𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

43

"Of course. [Name], come on."

Bowing to their host as she entered, [Name] looked around the garden as she walked in with Sasuke, curious as to what sort of lifestyle the clan's ruling family was living. So far, she had deduced that their property was far larger than the one she and Sasuke were living on, and the same could be said for the house.

"Isn't there only three of them living here?" whispered [Name] incredulously as they walked up the front steps leading towards the front door. She couldn't fathom why three men would need such a lavish and large house to live in, especially since the two younger ones didn't even have families of their own to worry about.

"Tajima had a bigger family back then," replied Sasuke in a low murmur, careful to keep his voice down as they entered the house. "He had three other sons, and his wife."

"Oh."

Without another word, [Name] put her head down as she followed Sasuke through the corridors of the head family's house, which seemed to wind on and on without any end. However, when Sasuke came to a stop, so did she.

"Ah, [Name], Sasuke. How lovely of you to join us."

[Name] subconsciously reached for Sasuke's arm and clutched onto him as they were greeted at the door to the banquet room by Madara, who was dressed in similar clothing to his brother, with the exception that his complete attire was in black.

Upon seeing [Name]'s elegant ensemble, the elder Uchiha smiled, delighted by her appearance.

"If I do say so myself, you two look magnificent tonight," said Madara, looking away from [Name] to meet Sasuke's cold glare. "Why the sour look, dear nephew? I would've hoped that at least tonight you would be able to enjoy our company."

"Forgive him, he isn't feeling well," stepped in [Name], glancing anxiously at her now tense husband. "My apologies, Madara-sama."

Chuckling at how quickly the Kouhage stepped in to defend her husband, Madara crossed his arms and stepped aside, beckoning for the couple to walk in.

"Please," he said with a friendly smile. "Do come in. Your parents are already seated, as are Itachi and his family. Speaking of which, you didn't bring Sarada? I would've quite enjoyed being able to see both her and Kazuki today, and I'm sure the same could be said for Fugaku and Mikoto."

"Ah, she wasn't feeling so well either, so Sakura stayed at home to look after her," said [Name] hurriedly, reading the annoyed expression on her husband's face and seeing early warning signs.

"Goodness gracious. Poor thing."

Knowing that he was aggravating his nephew's temper, Madara smiled at the sight of him refraining from lashing out, and continued baiting him further.

"Sasuke, how are things with Sakura?" asked Madara smoothly, causing [Name] to glance cautiously at her husband. "I take it child number two will be making an appearance soon?"

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke closed his eyes and released it with a sigh, sensitive to the fact that [Name] was gripping onto his arm as if to say: don't do it.

"... possibly. But not from Sakura, if you know what I mean."

[Name] held her breath as Sasuke looked up at his uncle with a victorious smirk on his face, not allowing Madara the benefit of seeing him mad because of his words. Madara merely chuckled at his nephew's cheeky reply, finding it amusing how he was starting to play games of his own.

"Now, now, we know [Name] won't be having her first child for a while," smirked the Uchiha, glancing at the Kouhage with a broad smile. However, there was a look in his eye that unnerved her so greatly, she ended up hiding half of her face behind Sasuke's shoulder. It was a foreboding look, one that she had only seen glimmers of before, when he would make inappropriate jokes to her. But now that she could see it in its full force, she was scared. Why for, she didn't know. She couldn't even describe the look, so why did she fear it?

Sensing [Name]'s discomfort, Sasuke made it a point to end the conversation with his uncle so that they could join the others, not wanting her to feel distressed any longer.

"Come on, [Name]," said the raven softly, gently prying her hand off of him and nudging her past Madara. "I'm sure my mother would like to see you."

"Y-Yes, of course."

"I hope you two have a lovely time," said Madara, nodding his head ever so slightly at [Name] as Sasuke urged her in first. He soon followed suit, but before he headed after his wife, he stopped beside his uncle without glancing at him once.

"Stay away from her," murmured Sasuke under his breath, loud enough so that only Madara could hear him. "Otherwise I'll end you myself."

"Such presumptuous words, my dear nephew. Let's not forget who put you into this marriage, Sasuke. Because I can just as easily take you out."

Paying no heed to Madara's words, Sasuke merely scowled before he walked off after [Name], thinking little of the clan leader's threat. It meant nothing to him, and it would certainly mean nothing to [Name], either. As long as they were vigilant, nothing Madara did could separate them.

He wasn't going to let his empty threat ruin their night.