Beauty and the Beast - An Uchiha Madara Love Story [Edited]

Chapter 17 - A Safe Place

As it was before, this chapter is dedicated to Bloody_Moon! Happy reading!

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Harumi pov:

I was yet to get over how different and rather intimidating Kabuto kun looked. The transformation in appearance and the huge snake that was staring at us from next to him was unsettling. We hadn't broken eye contact and none of us spoke minutes. It wasn't until Madara gave my hand a squeeze that I snapped out of my moment of surprise and looked up at him.

"You know him?" Madara asked almost growling and I resisted a shiver while averting my eyes from his narrow gaze.

"I-I met him before I met the Akatsuki," I said softly and Madara tightened his hold on my hand even more. I didn't like his reaction – it was too tense and I momentarily regretting that I told him the truth. He was silent for a few minutes before he let go of my hand and spoke while looking at Kabuto kun.

"You will be staying with Kabuto," he said, sneering out Kabuto kun's name but the latter merely smirked in response, "and we will leave now."

"Leave now? B-but..."

"No excuses," Madara cut me off in a low voice. "Don't forget the deal, Harumi."

"I-I'm sorry..." I said timidly. Grandpa and I then excused ourselves to pack our clothes and some basic things that we wanted to keep with us while in hiding. I also went to the backyard to cover the ceramics, clay and tools with a sheet.

I walked back into the house and came to stand in from of Madara and Kabuto kun silently while waiting for Grandpa to join us in the living room with his luggage. He strode up to us a few minutes later and Madara spoke up again.

"I assume you two have everything you need?" he asked while looking at me and I gave a small nod. "Good, let's go then."

He held out his hand for me to take and I hesitated, glancing at Grandpa and Kabuto kun. Grandpa looked curious and confused but Kabuto kun was giving me a mildly disapproving stare. I wasn't in a position to refuse Madara though so I averted my gaze to the ground and took his hand. I expected him to hold my hand in a firm grip like before but squeaked when I was roughly tugged forward to collide against his chest. He wrapped his arm around my waist to hold me firmly against himself and heat rushed to my cheeks in fluster and reached all the way till my ears, all the more because we had two spectators watching us intently. Madara didn't seem to care though and turned to face Kabuto kun.

"Yakushi Kabuto, it's time we take leave," he said. His chest vibrated under my palms – it felt weird and made me unexpectedly queasy.

The queasiness increased and my heart raced when my vision suddenly got distorted. I looked up at Madara and it seemed that whatever was around me was getting sucked into his eyes. It was only for a few minutes though and my vision cleared out to give me a view of the walls of a dimly lit cave. I blinked rapidly and looked around despite my slight lightheadedness.

Madara was still holding me against himself and when I met Grandpa's rather placid gaze, I felt quite self conscious. I pushed against Madara's chest with my hands and I felt his stare on me. I'm sure he didn't like that I was pushing him away but he let go nonetheless and I stepped back to put a few feet distance between us.

"Why don't you come this way, Haru chan?" Kabuto kun said and I looked up to see him looking at me with a kind smile though it didn't appear as friendly as it usually was. "I'll show you and your grandfather to where you'll be staying."

"O-oh, yes, please," I agreed softly and picked up my bag. Grandpa followed suit and just as we were about to leave the room we were in, I glanced back at Madara. His eyes were narrow in what appeared to be a warning stare and my eyes prickled. I looked away immediately, my heart beating fast, and increased my pace of walking to catch up with Kabuto kun.