Title: The Lady Uchiha

Summary: Many people believe Madara to be the most deadly of the Uchiha, but Madara would disagree. They've simply haven't met his older sister yet.

Feature(s): Sakura is an Uchiha, Mito and Sakura are Good Friends, Sakura has a different variation of the Yin Seal, Sakura has a contract with Dragons

Warning(s): Brief mentions of child abuse, Brief description of suicide

Pairing(s): HashiSaku, MadaMito, & TobiIzuna (as of now)

Additional Information: Sakura is a fierce warrior of the Uchiha clan and its current heiress, but she has not fought in the wars between the Senju and the Uchiha. Rather, she has been on the frontlines of another war between the Uchiha and the Kaguya. After obtaining a long sought-after victory, she heads home to be with her brothers - only to discover one brother near death and the other tormenting himself over the possibility of losing another brother.

Disclaimer: All rights belong to their respective parties, of which I am not now.

Chapter One

Her group travels five days before reaching home. Amidst those five days, she tiredly recalls the last letter her younger brother sent to her relating that he and his "close friend" - the "Annoying Senju" - are very close to the peace they've so desperately sought for. One final battle, in which they both aim for their father's to fall, will lead to the end of the century-long feud because, of course, she would want her brother to obtain his dream of a village where children did not have to die by the will of their commanders. Still, she clutches the letter to her chest as an uncomfortable feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. Madara has not sent word since then. No crow has been seen for days.

"You worry, Lady Sakura?" A fellow clansman asks quietly. "Madara-sama has not responded to your letter." Such a statement does not settle her nerves her; only set her on edge as they draw closer to home. The trees are becoming familiar and the landscape one that she recalls from her dreams. "Do you believe them to be okay?" Sakura pauses on one thick branch. Her entire company stops as well, each turning to her without question and awaiting orders.

"We are roughly three hours from home. We do not know the state of our clan right now," she replies for everyone to hear. "Do not assume that we are returning to normal times. My brothers have followed the orders of our father much of their life and have raged war against the Senju. Be cautious even in our own territory and try your best to not frighten the children. I expect reports on the well-being of all of you two nights from now. Am I understood?"

"Yes, my lady." It's said in unison. With a single nod, Sakura leaps for the next branch and they continue on. Traveling these familiar roads does not lessen her nerves. If anything, they only continue to tingle as she draws closer. Something isn't right. Or, rather, something is very, very wrong and she's beginning to fear what may be awaiting her at home. How are her brothers?

For the next three hours, she and her group travel in silence. A red sun starts to set as the markings claiming the land as Uchiha start appearing. The sighs of relief and general uplifted attitude of her clansmen do nothing for her, but the sight of their home does raise her spirits briefly. It's familiar. Its welcomed. It's welcomed up until they draw closer and only a few lanterns are glowing and all of them are white.

It's a sign that someone is on their deathbed. She jumps down to the ground and starts walking forward at a brisk pace; her clansmen following suit and they walk to the gate surrounding their home. As they draw near, a few Uchiha women step outside to greet them with grim looks and shaking hands. The oldest among them, someone of Sakura's age, steps forward and claims her hand. The look on her face speaks beyond words.

"Who?" Sakura asks softly as her sword is removed and handed off to another woman to be cleaned and sharpened.

"My lady's youngest surviving brother," comes the response. "He was wounded by the Senju and his life fades fast. He has spent these last few days attempting to convince Lord Madara to claim his eyes."

Sakura closes her eyes briefly. "I will to him now." The clanswoman bows her head and moves away. She is a healer. An exceptional one at that and has saved the lives of many of her clansmen. "Is Madara with him?"

"Yes, my lady. He has refused to leave his side."

"Care for our kin. I will tend to my brothers."

She does not look back to see if the woman acknowledges her order.

There is a faint glow under Izuna's door, more than likely from burning candles, and a strong smell of herbal paste. She dreads what she will see once the door is opened, but hesitating will only prolong Izuna's suffering and the anger she knows is wrapping tightly around Madara's heart. With a single knock and no verbal announcement, she enters the room and almost freezes upon the sight that greets her.

