*MADARA'S POV*

It had been a couple of days since that night with Ayumi. I went to my study that following night to do some more in depth readings regarding the Otsutsuki clan, though much of it was familiar to me already. I had to resort to communicative references with some recognized elders of the clan.

I was now walking throughout the Uchiha compound, a proudness surged throughout my chest knowing that my very own two hands had created the settlement all the Uchiha found a comfort in. I watched a child walking with excitement quickly, eventually falling flat on their face. The mother had quickly scolded him.

"Kosuke! Be more careful! Are you okay?" She hurried to him, yanking his arm up.

"Mm-mmm! I am mama! I want that ice cream!" He pointed eagerly. She sighed, giving into his command.

It was then that it had dawned on me that those were the connections I yearned for. A family, a loved one, people depending on me for a totally different reason, and for me to devote my life to them. It was unlike me, I did gain a pleasure from my own selfish desires and the thought of raising a family did not ever occur to me because it would mean to violate that. I no longer wanted to keep my powers for myself, but to use them to connect and protect the people I cared about. My jaw tensed. Was I even the same person any more? I couldn't even protect my own brethren. How could I be able to protect anybody else?

"'Taku. That foolish Hyuga girl has done me quite a number." I muttered in annoyance, closing my eyes. Was I perhaps too soft now?

"Who?" Izuna said, appearing out of nowhere.

I stayed silent.

"Oh. You've got a crush now, eh?" The corners of Izuna's lips turned upwards.

"Watch your place." My hands were on my hips.

"Hahah! Madara!" Izuna laughed, "You know I'm surprised by you. You've killed plenty of women in the past before, and you've even rejected many from our own clan, yet all it took was a little Hyuga girl from a small village a couple of kilometers away to have you done in pieces."

I rubbed my chin. I suppose Izuna was right. I hated how Ayumi, a fragile little girl, could leave someone like me, confused and uncertain about their feelings. A grandiose task for many.

"Your crush is standing right there." I pointed a finger at a raven haired kunoichi. "What was her name? Ah, Naomi, wasn't it? I should perhaps let her know you've taken a liking to her." I taunted him back.

"No!" Izuna grabbed my shoulders, "Ni-san, you wouldn't. That's totally violating our bro-code."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his child-like nature whenever the topic was brought up.

-

*AYUMI'S POV*

I had battled along side Madara for the day, and I noted how artistic his fire style techniques ended up looking. It was fascinating to me how a dwindle of fire grew into such monstrosity.

"This battlefield needs landscaping." Madara curtly spoke, quickly weaving signs. "Katon: Goka Mekkyaku!"

My arms rose to my face for protection, the humidity and ash of his fire was beginning to spread. I saw a number of shinobi buckle to the ground in defeat, it was too difficult to breath for them, I noted by their physiology with my Byakugan. The sky was beginning to grey, an overcast had appeared. It looked like it was going to rain.

Not so fast.

Intuitively, I raised my palm in the air, the moon insignia was pulsing too obviously now. The sharp slap of thunder had shaken even me, causing the rocks around us to rumble.

I noticed Madara eye me, with his arms closed.

"And what do you plan on doing?"

"I'm going to take the rest of this sanction out." I stated coldly, much like a militant, "And paint a prettier picture along with it."

"Hm." Madara looked away. He had underestimated me too much and now it was time to show him. I have a feeling this would work.

"Raiton: Tsuki no Nagashi." I muttered.

And an abrupt stream of lightning from the sky pierced the ground below us, spanning just the right amount of space to wipe out all that was left of the shinobi. Their bodies shook with lightning, and much of them seemed fried afterwards, twitching and groaning in pain, their skin spotted in bruises and browning. It would not kill them, this technique, but it would immobilize them for days. The lightning disappeared back from the direction of the moon, and the moon on my palm had pulsed with light once more collecting the chakra of the shinobi who had fallen. I felt my body rise in strength. It worked! I couldn't help but smile. I had been using gentle fist up until this point, slowly accumulating the chakra at the insignia preparing for its large release.

