𝐑𝐈𝐒𝐄 | sasuke uchiha

51

"Excuse me, [Name]-sama, but there's someone here to see you."

As [Name] busied herself with adjusting her pupils' stances and overlooking their training, behind her Naka approached with three men in tow. Finishing her task at hand, [Name] straightened up and faced the group, only to have her jaw drop in amazement.

"Oji-sama?!"

Kouhage Akinobu chuckled at seeing the incredulous look on his niece's face, arms behind his back as he regarded her with profound interest.

"You seem to have settled in well," said the leader pointedly, while [Name] still struggled to understand what he was doing here at the Uchiha's stronghold. He was flanked by two younger shinobi, boys whom she recognised as the elder brothers of two of her younger students.

"Aki-kun! Yoshi-kun!" exclaimed [Name], receiving deep bows from the two boys. "Wow, you guys have gotten taller already!"

"Long time no see, [Name]-sama," greeted Aki. [Name] looked towards her uncle as she led him away from her students and his guards, wishing to speak in private.

"What brings you here?" she asked hurriedly, unsure of whether they were invited. "Does Madara-sama know you're here?"

"Actually, he's the one who sent for me," mused Akinobu. "He wishes to discuss the prospect of us migrating here to join the Uchiha clan, little by little. Of course, it's no small feat, so we must make the necessary discussions in person. I have a feeling that for now, he will be satisfied with just sending over some of our shinobi, but in the long run he wishes for our full forces to be nearby so that we may be readily accessible at his beck and call."

"What?! Why?!" 

The news came as a shock to [Name], considering she had not seen any of it coming. In the months following Izuna's death, there had been no indication that Madara had had plans to press for war with the Senju. However, now that her uncle was here informing her of the Uchiha's plans, it was clear to [Name] that Madara hadn't spent the last few months sitting around being idle. He must have been planning something big. Big, and serious.

"Surely Madara-san would have told you by now, at least," chuckled Akinobu. "He seems fond of you enough to do so."

"That's beside the point, oji-sama."

"Right, right. How is Sasuke? Is everything well with you two?" asked the Kouhage leader, looking slightly less interested in discussing [Name]'s husband.

"Yes. How are my family?"

"They remain the same. Mai is now Sawako, and she's been betrothed to one of our lesser shinobi," updated Akinobu, surprising [Name] even more.

"She's getting married?!"

"Naturally."

Although [Name] was glad for her friend and hoped that it was a marriage she had actually wanted, she was a bit sad that she hadn't thought to write to [Name] and tell her of the news. Since she had sent Naruto's letter regarding Hinata's pregnancy, she had heard virtually nothing from her former best friend.

"Wait, so... if everyone moves up here..."

"You'll be reunited with your family. Great news, right?"

[Name] gasped and clasped her hands to her cheeks, mouth forming a round "O" shape as she processed her uncle's words. While she had found a family within the Uchiha clan, the thought of reuniting with her own blood relatives was one that [Name] couldn't contain her excitement about.

"YES!" [Name] squealed as she jumped up and down on the spot, ecstatic at the news. She had so many thoughts running through her mind- she would be able to teach her former students alongside her present ones, show her parents and Mai around the compound, meet Mai's betrothed- she could do so many things once they all moved closer to the Uchiha.

Chuckling at his niece's enthusiasm, Akinobu held out a hand and waved at her to calm down, not finished with his explanation.

"Now, now, bear in mind that it is a process that could take months, or even years," he said with a sigh. "It requires precise planning, and complete rebuilding of a new home for us. It's such a big project, I'm wondering whether we should just permanently send up half of our shinobi forces up here for Madara to use at his own jurisdiction instead of relocating the whole clan. That would be much easier, and I know for a fact he only wants our military power. He couldn't care less about the rest of our civilian members."

"Ah- oh." Slightly crestfallen at her uncle's words, [Name] immediately deflated on the spot. "Well, I guess that will do. It will be nice to reunite with my old comrades."

"Excuse me, Kouhage-sama. Madara-sama awaits you in the meeting room."

The pair's conversation was interrupted by Shisui, who had managed to approach the two Kouhage without being spotted. Seeing the Uchiha, [Name] beamed and greeted him warmly, earning an equally friendly hello in return.

"Hey, Shisui!"

"Afternoon, [Name]. How's it going?"

"Right," said Akinobu gruffly, standing up tall as he analysed the unruly haired male, suspicious of his familiarity with [Name]. "And you would be?"

"Shisui. Uchiha Shisui. I am one of the council members of our clan," said the young man respectfully, bowing towards [Name]'s uncle. "It is an honour to meet you, Kouhage-sama."

"You know my [Name]?" asked Akinobu, voice blunt as he looked between Shisui and his niece. [Name] groaned and rolled her eyes, knowing that right now was not a good time for her uncle to be interrogating every Uchiha he came across.

"Yes, Kouhage-sama. We are colleagues, after all."

Akinobu raised an eyebrow as the Uchiha remained bowed before the leader, glancing curiously at [Name].

"Are all your colleagues around here male?" he asked her snarkily, earning a furious glare. "I see your two other colleagues over there are male as well. You seem to be very popular within the male population around here. Does your husband know he's sharing his wife with his clansmen?"

"Oji-sama!" exclaimed [Name] indignantly, offended that her uncle was taking a jab at her character and questioning her relationships with other Uchiha men. Beside her, Shisui sealed his lips tight as he suppressed a laugh, sensing [Name]'s anger at her uncle beginning to rise. "How can you say such a thing?! How dare you!"

Akinobu let out a loud laugh upon seeing the annoyance on [Name]'s face, amused by how easily offended she had gotten.

"I was just teasing," he snickered, turning towards Shisui with a jerk of his head. "Come on. Take me to your leader."

"Yes, Kouhage-sama. Please, follow me."

Straightening up, Shisui looked at [Name] and shot her a quick wink, a small smile on his lips as he turned around and began leading Akinobu back towards his two guards, who would then follow him suit.

Still pissed off by her uncle's words, regardless of whether they had been a joke, [Name] remained with a sour look on her face as she returned to her students, all of whom noticed the bad mood their teacher was in.

"[Name]-sama, are you okay?"

[Name] sighed as she heard Tatsuya's voice, and looked down to see the students she had been looking after flock to her side in concern. Further away from them, Naka and Obito were still busy with their rotation of students, which immediately prompted [Name] to shake away her irritation at her uncle and refocus her attention where it was needed.

"Yes," she said softly, smiling at her students. "Now, where were we?"