Laughing Lenore had taken a step forward to continue on her walk before she came to a halt, perhaps she would lay a trap for Madara this time. Humming evilly Lenore looked down at the soft soil in the garden and began to concoct a plan. Later that afternoon Madara had gone to his room to relax for a bit, he had had no luck finding Lenore and whilst he was here he could at least think up some less obvious tricks to pull on her.
Going to lay down on his bed the young boy stopped when he saw the covers move slightly, cautiously he then pulled the sheets back and screamed like a little girl when he found clumps of mud and writhing worms littered all over his bed, his horrified expression dimming when he heard Lenore howl with laughter from the doorway.
"You scream like a little girl!" she laughed, slapping her leg.
"You act like a little boy!" he snapped back, frowning up at her.
"Aw, Moody-Madara, stop scowling." she giggled, wiping a tear from her eyelid.
At this point the young boy was certain that he was going to get her back, and he knew just how to get his revenge when it came to a woman. Entering her bedroom the young boy went about rummaging through her dresser, only slightly confused as to why there were men's clothes in there with her kimonos. Pulling a rather plain looking kimono out of the closet the young boy examined it for a minute, he would have liked to have ruined one of her nicer kimonos but he was well aware that they cost a lot of money.
Peering at the frayed edges and worn collar the young boy hitched his brow, it was not exactly the best looking dress in her collection either. Putting it onto the bed he then went about pondering what to do with it; tear it, burn it, stick it up a tree, bury it underneath the tree, there were so many things to choose from. Putting it on he began to run around the estate, the bottom dragging everywhere he went, through the house collecting dust, through the garden collecting dirt, he even ran through his favourite stream, soaking it in the process.
Grinning from ear to ear he waltzed back towards the house after an hour of adventuring, his face dropping when he opened his eyes and looked up at Lenore's furious expression, an expression which stopped him dead in his tracks.
"Give me back my kimono." she requested, whilst he regained his composure.
"No." Madara replied, still his cocky self.
"Give it back to me before I murder you and bury you underneath the house." she hissed, a vein popping out of her forehead.
"I said no. It's mine now. You have loads of kimonos." he answered, still refusing. Flinching Madara gasped when she tripped him over and then grabbed him by the ankles, picking him up she began to rattle him; leading to cherry bombs, small weapons and other miscellaneous items used for pranks to fall out of his pockets until finally the oversized kimono came off. Throwing him he caught himself, thanks to the minor training he had received from his father, his expression going from confused to angry.
"I'm telling my father on you, Gorilla!" he shouted, running off to go tell his father about her shaking him and then throwing him across the garden.
Stood there protesting his father did not seem that interested in his plight.
"Madara, you'll be a grown man soon, you can deal with this yourself." he informed him, busy working on a series of important documents.
"But Father!" he replied, his father only groaning.
"Kenji, I need you to send this document to the Rain Village." he requested, calling through one of his personal servants as the boy began to frown and stomp off.
"Gorilla!" Madara snapped, entering the bedroom where she was busy cradling her kimono.
At the time her face had been stuffed into the fabric, not at all bothered by where it had could have possibly been in the hour that Madara had had it.
"Hey, Gorilla!" the Uchiha complained again, her hands and the dress moving away from her face only slightly. "I demand an apology! You can't go around shaking your betters." he grumbled, keeping a know-it-all expression upon his face. Lenore did not reply however and only lowered her kimono and arms a little more.
"I am this close to throwing you out of a window." she mumbled, her gaze narrowing. "Or maybe drop you off the roof." she added, clearly contemplating it.
Huffing Madara crossed his arms, why was this woman so stubborn?
"Are you any closer to apologising?" he asked, squeaking and running from the room when she let out an angry roar and got up to grab him. Hiding from her until dinner time the young boy carefully entered the dining room, though only Izuna and his father were present at the time. "Where's Gorilla?" he asked cautiously, sitting down in his favourite seat.
"She is eating on her own tonight it seems." Tajima answered, glad to see a servant had finally come to feed Izuna in Lenore's place. Frowning the young boy ate his dinner and then went about searching for an ideal place to set up a new trap, though he paused in his mischief making when he heard something weird in the distance near the southern end of the estate.
