Yup, dunno what to say lol. Thank you everyone for the reviews, it truly means a lot to me! So onward!

As always,

Enjoy!

~Kyvena

Chapter 10: The Hunter And The Hunted

"GET MY HORSE READY!" The Uchiha Clan's leader yelled angrily, causing Mikoto to flinch, "A-About t-that my lord... I-It appears a-as if Amaterasu, Kamui, and O-Obito are now m-missing... I a-also cannot f-find your b-brother..." An enraged yell was then released as he yanked his cloak on, "She will regret defying me..."

Saying Madara was merely pissed off was the understatement of the century as he sulked out of his home in a quick pace while his face honed a murderous facial expression, "She has the GULL to steal MY horse! MINE! I'll bet she hasn't even gotten far. Amaterasu does not take too well to strangers riding on his back..." Or so he thought...

Sakura, Izuna, and Obito were all exhausted due to the simple fact that none of them really got any sleep the night prior, yet were confident that they had escaped Madara's clutches. Realizing that Amaterasu was beginning to tire from running non-stop, Sakura gently tugged on his reigns, "Whoa now Amaterasu..." Her gentle tone was enough for the brilliant pure bred black stallion to slow down before coming to a halt so that Sakura and Obito could jump down.

Izuna jumped off of Kamui and both adults gently took the reigns of both steeds before beginning to walk on their own two legs for a bit. Obito walked a bit behind the two simply staring at them at awe before laughing and running up to the two before taking each one of their hands. Looking down, the pinkette smiled softly at the child as Izuna looked at Sakura all while thinking, 'She will be a great mother some day...'

After walking for about an hour, the pink haired Senju heiress noticed Obito was starting to wear out and made the suggestion that they should all take a break to feed and water the horses before they climbed back on top. Sakura needed to speak to Izuna alone... yet wherever she went, so did Obito. Finally, a smile came to her face as she knelt to Obito, "Obito honey, can you do me a favor and go fill up Lord Izuna's and my own canteen?" Nodding his head abruptly, the eight year old child then set off to find some water.

Finally a sigh escaped her lips, "Izuna...?" Looking up the short black spiked hair male blinked a few times, "What's on your mind Sakura?" Lowering her head, Sakura tried to not tear up, "Izuna... you... you will be branded as a traitor..." Lowering his own head, he sighed, "Yes... I'm aware..." That's when Sakura's head shot up, "Whenever we begin to ride, give me a head start just in case Madara should catch up. Then it will appear as if you are trying to stop me."

It was obvious that Sakura would not take no for an answer so Izuna sighed and nodded, "All right..." Right at that moment Obito bounced back to Sakura and Izuna with a big smile on his face, "I filled the water!" Nodding, towards one another, Obito then said something that made both adults freeze, "So are you two running away so that you can get married? You must really love my mother Lord Izuna!"

Izuna, whom had been taking a sip of water, instantly began to choke and he slammed his fist against his chest a few times before clearing his throat as a deep scarlet blush spread across his face, "Well... you see... I... er... what was the question...?" This made Sakura laugh hard, "Yup! Izuna is going to be your father!" At that moment Izuna felt like he was going to die from embarrassment. A gasp came from the child's mouth, "WOW! MY father is going to be Lord Izuna!? This is AWESOME!"

Both Sakura and Izuna internally sweat dropped at this. The child obviously didn't understand that his "mother" was being sarcastic. Clearing her throat, Sakura grabbed Obito and lifted him back onto Amaterasu's back before climbing up herself, "Obito, did you send word to Tobirama Senju?" Obito then gained a mortified expression, "Oh no I forgot!"

Sakura laughed gently and shook her head at the child, "Don't you worry about it Obito. We'll be there in three days, more or less." Izuna was adjusting his saddle whenever he suddenly froze, causing Sakura to turn her head to look at him questioningly, "Izuna? What's wrong...?" A cold nervous sweat began to drip down his face before he rose his hand and slapped Amaterasu's backside, "GO AMATERASU!" Izuna yelled as Amaterasu then bolted.

Climbing onto Kamui, Izuna waited just as Sakura had asked. Five minutes later he could feel it growing much closer, "Oh my god he is switching between horses to keep up the speed!?" That was the only plausible explanation he could come up with as he then roughly kicked Kamui's sides, "GO KAMUI!" Kamui instantly began to bolt as he began to yell for Sakura to "stop". Obito looked up at Sakura as a panicked expression filled her face, "Mother? Why is father Izuna trying to stop us from going home...?"

Shaking her head she could only focus on the road in front of her, "I told him to do that so he would not be branded a traitor Obito!" Obito could only nod, "But what about me mother...?" That's when Sakura smiled, "Like I said, even if I should not make it, I will make sure that you do! I still do have one trick up my sleeve, but we aren't quite close enough yet." The child could only smile and nod, "All right mother! Go Amaterasu go!"

It was just as Izuna had said, Madara had been jumping between horses so that their speed would get him to his destination faster. Suddenly the Uchiha Clan's leader began to hear the shouting of his little brother, "SAKURA I SAID HALT NOW!" Ah, so Izuna had been in pursuit of the pinkette... he hadn't betrayed his trust at all. Catching up to Izuna, Madara was standing on a horse with something on his arm that made Izuna's eyes widen all while thinking, 'Oh... shit...'

'Just a little further!' Sakura yelled internally before snapping Amaterasu's reigns, "FASTER AMATERASU!" As if he understood what she was saying, the dark pure bred began to lower his head as he began to run as if the devil were at his heels. 'JUST A LITTLE MORE!' She roared in her head, but then realized something as she rose her thumb to her canines and bit down on the soft flesh before slamming her palm down onto her own leg, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

Sure, it was painful as hell, but it had been their only option as a slug appeared on her leg, "LADY KATSUYU! PLEASE BEGIN HEALING AMATERASU AND GIVE HIM ENERGY!" Katsuyu looked around as her eyes glanced around, "Lady Sakura, I'm not sure I quite understand what you are asking me to do." The slug spoke, causing Sakura to panic, "DAMMIT! HEAL THE HORSE AND RESTORE HIS ENERGY!"

Nodding at this, Katsuyu slid onto Amaterasu's back and began to heal him and give him massive amounts of energy; causing him to run even faster. Izuna's eyes widened at this, "Holy hell she's good!" Madara smirked as he jumped to a new steed, "Perhaps... but she is not good enough... GO RYOSHI!" The massive hawk began to flap its wings before taking flight. Turning her head Sakura noticed Madara with a beyond devilish grin.

