To Answer some Reviewers:
Shadow Miko: I know, and I know it gets even more difficult for you readers that wait for the weekly update - and I'm sorry! I've tried to think of a clever way to make it less confusing between chapters because I feel like it's a very choppy read with alternating chapters, but other than a quick summary at the beginning I'm at a loss.
ChiRagWyn: Considering that the Senju and Uchiha have a very, very long history of fighting for miniscule things - I think it would be easy for the Senju to want to fight the Uchiha at the drop of a hat. And as for her father - keep reading and you'll find out.^^
Hana: Maddy is daddy af, Sakura is such a lucky girl *happy sigh
Lazy to Login: The take-action Sakura is the one I believe we all love and appreciate, especially in times of distress because she's such a badass - though I do love the softer, humane side of her that is in touch with her emotions. And yes, his statement can be interpreted in many ways, probably a bit of everything you mentioned.
Ps~ Again, I wish I could reply to everyone, but I try to answer those that have questions here since I assume other readers share the same confusion.
Thank you for your kind reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of it's affiliates.
NSFW
M
This fiction holds dark, adult themes — do not continue reading if that makes you uncomfortable.
You Are My Fate
Past, pt 4
Protection
...That night — a declaration of war announced itself across the land, a treaty that had consummated peace between the eastern and western clans suddenly clashed the night that a thousand fires rang through the borders of the western villages.
Feudal Japan
Intermitten Village
xox
The air stifled the people within the room, beads of perspiration ran down the backs of the men that followed their leaders, prepared to die but steadily watching the two clan heads that sat across from one another.
"What are you doing, Madara?" Hashirama Senju struggled to keep his voice level.
Madara — by all means could silence a room with a single glance, but he had never had the ability to shake the fiery resolve of Hashirama, and who he had once believed had been an ally of sorts was now a shell of a liar.
His fingers ghosted over the sheath of his katana.
"I told your younger brother the terms of Sakura's retrieval, it seems that he didn't take me seriously — but that is figurative for a clan that hosts nothing but liars."
The Senju bristled unhappily, "what are you talking about?"
Madara grasped the scroll in his back pocket and placed it evenly on the table, "read this, my old friend."
With a steady hand, Hashirama opened the scroll.
The silence in the room was deafening, but the Uchiha waited — eyes caste in contempt for the people that had scorned his own, the continuous lies that fueled the pit of hatred between two clans could have come to an end, but he could see beyond minuscule friendships that had deterred his fate.
"Where did you get this?" Hashirama set down the scroll, his jaw clenched uncharacteristically — with years of sparring with him Madara knew he had been right after all.
"Koji village. I'll admit it took me a while to figure out why you chose such a place to hide delicate information — but it wouldn't make sense for you to risk the lives of those at home, would it?" Madara's voice constricted, men on either side of the room preemptively reached for their weapons.
Itama stepped forward, "this is ridiculous — he burned the villages in our ward! The information in that scroll doesn't justify—"
Hashirama raised his hand to silence his younger brother, "—Indra was a liar and we both know that," he shot at Madara.
"Was he? Then explain to me why there's a village on our eastern border with Senju blood?" the raven haired male stood up, sizable anger swelled within the room.
"I don't know."
"Let me explain this to you clearly, Hashirama—" Madara slammed his hands on the table between them, "—your clan eradicated an eastern village within Uchiha territory, subjugated our people to torture and killed the men and children while raping our women. The Uchiha may be ruthless on the battlefield, but we don't belittle ourselves to the levels of pathetic rogue groups," a cursory laugh emitted from the heated male, "—and then proceed to lie about it."
If there had ever been a moment where the Senju's were stilled into silence, Madara reveled in the experience, "—this was never about the girl, was it?" Hashirama stated.
"It was, until I was tipped off about Indra's scroll — I thought that perhaps peace could be achievable between our clans in our youth, but your clan does nothing but parade yourself as saints and continually tarnish our reputation whilst holding secrets — and let's not forget that Indra was murdered by Ashura."
"—We can't continue this cycle of war—"
"We will," Madara echoed, "—and it will be over once I kill you, Hashirama."
Itama lunged forward with his blade drawn towards Madara.
Chaos broke out within the room — light and dark clashed in the meeting of swords that consumed the hall. Madara drew his sword until his men pushed him back — a layer of loyal men stood between the clan heads, cries of hatred spewed from the lips of angry men. Years of coiled anger emptied into the brawl.
Madara's eyes met with Hashirama's.
A lifelong understanding between friends split the foundation of their trust.
Their clans had forced the two impressionable young men into believing that their system, their beliefs and understanding of the world were superior, and for a time as children they rejected the notion that two parallel worlds couldn't be peaceful. Excited talks on willowy mornings high above the clouds in the mountains they spoke of peace — of a communal village where both of their clans could come to terms and the bloodshed would end.
