Finding home

Tobirama had never felt fear like she had the last two days. Leaving her clan had been one of the hardest and easiest decisions she had ever made. She had lost everything, because of her fathers cruelty.

The first night of her escape she ran through the night, without chakra to boost her speed she hadn’t actually made it that far from the compound, so she stopped for a short break around lunch and slept for about an hour and kept up until the night hit again. She was still at least 7 days from the Uchiha compound. In about 5 days she will be finally moving away from the compound instead of closer to it.

Feeling better with how far she had made it she finally decided to make camp. Without her sensing finding a safe spot to camp was made much harder. But she was eventually able to find a dense area in the brush she felt comfortable sleeping under. Tobirama should remain fairly unseen, so she pulled out her sleep roll and climbed in. She would worry about hunting in the morning when she could leave her campfire instead of sleeping near it.

Unfortunately her sleep was broken up by multiple nightmares, and the feeling of hands on her body. She honestly wasn’t sure she would ever get rid of the feeling. She kept remembering the disgusting smiles on their faces, the way their hands touched her body as if they owned her pulling and pinching, clearly meant to cause pain under the guise of pleasure. She sound of them laughing as they talked about her body as if she wasn’t even there. Like she was a doll made flesh for them to use and defile.

One day, she vowed to herself, she would kill those men. They would never hurt another woman the way they hurt her.

She gave up on sleeping in the early morning, just as the sky was beginning to lighten.

She quickly rolled up her bedding and got ready to do some hunting. It didn’t take long before she was able to find a rabbit that she quickly skinned and cooked over a very small campfire. She made sure to clean the fur and pack it away, hoping she may have the chance to tan it and possibly sell. She was going to have to find a way to make some money on this journey, she would need more provisions than she had on her, especially since she didn’t have any access to her chakra.

She decided to take the journey today at a sedate pace, now that she was in the neutral territory between the Uchiha and the Senju, she didn’t want to bring any extra attention to herself. And she was confident that if her father had discovered she was missing he wouldn’t think to look for her going towards the Uchiah instead of one of their allied clans.

She still had to come up with some reason for her to be traveling alone in neutral territory though. And that might be the difference between life and death if she is discovered.

*************************

For four days her luck seemed to hold, there was no sign of pursuers and no sign of the Uchiha either. Though she wasn’t able to sleep through the night still, with constant nightmares, and phantom touches. She was however able to hunt without issue, and managed to collect a few more rabbit pelts, she had almost begun to feel hopeful.

Just one more day and she would officially start moving out of Uchiha territory instead of further into it. Her diagonal cut through the territory was definitely the right move. At least that's what she thought. So naturally her good luck ended here.

She was walking when she heard a scream. It stopped her in her tracks, that was terror.

Tobirama turned towards the scream and before she had even decided on a course of action she was running. It didn’t matter that she had no chakra and had no sword, she couldn’t help that she would always protect children. There was no denying that was the scream of a child and she will be dead in the ground before she ignores the cries of a child.

It didn’t take her long, even without enhanced speed, she was still the fastest shinobi in fire country, before she found the source of the scream.

It was a young child being hunted down by 4 grown men with no markings, likely bloodline hunters, chasing the boy down. Clearly toying with him.

Before they had a chance to see her, she pulled out her bow and caught the first one with an arrow in his throat. She was already knocking her next arrow before his body hit the ground. The second shinobi caught sight of her before she let loose, but not fast enough to dodge completely and took the arrow in his shoulder. This would slow him down for sure but now she was faced with 3 enemies and no chakra.

Looking towards the boy she yelled “run!”

Without looking to see if he heeded her advice she started running towards the closest shinobi with a kunai in both hands, if she was going to die here she was going to die fighting, and hopefully saving an innocent child.

They quickly began a series of swipes and stabs as they fought with taijutsu. She had an advantage in skill that was clear, but her fatigue was catching up to her fast.

The injured shinobi made a grab at her, which she was able to deflect and knocked him back with a roundhouse kick to the jaw.

