Blue dress robes with the Uchiha symbol decorated the walls of the basement, there looked to be at least ten hanging up high. All of the robes had intricate patches on them that hid their tears, from a closer look I could see the delicate weaving and sewing that it took to make such fine work. An Uchiha probably couldn't see the mending from afar.

The outfits were obviously used in prior battles and were maimed severely there, but some miraculous seamstress had fixed them well. I'd like to meet this woman, I could learn a thing or two from her.

Below the robes was a display case with an assortment of Kunai, smaller Shuriken, and several small blades. Does his things really need a display? His Katana's were set on a rack, sixteen of them all of different sizes. Izuna had only four on the parallel side of the room. It appears my husband is a collector. I picked up the shortest sword from the top of the rack and checked the handle and the sharp edge. It's never even been used? If only he spent as much money on the house as he did on these little trinkets.

Years of the two bachelors neglect for their home was starting to show… everywhere. We had found the source of the bat discretions under the sink... it was a nest of vampire bats. Lovely, right? And honestly that wasn't the worst spot in the house, the attic was actually the most horrifying place of all. I only got a glimpse of its horrors before Madara pulled me out and scolded me for "endangering myself."

The house needed more than just some TLC, it needed serious demolition.

"What did I say about coming down here?" A deep voice sent a chill up and down my spine. I turned around slowly and smiled as he caught me red handed.

From the vault door he watched me with scolding eyes,"How'd you get in here?" He grunted, annoyed at my stealthiness.

I swung the sword around in my hand playfully, "magic. On guard!" I took a stab at him jokingly but my husband wasn't up for my games today. He grabbed my wrist and held it firmly as he took the sword out of my hand. He put the sword back with his collection and dragged me out of the armory.

"Don't go back in there again," he warned with serious cold eyes. I couldn't tell whether he didn't want me in there for my safety or for his toys protection.

He locked the door once more, fastening the room so I couldn't indulge my curiosity. "It's not fair." I insisted and stomped up the basement stairwell.

He followed behind me, "What isn't?"

"That while your little play area is kept like a museum, the rest of the house lies in ancient ruin! I hate his house, it's disgusting and old."

He waved off my heated complaints, "it's just a fix'er up'er."

"More like a tare'er down'er." I suggested to the living room that we stood in the middle of. "The wallpaper is peeling, the floorboards are molding, you have only an old ugly couch and one end table. Where's the entertainment?" He pointed to the plain window with ripped curtains hanging over it. I sat down on the couch and looked out the drab shades, "so my entertainment is to stare out at your stupid homemade training field?" Even though the dirty obstacle course was outside in the elements, it looked more maintained than his dumb house!

He sat down beside me and wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "this way you can watch Izuna and I train! That's better entertainment than any old piano or bookcase!"

Inside I weeped, sadly and pathetically to myself I weeped for my common poor life. "I can't be on bed rest for 9 months likes this! I can't live in this house for the rest of my life! The attic-"

"Stay out of there," He instantly concluded. "You don't have to worry about the attic as long as you keep out of it." His face paled as he imagined the thousand way I could injure or even kill myself up there. He looked down at my depressed face shook me jubilantly. "I promise I'll fix up the place for you. It'll take a while though. So what do you want to distract yourself in the mean time."

Great he's trying to buy me. I thought about it but nothing seemed pleasant enough to distract me from this hell. "A book I guess, that'll keep my mind of things."

He rose from the couch leaving me to wallow in my boredom. "In the bedroom- in my nightstand- there's a couple of books. If you don't like those, after Izuna and I are done training today we'll sneak into town for you."

I watched him do some strange ritual with his tool belt. Why does he keep readjusting things, he looks fine? He patted down his bandaging on his thigh and something inside me just snapped, "what are you doing? Cease, you are driving me up the wall!"

He didn't seem bothered by my hormonal rage anymore, "Izuna's waiting outside to train, and this is what I always do before a fight."

"Gah! You're such a paranoid man! Is that why you keep all your retired robes in the basement?"

He nodded, "You're very perceptive."

"But, why?!" I stressed. "And who mended those tares?"

Sheepily he confessed, "I did." Dumbfoundment turned my brainwaves into static as I struggled to understand it. My chauvinist husband … sews? "I learned the skill from my mother." I giggled causing his face to redden. "Hey, don't judge me. It's come in handy multiple times with my wounds on the battlefield."

