Later one night Lenore was still busy at work on the jumper she was supposed to be knitting for Madara, her voice murmuring gently as she sleepily tapped her needles together with her eyes shut.
"Knit one.. Pearl two.." she mumbled, drifting off to sleep.
"Lenore?" Izuna enquired, jumping ever so slightly when the young woman snorted and flinched in her seat.
"Knit one, pearl two." she gasped, eyes wide with surprise before they drifted closed once again.
Tilting her head forwards sleepily Lenore's hands continued to knit, though it did not appear they were getting anywhere.
"Are you still awake, Lenore? It's two in the morning." he uttered, pouting softly.
"What day?" she asked in a groggy fashion, opening her heavy eyes for only a moment to peer up at Izuna. "I can't help it, Izuna, I have to finish this jumper." she groaned sleepily, while he gave her a soft look and gazed down at it curiously.
"How's it coming?" he asked.
"Oh, I dunno, I haven't been able to see for two hours." she murmured, beginning to fondle the fabric. "It feels alright." she spoke, while Izuna took it from her.
"Let me have a look." he uttered, examining the ebony wool closely. "Well, you've fixed the neck problem, only one neck-hole." he uttered, while Lenore drifted her eyebrows up for a moment and then gave the wall in the distance a rather unexcited stare.
"Goody." she responded stiffly.
"What's this thing?" Izuna asked, while Lenore simply gave him a confused and tired glance.
"That's a sleeve." the woman answered.
"Oh, and what's this one?" he then asked, picking up a second tube-shaped clump of wool.
"That's the other sleeve." Lenore answered, hitching her eyebrows up as she questioned where he was going with this.
Beginning to drift off once more Lenore is soon dragged away from the edge of slumber land by Izuna's voice.
"Lenore?" the young teen then asked.
"Yeah?" she enquired, pushing open her heavy eyes to peer up at him when his voice awoke her.
"What's this one?" he asked carefully, almost as disheartened as her.
"Oh no, three sleeves!" she moaned, feeling her head sink onto her shoulders. "Izuna, do you know anyone with three-" she went to say, being abruptly cut off by the Uchiha.
"No." he simply stated, handing the jumper back to her as she sighed.
"Oh well." she mumbled. "Well, here I go again, Lenore the Ripper." she entitled herself, gazing down at all her hard work she would need to pull apart.
"I'm losing ground, Izuna." she murmured, watching him as he said a quiet 'goodnight' and told her to go to bed before she accidentally knitted herself into the jumper as well.
By morning Lenore was absolutely shattered, her hazy vision causing her to bump into walls, pillars, and the occasional servant who had not seen her lumbering towards them.
"Oh, here's sleeping beauty now." Madara uttered, seeing her wander into the bedroom with her arms hung by her sides.
"Morning, Lenore." Hashirama uttered, having been here speaking to Madara about one thing or another.
"Morning." Madara also spoke once she was sitting on the bed, yawning to herself.
"Morn…" she mumbled, cutting herself off to yawn again and then mutter incoherently.
"Open your eyes, Lenore.." the leader's son uttered, observing her pink-ish eyes.
"They are open." she responded, peering at the Senju when he held out a glass.
"This might help." he offered, while she just observed the red liquid.
"No thanks, don't like tomato juice." Lenore murmured, causing the pair of men to blink somewhat.
"That's not tomato juice, that's milk." Madara stated, while she gave it an odd stare.
"Why's it red?" she questioned bluntly.
"It isn't, that's the glow from your eyes." he replied, making the young woman's lips contort up to bare one side of her teeth.
"Eurgh…" she spoke, clearly put off by that little fact.
Examining her curiously Madara could tell she had the same kimono on from yesterday, causing him to wonder if she had even been in their room since yesterday morning.
"What were you doing last night, Lenore?" the Uchiha curiously enquired.
"Oh, just working in the sheep sheering hut out back." she replied, her eyes lolling towards the floor.
"Hm, making something for me?" he asked, giving her a knowing smile.
"No." she replied stiffly, tilting backwards so that she could lean further onto the bed.
"Oh, come on, what is it? Give me a hint." he stated, while she just gave him a tired look.
"Alright, I'll give you the same hint I gave you last time." she uttered, deciding she would play into his little game. "It's got three arms, two necks and a foot sticking out of its back." she quickly told him, while he nodded a little as she went.
