Shattered Dreams (Naruto fanfic)

Chapter 9

A couple days later, Madara and I were standing next to a cliff and waiting on Hashirama. Apparently Madara wanted to do a cliff climbing race. Hashirama came running up to us. "I came up with an amazing jutsu!"

I raised an eyebrow.

"Let's master it together!" Hashirama yelled enthusiastically.

"Well, let's see it." Madara's face matched the disbelief on my own. We both knew that Hashirama tended to.... get carried away sometimes.

"A secret Taijutsu technique, a Super Fire Style Genjutsu Slice Giant Shuriken Two-Step Drop Jutsu!" I face palmed.

"I can't even follow what's going on," I mumbled into my hand.

"Is it taijutsu or genjutsu? The name is way too long," Madara said.

"Let me explain..." Hashirama started.

"Never mind! We're doing a cliff climbing challenge today!" Madara pointed at the top of the cliff next to us. Hashirama fell into a crouch with his head in his arms. It seems he fell into a depression again.

Madara pointed at him and yelled, "Quit getting depressed all the time! That's your weakness." Hashirama looked up. Uh oh. I knew that Hashirama was planning something mischievous.

"And you're weakness is judging too quickly." I saw Hashirama stance change. He's getting ready to run. I prepared my stance as well.

"I'm just psyching you out.... before cliff climbing!" Hashirama leaped to his feet and took a running start at the cliff. I ran for the cliff as well, following closely behind Hashirama. Madara's surprise caused him to start a second late.

"Hey!" he yelled.

"See you later!" Hashirama called back to him.

"You were just pretending huh?" Madara questioned. I laughed at Hashirama's antics.

"Nice one Hashirama!" I yelled to him.

We had collapsed at the top of the cliff after the race, breathing hard after the exhilaration.

"I win," Hashirama proudly announced.

I rolled my eyes. "You had a head start, of course you won."

We looked out over the vast forest.

"The view is amazing up here," I said softly.

"It really is," Hashirama agreed.

"You can see for miles," Madara said. He turned to us. "I bet my eyesight is better than both of yours."

I gave him a questioning look. "Why do you say that?"

"You sound really proud of your eyes," Hashirama said.

"Well sure. I have the Sha-" Madara stopped himself short and his face turned downcast.

"What's with the sad face all of the sudden?" I asked.

"I realized, it's not all that," Madara said.

"You're being awfully candid all of a sudden. What is it?" I could see the pain and frustration written in Madara's face as he spoke his next words.

"If I was better, my siblings wouldn't be dead. I should've been able to protect them. Because of that, I shouldn't..."

Memories of my dead brother flashed to the forefront of my mind. If only I had been stronger. I looked over to Hashirama and realized he was thinking about his own lost brothers. Madara was apologetic. "Sorry, I guess I brought back memories for the both of you too."

"Do you have any siblings left?" I asked Madara. I knew that he was one of five, but he only mentioned that some of his siblings died.

"Yes, I have one younger brother left."

Madara's hands clenched, scraping the soil on the cliff. "I will protect him no matter what."

I put one hand on Madara's shoulder and one hand on Hashirama's shoulder.

"We all have one last sibling we want to protect. Let's do everything we can to protect them."

"That's it! We should build our settlement here!" Madara and I looked at Hashirama in confusion.

"Huh?" Madara asked.

"Let's make it so kids won't have to kill each other. We'll create a school where kids can train and grow up stronger! Assign missions that fit an individuals abilities and strengths! Have superiors who can properly assign ranks to commissions! It will be a place where kids don't have to be sent into harsh battlefronts."

I looked out over the forest, trying to imagine such a place. My sister, learning to make friends instead of how to kill a man. The children of my clan, laughing and being able to keep their innocence throughout their childhood. The adults would be able to live without fear and cold determination in their eyes everyday. The dream was so tangible, I swear I could hear laughter on the wind.

"If that settlement gets built here, then I could watch over my little brother, and protect him in this place where you can see to no end." Madara smiled at his statement. His grin was infectious and Hashirama and I grinned back.

For the next several months, I led double lives. One, as the hopeful and energetic girl that trained and talked with Hashirama and Madara and made plans for the future. The other, a spy that gathered as much intel as I could on the two clans to take back to Father. I never once followed Hashirama or Madara back to their homes to confirm my suspicions on their heritage. While it may have been a faster way to gather intel, I felt that my friendship with the boys was more important than that. So instead, I gathered what I could from the villagers and reported battles that had taken place. I had made several trips back and forth between my village and the cabin where I stayed.

It had been quite a few days since I had last returned to my village to make my report. It was early afternoon this time when I arrived and immediately I knew something was different. When I walked through the front gates, I noticed several people running back and forth. The village seemed to bustle more than usual, but not in a cheerful way. The very air was tense and I heard the shouts of people giving orders in the distance. I felt a heavy weight settle in my chest, making my lungs tighten and my stomach churn. I quickly made my way to my Father's receiving room. Something was going on and I need to find out what. As I reached near his door, I heard what sounded like my father giving commands to someone. The door opened right in front of me and the man who was coming out, nearly bumped into me.

"Excuse me, princess."

He gave a small nod of his head before he steered around me and left at a brisk walk. I turned to see Father with a pensive look on his face.

"Father," I called. He looked up and his face seemed to relax slightly.

"Mayumi, you're back. Good. Come in."

I stepped into the room and pulled the door closed behind me. I knelt on the cushion in front of Father but my muscles were tense.

"Father, what is going on?"

His blue eyes flashed to mine. "It's time we made our move Mayumi. We're going to war."