Chapter Text
A solid month had gone by since Chiaki had had her encounter with Madara and Hashirama at the river. Madara’s birthday had come and gone with him now being sixteen, and Chiaki had just had her’s; making her fifteen!
The sky was now permanently overcast as winter settled in. It was gloomy as a mixture of rain and snow lightly came down to give the earth a drink. The ground was still too warm for anything to have stuck, though, and it only made the mission Chiaki was on purely miserable.
January’s winter was late, which was why missions were still on-going as Madara, Chiaki, and three other Uchiha clansmen made haste towards their pre-set destination.
A carefully-placed wire trap, however, had all four the victims of an ambush. Although if Madara and his team were the unfortunate ones, or if it was the ones that thought they could take him on, was debatable.
Chiaki ducked as a kunai whizzed by her head and lodged into the back of one of the Uchiha men.
He was quick to topple to the ground, writhing and screaming in agony as Madara caught a secondary one riddled with paper bombs and sent it back the way it’d come.
There was a huge ‘boom’, accompanied by the cries of dying men as Chiaki rushed over to the injured Uchiha.
The blade had sunk in deeper than the overwhelmed Fusae thought, and as the familiar light-green hue of her healing chakra lit up around the wound; she wondered if it was enough to save him..
”It’s pointless trying to save him when you have other problems now..!”
A rough voice forced Chiaki to pry her attention away from giving medical care. The swift decision was a critical one. One that cost her the very life she had intended on saving!
In a fit of rage, the Fusae promptly retrieved the kunai she’d taken out and utilized it to disembowel the enemy.
Madara swiveled around in time to watch as intestines ‘plopped’ to the ground and splattered blood all over Chiaki (and the dirt), leaving her surrounded by two corpses.
He was disappointed that they’d lost another member, but he was relieved that Chiaki was sharp enough to realize it was ‘kill or be killed’. Well, in Chiaki’s case it could’ve been significantly worse than just death.
She was still their medic, though, (the most important person in the group!) and Madara was in charge of overseeing that she stayed alive. He felt pity for her when the obvious signs of distress stayed present in her rich browns, and the lines of stress on her face only deepened.
Chiaki didn’t belong out here with them, but that wasn’t really her decision.. now was it?
”Get up! We need to move and take shelter somewhere to regroup now that we’re down a teammate.” Madara sounded cold as he commanded Chiaki to rise.
Chiaki shelved away what she’d just witnessed and did as she was told without fuss. Sure, she’d been alongside Madara on the battlefield before; but this was the first time being directly under his command. It was exhilarating to a degree, (as much as it shouldn’t have been..) and the leadership was what she needed to get her bearings together!
He was a pillar in a moment where Chiaki was completely uncertain and afraid. With all threats terminated, Madara came over to where Chiaki was and leaned down to whisper to her in passing on his way to retrieve the few kunai he’d used.
”You can cry later, I need you focused now so we can all go home.”
Madara was a bit softer as he made himself audible to only Chiaki. He was definitely a far cry from the boy she’d met almost a year ago that would’ve ridiculed her for wanting to weep. She didn’t know what it was that changed after the Uchiha had turned sixteen, either, but Chiaki was becoming rather fond of this version of Madara!
Chiaki nodded in acknowledgment, stiffening the trembling lips of hers as Madara moved out of her space to go address the other two in the party.
”Make sure to bury our own for us to come back for later, leave little traces behind. None, if you’re any Shinobi worth a damn!” Madara barked out orders.
Everyone aided in the clean up.. as much as everyone could now that they were all in a gloomy mood. When Madara was satisfied with the results, all four cleared the area; leaving their former comrade behind with a subtle marker to help retrieval easier.
It was long into the night, the snow had stopped falling for the time being and a fire was roaring in an attempt to keep the tiny group of Madara’s alive and warm as they huddled around it. The two Uchiha men Chiaki wasn’t familiar with had drug thick logs by the fire so that they all had a place to sit besides the chilly ground.
Both of the adults on their team found spots upon the makeshift seats, heating up their bodies with the flames and alcohol they were passing between each other and not Chiaki and Madara since they were still underage.
