บท 40: Family
After entering the airship Kaliya rushed to her room, this was also one of the reasons why she wanted to leave immediately after achieving her victory.
She felt a huge weight being lifted from her heart. That victory gave her closure, she finally felt that she could move on with her life without thinking of the past.
She sat down on her mat and meditated, but it didn't take a single day for her to unlock not one, but two chakras in a row. She unlocked both her Air and Sound chakras and finally caught up to Madara.
Madara, on the other hand, was stuck on his 6th chakra for a while, the Light Chakra was quite… unique… It deals with insight and it's blocked by illusion, it's something so formless and abstract that it's really hard to grasp its concept.
After she completed her meditation, she fell asleep with an exhausted but relieved smile on her face.
The trip back home was very comfortable, they ate and drank together, laughed, and enjoyed their time while poor Lei had to pilot the ship. Kaliya changed and everyone was happy about it.
Once they reached the resort and docked the airship on the landing platform, they exited and Lei walked behind Madara with a thoughtful expression.
"Mr. Uchiha, do you have a minute?" asked Lei a bit… Confused…?
Madara raised his eyebrow. "Sure," he smiled and turned to Kaliya "We will talk more later Kaliya, I will have a chat with Jackie."
She smirked and nodded. "Aye Boss, I will be in me house if ye need anything." After waving, she walked away with a huge smile on her face.
Ignoring the curious gazes from the employees all around the resort that weren't used to seeing Kaliya so happy since… well… ever… Madara turned towards Lei and followed him.
"Is everything alright with you and Nari?" he asked.
"Oh, of course, Mr. Uchiha! We are very satisfied with our jobs." Answered Lei with a smile.
Madara shook his head. "That's not what I asked, I want to know if you two are alright, healthy, and happy."
Lei scratched the back of his head "Well in terms of healthy, I believe we are, I don't even remember the last time any of us got sick or anything…"
Madara could only smile wryly at that answer. "You haven't said anything about happiness, Jackie…"
Lei lowered his head with a guilt-ridden face and stood in silence as they walked toward his house.
As they were about to enter, Lei turned to Madara and spoke.
"We are not unhappy, Mr. Uchiha, it's more like… Worried and… Feeling guilt and a bit of shame…"
Madara didn't expect that answer, I mean they never did anything bad to feel guilty about, not that he knew of anyway, and worried? Worried about what?
As they walked inside, Madara took a look around the manor, which was big but cozy, and also followed Japanese architecture just like his mansion, which made Madara smile. 'This guy…'
As they walked inside, they heard a lovely female voice coming from the kitchen.
"Darling, welcome back! I will be done with dinner in a few minutes!"
Lei smiled gently as he heard that voice like all his worries vanished. "It's fine Nari, Mr. Uchiha is here with us so make an extra portion, okay?"
"Oh! Mr. Uchiha is finally here to have dinner with us? Leave it to me!" she sounded excited and happy which made Madara smile even more.
'These two have a perfect relationship… sigh… I would've been the happiest man on the planet if they were my parents in my past life…'
Lei envied Madara and Kaliya because they have their bending, but Madara envied Lei because he was lucky enough to find the perfect companion for himself. Just think about it, how many firebenders, waterbenders and earthbenders exist? And how many people end up with a happy marriage? The numbers don't lie.
As they sat down on their mats around a low rectangular carved table, Madara couldn't help but tease Lei.
"For someone who complained about my weird ideas for my house… You sure copied many of them… If not all." He chuckled.
Lei got embarrassed and scratched the bridge of his nose. "W-well, Mr. Uchiha, you can't blame me! Your house is sure beautiful and unique… Nari got enthralled by its beauty and demanded something similar!" he averted his gaze.
Madara laughed. "And you, like a good husband, granted her wish, eh?" he had an annoying smirk on his face that made Lei's eyebrow twitch furiously. "Relax Jackie, I understand you… Happy Wife, Happy Life, right?"
Lei's eyes went wide "W-who came up with that saying? It's so…. So….. Accurate…"
Madara burst into a loud laugh that made Lei even more embarrassed. "Hahaha, well I guess it was me!" He grinned. 'It's not like anyone here can say otherwise.'
