Star Crossed Chapter 8: Power
Amare stared aghast at the scene before her. Her brothers, her family, her clan...All lay in ruins, utterly desecrated by the enemy. She tried desperately to move, to speak, to do anything at all, but all failed her. Something unseen was restricting her from crying out or helping. Her eyes fell to where her brothers laid, unmoving...unresponsive. Anger began to build in her until she saw the face of who committed the terrible act. All she could manage was a slight gasp as the man's eyes bore into her own.
Why...!? What is this!?
Despite no sound coming from her mouth, it was as if he could read her thoughts.
"This is the future."
Suddenly, the restrictions were all released and she screamed. She shot up and cried, calling out the names of those she held dear. To her astonishment, she was in the bed she fell asleep in, now sitting up and staring at Madara. He stood in the doorway, but before she could even question him, he began to speak.
"You were shrieking in your sleep."
"I apologize for waking you. It was just a nightmare." Amare looked down at her blanket, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh? It must have been quite real."
"Er...Yes. Sorry, again."
Rather than seeming annoyed, he looked smug as he strutted out of the room and shut the door behind him. Amare sat on the edge of the bed and sighed. Just a nightmare...
Ryuto sat on the ground, idly tapping at dirt with his index finger. "I'm getting tired of waiting!" His sudden outburst startled his two teammates.
"I'm sure there is a reason she hasn't shown up yet." Hanako sighed. An hour passed since they were supposed to meet for their weekly session.
As if on cue, Amare appeared and greeted them warmly. They jumped up excitedly, but froze as they saw the person who accompanied her. Each of them bowed simultaneously to Izuna. He dismissed them casually.
"Don't mind me, today I am just spectating..."
With that, the children eased up a bit and looked to Amare for instruction.
"Before I show you something, I want to ask each of you something." She kneeled down to be at eye level with the children. "I want to know your dreams, your resolve, and why you want to get stronger."
Ryuto's nose crinkled. "This is SO easy! We get stronger to destroy our enemy, the Senju!"
Hanako held back the temptation to smack him for his stupidity. Amare simply shook her head and smiled, having expected the answer.
"No, no. Power for the sake of violence isn't a true reason."
Once again, Ryuto gave her a quizzical look. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Hate won't make you truly strong."
"Then what is the secret?! Tell me! Tell me so I can get strong!"
"Be patient you fool!" Hanako chided, then she kindly looked up to her sensei. "Please tell."
"It isn't really a secret, but maybe I shouldn't tell you." Amare chuckled lightly at how they began to beg and plead with her to share her 'secret'. Izuna found himself now leaning in with interest and wondering what she was even talking about.
"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. It's love."
Yushin and Ryuto looked utterly confused and Hanako dreamily stared at her.
"Oh really?! Love? Like a boy?" Hanako giggled and blushed.
"Not quite...well, maybe." Amare smiled. "Strength comes from the desire to protect the ones you hold dear to you. To protect your dreams."
Ryuto leapt up with a grin on his face. "But my dream is to be strong!" Hanako instantly knocked him down with a swift fist.
"Haven't you heard a thing?! Love makes us strong!" The two began to argue until Yushin broke it up.
Ryuto, not quite convinced, pressed further. "Well, how do you know?"
"If you stood alone without your friends or clan, what would you be?" It was purely rhetorical really, and there was no answer, but Ryuto replied anyways.
"I guess really lonely..." He scratched his head. "Okay, I get it, kind of."
"Besides, I'm sure you have some girl..." Amare teased, making Ryuto turn bright red.
"Uh! No?!" He quickly denied it and turned away to hide his embarrassment.
With the end of their discussion, she commenced with teaching them. Izuna couldn't deny that he was impressed with how she had commended not only the children's respect and admiration, but that of medical personnel. It's as if she has a refining presence. Once their session ended with them, Izuna walked with her.
"Of what you said earlier, you seem to think that love gives an answer to everything, correct?"
"I believe so."
"How, pray tell, would love settle a war?"
She gave a sigh at his question. "We both know there has been so much hate between our clans, but that isn't to say there can't be a future where we both coexist in harmony. Truthfully speaking, if it weren't for my belief, you might not be alive."
"Ah, yes, you could have killed me, but you didn't because you lacked the nerve. You think I should be grateful?" He couldn't help but give a prideful, arrogant remark. There was no way he would yield to her ideals.
"Not at all." Despite his sarcasm, she remained calm and respectful. "I didn't lack the nerve, though, killing you would have saved a number of lives."
"You made a mistake." He smirked.
"I don't think so. Dying was so...unbecoming on you." Amare rolled her eyes. A moment later she caught and mentally scolded herself for letting down her guard. I'm talking to him like he's anyone but a prominent enemy.
Izuna stood with an entertained expression. "Is that so? Are you saying you enjoy my alive look?"
"Something of that sort." She smiled. Jerk.
Tobirama stood before his brother, brow furrowed as his expression twisted into a scowl.
"They are tired of waiting...our people are demanding action, even as much as they, and I, trust your judgement. We should take advantage-"
Hashirama cut him off. "I still think that Madara could change his mind! We could find a long-term solution and end the fighting. Besides, where is your honor?"
