The Senju Prince & The Last Uchiha

The Senju-idiot didn't come back last night.

Satsuki didn't really care (she wasn't tasked with the job of mothering him), ignoring the pleading looks her teammates shot her; she continued eatin—Tsunami's cooking reminded her of her mother's cooking and she savored the taste of it—and politely set her bowl down once she was done. Quietly, she excused herself, leaving just as Inari came in.

Their eyes—coal black against dark garnet—met and locked.

Satsuki studied him and noticed that there was very little of that brat in his attitude when he spoke to her ninja companions. He was starting to grow up and she was slightly pleased to know she was part of the reason—and his lots of thinking.

Now that one idiot was down, there was only the other one left.

In the middle of the forest blessedly grown in Wave Country, a certain red-haired loudmouth ninja sneezed.

Haruto blinked wearily, sitting up and yawning, rubbing his eyes then his nose. "Ugh," he grumbled, voice muffled. "Someone's—and I bet it's that Satsuki-bastard—talking bad about me!"

A soft, melodious chuckle and he looked up. "And here I thought I was about to wake you up," the girl before him smiled kindly. "You'll catch a cold if you sleep here, you know?"

He nodded numbly once he registered that the pretty girl before him wasn't Satsuki—it was just too bad. His teammate and this stranger girl had a few things in common like their looks—pale skin, dark hair and eyes—but everything differed when it came to their personality and demeanor.

For one, Satsuki would never greet him with such pleasantries. Two, Uchiha's hair wasn't that long and she definitely would never be caught dead wearing pink!

"Oh, uh…" Haruto rubbed his head sheepishly, wondering how long he'd been caught snoring uncouthly; man, there went his chance with this girl. "Hey, my name's Haruto, what's yours?"

The stranger girl smiled gently. "Haku," she said then, after a moment assessing her surroundings, said, "Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same," Haruto smirked but he replied anyway. "To train."

Surprise flitted over her face momentarily before it disappeared. "I'm here to pick herbs to heal someone's wounds, ninja-san."

"Herbs?" Haruto grinned, jumping to his feet. "Let me help—I'm good with plants!"

Haku tipped her head to the side, eyes twinkling and smile widening—and gosh, Haruto just couldn't stop blushing! "Why, thank you."

The Senju paused, tipping his head to the side too, smiling as he listened to the trees's whisper, directing him to the plant they wanted. "Come on," he said. "This way!"

As they walked, there was only the sound of branches crunching beneath their feet, plants rustling and Haruto certainly didn't expect Haku to be the one to break the silence first. But the girl did anyway.

"Um, Haruto-san, what is your dream?"

It was an odd question to ask but he answered nonetheless. "To be Hokage," he replied simply, though to him, the weight and sincerity of the words were everything—to him anyway. "And to protect my precious people." So far, there was his mother, Ero-sennin, and—despite their attitude—his team. He swore he'd make the circle of precious people grow more.

"Me too, I want to protect those precious to me too," Haku said, crouching down by a flower and inspecting it as if it was something she wanted. She fingered the petal, plucking it and Haruto winced when he felt the plant's pain but he remained silent as he waited for her to finish what she had to say. "When you have something you truly want to protect, that's when you truly become strong.

"The strength we get when we find something to protect is immeasurable and unstoppable."

Haruto recalled, that after saying that and thanking him for his help, Haku had left. Oh, but not before telling the Senju that he was a boy. But those words, wise words about strength and precious people, struck a chord within Haruto and he knew he'd never be able to forget those words spoken to him.

And now, facing Haku in battle, the betrayal hurt but he cast it away because he recalled those words Haku had spoken. The strength to protect, he wanted it because Satsuki needed it. He needed it to save her, to protect her—she didn't look good.

"Senju," she spat the name with less venom, more with desperation and exasperation. "Think of something!"

"I'm trying—Guahh!" The last part, Satsuki surmised, was because of the barrage of needles lodging into his face. Haruto's rose vines snapped up, pulling the senbons out of his face and continued deflecting as many needles as possible. Unfortunately to both clan scions, not much could be done because the speed of the vines were too slow and they respond to Haruto's senses—if he couldn't see the needles before it came, well, the vines wouldn't be able to deflect them either.

Satsuki growled as a barrage of needles rained down on her back. She twisted and turned, nearly stumbling into an ice mirror which formed her prison. She deflected another with a flick of her wrist but more just nailed her at other parts of her body. She cursed; her heart pounded and blood roared at the life threatening situation she was in; if only she had eyes that could predict and keep up with the movements of her opponents—

There!—Satsuki ducked as a hail of senbons flew past, clattering to the ground once they met ice. Haruto looked at her, amazed before an encouraging grin bloomed—like his name—a flower in spring—on his face. "Great job—you got the Sharingan, now get us out of here!"

Sharingan…? Amazed herself, Satsuki's hand crept up to her eyes where it burned comfortingly—as if the bloodline of her ancestors were flowing through her. So she did inherit the gift after all, after so long without it, she'd assumed she would never gain it—like her late Uncle Obito who she could barely remember.

She didn't have time to ponder it as she found herself back-to-back with the Senju. She tried to guide the boy and his vines but they ended up nearly slapping her in the face more than they could deflect the rain of deadly needles. She snarled, "If you're just going to be a pest then get lost—" when she saw it.

A smaller number of needles, aimed and flying at the Senju's neck. She didn't know much about medical shit but she knew that was a vital point their enemy was aiming for.

She lunged, and she saw red before her body fell, cold greeted her back.

She choked on non-existent liquid and blinked dazedly when the sky turned a fantastic blue and the sun came out—oh, wait, it was merely Haruto. Her vision blurred—how can it be possible when her eyes just gained new power?—so she didn't know if it was really tears that made the redhead's eyes glisten or if it was just the effect of the cold crystal.

"Idiot…"

"Why!"

She didn't know either, maybe she was just crazy or she was very tired of living, waking up to a cold and empty and silent household where, years back, many people greeted her with laughter and smiles? "My… my body just moved on its own. You wanted to be Hokage," her eyelids drooped as blackness threatened to claim her. "How can you be one if you died…?"

The last thing she saw was crimson, felt it blanketing her in searingly comfortingly deadly red.

***

Haruto, as the Senju Clan's only heir and Mokuton-user, had already gained fame within the kunoichis his age and younger and some older ones too. When he and his team returned from Wave Country, he was swamped in greeting by them. Raised and pounded into his head to be a gentleman, to be nice to girls and kids alike, he mustered a painful smile as he greeted them all in return.

Their screams of sheer joy nearly deafened him.

But amongst the crowd, he saw a girl with pale skin and dark hair and eyes beneath the shadows, out of place, faded. Satsuki, his teammate; he hesitated only for a moment before he excused himself and slipped away from his fangirls and ran towards his teammate—whom he could almost consider a friend aside from a rival.

They walked in silence, a companionable silence descended upon them. It was strange like that, Haruto's be nervous if there were no talking and when it was completely silent—he'd always been a crowd person—but when he was with Satsuki, the silence wasn't all that unwelcome; dare he say it, it was silent yes but it was tranquil and was like some sort of timeout from life. But it was only with her so he called this effect the Strange Satsuki Effect.

"Hn, idiot, why did you leave them?"

"Who?"

"Your… fans."

He had a feeling she had meant to say something meaner but he shrugged it off. "Because I saw you."

"And that compels you to run to me?" She cocked an eyebrow, not understanding.

He appeared to be even more baffled. "What do you mean why? Because you're more important, bastard!"

She nearly smiled.

Nearly.