She was so confused at that point until that massive hawk descended and hurled both Sakura, Obito, and Katsuyu off of Amaterasu's back. 'JUST IN TIME!' Sakura then gave a smirk to Madara, which now it was his turn to appear puzzled. Just as Izuna ran towards Sakura, she then placed a hand on Obito and swiftly caught Izuna's shoulder, "I will take this one as a prisoner! If you even think of continuing this war we will take him DOWN Madara!"

Madara glanced lazily at Sakura... well... that was until her grip on both male participants tightened, "FLYING RAIJIN!" Suddenly, Sakura, Obito, and Izuna were gone and Madara's mouth dropped open, "SON OF A BITCH! RYOSHI, FIND THEM!" The hawk then began to soar through the skies in attempts to find the three.

"Izuna... take Obito and get him to the Senju Stronghold... I will take care of the bird..." Sakura spoke darkly as she clenched her gloved fists, "GO NOW! I NEED YOU OUT OF THE WAY!" Izuna nodded and picked up Obito before he began to bolt. Cracking her neck, Sakura jumped up onto a branch and searched the skies for a moment. The pinkette then caught sight of the massive bird and launched herself towards the hawk.

Gathering a mass amount of chakra in her fist, Sakura came face to face with the bird, "CHA!" Slamming her fist downward, the hawk then plummeted to the ground at an alarming rate. Just as Madara saw Ryoshi hit the ground, he looked up only for Sakura to be no where to be found. Yet... there was a clue...

Amaterasu seemed panicked as of right now and was looking around for someone. Smirking, the male with the long unruly spiked locks climbed onto one of the random horses he had brought that hadn't perished and began to follow Amaterasu as he followed Sakura's scent to find her.

Izuna finally reached the Senju Stronghold and he began to yell, "TOBIRAMA!" Hearing all of the racket, Tobirama walked out rubbing the back of his head, "Izuna? What is it? You look like you've seen a ghost." Izuna and Tobirama were actually very close friends that just so happened to be pitted against one another in battle. Izuna then straightened up, "Sakura is in danger!" This little piece of information caused Tobirama's eyes to widen, "Understood. Which marker did she use?" Nodding towards the silver haired Senju, the black haired Uchiha sweat dropped nervously, "The river."

The moment those two words were spoken, Tobirama's eyes narrowed before shouting out, "FLYING RAIJIN!" Vanishing, Tobirama then reappeared by the river to see something he wish he hadn't. There stood Madara with his hand around his baby sister's throat, "MADARA YOU SCOUNDREL! RELEASE MY SISTER THIS INSTANT! YOU ARE ON SENJU TERRITORY!" Glancing his eye back to the silver headed Senju, Madara grinned, "Tell me Tobirama, do you think I honestly care?"

At that same moment, Amaterasu was neighing and snorting angrily towards his master. The beautiful black stallion even began to stomp both of its hooves down angrily until it hit Madara's foot and causing him to yelp and drop Sakura to the ground, who began to roughly and harshly cough, "Tobi! Get out of here! I will go back just keep Obito safe! KEEP THE CHILD SAFE!" Nodding regretfully at this, Tobirama vanished. Yet, the moment he vanished, Hashirama walked by and froze.

Slowly turning his head, his black eyes widened gleefully before he began frolicking towards Sakura, "SAAAAKUUUURRRRAAAA!" Picking up his baby sister, Hashirama then twirled her around happily and Sakura couldn't help but giggle happily at this. Madara watched Hashirama intently; god his old friend was such a moron, but the man did love his family.

Bringing Sakura down to his face, Hashirama began to plant little kisses all over Sakura's face, "I've missed you Sakura! I've been so sad without you here!" This made Sakura sweat drop, "Hashi... I've only been gone for twelve days..." Hashirama then brought Sakura into one of his signature bear cuddles, "So how was the wedding?" Sakura shot a look that said 'You better fucking lie and make it seem like a fairy tale.' to Madara, who only rolled his eyes, "Oh the wedding was wonderful. Expect some nephews and nieces soon."

Hashirama just about squealed at this... okay... he actually did squeal and Madara groaned internally, "Sakura and I will be going on a trip soon, so we must leave to prepare. We won't bother you ever again." That's when Hashirama became instantly depressed, "Ever... again...?" Sakura's face instantly softened at her depressed big brother, "Of COURSE we will come back to see you Hashi!"

This made the brunette wood style user happy once again, "All right, all right, just promise you will take good care of her Madara... I would never be able to live with myself if anything ever happened to her..." Something about the way his old friend spoke hit him hard and he could only nod... even if that nod... was only a lie.

Forgetting something, Sakura gently bonked her fist against her palm, "Elder brother, can you give something to Tobi for me? I forgot to give him a kiss on the cheek!" This made Hashirama burst into laughter as Sakura could only imagine Hashirama trying to give Tobirama a kiss on the cheek while Tobirama tried pushing their elder brother's face away from him.

Madara now released a heavy and long drawn out sigh, "Some time this year might be nice." Looking down, Sakura nodded slowly, "R-Right..." Wanting to seem like a good husband to his friend; Madara then walked over to Sakura and lifted her by the waist to sit on the top of Amaterasu's saddle, making Hashirama's eyes widen, "Madara! Sakura is riding Amaterasu! HOW!?" Madara gave his friend an 'I don't fucking know' look before answering, "Amaterasu has taking a liking to Sakura. Now, we must be off."

Nodding sadly, Hashirama looked at his baby sister, "One day I will create a village so we can all be together once again little sister... I promise..." Sakura highly doubted she would live long enough to even see this village even start to be built, yet nodded, "All right Hashirama... I will see you then..." All the while thinking, 'In the afterlife.'

With that Madara climbed atop his own steed and motioned for Sakura to follow, which regrettably... she complied with...

. . .

It had taken some time, but finally Madara and Sakura returned to the Uchiha Stronghold. The entire trip, neither uttered a single word to one another, which Sakura was completely not used to thanks to Hashirama being so talkative. The moment the couple entered the Uchiha Stronghold's gates, every Uchiha began to pray for Sakura; completely knowing she would be facing some harsh punishment for running away. Most of the clan members had hoped she would have successfully escaped from their leader.

