The funeral came and went in a blur. Sen had stood catatonically beside Sora for the duration of the ceremony. Her body ached from the pain of losing Mina so tragically. The many attendants gave their condolences to the remaining Hyuga daughter as she simply nodded and managed a dry smile. Her face moved automatically, reacting to the continuous loop of kind words.

To Sen's surprise, Madara and several other Uchiha elders had attended. Of course, some of the Senju had been present as well. The attendees paid their respects and then slowly trickled out. The Uchiha clan leader and the Senju brothers remained, however. Madara kept a close eye on Sen throughout the ceremony and was now watching her desolate face blankly stare at the ground.

She seems lost, Madara thought. My poor girl... I know the pain you're feeling. How I wish I could heal it, my love. His feet carried him to her and before he could even think, he was standing in front of Sen. Her pale eyes raised to him, but she said nothing.

She hadn't spoken to him since the other night at her house. This had been upsetting for him, but he reminded himself it wasn't about his feelings, it was about Sen's well-being. If she needed space, so be it. He would be there waiting at the end, no matter how long.

"Take your time, Sen," Madara spoke gently. He clasped her hands in his and forced a small smile to his face. "Whenever you're ready, I'll be waiting."

He leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek but stopped first to whisper in her ear, "I love you, remember that."

She shut her eyes and bit her lip. I love you too, she thought sadly. Right now, I just feel too broken to declare my love. I'm sorry, Madara. You never asked to deal with my heartbreak. In a weak whisper, she promised to remember.

He squeezed her shoulders before walking back to the brothers. They all turned to leave after giving their condolences to the rest of the family one final time. Madara stole several more glances Sen's way, his worry growing as he watched her drift away once more.

Sen remained at the edge of the freshly upturned dirt and stared down to her sister's tombstone. Her name was etched into the rock and as Sen's fingers traced the depressions, she sighed loudly. Her heart no longer ached; she now felt nothing at all. Emptiness had settled deep in her chest.

As she stood there with her head down, a warm hand lay on Sen's shoulder. She looked over her shoulder, expecting to once again face Madara. However, looking down to her was Tobirama Senju. His usually stoic face looked a bit troubled as he let out a heavy breath and cast his ruby eyes down to the grave. After a moment, he spoke, "I'm very sorry for your loss, Sen."

Although she knew none of this was Tobirama's fault, she couldn't help but feel contempt towards him. His and Mina's engagement had led to this current situation and she wanted to shout that to him, to make him feel as terrible as she did. However, the Hyuga had agreed to keep Mina's cause of death quiet. Sen and Sora were skeptical of the decision, but they weren't in the position to argue with the clan leader.

Sen nodded and thanked him absently. His condolences meant nothing to her. No ones' did. Madara. Sora. Hashirama. Tobirama. They could all share their sentiments a million times over and it would never bring her sister back. She swallowed a hard knot in her throat and excused herself from the Senju man's presence.

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