Chapter Seventy-Two:

A?n: I'm sooooooo sorry for not updating in such a long time~! I hit a terrible case of the writer's block! And then I was dealing with some personal matters too.. Anyways~! Hope you enjoy~! Please lemme know your thoughts~! Happy Readings~!

Madara and Kiayo remained in silence the entire way to the Uchiha complex and nearly the entire time that she was packing. Madara stood in the doorway, leaning against it with a hard expression. His dark eyes followed Kiayo around the room as she packed silently. Kiayo had her own lips drawn tightly, and her eyebrows drawn so drawn together that if Madara didn't know better, he would swear Kiayo had a unibrow. Had he been anyone else, someone who didn't know her so well, he would have thought her to be entirely upset, or angry, overall this. However, the young Uchiha's eyes, as always, betrayed her real emotions.

Unsure.

Scared.

Worried.

Yet, at the same time, she looked excited, curious, and rather calm despite it all. Madara couldn't help but to feel a flash of pride at how well Kiayo was taking all this in, how well she seemed to be handling it.

"Do you know what the weather is like in the Land of Stars?" Kiayo questioned, biting her lips as she came across a few sweaters that looked a size or two too small for Kiayo now.

Just how much had she grown in under a year?

The seemingly fleeting thought brought a pang to Madara's whole body, and he straightened out as he realized just how long Kiayo would be gone.

Sure. He had realized it in a rather... Techincal way before, but it was seeing that sweater. Seeing it when compared to Kiayo. Realizing how much Kiayo had grown in just ten months. It was all that combined that hit him like a ten-ton brick to the gut at just what time would do to them both.

Sure it would just be a year, but for half of that, he wouldn't be allowed to so much as send her a damned letter. If just five seconds can change someone if ten months can cause such growth in her...

What will a year do?

And what if she decided to stay longer? With the same damned conditions as this one?

He felt as if the little pieces he had been trying to hold together had suddenly fallen out of his hands, and blown away into dust, and a breeze had swept through and blown those pieces of dust in such a way that he couldn't recover them all.

"Papa Madara? You ok?" Madara shook his head, and then looked at Kiayo, who was looking at her with a teasing grin on her face, her head tilted slightly as she looked at him with humor.

Madara felt a small sigh leave his mouth and felt himself relax as he felt something settle back inside of him. Whatever had seemed to blow away, seemed to have settled back around him once more, however slight it may have been. Madara shook his head once more and then stepped into the room as he took the sweater away from her, and then dug through that drawer, taking out the ones that didn't seem like they would fit any longer. Kiayo turned around, standing beside Madara as she watched what he took out.

"The Land of Stars is a rather temperant kind of place. It's vast, so I can't precisely say what weather type can accurately describe it all. I know the Saeki have several key points along the coast shore, which are mostly coastal like temperments. Very warm all year round, but never too hot. And certainly never too cold. However, like the Land of Fire, it's a very forested area once you get past the coastal areas and more into the forested and mountainous areas. To be safe, I say one or two sweaters might do you good." Madara finished what he was saying by handing Kiayo one of her lighter sweaters, one of her favorites, and then gave her a small smile as she took it with a nod, and a small smile of her own.

She seemed to pack in relative silence for a few moments more before looking at her luggage, and then at the clothes in hand with a rather uncertain expression. Madara tilted his head slightly, eyebrow cocked for a moment.

"What are you thinking about?" He questioned after a few more moments of silence. Kiyao looked between the luggage and then what was in her hands with one more uncertain expression before looking at Madara with an uncertain expression, almost looking sheepish, as if she were caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar, and then gave a shaky smile, trying to ward off her own uncertain feelings.

"I was just thinking...I'm heading to the Saeki village... Where they live... I'll be living with them... I don't think it would be...Appropriate for me to bring along a whole bunch of Uchiha branded clothing. I don't know, but it suddenly felt...Kinda disrespectful or something. So... I was just gonna maybe try to find clothes that weren't branded with the Uchiha crest, ya know?" She paused between each word, sounding unsure and scared and nervous as her expression suggested. Madara felt a pang go off inside him that was almost akin to...

Betrayal, almost, along with a million other emotions he couldn't quite name or bother to put energy towards as he stood straight, just the slightest, and cleared his throat as he nodded rather solemnly.

"Good idea. That would probably be best. I'm going to gather an emergency, last minute, clan meeting. So you can say all your good-byes at once, and save everyone the time. Hopefully, with this, we can get everyone to understand what's happening, and squash all possible questions, and other such things that might pop-up in this situation as well in all one go too. Rather than draw it out over time, and cause dissension and other such things amongst the clan. You seem to have a handle on things here, so...I'll leave you to pack for now." He nodded after his formal tone and explanation, which left Kiayo feeling like another diplomat, or like the way, he would speak to...Anyone outside the clan and it deflated her just slightly. WHatever happy feeling she tried to muster about leaving seemed to leave, and she pursed her lips and nodded as she watched intently as Madara quickly turned on his heels, and walked out of the room, and out of sight quickly, without saying anything further.

