24.
"No, it's never going to work. If you're pregnant then that could mean that they will kill you. The best scenario we can hope for is that they will either keep the marriage or I can convince them that you are useful." Madara's voice was nonchalant, while in his head he was forming a plan.
She would be useful to the clan. Her mind was fragile and therefore easy to manipulate. Yuna would become his own personal puppet, a useful practice for the future.
She looked up from her fiddling fingers. Madara hadn't even considered that she might be pregnant.
Or was he simply uncaring?
"What would that mean to me? I think the clan can go and shove it up theirs, the only one I'd agree to work for is you."
To make you respect me.
Madara held back the urge to grimace. Women talk too much. That's the entire reason why he can't stand to have one around for too long.
"Well...I'll get a new wife. You won't be able to see me anymore. Also you'll be sent out on missions and most likely monitored strictly. Can you put up with that?" He asked. A small smile appeared on her lips as she was slowly, but steadily gathering herself once again.
"Finally I can actually do something besides sitting around. The wife thing didn't suit me anyway," she said airily.
Her body was filled with fresh energy, irking to do something that would be good for her. Mostly just to get away. That's all she did lately, running from her problems.
They will listen to Madara and if he says the right words then he can convince them of anything.
He rose from the ground and walked across the room, avoiding the dishes that Yuna had destroyed and left without a word.
Yuna looked at the mess with a frown. Her temper was making a comeback along with her freedom. She sighed and straightened up from her sluggish position. It wasn't going to gain her any friends.
Friends aren't the right word...more like people who can tolerate her in a reasonable level.
What she wasn't planning on tolerating was Madara's new wife, whoever that poor woman might be.
What she really wanted right now was a punching bag.
Yuna was sitting on the edge of a pond, trying to call a stray black cat closer to her that was standing a few feet away from her, staring back at her with its mysterious blue eyes.
She smiled to the animal softly, holding out her hand, beckoning it to come closer.
"The cat is never going to come."
Yuna's head whipped around and she saw Izuna leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed over his strong chest.
Her eyebrow rose and she conjured a smile, causing surprise to splash over Izuna's face but it was gone quickly.
"It's a stray cat. She's always around here, but no one's been able to touch her so far."
Yuna lowered her hand and glanced at the cat, "Does she have a name?"
Her eyes shifted from the cat to Izuna's face. It was unreadable as always, hiding his true emotions deep inside the black waters of his mind.
He shook his head lightly, standing there motionless. Yuna smiled and looked at the cat's blue eyes.
"Alright...how about calling you Aoi then?" She asked the cat with a grin, as if she expected it to answer.
Izuna shook his head lightly at her childishness.
"What an unoriginal name," he noted with distaste.
"I wasn't asking for your opinion!" she snapped. The cat's eyes suddenly shifted from Yuna to somewhere in the bushes and it ran off.
Izuna straightened up and coughed.
"Now that you're finished would you come with me? They need you to sign the papers for you divorce, after that you are to remove your presence from Madara's chambers." He spoke the words smoothly, his eyes held a questioning look when Yuna started laughing. She got up with an amused grin on her lips.
"What's so funny?" He asked as they started walking. Yuna straightened her yukata while they walked, straightening the soft fabric with her palms and flipped her bangs away from her face.
Truthfully, Izuna was expecting some resistance from her part.
"I'm so young and can already say that I have an ex-husband. It makes me feel like some old lady."
Izuna faked a surprised face, "So you really aren't forty five?" He gasped acerbically. Yuna felt her eyebrow twitch annoyed before she forced a smile on her face.
"No, I'm only forty four." She retorted with a sickly sweet tone.
Yuna's eyes moved to the sky. It was covered with thick clouds as always, but those were evenly grey. A chilly breeze brushed by them occasionally, moving the solitary brown leaves that had been thrown in their way by the wind.
The winter and autumn were almost exactly the same every year. Yuna rarely saw snow since it never got cold enough for it. Even during the cold autumn days there was still the occasional sunshine and warmth.
On the outside, Yuna seemed relaxed but inside her heart was restless.
She couldn't make up her mind if it was her freedom contract or her death sentence that she was going to sign in a few minutes. Perhaps it was a freedom contract where a death sentence was written somewhere between the lines in tiny letters so no one notices it?
