Chapter 25: Rumours

"Your thoughts don't usually wander off when you're in my bed." Tobirama chuckles as he flips Aida under him and lets his hips roll deeper into her. Garnering a reaction of surprise mixed with pleasure, he hooks her leg over his shoulder for better access
"What're you talking about?" Aida huffs as best she can without letting a moan escape her lips as Tobirama presses into the deepest part of her
"You think I can't tell?" he raises a brow, receiving nothing but a muffled gasp from Aida, her leans down to nuzzle her neck, "Fine, you can let that mind of yours stress all it wants…" He murmurs before stopping and pulling back. Aida raises her brows in a furrow of confusion, disappointment and surprise, she finds herself feeling cold without Tobirama inside her. There's a moment of silence before he lifts Aida into his arms, with no time to muster a protest, Tobirama sets Aida down on the study's desk. "If you can manage to tune out from what I'm doing." Tobirama flashes her a grin before kneeling and letting his tongue trail down to her sex. Aida feels her head whip back as her body tenses from the sensations of him, his mouth pressed firmly against her sex, his arms hooked around her hips and thighs allowing little chance for escape. Aida's fingers ruffle through his silver hair, unable to make him ease up and unable to keep her focus on much other than her building orgasm.

Tobirama relaxes slightly as Aida's moans and whimpers sound above him, he could feel the tension in her thighs and buttocks in his hands. It comes as a relief to him, since the attack on Konohagakure, Aida had struggled to let herself go physically and mentally. When it came to sex, he'd occasionally catch her with an absent-minded look as if her brain couldn't switch off and allow her to be in the moment. It was upsetting to see her feel so guilty for no reason and frustrating to him feeling as if she didn't want intimacy with him. He'd tried to go down on her several times, to which she'd reassure him she was wet enough… A pang of irritation flashes through him as he considers perhaps she wasn't able to achieve orgasm those nights either.

"Tobirama…" Aida's husky voice snaps him out of his thoughts, how ironic, "I want you inside me." She murmurs, he needs little persuasion to oblige. Rising up, he angles himself against her receiving a moan of encouragement before he presses into the heat of her.
"You're so wet." He finds his breath uneven as he pushes and pulls inside her, the hot wetness of her clenching eagerly against the length of him. Aida wraps her legs around his hips and grabs his buttocks to help him deeper inside her.
"I'm gonna come-" She looks into his eyes with a desperation she'd lacked for weeks. He pulls back and all but buries himself into her, their bodies meeting with an audible slap. Aida clenches around him tightly, wanting more. Tobirama continues his rhythm as Aida pulls his lips to hers for a deep kiss before their foreheads press together as they reach their climax. The sound, the sensation, the taste of each other's lips become overwhelming as Aida's orgasm vibrates through her, Tobirama's following suit as Aida's contractions tip him over the edge.

The two rest against the table covered in a sheen of sweat. A shiver runs through them both as they finally take notice of the temperature of the room. When they finally catch their breath and manage the strength to move, Tobirama carries Aida back to the bed. The two of them slide into the covers exhausted and spent.

"That was good sex…" Aida sighs in elation

"It isn't normally?" Tobirama grumbles in a playful tone before pulling her small frame against his chest

"I didn't say that!"

"I know, but it's definitely the best sex we've had in a while."

"I'm sorry that I haven't been to present, Tobi." She traces an unintelligible pattern across his chest, her sad eyes focused on it.

"It's okay, Ai. Just talk to me next time. Communication is important." He kisses her hair and presses her fingertips against his chest

"I will, Tobi. I just feel like I haven't done my part for the village despite it being my duty."

"Aida, you fulfil your duty for the village every day. That was an unforeseen threat, none of us could have seen that coming and even if we did. I would put myself out there before I allow any harm to come to you- And before you say it's your duty, it's mine too. It's also my duty to protect the woman I love."

"I hope I can protect you someday." She kisses his cheek before they drift off into a deep sleep.