The one thing each and every clan member could NOT get over was how Sakura was riding Amaterasu. It was also clear that the stallion actually enjoyed Sakura on him. The pinkette's emerald orbs seemed so bland compared to the very first time they had witnessed her in all her glory. It seemed as if... she had simply given up on her fairy tale and accepted reality at that point.

Just as they dismounted, the clan elder's approached the two, "THERE you two are! It's time for the ceremony!" That's when Sakura's dead voice rang out, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. There... we're married..." The only thing she did was brush past the elder's as their hands shot out to grasp Sakura's hand, "Just hold it there Princess Sakura!"

Tears began streaming down her face whenever she snapped around, "NO! I WON'T JUST HOLD IT! I'VE BEEN TOLD WHAT TO DO MY ENTIRE LIFE! NOT ONE SINGLE DECISION HAS BEEN MINE! I DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A CHOICE TO BE SENT ONTO THE BATTLEFIELD! SO YOU ELDER'S CAN GO FUCK YOURSELVES! I-I-I..." Just then Mikoto ran out and gasped before taking Sakura into her arms who broke down sobbing in the maid's arms.

Looking towards one another in disbelief that a woman of all people had just spoken to them the way she just had; Madara looked towards the elder's, "Just give us the fucking rings and announce we are wed. I'm sick of this nonsense." The elder's could only nod as they handed Madara his ring before handing Mikoto Sakura's ring, "FROM THIS DAY FORTH, THE UCHIHA AND THE SENJU ARE NOW ALLIED WITH ONE ANOTHER! GIVE PRAISE TO THE LEADER OF THE UCHIHA CLAN FOR HIS ACCOMPLISHMENTS!"

Mikoto slowly placed the simple silver band on Sakura's wedding finger and smiled before whispering, "I'm sorry..." Unsure clapping began to echo throughout the Uchiha Stronghold and of course, Madara was not phased one bit as he began to walk, "Mikoto, pack a large bag of clothing for Sakura and myself. We shall be heading out to make an inspection on the old Uchiha castle ruins."

Nodding her head, Mikoto was about to take Sakura inside so they could talk whenever Madara swiftly stopped her, "I will take my wife inside." His bland tone rang out and Mikoto could only nod slowly, "As you wish my lord..." Releasing Sakura, Mikoto then walked into the main home as Sakura could only stare at the ground in a lost fashion.

One thing did snap her out of this funk though. The moment Madara approached his new found wife, he placed his hand on her shoulder, which she roughly slapped off of her before shooting the male a death glare, "Don't touch me ever again... I mean it..." With that, Sakura began to run inside the main house.

Once these words were initially spoken, the air went dead quiet as Madara lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly. Not one member said a word until the leader of the Uchiha clan began to walk away in complete and utter silence. Once Madara entered the main house, each member looked at one another as one spoke out softly just in case the god of war was still listening, "Inspections were just held though... that's weird..." All of the people that were close by could only nod at this soft spoken statement.

Once Mikoto had finished packing all of Sakura's new Uchiha branded outfits in her bag along with shorts, pants, black leather gloves, sandals and fur trimmed boots, a fur lined hooded cloak, and undergarments; she then packed all of the clothing she knew Madara would want to wear along with his crimson red armor.

Amaterasu and Izanami were both brought up to the main house as Sakura silently climbed onto the stallion. Izanagi was then brought up to the main house so it could carry food rations. Five maids and five guards, one of them being Mikoto, then came up on ten regular horses along with their belongings. Once Madara climbed onto Izanami's saddle, the Uchiha Clan leader then called out, "We ride until sundown tomorrow!"

With that, everyone who were now atop horses began to follow their leader. Sakura was dead quiet the entire time they were riding. Glancing towards his wife, Madara then shifted his head to look forward once again. Silence was all anyone heard until Madara held up his hand due to it now being sundown, "Halt! We will rest here for the night. Maids, make us a meal and prepare our bedding." The maids instantly nodded and were quick to get to work and the guards began to spread out around the perimeter so that they could do just that; guard.

Mikoto could only glance sadly at the pinkette who seemed far too lost at the moment with a sad expression, "Sakura, come... you must learn how to prepare meals and make sure that the beds are ready." Slowly nodding as she dismounted Amaterasu, the steed could definitely tell something was indeed not right with his mistress and began to whine as his large head lowered into Sakura's stomach, causing her to raise her arms and hold him gently while whispering, "Go back to Madara Amaterasu..."

Slowly raising his head, Amaterasu regrettably turned and as if he dreaded going back to the male and began to make his way to his previous owner as slowly as he possibly could. The stillness in the air was becoming dreadful for everyone as snow began to drift down from the skies; causing Sakura's body to begin quivering from the cold. Noticing this rather quickly, Mikoto then turned and walked towards Sakura's belongings and grabbed the warm, fur trimmed hooded Uchiha cloak and placed it over Sakura, "Can't have you getting sick my lady."

The moment that cloak was placed on Sakura, her emerald orbs filled with tears as she remembered all of the times Tobirama had placed his fur trimmed top around her body which had been far too large for her, making it appear as if Sakura were indeed wearing a cloak. Raising her hands, the pinkette began to run her fingers through the fur trimmed hood, those tears that had gathered began to spill onto her cheeks, "Tobi..."

Sighing, Mikoto then placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Hold your head high Lady Sakura... for you... are an Uchiha..." Wiping her eyes, Sakura began to sniffle and Mikoto claimed she would do all of the cooking on this night before ordering Sakura to go and calm herself down, for this... was her life now.

Looking up towards the sky as she walked, the new head lady of the notorious Uchiha Clan walked to a clearing and held her hands out to catch the snow that merely melted the moment it touched her gloved hands. She hadn't known how long she had been there whenever Madara came up beside her with his arms folded securely across his chest, "What do you think you are doing?"

His tone rang out as cold as the snow that was now falling from the sky as she slowly reached up and grasped the fur trimmed hood of her black cloak and pulled it over her head, "Nothing..." Turning around, Sakura pretty much ignored the man she was now married to as she began walking back to camp.

The next seven days were pretty much the same as whenever they had first set out; silence, small talk, rest, repeat. Finally reaching the castle that appeared as if it were also consumed by darkness, Sakura jumped off of Amaterasu as her boots became engulfed in the snow that had stuck to the ground. Madara had begun ordering guards to "protect" each and every opening that the castle held while ordering the maids to begin cleaning.