While the men were busy exchanging banter, Madara and Chiaki were hunkered down at the base of a tree that aligned with the circle they’d made. It was still close enough to catch the warmth the fire offered without placing them directly by the stench of the liquor being consumed.
Madara was sitting facing out and towards the flickering flames so that he could continue to be on high alert, and Chiaki was tucked in at his side with a blanket over her for some form of privacy from the watchful eyes of everyone present.
They hadn’t exchanged any conversation since their camp had been established, and for the first time since he met the plucky Fusae he pondered what was going through that noggin of hers. It wasn’t like Chiaki to be mute.. and to be honest it disturbed the stoic man a little.
He didn’t have to ask, though. Chiaki leaned forward and buried her face into Madara’s back knowing that the blanket was preventing anyone from seeing her do this. For a fraction of a second surprise flashed across Madara’s face before settling back into a deep exhaustion. He could feel a dampness as Chiaki’s silent weeping absorbed into his cloak and clung to his skin.
Madara was uncomfortable and apprehensive having never consoled many people. He didn’t want to humiliate Chiaki for being vulnerable, it wasn’t her fault she was stuck following orders; just as he was, as they all were.
Chiaki was thankful that Madara had matured, and his initial instinct hadn’t been to shame her. She was relieved he was giving her a safe space to release her anguish despite the discomfort she could vividly feel. Madara’s back was taut from what she could tell, and his leg began to bounce as if he were restless.
”Thank you, I am so sorry I’m not strong-“
Chiaki expressed her gratitude as well as the obvious distress she was under, and Madara just couldn’t be as harsh as he typically was with all the others he was sent on missions with. Maybe it was Chiaki being a woman, or maybe a tiny portion of him had grown fond of the bratty Fusae over the last year.
Either way, he absolutely couldn’t stand Chiaki belittling herself after how capable he’d seen her be!
”Nonsense! Look, it’s okay to weep when you see something you’d.. rather forget. That’s besides the point. Don’t ever say you aren’t strong. You’re perfectly capable, I know. I’ve seen how impressive you can be!”
Madara scolded Chiaki, his register almost loud enough to catch the attention of the other two who gave him odd looks before going back to enjoying themselves.
The sudden confession (and compliment) took Chiaki by surprise, and an awkward pause passed between the pair as they watched processed things in their own way.
This new revelation helped in lifting Chiaki’s spirits, even if it was a smidge. It was enough to put her in the mood to tease her ‘squad leader’ and Madara was about to regret having slipped up by telling Chiaki what he did.
”I didn’t know you.. thought so highly of me? Is… your bratty attitude all an act?”
Chiaki sniffled out her inquiry, mocking him and if Madara severely (and desperately) hadn’t wanted to cause a commotion, he would’ve shoved the Fusae off of him when she started teasing him.
”If you like being comfortable where you’re at, my suggestion is to forget I said anything and behave. We are not in a place for your bullsh*t..”
Madara put an end to Chiaki’s ‘fun’, and he allowed a smug smirk to tug at the edges of his lips when he could sense the pouting Chiaki was doing.
”You are no fun. Also a bit rude, you could’ve been nicer to me!” Chiaki responded, peeling herself from Madara with a hefty amount of embarrassment, still staying tucked at his side having found security being near the only person she knew.
”This isn’t supposed to be fun, this is a mission. Tomorrow we will be intercepting the Hagoromo from advancing further into your territory. You should be resting instead of pestering me!”
Madara wasn’t having Chiaki’s childish behavior. It was one thing when they were goofing off within the safe confines of the Fusae or Uchiha camps. While they were out on the field, Madara needed her to be focused, ready and serious.
The comment stung, and while this encounter served to strengthen their bond in some ways; Chiaki was sour. She was hot in the cheeks, her throat was tight and fresh tears wanted to roll once more.
Instead of proving Madara right, though, Chiaki went silent, settled in a decent spot and tried her best to take a nap. In the next few hours they’d be going directly into the lion’s den, and no one in their group was necessarily ready for it.
