Author's Note: Sorry for the wait! Thank you all for all your kind words, they really help motivate me! I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter, but I am so tired I can barely keep my eyes open. This was the only time I could write so I'm glad I got this done before work tomorrow. Big events are coming up! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I own nothing!
Warnings: OOC, language, unbeta'd, talk of children dying, talk of death.
Word Count: 4,985
The rage that filled Sakura was so white hot that she couldn't stop herself from speaking up. "That is absolutely horrible!" Sakura snaps. Everyone turns to look at her, and Tobirama's grip on her arm tightens. "How-? What-?" She makes a bunch of unintelligent noises just trying to wrap her mind around how absolutely horrible all of this was, but there just wasn't any words that could really describe it. She knew that things were bad during Sengoku Jidai and has seen more than just trickles filtering into the new alliance, but this thought never once crossed her mind. She supposed she never wondered about enemies falling in love - but seeing as it's the most tragic type of love story she's not sure why the romantic in her heart didn't think of it - but this was beyond anything that she could imagine.
Although, if she had to guess why she never thought about it, it is probably because Sengoku Jidai occurred almost a hundred years before Sakura's time but it was so drastically different that it's like an entirely different world. And somehow, the Uchiha and the Senju just seemed like they should have been better than that. They should have been above the senseless slaughter of children and lovers, despite having been in war themselves. But they aren't better than that. They are just people, like her, just as easily able to make mistakes as she is.
But this is more than just a mistake. This is... absolutely horrible.
"You have got to be kidding me? Killing lovers? Children? Please tell me that was a lie!" Sakura turns her eyes toward the white-haired man next to her. "Tobirama-sama!"
Red eyes stare back at her, and in his shame, he looks away. "It was a different time."
Sakura blinks a few times, trying to wrap her mind around this. It takes everything in her power not to rip her arm from his hand. She has to be misunderstanding this situation. "You killed babies?"
"Our clans were very militant," Tobirama says, finally bringing his eyes back up to hers. "There wasn't a lot of communal laws that people obeyed, and in a time of war like that..."
Sakura holds up a hand, the one not being held in place by Tobirama, to stop him. "No, don't try and explain it away. I don't think there is a way possible that can explain it in a way that won't piss me off more and I'm barely holding it together now. But you, were you one of those people who killed the innocent babies?"
Tobirama shakes his head slowly. "No. I never did."
Sakura looks over at Hashirama. "You?"
Hashirama shakes his head slowly, his expression dark, looking tired and a bit pale. "No. I didn't. But I did witness it."
Sakura frowns more, then looks over at Izuna. "You?"
Izuna shakes his head, eyebrows pulled together tightly. "...no. I've never killed babies."
"I did."
Sakura turns her glare toward Madara, ready to yell and scream and somehow punish him when her eyes lock with his. He stares back at her, sad and tormented, just another one of the thousands of scars that cover both his body and his psyche. Nothing Sakura could say, or think, could ever match up or hurt nearly as much as he's already felt, and still feels to this moment.
"That was single-handedly the worst moment of my life," Madara admits, his voice frosty and emotionless. But the torment burns in his eyes like a white-hot pain. Izuna and Keigo both appear to remember that moment too.
"Not directly," Keigo says, frowning deeply. "Madara-sama didn't deal the killing blow."
Madara looks away. "I may as well have."
Keigo looks over at Sakura with dark, narrow eyes, ignoring the sad look Salma sends his way in his peripheral. "The last woman who got pregnant by a Senju in our clan was a few years ago, while Lord Tajima was still reigning clan Leader. She told someone other than Lord Madara about the pregnancy and they blabbed to Lord Tajima, who killed her. It wasn't his fault at all. He just feels responsible because she told him first."
"And you did nothing?" Sakura asks Madara, ashamed of how quick to anger she was. Especially realizing with how Madara expressed himself around children, that he wouldn't have done anything to an unborn infant. She should just assume at this point that anything said about Madara - even if it's from the man himself - is designed to make him look worse than he is. The fates are so cruel to him.
And that hurts.
"No, I tried to convince her to run away from the clan," Madara sighs, not able to look at anything other than the wood grains in the table, tracing a bit with the tip of his finger. "She just needed to run away long enough for me to become clan leader. Then it wouldn't matter. She could have said the baby's father was some random whoever from down the road and I wouldn't 'question' it."
No one speaks for a moment, digesting that information.
"Why didn't you do anything?" Tobirama asks, breaking the silence. "Why would you ignore it being a half Senju child?"
