Hinata came rushing in after Izuna, only for everyone in the room to freeze as a massive presence washed over all of them. He glanced at Hashirama from the side and saw that the man was smiling. He swallowed lightly and knew that Hashirama was the source of said presence.

'Has he always held such strength?' he thought only to be relieved when the presence hid itself once more. Madara had always known Hashirama was strong, but he had never known just how strong. Now, that wasn't Madara feeling down on himself, as he knew he himself was strong. He knew Hashirama was stronger though, there was no doubt on that. He glanced over and noticed that Hinata had turned and slipped out of the room the moment the redhead came in.

He closed his eyes and sighed as he realized they had just willingly walked into the biggest source of drama he had ever seen. "Perhaps we shouldn't have done this." He mused softly, only to realize that he had muttered it aloud. He laughed lightly and scratched his head as he waved his hand at everyone who was now staring at him, Hashirama's sharp glare sent yet another chill down his spine.

"You have me all wrong, the settlement is a good idea... I just... it was a bad joke, poor timing..." he managed and the sharp glare didn't leave him. "Hey! If I would have known drama surrounded you at every step I think I woulda held off! Don't look at me like that when you are sitting here making my life hard now too!" He snapped as he whacked Hashirama on the head.

Hashirama clutched his head and crouched, the all too familiar depressing aura surrounding him. "Forgive me..." was all he said, but laughter began echoing around the room. Hashirama's parents were... laughing at him. His parents however, seemed to be shocked that he had actually hit Hashirama. Madara smiled at them sheepishly, only to look down at his friend and offer him a hand, only for Hashirama to bat it away lightly.

"Let me linger, you're right. It is a lot of drama around here..." he muttered and Madara couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. His friend hadn't changed in the slightest, and that was a good thing he supposed. He glanced up at Mito, who was making her way out of the room. That woman was trouble, he could feel it. He looked over to see Tobirama smirking at Izuna, who was just glaring at him. He chuckled as he took in their stances. They reminded him of himself and Hashirama.

Perhaps they could be friends as well.

:-:-:-:-:

Hinata sighed as she sat on the bench that Hashirama and Mito frequented. It had been a few months since the clans had come together and decided to officially declare a truce. She was happy about this, but other things had stayed the same. Hashirama kept trying to talk to her, she knew some of it was about how she had tried to use herself to protect him that day, but she knew it was also about the fact Mito had recognized the braid as his handiwork.

She avoided him at every given moment, she truly didn't want to be the reason they were fighting anymore. That was all she heard from them anymore, her yelling and his pleading. Mito had cornered her and tried to yell at her once more, but Hinata had slipped from the window of her room to get away from the woman. She was doing everything she had asked, and yet that still wasn't enough to keep her off her back.

She sighed and enjoyed the peace she was able to, but only because Mito was currently in labor. She didn't know what was going to happen when the baby was born, but she knew she needed to be gone before the baby was born so that they could attempt to reconcile and fix their issues. They had been building the village already, so she had staked her claim on a small house near the outskirts that was already finished. She hadn't told Hashirama or any of the senju, because she planned on moving out of the compound and into the new house soon.

She didn't want to burden them with her presence any longer. Things would be better when Hashirama and Mito weren't fighting about her. She looked down the hill and saw Kaira and Kumo making their way into the compound gates. Her friend had caught sight of her almost immediately. Kaira made her way up the hill and sat beside her, she offered her friend a smile. "Hey." She greeted and Kaira waved at her half heartedly.

"They're all idiots." Kaira grumbled and Hinata nodded softly. "Tobirama still keeps trying to talk to me, but I have nothing to say to him right now..." she sighed and Hinata offered a knowing smile. "Why are you avoiding him anyways?" she asked and Kaira sighed. "Because he only kissed me because I saved him." She grumbled and Hinata rolled her eyes. "You get what you want and you're mad about it." Hinata pointed out and Kaira glared at her playfully.

"It's not that and you know it... it's just... he's frustrating." She sighed and Hinata nodded. "You're not wrong. But why don't you do talk to him about it?" she offered and Kaira frowned. "You're scared it was just an impulsive thing and not him trying to admit he likes you as well?" she asked and Kaira nodded. "Come on then, we are going to talk to him. No choice." Hinata said as she grabbed Kaira by the wrist and pulled her along down the hill.

Hinata pulled her along, not even concerned about the deep red blush that coated the Inuzuka's cheeks. The moment they approached his door, he opened it and looked from one to the other. Hinata shoved Kaira into him and he looked at her oddly as she pulled the door shut and sat in front of it. "Now... fix whatever is going on between the two of you. The moment you tell me it's ok I will get up and leave." Hinata sighed and the door cracked open and Tobirama looked down at her.

