Author's Note: Hello all of my lovely friends! I know it has been a really long time and all of you hate me, but I've have been so crazy busy with work and preparations for the family both coming in and going out of town to meet that I haven't been able to sit down and really write like I've wanted to. But I'm happy to get something out at least! It also turns out that your girl is getting a few of her stories plagiarized on a Russian website called fanfics - dot - me. So to all of my wonderful readers out there, if you are also a writer, I would recommend taking a look to make sure your work isn't there either. Unfortunately, I don't know how to go about any of that, for now, other than to warn everyone else. Thank you to Vixen Tail for letting me know! Let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Warnings: Language, OOCness, Un-beta'd.

Word Count: 5,260

"Should we mention something to Lady Uzumaki?" Sakura barely hears Izuna say over the roar of her blood in her ears.

"No," Mito says, shaking her head. "She won't be able to help you. Not with this." Her thin eyebrows pull together tightly as she considers something. "At least, not yet, I don't think. My sister has a lot to focus on. I may have to play the Elders hands. If I already put in the work without consulting them, then they can't ask for anything in return." Her pretty blood-red eyes lower to the wood grain on the table lost in thought about what she was going to do next.

Hashirama frowns, not happy at the idea of building a foundation of lies with their cousins in the Uzumaki clan. "You don't have to do that. I wouldn't ask you to lie to your clan on our behalf. You are already doing so much to help us."

Mito waves her hand around dismissively, not nearly as bothered about lying to her family as he was. "Don't worry about that. This is interesting to me. Not everything I do should be filtered through them. It's no pressure on me, and this is about clan honor. If a break-off of the Uzumaki clan is indirectly attacking our allies, we need to do something about it. I don't have time to deal with their bickering."

Sakura comes back into herself enough to admire the lady sitting across from her. One day, Sakura hopes to be half as strong as Mito Uzumaki. She was proud of who she was and what she could do, she wasn't going to let anyone hold her back. She knew that if this was going to reflect badly on her family that she had to do something as soon as possible and was unwilling to just sit around while the old men of her family debated on what should be done when she seems to have a somewhat passable idea of what she believes should be done about the situation.

Hashirama looks like he admires her too, but still looks conflicted lying to the Elders of their sister clan, but he's not going to turn away Mito if she's willing to help them with this. This was their chance to learn more about what was going on, they would be foolish to waste it.

Mito interlaces her fingers on the table between them, nodding her head more to herself than to them before saying, assuredly, "I've got this handled for now. Let me ponder this seal for a few days and I'll get back to you all." She grabs onto the scrap papers filled with the wrong seal diagrams and holds it over one of the candles on the tables, watching as it turns to ash in between her fingertips. She drops that last slip of it as it burns away without hurting herself, taking the only correct version with her. She rolls it around between her two hands, thoughtfully, as if considering what she should do next.

"Mito-san," Hashirama says slowly. "Thank you for all your help. Regardless of the outcome, I mean."

Mito shrugs her shoulder, eyes flickering about in thought. She waves her hand dismissively before taking the scroll and standing up abruptly. The men in the room are quick to stand, respectfully. Sakura is practically pulled to her feet by Izuna. She gives him a sheepish look to which he rolls his eyes playfully.

Mito offers a thin smile before tipping her head a bit and leaving, taking the scroll with her.

Once she's gone, all of Sakura's brothers sit down, looking around at one another. Creases form between Tobirama's eyes as he crosses his arms over his chest while Hashirama sighs and rubs tiredly at his forehead.

"Madara, what are we going to do?" Hashirama asks.

Silence.

Izuna and Sakura share a look.

Hashirama looks up, dark eyes scanning the room before letting out a low moan and running his hands through his hair. "Madara," he moans. "Why?"

"Because he's a paranoid asshole who doesn't know how to look after himself," Izuna answers easily.

Hashirama smiles at him for a moment before letting out a long-winded sigh, rubbing at his forehead again. "He's the only one who understands me. He's the only one that could help me make sense of this."

