In the dim light of what she assumed to be the morning, Sakura could take a better look at the strange man. He looked both tall and strong (though she suspected that this was partially because of the way he held himself) and his unruly black hair trailed down his back until reaching his waist. She still had to assess his face, but from there the claim that he was an Uchiha didn't seem that far-fetched.
But the strangest thing about his appearance were his clothes. They were unlike any other she had seen members of the clan donning, and that was hardly a compliment. The pants he wore were ripped in several places and there was a huge hole in the yellowed fabric of one of his sleeves. The whole attire seemed worn beyond what any normal person would consider wearable.
She wondered what sort of person would be living in the mountains and wearing only rags. The first thing that came to mind was 'monk', but he clearly wasn't one, so she was only left with 'crazy person'.
Sakura had most certainly never heard of Uchiha Madara. The name didn't even ring a bell, which was odd, as the man had the poise of someone of a high rank, and she knew the names of every important figure in the Uchiha clan.
Still, on the unlikely event that he was someone of importance, she decided she would treat him with more respect from now on, if only for the sake of her family's relationship with the Uchiha.
"I apologize." She spoke softly, smiling even if he couldn't see her "I seem to be a bit lost."
"It's evident." Madara replied before leaning down by the stump of a tree and picking something from the ground. "Maybe this will refresh your memory."
As he turned to face her, Sakura decided that he definitely looked the part. Like the overwhelming majority of the Uchiha he was rather good-looking (maybe even by the clan standards), with sharp features and hard gaze. The lines under his eyes made him look like he never slept, and yet his face indicated that he didn't plan on starting any time soon.
He held out a small pouch in front of himself, the very same her father had stored the pearls in.
When she approached him to receive it, he pulled it over his head, just above her reach.
"That is mine." Sakura explained as politely as she could.
"No, it isn't." His tone was that of someone speaking to a particularly slow child.
"It is." She replied, trying her best to keep her temper in check.
His eyes narrowed dangerously, and Sakura could feel her extremities freezing from the sheer intensity of it.
"I will not hold myself so low as to justify my actions to a criminal."
"My father bought these, they were not stolen." She could feel her self-control beginning to slip.
Madara seemed to ignore her, turning around and walking towards a pile of chopped wood.
Her other self all but seethed, and Sakura shared her sentiment. She wasn't so angry she would do something drastic about it, but she did feel very tempted.
…But as soon as she saw the man lifting a rusty looking axe, this desire completely vanished.
Sakura decided to take in her surroundings. The tall trees that nearly obscured the sky were a testament to the claim that they were still in the mountains, but the sight of what was behind her made her doubt that somewhat.
The building seemed to be made entirely of wood and straw, being simple, rustic and even – she dared say – ugly by most people's standards. However, it was also huge, almost as large as the state of the Uchiha in the capital, and she thought it strange that someone would be able to hide something so big in the mountains, but the thing that caught her attention the most was how several sections seemed to be built in the stone walls and the steep slopes. It didn't look particularly safe.
Madara had said that she wouldn't be able to leave, and the terrain did seem inhospitable… Still, if he had brought her there, there was certainly some way to leave.
"Madara-dono, is it? Thank you for watching over me, it was very kind of you." Sakura bowed deeply, though she suspected the man was too focused on his task of chopping wood to pay her any mind "I will look for a way back home on my own, if I can just get my belongings back."
She thought she had done very well with her request that he give back her things. She had been polite and showed she was thankful, and she was certain her father would be proud of her if he saw her right now. Dealing with money came naturally to Sakura, but the hardest part of commerce was the people, by far. This time, however, she was sure she had expressed herself perfectly, and there was no way he could simply brush her aside.
The sound of metal clashing against wood proved her wrong.
"I don't mean to be any trouble." Her volume went up a notch and her voice became shriller, and she guessed that this time she had been successful in getting his attention, because Madara stopped and rested his tool against the trunk of a tree.
So apparently being loud was more efficient in dealing with him than being soft spoken. Dully noted.
"And yet your original destination was not your home." His tone was casual, but Sakura's eyes widened dramatically.
"How do-"
"You live to the northeast of this mountain with your parents, and you have no siblings." Madara continued as if he wasn't revealing information on her that no stranger should know "Which is for the best, I suppose. Less people to mourn you."
If she had been scared of the man before, she was terrified now. He was more than just a crazy man living in the mountains; he knew things about her. He didn't sound the least bit uncertain, so he couldn't be merely guessing. He somehow knew all those things about her, and Sakura concluded that, strangely enough, she would feel safer if she was still dealing with the wolf.
"Who are you?" It was all she could muster, her mind too focused on coming up with scenarios in which she'd escape in case he suddenly attacked her.
"I thought I had already answered this" the man's posture deflated the slightest bit and his lower lip was protruded in something that wasn't quite a pout, making him look slightly disappointed. That expression was soon replaced, and though Sakura couldn't quite place his emotion, she didn't like the sudden gleam in his eyes.
