Star Crossed Chapter 9: Broken Promise

Izuna stood before his brother dumbfounded. "What do you mean you found nothing? It did not work?"

"It worked, but she had nothing to offer. She has been honest with us, doesn't have much to hide."

"So she's been sincere..." He sighed.

"You almost sound disappointed."

"She knows that you used it on her. I suppose it wasn't worth straining your eyes."

"I'm not concerned about that. We needed to confirm what she knew. Anyways, there is only a short time left to the treaty."

Ryuto's confidence was no longer present. The Senju weren't supposed to be there waiting to ambush them. His comrades disappeared on the run, which was weird enough to him. Even with the temporary treaty, they weren't ones who would just run without even exchanging a blow. Their opponents didn't give much chase towards them, probably just hoped it was enough to scare them off. They were being cautious. He found himself angry that they had run away, leaving him to feel like a child while trying to find the three other men. Feeling them near, he slowed his pace to a walk.

"Guys? I think they stopped following us."

Suddenly his comrades appeared at each side of him, each with a look of menace which sent a sense of panic through Ryuto.

"What's wrong? I said they weren't following..." He shrank down a bit.

The man in charge of the mission spoke up, cackling as they closed in on him. "Such a waste of young talent. Shouldn't have associated with that Senju bitch."

"W-who?!...Wait, you mean...S-she isn't, I mean, she couldn't be! Even if she is, what does that have to do with me?! I didn't know!"

"It has everything to do with you. Must have brainwashed you." He almost sounded sympathetic. "She is here because of something to do with the treaty. It seems our leader must have underestimated the girl, because she's been manipulating you this whole time."

"That's ridiculous!" Ryuto scowled. Senju or not, there was no way that Amare would be capable of such a thing. How could she fake everything?

"Not ridiculous, it is true i'm afraid. The elders confirmed it. They found out who the girl really is and you are the closest one to her."

"I can't believe this is happening...There's no way!" Ryuto readied himself. I can't die here. I promised...

Utter outrage and chaos consumed the Uchiha's conference hall. The body of their young kinsman returned, his comrades claiming that a group of Senju ambushed them and he was the only fatality. But clearly this broke any treaty, and now they demanded justice. The elders planned to come out with what they discovered of Amare, and they wanted her gone.

"Kill the girl! That will make things even." The mission leader Nobu feigned his anger at the death of the young Uchiha.

Madara, growing impatient, silenced everyone. "On what grounds? She is no one."

An elder spoke up. "Intelligence we gathered conveys that she is not only of Senju origin, but a prominent member. She undoubtedly had a hand in this conspiracy. It was wrong for you to keep her heritage from us, and now look what has happened!"

He scoffed. "I will investigate this personally before we take any action. I know for a fact that she had nothing to do with it. If any of you go behind me or question my authority again, there will be consequences."

The room fell silent at his threat. Nobu mentally cursed himself. If he finds out what we did, i'll be killed...

With nothing left to discuss, Madara and Izuna left.

"The whole situation seems suspicious, brother." It didn't settle well with Izuna. As much as he wished the enemy would break the treaty, he knew they wouldn't and so did Madara. None of them would have risked the life of someone like Amare.

"I know. If anyone else finds out who she is, however, her life may be in danger. That's not something I want to deal with right now."

"Understood. I'll stay with her."

"Volunteering, hm?"

Izuna shot him a brotherly sort of 'shut up' glare as they approached their home. As he opened the door, Amare stood there waiting with a concerned expression.

"Who was it? Please tell me..." Amare already knew who it was, but she needed to hear it.

Madara glanced at Izuna, who hesitated before speaking. "It was him."

"No..." Her eyes welled with tears and she clenched her fists.

"They think it was your clan. Why so upset?" Madara interjected.

"Let me see the body. Then I could tell." She never felt so angry since Itama's death, but she needed to be reasonable. This was not home and she couldn't lose it in this place.

"How so?"

"I've seen enough bodies from both sides see the differences in styles. I also assisted with autopsies."

