Koga paced back and force in the confines of his study. His anger had not gone unnoticed by the staff within his house. He still held the Uchiha's alliance, but he did not have a marriage proposal that would unite his village with that of the favored Uchiha's. Everything he had worked for had been lit up in flames and slowly burning down.

All that would be left would be a crumbling alliance and his village put at risk for slaughter. He could not let the drums of war near his village. Not when he has the Uchiha's within arms length. They would keep his people safe and Asumi would hold her bargain on baring sons.

Madara Uchiha is a fool! A damned fool!

Tsubaki was always a quiet woman. She was trained with the best healer his village had to offer. He never thought anything of Tsubaki. She needed a home after her village was attacked and Tokiko gladly accepted the help. Koga would have never guessed that she would have stolen the heart of a fierce shinobi.

"The mind of Madara Uchiha has been set in stone." He spoke. "I have his alliance. I should be happy, but a marriage is unity. It brings together prospect. What could a little healer bring that all villages have?"

He was alone. There was no one to answer his question. To think Tsubaki was the cause of all this could be humorous as he heard a knock and the sliding door opened to one of his servant's, bowing down before speaking.

"Your request with Lady Tsubaki has been noted. She is here and awaiting an audience with you master." The male servant spoke.

Koga acknowledged him and asked for him to send in the healer. Without much hesitation, he closed the door and left. Koga was once more to his thoughts as he awaited to see the healer woman that caused such a ruckus with his plans. What was he to say to her? Should he banish her, but that would only bring on the wrath of Madara for disrespecting her and his own self pride.

Koga knew he could not lay a finger on her. He was in a bind and the only way for him to have a grasp at her was to get Tsubaki not to agree to a marriage- if she has already made her decision that is. If she was a smart woman, she would leave it be. She knows well enough of political gain for clans and villages. Tsubaki was revered for her intellect and a good head on her shoulders. Surely she would not agree to this even if Madara forced her.

A small knock caused Koga to clear his thoughts. He heard the sliding doors open and looked to see Tsubaki bowing low for him to answer her.

"Come in, Lady Tsubaki. There is much to discuss." Koga spoke as Tsubaki raised herself from the floor.

She looked calm on the outside. Her hair was put in a ponytail and her clothes nothing more then a simple shade of dark blue. There was nothing worth seeing in Tsubaki as she looked plain. Koga had to wonder if Madara was simply blind by not seeing the beauty in his daughter. But, it must have been her manner and speech. Her skills as a healer had much of an advantage over Asumi. The girl would not even dig up the ground if it saved her life.

Koga deeply sighed.

"What matter of discussion should we speak of, Master Koga?" Tsubaki spoke, keeping her eyes to the ground.

"I have come to hear that Lord Uchiha has asked for your hand in marriage." He waited for a flinch or emotion to be shown. Tsubaki only kept her eyes low to the ground. If she dared lookup, she would have given away her thoughts. Koga was the man that let her stay in the village. He was the one that let her train under Tokiko. He could have it all stripped from her in a matter of seconds. But, she did not fear him. He could tell her that he was going to throw her into the war and she would not flinch. Her home was taken from her and those she loved have died. Koga had nothing know Tsubaki no matter what he threatened.

"You have heard, as much as the rest of the village." She became bold. Her eyes no longer looking to the ground below Koga's feet. They both stared at one another as equals. No woman should hold this much power.

"Lord Uchiha has asked me to be his wife for reasons I am not aware of. I have no land, no dowry, nothing of value but knowledge of healing. I am but a simple woman making a living trying to keep others alive." Tsubaki was trembling on the inside. Her mind screaming at her to calm her nerves and to run. Koga wanted her to say no to a man whom she respected and seen the good in. Regardless of his killing nature, Madara was a free man whom answered to no one but his own.

"Clever. A woman such as you would only make a merchant wife or a farmers wench. But, to get a clan leader- a powerful one at that. Have you bewitched him in some way or have you already lost your virtue?" Koga was fishing for answers.

"I am not the type of woman you think I am. I am a healer and not some witch that uses it to her advantage." Tsubaki stated as she felt the need to defend herself.

She felt insulted by the accusations and the one that hit the hardest was about her virtue. She wasn't a woman who would dirty herself just to keep a man. She wasn't a whore.

