This chapter has been reviewed for better quality purposes, happy reading! :)

The Adversity of The Warring States

A sickening crack resonated in the hollow room as Madara stared bemusedly at the situation.

"So tell me, what you were going to do again?" interrogated Izuna. The young Kurama shinobi sat with his back against the wall. His arms dangling by his sides. They now knew not to interrogate with the Sharingan, and instead, Izuna relied on simple methods. He stared at the young man in front him who looked to be in his mid-20's, much bruised and half conscious.

"Oi, Kurama…" Izuna nudged him with his foot. If he did not respond now, they would have to resort to much more severe torture methods or a scheme involving some kind of mind manipulation. Which they had not applied yet. Izuna turned to face Madara and shook his head in dismay.

Madara knew full well that the Kurama shinobi were sent to kill the Heiress. It did not inconvenience him to know that she was involved, but what really perplexed him was the knowledge of the four Kurama shinobi which carried them beyond the walls, and into the Uchiha territory and stronghold undetected. How did they do it?

Izuna had already narrowed it down to a few clans, but unless the Kurama shinobi revealed the details, they would have to work their prisoner manually. Izuna took out a kunai and lazily ran it over the Kurama shinobi's arm. "You know, you still have time… say it now before you run out of chances." Izuna cooed in his ears.

The Kurama shinobi, sensing the threat, cussed at Izuna, "fuck you Uchiha. You think I don't know? … you have no other methods left. If you kill me, you have no leads."

'At least he was partially attempting to bargain for his life.' Izuna thought, amused with the attempt he raised his eyebrow sarcastically, "good job Kurama, you figured out one part of it, and that you will have to die eventually..." He snickered.

Madara crossed his arms as he leaned against the dungeon wall. His shadowed frame could be spotted from the cell other end of the cell. Hikaru had been on a reconnaissance mission for the week, so Madara had to supervise this interrogation. Having been there for some time, it was less than ideal for him because he had commitments to the council throughout the day. He pushed off the wall and walked into the cell because he had wanted to settle this before the day ended.

Izuna backed off, letting Madara walk towards the Kurama shinobi.

"Tell us who sent you, and we will let you escape from here. My medic will even heal your wounds," Madara said softly, as he stared directly into his swollen eyes. The shinobi stared at Madara in disbelief. He knew it was a ploy "you think you can tell me that, and then get your information? I know you will kill me afterwards."

"Not at all. You already knew you were going to die when you breached our walls. If you tell me who sent you, I will let you go, save for a few exceptions." Madara bargained.

Izuna immediately intervened, "Nee-san! What are you saying? We need to kill this rat." Madara leaned over and grabbed the Kurama's neck and applied precise pressure to slow his thinking down on purpose. His patience was running thin, and he needed the near death shinobi to concede to his wishes. The Kurama struggled profusely, as he moaned in pain. Life was leaving his pathetic body, and Madara kept up with his end and that is when he heard the words he wanted to hear. A very dull whisper, "I'll do it."

Madara did not release the pressure, "Hmm?" he questioned, pretending to not having heard the request a first.

"I-I-I'll do it…"he whispered for the second time, clearly struggling to keep his consciousness. Madara let go, hearing the Kurama cough his guts out. It was not as tough, the moment the Kurama discussed his insecurity in regards to his own passing, Madara was able to discern that, so that he could negotiate with him. It had been six days and the shinobi had soiled his clothes repeatedly. His skin was burnt in several places from torture, and both of his arms were broken with his leg ligaments cut. He was useless, but that did not matter much to Madara. He wanted the Intel, and the Kurama wanted out.

Upon reaching the enforced agreement, both Izuna and Madara left the dungeon's, leaving behind the Uchiha guards to watch over the Kurama.