Madara raises dark eyes to the man sitting across the table. "Children don't deserve to suffer for their parents. The child didn't choose its mother or father. Why should it have to die for them not listening to the rules? It did nothing wrong. Why should anything be punished for simply existing? Calling it a monster, or a half breed, or an abomination is just showing how ignorant and shallow minded you are." Madara shakes his head. "Yue was a fool who had sex with the enemy, knowing that it would get both of them killed and any child they could have conceived killed too and did it anyway." A pause and a look of unbearable sadness cross over his features, mind going back in time to that moment. "She didn't deserve to die because she loved a man that we deemed she shouldn't have. Nor should her child had to die for it."
"Why do you blame yourself, Madara?" Hashirama asks. "It sounds like you were being more than reasonable, and you even went against your own clan laws to keep her safe."
Madara shakes his head, refusing to answer. He rubs at his forehead letting out a deep sigh.
"Yue was careless," Keigo says sadly. "She trusted someone she shouldn't have and they told Lord Tajima. Lord Madara was trying to convince her to leave, but she was the only one left to look after her only living sibling, so she refused him until it was too late. What he won't tell you is that Lord Tajima learned that Lord Madara kept it a secret and beat him mercilessly for it." Madara shoots him a glare to silence him, but Keigo stares back with dark eyes, hard and stoic. "You aren't to blame for the death of my sister. You did more than enough and you tried to save her life and the life of her child, despite the law forbidding either be let live. No matter what, I will forever be loyal to you, Lord Madara, until the day I take my last breath."
Madara looks sad like the loyal oath somehow hurt him. Sakura didn't understand until the true impact of Keigo's words hit Sakura in the face harder than Tsunade could ever hit her. Yue, the name of the girl that died... was Keigo's sister.
"Why?" Sakura asks, her lips barely moving. The realization leaves her feeling paralyzed in horror. "Why would you follow in her footsteps?" A pause, then, "Not that I don't absolutely love Salma... but why?"
Keigo's smile is thin. "I suppose my sister and I are just lucky." Sakura sees Tobirama shift in her vision. Keigo catches the movement and says, before Sakura can even turn to look at the Senju heir, saying, "You think I'm being cynical. I'm not. I mean..." he hesitates, turning a dark eye to peak through his fringe at the dark-haired girl knelt next to him.
Salma turns pretty green eyes back at him, worry still painted across her face but she offers a little half smile when their eyes meet.
Keigo's smile broadens a touch more. "What I mean is, Lord Tobirama, that my sister and I had the privilege in finding love in our enemies. Well, Salma isn't an enemy, not anymore. But a year ago, or even seven months ago, she was." Salma melts. She reaches out to Keigo, covering his pale hand with her slightly tanned one and giving it a little squeeze.
Seven months. Had it really only been that long since Sakura came here? It was probably more like six months for her, but it felt like a lifetime or two has passed since the first moment she got here in this time. Whelp, Sakura might actually be eighteen by this point. She's not sure that she went back from the moment she last remembers. Oh, wait. No, she didn't. She's still missing a bit of time at the end of her life in her own timeline. This is so confusing. Maybe she is already eighteen now. Something to casually ask Ino later. She'll be one of the least judgemental.
Hashirama looks down at their hands, curiously, before looking over at Madara, waiting until the dark haired Uchiha Patriarch felt Hashirama's eyes on him, and to look up and over at the Nature Sage. Hashirama presses his lips together tightly, communicating with one another with their eyes. The room is silent for a few minutes before Hashirama says, "What are you thinking, Madara?"
Madara blinks a few times, considering before looking back over at his little brother who nods back at him. Madara turns dark eyes back to the two people still knelt on the floor at the head of the table. He stands up slowly, walking around it, and Hashirama, and stopping in front of the two love birds, staring down at them through the narrow part in his long fringe.
"I think there is only one thing that we can do, Hashirama," Madara says. He reaches down, placing a hand on the top of the head of each of two bowing in front of him. "I suppose all we can do is ask for your patience and abolish that horrible, archaic law. Then we will be more than happy to welcome you into our family."
It feels like a weight has been lifted from Sakura's chest as she watched Keigo and Salma stare up at the Uchiha Clan Leader, then each other, sagging in relief.
"We'll be sad to see you go, in name, I mean," Hashirama says kindly, smiling softly. "But so long as you are happy, I am too. Thank you for reminding us that there are still things anchoring us to that bloody past that still need to be addressed."
