Chapter 17: Suspicion

Dear sister,

I write to you discussing the matter of the criminals responsible for the attack of Uzushiogakure. I understand it has come time for you to visit home to oversee council matters for a week. Father's death plays heavy on my mind even now. I have realised that we know our home more than anyone else. I have a great unease in my heart about the motives of these ninja. I intend to confirm my suspicions, although Konoha's council refuses to do anything but observe for now. If they were able to compromise Father, even past his prime, they possess jutsu of terrible power and we must prepare and protect should they strike again.

Hashirama and Madara-san are unaware of the request I am about to ask of you and I plead you maintain this.

I ask that you gain intel regarding the rogue-ninja during your time there. I bear you no ill-will should you choose to refuse and I don't want you to put yourself in any danger whatsoever should you accept.

All my love,
Mito-nee-san

Kazue folds the letter over several times in her fingers. She had already decided to accept Mito's request, the only conflict she experiences is the prohibition of making Madara aware of the situation. He had enough concerns to grapple with at present, especially organising to accompany Kazue to Uzushiogakure and leave Izuna in charge. He was worried enough and she wanted anything but to aggravate that. Perhaps it would be best not to tell him. Kazue incinerates the letter in her hands when she lets her chakra spill. It was decided then. She would gather intel during her trip to Uzushio.

"Are you sure you want to come to Uzushio? I would be perfectly fine going on my own." Kazue swivels around on her chair to face Madara, who lies with effortless balance across the railing of the balcony outside their room. His eyes wander from his book to her before he smiles,

"I'm starting to get the feeling you don't want me there." He winks at her, beaming an amused smile

"N-no, I mean… It would be safer for the people here if you stayed with them. And Izuna-san wouldn't be alone." She mutters

"Izuna is well equipped to watch over them. Aside from that, do you really think I would let you travel alone after the number of times you've been assaulted?" he swings his legs down and walks into the room with a raised brow

"I've become stronger, there are guards in Uzushio and-"

"Half of it is your safety, half of it is my being selfish." He chuckles before leaning against the desk beside her

"I don't understand?" she pauses, staring into his dark eyes

"What if I just don't want to be apart from you?" his words take her off guard, though she finds herself smiling back at him without a reply. His lips brush her forehead before he steps out to attend his weekly meeting with the council. She couldn't say no to him when he was like this.

"You can't be serious." Madara closes his eyes in exasperation.

"Forgive us, Madara-sama. But your presence will be required at Hiezu." The councillor bows

"No executive decisions have to be made, I don't see why they need me there personally."

"Hashirama-sama will be attending, there will be the opportunity to exchange information regarding the rogue-ninja. We believe it is for the best of our clan, politically and socially, that you attend."

"Then Izuna will accompany Kazue to Uzushiogakure." Madara huffs in anger

"Pardon us, Madara-sama, but Izuna-sama must remain to overseen the Uchiha estate in your absence."

"Then who will accompany my wife?! Has it crossed no one's mind that several attempts were made to kidnap her?!" he slams his palm on the table

"We will send our best jonin with her, Madara-sama." They nod eagerly

Izuna's cautioning hand on Madara's shoulder, reminds him to remain composed. Exhaling in irritation, Madara dismisses the meeting.

"It seems leaders are powerless after all!" Madara massages his temples, trying to quell the anger in him

"I think Kazue-ne-san will be fine, the jonin we send will protect her. Mind you she's probably stronger than them now…" Izuna bites his lip, he wasn't helping. "It's only a week, she'll be back here before you are."

"You can't blame me for being too paranoid, Izuna. Before there was peace, each of us had to sleep with an eye open, and even then only the two of us were left alive."

"Ni-san, she is strong and she will be on her home ground. If nothing else the Uzumaki can seal away anything in the world, any enemy."

"I want the jonin to update you and I every two days. Anything less and I'll go there myself, to hell with this meeting." Madara stands and pokes Izuna's forehead playfully before leaving.

Kazue does feel slightly disappointed when Madara explains that he can't accompany her to Uzushiogakure. Although, perhaps this was for the best, she could carry out her mission without him worrying or becoming suspicious. It didn't change that she hated keeping such a secret from him.

