Chapter 4

"Who are you?" he said, eyes narrowing distinctively. "Reveal yourself."

Kasumi thought for a second that she had been discovered, her hand, which had previously been covering her mouth, moved to calm her racing heart. 'Thank god. He's not talking to me.'

Before she could even react to the fact that her husband had discovered a third party. His head snaps back towards a specific spot in the tree behind them.

Silence.

There's a scuffle, the leaves ruffle wildly back and forth before a sigh is heard and three dark figures dropped to the ground.

Kasumi is taken aback while Madara stares ahead stoically.

'They're children.' Kasumi realizes. Her eyes snagged on the blond boy with whiskers on his face dressed in orange garbs, a colour she thought would surely work against him when trying to blend in with a forest. He scratched his head and laughed sheepishly at the other two. Next to him, a pink haired girl gritted her teeth in barely contained anger, her green eyes snap up at her orange friend. The

"Naruto.."

"Sa-Sakura-chan, it wasn't on purpose, believe—"

The girl, fittingly named after the Sakura tree, reached out a hand and engulfed his hand in a deadly grip. The poor blond let out an agonizing scream before trying to run with all this might in the opposite direction, unfortunately the girl was much stronger than she looked and didn't even budge at his attempted escape. Behind them was a black-haired boy, sighing at his peers, while his equally black eyes focused on them.

"Hello," the boy started politely. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha and these are my friends, Sakura and Naruto."

Uchiha.

Kasumi gauged Madara's reaction.

If Sasuke had been a foot taller and had longer hair, Kasumi was certain that she'd have never been able to discern between the two.

The blond boy managed to finally free himself and jumped infront of Sasuke, stretching out his abused hand to greet the pair. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, believe it! These are my friends, Sakura and Bast— Sasuke." Kasumi noted the twitching eyebrows of the previously mentioned boy. "Are you the guys we ordered from the Doing-You-A-Favour contract?"

Sakura coughed.

Sasuke grunted, something that suspiciously sounded like 'idiot'.

"Kakashi told us to leave it up to you," Sasuke said.

"But we feel bad that you were brought here from your world because of us." Sakura finished.

"Just leave it up to us, we'll help you defeat that thing, believe it!" Naruto added.

"Wait, what do you mean because of you?" Kasumi asked.

The trio exchanged glasses before Sakura spoke up.

"Right now, we have no magic left but at least we can assist you with magic items. I can't believe Kakashi-sensei didn't tell you this already."

"That lazy schmuck," Naruto mumbled.

"In our world everyone is born with powers but only a few selected clans have transferable magic powers flowing through their veins and those clans are responsible for making almost all magic items in the world, my clan is one of them," explained Sasuke. "I am from the Uchiha clan, Sakura is from the Haruno's and he is an Uzumaki."

"I dunno how it is in your world, but here it can take weeks for our powers to return fully, that's why Sensei summoned you. We feel bad so you can't say no to our help."

"Enough about us. Sorry, I didn't catch your names." Sakura said.

Kasumi smiled at the younger girl. "I'm Kasumi and this," pointing a finger to the quiet man beside her, "is Madara Uchiha."

The two Uchihas stared at each other for a second before Madara spoke. "Boy, who is your father?"

Sakura leans in toward Kasumi, whispering in her ear. "Are you two married?"

Technically, right now, she was his wife in title. "Yes, but my husband's kind of an asshole, so I don't want to be seen as a couple."

"My father is Fugaku Uchiha."

"And his father before him?"

"My grandfather was Hazuki Uchiha." Sasuke answered, crossing his arms and raising a brow cockily. "Any more names you want to know?"

Madara snorted. "You're way too young to be talking back to me, brat.."

Feeling the growing tension, Naruto interrupted. "So what do you say, Nii-san? Can we come with you, we're going anyways just so you know…"

Madara stretched his neck absentmindedly. "Do whatever you want, do not get in my way. I don't plan on protecting you."

Sasuke smirked. "Don't count on it."

"I think the bastard likes him." Naruto whispered to Sakura.