Oh yah, his mother was a medic. "So why must you keep them all, what's that ritual all about?" A knock came on the back patio door that connected to the dining room. Madara and I peered past the open living room and dining room to see Izuna who had been waiting outside. He signaled for his brother to hurry up; Madara signaled back to wait a minute.

"I don't want to get into it, you wouldn't understand." He checked himself over to make sure he didn't forget anything. "I'd like you to avoid going out there at all possible; my brother isn't capable of controlling his weapons sometimes."

Always the concerned one, "we're not done with this conversation yet. I want you to tell me about your peculiar collection."

He hesitated and looked back out the sliding glass door to his brother who was kicking up dirt in earnestness. He looked back to me and gave up, "All of those robes were damaged by the same person. I repair them and save them as mementoes of each of our battles, and close calls, in hopes that it will give me good luck in the future."

I tilted my head to take a side view of his vulnerable side, I was amazed that he was being so open all of a sudden. "Awe, I never thought you to be the sentimental type. That's so cute!"

"Shut it women, you heard me. Stay in here, and focus on lowering your blood pressure." He didn't wait for me to comment and slammed the patio door behind him. Sensitive topic, I'll have to probe him more on it later.

I looked around the house and found the sudden urge to vomit. It's my house too though… I suppose I should do my best to make it liveable.

"She's driving me insane, she even made me cut my hair!" I swung at my brother who limberly dodged it and counterattacked.

I caught the Kunai midair, "You married her, Bro. Suffer the consequences." I launched it and cut him swiftly across his cheek.

Last night she cried all night because my hair kept touching her while she slept. As a husband I did the only thing I could do, I compromised by cutting it all off. I'm so fucking whipped.

"Why did you marry her, the truth this time." He came at me agilely and attempted to drop kick me. I caught his ankle and brought him down to the ground. He rolled away from my punch and got back to his feet. "Because I know you didn't marry her for the supplies, you're not someone who would take marriage that lightly."

He ran at me with his fists out, he's reckless today. I dodged his simultaneous kicks and punches and matched them. "I love her," the statement caught him off guard and he used the wrong block allowing me through his defenses and right at his gut.

"Oh," he cringed forward. He raised the white flag and sat back in the dirt. "Man, I thought this would be a lot easier. You fight just as fiercely as before your mission, but how? You couldn't have been training."

I sat down next to him in the back yard and laid back in the dirt. "Not as much as I would have liked to, but I occasionally got to work out during the mission. Bella asked me to train her while I was her bodyguard so we made time to practice."

He laughed, "oh wow! I don't know what's hotter the whole Princess/Rogue relationship or the Sensei/student one. I have to admit though- she looks like a tough bitch."

"Fuck yeah," I laughed with him. "She's fast and hits hard- but you're as safe as Monk in a Temple if you get some distance. Her aim is pathetic."

Izuna started waving obliviously, I looked up to what he was focusing on and saw the woman we had just been discussing peering through the window to make sure we were still alive. She had changed into a t-shirt and shorts with a bandana in her hair. She must be cleaning. She waved back to my brother and went back to work. "God, and she's beautiful. How'd you get so lucky? A moral and proper woman who is an amazing cook and even likes to workout! Not only that but she's independent, which is awesome because clingers are the death of all men. Oh, and you can't forget how fucking patient she is. God, when dad went off on her the first day I expected her to go off."

I thought back to the old man shooting his loud mouth at her- calling her a whore… now he calls her a daughter. He's such a prick. "She's even-headed typically. I think she trained herself to drown out her emotion. Good thing too, she gets quite out of hand when she snaps." I have an official phobia of lightning because of her.

"Nothing you can't handle." My brother said with full confidence. He's always believed me to be invisible.

I shook my head, "No I couldn't." Izuna raised his brow in surprise. "If she wanted to she could kill me, and you- probably anyone within a mile."

"I don't believe it," he waved off my accusation with a shake of his head. "She's just a little girl."

You'd think that. "A siren, she lures you in close enough to kill you." I resorted to fairy tales to explain the danger that comes with the territory called Bella.

"You're paranoid."

"Damn right, she's scary." I stood on my feet and took a stance, "but you don't scare me at all. You're pathetic. Did you work out at all while I was gone?"

