A/N: (Updated: March 10th 2021)

Hello my lovely readers,

hope you enjoy the latest chapter. We are almost halfway through with this story - (story completion should be at chapter 40). I am currently on my Christmas break between semesters, so I took advantage of the free time to do some creative writing. I wanna say to you all Merry Christmas. I am hoping to post the next chapter (so chapter 19. A Thorn Within) by January 1st. So, hopefully I will complete it on time. Also, I wanna say a big THANK YOU to all of you who continuously leave me reviews.

To answer a few questions/reply to some reviews from chapter 17:

YuYuChan777: You are correct. I have originally learned British English. My native tongue is Slovak. =)

PinKrystal: Ooh, interesting I will admit I watched Timeslip prior to planning out this story, just because I was intrigued by the idea of a modern doctor in the past, but this story took a life of its own and it is as you said very different from Korean dramas. I always knew that in my story even if there was a time traveler, that person belonged in that era (so in Sakura's case, she's home).

: thank you for your continuous review of this story chapter after chapter. I am very happy that you enjoy my work and that my story is one your favourites. I hope I won't disappoint you. =D

samsongnot336: =) We will get to Danzō and Hiashi eventually, I promise.

You guys are awesome!

This story is rated R for a reason - you have been warned.

Happy Reading ^^

zokuchō - (meaning) the head of a family or a clan

Chapter 18. Zokuchō

The new clan head of the Senju clan made his way home, accompanied by the remaining guards who carried his fallen brother's body with the utmost care. Dread settled within him as he entered through the wooden gate and his eyes fell to the Senju warrior and his second-in-command Tōka — always ready for battle and to lay her life on the line for the good of the clan. As they ventured farther into the grounds, more and more people joined them, in complete awe of what was happening.

"What happened?!" she asked first as the clansmen of Senju gathered around the body of Hashirama.

Tobirama gazed down onto his fallen brother and with a simple wave of his hand, he commanded the guards to take him to the priest to ready for the funeral. Then, the newly appointed head of a clan looked towards the gathering.

"The Adachi council has been dissolved because of conflict that arose within the meeting chambers. Hashirama struck Uchiha Fugaku, and for that his son Uchiha Sasuke struck Hashirama down. As punishment, Senju clan is hereby cast out of the city,"

"What? Where are we supposed to go?" one of the Senju clan members called out.

"The Uchiha burned down the estate! We have nowhere to go!" another yelled out.

Tobirama's gaze traveled from one man to another and to another until he stood firmly and said," We have a month to settle our affairs in the city. In the meantime, all able-bodied men and women will travel to our lands and begin rebuilding the estate. This is my command as the new clan head. Disperse!"

And with that Tobirama walked on towards the main house, eager to settle down with a much-needed drink. It was not until this moment that he realized just how tired he was. Perhaps it was due to his age. He was in his mid-fifties, and quite ready to abandon his sword. He realized that he spent the last two decades stewing in hatred and turmoil. And the cost was too high. Hell, he was the reason Hakura died — the rightful heir to Hashirama's clanship. He was the reason Hashirama was now dead — was the young Uchiha lucky in striking down a fearsome foe like Hashirama, or was he just tired of fighting and he let the youngster take his revenge on purpose? Was his brother tired of fighting? For the first time in his life, Tobirama seemed to understand his older brother. For he was tired of fighting. He fought to find his stolen child, a child that was taken from him when she was mere two-years-old. His wife died from heartbreak — and it is this all-consuming loss that changed him into the man he is now.

He entered the main house and made his way over to the kitchen, his hand reaching for the well-aged sake. He unstoppered it and poured himself a large cup, downing it in a quick gulp — as if he was seeking a quick relief. He poured another.

His thoughts ventured towards his only child — a daughter he never stopped looking for, a daughter dear to his now cold and nearly vacant heart. She preferred her name to be Sakura, not Hanae, and he had to agree that the name suited her. She grew up lovely; as a father he could not be prouder that his daughter became a physician all on her own. Now, she belonged with the Uchiha clan. He could only hope that before he meets his end, they would find a way to each other, to be a family once again. Perhaps, one day his own pride would allow that.

"You know, you will need an heir. The elders will pressure you so that the main house of Senju is preserved," Tōka said as she entered the home, pulling Tobirama out of deep thought.

"I have no interest in fathering another child. The line of succession ends with me. My daughter is an Uchiha now," Tobirama said.

"So, it's true? The doctor is truly Hanae?" Tōka pried further.

"Yes, she is. But she goes by the name of Sakura, and she is married to the new Uchiha clan head," Tobirama replied as he poured himself another.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Tōka asked.

"We move out of the city, and we rebuild. Then, we'll see," Tobirama answered.

