Madara had accepted the fact that he would remain alone in this strange alternate dimension. Perhaps it had been a precursor to hell, he didn't know, but he deserved some kind of hell; at least a way to redeem himself. After all, he had wrecked havoc on the shinobi world.
Madara somberly looked up to the whiteness of the air, and remembered Ayumi's dying wish, with her glowing pale eyes.
"... Protect my dreams. They're yours now."
His fists slightly clenched at his failure. At the way he had spent his time and life so wrecklessly in pursuit of some goal that turned out to be all wrong.
Suddenly, a loud scream jolted his feet towards the source of the sound. His head quickly turned.
Madara would recognize that chakra signature anywhere.
...Ayumi...? He thought to himself.
"...Madara...!!!" He heard Ayumi say loudly.
Madara turned around, and there she was in all her glory. Black, shiny hair running towards him. With those pale crystal eyes. It had made his chest throb. He had missed her so much.
Strangely, he was in shock. Her death had rattled him, the sounds of her footsteps inching closer.
"Madara!" Ayumi was standing before him now, patting his shoulders, checking to see if he was okay. "Madara. Like I told you, I've been waiting for you." She placed a tender hand on his cheek, looking at him with earnestly.
Madara could not muster up the words to speak; he was in a state of complete shock. Not too long ago it had felt like he was still holding her cold body under the rain. Madara gulped; his throat felt dry, and his eyes were wide open. Madara gripped her arm, albeit a bit too tightly as evident by the grimace on her face. She was healthy, she was real, she was Ayumi.
"Still so harsh I see." Ayumi whined jokingly.
Come on. Speak Madara! He thought to himself.
His hands fell to his sides, eyes fixated on hers. He felt his heart thumping hard. He took a step back in disbelief. He had felt almost in denial.
"Ayumi." Madara said with a scratchy throat.
Ayumi understood what he was feeling. He must have been so slated by everything. Her eyes softened, approaching him closer.
"We're finally together." Ayumi smiled warmly to him. Madara's eyebrows scrunched up, almost looking as if he was about to cry. This was all he wanted. To be with her.
Madara had no clue what to exactly say to her. He wanted to hug her, kiss her, make love to her, show her how much he cared for her, catch up on all those missed moments. Their child that they thought they would have together.
"... I..." Madara couldn't think of words.
"I know everything." Ayumi placed a hand on his shoulder. "I've been watching over you. It seems like you got lost along the way."
Madara had known what she had meant by that. His eyes fell down, he had felt almost ashamed of himself. He had become so consumed with his hatred, he lost sight of what was truly important. Even after witnessing everything that had happened, Ayumi was still so accepting of the dark parts of him. He was truly indebted to her.
It remained silent for a moment between the two. In that moment, Ayumi understood how deeply her death had shook him. She looked at him sadly, looking at how dejected he had seemed.
Madara's jet black eyes had softened as he looked at Ayumi tenderly. He took a few more steps towards her, closing the gap between them.
Madara had finally come to his realization.
"I think I want to be forgiven. Yes... more than anything." Madara didn't break his eye contact with her.
Ayumi smiled, holding his hand. "Here is the place to do that."
** FINI **
I hope you guys liked this chapter. Thank you all for your infinite support and comments along the way. ❤️ Madara is a truly complex but interesting character. I hope I was able to serve that justice, even in the slightest!