Beautiful Imperfections - An Uchiha Madara Love Story

Chapter 13 - Clash

This chapter is dedicated to my sweet Imouto chan Sora_Akatsuki! Happy reading! ^^

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Akina pov:

"Hmm, the herbs here aren't as fresh as the ones in the previous meadow...." I mumbled while caressing the petals of an herbal flower I had picked.

"Onee chan! I can't find any good Hound Ferns....and the ones growing on the side are all dried up." Hiro said as he walked up to me.

"I see....um, Tatsuo san?" I called out from where I sat, hopefully gaining his attention. "Isn't there any other meadow we could go to for collecting herbs? The plants here aren't all that fresh and won't be as effective when made into medicines."

"I'm afraid Tajima sama instructed us to bring you here today and not go any farther from the compound. The clashes between us and our enemy clans have become more intense lately and we do not wish to bring you into any unnecessary danger. You'll have to make do with what you can collect here today but perhaps you could request Tajima sama yourself if you could go to a better meadow sometime soon." He responded and I gave a slow nod.

"I understand, Tatsuo san. I suppose we can head back now since we've collected whatever we can here."

"Very well, let's go." He said curtly and I stood up while picking up the woven basket of herbs. Hiro took a hold of my hand and I looked down at him with an adoring smile and I was sure that he was returning it with as much gusto as he could muster.

Our walk back to the Uchiha Compound was silent besides the sound of our shoes on the gravelly ground. There was a gentle breeze that caressed my face and made the lose strands of my hair tickle my forehead and neck. It was pleasant weather that I quite enjoyed and, not so surprisingly, wished for to experience when with Madara sama sometime.

After the Pinwheel Festival and Madara sama's apology, he and Izuna sama once again came to us to get their injuries from battles treated. Things had become quite busy for us besides their visits because the inflow of shinobi in need of special treatment increased. It was because of the increase in number of fights and clashes between the different clans, just as Tatsuo san had said. Many lost their lives too and the anger and darkness of the members of the Uchiha Clan was slowly rising. There were times when those with such hatred and anger were under my care and their raging chakra and overwhelmingly pulsating power left Hiro and me anxious.

Madara sama and Izuna sama too have been rather restless off late. They're always so tense when they come in for a session of healing, their muscles and chakra networks knotted and straining. Besides sterilizing and wrapping up their open wounds, I've had to give them acupressure sessions so the stress in their muscles doesn't hinder them in any way during fighting. In all honesty, I've been worried about them.

"Akina." I heard Tatsuo san call and I stopped walking. I noticed him come close to me and I squeaked in embarrassment when he wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to himself.

"T-Tatsuo san, what are you doing?" I asked, feeling quite embarrassed at the moment.

"We've got company." He said in a low voice and I felt a chill of fear go down my spine.

"We're going to be attacked? W-what about Hiro? Where is he?" I asked. I was worried about his safety more than mine and I tried to locate his chakra.

"Don't worry. He's being protected as well." Tatsuo san replied and I felt his chakra pulse. "What horrible timing to have to face the Senju. And we're outnumbered."

"The Senju?" I asked barely above a whisper. Tatsuo san tightened his hold on me at that, enough to make me wince in slight pain.

"Just so you are aware, I have no intention of handing you over to them even if you wish to go to them." He hissed, venom lacing his voice. I could tell he was angry and suspected me of supporting the Senju over the Uchiha even though I had clearly said I was neutral about everything when Madara sama asked me about it.