Turning towards Sakura with his cold expression, his deep voice then rang out, "Now, must I need to watch your every movement so you don't even try to escape...? You do have a room, but if you try to escape then I will keep you locked up within the tower." Glancing back towards her cold hearted husband, Sakura merely said six words, "Just take me to my room..."

Nodding at this, Madara then began to walk through the massive castle, "The east wing is off limits..." This made Sakura curious, "What's in the east wing?" However, this question only made the leader of the Uchiha snap around, "IT IS FORBIDDEN!" She would have jumped if she weren't so used to being snapped at by this man, so instead, Sakura merely took a step back and nodded.

The rest of the way to her room was completely silent. Finally coming to a halt in front of a room, the male with the long spiked hair came to a halt and opened the door, "THIS is your home now. Remember, THIS is punishment for defying me." Walking inside the room, Madara then slammed the door behind him and Sakura finally collapsed onto the large lush bed as she sobbed.

Walking back down the corridor, Madara was then stopped by Mikoto, "My lord... er... maybe it's out of place for me to say this... but... maybe you should INVITE Sakura to dinner instead of ORDERING her. I swear, I thought I raised you better after your mother passed away. That temper of yours needs some work. Now go, but remember... YOU MUST CONTROL YOUR TEMPER!" An icy glare was then shot towards Mikoto, who glared right back, "Go Madara. NOW."

In all honesty, he didn't LIKE how Mikoto ordered HIM around, but, for some reason he always listened to the woman. Sulking back to the room he had placed Sakura within, Mikoto followed him just to make sure that he did not lose his temper should she reject him. In all honesty, she knew that was asking quite a bit much from her leader...

Sakura sat on her bed simply staring outside as a single maid chattered on and on towards her about how compassionate "Lord Madara" COULD be while she put away all of Sakura's clothing; yet the pinkette merely tuned the woman out. Once she was done placing the Lady of the castle's clothing up, the maid bowed before walking out.

Some time later a firm knock came to her door and she didn't even answer. Madara knew she was in there though due to fact that he could sense her warm chakra, "Sakura..." Mikoto fanned her hands towards Madara to continue, "Join me for dinner. THIS IS NOT A REQUEST!" Finally her voice rang out obstinately, "No thank you." Gritting his teeth and clenching his fist, Mikoto then motioned her hands down as if telling the man to calm the fuck down.

Clearing his throat and speaking through clenched teeth, Madara tried again, "I would be honored if you joined me for dinner..." Sakura's voice then echoed out in a yell, "I SAID NO THANK YOU!" The simple fact that he was even asking, slash ordering her to come and eat with him made her sick.

This caused Madara to snap, "FINE! THEN STARVE! IF YOU DON'T EAT WITH ME, YOU DON'T EAT AT ALL!" Snapping around, Mikoto released an extremely heavy sigh as he stormed off. That night, Madara ate alone for the first time in a long time before going to take a bath and heading to bed.

The moment it grew dead quiet within the castle, Sakura slowly stood and walked to her door before opening it and peering out to see how dark it was. Slowly exiting, the pinkette could hear clanking and clattering coming from within the castle and began to follow the noises until she came upon a door and opened it only to see Mikoto. Turning around, Mikoto smiled brightly at the young woman, "Hello my lady! What can I do for you this evening?"

Smiling softly, the new head lady of the Uchiha family lowered her head as she remembered Madara yelling at her that she wouldn't eat at all if she did not eat with him, "O-Oh... it's nothi-" Right then and there, Sakura's stomach released a rather loud growl, which caused her to blush prettily. Mikoto laughed gently, "All right, we'll get some food into you my lady." Mikoto then pointed towards the other door on the opposite side of the kitchen, "Head through there and sit at the dining table."

Nodding at this, Sakura then made her way through the other set of doors before sitting down. At that moment, another maid rushed to Mikoto, "Mikoto are you crazy! You heard what the master said! If she doesn't eat with him, then she doesn't eat at all!" Mikoto instantly rolled her eyes at this comment, "I'm not about to let the head lady of the Uchiha Clan go hungry." The other maid nodded slightly, and Mikoto then took out a bowl of steaming hot soup along with bread, vegetables, fruit, various other items.

"Mikoto... sit with me... I... I don't want to be alone..." Sakura's head lowered as tears began to fall into her soup. The head maid's facial expression softened immensely as she nodded, "All right my lady..." Sakura then held her hand up, "Please Mikoto... you're the closest person I have to family right now. Just call me Sakura..." Nodding her head, Mikoto gave a gentle smile, "Are you not used to being called my lady?"

Shaking her head, Sakura sighed, "That's not it... all of the maids back in the Senju Stronghold always called me 'my lady' but I just never liked it. I felt as if they only called me that because they could not remember my name..." This made Mikoto's face fall, "Eat Sakura, you must keep up your strength so that one day you can give birth to healthy children. Tell me, how many children did you always imagine having when you were young?"

This shocked the pinkette to a certain degree as she began to eat, "Well... when I was little, I always imagined marrying a prince and that prince would have been loving, caring, and warm. Any time I imagined offspring's... I always pictured having four or five children. There were five children in my family... though... there are only three of us left thanks to the war..."

This made Mikoto smile as she thought back to asking Madara the same exact question and what his reply was, "Children? Hm... well I suppose if I had the choice to pick how many little brats I could have; I believe four or five little one's would be nice to have."

Mikoto knew far too well how much Madara loved children and if they were his family, she was sure he would treat them as if they were royalty. Even though he had claimed he only wanted boys, she was well aware he had a weakness to a certain degree whenever it came to little girls.

Finally full, Sakura nodded as thanks to Mikoto and began to look around, "Mikoto, I think I'm going to look around for a bit." Nodding towards Sakura, a smile came to her face, "Of course Sakura, but do not enter the east wing of the castle." Yes, because Sakura knew where in the fuck the east wing even was. With that, Sakura began to explore every nook and cranny until she came upon a stairwell, "What the...?" Her voice softly echoed out before she began to climb the stairs.

These stairs went on and on for forever and then some until reaching reaching the top, "Where am I...?" She spoke quietly but then noticed where she was, she now stood in the tower. Slowly pushing one of the doors open, Sakura's hands shot over her mouth as she gasped sharply due to the fact that right in front of her... was a corpse of a Senju warrior that had gone missing from one of her platoons long ago. Turning quickly, Sakura bolted from the tower and continued to run until she really WAS lost.

