Chapter 50

DISCLAIMER I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

"I-I.. I think I-I was rejected?" she managed to answer. Tobirama opened his eyes a little wider.

"H-How so?" he asked in a surprised and caring tone, he wasn't expecting that. He was sure Takato felt something for her, why would he reject her?

"He…" she started "he didn't even let me say that I…" and she started crying again "I-I couldn't tell him my feelings…" Tobirama didn't quite know what to do, so after sensing that nobody was around to watch them, he awkwardly hugged her and she cried even louder hugging him back.

"I-Im Sorry" he said apologetically "I didn't mean things to end up like this" he felt her sobbing and hiccupping and felt guiltier "I just wanted to see how things were, I mean, my feelings, yours, his… to test…"

She pulled off him and took a step back looking outraged.

"T-test?" she exclaimed angry wiping the tears from her eyes "What?" she sort of attacked him with that question "What do you feel then?" Hikari asked directly "I mean, about me" she needed him to be clear with her.

"I like you. I really do" the albino said in his usual monotone voice, but this time it showed he was affected by his emotions "I like spending time with you and sharing stories with you." He said simply "as for How I feel, I feel content, and at ease with you." She bitterly smiled knowingly.

"Then you don't really like me as girl or a future life partner." She explained "You like me because you can be yourself around me and I don't judge you…" she paused trying to calm herself "That's what friends do"

The albino kept looking at her and his eyes widened. The realization hit him, was he confusing his affinity and good relationship with her for love? ' Wait, love is a too strong word' he thought ' I don't love her, I care about her though.' He was not used to care. The only women he cared were his mother, Maki-chan and Toka. And now her. He thought harder and realized that he cared about Sakura too. ' is it possible that I've mistaken that caring feeling?'

"I-I" he started "I don't know…"

"Do you think of me a lot?" Hikari asked

"Yes" Tobirama answered, it was a question similar to what Yuko asked him "I think of the training and how could you be doing. I worry about your safety too."

"Hn..." she said deep thinking, he was not at fault for not understanding his feelings, but he was still guilty of letting Takato hear his confession. "This may sound weird but, does your heart beat faster when you see me or when you're about to?" His answer was inmediate.

"Mm… I've had one or two situations like that but no, I anticipate your arrival but no." he said with his characteristic cold logic. "But I'm interested in you, of that I'm sure."

"Thank you for that" Hikari said gratefully a tad ironically "It's nice to know you find me interesting" she made a pause "but all you've said does not mean you like me more than a friend."

"I am not following you" he was starting to lose his temper. How could she analyze him like that?

"I'll say it short" the Takishima explained in the sweetest way possible even though her mixed emotions "If you really like me, and you have feelings for me you should feel like Mmm… butterflies on your stomach or a void." She added thinking about Takato "When you feel something for someone you want to be with that person always but also there are lots of other stuff that you feel, nervous, passionate, you feel the simple touch of their hands like electricity."

Tobirama took some time to let her words sink. And he finally understood his feelings for her. He had already felt all what she just said… but for other person, not her.

"I care for you deeply, but.." he started.

"But what?" she spatted unintentionally it was hard to keep her emotions in line and her patience was at her limit; he probably might have messed all her chances with the Uchiha and she felt very angry deep inside, with him, with Takato, with everybody.

"But I do not love you" Tobirama said serious.

"Great, I'm being rejected twice" the Takishima said sarcastically motioning her arms through the air and walking all around.

"I am not rejecting you" the man said humorless "I am being honest" she eyed at him. "What I mean is that I don't have any of those romantic feelings you mentioned for you just… this may be just a childish crush over a potential friend. I've been feeling odd since we became closer after our first fight. No… even before that. I felt curious about you, and then that curiosity became interest." She listened him with attention wearing a frown, she was trying to follow his ramblings "I wanted to know you better, and as I did, I became fond of you. You remembered me of Maki-chan" he saw her raising her eyebrows in surprise

"Oh" she exclaimed quietly.

"You're just like her" the Senju explained his emotions starting to take over him "caring, extrovert, confident, all the things I am not" she blushed a little with his words, it was weird to hear him being so blunt and also being buttered up during a discussion. "And I thought I felt for you the same I felt for her. Every time you did something that remembered me of her did I feel that void or my heart skipped a beat you mentioned, I spoke it in therapy. Sakura suggested that I might be p-projecting my… feelings but I don't know why I never actually thought about that until now"

"Sakura knew?" Hikari was surprised, she knew she couldn't blame her, but she still felt a little hurt.

