A/N: Content warning: Graphic depictions of violence.
We're closing in on the end here! Only three chapters left after this, believe it or not!
Rage ran through Madara's blood with such intensity that his fingers stung from how roughly he was gripping the handlebars of his motorcycle. The adrenaline that rushed through him at the thought of what laid ahead couldn't even touch upon the fury that made his heart and lungs burn like a fire had been stoked in his chest.
The only thing he knew in that moment as he lead his clubmates towards the Senju bar that was hidden in the forest on the outskirts of the city was that he would get his revenge that day. He would make those Senju bastards pay for trying to take Sakura from him.
As he pulled up outside of the Senju bar, a dozen bikes and two unmarked vans filled with his clubmates pulling up behind him, he spotted the neat line of motorcycles parked in front of the backwoods bar. A handful of trucks and other vehicles were parked around the unassuming building and the music within was so loud that it could be heard from outside.
Two Senju lookouts, having spotted the army of Uchiha appearing on their doorstep, immediately threw their beers and cigarettes aside before rushing within, obviously intent on alerting their club to the danger they would soon face.
As Madara forced down the kickstand to his bike and stood, the sound of van doors sliding open met his ears. Itachi, Izumi, and Shisui emerged from the back of one of the vans, immediately throwing out weaponry to their clan members who approached them, arming each of them with weapons from their surplus.
While the trio worked, Kagami and Sasuke emerged from the back of the other van. They rapidly gathered four glass bottles filled with gasoline and oil, gasoline soaked rags stuffed into the tops with corks wedged into the bottles' mouths. Using a flick lighter, they lit the ends of the rags, allowing a small flame to build before striding forward with rage and intent in their eyes.
Madara moved to stand at the head of the small army of Uchiha, Obito and Izuna settling at his sides and the decisive snap of Obito cocking his assault rifle being the only sound to break the silence between them. The trio, Naori, Naka, and a dozen more Uchiha joined them, waiting for the beginning of the assault which was marked by Sasuke and Kagami stepping forward and tossing their Molotov cocktails at the building which stood before them.
The glass bottles burst open on the side of the building, fire billowing forth before settling into a raging blaze which dripped flames onto the ground. A third and fourth explosion of glass echoed in the dull quiet outside, splashes of liquid fire quickly engulfing the building, before the sound of music abruptly stopped and the doors were kicked open.
Madara's bloodthirsty gaze immediately settled upon Hashirama's alarmed face, his lips pulling back over his teeth in a snarl. Instead of his normal battlecry of his enemy's name that he would roar every time they met in battle, he hissed through his teeth, unable to form words with the fury that filled him as he was met with Hashirama's face.
This man had ordered the abduction of his pregnant wife and he would make him and his family pay for trying to take her from him.
As Madara stared at him, the bloodlust in his eyes made his once friend take pause. Without another word, he rushed forward, Hashirama's eyes narrowing as he met his charge head on. Not needing even a moment of consideration, Izuna and Tobirama met with fists at their side, their hatred for one another running so deep that they could fight no one but each other. Chaos soon surround them as Senju members flooded out of the burning bar only to be rushed by Uchiha armed with all manners of weaponry.
As they began with a battle that had never before seen such malice, innocent bystanders fled from the back doors of the burning bar, loading up into their vehicles and rushing away from the battle that they knew would only grow worse.
Yelling and the sound of fists and weapons meeting flesh surrounded them, the smell of smoke and burning wood, gasoline, and oil filling the air as quickly as the tarry black smoke that was beginning to billow off of the building before them. The heat of the fire made Madara's skin burn nearly as much as Hashirama's strikes did.
Him and the man he once considered a friend traded blows, fists landing on one another with such intensity that he could feel bruises bloom on his skin the moment Hashirama's fist left his flesh. After decades spent fighting, Madara knew that these punches would leave his body riddled with blackened bruises and bloody knuckles but nothing could hold him back from achieving what he set forth to take that night.
He would get his revenge no matter what injuries he left with.
The pair separated for a moment, unable to catch the breath their bodies screamed for with the smoke clogging the air and their lungs with it's acrid burn. As they paused, the battle surrounding them continuing ceaselessly, Hashirama opened his mouth to speak. Before any words could come forth, however, Madara interrupted him by drawing the buck knife from the sheath at his hip, the sound of metal on leather loud despite the chaos and fire surrounding them.
Madara wanted nothing more than to make Hashirama suffer the most painful death conceivable for ordering Sakura's abduction. For ordering the inevitable torture of his wife and the possible death of their only child. For potentially allowing something far worse, something that would have left a scar on Sakura's mind that he could never hope to ease.
Fresh rage spilling into his blood alongside a fresh burst of adrenaline, Madara lurched forward, Hashirama's own expression darkening in understanding as he rapidly drew his own knife from his boot.