Madara pulls his hands back in time for Salma to turn and toss herself into Keigo's arms, hugging him tightly. She's sobbing so hard that she's shaking. Keigo wraps one of his arms around Salma's lower back while the other is behind him, keeping them steady while he pulls his legs out from under him and sits in a more comfortable position, not letting Salma go. He hugs her back, kissing her cheek and burying his nose into her shoulder. He reaches up to pet down her hair and Sakura can see his hand is shaking. Even though he seemed to be strong, it was obvious that he was afraid of the judgment cast but his clan leader.
"Thank you," Keigo mouths to the two clan leaders. He looks between the two of them, using his eyes to express what he feels his voice simply can't.
"I agree with Madara," Hashirama says, crossing his arms over his chest while smiling kindly down at Salma. "We both need to go through our clan laws with a fine-toothed comb to ensure that there aren't any other laws that are more obscure than those unwilling to agree may try to use against us."
Tobirama nods, speaking up for the first time in a while. "That is wise, brother."
"Do you think there would be opposition?" Sakura asks in disbelief. How could someone be so opposed to love? Well, she has seen the cruelty of people, and once more, this information regarding to those of Uchiha and Senju that ended up falling in love with one another was just another piece of history that wasn't remembered. Or wasn't saved to be remembered.
Sakura knew that everything in this time wasn't sunshine and flowers, she's seen that the Uchiha and the Senju aren't as enigmatic as was depicted in school. They are just as human and prone to atrocities as any others. Still, it's hard to think about. But it is a part of them. And they are learning from it, and hopefully, this bloody part of their history will be remembered as something to forever be better than.
"You're disillusioned," Hashirama says, drawing Sakura's eyes back to the Senju clan leader to see him staring back at her. "Do you think we are monsters? Do you think if your people knew this, they would be more hesitant to deal with us?"
Sakura doesn't have an answer for that. She would like to think that her people would be able to look past all of that. But she's not sure that she should speak for anyone else when her own life is kind of a mess. Although, he is telling the truth, once again, she is disillusioned. She keeps painting this picture in her mind of how they should be, but it's not the reality. In her mind, she knows that, but she still ends up being surprised. She shouldn't, but she is. But it isn't their fault that history only likes to remember the good points.
Sakura shakes her head slowly. "No, I don't think that your monsters. I guess we all just have a lot to learn. It's no one's fault." Sakura reaches up, tucking her fringe behind her ear. "I think we can all take solace in knowing that those bloody days are over."
"I'm happy for you," Sakura says, turning to look at the dark-haired Senju walking with her.
Salma smiles faintly. She rubs her hands in front of her, looking down at them for a moment before saying, "Thank you. I'm just... still shaking. I was so scared." She claps her hands a few times, trying to get the trembling in them to stop. When that doesn't help, she folds them into her sleeves to at least hide them from the cold, before turning pretty green eyes over to Sakura. "You must think I'm an idiot."
"I don't," Sakura assures her. "I think you were in an impossible situation, but I'm glad that you guys have the support of both the clans."
"Well," Salma says slowly, letting out a little sigh, "getting Hashirama-sama's and Madara-sama's permission is just the beginning. Our families aren't going to be as easily persuaded. They aren't as open-minded." She appears sad. She lets out a little sigh. "But with Lord Hashirama on our side, I know that we'll be okay. He will do whatever he can. He'll..." she hesitates for a moment, looking sadder by the moment, "take the brunt of it, I know."
Sakura looks over at her friend, eyebrows pulled together tightly. "What do you mean? He's clan leader, shouldn't there be no problem?" Given, Sakura has ever been part of a clan so she wasn't sure on all the logistics of it, but from everything that she's ever heard, the clan leader's word has always been law. Is that not true?
Salma's pretty green eyes lower to her feet as they walk. "The formation of the clan is... difficult. The clan leader runs the clan as the head of the main branch family. His heir is his next in line, the closest living relative by blood."
"Tobirama-sama," Sakura supplies without needing to.
Salma nods, reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind her ear before hiding her hands in her sleeves again. "Yes, but the Elders of the clan also hold a lot of power. They control the clan when the leader is absent or if he is... incapable." She shakes her head and shivers as if the possibility of that was enough to make her skin crawl. "That hasn't happened in generations but Hashirama-sama is a loose cannon as I'm sure you know. His way of thinking and doing things is very... revolutionary, and not always favorable, I'm afraid." Salma looks sad again.
"You don't think something's going to happen, do you?" Sakura asks, eyebrows pulled together in concern. Never in a million years did she think that this would ever be a problem. Sakura's ability in foresight is really lacking.
"No," Salma says. "I think the Elders are too frightened of Hashirama-sama and Tobirama-sama to do anything too drastic. It doesn't mean they aren't going to get a lot of rebuff for this. I think that there is a lot that people are going to allow all of us to get away with, but at some point... well, it'll all reach a boiling point. I just hope that we will all be strong enough to survive the fallout." Her smile is paper thin.