"Of course, different worlds or not they're practically related." Sakura whispered back.

The group, now five people, continued forward.

Kasumi didn't know how many more hours they walked, somewhere along the way the sun had begun to set and the cold was creepin in. She found the company of the teens much more enjoyable than Madara's. What she didn't find enjoyable were the blisters forming on her feet. She shuffled her feet to rearrange the positions of the sandal strap, trying in vain to find a comfortable way to walk in them.

Sakura assured her that they'd arrive at a village in less than an hour, and there, she could heal her blisters. The concept of 'healing' sounded unnatural to Kasumi.

Naruto waved his empty water bottle at his teammates, "Sakura-chan, I'm so thirsty!", he whined.

"We'll be there soon, Naruto, just be patient," the girl answered.

So far they had all been keeping up with Madara's pace, who was walking several feet in front of them. Not slowing down for a second.

Kasumi groaned. Next to her Naruto groaned even louder.

Finally, as the buildings and lights of the city came into view, Kasumi thought to herself that she had never been this happy to see lamps.

Naruto and Sakura cheered loudly, high fiving each other happily. Even Sasuke sighed a relieved, "Finally."

Naruto elbowed him jokingly, "You're even more tired than us, huh, teme?"

The young Uchiha scoffed lightly, "As if, Usuratonkachi."

The last few steps to the village felt like hell, her whole body ached and poor Kasumi knew that they still had a bit more to go.

In front of them Madara finally stopped and waited until they got close.

"We will find a place to rest for the night and continue in the morning." He eyed his weary wife and irrelevant brats, before focusing on the girl. "You."

Sakura blinked, "Eh?", pointing a finger to her face questioningly.

"Select an accommodation for travelers, make sure it is clean." He threw a small item to her, which she caught swiftly. The rest of the group looked at her hands curiously, in her palms revealed a small bag, rattling with coins.

Sasuke and Naruto immediately exchange a fearful look.

"Um…Sakura-chan, you're not thinking of that place, right?"

"Sakura, think of someplace else…I'm begging you." Sasuke said desperately.

"Wait, what's happening?" Kasumi asked, looking between the three.

The group arrived at a grand Ryokan, slightly secluded from the village, with five floors and balconies decorated in hibiscus flowers and lanterns which illuminated the sky. The whole place felt too out of place with the rest of the village, but Kasumi was not going to complain. She looked over at Madara who stood with his arms crossed, not a single sign of fatigue showing on his face. He hadn't had a sip of water or any of the snacks the teenagers offered.

'But still, he's human, and humans get tired.'

Sasuke and Naruto had put on wigs and masks covering the lower halves of their faces. Kasumi wondered what they were hiding from, but didn't probe any further. At this point, Sakura had healed her feet but the weariness remained.

Sakura was the first to walk up to the reception, "Two rooms for the night, Shizune-san, and make it all exclusive."

The receptionist, a pale woman with black hair and a small pig in her lap, smiled at Sakura, "Welcome Sakura-chan."

She craned her neck to greet the rest of the group, as Naruto and Sasuke turned away from her, pretending to loiter around. Shizune promptly rolled her eyes at the boy before focusing on the unfamiliar duo. The woman looked absolutely destroyed, meanwhile the man beside her looked the picture of health and vitality. Shizune quickly surmised these were the ones Kakashi had summoned. After a few clicks on the computer she checked them in and gave them two keys; one for Team Seven and one for the odd couple.

"The wait time for the restaurant is fifty minutes, so you might want to order then visit the hot springs."

At the mention of hot springs Madara tensed up. There was nothing he loved more than a hot bath, especially after a long day such as this one.

He took the key from Sakura and followed Shizune down a quiet hallway, trying to ignore the two teenage boys hiding behind his back. From his peripheral he could see his wife rubbing her eyes while stifling a yawn. She was drowning in his black haori, her long hair covered the Uchiha crest in the back and her sandals were spotted red from all the walking they had done today. She had probably done more walking today then she'd done in her entire life, for someone so pathetically weak she had quite the endurance.

