28.

"We really have to stop doing it in random places." Yuna mumbled against Madara's chest. His body was warm and his heart beat was steady. She couldn't really see anything, but it didn't bother her. Actually, she was grateful.

As soon as she had returned from her mission, he appeared and dragged her away.

His eyebrow rose and a smug grin appeared on his lips. So arrogant and confident…It'll get him killed someday.

"What's wrong with random places?" He asked teasingly, finding the situation almost funny.

"Don't you like the change?" he continued.

Yuna groaned and got up from the floor and walked across the dim room and started picking up her clothing. She wasn't even entirely sure where they were.

A storage room?

Or maybe this room was left empty so people could have affairs? She thought sarcastically. A humourless smile formed on her lips.

"Well I will be killed and you will be an outcast if we get caught. Not to mention that we'll have a huge problem rising if I become pregnant."

Madara masked his face with the same calm look he always bore. He knew the risks, but he also knew that he's Madara. The clan would have to kill him first to get to his child.

"Just lie that it's Harue's," was his nonchalant response.

He didn't see Yuna's expression in the dark, and she was glad that he didn't. She put on her socks and a humourless laugh escaped her lips.

"Oh yeah and how am I going to explain the origins of the baby to Harue…"

Madara sat up with a smirk, "You're a smart girl, figure something out."

"Stop acting like there isn't a problem!"

"To be honest I'm jealous, Yuna." Chinatsu suddenly said. Yuna's head shot up with confusion.

It was evening and Yuna was staying until Madara decided to show up. Yuna's usual uptight posture was gone; instead she sat back, leaning against the wall with her legs stretched out in front of her.

After their affairs began, it had become easier to bear Chinatsu's presence. Yuna cringed inwardly, was she becoming like Madara? It's not like this situation offered her any pleasure.

"I don't understand." She admitted with a polite smile. Chinatsu's head turned to her sharply with a mocking grin.

"Of course you don't understand you silly girl!" She shouted. Yuna took a breath in.

"Please explain then?"

Chinatsu tied her obi a little tighter to make her small waist seem even more miniature.

"I've heard that Madara is a playboy, but I am doing everything to make him interested in me! He just doesn't respond! I am so ready to have a child because that's what both clans need for peace. It's all up to me to smooth everything out!"

She paused and tilted her head back to keep the tears from falling.

"Then a little rumour reached my ears, something very hush-hush about you being married to him just a week before I arrived."

"I'm sorry for not telling you."

Lies.

She wasn't regretting it at all.

Chinatsu laughed.

"I could blame you for not telling me, but I wouldn't say anything in your position either. It would just stir up unnecessary drama." She raised her finger, "What I do blame you for is making it hard for me. You're always quiet, when you could've said something."

A surprised look crossed Yuna's face.

"I didn't say anything because you and Madara-sama seemed to do well. I didn't think that I have any need to say anything…"

"Well now you know! You should've said something!"

"It's none of my business. Even if it were, I wouldn't know what to say. My marriage with him was a fiasco, he cheated before the marriage, and I'm sure during as well, but I didn't care enough to notice. I never even thought about having a child with him."

"Why not?" Chinatsu asked. It was the first time they had lowered the mistress-servant barriers to talk.

In another place, at another time Yuna might've even gotten along with her. Chinatsu was a real handful, but she wasn't entirely terrible!

"Because…please don't tell anyone I said this, because with me he was bad-tempered, annoying and arrogant. I would never have a child with a man like that."

Surprisingly, the mistress laughed, she laughed like never before.

"Oh god and I thought that I was the only one thinking that! Except for the child part, I have to do that."

Yuna couldn't believe it. Chinatsu was actually…nice when she didn't have the high and mighty barrier around her.

"Well Madara seems more mature now…Didn't your brother say that you have a choice?"

Chinatsu snorted, "Yes," was her curt response. On a second thought, she decided to explain it.

"They say that I have a choice, but I know how they will act if I refuse. Openly disappointed, mocking…My pride can't handle that. Even after years of living with them I still don't have a skin thick enough. Don't get me wrong, they are my family and I love them, but…"

"Sometimes you just want to be no one?" Suggested Yuna, Chinatsu nodded.

"You know…when I had to marry him, my family told me about a week before the wedding."

The woman's eyebrows rose in surprise and she giggled, "That's harsh…"

Yuna crossed her arms over her chest and walked over to Madara, kissing him on the lips shortly before skipping out of the door.

"Well since you don't need me anymore I'll go on a date with the lovely Harue." She said mockingly before slamming the door shut and walking away.

Sometimes his insensitivity really threw her off the edge.

She had lied; of course, Yuna wasn't even going near Harue. Instead, under the cover of darkness, she ran to the woods near the compound.

It was so cold outside. People were expecting snow soon.

Finally something to look forward to. She couldn't wait to see the compound painted white with the small crystals.

