Chapter 16: Trap
"You're rather quiet after sex, aren't you?" Madara strokes Kazue's hair to snap her out of her trance as the sunrise greets them through the window.
"What does that mean?" She pulls away from her husband, her cheeks turning crimson
"It's not a bad thing." He grabs her hand and pulls her onto him so that her chest lies across his, "It's endearing. Makes me wonder if you're happy or scared." He chuckles
"And you're not bored of me?" She peeks through her scarlet waves
"Bored of you? What the hell would make you think that?" anger flashes across her lover's eyes as he jolts in bed
"I-I just imagined you'd have experienced this with many women before me… so I mean, after the first few times I would have thought-"
"Don't ever think I could get bored of this. We've only just started." Madara brushes Kazue's hair aside to reveal her chest, she tries to clutch the covers around her but he holds her wrists aside and pins her back down onto the bed swiftly. "Don't test me…I could take you day and night and even then, all the water in you wouldn't be enough to calm the fire in me." He growls
"Madara…" her eyes stare back into her husbands, there was a fearless hunger in his eyes that she wasn't sure she could protest against. His eyes soften.
"I will stop if it's too soon and you need time to recover still... But, I want to have you now." Madara's words seem to rumble in his throat as she feels his arousal. Though her body feels strained in ways she had never experienced before, it wasn't unpleasant, in fact the warmth of his touch feels doubly alluring. Kazue doesn't look into the Uchiha's eyes before closing hers and letting her legs nudge her lover closer.
"The patrols in Nagaya have not produced any new leads on the rogue-nin, Izuna-sama. Perhaps we need to send teams of ninja to seek them out directly. We should discuss Madara-sama leading them."
"I don't want you sending my brother off on missions now that he's settling into his marriage. I'm happy to take his place until he's ready." Izuna sighs while the advisors shuffle in their seats
"This is for the safety of the Uchiha clan, surely Madara-sama will see that."
"First, you were pushing him for an heir, and now you want him trekking after criminals. I can understand why ni-san gets a little temperamental with you all." Izuna mumbles to himself, ensuring the others are out of earshot.
"When I feel it's time, I'll discuss this with him, you are not to do so." Izuna stands and nods before the meeting dismisses.
"Are they sending you somewhere, Izuna-ni-san?" Haruo pops his head out from behind the corner. Izuna can't help but chuckle at the boy's successful attempt at eavesdropping on him.
"Maybe. I won't be long though." He winks at the pouting boy
"They always make you go away. Can't I come?"
"Haru-chan." Izuna lifts him onto his shoulders in a swift movement and walks through the courtyard, "It's no big deal for me, I'll be just fine on my own. Besides, you know Madara-ni-san will come to fetch me if I get stuck, that's the burden of being an older sibling." He laughs
"When will you be able to stay here for good?" Haruo groans
"When there's only good people out there, when our clan is safe." He gives a weary smile, Haruo takes the cue to purse his lips and question no further.
The shade of a smile hints at Madara's lips as he looks upon Kazue in his bed. Her crimson hair falls in tresses across the white sheets, crumples of material cover her curvy but petite figure. Her brows are relaxed and her expression at ease, dissimilar from the nights her nightmares used to tire her more than rejuvenate her. He was definitely grateful that they had waited… though it hurt her, he feels relieved it didn't hurt her more than necessary. Something he never would have been able to control earlier. It may as well have been his first time too, he'd never felt so connected to a woman before. He slips on his under armour and then his shirt and slacks. They'd slept in rather late. He can't remember if he'd missed a meeting or not, he'd have to ask Izuna later. He'd rather ask his brother than have the advisors hound him again about children. Although he finds himself wondering what the children he would father by Kazue would look like, they'd be beautiful no doubt. He chuckles, stepping out onto the sun filled veranda, closing the door gently on his sleeping wife behind him. Shrugging on his armour, he heads for the training grounds.