Tobirama glares at him, insulted that he wasn't considered at all, and annoyed at his brother's antics. Sakura smiles, knowing that Madara and Hashirama's relationship was very straight forward. They were very much like real brothers. But their souls were linked together too. Sakura knew this. She knew that somehow, over the years their bond was unnatural. Even as enemies there was an undeniable connection between them. Sakura always knew there was a connection between them that couldn't be seen.

So Sakura didn't doubt for a second that Madara understood her brother. She doubted that he was the only one, but she did know that if anyone could at least understand where her brother was coming from, at least to some degree, it would be Madara. And she suspected that it worked both ways.

"Why is he never here when I need him?" Hashirama moans, dropping his head onto the table hard enough to make Izuna and Sakura flinch and Tobirama's face to curl distastefully.

"What do you need?" Everyone's heads snap toward the door to see Madara stepping in. He roughly ruffles his hair, giving them a sideways glance. He looks pale and tired but not nearly as bad as he looked before. "I'm assuming the drama queen was talking about me. So what does it need?"

Madara walks over to sit unceremoniously on Sakura's other side as Izuna grumbles, "You were forbidden to leave your home, my dear aniki." While Hashirama whines at the same time, "Don't call me 'it'."

The elder Uchiha brother sends him a flat look, ignoring Hashirama all together. "I'm the lord of the Uchiha, otouto, I do whatever I want." He looks down at the pink-haired girl who is pouting up at him with puffed cheeks. He wilts a bit. "My lady."

"Why did you leave?" Sakura asks, glaring up at her husband.

"I can't sit around and do nothing all day. I'm going crazy," he admits, then quietly pleads, "Don't send me back."

Izuna snorts, looking amused. Honestly, Sakura is surprised that he was able to stay at home for half a day. She thought he would try to escape long before that. She hadn't considered that he would be silly enough to seek her out, basically admitting to his prison break. Still, Sakura has to admit that he does look better than before, and so long as he's taking it easy then maybe she can forgive him. For now.

"Fine, but I'm keeping an eye on you," Sakura says, nodding once, before taking his hand in between her own and cradles it on her lap. Madara laces his fingers through her own, thankful that she wasn't going to send him back.

"I'm glad that you are here," Hashirama says, brushing off the snub from earlier. "I want to tell you about what we just learned. I want to hear your opinion on the matter."

Madara quirks an eyebrow. "Alright. I'm listening."

Sakura sits there, holding his hand while Hashirama begins explaining what they had all just learned from Mito and Sakura's minor investigation - if it can really be called that. Madara stays quiet, listening to everything that they relay back to him without asking any questions until the end.

"And she's sure about this?" Madara asks.

"She seemed sure," Hashirama admits to which Tobirama nodded in agreement. There is a moment of pause, before Hashirama asks, "What do you think about all of this, brother?"

Madara rubs at his chin thoughtfully, looking around at the ceiling as if his own thoughts were somehow scribbled across the wood paneling. He lets out a long, drawn-out sigh turning his eyes down toward his best friend. "As much as I hate it, I don't know if there is anything that we really could do other than hope that Lady Mito will be able to help us." He doesn't seem to be a fan of letting someone else do the leg work for him. "As for what I think? I think that there is more at play here than any of us realize. There is a connection, I just don't think we're seeing all of it yet."

Hashirama scratches his head, nodding slowly. He looks over at Tobirama, quirking an eyebrow. "I agree with Madara. What do you think?"

Sourly, Tobirama grumbles, "Oh, now you want to know what I think?"

"It's the pecking order," Izuna says. "He's working his way down from the level of relevance."

Tobirama glares at Izuna before looking over Hashirama and grounds out between clenched teeth, "I think that someone is intentionally striking out at us from the shadows. But we are so caught up in what's going on around us that we aren't aware of what's happening to us. We were so wound up in our war and building our village that this must have been something that's been brewing for a long time."

Madara, looking slightly amused, nods in agreement alongside Hashirama.

