Under the Rabbit Moon
Recap: "I don't fear the moon people."
"Then fear me," Kaguya hissed, inflating with chakra until she was just as large as the nine tailed fox's full size. Sakura was a crumb in her one hand. "I will smite the worm that comes between me and my child's fate or me and my revenge. The moon clan will rue the day they turned their teeth on my home."
Kurama's fur ruffled as he tried to inflate himself as well. "I'll tear you up once we're free from this."
Kaguya glared, but brought her hand up and her form started to lift, Sakura with it. "We shall see. That day will dawn before you know it. Until then, Sakura will sleep safe within me."
She swallowed Sakura and ate her like a peach.
Kurama roared and it shook the old ruins.
Izuna dreamed of Sakura for the first time in a long while. When he woke he felt more awake than he had in months. He had tried to forget about her in his daily thoughts and banish her from his wandering muses as best he could to avoid the guilt and hurt. His heart was a scarred thing that didn't flutter for anything anymore.
But when he woke the next morning he felt lighter and more full at the same time, like he was waking up truly for the first time. He dressed readily in simple garb and rushed to Madara's room where the war hawk would be if the Senju had finalized a time and place. Madara was up as well, but still dressed in his sleeping yukata.
"What have you heard?"
"Nothing," Madara groused, covering his mouth to yawn. "But I don't expect anything for the morning. Hashirama told us the location he would take the brothers, so I'm not concerned about waiting on the time of their plan."
"Liar."
Madara looked back and glared at his younger brother. "You're being a brat."
Izuna grinned slyly and pointed to the bright red war fan in the corner that had been freshly polished as well as the red plated armor that shined just as brilliantly. Izuna knew he was just as guilty of being over eager, but at least he was honest about it. Madara needed to learn to be more truthful.
"Keep it up and I'll not share the time of our attack with you," Madara warned, voice wounded.
"You could try, but I'd never let you pass me up in this." Izuna's lips stretched into a wider grin as excitement took root in his eyes. "I'd stalk you across frozen wastelands and to the edge of the moon. There is nowhere you could go that I couldn't follow."
His eyes flashed red with the sharingan that could travel worlds. Madara realized that maybe Sakura was not a subject he could get away with teasing Izuna about. He'd take it too seriously until she was back.
"Don't waste your energy. You'll need it for later." Madara ran another hand through his wild hair before glancing backwards at his brother. "And while you're at it, be a bit more weary. We're likely risking out lives in this endeavor, and the Gold and Silver brothers are no small fish."
"They're not going to be able to stop these Uchiha brothers, not if we're willing to go all out."
Madara winced. "I'd like to be able to walk away from such an ordeal, thank you."
Izuna's expression shifted back into one more neutral, but Madara could tell that his younger brother was beginning to lose patience and grow annoyed. "If you're lacking in faith to this extent than maybe you should be training more seriously."
"Maybe you should be training with me instead of treating your facial skin or printing poetry."
Izuna lifted his chin and stared down the fine line of his nose at his brother. "You're just jealous because I'm the brother with the looks."
"I literally do not care for such a trivial thing."
"Liar."
Madara rolled his eyes and grabbed for his face to rub his fingers into the skin around his eyes. "You are unreasonable. What's gotten into you? No. Don't answer that, I already know. Kami, I wonder if this is going to be worth it if you're already this much of a brat."
Izuna started to inflate with a retort but Madara moaned and ducked his head, covering his face with his hands.
"I know, I know, I know!"
"I don't like your joke," Izuna said, tone even once more.
"You don't like anything right now."
"I'd like the plans for when and where we are going to save Sakura."
Madara bit back a retort about how his younger brother wanted something more than just that, but thought better of it and ended up keeping the comment behind his teeth. He wasn't willing to put any more oil on the fire between them. It would be better if he saved all that energy for later when it mattered. Things would settle down if Sakura was there to smooth it over.
And she would be. There wasn't any chance that this mission would end without her coming back home if she really was the woman in the tree like Hashirama thought.
The hawk arrived within the hour and the Uchiha brothers assembled what they would need in the silence and secrecy hard won. Madara wanted to ask his brother what Izuna had done to distract the elders, but thought better about it once he smelled the herbal tea. They'd be awake before they returned, but their wrath would be worth it.
