𝘛𝘏𝘌 𝘉𝘌𝘋𝘌𝘝𝘐𝘓𝘌𝘋 𝘓𝘌𝘎𝘈𝘊𝘠 | ⁿᵃʳᵘᵗᵒ

Uncharted Effects of Unintended Acts

UNCHARTED EFFECTS OF UNINTENDED ACTS

✧

Izuna was teetering on the edge, barely awake. His eyes were half-lidded and sweat ran down his face, his dark hair sticking to his forehead. His skin was pale and clammy, the smell of death and blood smothering in his dimly lit bedroom.

Madara and Asami hadn't moved from his side, both still wearing their blood-covered clothes from battle, Madara's battle armor discarded by the door to the bedroom.

Madara sat tense, his hands encasing Asami's as they both sat silently, watching as Momoko fought to sustain Izuna's fading breaths. Madara's face was pinched, lines of anguish and exhaustion etched into his face, dried tear tracks lining his cheeks as he refused to look away from Izuna.

Anxiety gnawed at him, fearing that a single moment of distraction could bring Izuna's final breath. Death wouldn't hesitate to tear his baby brother away if Madara let his guard down for even a moment.

Asami stared at Izuna's deathly pale frame, stone-faced. Her eyes were red and swollen, shoulders stiff.

There wasn't an intelligible thought going through her head. Grief and worry consumed her. She was at a loss for what to do. She wanted to comfort Madara. She wanted to be there for him in this time of need, but Asami wasn't in the right of mind to give comfort.

She was afraid of losing Izuna too—she was terrified of losing him, someone she considered a brother.

But this thought only brought guilt to the pit of her stomach.

Asami considered Izuna her brother, someone she loved and looked up to with adoration. Izuna, her older cousin who she would affectionately refer to as 'Nii-chan' as a child. Izuna, who would chase her through the Uchiha forest, tease and tickle her, and indulge her childish antics as a little girl even if he had returned from a battle that morning. Someone who grew up to be a rock she could lean on and confide in.

Even so, with all these fond memories, there was guilt in knowing Izuna wasn't actually her brother. Madara was Izuna's brother, he deserved to feel the pain and anguish of losing a sibling. Out of everyone, Madara deserved to mourn Izuna.

Did she really have the same right to do so? To wallow in her grief?

She wasn't sure.

Finally noticing Izuna's half-lidded gaze, Madara gasped and leaned over with the ghost of a hopeful expression at seeing him awake. "Izuna?"

Izuna's eyes were glossed over, his gaze shifting over to Madara at the sound of his name. From Izuna's expression, it seemed he was barely still in the world of the living. But Madara made a hopeful sound at Izuna's attentive gaze, his younger brother lucid enough to know who was speaking to him.

"Madara..." Izuna spoke barely above a whisper. He winced, face tightening in pain and discomfort.

Momoko made an expression of displeasure. She paused the crunching of her herbs, looking down at Izuna. "Do not strain yourself. You are weak enough, Izuna-sama. Please do not put your body through anything strenuous. If you are to get better, you need to conserve all your energy."

Asami retracted her hand from Madara's, instead resting her hands on her lap. She shifted beside Madara with her chest tight.

Izuna emitted a sound resembling a scoff as he pushed himself up onto his elbow. The scoff spiraled into a coughing fit, Izuna wheezing as he fought to regain his breath.

Momoko leaned forward to tend to him, but Izuna shot her a sharp look before she could even lay a hand on him. Despite his physical weakness, he maintained his pride by keeping his chin up and defiantly locking eyes with her.