Izuna is as pale as the white sheet covering his body. It serves to make his dark hair stand out more along with the purple under his eyes. Madara does not grace her with his face. With his head bowed, his long black hair serves as a curtain to hide him away from the cruel world. Sakura's heart aches to the point of wishing she could rip it from her chest. Her two brothers. Her two remaining brothers are in varying states of agony.

There's a steaming bowl of water next to Izuna head and a pile of clean rags to replace the one that is more than likely cooling on his forehead. Sakura moves forward to save her youngest brother when Madara snaps: "There is no more you can do for him. Leave us!"

"I will not," she replies immediately. "I intend to save him, little brother. I need you to listen to me." Madara's head shoots up and he stares at her, mouth opening in shock before he scrambles to his feet, long black hair moving about him wildly. "Little brother, I need you to remove his blanket and any bandages on him. Be gentle as you do." Sakura moves past him to a bowl of hot water off to the side where she dips her hands to sanitize them.

As she turns back around, Sakura sees him on his knees with the blanket already pulled down and the bandages slowly being peeled away. Sakura stares at the wound with a blank expression, eyes turning bright red, and wills herself to remember this moment of saving her youngest brother. To remind herself why she agreed to lead the Uchiha against the Kaguya while her brothers fought the Senju. To remind herself why she spent so much time away from them.

"We understand," Madara tells her late one evening as Izuna curls up against her chest. "Father has decreed it so and you will lead us to victory." She does not add to his statement knowing full well that Madara would pitch a fit.

Izuna sighs in his sleep. Sakura reaches down to pet his hair gently. "I am only agreeing to this because I would never wish for you two to participate in that battle. Too many of our family fell to their wicked kekkei genkai. I will not see you and Izuna suffer from that."

"We will still fight against the Senju when you are gone," he tells her grimly. "One brother lost to them already, nee-sama. We only hope that this does not come about again."

Sakura kneels before Izuna, body armor clanking against the ground without a care, and presses her hands to his wound. The strangled cry Izuna releases is enough to cause her eyes to sting with unfallen tears. "Shh," she whispers softly. "I am home. I will save you. I will save you, baby brother." Her hands are glowing a deep forest green now, slowly edging her chakra into him and gritting her teeth as he cries out. "My chakra is mending his nerves but there's an unknown liquid within him. Poison, I suspect."

"Nee-sama," Madara croaks. "What do you need me to do?"

"Get me more healers. I need four bowls and two of them need to be filled with water," she demands of him. "Quickly." Madara is out the door with orders falling from his lips as quickly as he breathes. It's a sort of blur after that where not one, but three, healers appear with bowls and water. "When I remove the poison, you will take that bowl and empty and refill it with water, but I need two bowls to remain empty at all times. Am I clear?"

"Yes, my lady."

She turns to Madara who is hesitating by the door. "Hold his shoulders down. And you," Sakura nods towards the healer closest to her, "hold down his legs. This process is extremely painful. He will yell."

The process of removing the poison will forever be embedded in her mind. One quick glance at Madara and she knows it will be the same for him. In many cases, Sakura will activate her Sharingan to remember the times she saved her clansmen as a way to punish herself when she is unable to save them; the few times that she could not. Izuna's screams of agony fill the room, escape the room, and echo across the Uchiha compound. No doubt many of Uchiha have exited their homes at the sounds.

"Soon," she assures a struggling, gasping Izuna. "Soon, I promise." True to her word, she stops the process of removing the poison when the bubble water extracted from his chest comes back clean. After releasing the water into the bowl. Sakura motions for her brother and the healer to let go and rips the rest of the sheet off of him. The color is already returning to his skin and his heaving chest is calming down. "Bring another blanket," she orders without looking away from Izuna's twitching eyelids. The order is followed quickly and she soon dismisses the remaining healers so that it is only she and her brothers.

