Chapter Six
He fell into bed, face down in his pillows taking in the softness and the calm. Taking a deep breath, he turned over and sprawled like a smug cat. Even his muscles were a little exhausted like he'd been at war for the past 9 hours instead of that. It had been intense.
He closed his eyes.
He felt surreal as he heard the window being shut and he opened his eyes, she was collecting the tea by his bed side table. Alarmingly close for not being trained as a shinobi. She gave him a sweet smile, the corners of her mouth turning up at his sleepy face.
He rolled over, stopping her from picking up the tea set on the tray and picked up her hand, kissing it. Watching her face flush a little, nervously shifting her feet as he smirked, cocking an eyebrow. With a yoink he pulled her tumbling down on top of him, her mouth parted in surprise.
He let out an earthy chuckle as she struggled a little beside him before giving up. She gave him an exasperated look with a hidden glint in her pretty eyes of glee. He noticed.
"I missed you, Yuzuki-chan." Madara murmured, staring at her face, admiring every angle from her big eyes to her pointed, delicate chin.
She blushed red in the cheeks and signed.
'You've only been gone the day,' she paused hesitantly. 'How was it?'
Madara sat up, letting go of her at the thought of the memory. "I think I was too strict on him, all I did was tell him how to walk up a tree and walk on water." He sighed. "He seemed so upset when I pushed him into the water. You know I had to rescue him? He can't swim, what kind of a kid can't swim? I think he gave me a migraine, this is why I've never had an apprentice. Young people are such a nuisance."
Yuzuki nodded vaguely.
"He got there eventually, it took him 4 hours to master both techniques which from my recollection is about average for a young Uchiha of his stature. He is my son after all." He explained. "I taught him the jutsu for fireball, or at least started it. The fool scorched himself around the mouth. If he had done as instructed he would have been completely fine."
He glanced down at Yuzuki laying beside him, her eyes were barely open and soon they closed. A maid, falling asleep to him talking, any other person and he would have been insulted. Madara lay down beside her, placing an arm tightly around her and pulled the blankets up with the other. Burying his face in the crook of her neck, engulfing him in her luscious scent that was too precious for perfume, it'd be on his sheets later even if she remade it and it'd drive him crazy.
…
"I've never seen anything like it," Ren chattered happily and bit into the pancake. "And they call this a fork?" He eyes the spiky steel metal object with suspicion before stabbing it back into the calorie infested breakfast.
Yuzuki nodded happily. 'My ancestors aren't from your country here, we come from the far West.' She signed, barely understandable as she signed with the cooking utensil.
Ren ate more, the flavours of sugar and wheat had blended together so well, who knew eggs could be make like this. It simply melted in his mouth. Yuzuki behind him took the pan off the fire and started washing up, hands deep in water and soap.
Outside the sound of the bird chirped cheerfully in the tree full of cherries, Yuzuki looked out of the window up in the branches at the little robins in the nest. She pointed for Ren to look, he stood on his chair and squinted.
The robins were so petite with little red breasts and ruffled feathers from their mother's care, huddling together for warmth. Winter wasn't soon off, it was already much colder and it only became worse each day.
Yuzuki shivered.
"Mama, I mean Yuzuki-chan." Ren said flustered, face going red. "Never mind that, I didn't say that. I'm sorry." He stood and bowed an apology. He chattered before she could sign back. "You must be cold," he skidded towards the fireplace and raised his hands for the jutsu.
Gently Yuzuki knelt and placed a hand on his to stop him and shook her head, smiling. 'Your father told me that you are getting scorch marks on the insides of your mouth, don't hurt yourself for me.'
Tears swelled up in the corner of Ren's eyes. "You're so nice to me."
Yuzuki gestured towards the fireplace, 'it's the thought that counts'.
"Ren-kun." Uttered a deep, menacing voice. Yuzuki and Ren turned, Madara was standing at the door way, with his arms crossed in frustration. "I need to speak to Yuzuki-chan privately." He explained. In an instant, Ren was on his feet, he bowed and skidded out to the room as fast as he could. Yuzuki stood, patting the dust off her apron and bowed. Madara paused, hesitating much to Yuzuki's anticipation and aggravation.