The two met each other once again, this time blade meeting blade instead of fists meeting flesh. With wrath fueling him, Madara's strikes found purchase on Hashirama's skin, ripping open cloth and drawing thick gashes across his arms and chest which wept angry droplets onto ground beneath them. Hashirama frantically blocked and diverted his bloodthirsty stabs and slashes until he was finally able to break through Madara's guard, digging his blade into Madara's collar bone and carving downwards, opening up his shirt and his skin.
Even with blood pouring free from the fresh wound, Madara did not feel it, instead allowing his anger and adrenaline to push him to grab the knife still embedded in his stomach. Locking the Senju into place, while simultaneously digging the knife deeper into his middle, he mustered all of the strength he could and poured it into a single stab. Swinging downwards, Madara imbedded his own blade hilt deep into Hashirama's shoulder, drawing a yell of pain from the man.
With the weapon lodged deep into the flesh below his collar bone, Hashirama lost the connection to his arm which held his own weapon, his knife clattering to the dirt as he wrenched himself from Madara's hold and staggered backwards. His hand fluttered around the blade wedged in the meat of his shoulder with the intent of yanking it out but, before he could grasp the hilt, Madara scooped up Hashirama's lost weapon and rushed him.
With a ruthless kick to the chest, Madara knocked the Senju to the ground, wasting no time in pinning him to the dirt with a knee to his stomach, knocking the breath out of him. Towering above him, he rose his stolen knife high before bearing down onto the man below him. In the last moment, Hashirama grasped Madara's wrist in a desperate attempt to ward off his fatal attack.
As the two enemies struggled, Obito finally found the last of his patience. Curling his finger around the trigger of his assault rifle, he pulled off a few seconds of gunfire over the heads of those in the melee, the cacophonous sound scattering all of the combatants. The only ones who remained unphased where Madara and Hashirama, still locked in a life or death struggle in the dirt.
"I'm fucking done with this! Line up or die!" Obito roared, leveling his weapon at crowd of Senju as Naori, the only other Uchiha armed with a rifle, took aim at their enemy as well.
Battered, bruised, and bleeding, the Senju slowly raised their hands in surrender, drawing backwards from the Uchiha they had been fighting as they recognized their precarious position. As they retreated, their backs coming closer to the fire which burned hotter and hotter with each passing moment, the Uchiha who were injured or unconscious were helped up or dragged away by other members of their family, leaving none but Madara and Hashirama in the center of the crowd.
"You'll pay for trying to take my wife from me!" Madara snarled, grabbing his stolen knife with his other hand and pushing down harder in an attempt to open the Senju president's throat.
"I didn't-" Hashirama choked out, raising his weakened hand and keeping the blade at bay with all of his might, "-send them!"
"Liar! You sent those bastard cousins of yours to kidnap Sakura! She had to fight for her life! She has blood on her hands because of you!" he roared, "You would have her taken from me!?"
"I would never order such a thing!" he argued fiercely, using the last bit of his strength the alter the trajectory of the knife above him.
Madara rammed the knife into the ground, slicing the side of Hashirama's neck, before Hashirama struck out, punching Madara in his gushing wound. Grunting in pain, Madara was stunned just long enough for Hashirama to throw him off of him, skittering out of the way and holding up his one good hand in placation as Madara rapidly returned to his feet.
Panting, Hashirama's eyes fell to his family members lined up to be killed, their hands raised up in the air in submission as the bar burned hotly behind them, ash and soot raining from the sky and burning them all with scorching embers.
"Madara, please listen! I never ordered them to abduct Sakura! I had no idea they had been planning such a thing!" Hashirama beseeched, "We've always had an agreement! We never hurt those who aren't involved in the clubs, right? You've always left Mito and Tsunade out of this. I would never disrespect you in such a way as to send anyone after your wife!"
"Then what do you suggest? Your club mates tried to take her! What will you do to fix this?!" Madara growled, pointing his stolen weapon at the Senju president.
"A blood price. Just please. Spare my family," Hashirama suggested, desperation in his tone, "They had nothing to do with this either, they had no idea."
"What's your offer then? Who could possibly bear the weight of the sins of those bastards who tried to take my pregnant wife?"
Hashirama paused for a moment before his expression hardened. Standing to his full height, his hand dropped to his side in silent surrender. "Take m-"
"No! Please! Take me!" the secretary of the Senju MC, a man with a shaved head and a scar along his cheek, yelled out from the crowd before taking a hesitant step forward, "It… it's my fault... Take me."
"Kouta…" Hashirama whispered in shock, staring at the elder Senju, before asking, "What are you talking about?"
"Shit, Hashi... I…" the man muttered, bowing his head before grimacing and spitting out, "I planned it."
"You planned it?" Hashirama parroted, betrayal in his voice as his body tensed despite the blade still buried deep into his shoulder.
