30.

"Are you sure about this?" Yuna whispered to Izuna. They were walking together in the Uchiha compound, sneaking around like thieves. Their pace was matched and they were huddled close together.

Izuna grinned arrogantly, "Of course I'm sure about this. It is the only way, right? We need to report the mission anyway. So after you create the diversion I'll slip the drug into his tea." He explained proudly.

Yuna was a little sceptical about the plan. She was starting to have doubts about Izuna's sanity. The halls, luckily, were empty; Izuna noted that there was a gathering in one of the gardens so it was easy to create a disturbance.

Yuna shook her head; Madara was going to notice that something is up. Nevertheless, Yuna sprinted off quietly while masking her chakra with a small basket clutched between her fingers. She stopped near the garden in an empty hallway and opened the basket. The black snake looked back and hissed. Yuna snorted.

"Nasty creature." She mumbled before dumping the snake on the ground.

"Off you go." Yuna whispered and left the scene of the crime.

Madara's office wasn't far from the garden and she was back at Izuna's side in no time. Before getting there, she hid the basket under some loose wooden panels.

The plan seemed so idiotic and simplistic to her, but Izuna insisted that the simplest plan is also the most effective. So Yuna complied quietly since she didn't have much say in this.

She knocked on Madara's office door before stepping in.

Empty.

Izuna was standing there with a puzzled expression, trying to figure out if he mixed up the date.

"I don't get it, it looks as if he hasn't been here the entire day, but after Chinatsu came here he's been working late. Did you release the snake?" Izuna glanced at Yuna who looked like all blood had drained from her face.

Chinatsu's name triggered a memory.

"Holy shit…Madara's going to kill me!" she whimpered, grabbing Izuna's hand and dragging him out of the office.

"What's the matter?" Izuna asked coolly, but he was still a little confused.

"It's their fucking wedding party tonight! Remember, they were supposed to get married today!" She shouted at the younger brother.

Out of all the people, he should've remembered such a small detail but apparently, Madara didn't really care if Izuna was there or not.

After that revelation, Izuna started with surprise and grinned widely.

"Oh this is going to be hilarious…" he mumbled. As if the snake was aware of its cue, a few seconds later Yuna heard someone scream "SNAKE!" at the top of their lungs.

Yuna let go of Izuna's hand just as they reached the gardens. Most of the women were shouting as the snake slithered on the grass. Apparently, before the celebrations some Uchiha men had used a fire jutsu to melt the snow.

Madara, who looked bored a moment ago, looked straight at Yuna and Izuna, instinctively knowing that they were to blame.

Chinatsu's polite smile she wore in public melted and was replaced with surprise before she started to giggle.

Madara's eyes trailed to her, "This is certainly an interesting turn of events." She said laughing and covered her mouth with her palm to hide her smile.

Well she won't be smiling if someone is bitten.

It didn't ease his morbid rage. Through the entire day, he had been in a bad mood, everything seemed to vex him, but this was really the straw that broke the camel's back, or in his case the angry Uchiha leader that broke the back of the person foolish enough to do something like this.

He pulled out a kunai from his sleeve and threw it at the snake, driving it right through the poor thing's head.

He jumped over to the dead snake and picked it up before bowing to, Yuna's heart skipped a beat, the head of Senju Clan, Hashirama Senju.

Madara apologized and promised to be right back. He walked through the crowd that slowly started to chatter again, trying to break the awkward silence.

He slapped the dead snake into Izuna's empty hands and grabbed Yuna by the arm and dragged her away with him, Izuna followed behind them quietly while trying to keep his smile contained.

Yuna on the other hand was frightened. The entire plan was idiotic, beyond stupid and she was going to pay. How could she forget such an important date?

She shot a glance at Izuna who was currently playing with the dead snake. He either didn't notice or decided to ignore Yuna. The girl suspected the latter.

Madara kicked the door of his office open and nearly threw Yuna inside, who missed crashing into the table by mere centimetres. He waited until Izuna had dragged himself in as well before closing the door and turning to them slowly.