Her smile died down as Izuna stopped in front of a door and signalled her to enter.
Yuna didn't hesitate and she slid the door open and entered. The entire council was probably there. On the right, in the middle was an empty spot that Izuna took.
Madara was already there, his face vacant. Yuna felt all eyes on her.
She made her way next to Madara and sat down. The older woman that she saw in the morning looked, serious as always, but small traces of joy were in her eyes. Yuna held back a grin. So she was part of the anti-Yuna movement.
Another face to add to her kill list.
"Now that we have all gathered here, we may discuss Uchiha Madara's and Uchiha Yuna's future." She paused, as if waiting for anyone to pipe in. No one did so.
"Or the lack of it," the crone added.
"Madara-sama will be marrying another woman soon, most likely from the Senju clan. Are there any objections?" She looked around the room, no one said a word.
Yuna held back a snort. As if anyone would dare to say anything. All conditions had been decided behind closed doors; the entire event was simply to make it official.
"Yuna-sama will be lowered to a regular ninja. She will remain in the Uchiha ranks, in return for our mercy, servicing the clan along with a team like everyone else. She will not leave the compound on her own. She will not leave the compound without permission. She will not talk about the Uchiha's secrets. She may create new relationships and a family if she desires."
Yuna's eyebrow rose at the last statement.
If it were up to her she would just leave this place without a word, but the Uchiha wouldn't allow her. She could allow a seal placed on her to prevent her from leaking the clan's secrets and then leave, but the clan wouldn't allow that as well since they won't profit from that.
Zugzwang. She thought bitterly.
"Now if there aren't any objections, I would like both of you sign this for the completion of your divorce."
A scroll was pushed forward along with a brush and some ink.
Wordlessly Madara rose and walked to the table. He picked up the brush and without displaying any hesitance, signed. He placed the brush down and retreated to his spot.
Yuna realized it was her turn now. Mimicking Madara's movements she pushed herself up and made her way to the table.
Her fury towards the Uchiha diminished significantly, when she saw how easy this had been for Madara.
She took the brush and dipped it into the ink. Yuna brought it to the paper and, halted. Her hand refused to mo.
Love or not this was still difficult for her. She didn't think much of marriage to begin with; a piece of paper that's supposed to symbolise love between two people. She's just signing another pointless piece of paper that symbolises the end of that love.
It shouldn't be so difficult right?
There was no love between them. Or…well just because they weren't going to be married didn't mean that his feelings for her had diminished.
No, there is no love...we're nothing to each other.
A droplet of ink had fallen on the paper. Yuna frowned but it was gone soon.
She could feel how awkward it might've seen to the other people in the room. They couldn't understand her stalling, so she just scribbled her signature hastily and almost threw the brush away from her.
It was done. Her marriage was over. That's what she had desired all along, right?
Why was the victory so hollow then?
Yuna followed a maid to a part of the house that she hadn't visited much before.
It was strangely nice to be surrounded with people who were mostly blank, hiding their emotions like they were taught. Sounds of fighting reached her ears, the clinking of weapons.
Some on the other hand openly stared with curiosity. Why was the mistress in this part of the compound along with her belongings?
There were no women there.
This could only mean one thing. A public announcement was unnecessary, logical deduction would make up for that.
The female ninja in the Uchiha were usually trained to be medics, but there weren't many since there was a belief in the Uchiha that women mustn't be sacrificed, as they still had to produce offspring.
Well, Yuna wasn't an Uchiha so they hadn't much to benefit from her unborn children.
As if she'd ever let the Uchiha clan get their sticky paws on her kids.
It was strange to be in the presence of shinobi again.
They passed training fields where some were sparring, learning jutsus or working on their aim. Others were casually hanging out with their friends or teammates or taking care of their weaponry.
The maid led her to the heart of the living quarters. She opened the door to a room and bowed before she left. A last respect paid to the mistress. Former mistress.
Yuna followed her with her eyes for a while before she turned to the room. She entered and slid the door close.
There was a large window, luckily or not, that was facing an empty courtyard that was used as a training field to spar.