Madara walked towards the stronghold because he had received a summons by his Oba-sama earlier for a private audience. She was someone who he had respected immensely. The woman had single-handedly taken the clan under her wings to protect them when they were at their weakest. His own mother had passed away from sickness, and most of his brothers had died on the battlefield as children, but his grandmother had stood and shielded them through it all.

Izuna and Madara parted ways at the stronghold as Izuna was tasked with the duty of assigning a medic to the rotting Kurama in the dungeons. Madara walked through the open shoji panels of his grandmothers chambers, and bowed in respect.

"Ah, Madara… come, sit," she had been expecting him. Today was a rest day for her from her usual matriarchal duties. She sat on her futon and admired the view through the rooms large floor to ceiling windows with her afternoon tea resting beside her futon bed. She was still a vision of beauty, even after all the years of endurance. She gracefully picked her cup and looked at her grandson who sat seiza beside her futon.

"A meeting without chaperones is not and will not be permitted, is that understood my dear? She will become your wife with the appropriate protocol, and once she is put under your care, you may do as you please," she stated strictly. His face remained still, but more than anything, he was reminded of the heiresses defiance. She had bite after all, if Oba-sama had to call on him to address it.

"I know what you are thinking child, but she did not say anything to me. Her behavior was distinguishable, and the ladies in waiting had mentioned that they had left her unattended in your private study." She added to clear the suspicion.

"Gomen, Oba-sama." He bowed, but he knew exactly what he wanted to do with her that very moment.

"Teasing the situation with Mito's proposal, or Takara, at this point is unfavorable… I have ensured that her doubts remain cleared, but it is something that I would not want to bring up again. She is now in a frame of clear conscious to serve us wholeheartedly, and as the leader of this clan, you must ensure that your matriarch is loyal to you. Her mind is still young, but she will be the very foundation of Uchiha's trust, and development."

He knew full well the consequences of mentioning the Mito and Takara, hence he played his cards the way that he did with her. He had been checking to see if she would keep quiet about it, but to also assert that she would not receive respect in his clan based on her status. She would need to earn the respect, and the fact that her debauchery would cost her.

He had seen many women like her in his past, who held status, yet lacked the dignity. His displeasure settled in with the image of Tobirama Senju. The very Senju, passing his seconds to him like rotten meat. His jaw tightened, "She will be taken care of, and treated with what she deserves," with that, he stood up, once again bowing to pay his respects, and then leaving.

"Tsk, young blood. He still too rough." She whispered to herself.

She needed to ensure that matters fell rightly in their places. A month and 3 weeks left before their wedding, and they were still struggling to get a general understating of each other. Madara would need to be gentler, and Mirai- invested in the clan.

Rei-sama continued sipping her tea in silence as she stared at the view encompassing her window.

Senju Estates

The sun was setting, and the whole clan had been expecting good news for some days now. Mito had gone into early stages of labor, and there was silence in the birthing chamber. It was a special room hidden deep within the stronghold which was considered sacred for birthing of Senju royalty with no male access. Mito rested in a circular curtained area with a futon in the middle. She bled profusely from her womanhood, and felt similar symptoms as what her monthly blood had brought on. It had not felt as bad as what she thought for it to be. Reason being, the medics had induced her into a sleeping-comatose state for her to make it past most it without struggle, until the final process of expelling the fetus.

Hashirama's shinobi comrades had gathered around him, and despite his worries, they coaxed him into celebrating the opportune moment of a soon-to-be Senju heir. He drank sake with the clansmen and played games until none of them could hold decorum. Hashirama trudged back to his room in heavy drunkenness. He thought of Tobirama, who had still not spoken to him since their last conversation, but Hashirama would address that later. For now, he wondered what Mito would be feeling. He had wanted to be there in support of her.

Once the little one would emerge, as per customs, he would be granted private audience with Mito and his child a day after the birth. In that time period, Mito would be provided utmost critical care and rest, meanwhile nursing her infant for the first few times. He closed his eyes and rested, envisioning that the next time he would open his eyes, the news of the birth of his child would resonate in his ears.