Izuna shakily got to his feet and rubbed his stomach that I had hit earlier, "Obviously not as much as you." I took a head shot but was quickly blocked. He countered with a kick and aimed low to knock me off balance, I jumped up to evade his low hit and kneed him in the chest. "Man," He shouted. "Go easy on me." He took a couple steps back and rubbed his new injury sorely.

"Cry baby," I teased and advanced towards him.

He went into his weapon pouch and pulled out Kunai. "So you're married, you're going to be a dad soon, what are you going to do about future missions and wars- I can sense one is approaching?" I can too.

"What about them?" A Kunai nearly cut me but I turned away just in time.

"You still going?" He dropped a smoke bomb and moved behind me.

"Of course that's a stupid question." I grabbed his wrist blindly in the smoke and bent it back. The thick fog disbanded revealing my idiot brother. "You're moves are growing redundant. You better hope there's no war coming soon, you're going to need two months at least just to catch up."

To distract me Izuna brought up the only topic he knew would blindsight me, "The question is more like, what are you going to do about Hana when we go to war?" My hold on his wrist loosened and he took his chance to kick me straight across the face.

"That was cheap!" I held together the gash that Izuna had planted across my cheek. I looked down at his shoes and saw the Kunai that he had picked up with Chakra and attached to his shoe. He must have done that when he dropped the smoke bomb.

"So what are you going to do?"

During the war Hana was the lead medic while Jonathan stayed behind to take care of those clansmen and women who didn't attend the war. Having her at war use to be a bonus, I got to kill enemies during the day and fuck all night. "I'll just have to avoid her."

Izuna pulled out a bundle of gauze from him tool belt and gave it to me to cover the bleeding wound. "Why don't you just leave her here and take Jonathan instead?"

The question brought a little light to the situation; I couldn't help but find amusement in the suggestion. "Have you forgotten about our extremely homophobic father?"

"Oh yah." He laughed.

Jonathan was the only soldier that I knew of that was gay in the Uchiha, which made him one lonely man. He was also the only man to have a less than perfect vision. His glasses and extremely short hair set him out from the rest making him a leper in the village. He took it well though and found ways to get around the system of homophobia, mainly by making blatant jokes about it.

"Tajima we need to change our motto."

My father rolled his eyes and took the bait. "To what?" He said dryly.

"Never leave your buddy's behind!" My father looked upon the man in horror. "I know, I know, it's perfect. Just call me your personal homo-genius!"

After that joke my father removed Jonthan from the army (even though he was a perfectly capable fighter,) and placed him in the medical core with all of the woman. His reasoning was "woman should stick together." Karma came back and bit him in the ass though. What my father didn't expect was Jonthan to do well as a nurse- very well actually. He rose to become the head Medic for our clan. So in retaliation my father banned him from war all together.

"Can't trust a gay to watch a man's back!" He roared at the elders who reluctantly seceded to my fathers demands.

"Jonathan, just stay back and take care of the reserves, for now anyway." Haruko grimly requested.

Jonathan smiled, "Fine by me. Now I don't have to eat rationed food, who's the real winner here Tajima?"

Although most the men like him, Jonathan was among the group of people I trusted most. He was my right hand man next to Izuna, so much so that I honored him as my wife's personal physician. She was my light and I put her life in his hands. In my mind that is more trust that I have ever accredited anyone in my life.

Bella opened the patio door and waved me over. "Honey, that doctor man is here for you." What a coincidence. I walked up the porch still holding the bloodied gauze to my face, "are you ok?" She attempted to touch the bandage.

I nodded, "hardly broke the skin. Where is he?"

She watched me unsurely but finally gave up, "living room."

"Izuna I'll be back in a bit, workout on your own. God knows you need the practice." My little brother stuck his tongue out at my childishly and kicked at the dirt in annoyance. Such a child. I poked my head around the corner of the room and saw the doctor judging our couch with a shake of his head. "What do you want." I said brashly.

He looked up with his glasses adjusted up high on his nose. "The elders want to speak with you."

I groaned loudly, "why are the always talking to me. Where's my father?"

He shrugged, "AWAL like usual I assume, this is actually about him." Great, what did he do now?

I sat down on the bed and opened my husbands end table drawer. The first thing I found, of course, was a stack of porn. I pulled out the magazines and set them beside me, I'll have to dispose of these. Under the naked pictures were three books.

An Army of One (Of course.)

One Hundred Nights of Maria (Really?)