Madara slips a sack of rice over his shoulder as Kazue walks beside him, Yua tucked tightly into her mother's arms. The sun had risen up into the middle of the sky and the town ship was bustling with vendors ready to make their profits for the day. Madara takes in the serene sight of his wife and daughter beside him, staring intently at the different food stalls in Konohagakure. Although, Mito had insisted the rice would be brought to their home later in the afternoon, Kazue had wanted to get some fresh air with Yua. Save for the frequent stares of fearful curiousity from the passers-by, Madara was rather enjoying their morning errand run.

"Why don't we get some meat too? Perhaps we could make a stew for dinner?" Kazue murmurs to herself as she flits from stall to stall. Madara smiles for a moment before a glint of metal catches the corner of his eye. In less than a fraction of a millisecond, Madara realises what was about to happen.

Kazue notices the shop keeper fall down before she turns around to see Madara on the ground behind her, her eyes widen in shock when she realises he'd subdued a man with a kunai clutched in his hands. The string that had been tied around her long hair had been sliced, letting her hair tumble to the ground. A sliver of the black string lay tangled in the man's kunai. Kazue instinctively pulls a whimpering Yua closer. The man under Madara shows some signs of retaliation but Madara keeps him firmly pinned. Before he can open his mouth to interrogate the man, the veins on his face and forehead begin to vasodilate, causing streaks of purple to surface on his skin. Madara relaxes as the man dies from the poison. It must have been in the rogue-nin's mouth…

Before Kazue can make any sense of the situation, two men from the crowd approach Madara with their swords unsheathed. Madara is aware of course however he tenses as he realises that the shinobi were not up in arms due to the stranger but him. He frowns in disappointment and feels a sense of betrayal well in him, doing nothing to defend from the shinobi who are now poised to attack him.

"Get away from him, he's protecting us!" Kazue screams at the other shinobi who ignore her, holding Yua close against herself, Kazue lets her chakra strike out and fling the men away from Madara. The crowd immediately disperses and retreats several feet back.

Madara stands up from the now motionless man under him, he reaches out a hand to help the fallen store vendor up but receives a scream of terror as she scuttles up and runs off somewhere in the crowd. Kazue's heart stings as the look of resignation flashes across her husbands eyes. Around them, the voices of the villagers seem to ring out through the space, although barely above a whisper.

"He did that so easily, like killing that man was nothing for him."

"That's what he's done most of his life though, he's a natural killer. Best steer clear lest he become a loose cannon in our village."

"Did he have to kill him?"

"He could have shown some mercy…"

"That's the Uchiha for you. Kill first, questions later."

"To think he'd do that right in front of his wife and daughter."

"The poor things, imagine how he must treat them behind closed doors."

"Letting the Uchiha into Konohagakure was a mistake."

Kazue catches wind of the conversation as she sees Madara's expression drop from pleasant to pessimistic. He turns quickly, glancing at Kazue with a look of defeat before he leaves the crowd in an inhuman leap, sending gasps through the crowd. Unease twists through Kazue alongside rage at the insensitivity of the ignorant people around her. She moves to the centre of the crowd and inhales a deep breath before belting.

"How dare you speak like this to someone who just saved a life!" The villagers snap their heads to look at Kazue before murmurs run through the crowd realising her identity. "That assassin killed himself, Madara-sama showed no cruelty and yet you frame him standing twenty feet away from the event. You stood there and spouted absolute nonsense with no evidence behind your statements and insulted Madara-sama. You insulted him, you insulted me and you insulted Hashirama-sama. He has done more for this village than you could ever comprehend. Try to think of how prejudiced you are towards the Uchiha. I love my husband, he's an invincible shinobi and a loving father and clan leader. Let me make this clear, if you insult him, you will have insulted not only the Uchiha, but the Senju and Uzumaki as well." Kazue huffs before relaxing her shoulders, realising that the crowd was shocked into silence, those who spoke out against Madara even more so guilty. She feels a strong hand on her shoulder and recognises Hashirama's warm presence behind her, gasps and bows of respect ripple through the crowd. Hashirama gives her a small smile and gestures as if to say he'd take it from here. Kazue flips her long red locks behind a shoulder and lets Hashirama take Yua, before walking back to the Senju compound. The crowd behind her staring at the earth in shame.