"You fucking planned it!?" Toka, the sergeant in arms for the Senju, bellowed, taking a rapid step forward with her fists clenched at her sides.
Obito, unwilling to allow the Senju hostages to break rank, pulled off another few rounds into the burning building behind her, threatening the Senju without a word. Toka scowled deeply as she took a slow step backwards, refusing to tear her eyes away from the Uchiha's sergeant at arms. A silent battle of wills raged between the two enforcers, neither stepping down as the Senju secretary continued.
"I knew. I'm sorry... I never thought it would have come to this but I had to do it! Those bastard Uchiha killed Hibiki! I just know it!" Kouta argued fiercely, so focused on Hashirama that he failed to notice the looks of fury and betrayal from his own family falling upon him, "He disappeared months ago and it was right after that they massacred all of our family members at the Fuma deal. They tortured him for information and used it to kill more of the people we love!"
"They killed my daughter! They took my Shiori from me! Don't you remember? Why should I have to lose my daughter while their president gets to keep his whore? I thought we could finally put an end to the Uchiha this way. No one would miss that bitch anyways. If we had used her, we could have finally killed them all!" he cried out before turning to look to the Senju at his sides, "Right?"
When Kouta was met with nothing but looks of disgust, he looked to Tobirama for support, "Right?"
Tobirama shook his head, his expression pinched in revulsion, "You make me sick."
There was a long pause, the only sound between them being the fire still raging at the Senju's backs.
"A sufficient recompense. I accept," Madara growled, having not torn his deadly gaze from Kouta as the man revealed the truth behind his wife's would be abduction.
Tossing his knife to the side, unwanted, Madara slowly advanced on Kouta, the Senju freezing in place as he was pinned by his predatory gaze. Sasuke emerged from the crowd of Uchiha, rage making his fists shake at his side. His furious gaze challenged any Senju who would dare oppose him as he strode forward and grabbed Kouta by the arm, shoving him towards Madara, the man stumbling and nearly falling to his knees.
"This is what you deserve for hurting my sister, you piece of trash," Sasuke snarled remorselessly, leveling the Senju secretary with a look of disgust as he returned to the crowd of Uchiha to watch the recompense unfold with eager eyes.
Without a moment of hesitation, Madara descended upon the man who nearly had Sakura killed. The man who tried to take her away from him. The man who would have her tortured, who would have their baby killed, who would do anything to hurt Madara and his family even if it meant harming an innocent woman who did nothing but bring good into the world.
As ashes and embers rained from the sky and blanketed the ground around him, Madara knocked Kouta to his back. As the heat of the burning building and the scalding, drifting embers made his skin scream, Madara pounded his fists into the man's face. As both the Uchiha and the Senju family looked on with expressions of righteousness and loathing, Madara crushed the man's skull, the force of his blows tearing open the skin on his knuckles.
The strength and malice he poured into every one of his strikes made the gaping cut on his chest bleed more and more but the blood pouring from his own wound could not match the blood he brought forth from Kouta's face with each one of his strikes. The rage over this man having orchestrated the near abduction and torture of his pregnant wife fueled his hatred and his violence, nothing stopping the relentless blows which slowly began to carve away at the structure of his face.
Madara didn't stop when the Senju's pleas for mercy gurgled forth from his broken mouth. He didn't stop when the man stopped moving, the only hint of humanity left within him being the twitching of his hands limply laid out on the ground on either side of him. He didn't stop when he felt the man take his last breath, a gasp of air he pounded out of him with his bleeding knuckles.
He only stopped when Kouta's face was unrecognizable beneath him, when the bones of his skull, the skin of his face, and the blood and brain from within the deepest reaches of his head mixed into a mass that could no longer be considered human.
A deathly silence hung in the air around him once he was finished, still towering above the corpse beneath him, the only sound besides the ever present crackling of the flaming building behind them being his pants as he caught his breath.
Dropping his head, Hashirama took a quiet breath before finally reaching up to his chest and yanking free the blade trapped in his chest in one jagged movement. Hissing through his teeth in pain, he stared down at the blood soaked knife in his hands for a long moment.
It was Hashirama's voice that finally tore Madara's eyes away from the unrecognizable body underneath him.
"Is this business finished?" Hashirama asked sharply, his expression twisted in a mix of emotions Madara didn't care to dissect.
Madara glared at the Senju for a long moment, his suddenly fresh gaze taking in his surroundings. The family of Senju, covered in dirt, blood, soot, and ash. His own family waiting for his next words. The sound of sirens growing in the distance. Finally, he looked to Obito, giving him a curt nod which the younger Uchiha returned before him and Naori lowered their rifles.
"For now," Madara answered before finally rising to his feet, "But…"
The Uchiha met Hashirama's eyes once again, a hatred and a bloodlust the Senju had never before seen coloring his features.
