Chapter 29: Anniversary
Sakura listened to the rustle of trees outside her open window, and the owls hooting softly in the forest. Faintly she heard the rustle of deer as they moved over the undergrowth, and felt the cool wind brush against her cheek. She couldn't sleep. She didn't want to. Madara wasn't there, he had been attending to clan duties for the afternoon, and so Sakura had come home after her work at the hospital had finished. She'd declined dinner with Shikaru and Shikata, and just had a bath before getting into her bed and wrapping herself in the covers.
It was foolish, she knew, to let herself sink into the sadness. She wanted Ino, and TenTen and Hinata to talk and distract and comfort and laugh. She wanted to lay under the stars with Shisui and listen to him make-up constellations and laugh as he teased and told secrets and made her forget her worries. She wanted to watch Naruto laugh, and Choji eat, and Shikamaru sigh but secretly smile at the antics of his friends. She wanted to see Kiba and Akamaru play and watch Neji watch over Hinata and Hanabi. She wanted to see Sasuke smiling again, and she wanted Itachi to be with her and poke her forehead.
Sakura squeezed her eyes tight and turned her face into her pillow, clutching the blanket tightly to her and hugging herself. She sat up quickly when she heard a knock at the door. With a frown, she slowly got out of bed and walked through the house to the front door, before sighing and smiling when she saw who it was.
"Kuku!" Kagami bubbled happily.
Matsuri smiled empathetically at her. Sakiko was resting on her shoulder, looking sleepily at Sakura and blinking tiredly. Kagami reached up to Sakura's fingertips and she reached down so he could hold her hand.
"Hello Kagami," she said to him.
"Mama say we sleep here t'gether!" Kagami said happily.
"Does she?" Sakura murmured, smiling a little at him and then looking at Matsuri questioningly.
"Yes, she does," Matsuri said firmly. "Deal with it, Kuku," she winked.
Sakura laughed softly, gratitude welling up in her eyes and spilling over. She sniffed and wiped her eyes, and crouched down to be eye-level with Kagami.
"Kuku are you sad?" Kagami asked her.
"A little. But I'm happy you're here," she said, wrapping him in a big hug.
Kagami held her tightly and she lifted him up.
"We have to be shhh," he whispered to her. "Kiko is sleep."
"Oh, really?" Sakura replied. "I guess I can't tickle you then."
Kagami giggled behind his hand and Matsuri came into the house with Sakiko, and she gave Sakura a little hug.
"Thank you," Sakura whispered to her.
"Of course, Sakura," she whispered.
She pulled back and smiled.
"Yuri's helping Madara and we were home alone, weren't we Kagami?"
Kagami nodded and then yawned, snuggling into Sakura's neck.
"Sleepy," he mumbled.
Matsuri smiled affectionately at him. They carried the children into the bedroom and all four of them snuggled into Sakura's bed, with Sakura and Matsuri acting as barriers on the edges. Within half an hour, both Sakiko and Kagami were sleeping soundly, with Kagami still clutching Sakura's shirt in his sleep.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Matsuri whispered.
"I'm meeting Asami at the flower shop," Sakura murmured in reply. "We're going to go together."
"That's good," Matsuri replied. "But that's not what I meant."
Sakura sighed lightly.
"I don't know, what am I supposed to feel? How am I supposed to get ready?"
Her voice was a little clipped. Matsuri was quiet for a moment.
"I don't know," she said after a moment. "I'm just worried about you."
"Sorry," Sakura mumbled. "I know. What about you? And Yuri?"
"Well. It's easier this year, I think, as bad as that sounds," she responded, her voice holding a note of sorrow. "But I think if he could see us, he'd laugh and tell us to stop being so upset. Izuna was proud of his position, but he never wanted to be fawned over."
Sakura smiled a little, remembering Izuna's laughter.
"He and Yuri were so funny together," Matsuri continued, her voice soft with fondness. "They'd play pranks on Madara all the time, and of course they'd blame it all on me."