He crossed the room, closing the distance between them like knife to butter. Hands around her petite waist, with a flourish he stripped her off the apron and placed it on the chair beside them. Madara gazed into her big doe eyes as he brought her hand up to his lips catching whiffs of freshly made bread and an earthy scent from gardening. He kissed it.
"Today you are my lady." He announced.
There was a loud crash as the door swung open and Ren fell over with shock, he'd be eavesdropping. Awkwardly he stood with a red face, puffing, no knowing what to say. Madara simply stared him down.
"You can't just 'have' her like that. She'd not yours!" Ren yelled with anger.
"She's mine if I want her to be! I pay her, you don't." Madara yelled back, picture image of each other at this point from the hair starting to fly up in static to the narrow angry eyes, veins in the forehead popping out.
Yuzuki yanked her hand away with hurt eyes. Anger disappeared as Madara looked back.
'I can quit if I want to. I'm not your whore.' Tears swelling up, she gathered her skirts and rushed out of the room. The word 'pay' ringing in her ears.
"Look what you made me do!" Madara turned on Ren, rage as his very being. He slapped Ren and the little boy fell to the ground, an angry red mark on his face.
"Misaki-sama hit me a lot but she never hit me on my face!" Ren yelled, Yuzuki rubbing off on him. He ran away.
The echo of the doors slamming on Madara rang throughout the room. Regret hit him instantly, he'd been out of order. Exhausted, Madara pulled a chair towards him and sat. Looking around at the work the two had done. An unfinished plate of a flat fried something on the plate covered in sugar. He raised an eyebrow, so unhealthy... Cautiously, he picked a piece up with chopsticks and bit into it.
The sensation of the crusty outside burst into a multitude of flavour covered in a coating of sugar like a mother's love. He understood why Ren asked her to cook for him instead of the chefs in the main kitchen.
He set the chopsticks down, it wasn't his breakfast anyway. Unsure what to do, he looked out of the window. Ren was angrily throwing kunai at the dummy and missing frequently in blind rage. Yuzuki was no where to be seen.
Madara, as casually as he could closed the distance between his self and his son. Placing a hand on Ren's shoulder.
"Do I have your blessing then?" Madara asked.
Ren didn't move.
"I'd like to court your mother." Madara explained.
"Yuzuki-chan isn't my mother." Ren said faintly and threw a kunai with more precision, it landed solidly and deadly.
Madara hesitated. "She could be, I want that and I know you do. I see the way you look at each other, she's the mother you've always wanted and I believe she cares for you as one." Madara said firmly, belief backing him up.
"Why are you asking me this? All you do is take take take." Ren asked, exasperation dripping from every part of his tongue. He half skipped half walked over to the scattered kunai and picked one up.
"You'll never relieve stress that way." Madara sighed in exasperation and leant down, gripping the cold blade in his fingers. "Fight me." He raised his arms wide, welcoming the battle.
Ren gave him an odd look, lowered his stance into a fighting one, flipping the kunai to stab and slash instead of throwing. Chakra speeding him up as he charged, arms behind him. He ran right past Madara, pivoting and throwing the kunai at his back.
Madara dodged easily. "You're stance is too low and your shoulders are showing your next move." He said shortly. Ren made a little growl of aggravation in the back of his throat and furiously threw kunai after kunai, his father deflected each, not moving his feet at all.
"Fight back!" Ren yelled. Running straight up at him with arm raised to slash at his stupid face, Madara's block stunned him for a moment enough to grab his wrist and twist up behind the boy. A little kick at the back of the knee and Ren went toppling down at Madara's feet.
Madara let go as Ren whimpered.
"Up." Madara commanded.
Ren scrambled up, a smudge of dirt on his forehead where his head hit the ground. He bore his teeth at his father.
"You're acting like an animal." Madara simply said, "stop flailing your arms around like a monkey."
"What's a monkey?" Ren innocently asked.
They locked blades. Well Ren did, he was a motion of blur, arm swiping up as his leg twisted and his elbow came in to wind his father. He went flying up into the air with a single push from Madara into the thorny bushes. His back burned from small welts of blood starting to gush from thorns piercing his back like a thumb tack. Ren grit his teeth from the sting and gripped his kunai harder.
