Finally, over ten reviews! Thank you Storyman09 for giving me the eleventh review. Sit back and enjoy this chapter as well, aand don't forget to review!
Meanwhile, Izuna was having quite a lovely time in the kenjutsu club. She had been trained since childhood on this particular skill because she chose a sword instead of hand to hand combat, so she didn't need to put much effort in it at all. It was like second nature. She had beaten all her partners (both male and female) and was now clashing away with her biggest rival – Tobirama. He was equally skilled, so the fight was intense, with Izuna slightly on the losing side all because of the unfair discrepancy between the endurance and strength of males and females. Soon, her knees gave out, and she knelt on the ground, trying to even out her breath. Tobirama was still standing straight and tall, like a warrior.
"You know, if you're tired, we can stop."
"Then who wins?"
"This is practice, Izuna. The heck I care about winning or losing." Tobirama said, rolling his eyes. "I know, your Uchiha pride wouldn't let you just give up and rest until you beat me, doesn't it? Never mind, call it a stalemate then. I do NOT want to stand here whacking at a girl who happens to be my friend until she faints."
"I was going to say you won, even though it was because of your endurance." Izuna whispered. Tobirama stared at her, incredulous. An Uchiha, admitting defeat? That's rewriting history.
"Don't look at me like I just performed a miracle, Senju."
"But you did!"
"That's not a miracle, you dolt! If that's a miracle, wait till I do something even crazier than that."
"You Uchihas are prim and uptight. All about traditions and all that. Crazy isn't in your genes." Tobirama scoffed. Izuna pouted, glaring at him. They stayed that way as all the other members clashed around them.
"Fine." She pouted. Tobirama stared at her, mouth agape. Her lips just looked so totally kissable.
"What? Your mouth is hanging open, like a fish."
"Nothing." Tobirama wiped the thoughts from his head, embarrassed. "Nothing at all."
When Izuna got back home, her sister was already in the kitchen, cooking dinner. Their parents always had some ultra-important meeting or another, so they were rarely home for dinner. (Yeah, as if that's a good reason for ignoring your own children all the time.) Neesan had tried her best to learn how to cook, and the fact that intelligence seemed to run in the Uchiha genetics helped. In no time, Neesan was making food that would make a chef in a nice restaurant proud.
"What are we having tonight?" Izuna yelled towards the kitchen.
"Curry! No time for fancy cuisine!" Madara yelled back. "Set the table, will you?"
"Okay." Izuna replied as she got out the plates and utensils. She always loved to do this job, because she could play around with all the fancy plates painted in elegant colors and the so-totally-vintage silverware that filled every cabinet in the dining room of the Uchiha household. Today she got out the deep dishes with dramatic roses painted on them and the spoons with roses on the handle. Madara walked into the room a minute after the table was set to perfection.
"Oh, that's a surprise. Why all these roses?" Madara asked, admiring the red, velvet petals that curled delicately on the plates as she set the pot at the center of the table. Kurama, Madara's prized pet fox, followed closely at her heels. "It's not Valentine's Day or some kind of romantic holiday today, is it?"
"No, I just felt like it." Izuna said as she stroked Kurama's tail, before frowning in confusion. "Since when was 'romantic' in your vocabulary, Neesan?"
Madara turned slightly pink and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "damn that idiot…straddling me in front of people…curse him", while fumbling with strands of her hair, a gesture Izuna had never seen her sister do in her life. Okay, Neesan was officially weird today. "What did you just say, Neesan?"
"Nothing…nothing important…" Madara whispered. Izuna cocked her head in confusion, but didn't ask for details. They immediately sat down, ladled their curry, and ate in silence. Kurama ate silently on the floor beside the table. Izuna savored the slightly spicy taste and the cooked-just-right potatoes. Delicious.
"How was kenjutsu class, Izuna?" Madara suddenly asked. "No one bullied you, I hope?"
"No, no, it was lovely. I faced Tobirama. We fought until he won, simply because of his endurance." Izuna said, still miffed about her defeat.
"Hashirama's brother?"
"Uh, yes. The calmer, more sensible one of the two."
"Ah." Madara spooned a spoonful of curry and placed it in her mouth. "One of these days I'm going to knock some sense into that idiot's head. He's still absolutely silly and naïve, after all these damn years!"
"I'm sure you like him that way, Neesan." Izuna teased. Madara rolled her eyes, sighing dramatically.
"Yeah, I just had to have a crush on such an airhead, huh?" She murmured with a blush. Izuna laughed.
"I'm sure there's more than that, Neesan. Your standards are not so low."
"I hope not. I feel like I become stupider when I be with him."
"Don't worry, Neesan. We're born smart for some reason. All Uchihas are."
"But you're aware that I can never be with him, aren't you?" Madara cried out suddenly. "It's a done deal for me and you know it! What good am I to him? A girl that will marry in a few years isn't worth loving!"
"I'm sorry Neesan. I so wanted you to be happy." Izuna whispered sadly.
"I know." Her sister said. They both sat there, silent and forlorn, until Kurama pawed at his owners to give him a second helping.