She looked like she had a good rest, Madara noticed as he entered her house and he saw her making food for lunch. Her silvery white hair was up in a messy bun and she was wearing a pink shirt and bright green pants. She didn't seem to notice his arrival and so, he sneaked up on her, and bit her lower jaw. He nearly chuckled when she jumped and made a squealing sound before turning around with her eyes wide and her cheeks bright red.

"What are you doing here?" She asked and turned the stove off. "Oh, I won't be able to meet you on the hill tonight. I have the night shift".

"That's good because I'm going to be busy too", Madara replied and he caught her by surprise when he lifted her up onto the table and he pressed his mouth to hers. He smirked into the kiss when she responded at once and she locked her ankles around his waist to keep him in place.

"Oh", she gasped when he trailed kisses down to her throat and she angled her head so he could have better access. Her grip on his shoulders tightened when he kissed a particularly sensitive area.

"Aiko is coming to visit the Uchiha compound tonight", he said against her skin.

It was enough to snap her back to reality and Yukihime let go of him, leaning away from his touch. "Good way to ruin the moment, Uchiha", she seethed with a dark frown and she shoved him off to get off the table.

"It's funny how you can easily switch moods", he said with narrowed eyes.

"It's funny how you can kiss one girl during the day and then another at night", she hissed back and was too late to realize that what she said was wrong. She had to duck to avoid the hit aiming for her face.

"Wait!" She exclaimed in alarm when a furious Madara trapped her between the table and himself. "That was out of line! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was not thinking. I'm sorry", she apologized quickly.

"Is that what you think of me?" He spat angrily.

"Nonononono, I was not thinking", she repeated and placed her hands against his chest. "That was a mistake on my part".

"If you said it, then you must have meant it", he retorted.

"No! I-I-I d-don't understand", she stuttered. "What are we?"

Madara's anger disappeared with the gentleness in her voice when she questioned him. He leaned down, catching her lips in a quick kiss. "You tell me", he said and then vanished in thin air.

Yukihime felt her chest tightening and her stomach did several somersaults. She groaned and covered her eyes with her hand.

She was in love with Uchiha Madara.

There were no major cases to be handled at the hospital and Yukihime had some free time to look over her notes. She barely lifted her head when Kazuma entered the small office. He sat at his own desk and each worked in silence.

It was not until the next day that things stirred up again.

Aiko had been kidnapped.

Actually, it all started when Tobirama had cornered Yukihime on the way home.

"What is your relationship with Madara?" He asked without beating around the bush.

Yukihime faltered for a second and she replied, "What do you mean?"

"That brief hesitation already answered my question but I want you to say it", he pressed with his eyes narrowed at her.

"There's nothing", she insisted.

"Very well", he said and then disappeared.

Yukihime's heart hammered in her chest. Tobirama would never accept her relationship with Madara, she realized. That was enough to dampen her mood and once home, she received a message from Hashirama to urgently meet up in the founders' office.

"Come on, girl. Don't you dare break down in front of him like last night", she murmured to herself and then took to the roofs. She entered the office through the window and saw that her brothers and Madara were already inside.

"What is it?" She immediately asked.

"Lady Aiko has been taken", Hashirama said with worry.

Yukihime raised an eyebrow and she turned to the other two men.

"She has been kidnapped right under our nose", Tobirama clarified.

"Who's our suspect?"

"It's an organized band of rogues", Madara said with his eyes hard. "We received word that they would give her back only if we hand you over".

Her eyebrows shot up under her bangs. "Well, let's give them what they want", she suggested.

"Are you insane?" Tobirama shot with a glare. "We're not giving you up. We'll find some other way".

Yukihime made herself comfortable on the window sill and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Listen to me", she said. "Put your mark on me and send me in. Get some of our sneakiest ninja to shadow me if that makes you more comfortable. The rogues will let that woman go once I'm in their hands and I'm gonna unleash hell on them. Twenty minutes top and you come in".