The journey to Uzushio seems longer than before to Kazue. The five jonin accompanying her were always on high alert, not that it concerned her, she could definitely sneak past each of them with relative ease. When she arrives, the townspeople greet her with warmth and love. The aura of the village had remained almost the same, only a fraction duller than when her father was its leader. Many of the toddlers she had met so many months ago, were now running through the pebbled paths on less shaky feet and grins on their now fully toothed smiles. A sense of relief washes through her momentarily silencing the anxiety.

The council's schedule of meetings fell mostly on afternoons which worked perfectly for Kazue. They would adjourn around the evening, where she could inform everyone she was retiring for the night. Her real missions would begin after that.

In the last few days, Kazue had searched the archives, asked the townspeople and patrolled the village. Though the search held no productive findings. The jonin guards still hadn't suspected her activities, she had been meticulous. Though there was one area she hadn't ventured at night yet. The village borders. As bad an idea as it seemed, Kazue had a gut feeling it was the place to find answers.

An hour of walking the village border produces no results. Kazue decides to venture deeper into the forest, she had to check everywhere before she left tomorrow. Leaping from tree to tree, Kazue settles at a clearing. There were signs of a fire and some kind of a spit roast, she would start here.

"Did you come to seek us out, Uzumaki?" a voice calls from behind her. Kazue swivels around to see a tall man, his face covered with a mask. His stance is no doubt one of a ninja's.

"You're going to give me some answers." She replies

"You won't like the truth."

"I'll deal with it."

They stand in silence until Kazue notices the man trembling. His shadow behind him appears to shake violently before it expands. Almost as soon as it does so, the ninja drops to the ground as if he were a bag of rocks made to stand up. She squints in the moonlight to see the ninja. To her horror, the man lies awkwardly sprawled across the ground, only then can she make out that there is only half a man there. His right arm and leg appear to have been ripped away, only the other two limbs remained attached to his torso. When could this have happened? He had been whole a moment ago.

Kazue notices something that makes her skin crawl, the ninja's shadow had remained still throughout this. The shape of a standing man falls across the ground in the light. It begins to move though the ninja lies crumpled on the earth. The dark shape separates from its owner, moving like a thick blackened tar across the forest floor. The darkness rises. Jet black liquid layering upward against gravity to create a humanoid shape a few feet from her.

"We meet again." The figure has a deep voice, one with a rumbling intensity that chills her blood. Yellow eyes above a jagged white smile meet hers before she puts the pieces together and a painfully familiar and hateful chakra washes around her.

"You." Her voice is barely above a whisper. "You're the bastard that took Haruo. What is it that you want?"

"I want the world to be as it should be, Uzumaki-Uchiha-sama." It replies

"What could that possibly be? And at the cost of starting war?!" she spits

"Wars are a price that must be paid to achieve the true destiny of this earth."

"What the hell-" she begins but is cut off by a debilitating gravity on her body.

A roar of unimaginable volume rips through Kazue's ears, filling her head with static. Clutching her head, she drops to her knees. Another chakra signature dominates all her senses, her eyes blind to anything other than orange red fire. Bile rises in her throat until she turns to heave vomit onto the ground. After what feels like hours, the presence disappears and her head throbs with excruciating pain.

"Do you see now?" the figure snarls

"What have you done?!" she pants, sweat beading on her forehead

"You are a piece for the future, you will come to realise it."

Before she can recover, she senses a pull in the energy around her. Looking ahead through weary eyes she sees particles of black and red flowing in the air, culminating into a sphere of black metres in front of her. It takes her a second to get to her feet and realise what it is. Fresh adrenaline shocks her to her feet as she starts to sprint away from the sphere. She had to put as much distance between her and that blast as she could or she would die here.

Hesitation flushes through her in a moment as the village gates come into view, she realises where the blast is directed. It takes a split second for her to decide her actions. Her fingers weave the hand signs for a jutsu she has never had to use until now. Please let me be fast enough to stop this, please Kami. Please let me finish in time. The chakra flows through her hands a moment before the blast comes into view. Inhaling sharply, she summons it.

"Triple Rashōmon!"