"The sky looks pissed, the wind talks back. My bones are shifting in my skin, and you, my love, are gone. My room seems wrong, the bed won't fit, I cannot seem to operate, and you, my love, are gone." Madara could hear someone sing, his feet carefully padding across the floor until he came across a room he had not known about up until now.
Peering in the young boy found Lenore perched on a chair inside of the room, the oil-lit lamp on the table beside her flickering as she sat there attempting to fix her dress.
"So glide away on soapy heels and promise not to promise anymore, and if you come around again then I will take, then I will take the chain from off the door." she murmured, slipping the needle back through the fabric. "I'll never say 'I'll never love', but I don't say a lot of things, and you, my love, are gone." she continued, holding out her kimono to check it from a distance. "So glide away on soapy heels and promise not to promise anymore, and if you come around again then I will take the chain from off the door." she whispered, lowering it to start sewing again.
"Oi, Gorilla." Madara interrupted her, her soft expression altering almost instantly. "You didn't come to dinner." he continued, creeping closer.
"I'm busy." she replied stonily, starting to sew once more.
"Can I help?" he asked, examining the kimono.
"You've done enough damage." she icily replied, her ebony orbs burning into her dress. "If you want to be helpful then you can leave." she added, causing him to frown.
"Fine, I didn't want to help anyway." the small Uchiha spat, quickly leaving the room.
Glowering at her kimono Lenore muttered under her breath, though over time her mumbling dissipated and her face began to soften. Slowly her hands stopped weaving and settled on her lap thereafter, her head slowly rising to look at the door he had left open. Sighing Lenore got up and brought her kimono to her bedroom, why did Madara always have to be away or unavailable whenever she needed him the most. Sliding open her large wardrobe Lenore put her kimono back up and put her thread and needles away, making sure they were out of reach of Izuna and Madara. Preparing for an early night Lenore sat down on her bed and began to get undressed, however as she slid the collar of her kimono away from her neck and just past the curve of her shoulder the young woman stopped. There was someone watching her.
Looking over her shoulder the young woman spotted Madara peering in at her from the edge of the door frame, making direct eye contact with him he consciously braced himself for whatever she was going to say. Turning her head away Lenore watched him through the reflections in the tall mirror in the corner of the room, though she could not find the energy to question his motives for coming here and remained quiet.
"Father said that you're my fiancée and that I'm supposed to deal with you myself." he stated, though he did not sound as certain as he usually did. When Lenore did not respond the young boy continued. "I should be sleeping in here too, not in one of the guest suites." he added, causing her eyebrow to hitch. "So I'm sleeping here tonight." he informed her, flattening his lips together as he stepped into the room.
Standing up from the edge of the bed Lenore turned, his entire body tensing as he watched her come closer. Shutting his eyes and sinking his head onto his shoulders he seemed to prepare for a smack.
"Do as you please." Lenore simply replied, drifting past him as he settled and opened an eye in confusion.
"Where are you going?" he asked, turning to give her an odd look.
"I'm going to run myself a bath." she answered, disappearing into the bathroom a few doors down. Sighing Madara calmed himself, nothing had prepared him for this. Tonight he would sleep in a king-sized bed, with a woman no less. Gulping the young boy went to the bed and climbed up onto it, his body flopping sideways so he could rest on the comfortable mattress.
At first he had been laying on it in such a way that would normally be practical for a single bed, however as soon as he reminded himself this bed was twice the size of even Lenore he had rolled onto his back and sprawled out across the bed sheets eagerly. Laying there in total bliss Madara soon fell asleep, his eyes opening slowly in the morning when the sunlight broke through the trees and hit his face.
Groaning he sat up and looked around, not quite sure where he was at first until he reminded himself that he had decided to sleep in Lenore's bed last night. Peering around the young boy could not see the devil herself, but from the state of the sheets she had never come to bed in the first place. Going to breakfast Madara soon found that she had not come to eat either, causing him to check in the bathroom just in case she had fallen asleep in the tub and drowned. Finding that she was not there either the ebony haired child checked the room where she had been sewing last night, and then the bedroom again, before finally going to see if maybe she was in Izuna's room.
