When I opened my eyes, Madara was gone. He had folded his kimono neatly on top of his neatly folded bedding and left me.
Much to my delight, Naruto came running in just a few minutes after, confirming that the rest of his team had also left. Leaving behind a letter that stated, and I quote;
"Wake up earlier next time, idiot. Early birds get the mission. Protect Kasumi-chan until we come back, Naruto. We're counting on you."
That's not a bad deal, I get to stay safe here while they do all the dirty work. Naruto, on the other hand, didn't agree. He cried for an hour until I discovered the money bag Madara had left behind and bought us both some breakfast ramen.
"I mean, " he sniffed, sadly slurping on noodles, "they're always talking about teamwork, Nee-chan. And then they just leave me, the strongest one, alone. "Who does that?"
I nod. "Yes, Naruto, that was very mean of them."
"I should just print those pictures of the bastard, you know he made me promise not to show anyone. But it's not my fault he burned off his eyebrows."
I pat his back reassuringly. "Do you want the rest of my ramen?"
"Hell yeah!" He grabs the bowl and starts inhaling. I wondered how much food and liquid he could consume before throwing up. Maybe he just loved ramen a lot. I smiled at that.
"Hey, your ramen tastes weird. Like the medicine Tsunade-baa-chan gives me." Naruto suddenly claims.
"Really? I thought it was just the cilantro." I answered.
I had never had ramen before coming to this world, so I assumed that's how it was supposed to taste.
Then I started feeling it, a sleepy feeling I've only experienced when drinking too much. The table was spinning, but I kept my calm. It took a second before I could find my voice.
"Naruto, I think we've been drugged." I whispered. There was no answer, so I slowly turned around to look at him, because any faster and I would've fallen down. "Naruto?"
With my blurry vision I could make out his bright blonde hair and orange clad body lying on the floor.
"Fuck." I whispered. It was becoming harder and harder to see. But I refused to succumb. Even though my body was shutting down, my mind was alarmingly clear.
"Wake up, Naruto." I tried to shout, but again, it came out as a quiet whisper.
I tried to reach out to him, standing up from my chair. "Naruto, wake up please"
Panic had set in completely, I could feel the tears in my eyes. Someone was walking towards us, but I could only tell the outline of their body.
"Who the fuck are you?"
"How is she awake?" A voice says.
"She didn't eat very much." The other one replies.
I gasped, recognising the chubby face and rosy cheeks.
Madara folded his arms, staring unfazed at the scene before him.
A large muscular man, wearing a wifebeater and loose pants held together at the waist by a large rope stood in front of them. He had short messy black hair and a scar across his forehead.
Sasuke and Sakura seemed to recognize him because they gasped immediately when he emerged from his mansion.
"Mo?" They asked in unison.
The man snorted. "Mo? No, my name is Lo! Never compare me to that idiot again!"
Sakura glared at the man. "That's impossible you look exactly alike, right, Sasuke?"
Beside her the young Uchiha nodded aggressively. "You must be twins at least."
"Yes, it's true that we were born together. However, I abandoned that fool a long time ago. Now I run this–"
"Are you the one who's been terrorizing the surrounding areas?" Madara asked.
Lo glared at Madara for interrupting him. "I haven't been terrorizing anybody."
"Then what is that place behind you?" Sasuke asked.
"This is my little haven, I call it Petit Louvre. We cater to our customers' every need. Any service you want, we have." Lo said proudly. "And I, the great Lo, am the master."
"Services like what?" Sasuke asked once more.
Lo stood quiet for a second, analyzing the group. "Little kids like you aren't welcome. Leave now and I won't get angry."
"The scent of blood is all over this business of yours." Madara stated. "How many men do you have?"
Sakura pulled out a notebook, flipping through the pages rapidly before stopping and reading out loud. "Since you're the owner of this place, I'd like to inform you that you're being charged with illegal organ trading, prostitution, encroachment, assault and destruction of several properties."
Lo gave a big, booming laugh. He stretched out his arms. "You think you can stop me?"
He snapped his fingers, and like magic, an axe appeared in his hand. "Seriously, leave before I get angry."
Madara turned to the two teenagers. "How many people are in the building?"
"About forty." Sasuke answered.
Madara nodded. "You two get them out, I will stay here."
"Hai!" They both disappeared inside the building.
The Uchiha flexed his fingers, feeling after his chakra. There was just enough for one Jutsu. He smirked. "It'll do."
Snake. Ram. Monkey. Boar. Horse. Tiger.
He weaved throughout the familiar hand signs with ease, bringing a hand up to his mouth as he breathed in deeply.
"Katon: Gokakyu No Jutsu!"