"If any of you come near my wife again... I'll massacre your entire family. I don't care if they're in the club or not. I will kill everyone you love," he threatened darkly, "Do you understand?"
Hashirama glowered in return before nodding sharply. Throwing Madara's blade towards him, the weapon clattering to Madara's feet, he hissed, "Very well."
Madara paused for a moment, staring into the eyes of the Senju president, before leaning down to collect his weapon. Slipping it back into the sheath on his hip, he turned his back to the Senju and returned to his bike.
The rest of the Uchiha followed suit, only pausing to return their weapons to the vans before straddling their own bikes. There was a roar of engines as the motorcycles and vans all returned to life before the family, having finally gotten their vengeance, left the battlefield behind them.
Madara, pausing in his trek, took one last look back towards the crowd of Senju, watching as they gathered up the corpse and the badly beaten members of the club and dragged them off. Without another look back, he twisted the throttle, his bike lurching forward beneath him and taking him back into the darkened forests surrounding the backwoods bar.
As he rode down the winding forest road that lead back into the city with his club mates a short distance ahead, he watched as flashing lights ascended the mountain through the trees, rapidly making their way towards the roaring blaze which lit the bottom of the billowing cloud of smoke in reds and oranges.
Sakura was startled awake from a fitful sleep by the sound of glass breaking in her bathroom.
Ever since her attempted abduction a week previous, Sakura had been on edge. She found herself jumping at shadows, double checking the locks to every door, and she had yet to get a full night's sleep. Every time she would fall asleep, her dreams were plagued with masked figures who would drag her away into the van she had narrowly escaped from. She had recurring nightmares of being tortured, of her baby being killed, and of being forced to murder more people with her bare hands.
Being woken up by the sound of breaking glass in her own home had panic and adrenaline rushing hotly through her veins as she shot up in bed. She rapidly felt to her side, searching for Madara - her rock during all of her suffering - but she found the sheets next to her were cold and empty. Swallowing back the knot in her throat, she pulled herself out of bed.
She froze in front of their bed as fear that she would be forced to confront another would be abductor - fear that she would have to kill another person - made her heart race painfully in her chest. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and forcing herself to calm down. Even if another attacker waited for her on the other side of her home, even if she was alone and forced to fight for her life once again, allowing herself to succumb to her panic would only assure her future as a victim.
Sakura refused to allow anyone to hurt her or her child.
On silent feet, she sneaked out of her bedroom, quietly making her way towards the bathroom. A strip of light shone out of the cracked door, illuminating the darkened hallway and lighting her path. As she drew closer, she could her Madara's muffled voice quietly cussing from within, filling her with relief but also concern as to why her fiancé was lurking in their bathroom in the middle of the night.
Her heart now racing for an entirely different reason, Sakura reached forward, silently pushing open the bathroom door. Peeking inside, she found Madara standing at the bathroom sink, aggressively scrubbing his hands and cursing under his breath. A broken soap dispenser, the source of the noise that had woken her, was arranged in a neat pile of glass on the countertop. Her eyes flicked to Madara, taking in his bare back and the blotchy redness that she knew would soon form angry bruises.
He was dusted in a layer of dirt and stains ranging from smears of black to splashes of crimson were scattered across his bare skin. His socks and shoes were gone and the legs of his jeans were rolled up above his ankles, the filthy fabric dotted with dark splotches that made her stomach roll.
Sakura's eyes widened when her eyes parted from her fiancé, finally drawn to the splashes of color that were bloody fingerprints decorating the countertop and the mirrored cabinets above the sink. Gazing into the mirror, her lips parted in shock as her eyes caught sight of the crimson soaked rag perched on his opposite side.
"Madara," she called out, urgency in her tone as she pushed open the door completely.
Madara froze at his name before calmly turning off the faucet, still refusing to look at her. He paused for a long moment, his head dropping as his gaze fell to the stained sink and the only sound between them being a few stray droplets of water.
"Sakura…" he muttered.
"You're bleeding. Why are you bleeding?" she questioned, taking a step towards him.
"No!" he roared in return, Sakura stopping in her tracks.
"I mean… no," he tried again, much softer this time, his shoulders sagging. Still refusing to look to her, he continued softly, "It's fine. I'm fine. Just go back to bed, love. I'll be there soon."
"What are you hiding from me?" she demanded, closing the space between them. When Madara didn't respond, she grabbed him by the arm, turning him around.
When Sakura was met by the deep, lazily bleeding gash carved into his skin from his collar bone to his navel, she gasped. Her eyes frantically flicked across his form, taking in his stained hands, old blood mixed with fresh, the mottling on his forearms, and his knuckles torn open from fighting. Small burns were flecked across his face, neck, and forearms, as if he had been caught in a cloud of burning ash.