"That would make sense," the oldest of them says slowly, furrowing his brow. "And I worried that both of you are right. Somehow this is all going on and may have been for a long time, but we haven't seen it until recently, and more than that, it might just be bigger than we think it is." He rubs at his forehead before looking over at the youngest of the four brothers. "Izuna?"

Before the younger Uchiha brother could even say anything, Tobirama cuts in, looking smug, "You're right, Izuna. He is working his way down."

Izuna glares back at him, muttering something harsh about the albino in the room before turning his attention to the oldest in the room with a crisp, "I think that these aren't connected in the slightest. And by these, I mean the all-encompassing everything. I think maybe some things are connected, but I don't think that everything that's been going on around here is connected. I think some things are just shitty things going on around us." He glances down at Sakura. "Pardon my language."

"Jokes aside," Madara says, crossing his arms over his chest or attempting to with Sakura cradling one of his hands. Before Sakura can even consider giving his hand back, he simply drops his other arm without attempting to pull away from Sakura. "I think that Izuna is right. Not everything is connected, yes, but some things can obviously be linked. The attack in the forest on our way back from the Capital, the seal and something else that I've been thinking about. It wasn't chance that they came across us that day."

"What do you mean?" Izuna asks. "I mean, I understand that seals don't appear out of nowhere and they would have to of planning beforehand but I guess I'm curious as to what else you're thinking of."

"Well, their actions were very telling despite what they said. They made it seem like they were out there setting traps for the hell of it and caught us by accident, but I don't think that was the case at all. I think it was all intentional," Madara says, glaring at the table between the five of them in disdain, remembering that moment with just as much fondness as the rest of them.

Sakura shivers, wrapping her arms around herself before leaning into Madara's side. He wraps an arm around her as if trying to protect her from the memory of that day. Madara's words effectively killed the slightly playful mood between the boys, turning all of their expressions somber.

"Brother is right," Izuna says. "They were too well prepared and were on us quickly for it to have just been mere chance."

Tobirama and Hashirama both share a look, communicating with each other with just their eyes. Hashirama scratches at his neck, probably remembering the pain of having his chakra sucked from him forcefully. Tobirama looks sympathetic, no doubt having had many sleepless nights following the incident. Sakura and Tobirama were both very worried about their bother. And remembering that moment leaves Sakura shaking like a leaf. Hidden in the sleeves of her kimono, Sakura wraps her thin fingers around Tobirama's kunai, squeezing it tightly.

Her elder brother glances over at her as Sakura pushed chakra into the seal in her anxiety. She mouths an apology, not having meant to do that. Tobirama shakes his head slowly, giving no mind to the accident. In fact, he appears relieved that she still has it on her person, as per their promise. He had returned the kunai - or got her a new one, she couldn't tell the difference - a few days after the incident in question. He made her promise to never be without it. She has made it part of her routine while getting ready in the morning.

"So what does this mean?" Hashirama says, troubled.

"Someone is trying to strike out at our families," Madara says plainly, pressing his lips into Sakura's hairline. His skin is hot to the touch reminding Sakura that he was still sick and needed to return home soon. But the action itself comforts her greatly and she sinks deeper into his side.

"We already suspected that," Tobirama says, glaring but not necessarily at them. "And Mito Uzumaki did say it was made with the two of us in mind." He gestures to Hashirama and himself.

"But her words may now have given us the opportunity to see more than we could before," Hashirama offers half-heartedly, still appearing to be troubled.

Izuna lets out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Unfortunately, it appears as though this situation was designed to make us question everyone around us. It will definitely make us more paranoid, that's for sure."

All the men seem to be in agreement on that. Sakura hadn't really thought about it like that, but now she was. Someone was trying to strike out at them in many different ways and until they know who to trust, no one should be trusted at all. Which is bad for building a new village when they are trying to build it with an open mind.

Sakura and Madara walk through the streets, hand-in-hand on their way back home. She looks around at the people walking about, talking and going about their day unknowing that anything was wrong. They were happy and blissfully ignorant. Sakura was so happy for them. They deserve to be happy after all the time they've lived in conflict and fear for tomorrow.