Three colossal gates emerge from the earth, breaking through the forest around them. Chakra is shunted out of Kazue like a blunt blow to the stomach, though she remains standing as the summoning completes. How could Father have summoned such a thing with his dying breath?! The village is a kilometre away, is that enough?! The gates tower hundreds of metres into the night sky, the sound of impact only moments away. Weaving ten other hand signs with the time and chakra she has left, Kazue summons a barrier across the gates of Uzushiogakure. Now no one would hear or see the blast, and any indirect attack would deflect… that is… if her summoning is strong enough.

The blast contacts the gates in an ear-splitting explosion. The first gate shatters to pieces on contact, though the second holds itself despite crumbling with the effort. Kazue can sense the energy of the blast dissipating, Kami, please let the last two gates hold! The second gate breaks into pieces, the remnants of the blast slam into the third gate with significantly reduced force. Kazue looks on in exhaustion as the bright fire of the blast dulls into nothing and the third gate retracts into the ground again. Barely a breath escapes her before her body jerks to the right, subconsciously she avoids the jutsu aimed at her from the darkness. Another ball of red fire shoots toward her, she manages to dodge it until it expands. An agonised scream escapes her as the fire makes contact with her side.

"Very impressive, Uzumaki-Uchiha-sama. Though you only faced a third of the power your Father did the night he died." The voice sings out to her with malice before dissipating in to the air as if it had never existed. Kazue barely manages to stand. She had to return before the sun rose.

What was that chakra?! So much hatred… How could a chakra of such magnitude exist?!

Unless…

Kazue's frown smooths into expressionlessness.

Mito had to be notified. The entirety of Konoha had to be notified.

"Kazue?"

"The meetings finished a day early so I thought-"

A deep but light-hearted voice seems to sing to her from somewhere. She had returned before sunrise last night and had called off the day's meetings. With the chakra she had left, she had managed to heal most all superficial wounds. She looked normal, though her mind was anything but that. Shrugging away the unconscious humming of her dream, Kazue's tired eyes blink open to refocus on the room around her and meet a smiling face. Her eyes widen in shock.

"Madara?"

"Why didn't you return home?" Kazue sits up, her body still protesting from the night before though she pushes down the pain.

"Hiezu is closer to Uzushio than Konoha, so I thought I would spend your last day here with you before we return." Madara smiles warmly, Kazue can see his eyes are weary like hers, as if he'd barely slept, "At least I can take you home."

"You look exhausted." She frowns in concern

"You're one to talk, enough now, lie back and sleep." He hushes her and wraps and arm around her, pulling her frame against his chest. Though she was right, he had travelled the whole night to make it to Uzushio on time.

When Kazue wakes, her hands search the sheets for Madara to no avail. Mito would have to know of everything she had experienced. This information could change the outcome of not only the rogue-ninja, but Konoha and the world. Exhaling as if to expel her anxiety, she saunters to the library, one place she knew he'd be. The only one she wanted to be close to now. Sure enough, her husband sits at a study desk surrounded by stacks of papers and texts. He mouths a cheeky kiss to her as she walks in before his focus returns to his paper. He looks beautiful, his strong form and light aura.

"I don't like sleeping on my own." She quirks a brow at his nonchalance before crossing her arms

"I'll come to bed soon, Kazu. Settle in, I'll be there once I finish reading this." Madara smiles over his shoulder

"You're overdoing it, you know?" Kazue slips herself into his lap in a huff, catching his attention immediately.

"You're extremely desirable to me and you know that." Madara sets his book down with a sigh and hitches her legs around his hips before he stands.

"Pretend I don't." Her teeth graze the lobe of his ear as he walks back to their room with her weight supported in just one of his strong arms, he uses the other to shut the door behind them.

"You're forgetting how much I'm holding back." his words are a deep growl in his chest

"Then stop holding back and give me everything." She lets her tongue meet his

"What happened to taking it slow?" he pulls back in amusement

"It's alright if it's you, I know it'll be alright." She stares at the ceiling for a moment, unable to say the words to his onyx eyes. "I just want you to make me forget everything right now." To her surprise, Madara kisses her forehead and ruffles her hair.

"Alright." He smiles a genuine smile. A smile that holds the charisma and eloquence that Hashirama's does, kind and strong, Kazue feels drawn to him. Her hands pull his face to hers, her legs clinging around his hips.

