I stopped in my tracks.

"... Madara...?!" I muttered under my breath, loud enough to catch his attention. He glanced at me with his charcoal eyes, and I could tell that he looked melancholic. Madara's family was also there, paying their respects, I observed Izuna, Tajima and his mother's presence.

Anyway, I don't even think I'm up for any sort of conversation with him. I thought. I twirled back on my feet, leaving the procession and now going into the forest, slumping my back against a tree. I stifled a couple of tears away. I'm going to miss you so much, Uehara.

-

Madara noticed the emotions brewing within Ayumi, and he had known all too well the pain of losing a sibling. The words of her grandfather resonated with Madara, and it had reminded him of the death of his brothers, a pang of emptiness was beginning to grow in his heart. I cannot lose Izuna, Madara thought. Ayumi shuffled to the forest back of the procession and hid there, he could sense her.

Izuna nodged his elder brother's elbow. "I think you should check up on her, aniki."

Madara had hesitated to move from his spot - he dealt with grief by distancing himself from others, he needed space, and so naturally he thought that was what Ayumi would appreciate too. But she was sensitive, Madara thought, and this may be a critical time. Even if he could just be there. They didn't have to exchange any words, for that would be draining.

"I will be back." Madara stated.

-

I heard footsteps approaching my direction, and I had a strong feeling it was him.

I looked up to see Madara looking down at me, just silent. No words, no nothing. A look of discern tinted his eyes instead of his usual sternness.

My throat had been so choked up with all the crying that I was doing I couldn't bring myself to speak a word. Madara had understood this, and instead just sat beside me. Both of us under the rain, and I was sniffling, crying.

It continued to be that way for a while, until it had dawned on me that he too lost his brothers.

"The pain of losing a loved one is too much to bear." I said clenching my shirt at my chest, gritting my teeth. "How did you cope with it?"

Madara looked at the ground now, and his eyes had tensed, his eyebrows furrowed.

"This is war." He said. In part truth, Madara did not know how to console a crying woman, and instead just awkwardly sat there, listening to her sob. Her eyes were puffy, her lips and cheeks were red.

"We fight and we kill and then we might even die." I spoke despairingly, "Just what is the point in all of this?"

Madara too had pondered that question upon the loss of his brothers.

Ayumi stood on her two feet, patting herself, "I'm going to be launching an investigation regarding her death." She was looking up in the rain now, and her tears camouflaged well with the rain that had been striking her face. "I will find out who did this."

Madara admired her spirit, but to look into it was pointless. Her death had been an outcome of this war. A silence ensued between the two.

"I suppose it will provide you with some closure." Madara said.

She nodded. "Yeah."

-

"We offer you our condolences." The father of the Uchiha family, Tajima, spoke. I looked at them emptily. I wasn't moved by anything. The procession was over now, and everyone scattered into conversation. Many had approached me to talk but I was finding it draining to constantly bring up her name, but that's how it had to be, at least for today.

I nodded. "Thank you." I offered a hand to shake, "I appreciate you going out of your way to attend Uehara's funeral." I offered a half-forced smile to them all, Madara was not there though. He had left back to the Uchiha compound to oversee some things.

Izuna nodded. They looked at me sadly, knowing all too well what it felt like. This was probably the most emotion I've ever seen the Uchiha blatantly display.

"Well, there's no time to get weak kneed. Especially during times of war." I broke the silence.

"You will be okay?" Tajima's wife spoke. She was concerned, her fingers interlocked with each other.

I gulped. "Yeah. I just need time to grieve."

-

I stood over the spot that I found Uehara's body. I closed the perimeters - no one was allowed past but I, remembering how clear I made it amongst my clan members.

Byakugan.

I began to scout the area with my eyes. All that remained was a shuriken that had been struck through her hand.

I picked it up. "How careless of them to just leave this behind."

Why would they do that?

"Hm..." I rubbed my chin. My eyes narrowed, analyzing the constituents of the shuriken at a molecular level. I could see atoms.

"Tungsten." That was what the shuriken was made up of. Only one clan had used shuriken made up of tungsten. Their land had been made up of so much of it that, in fact, they were known for making and distributing weapons amongst themselves.

And it was the Senju clan.

"N-no..." I recalled that diplomatic meeting, and remembering how Hashirama had wanted to build a settlement and strived towards piece. So full of crap.

-

"Chichi," Ayumi sat in front of her father, Hayate.

"Hm?" He drank his tea, "Any advancements?"

She slid the shuriken which had been placed inside of a plastic bag.

"Yeah. I did not want to believe it, but..." Ayumi's eyes narrowed, and fluttered to look at the ground, "Evidence seemed to indicate that it's the Senju clan. The shuriken is made up of tungsten. Characteristic of any Senju weapon."

Hayate let out a deep sigh.

"Good job. We will hold them responsible."

Ayumi gulped, she visibly looked uncomfortable. As much as she hated to admit it, she did not feel the urge to get violent. Ayumi didn't want the vengeance to consume her. It would be futile to fight them any way, they were nearly equal in strength, the Senju and the Hyuga. It would only result in more casualties, something she began to be wary about.

"I'll think about what to do next." Ayumi gripped her katana, getting up, and left to go to her room.

Maybe there could be another way...

-

"So? Where are her eyes?" The man spoke.

"We had to leave preemptively," One of them spoke, "She kept resisting and the Byakugan could not be retrieved. An infection manifested itself on our hands once we touched them."

"It seems that it is a Hyuga jutsu that acts as a last resort to protect their byakugan." The other man said.

"So you mean to tell me you came back with nothing?! You scoundrels!" He smashed a furious fist into the table. It cracked in half. They remained silent.

"Get out!"