Some kids go running in front of them, a little girl trips over her feet and lands on her chest and face. The other kids keep going without realizing that she's fallen behind them. She pushes up onto her hands and knees and leans back onto her legs and starts crying. Before Sakura can even think about going over to help her, Madara is pulling his hand from hers and is covering the ten feet between them and kneeling down in front of the little girl.

She blinks, looking up at Madara with wide, watery eyes. A look of fear crosses her face and then she spots Sakura over his shoulder. Sakura smiles down at the little girl.

"Are you okay?" Madara asks, concern softening his voice. He offers a hand for her to help her up.

The little girl looks back over at Madara, terrified. Sakura isn't sure what scared the little girl about her husband, but she's sure it's a misunderstanding.

Sakura flexes her right arm, showing off biceps and grabs it with her other hand, grinning widely and winking at the little girl. "Tell him that you're strong! You're a young lady from our village! One little scrape isn't enough to take you down! You are a powerful young woman!"

Madara casts a curious look at Sakura over his shoulder while the little girl blinks for a moment before she grins broadly. "I am a powerful Senju woman!" She pumps her fists too.

Sakura grins back, hadn't realized that the little girl was a Senju, but happy that she seemed to find strength in her words. But now Sakura understands why she was scared of Madara. Sakura leans down and wraps her arms around Madara's shoulders and hugs him tightly, smiling at the little girl. "The Uchiha aren't just our allies anymore. They are our family, sister. There is no need to be afraid."

The little girl looks between the two of them for a moment, considering, before she smiles, wiping the tears from her eyes. She reaches out and takes Madara's hand and he helps her up, not minding that her hand was covered in tears and snot.

Sakura pulls back, but not before whispering, "Smile, Madara-chan, sweetly. Children react to demeanor."

The girl blinks a few times before her smile widens more as she stares down slightly at Madara. "Thank you, my lord!" She turns and runs off to find her friends before stopping and waving happily back at them. "Bye! Bye my lord! Lady Sakura!" She turns and rushes off.

Sakura peaks down at her husband's face to see the softest look in his eyes. Sickness has smoothed out his more stern features making him appear more gentle in the face. Sakura smiles brightly when he looks over at him. She pushes some his fringe out his eyes and laughs. "You are going to be a great dad one day, Madara-chan."

"She was scared the last time too," Madara admits, blushing at her comment.

Sakura tilts her head, curiously. "This happened before?"

"Yes, she cried. Hashirama made her feel better where I couldn't." Madara looks after her. Even though she cried last time too, it seems, Madara no doubt felt bad but still went to help her again, figuring that she would still be scared regardless. Sakura loves this man. She wished that more people could see the good man that she sees all the time. Surely that will come soon enough.

Madara pushes himself to his feet, offering his arm for Sakura to take, and continues on their way home.

After a few moments of silence, Madara asks, "Do you think I would be a good father? Really?"

Sakura smiles, leaning into him more. "Of course. I think our children would have the greatest father in the world."

Madara huffs, shaking his head. "I don't know about any of that. But I would like to be a good father. And I don't want to just be better than my own father, that's setting the bar too low. I want to be as good of a father as I can be. And I want to be the man that my mother thought I would be. I want her to be proud of the good man that I've become because she made me. Without her, I would never be half the man that you deserve."

"You are a good man, Madara," Sakura says softly, not minding having to reassure him of the fact. "Your mother raised you well, but you deserve some credit for the way you are. Don't sell yourself short." A pause, then, "It's not hard to be a decent human being. It's hard to be a good person when all people seem to be able to spare is apathy. Kindness goes a long way, especially when expressed to people who have been denied it."

"Our children won't be like that," Madara says sternly. "They will know that they are loved. That kindness is free to give and that family is the most important thing in the world. Family and people, I suppose."

"What would you like?" Sakura asks softly. "Boys or girls?" They've had this discussion before, but Sakura just loves how Madara glows at the thought of children, especially their possible future children. The love and excitement in his eyes about the prospect of them having children of their own shines brightly on his face whenever they talk about it.

Sakura knows that it's still a few years down the line for them, but she gets excited thinking about it when she sees his expression.