"You're not taking this seriously!" Hashirama scolded. "You're putting your life on the line here! Hime, we can find an alternative".

"I'm still not talking to you", the girl growled at him and he paled. She then turned to the others, "Whether you want it or not, I'm going in".

Tobirama exhaled tiredly. "Let me put the seal on you", he said as he beckoned her closer.

"Tobirama!" Hashirama exclaimed when no one took his side.

"I'll be going along", Madara said. "Both Yukihime and Aiko will be safe".

Hashirama said nothing.

"Lift your pant leg. I'll put it at the back of your knee", Tobirama said and he knelt down. Yukihime did as he asked and she barely felt his hand on her, but the seal felt cool on her skin.

"Let's move out, we'll plan on the way", she said and then jumped out through the window with Madara close behind her.

"Take care of her", Hashirama told his younger brother and he watched as all three disappeared from sight. He knew that Yukihime would be able to protect herself but this was not a war where once in a while he could keep an eye on her. He just hoped that the two men would do his part of the job.

Tobirama had gathered a few men to go on the rescue mission and the group was sitting in the cover of trees so that they could plan the attack.

"Yukihime will go in with Akashi Kirito", Madara instructed. "The rest of you will form teams of two and surround the place without letting the enemies know of your presence. Once the captive is taken out for the exchange, Tobirama and I will teleport ourselves inside and commence the attack. This will be your signal to start attacking from the outside. Our priority is to make sure that Yukihime and the captive are both safe".

"Right, and Kirito, should anything go wrong, activate a few paper bombs to warn us and we'll come right in", Tobirama spoke up. "Yukihime has good defense and offense but the Lady Aiko has neither. Get her out first".

A chorus of agreements went around and the team of 10 people set off towards their destination. It was after a few hours that Tobirama stopped and commanded everyone to take their positions.

Madara signaled Yukihime when it was time for her to go and she gave him a curt nod before walking away with Kirito by her side. The two of them entered the enemy camp and they were stopped by two masked men who immediately escorted them in the middle of the ruined buildings.

A few seconds later, a tall man came out and he approached the pair. "I didn't think you would come so easily", he told the short girl.

"Oh, I wouldn't", she confirmed. "But you see, even if I don't really like her, it is not reason enough for her to be harmed in my place".

"How nice of you", he mocked and then nodded to one of his men who went inside a building and he came out a moment later with a struggling Aiko who had a cloth muffling her screams and a rope was used to tie her hands behind her back. Her eyes widened and tears welled in them when she saw the youngest Senju.

"My comrade here", Yukihime said and motioned to Kirito, "will take her away. No one is to harm them or I'll kill each one of you slowly".

The tall man laughed. "You're in no position to bargain!"

Yukihime and Kirito jumped out of the way just in time to avoid the barrage of weapons which were thrown at them. Kirito immediately threw a few kunai knives which had paper bombs on them. The two of them used the explosion as cover and the ruins became a battlefield. The white haired medic ran past a few enemies and she was about to grab Aiko but someone pulled her back and Yukihime was saved from being killed by three giant Shurikens. She turned around and found that it was her brother and Madara who had saved her. They nodded at each other, their own personal signal, before unleashing their best attacks.

The ground shook and cracked when Yukihime threw her most powerful punch. The air was warmed by Madara's fire jutsu, and Tobirama used his body flicker technique to take down the enemies quickly.

"Don't touch me!"

The shrieking voice caught Yukihime's attention and she made a beeline for it, succeeding in pulling Aiko out of the way of harm. "You stay here", she ordered the older woman who nodded furiously. "If the bad guys try to take you, scream as loud as you can".

She turned back to the battle and her hands sped through a series of hand seals. "Crystal release: Angel Spear!"

She heard Aiko gasp as crystal spears began shooting from the ground rapidly, impaling several enemies but somehow, not harming her friends.