"Yes, as my therapist" he added defending her "and she told me to try and figure it out by myself. But I didn't know how" he continued with his head down "So I followed some advice, to try to voice my feelings out and see what it actually felt"

"So, you basically blurted out a confession without being sure you had any romantic feelings to confess or if I had any, and now you're also rejecting me?" the kunoichi snorted raising just one eyebrow this time, arms crossed "who was the idiot that advised you to do that?" he saw him become a bit embarrassed, he had to answer and he hated to snitch on people but he said he was being honest, so...

"Yuko-san, and I don't think she is an idiot" the man said after clearing his voice, Hikari blinked in surprise "She just tried to be helpful and it actually worked because once I said that to you, all this happened and I could realize that it was not a romantic love, also after listening to you talking about your feelings and Takato I was positive about how you feel for him, and I am also positive he feels deep emotions for you". The woman looked at him like she was trying to solve a very difficult puzzle, and she might have done so because suddenly her demeanor changed.

"Oh KAMI!" Hikari was furious "you said you wanted to TEST us all? Our feelings?" she started passing around "Test... YOU!" she pointed at him energetically "You felt Takato was nearby and continued with the test! Why? Why test him too?"

"I was jealous of him" he simply said looking to the side a bit annoyed. This conversation was taking too long and he wasn't used to have the spotlight and above all talking about feelings… he preferred the isolation and freedom of an open battlefield rather than having this woman putting him on spot.

"JEALOUS?" Hikari was getting madder at him "What is it with you and jealousy? With your brother, with me? You're sick! What kind of weird complex do you have? You… Oh!" she put both her hands over her mouth, she had gone too far and could sense it, because his eyes opened wide and he exploded. "I-I am so.." she tried to say but was interrupted.

"I COULD NOT BEAR TO BE LEFT BEHIND AGAIN, OK!" he snapped, failing miserably to bottle up his feelings. He tried to regain his composure for a bit before continuing, because he saw she had taken a step back out of fear after his outburst and it wasn't going to work if he yelled at her too "You were great with me, it made me feel special" he finally said when he calmed down "but with him… With Takato… You shined. This month he wasn't here I felt our relationship had become closer, but still I couldn't make you feel that way and that was exactly what I miss from Maki I-I" he greeted his teeth and looked at the floor clenching one fist. He was trying not to cry because it was out of character for him the "cold Tobirama" but his eyes became watery all of a sudden nevertheless. "After you kind of confessed you felt something for him… It felt like I was losing her for a second time." A lone tear finally rolled down his cheek but his expression was still angry with her, and mostly with himself. "I do have a complex. I am aware of that. I always felt not loved, not important. I always tried to please my father but he always wanted Hashi to be a leader, and I always thought he wasn't made for that. I underestimated him so much… I am such a bad brother…" he felt so guilty, and he couldn't follow his own ramblings, how did he ended up talking about his brother? The kunoichi's anger had already left her after he vented like that.

"Tobi…" Hikari said in a hoarse voice and stopped herself for a moment, she was fighting her anguish that was menacing to come back "You are loved… by all of us"

There was a moment of silence, both were sharing slow and silent tears. There was too much to dwell on and words weren't needed. Hikari wiped her face and heard him sigh.

"I know that now" he raised his head and look at her in the eye. Now he was looking at her determined, still wearing a small frown "I hope we can be friends; you are indeed an important person to me". There was a small pause, but this time it wasn't that awkward. "I don't think I ever spoke to someone with such freedom, not even with Sakura in therapy."

"Silly…" she answered quietly, smirking through her tears that kept falling, fortunately, less and less "We are friends already!" she beamed wiping her eyes and nose in a nonchalantly way that was very heartwarming for him, her expressions were so open, similar of those she could have while interacting with the Uchiha, but in this case they felt on another level. They came over a bond that had just been awoken, friendship, and maybe almost a fraternal love. "I love you too in a non-romantic way you know?"

"That sounded so weird" he snorted eyeing her. He finally felt relaxed so he let himself out of character for a while and laughed.

"Yeah, I know…" she laughed sniffing. "so how we go on now?"

"I think we could always start knowing each other better as friends" he said absentmindly, his frown had disappeared and a tiny smile still lingered on his face.

"We could hang out more… train! Develop tactics and gossip" Hikari said her face completely dry by now, Tobirama raised an eyebrow "I need a male friend I can confide to" she explained and whispered "Izuna has a conflict of interests here" she laughed.

"Right" he chuckled and then added as an afterthought "what are you going to do about Takato?" he said carefully.