"I would rather girls," Madara says, same as always. "I know, realistically that I will need an heir, but an heiress wouldn't be so bad. And it would encourage those old farts to start thinking progressively. It's been a long time since there was an heiress to the Uchiha line. No daughter of mine will be married off for ties to other clans or lords, if they want her hand, they are going to have to earn it. By killing me."

Sakura laughs, shaking her head. "No, don't say that."

"He'd better hope, if he wants my daughter's hand, whoever he is, that when he asks me for it that he's ready to face me. And kill me, at that." Madara looks possessive over a daughter they don't have. Sakura could already tell that Madara was going to be an amazing father. Without a doubt.

"You don't mean that," Sakura laughs. Madara grumbles something about begging to differ.

"But in all seriousness," Madara continues, "I am certain I will love whatever we end up having. Boy or girl. When the time comes."

Sakura nods, still recognizing that while they are now married and will be for the rest of their lives, with everything going on; building the village and the dangers that seem to be looming over the horizon, they decided on waiting to consummate their marriage until they were both better prepared to care for and raise a child, and for the village to be strong enough to protect itself and all its inhabitants.

It was a long, awkward talk but they weren't going to risk pregnancy without at least being ready for it. They love each other, they know this. They don't have to be physically intimate to prove that. But neither of them are equipped to bring children into the world and they would rather not tempt fate until they were ready. Or at least, more prepared than they are right now.

Sakura loves Madara. She loves him and looks forward to spending the rest of her life with him and eventually bearing his children, but she was still scared connecting to someone on that level just yet. She would rather move slowly and when they are ready, they will be able to enjoy each other to their hearts' content. Madara seemed to agree with her completely, which was a relief. There was no need to rush anything since they were going to be together forever. When the time was right, they would know.

As they walk, Sakura places the side of her head onto Madara's arm, her mind traveling back to earlier in the day, in the meeting hall talking about the people targeting them and all of her brothers, and husband's, speculations. She wished that none of this was happening. She just wanted her family to be happy and healthy. But now they've got people who are somehow connected to the Uzumaki striking out at them. Hashirama has to marry one of the Uzumaki sisters by the end of the next month and that strange man from the forest is some sort of demon, unlike the Tailed Beasts?

What in the world is going on around here?

"You shouldn't push yourself so hard, baby sister," Hashirama says softly. Sakura concentrates on the fish on the rock in front of her, her focus is laser-sharp, barely hearing her brother's soft voice next to her. She blinks slowly as the only acknowledgment that she is able to offer with her focus on the fish in front of her. Sweat has built upon her brow, glistening in the sunlight peeking through the trees around them.

The fish flops back to life and Sakura lets out a worn-down sigh, pushing the fish back into the river in front of her before leaning back on her hands to look at the rock next to her as her brother crosses his legs and stares down at her boyishly. He offers her an adorably innocent look, tilting his head to the side so the mass of long brown hair can slide over his shoulder.

"I'm okay," Sakura says recalling what he said just moments before, shaking her head as sweat trails down her back, chest and forehead despite how chilly it is out. Sakura's broken down and is wearing one of her old heavy Senju yukata until she has some made with the Uchiha crest. She even gave some of her unmarked ones to Koharu and one of the women in the Uchiha clan had a few extra that they gave Saiyu, her mother.

"Tobirama is a slave driver in your morning training sessions," Hashirama says, but not without obvious affection, "and medical arts aren't an easy subject to practice. You are going to wear yourself down."

"She's doing a good job sticking to her word, Hashirama. Stop babying her."

Sakura drops her head backward to see Tobirama walking through the trees toward them upside-down. He makes his way through the collection of rocks before stepping up onto the one Sakura is sitting on and lowers down it in one swift motion. Sakura forces herself to turn her body to face both her brothers, offering her immediate older brother a sweet smile.

"Hi, Tobi."

Tobirama offers her a little nod with a soft look of pride on his face. "Imouto. How is training with Hashirama going?"

"Good," Sakura says and Hashirama nods in agreement.