Gradually he yanked himself onto the dirt floor and struggled to his feet. Madara stood with his hands in his pockets waiting patiently, watching the little boy wipe the blood away from his split lip and spit on the floor the combination of saliva and what ran through his veins.
"Most martial arts attacks and close combat won't work for you, Ren." Madara explained. "You're half my height."
The little boy flinched in pain as he moved, sending a high kick towards Madara's face. His father held his foot there with one hand until Ren bobbed up and down on one foot before cascading down like a waterfall.
"Elaborate kicks won't help you, there's a weakness in armour at the knee joint, aim for there since you're small." Madara instructed. "I used to practice on the children my age."
"You're a monster." Ren spat.
"Aren't we all?" Madara said with melancholy.
Ren fell silent, throwing his kunai, it hit it's mark on the dummy to the left of his father, square between where the eyes would have been.
"There, all you need was a little warm up." Madara smirked, leaning over Ren to speak in his ear.
"You're a terrible man." Ren hissed under his breath, ducking out of the way. Collecting the scattered kunai around the dummy.
"And you're a terrible shinobi. Work harder." Madara drawled, hands in the folds of his kimono.
Agonising silence entered the void between them as Madara waited patiently, watching his son walk painfully between side to side, picking up blades. Ren looked back at his father.
He was a terrible man, but she was a wonderful woman. She'd already made him a better man. Maybe she'd make him a better shinobi because of it. The stories of bloodshed that he'd enjoy of the battlefield that mentally scarred him when he was 4 showed Madara as a warmonger and perhaps he still was but he didn't have to be. She could make him realise that.
"Make her happy." Ren said quietly, barely uttering the words that if not for the wind carrying his voice, Madara may not of heard.
Madara nodded.
…
Strong arms wrapped around her quaking body and stubble kissed the nape of her neck. They stayed like that for a while, his face buried in her hair with the her scent clouding his senses just the way he liked it.
She stopped shaking.
Unable to sign from that angle, she pried his fingers off her waist and struggled to turn around. He hadn't moved an inch as she faced him, put her arms up and pulled him closer, face in his muscled chest.
"I hate arguing with you." He stated. Yuzuki nodded in agreement into his chest, enjoying the feeling of his affection. "I didn't mean that, I'm used to lying to be a leader."
Yuzuki let go and signed sternly. 'You're not a very good leader then'.
Madara burst into laughter. "Good leaders tell people what they want to hear, with that positive reinforcement they will work better, either that or you use negative reinforcement and they respond with even more enthusiasm. Their lives are already good, they'd hate to lose that more than it becoming better. I'm a bad bad leader."
'You should try this positive reinforcement, especially on Ren-kun.' She replied curtly.
"If that's what you wish." Madara answered and yawned.
Yuzuki smiled, he always looked so cat-like, adorable with claws whenever he showed obvious humane behaviour. She never expected him to be so similar to everyone else in the village. He yawned, even if he didn't eat much or sleep much. It was nice to see they had more in common.
'I forgive you,' she signed.
He grinned like a Cheshire cat and pulled her into his arms, her face slamming into the crook of his neck just under his Adam's apple. His natural musk forcing her head into a cloud of surreal happiness, his arms solidly around her with no chance of escape. Not that she'd want to.
Gingerly, her arms came up around him and patted him awkwardly on the back.
"What was that?" Madara asked incredulously, pulling her back to look at her face and she redeemed herself.
'A hug'. She signed simply and blushed a little. Madara shook his head and chuckled under his breath. He leant down a little, cupping her face with both hands and held her gaze. His eyes like a black ocean, ominous and glittery with mischief. They made her shake somehow, her cheeks becoming redder and redder until his smile widened and he closed the gap.
His lips fit perfect against hers and as soon as he tasted hers his hand dropped to the small of her back where he brought her hips closer. Opening her mouth with his tongue, like a gentleman knocking at the door. Yuzuki's hand knotted into his hair, tightening, unknowingly like a set of reins but he had no problem with that. It stirred him and he pulled on her lip with his teeth much to her surprise, she gave out a noiseless yelp and his tongue nestled against hers to hush her.
"That is so gross." Ren said flatly, Yuzuki parted and turned to look at the disgusted boy. "Blegh." He stuck his tongue out to mimic vomiting.
"It's-" Madara began.