Now that she was close, she could smell the acrid stench of the blood, soot, and gunpowder that clung to him.
Instead of meeting her gaze, he looked off to the side, his entire form tense as he gripped the bathroom counter behind him.
"Why hide this from me?" Sakura asked, her eyebrows furrowing.
"It's nothing you need to worry about," Madara asserted.
"Of course this is something to worry about!" she argued, concern and anger coloring her tone, "This is deep! You need stitches!"
"I can do them myself. Just go back to bed."
"No, I'm not leaving you like this!"
"Please, Sakura, just…" Madara pleaded, grimacing, "Just go back to bed. You shouldn't see this. Not after-"
Sakura reached up, cradling his face in her hands and silently interrupting him. He finally met her gaze, surprised, as she looked up at him, resolute.
"No," she stated simply before pulling away, his entire form sagging in defeat as he accepted that she would not be swayed.
Reaching around him, she opened one of the drawers at his side, pulling out her medical kit. Setting it atop the unsullied section of counter space, she quietly set to work, pulling out the supplies she would need to tend to his wound. Madara leaned back against the counter, silent yet still refusing to look at her once again.
Cracking open a fresh bottle of saline, Sakura carefully mixed in a small amount of iodine before shaking the container. Using a clean hand towel to catch the fluid, she slowly poured the diluted antiseptic over his wound. He gritted his teeth against the discomfort, his eyebrows furrowing as she worked to clean out the debris from the gash on his chest. Once finished, she ripped open a sterile towelette soaked with rubbing alcohol and carefully cleaned the edges of the still lazily bleeding slash.
After she finished cleaning the wound, she slipped a pair of clean gloves onto her hands before unwinding a length of suture from it's cassette. She laced it through a curved needle which she gripped in a pair of pliers before turning to face him once again.
"Are you ready?" she asked softly, receiving nothing but a curt nod in response.
Carefully yet quickly, Sakura began to suture up the wound with expert skill. While Madara grimaced against the pain, he did not flinch, allowing her to easily and quickly mend the wound with gentle hands. Once she finished with the final knot in the professional line of stitches, she sighed gently, pulling back to cut the stray thread.
"We need to clean you up better… You're covered in filth," she spoke quietly as she looked down at her work before turning to take a step towards the shower, "Let me grab-"
"Wait!" Madara yelled as she finally caught sight of the contents at the bottom of their bathtub.
Frozen in place, it took a few rapid heartbeats before Sakura finally closed the distance between her and their shower. First to come into view was Madara's cut draped over the edge of the bathtub, splattered in large crimson droplets. Within the tub sat his balled up shirt thrown in next to his filthy boots and darkly soaked gloves. A blood smeared buck knife laid across the floor of the bath, the very same knife that she knew he always carried with him.
Sakura couldn't tear her eyes away from the small stream of red slowly leaking towards the drain, caught in the remaining water from the shower she had taken that night. When the scent of her soaps mixed with the stench of copper, gunpower, and burnt cloth, hair, and skin reached her, her hand immediately rose to cover her mouth, the dissonance of the conflicting smells and her horror making her stomach roll.
What had he done...?
Her eyes burned and her throat tightened as tears flooded her eyes, soon breaking free and slipping down her cheeks. Feelings of fear and hopelessness flared within her, combining into a heavy weight in her chest that made her struggle to breathe. As she stood in her blood stained bathroom staring down at murder evidence in the floor of her bathtub - proof that the father of the child in her belly had killed someone that day - despair made its home in her heart.
She felt as Madara appeared behind her, his nervous energy lingering at her back. She couldn't hold back the broken breath that left her only to fuel the quiet sob that followed, her hands reaching up to hide her face. Slowly, cautiously, as if worried he would scare her away, he wrapped his filthy, bruised arms around her. He pulled her against his chest, despite his wound, and held her tightly as she cried.
Unable to restrain her tears, and struggling to keep her feet below her with the waves of helplessness and hopelessness drowning her, Sakura sunk to the floor, Madara following. He pulled her into his lap as she sobbed, holding her close.
"It's never going to change…" she whimpered through her sorrow, her broken words muffled by his dirty skin.
Sakura heard as his lips parted as if to speak but no words of comfort came out. Instead, Madara held her head to his chest, dropping his forehead against her shoulder as her tears came with even more desperation.
What had she gotten herself into for the sake of love? Why did she ever think he could stop this war?
That night, Sakura had fallen asleep in her fiancé's filthy arms, exhaustion from her overwrought emotions, her tears, and her pregnancy putting her into the first dreamless sleep since her attempted abduction. When she awoke that morning, however, she found that the opposite side of their bed was empty and cold once again, the only thing remaining of his presence being dirt and soot stained sheets.