Yuna stopped with a sigh and leaned against a tree. She wrapped her arms around her to keep warm before biting her lip.

No crying.

"I can't believe it." Yuna jumped when she heard Harue's voice. He was leaning against the tree with his hands crossed on his chest.

Harue's face was completely blank, but his eyes looked disappointed, mixed with surprise.

Yuna didn't dare to speak. She could only hear herself breathing while everything else was still around her.

"I was suspicious from the start, but you two make it so obvious. If you're going to have an affair do it properly damn it!"

Yuna stared at him with a frightened look. Her lower lip was shaking.

I will die…He's going to tell…

She straightened up and forced her face to relax, but it didn't stop the tears forcing their way into her eyes.

"Are you taking me to the advisors or something? It's not like Madara is going to punish me…"

Harue snorted and shook his head.

"I won't report it. You really think I'm that stupid to botch up everything because you two are idiots?"

Yuna's eyes widened, it felt as if a huge weight was lifted from her shoulders.

"I would thank you, but I don't think that's what you want…"

Harue ignored it and groaned, "What if you are pregnant and it comes out?"

Yuna almost laughed…almost.

"Madara…when I mentioned that possibility he told me to say it's yours since everyone thinks that we're a couple anyway. He called the baby 'it' and told me to grow it with someone else. I will never have a child with a man who takes it for granted. I wouldn't even talk about it."

Harue sighed, "Walk with me, the cold is not good for you," he told Yuna.

She had a doubtful look before she walked over to him. Together they started walking back to the compound.

"Madara is an amazing ninja and a leader. He possesses a good judgement and mind when it comes to battle. The minus side is that he has a very bad temper, but you know all about that already," Harue laughed quietly.

"What my point is, that Madara-sama is awkward when it comes to family and love. He believes women are a bother and love is overrated, but if he ever had a child, I'm sure he would try his best to take care of it. Do you get my point?" He smiled softly.

Yuna sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You honestly won't say anything to anyone? How did you even find out?"

"It's not hard if one looks hard enough. Madara drags you away every chance he has and you come back looking flustered." He grinned widely, "I'm a team leader after all and all of you are like my children. I have to keep my eye on you."

Harue sounded like a proud baby daddy sometimes. He would make an excellent father…

Yuna looked at the ground instead as if it were the most fascinating thing in the world, but dropped that plan when the first thing she saw was dog poop.

"That actually isn't disturbing…luckily." She muttered under her breath.

"Don't worry about it, just be more careful."

Yuna didn't go back to her room. Instead, she found herself strolling to a pond, because something there caught her eye.

"Aoi!" She called quietly. The black cat that had been playing with a dead mouse suddenly stopped and looked at Yuna instead.

Yuna started to walk closer slowly. She stopped a few feet away and knelt down with a smile.

"Come here kitty…" She whispered with a smile and extended her hand.

The cat turned its head away.

"Come here you little shit, I know you can hear me," she continued to beckon the cat with a sweet voice.

The cat meowed before her attention shifted and she ran away.

"I guess the cat really doesn't like me."

Yuna wasn't startled; she felt his chakra a few seconds before he spoke. Yuna looked over her shoulder with a smile.

"What are you doing here?" She asked. Izuna shrugged with the trademark smile of his, "Wind carried me here to the lonely lady."

Yuna remained silent for a moment, wondering if she should ask the question that had been there for quite a while. Izuna was about to leave.

"Who were you parents? What were they like?" She blurted the question out before the momentary courage left her. Izuna stopped and looked over his shoulder with a grim look. He was so quick to drop the polite act around Yuna. Probably because it was tiring for him as it had been for Yuna.

"Why don't you ask Madara? Did you forget my general dislike for you?" He asked calmly with a hint of amusement. Yuna shook her head.

"Not at all. He probably wouldn't tell me, but I need to understand. I want to understand his arrogance towards the world."

"Why? Don't tell me you're in love with him…"

As if she'd admit something like that to him. It was still up to debate if one could even call it love.

"Wrong again. It's just for personal satisfaction. Every bad guy has a story, a story that makes you feel sorry for him and understand why he is who he is today."

"So you do love him?"

His persistence was beginning to annoy her. Was he just trying to prove a point?

"No, Izuna I don't. I want you to tell me just for the sake of knowing. You of all people should understand that."

Izuna sighed and shook his head.

"I won't explain anything in detail. It's personal, just like your reasons, and also none of your business," he paused and turned to face her.

"What I can explain is that our father was very much like Madara is right now. Strong, stubborn and close to brutality – Madara most likely picked up those traits from him even though our mother was everything a child could wish for.

Even so, Madara doesn't display or completely lacks the caring side that our mother showed. Our father occasionally had his moments, but most of the time he was a team captain, an honourable Uchiha ninja. I guess it doesn't surprise you to find out that our parents have passed away by now."