"Lenore!" he gasped, grinning like an idiot. "You're knitting me a jumper!" he exclaimed, to which Lenore's eyes widened.
"What?" she snapped, rather surprised.
Settling a little Madara chuckled to himself, while she simply continued to stare at him.
"Hm, that was a pretty wild guess, wasn't it?" he asked, smiling to himself. "Hah, imagine. You knitting me a sweater." he guffawed, wandering towards the bedroom door still laughing.
"Hashirama, hand me a knife and tell me where he is!" Lenore shouted, lifting her arm to hold her hand out expectantly. A few minutes later the room became silent, leaving her and the Senju alone in the room together.
"I thought he knew for a minute there." he chuckled, turning to look at the bundle of flesh laying lifelessly on the bed.
"Oh, he's so smart." Lenore sarcastically replied, dragging herself up onto her feet once more.
"That's just another reason why I have to finish this jumper." she grumbled, sitting down on the chair nearest Madara's desk at the corner of the room.
"Will you get me my knitting set, it's over there in my closet." she requested, while he hesitated for a moment.
"Well, alright, but I really think you should go to bed." he uttered, finally obliging and going to the closet to bring it to her.
"I can't help it, I've got to finish this jumper." Lenore protested, taking her stuff to start once more.
As the days rolled in Lenore found herself wearing thicker and thicker kimonos, and by the time it was only one more night until Madara's birthday it had gotten frightfully chilly.
"Why does Madara's coming of age celebration have to be near the end of the year. It always gets really cold this time in December." Lenore mumbled to herself gently, her eyes lolling up to look at the ceiling. It was late into the evening at this point, and she had found herself alone in bed, bundled in five layers of covers. Muttering she sat up and looked around, wondering quietly to herself if she should check her jumper one more time for any imperfections.
Hearing the door she quickly darted down and remained still, the sound of feet coming towards the bed stilling to be taken over by the bed creaking.
"Lenore, are you still awake?" she heard Madara murmur, his eyes watching the covers squirm for a moment.
"Hm? Oh, you're back." she uttered, feigning a yawn as she sleepily got up and examined him.
"It's freezing in here." he spoke, frowning as he pushed his vest back down. It was too cold for even him to sleep topless.
Softening her features Lenore pulled the covers out from underneath her and motioned for him to get into bed properly, to which he complied without an ounce of hesitation. Once he was tucked into bed beside her the Uchiha lay on his back staring at the ceiling as he always did.
"Everyone will be at my birthday party tomorrow evening; from family members to important out of country figure-heads. My dad's making a huge deal out of me turning twenty." he spoke, carefully sliding his arm underneath the pillows to try slip it across the bed and underneath Lenore's head.
"Let me guess, I'm not invited." she assumed, raising her eyebrow.
"Of course you are, you have to be there." he spoke, only making her eyes roll.
"I'm pretty sure you'll be too busy flirting with the strange but beautiful women of the nation to notice a wall flower." she informed him, while he just pouted and turned onto his side.
Cautiously Lenore looked at him from the corner of her eye and then back to the ceiling, her eyes lolling back to the side as she tilted her head to see what he was doing. She almost had a heart attack when his arm finally pounced from her pillow and rolled her into his chest, her hands shooting up to stop herself as she came flush against him.
"You should stop being so pessimistic." he informed her, his other arm slithering over her waist like a sly serpent so that his hand could flatten out against her back.
"I'm not being pessimistic, a woman's perfume is like a pheromone to you. You smell it and start acting like some kind of finely plumed peacock." Lenore grumbled, the scent of his cologne relaxing her as she leaned her lips against his collarbone due to being trapped in that position.
"Would that make you my peahen?" he asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Yep, small and dull, that's me." she mumbled, shaking softly when his chest shuddered from him laughing gently.
Murmuring something he began to stroke her back.
"Will any of your friends be there?" Lenore asked, her eyelids shut halfway as she weakly gazed at his neck.
"Probably not, they'll just be friends of my father." the Uchiha answered.
"You don't have any friends?" the young woman questioned, pouting a little. "What about the Senju?" she suggested, to which he shook his head.
"Though they consider it friendship I simply see it as a way of keeping the peace between the clans." he explained, while she just frowned.
"What about me?" Lenore asked, hitching her eyebrow.