Numbly pulling herself out of bed, she ignored the dirtied bedding, unable to gather the energy to deal with replacing it. Instead, she made her way out of the bedroom, feeling like she was in a haze as she stopped in the bathroom. As she brushed her teeth and took her prenatal vitamins, she noticed how the mess from the night before was gone, the only thing affirming that it had ever even happened being the scent of bleach lingering in the air.
She knew without having to look that the fire pit out back would still be smoldering, the evidence of Madara's murder the night before lost to fire and turned to ash.
After relieving herself, she padded into the kitchen to make herself a cup of tea, knowing that she couldn't bring herself to make a proper meal even if she wanted to eat it. When she entered the living room and found a visitor waiting on her couch, she wasn't even half surprised to find Sasuke looking up at her from his phone.
"Good… ah, morning… Sakura," Sasuke greeted awkwardly, locking his phone with a click before tucking it into the pocket within his leather cut.
Sighing quietly, Sakura simply walked to the stove, filling her ever present kettle with water from the sink before setting it on the stovetop.
"I'm guessing you're here because of whatever happened last night?" she asked simply as she flicked on the burner, watching as the stovetop flared to life.
"I'm just here to keep you company," Sasuke replied, the undertone in his voice one that Sakura immediately recognized as being a lie.
"You've always been an awful liar," she grumbled, pulling a cup from one cabinet and a tea bag from another.
Even though she could feel Sasuke's eyes on her back, she ignored him, deigning to lean against the countertop as she gazed into the flames of the burner. As she stared into the uniform fire, she found herself being drawn into her inner world, thoughts that had been plaguing her mind ever since last night returning once again. The fact that Sasuke was here to keep an eye on her just further cemented the fact that Madara had done something unspeakable the night before.
The fact Madara didn't feel she was safe to be by herself in their own home only made the sick feeling in her stomach grow.
It was the whistle of the kettle that finally snapped her out of her thoughts, pushing her to fill her cup. Stirring the boiling water with the tea bag, she made her way to the couch, gentle settling onto the cushions beside him. She met his concerned gaze briefly but turned away, instead choosing to settle her eyes onto her slowly darkening cup of tea.
"Aren't you going to eat something?" Sasuke finally asked.
"I'm not hungry," she answered simply, not wanting to explain how the events of the night before had stolen away her appetite.
"You should eat," he pressed, Sakura catching him gazing at her belly when her eyes flicked over to regard him.
When he looked up to meet her gaze, she continued to stare, her silent look both a dare and a plea all at once. Huffing softly, Sasuke leaned back into the couch, obeying her wordless request. Curling her legs beneath her, Sakura gently blew on her tea, watching as steam swirled around her fingertips. When the smell of her favorite jasmine tea finally reached her, she found that a fresh wave of nausea - a feeling she hadn't felt since her first trimester - welled within her instead of familiar contentment.
Staring into the surface of her drink, she hardly noticed when Sasuke leaned forward to pick up the remote and switch on the television. The voice that began speaking once the screen before her flicked on, however, caught the entirety of her attention.
"-and mayhem is all I can say to describe-" a female news reporter spoke before Sasuke rapidly changed the channel.
Reaching over in an instant, Sakura snatched the remote from his hands, rapidly switching the television back to the news as she set her drink on the coffee table, her eyes transfixed onto the screen.
"-still struggle to douse the acres of flames which spawned from this backwoods bar, notably associated with the infamous Senju motorcycle club. The grounds are covered with used shells from firearms and the fires still burn brightly in the distance," the reporter detailed in a grave tone, emergency vehicles and the still burning skeleton of what was once a building smoking behind her, "Despite witness accounts saying that they heard automatic gunfire and fighting and despite the carnage surrounding us, the Senju motorcycle club insists that that the fire was simply an accident while they had been shooting targets. A difficult story to believe. More tonight at-"
Muting the television, Sakura turned to face Sasuke with an expectant look. He met her gaze for a long moment, the silence stretching between them, before he sighed, dropping his face into his hand so he could rub the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger.
"It would have been worse, you know… They're lucky Madara stopped to listen to the leader of the Senju," he explained vaguely.
"What happened?" she demanded.
"You don't need-"
"Don't you dare tell me I don't need to know. This is my life now too," she returned sharply, the tone of her voice brokering no arguments.
"It turned out that the Senju president hadn't sent those two who tried to take you…" Sasuke explained with a scowl, "Someone was acting on his own and sent them after you, trying to get revenge for something that happened a while back. It's fine now."
"If that's the case then why are you here with me now?"
"Can't an old friend just come to visit?"
"Don't fucking lie to me, Sasuke," she growled, her eyes narrowing.
Folding his arms across his chest, Sasuke's expression twisted. "Everyone is worried that someone is going to disobey their leader and come after you again after what happened."
"What happened?"
