Author's Note: **My first fanfic ever... I might add that I don't own the Naruto characters or Naruto world... This story will be the beginning of a bigger project that I will continue to work on with all of my heart... So please be patient... Please criticize and or comment! Thank you! Domo arigatou gosai masu!**--T.S.

Hiroimono ai monogatari (A Story of Found Love): Origin of the Uchiha Twins

Part I—Birth of the Cursed Twins:

While her husband and fifth cousin, Ryu was fighting a battle on the front lines against invading rock ninja, Uchiha, Haruye, 27 years old, lay in her hospital bed cataleptic as she fought her own battle. The short, raven haired, coal eyed, kunoichi, was trying to recover—unsuccessfully—from severe hemorrhaging caused from the traumatic birth of her twins just two days prior. Due to the fact that her daughter had been turned incorrectly and her son had his cord wrapped around his neck, the doctors had to work quickly to save the infants, thus inducing Haruye's labor and also alleviating the problems the twins faced. Though born a few weeks before their due date, the little boy and little girl—who gave their mother and doctors such problems, were strong and healthy—unlike their mother who seemed to grow weaker with every passing day.

"Is she responding to anything or anyone?" asked the Hokage as he stood outside the kunoichi's door.

"No, Hokage-sama. She's completely comatose from the births and blood loss."

"I see… Is there any chance she will recover?"

The medical ninja looked grim. Though it had been only a few days since Haruye had given birth, her prognosis was not looking good, especially considering the fact that her body was growing weaker with every day. "To be honest Hokage-sama… Judging from the way that Lady Haruye's recovering after the births… And after the severe hemorrhage, I can only say that it is unlikely she will ever recover."

The Hokage sighed. ~It is such a tragedy… Our village must lose a good ninja to gain two more… Worse of all… Haruye's children will never know her… And she will never know them…~ Walking away from the room, a thought ran through Sarutobi's mind as went to take a look at the children that she would leave behind.

~Sarutobi... Do you know what is said about the birth of twins within a village?~ The voice of one of the elders rang through his head. Of course he knew...

~Of course... It is a legend merely passed through shinobi families to keep parents from having too many children at once...~

~That's only partially correct... It is no mere legend... But a curse... Twins born unto the same mother and father will not only be cursed throughout their lives... But will also curse their other family members as well...~ Sarutobi sighed. He didn't exatly believe in the myth... There were several sets of twins born within Konoha when he was a child and their families seemed to do fine...

~You do not understand--~

~The Hyuuga's head branch family just gave birth to twins as well. Are you to tell me that they too will face troubles down the road?~

~I am saying that all of the clan's whether famous or not are at risk for troubles when twins are born... I am not just merely picking on the Uchiha clan... Mark my word, Sarutobi... These families will know the curse before long...~

Shaking out the idea from his mind, Sarutobi's eyes readjusted to the Uchiha twins. They were beautiful. A little boy with jet black hair and coal eyes—the spiting image of Ryu lay cuddled up near his younger sister—who bore the exact likeness of Haruye… Watching them, a fond smile formed upon the man's lips. As he walked away, one of his many Anbu operatives appeared at his side.

"Sir?"

"You have excellent timing… Go and find Uchiha, Ryu… And tell him to come home immediately."

The operative became grim and grew silent after several moments. Finally he said,

"Hokage-sama… If I may… Intelligence has just come back on the Uchiha, Ryu and his party… All members including Uchiha, Ryu were killed in action."

The Hokage's eyes widened. "When?!"

"A few hours ago."

"…" The Hokage was silent, contemplative for several moments as he turned his gaze back toward Haruye and Ryu's children. "How were they killed?"

"From what we were told, they were ambushed by two other parties of enemy operatives."

~A trap? They knew that Ryu and his men were coming and anticipated it in some form… There must have been a traitor in the group…~ Thought Sarutobi, knowing full well that Ryu Uchiha was an excellent shinobi and outstanding leader. Ryu was known for being able to get his team out of danger safely and bringing back every last member without fail—even if it meant costing him his life. There were several times he had put his own life on the line to bring back his men—who he considered more than colleagues—they were his friends and a part of his family. His biggest complaint with his teammates was in their inability to care for one another. He could always be found telling off anyone who cared more for their mission and less for their comrades. He was always saying 'those who don't care for their friends are worse than trash and unworthy to be considered a shinobi.'