"You're my fiancé, that doesn't really count." he replied, only making her roll her eyes.
After a short moment of silence, and some thought, Lenore finally spoke.
"How about you try make a friend tomorrow?" she suggested, raising her eyebrow.
"I may make some contacts." he uttered, causing her to sigh. "At any rate, I don't need friends. I'm happy with what I have." Madara informed her, squeezing her softly.
"Oh?" Lenore asked, raising her eyebrow.
"My happiness came about because of one wonderful person, more people would mar that." Madara spoke, causing Lenore to blush softly.
"Madara…" she uttered, though he seemed to be in a world of his own.
"One person who has little human fault. Who is understanding, sweet, considerate." he continued, while Lenore's face continued to grow a shade darker.
"And beautiful?" she asked curiously.
"Absolutely." he stated firmly, smiling a little as she laughed bashfully.
"Who is it, Madara?" Lenore enquired, leaning that little bit closer towards him.
"Me." he responded bluntly, while Lenore felt every butterfly in her stomach sink like led as the colour in her features washed away.
Tutting Lenore pinched him slightly and put her forehead back against his chest, her eyes shutting slowly. Worming his way down her body the Uchiha slipped his hand onto her hip, his fingers crawling like spiders legs across the fabric of her pyjamas effortlessly.
"I told you, not until we're married." she told him off, causing him to grumble with disappointment and go back to simply running his fingers through her hair. In the morning Lenore had been rudely disturbed by Madara's father, who told his son to get ready as soon as possible as the day was only beginning. It was five in the morning, only birds saw this time as a new day.
Ruffled and ready to go back to sleep Lenore found no joy in this as maids came in to sweep her off her feet and prepare her for the party which would start mid-afternoon and not end until midnight. Knowing Madara the party would start Thursday and end Monday if he had his way. Grumbling the ebony haired woman got up after being pushed, pulled and complained at until the maids were both tired and blue in the face, she was not known for being stubborn for no reason.
Glancing at her options Lenore chose a navy blue kimono with an azure trim, and unlike the rest of the kimonos that were bright with patterns this one had a simple and tasteful white unripe physalis fruit growing up the side of the dress that reached and rested on her hip. She was quite fond of this print on the kimono really, despite the maids attempting to have her choose a different kimono, the orange dot, which was the fruit held within the leaves, reminded her of the Uchiha clan symbol.
Having her make-up put on to match and her hair put into its necessary style Lenore was finally allowed something to eat and drink before she would need to be reintroduced to Madara and forced to greet the visitors with a smile, she only hoped she was going to do a good job of it, even if it were only slightly. Walking carefully down the stairs that evening, trying not to trip over herself, Lenore made her way to the hall where the party was being hosted, having finally been called upon to make an entrance. She had hoped they would forget about her, but apparently not.
Upon finding the room the young woman glanced about, attempting to ignore the head turners as she went.
"Madara, there you are. What did I miss?" she asked, peering up at him as he just stared at her. He was still holding a guest's hand and forced said visitor to free their hand of their own accord since he was too busy looking star struck to notice.
"Not much." he replied, lolling his ebony eyes up and down her figure.
"I've done it again. He's lost his sharingan." Lenore uttered, directing her attention to the guest before waving them inside. "Enjoy the festivities." she spoke, smiling pleasantly.
"You look lovely." the Uchiha purred, giving her a goofy smile.
Rolling her eyes Lenore attempted to put her marital classes to good use and greeted everyone as politely as she could, always remembering to keep her back straight and her head held high like a proper noble woman. Once everyone was inside Lenore went about talking to the people she had greeted at the door, though she stuck close to Madara throughout the entire ordeal.
"You're a regular social butterfly." her fiancé uttered, admiring her unusually friendly and rather inviting performance.
"Yeah, but my cocoon is dragging." she replied gently, feeling a little exhausted now.
Chuckling the tall man was drawn away by his father, it was time to open his presents. It was an interesting array of items, though the most prominent one was an item that his father gave him. It was a white Gunbai with a black trim and three red sharingan tomoe printed onto the bigger of the two wooden panels on both sides, the size of it made many people gasp in awe as Madara got up to show it off to the guests.
"What do you think of it, Lenore?" the Uchiha asked once the excitement died down and he went about opening his next present.
