New friend.

Her bare feet trod upon the dirt as she shuffled on in that dark forest. Her sleep-deprived eyes spotted two red slits among the shadows of the trees.

Her eyes widened, and she took off through the trees, tripping over the high snow. Every time she turned her head, that figure seemed closer, lurking in the darkness. Wind howled in her ears, screaming a warning to get out of that forest before the scarlet eyes could catch her.

Her breath came in hitched and quick as she raced across the forest. Soon her eyes whipped around once again as she searched those pale trees and saw nothing but black.

No red eyes. Just darkness.

Suddenly, she was scared to turn her head back, and kept her gaze ahead as she sprinted blindly. Instantly, her body hit something hard, and she found herself on the ground. She picked herself up, turning around slowly.

As soon as her head was fully turned up, she was face to face with those scarlet eyes, that dark figure towering above her. Her eyes stared into the deep red eyes of the figure, and she watched as it produced claws from its shadow that used to be unclear. Those long claws became closer and closer. She sucked in one last breath, squeezing her eyes shut before the world shifted and she found herself screaming.

. 

. 

. 

Her voice reverberating in space. She could feel arms holding her down. A warm body pressed to hers.

She opened her eyes despite the fear ripping through her... except that she could see no face.

It was all blur!

Another shot of pain ripped through her body, fire spreading through her veins—burning her.

And then she saw it...red eyes peering into her soul with a wicked smile spreading across his face. He entered inside her with powerful thrust.

Yuki wailed and screamed till she lost her voice. Her world crashing down as his face formed right in front of her eyes.

.

.

.

It was Madara.

.

.

.

Her eyes flew open. She lay gasping for a few seconds,trying to break free from that nightmare.

Soon she noticed the dimness and realized it was the night circled around her, tighter and colder as it rained.

The only thing that provided light and warmth was the small burning fire lit nearby. 

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─

'I wonder what's her name?'

'Which clan does she belong to?'

Hashirama couldn't help but feel slightly agitated at the moment.

'If she belongs to any of our alliances, then maybe I could meet her more often...but what if she's an enemy? '

He knew that the possibility of her being a friend or foe was 50/50. He'd always kept his guard high ever since his friendship with Madara ended on such a sour note.

Even though he had his guard up, deep within he wanted to believe she's good. Meeting with her felt so nostalgic… Like how he'd met Madara for the first time.

Hashirama heard someone gasping for breath and turned around to find the girl terrified, shivering in fear.

'Must be a nightmare.'

He stared at her for a moment, finding little things about her so attractive. But the thought that there might come a day when she will be dead either as a friend or foe made him sad.

"Where am I now? What are you doing here?" Yuki mumbled, but then she noted her clothes hanging onto two wooden sticks near the fire. Blood rushed to her face realizing she was resting here the whole time merely in her petticoat, which was partly wet.

"Wha...! my clothes?! How dare you take off my clothes!"  

"Hey! Calm down! A Shinobi attacked you on the way."Hashirama sighed, "You were surely dead if I didn't save you back then you know." He responded with a sincere face.

Yuki noticed he wasn't wearing his top either. His hairs and pants were wet. Her eyes scanned his body as he moved, drinking in the sight of his well-sculpted muscles.

He held out a leaf bowl to her. "Here... drink this."

She studied him, confused.

"I prepared it out of one of your herbs. It's a rare one and is potent against poison. You can already tell, right? Your vision is okay because I've been making you consume this for a while now... but your body will take some time."

"So... you made me drink this when I was unconscious?"

He squirmed for a moment and avoided her eyes, "um... well that's... you know mouth to mouth." He replied, blushing.

'Ugh ...yuck!'   Even though Yuki felt a little disgusted, she was grateful to him for saving her life. She accepted the drink, grimacing at the strong vomit inducing flavour of it.

"It tastes terrible... but don't worry, the taste fades away quickly," he gave a sympathetic grin.

.

.

.

"Thanks for saving me." Yuki gave him a small smile.

He stared at her as if contemplating something, "It's okay. But why did he attack you? He belonged to the Akiro clan. They normally don't attack anyone."