The clans people had made bets on the gender of the child. Some thought it would be a girl, and others were positive that it would be a boy. In either case, Mito and Hashirama had ensured that they would be happy with it regardless of they would be blessed with.

Uchiha Stronghold

The clear afternoon marked the end of the Uzumaki voyage to the Uchiha lands. Mirai had spent a week at the Uchiha stronghold which encompassed a tribute to Tajima Uchiha, her engagement ceremony, celebrations of their clan union, and individual meetings with Madara's close blood relatives.

A month and two weeks were now left until the wedding, and today was the last day before they would set out for Uzushiogakure. Mirai's belongings had been sent off in advance along with elder Kin's. She had not seen Madara since the third day of her trip, when they had met in his private study with the awful first encounter now resonating between them. Today would be her last meeting with him, and this time, with her chaperones intact.

She had drawn a light shawl around her to protect her from the chill outside despite no snow in the season yet, it was equally as cold. Her lilac kimono was secured with a blue obi, and her feet were adorned with socks and getta sandals. Her long hair had been swept in a low bun with long strands framing her face. One thing she had not taken off since the day she had performed the union rituals with Madara was the pendant he had secured around her neck. Her intuition had been to keep it with her because of its significance. After all, it had belonged to his mother…

Currently, she had been invited to the barracks to view Izuna and Madara train, along with accompanying Madara for the next few hours before wrapping up her trip. She was escorted to the barracks where she could see two figures sparring in the distance. She could spot Izuna and Madara panting at the same time whilst circling each other, and waiting for the other sibling to make the next move.

Izuna wore a mesh top with loose trousers with his hair in a low ponytail, which reached the small of his back. Madara, on the other hand, stood bare, with his dark trousers riding dangerously low around his waist line. She could see the sweat glimmering in the junction of his collarbones and sliding down the crevices of his broad chest, and down his defined abdominals. There were bandages which were tied tightly around his calves till his ankles for high impact speed.

Both brothers were engaged in an intense battle when Mirai had arrived. Neither one shifted their focus off of each other, but were quite aware of her presence. Mirai made herself comfortable on a stool nearby as she waited on both brothers to finish. She observed their stances, and noticed many differences. For example, Madara was always more offensive than Izuna but Izuna relied more on his jutsu than Madara. Their skill was beyond anything she had ever seen before. Even though she grew up witnessing the Senju military drills in Uzushiogakure, it was never with such tactics that the Uchiha praticed.

They sparred for over an hour, and surprisingly, Mirai was very involved in observing their combat action. She did not have experience on the battlefield, but she had a great appreciation for the skill. Towards the end of the spar session, both brothers were provided towels by nearby servants as they parted ways. Madara walked towards the stable while Izuna went outwards towards the forest. Madara's hair swayed in his high ponytail with the wind as he walked towards Mirai's direction.

Mirai suddenly grew stiff, seeing him partially nude, without a haori and walking towards her. Yet, for Madara, it was something out of routine, and his comfortability with his nudity. Nonetheless, he smirked at her. 'For someone to have dealt with a man before, she behaves quite skittishly,' he thought. He walked past her and reached for his white haori which hung on a wooden stump close by, leaving a respectable distance between them.

Being conscious of Oba-sama's conversation with him earlier in the morning, he maintained his distance. As he set the folds together with his skilled fingers, he eyed her as she sat there, clearly flustered by his bare body and stare. She sat stiffly as servants approached him with water, and extra towels. He let his mane run free from its constraints which now cascaded across his face, shoulders and back. She looked away from his eyes which were too intensely focused on her.

Her thoughts went to Tobirama, and his concerned sanguine eyes; but this was different. The way Madara stared at her was challengingly, and almost predatorily. She turned her head once again to face him, he tied his sash as he walked towards her. "You do not need to veil your true nature with the modest façade here. Your actions resonated quite loudly to the respected entities of my clan" he asserted, referring to his grandmother's knowledge of their unchaperoned meeting.

