Beautiful Imperfections - An Uchiha Madara Love Story

Chapter 10 - Protected

*faces all fans hypnotized by Madara sama's smexiness* All hail Madara sama! *p*

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Akina pov:

"Hiro, did you get everything?" I called out to him from where I stood.

"I did, Onee chan! I just need to get a few more roots of the Dryfil plant!" He responded and I have a nod with a smile.

I had just finished up with collecting my share of herbs – mostly the ones that Hiro was yet to learn about and differentiate in terms of their appearance and use – and I was waiting for Hiro to finish up collecting his share. Madara sama, Izuna sama, Tatsuo san and Ren san had been guarding us while waiting for us to be done with the job. Since we were out in the open and in a place where there was a possibility of being attacked by people of other clans, the Uchiha men had to be completely alert while Hiro and I comfortably collected the herbs.

Turning to face the direction in which I could sense Madara sama's chakra, I gave a slight bow with my head. "Madara sama, once Hiro is done, we can head back to the Uchiha Compound."

"Hn, very well. But it seems you took too long." He said sharply making me flinch and lift my head. "We've got company."

I felt a sudden chill run down my spine at his words. Madara sama was obviously indicating that some members of an enemy clan were closing in on us and a fight was sure to break out. I suppose if it were in any other situation, I wouldn't be so worried. Being a blind healer and a child wasn't something that most people would take seriously – at max, the only thing they would do was expect us to heal them for free. But now that Hiro and I were associated with the Uchiha Clan as their clan's healer, the enemy would see me as an opponent as well. Perhaps they wouldn't attack me because I was defenseless but the probability of them wanting to take me away and make me as their clan's healer was high. Hiro and I had just settled in with the Uchihas and I don't think we were ready to go through the stress of adjusting with new people again.

Besides, I didn't want Hiro and me to get caught in the crossfire. We could get seriously hurt.

"Hiro? Come over here quickly!" I called out to him, the anxiousness evident in my voice.

He listened to me and was at my side in a few seconds. It was just in time too because just as he reached me, I heard the violent rustle of leaves followed by the clash of metal against metal. Hiro got startled and gave a yelp as he took a tight hold of my dress. Feeling quite uneasy myself, I fell to my knees while dropping the basket of herbs to the ground and wrapped my arms around Hiro to make sure he had some amount of protection.

"Mukosan Jintaro, leader of the Mukosan Clan." I heard Madara sama muse icily moments after several people appeared in the meadow we were in. "What are you doing in the Uchiha Clan territory?"

[a/n: Mukosan means Void-Acid. Don't ask me how I came up with that name ^^' Pure randomness]

"Uchiha Madara." A gruff voice responded in distaste. "We are here to reclaim what you took away from us. It is time we take back this land for ourselves!"

Madara sama chuckled – it was dark and menacing and I couldn't stop a shiver from running down my spine. This was the first time I had been in the presence of two enemy clans, each radiating off such menacing auras that was a result of their hatred towards each other. And this was the first time I would be stuck in the midst of a fierce battle between shinobi. It was very unsettling.

"Take back this land? And what makes you think that you incompetent lot can do so? With the Uchiha as your opponent no less?" Madara sama mocked.

He seemed like a totally different person at the moment. The usual Madara sama I spoke to in the Uchiha Compound when he came to me for healing didn't exist here. His chakra was rushing wildly, so fiercely that it terrified me. His voice was deeper, colder and sharper. I was sure that he even looked terrifying at the moment. And it wasn't just Madara sama whose power was overwhelming at the moment – all four Uchiha men as well as the five enemies had their chakra pumping at its maximum level. The very weight of the air had increased two fold making it hard to breathe.