This chapter is dedicated to Ketellia!

Happy reading!

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Mi Ho pov:

I don't know how long I sat outside Izuna's room. It was dark now so I could tell that I had been here for quite some time. It was probably midnight.....

I had been worrying quite a bit but after a while, it made me tired. So now I just sat blankly as I watched the stars and the garden. It had become cold and I had asked my guards to get me a blanket. I wrapped the blanket tighter around myself and blew hot air into my palms in an attempt to get warmer. I sighed and sunk half my face into the blanket. I closed my eyes and curled up even more that I was to keep the heat from leaving my body.

A few minutes passed and I was almost asleep. But I shot my eyes open and looked to the side when the door was slid open. Madara stepped out and I stood up. I wobbled as the sleep hadn't left my eyes and the world suddenly spun. But I blinked several times to wake up fully. My heart skipped a beat at the emotionless look on his face. But he didn't say a word and he sat down in the hallway with his legs folded. He watched the garden silently.

I didn't know what to do or say. I shivered as a cool breeze went through the hallway and I clenched my jaw to not make a sound. But Madara didn't move after that and I slowly sat down next to him while dangling my legs off the corridor. I hesitantly glanced at him, getting a very dark and negative vibe. I flinched when I noticed his sharingan glowing. He was staring ahead with a hard look and I looked down at the grass. He looked.....scary....and this was the first time I had got this kind of discomfort in his presence.

I couldn't stay quiet. It was making me really nervous. "H-how is I -Izuna?" I managed to stutter out. I didn't get an answer and I looked at him. I stiffened when I saw him watching me. His sharingan wasn't activated anymore and I couldn't tell what he was thinking right now. I couldn't find my voice to say anything either.

But my eyes went wide and I gasped as I was pulled forward into a strong embrace. Heat rushed to my cheeks and my heart pounded as he wrapped his arms around me and pressed me against himself. He rested his chin on my shoulder and after that he didn't move. I was frozen and I noticed that my guards bowed and walked away silently. I was so shocked that I couldn't react to anything that was happening right now.

But I snapped out of shock and held his sides as I tried to get him off me. What was he doing at a time like this?? When Izuna was hurt, what was he planning by holding me like this?!

He only tightened his grip as I struggled and I got his drugging scent again. My heart pounded harder and I struggled more. "He's dead." I froze when Madara spoke. My heart skipped a beat and glanced at him sideways. "W-what?" I asked in shock. "Those Senjus....no....that b****** Tobirama killed Izuna. He's dead." I couldn't breathe. My eyes were wide and I had a hollow feeling in my chest reflecting my sadness and fear.

My eyes stung and I bit my lip. Izuna was....dead? Madara had reacted so rashly earlier today....does that mean he knew this was going to happen? I mean, even the healer didn't answer my question when I asked about Izuna. So they knew about it?

"I was too late....by the time I had brought him back....he was already past the critical stage. All the healer could do was wrap his wounds and wait until he had his last breath. And now....I will destroy the Senju to avenge him." Madara said in a low voice and pressed me harder against him. "I-I'm....sorry." I managed to say even though his grip was too tight and he was crushing me. I let go of his sides and wrapped my arms around his back. I had already decided that I would reassure him and just be there if he needed someone to be with him. Even though we had our differences when we first met, I had become friends with him and all I could offer him was the embrace that I could return.

I patted his back gently, feeling his smooth hair caress my fingers. We didn't move and we stayed silent. I let him hold onto me as long as he wanted to.

I had heard that I was the first person to have gotten in his good books. I was the first person he had spent time with and he trusted. And having someone to just comfort you with their presence was the best kind of comfort anyone could get. And I was honored to be able to play that part for Madara.

After almost fifteen minutes, his hold loosened and he let me go. I looked into his charcoal eye, a throbbing pain in my chest. He didn’t blink as he looked at me and I looked down feeling overwhelmed by his gaze. I let out a deep sigh and clenched my fists on my knees. “I’m sorry I didn’t know….I…I asked the healer but….he wouldn’t tell me.” I said softly.

He brought me into another embrace and I closed my eyes and this time wrapped my arms around his neck. I held his head gently while occasionally running my fingers through his hair as he rested his cheek against the base of my neck. "I will avenge him. I wont forgive the Senju for killing him….the only person I wished to protect.” I opened my eyes partially as my chest constricted at his confession. My eyes stung again but I held it in as much as I could.

“After paying his respects tomorrow, I will destroy the Senju using his parting gift.” He said and I frowned slightly. “Gift?” I asked softly. Goosebumps erupted on my skin when I felt his warm breath on my neck as he sighed, but I restrained a shiver. “His eyes….his eyes have given me power that no one has been able to reach. I have attained the eternal mangekyou sharingan….I am now the strongest Uchiha to have existed and I will never be affected no matter how much I use the sharingan.” He said.