"Then why would a very powerful clan leader want you? A peasant that came from another village from a peasant family?" Tsubaki narrowed her eyes on Koga. Her teeth clenched at the mention of her dead family. She may not have remembered their faces or names, but she was proud of her roots of hard working labors. She wasn't a spoiled woman like Asumi who thought nothing but of her own needs.

Madara was thier ticket into power. Tsubaki could only hold back her anger, but she knew she was the reason for being in this position. Clan leaders do not marry poor peasant women. Her heart aches for a moment knowing the consequence, but she kept firm hold of herself.

"I come from a hard working folk. I may not remember them, but they were my family." Koga took a threatening step towards the healer. Tsubaki did not move, she couldn't. Not that she was scared, but she wanted to be brave. To stand up to those who want nothing more then a position into the most feared clan. If she was in the way, damn it, let Koga kill her first.

"Do you truly believe he loves you? Clan leaders like him marry a quiet wife and have many mistresses on the side who carry bastards in their wombs. This little bubble you created knows nothing of the politics and the bloodlines that can inherit them. Your nothing but skin and bone." Tsubaki clenched her fists. Koga had spat the truth towards her and yet, she remained there. Not moving and her eyes staring hatred into him.

Maybe there was some truth in his words. There have been stories of clan leaders and nobles taking on mistresses. It was nothing knew and no secret. Tsubaki could hardly believe that Madara was such a man. He enjoyed fighting more then going around and finding women. But, she did not know him at all. She only knew him as her patient and the man who let her sleep on his shoulder.

But, she could not let that interfere with her choice. She had done nothing wrong, but to Koga she has. She took away a powerful man from them.

"Of the years I've lived here. Why now? I've done nothing but healed many shinobi and your people. But this accusation you believe has been nothing but of your own greed. You may be the village leader here, but you know as well as I that you cannot deter me from choosing. And I've told him I will be his wife." Tsubaki took a step back as she watched Koga's face become nothing but rage. She feared for her life and knew that he was a shinobi at one point in his life. Tsubaki knew ahead had to mind her tongue, but Koga knew he could do nothing to her.

She was even surprised by her outbursts. Tsubaki rarely got angry, but she only did it out of defence. Her heart was beating hard against her chest. She felt as if the world had gone mad because Madara chose her.

Then with a moments notice, something in his facial expression changed instantly. Tsubaki was in trouble and she could do nothing about it. Koga had just lead her into a trap. She was unprepared on what to happen next. She might as well sentenced herself to death.

"There was a shinobi that was taken in your care. The very same shinobi that almost killed my daughter. You had something to do with it and now, not even Lord Uchiha can save you from it." Tsubaki was confused and almost fell to her knees. The blind shinobi in her care? He was putting the blame on her?

"I had nothing…" Koga raised his hand. There was no defending herself now. She already dug a hole to her grave. Tsubaki was a strong woman, but right now she wished she had someone at her back. Tokiko would defend her till the day she died. But, she wasn't there. No one was there. She felt stupid for going alone and not telling anyone. She thought she could handle this know her own.

She was wrong. Oh, so wrong.

"You knew who he was because he was your patient. He was a shinobi, an assassin and you made a deal with him to kill Asumi. I should have put the pieces together and now, you will not be in my way any longer."

There was no mercy when the storm hit.


She sighed heavily into her pillow. The scent of lilac fragrance filled her nose with a calming aurora. Her servant picked up and straightened her room while the lazy girl just sighed and huffed with sweets around her. Such a mess this girl. Fuyuko minded her tongue though as to not further upset Asumi. Her heart was fragile and broken in pieces all because she could not get what she wanted. Or for that matter, someone.

Madara Uchiha would have set them for many lifetimes. A powerful clan and a very powerful leader whom even evil would tremble before him. Koga saw the prospect and the lineage with the Uchiha's. Asumi saw only a title and Madara as some being greater than the Gods. Surely, he was a rather handsome young man, but there was much more to him that ran deeper. Asumi saw what would be the surface of him rather then beneath. Fuyuko had to inwardly sigh to herself.

Since Asumi has blossomed into a beautiful woman, her heart would be constantly wandering from one man to another. Suitors would be at their doorsteps begging for a marriage and unity, but Asumi wanted more. Her father Koga would not settle for a simple farmers son or merchants son. Both father and daughter wanted a bigger prize. A clan leader with power.

