Aiko WAP 27

The situation spiraled out of control rapidly from there. The Uchiha returned to their formation. Hashirama fluttered around, eyes darting between her, Tobirama, and Madara pleadingly.

Madara looked grimly determined. From the outside, there was nothing to indicate that he didn’t want bloodshed.

“The clearing overlooking the river,” Madara said tonelessly. His eyes darted away from the Senju for just an instant to look at the civilians watching on in horror. “We will meet you there.”

“...Yes,” Hashirama agreed. As if choreographed, the Senju knelt and then leapt away in a blur of shunshin that made someone gasp. Hana? Grandmother Kasumi? Aiko wasn’t sure who.

Izuna let out a long sigh. He took off the apron and put a hand on Aiko’s shoulder comfortingly. “You tried,” he said. He didn’t sound as disappointed as he probably meant to. Aiko eyed him sideways and thought that he was looking forward to making his best attempt at killing Tobirama.

‘That’s more relatable than I expected it to be. I could kill him myself.’

She’d been so fucking close to defusing this.

"Thank you," she managed stiffly. It came out like a dismissal. Izuna crinkled his pretty eyes at her one more time and then focused on his brother's signal.

As one, the Uchiha left.

The clearing was quiet for a moment.

"That didn't work," Fumiko sighed. She slipped a hand behind her back to begin untying her apron. "What will you do next, Aiko-sama?"

That was the question, wasn't it?

She refused to give up. The easiest thing to do would be to just kill them until she felt less irritated, but that wasn't a good solution.

The first thing Aiko decided was that she intended to beat them there. It was just insulting that they thought they could leave her behind. The clearing they were talking about was a good five minutes away, at average speed and probably slower if you're coordinating a large group which includes people with different abilities. She didn't need to hurry and leave.

'If lethality is second resort, then first is immobilization. How do I immobilize a few hundred Shinobi?'

She had plenty of crowd control techniques, but something like chakra chains was really best suited to clearing a crowd by maiming them horribly and throwing them out of range. Besides, it would be ideal to avoid anything overtly associated with a clan.

…earth jutsu? The head hunter's technique hadn't been invented yet. They wouldn't know to guard from it.

Alright. That was an idea. She wouldn't get them all, of course, but she could individually smack down anyone who dodged the ankle grab. Aiko flexed and clenched her fingers in thought, making her way towards the supplies.

It felt bizarre to go to fight without bringing any weapons or armor. She'd left all her shinobi kit in seals at the shrine for a reason. It wasn't appropriate for her image.

There was one weapon associated with priestesses, though. Aiko made a decision. Even if it wasn't useful, it would convey her seriousness.

"I'm going to go. Everyone, thank you for your efforts. I'm sorry that our guests were so stubborn." She gave a deep, polite bow to everyone. "I'm going to intercept them and stop them. Is it acceptable if I return later and transport everyone to the village?"

Hana looked between Aiko and the vast expanse of dirty teacups. "...Can I come to the battle?" She asked hopefully.

Aiko snorted. Could the 7 month pregnant civilian with no self defense skills come to watch an active battle? "Ask Kakuzu-san." Buck passed, she pulled on hiraishin and grabbed the bow and arrows. Then she flickered to the clearing.

She was no sensor like Karin, but she knew they were coming. Aiko settled in a tree that had been more than touched by Hashirama's chakra and wondered how many hours he'd spent here working on his jutsu.

It took a deliberate effort to untense her jaw. Aiko licked her lips and rolled her neck in a circle.

She was pissed, honestly. She turned on the rinnegan. She'd need the control and power to snatch that many competent Shinobi. She settled a few branches higher after a moment's deliberation. No one needed to get a good look at her face like this. In an ideal world, they'd stop this idiocy before she had to come down from her tree and kick ass.

Of course, she thought, watching the Senju break through the treeline, she was sort of looking forward to smacking Tobirama Senju down.

…

Finally!

Izuna was wound tight with kinetic energy. He touched down with a satisfying thump on the grass and immediately lifted his head to watch the Senju line. Tea had been nice and all after a run, but he was looking forward to spilling guts on the grass.

His chakra sense picked up on something powerful, familiar, and angry.

'The priestess is here?'

…Interesting. He kept his face in the easy, cocky grin that pissed off Senju. The Senju must be so annoyed and confused. She shouldn't have been able to arrive first. It was the sort of charming impossibility that Izuna knew to expect from her, but that stuffy Tobirama must be boiling angry.

He subtly stole a glance up at her through his eyelashes. She was perched high in a tree, looking down at them with an unusually cold expression.

She'd gone for the full dramatic effect which he so admired from her. She had the long wooden bow from the shrine wall with her.  It wasn't pointed at a target, but she seemed ready to use it.