"Very well. Tomorrow."

"Tonight...please." She pleaded with him, her tears threatening to fall.

"I'll take care of this." Izuna offered. Madara nodded and left them. He found himself surprised she possessed the mental fortitude to be around death, as much as she detested violence.

At her age, she shouldn't have been so familiar with a morgue. As she approached the table that Ryuto's body laid upon, she held her breath. From a distance she could see how badly he was cut up and upon closer inspection, she immediately recognized the defensive wounds and how hard he fought his killers. Amare bit her lip to hold back from crying. Not yet...you have to get through this first. Staring at his face, she could hardly believe he was dead. So young, so confident and energetic but all of that as gone now. The once prideful expression he held was replaced with a stoney cold one. Izuna studied her reaction carefully. Why did she care so much for the boy? For any of them? They were supposed to be mortal enemies, no matter what.

A particular wound, a burn, caught her attention. "Look..."

Izuna noticed it as well and frowned. "They didn't report finding any burns."

"I wouldn't lie to you. I really don't believe that my family had something to do with this. It doesn't add up." She bit her lip and stared back down at Ryuto's face, recalling his excitement about the mission. His first mission. Without realizing it, she began to let the tears she was holding back fall. Izuna frowned. He didn't want to feel bad for her, but he did.

"Why do you cry? In the end, we are all enemies...Even him."

"That isn't true. We are all suffering the same!" She glared at him. "So don't think that as enemies, we are so different. Those before us may have been content to give into the vice of hatred, but I'm not."

Taken aback by the sincerity of her words and her sudden anger, he grabbed her hand and began to lead her outside. "If his death was not consistent with the initial report, then I will look into it. Don't cry."

"What do you think really happened? I know you wouldn't unless you had your own suspicions."

"Don't concern yourself with any of it. All you need to know is that it will be taken care of."

"It is rather obvious what has happened here. They must take us for fools, brother."

Madara nodded. The information that his younger brother presented needn't disturb him. The situation would prove useful in asserting his power and leadership over the clan and eliminate any doubt among them. "Let's make sure we remind them that we may be young, but we are no fools."

"What do you propose?"

"We shall expose them outright and kill the man responsible for it all." Madara stood up. It was dusk and they needed to be quick. "Where is the girl?"

"She's at the house. I warned her not to answer to anyone."

"Very well...Let's go."

The brothers made their way to the second conference that week in haste. As they entered, an eerie silence filled the room and Madara wasted no time in breaking it by addressing the four older men before him.

"You've each dishonored our clan with your degenerative rationale, and it has now cost the life of one of our own. Who should be held accountable?" Despite his calm, even tone, each of men felt terror. Surely he didn't intend to wipe them all out right there? Out of fear, one of the men stood up and spoke.

"I apologize, my lord, it was Nobu-"

Izuna cut him off. "And where is he?"

"I don't know. He came to us with the information about the Senju girl, and he was the one who said about her manipulating the children. It was him...We had to do something based on what he told us!"

"Tell us where he is!" Izuna demanded now, beginning to lose his cool.

"More than likely at home! We wouldn't know."

At the sound of several knocks at the door, Amare stiffened. Izuna insisted that she shouldn't answer to anyone who came by, no matter what the circumstance but he refused to tell her why. The knocking became more forceful and impatient, making her nervous. Maybe they'll leave? She quietly shuffled towards the door. Once the knocking ceased, she froze. What the?! The door burst into pieces and now a man stood before her with a look of utter enmity.

"You bitch! I'm not going to die without taking you with me!" His eyes blazing with red from his sharingan coupled with his intense gaze paralyzed Amare as he lunged forward to strike her with a kunai. As it passed through her, the clone disappeared. Nobu cursed under his breath.

"You can't hide forever."

Crammed into a small closet wasn't the way she wanted to spend time. I guess they can't blame me for assaulting this guy. He is frantically trying to kill me...

Nobu paced down the hallway, growing increasingly agitated.

"Don't make me burn this place down."

