Madara Uchiha x Healer!reader
Friends to lovers, set during the founder’s era
Author’s note: Hey everyone! Whew, this took a while to write but I think it’s the longest chapter yet. Hope you enjoy.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Land of Earth, several years ago.
The first months of travel were some of the hardest days of her life. As long as she was on the Land of Earth soil, danger could creep up on her anytime. She kept minimal contact with others, avoided towns as much as possible, and tried to survive on the little the forests gave her. The constant exhaustion made her wish for a warm, safe bed.
She had a plan in mind, at least. As soon as she crossed the border to the Land of Fire, she would be at least a little safer. The power a foreign nation could legally enforce outside its own land was quite limited. After her return, she would travel further inland, where she would make herself small and spend the rest of her life in obscurity, not telling of her wrongdoing to a single soul.
By the time she arrived, it had been the warmest summer. A small, fading path stood between the Lands of Earth and Fire. An unofficial border crossing. During such turbulent times, it was not physically possible to guard the entire border, and thus she could return undetected.
Y/n sped up, taking the last few steps as if someone were about to prevent her from crossing. Once she was back in her homeland, she let out a sigh.
This was her chance.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In the Land of Fire, things became easier.
While it was still necessary for her to keep a low profile, it became safer for her to offer her services. More healing meant more money, and therefore access to food and inns.
Despite that, things were not ideal. She intended to settle somewhere as far from the Land of Earth as possible, so she still spent most of her days on the road. Trying to avoid danger in a war-torn country was still quite risky. At the same time, it meant more work for healers.
As she progressed further inland, she began allowing herself more time to breathe. Her visits to various towns now meant that days had gone by. As l long as she kept moving, she should be safe, or at least she hoped.
Little did she know, it would be one such town where their paths would cross again. The small, lakeside town stood beside a beautiful mountain that kept watch over it for centuries. Despite its size, it would have been a popular tourist destination had the times been less cruel. It had been far enough from any active conflict to explore relatively safely, even if she decided not to stray too far. While hiding as much as possible was the reasonable decision, focusing solely on survival would not guarantee much of a life. She wished to live again, at least a little.
The day they met was a beautiful winter day. She decided to take a short stroll at the lake on the outskirts of the town. The wind gently combed the tree branches, like they were its lover’s hair. The frozen water was shimmering as the sunrays hit its surface. The chilly breeze was intense enough for people to tuck their noses into their cloaks to escape the pain.
She was ready to return to the inn she was staying at. But then, she noticed him.
A young, tall man with long, dark hair stood at the end of the road, and he was looking at her. He had not been close enough for her to identify much else about him - he was wearing a dark, long shirt with a high collar and a cloak for warmth.
Was she in danger? If so, she only had herself to blame. She had allowed herself a few moments of normalcy from time to time, knowing it might make her survival less likely. And yet, she ignored all those instincts telling her to tuck herself away in a dark room and never let out a sound again.
Regardless, there were more important matters at hand. She should probably run. The man might have been sent by the Daimyō. But he was not hunting her yet. Perhaps he was wondering if the target he was given shared her characteristics. If she were to run, it would become obvious. She tried to discreetly hold the kunai she hid in her sleeve. With that, she headed in the opposite direction, trying to strike a balance between a swift walk and not looking too suspicious.
There was one crucial thing she had missed, though. As strange as the man’s behavior was, she was not exactly subtle about noticing it, either. She gazed back long enough for the man to take a note of it.
The situation played out exactly as she hoped it would not. As soon as she turned around, the man vanished from his spot almost instantly and hid in the trees to see her up close. As soon as he identified her, he revealed himself.
Before she could take in his face, he spoke. Only one word left his lips.
She had been partially right; the man staring at her was a very dangerous man. But not to her, as she was not his enemy. While she could not recognize him from afar, up close, he still looked very much like his younger self. He grew taller, his hair longer, his face changed from that of a boy to that of a grown man. Despite that, he still somehow felt the same as the boy who made her blush so many years ago. She was sure of it.
“Madara? What are you doing here?” She asked the first question she could think of. It was not exactly unreasonable, as this part of the Land of Fire had been quite far from any places they had met in during their childhood years. But then, she was just as far from home as he was.
“Official business.” She could tell he was trying to be as non-descriptive as possible, without directly dodging the question. It was reasonable, as they had not seen each other in years. For all he knew, she could have been working for his enemies and plotting his demise. After a brief pause, he continued, “You?”
