Dusk till Dawn(Madara Uchiha)

Chapter sixteen: Decision

Three weeks had passed and the crisp winter weather was drifting in as the clan entered the land of time. The beautiful land was covered in the fluffy white powder that rained from the sky like the glitter of a baby ange. Large blue ice shards hung from the trees around the road jingling ling windchimes in the howling wind. Akame's long hair blew in the wind sending chills down her spine in the cold air. Next to her walked Izuna Uchiha, the tall male with dark hair shivered slightly; he had never quite gotten used to the extreme cold weather during winter.

"Here" said Akame with a smile as she weaved three hand signs in order for a fire ball to hover above her palm. Heat radiated from the small flame giving the male the warmth he needed. "Thanks a lot Akame," said the male with a grateful smile. Nodding Akame looked to the ground in thought. Izuna had been hanging around her a lot since their conversation in the land of Hot Water, whereas Madara had been mostly avoiding her. His absence drove her crazy. He seemed really reserved and distant since he and Izuna killed their father and that worried her. "Izuna, is Madara alright? He has been rather quiet lately." Akame asked curiously with a bit of worry in her tone that Izuna picked up on. "Elder Brother? Oh yeah he's fine" Izuna replied nonchalantly which did nothing to calm her nerves.

"Then why has he been mostly avoiding me?" she asked earnestly, desperate for the answer. Izuna glanced down at the girl, she could see gears turning inside his head before a mysterious slime spread across his face. "Why do you ask? Does his absence really bother you that much?" he asked with a strange glint in his eyes that was slightly alarming to Akame. "Hmm, No! No it's definitely not that'' Izuna burst into laughter as he watched her cheeks fish a rosy red. "Sure it isn't," Izuna teased as he crossed his arms triumphantly.

"Izuna it really is not! Stop laughing" Akame demanded, an angry expression on her face. "Mhm of course I see," said the Uchiha with a nod of his head as if he had just come to a realization. Snapping his fingers as he did so he turned to the girl with one of his deceiving innocent smiles."You like him which is why you're worried" concluded the male causing the pale girl to turn completely red.

"No that's not how it is! He and I are just . . . friends" she said though her tone slowly decreased to a slightly sad one as she said the word 'friends'. Akame's gaze fell to her hands, did she like him like that? And if not then why did she feel a sadness inside her heart when saying the word 'friends'. The image of Madara, flustered and without a shirt at the river flashed before her eyes causing her heart to skip a beat. Oh god no, there was no way.

Izuna only laughed harder, she looked as if she was pondering her entire life but doing so as red as a tomato. "You so do like my brother, it is written all over your face" said Izuna teasingly in a joyous tone. "I'm not mad, honestly I could tell you like him from the moment you two became friends." elaborated Izuna as he held his hands over the small ball of fire.

"What! I never . . . I didn't . . . It was not like that . . . . . . not at first" said Akame, mumbling the last part. It was true, wasn't it? She had simply been lying to herself, telling herself that was not how she felt. But in reality it was. Madara had always been so kind to her, he had a completely different personality with her that he showed no one else but her and Izuna. He was a gentleman and had always been there for her. A light in her gloomy life before she met him. He respected her and her opinions, and even asked for her opinion on a matter to help him make a decision.

Over all this time she had become attached to him, her personality had changed because he came into her life. Where she used to be all about training and running the kingdom with no time for anything else, not even friends. Where she used to be a stuck up stick in the mud with no concept for fun or leisure, who could not joke around.

Now she did not worry about the kingdom, she was not all about training because she learned through experience she gained on battlefields she went to with Madara. She had friends now, had developed social skills and had become a nicer person in general. She was no longer so prideful nor stubborn. Now she would joke around with Madara and Izuna all the time, the time she spent with them was like no other. Izuna was like a brother to her. He was very dear to her. Whereas Madara was something else to her. She couldn't imagine life without them.