"It's only been about a week and a half but she is already picking up the basics. I really do think we have finally found her niche, Tobirama. And who would have thought that it would be the elusive and enigmatic medical ninjutsu of all things," Hashirama says, laughing with crinkles around his eyes with joy.

Tobirama smiles with pride. "I knew we would find something for her. I'm glad."

Sakura blushes. "Thank you, Tobi."

Hashirama grins between the two of them, before turning his dark eyes toward Sakura. "So, how is recon going? I hope you haven't been pushing yourself too hard training with Tobirama first thing in the morning and then with me right afterward, as well as going about your day. Don't overwork yourself, Imouto. Take a break if you need it."

Tobirama glares at Hashirama. "Don't baby her, Hashirama. She's working hard." Then to Sakura. "This is good, though. It's good that you are working hard, but you must also learn your limits. Take care of yourself. Push yourself to become stronger, but don't overdo it. You will undo all of your hard work. Do you understand?"

Sakura nods, unable to fight the tired smile across her tired face. "Yes, Tobi."

A second later, Kikiyo appears with Koharu just behind her, managing to keep up but looking a bit breathless. They must have run to get here. Koharu has also been training personally with Tobirama after Sakura's lessons. With everything going on Sakura hasn't been able to catch up with her on how her training is going, but judging by the slight sweat that built up on Kikiyo's forehead means they came from far off and if Koharu managed to keep up with Kikiyo's stamina, then she must be progressing well.

Kikiyo bows respectfully to the three of them, Koharu a second behind her.

"Lords Hashirama and Tobirama," then dark eyes turn to Sakura, "Lady Sakura, I have finished my morning report, are you ready to hear it?"

Sakura smiles at her friend. "Yes, Kikiyo, I'm ready."

All business, Kikiyo gives the morning report about the Uzumaki sisters. Koharu would throw in a tidbit or two whenever she felt like it was important to make note of but otherwise stayed quiet. Hashirama and Tobirama remained silent while listening in to the dark-haired teen's report.

"Lady Mito," Kikiyo says, ending with the one that Sakura was the most interested to hear about, "was secluded in a building covered with seals. She seems to be working on some sort of seal diagram, but I don't know anything about seals, my lady, so, unfortunately, I don't have much else to say about that. But she was surrounded by them. A lot. She seems to be working diligently on something." A look of concern crosses her features. "Should I alert Lord Madara?"

Sakura shakes her head. "It's okay, Kikiyo. Madara already knows what she's working on."

"She's doing it for us, actually," Hashirama supplies. "All of us." He gestures in an all-encompassing manner. "But we thank you for your constant vigilance, Kikiyo-san."

Tobirama addresses the blond for the first time since he politely nodded at her greeting since she arrived, "Pay close attention to Kikiyo's vigilance, Koharu. This village will rely on the backbone of each and every person in it to keep it functioning. We must all be on the looking out for any dangers that could be exploited in the village. This is about everyone's safety."

Koharu nods eagerly, her duo-colored eyes shining. "Yes, my lord!" She turns to Sakura. "There was something else, Lady Sakura. We ran into Lady Miyaya on your way here. She asked us to request your presence as soon as you are available."

Both of Sakura's brothers share a look, then look over at her.

"I think she's ready for your decision, sister," Tobirama says. "Make your decision and then go to her as soon as possible. Don't make her wait." Hashirama nods solemnly in agreement, then smiles when Sakura's troubled gaze turns his way.

"I am sure whoever you choose will be wonderful, Imouto," he says truthfully. "I am so happy that you have been so careful and meticulous in looking after my future." His dark eyes shine with love and Sakura is constantly reminded that he deserves every inch of effort put into it.

Sakura pushes herself to her feet, despite the fatigue pulling at each of her limbs, trying to ignore the worry curling in her chest. "Alright. I'll go. But first, I need to speak with the sister of my choice. I need to hear from her." Then, seeing the curious looks from both her brothers and her two friends, Sakura smiles thinly and asks, "Would you like to accompany me to see Lady Mito?"