They didn't take anyone with them, but arrived at the location and hunkered down to wait the full hour before the Senju unit arrived.
Hashurama led the way, followed by the gold and silver brothers who were followed by the Senju boys and finally the four nin body guards from stone. There was an enemy on everyone's neck.
"Here should be safe. You described a frightening range of reach on this creature," the eldest Senju laughed, pointing out the barriers of where he would work. Shrubs full of thorns grow up to shield them in.
The Gold brother walked forward and set the amber pot down in the center of the field, far away from the edge of the shrubs. The ropes around it fell like weights to the grass and he took a step backwards. The pot seemed to grow the further he walked from it.
"Wait," Kawarama called, dashing forward at a polite speed that anyone could track. "I want to stand beside you to help if I can."
"I don't think you will need to, but I don't mind if you don't," Hashirama said, turning over his shoulder to look at the two brothers who were standing beside each other.
The two exchanged a look before nodding. "We're not paying you for extra. It's a flat rate."
"Ah, of course, of course," Hashirama laughed, doing a perfect job of playing the tension off. Nothing seemed to shake him anymore. He was born to lead, anyone could see that.
"Then, by your lead," Kawarama said, nodding to the two brothers as the eldest formed a hand sign.
All of the Senju braced and the four stone nin in the back took an extra step back, one reaching for his windmill shuriken. Tensioned made the air electric.
Release
The command seemed to come from everywhere as a swell of enormous chakra burst through the pot and back muck spilled forth. It was like watching a bubble inflate, as the shape in the muck grew double, triple, quadruple in size. There was the sound of snapping and groaning as arms, no branches, stretched out of the muck. Colors started to appear as the black gunk dripped free.
"Now!"
Hashirama shouted to his youngest brother and together the two of them mimicked the same seal. Their own branches grew from the ground up, blooming with falling leaves that brushed away the black ink and pulled apart the figure underneath the gunk. Just as suspected, it was a tree that was growing up around the figure within.
Hashirama left his brother to restrain the creature while he worked rapidly to counteract the wood growth jutsu with a reverse of his own. It was theory, but he suspected he would be able to take the chakra out of the trees grown by the opponent and nullify their growth. It was theory, but he thought it could work.
"There," the silver brother gasped, pointing to a shape in the heart of the tree, floating in congealed sap like a heart. It looked like a figure holding a dog.
"Hang on!" Hashirama roared, sweating at the brow as he forced his chakra to pull her free, to tear down the boundaries between him and her. It wasn't working, and he felt himself straining. The gold and silver brothers were readying with their treasures though, ready for their own fight.
"Please, Sakura," he whispered, growing thorny rose bushes along her own branches. A few bloomed in shocking red and something changed.
"It's working, keep going!" Itame cried from the sidelines, watching as the tree shape started to shrink around the figure.
What was left of the muck slipped down to cover the sap coat and obscure the shadow of the figure inside. There was a boom like a heartbeat and the tree splintered and shattered, debris going wild.
A face appeared as large as the actual tree, followed by a body just as large. Nine tails swung free as the beast emerged eyes blank whites that saw nothing of the world. A figure perched on it's forehead, still dripping in golden sap. She looked up, the crystal of her horns catching the light as her fangs flashed just as deadly.
"Now, our prize!" the older brother roared as he and his silver sibling rushed forward and engaged the beast with their might.
Kawarama was busy supporting his eldest brother but saw the moment the four stone nin turned on Hashirama and the other Senju brothers, looking ready to kill before paying. They didn't get far. Between the Uchiha siblings who emerged in a swirl of fire and metal, and the other Senju siblings, it really wasn't a contest. Hashirama took a hit when stumbling to his feet, and Izuna bled from a cut along his forearm, but the fight was hardly fair.
"Stupid. They should have known better. Underestimating us like that…." Itame growled, glaring at the far end of the field where the two brothers battled with wild whops and cries of joy. They were bloodthirsty in their delight.
"I think they were counting on you being more exhausted than you were," Madara guessed, eying his friend who still breathed heavily. "You okay there?"
Hashirama nodded, grinning through the pain as he pulled the kuni out of his shoulder and let his chakra naturally heal up. "It didn't work. I wasn't a match for her. She let me overpower her, that the only way I can explain it. The fight she must have put up last time probably looked a lot worse than what we were dealt."