Even though I didn’t understand much of what he was saying, one thing was clear. He was much stronger than before and things in the Uchiha compound were never going to be the same. He pulled away from me and we gazed at each other. “But Madara…..this….this is war. Isn’t it expected that….” “They messed with the wrong person.” He narrowed his eyes as I tried to prove otherwise. I flinched and looked away from his disapproving gaze.

“I don’t care what I have to do. I will destroy Hashirama and his brother.” He said and got up. I shivered at the loss of warmth and I held onto the sheet tighter. “W-wait!” I called out and he stopped. He didn’t turn around but he waited for me to speak. “If you keep fighting, the pain will never end. It’s a never ending cycle. If you can just stop…..” “Shut up!” I flinched as he yelled. “I will not let Izuna’s sacrifice go waste.” He growled and began to walk away again.

“Wait! Where are you going?” I called out but he didn’t stop again and he disappeared around the corner. I let out a breath that I didn’t realize I was holding and I looked at the floor. I turned to the side to gaze at the garden again. I sighed deeply and my eyes stung. I looked to the other side at the door and bit my lip. I hesitated but I got up, putting the sheet aside and slowly entered the room.

When I saw Izuna, my chest constricted again. I shuddered and walked to where he lay emotionless. I kneeled beside him and watched him. He looked peaceful and obviously his chest didn’t move. He wasn’t breathing….he really was gone.

Besides that, there was a white cloth wrapped around his eyes and blood stained it. Madara had said that he had Izuna’s eyes now but I hadn’t expected it to look so gore. I felt queasy but I sighed as I reached out and cupped his cheek gently. He was ice cold and a silent tear rolled down my cheek. I caressed his cheek gently. “Izuna….I’m sorry for what happened. And thank you for being my friend. I will never forget you, I promise.” I said barely above a whisper and I pulled my hand away when I heard footsteps in the room.

A few men had entered and they looked down at me. “We have to take him.” They said and I looked at Izuna once. I inhaled deeply and stood up. I nodded to the men and they took Izuna away after covering him with a white cloth. They took him outside and I walked to the corridor as well. I watched them until they were out of sight and then looked at the moon in the sky.

Things were going to get very tense from now on and honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to it.

>>Timeskip

The ceremony for Izuna was heart wrenching. He had been placed in a coffin, the white cloth still covering his eyes and his arms crossed over his chest. Everyone from the clan were hurting.

The atmosphere was grim and the dark aura around Madara seemed to make everyone in the room tense.

Of course, he was the most affected. He hadn't taken his eyes off Izuna the whole time. I was standing next to him and his fists were clenched tightly by his sides. He gritted his teeth every now and then, probably while mentally cursing Tobirama for what he had done. And all the other people who were gathered here today seemed so unfocused and lost in their own thoughts.

I didn't know what exactly was happening on the battlefield. Madara or Izuna never told me about it even though I had asked. Their reply was always something like, "Its not important. You don't need to know." Although, I had overheard some things when some of the men here were talking. I had heard that Hashirama had been trying to convince Madara to join hands with the Senju so that they could make their childhood dream come true. If they signed a peace treaty, they could start a village of their own where people could live in peace and there would be no wars or fighting.

But Madara was against it. And even Izuna always told Madara not to trust the enemy.

It had been a week since Izuna had died and Madara had been in a bitter mood ever since. He's become even more short tempered than before and the only expression I see on his face is irritation and anger. He stopped coming to my room and he ignores everyone including me when we pass each other in the hallways. Its become frustrating, because I constantly hear his voice bellowing through the compound when he yells at people.

"Fool! What did you say?!" I heard him yelling again. I sighed and followed his voice to a room. When I stepped in, I gasped seeing him holding a sword covered in blood and a man on his knees holding his bleeding side. "Madara!" I called out and ran to him. His sharingan was glowing and his lips were curled back in a snarl. He lifted the sword again and I held his arm, preventing him from making any sudden movement. "Madara stop it! You're hurting your own comrade!" I yelled and he growled.

I didn't let him go even though he gave me a warning glare. He lifted his hand and backhanded me hard across my cheek. My head was turned to the side and I tasted blood in my mouth. I felt a little blood trickle down my chin as well and I licked it off partially. I wiped the rest of the blood with my hand and looked at the injured man on the ground. I looked at another person who was standing frozen in the room and I sighed.

"You there, take him to the infirmary." I said and he shook his head vigorously. "Y-yes!" He helped the injured guy up and scurried out of the room.

I let out another sigh before looking at Madara. I mentally cringed at the look he was giving me, but this had to stop. He was too violent. And he was hurting his own people. "Madara, this has to stop. You're going overboard." I said and he growled. "Shut up girl! Don't act like you know how I feel!" He said in a threatening voice and I clenched my jaw. "You're not the only one who lost someone important. Everyone in this compound has lost their loved ones so don't act like you're the only one suffering!" I yelled at him and he narrowed his eyes at me.