"I…" the kunoichi sighed, she tried not to dwell on that much because she wasn't sure she had any tears left -well actually she knew she had, but she didn't want to cry anymore and ruin the mood - "I don't know. I would love to talk to him, but he is not letting me in, and also I cannot overstep his boundaries – as much as I'd like to- so I think I'll… avoid him for a while?"

"Do you want me to talk to him" the albino offered concerned.

"Hell no!" she jumped "you did enough, thank you very much" she elbowed him in the arm smiling at him. "I think we should leave this roof and get some rest. Toka will wake up soon and we have a lot of stuff to do" she observed "maybe we can have our fresh start once we've eaten and slept a little.

"Works for me" he nodded, he had become the serious Tobirama she knew and care of, but it was somewhat different, he had a different expression in his eyes, a mischievous spark, and had this tiny loop of smile menacing at the corner of his mouth. He seemed happy and lighter.

"Okay, see you later then!" Hikari said trying not to sound awkward. It was weird, she felt really sad about what happened with the Uchiha, but she still felt she had gained something with Tobirama. A new bond.

Takato woke up over the bench, feeling really lost. He didn't remember how he got there. ' Aniki?' he thought as he saw Madara relaxing in the onsen. He stood up and walked towards the water.

"Oh, you're up!" his brother joked "Take those clothes off and come and bathe" he invited him "you smell" he tried to lighten up the mood but the youngest Uchiha still looked down despite him doing as told. "Good" he continued "Care to tell me what happened just a while ago?"

"W-what are you talking about" Takato said in a hoarse voice. His body ache, from the battle and from his encounter with the Takishima.

"I noticed you didn't go to the doctor" Madara stated washing his hair "Where did you go? Why were you crying that hard?"

"I don't want to talk now" the youngest said, finally remembering falling asleep on his brother's arms like a child.

"You know you need to in order to feel better" the eldest advised.

"Yeah, but not now" Takato insisted

"But, you will feel better!" his brother also insisted

"I SAID NO!" the youngest snapped, surprising his sibling. He grabbed his forehead "Sorry, my head hurts, that's all"

"You better tell me what is going on…" Madara threaten him worried and seeing he didn't answer he added worried "I will not allow you to fall in the darkness of that curse…"

"Curse?" it took him a while to understand what his brother was talking about "You mean the curse of hatred?" he saw him nod "I-I don't think this might make me…" he stopped talking, realization hitting him. It actually could. And maybe that was what had made him so cold towards the girl he was in love with. He realized he needed help and sighed. "You're right."

"Whenever you're ready, I'm here for you" the eldest invited relaxing a little after seeing his brother might be about to open up on what had happened to him.

"I rejected Hikari-san" Takato stated bluntly

"You did what?" Madara thought he heard wrong.

"I said I rejected Hikari-san…" his brother repeated

"I heard you! It was rhetorical!" he interrupted. "H-how?" he couldn't believe the Kunoichi confessed to him, and also him rejecting her. He could see he was madly in love with her. Well, maybe not madly ' you're projecting your feelings over a certain pinkette…' a voice in his mind said. He shook his head to let that pass.

"Tobirama confessed to her" the youngest added to the anecdote.

"Come again!?" he was confused "You better tell me the story in order because I do not understand!" so the youngest proceeded to tell him. "Man…" Madara said after he finished "she was indeed going to confess to you… I mean, it feels that way"

"I am not positive about that" Takato said that to not feel more guilt.

"Come on, why would she run after you to say those things to you after leaving a possible suitor's confession?" his sibling reasoned

"I-I don't know" he just said. He didn't want to give that more thought; he was starting to feel like an idiot.

"So you didn't let her speak and just left?" Madara summed up worried about the Takishima, she was a good person and he cared for her.

"I apologized" the other Uchiha excused himself.

"Oh, yeah, because that's way better" the patriarch mocked him

"What do you want me to do!?" Takato was getting sick of his nagging.

"To be honest with her and yourself" his brother advised

"You know I can't do that" it wasn't that simple for him

"Why is that?" Even though he could see where he might be going, Madara still needed him to express it.

"The Clan. You." He motioned at him "I can't do anything about her not being an Uchiha, because it's impossible to be with someone outside the Clan and also you need to marry first." He finally said "If I were to enter into any relationship, I mean even with an actual Uchiha, that would mean more pressure for you to get married, and that would ruin your life." He added.

"Oh, you thought all of that" the eldest said touched. He dwelled on his words for a little while "That is not your obligation." He finally said "But mine, as the eldest brother, is in fact to protect my family, and that means physically and emotionally".