Izuna suppressed a delighted shiver at the sight of a beautiful woman with a deadly weapon.

There was a grim promise there. He'd never seen her use it, but he knew she'd killed samurai.

She looked even eerier than usual, with her court-length hair falling below her in a vivid orange-red banner. Izuna squinted at her across the distance. What was wrong with her eyes? They looked a lot lighter than he remembered. Was it the lighting? He itched to turn his sharingan on and steal a detailed look.

She noticed his attention and looked at him. He nodded at her. She inclined her head the slightest amount possible.

'...Is she planning to shoot someone?'

Izuna watched her cold gaze slide back to Senju Tobirama.

He was looking forward to seeing where that was going.

'Could she actually hit him?' He wondered, interested but not emotionally invested. 'She's clearly very skilled in taijutsu, and strong and fast. But I haven't seen other true Shinobi war arts from her.'

The thought of her wielding a sword or kunai was ludicrous. She was a holy woman. She wouldn't use steel. And unless she secretly was from a very powerful clan he'd never heard of, she wouldn't have access to very impressive ninjutsu education.

So, she probably wasn't on Senju Tobirama's level as a combatant. That was reasonable enough, given that he was widely regarded as one of the ten most powerful shinobi alive. But wouldn't it be gorgeous if she was that skilled?

Izuna lost himself in a wistful daydream and came back to attention with a start when Madara started addressing their enemy.

It was always the same. Both sides called for peace, if the other side would repent, would repay the blood debts, would submit. This was denied– no one would be the weaker side. No one would back down first.

Ritual attempt to avoid bloodshed complete, Madara stomped his war fan into the ground. On the other side of the field, Hashirama flicked his stupid hair and raised a hand to his army.

Izuna stole a glance at the priestess. She wasn't looking at him, but he made sure to pose so that his jawline looked particularly strong from her perspective.

If he had to characterize her expression, he'd go with "contemptuous", he decided. He refocused on his opponent.

Tobirama was already looking at him, but… Izuna choked down a laugh.

'She's unnerving him, isn't she?'

Izuna, personally, was too intelligent and too handsome to arouse the personal hatred of a probable demigoddess. But it made sense that such a foolish person had made her his enemy.

'I'm lucky that he's my opponent. She'll certainly be watching.'

Waiting for the signal was agony. Izuna ran through his plan again, eager to make this the time he finally killed the Senju heir.

Today was the day he'd finally be able to unveil his lightning jutsu, and fight without the disadvantage of being on the wrong end of an elemental matchup. Senju Tobirama was insufferably smug about his water jutsu. He couldn't have been luckier, for someone born to fight against a clan of fire users.

Izuna was bristling with metal. Tobirama wouldn't think anything of him flinging around wire, not with their past fights acclimating him to the technique. If Izuna had debuted them both at the same time, Senju would have been wary. But he was cocky, now, about the wire. He wouldn't pay enough attention to see the trap being set, not when the wire wasn't being set up as the trap mechanism.

Time to go. Izuna tensed, wild grin bared. Ahead of the two armies Madara and Hashirama clashed into each other first with a shriek of metal. He was an instant away from leaving the ground when he felt

He felt

The priestess's chakra in the earth below.

Izuna made a split second decision. Did he leap up and cut contact with the earth, or see where she was going with this?

Her chakra latched on hungrily and pulled down. Izuna yelped in surprise at how easily he slipped through the earth. He was buried up to his shoulders, one hand raised above the dirtline.

The earth hardened around him as quickly as it had softened to swallow him up.

The loudest sound was still the quick thud-thud-thud of Madara raining down blows against Hashirama's wood shields. But the clearing was also full of the sound of a few hundred men, plus Senju Toki, struggling to get out of the dirt.

"Oh," Senju Tobirama said, mouth a viciously pleased line. He unsheathed his sword because

Because

He wasn't in the ground. He was looming over Izuna despite still being a good ten meters away. He could cross that distance before Izuna could do anything to defend himself.

'...If I could have dodged it, of course he could too.'

"Do not!" The Priestess's voice rang out. Her face was twisted in a snarl. She stood on her tree branch.

Senju Tobirama twisted his head to the side like an owl. He didn't speak. He only regarded her.

She alighted from the height gracefully. Her fingers were still wrapped around the bow.

She didn't have an arrow notched, Izuna realized.

Senju clearly realized the same thing, but he didn't seem comforted by it. Izuna wouldn't be either. She clearly had mystical powers, or ninjutsu they'd never heard of. If she was holding the bow, then it was a viable weapon for her. Perhaps she had some sort of spiritual arrow?

Tobirama was not the only man standing. Three others had escaped the sunken earth technique, not counting their two leaders.

…Aiko-sama certainly had a plan for this. Izuna rearranged his single free arm to be a little more comfortable, propping up his head on his palm.