He would toy with her a little more. To him, she had alerted his grandmother of his actions. He needed to teach her to keep a lid to their only interaction. Mirai stood up to his accusation, but remembered their first meeting and its remnants. "I have breached np lines of trust" she mumbled softly, trying not to instill another situation.

A spitfire she was. It would be an entertaining situation if she would be involved with future plans, and that too with plotting against the Senju. 'A youngling living a shielded life… until now,' he thought.

"Is that so?" he mused, as he continued to walk past her, towards the open grounds. Instinctively, she followed behind him with her chaperones waiting behind at the stables. Madara stopped close to a stump which was secured towards the middle of the open green ground. He stood there for some time as he observed the sky. He put two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly, while placing his arm out. Within moments, a large falcon flew into view and made its trajectory straight onto his extended arm.

Mirai eyed the large body. Indeed, it was a magnificent creature. With its pointed beak and its dark rich brown color, it reveled in its majestic presence. The bird was a bit larger than normal falcons, in her opinion. She was sure that it could not perch itself on her arm without taking her down. The bird instinctively stared at her predatorily, making her uncomfortable with the situation. She took a few steps back, feeling intimidated.

"You avoid stepping back, he feeds on fear. He will attack you if he senses it," He said, without looking at her as he brushed his hand over the falcon's wings in a caring fashion.

"He is quite big for his species," she stated in awe. "He is a guardian falcon. He has been of service to the Uchiha for most of his life."

Mirai could see why he admired the bird, it was useful and loyal to his master since its birth. Madara turned towards her and offered her to pet the falcon, to which she refused at first. He fed the bird a piece of meat from a tiny pouch hanging from his sash. "He will not attack you if he senses that you are chaste in nature and loyal to it" Madara smirked.

Mirai fidgeted, "I am unsure of its nature before I trust it." She replied.

Both knew the indirect contexts of the conversation hurled at each other.

Madara moved the bird closer to her, almost as a challenge after her statement. The bird perched its head forward inquisitively trying to explore the intruding chakra approaching it. Mirai slowly drew her body back and reached her hand out from her kimono sleeves to pet its head. In one solid movement, the falcon, feeling a different chakra nature, wildly thrashed its wings and aimed its beak at Mirai's hand, and suddenly stopped as she touched its tiny forehead with her finger. It was a strange moment, where in an instant, the bird had calmed down. It seemed to have calmed down after feeling her chakra signature.

Madara stared at his loyal falcon critically, who, only seconds past, was behaving erratically.

The winged creature was known to be a ruthless predator with many of its like, whilst wandering around the stronghold. But this one was harder to control and had only taken loyalty to Madara ever since he was a young boy.

Mirai felt a little lighter after that the bird had stopped reacting to her foreign touch briefly, before once again thrashing its wings and flying away in a frenzy. She slowly looked off into the distance, following the bird and noticing that the sun was now setting in the distance. The earlier exchanges between them had made her feel that she had emerged victorious for today. There were moments of silence between them as they looked over the surrounding hills on the lower terrain. 'Everything was about to change, and nothing would be the same again,' she thought.

Uzushiogakure would be awaiting their return from this journey. The next trip she would take would be her final trip as an Uzushiogakure representative. She turned to look at Madara as he stared into the distance towards the orange sun and scenery. His high collared haori protecting him from the slow cold wind.

It was true that he had found her history with the Senju repulsive, but he planned to expose her to the consequences of her past. Her brave nature against his threatening one had left him entertained. He side glanced her momentarily before reverting his attention to the sunset. She on the other hand, kept thinking of vengeance over Tobirama once she started her life on Uchiha soil.

Someone had approached them, and she turned to see her chaperones, "Hime-sama, we have been informed that it is time for your departure, Rei-sama has asked us to escort you to the main hall." one of the chaperones spoke forth. Mirai nodded her head, but not before briefly exchanging a glance with Madara, who seemed to be nonchalant.

