25.
Yuna couldn't spot her team leader after their spar. She didn't know his name, and she didn't know the people there so she had no idea who to ask. Not that she would actually do it. The men there seemed intimidating to her, simply because she wasn't one of them.
They didn't trust her.
A twitch of amusement went through her.
If she were an Uchiha woman, they probably would act similar.
At least they went hypocrites.
"A woman's place isn't on the battle field," they would say and laugh.
If Madara shared their views, he hadn't vocalised them around her.
Yuna didn't mind though, she was going to rise higher than that and prove them wrong. Her mind was set on making Madara acknowledge her strength, and then...
She would betray him, most likely. Either deliberately or through some sick twist of fate.
It was a dysfunctional relationship where both sides stabbed the other in the back, and then bandaged one another.
Yuna wanted to meet her teammates, if she even had any. Madara maybe didn't trust her enough to send her on a solo mission, but that didn't mean that her teammates couldn't be won over.
Now that Yuna wasn't stuck in her arranged marriage anymore, she had less freedom to act but more freedom to think. There was no need to appear perfect any longer; she didn't have to be the embodiment of the Uchiha values no longer.
For the past few hours Yuna had walked around aimlessly, spending her time watching others spar or just think.
Right now she was sitting on a railing, leaning against a strong pillar. Two men were sparring, one of them had short spiky hair and the other one had a small ponytail tied on the back of his head. Both of them were barefoot, only using their hands and legs in the spar; no weapons and no jutsus.
It seemed like the two were friends, close friends. Watching their playful spar was almost like watching a less mature version of Madara and Izuna. While Madara and Izuna's fighting style was almost beastlike, the two boys were more...appropriate for minors.
Yuna jumped when two small pouches were thrown on her lap. She looked up to see her team leader who was looking down with a large grin.
"It seems that dear Madara won't allow you to relax," he crossed his arms across his toned chest in a relaxed manner, "We have a mission."
Suddenly the two boys stopped sparring and the field went completely silent as they stared back to their team leader. Yuna's eyebrow rose; were those her other teammates?
She giggled, "I really do have the ability to find the right people."
The sick twisted humour of Madara, pairing her up with children. Well, that did exclude two men from competing with Madara.
The boy with shorter hair ran up to the railing. If their team leader hadn't caught the boy's head in his palm then the kid would've smacked his head against his captain.
"A mission? Are you serious Haru-chan!" He nearly screamed with a large smile on his face. 'Haru-chan' waved his hand dismissively, apparently used to the bubbly nature of the boy. Yuna grinned and swallowed the childish urge to throw up her fist and shout 'Win!'
"So your name is something with Haru?" Yuna asked and checked the pouches. She was quietly thankful that 'Haru-chan' had gone through the trouble to bring her some kunai, and senbon. The short haired boy tilted his head and stared at Yuna with his chocolate eyes.
"You're a girl..." He muttered slowly, as if that was something unheard of. His long haired brother had walked over there as well, but all of the fun and laughter was drained from his face when he reached Yuna and the others.
She didn't lean back, even though she wanted to. Haru, for his joy, managed to dodge the question that Yuna aimed towards him. Finally, a flicker of recognition flashed in his eyes.
"Oh I know you! You're the Kunisada girl, right?" He shouted with joy.
Yuna was beginning to doubt that the cheerful boy was really over twelve years old. Who else did he think she was? It's not like the Uchiha were famous for harbouring foreigners in their ranks.
"I'm Seiji, the sulky one over there is my younger brother Shin-chan, but you better call him Shinjiro and that dandy guy there is Harue." He said, nodding towards the long haired brother and the captain.
That time Yuna was surprised.
"Younger? How old are you two?" She asked the two boys, but the question was more aimed towards Seiji. His brother wasn't even looking at Yuna.
"I'm sixteen and Shin-chan is fifteen." Yuna rubbed the back of her neck and giggled.
"Now I really feel like an old lady..." She mumbled. Seiji blinked a couple of times before he burst out laughing.