Looking around, the pinkette was quick to realize that this part of the castle was not in pristine condition the way the rest of the castle appeared to be. Slowly beginning to walk through all of the wreckage, Sakura then noticed a picture on the wall covered in an extremely thick layer of dust. Walking up to the painting, the female then rose her hand to begin swiping away at all of the collected dust only for her eyes to widen immensely.

"This is..." Sakura whispered sadly as her eyes filled with tears to see it had been a family portrait of Madara's mother, father, four younger brothers and himself... with a smile. Out of nowhere, the sound of a fist rushing towards her could definitely be heard as she jumped away to see one clearly PISSED OFF Madara, "I THOUGHT I MADE IT CLEAR THAT YOU WERE NEVER ALLOWED IN THE EAST WING!"

Shaking her head, Sakura backed away, "I-I didn't mean to Madara... I-I got l-lost..." He was not going to hear another single word she spoke, "Get out... I SAID GET OUT YOU FOOLISH GIRL!" The tone of his voice meant he was serious as Sakura ran to the balcony and whistled for Amaterasu who positioned himself far below so that Sakura could mount him.

Jumping from the balcony, the pinkette was far too aware of how much this was going to fucking hurt the minute she landed; so she braced herself as the impact of Amaterasu's saddle came in rough contact with her thighs and crotch, Sakura immediately gained a pained facial expression before taking a few deep breaths, "GO AMATERASU!" The pure bred black stallion then began to bolt and whenever one of the guards noticed her he instantly yelled, "HALT MY LADY!" Growling softly, Sakura then hollered out to the steed, "JUMP AMATERASU!"

The minute this was yelled the brilliant black steed made a massive leap over the guard. Madara stood there with a guilty look on his face before raising a single hand to his head, "What have I done..." Not caring if the east wing was off limits, Mikoto ran into the room Madara was currently in, "MADARA! SAKURA HAS GONE INTO THE WOODS! THE WOODS ARE FILLED WITH VICIOUS WOLVES AT NIGHT!" This made Madara's eyes widen slightly before he too jumped off of the balcony.

Landing with ease, Madara shot his head up and began to run as fast as he possibly could, pushing the guard out of the way in the process, 'DAMN THAT WOMAN!' Was all he could think as he followed the trail of hoof prints that Amaterasu had left whenever he skidded to a stop to hear a screech escape from Sakura's mouth.

. . .

"THESE DAMN WOLVES!" Sakura leaned Amaterasu to crush one of the wolves against a tree until one of the wolves pounced on Sakura and knocked her from the horse's back. By now, Amaterasu had gotten his reigns caught in a tree branch and was simply kicking wolves to keep them away from his body, "AMATERASU!" Sakura held her gloved hand out towards the horse who was about to be attacked until...

Madara ran as fast as he possibly could until he finally found Sakura on the ground holding her hand out to the panicking stallion and just as they were almost ambushed, Madara appeared completely shirtless and began to fight the wolves off, "COME! DANCE WITH ME!"

Well, showing off was fine, but that showing off might not be such a good idea if you're going to end up swarmed by a pack of wolves who decided to pounce on him. Only one of the mutts came in contact with Madara as it sank its fangs into his forearm. Releasing a pained grunt, the male then lifted the wolf, "I do hope you do not believe this was a wise choice!" Sakura could only watch with wide eyes until the wolves lowered their heads and ran with their tails between their legs.

"M...MADARA!" Sakura ran towards him as he fell forward, only for Sakura to quickly catch him. Taking her fur trimmed coat off, Sakura placed it around her husband's body before beginning to cry over many things as Madara muttered softly, "You know... you cry far too easily..." Whenever he fell silent, Sakura's eyes widened immensely as she began to yell, "SOMEONE HELP!" Suddenly a guard came running and helped by lifting Madara's unconscious form from her arms before draping him over Amaterasu, causing the male's long unruly spiked black and blue locks to hang away from its rightful position on his body.

Reaching the castle, Madara had finally woken up and now sat on his throne. Looking down to his wound, the male only spit in it as if that would do the trick. Too bad he didn't have any dirt to rub in it as well. Noticing this, Sakura groaned, "Don't do that!" Sighing, she sat beside him with a bowl of hot water and a rag, "Hold still, we need to clean it out before I can heal you..." Ringing the water out of the rag, she then began to gently rub at the wound to clean it, causing the hardened male to cringe and rip his arm away from her, "THAT HURTS DAMMIT!"

"WELL IT WOULDN'T HURT SO MUCH IF YOU WOULD HOLD STILL!" Sakura scowled as Madara glared at her, "WELL YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE RUN AWAY!" She honestly couldn't BELIEVE the temper this man had, "WELL YOU SHOULD LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR TEMPER!" Madara's eyes blinked a few times as Sakura sighed and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "Now hold still... this may sting a bit..."

Lowering her hand that held the warm cloth to the wound on her husband's arm, he cringed as his muscles tensed up and caused them the bulge out from his skin until Sakura's gentle tone rang out, "Thank you for rescuing me..." He had never once been told thank you in his entire life as his muscles then began to relax, "You're welcome..."

Well that thank you and you're welcome came a bit too soon whenever Sakura placed the cloth down and began to heal his arm, "SON OF A BITCH! YOU ENJOY BRINGING ME PAIN DON'T YOU!?" Sakura's face gained a pained expression before lowering her head while her voice sadly echoed out, "No Madara... I don't..." Slowly, Sakura stopped healing his wound to lean down and press her forehead tenderly against his wound so that his blood became smeared on her forehead as tears began to fall from her face.

Madara's eyes widened over the fact that she was now shedding tears over the fact that she felt guilty over bringing him any harm at all. Sighing heavily and using his good arm, Madara grasped the pinkette around the waist before pulling her sobbing form onto his lap; only for her to lean against the warmth his chest held.

He honestly just didn't know how to console anyone, he was more adapt at making others beg for mercy and cry before he slaughtered them where they stood. So, he merely sat there doing absolutely nothing at all and just allowed his wife to calm herself before she sat up and wiped her puffy eyes. Sniffling softly, Sakura then resumed healing his wound until he was completely back to normal.