Lo screamed as the flames engulfed him, running aimlessly around before slowly falling to the ground.
The skies were darkening and clouds were drifting over the hills. It would rain soon.
Sakura and Sasuke came running out with a crowd in tow and… his unconscious wife in their arms. He didn't even notice the equally passed out Naruto.
Sasuke laid her down on the grass.
Madara frowned. Why weren't they returning to their world? He looked over to Lo, the small movements of his chest told him that he would soon be dead. There was no need to waste his energy by finishing him off.
He looked down at his wife, sleeping peacefully, still draped in his haori.
"Don't worry it's just a sleeping potion, she'll wake up in a few hours." Sakura tried to reassure him.
He glared at her. "I am not worried."
"Oh…Okay."
"Sakura." Sasuke called. "We have to guide them to the village." Cocking his head at crowd gathering, some had already started running and the rest looked lost.
"Alright."
The young Uchiha slowly turned around realising… "You're not going back…"
Madara raised an eyebrow, "You notice that now?"
Sasuke's eyes widened, "But wait— That means…"
Next to them Sakura gasped. "Lo's not the monster!"
Hours later the group had separated, Madara, had walked around searching for any signs of a monster but to his dismay; nothing.
His wife laid flat on his back, her long hair running down his arm and her face against his neck. It was dark and signs of impending rain forced him to a small cave at the base of a mountain.
When the rain started falling, Madara had just set up a small campfire, big enough to warm the cave. With the final drops of chakra exhausted he slumped against, breathing heavily. Not even the last Senju attack had drained him so much.
Next to him, Kasumi groaned. Sitting up slowly, she looked around in a daze. Her eyes snatched on him and she relaxed slightly.
'How bizarre', Madara thought. People usually shat themselves when they were alone with him.
Suddenly her eyes widened. "Where's Naruto?"
"With his comrades." Madara grunted, his head was starting to hurt. He hadn't eaten or sipped a drop of water all day.
"Oh." She was quiet for a second, "We got kidnapped. They put something in our and it was that little child maid who served us, she was in on it. Y'know I could hear your voices but my body wouldn't move."
He looks at her smugly, a smirk growing on his face, "You were heavy."
Kasumi could only squawk in outrage, a hand coming to her chest in shock.
Madara chuckled, leaning his head back against the hard cave walls.
In the beginning she had feared him so much, but now, she realised that Madara wasn't unnecessarily violent. He had a short temper, yes, but so far he hadn't killed or severely injured her. That was a plus. Maybe they were becoming friends?
"You know…" she began softly, "If you smiled more, people wouldn't be so scared of you."
Madara raised a brow at her, "Who is afraid?"
She paused for a second, "Me?"
He straightened up before speaking, "Good."
Kasumi sighed, it was no use conversing with this guy. Madara closed his eyes and leaned back. But maybe it was the restlessness the rain brought, or the boredom of silence that made her continue, "I didn't have anything to do with the poison you know."
"Hm?" He grunted back.
"If it was Maria like you said, then she must be trying to set me up. Or something like that at least, because I remember on our way to your estate— Well, I can't say for sure, so I'll say I think. I think she threw away one of my bags that had a book, a diary or something. It's just this feeling of something being wrong, you know? Am I making sense at all?"
"If your intuition is right and she is targeting you," he replied, "what would be her motive? If she is framing you then, most probably, she's already escaped."
"I have no idea why she would try to set me up…"
He grunts back.
"I'm not Daphne." Kasumi starts, she sees his black eyes focus on her. Finally saying it felt so good, like a weight lifted off her shoulders. However, the way Madara starts to sit up alarms her greatly and she explains quickly. "I'm not a spy or anything like that."
"What?"
"I was just living a normal life and then one day I woke up here, in another world. Where I'm from we don't have chakra, powers, ninjas and stuff like that. My real name is Kasumi and I'm still confused as to how I got here. No one seemed to notice because I look exactly like Daphne." She decided not to tell him about the oracle, that would just complicate things.
"I do not want to sound crude but… can you show me your back?"
Kasumi hesitates for a second before turning around. Maybe the real Daphne had some tattoo or something, but how would Madara have been able to see that? The haori dropped to the ground followed by the nightgown.
Behind her the Uchiha inspected her back, searching for a scar in the form of a circle. He would never forget the first day he met his future wife; naked and on top of a man. To add fuel to the fire she had turned around and made eye contact with him and then smiled. He would've killed her right then and there but she knew that he needed her, that's why she did things to vex him, maybe hoping to break the alliance off.
"Do you believe me now?" Her voice broke the silence.
Madara was silent.