"Ah, Asami-san, you're back!" Keiji grinned as I entered the house. "Where were you?"

I closed the door and took off my jacket and my long scarf. "At Mito's." I answered as I rubbed my hands together, warming them up from the outside cold. "She wanted to discuss a few things with me."

Things I rather not talk about now.

"You went alone?" Keiji seemed surprised.

I nodded and smiled weakly. "I can't say I felt comfortable and relaxed on my way there."

"And have you been to the doctor?" He questioned. "You haven't been feeling well, right?"

"I felt better so I thought it'd be unnecessary to go to the doctor, but I still feel a bit nauseous now and then." I explained.

What I told Keiji wasn't true, not completely true. I'm still as sick as I was when I decided to go to the doctor, but I haven't gone there yet because I wanted to check something first. It was a possibility, so I wasn't sure of it yet.

"Keiji-san, isn't your wife a medical ninja?" I asked as I sat down next to him on the couch.

Keiji frowned and nodded. "Yes, but aren't you also one?"

"Since I'm not feeling well, I can't trust my assumptions." I said softly.

"Why don't you just go to a doctor?" Keiji asked. "I'm sure Kaede would like to help you out, but a doctor might be better. Kaede isn't very advanced."

"That doesn't matter to me." I said. "I just need confirmation."

"Confirmation?"

"Never mind." I muttered. "Is Kaede home?"

"She's at work until late in the evening, but I can tell her you're coming tomorrow." Keiji suggested. "She's free then."

"Thank you, Keiji-san." I said, my gratitude sincere.

When I entered the bedroom I shared with Asami, I wasn't surprised to see her already asleep. This wasn't the first time, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

There were changes in her behaviour, changes in her choice of food, changes in her sleep patterns and she also hasn't been feeling well.

It didn't take long for me to figure out what the reason was, and I was sure that Asami must have realised it too.

What I felt about it.. I simply didn't know. The thought of having a child never crossed my mind before, but having someone who'd succeed me didn't seem very bad.

I'd have something to be proud of, but there was one problem.

The timing.

Now was the worst time for Asami to be pregnant. Soon, I can't support her anymore, and things will be messed up. Blaming her would be stupid. She couldn't do anything about it, and neither could I.

I sighed and stood at the side of the bed, watching the redhead sleep. Nothing was certain yet, but the chance that things were as I thought they were was big.

Turning back wasn't an option for me anymore.

I couldn't stop now , not after all the preparations I've done.

When I woke up, Madara was already gone. It was cold, and now I wanted nothing more than his warmth next to me, but he wasn't here.

Getting out of bed, I quickly changed into warmer and thicker clothes, before I headed downstairs.

The house seemed empty, and it was also pretty chilly. Once again, the smell of yesterday's supper made me feel nauseous, but this time, it made my stomach turn.

Quickly pressing my hand to my mouth, I rapidly went to the kitchen and emptied the contents of my stomach in the sink. I gritted my teeth as I let cold water run out of the faucet to wash the sink clean. After that, I filled a glass with water and drank it to get the disgusting taste out of my mouth.

Taking a few deep breaths, I calmed myself down a bit. This only made it clearer that I was carrying a child, but I still wanted confirmation.

I wasn't hungry, and I certainly couldn't look at food now, so I decided to go to Madara's office to tell him I'd be out for a while.

I knocked on his door, but no one answered. I knocked again, thinking he just hadn't heard it, but once again I didn't hear anything.

I decided to just open the door and see if he was in there or not. He could be asleep or maybe he was just ignoring me. After pushing the door open, I peeked into his office, but no one was there.

I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. Madara would usually say something if he'd leave. And if he didn't, then Keiji would.

But now neither of them seemed to be at home.

I sighed and was about to turn around, when a certain sheet of paper caught my eye. There lay sheet of paper with what seemed like a code written down on it.

Something told me to not to look at it, since it didn't belong to me, but I have helped him out with work-related matters before so there shouldn't be any harm taking a quick look at it.

I walked at Madara's desk and grabbed the sheet. There were indeed some weird character, written by Madara. I had recognized his handwriting immediately.

I wondered why he would write something like this. Why was it in code? I sighed and put it back on the desk, but accidentally pushed some other sheets aside.

Frowning I picked up another sheet. It was bigger, and also colored. It seemed some sort of sketch. I pulled it up from under the other sheets and took a better look at it.

"A map?" I muttered as I studied it. Not only Konoha was on it, but the whole nation. Some placed were marked with a red pencil, but there was nothing there on the map. Only woods.

What did this mean? The code, this map.. My eyes squinted when I saw another sheet, and I grabbed it when I saw one word standing on it

Nine-tails.

The demon fox. I've heard about it before, and I also heard that it was being sought to be used as a tool in war.

My eyes widened.

