I do not own Naruto. I do, however, own Chiyuki, any original characters, and this story's plot.
(She's a little shit, but he can't say he really minds it. - An AU in which Chiyuki never dates Shisui because she's too busy stealing Madara's heart.)
waiting game
.
One day, a strange woman falls from the sky.
Konoha is new - different, unfamiliar, awkward - and, for now, only the Uchiha, the Senju, and a few other smaller clans tentatively call it 'home'. Hashirama is, of course, the appointed leader of this newly built ninja village, and if Madara sometimes feels resentful, he buries it deep within himself.
There's finally a stable and somewhat peaceful environment for Uchiha children to grow in, and the clan leader fools himself into thinking this is what Izuna would've liked. He sees and hears the discontentment of his clansmen with the unfair treatment they receive, and convinces them it's all for the sake of peace.
Hashirama promises him it's only a matter of time, and Madara forces himself to believe his childhood friend/rival.
In the fragile tranquility of the aftermath of the fighting that's lasted decades, a young, peculiar woman falls from the sky on a bright spring day. She has average looks and is of average height, and would look rather harmless were it not for the strange clothes that show pale skin.
Madara, however, knows better than to underestimate someone by their looks, and remains on high alert.
Although she doesn't have as much chakra as him, everything about her screams danger, from the way she's not afraid to walk languidly towards him, to the way she stares into his eyes unflinchingly-
-to the disarming smile she sends his way.
"Hi," She stops at a reasonable distance from him, and the wind carries her silvery voice to his ears, "my name's Chiyuki. I seem to be a bit lost; would you be able to help me?"
The fact that she mentions no last name definitely doesn't go unnoticed by him, but the Uchiha clan head really can't blame her - fights between clans still happen everyday around Konoha, and she'd be a fool to give out her full name to an unknown ninja so easily.
"How did you get here?" He growls out in lieu of an answer, narrowing his dark eyes and inwardly getting frustrated when she shows no sign of being intimidated.
The woman is either a fool, or a great actress. There is no one who doesn't know the face of Uchiha Madara, and what an encounter with him entails.
She shrugs, and for some reason the casual action grates on his nerves. "I don't know."
"Who sent you here?"
"I don't know."
"Are you alone?"
"It seems so."
Much to his annoyance, the rest of the interrogation follows the same pattern. The woman truly seems to be lost, has no idea how she got here, and doesn't know how to go back to where she's supposed to be. What vexes him the most, however, isn't the fact that she holds little to no information; no, what gets under his skin is the fact that she hasn't lied to him - not even once.
Tobirama arrives to check the situation out, because of course he does, but the Senju merely gets the same patient, honest answers.
They decide to take her to Hashirama, who gets the same results. The leader of Konoha, however, notices she wears the same necklace he does, and in true Hashirama fashion, points bewilderedly at the mysterious woman.
"Ah, that necklace is mine!"
The three men zoom in on the necklace hanging innocently on her collarbone, identical to the one in Hashirama's possession. Madara expects her to fold, then; to cower and avert her eyes and lie her way out, but that is when the patient smile slips from her face as she stares at them with something that almost borders on petulant.
"No, this is mine."
She does not lie.
The brunette splutters at the clear answer given by the woman who clearly is not the least intimidated by the entire situation. Not everyone manages to stand tall and proud when faced with three famous - deadly - shinobi, and the Uchiha's respect for her can't help but rise the slightest bit.
"It was given to me by someone I love and admire. It's a treasured gift." The woman - Chiyuki - continues, and the room is stunned into silence by her straightforward honesty.
"Who?" Tobirama is the first to recover, narrowing his red eyes suspiciously.
Chiyuki grins.
A beautiful (dangerous) sight that showcases all of her white teeth, an ominous twinkle in her brown eyes-
-she's confident in herself and her abilities, deals with unknown situations with calm and wit, and something flutters in Madara's chest.
The blonde nods at Hashirama, and her grin widens.
"His granddaughter."
All Hell breaks loose.
.
.
They never catch her.
She always manages to slip by their hands like water, always just out of reach. Whenever Tobirama catches a hint of her, he sends the Senju on a wild hunt, only for the clansmen to come back defeated and frustrated, nursing their bruised ego.
Hashirama sends Madara and his clansmen after her, but admittedly, the Uchiha doesn't try all that hard to catch her.
During the next few days, Chiyuki lets him find her, and the two will spend some time in a complex, deadly dance, testing each other's abilities, taking turns in attacking and defending, until she smiles at him and vanishes in a swarm of colorful butterflies - always leaving him wanting more, yearning for more.
What 'more' entails, he does not yet know.
Hashirama himself sets out to find her and bring her back to Konoha, having decided she quite possibly comes from the future and is too dangerous to be left alone. The man, however, comes back at the end of the day, uncharacteristically quiet and full of non-threatening wounds, and instead of feeling resentful that she managed to beat his old-time rival, the Uchiha clan head feels himself grin in anticipation and excitement.
Chiyuki is beautiful and strong and quick-witted and a little shit, and Madara feels alive.
(Something burns in his chest, huge flames lighting up his heart on fire for the first time since Izuna's death, and he laughs in delight.)
tbc (?)
(Am I obsessed with the the Uchiha and their wasted potential yes or absolutely)