Another fist collides with the tattered bark of the oak before her. The drip of thick liquid onto the foliage covering the earth catches Aida's attention. The wounds on her knuckles have opened again. Not that she's surprised, she should have taped her hands. Aida sighs in fatigue and annoyance before straightening up and wrapping a bandage around her hands. That would be enough training for today, even if her mind wasn't finished with its frustration. She folds her scarf tightly around her neck, the evening had cooled down rapidly. Her body yells out in protest at the strenuous training Aida had inflicted on it the last few weeks. It wasn't as if she wanted to injure herself, her mind refused to concentrate enough to avoid collateral damage from sparring sessions with the male ninja in particular. She'd done her best to avoid a certain silver-haired Senju at all costs, although when a familiar rush of chakra fills her senses she doesn't run away.
"You don't train in the evenings anymore." Tobirama skips tree to tree, settling on the one closest to her.
"I've taken the night guard duty." Aida avoids eye contact
"Why?" he slips off the branch and onto his feet before her, his brow furrowed in confusion
"I don't have anything better to do." She shuffles backward, trying to search for an excuse to leave.
"Aida…" his hand reaches out to touch hers instinctively
"If you'll excuse me, Tobirama-sama, I have to leave now." She bows
"Don't call me that, Ai." Irritation sparks at him for some reason when she uses the honorific. It felt as if they were strangers. "You've hurt yourself, Ai… show me." His red brown eyes are locked on her hand, covered in a bloody bandage.
"Goodnight." Aida repeats gingerly, leaving the Senju behind her. The sound of her nickname on his lips had taken her off guard. Aida bites her lip to repress the desire in her heart to hear it again.
Tobirama finds his eyes follow the brush of her brown hair against her bare neck as she walks away from him. How he wanted to run his hands through it again. He could tell Aida was hiding several other injuries. Although she was always incredibly efficient in her abilities, she had the tendency of sustaining more damage when her mind was otherwise occupied. He could tell part of that was his fault. Training right before a night patrol… how masochistic. He sighs in frustration. Though he asked, it wasn't that he didn't know she had taken night guard duty, he'd made sure to watch over her most nights to ensure nothing happened to her. It could compromise their defence. When he returns to the Senju estate, Hashirama is concluding a meeting. The advisors file out of the study as Tobirama sits at his desk and addresses a stack of paper.
"I don't believe I need to confirm the reason you're so riled up?" Hashirama raises a brow.
"I thought something temporary like this would end on its own, but I can't leave things with Aida as they are now. Our relationship has to be professional rather than the uncomfortable state it's in." Tobirama sifts through his paperwork in frustration, the white pages crumpling and shuffling in defeat at his hands. Hashirama sighs before his expression hardens.
"You keep thinking Kazue's memory is the only reason you care for Aida-chan, but you're deluding yourself. There's a person right in front of you, the one you love and the one that loves you… yet you're trying to tell yourself you don't love her. That's the only real problem I see, little brother." He states firmly
"I don't love her." Tobirama scoffs
"Is that so? Then explain why I've only heard her name on your lips the last half month? If Kazue was the only reason, then why can't you bear to replace Aida with someone else?!" Hashirama had only raised his voice several times in the last decade, this happened to be one of those times. Tobirama sits slightly shocked. The older Senju sighs and shakes his head before leaving Tobirama at his desk.
Was everyone going to yell at him and then leave him speechless and shocked?
"How was the meeting?" Mito rolls up a scroll on her desk
"Frustrating, I don't feel we're gaining any ground on the rogues." Hashirama huffs in irritation
"Don't blame yourself for that. We must keep trying. I also overheard your gripe at Tobirama-kun."
"Do you think I was too harsh?" Hashirama's stoic demeanour drops as soon as he sees Mito look back at him,
"Not at all." Mito laughs and smooths the frown on her husband's forehead. "Tobirama has a chance at love and we're not going to let him lose it. Kazue found Madara, I found you and now it's his turn."
"I wonder what it would have been like without you by my side." Hashirama smiles, his strong hands pulling Mito's hips toward his,
"You definitely have a better sense of humour since we met." She winks, her fingers running through the Senju's waist length brown hair.