She laughed and Sakura grinned, imagining Yuri and Izuna's conspiratorial planning and laughs and Madara's irritation at them all. Matsuri told more stories about Izuna when he was young, and then she asked about Itachi.
"Itachi's childhood was difficult," Sakura said after a moments thought. "There was a lot of turmoil, but, he was never very vocal about it, but he loved to spend time with his brother when he could, and he never said no to dango."
"He always seemed serious," Matsuri said.
Sakura laughed lightly, and a little sadly.
"He was, but, there was so much more to him."
They were quiet for a little while again.
"It's not really good-bye though, is it?" Matsuri said quietly.
"What do you mean?" Sakura frowned.
"One day he'll be born again, won't he?" Matsuri whispered. "Maybe when you're old you'll meet him again."
Sakura blinked and then a slow, small smile spread across her face.
"I hope so," she whispered.
Until they were too tired to stay awake, they whispered quietly over the heads of the sleeping kids, telling stories and reminiscing. For the first time in a week, Sakura fell asleep without dreams and woke the next morning feeling like a weight had been lifted off her.
Yuri collected his family from Sakura's home in the morning, and Sakura watched them leave with a wave to Kagami and Sakiko, who were looking back at her over their parent's shoulders. Kagami waved back and smiled brightly at her and she felt a surge of fondness for the small Uchiha family that was as close to her as anyone had ever been. She went back inside and prepared for the day. Slowly, she combed her hair. It was long, and she frowned, suddenly hating it with an intensity that surprised her. Without thinking, she opened a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors and cut it off.
Pink hair fell to the ground, and she took a breath and looked at the jagged cut in the mirror. She grimaced and then took to her hair with the scissors again, cutting shorter and more even. With every snip of the scissors, Sakura felt a little lighter, ]and Sakura's hair was once again short and neat above her shoulders. She looked at herself in the mirror, wondering at the changes a year had made to her.
She looked older. Not very noticeable, but she definitely wasn't seventeen anymore. She was almost twenty. Her hair wasn't parted in the middle like it was when she first came to this era, now it was to the side with a fringe and a softness it didn't have before. She took the scissors to it, to shorten it a little at the front. When she was done, she closed her eyes a moment and ran her hands through her hair. She didn't look in the mirror again until she slipped her headband on. When she did, she jolted when she saw what she looked like.
Sakura Nara. Sakura Haruno. Lady Sakura. She'd been a little lost in all of it. Sakura took a deep breath.
"How funny. It was just a haircut," Sakura murmured quietly, peering at herself. "And now I feel like myself again."
Sakura had been trying to shake the past and look to the future for so long, she hadn't realised she'd been losing little pieces of her inner self through the year. In her mind, seeing herself with short hair again, she was reminded of her own identity. She pulled her headband off and brushed her fingers through her hair again and made it neat before she went and got dressed in her usual outfit of a dark pink qiapo over slim blank pants and heeled sandals, and made a plan in her head for the day.
Sakura met Asami on the main road of the village on the way to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. She was dressed in a simple outfit of cream kimono and a rich red hakama, traditional of the Senju.
"Good morning, Saku - Oh! You've cut your hair," Asami said, a little startled.
Sakura laughed a little embarrassed and shrugged.
"Yeah, just - needed the change, I guess."
"You look great," Asami grinned.
Sakura linked her arm through Asami's and silently thanked her for the friendship they'd built up.
"I'm glad to be doing this with you," Sakura said to her.
Asami gave her an empathetic smile.
"As am I," she replied. "Are you - is it odd?" She asked, frowning a little. "That you've been awake for a year? Did you know the time passed?"
Sakura's step faltered slightly as she was caught off-guard by the question.
"No one has ever asked me that before," she said with a thoughtful frown. "I think… sometimes I feel like there are things I can almost remember. It's kind of hard to describe."
Asami hummed in thought.
"Like a dream that you forget when you wake up."
"Something like that," Sakura smiled.
"You're here now, and I am glad of it, even though our hearts are hurting today," Asami said.