Finally he had found her, the young woman was standing with Ami, a girl he had seen a few days ago when he threw mud in Lenore's face. Hiding from sight the small boy spied on them, suddenly overcome with a nervous disposition that would not allow him to get any closer.
Lenore and Ami had been waiting for the key to Izuna's room at the time, as Tajima had taken to locking it to protect his youngest son from harm, but Ami seemed to be in great distress.
"Who locks a baby in a room?" she asked, almost chewing off her nails.
"A man, that's who." Lenore replied casually. "At any rate the servant will be here in a minute." the Uchiha continued.
"We can't wait that long, do something, Lenore. Knock the door down!" her friend begged, while Lenore just frowned a little.
"I would but Tajima would peel me like a peach, and besides Izuna's probably still sleeping, he's fine." the ebony haired woman tutted, trying to reason with her over dramatic friend.
"What if he jumped out of his cot?" Ami panicked, only making Lenore roll her eyes.
"He can't hold his own head up but, yes, jumped." Lenore sarcastically replied, only making Ami whine a little.
Trying to settle herself Lenore's friend stood there for a moment, contemplating everything collectively only to jump back onto the idea that something horrible might have happened to the baby.
"Oh my god, what if someone left the water running?" she asked, frowning delicately.
"Ami, no one's left the water running." Lenore groaned, just about ready to slap some sense into her friend.
"Did someone leave the stove on?" she asked, certain she could hear hissing.
"No one's cooked in their own bedroom since Tajima was a child." Lenore answered in a surly fashion.
"Well what if the window's open? If it's open a bird could fly in and-" Ami pressed on, finally breaking the camels back.
"Oh my god! You know what, I think you're right. I think I can hear something, listen!" Lenore gasped, leaning up against the door as her friend began to panic.
Shoving her own face against the door Ami tried to figure out what Lenore was referring to, while Madara as just about ready to break the door down himself.
"A fulmar… No, no, wait. One of Madara's hawks flew in!" Lenore gasped, causing Ami to groan and pull herself away from the door. "It landed on the stove and caught fire!" Lenore continued, gasping and showing her friend a look of shock. "The baby, seeing this, jumps across the room to the mighty birds aid!" Lenore proclaimed, while Ami gave her an irritated glower and Madara just stared at her in wide wonder. "The hawk however mistakes this for an act of aggression and grabs Izuna in its talons! Meanwhile the tap that has been left on fills the room with water. Baby and bird, still ablaze, are locked in a death grip, swirling around the whirlpool that fills the room!" Lenore over exaggerated, her arms flying up at either side of her body.
Scowling Ami crossed her arms while Madara just started laughing, drawing both women's attentions his way.
"Does he always hide and spy on you?" Ami asked, raising her eyebrow.
"You don't know the half of it." Lenore murmured, watching him creep closer.
"Hi." he greeted Ami, smiling up at her as she smiled back while Lenore rolled her eyes. "I didn't know Gorilla's friend was really pretty." he continued, making the blonde giggle.
"Gorilla?" she asked, glancing towards Lenore who was sourly looking down the corridor to search for the servant.
"She's really strong." Madara explained quietly. "I think she's really a man." the young boy then whispered, flinching when Lenore turned to glare at him. "Gotta go." he then informed them swiftly before running away.
Come mid-afternoon Lenore had decided to go for another walk, her umbrella resting on her shoulder as she wandered down by the riverbed just outside the estate. With Madara trapped in a child's body she had found it a lot easier to do as she pleased, she had even managed to stay out until nine at night without anyone telling her it was inappropriate for a young bride to be out so late.
"If there was a chance that we could be lovers I'd write you a book of handwritten letters and burn them all up to the end just to start over again." Lenore sang, kicking a few rocks along the bank into the water.
Watching them skip across the water and then sink Lenore let out a gentle sigh, a breath of fresh air was all she needed she supposed.
"If there was a chance that we could be lovers I'd learn how to dance, and to hold without touching. Oh love, where have you been? I'll wait for your lead to come in." she chimed, kicking her leg as she attempted to dance with her umbrella spinning. "So tell me the secret, is there a way into your heart 'cause I want to believe it. Oh will I be wishing until the last falling star." she continued, twirling and causing her hair to rise and fall.