The sun was nearly hiding behind the mountains as they approached the Uchiha compound on horseback. She was sitting behind Itachi, her arms gently placed on his middle as they made their way home. Itachi was at the front, leading the Uchiha men back home. For Uchiha, it was a sign of a newly acquired leadership. Aoi stood guard over the fallen body of Fugaku, which was carried with the utmost care on a wagon by three warriors. Sasuke was on Itachi's right, remaining silent for the entirety of their journey home. The adrenaline was long gone. The young Uchiha was in deep thought, going over the slaughter in his mind with a calculating mind. His thoughts ventured towards the Namikaze clan head — had Minato not intervened, Danzō would have killed him and he would not have had the opportunity to exact revenge on the Senju.

"THEY'VE RETURNED!" a guard announced as he spotted the traveling party making their way slowly towards the compound gate.

As they entered the compound, Itachi called for the party to come to a halt. Then he had offered his hand to Sakura for her to safely disembark from Nobu before he himself landed on his own two feet. The residents of the compound flocked towards them, encircling around the arriving party, there among them the three elders of the clan ready to voice their opinion as they spotted the lifeless body of Fugaku on the wagon.

"What happened? How is this possible?!" Hirosuke demanded.

Itachi did not indulge the elder with his attention and instead focused his eyes onto the three men responsible for bringing in his father's body.

"Take my father to the temple," he commanded.

"Yes, Uchiha-sama," Keisuke, one of the men replied and without further delay the three men continued on further into the compound taking Fugaku's body to the priests.

When Fugaku's body was out of his sight, Itachi turned to the people that surrounded them. His gaze traveled from person to person — he recognized them all, from the merchants like Uruchi or healers like Kazuo and Hikari, to the young boys eager to become next warriors, to the seasoned warriors who fought with him side by side many times. His eyes fell to the youngest child of the Uchiha main family — his twelve-year-old sister Satsuki, stood there in shock over what she had witnessed. Instinctively, he wanted to rush towards her, embrace her, and tell her that it would be alright — but Sakura stepped in first. She quickly walked over to Satsuki and without needing to say a single word, she wrapped her arms tightly around the young girl. Satsuki returned the embrace, holding onto the rosette tightly. Then, Itachi's eyes fell onto the three pestering elders.

"The Adachi council has been dissolved. A fight erupted during the trial when it came to be known that Senju Tobirama was responsible for the death of our matriarch. This news caused the patriarch of our noble clan to attack the Senju. Unfortunately, he fell in battle at the hands of Senju Hashirama. His death has been avenged. Senju Hashirama is no more," Itachi said and for a moment he took a pause, before he decided to continue, "As my father's heir, I am hereby accepting the role of the zokuchō of our noble clan. After the funeral, we shall begin a new chapter, without the presence of Niwamachi city and its council."

"Zokuchō-sama!" the Uchiha warriors announced, and all bowed in respect towards their new leader.

"Zokuchō-sama!" the residents of the compound agreed, offering a bow in respect towards Itachi.

Itachi nodded in approval and said," go on about your day."

As the people began to disperse, Itachi turned to his family. Satsuki was now holding onto Sasuke, scared to let him go.

"She will be distressed for a while. It's best for her to stay in my house for the time being," Sakura offered to Sasuke as young Satsuki would not let go of her brother.

"I'll stay with her," Sasuke said and with ease he collected Satsuki in his arms, and he carried her towards the physician's home.

Sakura watched as Sasuke disappeared down the path that led to her home while Shisui, who appeared from the dispersing crowd, took a step forward to Itachi and patted him on the shoulder. Then three elders, who remained around their new clan head made their presence known.

"We demand an immediate audience! There are matters to attend to when a new zokuchō comes to power," Madatachi exclaimed suddenly.

"He will speak with you at a later time. You should respect the fact that the main family is grieving another loss," Shisui piped in.

"It's fine Shisui. I will address them now," Itachi said suddenly, and his eyes fell onto the three Uchiha elders.

Within Itachi was a storm brewing. The turbulent emotions were roiling within like a hurricane, ready to erupt and cause mayhem. But this was not the place, and it was not the time for such a display. And so, the newly appointed clan head, a zokuchō of the Uchiha clan remained calm.

"Madatachi-san, Hirosuke-san, Saizō-san, as head of the Uchiha clan I command for you to return to your homes and go on about your lives. I will summon you once I have had a chance to lay my father to rest. Until then, there will be no need to speak with me," Itachi declared and then he looked over to the gathering Uchiha clan members," Know this, all of you. As a clan head I intend to keep our safety my priority.

"Itachi-san, we must urge you to speak with us at once," Madatachi demanded.