"What do you mean?" his brother asked

"I mean you should be happy" Madara said washing his brother's hair "No matter what, not even the person's identity". They spent a moment in silence enjoying the brotherly bonding time. It felt so unreal to be safe and sound sharing a moment like this. It had been like 15 years since they could actually do that, since they were almost toddlers, before becoming warriors.

"But the rules…" the middle Uchiha started after a moment.

"Fuck the rules!" he said as he poured over his brother a jar of water, the youngest was taken aback with the way he spoke and immediately started coughing because the water had entered in his half open surprised mouth. That made Madara laugh wholeheartedly "We will find a way for you to be with her. Maybe we will need to wait a little, but we will." Takato calmed down and remained silent for a while.

"Thank you aniki" He said moved "But I think I messed it up bad this time. I was not prepared for all of that, I never thought of confessing my feelings much less of her doing so. Or Tobirama…" he added. "I didn't handle it well"

"That might be true" he said "Time heals; you know that" he added and shrugged.

"But what if she hates me now?" his younger brother worried

"She doesn't" Madara answered with security. "Not possible"

"How do you know?" Takato asked "She might have considered Tobirama now and…"

"Feelings don't change that easily." He interrupted him "and it seemed she has feelings for you and might see him as a friend" he added thinking about his conversations with the pinkette, Izuna, Hashirama and even the same Hikari. "You need to sleep over this… Now let me finish bathing, I need to prepare for my date with Sakura" Takato face changed to a completely different expression.

"You have a date with Sakura?" he asked surprised all of a sudden. There he was his brother again! Madara Thought.

"I invited her to grab dinner with me" he explained as he rinsed his own hair "don't get it the wrong way. It's a dinner date, like you did with Hikari at the Ramen shop"

"Well but I did it because I was interested in her…" Madara looked at him amused waiting for him to get it "Oh" Takato finally said when he got it and smiled blushing a little.

"Great!" the eldest was happy to see his brother's mood a bit lightened up, so he wanted joke around a little "We might be some sort of brothers-in-law in the future aside being actual siblings" the eldest joked "So you must respect me double!" That made the youngest laugh out loud.

"Who are you and what have you done with my brother" he joked "Though it feels nice to watch you accepting your feelings so open to me" Madara got out from the Onsen completely soaked and naked "UGH COVER YOURSELF UP!"

"Don't be jealous" he smirked "you'll grow up to be like me" he shook himself like a dog so the trails of water fell from him. "See you later"

"Ugh. That was an image I didn't want in my head. Aniki shaking naked…" he thought out loud. His brother tried hard to make him feel better, and actually, he had. ' I'm proud of him' he thought, ' hope I can be proud of myself too'.

Hikari arrived home and saw Sakura finishing her hairdo in front of the entrance mirror and Matsu eating some snack. She left her present over the table, smiled at her sort of sibling who looked at her with curiosity but said anything, he knew the issue will come up.

"Wow, you look pretty" she managed to say "what is the occasion?"

"She has a dinner date with a certain Uchiha" Matsu answered mischievously.

"Oh!" the Takishima smirked "That is an occasion indeed!" she grabbed some of the snack the Otsutsuki had, her voice was a bit hoarse.

"Very funny you two" Sakura scolded them and turned back to look at her friend "Did Takato gave you his present… OH! What happened to you!?"

Hikari walked towards the mirror to look herself up and gulped.

"Kami, I look terrible!" she exclaimed, she was a little pale her eyes were baggy and puffy, "no wonder he rejected me" said sarcastically out loud.

"WHO REJECTED YOU?" Sakura and Matsu exclaimed in unison and so she told them the whole situation.

"I can't believe it" the pinkette said after the tale was over.

"He did get you a present and took care of it in a battle" Matsu observed.

"But he didn't let me speak" Hikari said

"He might have felt bad for hearing that confession" Sakura added

"I told him I had no romantic feelings towards Tobirama" she explained.

They remained silent for a while, it seemed they were all dwelling over the story.

"Maybe there is another issue" the Otsutsuki spoke first gaining the kunoichi's attention.

"Which is…?" Hikari asked sarcastically

"I don't know?" he continued and kept thinking "Maybe… it's because you're not an Uchiha…" finally said. The girl opened her eyes wide.

"W-wha… Oh!" the kunoichi whispered "I didn't think of that"

"How could you? One does not tend to be rational when fighting over feelings you know I know about that." Sakura said "But if it is as Matsu says, he won't tell you that though" she narrowed down "it would be cruel of him because he knows your story with the Uchiha." Her friend sat at the table and grabbed her head, with her elbows over the wood.