"May I ask, what the hell were you thinking? The god damn Senju were there and if they think that this was an assassination attempt then I will gladly skin you in front of them if that will satisfy them!" He roared, causing Yuna to unconsciously shrink closer to the ground. Even Izuna flinched, but remained silent.

"What were you even trying to accomplish?" he demanded.

Madara was still waiting for a response. Yuna's eyes shifted from the floor to Izuna who was still petting the dead lizard. Disturbingly creepy in her eyes, even if it was Izuna.

"Izuna found the snake on the way back from a store, and thought about keeping it so we brought it back. While we were heading to your celebration party I remembered that we have to bring the mission report to your desk so we headed back, and we might've left the basket there unattended…" Her voice trailed off.

Madara's mouth curled into a smirk.

"Oh and where's the report? I don't see it on my table." He noted. Izuna smiled and fetched a scroll from his coat and threw it to Madara who caught it easily.

"Can I go now? I'm kind of hungry." He whined. Madara's mood hadn't improved at all, and as such he felt tempted to ignore Izuna completely even if it would be fruitless because his carefree brother would leave with or without his consent.

"Get out." He muttered to Izuna who seemed to be glad to escape. The door closed, leaving Yuna to drown in an awkward silence with Madara.

"Do you have anything to say? Was this some pitiful act of jealousy?" Madara asked curtly.

Yuna sighed inwardly, his voice didn't sound so angry anymore, just a little irritated.

"I'm not that petty."

"You wouldn't have any reason to be either."

She wanted to say something to him, really badly but nothing popped up in her mind.

Madara sighed and walked out leaving there in his office alone. He wasn't angry at her for the snake. It irked him that she believed that there was any reason to disturb the wedding. It didn't diminish her significance.

Yuna remained there with a bitter smile on her lips.

Madara had left to go to his wife. The bastard was a two-timer but who was the 'other woman' was still unclear.

She left his office and took a longer route back to her room so she wouldn't have to pass the party.

After all the older women would start to gossip how it is bad luck when the ex-wife shows up.

Even Harue was sleeping when she got to her room. She sighed and crawled under the covers and tried to sleep, hoping to drift back into the snowy wonderland she saw almost a week ago.

"Madara I'm begging you don't accept that offer!" Shouted Izuna, trying hard not to lash out. Madara leaned back in his chair, displeased.

"We need money; I can't have the clan starve!" Izuna crossed his arms over his chest.

"You know very well that after that battle your eyesight will be gone! I know how bad it is already, and after this you will never see daylight again!"

The winter was hard every year. This year wasn't an exception and Izuna wasn't going to let his brother throw away his sight for money.

They could survive the winter, just as they did every other year. Cleaver rationing and some blackmail would be enough to sustain them for the year.

"Are you implying that I should put my own selfish needs ahead of the clan's? If you don't support me then I will just replace you with another team captain. You can stay here if you want, but the rest are going."

Izuna snorted and shook his head, "Selfish needs? Madara, you won't have the ability to lead as a cripple!"

"Well if that's your take then I might as well step down right away, is that what you want?" he demanded, his voice booming.

"Fine, apparently there is no more reasoning with you. Do as you please, but I will not lift a finger to aid you with this unnecessary and impulsive battle!"

Izuna stormed out of the office and slammed the door shut. He left the compound and no one saw him for the rest of the day.

Yuna heard later in the day that Izuna had left.

It was Yuna who had a hunch about where he could be.

She left the compound, even though it was prohibited.

After all, her destination was close by; all she was going to do was visit her home.

She climbed over the wall, remaining unnoticed before she sprinted away from the compound.

It took her only twenty minutes to reach the empty mansion of Kunisada. As expected, the building was freezing because no one had been there for weeks and nature was overtaking the house.

There were dry leaves mixed with snow and dust everywhere. Overall, the building looked horrible and desolate.

She could sense Izuna's chakra from the second floor, in one of the meeting rooms. She hastily climbed the stairs and walked in the room to find it completely destroyed.

Only bits and pieces were left of the table and walls that used to be there. In the middle of all that stood Izuna. His breathing was calm like always.