The way Izuna talked was alluring; his eyes became clouded as if he saw something beautiful.

He recalled the past that he had cast aside for such a long time. There was no need to think about his childhood, so he didn't.

Now that someone forced him to, Izuna started to see everything beautiful that there was. He tried not to think about the end of it.

Because the end didn't belong to a fairy-tale.

He suddenly snapped back to reality, the clouded look disappeared along with his flow of memories.

"Did that answer satisfy you?" He questioned.

"Can I ask you another question?"

Izuna leaned against the pillar.

"You're going to do it anyway, so go ahead."

"Why do you hate me?"

He didn't expect that, but it seemed like a logical course of action. Yuna was probably still bitter about his stunt with the letter, that was just some innocent manipulation.

"I hate the type of people that do nothing. People like you who choose to withstand it all instead of fighting."

Yuna smirked, almost laughed.

"I think you meant to say patient, clever and calculating. You've got to admit, I made some pretty sweet decisions at the end of my reign."

Izuna smirked, "There are always two choices, to act or to wait. Both have their ups and downs."

"You're contradicting yourself, Izuna. You say that you hate people, who wait, do nothing, yet you're the king of lying dormant."

He laughed, "You and me are completely different. Don't even think about comparing us. For one I am loyal to my brother, and my clan. Where does your loyalty lie? Nowhere."

"Care to elaborate?"

"I know that you will leave Madara at some point. I'm asking this as Madara's brother, stay by his side.

I don't like you, but he seems to…I'm not sure if you call it affection, but he's gotten used to you, gotten so used to you that he lowers his barriers when he's around you. That's why he says careless things without putting much thought to it.

Madara may be arrogant but he isn't heartless or stupid. He can tell the difference between right and wrong. So do him a favour and stay with him. Don't betray him and he will respect you for it. Loyalty trumps any other flaw he might find in you."

"That's quite a speech. So basically, you're requesting for me to stay here. Stay by his side…you know very well that he's going to fall. One day, he will fall. I've told you already, haven't I? The higher you are the harder you fall.

Madara won't be an exception. Every great leader makes a fatal mistake at some point. That's the only reason we still have wars – someone decides to bite a bit too much."

Izuna knew he needed to win this. He had to convince Yuna, somehow. So he resorted to his only hope, bargain.

"If you stay with him, up until the end I will let you walk away free. No hunters, nothing. It's a win-win for you. You get to spend time with your precious man and later when he's gone you can live on."

Yuna smiled softly, it was warming how much Izuna actually cared for his brother.

Did he really think that she had anything left to do once Madara was gone? It would be a boring life, waiting for time to pass until old age crippled her.

"You don't need to ask me to do that. I'm not leaving him…But why ask this now?"

A sly grin appeared, "You know I like to observe the tangles of relationships. Chinatsu's arrival is a nice development."

He was serious for a moment and looked almost…

Regretting.

"I need you to stay, because his light is already fading. You read about it, didn't you? His eyesight is a lot worse than he admits."

"What are you going to do about it?" Izuna sighed.

Loss of sight.

It was an Uchiha's worst fear; it was drilled in their skulls to fear blindness.

Even so, Izuna prized Madara more than his eyesight. His brother was the one that really needed it.

So there really was only one option.

"I'll give him my light. When the time comes he can take my eyes."

After those words were said, something cold fell on Yuna's hand. She raised her hand to examine it closer, but it had already melted.

Slowly, small flakes of white began to fall.

"It is snowing." deadpanned Yuna.

She didn't want to think about it. About the sadness that came with the Sharingan, and for what? There were plenty of amazing ninja who didn't possess that eye.

Yuna didn't wish blindness on her worst enemies, and Izuna was well among them.

What would become of him? It's the same as robbing his identity.

"It's my duty as a brother." He mumbled, reaching his hand out to catch a flake, well aware that this was going to be his last white winter.

Yuna rose to her feet and walked to Izuna. She smiled to him, a real smile.

"You've really planned this for a long time…I won't take back my words; you and I are very much alike."

He snorted, making Yuna's smile even bigger.

"If that's what you choose, then I will support you in any way possible."

Just like that, it wasn't hard.

That's what she told herself.

It won't be hard.

Just stand by and watch the people you know suffer, wither and die. It was their turn; she had endured enough for several lifetimes.

Izuna smiled gratefully. It wasn't often that his face revealed genuine feelings.

Yuna stepped outside once more and watched up. It was so dark outside already, but the snow really was beautiful.

Already winter.

Firstly I hope that you all enjoyed this chapter. It was really fun to write!

Secondly, thank you all for being so patient with me. I have no excuses for posting this late. Please accept my apology and a lifelong batch of cookies! The good news is that I don't have a block right now. Actually I'm working on chapter 31 already. Soon I'll get chapter 29 and 30 from my beta soon and they will be posted up here immediately!