Little White Lines

Shenanigans

"It's been a while since you've been by, Tobirama," Aroka greeted cheerfully as the said man entered the room, her eyes not quite meeting his.

"Hashirama has other business to tend to, he sends his regards," the Senju stated flatly, taking a seat across from the woman. Much to his relief, she had kept her suffocating chakra away from him again.

"I don't know if I would call taking care of a toddler 'business' but ok..." she shrugged. "So what brings you back here?"

"The Uchihas have been acting more offensively than usual. We've suffered two ambushes in the past week as well as a raid on one of our supply lines. We need to know why they've become more aggressive and what they're planning next," he explained.

"Ah the Uchihas, I've noticed their bold actions lately. I'd like to help you, I really would, but you're not very good at listening to my advice, are you?" Aroka tilted her head pointedly.

"What do you mean?"

"Last time I told you that if you wanted peace, one thing you absolutely could not do was kill Izuna."

"So?"

"So why were you fighting him just a few weeks ago?"

"We only clashed briefly when he wounded one of my generals. I wouldn't have killed him."

"Actually you would have," she countered accusingly, "And bad things would have happened because of it. Thankfully I sent Madara there before you could-"

"You what?" he interrupted, eyes narrowing, "You know Madara?"

"He came looking for me again and-"

"Again? You've met him more than once?"

"Calm down, that was only the second time. I had to convince him to go find Izuna before you could ruin our chances at peace."

"Why did he come looking for you?"

"He wanted to know if I was helping you and Hashirama in the war."

"Does he know about your abilities?"

"Mhm. Sent one of his men to spy on me a few weeks ago. I'm still not quite sure where he first learned about me, though."

"If he knew we had been in contact with you then he must have been watching us as well, we need to find out how he's been doing so... What else did he say to you?"

The woman didn't respond, not seeming to hear the question, instead her eyes were darting randomly around the room.

"Aroka, what else did he-"

"Shhhhh!" she held a hand up. For a moment, her eyes seemed to trace an invisible line.

Suddenly, she leapt to her feet and made a beeline for the door, pulling him up as she did so.

"What are you-"

"This way!"

She swung open the door and gave Mila a nod before sprinting in the other direction, still keeping a solid grip on Tobirama's arm.

They sped through the wooden walkways, dodging the occasional servant as they ran much faster than he thought she was capable of. They had made at least half a dozen turns before the woman stopped in front of a faded sliding door. Pushing it open, she dragged both herself and her confused companion inside before slamming it shut behind them.

The first thing Tobirama noticed was that they were in a storage room; the space was filled almost entirely with wooden spinning wheels in different states of disuse. Although the room itself was not particularly small, the dust-covered wheels took up most of the area, leaving only a few feet of open space by the door.