"Your right!" Aiko warned and Yukihime kicked the attacker back with a chakra enhanced leg. He flew back into a wall which crumbled down on top of him. She threw the shocked woman a glance before joining the fray.

It didn't take long to kill all enemies what's with the abilities of Madara and Tobirama who annihilated most of them. The ground was littered with dead bodies and pools of blood. The red liquid was splattered everywhere but to Aiko's horror, no one seemed to care. "We did it", one of the men said with a chuckle. The others cheered and Tobirama smiled while Madara stayed silent.

"Well, I'm not done yet", Yukihime said with her hands on her hips. "Line up, I'll heal your worst injuries before we head back or you might get an infection", she ordered.

"It's okay, Yukihime-Sama. We are-"

"Shut up!" She barked and the man paled. "I'm the medic, so line up quietly or I'll have to knock all of you out cold".

Everyone did as they were told except for Madara and Tobirama who stood by the side.

They all seemed to have forgotten about Aiko who still had a terrified look on her face. So, this was the life of a ninja, she realized. The blood on their hands no longer bothered them. They made it look so easy. However, she could not understand how a girl could bear the burden of being a ninja. Yukihime was limping due to injury she received when several Shurikens had embedded themselves in her left thigh, her clothes were bloody and there were rips in them from the cuts the enemies had made. But she was smiling and joking around while healing the men.

"Now we're done", Yukihime said. The team disposed of the dead bodies and they all headed back. Tobirama offered to carry Aiko so that they could go faster through the trees. They were put in between Madara and Yukihime who acted as guards while the rest of the team led the way.

"Yuki-"

"Don't talk", Yukihime interrupted without looking at the woman. "You still piss me off".

For once, Aiko did not fight her and the rest of the journey was silent. Madara dispatched everyone once they were within the village. He accompanied the Senju siblings and Aiko back to the tower where his childhood friend was waiting for them.

"Thank goodness you're all safe", Hashirama said and he heaved a sigh.

"I'm so sorry", Aiko said in a wavering voice as the tears fell from her eyes. "I was awful to all of you. I never thought that being a ninja could be so dangerous so I took it lightly. You see, I never had to do anything by myself because I always had people helping me around. That's why I thought there was no such things as danger".

"Aiko-San, it's okay", Hashirama comforted her. "We all make mistakes".

"Thank you for your kindness, Hashirama-Sama", she said timidly and then looked at Yukihime who was healing her leg. "Yukihime-San, I behaved so rudely towards you and I have hurt you. I don't deserve to be forgiven".

"That's right, you don't", Yukihime replied as she straightened herself and Aiko lowered her head shamefully. "Your arrival felt like the plague entering my village, your very presence irritated me, your every word pissed me off, and on almost every occasion I wanted to punch your face in".

She noticed how the men stiffened and Aiko looked ready to run like a rabbit. "But if you apologize then I guess I should forgive you. We rubbed each other the wrong way and it all went down from there", she said and then walked to the door. "You're welcome to come by anytime".

She left the three men to deal with the crying woman, and Yukihime went home to take a shower. She was putting on her clothes when she felt Hashirama entering her home. Once she was done, she put a frown on her face and she went out in the living room. Her brother was standing in the middle of the room silently waiting for her.

"What is it?" she asked, despite knowing what was going to happen.

"Hime, I'm sorry for the other day", he said softly and the hurt appeared in his eyes.

"You scared me!" she suddenly yelled and the tears blurred her vision. "One moment you were right there and the next I could see our Father standing where you-"

The rest of the sentence drowned in her tears and Hashirama wrapped her smaller body in his arms. "I'm so sorry, my love. Please don't cry. I'm sorry".

His heart lightened when she grasped his clothes and mumbled incoherent words in between her sobs. He could not help but chuckle, and for the first time in years, he tucked her in bed and kissed her goodnight.

Yes! Aiko is now out of the picture. Looks like everything is going smoothly now, isn't it?

-IcedLady-