"Quite the trick up your sleeve. So that's one of your jutsu," Madara spoke, "Smiling when you've nearly killed a whole village. Have you gotten cold?"

"H-hey! Oi!" I yelled, my hair was fiery and raised in all directions now, "I'm not cold! You should say that to yourself!" I said, recalling the Senju he had choked to death while holding him up in the air with one hand.

"I don't show mercy to weaklings." He looked at me, "Weakness revolts me. That kindness of yours could get you in trouble some day."

I gulped, why was he staring at me like that?

"O-okay... Madara..." I itched the back of my hair in nervousness.

Needless to say, things had gotten a bit neutral between Madara and I since that night we shared an innocent peck. We talked when we could, discussing our plans for our clans and our new jutsu we had been developing. Occasionally he would ask to see my palm, which I had began to believe was just an excuse to get touchy with me. I smirked.

"Why the smug look on your face?" Madara questioned, wafting his gunbai to remove the dust and wind flying around us.

"No reason." I looked ahead.

"We should get going to the next territory." Madara pointed with his eyes.

"Yosh!"

-

"Ayumi!" Madara yelled, while in mid-air battling shinobi of the Sarutobi clan. I was being cornered, and my eight palms rotation was running thin. He tossed me his gunbai, one that I had to improvise using as per observations I made, and deflected the Sarutobi's infamous chakra-infused weapons right back to them, piercing each one in their gut. I quickly tossed it back to him.

"Thanks for that." I adjusted my footing, moving my armor back in place.

The Sarutobi shinobi around him had been flung kilometers away, and he now landed on his two feet like the sly fox he was. His eyes were discerned towards me, and honestly it had worried me.

"Byakugan." I infused chakra to my eyes, analyzing if there had been any remaining enemies nearby. There were none, much to my satisfaction. "Let's call it a da-"

"I have some things I must tend to." Madara said quite abruptly, vanishing into the atmosphere.

Is he okay?

-

*MADARA'S POV*

The ruins of war came to an end for the day, and I sighed out of exhaustion as I dug my gunbai into the soil. I slumped my back onto a tree stump, retracting myself from my battle pose and taking the time to sit and think. Oh, how much thinking I had to do.

"Just as I had thought." I uttered. I wasn't sure if I had been annoyed or surprised.

Thanks for that. I recalled Ayumi's voice, and how she had handled my gunbai with ease, and in fact, tenaciously.

"The Uchiha clan's gunbai cannot be weld by someone who does not possess a fraction of Hagoromo chakra. However..." I clenched my fists. I was only able to hold and control it with such ease due to the fact that I had once bitten tissue off of a Senju during battle - a prescribed tradition, of later which I had gagged out. "The blood of Hagoromo's ancestry flows strong in her. And so that's why she was able to wield it so effortlessly."

She was the moon's messenger as dictated and prophesied to come about by many of the elder Uchiha. The fact had mildly irritated me, because she did indeed possess that tranquility characteristic of it, though despite not having experienced grand tribulations. She did not have siblings. She did not have to suffer the loss of loved ones. She did not have to bear the burden of being an outcast and mistrusted by her very own clan. She did not come to know what pain is, to be dealt with such a title. I almost grew envious of her, something that I had only reserved for that brat Hashirama. I quickly knocked that thought away though, remembering that she had saved me so willingly.

I recalled a childhood memory with Hashirama.

"...Do you think some day we'll be able to show what's deep inside to each other?" I skipped a rock.

"Yeah!" That goofy smile on Hashirama's face, speaking with such certainty. "I think it's possible."

Ayumi had already shown me what was inside of her on that very night. She had saved me when there was no reason to.

I crushed a rock that I had been dawdling with into dust. She was powerful yet kind, I thought, a combination I wasn't sure would ever exist in the shinobi world. I was growing confused of my feelings towards her.

--

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Raiton: Tsuki no Nagashi = lightning style: the moon's current