Shinju: Myth or Reality

The last title peaked my interest, it didn't seem like a book my husband would read. I shut the end table and dumped the porn in the wastebasket across the room, he doesn't need those anymore.

"What do you want?" I shouted without a second thought. Haruko and Grayson looked up from their Shogi game and glared.

My Grandfather honked abruptly with a loud snore, "cake, damnit. I want cake!" Haruko threw a shogi piece at the half sleeping man to wake him up. He opened one eye and blinked at me angrily, "you don't have cake, out!"

I turned on my heel, "gladly."

Before I was in the clear Grayson beckoned me back. "Child get back here, we have to discuss important matters with you!" I snarled and unhappily knelt down next to Jonathan on the tatami mat to listen to our elders ramble.

Haruko began, "your father has ran us back into another war. He, without even discussing it with us or the clan, agreed to fight on behalf of the Fire." I could sense this coming. "Apparently the Wind and Fire are disputing over some missing prince."

Haji?... Opps, oh well. "Let me guess, the Senju were hired by the Wind?" He nodded.

"The Senju broke Wind?" Grandfather cranked his ear out to listen, "no wonder we hate those scoundrel's. Always stinking up the place."

Haruko took a moment to stare at the old man in silence. Grandpa… when did you lose you're freaking mind? I vaguely remembered the old man in his prime. He was a fierce fighter and more of a father to me than my own dad. It was sad seeing him go.

"Now back to what we were discussing. War is coming upon us and your father is not a favorable man right now. Our defector problem is getting out of hand and the morale is low. I suggest you work on your image if you want to be elected as leader when he falls."

Fall? "Why are you so sure he will fall?"

"Nobody's watching his back and his insanity grows more intense every day. He will either die in battle or will be overthrown, either way it is a definite result. A new leader will be chosen soon, and personally I'd like to see you nominated. So…" He turned to Haruko who nodded in agreement. "As the Elders of this clan we will help you."

"How?" Help me...?

Grayson pulled out a scroll from the inside of his robe and threw it skillfully at me. I caught it and opened the mysterious literature.

DEFECTORS

Don Uchiha

Dorian Uchiha

Futaku Uchiha

Toro Uchiha

Zuzaku Uchiha

"A list?"

Haruko nodded, "I assure you, if you take care of these men before they find our enemies- your standing with the Uchiha will be elevated. You're already on the top of everyone's mind with the arrival of these resources. If only you hadn't of-"

I narrowed my eyes at the old men. "Say one fucking thing about my wife." I dared.

He held up his palms in surrender. "I'm only stating a fact. The Uchiha aren't the type to warm up to outsiders well."

Grayson grimaced, "I would have liked to see you end up with Hana."

"Enough." I snapped. "I will take care of these men."

I looked up at the colossal tree and silently prayed for the Gods to forgive me. This world was so full of chaos and pain, it needed to be resolved. With one hand outstretched to the low branch- I plucked the multi-colored fruit.

It was red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. All the colors of the rainbow, perhaps this is the pot of gold?

I took the fruit and bit down, it tasted like…

Blood.

"Bella wake up," I felt the couch I was napping on shift as my husband kicked it to shake me awake. I snarled at the man for waking me up so rudely and recomposed myself quickly.

That dream? I looked down at the book that had fallen to the ground. I had only read a few pages before I had fallen asleep. I picked it back and noted the page I was on.

"Oh, you chose that book." Madara commented. "It's a true story too. Well most of it anyway."

I re-read the line I last remembered, Princess Ootsutsuki Kaguya, first in line to throne was white of hair and red in the eyes. She stood as the visionary for peace during times of war.

Princess Kaguya…. why is this familiar? "How are you so sure it's real?"

Izuna walked into the room behind us and distracted my husband momentarily, "Ready to go."

"Where are you going?" What is happening, I'm so confused. I was just dreaming about this woman… and I know nothing about her?

Madara pulled out a scroll and threw it to his brother who caught it with ease. "We were sent on a mission, probably won't be back in time for dinner. When I get back we'll talk about it."

Worry rushed over me, "what kind of mission. How long will you be gone?"

He shrugged, "Hopefully not even a day, but you never know. It's an easy assignment, don't stress about it. I have a squad plus Izuna coming with me."

I shouldn't have gone there, but I couldn't help but think. If something were to happen to you…. what would happen to me?

A/N: Sorry I'm late. Superbowl distracted me. :)