"Madara, don't tell me you..."

~~~~~

Knocking on the door of Keiji's house, I waited for someone to answer, and I didn't have to wait long.

"Asami-san!" Kaede greeted me happily. "Keiji already told me you were coming."

I smiled softly. "Hi, Kaede-san. How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." She answered as she stepped aside to let me into the house. "Keiji only told me you were sick, but what exactly are you feeling?"

I took off my jacket and hang it up. "Nausea, headache, dizziness.." I trailed off. "But I think I already know what it is."

"You do?" Kaede questioned confused as she led me into the livingroom, motioning for me to sit down on the couch. "Why did you came here then?"

"Could you check something for me, Kaede-san?" I asked carefully, my voice soft.

Now she seemed even more confused. "What do you want me to check?"

"Am I pregnant?"

It was raining outside. Droplets of water violently clattered against the roofs and windows of the houses.

Madara grunted as he stood in front of the glass, watching the rain fall down, while Asami was running back to the house, her jacket soaked.

She put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a grey key, impatiently putting it in the keyhole. She unlocked the door and hastily got into the house, getting away from the heavy rain.

She took off her jacket and spread it over a chair so it could dry a bit. When she left Kaede's house, she didn't know how she was supposed to feel, and she still didn't know.

She was indeed pregnant, just like she thought.

She was supposed to feel happy, and excited, but those feelings were accompanied by sadness and fear.

Pressing her lips together, she walked into the livingroom with the intention to lay down on the couch for a while to calm down, but she froze when she saw Madara standing in front of the mirror.

He stood there so elegantly, like nothing was wrong, his back turned to her.

Suddenly, she choked on air, and it was hard to fight back tears.

Madara heard her, and she knew because she saw him move a bit in response to her cries, but he just kept standing there.

Asami slowly walked closer to him, and when be reached him, she held the fabric of his attire tightly and buried her face in his back. His long navy blue hair tickled her face, but she didn't care.

"I... I have been holding you back the entire time, haven't I."

Her voice wavered, and Madara could barely hear the soft whispers. He simply clenched his fists tightly.

It was true, and Asami knew that. He didn't deny it after all.

If he hadn't met Asami, he would have carried out his plan already. But she was the first one besides Keiji to try to understand him, to confide in him, to look further than his looks, to find out who he really was.

But when he came up with this plan, it was already too late to turn back.

He needed to do this.

Madara felt warm tears wet his attire and Asami's arms circled around his waist, holding him tighter. "You also already knew about me, didn't you?" She breathed softly. "That I'm p-" "Pregnant?" He asked, almost inaudible. "Yes. I had figured it out."

Asami bit her lip and closed her eyes tightly so tears wouldn't cloud her vision. "What are we going to do?"

She heard Madara inhale deeply, and his gloved hands covered her bare ones, pulling them away from him. Madara turned around and looked down at Asami, but was irritated by seeing her looking at the floor instead of at him.

He sighed and cupped her face, making her look up to him.

She looked miserable.

Helpless.

Defeated.

She was trembling as tears were streaming down her face. "W-Why

"Listen." Madara spoke up. "I want you to leave Konoha."

His request shocked Asami a bit. Did she had to leave her home again?

"Soon, there is a chance it won't be safe here anymore." He explained. "I want you to wait until the battle is over. I'll make sure someone provides you of food and everything else you need."

Asami shook her head and tugged at his sleeve. "I-I can't leave." She whimpered as she wiped her tears with her wrist. "Mito is here. My clan is here. I can't possibly leave them! If it'll be dangerous here, then I'm not going to be selfish and hide all alone!"

Madara seemed to be taken aback by Asami's reaction, and gritted his teeth. "I'll make sure they'll be unharmed. Will you go then?"

He couldn't guarantee their safety.

Asami hesitated. "But if you can make sure they'll be unharmed, why can't I stay here? Why can't you make sure I'll be unharmed as well?"

Madara was getting annoyed by now. He just wanted her to he safe. He didn't want to lose anyone else close to him.

"Asami, you're carrying my child, and you're important to me, so I want to be sure of your safety!"

Asami would have been speechless by these affectionate words if he didn't spoke them so angrily.

"Madara-" "Can you do for once as I say?" He interrupted her, almost harshly. "For once?"

The way he said it made it clear that he was getting impatient, and Asami gave up. "Alright." She whispered and she sniffed. "But how long do I have to wait?"

Madara let his right hand slide from her cheek to her neck, making Asami shiver. "Depends on how long the battle will last." He muttered.

Asami raised her hand and placed it on Madara's, squeezing it gently. "And what if you lose?" She croaked, new tears already forming in her eyes. "What if you die?"

She didn't want Hashirama to die either. Why did this have to happen?

Madara chuckled. "I won't die."

Asami pursed her lips and weakly punched him with her fist. "How can you be so confident!?"

Madara sighed and placed his hand on her head as she buried her face in his chest, crying softly.

She didn't want this. She just wanted to keep staying at Madara's house, together with him and Keiji, especially now she had a hard time ahead of her. She didn't want to think about leaving everything behind again.

She just wanted to stay with him in Konoha and live a peaceful life.

But if Madara would carry out his plan, there's no way that would be possible.

"I won't die." He repeated. "I know ao won't."

Asami just kept clinging onto him, holding him while he was still there.

Madara looked down at her. He couldn't let the past repeat itself.

Asami didn't only have to leave Konoha to be safe, but also because if people would find out she was carrying his child, they wouldn't look at her the was they used to.

The father of the child would be the man who'd try to kill the village's leader. A person who was feared and hated.

He wouldn't let that happen to Asami. She couldn't get the same treatment as him.

This time, he wouldn't fail to protect those he loved.