Sakura didn't respond with words, she simply squeezed Asami's arm a little tighter and they continued the short way to the flower shop in companionable silence. True to form, Reina Yamanaka had already prepared two bouquets for Sakura and Asami that were waiting on the counter when the girls walked in. White flowers, pure and simple, tied together with black ribbons.
"Free of charge," Reina said with a kind smile to them.
"No, Reina, please - "
Sakura tried to deny her, but Reina held up her hand to stop her and shook her head.
"Today you honour heroes of our village and men who were close to your hearts. How could I accept money for that?"
Sakura and Asami exchanged glances and nodded slowly and reluctantly. Sakura didn't know how to argue with Reina, even if she wanted too.
"Thank you, Reina," Sakura murmured in response.
"Your hair looks nice, Sakura," Reina said with another kind smile. "You look more like yourself."
Sakura felt her cheeks warm a little at the comment, though she felt that same unease around Reina like the woman could see right through her. She mumbled her thanks again. Asami and Sakura left the shop together, walking quietly through Konoha towards the Uchiha district and the shrine by the river. They spoke little, but the silence was comforting as was the presence of someone else there.
When Sakura and Asami arrived at the road to the shrine, they weren't greeted verbally but with simple nods and looks from the members of the Uchiha clan that were gathered to offer their prayers for the departed and meet with the others who came and went. The Naka Shrine was not usually a place where outsiders entered, but Sakura and Asami were exceptions to the unspoken rule, as given permission by Madara for their lost loves. Itachi and Izuna were the last two Uchiha buried at the shrine. The cemetery for all of Konoha had been constructed soon after their funerals.
From the corner of her eye, Sakura saw movement beside the shrine and saw Shouta standing in the shadows of the trees all alone. She was glad he was there, but concerned at his isolation from the others in his clan, though she did know he was somewhat of an outcast among them. Just as Asami and Sakura were going to step off the stone path to the shrine and onto the grass to the graveyard, Asami unhooked her arm from Sakura's and gripped her hand, stopping them both, much to Sakura's confusion.
"Are you okay, Sakura?" She asked. "You're crying."
Sakura looked at her in surprise and touched at her cheeks. They came away wet.
"Oh," Sakura breathed.
Asami squeezed her hand and then let it go. They walked to the graves. Sakura suddenly felt uncomfortable with the gazes of the Uchiha who were milling around the shrine, paying their own respects, but clearly watching her. It was common knowledge that she'd be meeting with their elders in a few days time, there was a hideous amount of gossip about it. Sakura turned her attention away from the Uchiha and stood with Asami before Izuna's grave. Asami clutched the flowers to her chest a moment before she lowered the flowers to his grave and let them rest there, white against grey stone. She knelt, reaching out with her fingertips to brush across his name. Sakura turned her head and stepped back, giving her a moment of privacy. When she was done, Asami stood and turned to smile at Sakura, her eyes wet with unshed tears.
"You know, Izuna once told me that if you and Itachi hadn't arrived at the battle that day, he probably would have died. So thank you for saving him, and letting me meet him, Sakura."
She turned back to the graves.
"And you too, Itachi."
Sakura gave her a shaking smile before she plucked a flower from her bouquet and laid it beside Asami's, for Izuna.
"Thank you for being my friend," Sakura whispered. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
She remembered Matsuri's comments the night before, about how Izuna would have been annoyed at all the tears and sadness, and so she smiled at his name, though her lips trembled slightly. A moment later, Sakura stepped across to Itachi's grave. She stood and looked down at it, her tears now flowing freely. She lowered herself to her knees, and placed the flowers at his grave, and lowered her head, covering her eyes with one hand and breathing as deeply as she could. It took a moment for her to compose herself, but she did. She wiped her eyes then looked up, staring at his name.
"I'll make you proud, Itachi. I'll live, and love, and honour your life and sacrifice," she resolved, quietly but firmly.
She stood back up and tucked some of her hair back that had blown across her face away. She released a breath she'd been holding, and let it float away in the wind.
"Sakura."