"Nee-sama," Madara repeats his earlier word. "Nee-sama, you're home." There's an understandable amount of relief in his voice. After covering Izuna up comfortably, she leans forward carefully and brushes a cooling kiss, aided by her chakra, against his forehead before replacing the damp cloth on his forehead with a heated one. Finally, Sakura gets up and moves towards Madara.

"Little brother," she greets softly and sighs deeply, contently, when she's pulled into a strong, desperate, trembling hug. "I have missed you, Maddie."

"Don't call me that," comes the gruff, thick reply of a man holding back his tears. He tightens his hold on her. "I couldn't do anything but sit there and watch." Sakura inhales shakily. "I couldn't do a damn thing for him and h-he begged me to take his eyes, nee-sama. He begged. A-And he wanted me to tell you that he loves you and hopes you are proud of him."

Sakura blinks rapidly to keep her tears back. Instead, she rubs her hands up and down his back. "I'm home," she tells him. "I'm home to stay, Maddie. I won't be going anywhere. I promise. Not for a long time." She pulls away. "Is this why you did not reply to my letter?"

"I didn't - I wasn't sure how to explain the situation." Madara pulls back and looks down at her. "When none of our best healers could save him, I started accepting that he would not live beyond a few more days. How could I have told you? Mother and Tetsuya died of poison despite our healer's best efforts. I wanted to spare you as best I could."

She reaches up and yanks on his long bangs. "Little brother, the pain would have been the same regardless of when I found out." And then she smiles a little. "I'm glad I made it home in time."

"Me too. Now, go wash up and change into something more comfortable, nee-sama." Madara lets out a shaky breath. "I will stay with him until you come back."

"Are you claiming I stink?"

"If the sandal fits," he replies easily and it's nice that they can fall back into easy banter despite their grievances. "He'll be ecstatic to see you home."

"When I return, you will tell me of the Senju who nearly ended our little brother." The dark look on Madara's face informs her that she'll be in for a long discussion.

Washed and in clean clothing, Sakura heads for Izuna's room. Her long, pink hair hangs loosely down her back as opposed to it's earlier style of a tight bun. Her scars, faded from her unwillingness to heal them, stand up among her pinkened skin. Despite this, she feels better. She feels refreshed. There is something wonderful about scrubbing the dirt away from under her nails.

"Welcome home, my lady." This is the common greeting to and from her brother's room. As always, she answers with a kind smile and a similar response to being glad to be back.

"Mariya, can you bring a light dinner to my youngest brother's room?" Sakura asks a passing maid. "If you're busy, then please don't bother. I can call for someone else."

"I'm not busy at all," comes the quick reply. "I will bring it right away, my lady." The maid runs off in hurry.

Sakura continues her walk until she is before the familiar door and knocks once. The voice that calls out to her does not belong to Madara, but rather the youngest heir of the Uchiha clan. Throwing the door open, she takes in a content Madara and a softly smiling Izuna with his hair piled on top of his head in a messy bun and somewhat damp skin. Hiking her kimono up, Sakura races to his side and drops to her knees next to him and yanks him into a fierce hug.

"Thank the gods you're awake," she whispers against his hair. "You gave us such a fright, baby brother."

"I'm glad you're home, nee-sama. I've missed you so much."

"As did I, Izzy-chan." Sakura pulls away and reaches up to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Tell me what happened?" It comes as a request but is truthfully a demand. She watches, one eyebrow raised, as Madara and Izuna exchange wary glances. "Speak now, brothers. I am not in the mood for vague statements or hesitation. Give me the truth and allow me the opportunity to worry and be angry."

Madara speaks first. "In my last letter, I told you there would be a final battle between the Uchiha and Senju and then peace would be achieved." His face falls soon after. "I didn't tell Izuna of my plan and neither did Hashirama tell his brother. While we were pretending to fight with ill intent, Izuna fought the younger brother; Tobirama."