Standing, Sakura slowly and silently bowed to her husband, "I shall take my leave now. I wish you a good night my lord..." Turning away, Sakura then left the shocked male to sit there and ponder over what exactly just happened between the two of them.

Reaching her room, Sakura then fully undressed and climbed into bed tiredly as she shivered from how cold it was until falling asleep while shivering. Madara felt like a jerk now for not properly thanking his wife for healing him as he began practicing ways to thank her while slowly making his way to her room.

Coming to a halt in front of her door, Madara took in a deep breath and entered only to find his wife shaking due to the coldness that she was obviously enduring, causing the hardcore male to sigh heavily before shedding his own clothing. He didn't know how she'd react to his naked body being pressed against her own, but if it repaid his debt to her, then he supposed he was willing to take the risk.

Climbing into bed next to the ice cold pinkette, Madara's breath hitched in his throat whenever he felt just how cold she actually was and the moment his warmth connected with her body, Sakura rolled over and rest her head against his broad and muscular chest as he held her nude form close to his own; which honestly, made his face gain heat within an instant, however this was not the only "problem" he gained because of these circumstances. Yet... he couldn't help but smile gently at how sweet she appeared whenever she was asleep.

By the time morning rolled around, Sakura's eyes slowly opened and closed. She didn't want to move... the body beneath her was just too warm and comforta- 'BODY!?' Sakura's eyes flew open only to see the big bad wolf asleep underneath her. To be blatantly honest, she had wanted to shriek, but he was her husband and with that came the right to sleep in her bed. She figured that he had probably just come into her room last night to scold her over never running away ever again but had noticed how cold she was.

She wanted to remember how THIS felt. This was not the sleeping face of a cold blooded killer. No... it was the face of someone who simply wanted peace in his life. Laying her head back down onto his chest, Sakura couldn't help but begin to trace the deeply defined ridges of Madara's muscular abdomen and chest, which in terms made him unknowingly smirk at her. The only thing she could think was, 'How is he so perfect...?'

Continuing to trace his muscles gently with the tips of her fingers was driving Madara insane with lust, yet he hummed tiredly and kept allowing Sakura's fingers to roam his body. Before he knew it, his body heat had lulled his wife back into a deep slumber and she rolled over to rest on her back so Madara could only think, 'Why not? She slept on me.' Rolling over, the leader of the Uchiha Clan then laid his head gently on Sakura's chest as her fingers ran through his long unruly locks.

Suddenly the door popped open only for Madara to hear Mikoto sing out, "Good morning Sak-... oh my god..." The picture in front of her eyes warmed her heart at the picture of Madara "sleeping" on Sakura's breasts. Raising her hands to rub her eyes as if this were a dream, Mikoto's mouth just hung open until she heard his voice ring out tiredly, "Mikoto... get out..." Hastily nodding, Mikoto snapped around, "Y-Yes my lord!" Yet the moment she went to leave, she turned her head to steal one last glance at the two before gently closing the door.

He was not about to claim he felt any sentimentality over Sakura, but her breasts sure made one hell of a pillow. He knew she was awake by now as he ran his fingers tenderly over the silkiness of her skin, "Mmm... you know Sakura... you could have yelled at me to get out..." Madara tiredly exclaimed as Sakura smiled softly and spoke just as equally tired as he had, "Why would I yell...? A husband and wife are supposed to share a bed..."

That was his green light as he moved faster than the human eye could possibly keep up with to now pin Sakura's hands down with his own, "Then let me ask you this... what else do spouses do in bed..." Emerald orbs stared into pitch black orbs, "They have intercourse..." She didn't believe she was fully ready to carry a child... and she definitely did not believe she was ready to fully trust this man.

Attempting to move with the way she was being pinned down right now would have been pointless. She was fully aware that Madara honed more muscles than she did and trying to escape would be pointless, "Madara... I'm going to have to ask you to get off of me before you become seriously injured..." Considering he hadn't brought ANY of his concubines with him made this entire situation highly frustrating as he released a highly audible sigh of sheer and utter frustration.

"You listen to me and you'd better listen well..." Madara growled out before continuing, "You are MY wife. Therefore, I shall do as I please with you." Well, at least that's what he THOUGHT until Sakura's knee shot up and connected with his groin.

Madara's eyes instantly widened at this before falling to the side holding what had been harmed within his own grasp while Sakura stood and placed her clothing on. Everyone within the castle was doing their chores whenever they all stiffened up due to hearing the feisty yelling of the pink haired kunoichi, "YOU SICK BASTARD!"

Grumbling as she exited her room Sakura walked down the stairs and ate a quick breakfast before deciding she would take a walk with Amaterasu out in the courtyard that, at the moment, was covered in snow. Madara groaned due to have never being hit in the groin before whenever Mikoto walked in with a pack of ice sighing, "You just had to pressure her, didn't you." Handing the male who was currently writhing in agony the pack of ice, Mikoto shook her head, "Honestly Madara, you can't expect the girl to fall in love with you whenever you tell her to. These things take time."

Once Madara was done eating, he headed to the east wing to sit on the balcony with an arm draped over a single leg he currently had propped up as observed Sakura walking with Amaterasu. Stopping to gaze at a flower that had been frozen, the pure bred black stallion then nudged Sakura's back with his large head, causing the pinkette to turn around and hug the steed lovingly while she giggled happily.

Standing up Madara placed his boots on along with his own fur trimmed winter cloak before exiting the castle. Slowly making his way to this beautiful female as she ran away from the massive stallion that now frolicked happily after her as her thigh long locks flowed beautifully in the cold brisk wind behind her, Madara then whistled to Amaterasu, who's head popped up to look towards his former master and prance towards him, "Go on Amaterasu."

A huff was then released before the stallion began to walk away as Madara slowly approached Sakura, "Sakura, forgive me for earlier. I took that joke much too far." Slowly turning her head, Sakura gave the clan's leader a sheepish smile, "I'm sorry as well..." Holding his arm out to the pinkette like a gentleman, Sakura then took Madara's muscular arm.

Mikoto smiled from one of the many entrances of the castle, "Well, well, would you look at that..." Another maid who just so happened to be passing by stopped, "What would that be?" Turning her head, Mikoto smiled softly, "Oh it's nothing, I just think Lord Madara finally found something far more valuable than all of the treasures in the world." Tilting her head slightly, the maid appeared confused, "More valuable than treasure?" This made the head maid's head bob up and down, "Correct... he found something... that he could grow to love..."