Asami's voice was quiet. She turned to Asami and saw that she was looking back at the path, where Matsuri, Yuri and their children were standing and looking at them. Matsuri nodded to her, and Sakura nodded back. Her eyes drifted over to the tree where Shouta was standing, and she told Asami she'd join them later. Their time at the graves came to an end, and Asami joined Matsuri while Sakura walked over to Shouta. He was leaning against the trunk of a broad tree, arms folded over his chest, wearing a high-necked black long-sleeved shirt and black pants. Very Uchiha. She gave him a half-smile.
"Why are you hiding?" She asked.
He glanced at her before looking away.
"I'm not. I just - " he sighed. "I don't care for the eyes of the clan on me while I pay my respects to Izuna-sensei."
Sakura nodded with some understanding and leaned against the trunk of the tree beside him.
"You cut your hair," Shouta observed.
Sakura hummed in acknowledgment.
Shouta didn't say anything more, and Sakura was no longer in a mood to talk. They stood together in comfortable silence before Shouta suddenly looked back over at the path. Sakura's eyes followed his gaze, and there was a rise in the murmurs of the crowd. Madara had come, with the Senju in tow. Hashirama, Tobirama, Mito and little Tsumo. Sakura stood still, suddenly uncertain of what she should do. She watched as the Hokage, in full garb, paid his respects first by laying a hand on the ground and creating a bloom of his own across the grass, beautifying the area. She was sure the little spark of jealousy she felt in that moment was justified. Mito and Tsumo then came to stand beside him, and Hashirama removed his hat and closed his eyes, silent for a moment before he stepped back and allowed Tobirama to come forward.
There was a sudden tense atmosphere in the air, and Sakura realised that it was because Tobirama and Izuna had been the fiercest of enemies and rivals. She was sure that the Uchiha who watched had mixed feelings about his presence, yet no one made a move to stop Tobirama saying a quick and silent prayer over the graves, even lingering a little longer before Izuna. Sakura imagined that Tobirama lamented that Izuna was stripped of his chance to see the village, and perhaps deprived Tobirama of a rivalry that might have formed a strong bond over time like his brother and Madara. Or not. Sakura didn't really know what Tobirama was feeling in that moment, his face betrayed nothing she could decipher. Madara, to her surprise, did not approach the graves. He stood and waited, talking quietly with the people of his clan as they came and went.
"You won't go to him?" Shouta asked her quietly.
Sakura glanced at Madara for a moment and then shook her head.
"Somehow it doesn't seem right."
Shouta frowned, clearly not understanding.
"Will you tell him something for me?" Sakura asked, looking back at Shouta. "That I've gone to the house in the woods?"
Shouta nodded.
"You don't want to go back with your friend?" He asked.
Sakura looked back at Asami, who now stood with Mito.
"No. She'll be okay, and I'll see her later."
Shouta peered at her under hooded eyes.
"Are you okay?" He asked her.
Sakura gave him a soft smile.
"Shouta, you should go into town and find your friends later. Take Shikata out, he's bored since he hasn't been on any missions lately."
Shouta only twisted his lips in response and Sakura patted his shoulder and walked off into the woods, leaving Shouta, Madara and the shrine behind her.
After Madara excused himself from two members of his clan and joined Matsuri and Yuri, Asami Senju greeted him with a small bow. He was glad that she had been the one to come with Sakura since he hadn't been able to.
"Good morning, Lord Madara," Asami said softly.
"Good morning, Asami," Madara said tiredly. "I think I've mentioned several times that there is no need for you to refer to me with a title."
Asami gave a little shrug and smile.
"It seemed right today," she responded. "I wanted to say thank you for allowing me to visit him, not just today, but when I feel I must."
"I believe Izuna would curse me if I did not," Madara said, knowing full well that his younger brother certainly would.
Asami gave a small chuckle.
"It seems like something he would do." She looked around and frowned. "Sakura's disappeared."
Madara held in a sigh and looked at Asami with conflicted feelings.
"Was she - " he cut off and shook his head, deciding not to ask.
Asami looked back at him.
"She is sad," she said. "Yet, it seems as though there's been a weight lifted off her shoulders."