“Oh, I see. I have been a traveling healer for some time now. I thought I could stay in this town briefly and look for any work here.” She had used the same exact excuse anytime anyone asked. It was not even untrue, despite the obvious omission.
A part of her was excited to see him. After a period of isolation, it was nice to see a familiar face. She had to fight the instinct to tell him everything there and then. But she expected anyone with even an ounce of honor to judge her actions harshly.
“Isn’t it unsafe to be on your own?” He questioned. He had seemingly not changed that much since the days he insisted on walking her home.
It was dangerous. Not only were there men after her, but a war-torn country was not a safe place for anyone. Regardless, she did not want him to dwell on the topic of her safety and location too much, so she chose her next words carefully. “A country at war is not safe for anyone. But I’ve been able to avoid danger; I just need to be careful. Anyway, it’s really nice to see you! Would you like to catch up sometime? I am staying in the nearby inn; we could have tea there if you would like.”
“I have arrived 3 days ahead of schedule. I intended to use the time to train, but there’s no need to do that all day.” He likely noticed her attempt to redirect the topic, but thankfully, he did not push.
Hopefully, he would not ask about this again. In retrospect, maybe inviting him to spend more time with her was not the best way to avoid that. But she wished to know what caused the events at the river, and in these last isolating months, a friend was what she needed.
“Alright. When is it convenient for you then?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The tea tasted like a warm hug in the midst of the chilly winter. Her company would have felt much the same way, had she not been burdened by the uncertainty of where they stood. Clearly, he did not despise her. But he did already disappear once. He could do so again.
“I am really glad to see you after all these years. It had not been the same since your sudden disappearance.” No point in dancing around the issue. She would ask him about it right away.
“That was unfortunate. I miss our days there, too.” He answered sincerely.
“Speaking of that, what exactly happened? To this day I still don’t know.” There it was. The moment of truth. She could only hope the answer would not be anything catastrophic.
“Hashirama is… not a friend anymore. Our blood prevented that.”
She never learned either of their last names. It had been a shinobi rule not to introduce oneself in that way, they explained. If the clans they hailed from were enemies, the situation would turn bloody quite quickly.
“So you come from opposing clans?” She asked.
“Hashirama is a Senju. My clan’s oldest enemy.” He replied.
While he did not exactly state his own clan name, she knew enough about politics to deduce the correct answer. Combined with his dark features and pale skin, it would have been quite obvious to anyone in the Land of Fire which clan he called his own.
“You do look like an Uchiha.” She said, acknowledging she knew who he was. In response, she was met with a quick raise of an eyebrow. He must have been curious if she had realized. “And I am assuming you found this out at the river. Did you two fight?” Considering the fact that he was speaking about Hashirama in the present tense, she was assuming he was still alive, just not on good terms with Madara.
“We never did stop fighting. Hashirama is the only one who even presents a challenge for me at this point.” He smirked at the thought. As terrible and bloody as the war was, she always suspected he did find at least some enjoyment in the fighting itself. Both of them must have gotten quite strong since their days at the river.
“And neither of you tried to stop the fighting? I am not sure how much power either of you has in your respective clans, but it seems unlike Hashirama. And you never quite seemed fond of that war, either.”
This seemed to have upset him. He frowned before spitting out a sentence. “Hashirama is a fool! I suspect he’s going to try to make peace now that he’s been named the Senju leader. It is naive.”
If Hashirama was the leader, was it possible Madara was one, too? He did previously state that Hashirama was the only man strong enough to challenge him, and oftentimes, the strongest clan members were the ones eventually holding said title. On the other hand, he seemed to have been here alone. Maybe this was only due to her own civilian upbringing, but it would seem unusual to her to see someone of such importance without anyone accompanying him. Important people were rarely alone.
“Are you the leader, too? I would assume you are, but I would not expect to see a leader alone.”
“You think anyone can kill me?” He seemed amused now. Whilst her question was sincere, she was glad it at least put him in a good mood. “The current leader is on his deathbed, and I am going to succeed him once I finish my current mission.” Not if, once. Madara has always been proud, but not overconfident. His pride was deeply rooted in his own strength and ability. He really must have gotten quite strong.
“I wish you the best then. I am sure you will succeed in your mission.” She took a sip of her tea, then its delicious flavour melted on her tongue. This tea was a local speciality, hardly ever sold anywhere else. Maybe she could purchase some to warm herself elsewhere, once she inevitably has to move again. The thought of buying some at the local market gave her an idea, so she spoke again.
