The small council met at least once a month on the evening of the sixth day, unless the encounter was postponed for whatever reason. The meetings followed a specific pattern – the greeting (which he was always responsible for, unfortunately), the introduction of pressing issues, and, at last, they could finally discuss the actions to solve said issues.
Madara had no trouble partaking in ceremonies if they had a point or at the very least had some potential for entertainment – something the rituals for a council meeting seemed to be entirely against. He suspected all the others in the room ultimately agreed with him, as he had seen people napping in those reunions frequently. He had never been tempted to go that far, but he often allowed his thoughts to wander.
After some lamentation over the dullness of those meetings, his mind went back to the young woman he had left not an hour earlier. She was a far more pleasant thought than anything his council had to talk about, that was certain. He had left her with the knowledge he'd send for her later, so that his plan would be put into action as soon as possible. His words had been purposefully ambiguous, and he was curious to find out what she would conclude he wanted from her that evening.
It was a pity he had to leave as soon as he did. Hearing the drone voice of an elder, Madara was really starting to regret it (the meeting wouldn't start without him, anyway). He noticed the girl had begun to enjoy herself again just before he finished, and if he'd stayed a little longer he could've…
No, that was a little too far to take that image at the moment. Obscenely bored or not, there were some things one should never do in a meeting, and if he continued on that trail, his thoughts would become visible in no amount of time.
Still, he couldn't help but ponder how out of the ordinary that was for him. He didn't seek company (especially of that nature) often, and though he was known for his impulsivity in battle, he tended to be far more careful on personal matters.
He surmised it was precisely because it had been so long since he had a proper battle, and a part of him longed to do something reckless, seize whatever opportunity he was given, and if that came in the form of a beautiful girl who had no power to refuse him one way or another, then so be it.
"And with that" through the course of the years Madara had become attuned to the phrases or gestures people would use whenever they expected him to give his input, being able to react to it even through his hazy state of mind.
And this time it was not much different. However, that day he found himself in a unique position.
After their latest battle with the Senju and a hasty truce (that he wondered which one of the two clans would be the first to break), the Uchiha had been left in shambles, and while some of his kinsmen wanted his guidance in those troubling times, others sought to make his ruling all that much harder, believing he was the one to blame for the state they found themselves in.
Needless to say, the siege in Tōtomi wasn't helping his case.
"We cannot hope to advance to the west whit the threat of having our lands taken the moment we step out. The Kigawa are our primary concern." He declared, and none seemed to be surprised by this statement, which was the least he expected from his council. "According to our reports, they are spread out, but ready to assemble at the lightest of threats, and their armies currently outnumber ours. A direct attack is not an option as this time."
"I never thought I'd hear you say this." A small, ancient woman mused out loud, and Madara exhaled slowly in frustration. The majority of the elders of the clan were women (understandable, as they found themselves at the mercy of a sword far less often than men), and while he had learned they could be extremely shrewd and knowledgeable, and though he thought it was not their place to do so and he hardly ever listened to them, he allowed them to give their input in matters of war, but having to suffer one of his former caretakers making a jab at his behavior would be more than he could tolerate, if the woman wasn't going senile.
"With all due respect, my lord, but if we wait much longer, the Kigawa will storm into our territory regardless." One of the younger council members spoke up.
"I am aware of this; however, gambling all our forces into a single attack will only mean a quicker demise. We need to bide our time." From the corner of his eye, he saw one of his generals nod in agreement
"The Uchiha are still feared; that alone should keep them from being careless, unless they have a strong ally." He began "We already know they've allied themselves with the Uzumaki, but that shouldn't be enough for them to advance too soon. We must prevent them from contacting a more powerful clan."
"Our forts to the west are still strong; we can easily intercept anything they send in that direction." Another man added.
"Consider it done." Madara smirked. His younger brother commanded their camp to the west, and he was sure to do an excellent job once he heard word from him.
"We still lack the army to fight the forces of the Kigawa and the Uzumaki combined." One of the male elders said "Even without allies, they are bound to get restless and attack sooner or later."
"Have we not been gathering men recently?" The clan leader questioned, sweeping up the room with his eyes and making some of his general squirm under his gaze. Aa, so these were the ones who weren't doing a proper job…
"We can't spare much to hire men, and the peasants have become harder to rally, but we are doing our best." one of them said
Yes, he was sure they were.
"Then do better." He replied casually, as one would talk about the weather "If we can't amass a strong army in time, we'll weaken the Kigawa's." He expected that at least one of the council members would ask some pointless question, but he was pleasantly surprised when they remained silent "We need to further distance their units, and drag them deeper into our territory."
"They wouldn't do this." One general retorted, and the mere suggestion seemed to have filled him with disgust, but that was not an issue. Madara had already been expecting resistance to his plan, and he knew there would be more.