She noted that there were two futons on the ground. The room was split in half, and the right side seemed to be unoccupied.
Well-well, was Madara aware of the fact that she would be sharing her living quarters with a man?
The room looked like it was mirrored; both of them had a futon laid out, a small empty desk with a drawer and a medium sized closet.
Yuna noted that the desk of her roommate's was covered with scrolls and writings. She couldn't tell which ones were stories and which ones were summoning scrolls, shrugging it off nonchalantly. Unpacking was a simple chore; she simply chucked everything into the closet and closed the door before anything could tumble out.
She just had to wait now to meet her team leader. Yuna had no idea what to expect from her team. Judging by the time some of the warriors were having breakfast, or at least finishing it.
Yuna lay down on the futon. She stretched her hands over her head and closed her eyes. This felt like a prison, only with garden access.
Escaping the Uchiha was going to be a hassle. Even if she somehow managed to escape the Uchiha, they would most likely try to hunt her down anyway.
At some point she had fallen asleep, just to be violently shaken awake again in a few minutes.
An Uchiha was looking down to her calmly, a man...probably older than her. Yuna pushed herself up from the bed and straightened up.
The man examined her for a moment before a smirk appeared on his lips.
"Get dressed, I'll wait outside." He said. Yuna was surprised that his voice was so low, but she didn't have much time to wonder about it. The man excited and Yuna started untying the obi around her waist. She left everything on her bed for now and donned something more appropriate for a workout.
As promised he was waiting for her behind the door. Her team leader started walking without saying anything.
"Where are we going?" She asked, hoping to get a response from him.
She always found it strange that almost every Uchiha man was handsome, some more, some less but she hadn't met an ugly one.
Her team leader had surprisingly big eyes, like a young child. His black hair was cut short neatly nevertheless it looked a little messy.
"To a training field, you will fight me there."
His words were amused, almost crossing the line from excited to bloodthirsty...and that was unsettling enough.
She opened her mouth, just to clamp it shut a moment later before she smiled, "Any rules, besides not killing the other?"
Her team leader glanced back with a raised eyebrow.
"Isn't that the winning condition?" He questioned. Yuna couldn't help but to giggle.
Ninja...
They found a training field that was separated from the others. Actually all of the fields had some sense of privacy, except for the ones that were meant to train with a larger group.
Yuna's bare feet didn't make any sound as they touched the cold grass. Luckily it wasn't wet either which also meant it wasn't going to be all that slippery.
The woman took a short moment to study what was around her. Some woods were around them but only about three that were far apart. Even so their strong old bodies were covered with cracks and scratches from kunai, shoes and jutsus.
Her gaze shifted to the man in front of him. He was toned, but she couldn't tell his style just from a quick glance. No visible weapons nor summoning scrolls, so that left an array of jutsus in his command.
His eyes opened, revealing his blood red Sharingan. Yuna grunted before taking a step back.
This was going to place her in a serious disadvantage. If he was able to see her movements ahead then that means it was going to be next to impossible to get one up on him.
"What's your name?" She asked suddenly, it was strange fighting your captain without knowing his name. The man grinned and crouched down to a defensive position. He was holding a kunai in his hand, holding its blade towards Yuna's small frame.
"You'll have to earn knowledge like that, Yuna-san."
She snorted, that attitude was amusing and also agitating at the same time. Better than outright hostility.
He leaped forward without warning, catching Yuna off guard.
She barely managed to avoid the kunai that was aimed to her face. A few strands of hair fell. Yuna quickly leaped away.
"You don't scar a woman's face!" She shouted before focusing all of her attention into fighting that man.
His movements were fast, he didn't give Yuna time to recover before he sends another series of kicks towards her.
She cursed under her breath. Uchihas were fast, almost too fast for eyes to follow.
Yuna gasped when he managed to land a punch to her stomach. She jumped away quickly, gasping for breath and clutching her stomach. That was going to leave a nasty bruise.
She wasn't going to win using taijutsu, and genjutsu against an Uchiha was basically signing your own death sentence so the only option left was ninjutsu.
As quick as she could Yuna formed the seals required. She knew that the Uchiha could probably read them and could tell that she was using a water jutsu against him.