Madara feels the heat radiate from her, enticing and desperate. His hands trace down her back slowly and pull away her slacks, before he can remove her shirt, her hands find his arousal. His breath hitches for a moment as her fingers rub torturously slowly against him, it had been a few days since they last slept together though it felt like longer. He finds himself sit back as Kazue pulls at the hem of his slacks, her dark brown eyes look up at him and her scarlet hair falls across her shoulders as her mouth takes in his hardness. A laboured breath escapes Madara's lips as her head bobs up and down, pushing him closer and closer to his climax. She coughs suddenly, taking a moment to recover. Just as well, he could have a moment to regain his composure too.

"Don't take in more than you can handle, Kazu." He looks down at her with a loving yet amused grin,

"I can handle it." She scoffs, flipping her hair

"Alright then." He laughs scooping her up and setting her onto her back on the bed.

Kazue's body writhes with pleasure as Madara's fingers press into her, his tongue tracing her bottom lip. A moan escapes her lips as he increases the tempo.

"Madara, please." She asks, the hint of a plea in her voice, he obliges.

Positioning himself in front of her, he lets the length of his shaft rub against her, satisfied with the wetness between them. In a swift movement, Madara lowers himself over her, his teeth grazing her neck as he thrusts into her hard. Kazue doesn't hold back the moan that overcomes her as she feels him slide into her. The friction too tantalisingly irresistible to ignore. His hips roll into hers gently at first, before they both become impatient. His hands brush her stomach and grip her waist ready to pull her onto his lap. His grip slips up her ribcage momentarily, sending a shooting pain through her side. Kazue moves her hands to cover the yelp in her throat.

"Ah!" Kazue clamps her mouth with her hands a moment too late, Madara jerks back and lets her go in shock. Water fills her eyes as the throbbing pain dulls.

"Did I hurt you?!" His worried eyes search hers frantically,

"No! No, it wasn't you, love." She shakes her head and wipes away the tears. "I was just caught by surprise, that's all." She musters a weak smile

"Don't lie to me, I can tell when you're surprised and when something is wrong." His black brows furrow

"It's nothing, I'm perfectly fine so-"

"Where are you hurt?" he interrupts

"Madara, I told you-" she barely replies before he pins her swiftly against the bed, "Madara! I'm fine!" she stammers, but his gaze falls on her waist and his fingertips pry away her shirt. His usually composed eyes widen in horror when they befall the huge purple bruises blooming across her ribs.

"H-how did this…" his brows now knit together in sadness and shock, Kazue pulls her shirt down and sits up, her small hands pulling his face to hers

"It doesn't hurt, it's just from training, love." Kazue feels irritation toward herself for upsetting her husband. She should have told him something.

"Kazue, I'll give you one more chance to tell me the truth." His eyes look back at her with a mixture of guilt and sorrow. Taking a deep breath, Kazue decides to tell him the truth.

"I've been gathering intel on the rogue-nin since we arrived here. There was an incident… I only came across one of them in the forest yesterday. They tried to hit the village with some kind of chakra blast… I summoned the Triple Rashōmon." She admits, Madara's eyes widen in horror, "I've never felt anything like it before and I've never seen chakra so… dark. The attack missed hitting me directly but I was caught in the explosion."

"Did Hashirama ask this of you?" Madara stares blankly into the dark night through their windows

"No! Hashirama-ni-sama would never-"

"Then was it Mito?" his piercing eyes meet hers, making her shudder slightly in suspense

"Madara, please understand…" she pleads, running her hands through his hair

"How could they even consider putting you in this kind of danger?!" Madara stands

"Madara, they didn't-"

"Kazue, we're leaving this place now." He shrugs on his shirt and storms through the room.

"We can't leave now, I have to inform the council!" Kazue manages to stand and clothe herself, ignoring the pain in her side.

"Like hell am I letting you remain here! We're going to Konoha." His words are an enraged rumble in his chest.

"No we can't just leave! I'm safe now, it could have been worse!" Kazue realises she shouldn't have said those words when Madara stiffens,

"Worse? You're telling me that wound, that narrowly missed your heart, is a good outcome? You could have died tonight and I wouldn't have even known where! You barely managed to save the village let alone yourself?! No one even knows about it!"