"You did a good job," Madara commented before turning his attention back to Izuna, who was star struck where he stood. Behind him Tobirama watched the scene with trepidation just as closely.
"It's her," Izuna breathed, watching the exchange between the four figures.
A god, her god beast, and two god eaters. It was a mess of destruction as the world around them was ripped up. Back and forth the figures danced, drawing blood and forcing down boulders when they landed. The landscape was a mess.
"She really was in the pot this whole time," Itame commented before reaching over to support his elder brother. "You were right."
"No."
Several faces turned to where Kawaram and Tobirama stood. The youngest Senju was glaring. "That's not Sakura."
"What do you mean that's not Sakura?" Madara asked, glancing back in time to see black fire consume a chunk of forest. "Who else could that be? It looks just like her too."
"No, he's right," Tobirama added. His eyes were narrowed and seeing with detail the things far away. He was skilled as a sensor for more than just one reason. "That's not her. She's smiling so wickedly."
"They're bad men, she's allowed to take delight in destroying them," Izuna snapped, not taking his eyes off her even as he replied to his least liked Senju. No love was lost between the second brothers, especially now when the matter of Sakura was brought up.
"She's been trapped for such a long time. She's changed a little. I would be too. That doesn't mean it's not Sakura," Madara said, feeling a seed of fear in his heart.
It had to be Sakura. It would be too terrible a thing if what they were saying was true. Sure, she didn't look the same, she looked like the gods of legend and more terrifying than ever, cruel and brutal. But Sakura could be cruel. It was years since they last saw her. Only she could do what they were seeing.
"Who else could it be?" Itame asked, sounding worried. If it wasn't Sakura, did that mean they had to fight her? He didn't want to fight a god that could be Sakura.
"It's her, in there somewhere," Hashirama weakly interjected, standing up and pulling away from Itame so he was supported by his own efforts. "Maybe not alone, but Sakura is in there. I wasn't able to do anything, but she taught me how to grow roses. When I felt myself slipping and losing control I grew what she taught me atop her branches and…it changed. She suddenly stopped fighting. Sakura's in there, somewhere."
"She's not alone then," Kawarama said, eyes flashing with knowing.
"It's the other one?" Tobirama asked.
"What are you two talking about?" Madara demanded gruffly while Itame looked on hopelessly lost. Izuna glowered, but refused to speak any more.
There was a crack as the giant paw of the nine tailed fox caught the silver brother and stepped on him, pinning him down. The gold brother screamed in concern for just a moment, remembering his humanity, before black fire cut straight through him. His death was reflected in the eyes of his younger brother a second before every bone was crushed under that paw. Blood sprayed everywhere.
"I'm not waiting anymore," Izuna growled, dashing forward. Madara was quick to follow his brother, but the Senju boys were just as quick.
"Sakura!" Itame called up to the figure at the top of the tailed beast.
The orange head swiveled and a massive jaw opened wide. The air turned shimmery in front of him before he was pushed to the ground by Tobirama just in time to miss being charred with fox fire.
The other boys prepared to engage but there was a boom as the ground around them shattered and crushing gravity turned the fox over and pushed him into the earth with a whimper. Gold chains formed around his body, coiled around one another to the point on his head where the woman stood, hair long and body covered in crystal growth for modesty's sake. Not a stitch of fabric was left on her body.
She looked up from the fox's head as it whimpered and clawed at the earth, stuck sideways.
"Cool," Itame breathed, not phased at all by the fact he had nearly been fried alive.
"It is you, Sakura," Hashirama cried in delight, taking a step forward only to be stopped by Tobirama and Kawarama. Tobi turned his sword in her direction and glared hard.
"What do you think you're doing," Izuna hissed, red eyes flashing.
"You're not her, you're the other one," Tobirama shouted up to the figure atop the tailed beast. "Who are you?"
They were close enough to see her expression shift into amusement. Long white hair reached her ankles and draped over her like a coat. Her eyes, green but only barely, rolled over to Kawarama. There were veins around her eyes.
"Boy," she called down to him. "Have we ever shared with you our name?"
There was extra static from Kawaram's wild chakra. "No, but I've seen you before. You're the one Sakura ate, the god she devoured! What have you done with her?"