“Would you like to visit the market with me tomorrow? It seems I still like your company, even after all these years.” Once he told her the truth of the river incident, her anxiety lessened. The fault was not with her, but rather just an unfortunate set of circumstances. Whilst she did not exactly intend to use him, coming with Madara would make her feel a lot safer. And besides, she really was not lying when she said she had been enjoying his company.
He contemplated the offer for a bit, then he responded. “It’ll be good to check if there are any weapons for sale.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Konoha, today.
“This is a mess,” Hashirama said, hitting his head on his office desk. It was clear that having to deal with this has brought on a good deal of frustration. His irritated brother, standing by his side, only made things worse.
“This is exactly why we can’t allow asylum seekers in without proper evaluation! Konoha is in the right, technically, as we have the right to shelter anyone on these grounds, but she’s still only trouble.”
“You’re acting as if it isn’t obvious who would win in a conflict. I can deal with this myself.” Madara chimed in. She did not doubt what he said - with him and Hashirama collectively, Konoha has achieved total military dominance. Still, she would rather not be the catalyst for yet another war. Admitedly, it was strangely sweet that Madara was willing to go to such lengths to defend her.
“People will suffer regardless of who triumphs. And I would like to resolve things diplomatically unless there is no other choice.” Hashirama opposed Madara, picking a fairly reasonable stance.
Tobirama spoke again, considering the facts. “As I have said, we may grant asylum to anyone we wish to. The spying is a much greater offence, so we might have a reasonable casus belli. They should be the ones doing damage control, not us. But the Earth daimyō has never been a reasonable man. This will at least require peace talks, regardless of how the Earth responds.”
“Are you sure the man even acted on official orders? I know the daimyō is a well-liked man in his own country. I have been in danger from fanatics and loyal shinobi alike.” Y/n asked. She could not add much to the conversation, as the way to proceed was ultimately not for her to decide, but she did know all of this was only applicable if this was more than an act coming from the man’s own mind.
“Any half-competent military official would have ensured the spy could not confess such a command. This is typically done with a genjutsu, leading the spy to believe they acted on their own for a period of time. There is evidence in his chakra that the shinobi is under such genjutsu. But even then, we cannot prove with absolute certainty that the Land of Earth caused this. Our men are actively working on breaking the genjutsu, so they can get him to confess. Until then, we cannot officially accuse Land of Earth of anything.” Tobirama continued.
Terrible thoughts raced through her mind. What if the genjutsu never broke? Even if Konoha was technically not in the wrong, its position would be weaker without proof of espionage.
“If the situation escalates, I will turn myself in as a peace offering.” She spoke with finality. As much as she wished to grow old in Konoha, her conscience would not allow that under such circumstances. She felt like she was living on borrowed time, anyway.
“No,” Madara responded without a second to spare. “I will not allow that.”
Madara’s abrupt reaction gave Hashirama pause. Out of the corner of her eye, y/n saw his gaze slide from Madara to her, to him again. It seemed as if he had just realized something. Then, he reassured Madara.
“Don’t worry, I have no plans of giving her away. The matter of espionage is a great risk, regardless of who it is aimed at. And besides, I am partly responsible for this myself.”
As soon as y/n left out a relieved sigh, Hashirama turned to her.
“The Land of Earth likely knows your whereabouts and clearly has no issue sending shinobi after you. I think it would be safer for you to relocate somewhere else until this gets resolved.”
She had been hoping Konoha as a whole would be her haven, but even that appeared like a distant dream by now. With a sad tone, she agreed.
“You’re right. I don’t know where to go, though.”
“My residence is always guarded. It does not get much safer than that. And it’s big enough.” Once again, Madara jumped at the opportunity to speak. This offer likely had something to do with their previous conversation. Even then, the speed of his decision had been surprising.
“Are you sure about this? What if someone targets the house?” As much as she wanted to agree, she felt he had done enough for her already.
“Then we kill them,” Madara answered bluntly. The answer had, of course, been obvious, but she was more worried about any possible damage this whole ordeal might cause. Clearly, he was not bothered.
“Alright, then I accept your offer.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“This will be your room.” Madara gestured towards an east-facing room, sitting at the edge of his residence.
“Are you really sure about this?” The doubts in her mind rose to the surface again.