"You know, they say that a wolf lives in these parts" As Madara began speaking again, his words were so familiar it almost felt like home, but his timbre alone was enough to freeze her to the core. "He's an emissary of the mountain god, the most powerful creature in this forest, and he protects the good people and punishes the wicked. You are good, aren't you, Sakura?"
Despite how much they were trembling, somehow her legs didn't cave in, and Sakura was immensely glad for it, as she didn't know if she'd survive the second time she stumbled around… it.
She had connected the dots, even with her brain urging her to take a more rational approach. She wasn't dealing with a normal human, rather some sort of demon, and his words from before weren't merely in jest. She had no idea how that came to pass, but there was no way that just any person would have been able to save her from the monster and know so much about her… much less the words she now remembered her father had said to her ten years ago, on the very same day she was chased by the wolf for the first time.
Now she knew what he was.
And he knew that she knew that.
And apparently that pleased him greatly.
"I loathe to think of what this world would become if criminals were allowed to do as they pleased without retribution." He drawled, and Sakura could see the corner of his lips threatening to curl into a smirk "I consider it my obligation to dole out punishment as I see fit, even if it's not equivalent to the crime itself."
"Why didn't you kill me?" Maybe she shouldn't have asked, but something urged her to do so. After all, if he hadn't done so yet, it was unlikely that anything she said would change his mind.
"You are not interesting to me in the current state you are." 'Menstruated' she added mentally "As soon as the issue is resolved I'll deal with you."
"You mean eat me." She corrected bitterly.
"Of course." She wondered if he was even trying to hide his enjoyment, because if that was the case, he was failing miserably "But there is no need to worry. You are quite small, so I'm sure I can do you in one bite."
That seemed as good a time to run as any.
"I fear I have overstayed my welcome." She bowed awkwardly and backed away, only to have him advance on her, covering much more ground in a step than she could. Strangely enough, he had a certain grace about himself, and the young woman was surprised she realized that in the state that she was.
"Nonsense." He bared his teeth "I insist."
"You can't kill me." Sakura was on the verge of despair, and this was one of her last tactics, followed only by 'begging' and 'crying'. "My family has dealings with the Uchiha."
"The Uchiha are dead." Madara growled, and she was so puzzled by this declaration that she forgot her fear and came to a complete halt.
"No, they aren't."
The man was right in front of her, his figure blocking all the sunlight from her view, and as his eyes locked onto hers, she wondered if his mere presence was able to suck the heat of anything in his vicinity.
"Explain." He demanded, and Sakura was surprised that she only then realized that his voice was exactly the same as the monster's, sounding as if it came from the entrails of the mountain itself.
"Th-there's nothing to explain, they just aren't." Sakura's words came out much more defensively than she would have hoped. "My family has traded with them for generations; I can guarantee you that they are alive."
Madara remained impassive, and the girl wasn't sure if she felt frustrated or curious that he was so adamant on his belief that the Uchiha were dead.
She was leaning more towards frustrated.
"I might have something with their seal, actually. If you'd give me back my belongings-"
His eyes narrowed in a glare, causing Sakura to shut her mouth instantly. She was certainly scared of the creature in front of her, but more than that, she was also furious – He wasn't even giving her the chance of explaining! The voice in the back of her head kept shouting about how they should punch the ever loving crap of him, and though she ultimately agreed, she was smart enough to know this plan wouldn't work.
"Get inside."Madara's emotionless voice broke her line of thoughts, and she merely stared at him suspiciously. What if he had grown so angry he had decided to kill her right then, only he had the decency not to do so in broad daylight? "If you wish to show me anything, this is the only chance that I'm giving."
Sakura hurried towards the entrance of the house, not wishing to waste any more time. Her 'host' followed not far behind, with deliberate paces, lagging behind as if to annoy her.
He moved ever so slowly to one of the walls of the room, somehow pulling it open and revealing a closet hidden behind it. He reached into the lower compartment and lifted her satchel, just before tossing it to her. Sakura caught the object in midair, rummaging through it just as soon as it was stable in her hands.
Her travel bag was unfortunately too large and too full, and having Madara's gaze on her didn't make it any easier to search for something that could bear the Uchiha seal.
Finally, her fingers grasped a scroll and she grinned in triumph. She knew it would be from the Uchiha, because she wouldn't carry that sort of thing around with her otherwise. She unfurled the paper and showed it to him, beaming with pride on the inside, not only because she had something that could possibly save her life, but also because she remembered she could even read some of the words written in the document.
Madara pulled the item from her hands and examined it, his brows furrowed in concentration, no doubt trying to verify its authenticity.
"It seems you have more uses than I had anticipated." He shifted his gaze towards her, and, for the first time, he didn't look hostile. His eyes twinkled, making him look almost happy. "How would you like to prolong your life?"
Was he kidding? Of course she would like to prolong her life; she'd give anything to leave that damn place and return home! Really, what sort of question was that?