"You tossed our sister right into the arms of the enemy, and you ask where my honor is?" Tobirama quickly regretted saying this, as Hashirama lowered his head in guilt. Of course he was feeling as helpless as he was, if not more so. "I apologize."
"Don't, you are right. I did a reckless thing, but I believe things will work out for the best in the end."
His brother nodded. "Yes..." You put more faith in the enemy. It's only a matter of time until Madara twists that to his own advantage, if he hasn't already.
"We received an urgent request to aid a clan in a skirmish nearby. It wouldn't surprise me if the Uchiha were hired by the opposition. Be careful."
She couldn't shake that nightmare. It all felt so real, so...manipulated. Days had passed since then, but the thought never left her that someone had invaded her mind that night and she had an idea how. The look of satisfaction Madara had given her, it was not merely coincidence.
"You've hardly eaten the past few days. I'm not opposed to you starving yourself to death, but it would look like our fault." Izuna pointed out during their breakfast. It was rather surprising and slightly disgusting to him how Madara was treating her and what he allowed her to do. Or maybe it was the way she made him feel each time she looked at him that caused discomfort, with those large amber eyes so innocent and yet defiant. The fact that he was in some way in her debt from so long ago made his temper flare. What would it matter if he killed her here and now? He certainly didn't fear the Senju's retribution.
Amare hesitated for a moment before speaking. "There is something that those new eyes you use that allows you to penetrate someone's mind."
Izuna, genuinely surprised and intrigued, leaned forward. "Oh? Tell me how you know this."
"It's a silly reason I noticed, really. I've never dreamt in color before." She said it in such a matter of fact tone, he almost had to laugh. The Senju girl was definitely clever, at least.
"Why would we do such a thing?" He was mocking her now.
Amare typically didn't react, but she elicited a huff in annoyance. Maybe she was getting too comfortable. "Information. I'm sure Madara-sama found out everything that he sought out to know."
Izuna frowned slightly. His brother tells him everything, but he didn't mention what he found out from that night. Surely he found something? Amare noticed his reaction but said nothing. As if on cue, Izuna sensed a presence outside of the door, followed by a light knock. A subconscious reaction, Amare stood up to go answer it only to be signaled by Izuna to sit down as he got up.
"Sorry." Amare gave him a small apologetic smile, which only tried his patience further.
What's with this woman? Looking increasingly irritated, he went to answer the door only to look down at a Uchiha half his size.
Ryuto nervously bowed. "Izuna-sama!"
"Come." Izuna turned away and showed him to Amare then retreated to find Madara. He wasn't in any mood to deal with someone else at the moment.
Ryuto grinned. "Guess what!"
Amare, sensing his excitement, returned the grin. "Did you get a girlfriend?"
"Yea- wait what? NO! What the heck?!" He covered his face with his hands. "Stop that! I got a mission! Its 'sposed to be pretty cool. I get to accompany some of our best guys to attack some other guys."
Amare bit her lip to hold back her laughter. "You're so funny."
"Huh? What'd I do? Don't laugh! I'm a warrior of the Uchiha, you can't laugh at me!" His brow furrowed.
"You're right, I'm sorry. It's the way you described your mission that's so funny. But congratulations on your big assignment!" She then grew more serious. "It isn't something to take lightly, though. Be careful."
Ryuto looked up at her with a confident smirk. "Oh yeah! I got nothing to worry about. After all, I was hand picked for this!"
"I'm going to be really worried until you get back..." She walked him to the door. "I'm really proud since it's your first. Just remember what I said! Be careful!"
Ryuto rubbed the back of his head. "Geez, you're like a mom." Too bad my mom and dad aren't around to see this. A flicker of sadness crossed his face. Amare pulled him into a tight hug, causing Ryuto to blush.
"Of course I am! I had four brothers, but i'll never stop worrying." She let him go and smiled.
"What do you mean 'had'? What happened to them?"
"Two of them are gone now."
"Oh, i'm sorry. But hey, i'll come back alright...I promise!" Ryuto beamed at her before running off to prepare for his first, grand mission.
I've been on a bit of a semester hiatus, in a sense. My english comp class has really burnt me out on writing, until (go figure) the week before my final paper is due and all of a sudden I just want to write for this story. Hoping to release many chapters for December :) Thank you for the kind reviews! The reward for waiting is a longer than usual chapter xD I apologize for how short I make the chapters! I'm trying to make them longer, but once I reach a certain point, I'm like " .HERE." That and I feel bad for disappearing. x(
Overall we see bit by bit, Izuna and Amare each start to break down their walls a bit. While Amare is sweet and idealistic, she is still carefully guarded. Who wouldn't be? X_x
Poor Izuna, so emotionally conflicted and confused! Things have been pretty much peaceful, but shit is about to blow up next chapter! Can you tell that bad stuff is going to happen? ~~ :3
How about those Naruto chapters? ._. I want to hate Madara, but then I heard his english dubbed voice. 3_3 Never considered myself Uchihacentric until he came along.
Once again, thank you for patiently waiting and I hope you enjoy! No more hiatus, hope to put up the next chapter within a few days. Have a happy Thanksgiving! :)