Jumping up she landed upon a rock with her ebony eyes gleaming.
"If there was a chance that we could be lovers I'd swim seven oceans and keep going further. I'd hold my breath until you slipped those words that belong on your lips." she sung, putting her hand to her forehead to pretend to search the river far and wide. "Say a line could be anything, stay with me tonight. Tell me the secret, is there a way into your heart 'cause I want to believe it. Oh will I be wishing, I'll keep on wishing until the last falling star." Lenore uttered, dropping down onto the rock she had perched herself on to gaze at the trickling water below her.
"Why are you here?" Madara asked, having apparently tracked her down to his favourite stream.
"Because I like it here." she answered, still hidden behind her umbrella.
"Well this is my spot." the young boy informed her, the click of rocks getting louder behind her before he stopped. "If you're gonna hang out here you have to do what I say." he added, pouting sternly.
Raising her eyebrow Lenore turned only slightly and lifted her umbrella to put it onto her other shoulder so she could see him.
"As my future wife you have to entertain me. So you have to keep singing." he stated, frowning now as he attempted to ignore a small blush on his cheeks. Examining this side of him she had not seen before Lenore turned away and chuffed a little into her curled up index finger, Madara had apparently been strangely tender as a child.
"What do you want me to sing?" she enquired, the first thing to have been directed at him since last night.
Blinking Madara looked at her for a moment, rather surprised she was going to go along with this.
"Something funny." he ordered, trying to regain his composure.
"Funny how?" she asked, peering down at her sandals.
"Well, I always laugh when something inappropriate happens, so something like that." he answered, not quite sure what he really wanted her to sing.
"There was an old farmer who lived on a rock, he sat in the meadow just shaking his… fist at some boys who were down by the creek. Their feet in the water their hands on their… marbles and playthings, and at half past four there came a young lady, she looked like a… pretty young creature." Lenore sang, while Madara just stood there staring at her. "She sat on the grass and pulled up her dress and showed them her… ruffles and laces and white fluffy duck. She said she was learning of a new way to… bring up her children so they would not spit, while the boys in the barnyard were shovelling… refuse and litter from yesterdays hunt." she continued, only making the young boy's expression widen.
By now his face had began to burn up, and even though she was not saying anything dirty he could not help but anticipate it.
"While the girl in the meadow was rubbing her… eyes at the fellow down by the dock. He looked like a man with a sizable… home in the country with big fences out front, and if he asked her politely she'd show him her… little pet dog who was subject to fits, and maybe she'd let him grab hold of her..." the older Uchiha sang, getting a little carried away with herself at this point. "small tender hand with a moment so quick, and then she'd bend over and suck… on his candy, so tasty and made of butterscotch, and then he'd spread whipped cream all over her… cookies that she had left on the shelf." Lenore stated, tilting her head from side to side. "And if you think this song is dirty you can go-" she went to sing, flinching when Tajima shouted.
"Lenore!" he belted out, causing her to go pale and then whip round in shock and gaze at him.
At this moment in time he had slapped his hands over Madara's ears, a deep scowl churning on his face as she stared at him like a deer caught in headlights.
"Of all the people in the world I find you trying to teach my son such vulgarity!" he protested, while she tried to explain herself.
"I didn't say anything rude." she tried to reason with him, while he simply picked Madara up and dumped him onto his shoulder.
"I advice you wash your mouth out with soap before you come back to the estate." her father-in-law muttered, whilst Madara just continued to stare at her right into the distance and between the trees.
Groaning Lenore remained out by the river until later into the afternoon, her feet gently padding off of the floor as she headed towards her room. Shutting her door the young woman sighed and put her umbrella down, though she stopped when she found Madara sitting on her bed waiting for her in the shadows.
"You're back." he spoke, trying to look grown-up. "Where have you been?" he asked coolly, lighting one of the oil lamps above their bed.
"It's six in the afternoon." Lenore stated, flattening her features as she went to the other side of the room and tried to open up the curtains.
"No, wait, I wanna keep them shut." Madara called, getting in her way.