"Very much." The answer came from her lips a little drily.
Madara's eyes closed in a smug expression and he lifted the scroll, leveling it with his face.
"I had long thought that the Uchiha had been annihilated, but if my assumptions were wrong there is still much that can be done." The faraway look on his face made it look like he was talking to himself. "Girl, what do you know of the Senju?"
What did she know of the Senju? Not much, really. They were of similar status to the Uchiha, but her father didn't trade with them, so she knew nothing besides their name.
She had entertained the idea of not cooperating with the man and brushing aside his question, but she had a feeling this wouldn't be the smartest of ideas.
"Just that they are another clan."
She had thought that Madara would be displeased with her lack of knowledge, but a devious grin spread across his face, and Sakura became more worried than she probably would if he had growled at her.
"So after all…" She had the distinctive impression that his hands were shaking "The path is longer than it would seem."
The amount of sense he made was somehow indirectly proportional to how pleased he was? Because he was clearly happy, and Sakura couldn't make anything of what he was saying.
"Then you will aid me." The man concluded, bringing his focus back to her. He looked much more seriousness now, but Sakura didn't mind; the expression of joy in his face was all around terrifying "If you know nothing of the current state of affairs between the Uchiha and the Senju I-"
"Wait!" She interrupted "Wait a moment. You say that I'm going to aid you… but aid you in what?"
"If you really wish to keep your life you are shouldn't ask questions." He pointed out "But since there is no harm in telling you…"
To her surprise, Madara sat cross-legged on the floor, across from her.
"I wouldn't stand if I were you." He commented, eying her boredly.
Sakura complied as she wasn't one to refuse any sign of hospitality, no matter how shocking its source was.
Then again, she had only known Madara for a few minutes. Her first impression of him wasn't very good, but maybe he would prove to be much kinder than he looked.
Although she doubted that.
"I was killed in the skirmish between the Uchiha and the Senju and buried in this very mountain." The young woman was surprised that he could keep the conversational tone when she was sure her eyes were as wide as saucers. "I can't say for how long I was properly dead, but one day I rose from my tomb like one might rise from slumber, for no apparent reason. Or so I thought."
He paused, as if waiting for her to make any input or gape in awe, but Sakura was much too busy trying to wrap her head around what he had said. She was stuck on the 'I was killed' part. He made a small huff of impatience before proceeding.
"I had believed that my defeat surely meant the extinction of the Uchiha – at least as a military power. There was no reason for me to be brought back to life, except to be given a punishment worse than hell." Sakura frowned at that. What punishment could be worse than hell? "Now I see that the reason to my resurrection was my debt to those clans. More precisely, my promise to make the Uchiha the most powerful of all clans and to destroy the Senju." His eyes then narrowed, staring at her intensely "And I will do so through you."
A/N: So, yeah, no, Sakura can't read in this story, not really.
Replying to the anonymous reviewers from last chapter:
Guest(1): Well... I think this chapter covers about all of your questions xD
Guest(2): Thank you! I hope you've enjoyed this chapter as well! I think it's probably a little weird, but my favorite so far is the very first.
There was supposed to be more to this chapter, but it was getting really long and I wanted to keep the chapters to about the same length… I'm really bad at that. But there's going to be so much exposition in the next chapter, and I just *groans*
Now, if anyone's interested, here's a little outlook on the culture and mythology and history and shtuff:
The thing about the menstruating is that in the tradition of several cultures and religions it is seen as "impure", and Shintoism takes a similar stance. Madara might be the type to drink his own blood from wounds and laugh maniacally afterwards, but .standards!
I'd like to explain a few things about Madara, or, more precisely, wtf he is. If I were to describe him in two words, they'd be "werewolf zombie", but I'd like to think that the creature I've come up with is a little more complex than that. As I've mentioned before, he's inspired by a creature called okuri-ōkami when in his animal form. The reason why he is sort of alive while also having died is pretty much the same as the traditional idea of a ghost: something kept him bound to this world. However, the creature that inspired me the most in the sense of giving him the ability to interfere in the world of the living so physically (and eating people) is called a Jikininki. In the legend I know (documented by Lafcadio Hearn) a greedy priest was turned into a corpse-eating monster after his dead, and this was my main inspiration for Madara's curse.
Another thing I think it's interesting is that the skirmish Madara mentioned was a battle that I think really happened (There is so little about the Kofun period I don't even believe anything I read anymore), being called "Battle of Shigisan". The results of this battle were decisive in the implementation of Buddhism in Japan, and therefore marked the definite transition from the Kofun to the Asuka period.
And how Maddie never heard anyone talking about the Uchiha if he likes to listen to people's conversations? Well… I'll say that's just because people don't talk about Uchihas behind their back all that much. It's no joke; talk about an Uchiha behind their back and they'll deck you, use one of your fists to hit you in the face repeatedly and tell you to 'stop hitting yourself'.
Those douches.