Madara looked at her with surprise.
"I do not think you need to worry," Asami smiled. "I hope to see you again soon, Madara."
She bowed slightly and went back to the Senju, who were departing. Madara shared brief eye contact and a nod with Hashirama as he left.
"Lord Madara." Shouta appeared quietly at his side.
"Shouta," Madara greeted his student.
"Lady Sakura wanted me to give you a message," he said quietly.
Madara waited.
"She is at the house in the woods."
Madara felt a little relief run through him.
"Thank you, Shouta."
He glanced at the young man beside him and remembered Izuna's words about Shouta.
"It was tragic," Madara said.
Shouta looked at him, frowning in confusion.
"Your injuries," Madara explained. "Izuna said it to me once, in the first few months of your bedrest. He wanted to help you recover. He'd been watching your progress before it happened. He just didn't know how to help in the end."
Shouta was quiet.
"Izuna-sensei did help me, more than he realised," he said in a low voice. "If he did not visit and speak with me as often as he did, perhaps I would not be here at all."
In an uncharacteristic display of companionship, Madara put his hand on Shouta's shoulder, aware that the clan was watching them interact. He felt the trembling under his hand and knew Shouta did not want the others to see him.
"Don't be late to your training tomorrow," Madara said to him.
"Thank you, Lord Madara," Shouta murmured, and Madara knew it was for more than just the reminder.
With that, Madara walked away into the forest, heading for the house in the woods.
Madara stood in the open doorway of Sakura and Itachi's house and looked in at Sakura, who was sitting on the couch, staring at the wall in front of her. Madara felt a flip of worry in his chest at the sight of her. His feet wouldn't move any further into the house, but he knew that she knew he was there. The silence continued for a moment longer before she spoke.
"I thought I needed to forget who I was to move forward here," she said in a calmer voice than he was expecting. "That 'Sakura Haruno' couldn't exist anymore since no one is left to remember her, and that everything she needed to do was done."
Sakura turned her head to Madara, and to his surprise, there were no tears, no redness around her eyes. She was smiling, a little warmly, a little like she was nervous. She stood looked around her, at the house.
"But I realised today that I've been lost in trying rid myself of my past," she continued.
She put a hand up to her hair and patted it anxiously, biting her lip a little.
"I know I've been up and down a lot over the last few months. I didn't realise that having closure didn't mean everything would be okay right away."
She looked away and frowned, and Madara still felt nervous but also like a knot of tension had released while she spoke.
"So what did you decide then?" Madara asked her.
Sakura turned back to look at him questioningly.
"Who did you decide to be?" He urged, feeling like the answer was important not just to her, but for him as well.
Sakura smiled, and to Madara, it was a heartbreakingly beautiful thing, with all the light that he'd only just now realised had been slowly fading away from her in recent months.
"I'm Sakura," she said simply, like it explained everything and in a way, he understood it did. "It doesn't matter what people call me. Haruno, Nara, it's just a name. I know who I am, and more than anyone else, you know who I am."
She looked at him earnestly and Madara felt like he was seeing her again for the first time. All the subtle things she'd been lacking for the last year were back again. An inner fire in her eyes, a slightly stronger posture, an air of surety around her.
"Yes," Madara murmured, feeling lighter than he had for a long time. "A strange time-traveling girl."
Sakura laughed a little at that. But Madara wasn't finished.
"A young woman who made me see the possibilities of who I could be, and whose courage and strength inspires me to want to walk beside her."
Sakura's eyes watered and she swiftly walked over to him and threw her arms around his middle, squeezing tightly. Madara returned her embrace with a soft smile, wrapping her in his arms and kissing the top of her head.
"I like your hair long," he murmured. "But this suits you more."
Sakura pulled away and smiled at him.
"Well, you have better hair than me anyway."
Madara smiled, a little smugness in it. He did have good hair, he would admit it, no matter what Hashirama said about it. She looked around and sighed.
"Is something wrong?" He asked her.
"No," she said carefully. "I was just wondering what to do with this place."
