Making You Mine

"I'm So Sorry..."

Madara picked up his pace and ran straight ahead of the path, as the other Uchiha clansmen waited among the trees for his signal. When he finally arrived the edge of the forest, he encountered the army of the infamous Jukodo clan. Madara slowed down to a walk and reached out for his light brown gunbai, gingerly touching the handle of it. The Jukodo clan's leader, Akiro, offered Madara a cocky smirk.

"Hmph! So it's only you, huh? You won't be able to defeat us by yourself!" he shouted arrogantly.

Madara only returned the smile and detached the gunbai from his back. "Now then...which one of you would like to dance with me?" he asked while pointing the gunbai at the large army.

"Attack him!" commanded Akiro with a wave of his hand.

The Jukodo clansmen ran straight towards Madara while yelling out their war calls. Madara activated his Sharingan and when they came closer to him, he swung his gunbai in one swift stroke.  The Jukodo clansmen screamed and cried out in pain as they flew backwards and haphazardly crashed into one another.

Once they hit the ground, the hidden Uchiha clansmen came out of the forest and went forward to attack the vulnerable Jukodo. In a flash, gusts of flames appeared above from a cliff, signaling that the Himura clan had arrived for the party.

[Name] smirked and saw her father sliding down from the cliff with the rest of the clan. 

Without another second to waste, [Name] pulled out her silver-bladed katana and immediately clashed with another kunoichi from the Jukodo clan.

"Heh...can you only wield a katana, little girl?" mocked the kunoichi with a grin.

"Shall I enlighten you more about me?" responded [Name] with a smirk as she leaped up into the air and weaved signs for her jutsu. 

"Katon: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" she shouted as she blew flames and threw several shuriken into it.

The kunoichi easily panicked and before she knew it, she was slashed by some of the shuriken sent by [Name]. 

"No...it can't be...you're the Blazing Beauty of the Himura clan, aren't you?!" she cried as she tried to hide the pain from the burns on her gashes.

[Name] simply ignored her and pulled out a kunai from her bag. She quickly aimed and threw the kunai at the kunoichi's chest, killing her in the process.

Having killed her first enemy on the battlefield, [Name] decided to move on to the next one in her sight. From a distance, she spotted both Madara and Izuna fighting with multiple opponents at the same time. They both made a bone-chilling and dangerous combo, as Izuna and Madara were throwing fast punches and kicks, not to mention that their speed and coordination also explained their prodigious skills.

Immediately, [Name] felt someone grab her from behind. With her heart beating fast, she roundhouse-kicked the man in the gut, sending him flying across the rocky grounds. Before she knew it, other shinobi came for her in different directions, grinning with delight.

"Capture her, don't kill her! She's the Blazing Beauty, and Akiro-sama will love to have her as one of his pets!" shouted one man.

"I want to have some fun with her first before we hand her over to Akiro-sama!" said another.

[Name] gasped and pulled out kunais and shurikens from her bags. She threw them at the incoming men, but they only blocked or deflected it. [Name] instantly slammed both of her hands together to weave more signs for a jutsu, and she concentrated her chakra in her throat and mouth.

"Katon: Great Fireball Technique!"

Some of the men were caught in the jutsu and were scorched to death. The others were severely burned, but they were not going to give up so easily. 

As the shinobi pulled out their own katanas, [Name] did the same. Suddenly, someone else landed near [Name] and touched her back with his own. [Name] turned her head around in curiosity and met the crimson eyes of Tatsuo. The men circled around Tatsuo and [Name] with their smug faces.

"I hope I didn't miss out on any of the fun, [Name]-sama. Are you alright?" he questioned with a smile.

[Name] smiled back and nodded. "Yes, and don't worry Tatsuo-kun. The fun has just begun!"

Tatsuo and [Name] hastily dashed away from each other and collided with the men and their katanas. [Name] managed to dodge each attack, and she brutally stabbed them in the neck with her shiny silver katana.

When she finally landed onto the dusty ground of the earth, [Name] caught sight of Izuna and Madara battling with Akiro. 

"Doton: Great Moving Earth Core!" shouted Akiro as he placed the palms of his hands onto the earth to create different levels on the battlefield.