From the palm of her hand, a long, thin line of water appeared. It was thicker than a wire, but at a certain speed it was just as deadly.
She jumped when the captain charged, aiming for her right hand. She jumped up and slashed down, using the chord as a whip.
Even before it hit him, she could tell from the leader's calm look that it was a replacement. When the chord touched him a log appeared instead.
Yuna realized that she was defenceless like this in mid-air, with only a long range weapon to defend herself.
She looked behind her just to see the captain leap up, a kunai in his hand. In a few seconds this was going to pierce trough her skin.
A new plan formed and she was quick to turn it into reality. In this position she wouldn't be able to use her water chord so she released the jutsu and quickly summoned a ball of water around her.
Usually she used it to trap someone inside, but this time she used it as a defence. The water was dense enough and slowed the captain down, giving Yuna the time to avoid his blow.
They were both stuck in the water as the forces of gravity pulled them down to the ground. Using the man as support she kicked him down. That also helped her leap out before the ball smashed onto the ground.
As expected he didn't lose his balance over something that small, but Yuna had kicked him pretty hard to the chest. He was clutching it while coughing. The smirk didn't leave his lips.
He was standing in the middle of the field, drenched just like Yuna.
Perhaps this newbie wasn't that hopeless.
She shivered when a gush of wind brushed her damp clothes.
With speed too fast for her eyes to follow, the captain formed seals.
SHIT!
She cursed in her mind when fireballs were sent towards her.
What made them hard to dodge was the fact that they were the size of a man's fist, but there was an entire wall of those created.
She jumped to the side just on the nick of time, escaping with a crispy edge on her pants.
Yuna quickly rubbed it to make sure that it wouldn't catch fire.
To counter the fire inferno formed another batch of seals, sending a large wave of water to the captain while he sent a large fireball to her, the Uchiha trademark jutsu.
The two collided, causing a large cloud of steam.
A large amount of senbon suddenly flew through the cloud. Yuna leaped up, allowing the cloud of senbon pass from under her, and she barely managed to catch one with her fingers.
She knew that the Uchiha was probably aware that she leaped and he knew that she didn't have any weapons with her.
"Too predictable." She mumbled when another batch of needles was sent to her, but that was what she was expecting. Using the needle that she had snatched she deflected the ones she wouldn't be able to avoid directly.
A few still scratched her, but just lightly.
Yuna landed and the smoke started to clear. With a sharp flick of her wrist she sent the senbon back to its owner.
He just stepped to the side. Yuna's eyebrow rose at his grin. It looked almost like...
"I win." He whispered in her ear. Yuna's hands lowered when she felt the tip of his kunai pressed against her neck.
She felt drained from chakra. She didn't possess a large amount of chakra and those elemental jutsus took a lot from her, especially the wave she used to prevent being burnt to death.
"You win." She acknowledged. He removed the kunai and she turned around to look at him. His childish eyes were back to normal.
"What's your diagnosis then?" Yuna asked, catching her breath.
The man smirked, something that he did often and said: "This time...I went really easy on you. There's a lot to work with, but you're not entirely useless I guess."
Yuna sighed. Of course he went easy on her. If he was a team leader then that meant that he was way above her level.
The kunai he had, he placed it in her palm and walked away.
It took Yuna a few moments to react.
"HEY, what am I supposed to do with this?" She shouted after him.
The captain waved his hand nonchalantly, "Something to remember me by!" He said with a straight face, supressing a chortle.
Yuna gripped it before groaning.
"As if!" She shouted to herself, not sure if the captain heard.
Sitting near a tree Yuna spotted Aoi, who was looking her with its blue orbs.
"Are you here to laugh at me too?" She asked, forcing her voice calm. It's not like that cat did something.
The cat meowed before it turned away and disappeared to another direction.
She glared the kunai for the last time before throwing it to one of the trees, sending it deep into the trunk so it stuck there. It was then that she came to a very aggravating realization.
What was the captain's name again?
I'm not sure how many of you probably want to shoot me right now for doing this.
The next chapter won't be so eventful, but please bear with me.
And now, I hope that everyone can see the kanji that are (hopefully) correct. Can you guess what they mean?
国定優心