The thought of a young man telling off his comrades made the Hokage smile, though his heart ached for the loss of such a talented young shinobi. Subtle fussy cries alerted him to the twins presence and he snapped out of his reverie… ~ The twins…~ He thought sadly as a reminder of a previous conversation about the legend of cursed twins came to mind... ~Baka... If you believe that now, Sarutobi, you really are getting old...~ He thought.

Two days old and already without a father, now on the verge of losing their mother, he wondered who would end up caring for the children… And then he remembered Ryu's younger sister—Hana and her husband—Sai. The Hokage decided it was time for action to be taken… The future of Haruye and Ryu's twins depended on him.

Survival of the Cursed Twins

He arrived at Hana's door late in the afternoon. There he found the young 24 year old kunoichi out tending her garden. He heard rumors that she was just getting over a brief illness, but her visage and the way she vigorously worked gave not even the slightest hint that she had once been ill. Still sharp as a tack, Hana, who had sensed the Hokage's presence before he even had a chance to disturb her work, found herself dropping her tools and dusting herself off as she went to greet him.

"Good afternoon, Hokage-sama. Is there something I can help you with?" Her dark black eyes and long raven hair shone brightly in the sunlight as he gazed at her dusty lavendar and white short set. Though she stood only 5'4" Uchiha, Hana was no ordinary kunoichi. She was still a force to be reckoned with he remembered.

"Hello, Hana… Actually I have several matters I need to discuss with you… May I come in?"

"Of course. You needn't ask such a thing! Please excuse my appearance… Ri-Right this way…" She stammered wondering what in the world the Hokage could possibly want with her. Opening up her home, Hana went to put on some tea after showing the Hokage to the most comfortable kitchen seat in the house.

"Is there anything you would like to eat sir?"

"No… Tea is fine…" Nodding her head, Hana set the old warn metal tea kettle which was full of water onto the stove to boil. A funny feeling washed over her. Something wasn't quite right. The Hokage hardly ever made private appearances unless something went really wrong with one of his favorite jounin… ~Oh god… Sai… What's happened to you?~ She wondered as the unease within her stomach suddenly turned to fear and guilt. Visions of Sai and her teammate Hatake, Sakumo dieing suddenly filled her head. She felt terrible that she couldn't go on the mission with them and was even sorrier that they had to find a replacement to fill in for her so she could recover from pnuemonia. Would it be her lack of appearance on the mission that would have led to their deaths? Would it be that--

"Please Hana, would you have a seat?" Asked the Hokage gently snapping her out of her miserable thoughts.

Nodding, the kunoichi sat down near him, wondering what in the world he could possibly want from her. The feeling in her stomach never really leaving her.

"Is everything alright with Sai and Sakumo-kun? They aren't hurt are they?"

"No… I assure you that team seven is fine… But your brother Ryu and his wife Haruye—"

"Nii-san and sister?" She whispered, her face growing pale as her stomach knotted. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she finally realized what he was there for.~That sinking and unsettling feeling in my stomach... Now I know why I feel this way...~ "Nii-san… He… He died didn't he? And sister too…"

"Haruye hasn't died yet… She hemorrhaged severely after a traumatic labor with the twins. Unfortunately, your sister is growing increasingly weak with each passing day. She isn't expected to make a recovery… I just learned that Ryu and his squad were k.i.a.. I suspect there was a traitor among the group because he and his men were ambushed by several other squads of Rock Ninja."

"I see…" She said sniffing softly. She had always loved her brother and his wife—and only wanted the best possible life for them. When she found out they were expecting, she was so thrilled… "That's right… The babies… How are they? Did they make it?!"

