---
The sound of rushing water echoed faintly, as if the sky itself was weeping through a steady downpour. Mist hung in the air, wrapping the entire landscape in a dreamlike shroud. It was as if nature had painted a melancholic backdrop—like the canvas behind a sorrowful masterpiece.
Beneath the roaring waterfall stood two figures.
One was kneeling, barely upright. The other, standing tall yet bloodied, with crimson staining the water between them—a shared sacrifice written in red.
Mayumi knew immediately.
The one on the ground… was her eldest brother, Madara.
Even with the rain falling around him, Madara's face was filled with a swirl of complex emotions, and yet—at the same time—it was utterly calm.
What he felt then was something deeper than victory or defeat… something that Mayumi couldn't name, something heavy in the stillness of his crimson gaze.
She couldn't put into words the weight behind those red eyes. All that remained was a scorching ache in her chest.
And with his final breath, he whispered:
"I… couldn't defeat you after all…"
Just a single sentence. A quiet confession.
Yet Mayumi knew there was so much more buried beneath those simple words.
"Madara-nii-san…"
The vision hurt her deeply.
Her strong, dependable older brother shouldn't be like that—not broken, not fading away.
She stood there, off to the side, helpless. Unable to intervene. Unable to call out. Her body wouldn't respond. She was a mere spectator.
Suddenly, the roar of the waterfall vanished.
The rain stopped falling.
And then—everything went black.
Mayumi jolted awake, breathless and disoriented. The vivid images of the nightmare still clung to her. Her fists were clenched tightly around the blanket, and her heart was thudding violently.
From beyond her bedroom door, a soft and steady voice called out, gently framed by the glow of a nearby lamp:
"Mayumi… was it another nightmare?"
It was Madara—her composed, capable older brother. But this time, his voice carried a layer of concern and quiet sympathy.
Mayumi heard his voice, and for a brief moment, she thought of the Madara in her dream.
She knew… her brother wasn't dead.
That alone brought her some comfort, and in a small voice, she replied:
"Madara-nii-san… in my dream… you died…"
There was a short pause from outside the door.
"Mayumi… it was just a dream. You don't have to believe in it."
His voice was calm and full of assurance, wrapping around her like a warm blanket.
"But… it felt so real."
"I'm strong. I won't die in anyone's hands. So don't worry. Try to sleep."
Mayumi loosened her grip on the blanket. But sleep didn't come easily. She had been having strange dreams like these since she could remember. Some were beautiful. Others were drenched in blood and dread.
Especially the ones with people close to her in them.
"…What if I dream it again?"
"I'll be right outside. There's nothing to be afraid of."
The silhouette of him sitting calmly outside her door, under the soft light, gave her a sense of safety.
Yes… her older brother was strong. There was no way he would fall like that. That had to be nothing more than a nightmare.
Mayumi wiped the tears that lingered at the corners of her eyes and tried to sleep again.
But even then, her brother's words echoed in her heart—
"I… couldn't defeat you after all…"
That gaze, filled with sorrow. That quiet confession.
Why couldn't she stop shaking?
---
Morning came—clear and warm, the kind of morning that normally promised peace and quiet.
But the entire Uchiha household was busy, footsteps heavy and urgent, echoing through the corridors and reaching all the way to Mayumi's room.
"Mayumi-sama… Keiko-sama has gone into labor!"
Mayumi shot up in surprise.
Her mother was having the baby.
With trembling hands, she hurried to throw on her outer robe and rushed down the corridor with quick, small steps.
The sounds from within the room made her heart pound.
Her mother's cries of pain. The bustling voices of the midwives. Through a crack in the door, she could see them gathered around her mother—one pressing gently on her belly, another preparing cloths.
"I can see the head!"
Moments later, a sharp, newborn cry pierced the air.
Mayumi's hands trembled from pure emotion.
"He's born… it's a boy!"
A clear voice announced it with joy, as the midwife carefully wrapped the baby and handed him to her mother.
"Mayumi… come in," her mother called gently, already noticing her daughter waiting nearby.
Mayumi stepped inside with hesitant steps and slowly approached her mother's side.
She peered down at the baby in her mother's arms—his tiny face, closed eyes, the shape of his brows and nose already distinct. He was still crying,but the life in him made the room feel suddenly brighter.
"My little brother…"
In that moment, another image flashed across Mayumi's mind.
A boy—a young shinobi, standing beside her brother Madara beneath a cloudy gray sky. In the middle of a forest.
A sharp-eyed teenager with strong brows, calling out "nii-san" in a voice filled with admiration.
That boy's face, his features… looked just like the newborn she was seeing now.
Her mother gazed at the baby with deep affection and said:
"Izuna… his name is Izuna."
Mayumi froze, her whole body trembling.
Izuna.
That name.
She had heard it in her dreams. She had seen that face before.
The more she thought about it, the more her chest tightened with fear.
Could her dreams… have been real?
This little boy—this "Izuna"… was he the same one from her dreams?
Were her dreams not illusions, but glimpses of what was to come?
Mayumi looked down at the newborn cradled in her mother's arms, her eyes filled with confusion. Half joy, half dread.
And in that moment, a question bloomed in her mind.
How… could she protect this child?
How could she shield him… from what her dreams had shown?
The question weighed heavily on her chest.
But at the same time, that very question marked the beginning of a new purpose.
The first step toward the future she now had to shape.
---