𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔 | izuna uchiha

Chapter 8

Not a day passed when Izuna didn't check up on Nanami. Whether it was in the early hours of the morning or late in the darkness of night, he always made sure to drop by and take a few minutes to simply gaze at her, often feeling longing and anger stir in the pit of his stomach at the sight of his one and only, his beloved, being held captive by an arrogant jerk like Arashi. Arashi didn't understand Nanami like Izuna did; he didn't appreciate her like Izuna did. Nothing Arashi ever did or said would ever match up to what Izuna was capable of, and it was this very fact that ate away at his very gut.

Some days, Izuna would watch Nanami take out the laundry from afar; others, it would result in him following her out on the rare occasions when she had excursions from the property, to do grocery shopping or do an odd task here and there for the head maid. It simply ate away at him; the longing, the emptiness. On top of that, Nanami's misery and entrapment didn't ease his hatred towards Arashi at all, and there were days when he felt sure that he was on the brink of insanity, just from pondering those very thoughts.

Every time he had to leave Nanami behind, Izuna cursed himself for not being able to bring her along, and eventually, as time came to pass, his visits became more frequent and prolonged as opportunities arose. He grew bolder in his watches, and once or twice frequented Nanami's resting quarters in the dead of night just so he could see her angelic face at peace for once, sometimes spending hours on end with just wistful watching of her slumbering figure.

There happened to be one such night, where Izuna silently lowered himself from his perched position of Nanami's bedroom window, and made to take his leave. However, upon turning around, Izuna sighed as he was met by the face of none other than Madara, who had his arms folded across his chest. He was greeted in a monotonous tone.

"Izuna."

"Nii-san."

There was a tense silence between the brothers as they stared at each other, Madara's onyx eyes locking with Izuna's own. Finally, the elder shook his head, and dropped his arms to his sides with a sigh.

"Izuna, what are you doing?" he finally asked, giving his brother a searching look. Izuna grimaced.

"I was just out on a stroll, that's all," lied Izuna between his teeth, never once bowing to his brother's icy stare. Madara raised an eyebrow at Izuna in suspicion.

"Izuna, I don't think sitting in Nanami's bedroom window counts as a midnight stroll," pointed out the older Uchiha. Izuna was steadfast in his ground, and refused to give in to his brother's prodding.

"I wasn't doing anything wrong, so don't get the wrong idea," grumbled Izuna, beginning to walk away from his brother. Madara followed suit, and the two were soon on the walk back home.

"Izuna, she's a lowly maid under Arashi's command now. I hope you're not getting any ideas," murmured Madara, causing Izuna to clench his jaw in irritation.

"And what ideas would those be?" he sneered, crossing his arms in anger. Madara merely shook his head.

"I know you have a... a bond, to say the least, with Nanami, but honestly Izuna, you have much more important things to focus on. Nanami is now a disgraced ex-kunoichi who's working for a living under one of the clan's higher-ups. You are a highly respected, highly applauded member of the clan's elite forces. Your paths no longer run in the same direction, Izuna. You are destined for different things."

Hearing his own brother, his own foundation and support, talk like this about Nanami infuriated Izuna. Out of all people, he'd expected Madara, at least, to understand and accept why it was so important Izuna had to break Nanami out of her prison. This face on rejection and discounting of Izuna's opinion furthered his anger, and extended it not only to himself, but the other members of the damned council that had condemned his dearest to her life of servitude. It was with this very anger that Izuna swore to exact his revenge upon all those involved, and in that moment, he began writing up a list of those who would pay the price. Of course, none other than Arashi was at the top of that list; but before he could gather his thoughts, Izuna was shaken out of his enraged trance by a gentle pat on the shoulder from Madara.

"Izuna, listen to me," he said softly, briefly distracting the murderous Izuna from the depths of his own mind. "Please, don't do anything rash. Keep your head screwed on properly, and stay away from Arashi. Okay?" Izuna bit his tongue in order to prevent himself from launching into a tirade of complaints and vicious words; instead, he sighed, and shook his head, earning a worried look from Madara.

"Please don't forget your duties to the clan, Izuna," said Madara softly. His brother scowled, and shrugged his hand off of his shoulder before storming away into the night. Madara could do nothing more but sigh and watch him as he retreated, for not even he could comprehend what was going on in Izuna's head any more.

These people don't know anything, fumed Izuna to himself as he deserted his brother on the empty streets of the clan compound. If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that one day, Nanami would be saved from Arashi's treacherous grip, and she would be saved by his own hand. No one else was to lay a finger on her; she belonged with him, and him only. With every passing second Izuna grew more and more infuriated at his helplessness and lack of action, but even in his jumbled state of mind, he knew that he had to bide his time well. He had to plan carefully, and if that plan backfired, he would need to have a couple more plans prepared in the unlikely fact that the first plan failed. It would take time and patience, both of which Izuna lacked and disregarded.

After all, Izuna was like a time bomb, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It would only take one push, one false move from Arashi, to send him over the edge.

And when that time came, he would make sure that Arashi would pay dearly.

End of Chapter 8 [by Kushina]