"Ugh! I don't know…" her friend said "Even though he said he was sorry, he treated me very poorly, like he was a stranger and I am indeed a bit mad at him. That whole situation was not my fault, but Tobi's if you should put someone to blame" She sighed and after a moment of awkward silence she added "I think I'll avoid him for a while, it's okay to be mad to someone you love, right?"

"Just do what you feel it's best for you" the pinkette advised putting her hand gently over her shoulder. She really didn't think that was the best for her, but she had made a point and maybe avoiding him a little might cool things down.

"So, you knew Tobirama had some sort of 'feelings' for me?" the Takishima asked directly to her. That took Sakura aback, she was not expecting that question.

"T-That is strictly patient-therapist policy" the medic answered a bit nervous but then sighed. "But I am sorry, I feel I should have warned you in some way" she added feeling a bit down

"I knew you would say that" Hikari snorted, she was joking, but she wasn't going to ruin her friend date by being a mood. "Okay, leave for your date, I need to take a bath and sleep for twenty years. I haven't had a proper rest since before you all arrived here" The pinkette smiled at her.

"Don't oversleep, you know" Sakura said "You'll get old faster"

"Why you!" her friend called her, but she opened the door quickly enough and left the house with a giggling 'goodbye'.

Sakura arrived at the Ramen Shop at 8pm sharp and decided to enter because she didn't want to draw too much attention standing outside waiting. The Idea of people watching her meet with Madara there felt a bit awkward now. The Kunoichi was surprised to see that the brunette was already there, sitting at a small table next to the bar top. He saw her and smiled while nodding, inviting her to sit with him.

"I hope it's okay to seat here" he said as he got up and bowed slightly while she sat opposite of him. "It's a better place to talk, but still everybody can see us so, you know, they cannot create a different side of the story" he explained while seating. Something in his eyes made her giggle.

"You're being extra cautious Madara-san" she observed a bit flirty, she was going to let herself be this evening, it was her first 'date' if she could consider that one. Inner thought of that as one, but they had reached an agreement that her consciousness wouldn't intervene during the dinner.

"It's always good to be prepared" he simply answered feigning cockiness. "If they are going to say anything, the least we must do is enjoy ourselves and chat without being heard by our stool neighbours".

At that moment, the Ramen Lady appeared next to them with a small menu. Sakura ordered Miso Ramen and Madara ordered Shoyu Ramen. The duo started small talk about the place until their orders came. Now with the food in front of them they entered in the real conversation.

"How was everything these days we were out?" Sakura politely asked.

"They were okay…" The Uchiha started "nothing much happened actually, the Village was kind of running smoothly you know?"

"Until yesterday..." the pinkette ironized. A small moment of silence fell between them. It wasn't awkward, it was just that what had perspired was sinking in.

"It will happen again, won't it?" Madara said serious. The kunoichi left her spoon on the table and closed her eyes. She seemed she was dwelling on what to tell or not.

"Yes" she said opening her big green eyes "But we don't know when or how. And we are of no help now"

"Why? You've been the most helpful…" he started

"A lot has changed, we don't know if…" She interrupted him and then whispered "we don't know what future will bring, it's not the same story anymore… I hope" the last one was more to herself than to him, but he didn't fail to notice.

"You sure suffered a lot" Madara simply answered. He understood what she had said and what she might imply. Stil,l he had so many questions. And part of him was afraid of what the answers might be, and didn't know why. It seemed his observation put an aguish look on Sakura's face, so he subtly changed the atmosphere while maintaining the topic. "It made you the awesome kunoichi you are today! I can't believe what I witnessed." He looked at her from head to toe -or what the table allowed. He remembered vividly the lines on her arms going up to her forehead "WAIT!" he said a bit louder than he thought. Fortunately, nobody was listening.

"What?" she said surprised. She was slowly leaving the bad mood that had gotten her.

"Your forehead!" Madara pointed with his nose and whispered "It's empty" Sakura automatically looked up and touched where her green diamond usually was.

"Oh! That" she smiled, she found his reaction extremely innocent "Whenever I use that technique it fades away, and I need to gather chakra again"

"But, doesn't that take a toll on you?" He asked

"I am used to train and separate part of my chakra automatically" the pinkette answered "I am even storing chakra while we speak" she smiled in a bigger way this time. He was really astonished.

"Wow, you really are remarkable. You should be Hokage when Hashirama retires" Madara joked and she turned pink with embarrassment. "I mean it, you really have perfect chakra control, you are a lifesaver medic inside and outside a battlefield, and also have that incredible technique… But you have to promise something."

