Little White Lines

Rainy Days

As the sun rose the next day, Hashirama yawned and rolled out of bed which, having been complete with silk sheets and cushions, had quickly become his close friend and he was reluctant to leave it.

Last night's downpour was still coming down steadily, as was evident from the loud pitter-patter outside.

Hashirama groggily slid open the screen door and nearly ran into a small boy carrying a tray of food.

"Oh! Sorry, didn't see you there kid." He grinned apologetically.

The boy, who was no more than ten years old, smiled in return.

"It's ok mister, sorry for surprising you." He bowed.

"It was nothing. Need any help with that?" Hashirama asked, glancing down at the wooden tray in his hands; it held a few small bowls with different foods in them.

"No thanks, sir. I do this all the time! Miss Aroka is always happy when I bring her food." He grinned, blue eyes shining with pride.

"Oh? Aroka eats in her room often?" Hashirama asked curiously.

"Yep, she's in there a lot, I don't think she goes outside much." the boy confirmed with a nod. "Anyways, I should get this to her, I have a bunch of chores to do. Nice meeting you, mister!" He smiled before scurrying down the hall and around the corner.

"Who was that?" Tobirama asked, stepping out of his room and peering down the walkway.

"I'm not sure..." He hummed.

"Senju-sama."

The brothers turned to see a familiar brunette approaching.

"Oh, good morning Mila." the older of the two greeted with a smile.

"Good morning. Toru-sama wants you to know that both of you are welcome to do as you please during your time here. Everything in our village is open to you."

"That's great, please thank him for us." Hashirama nodded. "We'd actually like to speak with Aroka again."

"We do?" Tobirama raised an eyebrow, only to receive an elbow to the ribs.

"Do you think she'll mind?" The elder maintained a bright grin.

"I'm sure she'd be happy to have company." Mila smiled softly. "Please follow me."

The young woman lead the pair back down the hall and to the room they had been in yesterday. Stopping in front of the double doors, she knocked twice before hearing a 'come in.' She slid the doors open and moved aside to allow the brothers to enter.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Senju." Aroka looked up from her breakfast as they stepped into the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"We did, our rooms were more than comfortable."

"That's good to hear. So, what brings you here so early?" she asked, resting a hand under her chin.

"We were hoping to learn a bit more about your abilities. I think it'll be easier for us to work together if we understood them better."

Aroka nodded and put a finger to her chin.

"Well let's see... future events can usually be gleaned from people's interactions with one another, though it's not always obvious. The 'future' I see is really just the most likely timeline at the moment so it can change, though not usually by a lot."

"How can someone change the timeline?" Tobirama questioned.

Aroka looked over to him, through her eyes were slightly off from his.