. . .

The clan's leader and his wife continued to walk whenever Sakura caught sight of a medicinal herb growing within the snow, "Oh wow! You NEVER see Valerian growing outside of the warmth!" Madara rose a single eyebrow, "Is that so?" Sakura smiled brightly and nodded, "Yeah, Valerian only grows in warm climates and is usually pink or as you see it, white. It has a very pretty scent, but the root will help one sleep if ground into a powder."

Well, well, well, so his wife was extremely knowledgeable, "I see, how interesting." Sakura was aware that Madara wasn't exactly the one to give praises or say much at all, but at least he was trying. Looking towards her husband whenever he cleared his throat, the pinkette tilted her head as if she were a confused puppy trying to understand the human language, "Something wrong Madara?" Raising his free hand to rub the back of his head as a blush began to creep up onto his cheeks Madara glanced away making Sakura internally sigh, "Look at me Madara..."

Turning his head towards her, Sakura smiled and moved in front of him to hold both of his hands, "You have my full attention." This made Madara's face turn even brighter red as he cleared his throat once again, "I... was wondering... if you'd... um... if you'd like to have a nice evening with me... We can get you a nice evening gown and-" Sakura shook her head, "Madara, I don't need fancy clothing to spend time with you..."

The way Sakura now smiled at him made him want to take hold of her and never let her go, but he then chuckled as he brought a single hand up to Sakura's chin so that his gloved thumb could stroke at her silky cheek. The two stared into one another's eyes for the longest time before Madara finally spoke out like a true gentleman, "Sakura... may I kiss you...?" This caused Sakura to turn bright red, yet was honestly curious to know how she'd feel if he got his way.

Nodding to his request, the Uchiha male, whom towered over her, slowly lowered his head as he stared into her sparkling emerald orbs. Right before the two made contact, a guard began to holler out, "LORD MADARA!" This caused Sakura to jump and back away from the male as he internally groaned, "What is the issue?" Nodding his head, the man began to speak quickly before Madara's head snapped towards Sakura, rose a single hand, and slapped her across the face so hard that she plummeted harshly to the ground.

Staring at the snow in disbelief as her body trembled and blood dripped from the seams of her mouth, Madara scowled, "I HAVE JUST GAINED WORD THAT IZUNA HAS BEEN HARMED! THIS ALLIANCE IS OVER! EVERYONE PREPARE FOR BATTLE AND SEND A HAWK TO THE OTHER CLAN MEMBERS! THE SENJU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS!" The guard hadn't even had time to finish his sentence, "Um... my lord...? It... It wasn't the Senju who did this... it was the Hyuga Clan..."

Mikoto had watched everything and ran out to Sakura, "SAKURA!" Sakura began to hyperventilate over almost being kissed on the lips, but then was kissed on the cheek by Madara's backhand; with the added stress to find out Izuna had been harmed.

"S...Sakura... I..." Madara fumbled out his word whenever Mikoto had, had ENOUGH of Madara's quick temper and swiftly slapped him across the face, "HOW DARE YOU HARM THE HEAD LADY OF THE UCHIHA CLAN!" Sakura then held her hand up to silence Mikoto as she stood up with her head lowered and for once... said absolutely nothing as she began to walk away.

Running in front of the pinkette, Madara also for once in his life, dropped to his knees and bowed as tears began to fall from his face, "I'M SORRY SAKURA! I'M SO, SO, SO SORRY!" Sakura looked down to the ground and slowly lowered to her knees, placed a gentle hand underneath Madara's chin to raise it, and slowly pressed her lips against his momentarily before breaking away. Standing up silently, Sakura then walked back into the castle... so that she could cry all by herself.

Sakura had been sitting in her room for hours now as Mikoto knocked and entered her room, "Sakura...? The bath is ready for you dear..." Nodding, she slowly stood and walked to the massive bath that was held within the castle's walls; not knowing there would be a surprise for her whenever she got there.

Opening the door for Sakura, Mikoto did not enter with her the way she usually had done before as she then whispered out, "Enjoy your bath my lady..." Closing the door, Sakura felt dumbfounded until a strong pair of hands began to slowly undress her, "Madara..." Sakura spoke softly, yet loud enough for him to hear her as he softly hummed as a reply; which in terms, caused the pinkette's tense muscles to relax.

She just didn't care anymore... she really didn't... being born as a woman in this era sucked ass, I mean... she wasn't even able to voice out her opinion and expect to actually be heard. Madara sighed heavily, "You can tell me to stop if you wish." This made her eyes widen immensely. Right at that very moment, Madara WAS giving her the option to actually voice out her opinion. Yet... she still said nothing...

Sighing heavily, Madara finished undressing Sakura and laced his arms around her so that he could lift her bridal style before walking to the warm rose petal filled water, "So... this is how you smell so good..." Madara chuckled softly as he lowered both bodies into the water. Holding Sakura close to his body, a quivering breath escaped Madara's mouth as he held the female that now rest in his arms close to his chest, "Sakura... I'm sorry... say something... anything... hell, yell at me! PLEASE JUST SPEAK TO ME!"

This made Sakura snap out of her daze, "It's all right... I understand why you got so upset... the last you heard of Izuna, he had been taken captive by me... but that's not the whole truth..." Raising his single visible eyebrow, Madara gave the pinkette a confused expression, "And what do you mean by that?"

Smiling softly, Sakura placed her hand over Madara's heart, "He... went on his own accord... I didn't want Izuna to be branded as a traitor... so I told him to chase me and act like he were pursuing me." Madara's eyes widened at this small bit of information, "Y... You did that for Izuna...?" Slowly nodding her head, Sakura half expected to be slapped again or killed. Yet what Madara did was highly unexpected. Slowly setting Sakura down so the two were now face to face, Madara cupped her cheeks with his large masculine hands, "Thank you..."

Saying nothing in response to his words, Sakura slowly pushed off the male and lowered her head. Gazing at her with a puzzled expression, the pinkette swiftly rose her fist and slammed it into Madara's face; which sent the male flying through the door, "NEVER TOUCH ME EVER AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME MADARA!? NEVER!"

Quickly washing, Sakura then dressed in a hurried manner before running back to her room. Mikoto ignored Madara, yet threw a towel over his naked form as she continued to walk. Coming to Sakura's door, the head maid of the Uchiha gently knocked on the pinkette's room door, "Sakura it's me honey. I'm coming in." Walking in hastily and locking the door behind her, Mikoto stared at Sakura before yelling in a hushed tone, "GET OUT OF HERE NOW!"

