Contemplation.

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─

Snapping out of her daydreaming, Yuki tilted her head up to find a packed box dangling in front of her. Blinking, she reached up to grab the box and lowered it to see the impassive face of her brother, who, upon spotting her eyes, sent her a small smile.

Smiling back, she set the box onto her lap, watching as the dark-haired male took a seat next to her on the grass, "what's this?"

"well... I saw Yoshiro having those, I recall you like sweet stuff." he told her, raising a leg so that he could rest his elbow on his knee.

Yuki raised a brow at his answer, lips tilting up into a pleased smile.

"You buy all these tasty treats and later make fun of me, calling me sweet tooth!" She mumbled.

"Then." he released an inaudible sigh as he reached a hand out to the box, "I guess I'll just return it."

"No!" Yuki squeaked, "I will have it. "

Smirking, the older male let his arm drop to lay back on his leg. Then his sister finally began untying the material enclosing the box.

The tempting smell tickled her nose, causing her stomach to grumble in response, "I've been craving these for a while. " Catching his gaze, the girl sent him a bright smile, making his cheeks color with light pink as he broke their gaze to once again stare at the grass.

"Thank you, Nii." Yuki smiled.

"Hn." Out of the corner of his eye, the Uchiha watched as she picked up a piece of the sweetened Dango before holding it out to him.

"You want to try?" She offered.

Izuna looked hesitant to take the treat, but he finally reached up a hand to toss the piece into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as the girl watched him.

"So?" She asked, "Do you like it?"

"It's...okay." 

It was terrible. He didn't like sweet food. But just kept chewing.

Yuki giggled and opened her mouth to say something when she stopped and stared at a certain someone. 

Izuna quickly located the source of her attention. She was looking at Madara, who was sparring with Izanagi.

She hardly blinked at the sight, a frown appearing on her face. Soon she glanced away, turning back to her food.

Something felt off... But Izuna couldn't pinpoint the reason for her uneasiness.

"Yuki?"

"Hm?" Mouth stuffed of food, the grey-eyed girl looked up at her brother with wide eyes.

Ignoring the fact that she presently looked like a squirrel, Izuna continued with his query, "Are you...okay?" there was something strange about her. He recalled last night at the garden when Yuki asked about Madara.

Swallowing the food, Yuki smiled calmly, perfectly concealing the conflicting emotions within her "of course, why do you ask?"

Furrowing his brows, Izuna let his narrowed eyes slip to look at where his older brother was sparring moments before, "well..."

Following his gaze, the female automatically knew what he meant and released a small sigh. "it's fine, nii. You don't have to worry about that." She sent him a reassuring smile when the concern in his gaze refused to leave.

"But," the onyx eyes scanned her face with a hard look, "If you want to talk to him just let me know... I will inform him."

"Well, he's busy, I don't blame him for not having the time for trivial things."Yuki looked down to avoid his scrutinizing gaze. She couldn't tell him that Madara was in her room last night and...they did something that she didn't want to remember right now.

"Still," Yuki jumped when a large hand covered her own, long fingers squeezing hers gently, "I'll be here if you need to talk. Bottle nothing up." He murmured to her as she lowered her head so that her hair curtained her face from his view. 

Izuna felt like she was hiding something, and as if it troubled her. She kept staring blankly and talked quite less, which was unlike her. Her eyes looked so sad and conflicted that it bothered him.

"Thank you, nii." Yuki mumbled. 

He smiled and reached out a hand to brush the silky strands out of her face, but a call of his name drew his attention. Dropping his hand out of her face, he turned to look back to see Izanagi waving at him to join them, and Madara looking in their direction.

"Ah, I need to train." turning back to his sister who had yet to look up, Izuna smiled as he hooked a finger under her chin to lift her face to his, "I will talk to him. We'll come back to your compound later, okay? So wipe that sad expression off your face."

Yuki furrowed her eyebrows at him worriedly, "n-no it's okay, you don't need to."

"Come on, I know you've been peeking at him from time to time. We are family. Why are you being so awkward?" he sighed before sending her one last smile.