"I'm so tired." He heard her say to Sakura, as they affectionately bumped shoulders.

He could tell that in the last couple of hours she had grown attached to these brats. Madara on the other hand could easily, without hesitation slaughter them if the situation called for it. He could not remember a time when he was so naive and trusting.

Sasuke, Sakura and Naruto had a room three doors down from theirs and left to unpack.

The Uchiha leader watched the realization dawn on her face that she was now in an enclosed room with him.

He ignored her and flipped through the menu he'd been given, luckily there were pictures of each food item because he could not read this language.

Kasumi, in her exhaustion, laid down on the floor. They had taken off their shoes at the entrance because the floor was covered with tatami mats. The hard floor pushed against her aching muscles, sending waves of relief through her body. She would have fallen asleep right then and there if it wasn't for the way her body was sticky with sweat, reminding her to clean up before sleeping.

In less than a week she had been dropped in two different, unfamiliar worlds, attacked, manhandled, forced to get married to a mad man and on top of it all she had no one to speak to about her predicament. Maybe now, Madara would believe her if she told him that she wasn't the real Daphne and that this whole thing had been a misunderstanding and somehow if he could help her find a way home, he could finally marry the real Daphne?

Kasumi sighed loudly. That would never work. He would probably just stare at her with those endless pits of darkness he calls eyes.

She turned around to look at him. He stood with his back to her, looking at something in his hands. She couldn't help but notice how broad his shoulders were. After all that walking, he was still standing. Impressive.

Suddenly, he turned around to face her. Their eyes made contact and Kasumi felt the drowsiness disappear. He walked towards her and crouched down, throwing the menu in front of her.

Kasumi sat up, looking at him questioningly

"Choose something quickly."

She looked down at various food images and suddenly became aware of how empty her stomach was.

After choosing her pick, Kasumi looked up at her husband, "How do I order?"

"What did you decide upon?" He asked, raising a thin brow at her.

"The Miso Chicken Ramen Special, please."

After ordering, Madara starts rummaging through the dresser behind Kasumi. She lied on the floor listening to the sound of drawers opening and closing, until he got to the fifth one. Curiosity got the better of her when she wondered what he had found in the drawer to make him so quiet.

Suddenly, a linen-like cloth was dropped on her head. Kasumi sputtered and scurried to get it off herself. Upon closer inspection she noticed it was a kimono, dark brown in colour and without any patterns.

Madara stared at her like she was stupid, "It is for the hot spring," he explained, "You can go purchase something more comfortable later."

"Oh."

Why did it feel like their relationship had just developed to be more civil?

"Can I ask you something?" She asked.

He turns around to look at her. Kasumi realized he'd been reaching for the door, just about to leave when her question had stopped him in his tracks. "Hn?"

"Why are you being so nice to me?"

He snorts right in her face. "I'm not nice. I am a shinobi. Don't forget that."

Kasumi felt her face drop at his imperious tone. "Trust me, I won't."

If there was even the slightest hope of a friendship or anything similar, it had just been completely crushed.

She clutched the kimono to her chest and waited for him to leave before standing up and exiting too.

A few doors down the hallway was the teenagers' room. Kasumi walked up to the door and knocked. It was quiet for a second, before the door flew open, the tear soaked face of Naruto appeared in the doorway for a moment before it fell flat on the floor.

"Save me, Nee-chan." He whispered at her feet.

Kasumi looked over the room and realized there was an unfamiliar face there. A busty, blonde woman with brown eyes and a small violet, diamond mark on her forehead. She turned to face Kasumi, a stern look on her delicate features.

"Who are you?" She demanded.

Sakura peeked over the woman's shoulder, grinning widely. "Hey! Kasumi, come in! We're almost finished."

"Ah!" The blonde stood up and grinned just as widely. "Sakura here told me all about you! Welcome to Lady's Luck!"

"The Lady's Luck?" Kasumi asked.

Just then Sasuke appeared behind Sakura, looking distressed. "It's the name of the inn."

Kasumi was distracted by his face. "You look terrible, Sasuke, what happened to you?"