The closer shinobi came back at her from behind as the third shinobi finally made his move and swung his sword aiming for her head. She was able to easily knock it from his hand and trip him up by swiping his legs.

Ducking down Tobirama turned and swung her arm up and to the side to jam her kunai into the first shinobis armpit as he reached to grab her. Listening to him scream gave her a quick burst of pleasure knowing he was now feeling some of the terror he had inflicted on that poor child. Turning to look up at him she saw blood begin to drip from his mouth as he coughed. Clearly she had gotten his lungs.

Leaving her first opponent she turned to the two left. The man she had shot and the one that had been further behind. Both of them stood ready with a Kunai. The three of them quickly got into a taijutsu fight that she was only keeping up with because one of the men she was facing was injured. The longer the fight went on the more sure she was that this is where she was going to die. But she was determined to drag this out as long as she could.

The fight lasted another 10 minutes before they separated again. With her noticeably dragging.

“Who the fuck are you?!” Shouted the injured man.

“It's none of your business,” she spat back at him.

“You may have caught Kaito and Isamu by surprise but we are ready for you bitch. I’ll cut you to pieces for what you did to them!” The taller man said with a sneer. “Riku, go after the kid, I’ll take care of her.”

Hearing what the taller man said spurred her into action again. She couldn’t let the man, Riku apparently, go after the child again. Even though it meant throwing her last kunai away, she threw it with all her might at his head. She watched with satisfaction as he fell to the ground.

Unfortunately that gave the tall man time to make his move. He lunged at her with his hands around her throat.

Normally 4 men like this would have been nothing to her, but after days of almost no sleep and small meals, coupled with sealed chakra, she just didn’t have the strength to fight like she wanted to.

Tobirama tried as hard as she could to fight him off but he was too strong and before she knew it she found herself going limp and her eyes going black around the sides. This was it. But it was okay, she died to save a child and she found no regret in that. She just hoped she bought him enough time to hide. They didn’t seem like particularly competent shinobi so she felt certain he wasn’t a sensor.

Just as she was about to lose consciousness she felt the arms around her throat pulled off, and his weight removed from over her body.

Rolling to her side and coughing she gasped for breath, as she tried to hold on and not pass out. As much as she wished she had the strength to turn over and get up, to see what happened to her last attacker all she could do was lay there and try to regain her breath.

“Madara-Sama, that's her!” she heard a child say.

‘Madara was here!’ she thought to herself. She was doomed. Somehow she was certain he would recognize her, she had spent years fighting his younger brother. Sure she always wore a mask and had her hair covered, but her chakra surely felt the same. Hashirama had once told her she was sure they would get along because they were both such strong sensors, as if that's all one needed to become friends.

She was tempted to pretend to pass out. Maybe he would leave her here and just take the apparently Uchiha child with him. Before she could even decide on a course of action she felt his hand on her shoulder turned her onto her back.

Instantly she was thrust back to that night just a few days ago. Hands on her shoulder holding her down, as another man grabs her legs, manhandling her into the position he wanted her. Forcing her even with the meager consent she had granted.

She lashed out attempting to punch him in the face, which he easily dodged, screaming “no! Stop, please don't touch me!”

Scrambling back she couldn’t help as tears fell. She had lost complete control of herself, she was moving completely on instinct now. As she saw him move closer to her, standing over her she couldn’t help but try to cover her body as if to protect her from his very eyes.

****************

Madara instantly stepped back with his hands held up. He had seen reactions like this before. He was instantly enraged, which must have shown on his face as he watched her cry harder. Before he could take another step back or do anything else he saw a small body as Kagami threw himself onto her.

“Stop you’re scaring her! She saved me!” Kagami cried out, using his little 8 year old body to physically shield her from him.

He couldn’t be more proud of his clansman. He would grow up to be a fine man, he was sure.

The girl seemed to actually calm once she felt Kagami holding her.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare her, I was just trying to check and see if she was okay. Can you please let me check on her?” Madara asked softly as he could, though he still saw her flinch in response to his voice.

Though he was speaking to Kagami, he was looking at the woman. Which now that he looked closer, might be the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, her red eyes like blood, and her long white hair, rare in the area, pooled around behind her. She was surprisingly petite for having just taken on four men on her own.

