Moonlight.

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"haa..."

'It was a long day.'

Yuki let out a sigh as she fell onto the soft bed. She felt tired from today's events, but her body felt relaxed after a nice long bath.

She rolled around a few times before rubbing her face onto the soft pillows. The meeting with the Hyuuga's went unexpectedly smooth. A soft smile graced her face when her mind shifted to the Hyuuga heir. It was surprising how nice he was towards her. She felt comfortable in his presence. Usually, she never felt comfortable with opposite sex except her family members.

'But there was one more exception...Hashi.'

Yohako and Hashi were similar yet different. Yohako is more of a gentleman, whereas Hashi was more friendly.

Then she remembered a certain someone she has been waiting to talk to.

'Madara Nii.'

Throughout the event, she'd been trying to find an opportunity to meet Madara. Every time, there was something or the other interfering. She even thought of just grabbing his hand and talk to him like she used to back then. But she couldn't do that anymore. They already considered her to be of marriageable age and the lady of the clan. There were restrictions in the way she could behave now. Though she hated these responsibilities and rules, she knew her actions directly affected her family reputation too.

Madara has changed a lot. It isn't surprising that he has changed both in appearance and in behavior. He is tall and his hairs had grown long. He looks more pale now and has a strong masculine build. He looks even more serious now than ever. She knew he had always been handsome, but he has definitely become more attractive now. 

She shifted in her bed a few times, trying to shake away her thoughts and fall asleep but to no avail. Annoyed, she sat up in her bed, absentmindedly gazing outside her window, eyes fixed on the moon lit garden. A burst of wind blew through the room, sending chills through her body. 

Soon her gaze fell onto the large mirror which was propped up on one side of the wall.

People often compared her to a porcelain doll due to her delicate features and pale smooth skin. She had been told numerous times that she was an attractive girl, especially for her age. 

Her gaze moved down her neckline to her breasts and noticed how they filled out the fabric so well. She knew that she got this from her mother. 

With a small huff Yuki turned away from the mirror. She knew she ought to be thankful for her gifted looks, but it seemed that this was the only thing people noticed about her. 

A memory which she had buried into the darkest parts of her mind crawled back in. 

[𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔]

Eleven year old Yuki looked around at the guests.Though she had no idea why this gathering was held, she was told to be on her best behaviour and be polite to all the guests. The majority were male, some around the age of her brothers and some—of her father's age. 

She was standing beside her father, nervous and fidgety. She looked around for her brothers and soon spotted them stationed by the entrance, staring at her direction, their faces contorted in disgust and disapproval. 

Yuki willed herself to run towards them but halted when she felt her father's hand on her shoulder. It was a warning to stay still and not make a scene.

Her eyes wandered from person to person. All eyes were on her, scrutiny thick in the air and the atmosphere choking with judgement.

Her father announced something which she didn't hear, her ears were buzzing with noisy cheers of the men. Soon, everyone moved themselves towards her, swamping her with glazed smiles and meaningless compliments. 

"Adorable little girl."

"She'll make an excellent wife." 

"So well behaved. As expected of a Lady." 

"She will definitely grow up into a beauty, just like her mother." 

Yuki felt suffocated. She was about to turn around and run when a hand patted her back. She froze on spot feeling that hand slightly squeeze her butt. 

"You have grown a lot from the last time I saw you. Such a beauty." a man around the age of her father smiled down at her. 

"Now that you've begun bleeding, you'll attract a lot of suitors." He took her little hands in his own large ones, massaging the soft flesh, eyes glinting with something she had never seen before. Confused, Yuki moved her gaze towards her father. 

He turned away.

The entire time Yuki was passed around, meeting all the guests and forced to converse with them. They asked her strange questions which she didn't know how to reply. Sometimes some men would brush her cheek, neck or stroke her hair, complementing her. Their touch made her shiver, but the little girl tried her best to maintain her composure.

They looked at her with strange eyes...she could see passion in them, and some emotions which she couldn't put a name.

Those strange men kept invading her personal space. Soon, her legs started to tremble. Her skin pricked, senses overloaded with a crawling sensation as the hands touched her. Their compliments not registering her mind anymore as it was filled with fear. 

Her eyes gliding over one face to other, some licking their lips, predatory like glint in their eyes, others reeking of alcohol.

She didn't want to be here. Each time they came closer Yuki felt like screaming. She was scared. The scent of sweat lingered around the men strongly and their strange behaviour scared her. 

"Your eyes are so beautiful dear."

"Such pure innocence."

Yuki wanted to cry. She knew she would burst into tears soon.

She was only broken out of her nightmare when a pair of strong hands pulled her away from that place.

Those strange men disappeared from her sight, and for a while all she could hear was her own sniffling.

Soon her world dimmed and the only thing she could concentrate on was the warm, big hands which tightly embraced her into a protective hug, the thudding of his heart which she could hear, her face pressed against his chest.

"I-I was so scared Nii... But father just turned away." she sobbed. 

"You are safe now." He leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead, as if to calm her, then cradled her face in his hands, brushing her tears away with his thumb, "Don't cry."

Yuki looked up at her brother, it seemed his blood was boiling with rage. "I don't understand. W-What is all of this?"

Madara gritted his teeth. The look in his eyes was scathing, as if he was somehow holding himself back from killing everyone. 

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"Your debut."

[𝙵𝚕𝚊𝚜𝚑𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚜.]

Yuki got out of her bed and headed towards the garden outside her compound. The night was chilly, so she rubbed her arms to warm herself. She was wearing her new thin white nightdress that helped a little with the cold, but she didn't care. She wanted to clear her mind.