"They would, if they felt confident enough. It has recently come to my attention that the daughter of one of our allies in Tōtomi currently resides in this very building, under our protection. If we are smart about this, we can have the Kigawa in the place we need to crush them."
"I hope you are not suggesting we can fool the Kigawa with some girl." An elder drawled, tapping her chin with a bony finger "They will see through whatever plan you're thinking of."
"Yes, I've thought of that." Madara was tired of having to explain everything to his council, and sometimes he wished he could dissolve it altogether. It would certainly make his life easier. "The plan is to feed the Kigawa information through letters. I'm aware they won't simply follow any leads; not until they trust their source."
The commotion that followed was something Madara had predicted. Even though he knew that the Uchiha's only option was to lure the Kigawa away from their posts, he understood why some in his council would have an issue with his plan.
For the Kigawa to trust the girl, she'd have to offer them information that would seemingly aid them in their campaign, and for that…
Sacrifices would have to be made.
"Are you suggesting we give away vital information to our enemies?!"
"M-my lord, this is suicide!"
"How will that help us rally more men?!"
"Silence!" He commanded, raising his hand. Although most voices halted after his words, some council members were still whispering among themselves, and Madara made a mental note of each of them. "For the ones who believe I would do something to harm this clan, I suggest you examine your own priorities. The council can rest assured that I have no interest in divulging anything important to our enemies. The Kigawa should be more than content with our scraps, and a few meaningless victories will make them overconfident. It won't take long until they think they can easily defeat us and forego their protective measures, and by then we'll have rallied more men."
The room had been plunged into silence, while its occupants looked from him to one another, with uncertain expressions, until one of the elders turned to look him in the eyes.
"This plan is incredibly reckless."
"If any of you offer to wade through enemy territory and search for allies, you are more than welcome to try." He replied, and, unsurprisingly, none of the presents made the slightest move to offer themselves for the suicide mission.
"My lord." The voice of the youngest member of the council slashed through the silence, and Madara turned to face him. "If the girl's father will not be aware of this plan, we are counting on his willingness to betray the Uchiha. Whether he ends up helping us or not, he'll do so with the impression he is going against us."
There was the slightest upwards tug to the clan leader's lips. Yes, a betrayal would mean death in most cases. A keen, although irrelevant observation, that seemed more concerned with outsiders than with the Uchiha – something that didn't surprise him, coming from the young Itachi. He had managed to be called into the council in spite of his age because of his intelligence, and though Madara would have to be blind to miss the potential the man presented, he also knew the other had a penchant for dealing with things that were none of his business.
"That's of no consequence for us." He replied, and Itachi gave a curt nod.
"The council has not yet reached a decision!" One of the clan elders protested.
"Oh, but we have." Madara replied with an amiable voice, though he knew his advisors were smart enough to understand he did it in jest "Tekka, I'll send my brother word of what we discussed here, and tomorrow you'll move your forces to our western camp and aid him in whatever he needs. I'll consult with the other generals in a week, and we'll decide how to best make the Kigawa dance for us, but as of today we'll be gifting them the fort in Kariya. And as with all things, this is not to be divulged to the rest of the clan. The council is dismissed."
The grim expressions on most of the council members' faces were to be expected, but he wouldn't relent just because his opinion was unpopular. They wanted an easy way out, and Madara knew there was none.
Slowly, the occupants of the room began standing up and exiting the room, some more begrudgingly than others, until he was left alone with the two soldiers who guarded the door.
Though he was loath to admit it, his decline in popularity worried him.
His was a world where people were killed left and right, not matter their status. The ones who had much would die by the hands of the ones who had had less, and the ones who had little would die by the hands of the ones who had more, such was their struggle for power. He could name more than a few people in his council who would love wrapping their fingers around his neck, and perhaps he'd have fewer enemies if he relented a little more, but he simply couldn't. He could not allow them to do as they wished, and he could not allow his ruling to be subjugated – not when he knew what was best for the clan.
Madara stood from the flat pillow he used as seat and left the room, the two men following close behind.
"Summon the Haruno girl to my quarters." He instructed one of them, and the escort fell behind to take an adjacent corridor. "Given her sudden relevance, I expect we'll have to keep watch on her. I trust you'll be able to take care of it, Shisui."
"Of course, my lord."
"And there should be more attempts on my life." In despite of the dark tone of the conversation, the Uchiha Lord couldn't help grinning "I hope you're in the mood for extra work."
"I could use some distraction." The other commented cheerfully "Though I hope most of it will come from the Kigawa."
"I wouldn't count on it."
Upon reaching his quarters, Madara set a table in the section of the room closest to the entrance, before closing the sliding doors surrounding him. He had no intention of letting the girl see his room in its entirety. He rummaged through a cabinet for an inkstick, brushes, papers and an inkstone, and placed the items on the table.
