Other than the rustling of the leaves and the occasional chirp of a bird, the woods were silent. There were no twigs snapping, no sudden movement in the bushes and not a single sound that could be attributed to a lost girl.
But perhaps the term 'lost' wasn't appropriate. If she was raised in that forest, it would be only natural that she knew that place very well. If anything, Madara thought with a grimace, he was more lost than her. Yet, if he got himself in any difficult situation he knew he was more than capable of freeing himself from it. She, on the other hand…
His thoughts were briefly directed to the group of thieves they had encountered not long ago in the very direction he was heading to. If, like they had said, that area was a safe place to steal from civilians, it wouldn't surprise him that other criminals had the same idea. He didn't want to think of the possibility of Ringo finding people like that. She spoke far too much and smelled far too nice.
The shinobi stopped for a moment to focus on her chakra, but a low growl emerged from his throat when he couldn't feel anything. He wished there was a better way to track her. For someone so loud, the girl sure was hard to locate.
Madara was about to take off again when he saw something dangling from the branch of a tree. Under a closer inspection, he discovered it was a piece of cloth. He had no idea if it was hers, but it was a trace worth following.
The grass and leaves by the tree looked tousled, so someone surely had been standing there before and not briefly. The patch turned into a trail going deeper into the woods. He refused to believe it was just a coincidence.
He followed the track at record speed, but it led him to a large boulder by a cliff he didn't think Ringo would be able to climb or walk around. Only when he was a few feet away from the rock he noticed the crack in its base. Tall grass hid the slit from the rest of the world. It was just big enough for him to go through, and he had not doubt that this was the path Ringo had taken.
Madara crouched down and snuck into the hole, glad there was none there to see him. In the end, the crack was smaller than he had though. He managed to fit in, but barely.
The hole was the entrance to a tunnel that pointed downwards. That meant it probably ended on the other side of the cliff, outside the Uchiha territory. The clan didn't have any legal rights over that place, and none of the shinobi scouted the area. The field between the lands of the Uchiha and the Senju had no owner, and therefore no law, being a place where bandits liked to gather. Being there wasn't dangerous for him, but it certainly would be for a civil.
Once he exited the tunnel Madara took a look at his surroundings. The soil was much barren when compared to that of the land above, and the trees not nearly as imposing. He was about to try and find another trace of the girl, but when he heard a sudden movement coming from the bushes and saw a mass of black hair surging from behind a tree, he knew he didn't have to look any further.
Ringo stepped into the glade, too busy tying the sash around her waist to notice the other presence. She only looked up when he was already too close.
At first she looked surprised, but soon her eyes softened and she smiled at him sheepishly.
"Ma…"
"What do you think you are doing?" He hissed, and at his words the girl's visage fell and she gave a step back.
"W-wha… um… taking a walk?" She stuttered and offered him an uncertain grin, which only seemed to have darkened his mood.
"A walk?" Madara scorned and moved forward to close the distance she had created "A walk in the middle of no goddamn where…" His disdainful expression changed into one of anger "If death is what you are looking for there much easier ways to find it."
"Wha…" Ringo's frown transfigured into a glare, while she tiptoed to get as close to his eyelevel as she could "What I do with my time is none of your business!"
"Does the same goes for your father?" The young man mocked "You should warn him, then, because he seems to have half a mind to jump from a cliff to go after you."
The peasant's face reddened, and she flinched, a hurtful look crossing her features before she turned away from him and started walking in the opposite direction.
"I don't have to listen to you…"
Before she could make any progress, though, she was seized by the wrist and spun around, only to be met by two furious dark eyes.
"Now you do." The girl tried to free herself from his grasp, but the harder she tried, the stronger his grip became. At last she stopped struggling and looked at him defiantly "…You are lying" He said after a moment of silence. Since Ringo didn't dispute the statement he continued "You wouldn't swerve from a task your father gave to you, and you certainly wouldn't do it just to take a walk, and that far away from your village most of all. What did you come here for?"
Ringo turned away from him and bit her lower lip, as if too embarrassed to tell him the truth.
"I… I just… I wanted to find Michio…" She blurted out, blushing harder than ever.
"I'll ask again." He said slowly "What did you come here for?"
"I told you." She mumbled "I wanted to find my brother."