The grounds shook violently, and different areas of the battlefield were raised or lowered, causing the original rocky cliffs to collapse or move. [Name] couldn't keep her balance, and she fell onto her knees. There were cracks that split the grounds open, and [Name] soon felt nothing beneath her. She closed her eyes and screamed, plunging into the deep disheveled earth. After hearing her screams of terror, Izuna jumped away from his fight to save her.

"[Name]!" shouted Izuna as he dived in to the sinking levels of the earth to catch her.

Izuna managed to catch one of [Name]' wrist in midair, and he immediately clawed onto the side of a rising cliff. He scraped through the side of the cliff and finally stopped when he reached a small ledge. His hand was bruised and bloodied from the painful scrape. The two were practically dangling from the side of the cliff now.

"Are you okay?!" he shouted. The pain in his injured hand was killing him, and the weight from [Name]'s armor made it even more of a struggle to hold on. 

[Name] noticed Izuna's bloodied hand and she gasped. "Izuna! Your hand!" she cried.

"I'll be fine, but we have to get out of here before the enemy arrives and finds us. They can easily kill us now." he commented.

[Name] heard voices approaching across the other side of another nearby cliff, and her heart raced. It was definitely a few other members of the Jukodo clan. She quickly looked down and saw that the ground was at least 300 feet away from where they were. [Name] gulped and closed her eyes. She cleared her thoughts and came up with a solution to save Izuna.

"Izuna, look at me." she implored. Izuna looked down at her and saw a strange look in her eyes.

"What is it, [Name]?" he asked.

[Name] offered him a sad smile, and gazed into his dark eyes. "The Jukodo clansmen are approaching, and there's only one way out of here."

"And how are we going to get out of here?" he inquired.

"Trust me, it'll be easy." she replied as she let go of his wrist.

Izuna gasped and immediately tightened his hold on [Name]'s wrist. He gritted his teeth and emphasized more pain on his bloodied hand to prevent them from slipping away from the cliff's small ledge.

"[Name], what are you doing?!" he shouted with his eyes wide in fear.

"Izuna," she began, "Thank you for everything. You were a wonderful husband, and I couldn't have asked for a better one. You brought joy into my life and our marriage, and I was very happy."

At first, Izuna was confused by her words, but he suddenly realized the true meaning behind [Name]'s declaration. She intended to sacrifice herself to save him from falling to his death.

"What? No! [Name], don't let go of my wrist! We'll both get out of here alive, I promise! You even promised me that you would come home with me safely, don't break your promise to me!" he cried as his fresh tears fell onto [Name]'s face.

[Name] gave him a weak smile and shook her head. "Forgive me Izuna, but I can't keep that promise anymore..."

Izuna shook his head and felt his grip on [Name]'s wrist weaken. She was slowly slipping away from him.

"Tch...don't say that! We'll make it out alive, I promise! I'll never forgive you if you leave me, [Name]!" he yelled out.

"No, Izuna. I am willing to sacrifice myself for your sake and safety. From now on, you will face many things without me, but you must stay strong no matter what!"

Through gritted teeth, Izuna was weeping silently. "Why...? Why do you have to do this?!"

"Because I have always loved you...and I want you to live..." she answered with a reassuring smile.

"[Name], please! I can't live without you, just hold on, we'll get out of here!" pleaded Izuna once more.

[Name] heard the footsteps of the Jukodo clansmen coming from the other side, and she quickly looked up at Izuna for one last time.

"Whatever you do from now on, I will always be proud of you..." whispered [Name] with tears streaming down her face.

At this point, Izuna was losing his grip on [Name]'s wrist and the cliff's small ledge. "No! It will be okay, I promise! Please don't go, [Name]!" 

With one last smile of love and sadness, [Name] stared deeply into Izuna's wet eyes for one last time.

"Izuna, please forgive me..." she said as she slipped away from Izuna's grip and fell back into the deep canyon beneath them.

The world suddenly turned dark, and a frightened Izuna unconsciously reached his hand out towards the falling [Name]. 

"NOOOOOO!!! [Name]!!!" screamed Izuna as he watched his beloved wife fall to her death.

As [Name] was falling, the echoing cries and screams of agony and hysteria of a pain-stricken Izuna rang through her ears. Her lips quivered and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the harsh upcoming impact of the hard ground.

“I’m so sorry…Izuna…”

End of Chapter 10