"I'm truly disappointed in us as a village today. Moreso, I'm disappointed that I, as your leader, have failed you." Hashirama speaks evenly but loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "The behaviour we have displayed for someone who helped build the village around you, is truly sad. Without his contributions, you wouldn't have these walls protecting you and your families, you wouldn't have a place to make a livelihood or the support of such strong shinobi. We have even assumed him guilty for a crime he did not commit today. Let me repeat this again as Kazue-sama has to you already. If there is any attempt to vilify or defame Madara-sama again, or any other newcomer without evidence for that matter, you can leave this village and never return." A flash of rage seers through the eyes of the Senju, the uncharacteristic anger radiating from him taking the crowd aback with both apprehension and guilt.

Kazue makes it back to their house and scans it for Madara before catching a glimpse of his obsidian hair in the study. She walks briskly to him. The sack of rice sat slumped against the wall outside the study, looking about as harassed as Madara must be feeling.

"Madara, please." She begins

"I'm not welcome here." He grunts

"That's a lie. You're our protector, we need you here just as much as Hashirama-ni-sama."

"Hardly. The villagers don't trust me, they never will." He shoots back

"They don't understand a thing about you, we need to show them."

"They're all afraid of me."

"I was afraid of you once." She says which makes him pause for a moment before continuing, "but I realised I had no reason or justification to be. You showed me who you were and I realised how much I love you, how much I need you." She places a hand on his tense shoulder

"You're different, Kazue."

"No I'm not."

"You are. And you were arranged to marry me, this may never have-" He begins

"So you think that's the only reason I fell in love with you?" Kazue frowns in utter disgust at the implication of his statement

"You know that's not what I meant." He relents

"No I don't know what you mean." She says, irritated

"The villagers are different, Kazue. That's just that." He squeezes her shoulders and heads to the desk, feeling a headache coming on

"You have to try or you'll never know."

"I saved them today and look at the response I got."

"They understand nothing about you, that's why we need to show them how wrong the rumours they've heard are!"

"Rumours can reflect the truth."

"For someone who can tell the truth from the counterfeit with a single look, you're behaving like a blind man."

"I know what people are like." He settles at his desk, "you can't just convince them I'm not a threat, or that I'm a good man. Fear will always prevail."

"No, Madara. Look, you're afraid and concerned that things won't go well and that's okay but please know that what you're saying isn't true."

"It is the truth." He finds his volume rising

"If you would only just listen to me!" Kazue slams her hand down on his desk in frustration,

"That's enough!" He shouts, tossing the papers in front of him to the floor and rising to his feet.

In a moment, he feels himself lose his composure as chakra begins to focus behind his eyes. When Kazue opens her mouth to retaliate, she sees fluorescent blood red slice through the darkness of the room. Reflexively, she steps back, her small frame shaking with a mixture of shock and disbelief. Madara immediately suppresses his Sharingan and steps around the desk towards her with extreme caution.

"Kazue I didn't mean-, I-I'm so sorry…" He manages before he falls to his knees, a severe, strange stinging pain behind his eyes blurring his vision for a second,

"Please don't leave." His hand reaches out to find Kazue before she's at his side and helping him up. Madara's eyes refocus on his wife,

"You couldn't get rid of me if you tried." Her words are strong, though Madara feels his heart break each time her voice does, "when the people love you, they'll support you no matter what inner turmoil you're going through. Just like I will."

"Kazue…"

"I'm not afraid of you, Madara Uchiha." She manages above suppressed sobs.

