Shattered Dreams (Naruto fanfic)

Chapter 8

Several days had passed since that night. Now I was on my way back to the river and continuing my mission. I decided to break the trip up over two days so that I didn't arrive so late in the night at my final destination. As it was, I arrived late in the afternoon on the second day. I noticed Madara and Hashirama almost right away. They really should be more careful. Someone could be observing their movements and they wouldn't even know. As that thought passed through my mind, I did a sensory sweep of the area. For a moment, I thought I sensed another chakra that was unfamiliar. But when I focused my senses on the spot, the sensation was gone. I shrugged. Must of just been my imagination.

I turned my attention back to the two boys. I was sitting perched in a tree and I was watching as Hashirama seemed to be trying to show Madara a new technique. Hashirama's back was to me. I grinned at the thought that popped into my head. Maybe, just maybe it will work. I bunched up my muscles and leaped into the air, aiming straight for Hashirama's back. Madara's gaze snapped to me and he opened his mouth. Too late Madara! I thought I had managed to surprise Hashirama when my hands made contact with his shoulders. But before I could land on him completely, I felt his hands grab my wrists. Uh oh. Hashirama used my momentum and flipped me over and onto the ground. I landed on my back in between the two boys with an 'oof'.

"Nice try Mayumi." Hashirama grinned at me. I jumped to my feet.

"Next time, I'll get you for sure!" He laughed and rolled his eyes.

"Good to see you made it back alright," Madara said. I turned so that I was partially facing him.

"Didn't I say I could take care of myself?"

"Yeah but you can be pretty impulsive."

"He worried about you the entire time," Hashirama teased.

"Hey, I wasn't the only one! You were the one that suggested we should go look for her if she doesn't come back soon!" Madara yelled. Hashirama's face went dark. There he goes again.

"I worry about my friends. I just want to keep them safe." I put a hand on Hashirama's shoulder.

"Hey look, I'm alright. No need to get depressed. Did anything happen while I was gone?"

Hashirama's depressing cloud dissipated and his eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement.

"That's right! We found a place for you to stay while you're here Mayumi! We think you're going to love it!"

"Really? I can't wait to see it!"

"Alright, then let's get going. Follow me." Madara started to run into the forest and I followed after him with Hashirama behind me.

We weren't running for long when Madara came to a stop in the middle of the forest. I frowned at my surroundings, confused at what was going on. Madara turned around to face me and I noticed he was grinning with excitement too. It was unusual to see both of the boys this excited so it made me really excited.

"Hashirama, if you would please?" Madara asked. My world went dark as I felt hands go over my eyes.

"We're almost there Mayumi but we want it to be a surprise."

"Okay but you better not let me run into a tree Hashi." He chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure I can manage that." You started walking forward and tried to not trip on anything. Which is much harder than it sounds when you can't see where you're going.

Progress was slow but eventually Madara said, "Okay here. Let her go Hashirama."

Hashirama removed his hands from my eyes and I opened them. In front of me was an adorable little cottage set in the middle of a small field. I opened the door and I looked around the room. The cottage was set up so that it was just one big open room. I could see a bed on the far side, a small table with a couple of chairs, and even a little stove and fireplace.

"How... how did you guys do this?" I turned to look at them in shock.

"Well, fortunately we happened to stumble upon this place. We think it used to be a hunter's cottage. But it had obviously been abandoned for a while. So with some cleanup and some of my wood style ninjutsu, we fixed it up." Hashirama was very proud when he said this. Then he seemed to get a little nervous.

"Do you like it?" he asked hesitantly.

"I don't like it-" I saw that he started to get disappointed. "-I love it." I finished.

"Really?"

I nodded.

Hashirama beamed. "That's great!"

"We've even set up a barrier jutsu so that this place remains hidden to the outside. If anyone crosses the barrier that doesn't match our chakra, this crystal will glow a soft red." Madara pointed to a crystal that was sitting on the table. It was about the size of my palm and at the moment, it was clear and colorless. Hashirama walked over to a spot on the floor and pulled up a hidden hatch door.

He pointed into it and said, "If trouble ever does come here, you can escape through this. It's a tunnel that leads about a hundred yards north and exits out of a hidden spot in a tree."

"Wow, you guys really thought of everything."

"Well, we wanted you to be safe. This place is going to be your home away from home."

I twirled slowly in place to look at the cabin again. My home away from home.