"I could have held them off!"

"For how long, Kazue?! For how long?!"

"I could have-"

"Why are you involving yourself in this bloodbath?!"

"My father was killed by these people! How can you expect me to sit idle while the innocent are dying?!"

"What's the point of putting yourself in unnecessary risk when you could end up dead yourself?! How will you help then?!"

"Why is it alright for you and Izuna-san to investigate when your lives are being targeted too?!" she states, Madara jolts slightly, how long had she known that? "Don't think I can't tell when you both go on missions with top rank jonin."

"Kazue, that's different. I won't let you put yourself in danger and that is final."

"Then what use am I to anyone in this clan?"

"Don't say such things, you're my wife and a leader to these people."

"I know I can be of more use to you all… Why have me sit around doing nothing?!"

"You're not sitting around doing nothing. Kazue, you must understand-"

"Madara, I have fought for my people since I was ten years old. Even father wouldn't let me reach my potential. Children younger than me were sent to fight and die in inter-clan wars… Even Mito was made to train twice as hard as me. I was always told to take it easy. I'm sick of doing nothing while the people I care about are hurt!"

"Kazue I can't lose you, dammit!" Madara grabs her shoulders and jolts her, "You're precious to me and I only have a few people precious to me still alive." He stiffens and releases her, pulling away and avoiding her eyes, "I don't want to fight with you, Kazue. But I will not lose you." He takes slow steps towards the door, leaving her alone in the centre of the room.

Muted sobs at the back of her throat thicken into heavy cries. Tears stream down her cheeks as she settles on the edge of the bed. No matter how hard she trained, she couldn't uphold the promise to Mito about not telling Madara, nor could she stop herself from upsetting him. She had barely saved the village. She knew if Madara saw her injury he would indefinitely blame himself, no matter how it happened. The one thing she had tried so hard to avoid, she had ruined all the same. How could she have know the magnitude of what they were dealing with was this severe?

The sun begins to set as they enter the gates to the Uchiha compound. Izuna and Haruo eagerly wave at them from the courtyard, Kazue smiles back as best she can, she can feel Madara's distress from beside her. Izuna seems to pick up something of this when he sees the expression on his elder brother's face, he quirks a brow at his sister-in-law who frowns in apology. Haruo scurries to Kazue and leaps over to give her a hug, Kazue flinches slightly anticipating pain, before Madara intercepts and scoops Haruo into his arms with a weak smile. Haruo doesn't seem to notice anything and giggles in his older cousin's embrace. Madara looks back at Kazue as if to make sure she hadn't been hurt before he heads into the courtyard. Izuna catches up with Kazue.

"How did you get hurt?" Izuna asks,

"How did you know that?!" Kazue scoffs in surprise

"Well, judging by the way ni-san grabbed Haruo before he jumped on you I figured there could be two situations. Either he thinks Haruo likes you more than him and he's jealous or he was protecting you. I could see the unease on your face and the change in your posture."

"I can't even imagine how formidable you are in battle." Kazue sighs

"So, what happened?"

"We both realised we were gathering intel behind each other's backs."

"I imagined you'd figure that out." He chuckles, "What kind of intel have you been gathering? It isn't easy to land any hit on someone like you." He frowns

"It seems the only intel I can get is that these rogue-nin have immense power. They almost destroyed Uzushiogakure. I was forced to summon the Triple Rashōmon… even then, he said what Father had faced was three-fold worse."

"Kami." Izuna's eyes fill with an unease that unsettles her. Even if he had ever been scared before, he'd certainly never showed it until now.

Madara stays in his office the rest of the evening and doesn't appear for dinner, Kazue decides to face him. A soft grunt issues in answer after she knocks on his door. She walks in cautiously and stands by the shelves of books near him, sifting through the titles as if to plan her next move.

"Madara…" she begins,

"We should take the night to think, to spend some time apart." He says without looking up. Kazue closes her eyes in fatigue and irritation at her own behaviour. Kazue traces the chain of his necklace on her collarbone.

"Madara?" she asks again

"Mm?" Madara sighs in relent and looks up at her with soft eyes

"I… um-" she mumbles, part of her pride and part of her exhaustion unable to say the words.

