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Title: daisies bloom over yonder meadow

Rating: M.

Summary: "Demons aren't born, otou-sama. They're made." (And from the murky depths of your darkest mistakes, your deepest regrets and your own pitiful worthlessness, I draw my first breath.) [SI/OC, Uchiha!OC, Third War, AU]

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

(AN at the bottom.)

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daisies bloom over yonder meadow

08: "ashes"

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Namikaze Minato takes one look at the bloody carnage and promptly dives into the pressing task of subduing said bijuu without a single stray word. In a way, I'm grateful for that, for his near-instant understanding of the overwhelming urgency for fight now and talk later in the necessity of the moment. It's not protocol, but there simply isn't any time to be following protocol right now.

(Not to mention, the entire sight here is rather self-explanatory anyways, given the rampaging bijuu and devastated wasteland of a terrain that we're somehow still standing on. Miraculously.)

… Fuuinjutsu is a rather curious art. Up until this point, my only exposure to the sealing arts was in the typical stock of standardized explosion tags and storage scrolls that were issued as part of the essential shinobi gear. Namikaze is both well-known and highly-regarded as a fuuinjutsu master, but it's one thing to know that in an intellectual sense… and another thing entirely to actually step back and see it for yourself with your own two eyes.

The monstrous bijuu roars, and stomps its feet downwards at this newest threat. But instead of provoking another mad chakra-enhanced scramble backwards, there is only a flash of yellow, and suddenly Namikaze is flying through the air once more, handseals flashing as he readies another technique. Some sort of jutsu glows, flickers on his hand, and is roughly slammed into the bijuu's face at point-blank range, enraging the bellowing monster even further –but Namikaze is already moving again, before it can even stop to focus on him.

Fast.

Indeed, there is no doubt that Namikaze is fast, if not the fastest. After all, one doesn't get much faster than instantaneous travel.

"Oh my god," Kuro whispers from somewhere off to the side, body sagging and almost crumpling to the muddy ground altogether –part of me wants to reprimand him for that, because even though Namikaze is fielding the brunt of things now, it doesn't change the fact that there's still a battle going on, and this is still nowhere near time to be relaxing yet. But on the other hand… I can understand his relief somewhat, I suppose.

Not relief for myself, though, not relief at scraping by with the remains of my tattered life intact–

Relief.

For Obito.

Obito, who… who wasn't dead. Obito wasn't dead. There was a corner of my mind still spinning with something dizzy at the thought, soft and lightheaded. Obito. Not dead. He wasn't dead, he was alive, my beloved cousin was alive, and with Namikaze holding down the battle front, it was unlikely that the jounin would allow Obito to be lost to us again. Hatake, Nohara, and I –we were not the only ones to be affected by Obito's… absence.

Obito.

Pale. Far too pale. There was an unhealthy pallor to what little showed of my cousin's skin from beneath that cloak and mask –just what had he been doing all these months, where had he been, did he even know how to take care of himself without me there?– but even with the exhaustion and injuries written into his thin frame, etched so heavily into his flesh, things were fine. Things were fine, because he was still alive.

I wondered vaguely in a distant corner of my mind if it said something about my still-beating heart that even now I felt no regret or remorse for the way I had treated Nohara Rin in light of Obito's not-death.

(Or perhaps, my lack thereof.)

It's sudden, when it happens. One moment I still have my eye on the battle, watching and assessing to see if there is anything at all that I can do now that the Yellow Flash is going toe to toe with a bijuu, with Hatake and Obito running interference in tandem beside him as they turn to support roles for their sensei. One moment I am still focused on the battle, tense and ready to make another move at any moment–

And the next, nothing.

Nothing.

In the next moment, all I know is darkness.

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("Madoka-chan? Madoka-chan, talk to me! Madoka-chan!"

"… Obito. She's–"

"No, no, NO! Not again, not like Rin-chan, I can't– Not Madoka-chan, too, please–"

"Calm down, Obito. Right now, it seems like she's only unconscious. If we get her to the hospital, she should be fine.")

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"We've really got to stop meeting up like this, Madoka-san."