He didn't even open his eyes to acknowledge Yuna.

"Are you satisfied, for now? This is a big house; you can destroy another room if you want to." She suggested lightly. Izuna opened his eyes and chuckled.

"What a generous heiress you are. If anyone asks then you left with my permission."

"We could torch this place, if you want to," she shrugged, "It's not like I'm going be living here ever again."

"What I want to do is break every bone in Madara's body so he wouldn't be able to go to war for months, if not a year. That way both of us would be happier that way. Even if he doesn't know it yet."

"And how would stalling the inevitable help him?"

"Never said it would."

Yuna sighed and leaned against the one pillar that was still intact, "How bad is it? Have you made him take the medicine? It's been almost a month already."

Izuna shook his head with a bitter smile.

"It's not working. I've been taking it as well. Madara's so tense right now that he will most likely use his eyes more than necessary, and this time will also be the last."

He paused for a moment before smiling to Yuna, "I know that this may be difficult, but please go with him. He's most likely to prideful to let anyone know about his blindness right away, so I'm asking you to help him as much as possible. Damn that pride of his, he'll most likely push away your help, lash out."

Yuna sighed before smiling. She knew that Izuna most likely couldn't really see it.

"And when he comes back, I'll give him my light…"

"I can't imagine how hard that decision must've been, but please don't think that your life will be over because of that. You can still aid Madara, benefit the clan. Heck you can even fight considering your skill, but one thing is certain; this clan will get a whole lot messier.

Your ways to obtain the eyes are disgusting enough, but if this leaks out that there are ways to avoid going blind…"

Izuna grinned widely. It almost seemed sadistic, amused.

"So be it. This clan has a history drenched in blood already."

Yuna smiled sadly, "And you will gladly accept it."

She was about to leave when Izuna stopped her, "Also, if you die in that battle, I will make sure to bring you back from the dead just to kill you for breaking your promise. You do not get to die before he does."

His threat was accompanied with a kind smile. Yuna's eyebrow twitched and she jerked her hand away from Izuna.

"I was serious when I said that you can smash another room if you want to," said Yuna who almost felt amused.

"You're an idiot. Sell this place or make it an inn."

"Oh what and hide everything in the libraries in my measly Uchiha compound closet? Hell no, I'll most likely let this place rot. As long as I'm alive this place and land belongs to me so they can't tear it down."

Izuna snorted and walked away from her, "Idiot." he mumbled to himself.

Yuna easily climbed over the old stone walls and landed softly on the snowy ground. She sensed for anyone close by, but didn't find any chakra.

Yuna felt relieved, because she wasn't sure if the Uchiha men or women would stay silent if they saw her climbing over the walls like that. She still stayed low while tiptoeing between the woods.

"What are you doing here?" A yelp escaped Yuna's lips. She turned around and found Chinatsu leaning against one of the trees with a polite smile.

Her attire was warm; most likely Chinatsu was exploring the woods that the Uchiha owns.

How could I miss her? Yuna thought frantically. During that train of thoughts, she kept a smile on her face.

"I went to talk to Izuna since after they had a fight he hasn't come back. I felt worried because they've never fought like that…Please don't mention this to anyone, I'm technically not allowed to leave this place alone."

Chinatsu's smile dropped, "How is he? Izuna, I mean. I tried to talk to Madara but he has been ignoring everyone today."

Yuna frowned and shook her head, "Izuna's not much better, it's clear that they are brothers indeed. He did talk to me, but not about what's bothering him. I just hope that he comes home soon." Chinatsu smiled and sighed.

"I wish I could see my brother more often. I have absolutely nothing to do here and my new bodyguard is so stern and stoic as well." She complained with a sigh.

Yuna could relate with the woman, the days of boredom were sluggish and felt like a waste of time. When they left with Izuna for a week, then Chinatsu was assigned a new bodyguard. Per her request, Yuna was never reinstated.

"Read something maybe?" She suggested to the mistress. Chinatsu blinked a few times before she started to laugh.

"I'm sorry," she said between laughs, "I've just read so much that I will go insane if I see another book!"

Yuna grinned, "Oh I can imagine. It'll take some time to cover and memorise the grounds so you can occupy your time with that maybe?" she suggested.

Chinatsu sighed and shrugged, "I am expected to be productive. I thought about helping Madara with his paperwork that he neglects because my second task is to get pregnant but I can't do that every day!" Yuna felt a guilty pang in her stomach.

"No, you probably can't…May I be excused? Or if you want me to stay, I can." Chinatsu smiled and shook her head.

"Oh no you go, I'm sure you have some duty to fulfil. No need to waste your time on me." Yuna bowed and jogged away.

She knew exactly where to go.

There were quite a lot of people in the halls, it was lunchtime, and also because Madara was ignoring everyone so no one got their paperwork signed. Though it didn't stop them from trying.

They paid no mind to Yuna as she zigzagged through the crowds. She knocked on Madara's office door, and stood there for a little while to see if he'll let her in on his own.

After a minute, she got too impatient and stepped inside.

Madara was sleeping in the corner with a pillow under his head that Yuna had never seen before.

She suspected that there was some secret panel in the room where Madara hid all his secret items like candy, pillows and pink things so people would see him as an insomniac, invincible and tough. Frankly, it was working very well.

Yuna tiptoed closer to him. Madara looked like an innocent kid there with his hair sprawled around his head like a fan.

When he wasn't frowning or taunting anyone his weariness showed. He was sleep deprived and almost lived on soldier pills.

So Yuna, instead of waking him up laid down right next to him, careful not to touch him and closed her eyes to wait until he wakes up.

When she was about to slip into unconsciousness she felt like someone was watching her. Her eyes opened slowly to see Madara staring back to her.

"It is dangerous to fall asleep in such a position you know," he noted and pulled Yuna closer, stroking her hair.

"You've been ignoring everyone; I even snuck out of the compound to talk to Izuna." Madara's eyebrow rose but the air around him remained calm.

"Oh, and what did he say?"

To tell the truth, or not.

"Nothing much to be honest, told me to turn the old compound into an inn or sell it. Also I've decided to come with you to the battle thing you're having soon."

Madara's hand stopped and Yuna's stomach lurched. She hated lying to him, didn't want to do it.

"Why?"

He was going to find out anyway, so there was no point to keep a secret. Perhaps it would help soften the blow.

"Because I know that you will go blind after this battle, and I highly doubt that you want everyone to discover it. So I'll be there to support you whether you like it or not." Madara sighed and leaned back.

"You talk too much," he said, "and I didn't want you to find out either. It's not your problem to deal with."

Yuna looked up to his dark eyes, wondering if he can still see her in the dark. Most likely, he couldn't see anything and that's the reason Madara decided to sleep.

"That's exactly the sort of thing I am in your life, to support you in times like these."

"Did it ever occur to you that I don't want your help?"

Yuna sighed, "Yes, because you're a stubborn prick. I'm helping you, like it or not."

Since when could they move past secrets with such ease?

"I'm going now, just because you're holed up here doesn't mean I have to miss lunch." Yuna said and pushed herself into a sitting position. She heard Madara chuckle.

"Go ahead, eat as much as you like."

Yuna grinned and kissed him on the lips before she got up.

Only Madara wasn't going to let her leave that easily and held her firmly in place.

"But I want food," she whined.

Madara smirked at her childish voice. He could imagine the look on her face.

Yes, imagine, not see. At least he still remembered her face. Every little detail about it.

"If you stay here with me for fifteen minutes I'll let you go eat, and as a bonus I'll stop neglecting my duties."

Yuna pouted and sighed, "Fine, but let me lock the door first. I really don't want to worry about someone walking in on us."

She skipped to the door lightly and locked it before she straddled Madara with a small giggle.

"My turn," she whispered into his ear before biting his earlobe.

As promised, a chapter to end 2011. Where I live there's still 6 hours left until 2012, but to all of you HAPPY NEW YEARS! I hope this year I'll write more chapters that will be better because you are such wonderful readers and deserve way more than this. I hope 2012 is a better year for everyone so DO YOUR BEST!