"The leader of the Senju's offered recompense and Madara took it..." he muttered, refusing to meet her gaze.
"Recompense?" Sakura parroted, her stomach rolling.
"Don't make me-"
"What was it, Sasuke?" she interrupted hotly.
"It…" Sasuke began before finally biting out, "It was the Secretary of the club. He set it all up. He thought they could use you to make us surrender."
Sakura's heart dropped into her churning stomach, the ball of dread within her chest that had formed the night before becoming heavier and heavier within her.
"What did Madara do?" she asked quietly, not sure if she even wanted to know the answer.
"It's nothing for you to concern yourself with," Sasuke returned, echoing the same words Madara had repeatedly told her.
Don't worry about it, it's none of your concern, it doesn't have anything to do with you. All phrases that she had been told and all phrases that spoke volumes despite how quietly they were always bit out. Phrases that she knew only meant the worst. Phrases that always hid blood and death behind them.
Sakura felt her stomach rise to her throat.
"How could you all do this? How can you live with it?" she whispered, drawing a deep scowl from the man she considered a brother as he turned to face her with fire in his eyes.
"Are you kidding!?" he started, anger and betrayal in his voice, "We're just doing this to protect our family from those bastards! We're doing it to try to protect you!"
"They tried to take you, Sakura! They could have killed you! They could have killed your baby! They could have raped-! T-they…" he yelled before stuttering, regret immediately coloring his features.
At his words, Sakura felt as tears built in her eyes once again, unable to be stopped as she was once again forced to confront the reality she had almost faced; as she once again faced the future she had to kill two men to run from. Raising her hand, she hid her rapidly welling tears, her other hand cradling her slowly growing belly.
"Sakura, I… we… none of us are going to let anything happen to you. I promise," Sakura tried, reaching out to touch her arm in comfort.
Slapping her hand away, Sakura yelled through her tears, "Don't touch me!"
Shooting to her feet, she ignored Sasuke's apologies, instead choosing to rush back to her bedroom. Slamming and locking the door behind her, Sakura took a shaky breath, desperate to reign in the tears that had fallen far too frequently as of late.
She missed when everything was simpler. When it was just her and Madara spending warm times together, nothing but love and passion coloring those days. Even so, she realized that she had just chosen not to see what he hid. That she had never truly accepted or understood the reality of his life, instead choosing to see only the parts of him she wanted to. Even when she began to grasp the part of his life that he kept secret from her, it took her almost getting dragged away to her living hell to finally realize the severity of it all.
Collapsing onto her bed, Sakura found she could not control her crying, hot tears spilling down her cheeks as she muffled her cries in her pillow. Even in that moment, finally understanding Madara's secret life - what he did and what he truly was - and finally understanding how her connection with him was what had put her in so much danger…
She would do anything to have him there beside her.
Running her hand across his side of the bed, the sheets rough with dirt and soot beneath her fingers, Sakura fisted her hand in the sheets as she lost herself to her tears.
Gripping the steering wheel, Tsunade impatiently waited for one of the prospects of her family's club to open the gate which lead into the Senju MC's compound. Even with the rage that festered within her like a poison spreading through her blood, she maintained her composure, waiting until the gate was open completely before calmly pulling inside and parking next to a handful of other vehicles belonging to those in the club.
Opening the door and stepping out onto the asphalt, she didn't even bother to turn off her vehicle or close her door as she strode towards the painted double doors which lead into the clubhouse. Not faltering in her steps, and not bothering to greet the club members who sat outside smoking cigarettes and passing joints, she threw open the double doors.
The doors smashed against the wall on the inside of the clubhouse, startling all those within, some even going as far as to reach for their weapons before finally relaxing when they recognized her. At least as much as they could relax when they recognized the fury in her eyes and the set of her shoulders.
Tsunade's sharp gaze settled on Hashirama, seated at a table next to Tobirama, Toka, and a couple of his officers. When her eyes locked with Hashirama's, he stood to greet her, although his actions were hesitant as if confronting a wild animal. Recognizing the look in her eyes, Tobirama slowly rose to his feet as well.
"Ah… Tsunade! It's uh, good to see you!" Hashirama tried, his normally warm welcome weighed down by the concern over her fists curling at her sides.
As he walked forward to greet her, Tsunade strode forward with far more confidence, the sound of her heels clicking loudly on the wood floor cutting through the quiet, tension filled room. Her painted lips twisted in a snarl as she drew close before she finally reared back and punched Hashirama across the face, knocking him to the ground with the force she put behind her blow.
"You piece of trash!" she roared, already advancing on her downed cousin as she finally allowed her restrained fury spread from the cage within her she had locked it away in.
"Tsunade, you need to calm down!" Tobirama yelled out, rushing forward to confront her.
