Madara was recklessly approached by a shinobi who looked like he belonged to the... Yamanaka clan, as told by the crest he wore across his back.

"Eat crap!!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, his stance fueled by adrenaline.

"What child's play." Madara coldly spoke. This only infuriated the Yamanaka shinobi even more so now, as evident by his gritted teeth. The Uchiha quickly grabbed a katana from a nearby corpse and struck it mercilessly through the Yamanaka's torso.

"You bastard! I didn't even get to-!"

Madara drove the sharp sword deeper into his gut, earning grunts of pain from the Yamanaka shinobi. "Go to sleep." Madara said.

I flinched in my spot, as Madara threw his body and it landed right in front of me. Madara struck him once more with the katana to make sure he had died - a classic tactic to make sure no more enemies were left, but Madara preformed it with a motivation that satisfied him. That's what made him particularly different than the rest in war. I was deeply disturbed by how moved Madara was by the sight of mere blood being spilled. It actually excited him! There was a difference between fighting because there was an obligation to, and fighting because you enjoyed it. Madara fit into the latter category. A cold merciliness militant. How could someone so cold possibly possess deep feelings? I noted how much he cared for his younger brother. There seemed to be a disconnect back home and on the field - perhaps it was that deep love and the need to protect his brother that motivated him to be so remorseless in war.

"Have your convictions wavered now that you've gotten a reality check?" Madara questioned me, noticing my distraught face. "This is reality." Madara motioned to the corpses that laid around us. "This is war. Such idleness will get you nowhere."

Indeed I was an open-book before him. But I couldn't keep my eyes off of that Yamanaka corpse, his soul was drained the minute he decided to approach Madara. Why did he hasten to his death? I was beginning to detest the idea of war and I wanted all this fighting to stop. I had an inclination that Madara deep down wished for the same.

The eyes of that particular corpse were burned into my memory, ad they just kept getting larger and larger and larger, and my heart was beating harder, it almost seemed out of my chest... until...

I took a deep breath and I startled myself awake. I looked outside of my window into the night sky.

"It was a dream." I sighed, plopping myself back onto the futon.

-

*AYUMI'S POV*

I approached the sliding tatami door to the Hyuga household, only to be welcomed by pairs of unfamiliar shoes.

Huh...? Who's here?

"Ayumi-hime!" Koniko exclaimed, her hands motioning for me to hurry up inside. "The upstate Uchiha family are here. Go ready yourself!" She eyed my dirty armor, I had just returned from a training session with my cousin, Toguya.

"Ugh, okay! Give me a second." I quickly shuffled, and took a detour so that I would not be seen by the Uchiha. Uchiha upstate family? Tajima? Here on what accordance?!

-

*3RD PERSON*

"Ayumi." Izuna's eyes lit up with excitement. For some reason, she was refreshing to be around - a change from the usual melancholic environment of violent shinobi. He could see why Madara grew a fondness towards her.

"It's a pleasure to have you all here!" She bowed towards the direction of Tajima and his wife, Izuna and Madara, tipping their heads back in acknowledgement. They all resembled each other so strongly. Honestly, I would be lying to myself if I said this didn't feel weird. Why were they here?

"You must be wondering why we're here." Tajima intervened conveniently, motioning to the stack of papers in front of him and Hayate.

"A proposition is within the works with the Senju." Hayate added.

Ayumi's eyebrows relaxed, and her lips parted halfway. What a relief! "Y-you're kidding, right?"

"I will be notifying the Senju later this week." Madara spoke. Izuna was not entirely convinced, evident by how silent he had gotten when matters around the Senju arose.

"I understand that the Uchiha have been taught through generations of war to be wary of the Senju, and that an alliance would not erase that." Ayumi raised her palms, eyeing Izuna who had nodded in agreement, "But this way, what remnants we have of family will be safe."

Hayate sighed. "My daughter is always going on about ideals. Perhaps it was fate to ally with the Uchiha which allowed us to achieve this."

Ayumi grinned, with the Uchiha's eyes all set on her.

"She sounds like Hashirama, aniki." Izuna nudged his elder brother's elbow.

"Mm." Madara crossed his arms.

"Ayumi! Ayumi!" Ayumi heard a child's voice running up behind her. It was Kenzo.

"Come play with us!" He pointed to one of the rooms down the hall. Ayumi eyed Kenzo, hesitant and wanting to discuss the proposition, but she eyed her father indicating that it was okay for her to take her leave.