"It kind of reminds me of a giant ice cream on a stick." she replied, gaining a small smile from the Uchiha.
" I suppose I should trust you not to comprehend the beauty of such a finally crafted weapon." Tajima grumbled, whilst she just pouted.
"That's a weapon? I thought it was for licking." she replied, smiling at the annoyed expression Madara's father then gave her.
Having opened every present and thanked the guests Madara glanced around a bit, looking a bit disappointed when he found the one present he was most interested in was not there.
"Lenore… I feel there's a present missing." the Uchiha uttered, giving her a suggestive glance.
"Hm, fourteen couples, twenty-eight presents, excluding family ones… No, that's everyone accounted for." Lenore answered, sipping from her tea cup gently. Allowing her ears to twitch the young woman slowly turned her head to look at Madara with a dry expression. He was looking at her with big round teary eyes and his lip puckered out, while a noise, much like a wounded dog, was leaking out of him.
Patiently Lenore just stared at him for a good long minute before she finally sighed.
"I didn't want to give you your present in front of everyone." she mumbled, blushing a little. At that point Madara allowed his mind to go wild, which notably caused his foot and leg to start bouncing underneath the table. Deciding it was best she did not ask what he thought he was getting for his twentieth birthday Lenore went back to munching on the festive snacks, and before long the party was finally coming to a close, leaving one last dance that required the women to dance for the men.
"Go on, Lenore." Madara encouraged her, pushing her by the shoulders out to join the other girls.
Nervously she quickly attempted to prepare herself and tried to stand at the back, hoping not to be noticeable among the several pretty faces. In a rhythmic manner, but not in unisons, all the girls began to spin on their feet and swing their long veils into the air then back down, causing them to swirl and swish through the air. Some did not have scarves and so would flick their fans elegantly as they moved.
Trying not to hold her breath too much Lenore let everything she had learned take hold, allowing her to practically flutter about like a butterfly in the breeze for the long period of dancing. She had not noticed, however, that everyone had stopped and shuffled out of the way to watch her towards the end, and when she finally finished dancing, and opened her eyes, Lenore's face turned a fiery red in embarrassment. Forcing herself to stay and bow towards the adoring claps and cheers she then quickly scurried off to hide in the shadows once more.
"Why me." she groaned, hiding her face behind her fan.
"You looked simple beautiful out there dancing." Madara spoke, allowing his fingers to crawl up her leg until she pinched his index finger and squeezed it hard enough to make him wince and pull his hand away with a frown.
"I embarrassed myself." she pined, gaining a short eye roll from the Uchiha.
"You did not. They loved it." he corrected her, whispering that he would have something sweet brought to the bedchamber later if it would make her feel better.
Coming to the conclusion that it was best she did not brood about it for much longer Lenore did one last round around the guests to try regain some of her reputation, and as she neared the other end of the hall she stiffened when there was an explosion. Hitting the floor and rolling slightly the young woman found herself deafened and dazed, her vision wobbling as she lay on her back with dirt and dust enveloping her in a cloud.
Trying to figure out what had happened the Uchiha could hear the vague sounds of screams, followed by the strange sensation of being hoisted up by the sash of her kimono. Hopelessly confused Lenore tried to pull her head up, the sensation of something warm running down her forehead causing her to look towards the floor when it fell from her chin. Blood, it seemed she was injured.
Hearing a rather misty echo of her own name Lenore looked up, a lope-sided expression being returned to the furious one on Madara's normally soft, albeit broody, feature. Not quite sure what was going on, and having a damn hard time stringing one coherent thought together, Lenore peered up towards whoever was holding her. He was a big man, with shaggy brown hair, a slight tan and several missing teeth, his headband was tied around his neck with what seemed to be the symbol for the rain village.
After some squinting to try focus her vision she eventually made out the slash through it, it was apparent this man was a wanted criminal. When he suddenly started moving Lenore could do nothing more than shut her eyes in agony however, the sudden start and heavy jolting as he made his way down the roof and into the forest with his comrades did nothing for her concussion.
Back in the hall Madara was pacing up and down demanding to know how they even got through their defences, while the guards that were not being screamed at were being told to keep tabs on where those intruders were going.
"It must have been a planned attack, all they wanted was Lenore." Izuna surmised, whilst his elder brother just groaned.