With trained ease, Tsunade roundhouse kicked behind her, her heel catching her cousin in the temple and tossing him to the ground. Toka immediately shot to her feet as he fell to the hard wood although the other officers and patched in members of the club hung back with uncertainty.
"We had an agreement and your dogs trampled all over it!" Tsunade boomed, lurching forward as Hashirama tried to get his feet under him, her knee cracking against his chin and forcing him down once again.
Shaking his head to try to rid himself of his stunned state, Hashirama held out a blind hand in placation. "We had nothing to do with their deplorable actions, Tsuna! They acted on their own and I-!"
"Don't you dare call me Tsuna after you allowed this to happen!" she snarled, rearing back to level him with another punch.
Lurching forward, Toka caught her elbow, trying to hold back the blow that would do more than sting when it landed upon her chosen target. The only thing the younger Senju did to affect her, however, was further stoking her rage and momentarily drawing her ire. Rapidly spinning around, Tsunade seized her cousin by her shoulder and the arm she had grabbed her with before wrenching her forward and headbutting her in the nose.
"Fucking hell!" Toka cried out as she stumbled backwards, her hands already reaching up to cradle her broken and profusely bleeding nose.
"You make me sick!" Tsunade bellowed, whipping around to kick her cousin across the cheek and jolting his head to the side before he could stand.
"Calm the fuck down, Tsunade!" Tobirama growled, jolting forward once again and grabbing Tsunade by the arm to attempt to drag her away from his brother.
Shooting out her fist, she caught him in the throat, making him choke and cradle his neck as he staggered back. With his middle open, she planted a heeled foot into his stomach, tossing him into the table he had once sat at. Slumping to the floor, he desperately tried to catch his breath, struggling through his injured throat.
"Our agreement was broken because of your stupidity!" Tsunade snarled, looking down at Hashirama as he rose to one knee, "You promised to keep the violence away from my hospital and, in exchange, I risked everything to take care of those wounded in your war!"
"I promise you, if I had known, I-!" he argued before Tsunade reared back and kicked him in the chest, a muffled crack sounding as a rib caved beneath her ruthless strike.
"And because you couldn't keep a leash on your animals-!" Tsunade roared, pausing only to kick him once again.
"-my pregnant protege-!" she continued, punctuating her cries with another strike.
"-was forced to kill two men to protect herself!" she finished, planting another kick and another into his injured side, not stopping until he was folded over, clutching his broken ribs.
Panting, Tsunade stared down at the man she once loved more than any other in her family - the man she had once risked everything to help their clan - with disgust. Her fists shook at her sides, wanting nothing more than to continue her assault.
"The rest of the family can still come receive treatment but, until you're earned my forgiveness, none of you are allowed near my hospital," she growled, before spinning around to glare at all of the Senju club members staring on in horror, "Do you hear me!? None of you are to come near my hospital!"
"But you'll still take care of those Uchiha bastards?!" Tobirama wheezed as Toka helped him to his feet, bright red trails of blood still dripping from her broken nose.
"You're damn right I will! At least they know how to keep innocents safe! They never disrespected - or worse yet tried to kidnap - me, Mito, or anyone else in our family like you sick bastards did!" Tsunade bellowed in return.
"I'm sorry, Tsunade. This was never supposed to happen," Hashirama spoke, looking up at her with an expression that almost made her believe that his apology could make the slightest difference in the fact his club mates had tried to abduct her protege. As if what he wanted made any difference in what had happened.
Tsunade made a sound of revulsion in return, turning her back to him once again to face the crowd of Senju staring on like deer caught in headlights.
"If any of you dogs even look at my student again... I'll kill you," Tsunade threatened, the fire in her gaze making many avert their eyes.
Without another word, she stormed out of the clubhouse to return to her car, leaving nothing behind but broken bones, blood, and a very real threat as she turned her back on the animals she once considered family.
A/N: Kouta, the Secretary for the Senju, means "great peace". He would do anything for his version of peace and to get vengeance for his daughter, even going as far as planning the abduction and torture of an innocent, pregnant woman. His design, a shaved head with a scar across his cheek, is actually based off of a background character in the scene where a group of Senju are shown. He is standing next to Toka in the only scene where we see her.
Hibiki means "sound, echoes". It's his "echoes" that allowed the two brothers to side with Kouta and go with his plan to abduct Sakura. He was the man who was abducted by Obito and who Madara and Obito tortured for information in chapter six. He was also the uncle of the two mourning brothers who never got closure for his death and who were convinced by Kouta to abduct Sakura.
Shiori means "to be a guide". She is the daughter of the Senju's Secretary, Kouta, and she was the leader of the deal between the Senju and the Fuma in chapter ten. She was killed during the Uchiha's assault. It was because of her death and Kouta's mourning that Kouta planned Sakura's abduction. Her death "guided" her father to abandon his morals and do anything to kill those responsible.