"I agree." His lips meet hers once, "I'm sure my brother will start to realise things on his own from now, we've done enough." Their lips meet again as he closes the door behind them.
"Ni-san?" Izuna's stern tone catches Madara's attention as he returns from training.
"Is something wrong? You're all leaving." Madara's brows furrow in concern when he sees several ninja accompanying his brother clad in armour
"There's been another incident, one of our teams has been ambushed west of the Nagaya district."
"Ambushed?!" Madara exclaims
"It's nothing you need to attend to personally. We're going there now to control the situation, no one has been harmed." Izuna seems to be in a hurry to leave, Madara catches him by the shoulders and sighs
"I'm going with you. It's my duty as head of this clan to attend, you should have informed me earlier."
"We can manage this, there's no need to involve you-"
"It's my business to be involved. I don't want you taking everything upon yourself because you think it'll inconvenience me. Open the gates, I'll be there by then."
Madara flits away in inhuman speed, leaving Izuna flustered. The last thing he wanted to do was plunge his brother into more concern, for the first time he seemed to be enjoying life… he didn't want to be the one to take that away. True to his word, Madara arrives ready as the gate creaks open and informs the guards to bolt all entrances until they return.
The rubble around them could barely have passed as a township. As far as they knew no one had inhabited it for many years, though they sent frequent patrols across the area to control any suspicious activity. There could be no doubt the rogue-nin were responsible for the further damage. However, it made little sense for them to continue regular small-scale attacks when they had attempted to capture Kazue Uzumaki Uchiha. Madara senses the mix of chakra strewn through the dust in the air, even Hashirama couldn't make sense of their behaviour. Izuna huffs in frustration at the lack of activity. They manage to cross the concrete and follow the chakra to reach a small river in the surrounding forest. The hum of a waterfall draws them to a clearing, a tattered Uchiha banner is draped across a nearby boulder, a clean black line drawn across it.
"What is this?! Where could they be? I can't recognise any chakra." Izuna shakes his head
"Our men aren't here." Madara murmurs, barely audibly. The others look to their leader in slow realisation. "This is most likely a trap. Prepare yourselves." Madara straightens up and leads them through the curtains of the waterfall.
When they enter, several slivers of light filter through the cave onto a raised set of boulders. The light illuminates a man perched on the rocks. Madara motions the others to surround but not attack. The man's facial features are ordinary and childish, he doesn't have a clear resemblance to any particular clan. Though the man stands alone in the centre of the cave, an uncomfortably stifling presence makes Madara uneasy. This man wasn't alone… his chakra is weak but another separate darker entity resides nearby. The others appear to have mistaken it for the visible man's. Madara straightens up as the man turns and looks him directly in the eye, he notices him flinch slightly at the sight of his Sharingan specifically.
"You used to be a powerful leader. Since your marriage, you appear to have given up any aspirations, the more time you spend courting your wife, the less you care for your own people. You've become weaker than you were and you know that." The man speaks with a measured tone.
"You seem to be awfully interested in me." Madara scans the terrain, his Sharingan glimpsing each area thoroughly
"We had thought both you and Hashirama were to blame for this suffering. But the Senju have wronged the Uchiha and many other clans in the name of 'peace'. After the wars, we were forced to live in small townships with enemy clans and the infighting cost many innocent lives. Not that the Senju came to our aid."
"So you're telling me the infighting amongst you will come to an end if you team up against the Senju? Peace is mutual, if both sides don't uphold it, neither benefits. You're not fixing the cause of the problem." Madara's eyes narrow
"We are forming an alliance to defeat Hashirama." He raises his voice, uncertain but adamant. Madara can't help but chuckle.
"Seventy of you couldn't capture my wife, who fought in a kimono with no weapons during a thunderstorm. Hashirama can cut down any armada you compile without using half his strength. I can do the same." Madara raises an amused brow at the ninja before him, fear seems to radiate from him in waves. He steps forward to take in the chakra signatures around them, there had to be at least twenty although they'd attempted to mask themselves. "Listen, boy. I won't have you terrorising villages and threatening innocent people. Cooperate and you might live yet."