Hitching an eyebrow Lenore stared at him for a moment, almost growing a little uncomfortable when he started to smirk up at her.
"So… since you're my fiancée does that mean I get to see you in an evening kimono?" he asked, while she continued to give him a plain look.
"You're seven." she reminded him.
"So! I can look at girls!" he huffed, pouting up at her.
"Yeah, that are your own age." she stated firmly, striding towards her wardrobe to search for something a little lighter to wear around the house.
"But I don't know how to talk to girls my own age." Madara grunted, causing her to pause for a moment.
"Madara Uchiha, unable to speak to girls." she gasped, turning to look at him. "I never thought I'd see the day." she added, ruffling his hair. "Well, I guess if you're not able to talk to girls then you're too young to be dating them!" she surmised, heading towards the bathroom to get changed.
Scowling the small boy went back to sitting on the bed, his arms wrapping around his knees as he grumbled into them. Once she had come back to retrieve something else Madara lifted his head.
"Hey wait, do you know any more songs?" he asked, while she continued to potter around the room.
"No." she answered plainly.
"Aw, c'mon! Where'd you learn that other song anyway?" he whined, while she went to remind him he had taught her that song and then fell silent. No, in his current state he had not taught her anything. She could not even reminisce with him when he was like this.
Letting out a hoarse sigh on that note Lenore finally put in the effort to put her umbrella back into the closet for safe keeping.
"Hey, you're going to sleep here tonight right?" the young boy asked, trying not to look interested in knowing if she was or not.
"You have your own bed." the ebony haired woman answered.
"But I want to share this bed." he replied, frowning at the floor with his face turned away.
Examining him Lenore relaxed her expression after a short period of time.
"You're too young to be trying to share a bed with a grown woman." she informed him.
"No!" he snapped, glaring up at her as she allowed vague shock to come over her features. "I just want to sleep on your bed with you. We can stick a pillow between us, that way I wont get crushed by you in your sleep when you roll over!" he tried to compromise, tensing when the young woman threw a pillow at his face.
"Brat." Lenore grumbled, leaving the room angrily thereafter.
Frowning Madara yanked at the corner of the pillow with his teeth and let out a disgruntled growl, his ebony eyes dulling when he realised he had been eating a pillow. At the dinner table the boy had put in the effort to sit next to her, his voice like a broken record beside Lenore as she tried to feed Izuna.
"Then this thing comes flying into the room and picks him up." Madara stated, waving his hands around eagerly. Lenore was not entirely sure if he knew he was repeated her bird story from earlier or not but it kept him busy at least, his voice occasionally becoming muffled when he stuck food into his mouth.
"Madara, don't speak with your mouth full." Tajima told him off, his hand rubbing his temple as he spoke.
Finding themselves alone in the dining room Lenore peered towards her father-in-law, a pout coming over her features.
"It's been a while and they don't seem to be getting any better." she spoke, only stating the obvious in his opinion.
"I've noticed. I still can't get in touch with Katashi either, I don't know what I'm going to do." the man sighed, rolling his fingers over his temple.
"I wish these was something I could do." Lenore uttered, getting to her feet after scooping Izuna up into her arms.
"This better not be permanent." Tajima grumbled, narrowing his gaze.
Wearily Lenore went to her bedroom to go to sleep, her heavy head hitting the pillows before it slid back and forth until she was comfortable. Tensing she opened her eyes a few minutes later however, her hand lifting up the covers to look down at Madara, who had slithered in from the foot of the bed to lay bent around her stomach and legs.
"What are you doing?" she sceptically enquired, twitching her eyebrow.
"I told you, this is our bed." he informed her, scooting further up the bed until he was laying his head between the bottom of her pillow and the mattress.
Groaning Lenore put the covers back over her, she was much too tired to push him off of the edge of the bed, and far too warm to get out of bed and move herself. Stifling a yawn Lenore finally became comfortable, her eyes remaining hooded as she stared through the darkness.
"I can't sleep." she heard Madara mumble.
"Then count sheep." she grumbled back.
"One… two…" he spoke, pausing.
"Did it work?" Lenore dared to ask softly.
"I ran out of fluffy sheep to count." the child replied, pressing his forehead against her chest.