To say the least, Sakura was taken back by this, yet nodded quickly as Mikoto spoke, "Amaterasu is already below your window, since you seem to like being so reckless that you jump out of a window and onto your horse, well, I did just that." This made Sakura giggle softly, "Thank you for everything Mikoto... I will never forget your kindness."

Before Sakura could jump out, Mikoto held her hand out, "Wait!" Turning back, Sakura looked all too confused as Mikoto blushed heavily, "I would be honored if you named my first child Sakura." This made Sakura's eyes widen, "Girl or boy?" Shrugging at this as an answer, Sakura then walked over to Mikoto and held her hand over her stomach for the jade glow to begin flowing in, "It's a boy Mikoto." At that moment, the head maid's eyes brightened up and Sakura laughed, "As for the name... hmm... I think Itachi is a nice name."

"Itachi... Uchiha... I love it! Thank you Sakura!" Mikoto smiled brightly as Sakura then waved, "Take care of yourself Mikoto..." Jumping from the window and painfully landing on Amaterasu again, the pinkette's face wrinkled up in anguish before running her healing magic through her body. Jumping down, Sakura would not make the same mistake twice as she bit her thumb and slammed it to the ground, "SUMMONING JUTSU!"

At that moment, the massive Katsuyu appeared, "Oh Sakura dear! What can I help you with?" Nodding quickly, Sakura then began instructing the giant slug that, oddly, no one even noticed, "I only need a fragment of you to keep Amaterasu going without feeling fatigued." Bobbing her head, Katsuyu then poofed away, leaving a fragment in her stand as Sakura picked her up and placed her in one of the stallion's storage compartments, "Will this work Lady Katsuyu?" A quick response came after the initial question had been asked, "Yes Sakura."

Looking back up as Mikoto waved, Sakura waved back sadly; yet the moment Sakura blinked, Mikoto gasped. Looking around her, there was no one, so the pinkette then began speaking to the slug once again, "Take my chakra if you need it Katsuyu! NOW GO AMATERASU! YA!" Mikoto was about to reach out to Sakura to stop her, but to no avail.

It was strange... Sakura could now see things she had never seen or noticed before; such as one of the guards being asleep when she couldn't even actually see him, yet could. It didn't make sense right now so Sakura did not sweat the details. She rode as fast as Amaterasu would carry her for days on end, yet ended up having to summon another fragment of Katsuyu to keep her alive as well.

The trip lasted an entire thirteen days whenever she finally approached where the Senju Stronghold USED to be, "What the..." Looking around, Sakura knew this was the right spot, but as her orbs danced around, she finally picked up on a massive scale of chakra to the northeast and tugged the reigns of Amaterasu in the general direction before snapping his reigns. Amaterasu then began to bolt and soon enough... Sakura came in front of a small village.

She had NEVER seen this village before. How she knew? She used to sit atop of those same cliffs long ago. Finally a familiar voice rang out, "MOTHER!?" Snapping her head in the general direction of the source of the voice, Sakura's eyes then filled with tears as she jumped off of Amaterasu and bolted towards the child, "OBITO!" Lifting Obito within her arms and twirling him around another voice made Obito's head snap to the side, "FATHER LOOK! MOTHER CAME HOME!"

Izuna's eyes widened as he rushed to Sakura and wrapped his arms around her and Obito tightly, "Izuna you're crushing me!" Sakura gagged out before Izuna laughed and released the pinkette. Once Sakura placed Obito down, Izuna took Sakura's face within his hands, leaned in, and kissed Sakura tenderly. Obito immediately grossed out and turned away as Izuna began to walk backwards while still holding Sakura until she pulled away, "No disrespect Izuna... but where are we and more importantly... where are my brothers?"

Rubbing the back of his head sheepishly, Izuna nodded, "Lord Hashirama and Lord Tobirama should be in that red building over there." His hand motioned towards the red tower and she nodded, "Thanks, I'll be back. Obito... stay with your father." Nodding that he had acknowledged his mother's words, Sakura turned and began to run towards the red building that Izuna had spoken of with Amaterasu quick on her heels.

Running inside of the building, Sakura slammed the door open, just about making Hashirama a living rocket and even Tobirama jumped slightly. Once both of their gazes shifted towards the person responsible for interrupting a conference the two had been in; both of their eyes widened immensely and Tobirama dropped the paperwork he had been holding onto, "S-Sakura!?" Hashirama said in disbelief as Tobirama dashed towards his baby sister and lifted her into his strong hold as she began to giggle before nuzzling her face into his collarbone.

Hashirama instantly stood up and ran to his baby sister and held his arms out, clearly wanting to hold his little sister as well. Grumbling was all that could be heard escaping Tobirama's mouth as he handed Sakura over to their elder brother. The moment Hashirama had a hold of his beloved baby sister, he lifted her the same as he had always done before twirling her in a circular motion, "I got a letter from Madara saying that you two would never join the village! So why have you come?"

This made Sakura's eyes widen immensely. That sneaky BASTARD Madara hadkept the fact that Hashirama had actually began to build the village he had spoken of so long ago hidden from her! Looking down, the pinkette began to stutter sadly, "O-Oh... I s-see..." Tears began to flow down her face like a river of misery, "Hashirama, you MUST tell Madara I am here! Please!"

Even though he had meant to answer her, Hashirama ended up changing the subject all too quickly, "I heard that you adopted Obito!" Nodding at this, Tobirama then added in, "We also heard Izuna had adopted Obito as his son. What is the meaning of this Sakura? Your eyes have also changed as well! You are not some Uchiha brat filled with EVIL! You are a SENJU!"

Sakura instantly gained a puzzled expression over this entire ordeal, "Huh?" Hashirama glanced towards Tobirama and the both nodded towards one another as the eldest brother of the three then took his baby sister's hand and began to lead her to a mirror so that she could see her own reflection.

Once in front of the mirror Sakura gained an expression of shock and disbelief, "But how...?" Tobirama looked towards Hashirama with an expression that could only be described as shocked, "Your guess is as good as mine little sister." She continued to stare in the mirror as one of her hands rose to her face to gently slide beneath her eyes, "I-It's the..." All three siblings then spoke in unison, "Sharingan..."