I do not respond to the errant comment. The medic sighs, a tired, exasperated sound that borders on the edge of disappointment.

"Madoka-san… you do recall what I've told you about over-exerting yourself, right?"

Yes, of course I remember. I have a good memory, and even better recall. 'Do not over-exert yourself,' or something along those lines.

The man pinches the bridge of his nose. "If Namikaze-san and his team didn't bring you in when they did… I'm not sure if there's anything I could've done for you. Tsunade-sensei has her hands full, and you're damn lucky Orochimaru-sensei is in the village right now, and was able to lend a hand when Namikaze-san asked."

I nod complacently at his words. The medic makes a frustrated sound.

"Do you have any idea how close you came to dying?"

At the time? No. At the time, I hadn't realized how weak my body had been, how low my chakra levels, how frail my heart. I was certainly feeling it now, the heaviness in my limbs and the soreness in my bones, the feeling of being so empty, with nothing but my own weakness as company. But at the time, I had been completely caught up in the danger of the moment, mixed by sheer relief that Obito was alive, alive–

Obito.

"Where's Obito?" I ask, and the medic nearly blows a gasket.

"You almost died, Madoka-san! Because you pushed your body far past how much it can withstand and because you nearly depleted your chakra stores! If you're just going to ignore everything I have to say, then you might as well save us all the trouble and stop showing up here in the first place!"

"Ah, alright." This, I understand. It's a clear dismissal, isn't it? Right now it's a struggle and a half to make my weak, injured body to obey, but nonetheless I begin going through the routine motions of pulling out needles and getting up from the bed. "Thank you for your efforts, sensei. Please excuse me, I will be–"

The medic sighs explosively, slamming his head against his clipboard for a moment before tossing it aside, striding over in long steps and shoving me back down into the bed in a… surprisingly gentle motion, considering his strange demeanor. Under his breath, the man is muttering something about incompetent, socially-retarded children. I am peripherally aware at the moment that this is some sort of insult towards me, but I cannot care less about what he thinks. I cannot find it in myself to care about any of his words, not when Obito, I need to see Obito, Obito is alive–

"Madoka-san, we did not invest all that effort into saving you just so you can go ahead and undo all our hard work," he states flatly. "I am also obliged to inform you that, as the highest-ranked ninja of the mission you just returned from, Namikaze-san currently has access to the your injuries report. Hopefully, he'll be able to finally knock some sense into you. I assure you, he was not amused when I gave him your medical history."

Namikaze? Medical history?

… Oh.

I tilt my head. " Isn't that a breach of privacy?"

"Extenuating circumstances, Madoka-chan," a new voice interrupts from the doorway, and I look up to see the wan face of Namikaze Minato, who looks… surprisingly well and whole, considering that he had faced down a bijuu, nearly entirely on his own. Frightening man, this Namikaze Minato. There is something that looks to be a mixture of concern and regret in his eyes as he looks at me. "You collapsed for what appeared to be no reason at the time, and we weren't sure if you would make it even after we made it back to Konoha –it was necessary to pull out your full file for treatment so we could figure out what was going on. On another note, Obito will be glad to hear that you're alright now."

Obito.

"How's Obito?"

The somber expression on Namikaze's face breaks into a brief smile. "He's alright. He's currently under Tsunade-san's care –there's a bit of strange healing on his body, and we're trying to make sure that there won't be any negative repercussions. Kakashi was discharged a few days ago. Your teammate Kuro is fine, too."

Obito is fine.

Obito is fine. Alive and well, fine. My shoulders slump, tension seeping away from my thin frame, and my lips form my next question. "May I see him?"

"Not yet, but I'll see if I can't convince Tsunade-san to let go of him long enough for him to drop by for a visit," Namikaze promises. "You really shouldn't be moving around all that much at the moment, and it'll probably take another week before you're well enough to be discharged from the hospital."

"Ah, I see."

For a moment, silence descends upon us. The medic standing to the side breaks it with a pointed cough, and Namikaze sighs, grimacing as he moves to enter the room.

"… Madoka-chan, when were you planning to tell us about your heart condition? Obito-kun doesn't know about it, does he?"