"Oh don't worry Yu-chi," Yuna's eyebrow twitched at the nickname, then again it seemed like Seiji gave everyone nicknames, "Haru-chan is way older. He's around twenty six or something." The older brother was smacked across the head by an already very annoyed Harue.
"Be serious for once! We have a mission. One of our sponsors hasn't been paying; Madara-sama requests us to go and retrieve the payment for the last three months and give him a warning. Any questions?"
Harue spoke calmly with a blank face. Yuna noticed that even in a serious discussion like that Seiji had a childish look on his face, almost a pout.
"I have one," Yuna said, raising her hand like she did in school, "Are we going to split up into two teams?"
That question earned her a cold glare from Shinjiro. She tried to brush it off, but it caused a bunch of new questions to surge in its stead.
Harue nodded briefly. He wasn't the one to stuff his nose into others' affairs. So what was happening between his teammates didn't interest him unless it was directly stopping them from fulfilling their mission.
"This is going to be a three day mission. It'll take one day to get there, then we have one day to find the money and our sponsor and one day to come back. Let's meet up at the front gate in fifteen minutes."
Seiji bowed deeply before storming off to pack while his younger, stern brother just sighed before following.
Since Yuna and Harue were sharing a room, they walked together. He grinned at Yuna, "Can you keep a secret?" He asked with a smile that said 'I will make sure you regret it if you talk'
Indecisively she nodded, even though it seemed that Harue was just playing around.
"Madara-sama asked me to tell you, that you will be the one to report the mission to him. Most likely wants to talk to you in private. He also asked me not to tell the others."
Part of her wanted to ignore Madara's request, but Yuna couldn't deny that she wanted to see him again.
She sighed and a taunting smirk formed on her lips, "I guess Madara really doesn't know how to live without me."
Her voice trailed off and Harue sighed.
"It's none of my business but you could've stayed on your position. There are rumours going around that you chose to join the ranks." His eyes were inquisitive, closely following her face.
"I have more freedom to bitch now," Yuna said tauntingly.
"You expect me to believe that this was a legitimate motivation?"
She giggled and shook her head, "No, I didn't have any chance to stay there for much longer. My clan is dead, isn't it? Why keep the marriage valid, when there is nothing to gain from it. I value my life, so I decided to offer my services."
The corner of Harue's mouth twitched merrily, "So you decided to postpone the judgement day...am I right?" He looked down to the beaming woman.
She just giggled and tilted her head childishly. Smiles and laughter to cover up her uneasiness.
The strange emptiness lingered in her stomach. She had to get used to those soldier pills again since now she was going to have them more often.
The quartet reached the village early in the evening. The sun hadn't set yet, its warm beams colouring the clouds into a musky orange.
They didn't enter the village; Harue said it's just a precaution.
The older of the two brothers set his bag down and flexed his muscles, yawning loudly.
"Shall we go over our plans after we've set up camp?" he asked Harue who also put his bag near a large oak tree. The captain turned over and nodded.
"Yuna go find us some water, there should be a river near here to the east. Seiji, Shinjiro go find some wood." Harue spread the tasks.
Yuna gathered their water bottles before everyone left. She didn't want to be found sorting through their belongings. Though she did find it curious that Harue wasn't worried that she might poison their water skins or something along that line.
Apparently that was exactly what Shinjiro was thinking, he shot a dirty look at Harue. The man on the other hand pretended to be ignorant about it.
Yuna glanced between the two before hurrying off. She was familiar with the area and roughly knew about the location or the river.
The forest was quiet; the only sounds that she heard were the wind blowing and Seiji's out of tune singing. The latter made her smile.
The boy was incredibly carefree in almost any situation; it was relieving that something was there to brighten up her day.
It was a momentary distraction for her, but when that faded her thoughts drifted, involuntarily, back to Madara. Now that their marriage, if you could call it that, was finished she also lost her status and her access to information.
Not to mention that Madara sent her on a mission just a few hours later, but that might've been to prove that he truly plans to make use of her.
