"Please, just tell me who you are." Hashirama said, eyes gleaming with anticipation. When he received no answer, as had been the case for the past hour, he sighed. "Look, the barrier you created back there was very powerful. I haven't seen anything like it before, it would have drained an enormous amount of chakra that most shinobi don't have. This tells me two things: one, you are considerably powerful, two, you have a strong reason to want to stop the bloodshed between us and the Uchihas. All I want to know is what that reason is."

Still, he received only silence from the woman in front of him. Hashirama sighed again; he was usually quite good with words.

Defeated, he stood up and left the room.

A minute later, a woman with fiery red hair and an air of nobility stepped into the room. Nina understood their strategy. They were hoping another woman could get answers out of her. She had been interrogated many times before and was, unfortunately, very familiar with nearly every tactic there was. She was thankful that torture didn't seem to be one of the Senju's.

"My name is Uzumaki Mito, I've been asked to get some information from you."

She seemed smart.

"What can I call you?"

No response.

"Why did you interfere in the battle between Hashirama and Madara?"

No response.

"Do you have something to gain from stopping the war?"

Again, no response.

The sun had set by the time Mito finally gave in. She closed her eyes, letting out a breath.

"Well, it's getting late, I'm sure you're tired. We'll continue tomorrow." she stood up and glided out of the room, whispering something to another woman as she passed. The woman nodded and approached Nina.

"Please come with me." she said quietly.

The two stepped out of the building, towards an unknown destination.

"Where are we going?" Nina questioned, speaking for the first time since she had arrived here.

"I will lead you to your temporary home." came the brief response. As the two settled into a semi comfortable silence, Nina looked around, admiring the small village.

Beautiful architecture, people walking peacefully by, flowers blooming in the spring weather. Looking at such a nice picture, no one would assume that the clan was in the middle of a bloody war. The men, women, and children walking by all seemed happy, even the ones who were ninja. Everyone, that is, except a familiar albino, spiky haired individual that passed them, not ten feet away.

He locked eyes with Nina for a long moment. Seeming to recognize her, his eyes narrowing as he scanned her image. His piercing gaze followed her, a gaze filled with a coldness that anyone could feel from a mile away.

'The one that managed to cut my neck...' Nina mused as she remembered the battle they had no more than a month ago.

The tension only lasted for a few seconds before they both turned away and continued on their separate ways.

Arriving at a small house at the outskirts of the village, the woman stopped.

"Here is where you are to stay. My name is Ia, I will be nearby. If you need anything, just ask." and with that, she turned and started back in the direction they came from.

The next day, the sun had just peaked over the horizon as Nina sat up from the bed. She was still here and, unfortunately, there had been news spread about her arrival among the Senjus, along with that, there was rumor that she was the one who had been intervening in the war between the Uchihas and themselves. She knew that escaping now would only serve to cause further rumors of her motives, as if there weren't enough of those drifting around.

There was a movement outside the room, Nina glanced out and saw Ia sitting by a table near the window. Upon seeing her, the Senju woman gave a blank smile.

"You're up. Please come with me. Hashirama-san has called for you."

The walk to Hashirama's office was a quiet one, a comfortable quiet.

The two women entered the tall building. She was led to an office, different than the one from yesterday. Ia knocked on the door and they soon heard a 'come in'. Ia opened the door and gestured for her to enter. Nina had sensed two chakra sources inside the room, which would not have been of any concern if she hadn't known who the second source belonged to.

Hashirama smiled at the sight of her.

"Ah, you're here. I'd like to introduce you to my brother, Tobirama."

The tension hung heavily in the air for a few seconds. Hashirama stared at the woman, then at his brother. It was clear that this was not their first meeting; the glares almost turned the atmosphere around them black.

He cleared his throat.

"Well, I have business to attend to. Try what you can, good luck." he mumbled the last part to the white haired man next to him and left the room, leaving Tobirama and Nina alone.

The tension did not lessen.

Five minutes.

Ten minutes.

Twenty minutes.

An hour passed. There was still only silence, on both their parts. Tobirama seemed to be relying on his cold expression to try and make her uncomfortable enough to speak. And it probably would have worked on any other person.

Finally, it was Tobirama who spoke first.

"You interrupt my battle with the Uchihas, then my brother's battle with the same clan. Clearly, you are protecting them. What did they offer you?" hiis voice held a sharp edge.