"You don't know anything, so don't poke your nose into matters that don't concern you." He sneered back. "I may not be form this world and I may not know the reason or the methods you use to fight your war, but I do know what are the results of a war. My parents work to protect my country. They fight with their identities hidden to protect the happiness and smiles of people they care for. Not just them, but all the innocent people in the country. And I know what it's like to lose someone you love and be separated from them."

I sighed and walked closer to Madara. I looked up at him and placed a hand on his chest right above his heart. His heart was pounding because of his rage moments ago. He watched me suspiciously and slightly annoyed. "I know it hurts here....but you have to give it time to heal. And if you keep fighting, the hurting wont stop. If there is a way to stop anymore people from getting hurt, you should accept and do it. Sometimes giving up doesn't mean that you're weak. It means....you're strong enough to let go." I said gently.

He watched me silently for a minute. I almost thought that he had seriously considered what I had said, but my eyes went wide and I gasped as I felt a sharp pain in my gut. I coughed and doubled over in pain and Madara stepped away from me as I fell to my knees. He was so fast and the intensity with which he had punched my stomach was insane! The three other people in the room stiffened at the sudden thick atmosphere that enveloped the room and I coughed hard to regain my breath.

I was sweating from the pain and I managed to tilt my head up to look at Madara. I could taste blood in my mouth and I choked on the air. Madara watched me with a stoic gaze as I panted. "You better learn to hold your tongue. If this continues, I wont hesitate to shut that mouth of yours....permanently." He growled and turned around. He walked out of the room leaving me on the ground in pain.

Once he was out of sight, I shut my eyes tightly and dropped my head. "Ah...jincha appo...[ah...that really hurts]" I mumbled as I hissed out through my teeth in pain. "Mio d-dono...are you alright?" I looked up and one of the other men in the room was watching me. "I'll live." I mumbled and wobbled up. My stomach hurt and the sharp pain made me lose balance. I fell sideways but one of the people there caught me. I cursed under my breath but I thanked him and finally managed to stand on my own.

I took a few breaths and held my aching middle. Stupid Madara! That really hurt! He obviously used very little power but I already felt like my ribs were broken. It was hard to breathe...every breath hurt my chest. "This is going to leave a painful bruise." I shook my head and limped to the infirmary. The guy who had been injured barely few minutes ago was lying on a bed with bandages around his chest. When I entered, he looked at me.

"Thank you, Mio dono." He said and I managed a weak smile. "How do you feel?" "I'm fine. Madara sama barely missed my heart." A shiver went through me at Madara's brutality. Always thinking of himself....jeez.

I nodded and limped to the healers room. He saw me and gasped as I fell forward in pain. He caught me and gently lowered me into sitting position. "Mio san, what happened?" He asked in slight concern. I laughed sheepishly while rubbing my head. "Looks like I angered Madara more than usual this time....he has been rather temperamental. I guess I tried to talk to him at the wrong time." I said and he sighed. "Please lie down." I lay down on my back on the mattress and the healer hovered his hand over my stomach. He pulled say and sighed.

"I'm sorry, Mio san. But I can't heal this. My healing chakra could trigger some unwanted reactions with the seal. You will have to let this heal on its own." He said and I sighed. "Really? This sucks...." I sat up while wincing and the healer reached into a box. He held out a small jar to me. I looked at him curiously and took the jar. "This will help you tolerate the pain." I nodded and thanked him.

I wouldn't be able to work for a few days because of this. Brilliant....but seriously. Madara didn't have to be so rash! It was difficult to talk to him because of his pain. I understood that he was still really angry and probably shocked but still. I shook my head helplessly and headed back to my room.

I stayed in my room all day, most of the time lying down and staying still so that the bruise wouldn't hurt too much. But it was a throbbing pain and no matter what I did, the pain didn't go away. In fact even the medicine that the healer had given me wasn't that helpful either. I had been lying around for do ling that it was already sinner time. Mu growling stomach added to the pain of the bruise and i had decided to get some food to silence the painful growls.

Now I was walking slowly towards the dining room for dinner. I hadn't seen Madara after he punched me and I heard from a few people that they had gone out to fight again. Fighting. Fighting. Fighting. That's all he had been doing the past week! With Izuna gone, he was so....lost. I knew he was really affected by it, but it was starting to cloud his rational thoughts. This had to stop before he was the one who got hurt.

I was almost at the door of the dining room but I stopped when I heard footsteps. I looked up and color drained from my face. Madara was walking my way with several people following him. He had his usual fighting clothes and his sword on his back. He looked as stoic as always, but that's not what made me weak in the knees.

Almost every inch of his clothes were drenched in blood. Not just his, but all the people behind him too had their clothes stained in blood. The hair on the back of my neck stood as goosebumps erupted on my skin. From the looks of it, none of them were injured. The blood staining their clothes wasn't theirs....it was the enemies'. What kind of battle had he fought this time? With so much brutality? And with so much blood covering him, how come he looked so calm?

My heart pounded as he got closer to me. He didn't bother stopping and his arm touched my shoulder as he passed by. It made me tense up even more and I shivered at the thick metallic smell that met my nose.

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