"He used an attack, unlike anything I've seen," Izuna picks up, "and he moved so fast. I wasn't expecting it and my Sharingan did not pick it up." Sakura watches as Madara clenches his fists. "Senju Tobirama has always been my equal on the battlefield, nee-sama. You know this. He's known for creating spectacular attacks and causing a lot of damage. We seek each other out when our clans clash."

"I see," she replies. "And what happened after you were wounded?"

"I took him from the battle," Madara answers, "and ordered for the Uchiha to retreat. Up until you returned, no one has been able to help Izuna. He was constantly bleeding through his bandages and the bed sheets. I didn't know what else to do."

Sakura blinks slowly; a troubling realization dawning on her. "You were going to force yourself to watch him die?" Even Izuna turns to Madara with a shocked expression. "Madara, why would you punish yourself like that?" Though, it's hypocritical on her part to ask. Once their father fell, all authority falls to Madara until her return.

"Because it was my fault, nee-sama! I convinced Hashirama to not tell his brother about our plan and I did not tell Izuna which ultimately led to his injury."

"I feel like asserting my authority and grounding you both," Sakura replies after several moments of silence. If this were any other time, the statement might have been humorous. "To think you're so foolish to not explain your ordeal with Izuna but willingly explaining it to me," she directs at Madara. "And you, for continuously pursuing a Senju to prove your worth. Do not deny it!"

"Nee-sama," Izuna starts but then stops; obviously not knowing what to say.

She raises her hand anyway. "I love you both so damn much. You know that, right? After losing mother and Tetsuya and Reisi, how do you think I would feel if I came home and one or both of you were dead? Izuna, losing you would have damaged me beyond belief." Sakura sighs heavily. "I support your dream, Madara. I have always supported your dream. The moment you told me when we were children, I had high hopes for you. But this," she points to the pile of bloody bandages in the corner, "is not how you go about achieving peace. It's reckless." Sakura looks down at her hands. "I never held any love for father and I will never forgive him for pushing both of you."

"Nee-sama, I'm sorry," Madara tells her again. "I was foolish in my desperate attempts to make things work out."

"I want to speak to the Senju," she tells them suddenly and takes great, private, delight in the identical shocked looks on their face. "You have not spoken to Senju Hashirama since you brought Izuna home?" Madara shakes his head. "Then he is probably of the belief that you are second guessing your aim for peace." She turns to Izuna, one eyebrow raised. "Would you be able to stand in the same room as Senju Tobirama?"

Izuna looks back and forth between them. "I'm mad that you did not tell me, brother." Madara looks away. "But I understand, I think. I told you not to trust the Senju before collapsing and you still do. However," he takes one hand from Sakura and one from Madara, "I'm tired of fighting and I want you to achieve your dream. If anything, it's the one thing you've wanted for years." Finally, he glances at Sakura. "I doubt Tobirama will openly attack me in the middle of peace talks. Not with his brother there, at least. I am...of the belief that he would do anything for his older brother much like myself."

"Then it's settled," Sakura states before Madara can reply. "Madara, you will send word to your Senju friend and request a meeting on neutral ground in two or three days. Preferably, near the Hatsugaki River. As far as I am aware, it's of equal distance from both compounds. Until then," she maneuvers her hand to grasps Izuna's and reaches for Madara's, who does not hesitate to offer his, and looks at them both seriously, "I want you both fed and well-rested. Tonight, I care for you both. Tomorrow, we mourn our fallen together."

"Yes, nee-sama," they respond in unison.

There's a knock on the door. "My lady? I have brought you and the Lords dinner. May I enter?"

Sakura looks at Izuna. "I expect you to eat everything on your plate."

Izuna has the audacity to roll his eyes. "Yes, nee-sama."

"Enter," she calls out.

The rest of the night is pleasantly peaceful.

Don't judge me when I start new stories despite having several WIPs and knowing full-well I'm severely behind on my dabble series. This is already up on my Ao3. I'm trying to do something a little different with this fic. If you have the time, please review.

~i-just-really-love-sakura