"Come again?" She blinked.

"You have to promise me you will never use that technique again" The shinobi pleaded

"But…" Sakura was a bit lost with that petition, she wasn't expecting that, he had just been praising her because of that.

"I don't want your life span to shorten" he said quietly looking at his bowl "it's not fair" he added to himself, and she became redder. ' Is he meaning what I think… No, it can't be" she thought.

"I-I…" She tried to formulate something, but her thinking was gone, so she also stared to her plate and resumed eating.

"I mean…" Sakura raised her head again when she heard Madara talking "I am thankful for you to use it to protect my brother, our friend and our village. No… I mean, I am proud of you" his cheeks were slightly pink, he was openly voicing his feelings, and her eyes suddenly became moist "I am proud of the Kunoichi you have become, and I am thankful to have you by mi side, it's just…" he sighed, he was already doom, this felt like a confession. "It's just I don't want this to be over anytime soon" he looked at her in the eye, and saw all her emotions. For a tiny moment, that felt that lasted like forever, their gazes met and meant much more than what any spectator would see. ' NO, THIS IS NOT THE WAY WE CONFESS!' Madara's inner voice said ' SAID SOMETHING SILLY NOW; MAKE A JOKE FOR KAMI'S SAKE!' the man blinked twice and went full tsunedere mode "How can you know the cost? Maybe you were going to live like I don't know, 150 years and now you'll only live 148… if we're not killed tomorrow I mean" he exclaimed. He heard her choke with her saliva.

"W-What?" she drank a little of water "You expected me to live 150 years?" she followed his joke. It was needed. For him and also for her. She would have loved to say a lot of other things, but not there, not like that. And also, she felt no worth of it, no matter the praise. He was Uchiha Madara, one of the most important ninjas in the ninja history and the Uchiha clans' Patriarch.

"148…" he corrected her cockily and that made her smile again. He was melting inside. And all this flirting made him feel like a teenage boy, if he had ever been allowed to feel emotions for someone aside family.

"Okay Mr. Perfect." Sakura mocked "Still that is a lot of years, my skin will turn to dust. It will be a nasty thing to see" he was about to answer but she didn't allow it. She had another move to make in this flirting game too. "I might not have the need to use that technique if somebody would teach other ways to protect myself…" she voiced that to sound like an innuendo and saw him react to that "But my teacher doesn't' seem fond of me and forgets to give me lessons…" she took a zip of her bowl and looked at him directly in the eye. Inner would be proud of her. Check.

"Oh! The nature lessons!" he remembered "I am sorry I am such a lousy teacher" he grinned a little guilty.

"You know where I live, where I work, and my time schedules" Sakura explained "now it's up to you. Make a plan and I am all yours" she said the last one faking innocence, and it was his time to choke on saliva. Check Mate.

"Hnn…" he composed himself ' SHE SAID SO, SHE IS ALL OURS!' inner Madara celebrated. His mind was a mess, but it felt so nice. "I will look on your schedule and make plans. I won't go easy on you…" He was not going to give the Check mate. He opted for a stalemate.

Now they were both furiously pink, so they continued eating. After a moment of thinking what to say next, the shinobi changed the subject. It was dangerous for him to continue flirting.

"How is Hikari-san doing?" he suddenly said.

"Oh, she is fine, I suppose" Sakura said surprised, ' has he spoken to his brother?' she thought.

"I will always be grateful to her too." Madara said "She helped Izuna to become this awesome person, like you did… I am sad that she might be suffering"

"So… you spoke with your brother" Sakura raised one eyebrow. He raised two.

"Well, yes. He didn't want me to tell what happened, but he was a real mess when I saw him at home" he lamented.

"I don't like to talk about my friend…" the pinkette answered "nor your brother. This might be something between them." She sighed "I hope they solve things soon, because they seem to be a perfect fit for one to another" she blushed after she said that "I-I MEAN…" she had just thrown her friend under a bus. Damn her feeling at ease talking with Madara about everything.

"They are." He said as he was talking about the wheater. "They seem to be a perfect fit as you said" he paused for a moment "I won't tell Takato what you just said, don't worry. Please don't tell them this either…" He came a little closer to her "I think he was harsh to her because his feelings made him fell something like the curse…" he whispered.

"H-he told you that?" the kunoichi was surprised.

"No, I inferred that because he was also harsh to me when I confronted him and he said he didn't feel well, that he had a headache." Madara explained "Please, I am leaving my sibling at your care. When he comes to run the checkup, please check him for that" his eyes showed really concern.