But… their plans for a marriage was thrown in the mud to be trampled. Madara Uchiha was a man who did what he wanted and if someone wanted to tell him what to do, he would rebel with a force greater than a hurricane.

Asumi sighed harder and clutched her pillow tightly. Fuyuko could see that the woman wanted attention so she could open the flood gates of her emotions and anger. The frustration of having been bested by Lady Tsubaki. A woman with no title. A woman without a family. A simple healer who was taught by the villages best.

To say that Koga was disappointed in the matter of affairs left the house tense after the arrival of the Uchiha brothers. All of the staff felt his anger and rage. He had cursed the Uchiha's with every last ounce of his breath. Everything was crumbling that he had built. He promised Asumi that a marriage with the Uchiha would happen, but Lady Tsubaki had charmed him somehow. That woman had bewitched him.

She used some kind of black magic. Asumi has always assumed that she was a witch. There was no way someone like her could be such a respected healer. But, Tokiko was the one who trained and opened her home to Tsubaki when she first came into the village.

Asumi sighed. There was no winning for her. She could not compete against that garden rat and her ways. How a man could talk for her chains in such a manner was something Asumi just could not understand. Madara Uchiha was within her grasp. She just had to try fighting harder and be much more charming.

By comparison, Lady Tsubaki was a much better choice as a wife. She held her own and could be useful to the village. Her knowledge of the healing arts could always be passed down to one generation unto the next. Too Asumi, if a woman had nothing else to offer, she would be cast aside in favor of the next woman. Asumi had her fathers wealth and land. Surely, it was enough to score her a decent husband. Maybe she reached out to far and tried to lure in a clan leader. If anything, she was best for a merchants son who was respectable.

There is always his brother. She thought, but decided against saying it out loud. What gold could he offer if not the elder brother? She could always put them against each other, but the Uchiha's favored Tsubaki more than her. It would never happen, even if she tried.

If she could not have Madara Uchiha, what made Tsubaki any better?

"That garden rat. She took it all from me." Asumi bellowed as she laid on her back. A couple of sweets fell from her mattress to which Fuyuko picked up. She was annoyed by the constant nagging of talking about Lady Tsubaki like she was some witch. Clearly, Asumi was only bitter.

Fuyuko wanted to roll her eyes and say she was just overreacting. Asumi has had many admirers and lovers. She lived for romance and when one man rejects her, the whole world is somehow against her. For the love of the Gods, she was a grown woman acting so childish!

"Why do you say that, my Lady?" Fuyuko said as she placed a pillow by Asumi's side.

She was a wreck. Her hair was undone and spiraled around her. Makeup washed from her face and her clothing rather plain. Asumi looked to her servant and sat up on her mattress. She looked rather disapproving of what Fuyuko said. Had she not heard anything she said? Servants we're usuless.

"She took it all. Have you been deaf? Even when I attacked her, she just stood there. She made me look like the monster. Like I was a lunatic." She threw her hands in the air in a rather flamboyant manner. Fuyuko has heard about the confrontation that left Lady Tsubaki with claw marks. It seemed to not be a bother to the healer, but Asumi was feeling the blow of her reaction.

"Maybe, if you could move on from Lord Uchiha, there could be a better prospect. There are plenty noble bachelors that would be happy to have you, my lady." Fuyuko was trying to keep Asumi's emotions at ease. The world was not against her as much as she liked to believe.

"No suitor could hold as much power than Lord Uchiha. He is everything that could bring me a title and worthy sons. What could that garden rat offer, other than her looks that will fade and her figure not well endowed?" Jealousy.

Asumi ruffled her hair and fixed her bust that was showing a little bit to much for Fuyuko's liking. If there was one thing that Asumi was lacking was her belief in beauty and assists that make a woman. Sure, a man would want a woman to stay forever young and offer a proper dowry, but not many women had that luxury. Lady Tsubaki had been lucky in such a category.

Times were rough and many young men died before they could see the birth of their first born. Fuyuko believed many men we're not too picky in a woman and maybe Lord Uchiha saw something with Lady Tsubaki. Romance. She thought. It only came to so few and with many dying, love may as well blossom in something hopeless.

