𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 | madara/izuna uchiha

[juu]

"So, [Name], what do you plan on doing?" Izuna and the [Surname] woman sat in the garden just outside of her and Haruka's room, staring at the flora and fauna surrounding them. It was only a small garden, with a short row of rose bushes, but it was a garden nonetheless, and [Name] found it to be of utter relaxation whenever she immersed herself in its midst.

"Well, my first idea was to ask you," said [Name] in a joking voice, half smiling at the Uchiha. He returned it with a timid smile, and silence enveloped the two yet again.

"I'd be honoured," Izuna said lightly, turning his face away so that [Name] wouldn't see the faint blush fanning across his cheeks. [Name] smiled, and playfully hit him in the arm.

"You don't have to if you don't want to," she said seriously. "I mean, if this is for Haru, I'd even go so far as to ask Madara if it means having my son accepted."

"That is the last thing on Earth I'd want to happen," Izuna said grimly, frowning at the mention of his older brother's name. He glanced sideways at [Name], before biting his lip and deciding to speak.

"Um... [Name]..." She raised an eyebrow at him in curiosity.

"Yes?" Izuna awkwardly scratched the back of his head, unsure of whether or not what Madara and their father had discussed earlier was entirely true.

"Did nii-chan... really leave you for...?" He trailed off, making [Name] sigh. She already knew where this was going. Stretching her arms back, [Name] looked towards the sky and began recounting the same events that had broken her heart nearly two years ago.

"Well, let me see... it was when I was twenty three, and Madara was twenty eight... Mito's young niece, Fumiko, who was only about eighteen or nineteen at the time, came to visit her aunt. I think he ran into her at Hashirama's place or something, I don't know. You know how complicated the Madara and the Hokage are. Anywho, from there, I don't know what happened. I don't know if they were seeing each other in secret, or if Madara was just obsessed with her. All I know is that when Fumiko left, Madara followed. I only found out a couple of weeks later that I was pregnant with Haruka. Sad life, huh? To be honest, when Madara left, he seemed so determined on making Fumiko his that I was absolutely sure he'd never return to the village. But here he is, and I've been proven wrong. It's all a weird muddle- men are weird creatures, aren't they?"

Izuna nodded mournfully as [Name] began retelling his brother's departure, feeling a mixture of rage and sadness bubble within him. Who knew that Madara, his role-model, his older brother, would be capable of committing such an immorality? To think that lust overcame his brother so easily made the younger Uchiha shiver with disdain. Never had he felt so... so alienated from his brother.

"Men can be jerks sometimes," Izuna agreed, sighing. [Name] smiled.

"But not all men," she said warmly. "I mean, you haven't turned out so bad yourself." That was enough to make Izuna blush even more, and he quickly averted his gaze from [Name]'s.

"I try my best," he insisted, turning his nose up in the air. [Name] giggled, and shouldered him in the chest.

"Keep on doing your best- lord knows we need more men like you in the world," sighed [Name], scooting over closer to Izuna and laying her head on his shoulder. His heart fluttered at her touch, and as [Name] closed her eyes, he had to force himself to breathe properly. What had once been a childhood crush had quickly ascended to something more, and now that Madara had been removed from the equation, Izuna truly felt as if he had a decent shot with [Name].

But little did they know, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to the likes of Uchiha Madara.