"You have my word; I will take care of him" Sakura said serious "I will not let him or Izuna to fall into the darkness. Not even you, of course." She smiled again at him.

"Thank you" This time there was no awkwardness, no innuendo, nothing. Just purely gratitude and connection between them. It was an unbreakable bond that might not seem like it, but it just had awoken.

They finished eating, it was surprising to see that nobody seemed to care that they were there eating. The place was very loud and nobody bothered to listen or even look at them. After paying they left and walked beneath the starry night towards Sakura's place. Once they were there, he bid his goodbyes.

"Thank you for a wonderful evening" The pinkette beamed.

"Thank YOU for a wonderful evening" He mimicked her and heard her giggle. "I will contact you to resume our lessons" he winked at her and she slightly blushed "Ya ne!" he waved.

"Have a good night!" she greeted as she entered the house. He stared at the door she had just closed in front of him, as she stood inside with her back on the same door. They both sighed and left the place, Madara to his compound and Sakura to her bedroom, after passing by Hikari's room and watching her sleeping soundly.

It was early in the morning and Hikari had already woke up. She thought she wouldn't be able to sleep, but the moment her head touched her pillow she lost consciousness. Several hours later she started having bad dreams for oversleeping and she woke up at dawn.

"Damn, it's 5 am…" she told to herself outloud "well, I fell asleep at 8pm, I'm not going to sleep more anyway, better to get up" after sighing she washed up, dressed and went downstairs to get a small breakfast. The house was silent, she wanted to know how Sakura did on her date but she was sleeping soundly. So she was alone in the kitchen while she ate. The events of the last day went all together through her mind again and again, adding some images from her nightmares. She sighed again.

The Takishima stood up and decided to go to the Hospital to check on Toka, she was sure Izuna would be there. And after leaving Sakura and Matsu a small note, she left home.

Morning air was chilly for being almost summer, it was already 6am in the morning and the sun was glowing shiny in the horizon. She went to the merchant district first, because the bakeries opened to the public at 7am, so she thought she might get a small snack for Izuna. Fortunatelly the bakers were already working and gave her something from the night before. After that, she went straight to the hospital.

"Izuna-chan?" Hikari whispered as she entered Toka's room, he was resting his head over his arms over Toka's matress. Her gut was right.

"Hn…" he woke up "Oh! Hikari-chan!" he whispered sleepy. "Did you rest well? You seem tired" The girl didn't want to mention anything about yesterday situation with his brother so she smiled at him.

"Um… yeah you could say so." She answered "It was a tough day yesterday; it won't go away from my system anytime soon" she wasn't lying though. Her friend looked at her suspicious but didn't comment on it. "Ryuuji told me she woke up slightly at night, but she was in pain so he gave her a pain killer and went back to sleep"

"Yes, she went through a lot" the Uchiha said looking at the Senju "fortunately she didn't develop any fever, and there are no signs of infection. If she gets better, today Sakura-chan will do the procedure with the water, to take the remains of the poison"

"That's great, I'm sure she'll be fine in no time" the girl said a bit relieved. Izuna moved a little and motioned the chair that was next to him for her to sit. "I'm sorry for being so harsh yesterday" she added as she sat.

"Don't" the shinobi nodded energetically "If it wasn't for that, I might have struggled more and we would have end up losing valuable time" he touched her shoulder comforting her.

"You were awesome, by the way" Hikari rested her head on the shoulder where his hand was for a moment in a caring gesture "I am so proud of you" she said closing her eyes. She felt at ease with that exchange, it was familiar, like she was with Shisui again. She needed that comfort. It was a tough morning, she missed her people from the past. He heard her sigh and softly removed his hand to caress her head messing with her hair a bit.

"Hey" he whispered "are you going to tell me what's going on?" he asked in a brotherly way, "I know you, something happened, I can feel you're struggling"

"Hn…" the Takishima sighed again and opened her eyes, he felt like he had grown up a lot this few months "how come you know me this much in such little time?" she asked.

"It is not little time, it's been like 5 months more or less" Izuna crossed his arms over his chest "and we spend a month together with Toka travelling. You're the sister I never had" he smiled warmly at her.

"Baka" she snorted "you're really soft" she added and elbowed him. "So that makes Toka my sister in law?" the shinobi eyed her.

"I guess… you were pretty obvious snitching my feelings out at the surgery room yesterday" he scolded her joking "but yes, I guess you're right. I was so afraid of confronting my feelings because of what the Clan might thought… but yesterday the thought of losing her without even trying to be with her was so unsettling that now I don't know what to do anymore. Well, I know what I don't want to, and that is to leave her side. I guess I'll have to fight everybody, if she loves me back I mean, I'll even fight with the Daimyo." He joked. "Hey!" he saw her eyes got pretty shiny.