Is that concern I hear in his voice? Strange. I am not his student; now that Obito is alive, why would he continue to feel any obligation towards me? He is not responsible for my wellbeing.

"Never," I reply honestly, because the weakness of my own body, it's –it's none of their concern. Obito would be concerned, definitely, but… I couldn't let him know, either. Obito would be sad if I died, and I would do anything to see Obito smile. So, I couldn't let Obito know about this. I wouldn't. "… And no. He doesn't. I was diagnosed after he… during his absence."

I pretend not to see the blond jounin wince. What had the medic's predictions been again? Three years?

"… Madoka-chan, I think Obito might've understated your stubbornness a little bit too much to us. I'm sorry, I… I really should've caught this sooner."

"'A little,' he says," the medic grumbles under his breath from somewhere off to the side, before raising his voice. "Namikaze-san, it's good that you're stepping in now, at least. Have you already filled out the paperwork?"

"Yes, Ren-sensei," Namikaze responds, handing over several sheets of paper to him. "It's done. It took me awhile to find Orochimaru-san again and inform him of the situation, but thankfully he was willing to help us out on this. Fugaku-san was a little harder to find and convince, but we managed to work things out… mostly."

I frown. "Namikaze-san?"

"Madoka-chan," the jounin turns back towards me. "As of this moment, you have been officially removed from the active duty roster. Both for health concerns to your person and for further research into the technique you used to momentarily… stall the Sanbi, you have been reassigned under Orochimaru-san for the time being."

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(It's not exactly new, seeing people go over my head to make plans and decisions for me because I cannot be trusted to know what to do with myself.

For example: All Uchiha shinobi must be strong enough to bring pride to the Uchiha name, and so my dearest ojii-san took it upon himself to raise me from birth with demons living in my mind. All Uchiha shinobi must be unwaveringly loyal, and so my dearest ojii-san always whispered to me For the Clan, Madoka-chan. For the Clan.

… Yet for all his cunning and his planning, his fears still came to pass; my strength was neither that of a full-fledged Uchiha shinobi who breathed fire and danced as fast as the wind, nor was I staunchly loyal to the clan name. My only skill in the ninja arts was in genjutsu, and my only loyalty I gave to Obito.

"Madoka-chan, I've failed. You are not what I hoped you would be, what I wished you could become, what you need to be… I'm sorry, child."

"I forgive you, ojii-san."

What Namikaze Minato did… isn't all that different, in comparison. Ninjas who are injured need proper rest and recuperation if they are to fight at full strength again, and so Namikaze went and ensured I would remain within the village instead of going back to taking missions for the war. Ninjas who manifest new abilities in the heat of battle that would potentially be a significant game-changer needed to be taught and watched, so the village would gain another useful weapon in its impressive arsenal.

Oh, I don't doubt his motives. I have no doubt that Namikaze Minato was truly concerned for the suicidal little cousin of his genin student, and wanted to make sure she would be alright, if only for Obito's sake. That he cared for her health and wellbeing.

Ojii-san loved his little granddaughter, too, back before I killed him. Who knows? Maybe he still loves me even now. A beautiful love born of the loyalty to blood, a love that burns bright and fierce enough to transcend both life and death.

Ahahaha.

…

Namikaze… is a charismatic person, honest and genuine in a way that few ninjas manage to remain throughout their career. I don't doubt him, I don't doubt that he wanted the best for little Madoka-chan, who was unfortunate enough to be struck with a debilitating defect on her body but fortunate enough to manifest an ability that would spur the village into having a vested interest in her health for the power of her demon eyes. I don't think that Namikaze Minato did any of this in a gesture of ill will.

Just… I don't think he'd ever expected the results of what he set into motion here, arranging for his not-dead student's favorite cousin to be placed under the tender care of his sensei's best friend. I can't imagine someone like Namikaze going through with decision, if he'd known what would happen.

But that's okay. When all is said and done, I am nothing but grateful to him for it.

Thank him for me sometime, okay?)

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Orochimaru is… intimidating, in a manner of speaking. People bow their heads and scuttle out of his path as he approaches, and it is second nature at this point for me to take one look at their behavior and categorize this reaction as nervousness, apprehension, fear.