'Akiro clan?'   Yuki remember Madara mentioning this clan's village being destroyed as well during one of their attacks on a neighbor village to it. They must hold a grudge against Uchiha's for that.

'But how did he find out I'm an Uchiha? '

"I don't know." she avoided his eyes.

' I better stay as low as possible. He must not find out I'm an Uchiha.'

Yuki tried to get up, her body felt a little better now. She stood still for a moment, but as soon as she lifted her leg to walk she lost balance.

"Hey watch out!" He grabbed her before she could knock onto the ground. "I told you your body will take some time! Your nerve motors are not reading your brain signals properly, so you can't control your actions. Rest for some time let the medicine take effect."

"Are you a medic ninja?" That was a surprise. He knew more about Medicine and healing than an ordinary fighting Shinobi would.

"Yeah. One of the best, perhaps! HA HA HA," then he started his roaring laugh.

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─

The boisterous weather continued. It was cold, and the fire wasn't the best choice in the middle of the forest in a cave. The flames would attract lot of attention from wild animals or worse—a passing by Shinobi. But Yuki didn't want to put down the fire,she was freezing.

"You know we can't keep the fire for long, right?" he asked, eyeing her shivering.

"I know. P-put it out then."

He got up and poured some water over flames. It turned dark. Though the lightnings managed to dispel the darkness occasionally.

'Oh no... I need to get back home before it's too late!'

Before her mind could worry more, the air turned freezing and she started shivering.

"Maybe I shouldn't have put it out." Hashirama voiced, worried.

"I.. I'm-m f-fine."  'Ugh! Why am I stuttering like a fool?'

"Yeah. I can see that," he responded, sarcastically.

After a minute or so, Hashirama let out an exhale. He moved towards her to sit nearby, leaning onto the cave wall, "come sit here if you don't mind, I can warm you up."

Yuki didn't expect that coming. She wasn't glad of this idea of letting a stranger hug her.

But strangely, she could feel warmth excluding from his body.

'Have I lost my mind?'

He must have noted her puzzled expression. "I can warm you up you know. I'm using my chakra to heat my body, see? my pants are already dry." 

After a minute, she decided that hugging a stranger was better than shivering to death, so Yuki moved towards him—resting her back on his chest.

'He's so warm! '

His body felt really warm. She shifted comfortably to contact more of him.

He noticed her movements and wrapped both of his arms around her.

Soon, Yuki stopped shivering.It felt so comfortable that for a moment it reminded her of the times when her brothers would hold her in their arms. She felt like no one in this world could harm her.

'But... what would I do if Nii asked me where I was all this time? '

'Should I lie? Or just tell him the truth?'

Either way, she was in big trouble for sure and the only person who could save her from father's wrath was Madara.

Her eyes felt heavy and she kept dozing off again and again, resisting the urge to sleep... but finally gave in.

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─

Hashirama offered to help her out of the forest safely. So once the rain had ceased, both of them rushed out.

He decided to head back to the direction of his home once they reached the boundary.

"Here you go! We are out of the danger zone at least."

"Yeah," Yuki replied." Thanks for everything... err... mister."

"Hmm... can I know your name?" he asked, slightly embarrassed.

She wondered if it was safe to tell him her name.

'He saved me and kept me safe all this time. I could at least offer my name.'

"It's Yuki." she replied, smiling "What's your name?"

"You can call me Hashi," he smiled back "So...can I see you again? You know, by the riverside?" he asked—blushing, while rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Yuki wasn't sure if she will be able to visit the riverside anymore. If father found out,he won't let her step out of the house again.

"I don't know." That's all she could reply.

"I understand. We will meet again if fate has that in store for us. Nice to meet you, Yuki san." he smiled.

"Nice to meet you too...Hashi san."

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─

--Location:Uchiha Estate --

.

.

"Yuki sama is resting. She said she didn't feel very well," Hemiko replied.

Madara knew something was off. Right after his work was over, he went to her room.

 He knocked on her door, "Yuki?"

-No reply-

He knocked again and waited for a while. Yet no reply. After a minute of waiting, he opened her door and went in. It didn't surprise him to find the room empty. 

'Her maid lied.'

He went outside and called out to summon Yuki's personal maid into her room.

After a while, Hemiko showed up, trembling.