She nodded her head slightly and he took it as permission to move closer.

“Are you okay miss?” He asked.

She coughed and rubbed her throat before answering in a quiet, “yes.” He watched as she sat up more and patted Kagami on the back. He followed her up, sitting between her legs on his knees.

He watched as Kagami put his hands on her shoulders, face still wet with tears from his own experience but instantly won over by this woman who saved his life. He looked at her as if she was an angel, which to him might be exactly what he thought of her.

She smiled at him, “I’m okay really,” though her voice was still slightly hoarse from being choked.

Kagami turned to look up at Madara, “can she come with us”? He asked so innocently.

“Kagami, give her some space and come to me.” He stood silent until Kagami was back at his side. He may be thankful that she had saved his younger cousin but that didn’t mean he was going to trust a random shinobi. He kept his voice softer but clearly stern. “Where did you come from?”

“I’m just trying to go home.”

“Where is home?”

“The edge of the land of iron.”

“I want more than that.” He watched as she was clearly struggling with herself, clearly coming to a decision.

She let out a soft sigh before answering, “back to the Hatake clan.”

He couldn’t help but widen his eyes, the Hatake weren’t exactly close to them, and he couldn’t think of a single reason as to why one would be down here. But he couldn't deny, she certainly looked the part, with her white hair and pelts tied to her belt.

“And what is one of the Hatake doing down here?”

As he said this he watched as her face hardened.

“I was captured by a Senju, he told me I was going to..” she choked on the words. “That I was going to have his children.”

He watched as tears once again filled her eyes. He didn’t know what to think, surely Hashirama wouldn’t allow this kind of behavior from his kin. But it wasn't as if he was clan head, maybe there wasn’t much he could do in cases like this. Though he believed her, there was still something that held him back, something just felt wrong about her story. Why would a Senju go all the way to the Hatake lands to find a woman? And surely in a clan like theirs it wasn’t that hard to find a wife. Where was this man now? How had she made it so far without being found?

There was something off in her story, but he didn’t doubt she was assaulted, though she hadn’t come out and said that was what happened.

He was about to do something stupid he was sure, but something about her compelled him. He was drawn to her, more than just her beauty. It was the fact that she risked her life for a child she didn’t know. That she fought four men on her own, while clearly weak. And from the signs around, likely without chakra.

“Come with us, I’m going to take you to our healers. Do you need me to carry you?”

Kagami gave a little wiggle at his side, clearly happy that she would be coming with them.

“Ah, no Shinobi-Sama, I just want to keep traveling home,” he could see the clear trepidation in her eyes.

But until he got to the bottom of her story and found out what truly happened he wasn’t letting her go.

“It's Uchiha Madara, not shinobi. I wasn’t asking you. I was telling you that you were coming with us.”

Madara watched as her shoulders dropped. He couldn’t help but feel pleased at her agreement, he hoped with time she would come to see he meant her no harm. Unless she meant to harm his clan.

*************************

Tobirama couldn’t believe this. Of course the child was a Uchiha, and of course Madara would be the one to come find him, and why wouldn't he force her to come with them. She really just could not catch a break. Though on the upside it didn’t seem as if he recognized her chakra. This gave her a little hope at least.

It took everything in her not to cry. After years spent training herself out of facial expressions you would think she could hold it together. But after the last week she had nothing left, she was exhausted. Her entire body throbbed and she just wanted to give up. But she wouldn't because she didn’t give up, and her anija was waiting for a letter from her to tell him she was okay. He would worry about her otherwise. So she had to live.

She was thankful he seemed to have believed her story though, she had thought hard about what it would be, it couldn’t be a complete lie, there had to be some truth to it. And she hoped it was enough that he would eventually let her free so she could make it to her mothers clan. Where she would hopefully finally be safe, and free for the first time in her life.

At his words she started to get up, that's when a shooting pain shot through her leg causing her to cry out, she immediately fell back to the ground. Looking down at her ankle she saw the swelling and bruising, she was confident it was broken.