"Right.." SHe whispered to herself afterwards, looking down at the Uchiha branded shirt in her hands, her fingers gently going over the crest as she seemed to get lost in thoughts and feelings she couldn't rightly explain nor put her finger on exactly what they were for just a minute before bringing herself out of the momentary daze she found herself in. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment, before slowly releasing it, and then continued with her packing, and rearranging as she thought to be appropriate at the time, and tried not to let her mind wander to fearful and uncertain future that was quickly coming around the corner...

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Kiayo sat in her formal Uchiah clothing, fingering the feathered necklace, the official charm necklace she often wore to Uchiha clan meetings, but none other time, her lips pursed as she sat behind Madara, who was lighting the last candle to the darkroom. She was trying to cherish what could very well be the last time she ever wore these clothing in this place with these people she had known as her only family. Once again reminding her of the choice she made to leave the familiar and comforting for the frightfully uncertain terrain she was about to enter into.

She looked up when Madara cleared his throat, softly, but loud and firm and authoritative enough to bring the loud whispers and undiscerning chatter of everyone to a near instatinus stop. All eyes turned towards Madara as he closed his eyes for a moment, took a deep, long breath, and quickly let it out before opening his eyes and looking at the crowd before him with an even,but stern gaze as he began to speak in his usual flat, even tone he used when he was in leader delivering news to clan mode, like he was in that moment.

"After thirteen years of being raised under the Uchiha name, it seems as though her other clan of lineage has come to claim Kiayo." There was a pause, and then a loud murmuring amongst the Uchiha clan as they heard, most of them for the first time, that Kiayo was not full-blooded Uchiha. Madara waited for a moment, and then cleared his throat. It took a few moments, and Madara twice clearing his throat before the room came to silence once more. Madara couldn't help but feel immense annoyance at the stares that met him once more. Ranging from curiosity to outright anger. He took another breath to let those feelings ebb just enough for him to continue with his announcement." It seems the Saeki clan have come to seek Kiayo, wanting to claim her back into their clan. However, there has been another arrangement has been made that will, hopefully, be beneficial to both parties involved. We don't have much time left, but let me explain exactly what is to happen with the agreement we came to first, and afterward... Those who wish to have a bit more time for more... One on one time to say whatever you wish to say will have a few short minutes to do so."

With that said, Madara paused for just a second longer before he continued onward, explaining everything that had to do with this arrangement.

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"Wow! So, your mother was like... Some missing... Umm, what's the word?" Madoka mused, tapping her chin slightly as she looked upwards with her face scrunched up just the slightest.

"Assasin Princess?" Makoto offered up, glancing at Kiayo with a small, bearly there, teasing expression.

"Yeah! That's right!" Madoka exclaimed, smiling widely as she turned her attention towards Kiayo, who turned her attention away from Makoto, and laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Assasin Princess? I don't know if I would necessarily go that far." Kiayo laughed slightly, rubbing the back of her neck. Her smile and laughter quickly dropped as she sighed heavily, closing her eyes, and shaking her head. After a moment, she opened her eyes, and looked at her friends."Well, I guess while I'm there I can learn some new things. I guess it'll be interesting." She said simply, almost robotically, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

"It'll be fun though, ya know. You'll do fine." Kagami stated, smiling slightly. Kiayo glanced at him, smiling softly as she nodded slightly, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah... Fun." She said softly, trying to sound more confident than she felt.

Kiayo jumped slightly when she felt a hand touch her shoulder gently.

"We have to go." Madara stated simply, looking at her with a blank expression. Kiayo straightened out her expression, her lips drawn into a thin line as she nodded, already trying to steel herself for what was about to come.

Madara nodded as he noted Kiayo's resigned expression, which told him that she was not entirely on board with her decision now, but it was too late to turn back now. Some part of himself was angry at the fact that he could do nothing more to console her than he had already done. They had exhausted all other options. Another part was frustrated that she was so flighty at the time it mattered most, but he pushed those feelings deep down inside as he cleared his throat, and brought the room to attention once more.

"This meeting is now over. I apologize for the briefness, but please understand that we are under a very strict time schedule. Thank you." Madara's hand was still on Kiayo's shoulders, holding her in place as everyone filed out, saying their good-byes to the pair. Kiayo nodded, keeping her plastered smile on until each and every person had filed out, leaving her and Madara alone together.