"My apologies." She bowed to them. She turned around and grabbed Kenzo's hand.

Madara eyed her, and wondered where she was off to.

"You lil brat!" I ruffled his hair playfully, "Who else is here?" I slid open the children's play room, to see a couple Hyuga toddlers playing around with kunai. The household had also been a place where children could gather and bond.The heiress sighed, "Who exactly taught you all to play with weapons so early in age?"

"We have to be strong!" One of them shrieked. Not for any longer, she thought.

-

"... We would have to work on relocating our clan's compounds to make them integrate with each other more easily." Izuna suggested.

"Mm." Tajima grunted in agreement, "We cannot be all pushed to the margins of this forest laiden territory, so far from each other. We need to work on building pathways so our compounds are connected."

Hayate nodded. "I can hire construction workers for that task when needed."

"Heh." Tajima sighed, "I never thought that I would witness a treaty with the Senju in my life time. Take note, son, this goes down in the books of history." He patted Izuna's head.

"Oi! Chichi, I'm not a child for you to be treating me like that in front of them."Izuna mumbled under his breath, his annoyance earning a chuckle from Tajima.

Hayate crossed his arms, "Thank my daughter and your elder son. It would not be possible if that Madara wasn't so familiar with my daughter." The Hyuga patriarch stressed that particular word, alluding to the fact that maybe some other sort of relationship was beginning to brew. Izuna tried to stifle a chuckle at the newfound discovery by both the elders. Tajima cast his gaze towards Izuna, unaware of what had been going on.

"Don't tell me you had no clue, Tajima!" Hayate asked, with a humorous tone. "It is so apparent."

"I had pegged my son to be the type that did not pay attention to women, it can't be helped I suppose."

They both chuckled wholeheartedly.

"Well, it's true what they say. Even a chance acquaintance is preordained." Hayate said.

Izuna placed a hand underneath his chin, "Where is Madara, any way?"

-

She had sensed a heavy chakra approaching the playroom closer and closer. It was Madara, she could recognize that sensation from anywhere. "Come in, Madara."

He slid the tatami mat and as she had expected, the children froze in their tracks and ogled at Madara wide-eyed. Madara sighed, he too was beginning to understand that maybe he looked too stern, but it was unintentionally so.

He approached Ayumi, sitting cross-legged near her, but not too close, so she would feel comfortable, he thought.

"You got bored of the meeting?" Ayumi smiled towards him.

"I already skimmed through the proposition on our way here so there was no use in staying with them." The Uchiha explained.

"A-Ayumi-chan... why is that man so scary..." One of the children grabbed Ayumi's arm to hide under.

Madara sighed in exhaustion. He did not understand why he had such an affect on children to this extent.

"This is Madara-sama." The princess ruffled the Hyuga kid's hair.

Kenzo rushed up to his friend. "He's cool! He took me to the festival the other week."

They all ah'd in awe, laughing, continuing to play with each other.

Madara couldn't help but notice how Ayumi had been so attentive to them. The way she had watched them and cautioned them to wield their shuriken and kunai as safely as possible indicated to him that she loved them dearly. Was it perhaps her goal to have a family one day? He imagined for a second what sort of children their two bloodlines would produce, quickly discarding the thought away, because that would mean he had to...

Needless to say, his need to protect Ayumi almost weirdly extended to this household too. But he was curious as to her goals, and he did not want to shy away from asking.

"Ayumi." Madara gained her attention, her pale eyes set on him.

"Hmm?" She tilted her head.

"Do you want children?" He decided to be blunt with her.

Ayumi dropped her jaw wide open, a blush rising to her face. He sighed, he did not understand why he was able to do that so easily to her, though he liked it.

"M-Madara! Baka!" Ayumi barked. Madara decided to wait until she toned down her annoyed utterances, until she calmed down.

"I- I mean, I don't mind. Why ask so suddenly?"

"It's nothing." Madara smirked, and his brooding gaze was enough to cause her to look away, blushing. Thankfully the children had not payed attention, Ayumi thought to herself.

"If I could take a look into your mind some day I would do that!" Ayumi crossed her arms, pouting and blushing. Madara chuckled.

"We have to return to battle tomorrow but the future seems more promising now that we're considering an alliance." Ayumi glanced at the children playing.

Madara agreed, but for some reason he could not shake the feeling of an impending doom making its way.

Ayumi felt the same way.