"You don't have to stay..." he said and she smiled up at him. "I just want to make sure at least you two are ok... someone deserves to be happy around here..." she whispered softly and he nodded as he patted her on the head. "Then go on, we will be fine." Tobirama said and Kaira tried to sneak out of the room, but he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. Hinata stood and looked at the two of them.

"Kaira, just talk to him." Hinata said and Kaira nodded as Tobirama let her go. "Tobirama... I'm sorry..." she whispered and Hinata only smiled at the two of them as she heard them talking softly. She turned to make her way away from them, only to see Tobirama grip Kaira's shoulders gently. It seemed that those two would be just fine. She made her way to her room and began packing her things, hoping no one would notice that she had left. She didn't want to have to explain to them why she was leaving. It wasn't like she was going to be going too far though, so they could always come visit.

When she gathered her small amount of things she opened her door to see Kumo waiting for her. "Let me help you." Was all he said and she nodded as he began grabbing her belongings in his mouth. What she couldn't carry he had picked up. The trip to her new home was a silent one and she was grateful for that. He didn't chastise her, not did he question her motives. He just helped her.

"Thank you." She said as he set her things down on her new doorstep. "You're welcome, don't forget to let us come visit, will you?" she smiled at him and let him into her home. "Of course... you two are always welcome." She said and he nodded as he curled up in her floor to allow her to put her things away. When she had everything set up, she sighed and flopped onto her new bed.

"I want to go home..." She whispered and Kumo nudged her leg lightly. She reached over and scratched him behind the ears and he sighed happily. "Do you really want to go home though?" he asked, mid pant and she looked over to him with a sadness in her eyes. "Honestly... I want to go home because despite everyone being around me... I'm so lonely here. I don't know how to go home even if I could." She sighed and he just continued to nuzzle her leg.

"Would you be able to leave him though?" he asked and she sighed deeply. The large dog had a point. She knew she wouldn't be able to leave, not with the way things were between her and Hashirama. She knew she was his friend, but even if she could leave she wouldn't be able to without explaining to him that she was sorry. She couldn't leave, because no matter how hard she had tried not to, she had developed feelings for him.

"No..."

:-:-:-:

Hinata made her way to the Senju compound today, they were supposed to be moving into the village soon so she figured she would stop by and offer her assistance. The village was already bustling with activity, seeing as Tobirama and Hashirama had been busy the past month with gathering the clans who wanted peace. Kaira had a massive property which engulfed all of her land. Her birth father lived there with her and had brought his other family with him.

Hinata smiled at the thought of Kaira having siblings. The woman was thrilled to learn of her younger brother and had welcomed them with open arms. Her brother looked like her and she could feel that he too had the Kyuubi chakra within him, but she assumed he was born with it as it was less concentrated than Kaira or her father's. She had caught Tobirama lingering on Kaira's land more often and so she rightfully assumed he was still trying to get through to her.

Hinata knew that Kaira was enjoying the attention she got from the younger senju, seeing as she came and told her about all the times he had brought her food and tried to spend time with her, even though he was still being a brat and denying they were dating. It was funny really, seeing Tobirama carrying flowers to her and still denying they were together. She supposed it was alright though, as Kaira would deny it as well.

The two were fools, but fools who were head over heels in love with one another. She followed the two of them back to the compound as Tobirama was moving his things into his own home in the Senju compound. She wasn't sure who was going to move where when they finally did admit they were together, everyone knew it and thought it was funny that they thought they could hide it.

Especially since the Uchiha brothers were now free of her flirting and had called her out on being in a relationship before anyone else had. Hinata was relatively decent friends with the Uchiha brothers now, even though now they were flirting with her at every turn. It wasn't just Madara either, it was Izuna too. It was like they were doing to her what Kaira had done to them, which Kaira had found hilarious much to her own displeasure. She had created monsters out of the two and had unleashed them on her the moment she left them alone.

She still felt for Tobirama though, because now all of her flirtatious bouts were focused on him and him alone. Which meant that it didn't matter if they were in public or not, if Kaira saw a chance to grab his butt she was going to. She sighed as she realized the two of them had taken off somewhere while she was thinking. She wasn't going to go seek them out, seeing as the last time she had gone looking for them she found them in a very compromising position. The blush on Tobirama's face at having been caught still made her laugh, all the while Kaira had only smirked at her and winked.

Another set of footsteps coming up on her told her she wasn't alone anymore and she smiled as she turned to greet the person. Her smile vanished from her lips as she turned to see that it wasn't Akane or Butsuma as she had been hoping, but instead it was Mito. She cursed everything just then, knowing that her presence here was already going to set the other woman off.

"Why are you here?" the woman only had to see her to get angry. Hinata had done everything she asked, so why was she still mad? "I'm here with Tobirama and Kaira..." she said softly but her kind tone did nothing to calm the other woman's anger. A searing pain came over her cheek and she stared at the other woman in shock, only to place her hand on the cheek she had struck.

