Rotted Rowan

Mito-chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Warning: Addressed at the bottom of chapter 2.

Beta: Cyndaquil123

We're nearing the end of the first arc. Excited?

If I make another move, there'll be no more turning back -

because everything will change, and it all will fade to black.

If I make another move, if I take another step, then it all would fall apart -

there'd be nothing of me left.

Bad Apple

I tried to comfort Izuna.

He kept crying.

I wanted to cry, too, but I couldn't.

The tears stopped coming after Mother died.

I could only place a hand on his shoulder as we watched Father bury our eldest brother.

.

. .

. . .

I entered the building slowly. The preparation building was typically used for missions that required special equipment, in addition to providing one set of standard uniform per shinobi/kunoichi. It was also the place to go to if said uniform became damaged and had to be replaced.

My eyes trailed down to the golden token I held in my hand. The Hokage's secretary had given it to me after our team left his office. Kakashi and Obito were given similar tokens, but both of theirs were a bright silver instead. I was given an order to arrive at the preparation building no later than five hundred the next morning, and Kakashi and Obito had to arrive at exactly seven hundred.

The building was cool when I entered, a welcome break from the humid spring air. The first room was large, mostly concrete, and had ropes stringed up to form some semblance of where a line should be. At the far end of the room was a counter, and a tired-looking kunoichi sat behind it, lazily reading a book. She didn't even glance up when I entered the building.

Since I was the only other person there, I bypassed the ropes and headed straight towards the kunoichi. I placed my golden token on the desk and she finally looked up at me. Her face remained unimpressed as she slowly picked up the token and examined it. After a solid thirty seconds of silence, she finally signed, Third floor—second door—left.

Then she moved her hand underneath the counter and I heard a click. A portion of the wall on my left swung open, revealing a dimly lit staircase behind it.

I gave her a charming smile as thanks before heading up the stairs.

(ง ⌣ ~ ⌣) ง

The room was clean, and barely looked lived in. There was a heavy smell of perfume that made my nose crinkle in distaste, and I noticed that there was a large vanity table pressed up against the wall. A gorgeous woman sat in front of it, her back turned to it so she had her full attention on me as soon as I entered the room.

Every inch of the woman oozed grace and beauty, and when she spoke, her voice came out as a cross between lustful huskiness, and gentle chimes.

"A pleasure, Hime."I was instantly smitten, and admirable of the woman. To pull off such a powerful presence—especially against someone armed to resist such things—was beyond impressive. To be honest, I even thought Madara would find the woman undeniably irresistible, her allure was that powerful. She smiled playfully at me.