Madara shrugged.
"It might be useful to have a secret base."
Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"Base?"
Madara smirked playfully.
"An escape - somewhere protected to put important things."
Sakura's eyes suddenly brightened.
"You're right."
"I usually am."
She gave him a look and rolled her eyes.
"If we hide it with seals and genjutsu, like the house was before, this could work."
Madara peered questioningly at her.
"Work for what?" He inquired.
Sakura glanced at him and opened her mouth before snapping it shut. Madara stared at her until she finished wrestling with herself.
"Do you remember when we went to the temple in the mountain?" She asked.
Of course, he did. He nodded.
"And do you remember that I mentioned Kakashi?"
He frowned.
"I recall the name, but not from that time."
Sakura bit her lip thoughtfully.
"Maybe I didn't say anything," she mumbled.
She looked back up at him.
"Indra and Asura, the brothers who brought Itachi and I back in time, they told me something else."
"Something else like what?" Madara asked curiously.
Sakura seemed like she was becoming more and more excited for the second, and her sporadic mentions of this Kakashi character were interesting him more and more.
"Kakashi will return to his childhood as well," she almost whispered.
Madara blinked. He hadn't expected to hear that.
"What?"
"I don't know all the details," she said, fumbling out her words. "But Kakashi, Obito and someone else is also being sent back in time, to their childhoods. So… I guess it's the future from now," she said with a confused frown.
Madara nodded slowly.
"I understand," he said, and he did to a point. "But what does that have to do with the house?"
Madara had many different thoughts running through his mind. Although Sakura had told him many things about the time she'd come from, he still couldn't quite imagine what had happened for five people to be sent to the past at different points. He had a sudden urge to speak with Tobirama about it but ignored the idea. Tobirama would get too many strange ideas for new jutsu and become even more impossible to be around.
With that, Sakura blushed slightly.
"Well, I've been…" she trailed off. "I've been writing journals for him. For Kakashi."
Madara raised an eyebrow.
"About what?"
"What happened to us," Sakura said quietly. "Itachi and Kakashi were friends. Both of us were Kakashi's students, and I just - I figured that if he was being sent back in time, then the Sage of Six Paths probably told him that we had also been sent back. So - "
"You wanted to leave him a legacy," Madara finished.
"Legacy?" Sakura blinked. "I guess, maybe. I just wanted to let him know how my life was going."
At that moment, as she trailed off, she looked both younger and more innocent than he'd ever seen her. It tugged at his heart, but there was a naivety she was clearly in denial about in her thoughts. Madara sighed.
"The sentiment is as nice, Sakura, but you do understand why that is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard, don't you?"
Sakura's eyes narrowed at him, and he found himself almost torn between pinching her nose or growing irate at her.
"If those journals got into the wrong hands, it would be a disaster for both you personally and the village," he said, folding his arms over his chest.
She sighed tiredly and gave him a look he recognised as reluctant understanding.
"I know. I've thought about all of that. I have a plan, but Madara - " she looked at him pleadingly. "I have to do this. You understand, right?"
Her eyes were wide and her face held that same sense of childlike felt a small smile lift his lips, and she melted into a smile.
"Thank you," she breathed as she hugged him again.
Madara wondered when he'd become such a pushover when it came to her. She pulled back and kissed his lower jaw, it was as high as she could reach on her tiptoes.
"There's something I need to get. Will you come with me?" She asked.
"Of course," He replied instantly. "Where?"
"Follow me," she said.
They left the house, and she closed the door, her hand resting on it for a moment, and he wondered if she knew that he'd fallen in love with her inside that house. It was something he'd keep to himself. The memories she had there were special to her, just as his were, but they were not memories he'd decided long ago that shouldn't be mixed. Sakura led him back to the Naka River, to the place where he and Izuna had met Tobirama and Hashirama before the alliance after Sakura had displayed her destructive power and broken the other side of the river. He asked her what they were doing here.
"We left something behind," she said cryptically.
She caught his expression and laughed.
"Don't look at me like that. We're almost there."