This day could not get worse. She couldn’t even try to run from him if she wanted to. She may have a high pain tolerance, but even she couldn’t run on a broken ankle.

Hearing her cry Madara looked down and saw she was reaching for her ankle which was obviously broken.

“I guess that answers the question of carrying you,” he said with a huff. “Kagami, are you okay walking? I will be right by you, and Izuna should be here soon, he can carry you once he finally catches up.”

Hearing her rival's name Tobirama instantly tensed up. Thankfully Madara was too busy looking at Kagami to notice her.

“Of course Madara-Sama! I’m really strong! And we have to protect pretty girls,” he said with a shy smile shining back at her.

She couldn’t help her smile back, what a little flirt he was. She couldn't help but be charmed by him. After being hunted down and terrified he just bounced right back and was back to being a happy child. He reminded her of Hashirama.

Tobirama looked up when she heard Madara snort at his young clansman.

“Do you think you can climb on my back?”

“Yes I think I can do that.”

She maneuvered herself onto her knees, only slightly moving her ankle causing a small stab of pain. Tobirama couldn’t believe Uchiha Madara was giving her his back, he must truly buy her damsel act. Though how much of it was actually an act right now was debatable.

Letting him help her, Tobirama was able to get on his back. As they set on their slow pace, to match little Kagami, Madara started to question her.

“So what is your name?”

“I’m Hatake Tobira.”

“And are you a Shinobi Tobira-san?”

“Yes, but I have no chakra, though my grandma taught me shinobi arts,” which wasn’t strictly speaking a lie, she had at one point trained under her grandmother and she didn’t currently have chakra, but she was content to let him think she never did. She was certain if he felt her chakra he would recognize her as the White Demon of the Senju. A fact her survival depended on remaining a secret.

‘Hmmmm. And who is your grandmother?”

“Hatake Akari, the Alpha of the Hatake clan. If I am to come with you can I write her a letter? I’d like to let her know I’m still alive.”

Madara made a surprised sound, “and how exactly did the granddaughter of the clan head get kidnapped by the Senju? And why haven’t we heard word of them coming against the Senju?”

This is where her story gets tricky. But she was sure her grandma would go along with whatever she said. She had always hated Butsuma, she would be happy to know Tobirama was coming home to them. Her grandmother had always wanted her, and her younger brothers to come back after her mother had died giving birth to Itama. But Butsuma would never allow it and when she was old enough to decide for herself she chose to stay for Hashirama. What a mistake that had turned out to be. Though she couldn't truly regret choosing him.

“They don't know what the Senju have done, I was foolish and trusted the wrong person. It was at Butsumas orders, I had trusted him not to betray us like that.”

“You seem awfully close to be calling him so casually.” Suspicion creeping into Madras voice.

“It's not close to lack respect for someone Uchiha-Sama. I refer to him by his name because he does not deserve my respect.”

Madara just hummed in response, choosing to remain quiet for the next few minutes, Kagami continued along beside them, keeping his hand on Madaras pants.

“In response to your question, yes you may write your grandmother a letter once we reach the compound.”

“Thank you Uchiha-Sama.”

Before she got to say anything more Izuna jumped down in front of them from the trees. She couldn’t stop herself from flinching back, a fact she is certain didn’t go by Madara unnoticed.

“Who is this aniki?”

“This is Hatake Tobira, she saved Kagami and found herself injured in the fight, I’m bringing her back to heal as a thank you for her service to our clan.”

“Hatake? Down here?” She saw the clear suspicion on his face.

She wasn’t sure what to say to that, did she explain again? Should she-

Before she was able to finish the thought Madara spoke.

“You don't need to know any more than that, just pick up Kagami and let's get back to the compound.”

Izuna looked like he wanted to argue but clearly decided against it in front of her. Without another word she watched him pick up Kagami, placing him on his back and jumping back into the trees, clearly in a hurry to get home.

“Brace yourself.” was all Tobirama got before Madara was also jumping into the trees and quickly taking them to the Uchiha compound.

Tobirama could only hope her luck was better from here on.