The young Uchiha just demurely looked away and closed his eyes wearily. Kasumi looked to Sakura for help who just whistled innocently, blatantly ignoring her gaze.

Sakura stood up, brushing down her skirt. "Shall we clean up?"

After washing up and entering the hot waters, the women got to talking. Kasumi learned that the blonde woman's name was Tsunade and she was a psychologist and the owner of Lady's Luck which was the largest Ryokan in the country. Apparently, she was also counseling Naruto and Sasuke. Kasumi didn't know what exactly she was counseling on, but it was apparently very classified so they couldn't tell her anymore.

"That explains why they were so scared of coming here!" Kasumi giggled.

Sakura shook her head in dismay, "Those boys are so immature."

Tsunade laughed boisterously and clapped Sakura on the back. "Atta' girl!"

Kasumi smiled at their interactions, it gave her a sense of comfort seeing positive reinforcement from Tsunade to Sakura. She missed that feeling.

Visiting the hot springs was the most relaxed Kasumi had felt in a while. That feeling disappeared when they returned to their rooms.

A large wooden table with short legs stood in the middle of the room, and sitting at the table was the person she dreaded seeing most in the world. The man sat crossed legged, with arms crossed over his chest and a detached look on his face as he looked her up and down. Suddenly, Kasumi felt very self conscious of her appearance. She had just towel dried her long hair, combed it, then left handing down her back in a damp braid. She fidgeted slightly, not knowing what to say, she reached back to shut the door behind her.

"Don't close it." Madara said. Kasumi starts at his voice.

"Okay." She didn't ask why and just opted to sit down at the table with him. Guessing that the food was coming soon, she decided to wait out the time quietly.

Just as she'd surmised, there was a small knock on the door and a young, rosy cheeked girl, no older than twelve entered. Her hair was tied back in a tight bun, highlighting her chubby face. She held a wooden tray in her hands, with a pitcher of water and two large glasses.

"Good evening, my name is Mimi and I will be bringing your food." She said timidly.

She layed out plates of food on the table.

"Who had the Miso Chicken Ramen Special?" She asked before turning around to pick up a large bowl.

"It's for her." Madara answered.

"Thank you." Kasumi told her, smiling kindly as she set the ramen down. The girl smiled back, bowing slightly before leaving.

The second she left Kasumi eyed the food hungrily, the smell wafted in the air and the couple sat on opposite sides of the table quietly.

There was so much food that only the edges of the table were visible. In fact, unless Madara ate enough to feed a village each meal, Kasumi thought they might've brought in the wrong order.

In front of her was a colourful bowl of ramen, behind it a small plate of fried tofu pouches filled with rice. Next to that were plates filled with various foods, everything from steamed broccoli to beef risotto.

She watched as Madara clasped his hands together and mumbled to himself, "Itadakimasu."

There was a knock at the door, before it was thrown open. Three familiar faces popping up in the doorway.

"Hey! Did you think you could hog all the food?" Naruto cried, a bowl of steaming ramen in his hands.

"Tsunade said she sent all our food to your room as a gift." Sasuke said, bluntly from behind the blond.

Sakura just grinned at her boys before sitting down with her bowl of tomato pasta. "Sorry for intruding, guys!"

Kasumi smiled. The atmosphere was much more pleasant than before.

Naruto sat down, followed by his teammates. "So what do you say, Nii-san? Can we eat with you, we're going anyway just so you know…"

Madara sighed for the umpteenth time, "Your company doesn't appeal to me at all. Go eat in your own room."

Naruto gave a mischievous laugh, "You trying to get some alone time with Nee-chan, huh?

Madara glared at him. Sasuke and Sakura facepalmed.

"Do as you please, brat." Madara said, closing his eyes. Clearly very vexed, but trying to keep the peace.

"Itadakimasu!" The three said in unison, before gobbling up their food.

They must have been very hungry, Kasumi thought as she nibbled on a piece of carrot.

She watched her husband pick up a skewer of grilled meat and vegetables, shoving almost half into his mouth before chomping on it and pulling it out. He chewed mindlessly for a couple of seconds, nodding his head in approval before picking up a piece of inarizushi and popping the whole thing into his mouth. She wondered how much he could eat, he was at least a head taller than her and built like an athlete.