"I-I'm sorry I got emotional, I guess" Hikari excused herself. That was hell of a love confession and it made her really happy for both, but also made her feel a void in her stomach "I mean… okay, something happened yesterday. I am sorry I didn't tell you, this all seemed more important than my feelings"

"What is going on?" Izuna asked worried but when she was about to tell her a voice sounded at the door.

"What are you both doing at the door?" the duo heard Ryuuji calling someone out from the corridor.

"W-we were going to visit Toka" Hikari could hear Takato's voice and she paled a little, Izuna didn't fail to notice that and he was about to ask when they heard a second voice.

"We just happened to meet at this corridor." Tobirama answered simple. And Hikari paled completely. ' WHY ARE THEY TOGETHER?' she thought ' I DON'T WANT TO FACE THE TWO OF THEM TOGETHER NOW!". The kunoichi was having a small anxiety attack and her friend noticed.

"Hey" the Uchiha whispered "I don't know what is going on, but be calm, I'm here with you" he smiled and rested his hand over hers on Toka's bed.

"I understand" they could hear Ryuuji speak "But she has two visitors now, and she must rest" The Takishima stood up abruptly

"I'm Sorry Izuna, I must leave." She said and looked at the window, the thought of escaping though it crossing her mind. Izuna also stood and grabbed her by the shoulders gently

"Breathe" he said and she complied "I don't know if you're avoiding my brother or Tobirama… or both. Just don't let them affect you" he added. "I got your back, follow my lead" the girl did as said and followed her friend while he walked towards the bedroom door.

"Oh! Hello Aniki!" He smiled brightly making a movement that put both Takato and Tobirama together a little further from the entrance, creating a space for Hikari to leave. "Hello you Too Tobirama! Ryuuji Kun, don't worry, Hikari-chan is leaving and I need to go to the toilet. They can enter" he could see his brother stiffen at the mention of the Takishima's girl so thought he might be responsible for all this awkwardness. It was at that moment that he motioned to his friend to come out of the room.

"Good morning Takato-san, Tobirama-san" she bowed a little while coming through the entrance. The –san and not the –kun honorific while mention the Uchiha felt obvious to everybody there.

"G-good morning" she could hear the Uchiha answer nervous.

"Good Morning" the albino said serious and after a small pause he added "are you feeling better?" that simple question made the atmosphere so tense that Izuna was hoping Toka would wake at that moment so she wouldn't miss it.

"I-I…" she started stuttering, "this damn Tobirama… he surely said that on purpose to make Takato feel bad" she thought, but then remembered her friend's words just recently. She pulled herself together and tried not to be affected by a certain Uchiha. "No. But I will" she said looking at the Albino matching his seriousness.

"Good." He answered nodding.

"If you excuse me, I need to go to the Academy, see you later" she bowed again to Ryuji and then to Takato but not looking at him in the eye "See you there Tobirama-san" she said while looking at the albino.

"Hn, See you there later" he answered as she turned and walked down the hall towards the Hospital exit at a quick pace.

"I'll go to the toilet now" Izuna said looking from the albino towards his brother suspiciously "I'll be back in 10 minutes; you can visit her for that amount of time but when I'm back, one of you must wait outside, because I am staying inside." He said bossing them around to lift the atmosphere "Before you say anything, Yes I am over protective and using my "doctor power". I want and will stay next to her until she wakes up, and that is because she is very important to me. But I really need to pee and freshen up a little so I'll leave you for a moment."

The youngest Uchiha left both men dumbfounded. They regained consciousness once they heard Ryuuji laugh. His coworker was the best, he had confessed that Toka was super important for him but still remained cool and hilarious.

"Wow, he is not ashamed to voice his feelings" Tobirama said absentmindly but sounding proud. Takato looked at him ' Is he saying that on purpose? What does he know?' he thought. The truth was that the Albino was actually proud of the Uchiha and since he already knew he was in love with Toka after hearing him confessing yesterday, for him that security was admirable. It was just after a moment that he realized the double meaning his words might have brought. "I am sorry for yesterday" he suddenly said to the brunette as he entered Toka's room leaving him with his thoughts.

Author's note

50 Chapters! It has been a long way, but I can't believe it I made this. I think there are like 20 chapters to go... and a lot to write into them.

I loved these last two chapters. Now everything it's taking color… soon the plot thickens. But now, let this all develop in different times.

Take care,

Cheers! XX