In the distance three of four feminine screams shrieked across the district, Madara let go of her and disappeared in a cloud of smoke to hurry after the women. Two seconds later, blurs of black chased after him towards the main house causing the leaves to swirl where they stepped.
Yuzuki turned to Ren, he was buried in her chest, holding her tightly. "What's going on?" He cried out, scared.
Yuzuki rubbed his back, raised a hand and snapped her fingers, a blur stopped. Stereotypical of any Uchiha, his red eyes leered over a black mask, observing the little boy holding her.
"Young sir," He bowed, holding out a hand for Ren to take. Yuzuki urged him with a jerk of her head to take it, unconvinced, Ren gripped the Uchiha's hand and in a swift move the Uchiha scooped him up and he too, disappeared into a cloud of smoke.
Quickly, Yuzuki gathered up her skirts, running into the large building, up the traditional wooden steps under the arches. She pushed a door open into the massive hallway, looking desperately around for the way everyone went. Her feet pitter pattering on the wooden surface she chose a left door with a muddy footprint at the base, she swivelled around a corner, skidding to a halt.
Gathered around an open door, peering in from all sides were roughly 15 Uchihas, there backs to her and completely blocking her view of the room. Yuzuki heard a few murmurs from them and weeping from the corner. She turned to see a two maids, one leaning almost paralysed from shock and the other bawling her eyes out like a child who had just seen her mother violated.
Cautiously Yuzuki knelt down beside the two girls and gently placed a hand on the crying girl's trembling shoulder, her eyes asking the obvious question.
"Y-yuzuki-s-sama." The girl cried in the breast of the other maid, she opened her mouth but only a croak came out.
Yuzuki stood, her eyes narrowing. She put a hand on the back of an Uchiha by the door and jerked her head to the right, demanding he move. He hesitated and she glared. Unwillingly he stepped back and so did the rest. She walked through them like butter and walked into the room.
"What are you doing here, Yuzuki-chan." Madara demanded, trying to block her sight.
'Why are you blocking me, if it's to do with me then I need to see.' She signed severely and crossed her arms angrily. Madara hesitated and stepped to the side.
Yuzuki hadn't seen many naked women and Liu was stark naked, white and red mingling but still separate in places at her womanhood. Almost non-existent breasts carved into places. It was like the killer had denied her gender and then her attractiveness and then just changed it's mind, a trench from the collar bone to her naval revealing several inches of flesh carved apart, layers of skin turning from a pale white of dead skin to a grey to a bright red and then pale pink ringlets towards the stomach. Torn apart like an animal had ravaged her from the inside out.
As if delicately put to the side of her was a pink bloody muscle resembling a tongue, blood coating the outside of her mouth told the rest of the story for that and finally as if decoration. Pale yellow liquid drizzled over the entire setting. Yuzuki felt her stomach wrench for air, she turned and sank to her knees, heaving up stomach acid onto the floor and scorching her throat, sinking a bit into her windpipe. Turning into a pitiful splutter for air. A gentle hand rubbing her back told her she'd be okay, she looked up at Madara with gratitude as he leant down to put an arm around her back and under her legs, carrying her off the ground.
'I'm okay' she signed. 'Put me down'.
"No." He replied curtly and took her quickly away.
There was no use changing his mind, Yuzuki turned into his chest to bury her face in the folds of his clothes. She closed her eyes and sighed, it wasn't an image she'd get out of her head for a while but she was an adult and even if she was shaking, she'd had to get over it in a too short of a time.
"I want you to stay in my room." He said stiffly, setting her down on his bed much to her confusion. "I've assigned guards to you, if you need anything, you must tell them and if you need to use the toilet, use the bucket and put it outside the room. If you need food, ring the bell and one of the maids will tend to you. Do not leave this room, I cannot make that any clearer."
'Why?' She signed, Madara ignored her and dashed out of the room, shutting the door behind him. It was locked. She pounded on the door with her palm wanting to scream out in frustration.
…
"Let me out!" Ren shrieked at the door.
"I'm sorry sir, but your father explicitly said you must stay inside your room." The guard said sternly. Unnerved at having to ignore an order from the boy. Ren curled his fists and pounded at the door, his knuckles getting redder at every hit.
"Sir, stop. Please, you're going to hurt yourself." The guard tried to reason.