"I do not work with them." Nina had to make this point clear to the man who looked like he was getting ready to kill someone.

"Then you work for them."

"No."

"Then how are you related to their clan?"

"..." She could not, would not, answer that.

Tobirama closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath. If his brother had not specifically told him that he could not use any 'regular' interrogation techniques on this 'special' prisoner, he would have gotten the answers he needed long ago. He needed those answers, not only because his brother had asked him to, but also because he was personally curious as to who this mysterious person was.

First, there was the odd report from one of his men; a tale of how he and his division were captured by the Uchihas, but had been saved by a strange woman who had refused to give her name. He passed this off as a genjutsu they had suffered.

Next, he had personally witnessed a woman, who somehow seemed slightly... off, interrupt his battle with a group of Uchihas, letting them escape by a thread. This troubled him, but was taken as just a coincidence.

But then more and more reports from his soldiers came in about a stranger interfering in battles between them and groups of Uchiha men. Reports of the abilities used by the mystery person varied, along with accounts of their appearance. There was one constant, however: the chakra that the person possessed was very strange.

With these reports, this rumor could no longer be written off as just a rumor.

And now, he had the stranger in front of him, right in his grasp, and yet she would offer no information on who she, or what her purpose, was. It was quite agitating, even to a hardened solider like himself.

Reopening his eyes, he looked straight at the woman, something about her still seemed off. What it was, specifically, he could not pinpoint.

"You are not an Uchiha. What clan do you belong to?" he knew if he got the answer to that, he would be one step closer to learning her identity and motive.

Of course, no answer.

The interrogation stretched the length of the day. The sun had set by the time Tobirama had been interrupted by Ia.

"I have been asked to return our guest to her temporary residence." the woman told him.

He sighed quietly.

"Very well. We will continue tomorrow." standing up, he walked past Ia and out of the room.

After he had left, she motioned for Nina to follow her.

Once they were out of the building, Ia turned to her.

"How did you do it?" she asked, sounding both amused and curious.

"What do you mean?" Nina blinked, tired and not too interested in talking.

"You survived Tobirama's interrogation and you're not... broken." she struggled to find the right words.

Receiving a shrug from the other woman, Ia smiled bitterly.

"You must have seen a lot during these times. The wars have taken much from many clans and many more people."

"You have lost someone close to you?" It was more of a statement.

The Senju nodded slowly.

"My fiancé. By an Uchiha, of course." the bitterness was evident, yet there was no hatred in her tone.

"That is the nature of war." Nina sympathized. "As terrible as it is."

Ia blinked away the tears threatening to spill.

"Yeah..." she thought for a second. "Have you, by chance, lost someone close to you to the war?"

Nina almost laughed.

"I have not." she responded. It was counterproductive to make friends when you were hiding yourself from the world.

"You're very fortunate, remember to appreciate your loved ones."

Yet there are none.

"Being here must be difficult. You certainly should be with family in times like these."

Yet I have none.

"Seeing the situation, I'm sure you'll be free to go soon." Ia reassured.

"Hopefully." Nina nodded. By now, they had made it to her assigned home.

"Have a good night." and they parted ways.

Once inside, she slumped in an armchair. Ignoring all those questions took a good amount of will and patience. She thought back to Hashirama. It was clearer now why he and Madara had such a rivalry. How coincidental it is to have the legendary Ōtsutsuki twins reincarnate into the leaders of two clans that hated each other so much. They had quite a few things in common with their old selves as well.

Madara was unwilling to open up, even cold, to her, much like Hamura when she had first met him. She was just about five years old...

A young girl awkwardly shifted from her left leg to her right, white hair blending in with the snow fluttering from the sky. A few feet away stood a boy, not much older than herself, staring blankly at her.

"Sorry to bother you... but... I think your brother forgot this..." She held out a white robe in her pale hands. Purple tomoe were spaced evenly along the front collar. Seeing the garment, the boy blinked and reached out, carefully taking the robe from her. He stared down at it for a moment, then back up at the girl.

"Thank you." came the short response.

The girl's eyes brightened at this.

"No need! I just wanted Hagoromo-san to get his robe back." she grinned toothily.

The boy frowned at this.

"Don't talk like you know us."