"Why didn't you just stay gone!? You couldn't stay away could you?" Mito snapped and Hinata just stared at her in shock, why had she hit her? Hinata had felt nothing but sorry for the redhead, but Mito just seemed to hate her entire existence. Hinata had tried her best to stay away and do everything the other woman had asked, just so her and Hashirama could be happy and thrive, but it was never enough.

Her lips trembled and the tears began pooling in her eyes as the woman continued to yell at her. "You're the reason my relationship isn't working! You should have never come here! I wish the Uchiha had killed you that day!" she screamed and Hinata only clutched her hands to her chest as the woman continued to yell at her. Hinata had never meant for any of this to happen, she just stuck with the one who she knew could protect her. She hadn't meant to cause issues between Hashirama and Mito... Mito's words only continued to sting at her as they got more and more harsh. She had heard someone else yell at Mito, but she was trying to tune out all the arguing at this point by putting her hands over her ears.

Mito ripped her hands away from her face and had tried to hit her once more, but another hand had stopped hers from making contact. The moment her eyes had met with his, her tears broke free and she placed her hands back over her ears to tune out the arguing once more. She backed away from the three who were all yelling at one another, only for her to be pulled into someone's embrace and they pulled her into the Senju leader's home.

She sat in the floor and continued to cry. She had never wanted any of this...

:-:-:-:

Hashirama sighed as he sat on the bench atop the hill. Whenever he needed to think he always came here. His eyes slipped shut and he sighed every time he closed his eyes, he felt the sadness overcome him once more. He couldn't help but think of the night he had realized Hinata had moved out without a word to any of them. He had knocked on her door, only for it to open on its own. Sadness had gripped at him when he noticed her room was empty, but she had still taken the time to clean it and leave it absolutely spotless.

The moment Mito had found out he had gone to her room looking for her, she started yet another fight between them. He gripped the fabric of his pants tightly, only for small droplets to fall upon the back of his hands and his pants. The droplets that landed on his pants soaked in instantly, while they lingered on the backs of his hands. He grit his teeth as more and more of the offending tears made their presence known.

He had tried so hard to make everything right between him and Mito, but no matter what he tried she still found something else to be upset about. His son was a month old now, and he loved the child with all his heart, but his mother... Mito... he loved her so dearly but she was making it hard to. Everything that they had once been, was no longer there and he knew it, but he kept fighting for it. He kept fighting to keep their relationship and she was fighting him.

He didn't want this, not for her or their son... he knew she was drifting away and there was nothing he could do to stop it. They were introduced to one another as a potential arranged marriage to bond the Uzumaki and the Senju, but they had eventually become something more. And now everything they had built was coming down around them. He was trying so hard to stop it, but it was out of his reach...

The tears continued to fall and he couldn't help but let them. He was hurting so much and yet Mito being so angry only added onto it. He sighed and wiped away his own tears the moment he heard Mito's enraged yelling. He figured he should go rectify whatever situation had caused the woman to yell. He found himself doing this more and more lately, fixing problems Mito had started. The closer he got, the more he heard Mito yelling, but there was no one else yelling back.

When he rounded the corner and saw Hinata covering her ears, he knew what had set Mito off. "Stop blaming Hinata for problems you created! She stayed away just as you asked!" he heard Tobirama yell at her, but Mito just told him to stay out of it as it was none of his business. He could only frown as his suspicions were confirmed, Mito had threatened Hinata to stay away from him. He lunged forward the moment Mito made a move to slap Hinata once more, only the words that left her mouth struck him like he had been run through with a blade.

"The only reason I got pregnant was because I was trying to keep him away from you!"

His heart ached as he wrapped his hand around the wrist of the one that had swung at Hinata. Her eyes met his, only for her to immediately squeeze them shut and slap her hands to her ears once more and back away. He knew she hadn't wanted to be anywhere near this... Mito had made her part of this. His eyes met Mito's and the horrified expression on her face did nothing to calm him. He looked back to Hinata to see his mother coaxing her into the house just to get her away from them.

"Mito... I think you should leave now." He said, his voice stern. She yanked her hand from his grasp and turned to make her way towards the home they shared, but he shook his head. "Not to Itsuki-kun. Your home." He said and she glared at him now. "I'm not going home without my son!" she snapped and he turned to face her fully. "You didn't even want him, you said it yourself. You only got pregnant to keep me away from Hinata... so now you get everything you wanted. You get to go home and I'm staying away from Hinata... but not for your sake, for hers." he said and she opened her mouth to speak but he shook his head.

"You only wanted me, but now you've lost me as well. I can't be with someone who would bring a child into this life for the sole reason of trying to get me to stay."