"I don't care! Take me to Yuzuki-chan!" He screamed, he punched the door and let out a blood curdling, high pitched cry of agony. In alarm the guard flung open the door. His bone was poking out of his fist and he had tears falling his face. "It hurts!" The stupid guard knelt and picked up the tiny boy. "Take me to Yuzuki-chan, she knows medicine." The guard nodded, tearing down a flight of stairs and into a hallway. "She'll be in father's chambers." He whimpered knowingly.
The Uchiha guard nodded and skidded to a halt at the entrance to the hallway for Madara's rooms, four 6.4 men stood, hands behind their back, white masks covering their entire faces and feet shoulder width apart. The guard hesitated, he hadn't been this close them before. The Uchiha looked at Ren, the tears streaming down his face and their eyes swirled into a pretty patterned red.
With a nod of confirmation they parted and the guard walked at a rather slow pace, agonizingly to the front of his chambers. Another two guard stood, with a look he nodded and opened the door for them.
Yuzuki was tidying the room, she had her back to them and hadn't noticed them enter. "Yuzuki-chan!" Ren yelled, she jumped and swivelled as Ren flung his arms around her waist. "Send for Kimoka-san." He ordered his guard.
Yuzuki pried his fingers off. 'What did you do?' She demanded, examining his knuckles.
"... I wanted to be here with you." He looked away in shame. "I thought you were scared."
Yuzuki smiled sweetly and ruffled his hair. 'Of course not, I know that your father will catch whoever did that to Liu-chan.'
"You have faith in father? He's a bad man, mother." He flinched at the pain in his hands and Yuzuki pulled him into her arms to give him a reassuring squeeze.
'Of course I believe in him, perhaps not his methods but he's a good man at heart. Somewhere deep inside we all are.' Yuzuki explained and smiled, she stood suddenly and tapped in the door gently. The guard opened and popped his head around as she signed something. Ren tried to look and leaned on his hand causing him to gasp in pain. Yuzuki looked back to give him a smile that tugged at his heart at a mother's love and received a small wooden box from the guard.
'Kimoka-san will be here soon.' She signed and knelt, unstrapping her shoes she put them tidily at the side of the bed and sat cross legged on the bed. Yuzuki started to take a board out of the box and folded it out, it was checked black and white much to his confusion.
"What is that?" Ren asked curiously.
'It's a game, I will teach you. It's called chess and it's from my country.' Yuzuki gave a vague explanation. It wasn't for fun, it was simply a distraction.
…
Flying through the brush at the floors of the forest, Madara ran, arms out behind him and his eyes blood red with eyebrows furrowed in anger. Blood matching the sunset over the treetops, the orange glow lighting up the forest around him, bouncing off the tree's yellowing leaves. Time was passing since she'd first arrived, he'd gotten so used to her presence, cleaning up some mess here or there, chastising him for not eating dinner. He'd eat it if she made it, whether he was hungry or not.
He shook with anger, running faster as thought. He jumped up higher, the view showed him out dark it was, as he look back to the village with the sun to his back, the skies were getting darker. It had to be almost dinner time, time for her to come bouncing in with a tray and a smile.
That other maid... It was either a dumb mistake or a warning of what would happen to another maid. His maid, his Yuzuki, didn't everyone realise by now that Yuzuki wasn't just a maid, she was his.
He understood his obsession wasn't healthy, he knew he'd fight with her again over it but for now it was all that he could think of. Did he regret leaving behind his best units to scour the area for evidence and to protect her? Not a single bit. If there was one single paper cut or bruise on her under their watch then they were clearly second rate shinobi.
The killer would be back, he made that very clear, it was just the beginning. Madara clenched his fists, digging his nails into the palms of his hands with fury.
"Madara-sama, stay your calm, your anger is seeing the best of you." Said a shinobi to his right, Madara's didn't bother looking to see who it was and ignored him, summoning more chakra to his feet to move faster.
It was stupid, wasting energy looking for this killer and he was fully aware of it.
"It's a fucking warning isn't it!" It was a question, in an explosion of cracks and bits of bark and splinters flying in every direction, Madara summoned chakra to his knuckles and hit the tree. It keeled over promptly much to his satisfaction.
"Yes sir," the shinobi said, kneeling a good 4 meters away and wary of his leader.
