𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

08

"Forgive me for interrupting you, [Name]-chan, but do you often run errands for your household?"

Peering over [Name]'s shoulder as she discussed which stall's plums would make the best umeboshi for them, Madara was genuinely surprised that she took on errands that others of her rank would have allocated to their servants.

"Of course," answered [Name] smoothly as she indicated which stallholder for Mai to approach. "There, those plums looked good, don't you think?"

"Mhm, they did," nodded the young girl, reaching into the pocket of her yukata and pulling out a little coin pouch. "Our usual amount?"

"Yup."

"I'll be right back."

As Mai hurried off to the plums, [Name] turned and faced the two Uchiha tagging along behind her, giving them her full attention. As people walked past the trio, they all bowed and paid their respects to her, making Sasuke wonder just how revered [Name] was in her own clan.

"What is the point of a servant if you're the one doing all the work?" mused Madara as he crossed his arms, eyeing out other clan members as they said their quick greetings to [Name]. "You seem to be very popular. Are you really in charge of all the work involving your household?"

"My mother's condition means that she has been unfit to perform these duties for a very long time, and naturally, I had to take over her," said [Name] with a small sigh. "Ever since I was eleven, Mai has been there to help me run the household. At first, my parents only paid her because she needed money to help support her family, and because I needed help as well, but over time she's gradually become my friend. She's only one of three servants that we employ at my home- my parents believe that whatever job someone else can do, we can do ourselves. But, if someone needs work around here, we give it to them.

"Plus, my father has always known that one day I'd leave the clan. By having Mai follow me and learn everything that needs to be done to maintain the household, Mai will take over all my duties once I'm gone."

[Name] stared at Mai's back as the servant girl exchanged her coins for a bag of plums, before breaking her gaze and looking up at Madara.

"You continue to surprise me," chuckled the Uchiha, impressed not only with [Name]'s role in her clan, but also how well she seemed to handle all the pressure. "You train other clan members, and make them better fighters. You run your family household, and look after your parents. Everyone here seems to adore you. What else is there to you?"

[Name] laughed.

"I used to teach younger children how to read and write until we convinced my uncle that we needed a school," she said with a broad smile. "Right, Mai?"

"Hmm?" As Mai returned, she glanced at [Name], and then quickly at Madara and Sasuke before averting her gaze once more. "Oh- yes. [Name] was the one who taught me how to read and write as well."

Madara shook his head, slow clapping for his future in-law out of great respect.

"You're too good to be true. There must be a deep, dark secret that you're hiding from us. What is it, hmm? Are you in cahoots with an enemy clan, slowly plotting a way to infiltrate ours and eliminate us from within? Are you planning to use this marriage as an opportunity to spy on our clan?"

[Name] was quiet for a moment, before she burst out laughing at Madara's words.

"Ah, you got me!" she chortled, wiping a stray tear from her eye. However, as she did so, Sasuke couldn't help but notice that her tears weren't actually from laughter. And, even though he really didn't want to do it, he thought there wouldn't be any harm in asking her if she was okay. After all, she was going to be his wife soon. At the very least, he hoped that they could be on speaking terms.