The Snake Sannin is a genius, a deadly shinobi both on the battlefield and off, and his enemies are not the only ones who fear him. Rightly so, I'd imagine.

"Orochimaru-sensei, this is Uchiha Madoka," the medic introduces. "Madoka-san, Orochimaru-sensei."

Tall, thin, pale. The hints of purple around his eyes –clan markings?– give him an aura akin to that of a venomous serpent, and I have no doubt that he himself far more deadly than what his appearance implies. I would be a fool not to. Orochimaru is one of the Densetsu no Sannin for a reason.

I fold my hands over my lap and sketch a polite, respectful bow as best as I can from the hospital bed.

"I will be in your care, Orochimaru-sensei," I say to him. The Snake Sannin inclines his head and does not give me an audible verbal response, but his half-lidded eyes as he looks at me are unusually sharp.

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('Is this why,' you ask?

…

Well… in a way, yes. In a way, yes, this is precisely how I begin taking the first steps on this one-way path to what I have now become. Don't look at me like that, I don't regret it. I'll never regret it. Truly, there is a lot that I owe to Orochimaru-sensei; if he were ever to make a request of me, I do not think I would be able to refuse him anything he asks for.

Unless he requests my eyes, of course.

… Hahaha. Why do you look so surprised? Cheer up, now. It's just a little joke.)

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Author's Notes:

Eighth chapter finally complete here. Sorry for the delay in updating. It's been… what, nearly a year since the last update? More than a year since daisies was first posted? We're basically (nearly) halfway through the storyline of daisies at this point, so now the goal will be to finish daisies sometime before the end of this year, at least. Hopefully. We'll see how long the plot bunnies stick around.

… daisies is supposed to be a short fic. Relatively short, at any rate.

So, Obito is finally back in the village now! But Rin is dead. Repercussions of that and the effect it has on Madoka's relationship with Obito will definitely be felt. We also have Madoka here who is now officially benched from active service and placed under Orochimaru's tender care –Orochimaru, who's still a Konoha shinobi at this point. Should be interesting, no? Next update is planned to feature snippets of Madoka's experiences with Orochimaru, Obito, and the Uchiha Clan. Not necessarily in that order, though. ;3

Why is Madoka being placed with Orochimaru and not Tsunade? 1) Tsunade is busy. She already has her hands full running the hospital as the Head Medic, and also Zetsu-parts grafted onto Obito's body to investigate as well. 2) Orochimaru, for all that he is more known for research than healing, is skilled enough in medical jutsu that it seems there should be no trouble with tasking him to find a cure for the heart condition Madoka suffers from. Given that Madoka's Mangekyo hinted at the ability to influence/potentially control the bijuu, it only makes sense that Konoha would want to investigate the technique –and in order to investigate it, Madoka needs to be kept alive. Orochimaru is in charge of leading this research, hence why Minato says that Madoka is "reassigned under Orochimaru," but the Uchiha Clan actually gets a say in how this research goes as well, given that it's their bloodline ability in question here. Ordinarily, the village would never have been able to pull aside an invasive research like this, but: A) Wartime measures, B) Influencing bijuu = too tempting to resist, C) Deteriorating relations with the Uchiha Clan anyways.

… You can tell from this giant block of text that I wanted to explain this somewhere in this chapter, but didn't really manage to find a good spot to do it. Some of it will probably be touched on later on; I don't want anyone jumping down my throat about any spotty points in the fic quite just yet.

Note: Hasn't been shown from Madoka's POV so far, but Konoha is not in possession of the Sanbi. However, the fact that Minato was able to deal with a rampaging bijuu ticks another point in favor towards him for the Hokage seat. Kushina should be making an appearance soon, too, I think? Maybe. We'll see how it goes.

Other updates: wild current has been updated! OC, spirit!AU of the Naruto-verse. Check it out if you're interested? :D No update for nine point eight (SI/OC-as-Uchiha Izumi) this week due to a busy schedule, sorry, but I'll try to get something done for that by next week.

QUESTION: What are the predictions for future interactions with Orochimaru? :D

Till next time,

XxZuiliu