The Whisper || FullbusterFic » vonlane

Chapter 10: A strange guilt

The fire slowly ceased under the watchful gaze of a bewildered Madara. He couldn't understand anything of what was going on, but Minato had moved away from him all the way towards the deepest corner of the cave and wrapped himself however he could with his horse's blanket. He was convinced that he felt guilty about what they had done despite him being the one who had asked for it. Perhaps he had let himself get carried away by the moment and only now was he realizing what was happening.

No matter how many times Madara circled around it, he just couldn't understand it. Was it because of his pending marriage? Was it because he had failed the demands of his clan? What was the damn motive for Minato to be immersed in that strange guilt? Whatever it was, he preferred not to say anything until the rays of the sun came out. He couldn't even see them from the confinement of the cave, but Madara could hear the movement of the forest when it woke up. The chirp of the birds, the leaves of trees in movement, the hasty steps of rabbits and hares—it was the beginning of a new day and they had to get out of there.

He turned off the small bonfire, releasing a few seals of water and then looked towards a scared Minato who was there, paralyzed. Madara didn't know whether to go towards him or leave him, but in the end, he only approached him a bit; close enough to see him but not invade his space, one which he now guarded suspiciously.

"Minato, we have to move. There's still a day and a half left to arrive at the central post. There, they'll take all other participants into account and give us a day of rest."

"Alright," He heard Minato say, trying to recover.

"Listen... I'm sorry if I've done something wrong."

"It's not you. I shouldn't have done it but it's already done... I can't go back now. I'm sorry, Madara, you shouldn't have gone through this."

"Is it because I'm your rival here and you shouldn't sleep with me?" Madara asked, puzzled. "Or is it because of Kushina?"

"It's because you're an Uchiha, and not just any Uchiha..." He whispered, starting to grab his things and checking over his horse who now seemed to be better.

Madara didn't understand why it was so important to Minato that he was an Uchiha, and much less... 'not just any Uchiha'. Those words were burned into his mind, but no matter how much he thought about them, he couldn't find a meaning. It was known that his clan was feared, but he saw no relation as to why Minato could or couldn't sleep with him. Perhaps his clan had forbidden him from maintaining deals with the Uchiha, and Madara, on top of it all, was the leader's son... he wasn't sure, but he couldn't investigate any more. Minato wouldn't let him.

After looking at him for a few seconds, he decided to return to his horse and place the blanket along with the saddle and reins. Once ready and checking if Minato also was, he opened the entrance to the cave and began walking, softly pulling on the reins of his horse so it would follow. He assumed Minato wouldn't want to ride as to not force his horse; that would only make it a slow travel.

"Do you think there are many ninja left in the rear?" Minato asked, breaking out of the tense silence he had kept up for the last twenty minutes of the walk.

"I don't think so. They tend to have a small break fro everyone in the middle of the competition. They count the participants that are still left and we can rest before the big push to the Imperial city."

"So you think they've already arrived."

"No. I doubt anyone's arrived today, but I'm convinced that by tomorrow morning or even this evening they'll start arriving at the safe zone."

"Will we arrive?"

"At this pace, no. We'll arrive tomorrow as soon as possible but it doesn't matter when we arrive. We'll have less hours of rest but even still, it'll be enough. There you can rest for a bit and they'll heal your wounds. Surely enough, the family will be there."