"The day I lose you, will be the day there's no hope left for this world." He murmurs as she pulls him into her protective embrace, allowing himself to held in the solace of her arms.

Madara saunters about the study with Yua sleeping soundly in his arms, her plump rosy cheek squished against his shoulder. Balancing her tiny bottom in his palm, he reaches for a scroll to review without disrupting his daughter's peaceful nap. She'd kept him and Kazue up half the night again as usual, finally the little one had exhausted herself enough. Madara settles in his chair, carefully lifting Yua from his shoulder and repositioning her against his chest. Aside from some murmurs of unconscious protest, she stirs for a moment before calming and splaying herself against his chest like a star fish. Madara sighs in relief and unrolls the scroll. His thoughts drift to Izuna, although he knew his brother could handle himself, it worried him that he'd decided to leave so abruptly after Haruo's death. Izuna hadn't spoken to Kazue prior to leaving nor had he met Yua. He wasn't offended, neither was Kazue. They all understood how much Haruo meant to him. Madara recalls his mental state from the day before. At least he'd had Kazue to snap him out of it somewhat. Who did Izuna have? Yua seems to nuzzle uncomfortably against his chest, as if she sensed his unease. His frown softens as he looks upon the fluffy hair on her tiny head. He kisses her little forehead as he pulls her up to the crook of his neck. Suddenly, Madara feels Hashirama's chakra signature appear at the door before it clicks open cautiously. Hashirama appears with an expression that didn't fit with his usual chirpy demeanour. Madara feels himself tense up, something was wrong.

"Hashirama, is something wrong?" Madara says quietly

"I need you to come with me. There's been a… an event." Hashirama appears to correct himself as his eyes fall on Yua resting peacefully on her father's shoulder. Before Madara can clarify, Yua's eyes flutter open. The two shinobi glance at each other in dread before she starts wailing. Madara stands up immediately, trying to rock her back into her slumber to no avail. Hashirama moves to them in an instant and offers the take Yua.

"You'd think you were a father to several children." Madara raises a flustered brow as Hashirama manages to calm her back into silence

"I hope I am someday." Hashirama gives a small smile but Madara can tell that he was on edge.

"Something is wrong." Madara narrows his gaze at Hashirama, who seemed to be avoiding the discussion. Eventually he relents and stops rocking Yua, his tone becomes sombre and his expression serious.

"The rogue-nin are dead."

Kazue takes note of the strange look in her husband's eyes as he appears from the study with Yua. Before she can open her mouth to ask, Hashirama follows soon after through the door. Kazue sets down her scrolls and parchments to take Yua from her husband's arms.

"Hashirama and I have business to attend to. We won't be long." Madara musters a smile and caresses Yua's cheek before he kisses Kazue,

"Is there a reason that you're both keeping so many details from your wives?" Kazue raises a brow, the two shinobi shoot each other a harassed look

"Kazu-chan, it's not that. It just isn't the time to discuss such things, we will explain in due time." Hashirama raises his hands apologetically

"Avoiding communication is what's going to harm us, ni-sama, we need to know the truth if you want us to lead with you." Kazue's tone becomes assertive, perhaps she needed to remind them that she and Mito were still leaders of their own village. Hashirama relents and nods,

"Izuna-san had reported concerning intel from the borders." Hashirama admits

"What's happened?" She frowns

"A large number of rogue-nin have been found dead in the farming district this morning."

"Dead? How?" her frown deepens

"We're unsure at this time."

"Is it safe to go out there? What if it's a trap?" she instinctively holds Yua closer to her

"We're not sure, it may well be a trap. This is why I want Madara to join me and my men."

"I understand. We'll wait until sunset for your return, if you're not back by then, some of us will come to you."

"Thank you, Kazu-chan. We'll be back soon." Hashirama grins at her and walks over to pat Yua's head before heading off.