"I don't want to think about that right now. I want to know how I'm going to get Lenore back." the Uchiha fumed, angry the missing-nin had gone so far as to use his fiancé as a human meat shield to protect himself from the array of angry Uchiha he had decided to piss off.
"They most likely stole her so they could return her with a ransom attached." Tajima added, only making Madara more irate.
"Well the only metal they'll get from me is a kunai to their throat." he seethed, whilst his father frowned.
"Calm down, son. A rash decision might put her in danger." he murmured with a slight pause. "Do carry on." he mused, while his son took a deep breath and tried to calm himself.
"Don't worry, we'll find her." his brother consoled him, turning to nod to a few guards before they left to track down the missing bride.
These men had left with finesse however, and it seemed it was going to be difficult to hunt down the missing Lenore. Though hope was not completely lost, far to the south someone had happened upon her hairpin, bringing the search for her back to life during its fading embers. During the week she had gone missing Lenore had found herself locked in a cell, her eyesight and thought process returning to her gradually throughout this period of time, and as her health returned so to did her growing concern.
From what she had overheard they were planning to use her as the fuse that would create a feudal war, not that she would comply willingly.
"I'm not having anything to do with this!" Lenore protested, being dragged kicking and screaming outside and towards a massive open field.
"You've no decision in this, you're a prisoner of war." the brunet who had kidnapped her previously informed her, smirking at her angry features.
"What have I got to do with this anyway?" she asked, glowering up at him with her body constricted by ropes.
"We need to draw the Uchiha out, and what better way to do that than with Madara's most resent fancy?" the man asked, hitching his eyebrow crudely. "Tie her to the mast, our banner is ready!" he shouted, taking a step back to let his men get in front and start dragging her towards a massive wooden post.
Being shoved onto it Lenore kicked and spat as they tied her to it with both rope and chains, finally letting go when she was secured to the post.
"What the hell are you doing?!" she snapped, whilst the man just grinned that little bit more.
"You will be the flag." he informed her, his eyes lolling upwards as her words turned to screams as the post was suddenly hoisted and pulled upright. Hung high in the air Lenore continued to shout at him, though her language fell on deaf ears as the man went to the front lines to lay in wait for the approaching army.
"This is ridiculous." Lenore huffed, stilling for a moment before groaning when she lost a sandal.
Stuck to the post the young woman stared at the tops of the trees on the other side, her eyelids squinting when some of them notably moved in an unnatural fashion.
"They are upon us!" the man shouted, causing his men to fall into line. Watching closely Lenore's eyes widened when Madara, Izuna, Tajima and the rest of the able Uchiha clan entered the clearing before stopping to get into line.
"Looks like they were prepared for us." Izuna uttered, while his elder brother flicked his sharingan around to look at the opposition in an excited fashion. This was certainly going to be the fight he was hoping for.
"Up there." his father spoke, motioning upwards towards the post on the enemy's side.
"Lenore." Madara murmured, masking the fact that he was glad to see she was alright.
On the other side the leader motioned for his shinobi to attack, causing Madara's father to command his own men to go. Charging down the hill the men eventually collided, whilst Madara kept weaving his way through the army to try get to the leader. Along the way he stabbed, kicked, bludgeoned and even twisted several people's necks when they boldly stepped in front of his path of destruction. Many of the nin around him chose to wisely go for the lesser nin and not him, especially after witnessing their cohorts fall like fruit flies just mere minutes ago.
As this took place Lenore watched from above, her ebony eyes swishing from one side to the other as she watched Madara fight. He was better than his father proclaimed, and watching him fight even put Lenore on edge. Feeling a shiver crawl up her spine the young woman winced when the Uchiha jumped into the air and used another man as a projectile to throw at a couple nin stood on the ground below.
Watching one man get kicked backwards Lenore found herself staring in awe as said nin blew up, taking out several people in the process. This guy was nuts, and it only got more ridiculous when he shouted a fire release jutsu and fireballs started raining from the sky. Madara was certainly a force not to be reckoned with, and it was obvious the leader was beginning to have second thoughts about sticking around to see the obvious outcome of this fight.
"Oi, you coward, get in there and fight!" Lenore shouted, causing the man to tense and then settled.
"Yes, why don't you?" he commented, using his brute strength to topple the mast over. Falling through the air the wooden beam began to twist, giving Lenore some comfort in knowing it was about to be a swift death the second she face planted the earth.