In a moment, a flash of silver streaks through the damp air, almost slicing the tension around them. Madara rolls his eyes in irritation as warm liquid rolls down his arm. Though the other Uchiha are shocked, Izuna sighs in disappointment.
"What are you?!" The ninja's eyes widen in horror, despite the fact that his knife had definitely buried itself in Madara's shoulder, the Uchiha stands unaffected and distracted as if he feels no pain. Madara scans the cave, annoyance niggles at him when he thinks about the toothpick-like blade stuck in his shoulder. He could have avoided it, although where he stood gave him the clearest view of the terrain and he hadn't felt like moving. He looks down at the shocked man before him. It's clear that this ninja isn't the leader, he's merely an expendable decoy set by the real one.
"Where's your leader, runt?" Madara snarls, the now shaking ninja's eyes flit anxiously from one end of the cave to the other as if seeking. Madara notices his gaze move to one particular exit twice. The man barely has a moment to react before Madara's sword pierces his chest with surgical precision. He falls to the ground, witnessing the flash of red in Madara's eyes, before the light leaves his own
"There!" Madara points to the corner of the cave a moment before an explosion sounds through it. Rubble piles across the exit as the others in the group try to trail the escapees. Izuna walks to his brother to observe. The man in front of them can't have been older than twenty-five. Izuna finds his brother's eyes staring almost remorsefully at the scene.
"You're not going to try and go after them?" Izuna queries,
"There's no point. The real leaders aren't amongst them. I imagine them to be weak and cowardly after having sent nothing but inexperienced children to face me." Madara sighs, the thought of that sinister presence replays in his mind, he shakes it away and keeps his face blank.
"You don't seem angry."
"Should I be?" he quirks his brows at his younger brother
"No, I didn't mean it like that. It's just that he said quite a few things that I thought offended you."
"Yes, they did. When you're a leader, everyone tends to criticise you for everything. Maybe I've finally learned not to let my anger show." He shrugs, "Aside from that, we need to alert Hashirama about this. This is a warning of things to come, I doubt they'd give up now."
"I'll send word." Izuna replies, surprised that his brother hadn't flown into a rage at the man's derogatory remarks.
"Izuna… Don't tell Kazue about this." Madara stares at his brother with an almost pleading expression, "I don't want her worrying about this until we get a clear picture of what's happening. I'm going to tell her we're gathering intel… I don't want any mention of conflict to her."
"Kazue-ne-san isn't a fool, and now she can read you almost as well as I can. I won't say anything to her but it's only a matter of time before she figures it out. Also, you might want to cover the stab wound and get to the healers before she sees you, you aren't really making it easy for me to cover for you." He sighs in disdain. Madara himself looks weary.
"What's this?!" Kazue nearly leaps from the bed. Madara had had his arms wrapped around her waist with his head resting on her lap when Kazue's fingers had run across a roughness over his muscled shoulder. Madara groans in lethargy.
"Nothing, just a scratch from sparring with my dear brother." Madara slumps back onto her lap after smoothing the frown on her forehead
"It seems I need to have a chat to Izuna-san about-" Kazue huffs, though Madara doesn't let her finish. His lips find hers and hush her anxiety.
"This is nothing." He murmurs, rubbing the pad of his thumb on her hip bone.
"I'm still not fine with you two going so hard at training." Her fingertips caress his sharp jawline cautiously
"I wouldn't want anyone to go easy on me, especially my younger brother. Aside from that, this is a minor injury compared to those I've had across my life."
"That is true… but I don't want you to be careless."
"Hai hai, Uchiha-sama." He nuzzles her tummy, eliciting a giggle. Laughter turns to kisses as the sun dips below green hills. The scent of her filling his senses and silencing the worries on his mind.
A/N: SORRY! I'm currently in exams and I had placement T^T but I'm trying to squeeze in a couple of chapters. Bear with me please :( I'm sorry I've been so slack the last two months (2 MONTHS omg that's ridiculous...). I've missed writing this fanfic! Thank you for the support xx