Hashirama called back his men to retreat — today wouldn't be the day for their battle.
On that day, they both knew one of them would die.
xox
Senju Manor
West End
They arrived under the blanket of moonlight the next night.
Sakura had her arms wrapped around Tobirama's stomach, head resting gently on the back of his shoulder, his furs tickled her cheek — but Sakura felt numb and entranced with the conditions of her escape. Into the long hours of their travel, the talking had stopped and she had dazed in and out of unconsciousness. Tobirama remained stiff, and painstakingly all Sakura could think of was how this could have been avoided.
She wasn't worth this.
Nothing was worth the death of innocent people.
Sakura stirred behind him when he reared the horse to a stop.
"Tobirama-sama," a guard nodded towards him and the gates opened to reveal a grandeur palace.
Sakura held her breath, astonished by the magnificence of the land — the gardens encapsulated the front of the building, a lake shoveled itself in the glimmering moonlight at the base of the estate, circled by stretched and towering pine trees, she couldn't believe how beautiful a place could be.
Or that such a place existed.
They entered the grounds quietly.
He helped her off of the horse and kept her hand in his own — eliciting a small gasp from the pinkette.
"Are you alright?" he questioned her.
Sakura kept her gaze away from his, unable to formulate the correct words that could express her regret for causing all of this, "it's my fault," she murmured softly.
The soft breeze surrounded them, a stable boy grasped the reigns of the horse, squeaking himself past the intensity of the couple, Tobirama waited for him to depart before letting go of her hand, "this has nothing to do with you," he corrected her.
She followed after him when he turned away from her and began to lead her into the large estate, "—but it is! If we hadn't planned my escape, then Madara wouldn't have done any of this—"
"Uchiha Madara is a disgusting figurehead that has no morality for anyone other than himself and those sickening Uchiha's — it doesn't matter if it were you or someone else trespassed onto his land, he was looking for an excuse to break the treaty—"
Sakura shook her head, "he's not like that! It's only when—"
Tobirama whipped around to face her, his eyes ablaze with anger, "what are you talking about? Are you defending him?"
Sakura froze, the ferocity of his voice sent a shiver down her spine, "…no, but I—"
The white-haired male calmed himself and took a steadying breathe, the small quake of terror in her eyes impaled a soft part of him, "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, "—after everything that he's done to our clan, the thought of him sickens me — my brother departed earlier this morning to speak with him about the treaty. The lives of those lost last night…" he paused in his tirade when a soft hand skimmed the length of his chest.
The young woman offered an apologetic frown, "—I think I should go back."
A newfound fear jostled her nerves and sent her stomach spiraling.
She didn't want to tell him.
Tobirama shook his head, "I'm not taking you back to him."
The thought of the children that lost their parents, the fires that burned down homes and memories — all because of a dispute and temporary peace that had been unraveled by her decision… "I have to," she murmured softly — tears gathered up in her expressively bright eyes, the Senju couldn't understand her tears…or why she would offer her freedom once more.
Somewhere within him, he didn't want her to go back for possessive reasons.
"No, you don't," he said with a hard resolve, leaving little room for her to argue.
Sakura glanced around the empty entrance, in the darkness her courage gathered — if he couldn't see her face, then she could tell him. "I…I wasn't just a servant," she whispered.
She bit her lip, the twist of confusion in his face under the guise of the moonlight pained her, "…I was his concubine."
Silence fell between them, engulfing the illusion that the Senju had envisioned of the young woman. Less than a servant, less than a worker, less than a hound keeper — she spread her legs for their enemy, night and night again. Her body had twined with his own, cloaked in his blanket of dark locks when he claimed her and marked her as his own.
Instinctively, her fingers traced over the marks he had left on her collar - hidden beneath her cloak.
He remained silent, tears fell and slid down pale cheeks, "when the rogue group tore apart my village, they sold me to Madara a few weeks later…I tried to resist…But I couldn't," she silently cried, upset with herself and her selfish decision that cost the lives of innocent people.
"I'm selfish — I wanted to escape, but I didn't think something like this would happen — where I would endanger other people…Where I would endanger you or your brothers when you've helped my father so much," she hugged herself, "I should have told you before…"
It hurt her to see his passive face stare down at her, "…I'm sorry."
He would send her back.
He would send her back and this would all end.
Or he would kill her — thinking she could have an Uchiha baby sitting in her belly.
Nothing worse than a bastard to rival another clan - especially if it were to be a male.
It would be fair, considering all that has happened since her departure.
Instead — the white leopard reached forward and brushed a stray tear from her face with his thumb, his hand cupped her head. Pink, silky tendrils caressed a calloused hand that had seen too many years of bloodshed. His red eyes softened at her admission — confusing Sakura into a shocked silence. "Tobirama-sa—?"