He began the tedious process of grinding the inkstone, allowing his mind to focus on what he'd write his brother.
It had been months since they last saw each other, and they couldn't spare messengers to send personal letters, so saying that he missed his brother would be an understatement. Madara promised himself that he'd travel west as soon as the issue with the Kigawa was solved… or maybe Izuna should be the one to visit. He'd mention that in the letter.
He had barely begun to scribble the first words of his message, when the door opened, revealing the Haruno girl, looking scared out of her wits. What she assumed her reason for her being there was obvious, and though that amused him to an extent, her terrified act did not. He didn't think he'd frighten her this much.
However, Madara didn't have to explain his reason for calling her, as the girl's expression quickly sobered and she walked towards him, kneeling by the other end of the table.
"Let your father know" He began, extending one of the brushes towards her "that the Uchiha fort in Kariya is ripe for the taking. There should be little more than twenty men and we have too much to worry about to bother with it."
"Is this all?" She questioned after a moment, and Madara didn't bother replying. If there was anything else he meant to say, he would've said it "The Kigawa will want to know how I know this."
That was not something he had thought about. He wasn't used to people inquiring as to how he knew the things he knew – it was part of his job, after all – so the thought that they'd question the girl's knowledge hadn't even crossed his mind. It was so painfully obvious, and yet he hadn't factored it in his plan.
"There's no need to worry about it unless they ask."
After a moment's hesitation, she took the brush from his fingers to dip it in the inkstone.
Finally.
Now he could focus on his letter.
Madara would've liked to greet his brother properly, but it was imperative that Izuna started working on isolating the Kigawa as soon as possible, and so he'd have to leave the pleasantries to the end of the letter. He even wrote that the rest of his message should only be read after provisions had been taken.
He thought he was being succinct, when the girl bowed her head and slid the paper towards him. Her calligraphy was nothing to be proud of, but maybe that was why she finished so early.
My dear father
I've been recently told that our home was taken over by the Kigawa, and like me, you are under the mercy of another.
My stay in Owari has taken a turn for the dark. Although my lady and all of my friends remain kind, the treatment I receive from the Uchiha has been less than hospitable. I don't wish to worry you with the full accounts, but knowing that even the servants have been refusing to tend to me should make you understand the situation. I'm afraid someone more influential might try to blame me for some wrongdoing out of spite, and my season with the Uchiha will be cut short.
I can't say if this is a result of the siege or if there's another reason for me being treated as I am, but I am certain that they no longer care that we have sworn our fealty to them. If this is the case I believe we win nothing by remaining loyal.
I just want to tell you that the Uchiha are in a haste to regroup, and all their forces will be stationed in the main fortress. They won't be able to protect all of their outposts, and I know that their fort in Kariya is particularly vulnerable. I don't know the exact number of soldiers guarding it, but it should be little more than twenty.
Regardless of what actions you take, know that you'll always have my support.
I hope to see you and mother soon.
Sakura
Madara thought he shouldn't be as surprised by her name as he was.
"I'll take care of it from now on." He spoke and Sakura bowed her head, turning her body as if to leave "There's one more thing." She paused, but didn't turn to face him "If you try to send letters in secret or sabotage this plan in any way I will know, and I will make sure you regret it."
He saw the slightest tremor run down the girl's spine before she bowed deeply and stood up, leaving before he could even think of protesting.
Scaredy-cat.
Madara exhaled slowly, pushing the letter to his brother away to focus on this new issue.
He had no doubts that the best way to deal with the Kigawa was to dismantle their forces subtly enough for them not to notice, but he should've know better than being so hasty. Sakura's part in the plan was so minimal he didn't even worry about thinking of an excuse for her to have knowledge that a lady-in-waiting shouldn't have and being able to send letters to her family when their fortress was under siege.
Whenever he solved a problem, another one seemed to sprout from its ashes, and it was maddening. Perhaps, if he was lucky, he would one day be able to laugh at this predicament.
Aah, sweet half-baked excuse for a plot.
I was planning on doing each chapter in a different POV, Sakura then Madara, and so forth, but I might change it if the plot requires. Sounds ok?
I need to ask you guys… what would you not like to see in terms of smut? There's no need to mention the most unorthodox, frowned-upon things. Just… How do you guys feel about oral sex? Yeah, yeah, that's the ticket.
Kokujin pretty much means a lord of a small rural area.
Also, in response to the comments of people who were logged off~
Hashishi: I love the feudal setting for this pairing as well, though I'm biased :D Also THANK YOU VERY MUCH, I love, love, LOVE this sort of compliments!
Guest: There's no need to worry about Sakura and marriage – I'm here and I'm practically the superhero of marriages (No, I'm not. But this is seriously the part of the story I'm the least worried about.)