She settled down on the ground and watched the starry night, which calmed her to some extent.If Hemiko caught her in this state in the garden again, she was sure to end up listening to her nagging for being so defenseless.

Thinking about Hemiko made her smile. She was her only female friend to whom she could confide in.

Yuki closed her eyes and let her mind wander. Just then,she sensed someone. She didn't have to open her eyes to confirm. She could make out from the footsteps that it was Izuna. 

He laid down beside her, placing his hands behind his head as he watched the night sky. She opened her eyes and turned her face to look at him. For a while both of them spoke nothing. 

"Aren't you cold?" he asked, eyes fixed on the sky. 

Yuki didn't reply. She just blankly stared and him, her thoughts wandering somewhere else.

After a minute of silence, he moved his gaze to her. She looked distracted.

Though she wasn't shivering, Izuna knew she felt cold. Yuki was only in a silk white robe and a chemise underneath that barely covered her legs. He knew this type of clothing were popular amongst girls her age currently, but he never liked them. He felt it was unnecessarily short and revealing. If he knew she would be out here like this, he would have bought his haori with him.

It didn't surprise him to see her in the open in the middle of the night, dressed in an improper attire, since this wasn't the first time they bumped into each other like this. 

Yuki laid down beside him, staring at the sky, "Can't sleep?"

"No." Izuna replied, then shifted his gaze to her face. He wanted to know why she was so scared back then, but didn't want to ruin the mood. He just nonchalantly asked back, "What about you?"

Yuki contemplated for some time, thinking about how much she should open up to him.

"I went outside today." 

"I know." 

"You always knew." she added. "Why? do you spy on me?" 

Izuna looked at her more intently now. He never spied on her, but he always looked out for her. It was mostly out of worry rather than suspicion. He knew how careless and defenseless Yuki could be. But he also realized that she felt otherwise.

Both of them were really close as children. They had more of a competition nature on everything. Both of them wanted to be the better one in front of Madara and Tajima. So they trained really hard. But it all changed when Yuki started bleeding. Izuna learned that father and Aniki had no intentions of sending her to battlefields, and she was being trained to protect herself.

Though initially Izuna felt disappointed, after taking part in battles, he started feeling glad that she won't be sent to that hell. That way at least she will be safer.

He also felt distant from her. She quickly started growing into a woman, obvious changes quite visible in her growing body. And it left him confused on how to treat her.

Back then, till she was 10 years old, he treated her just like any other brother. He would pee with no hesitation in front of her or even bathed together with her after training. Fighting, sleeping,tickling each other, even annoying and playing pranks on one another were common. But as she started growing, he slowly started avoiding activities requiring physical contact with her.

It would be a lie if he said he never felt attracted to her. But his thought never really went any further than that.

"Yuki...you realize you are a grown-up girl now, don't you?" 

She nodded her head absentmindedly. 

"I don't want to lecture you about how to behave, but you do realize sneaking out could get you killed... Right? Please don't forget that if the elders found out, they would question your morals." he added.

"Hn." Yuki hummed. Izuna was right, so she didn't reply to his query but changed the topic, "Did Madara nii ask about me?" she whispered, a bit hopeful.

"No..." Izuna muttered.

With that followed another few minutes of silence.

He wanted to comfort her by saying that Madara really cared about her, but he knew saying that won't do any help. There was an invisible wall between them that Madara himself built. Izuna never understood what exactly transpired between them for this to happen, and he never asked. To be honest, somewhere deep in his mind he was glad that they were maintaining some distance. For the past couple of years, he saw Madara change drastically. There was a hint of madness in his eyes that deeply worried him. 

Yuki felt sad. Her mood dropped back to low. Izuna sensed it and felt guilty,he knew she was out here to relax and calm herself, not to feel sad.

To pull her out of her melancholic state,he moved his left arm and poked her cheek.

He'd known she would return the favor by hitting him, but he didn't mind.

"Ow!" He exclaimed, feigning to be hurt. On the contrary, a smile formed in the corner of his mouth.

"What? you started it!" Yuki complained, a small smile forming on her face as well, "Stop pretending to be hurt!"

"Oh yeah? How about I hit you back and see if it hurts or not?" He retorted, with an amused smirk.

"Ha! only if you can catch me, baka!" She jumped up and vanished in thin air.

Izuna could easily outrun her and catch her, but he just played along. If that might change her mood, then he didn't mind.

Yuki was standing atop the thick trunk of the grand Old tree. She looked down at Izuna, settled calmly on the ground. In the next moment—in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Confused, she looked around till she felt a pair of arms around her waist.

"Wha-?" Next moment she was in the ground and Izuna, on top of her with a victorious smile on his face.

"You are fast." she muttered, defeated.

"Did you think I'm that little Izuna from back then?" He laughed. Both of them were trained well, but the actual skills were developed in the Battlefields. Battles changed him a lot. Something that Yuki never had the experience of.

She moved her face sideways, not wanting him to notice her sulking face that might give him another chance to make fun of her.

"..." 

Izuna looked down at her for a moment—in awe.

 'She's so beautiful.'

The moonlight that fell on her jade like skin gave it an ethereal glow. Her dark hair spread across the grass looked like black silk.

"Izuna nii? Um,You are heavy." Yuki mumbled. 

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'Huh?'

That's when he realized how inappropriate of a position they were both in! If someone from the clan saw them like this, rumors were bound to spread. Both of them were barely clothed modestly.

He quickly got up and helped her up.

"Yuki,I think you should head back to your chamber."

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Author's Note:

Dear readers,

Should I include explicit scenes? Or just explain sexual content in a non explicit way? Do tell me your opinion on the matter.

Thank You. I hope you enjoy reading.