This is not a fairytale. This is a warning, to all young lovers. Not every love story ends with 'happily ever after...
It all started with a mission. It was a simple mission
to the Land of Tea as representatives of the Uchiha clan in a treaty signing with the Nekomata clan. Madara knew it'd be easy, but he never accounted for the ambush that lay in wait for him.
But every plan has a downfall.
Haruko never intended to stumble across a battlefield; it was just a simple herb-gathering day for her. She never knew that a battlefield lay between her and the Foxglove she needs.
Always expect the unexpected.
He knew he was spent, but at the very least, he had killed all enemies. He knew sleeping was probably a bad idea right after a battle, but he couldn't help the heaviness that weighed on his eyelids and limbs after such rigorous exercise.
Sleep was too welcoming to this man on death's door.
It all seemed like a beautiful dream to Haruko. Beautiful, absolutely perfect he looked to her when she first found him laying in a field dyed red and littered with bodies.
It wasn't a 'Once upon a time' beginning.
When Madara woke up to find a dark-haired beauty caring for him, it seemed like it couldn't possibly be real. How could a warlord such as him find himself in a cozy little cottage, being tended to by a young woman? But the look in her eyes kept him from killing her. That look of loneliness, bordering on insanity, was her downfall.
She was not a princess, and he was not her prince charming.
The two soon abandoned formalities, addressing each other as friends. To Madara, she was amusing and oddly captivating, yet so naïve. She was so very naïve. To Haruko, he was interesting, an enigma, and very handsome, she wasn't afraid to admit. His eyes were sharp, analytical, calculating while her large eyes still held that spark of innocence.
They were never supposed to meet.
With the full knowledge that war isn't made for one like her, he took her home with him. He became her confidante when she felt out of place, and he trusted her with more secrets than most others. He had a special smile reserved only for those he loved that he shared with her occasionally. It all seemed like a wondrous dream to Haruko. On a moonless night, he made her his. And it all seemed absolutely perfect.
But this is not a fairytale...
Madara soon became aware of a plot against him that held Haruko as a key factor. And the naïve girl would walk straight into it, he knew. She would die. He would die. So he arranged for her to meet him in a meadow.
She was so excited, racing to tell him news that she knew would make him smile.
But as soon as she stepped into the clearing, Haruko knew something was wrong. Madara's eyes were glinting red as he gazed at her. In the face of his stony expression, she faltered.
With a few cold words, this beautiful dream descended into a hellish nightmare...
Watching her confused, hurt eyes and knowing that this time, he could not help killed him inwardly, but externally, his eyes merely grew colder. His words circled around her mind until she was dizzy. Without warning, she sprinted off into the woods.
He never saw her again.
Later, as he disposed of her belongings, silently mourning, he caught sight of something peculiar in the trash. Madara raised an eyebrow and examined it cautiously. Then, he froze. His knees buckled and he fell, staring at it as angry and anguished tears sprang to his eyes. Haruko went back to living in the woods, this time with her child to care for. Atsuko Uchiha was born on a lovely spring day amidst the blooming Sakura trees. She grew up hearing stories about her father, but then was left to the silence when her mother passed. And, as she stands here thinking of her mother's warnings against the wiles of strange men, she still can't help but reach out and help the bleeding man in front of her.
Like her mother, she, too, will be caught up in a fairytale.