"Speak."

"Madara sama! Please Forgive me!"

He just glared at her, "And?"

"I-I lied because Yuki sama a-asked me to do so!"

'Oh. Interesting.' "Where is she?"

"I...I d-d-don't know. Yuki sama said she's going to collect some herbs!" Hemiko stuttered.

Madara frowned. No matter how many times he warned her from roaming into the forest, she just wouldn't listen. He had let it go before since he knew she loved collecting herbs. But going out alone like this...

'I need to talk to her about this.' He knew he will have to give her the talk since their father never will. That man was too busy dealing with the elders to mind what his daughter has been up to.

.

.

.

"I should kill you."

His tone was so cold that Hemiko felt like she would drop dead if she looked up at him.

"You know why I'm not. Right?" 

She knew why Madara spared her life. Yuki was too fond of her and considered her family.

She kept her gaze glued to the floor while mumbling, "T-Thank You Madara sama. I'm grateful tha-"

"Get out." he cut her off. 

.

.

 —-After an hour-—

.

.

Just when Yuki was about to step into her room, Hemiko caught her.

"Yuki sama! WHERE were you all this time?" she whispered, her voice shaking and eyes glistening with tears.

"Huh? Why are you crying? Are you ok? Where is father and nii san? didn't they ask about my whereabouts?"

"Yes, Madara sama asked about you. I-I told him you weren't feeling well."

That wasn't the best lie to tell, probably the worst. "And?" 

"How did you sneak in? And why do you smell of sweat and dirt?"

Yuki felt exhausted, she didn't have the time or mood to tell her all that, "Hemiko prepare the bath. I'm tired."

'I wonder if Madara nii checked up on me?'

She entered her room and ignited the bedside lamp.

'She told him I wasn't feeling well. Chances are... he did.'

Feeling tired and dirty,she swiftly discarded her attire. The moment she turned around,her heart ceased beating for a second.

??? 

"Welcome back, Yuki." Madara greeted, but his voice held no warmth.

"uh...ah! Nii san. Um I...I'm changing my clothes, could you please give me some privacy?" Yuki tried to sound as calm as possible.

'He really did check up on me!'

He walked towards her bed and sat down. "Come here, sit by my side." It sounded more like a command than a request.

Yuki knew it would be better if she did what she was told to. Quickly slipping back into her attire, she took her seat beside him, facing him.

He kept his gaze locked on her. And after a moment—which felt like a long time ,he touched her cheek, slowly caressing its way down to her neck, then he seized a portion of her hair gently.

"Its wet." he affirmed. Then stared at her straight in the eye. Yuki felt her heart thump quicker. 

'Should I Lie? Or tell the Truth?'

She didn't know if telling him the truth would be a wise move. It didn't seem like one... Confessing that she was sleeping with a stranger all this time didn't feel like the best thing to tell him right now.

"It rained on my way back." Yuki replied, dodging his gaze.

Then he gripped the back of her head and tugged her closer to him, his face near her neck, "You smell of...sweat." His voice cold and smooth. It wasn't her scent that he sensed. 

"Ha! of course! I'm a human!" she tried to laugh it off. But he narrowed his eyes, vehemently. It was getting really uncomfortable.

'She's uncomfortable. She's lying to me.'

He noticed her unkempt appearance, it looked like she was sleeping before. Her clothes were dirty too. 

'Was she...with someone? With whom?'

"I'm going to take a bath." Yuki announced, before springing to her feet.

He was tempted to pull her back onto the bed. Somehow, he controlled himself and grabbed her wrist, "Where were you all this time?"

"I went into the forest to collect some herbs." she replied, trying to loosen the grip on her wrist.

"And what took you so long to get back home?" 

"I-I—" 

'She's stammering again.'

Madara pulled her closer. She couldn't lie straight to his face. 

"You what?" 

"I...on my way back, a Shinobi from Akiro clan attacked me." Yuki confessed. 

He knew she wasn't lying. She could never lie straight to his face like this. 

"Attacked?"

He jaw clenched angrily, "Are you hurt somewhere? What happened?"

.

.

.

Yuki explained to him what had happened, but didn't mention her meeting with Hashi.

─∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗─