38.

It was nearly three in the morning and the castle was sleeping, all except for a cunning maid and the doctor from a distant land who were sitting in the castle's cellar. They had only twice managed to talk a little bit without being watched and they already knew that someone was bound to be suspicious.

To kill that rumour Sayu complained to some of the maids of her sick cousin and she was hoping to get some advice from the doctor.

So Sayu had arranged them a meeting under the mansion in private.

"Uematsu will be out today, he takes his blood-baths in a separate building outside town," she explained in the bathroom on the same day.

Sayu sat down onto one of the wooden crates pushed against the wall with her arms crossed on her chest.

"They know…the guards that you're planning to escape from that way this boy showed you."

Yuna nodded curtly, "I am well aware. Someone as paranoid as him would find everyone I had contact with before letting me near him."

"Well then you probably figured out another escape route, but I have an alternate one to offer. We're leaving this place together."

Yuna's eyes lit up with curiosity and she leaned in closer, as if scared that someone was lurking in the darkness.

Being with Hideto had made her even more paranoid than usual. Sayu leaned closer to her ear to exchange secrets like little girls.

There, in the warm darkness, they exchanged their secrets and together they forged a foolproof plot to kill Hideto and secure Yuna's escape.

She had never appreciated darkness much, but during her long, tense days, she began to love sitting in her room with all the lights turned off and pretending to be asleep.

Truthfully, she was too scared to sleep there and allowed herself only to doze off a few times.

She used a simple jutsu to conceal the signs of weariness. Often, she thought about Madara. Not as the clan leader or the war hero but her Madara - if such thing existed.

Love was too shallow to convey her feelings for him.

It was respect, acceptance and loyalty she felt to him.

If they had met under better circumstances, she would've devoted herself to him. Beneath the cold outside was a man who was so caring and true to his beliefs, that he didn't try to conceal his ideals. Yes, he was power hungry and bordering madness, but he also protected and fought for the things dear to him with his very being.

Yuna just wanted to embrace him for one last time. Just once would be enough so she could close her eyes and see all the good things about him.

Madara had locked himself into his bedroom for an entire day, not answering maids or even Izuna when he tried to come in. That didn't stop his beloved little brother for he simply kicked the door down and waltzed in, gracefully avoiding all splinters and pieces of wood that were scattered on the floor.

It had taken Izuna little to no time to master using his chakra as a new set of eyes. He'd send out surges of it, and was able to map his surrounding areas accordingly.

"What the hell are you doing here? I know you miss your ex-wife, but the fact that we're trying to cross the boundaries of logic and possibilities do require your assistance."

Madara didn't look up from his work, not even to yell at Izuna for breaking his door…again. Instead he was fingering a crimson crystal hanging from his neck.

"Izuna, I have a request. It has to be kept a secret between you and me," he asked quietly, almost pleading him. Izuna's jolly mood died down and he walked to Madara's bed and sat on the edge.

"I'm growing a little worried. What is it that you want?"

Silence fell between the two and for several minutes, Madara said nothing. The only noise was made by the birds chirping outside and small cracks that Madara's lean fingers caused.

"Madara, you can trust me with anything. I will do it, whatever you ask of me."

Finally, Madara leaned back, the joints in his back and neck cracked loudly. His eyes looked out of the open window longingly and a smile was on his weary lips.

"This is something I want you to do out of your free will. If you feel that it goes against your desires, refuse."

Izuna smiled knowingly, "Brother, thanks to you I am alive, and I am here. Your will is mine, be it however queer for me."

"I want you to wed me and Yuna again, if she returns. Secretly, out of the compound, without anyone's knowledge. No one can know this."

Madara never saw the surprise in Izuna's stature. For the first time in his life, Izuna was speechless.

He was prepared for anything Madara might require - an assassination order or some bizarre request to fetch or steal something precious but…nothing like that.

"Have you proposed to her yet?"

"No, but I hope that for my sake she will accept my proposal. Our relationship was never defined, nothing solid that I could place my trust on. Sometimes I think about her and wonder if I ever had her? This is my final wish as the leader of the Uchiha."

Izuna's mouth twitched and a small chuckle escaped his lips, "What brother would I be if I refused this offer? Are you planning to step down from your position?"

"No, but you know what will escalate if I am not elected. This was carved into stone from the day I was born and nothing could change that future. Not even her."

"Did you buy a ring for her at least?" he asked, wondering if such amount of money could be concealed from the calculators who made sure that the clan was handling its funds with care.

Madara raised a silver necklace to his eyes and surveyed the red stone in the middle. I looked like the Sharingan a little bit. The chain was made of graceful, thin silver and strengthened by jutsus to make sure it wouldn't break. The red stone was smooth and spotless, shaped like a droplet of blood. Madara poured all of his energy and knowledge of crafting into this small piece of jewellery.

"I didn't buy her anything. There's no need for something so shallow."

Yuna watched the clock tick by slowly. Soon she would have to race upstairs to Hideto's room and then she would have exactly ten minutes to kill him and escape.

Sayu had laid out an entirely new plan for them. Right below Hideto's window was a passage that would lead outside the city walls. Hideto used it to smuggle out the women he was going to slaughter without anyone noticing. The entrance was exactly below Hideto's room, on the first floor.

The clock struck twelve and Yuna knew that now Hideto was going to be alone in his room.

He always slept alone, with some guards in the walls and ceiling. The only weak point being that they reacted to sound. Hideto never allowed them to see inside because he was too afraid of betrayal. Hideto often composed letters with dire importance and he couldn't risk anyone seeing them.

To make sure that Yuna would have a smooth escape Sayu had arranged her buddies to set off some explosions in the castle and attack it to open up a window for them to escape.

Originally, Sayu was planning to execute the plan on her own, but they had both agreed that Yuna was more skilled in the medical sciences now and could carry out the execution without any blood or noise. Sayu was going to wait in the passage quietly.

The crucial point was to kill Uematsu before the raid starts so she could slip out before his orders are desired, but not too early or else she can't slip out.

Yuna sprang up from her bed and out of her door, quickly sprinting up the stairs, making some noise to make her act seem more natural. Uematsu was probably just setting to go to sleep so she could still make it.

She wasn't surprised to find a buff man before Uematsu's room, his face emotionless.

Yuna stopped a few paces before him, panting with a victorious smile on her lips.

"I must see your master immediately!" she pressed out between faked pants.

"Uematsu-sama has retreated for the day and wishes not to be disturbed."

Yuna shook her head desperately, "No, you don't understand! I figured out the cause for his condition and it must be treated right now because it might prove fatal! How silly of me not to notice it before… it is such an easy thing to fix but easy to miss! Please, he could die at any minute! It's miraculous that he has survived even this long!"

The man didn't give in, even after Yuna saw the flicker of doubt in his eyes. He was debating with his inner loyalty.

"Please…have you no care for your master? If they find him dead tomorrow morning, it will be on your shoulders and not mine because I am trying to heal him right now while we're still in the window."

Still nothing. Yuna conjured her most dangerous expression, time to play the tough-gal card.

"I swear to god if you don't let me in I will kick down this door if that means that your master will listen to my warning. It is his life not yours so you don't get to play god and make decisions concerning his health! Don't play god!"

What am I doing though…? Thought Yuna with a dry laugh.

Suddenly the door burst open and Uematsu was there. Yuna held her composure outside, but her inner flame died and fear rooted itself in her stomach. For a moment, she really did believe that Uematsu was going to issue orders for her imprisonment or death.

"Come in. No one will enter until I order it."

Yuna wobbled in, surprised of her own luck. The door closed with a fateful click behind her and she stood in the middle of the room, not really sure where to go.

She took time to survey her surroundings. A beautiful room, where only the best materials were used. Everything looked perfectly in order, just like Uematsu. His room spoke of his love for order and discipline. There were no plants in this room, nor fish or anything else living. The entire room was made for the purpose of sleeping only.

Stragne, considering that there was an excess of everything in the Upper Town.

"I shall make this explanation short because we don't have much time. What you have is a small abnormality in your chakra system. A tumour you could say. It's very easy to miss and so rare that no normal medic would even suspect it under regular circumstances. It's something that runs in the family, so shinobi clans have their children checked for it early...You on the other hand...

The treatment will be fairly simple, no need for surgery and I strongly urge that you allow me to do it right now. It will only take an hour and you won't feel any pain if I'm careful."

Hideto's eyes flickered upwards. He was weighing the options in his mind.

This could be a trap, but a part of him wanted to believe that this stranger really could heal him. His guards were alert and ready to spring out at any sign of danger.

Yuna couldn't see Hideto's face and in return, he couldn't see how she kept checking the clock on his wall. Yuna had to use chakra to keep her heartbeat at bay and trick her body into believing that she wasn't under extreme stress and pressure.

"Alright…If this really works you shall be rewarded greatly."

Yuna turned around happily with a relieved smile, "Thank god that you listened to reason. We should begin right away. Remove your top and lie down onto your stomach. The abnormality is located just near your right shoulder."

Uematsu complied slowly, "Why didn't you mention it before?"

Yuna smiled, "I did notice that something was odd, but I didn't desire to speak too soon to raise panic in your followers. Everyone's chakra pathways are different so I didn't make much of it at first but tonight it hit me."

Hideto sighed wearily and did as Yuna told him to. She sat on his back and smiled, "Feel free to fall asleep if you wish. This might prove to be quite relaxing."

Her words were met only by a short nod and he breathed out and closed his eyes. Yuna's polite mask remained in place, just in case his guards still had a peephole as her fingers searched for the soft spot to put him to sleep.

Hideto was an easy target, completely helpless under Yuna even with his threatening stature and temper and suddenly the physical power balance seemed to become irrelevant. She found the spot on his neck and all it took was a tiny surge of chakra to put him into a light sleep. Too bad that he was not waking up again.

Yuna looked and the clock and cursed quietly. She only had three minutes left. Quickly, but soundlessly she formed signs to cast everyone in a five meter radius under a genjutsu. So when she kills Hideto and leaves the guards won't notice her chakra moving and his fading.

When she had double checked the genjutsu, she finally found the courage to fish out the needle from her clothes that she plunged into his neck, killing him instantly.

It was draining to keep up the illusion, she sat down next to the corpse and swallowed a soldier pill.

One of those necklaces she gave Madara would come in handy...right about now.

Just as she did so a loud explosion was heard. She didn't need a second cue. Yuna soundlessly jumped out of the window and into the darkness of night, never to be seen again in this strange village. Her mission was complete, she was alive and out of sheer luck actually managed to escape.

Oh my god! Everybody hail! Gods have answered my prayers and FINALLY the OC character was added to the Naruto character list!