“It is safe here.” That was clearly his way of saying yes. She felt the need to at least repay him somehow, considering he was willing to go to such lengths just to help her. In fact, she was not sure if any gesture of gratitude would be enough for all this.
By the time all their affairs were in order, the sun had begun to set. He had been with her throughout the majority of it and did not appear to have consumed any food. Considering how hungry she was herself, it must have been similar for him.
“I need to thank you for this. Do you mind if I prepare you a dinner?”
“That is my cook’s job.” He dismissed her.
She knew about his cook, a nice lady she had talked to a few times while visiting Madara’s residence. But there was no food present, and it surely was quite late for her to come and work at this hour. This was obviously just an excuse.
“You intend to summon her this late?”
“No. It’s her day off.” He responded, obviously hoping she would not push the topic. Much to his dismay, she did.
“Well, then, what exactly was your plan?”
“I am capable of preparing my own meals.”
“I don’t doubt that. But please, let me do it and sit back. You have done enough today”
With that answer, she smiled and headed to his kitchen. He followed her.
She did not mind his continuous presence. Today, he had been her pillar. If anything, she wished they would spend even more time together. So the fact that he came after her was not an issue. That changed soon after.
It would be unlike Madara to sit still and relax. As soon as she brought vegetables from the pantry to the kitchen, he took a knife and attempted to chop them.
“Your home, your rules. But still, what exactly are you doing?” She asked in an unserious tone.
“Do you expect me to just sit and watch you prepare this?”
“You don’t even know what I’m preparing. And yes, I want you to do just that.”
“Torture.” The sarcasm in his voice was obvious. But she still managed to convince him to leave the vegetables alone and begrudgingly stand back.
“Yes, yes. I am vile.” She shot back.
His only response was a small chuckle. After that, the kitchen fell into comfortable silence. Neither of them spoke, yet there was no hint of awkwardness. Just the mutual enjoyment of each other’s presence.
She was sure he had to hold himself back from trying to do something again until she caught him just watching her out of the corner of his eye. This was obviously not the first time he ever glanced in her direction, but it somehow felt different this time.
The entire scene felt oddly domestic. She could imagine herself doing this every night, for the rest of her life.
After a while, all the food was tended to, and all that was left to do was wait. For a bit, she leaned on the kitchen counter, gathering the last remains of her strength. Today was very exhausting.
After the short pause, she looked at Madara. He was still looking in her direction, now seemingly absent in thought, until he noticed her gaze. Then, he approached her.
Briefly, he glanced at her lips. Then, his eyes traveled to meet her own. The eye contact lasted long enough for her to wonder what he was thinking about.
Then, he reached for her face. His hand touched her cheek and lingered there for another moment, until he removed a piece of rice that stuck to her cheek with gentleness he seemed almost incapable of. Regardless of the rice, she contemplated leaning her cheek into his hand. Then, he spoke as his eyes peeked in the direction of the pot.
“You’re going to burn the food.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Before her stood a box full of her belongings. Someone had carried them over to her new room. She could only hope all of the necessary items were there. Well, there was only one way to find out.
With that thought, she opened the box and began putting her clothing in the cabinet that stood in the corner of the room. The room itself offered a surprisingly large amount of light, but was otherwise plain. While Madara had it cleaned for her beforehand, it clearly had not been in use for a while. The residence was meant to house the Uchiha leader and his entire family, and Madara lived here alone, so most of the rooms went unused.
Once she removed layers of clothing from the box, she was met with various miscellaneous items. All of them were practical - a small mirror she could use to get ready, a comb to tame her hair, a book or two, and a hairpin.
Was that a coincidence? The item appeared plain at first glance. Its gray color with a black hue meant it could hardly outshine any other trinket. But upon a closer inspection, one could tell it was the work of a skilled craftsman. On its side, it carried many delicate carvings, including various floral ornaments. At the end sat a decorative spiral, which must have taken its maker hours on its own. She took the hairpin in her hands and looked at it with fond memories running through her mind. She stopped wearing it after one of her patients once grabbed at it in a state of delirium caused by a fever, yanking it violently. It was durable enough to survive such handling once, likely even more. But it was too important for her to risk breaking it.
She would likely not be tending to patients until the matters of the Land of Earth were dealt with. So why not wear the hairpin? With that thought, she twisted her hair and put the pin in to secure it, and then looked at the final result in the mirror.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