Madara started to pace on the shreds of bark at his feet. "From who."
"The Senju, sir?" The shinobi suggested. Madara shook his head, he would have known if it was one of them. In fact, there wasn't a way that a foreign shinobi could have entered the residence without consent and permission months beforehand. The circles of chakra guarding the village would have seen to that.
"It can't have been a normal person without chakra." Madara mumbled to himself.
"Begging your pardon, sir but a normal person couldn't have raped and murdered a girl. Perhaps the village of the Knives, they specialise in concealing chakra and weaponry?" The shinobi suggested.
Madara shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous, they are loyal to us. The killer isn't anyone from outside the village, they would have had to known our schedules for the rotation in guards and where I and Ren-kun would have been." He hesitated. "And if they knew where Ren-kun and I were, then they would have known that Yuzuki-chan was with us." He explained to himself.
"Sir?" The shinobi asked for an order.
"The killer is one of us." Madara came to the final conclusion. "FUCK." He yelled and kicked the dead tree in bits on the ground. She wasn't safe after all, in a mad panic he gathered his chakra to his feet and propelled himself forward, travelling at break necking speed. Gradually the shinobi fell behind and he passed through the first couple chakra domes, jumping up onto a roof.
The red titles cracked a little at the force he put his feet down in anger. Ever move was sharp and completely on impulse. All his squad could do was run after him as he skidded down a slide of the roof and jumped onto a flat surface. Running to gain speed before pushing off into the air and, springing up like a bird only to come flying back down further away.
He jumped up to the window of the main house and smashed it to gain entry. A kunai came flying at his throat, with two fingers he caught it and flung it back on instinct. The shinobi recognised him, the blood red war drums spinning in his eyes, the static in his hair making it bushier than normal.
"Confirm who you are." Madara demanded.
"Arito Uchiha, sir." The first Uchiha said, taking off his mask and activating his sharingan to prove his bloodline. Madara gripped the man's arm and stabbed it half a centimetre deep, the Uchiha didn't even look and kept his expression calm and collected as Madara determined his fate. He nodded in approval and flung open the door to his chambers.
Yuzuki and Ren were sitting on his bed, wooden chess pieces here and there, they were fully emerged, each trying to win. He took a deep breath of relief. He couldn't let her out his sight again.
"Ren, go to your room." He commanded. Hurt, Ren complied. Madara's gaze settle on the bandages around Ren's hands. "Kimoka-san should see to that."
Ren shook his head. "He reset everything, I can use it but the final healing stages should be left to nature according to Kimoka-san. He said it would make my bones stronger."
Madara nodded, "he's right then. Get out, shoo." He pointed to the door. Ren pouted and stuffed his hands in his pockets, wincing and regretting it immediately, he toughed it out and strolled out as casually as he could.
'You didn't have to send him out.' Yuzuki signed, slipping out of bed and putting chess pieces back in the box.
"Yes I did." Madara slipped his hands around her waist, leaning down to kiss the nape of her neck. "Where were we before all of this?"
Yuzuki's gentle finger tips grasped his hands around her waist, trying to struggle out of them. 'I'm really not in the mood, I've just seen Liu-chan... like that.'
"Okay," Madara said patiently and gave her neck one last kiss, directly on a sensitive spot much to his amusement as her lips parted and she turned in his arms. Carefully she made him let go of her.
'Can I leave now?' She requested innocently.
A rush of emotion flooded through him. Anger, hurt, sadness. "Too dangerous. You're staying here until I say you can go." He said quickly, looking away.
Yuzuki sighed and shook her head in exasperation. 'My room is literally right next door.'
"Too bad." Madara snapped. "Get in bed." Yuzuki's turned, outraged. "Not like that, it's more comfortable, I don't have any chairs here. What's the point in sitting on the floor?"
Grudgingly she sat down waiting for his next move. He hesitated.
"Emm, you're hungry right?" He asked, almost nervously. Yuzuki nodded and blushed as her stomach growled. He burst into laughter. "It's nice actually hearing noise from you."
She scowled.
"You're so cute when you're annoyed with me." Madara smirked, leaning over and pinching her cheek.
She pouted.