Madara's eyes met hers briefly before she averted her gaze to the food.

"So…" Naruto started, all eyes fell on him, "Kakashi-sensei said you were crazy strong."

"Hn." Madara grunted in response, suddenly sitting up straighter.

Kasumi rolled her eyes at how easily he was flattered.

"I challenge you to a sparring match!" Both Sasuke and Naruto exclaimed at the same time.

Sakura groaned, throwing her head back in exasperation.

Madara snorted. "I do not fight kids."

"No. No fighting. Save your energy for tomorrow." Kasumi said.

Sasuke stared at her for a second before conceding. "She's right."

Next to him Naruto sighed in disappointment.

Next to him Sakura nodded in agreement. "Yup, we just sealed the Akatsuki. It's dangerous to use our magic right now."

Madara ignored them and continued eating.

"What's the Akatsuki?" Kasumi asked.

"They were a group of bandits who embodied the seven sins. You know, they'd travel all over and take over small towns. Then, they would use their powers to control the people." Sakura explained. That seemed to pique Madara's interest as he stopped eating and looked at the girl.

Naruto puffed his chest proudly, "But they were no match for us."

"You killed them?" Madara asked, raising a brow because he didn't think these teens were capable of bloodshed.

"No, we sealed them." Sasuke answered, looking at Madara as if he were deranged.

"When one of the embodiments of the seven deadly sins dies, they just reincarnate into someone else. It's like a never ending cycle, so the best way to get rid of them is to seal them away."

Sasuke nods solemnly. His teammates cast him concerned glances.

"Now, we just have to hide this somewhere no one will ever find it." Naruto said, holding up a green scroll.

Sakura gasped.

"You—" Sasuke exclaimed practically choking.

"You brought it with you? Do you have any idea how dangerous it could be if something happens." Sakura lectured.

Naruto's proud smile fell off his face. "Well, yeah, Sakura-chan. You're the one who told me to bring documents…"

"MISSION DETAILS, YOU IDIOT!" Sakura cried.

Sasuke and Sakura slump in resignation.

"Aw, c'mon guys, when have I ever lost anything?" Naruto laughs carefree.

His teammates exchange worried glances as Naruto turns to Madara and reassures him of his abilities to protect the scroll. "If anything happens, I'll protect you, believe it!

Kasumi can't help but smile at his bright personality.

Madara clanks his glass on the table. "If you've finished eating; leave."

In no time, all that delicious food had been cleared from the table. As the maids brought in the futons the teenagers said their goodnights and left.

Two separate mattresses were placed on the floor next to each other making a large futon. Kasumi scurried to pull hers as far away from Madara as possible. He just watched in amusement as she pulled the blanket up to her chin and glared at him. "You can sleep over there."

"Gladly." He answered imperiously.

Tonight, she will finally have a good rest. No interruptions. No chases. Just pure, euphoric bliss. At least, that was what she had hoped.

For the hundredth time that night, she turned around, fearful of sleep because of what he might do to her. Drowsy eyes blinking slowly, at the sight in front of her. He was still awake, standing by the window, arms crossed over his chest.

She wondered what he was thinking, all this time standing in the same spot. She thought that maybe he had fallen asleep on his feet. Or worse, he was waiting for her to fall asleep first. She couldn't make out his face because of that stupid hair.

"Why won't you sleep?" He suddenly asks. The sound of his voice cutting through the silence makes her jump. She clutched the blanket tighter before sitting up. There was no use pretending anymore.

"Why won't you sleep?" She countered.

He's quiet for a second before replying, "Good question."

Kasumi almost felt for him until he opened his mouth again. "If you have time to ask such useless questions, why don't you answer some of mine."

She frowned, turning around to face the wall. "No, thanks."

This chapter turned out so long, I decided to just cut it into two because otherwise I'd never get it up. I apreciate you pointing out any spelling errors or tips on what to improve :)

Until next time XOXO