"Culture shock," Sakura supplies. "Yeah, I'd been thinking about that too. It's a lot to take in, all of this," she gestures to the open space around them, "and with so much going on, it's good that no one has lost their minds yet."
"With so much to focus on it's easy to forget that everything is changing so rapidly around us," Salma says softly.
Sakura nods, stepping closer to her friend, linking arms with her. "I was thinking that exact same thing, Salma. You're so smart."
Salma giggles, looking a little better than before. At least the color is returning to her now that the immediate threat of death by her clan leader has been averted, she's not as frightened anymore.
"Keigo wanted to come out to Madara-sama," Salma says suddenly. "He hated keeping it a secret from the man he respected most in the world."
"Oh?" Sakura says, wondering if the brown-haired Senju can read her mind. "You didn't?"
"No, I did," Salma admits quickly. "I knew it was against our law but..." She gives Sakura a sideways look, "this is Hashirama-sama we're talking about. I knew he wouldn't be happy about this, but I also knew that it wouldn't be about us. That law is a black stain on our family. One of many, I'm sure."
Sakura doesn't respond, not so quick to forget the lesson she learned to come immediately to the defense of the Senju clan. But it doesn't mean that she thinks any less of them. She just has come to accept that there is more to them than she originally thought. But her loyalty to them as a clan and as half of the Founders of her village isn't so frail.
"But some people don't like the change," Salma says ominously.
Sakura frowns a bit, probably able to guess on why that is considering she's probably thought it about a hundred times, but she couldn't help but wonder what Salma's answer would be when asked, "Why?"
She shouldn't have asked. Because Salma's cryptic, "They profit from us being separate," filled her with so much dread.
"Howdy, Stranger," Sakura says, sitting down next to Tobirama in the field that would one day become training ground seven. It's early morning, and Sakura couldn't sleep. Again. Hazy half-dreams, half-nightmares that force her awake in a cold sweat but she doesn't remember them. The story of her life.
A few days have passed since Salma and Keigo came out to them about their love, but no one else in the two clans is aware of it yet. Madara and Hashirama wanted to do damage control before it actually became a problem. For now, the approval is enough to lift their spirits. And Sakura really is happy for them, Salma has had exceptionally high spirits since they came out to their respective clan leaders about their love affair.
It isn't as early as before, it's just past dawn and the village is already waking up. It's freezing cold out, and even with the borrowed haori over her shoulders. She wraps it around herself tightly, enjoying that it's more of a blanket on her rather than just a jacket. It was built for the winter and Sakura appreciated having it. Tobirama looks down at the haori and a soft look crosses his face before he looks back up to Sakura's face.
"Morning, Sakura."
"Couldn't sleep?" Sakura guesses, as if it wasn't obvious. She grins at him when he rolled his eyes.
"Patrolling," he mumbles.
"Uh-huh. From the ground here? Find any intruders?" Sakura meant it playfully. Tobirama snorts, rolling his eyes again.
Movement catches her eyes. She looks down between them to see the fingers of his left hand digging into the dirt a bit while he still can. It hasn't yet frozen over, but Sakura can feel the freezing cold dew soaking into her pants. But Tobirama's haori was keeping the rest of her nice and warm. He probably sensed her coming from a mile away.
Well, there goes that.
"What are you up to?" Sakura asks, yawning despite knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep even if she tried.
"Just thinking," Tobirama says, rubbing at his forehead. He looks worried.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asks, concerned now. She leans forward to be able to look into his eyes as he stares straight ahead. She can tell now that his mind is elsewhere, probably thinking about what's worrying him. "Is this about Salma and Keigo?"
Tobirama blinks slowly, shaking his head. "No. As far as I'm concerned, that is just going to have to be a battle we fight when the time comes. Preparations for the outburst can only be so meticulously done before we just have to face it head-on. I'm not going to worry about that too much for now." He hesitates, as if unsure of whether he wants to admit to what he's fretting over or not.
"What?" Sakura asks, a sharp hitch to her voice. She leans in closer to him, placing her hand on his leg, giving it a little squeeze to make him look over at her, finally. "What are you worried about?"
Tobirama sighs, a crease forming between tightly knitted eyebrows. "It's probably nothing. I'm just overly sensitive when it comes to him, I guess."
Him?
"Is something wrong with Hashirama-sama?" Sakura asks, leaning closer. She tries to think back to the last time she saw him. It was in passing about two days ago. He was off building more homes for people using his woodstyle. He wore himself out and was on his way back to his house to rest when she saw him. He had been working all day, he looked tired because he probably was. She didn't think anything was off.