"Now, we'll be at your room later."

.

.

.

She watched him go with sad eyes.

Once they were out of her sight, she hastily gathered the dish and started running. She ran continuously, till she could see the riverside. 

She gasped for breath and paused near lush green grass near the river bank.

Setting herself down, she stared at the scenery. Her eyes moist as she remembered the events from last night. Her mind felt conflicted. She did not know how in the world she fooled Izuna by veiling her expressions. Or did she fool him?

She picked up the Dango and chewed onto it but couldn't taste its sweetness as tears started staining her cheeks. She could taste her tears...the bitterness leaving her repulsed.

She closed the box as she lost her appetite and laid down, staring up at the vast blue sky. 

The events from last night played before her eyes. She had one week to decide. The mere thought of her brother who had forced her to decide if she wanted him or not made her stomach turn and twist.

Madara was a handsome man. Talented and confident. But above all, he was manipulative.

'Can I...See him..as a man? As my man?'

Yuki remembered how her heart fluttered erratically, and the warmth she felt when he touched her skin. The chills she felt down her spine. Shame burning into her for the way her body reacted to him.

'Why? Why did I respond that way?'

It can't be just alcohol. She has had alcohol with Izuna too. But she never felt that way around him. She felt nothing when he touched her... It was the same with Madara to the most extent when they were close back then, 2 years ago. 

Now... things felt different. 

'He doesn't feel the same anymore...'

She recalled how jealous she felt when other girls tried to get close to him. In her mind, he could only love her. But she never thought deeply about what kind of love she felt for him.

It was evident; she loved her brother like any sister would, or at least that's what she always thought...

She was too defenseless around him. Always playing tricks and trying to gain his attention. The hugs, the playful kisses, the way she would only sit on his lap, snuggle close to him while falling asleep, the harmless skin ships...

'Did it look... Like I was seducing him?'

She felt a strong sense of guilt rising within her. She felt like she didn't have any right to blame him... She was equally involved.

It's just that she never realized the consequences of her actions.

𝙔𝙪𝙠𝙞... 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛?

𝙔𝙪𝙠𝙞! 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙠𝙞! 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙡𝙚𝙚𝙥 𝙨𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮!

𝘼𝙣𝙞𝙠𝙞! 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙤𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝!

𝙔𝙪𝙠𝙞... 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙝𝙞𝙢.

.

.

.

Izuna's words seeped into her mind.

'Did... Izuna Nii know about this?'

'No. There's no way he could. If he did, he won't be acting so normally.'

'Then why did he warn me back then?'

. 

. 

. 

. 

After what felt like a long time, she closed her eyes.

'I'm so tired.'

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─

When he met Yuki a few years ago, she was still growing. Now she looked like a full-grown woman, truly beautiful.

When Hashirama decided to halt by the river, he couldn't detect any chakra. But to his surprise, he identified a woman laying on the other side of the river. 

He was certain; she was the girl he met a few years ago.

'Yuki...'

" Aniki? What's the matter?" Tobirama asked when he saw Hashirama had ceased running. His gaze fixed at something.

Tobirama scanned the area alarmingly but found a girl sleeping on the other side of the river.

"she will die anyway, let's keep going." 

Hashirama glared back at the Tobirama.

"What?" Tobirama looked at him, confused. "Who in their proper mind would sleep here?." he shrugged.

"This place might turn into a battlefield," Hashirama whispered worriedly.

Tobirama narrowed his gaze at his brother. He felt like he knew what was coming. Sometimes, the worry in his brother's face proved to be a pain in the ass. 

"We should not get involved, let's keep moving. We must report back at the earliest." Tobirama tried to persuade him.

Hashirama wanted to alert Yuki but was hesitant because of Tobirama beside him. Besides, they were being tracked by the Hanko clan Shinobi. He didn't want her to get involved.

Next instant, he dodged a shuriken aimed at him.

'Shit! They're here already?'

He blocked it with his kunai. His eyes darted back at Yuki to see if she's alright.

She was up. Holding her kunai, her eyes scanning the area.

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─