Nari walked into the room carrying a wooden tray with tea and cups for both of them. "It's so wonderful to have you for dinner, Mr. Uchiha!" She smiled happily after serving tea to both of them.
As they enjoyed their tea, Nari came back with dinner and all of them ate until they felt bloated.
"Damn Jackie, your wife knows how to cook!" said Madara while laying down on the tatami floor.
"I know, right? I have to double my workout so I don't get fat!" Lei laughed and drank his tea.
Nari was all smiles, she was very happy to have Madara around. They both are already in their mid-30s and never had any children, Nari met Madara when he was just a young kid at the age of 10, and she couldn't help but see him as her own son from time to time.
After talking for a bit Madara wanted to know what the issue was with Lei so, with all the subtly of a nuke, he just asked.
"Okay Jackie, tell me what is worrying you?"
Nari raised an eyebrow and eyed her husband, she was a bit reluctant to talk about these things as well.
"Well... You see… We were planning on having a child a few years ago but…. We ended up deciding against it for the time being…"
Madara kept staring at the couple, whose expressions shifted every few seconds like they were trying to come up with the perfect answer without sounding… Weird?
"You can speak freely, you two are my family, I don't think that there should be these kinds of worries between family members." Madara smiled.
Nari sighed "We decided against it because we live in a world that is at war… It's a terrible era to raise a child."
Lei nodded "Who knows what the future holds… So we decided to wait until the world is more peaceful… The problem is… This war lasted 100 years and who knows when it will end… We have no idea how it will end and what the after-effects of this war will be either, I don't want to raise a child to become a slave of the Fire Nation!" he clenched his fists when he spoke those last words.
Nari nodded and lowered her head.
Madara now was caught between a rock and a hard place, he wanted them to follow him for the decades to come and remain young so he could keep his family longer… But at the same time… 'If I have to lie and deceive them just to have them around… Then I'm not worthy of being their family…'
Taking a deep breath, Madara spoke with a serious tone. "The war will last for one and a half more years… and the Fire Nation will not win," he spoke with conviction and certainty.
The couple raised their heads and stared at Madara with confused expressions. "M-Mr. Uchiha, why do you think so?" asked Lei.
Madara on the other hand just shook his head. "It's not what I think, I am 100% sure of it, in six months the Avatar will return, and a year after his return.. The war will end."
Both Lei and Nari were staring at Madara with wide eyes, but the woman spoke before her husband this time. "H-how do you know that?"
Madara closed his eyes. "I've seen it…"
"Like a vision?" asked Lei.
Madara nodded "You could call it that."
The couple stared at one another for a few seconds before Nari asked again.
"And what if… the Avatar doesn't appear? Or … what if the Avatar fails?"
Madara opened his eyes, and a dangerous glint appeared in his deep black irises. "IF that happens... I will end this war myself…" he spoke with a deep tone that sent chills down the couple's spines.
They knew Madara was strong, like absurdly strong… but they never saw Susano'o, so in their eyes, Madara was just a firebender, probably the strongest firebender alive but... Just a firebender.
"Mr. Uchiha, I don't want to disrespect you, but if the Avatar can't stop the war…"
"I find your lack of faith… disturbing, Jackie." Madara smirked 'Oh I always wanted to say that!'
"B-but-," Nari tried to talk but was interrupted when Madara raised one of his hands.
"You two talk like the Avatar is the only anomaly in our world… But the truth is... He is not… Jackie, do you have a secluded place outdoors so that I can show you something?" Madara asked. Now he was a bit nervous but he didn't want to keep this from his family, especially when his family felt so worried.
Lei nodded. "Our manor is quite isolated from the rest of the village and we have a small courtyard surrounded by the walls, although it's not like your old cave back in Gao Ling, I believe it is safe enough…"
The three of them walked towards the courtyard and after reaching there, Madara requested them to watch from a distance as he walked to the center of the place.
"Jackie, Nari… What I'm about to show you… Could be said to be one of my biggest secrets…" He said with a slightly trembling voice, but he made up his mind… It would be revealed sooner or later anyway when canon started.
The couple nodded and gulped, Madara always displayed the most absurd skills and techniques without caring, so for him to be this nervous…
Madara proceeded to form the Ram hand seal, why? Simply because he wanted to do it, he was nervous and did it to occupy his mind by pretending to cast a jutsu.