Her eyes were lazy, trailing over each of them before returning to the youngest. She leaned down, over the brow of the crippled fox. "We have a name you will not know, but we are called Kaguya. It's a pleasure to speak like this, finally face to face. Sakura protected her children so fervently we were afraid we would never meet like this."
"You were the one that took over during the duel with the disgruntled Uchiha," Tobirama shouted up. "The one that fed her so much power."
"Ah," she looked to the pale red eyed Senju boy but didn't seem interested in talking to him. She carried herself like a high born lord and spoke like one too. The way she addressed herself was with the plural 'we' which was used by emperor and only the most esteemed lords.
"What have you done to Sakura?" Hashirama asked, stepping forward. His legs shook and he was still tired, more than he wanted to admit, but he couldn't show that now.
Her eyes widened and she paced down the snout of the fox and stopped at the edge of his lip. "Yes, you are one of them. Sakura would not bring you to the place of meeting and never told you about your legacy," she breathed, touching a slender finger to her lips. Her eyes seemed to soften as she looked up to where Madara stood.
"What do you imply now?" Madara sneered, stepping up beside his friend.
"We have been waiting for you, but you did not come." Her voice was softer.
"And we're not going anywhere with you without Sakura. Where is she?" Madara shouted, posturing as the more aggressive of the two eldest brothers.
She looked past them to where the husk of her old tree stood, mostly stump and wood chips. "We've been sleeping for so long. It wasn't safe for her to be aware so long, years will drive such fragile creatures to madness. Sakura is sleeping where she may rest safe. If she were to wake and regain control, than this creature would be free to make a mess of the world once more." She tugged on the glowing golden chains and the fox whimpered. "What a shame. If only she would agree that force is necessary in this situation."
"When she left so long ago, it was to stop the fox from destroying the countryside," Madara commented, taking a step towards his brother. "Why is she so against keeping him locked up now?"
She looked down to the lip of the creature she stood atop of. "Because he thinks, because he feels. She is a girl who believes in free will and cowers in the face of slavery. We do not blame her this, she is only human."
"Sakura would be able to force you down and regain control if she was awake," Tobirama cut in. "You don't have any right to pilot her body like it is your own."
"What right does a god need?" she asked in a booming voice, eyes sharped to glare at the pale Senju. "Sakura came to us, consumed us. She wanted death and vengeance but we gave her life, a blessed life." Her eyes switched to the youngest Senju and she raised a finger, supple and thin. "When you were in the maw of death who do you thank for where you stand now, boy? Anything, she said. She said she would give anything for the power to bring you back, and so there is no room for complaint if we protect what we covet. We have every right to protect this girl as we see fit."
"I want her back, now," Kawarama said, still glaring back.
"She will be foolish and free this beast. We can not allow that. It will cause her untold grief and we know she will blame herself for it. You can do nothing to placate the wails of her heart."
"Is that it?" the youngest asked. "You just need a way to restrain the fox beast?"
She straightened bringing her finger back to her chin as she watched him anew. The youngest and the oldest Senju were exchanging glances and Hashirama seemed more tired than before.
"It's still a huge risk. You don't know what it will do to you," the eldest said to Kawarama.
"It's the whole reason I'm like this now, isn't it?" he asked, looking away from his older brother to the woman. "I can contain the tailed best within myself. You ensured that when all these latent abilities surfaced. If you seal him inside me, you'll free Sakura."
"Interesting. Yes, in the other world that one leashed them all and sold the tailed beasts off," she murmured, looking to Hashirama. "You were never in those stories, but maybe you may survive for this one. Very well, boy. We will seal this monster in you, contain him with your will if you can, and Sakura will be free to wake from this slumber. Your choice may very well make a difference in the moon wars to come."
"Moon wars?" Madara asked, sounding both confused and angry.
"If you believe in such things," she murmured dreamily as her skin began to glow white and brilliant.
She was fast, but every twitch and movement was in their eyes as she reached for the boy and dragged him close. He was still a fourteen year old kid, just barely so, and he looked so small compared to her with his thin wrists and face full of baby fat. When she grinned her teeth were petite fangs.
"Take him," she whispered in a dreamy state, pushing a seal into his chest that burned.
He screamed and the gold chains around the fox went taunt, rattling and reeling him in. With a cry the fox was sucked inside the seal and she finished it with a laugh, locking the beast within the smallest Senju.