"I don't care what you did for that man — You're under my protection now," he comforted her, Sakura felt light — almost transcendent, "—I made a promise to your father that I intend to keep."
It didn't make sense, and it left her confused to wonder why this man was going to such extraordinary lengths for her considering that she had been used by Madara - the man he claimed to loathe wholeheartedly.
Her heart skipped, a nervous flutter that had touched her before reminded her of the day Madara had taken her to visit the ocean.
"Do you think the sand ever gets tired of being pushed by the water all day?" Sakura mused, she gripped a handful of sand and let the millions of grains pass through her fingers, lost in amazement — the ocean had been something of tales, a place her father had promised to take her to one day.
Madara glanced out to the horizon of the water, smirking at her childish question, "—do you ever stop asking ridiculous questions?" his tone touched on playful.
Sakura glared at him, "they're not ridiculous — I just don't believe you have much of an imagination."
The Uchiha gripped her arm and brought her closer to him, "I think your imagination serves us both well enough."
A small smile graced her features, "I'm glad, Madara-sama."
He kissed her softly, the taste of salt caused her to murmur happily against him, lost in the gentle moment with the cold war general — she nearly forgot when the water trudged forward and rolled over her feet, the frigid water forced her to squeak in shock, he lifted her upwards in his arms to save her from the offending cold, "…thank you," she huffed indignantly, embarrassed with herself.
"Sakura, do you want to write to your father?" he offered her.
With a gentle gasp, she stared at the handsome face that could only belong to Madara, "…he's alive?"
He walked her towards the dry sand, though both were opposed to letting go.
"I was able to find a contact that knew of your father — if you'd like, we can schedule him to visit. Until then, I thought you'd appreciate being able to write to him."
Tears surfaced, undiluted tears of happiness at the sentiment, the man she missed most — learning that he was still alive nearly choked her, "you did that for me?" she whispered.
Madara set her down, but she remained attached to him, "I told you before that you belong to me, and as such — I want you to be happy under my protection," matter of fact, he wasn't one for sweet words that dolled her or swept her away, but in the months where they shared their deep affection, Sakura believed that these moments had stolen and transformed her previous contempt to admiration and awe for the man.
That day, he took her on the beach, hidden away beyond his men — and for a moment, she believed that this would be her haven, that she could live with him happily.
She toyed with the pearl brooch in her pocket.
"What if he continues?" Sakura asked Tobirama, unable to live with herself if anyone else died at the cause of Madara's wrath.
Naively, she would never understand the intricate, complicated web that had been weaved between the two clans - long before her presence had made a small drop in the well.
Unknowingly, she would become the rain that washed over the web.
"My brother will kill him before that happens."
xox
Uchiha Stronghold
Eastern Perimeter
"What do you plan on doing?" Izuna sat at the table across from his brother, both men drank the sake offered to them in the fiery night, they tipped back the substance — Izuna was restless, itching for battle with the clan he loathed while his brother sat back in deep thought.
Madara stared outside, a night of memories — the faces of his eldest brother's stayed rooted in his mind — too young to have been in battle at the time, he remembered the face of his father Tajima when he returned with one less son — cursing the Senju into the long hours of the night and the howls of pain his mother would cry knowing that death had taken her children from her.
"We plan tomorrow — we need to take their western stead and reclaim the villages they destroyed years ago," Madara said among the flicker of the fire place that heated the room.
"Father will be returning tomorrow, I'm sure he'll be pleased with your decisions," Izuna lamented.
Madara kept his eyes trained outside on the cherry blossom tree on the hill, remembering the gentle laugh of the woman that had become a ghost in her absence, the compound seemed empty amongst all of the men that had followed him here, and he cursed the younger Senju that stole her from him, "—not all of them."
Author's Note:
Well, this is a random update day.
Please don't kill me! — I swear I'm usually a very consistent updater, but I went on a trip and got really sick for the past two weeks and I had absolutely no desire to write. My updates should be much more consistent from now on - but wow! You guys are awesome, thank you for the love this story has received, I appreciate all the kind words and constructive criticism.
As you can read, we're progressing along with Tobirama and Sakura - and some things should have been explained that reviewers were wondering about. It's a bit difficult to pump out all the necessary information in such short chapters, but fret not - by my estimates this story will be pretty hefty in overall length since I have two alternating timelines.
*To those of you who follow The Henge - I am about halfway done with the next chapter, so you should be getting an update soon if you've been waiting for it.
Thank you again for everyone that has taken the time to review and leave a favorite/follow.
If you enjoy this story, please don't forget to leave a review and let me know what you think - it serves as a huge inspiration for us authors!