"Yes?"

"D-don't stay up too late." She blurts out and leaves the office before Madara can reply.

Kazue settles into their bed with a sigh. The wound on her side had taken twice as long to heal compared to other injuries she had had in the past, though she remembers the pain as clearly as if it hadn't healed. Her thoughts return to Madara, what she had wanted to say was 'I'm sorry', two simple words that she couldn't manage to utter to the man who wanted to protect her. In the morning, she would make things right.

"To think you could bring out such humanity in Madara Uchiha."

She jolts up in bed as the window shatters to pieces near the bed. Reaching for her bedside table, she scans the room around her. Was this a nightmare?

In the time it takes her to blink, the creatures sharp white teeth are inches from her face, her mouth opens to scream only to be muffled by a blackened mass.

"Your nightmare is only beginning."

Madara…Madara…Madara, please…please save me.

Tears spill from her eyes as pieces of her mind are covered in patches of black, her consciousness wanes.

Madara rises from his chair. Enough is enough. He decides his pride has no place between him and his wife. He had to talk to her, to hold her. The last thing that should grow now is distance between them. It didn't matter if they were angry, if she didn't want to be near him, nothing mattered more to him now than making things right with her. Stepping out onto the courtyard, immediately Madara senses an unfamiliar signature. His eyes widen with terror before he sprints with inhuman speed to their bedroom.

"Kazue?!" his hand rips the door from its hinge as he rushes to her side, the window beside the bed is broken and the bedroom appears to have withstood some kind of fight. Kazue lays unconscious in the centre of the bed, her small frame almost disappears in the sheets. "Kami! The medics! Get the medics now, dammit!" he shouts until all the lights in the residence illuminate. "Send word to Hashirama! Alert Konoha!" tears fill his eyes as he tries to shake his wife awake to no avail.

Warmth. There is warmth around her.

Kazue's heavy eyelids flutter open to take in bright sunlight around her. She squints and refocuses her mind, she felt as if she'd been hit in the head with some kind of weight. Where is she? It seems familiar but…

Kazue sits up slightly before she notices a large muscular arm around her hips. Fine scars cover each contour, her eyes follow the arm to a head with a mane of jet black hair. The figure shuffles around and nuzzles her waist. In a moment, she recognises the face. Barely a scream escapes her before she stumbles backward and slips from the edge of the bed.

In an instant, those strong arms catch her before she feels the ground and pull her up gently. The man looks at her with tired eyes weary with relief.

"My love." His deep voice shakes slightly.

Kazue shoves his grasp away, disgust and fear consuming her. His eyes are confused and sad.

"Kazue? What's wrong? Are you in pain?" He murmurs

"Get away from me, how can you touch me?!" she yells.

"Kazue, what are you talking about?!"

"Just because my Father promised you my hand, don't think for a moment that I will be one of your whores, Madara Uchiha!" She snarls

Madara pauses in utter disbelief. What on earth is happening?! Kazue remains wide-eyed and aggressive until Madara ushers Kanako in and explains the situation. One thing he could tell was that Kazue's eyes had changed.

"Kanako-san?" Kazue's eyes soften for the briefest moment when she sees Kanako,

"Kazue-san?! What's happened?!" Kanako rushes to her side,

"Tell me nothing happened, Kami please."

"I don't understand Kazue-san, you were attacked last night, Madara-sama has not left your side since then?"

"How long until the wedding?! Why am I here?"

"Kazue-san this is the Uchiha residence, your home?"

"What?! Why am I here when the wedding is a week away?" Kazue's voice is frantic

"A week away?!" Madara interjects, "What date do you think it is?"

Kazue retorts a date that had passed almost a year ago and confirms Madara's fear.

"Kanako… she's lost her memory." Madara barely murmurs

"Madara-sama?! How?!" Kanako shakes her head

"What are you talking about?!"

"Kanako, take her to the study and keep her there." Madara shrugs on his shirt, "I'll send word for Hashirama and Mito to arrive within the day."

"Will Tobirama come too?" Kazue asks Kanako quietly, though not quietly enough for Madara to miss it. Despair washes over him as he sets out for Konoha.