She silently bowed to him out of his status, even though her sentiments conveyed the opposite. She then turned and followed the chaperones back to the barracks.

Senju Estates

Mito had been in labor through the night, and it was now mid-afternoon. Hashirama had yet to any hear news. Meanwhile, in the private quarters, Mito struggled profusely to give birth.

She had awoken from her comatose condition during the early hours of the day with heavy bleeding accompanied with extreme pains because of the stretching within her core. The healers had immediately taken steps to identify if she was ready to push but, yet again, it was a false alarm. They had consistently checked her to see if the head of the baby had crowned but it had taken refuge in the same position for the remainder of the afternoon. The head medic, an old lady, made her way to the chamber later in the day to the make sure that she was now coaxing Mito to relax her pelvic muscles to ease the child into a birthing position before she was really required to push.

Mito lay on a toweled futon with her legs bent apart as she gripped the sides of the futon until her knuckles had turned white. Everyone in the corridor could hear her agonistic screams of pain. Her red hair matted to her faced as her body kept urging her to react to the painful contractions. Her nude form glistened with a sheen of sweat as she kept wishing for the pain to subside.

"Mito." The head medic called out as Mito had been in a bout of unconsciousness for a few moments after yelling loudly. "Mito" she called out again, without any response. The Medic kneeled between her legs, and using her fingers, she felt the crown which was unmoving from its position yet again. She immediately informed her faction of the predicament, because the mother to-be was exhausted and required immediate relief.

"We will need to push the babe forth, forcefully if need be. To cut her womb would be the last option I would want to pursue. We will need to work on this immediately, as her body is expelling the child out but the child seems to be stuck at an awkward position and is not moving." She explained.

Two healers under the head medic's immediate instructions used their hands to push against Mito's swollen bulge, as Mito was told to push. She took a sharp breath in and scrunched her eyes as she pushed harder than ever before, as she felt her insides burn. The healers kept pushing on her abdomen in a downwards position continuously, and after a few minutes of struggle and quick breathing her loud screams were outperformed by tiny squeals. She laid back down from the delirium, panting as tears fell from her now wide eyes. In front of her was a tiny little form, squirming and crying. The baby was immediately taken to be washed.

Mito was exhausted beyond belief at this point but she could still feel an unbearably searing pain. She again screamed out without remorse. The healers were too concerned with the little one to notice that Mito was in need of sudden help. The head medic was immediately alarmed and made her way back to Mito. What she saw next was both a surprise and shock. She could see the crowning of a second head as Mito pushed based on instinct and without much effort, the second babe eased out.

All throughout, Mito had been carrying not one, but two children and no one was aware of it! It explained the massive chakra bursts and feeling of constant unease. Mito was immediately tended through her after birth care, while her children were bathed and wrapped in thick blankets and brought to her. As soon as she saw her children, tears of joy escaped her swollen eyes. She held them for the first time and planted a kiss each on their foreheads.

What a surprise this had been. The strong natures she felt swirling within her had always been not one, but two chakras. Upon seeing their tiny faces, she promised to protect them with every ounce of her being.

Hashirama had been sitting in his private study all day when a messenger clone appeared in front of him. "Hashirama-sama, Mito-sama has just given birth."

Hashirama immediately stood up with uncontrollable emotion. Tear rimmed around his eyes as he rushed to hug the messenger in a frenzy. He could not believe that he had become a father. They had been trying to bear children for two consecutive years now, and finally, that dream had come true.

Meanwhile, the head medic excused her way into his office. "Hashirama-sama, Mito has given birth to not one, but two healthy pups." she exclaimed.

He couldn't believe his ears or his luck.

Kami.

"Twins…really?" he slowly mumbled in disbelief.

"A little Hime and Hiko," she beamed.