"Please be careful." Kazue looks back at Madara who seems uncomfortable

"Of course, I'll be back for dinner." He winks at her and kisses Yua before following behind Hashirama.

A pang of unease alarms Kazue, although she tries to quell it. Perhaps she'd spend the evening at Mito's study, as much as her younger self would have wanted to help them, she had promised Yua her full protection. She couldn't be selfish right now. Her body and chakra still hadn't fully recovered to the point where she felt ready for battle either. She'd also be lying if she said she wasn't afraid of the creature… Haruo's death still resonates through her nightmares most nights, his haunted eyes and the creature's chilling smile. Kazue shakes herself out of it as Yua stirs in her arms, ready for a feed. All she could do now was let Madara and Hashirama do their job and await their return.

Following Hashirama's unwavering gaze, Madara's eyes fall on a deeply disturbing sight, one he had only seen in their childhood. Motionless bodies lay strewn across the few acres of fields before them. But something seemed deeply unsettling. Limbs were twisted in unnatural angles, human blood staining the green and tan earth underneath. Upon closer inspection, Madara could only identify a single would on each body. A single transverse slice from a serrated blade lay on the abdomen or back of each ninja, Madara finds himself perplexed and disgusted at the same time.

"They were killed to gain our attention." Hashirama confirms by examining Madara's expression

"But to kill hundreds of your comrades… Why place yourself at such a disadvantage?" Madara shakes his head and suppresses his Sharingan

"This enemy is either stupid or dangerously formidable. We must assume the latter." Hashirama frowns, upset and confused at the grotesque display of disregard for human life. An attendant appears at Hashirama's side and hands him a parchment,

"This was found on a solder, Hashirama-sama." The young man bows and retreats. Hashirama flips it open.

Judging by the widening of Hashirama's eyes, Madara reaches for the message swiftly. Hashirama's hands cling to it for a moment before conceding it to Madara. Madara finds both shock and anger riddle through him as he makes out the messy characters:

He will kill you all. It cannot be defeated.

"But it said 'he' in the first statement and 'it' in the second… If he's wiped out his army then what else does he have?" Kazue massages her temples as Madara and Hashirama settle in the study.

"A technique perhaps…" Mito frowns

"What could he gain from killing all those rogue-nin? Could they have revolted?"

"What if the rogue-nin were only a distraction?" Madara sets down his cup of tea

"That makes some sense... Perhaps they have a jutsu..." Hashirama agrees

"If they're all dead, then who came to the village to attack Yua and I today?" Kazue asks

"That's a fair point. What could they have to gain from that? The other times they've made attempts to attack they haven't wanted you dead." Hashirama exhales

"What if there was a dispute of some kind and the rogue-nin began to act out on their own?"

"So perhaps the creature has wanted Kazue alive…"

"And the rogue-nin tried to take that away from him." Mito's small mouth forms an 'o' in realisation.

Kazue sits down with a frown as they continue talking. Something wasn't right about this and something was making her incredibly uneasy about the wording of the second statement. It was as if she'd heard it before. The creature that had plagued their lives since Kazue and Madara's marriage had always come after her, why did he need her? It wasn't as if she was the last Uzumaki and Mito was more powerful than she was. So why does it want me? What do I possess that he could need? Regardless, Kazue knew she had to keep Yua and Madara close, to keep them safe from this maniac wreaking havoc on their lives.

It cannot be defeated. God, what can't be defeated?! What the hell did that mean?!

The meeting adjourns and leaves them with more questions than answers as they retire for the night. Kazue stirs in bed for several hours, beckoning sleep to come with no avail. Eventually the fatigue hits her, sending a wave of exhaustion through her. Her heavy eyelids close on the room around her before opening again into her worst nightmare.

A/N: Oh wow, I actually posted two chapters consistently hahaha it's an achievement for now. How are you guys finding the story thus far? Please let me know as I haven't had the chance to hear your thoughts in a while! Hoping I can keep this motivation going and put up another chapter next week! xx