Blinking Lenore drew her hand up and took it back down, the gentle pat of skin breaking the silence as Madara sat up and rubbed his cheek.
"You don't touch a woman like that." she informed him, a vein popping out of her forehead.
"But you're not a woman, you're a gorilla." he answered, ducking further down the bed and stuffing his face into her stomach before she could slap him again, but this time with some actual force.
"I really will throw you out a window." she warned him, flattening her lips sternly.
Regaining her composure and relaxing once more Lenore tried to go to sleep, however Madara soon spoke once again, waking her up in the process.
"I still can't sleep." he mumbled, his eyes shut as he lapped up the body heat radiating off of her that he was not accustomed to. "Sing me a song. That helps Izuna sleep." he requested.
"Aren't you a little old to be asking for lullabies?" the young woman asked, hitching her brow sleepily.
"Fine, I'll just count more sheep." he threatened her, waking her up that little bit more.
"Alright, alright." she quickly intervened. "Now let's see… A lullaby.." the woman murmured, trying to think of something short and snappy.
Beginning to hum Lenore reached her hand towards his head and began to run her fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp in the process.
"I need some sleep, it can't go on like this. I tried counting sheep but there's one I always miss. I need some sleep, time to put the old horse down. I'm in too deep and the wheels keep spinning 'round." the ebony haired woman whispered, waiting to see if he had fallen asleep before she even considered trying to herself.
Thankfully he had fallen asleep by this point, allowing her to join him, her mind being enveloped by her dreams after several long minutes of simply laying there waiting patiently. In the morning Lenore stretched and yawned, her eyelashes separating as her eyelids fluttered open. Humming she lay there for a moment and gazed at the ceiling, her head tilting to the side to look at Madara who was laying beside her and then away again.
Blinking Lenore quickly sat up and looked at him, a look of surprise and joy coming over her. He was back to normal! Overcome with glee Lenore wrapped her arms around him and pulled him closer, his face being buried into her chest but she did not care.
"Madara!" she gasped, burying her face into his hair.
"Lenore." the Uchiha responded in a muffled and groggy manner.
Confused he attempted to figure out where he was before his arms wrapped around her and he began to feign just as much excitement, it was not every morning that he could wake up to Lenore willingly stuffing her chest into his face.
"Oh, I've missed you." she spoke, kissing his face all over.
"I dunno what I've done but I wanna keep doing it." Madara replied, almost melting into her when she pressed her lips against his and held them there. Both of them stiffened when there was a scream from down the hall, which was apparently coming from Izuna's room.
"Why am I bald?!" the younger Uchiha screamed, looking up at his panicked older brother and shocked sister-in-law as they came through the doorway.
Stood there Lenore explained the entire situation that had gone down over the last few days, including the hair incident which left Izuna sour faced and glaring at his older brother.
"I said I was sorry." the Uchiha pressed, whilst his brother continued to scowl.
"You shaved me bald!" he protested, stilling when Lenore stuck something on his head.
"I thought this would happen, so I made you a wig for when you became an adult again." she explained, the ebony haired teen touching his new locks with a confused expression thereafter.
"That looks like my hair!" Madara snapped, running his fingers through his hair. "That's my style!" he continued, frowning.
"We had considered shaving you bald to make up for it, Madara." his fiancée informed him, causing the ebony haired Uchiha to take a drastic change in pace.
"Oh, well, if you put it like that, it looks great on you, Izuna!" he gasped, nodding hesitantly.
Rolling her eyes Lenore began to lead Madara from the room, she still had to punish him for ruining her favourite kimono.
"I'm glad everything's back to normal." she sighed, heading back towards the bedroom.
"Lenore, promise me you wont shave me bald." her fiancé requested, looking at her searchingly.
"I have a far greater punishment for you." she mumbled, handing him a broom and a duster. "Get sweeping, or I get shaving! You're going to start pulling your weight about around here." she stated, crossing her arms firmly.
"Of course, oh you're such a loving, wonderful bride!" Madara stated, kissing her cheek before beginning to sweep the floor around the bed.
"I'm glad we finally see eye to eye." she uttered, smiling softly.