"I don't want to jump at shadows. I'm just worried about him since he collapsed," Tobirama says, rubbing at his forehead. Sakura stares at him, willing him to answer with her eyes. He sighs, again. "He's been acting like he did before he passed out. Tired, all the time, but unable to sleep. He doesn't slow down for a moment. I can't tell if he's feeling that way again or not. He just... doesn't seem to have the energy to last the day anymore." He hesitates before turning his body toward her, staring deep into her eyes. "I'm jumping at shadows, aren't I?" He seems desperate for her "yes".
But Sakura can't give it to him. Not without knowing for sure. "Let's go see him."
Worry coils in her gut like a viper thinking about the possibility of Hashirama falling sick again. It just doesn't make sense. The more Sakura thought about it, the more it didn't make sense. Since unlocking her abilities in the medical arts Sakura has found that it's a lot harder for her to get sick. Extreme cases, like the fever she got when she first got to this time, but other than that, sickness became a rarity for her. It was the power of her medical chakra. So, Hashirama shouldn't be getting sick as often as he has - if he is sick again.
It just doesn't make sense. Yes, Hashirama wasn't normal in any sense of the word, but something should make sense. Sakura knows medical chakra. She knows how it affects the body. She also knows that while Hashirama has a lot of medical chakra flowing through his veins, he also has poison flowing through it too. If Ino and her poisonous chakra is anything to go by, Hashirama should also be immune to almost all types of toxins. Not that he's being poisoned, but chakra has so much to do with a shinobi's physicality, that it's important to always keep it in mind when dealing with people.
Hashirama is sitting in front of the fire, reading his worn book when Tobirama let Sakura into the home he shared with his brother. The oldest of the three of them smiles happily at the sight of the two of them. His dark eyes lower to the haori drapped over Sakura's shoulders, noting that he's seen it before. And that it belonged to the man standing at her side.
"You two are up early, not get any sleep last night?" He grins at the annoyed glare Tobirama sends his way.
"Shut up, Hashirama."
Sakura walks passed the younger brother and up to the older one. "How do you feel, Hashirama-sama?"
Hashirama closes the book, grinning broadly and rubbing at the back of his head. "Oh, I'm okay. No worries."
Sakura frowns, unsure. "Promise?"
"Of course," Hashirama says easily.
"That wasn't a promise."
"Oh, but I'm glad you're here, Sakura-chan," Hashirama says instead, looking down at his book for a second, picking at the loose threads coming off of it, before setting it aside and out of the way. "Madara has been building up the courage to come to talk to you about something. I promised I wouldn't say anything, but I would go see him when you have the chance."
Nice deflection.
"...what's wrong?" Sakura asks, not too pleased about being brushed off. Tobirama sighs, not pleased either.
"I don't know," Hashirama says honestly, smile dropping to a more somber look. "But it's been bothering him for a while, but every time you two meet it seems like we're all there and I'm not sure it's something he wants to talk about with everyone present."
Sakura studies his expression, looking for signs of strain beyond just normal fatigue. So far, he doesn't seem sick, just tired. And to be honest, these days everyone is looking pretty haggard. Sakura's not exactly a picture of perfect complexion either. Stress does that to people and these last few months haven't been very kind to any of them. Still, Sakura can't help but worry about him. Especially when she remembers that her entire reason for being here ahead of others was to be able to look after Hashirama.
Because his life was in danger. Sakura knew this. What she didn't know, was from what?
"You'll let me know if you start to feel sick again, won't you?" Sakura asks.
"Sakura-chan," Hashirama laughs.
"Hashirama," Tobirama says sternly, stepping up to Sakura's flank, "be serious. This is your life we're talking about."
Hashirama sighs, giving Tobirama a look. "You worry too much, brother. I'm fine. Just tired. We all are."
Tobirama frowns at him. "You don't worry enough, Hashirama. You are too lenient with your life." He crosses his arms over his chest.
Hashirama stares at his little brother, contemplating something for a moment before smiling softly. "I'm okay, Tobi. I'll let you know if I'm not." Tobirama sighs loudly, not pleased with that answer, just like Sakura. Hashirama doesn't seem to mind, as he turns his attention to Sakura. "But I would still suggest going to speak with Madara, as I said, he wants to talk to you."
Sakura nods, promising to do that. She thinks that she's never going to stop worrying about this man. He's too much like Naruto.
Author's Note #2: Also, big thanks to serxmdipity from Wattpad for the new cover for this book! I appreciate it!