Surprised, the girl hesitated for a second before lowering her gaze to the snow dusted ground.

"I-I'm sorry... I didn't mean to offend you." She stood quietly for a moment before bowing quickly and running back in the direction she came from.

The boy stared at her retreating figure.

"Hamura, who was that?" came a voice from behind him.

"I don't know, Hagoromo."

And on the other end, Hashirama seemed very much like the older brother.

"Are you ok?"

A girl, around six years old, rubbed her shoulder, looking up at the person she ran into with a sheepish smile.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." she paused, staring at him curiously. "Sorry to ask, but are you Hagoromo-san?" she tilted her head, examining the boy. She hadn't seen either one of the royal twins for a while, so she wasn't too sure what they looked like now. However, this boy seemed too similar to the older of the twins, whom she had glimpsed many times before, to be a coincidence.

"Yes. Why do you ask?" the boy, Hagoromo, already seemed easier to get along with than his brother whom she had encountered just a year ago.

"Oh, nothing... I just... um... your powers are really cool!" she blurted out.

The boy seemed to chuckle.

"Oh, my chakra? Thank you." he looked at the girl in front of him. "What's your name?"

"I'm Nina, I've always wanted powers like you and your family! I think it's really cool and pretty!"

"That's nice. I think so too."

"What's your favorite thing about them?"

"Hard to say."

"Is it hard to control them?"

"At times."

And this went on for a long while, the two children seated on the grass, talking about anything and everything. The two, starting out as mere strangers, had quickly become friends.

Her eyes softened at the memories. It was both amusing and painful to remember what she was like as a child.

Before the attack.

Before the revival.

Before the chakra.

'Those were happier times, huh?'

Days, weeks, months blurred together as they often seemed to. Each one was the same monotonous cycle; get up at dawn, be escorted to the interrogation room, ignore questions from whoever happened to be questioning her that day, return to the house at sunset. The only part that Nina enjoyed was the short walks to and from the house. Not only did she get to enjoy the beautiful village, but she could also talk with Ia about whatever they found to be interesting.

She was sure they looked similar in age, but even despite that, their experiences was inevitability entirely different.

Ia would talk about her family, how she met her fiancé, her chakra control lessons with her father and mother, and how she dreamed of a world without war. Nina had opened up slightly as well, describing her childhood village, telling of her only two friends when she was younger, and how she had seen many things, more than she could care to explain. Ia had inquired about the last point on multiple occasions, but she had always let it remain vague.

Now, Nina was in another interrogation session, this time with Tobirama. Many of the same questions were repeated, over and over. What's her surname? What business does she have in the war between the Senju and Uchiha? What's her chakra nature?

She sighed audibly. She began to believe that she would never be able to get out of here, a frightening thought in her situation. For one, she needed to receive the chakra that her clan would be sending very soon, something she could only do from one specific field not far from her home. Nina was thinking of ways she could get out before the time came. Among the plans she was considering was one that involved sneaking out and leaving a clone in her place. As far as she knew, no one ever came to guard or check on her at night. Yes, that seemed like the most viable option, she would be back before dawn so there shouldn't be a problem.

Nina decided to go with that plan, now she only had to wait patiently for six more days.

Time swept by her, it was now the day that she would need to go and retrieve the chakra that sustained her. That day seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. Nina was walking back from the routine interrogation, Ia with her as always, seeming more excited than usual.

"Hey, the blood moon is happening tonight, are you planning to watch?" the Senju asked, turning to the woman whom she had come to befriend.

Nina glanced at her, slightly confused.

"Blood... moon?" she repeated slowly. Ia smiled.

"You've never heard of it? Maybe it's just a Senju thing." she went on to explain the event in fine detail; how it happens just around twice every three years, how the moon glows a vibrant red during that night, but has an especially bloody color for around an hour near midnight. The admiration was evident in her voice. "Our astronomers track the moon's position and can determine when the next big event is. The blood moon is one of the most interesting cycles we get to see." She seemed genuinely amazed as she was describing it, but Nina was deep in thought.

Twice every three years... red moonlight... lasts for the night... especially red for an hour... sounded a lot like a description of her chakra reception jutsu. If it was indeed what she thought it was, it would prove to be most amusing. A ritual that was a necessity in keeping her alive had become a spectacle for these people, perhaps many others as well.

The best part?

They didn't even know she existed.