He started to feel tired but she reached for him and drew him close. She pressed her lips to his face and hugged him close. He heard her voice like a far off birdcall, more in his bones than in his ears. 'She loves you too dearly. We're jealous so be weary.'
The world burned in brilliant white light.
"I feel like we've waited so long, it's hard to wait any longer," Itame sighed, watching Madara lay Sakura down in her bed from so long ago, the one he had tucked her into years ago when she lost her hand in a duel. Behind them Izuna Uchiha watched on, silent and still.
"It's true, but at this point, to know she is safe and herself is enough for me. She can sleep a little more, I'm happy I know where she is and that she's finally safe." Madara looked up back at his brother who stood at the edge of the threshold, but bit the words back. "I can wait a little longer."
Itame nodded before turning and heading for the door. "Then I'll take off. I promised Mito I would head straight back and I'm not sure if this counted as part of the job, but I'm sure she'll understand so long as I come back in one piece."
He started to pass the younger Uchiha but stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Izuna was looking down at the younger Senju boy. "You are happy with her?"
"Mito?" Itame couldn't help but flush. "Every day."
Something about Izuna's face softened. "That is good to hear. I am…glad you were able to be so lucky with a bride choice. Of all the Senju, I disliked you the least."
Itame didn't care that the last part was a slight on the rest of his brothers, he was just so glad to be seen as lucky with Mito and even to have this conversation with Izuna. It was something none of his brothers could boast.
"Thanks, you're not too bad yourself, you know. Take care of Sakura until we get back!" He stepped out of the house and nearly bumped into his eldest brother. "Ah, sorry!"
"That's fine," Hashirama chuckled, passing up the younger Senju and entering the home in Sakura's garden.
There was much active outside as people started to offer more and more up to her shrine not far from the house. At the base of the tree she first slept in there were offerings both fresh and old. Hashirama brought his own into her bedroom.
"No sign of waking?" he asked, voice soft but hopeful.
"You think?" Madara huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "We just brought her back from devil knows what sort of nightmare. God or not, I'd be shocked to see her up so soon."
The eldest Senju hummed before moving to set his vase of roses on a table and flare them out artfully. The smell made the room sweet. He had grown a fistful of red and pink roses in all different shades and accented them with white yarrow buds. "Shouldn't the two of you be running back to your lands soon? Who did you leave in charge?"
Madara flinched. "I don't wanna go back. We're going to be in trouble."
"It can't be that bad."
Izuna and Madara both shivered. "You have no idea. Clan head means nothing to the elders. God among all their laws is staying safe until an heir is born. They're worried about another war and I'm this close to giving up only to regain some freedom again."
"You think now is the time for peace talks in earnest?" Hashirama asked, eyes lighting with eagerness. "With Sakura back I'm sure she would bless a formal alliance. Maybe even…maybe even enough to help us start our own village."
Madara grinned, knowing Izuna was listening and would tease him for it later. "Yeah right, our own ninja village in the Land of Fire? Who would join that?"
"We wouldn't need anyone else, just our clans."
"Baka," Madara smacked the back of his friend's head. "A village needs alliances. Two clans wouldn't survive as distinct entities, but melt into one, like what happened with the Hagotomo and the Uchiha clans." Madara ran a hand through the mess that was his hair, knowing he was nowhere near as pretty looking as his brother. He was the strong one, Izuna was the pretty one, after all. "You would need more than the Uchiha for that."
"Then the Uzamaki? We start with them." He spread his hands wide for emphasis.
"They'll be weary of the two of us. Uchiha and Senju are like oil and water. There needs to be more than just them. Who would believe in our peace?" Madara grumbled.
"Sakura would." Both males looked over to Izuna, who stayed where he stood watching Sakura. He looked up and repeated himself. "Sakura would believe in our peace. It would be her dream too, and I want to protect that for her. She could come to live with us in our village and bring the garden there. People would come just for her."
"And you say you have no head for clan politics," Madara teased with a sly smile, watching his cute younger brother's face turn red. "You're more crafty than you know."
Hashirama grinned wide. "I think it's time we set a date for a formal discussion, my friend."
"Whenever Sakura wakes up, but not before then."
AN:
Who are you most looking forward to seeing Sakura interact with next chapter? I am curious to know.
Hashirama and Madara 17.5
Izuna and Tobirama 16
Itame 15
Kawarama 14
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