"I believe we have had this conversation previously Madatachi! You will address me as my position and status demand! I have heard your plea and thereby deny it! I will speak with you when I see fit. You're dismissed!" Itachi replied, the tone of his voice shifting from calm and collected to vexed and afluttered.

It did not take long for the three elders to disappear among the compound buildings.

"Shisui, keep order of the things and Aoi?" Itachi asked looking at his older cousin, to which Shisui merely nodded.

"Yeah cousin?" Aoi replied, awaiting his command.

"Take care of my father," he requested— although it sound more like a plea than a command.

"Of course, I will handle everything," Aoi replied, and with a subtle turn she made her way immediately towards the temple.

Itachi nodded and with that he simply turned to make his way towards the main house and Sakura followed.

She followed him into the main Uchiha home, entering deeper into the head family quarters. He entered an unfamiliar room — to which she followed. The room was simple. There was a large basin of warm water next to a low table with clean wash cloths.

"You shouldn't see me like this," he said, breaking the silence as he untied his katana and placed it onto the low table next to his tantō blade. Then his fingers began to unravel the knot that held his haori in place, chucking the once pristine white cloth — now stained copper red — into the corner, as if he knew that the head family servants Masako or Usagi would collect the item later and attempt to remove the bloody stains from it, if only to salvage the cloth.

"Like what? Naked?" Sakura asked as she took a step closer to him.

She followed because she was concerned not only as a physician but as his wife-to-be. And as she stood and watched as the young clan head removed his bloody attire and remained naked as he reached for the clean cloth and dipped it into the basin of warm water. Then he began to slowly wash away the dirt and blood from his body. As he continued to do so, he did not dare face her, concealing his face from her. For Itachi, this act of cleansing after battle was an all-too familiar a task.

"Like this, a broken man," he said simply as he dipped the cloth into the basin again.

"But you are not a broken man Itachi. You are grieving. You lost another parent today and it is alright for a child to grieve such an immense loss. I understand," Sakura explained as she made her way over to him.

"I failed him," he replied.

"No, you didn't," Sakura answered firmly, and she took the cloth from his hand.

Itachi resigned himself to sit on the oaken floor next to the basin, taking a deep breath. Sakura kneeled down before him, taking in the sight of the grieving man before her. Then she dipped the cloth in the warm water and with gentle hands she continued to cleanse the naked warrior before her.

"I did. I failed him. I didn't do enough. I could have fought better. Harder. I could have prevented that…that bloodbath from happening," Itachi said, his voice breaking as several tears slid down his cheeks, unable to hide his emotions from her.

Sakura dropped the cloth in the water and turned her focus onto Itachi completely.

"Oh no, Itachi you couldn't. That situation was a long time coming. Your father … he did what he deemed necessary. He wanted to avenge his wife. This is not your fault. This does not fall on your shoulders. Listen to me," she said as she cupped his cheeks and made him face her," It is not your fault Itachi. It isn't. Please don't blame yourself for this."

"Sakura, how can you stand to look at me after witnessing the horrors of battle? After you saw me cut down man after man?" Itachi questioned, his eyes remembering the dried speckles of blood upon her face. Sakura gave him a soft smile and she gently wiped away the stray tears with her thumbs.

"You're right. I have never seen such a terrifying act of violence. I am traumatized by what I have witnessed, I know that. But I did not just see a butchery. I also saw a man who was desperate to not only protect me but protect his family from harm. It was why I was able to walk over to you after the fighting stopped. I meant it when I declared you my husband in front of the council, even if we haven't taken the vows, I meant it. I am not leaving you," Sakura declared and then she placed a gentle kiss upon his lips, as if she was sealing her words with the gesture.

He pressed his forehead against hers, exhaling deeply as he felt the remnants of her kiss on his lips.

"I love you," he whispered softly.

"I love you too," she whispered back.

And it was in that moment Itachi surrendered — gone was his pristine control, gone was his need to hide away his vulnerability. His lips found hers again but this time with more passion, as he pulled her into his strong arms with ease. He carried her from the cleansing room towards his quarters, not caring if they would be seen by the servants — but as if it were intended, the house was empty. With ease, he settled her onto the soft futon, and his hands then quickly unraveled the knots that held up her haori and hakama. Then as he took in the inviting sight of her naked body, he leaned forward taking in the sweet comfort that she offered.

A/N:

zokuchō - (meaning) the head of a family or a clan

- I chose to use the proper term because I wanted to ensure that Itachi feels the heavy weight on his shoulders ( kind of like when a crown prince becomes a king, it's a heavy burden/ a huge responsibility, so that's why I chose to use zokuchō in this chapter).

Until next time. Don't forget to review. And Merry Christmas. =)