Beauty and the Beast - An Uchiha Madara Love Story [Edited]

Chapter 16 - Past and Present

As it was before, this chapter is dedicated to Flame_Core! Happy reading!

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[A/n: Chapter's old title: Memories and Clash]

Harumi pov:

Sighing softly, I pushed my thumb into the mound of clay that was wet and spinning at a moderate pace on the wheel. I wasn't concentrating on the type of ceramic I was making mostly because my mind was wandering a lot today. I could barely concentrate but I was doing the necessary steps of molding the clay involuntarily.

It had been just two days since Madara had visited, made me submit to him almost completely, warned me about the war and told me not to leave the village or trust anyone other than him. Grandpa had returned that night and I had kept everything that had happened with Madara a secret.

Well, rather than making him worry about me for getting tangled with someone dangerous, so to say, it was embarrassing for me to tell him what happened. After all, I couldn't tell him that Madara had kissed me and I had slept in his arms as if he was my boyfriend. He was already skeptical about the Akatsuki because they were dangerous people we had got unexpectedly tangled with and if I told him that Madara and I were going out, I'm sure he would worry his butt off about it and ask me for a solid reason to reassure him that this was okay.

Besides, I didn't know anything about his personal life or past. I had read only about his powers in the library and that he had done some really bad things to obtain power but I didn't know anything much about his personality or what he liked and disliked or anything else. But he, with just one glance, could tell what I could and couldn't do and what kind of person I was. I was in the dark and I guess that was one of the major things that made me hesitate to trust him despite all the odds.

I mean, he was still a complete stranger to me who had just decided to make me 'his'. I suppose it wasn't as suspicious as it was strange because he wanted my power – if he wanted my power, he could have just threatened me and made me promise to be his ally. He knew I couldn't fight him and I would have agreed to do as he wished.

So why the physical advances? Why the kisses and why help me when I was being bullied by others? He had no reason to help me and could have just let me fend for myself. After all, it's not like Taro kun and the others would have killed me. They would have just beaten me up and I don't think a few scratches and bruises were any reason for Madara to get worked up about.

Ok, maybe he was just being courteous when he chased the bullies away. Why did he treat my wounds then? Why did he turn up at my house that evening and treat my wounds and make me sleep on his chest and in his arms and...why was he acting like he actually genuinely cared for me?? I was going crazy thinking about everything and I was now desperate to find some proper details about him!

I'm quite sure that there would be information about him in the restricted section of the library that was actually sealed. No one from the village had been able to access the restricted section because of that. Well, they had tried to break the walls from the outside and hired skilled shinobi to break the seal in vain. No matter what anyone had tried, the restricted section was completely inaccessible. As such, they had left the restricted section as it was without bothering to try and unseal it again.

I wanted to explore the restricted section so I wanted to try my luck at gaining access there – if it was sealed, it surely had important information. And the possibility of information on Madara being there – since he's a shinobi who existed more than a hundred years ago – was quite high.

My brow twitched and I felt a little...stupefied by my idea. Was it really alright for me to snoop around??

I broke from my thoughts and yelped when I received a whack on my head. I moved my hands away from the clay I was molding and glared at Grandpa who stood right behind me, the book wich which he had whacked me in his hand.