Somewhere in between screaming bloody murder and the beam hitting the ground Lenore found herself rather confused, and winded, when she went spinning through the air and hit into a few enemy shinobi. Someone had cut the ropes and released her from her binds, thankfully. Groaning she struggled to her feet, taking only a moment to glance at the two men she successfully knocked out by landing her full weight onto them, curiously she was alright despite the stinging in her lungs.
Quickly she then decided she was not alright, however, when a few of the enemy came at her.
"Oh, come on!" she snapped, using her festival scarf as a weapon to wrap around her two assailants' heads and bonk them together harshly. "Hey, that worked." she uttered, suddenly becoming a little excited. She did not get long to really celebrate though, as a few more nin came over the log to chase after her.
Running she quickly pulled a few needles out and threw them, successfully lodging them into a few vital nerves, rendering her attackers useless and paralyzed on the ground. It was at that point that Lenore hitched an eyebrow, who knew marital classes would come in useful. Running in the direction of her own men Lenore continued to use acupuncture, her scarf, and on one occasion her sandal, which she found while ducking through a pair of fighting nin, to beat off her opponents.
She was almost at the centre of the fight at this point, though she hissed and ducked when something sliced through an enemy in front of her and almost got her.
"Kami damn it!" she protested, getting blood on her already ruined kimono. Flinching Lenore stuck her hands up when the weapon wielding maniac towered over her.
"Lenore, why are you here. Get out of the way, you're going to get yourself killed." Madara proclaimed, looking down at her with an expression that was not like his own.
Staring at him the young woman shook off the blood lust in his eyes to frown.
"Hey, I can hold my own." she snapped, using her scarf to snag someone who Madara then kicked in the chest and sent whipping backwards. "Hah, team work! I finally get to see what a shinobi fight is like." the ebony haired woman cheered, flicking her head to the side to let Madara punch someone in the side of the head and kill them.
"You shouldn't be here." he protested, frowning all the more as he used his gunbai to slice into someone attacking from the air.
"But I totally kick ass, look what I did to all those guys." she stated enthusiastically, using a few needles to stop the chakra flow in an opponents arms so Madara could wipe the floor with them. "And that guy." she added, looking rather proud of herself.
"I told you, get out of the battlefield." the Uchiha warned her, grabbing her by the scruff of the neck to throw her.
Waving her arms as Madara spun to kick more men back before they could get too close the Uchiha aimed for a tree and spun on his toes before letting her go.
"You baa-aaa-sta-aa-rd!" she screamed, hurtling through the air before colliding with a few branches and getting stuck there. With that problem out of the way Madara could finally fight without holding back, and damn did these poor sods know it. Kunai after kunai was launched, only to be caught and thrown right back in quick succession, whilst the Uchiha made his way towards the leader. Cursing the brute backed off, his heavy feet attempting to carry him towards the nearest exit. Stifling a breath the man was soon stopped by Madara, who evaporated in front of him and allowed his sharingan to turn slightly. His predatory eyes boring into his prey, moving only slightly to bring utter terror to the man.
By the tree Izuna had come to see if Lenore was alright, his arms stretching out to catch her when she pulled her head free from the thick branches and fell towards the ground.
"Are you alright?" the young man asked, while she simply nodded and staggered to her feet.
"I'm going to kill him." she announced, pushing her sleeve up as she stomped off back towards the battlefield.
"Don't worry, Madara has this covered." Izuna informed her, reaching out his hand to tightly grip her shoulder.
"Who do you think I'm going to beat up?" Lenore asked, glowering as she turned to look at him.
Realising who she initially meant the young boy frowned and dragged Lenore towards the back lines of the Uchiha's defences before she could do anything reckless.
"He meant well." the young man stated firmly, handing her over to a few medical-nin. Despite her disapproval the man began checking her over, noting a few minor bruises but surmised that a nin from the opposing faction had healed her while she was imprisoned. Hearing cheering Lenore got up and tried to see what was going on, her toes spreading out as she stood upright onto them and peered over the amass of heads. Apparently Madara had won the fight and was now basking in the cheering and celebration he was getting, the sight causing Lenore to roll her eyes slowly and give someone's back a lop-sided smile. That guy sure loved getting praise.