"Ryu and Haruye's children are alive and strong… Though I heard they gave the doctor's some trouble to begin with…"

"I'm so glad… I mean… I… I feel horrible that my brother and sister will never be able to see their children… But… I'm glad something good can come from this awful situation… I just… I just wish it had been me that had died so that Haruye or at least my brother could be alive…" She paused and sniffed as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

The Hokage watched the grief struck woman for a moment and listened as the water in the kettle overflowed on the stove. Standing up, he went and pulled it off, just as Hana herself stood up and shakily got glasses from her cabinet along with her tea pot. As she fixed the tea and the Hokage went to sit back down, he heard the clank and clatter of the tea set as she brought it to the table and shakily went to pour tea for her guest. Putting a gentle hand on top of hers, the Hokage smiled and said,

"Allow me to do that for you, Hana…" Pouring the tea and setting the glasses before her and himself, the Hokage then said, "…I know you are grieving and that is to be expected. But… I am left with a dilemma now where the twins are concerned."

"…You need someone to…Care for them…" She said distantly as she sipped her tea.

"Yes… I am well aware of the fact that you and Sai have been unable to have your own children… I also know that you and Ryu were extremely close—"

"We will take them in… You needn't ask, Hokage-sama… I will love and raise my brother's children as my own…" Said Hana somberly. She had already prepared herself for the villagers remarks about twins... And the supposed curse that went along with it. It was something that she and Haruye had discussed frequently, but never really bought into... And she was still not going to believe in it no matter what anyone had claimed... For her, the deaths were coincidental or perhaps it was because one couldn't live without the other... She knew that her brother deeply loved his wife and she loved him back--thus if they died around the same time, she could only think of it as their spirits wanting to be together no matter what. Knowing that they would live on within their children... That some piece of them would still be there, made Hana smile.

"Thank you, Hana… I know your brother and sister would be thankful to you and Sai… Also… There is something else that I need to discuss with you…"

"…Oh?" She asked snapping out of her thoughts once again.

"Haruye has been unable to give us the names of the children… And since Ryu… Well… I was wondering if you had any idea of what they planned on naming the twins, if they even discussed it with you at all?"

Hana closed her eyes and thought about it for a moment. She remembered the names her brother and sister ran over with her while Sai was still fighting one particular evening… ~We want to name our son Obito…After our father…~ Rang Ryu's voice through her head. ~And… We have been thinking of calling our daughter Takara… She is our little treasure… One we thought we'd never have… We are hoping that our clan will come to treasure both of our children as much as we plan on doing… Twins are a rare event now a days… And we all know the saying about the curse... But I don't think my children will ever have such luck. Besides, we both have high expectations and hopes for these children, Hana…If something should happen to us… Please promise to look after them…~ She remembered seeing Ryu smile sadly as he said this, and then smiled after her promise. Opening her eyes several moments later, she said,

"Ryu… Wanted the twins to be called Obito and Takara… Obito was after our father… And Takara… Because they never thought that they would have a little girl… I think they always thought they would just have one child, and an unexpected treasure popped up with their son…" She smiled through her tears at this.

"I see… I will inform the hospital that the twins are to be called Obito and Takara…"

"Is… Is it ok if I go and see Haruye and the twins today, Hokage-sama?"

The Hokage smiled. "I don't see why not…"

"Arigatou gosai masu… Thank you so much for telling me this… I must tell Sai the news at some point so he knows what to expect."

That very same day, as Hana went to see the babies... Haruye, passed away… The doctors and nurses attributed her death to the traumatic birth and blood loss, but Hana thought better. She attributed her sister-in-law's death to be a sign that her spirit and heart were waiting to be reunited with the one she loved. While chatter among the Uchiha clan swirled about the latest additions and the curse of twins, members who knew the new Uchiha family, like Hana, believed that she went to be with her beloved Ryu after his untimely death.

And so, with her passing, a new beginning awaited the twins—days old Obito and Takara Uchiha. They went home to live with Hana and Sai Uchiha. A week after the passing of Ryu and Haruye, 'Uncle' Sai was called back early from the battle front to go back for the funeral… Much to his surprise, he found his wife Hana, frazzled as she cared for two tiny infants that would not seem to stop crying.