Twin Leaves in the Shadow

39章

"Mito?" Hashirama called out.

She glanced back, but continued to rush away from him.

"Mito!"

People were starting to notice. Hashirama could feel the eyes of nearly everyone on his back. He had to calm down, or things could get worse.

He continued to follow her, but he slowed his frantic pace. The gap was beginning to close between them, until...

"Big brother! Where have you been?" Tobirama beamed, stepping right in front of his path.

Hashirama had to think quickly about what to say. "Uh, I was just getting some air. I'm trying to find Mito right now."

Tobirama laughed, "You'll have her all you want tonight! Come have a drink with me!"

Oh, no. He's drunk.

Over Tobirama's shoulder, Hashirama could see that Mito had stopped running away from him. She was a few feet away, looking at the two brothers with concern. He needed to get rid of Tobirama so he could take his chance to catch up with her.

"Why don't you go get us a drink, then? I'll be over here waiting for you." Hashirama suggested, gently nudging him along.

Tobirama looked excited as he rushed over towards the bar. The only time he is pleasant is when he is intoxicated.

Hashirama looked back over at Mito, who was still standing in the same spot. He began walking towards her, praying that there would be no more interruptions.

"Mito, I need to talk to you," Hashirama ordered as he finally stood face-to-face with her.

She looked frightened. Her hands trembled as she fidgeted with her kimono. Not a single tear was on her face, which was oddly alarming.

Was she trying to be strong?

"We can talk about it later, Hashirama. This isn't a good place to do this," she replied nervously.

She had a point.

"But I really need to explain what you just saw," he begged.

She held up her hand to stop him from talking more. "Hashirama, not here."

Her eyes were fixated on something behind Hashirama. He turned to find Tobirama walking towards them with drinks in his hands.

Dammit, Tobirama.

"Oh, it's the lovely couple! You two look so good together!" Tobirama cheered, handing a drink to Hashirama. He pulled Mito into a side hug and gave her a big smooch on her cheek.

Hashirama watched anxiously, unsure of how Mito would react around his brother.

Would she say something now?

Mito laughed naturally and playfully pushed Tobirama. "You reek of alcohol! I think you've had enough."

"L-Let me have a-a-a drink with m-my brother and my brand n-new sister!" he slurred.

He can't even remember that I was upset with him hours ago.

"Tobirama, you should head home. I can find someone to walk you back," Hashirama suggested, grabbing his wobbly brother by the arm.

He motioned for a shinobi to come over to them, and handed him off to go home. One crisis averted.

Now onto the next one.

"Could we go home, too?" Hashirama asked Mito.

"We can't just leave. I need to see my family first," she replied as her eyes searched into the crowd of people.

Fuck. Her father.

Hashirama lowered his voice, "Are you going to tell them?"

She returned her attention to him and looked almost offended by his question. "Of course not. Please, Hashirama, save this for later."

Hashirama felt her hand wrap around his. She pulled him along to follow her into the crowd. They both were headed in the direction of her family.

"Don't act weird, okay?" she advised.

Don't act weird? This is all too confusing and stressful for me to handle.

She greeted her family, acting as if nothing had happened in the last hour. Hashirama stood awkwardly, unsure what to do. He felt like he was walking on thin ice.

Mito waved down one of the wedding aides and whispered something into her ear. The aide scurried off and gathered other workers as she went. They all began herding the remaining guests towards the exit.

"Mother, Father, it was absolutely wonderful to see you, but Hashirama and I are going to be leaving soon. I just wanted to come say goodbye before we made our grand exit," Mito beamed to her parents.

"My darling daughter, you are just so beautiful. I will miss you dearly," her mother cooed, hugging Mito tightly.

"We love you, and I expect you to be in good hands," her father added, eyeing Hashirama intensely.

Hashirama blushed, knowing that he already screwed it up. He was only married for a couple of hours before she caught him in the arms of Madara. The one man her father specifically warned Hashirama about.

"Oh, don't you worry. Hashirama will take good care of me. Right, my dear?" Mito gushed as she clung to Hashirama's side.

Hashirama nodded. "Of course."

They made their grand exit and headed towards Mito's inn, escorted by the village's elite shinobi. Their new home wasn't going to be ready for them until tomorrow, so it was agreed that they would stay there until it was.

Not much was said between them during their walk, as it was too uncomfortable with the shinobi that surrounded them. But now, they were alone in her room. It was time to start confessing.

"I just want to start off by saying how sorry I am-"

Mito put her finger to Hashirama's lips, silencing him midsentence. "Don't apologize."

"But-"

"Hashirama, let me talk first," she commanded.

He nodded obediently.

"I knew before I saw it. I knew before I even came to the village," she began. Her voice was soft and sympathetic.

Hashirama's eyes widened with surprise. His mouth flew open, letting out a gasp.

"You knew? About Madara and I?"

She smiled, nodding her head. "My father tried to hide it from me, but he didn't do a good job of that. When he had found out, he went on a complete rampage around the house about it. So of course, I overheard it all."

Hashirama tried to take it all in, but was still in disbelief. "So if you knew, why did you accept to marry me?"

"When I heard about you and Madara, it broke my heart completely. You see, I lost a lover during the war. I know the pain of being separated from the one you love, even if it's a little different from your experience. I wanted to marry you for your protection. I chose this life so you could still be with the one you love. I'm your ally, and Madara's too." she explained. Her voice trembled as she held back tears.

Hashirama was astounded. He felt a range of emotions.

Happiness.
Relief.
Sadness.
Guilt.

"I don't know what to say, Mito, but I thank you."