"Lenore." Tajima spoke, gaining her attention. "I see you're more or less unscathed." he uttered, while she simply nodded a bit.
"I'm sure you're glad." she uttered, giving him a coy smile while he remained as plain as usual.
"Yes, 'glad'." he remarked, stalking off back into the crowd after telling a few guards to escort Lenore back to the estate.
"I think he was actually worried about me." the young woman spoke, nudging one of the men as she followed them into the forest.
Back in the estate that night Lenore was in the bedchamber shuffling through something in her closet, her head raising when she thought she heard something moving about by a corner of the room. Raising her eyebrow she went back to searching for the present she had hidden there, a dry look coming over her features when she felt Madara grab her by the hips and draw her ass, which was stuck up above her head, towards his hips.
"What did I tell you about personal space?" the Uchiha asked, straightening up but not being released so easily.
"Is that anyway to thank you saviour?" the ebony haired man purred, pressing his nose against the side of her head to allow the hypnotising scent of lavender to soothe him.
"You're right…" she mumbled, leaning forward to motion for a kiss. Watching him shut his eyes and pucker out his lips Lenore just smirked evilly and let him hold the pose for a little while longer before pushing a box into his arms, the firm action causing him to falter and open one eye out of confusion.
"What's this?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Your birthday present." she replied, stalking off to sit on the edge of the bed and pull her indoor shoes off.
Gleefully he went to sit next to her and pull it open and then take the lid off.
"Oh boy, what is it?" he asked, looking rather excited by the present he had been anticipating for longer than he liked to think. "Sexy panties?" he asked, pulling away the paper that was protecting the fabric.
"I can see you wearing a pair." she replied in a joking manner, watching him pick up the jumper and examine in.
"You did knit me a sweater." he stated, grinning like an idiot.
"And look, two sleeves!" she cheered as she clapped enthusiastically.
"That's great, Lenore. I have a present for you too." he uttered, handing her a small handkerchief.
Questioning this Lenore took the hanky and began to pull it open, her ebony eyes shifting when she realised it was her hairclip.
"You found my hair clip, now I have two of them again." she spoke, lunging Madara and hugging him tightly. At first he had tensed in a defensive manner, a soft grunt parting his lips when she knocked the wind out of him, but once he settled he quickly wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.
Humming softly at the tight cuddle the young woman shut her eyes, she had missed his jasmine musk.
"Someone seems tired." the Uchiha uttered, stifling a yawn himself.
"It's been a long day." she answered, running her hand up and down his chest which seemed almost bare without the thick red armour.
"Let's go to bed then." the man murmured, flicking his index finger across his thumb up ping the neck of her kimono to the side. Blushing Lenore gave him a side way glance and got to her feet, causing him to fall sideways onto the edge of the bed.
Pouting like an injured puppy Madara watched her waltz off to get changed into her pyjamas, while he just grumbled in defeat and climbed into bed. Laying on his back he remained there as the light was turned off and the bed warped under his fiancé's weight as she crawled across the sheets to find her favourite spot on the bed, an indent Madara had made when he fell onto the mattress in his armour and broke the wooden support beams underneath. Curling up Lenore quietly lay there for a while, her hand reaching up to rub her arm when a cold chill drifted over her skin. Shuddering she shuffled closer towards Madara and nuzzled into him, taking satisfaction in his arms wrapping around her to pull her closer moments later.
Staring at her for a long moment the Uchiha shuddered when he felt her press her lips against his, a gift he had been waiting for the longest of all. Not willing to let her shuffle away so soon Madara put his arm up behind her neck to keep her in place, his nose tapping against her own as he continued to plant soft kisses on her lips.
"Mm, okay, okay, calm down. You wont fall asleep if you keep that up." she giggled, pressing her hands against his chest.
"Maybe I don't want to." he whispered, shifting his face to the side to let his lips press against the curve between her neck and shoulder.
"Madara?" she asked, peering at him through the shadows that were only being fought back by the light of the moon outside the window.
"Yes?" he replied, shifting away to make proper eye contact with her.
"Will you still love me when I'm old?" she asked carefully, her head shuffling out of his ebony tresses.
"Of course." he answered, sliding his cheek across the pillows once more.
"Will you take me out?" she asked, shutting her eyelids half way.
"I'll take you out and wheel you around the block." Madara murmured, hearing a soft chuckle part her lips.