How long will it take for the Uchiha to form a new alliance? They can't do it too quickly; there's a long animosity between the Senju and the Uchiha. As if they'd give up someone from their own ranks to Madara.
She heaved a relieved sigh when she reached the river. Yuna couldn't hear Seiji's howling anymore. She set down the bottles and began filling Harue's when her head whipped around.
"What are you doing here?" She asked loud enough for the younger brother to hear. He stepped out from behind a tree trunk, holding some wood. At least he didn't discard his assignment completely.
"Afraid I might poison you?" asked Yuna, voicing his doubts.
Shinjiro's face remained impassive, quite impressive for a boy his age.
His dark eyes were guarded. Yuna looked right into the dark orbs, completely relaxed. There was nothing to hide.
She popped off the cap of the second bottle, her eyes not leaving Shinjiro's.
"You don't trust me, that much is obvious," she exclaimed. It didn't insult her. She would probably suspect herself as well; after all...she had every reason to betray Madara and the Uchiha. Shinjiro remained in his spot, not moving closer or further from her.
"It's great that you understand. The other two might let you slack off, but I'm not going to leave you unattended." His voice was grim, but his eyes didn't match.
All of the bottles were filled. Yuna rose up and sighed.
"You really think that Harue doesn't suspect me? He'd be a fool not to."
"Are you plotting something?"
"Go ahead, do as you please, but I have my reasons for staying," Yeah stupid pride that tells me to prove the asshole wrong, "so while I'm here I might as well do my job. Investigate if you want, but there is nothing to find. " She responded with a bleak voice before walking off.
Yuna could sense the youngster follow her in the shadows. Annoying.
Harue had already built a fire. Yuna distributed the bottles and they sat down around the flames.
"So," Harue said, resting his hands on his chest, "Yuna, you won't be even near the sponsors lair. You'll be looking around for the money."
Shinjiro almost stood up to protest, but Harue raised his hand to stop him.
"She has no bloodline traits, and frankly with us three she won't be needed either." Yuna's eyebrow twitched at the blatant insult.
"How many gatherings have you attended with Madara?" He asked, directing the question to Yuna.
She held her composure.
"Only one, so most people don't even know what I look like. I can blend in with the crowd here since I don't look like an Uchiha. No one would ever suspect that I'm one of you."
Seiji tilted his head, "Are you sure about leaving her alone? Not that I think that she's suspicious," he added hastily, not wanting to botch his friendship with Yuna, "but better safe than sorry."
Harue nodded and fetched a small bag from his pocket. He turned it upside down and a small blue pill fell onto his palm.
"This is a trace. Yuna, you'll swallow this. That way I can locate you wherever you go. Is that alright with you two?" He asked the two brothers. Yuna sighed, not like anyone cared how she felt about that. Nevertheless she swallowed the pill. It's not like something could really happen if she did.
It was around midday when Yuna entered the village. She was posing as a regular traveller, her weapons hidden so she wouldn't draw attention to herself.
The village seemed to be in a festive mood, they were going to celebrate the birthday of the lord in a few days and preparations were already made. Shopkeepers were decorating their doors and displays; some were helping employees to put up lanterns.
Foolish-foolish man, not paying his debts to the Uchiha, yet a festival was not out of the question.
It was all coming up well so far. People were too busy to notice her. She smiled and stretched her hands over her head.
This was basically free time for her. The Sharingan users were going to look into the sponsor's head and would know the location of the money. She had nothing to do there.
Despite the soldier pill Yuna still bought herself some sweets, munching them while walking around the village.
At first glance it didn't seem like a place that had anything shady going on behind closed doors. Yuna was reaching the northern outskirts of the village when she noticed a woman looking at her.
She was standing in front of a trinket shop. Her hair was wrapped in a light blue scarf and she was dressed in a colourful dress. The woman had green piercing eyes; they sent chills down Yuna's spine.
The woman's lips curved up to a smile before she entered the shop, almost beckoning for her to follow.