The pinch turned into a caress, tracing her soft jawline to cupping her head. He leaned in for a kiss and then there was a loud knock on the door. She grinned at the interruption as Madara flung open the door to present a nervous looking maid with a bead of sweat dripping down from her temple at the presence of the Uchiha leader.
A whiff of dumplings, udon noodles in a mysterious broth that she could almost taste from the smell wafted her way and she immediately received the tray from the maid with a bright smile. Madara scowled.
Yuzuki gave a short bow to the maid as the flustered maid awkwardly gave her the wrong curtsy and bit her lip, almost crying. Yuzuki smiled reassuringly and closed the door to sever the humiliation and terror the poor Liu replacement had to endure.
"Stop bowing to the help." Madara sulked. Yuzuki glanced up as she set the tray down on the bed as carefully as she could, trying not to spill anything.
'I am the help, sir.' She answered, teasingly. Madara frowned, crossing his arms. She giggled silently and eagerly helped herself to udon noodles, the warm, homey taste exploded in her mouth giving her taste buds a treat. She smiled happily.
Madara grumpily sat down opposite her, looking around for a pair of chopsticks. "Feed me." He opened his mouth.
Yuzuki gave him a look of exasperation. 'You're not a child.' She signed.
"Of course I'm not, but you're the only one with a pair of chopsticks." He raised a cunning eyebrow with expertise.
A deep blush emerged in her cheeks as she passed the chopsticks to him. 'You eat first, I'll just use them after.'
"You're no fun." Madara smirked, taking the chopsticks from her, he dug into his portion of the tray.
Yuzuki hesitated, watching him slurp up noodles. She tapped his shoulder so he could watch her sign. 'Liu-chan was killed as a warning.' Madara nodded grudgingly, she sighed in disappointment. 'She was so young, she had so much potential.'
"Oh that's what her name was." Madara mused, mouth full of dumpling. Yuzuki cringed.
'Chew with your mouth closed.' She ordered him, his eyes glittered with delight. He picked up a dumpling and dunked it in soy sauce, reaching out across for her to take a bite.
It was clear he wasn't going to talk about Liu tonight.
'Did you order food with only one pair of chopsticks?' She asked. 'Tell the truth.'
"Yes, now eat." Madara commanded. Yuzuki raised an eyebrow.
'You are sneaky,' she signed and opened her mouth, letting him feed her.
Madara chuckled with delight and set down the chopsticks, picking up his bowl and put it up to his lips, slugging it down messily. Yuzuki began to eat.
"You know." Madara began. "If you weren't my maid, I could get away with so much less but it could never be official."
Yuzuki looked up for a second before chowing down on a dumpling.
"I want you in so many ways. You should let me, you'll enjoy it. I promise." He said in a as a matter of fact manner. Yuzuki choked on her dumpling and blushed bright red. "Ugh." Madara stretched and fell back on the bed. "We can tonight if you want."
Yuzuki shook her head vigorously much to his amusement.
"I'm teasing." He said in the same monotonous voice. "Whenever you want is fine by me, just... soon. Please." Her cheeks turned from red to a deep crimson as she awkwardly finished her last dumpling. "You're not a virgin, right?" Madara asked.
Yuzuki shook her head. 'No, I was engaged a long time ago.' She signed briefly.
"What happened," Madara turned to lean on his elbow, fascinated. He hadn't heard much about her past.
'It didn't work out so I called it off.' She replied just as quickly.
"And that's all? What about people other than that one man?" He asked? "Not since?" Yuzuki shook her head. "Perfect." Madara smugly purred.
Yuzuki slipped out of bed and gathered the tray on the floor to take out later. 'Do you mind if I take a nap?' She signed. Madara gestured for her to do as she wished.
Yuzuki swiftly untied her sash and let her kimono fall to the ground. Her white kimono underneath covered her modesty. Madara looked at her with interest as she braided her hair to the side and pulled the bed covered back. Slipping in next to him, Madara didn't bother undressing as he climbed under the covers with her, demanding her touch.
He slipped an arm under her she could have between her head and collar bone, a comfortable nook for her. Madara snaked his other arm around her and a leg between hers, comfortably close to her crotch for her and uncomfortably close for her.
"Sleep tight." He murmured in a low, dark tone in her ear that stirred something in her.
…
Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated in a while.