Lei and Nari got shocked, actually... Shocked was an understatement, poor Lei even fell to his knees when a massive flame-like blue aura spread through the yard forming that... monstrosity...
Nari wasn't any better, she couldn't believe what she had just seen, she was an educated woman, she studied history and many other "noble" courses her whole life and never heard of such a technique, but she felt the earth trembling, even the walls were threatening to crack and Madara didn't even move that thing, as if just by existing it felt that the world would fall apart.
As they walked back inside the manor, Lei couldn't help but ask.
"M-Mr. Uchiha… T-that was…"
"Yes, that was a spirit, Jackie. My own spirit. In a way I'm very similar to the Avatar… An anomaly… But when they have the 4 elements… I have Susano'o."
"S-so.. Your visions are related to your bond with your spirit, I mean.. Susano'o?" Asked Nari, she was a very curious woman and the information about spirits was very scarce and inaccurate.
"In a way... Yes..." Madara nodded.
After they walked back inside, Madara was about to bid farewell to the couple and go to his own house, he missed his bed and was feeling slightly… awkward and nervous around them… He worried, what if they saw him more like a monster now? But he was stopped by Nari.
"Mr. Uchiha… is the offer still up?" she asked.
"What offer?" he was confused for a bit.
She smiled gently "The one about the chakras."
Madara nodded but was confused.
Lei walked beside his wife, wrapping one of his arms around her shoulders, and spoke with conviction, "We accept the deal, Mr. Uchiha, we want to accompany you on your journey and see the wonders of the future with our own eyes… And who knows.. Perhaps the future will bring us a better era to raise our own child." Lei smiled.
Nari nodded while casting a motherly warm smile towards Madara, which he couldn't really identify because of his lack of experience in having parents. 'It's not like I need a child now anyways… still having you around…'
"But… I just told you that the war will end soon… You could just wait two more years and…"
Nari interrupted him. "We know… And we are happy that you shared that with us even knowing that the information might push us away from you in the future… But, it is as you said... We are family, aren't we?" she smiled happily while hugging Madara, while Lei just nodded sagely with his arms crossed.
Madara felt that motherly hug and couldn't help but close his eyes to enjoy every second of it. "If we are family, then call me Madara from now on instead of Mr. Uchiha, at least when I come here to eat…" he said with a nervous tone, to which Nari smiled even more brightly and hugged him tightly. "Alright then, Madara."
Lei on the other hand was scratching his head. "Will be difficult to get used to it, I have been calling you Mr. Uchiha for at least 7 years now…"
Madara glared at Lei with a twitching eye. "That offer is not for you, Jackie!" 'As if I would take Jackie fucking Chan as my father figure!'
Lei, who felt hit by an invisible arrow, crouched in a corner that seemed to cast a shadow over him. 'Why does he always pick on me?'
Nari on the other hand just giggled.
ความคิดของผู้สร้าง 
KojiSan
KojiSan Hello there wonderful sausages, i hope your day have been good :D im here to deliver the chapter of the day! i have some good, bad and great news! XD but before anything else...
NO, THE BAD NEWS IS NOT ABOUT ME DROPPING THIS lol
... Okay now lets talk, the good news is that we are very close to Canon! hurraaaay i'm actually excited for it, and honestly will be way easier for me >_>
The bad news is that i will have to take some time off to rewatch the series, not all the series though because due to the butterfly effect the second half of the series will probably change a lot from canon, but the first and second season i need to rewatch because i know there will be some lore nerds around to nitpick on my mistakes >_>
The great news is that this novel got me really inspired and was so well received that i started considering writing a second novel when this one ends, i can't promise anything right now but i started to contemplate some things, but first... my plan is to take this novel to Korra era or even beyond! :3
Now, i know this chapter was very.. dialogue focused... but i like to follow the character's decisions in dialogue, i hate stopping character development scenes just because they are talking too much, i enjoy their natural way of talking to one another.
Tomorrow will probably be the last chapter of Volume 1 of the fic, which is Pre-Canon story, Volume 2 will be ATLA Canon, i will explain more on tomorrow's notes because this text wall is already too big for my taste.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, stay awesome and really ...thank you for your support! see you in the comment section!
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