Amare flung herself out from the closet to confront him. "You're the one who killed Ryuto, isn't that right?"

He turned around, eyes still burning with fury. "That was your fault. You had him on your side!"

"No! I never meant for that..." She grit her teeth. Violence was not her first or even second option but she was ready to make an exception. He deserved to die.

"Quiet!" The man drew out his blade and lunged forward, aiming for her head. Amare ducked out of the way and dodged several more of his attempts before deciding to take action. I can't just wait for him to kill me! She scowled as she felt her back hit the wall. Trapped. Without time to land a well placed blow, her fist connected with his chest sending him through a wall. Nobu growled with anger, slowly getting up and emerging from where the wall once stood.. "I'll burn this place down!"

Amare sprinted for the door. Not in here... In an instant, Nobu closed the distance between them and Amare felt a searing pain in her shoulder followed by an aching pulse consuming her face as it crashed against the floor with a sickening thud. The crazed man chuckled, driven mad by his own inhibitions. Dazed by the blow to the head, Amare slowly registered the tearing sensation as he dragged his weapon across her back. The mental fog cleared with the new sensation creeping upon her and she let out a cry, flailing to kick him away. As he was thrown off of her, Amare desperately scrambled to get away.

"You aren't going anywhere."

Before she could get far, he aimed for her leg and punctured it eliciting another cry from his victim. Fear and anxiety welled up in her, making her throat feel as if it were caving in. She couldn't die, she couldn't let him kill her here. It would cause more strife...

As she pushed herself onto her back to face him, she felt the back of her clothes seeping with warm liquid. Losing blood quick. The moment appeared so slow and foggy to her eyes as he raised his weapon up and it came towards her chest to deliver a final blow. It was as if her body just reacted out of desperation at this point. In an instant her hand radiated with a light blue hue and embedded itself in his chest, pushing all the way through with ease. Nobu stared down at the girl in shock, blood forming on the edge of his lips threatening to spill outward. Awkwardly he stood up and stumbled back, dropping his kunai and leaning against the wall with a hand covering the wound. She knew that the blow she dealt narrowly missed his heart, making it all the more painful and slow. Black spots filled her vision as her eyes slowly closed, the image of this man's pain granting her an amount of peace before she lost consciousness. The image of the girl before him, crumpled up on the floor and bleeding out, was not enough. If I am to die, I will make sure she does, too... With a weakening resolve, he staggered forward towards her. Just as he reached her, he could feel the presence of his superiors closing in on him... In an instant, he felt hands squeeze his windpipe and a pair of fuming eyes glaring into his. A mix of dread and agony rippled through his body as he was tossed against the wall, effortlessly cracking it.

"T-that woman is a..." Nobu couldn't even choke out a sentence, between choking on blood and the tightening grip around his neck. At this point, he wished death would take him before his leader could do worse.

"I'll make sure you suffer for your insolence. You'll beg for death." Despite Madara's calm tone, there was hidden ruthlessness to it.

"Not that...!" He had no choice but to stare into Madara's virulent Sharingan.

While Madara took care of that traitor, Izuna cursed and knelt beside Amare. Observing all of the blood, he inwardly panicked but felt some relief to see her chest rising and falling, albeit faintly. He gathered her in his arms and rushed out of the house toward their clinic. Izuna glanced down to see her eyes open slightly and give him a glazed over look, then a tiny smile.

"Sorry about killing your house..." She murmured before fading out of consciousness once more.

"You're delusional...On the brink of death and that's all you can say?" He spoke softly, knowing she couldn't hear him now anyways. Having her bleed out in his arms stirred something in him he couldn't quite identify, but none of that was of concern at the moment. Izuna entered the clinic in a hurry.

Can't let her die.

Took writing this one longer than I anticipated, and a lot more thought. ._. Finished with the semester! Had my last final today, and the first thing I decided to do was stay up late and release this dang chapter! So now I can focus on writing this more. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Now I'm super tired xD

THANKSSSS FOR REVIEWS! :3 I'm very grateful!