They flickered up to the mountain behind the river and stopped almost halfway up. Sakura looked around and then gasped and ran over to a few stacked rocks and started pulling them and throwing them away. Madara watched her, unsure of what she was doing until she pulled up a bundle of black and green. He recognised them immediately; the clothes that she and Itachi were wearing in the very beginning. Sakura hugged the vest to her chest.
"I lost mine," she said to Madara, her eyes unfocused on the present and lost in her strange past. "In the war. Obito and I were trying to find Sasuke through different time-space dimensions, and we opened one that was an acid sea. I had to throw it off before it burned me more than it already had."
"Time-space dimensions," Madara said, furrowing his brow. "How?"
Sakura looked at him, the same hesitation in her eyes before she spoke.
"Obito Uchiha's Sharingan could open one, it was his mangekyo's power. But the others… they were someone else's."
Sakura shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Madara. But some things are better off not being known."
Madara clenched his jaw and reluctantly relented to her judgment. But in the back of his mind, he knew he'd press her about it more, particularly anything to do with the secrets of the Sharingan, which she seemed to know a lot about. Sakura collected the dirtied clothes and carried them back to the house, talking with him about different things as they went. She asked about Izuna, and he told her stories of when they were children. Madara felt a pang of sorrow and sadness and loss as he spoke, but the memories gave him a little less pain and a little more nostalgia than they had in the past. Time moved forwards for them all, and even grief evolved with it. They returned to Madara's home, through the front gate, where Sakura was given small greetings by those who were gathered within, for whatever daily tasks they come for or to leave their offerings. Madara was pleased the clan was welcoming her. Though, he had some reservations about their meeting with the council. He led Sakura inside the main residence.
"Here," he said, opening a small door.
"What is this for?" Sakura asked with confusion.
"There are too many heirlooms," Madara shrugged. "Choose a box you like to keep those."
He motioned his a quick nod of his head to the clothes she held.
"Really?" Sakura asked with a frown.
"Here is the safest place from prying eyes," he said. "And, well, if you wish to begin to feel at home here, it would please me."
Sakura's eyes danced with some amusement, then she bit her lip and blushed, looking down in a way that made him want to reach out and pin to the wall.
"Thank you," she mumbled.
She chose a small box and folded the clothes neatly within it. Her hand rested on the closed lid. Madara watched her breathe in and out a moment before she let her hand slide off, and then she looked at him with a mixture of nervousness and hope.
"You want this house to feel like home for me?" She asked.
He nodded once.
"As I said."
Sakura pursed her lips to hide her smile.
"When Usui and Kana came to visit me they asked if there would be any announcements to be made when I meet the clan."
Madara raised an eyebrow.
"Did they?" He murmured.
"I didn't say yes," Sakura said, walking past him and out of the room. "But I didn't say no, either."
Madara watched her as she walked down the hallway. Her hair didn't swing as she walked anymore, it bounced slightly. Little things were different about her. She was sad, but there was a peace in her gaze. Her posture was straighter and stronger. Her shoulders were more relaxed. He glanced at the box with the clothes in it as he closed the door, and understood that they represented some kind of closure for her. Exactly what it was, he didn't know. The two of them had dealt with their grief in very different ways. That evening, when Sakura had left after a quiet dinner together, and Madara was alone again in his home, he made his way to the shrine room. There, he knelt before Izuna.
"Izuna."
Madara's voice echoed in the darkened room. He gazed at his image and closed his eyes a moment, breathing deeply.
"My brother. It is my only wish to know that you are at peace, finally, after a life of war."
He gave a small smile.
"You… you died a lucky man," he said thickly. "A good woman loved you. I will take care of her, that I promise. I will not shame the eyes you… gave up."
Madara cleared his throat. He turned his gaze to Itachi's picture. Again, he found himself questioning what he had been deprived of in regards to the man. The more he found out from Sakura about him, and from what he had surmised in their meetings, Itachi was a man of honour and valour and Madara would have liked to know him better. Despite that, Madara felt beholden to speak this night directly to him, to ask for both forgiveness and permission.