"Come, my lady. A bit of fresh air may do you good." Fuyuko tried to raise Asumi's spirits. It wasn't all so bad.

"Fresh air? What good will that do me? I've been humiliated by that garden rat." Fuyuko had a sense of mind to give up on Assuming, but the poor woman had more enemies then she did friends. Many women could not stand being around or even hearing Asumi's name without calling her mean and nasty names that a woman should not know.

Asumi felt heartbroken because of one man. It truly wasn't the end of the world.

"Well, the festival for one, my Lady. There is going to be plenty of food and entertainment. I am certain a nice man would want to have you by his side." Fuyuko spoke hoping she would take the bait.


Running.

His claws dug into the earth with every movement. Through the foliage his fur rubbed against, his herb pouch clung onto a fallen branch causing him to fall on his back. Groaning, the animal shook his head knowing that time was wasting away. He had a destination with urgent news. He feared for the people of the village and for the healers that inhabitant it.

Not wanting to abandon his herbs that he has worked hard to grow and trade, his conscious begged him to move on. There were more important matters that needed to be tended to. He was so close. So damn close. Po growled and slashed at the pouch to which it fell to the ground. Using his sharp canines, he grabbed it within his mouth, Po continued on.

His heart racing and mind slowly becoming clear. He should have known. How was he so stupid to not recognize the threat that was before him? Holding tightly to the herb pouch within his jaws, he can see the village just ahead of him. They don't know yet what was to come. The danger was coming close. He could remember seeing his body lying there by the fire. The man watching over him was scary in Po's eyes. When that man's eyes saw him, he had to escape with his life. That night, he could not sleep. That night he kept running until his body gave out from exhaustion.

Through the village he ran. Hearing curses from the merchants and people who were trying to get out if the badgers way. Po was close. He could almost feel the victory within his paws and the sweet relief of rest and maybe some food since he has not eaten.

He could see the house of healing right before him. He was almost grinning and just before Po could reach the door, someone big and bulky ran into him. The herb pouch that was within his jaws flew out hitting someone as he heard a loud thud and curse from just behind the figure that he ran into.

Strong hands held onto the badger as he struggled to break free from the strangers grip. Wild eyes looked forward to the person and saw dark eyes staring at him with an annoyed scowl upon his lips.

"M-Madara Uchiha?" Po said and calmed himself just a little.

"A badger?" Madara spoke not wanting to be holding the animal.

"Po?" A second voice spoke from behind the clan leader. A more calm and worried voice that made Po feel more at ease.

Po could see dark hair swaying in the gentle wind and the scent was that of the second Uchiha brother. His heart felt like it was going to give out at any moment, but running without rest had left the badger exhausted. In Madara's hands, Po became unconscious leaving the Uchiha leader in an awkward position. Arms stretched out with an un amused Madara thinking to the Gods on how he got himself into this predicament. Surely, the Gods were laughing at him. He looked ridiculous holding a furry creature that seemed to be connected to this place.

"Po? This creature has a name?" Madara spoke as he handed the badger to his brother.

Izuna grabbed hold of the furry animal within his arms. "Of course he has a name. He can be considered a companion to the healers with their herbs and helps them when needed. But, I wonder what brings him here in a hurry."

Madara looked to the ground and saw the pouch that Po had dropped from within his jaws. Picking it up, he could smell something rather strong coming from within it. Madara made a face of disgust and handed it to Izuna to hold. His brother grabbed it and walked into the healing house with the badger in his arms.

"Strange." Madara said to himself and looked to the village waiting for Tsubaki to come back from her errand. A stroll of thunder hung in the sky as a storm was brewing in the distance. The grey clouds coming closer and the stench of death lingered in the air.

Madara could not help but feel disturbed. Something was coming and fast. Blood would soon be spilled.

Not wanting to linger any longer outside, Madara looked to the rolling grey skies and awaited another clap of thunder. Something told him to prepare for war.


AN: Ah! Sorry for the lack of an update. I've been busy with studying for a promotion board and other tasks that have been handed to me. I've also been sick lately and seemed to have passed it on to my significant other. The joys of changing weather.

Now, it seems that Tsubaki has got caught in something dangerous and Asumi is rather unaware of it. Now, what does Koga have up his sleeve and soon the blind shinobi will cause chaos. This just got exciting.