Yuna munched on the last piece of candy and stuffed the rest in her pocket before she entered the store.
The doorbell rang when she opened the door. It was a shop that sold pedants, scarves, herbs and even crystals. There was no one behind the counter and the woman was nowhere in sight.
"Come here!" Yuna heard the woman order with her soft voice. Almost willingly she obeyed her, walking to the back room of the store.
The walls were covered with coloured fabrics, making the room seem larger than it really was. There was a wooden table in the middle. Its dark brown surface was covered with small cracks. The woman sat on the chair, her hands resting on the table in a casual position. She smiled, "Come and sit down," her words were tempting.
"Why?" Yuna asked, snapping back to reality. It was naive of her to go in that shop anyway, but a peak wouldn't hurt. The woman sighed and rolled her eyes in a 'oh the young ones nowadays' way. Before the lady could snap at her Yuna plopped herself down on the seat, "Yeah-yeah alright."
This seemed like a waste of time. Not that she had a productive way of spending it anyway.
The woman reached out and softly picked up one of her hands. Yuna didn't jump at the contact, but she did almost jerk her hand away.
"Sorry," she muttered quietly, but it didn't seem like the woman could hear. The old lady's fingers traced the lines on her palms and she clicked her tongue.
"Oh dear what a mess...what a horrible-horrible mess you are...One marriage and no children. One, if not more of your family members are not with you. I can't tell that specifically..."
Yuna's body tensed, but the woman was completely ignoring her person.
"I am quite alright." She replied dryly. It wasn't completely a lie.
The woman smirked, not looking up from her hand she said: "But I wasn't wrong about you, right?"
It was more of a statement than a question. The fortune teller was confident in her abilities.
She looked up and smiled amusedly, "After all of the chaos and toying you will have a man wrapped around your finger. You have control over him but he's different from the other men so it's not the control you may desire. In the end you'll have to make a choice, if not handled well either could doom you."
Yuna involuntarily leaned forward curiously, "What if I...choose right and handle it...well enough?"
The woman's green eyes looked happy, "Then you will be alright in the end. Both of the choices will force you to discard something very important so your happiness isn't certain, but in the end we make our own luck. What I say isn't absolute; nothing is carved into stone for sure. Everything would change if you decided to change something about your life radically."
Yuna's eyes were wide; she suddenly pulled out the bag of candies from her pocket, "Want one?" She asked, pushing the bag towards the woman.
The lady took one and held it between her fingers.
"You're strangely calm, despite my revelations. Do you still doubt?"
Yuna plopped another lemon drop onto her tongue and shrugged.
"I didn't expect it to be happy, or glorious...Though I'm betting on your final words."
She got out of the chair and walked to the doorway, "The future isn't carved into stone."
Before Yuna could leave the woman got up, "What you're searching for in this village is hidden in the closed bakery shop in the biggest oven." She said loud enough for Yuna to hear.
Yuna stopped at the doorway, feeling suspicious. As if I'm going to believe her...She can't know that! This could be a setup.
But she was curious, and it couldn't hurt to look.
Not to mention that she would've loved to see Shinjiro's face if she happened to be the one to find the money before them.
Hurriedly she ran away from the strange shop, not looking behind and trying to find the closed bakery that the lady was talking about. Yuna was sure that she passed it earlier...
Well...I haven't done one of these in a while. So I'm going to say sorry that there is no YunaxMadara in this chapter but I promise that there will be in the next.
Also I want to thank everyone for the reviews, favourites and alerts! I haven't done it so far so THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! I never thought that this story would have this much readers! I'm already passing 20 000 hits which is so amazing since my past stories haven't even come close to reaching this number (18.12.2015 If only had I known that it would go up to 160 000+).
It is summer now so I'll try to write as much as I can since I have only two more months before school starts and I'll be busy again, so if possible I'm going to finish writing this story this summer. I have two more edited chapters, not including this one, so you'll get one each week.
Until next time,
Lilyholics