In the end, the boy died.

Shizu had seen him briefly. What a shame, he was so young and cute.

Anyway, even though Madara had threatened to kill her if his brother dies, he still did nothing to her and it's been over three weeks.

She actually hadn't seen him since the funeral and while a part of her was relieved, the other part wondered if he's doing well. He seemed to be very close to his brother, and at the funeral he was obviously devastated even though he didn't shed a single tear.

And when did he plan to take her back home?! She couldn't possibly stay in this medieval place for much longer.

"Where does Madara stay?" She asked Rukia, as the girl went around, doing her chores. The two of them had gotten acquainted a little bit better since they have been sharing a room ever since Shizu arrived. She didn't dare appear before Madara after his threat, so she went to Rukia for help.

"His bedroom is the last one down the hall." The girl answered. She seemed to have relaxed around Shizu now, seeing how she obviously wasn't some important guest since her mean host ignored her completely.

"I'm going to see him." She said, getting up and slowly making her way out of the room and down the hall, trying to sort out her thoughts. When she finally did make it to the door of Madara's room, she stood there for good five minutes before chickening out and deciding to leave, but – her luck – it slid open just then.

Shizu stiffened, not daring to even turn around and face him. She heard him close the door and make a step towards her.

Maybe he was less angry now after few days? Another step. Maybe he finally accepted that she wasn't the one to blame? Another one.

What if it's gotten worse? What if he blames her even more now?! She held her breath as he moved on, but contrary to all of her predictions, he walked right past her, not bothering to even spare her a single glance.

He was ignoring her.

Well, better than going through with his threat – she was honestly grateful for that, but she still needed to get back home and that wasn't possible without him.

"Okay, this is bullshit. Don't pretend that you can't see me." She called after him in her best, most confident voice, which was barely trembling. She knew very well what he could do – she's seen him kill a man with her own eyes. If he snaps, he might do the same to her.

He stopped walking, but wasn't bothered to turn around and look at her.

"I let you live. What else do you want?" He asked dryly. He was tired and his usually deep and clean voice sounded hoarse.

"I want to go home! Don't go forgetting about me now. You dragged me here and now you have to return me." She pointed a finger at him accusingly.

"Fine."

As if it wasn't the Uchiha Madara she was speaking to. Why was he so calm and silent? Was he sick?

"Madara-", She started, but was interrupted as he grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his room. She wanted to protest and demand the reason behind his actions, but then she heard steps echoing through the hallway. Her gaze met Madara's and he had his index finger over his lips as to silence her.

She finally got to see his face now. His eyes were tired and a little bloody, dark circles beneath them; his face was paler than usual, his lips were dry and cracked.

He was in a horrible state, mourning harder than she knew. Now, she felt bad for being insensitive.

However, the steps stopped right outside of the door and she caught Madara rolling his eyes.

In few moments another man had joined them in the room. Tall, with short black hair covering a side of his face, probably twice as old as her but still undeniably handsome.

"Father." Madara greeted, in a not-very-excided-to-see-you tone.

Shizu felt that she had gotten caught in between them as they were obviously about to argue over something, the tension was weighing down on her, so she slowly but surely started making her way for the door. It can wait – whatever she needed to say to Madara, it can wait. His father seemed even scarier than him and she didn't want to be there anymore.

"This is who you brought." The older man asked, but it sounded more like a statement, as he watched her backside.

"Yes." Madara replied dryly.

The door was two steps away, but before Shizu could reach it a warm, gentle yet strong hand landed on her shoulder. She looked back in slow motion, waiting to see what the man wanted. She swallowed a big lump inside her throat.

Did Madara tell him it was her that he was with when his brother died? Oh no! She was cornered like a rat, she couldn't even run!

What's next? Punishment? Prison?

Death penalty? The boy was freaking important, she was totally fucked up!

"Forgive me, I never welcomed you properly." He started. "I am Madara's father, Uchiha Tajima."

He was apologizing. To her?

"Oh! Oh, it's alright." She forced a smile and bowed down so low her thighs muscles stretched painfully. "I found my way around anyway."

"Where are you staying? Madara hosted you well?"

Tell the truth or not?

"Yes!" She nodded her head way more than necessary, even though Madara definitely did nothing to host her well. "I'm staying with Rukia."

Tajima raised an eyebrow at her answer, but he didn't seem overly surprised. "With a servant." He finally said, turning away from her on his heel and facing Madara, who was standing in the same spot as before and returned the man's gaze with open contempt.

Why were they like this?!

Shizu's mouth was getting dry as she struggled to find some kind of explanation, she didn't want to get Madara in trouble, for that meant she'll be in trouble too.

"A-As soon as we came, he found out about his brother's death – My condolences, ah, sir! –" She bowed quickly again, before continuing, "So… He got bus—"

"He blamed you, didn't he?" Tajima stopped her babbling with the question. He made his way over to Madara, standing only a few inches away from him. "He always tended to blame others. When his other siblings died, he blamed me, if he got hurt he blamed me, when his Sharingan got weak he blamed me, and now, for Izuna's incompetence, he blames you."

Shizu could see that Madara's whole body stiffened at his father's words. They even made Shizu surprised. Izuna really was his child, yet he spoke so easily of his death?

Her breath hitched as he slapped Madara across the face with much force. She never saw that coming!

Madara simply stared back at him with unchanged expression, but she could only imagine how angry he was. It had to hurt a lot, but he didn't move.

Tajima turned back to her as if nothing out of ordinary happened. "I will have servants arrange you a proper room. Good night."

"Good night…" Shizu whispered back, eagerly waiting for him to leave the room. As his figure got lost behind the closed doors and his steps gradually went silent, she returned to Madara.

"I can't help you right now. I'll let you know once I begin using the Sharingan again." He spoke immediately, without her even asking. In fact, that wasn't even what she was thinking of at the moment. She instinctively took a step closer to him.

"How are you feeling?" She asked silently, her eyes taking in his worn-out state. How did this happen to him?

"Leave. I said I'll let you know when the time comes." He headed for the door, probably to open it and kick her out, but stopped as her hand caught his. "What ar-", His voice died down as she hugged his waist. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly around his torso, her head on his chest, he could hear her breathe and feel her own heartbeats against his ribcage.

"I'm sorry for your loss." She mumbled out so he barely heard it.

In all honesty, it felt good to have her close – not exactly because it was her, but rather just someone, anyone. For the first time since Izuna died, he felt like he hasn't been left all alone in the world, even if it lasted for only a moment.

"What is it to you?" He pried her hands off of himself, stepping back to look down at her.

"You're a crazy, cold asshole. It's scary seeing you like this." Again, since Izuna passed away, for the first time, a small smirk appeared on his lips.

He agreed, though. It scared him too.