Madara stared at the girl, with eyes devoid of emotion, as she tried to stand in a more comfortable position while avoiding his gaze. His silence didn't last, though, as his face became as red as hers and he opened his mouth to yell at her.
"How dumb would you have to be…?" And he let out a dry laugh "You cannot be serious… Are you saying you were planning on walking all the way to the Land of Earth, on your own, in the middle of a war to go see if your brother is alright? Make sure that he's been eating his vegetables? Were you, really, in all the faculties of that, oh, so bright mind of yours, going to walk around with a fucking poster saying 'Rob me/Rape me/Kill me' in a place where the people are very capable and very willing to do so?"
"Look, I-!"
"Shut up." If his voice was burning with fury before, it was now covered in layers upon layers of ice, and Ringo flinched when the iron grip on her wrist became even stronger "There is no possible excuse for that. And being stupid is not an excuse."
"You said he was dead!" She yelled, now resuming on trying to break free.
"And you want to join him?" He mocked, only pulling her closer "Why am I not surprised? I guess you have showed your suicidal tendencies before - or maybe you are just really stupid."
"Don't." Ringo said firmly, locking eyes with him "Stop calling me stupid."
"I'll keep calling you stupid while you keep giving me reasons to. Stupid."
"I'm not stupid!" The peasant shouted
"You know, your name really does suit you." The girl stopped and looked up at him with curiosity "You have the wits of a fruit."
Ringo's breath got caught up in her throat and it took her almost a full minute to recover, but when she did, her first reaction was to raise her arm and try to slap him in the face, but Madara caught her wrist with his free hand, seeming unfazed.
The girl's second instinct was to kick him in the shin, but the shinobi tripped her before she had the chance. If it wasn't for her hands being held, Ringo would have fallen on the ground
"…You're trying to hit me?" The girl gasped when his grip on her suddenly became painful.
"Ah" She tried to hide a whimper "L-let go!"
"Of course…" He started "…When you apologize."
The peasant looked up with wide eyes , and her lips quivered. She tried to free herself, initially just pulling her arms, but as all of her tactics failed, one after another, her attempts became much more violent, as she kicked around blindly, shook her head furiously and let out gruff grunts. Still, Madara remained stolid.
Finally, Ringo stopped thrashing about and tried to pull him down with just her weight. When that plan also failed, she let her head drop to hide her face with her hair, and started sniffing. Soon her shoulders started shaking, and the sniffs turned into sobs.
Madara frowned and promptly released her, making her fall down. The girl remained in the same position for a few seconds, before turning to the other side, rubbing her eyes and standing up. The young man had been so taken aback by her reaction that it took him almost an entire minute to notice she was storming away, and when he started walking after her, she took off.
"Where do you think you're going?" He thundered, fastening his pace.
"Away from you!"
Even though Ringo had been running with all her might, Madara didn't have to make any efforts to stop her again.
"Let go!" She yelled shaking her arm furiously "I thought you were going to let me go!"
"So you can try and get yourself killed? Alright." He snorted, and his sarcasm didn't go unnoticed, as the girl let out a frustrated scream.
" !" She tried to yank her hand away, but his grip was too firm.
Madara twisted her around, pinning the arm he was holding behind her back and seizing her by the waist. Ringo kicked him the best she could, but none of her attacks seemed to affect him.
"Now will you…" The shinobi stpped mid-sentence when he noticed something he shouldn't have "Shut up and stay behind me." He said whilst releasing her.
"Why should…"
"You will if you want to stay alive!" He hissed angrily "Now follow me."
Ringo didn't seem happy about being ordered around, but nodded and tugged the back of his shirt. Once Madara was sure she wasn't going to run away he started taking careful steps forward.
The peasant obviously hadn't noticed, but there were people nearby. Judging by their chakra level, Madara concluded they were in eight and all well trained ninja, unlike the group of bandits from before.
He walked towards the energy source with careful steps, paying attention to his surroundings. If it weren't for Ringo he wouldn't be so meticulous – He didn't want to risk getting her in the middle of the crossfire.
As the chakra became more distinguished and voices started being heard, Madara crouched down and hid behind some bushes, dragging the girl with him. He looked through the leaves to see, not too far away and just a few feet below, a group of shinobi. All of them were grown up males, not a single teenager among their ranks, and they all looked very much alike. Dark, either brown or red hair, broad shoulders, grey eyes, tanned skin and most had a large hammer strapped to their backs.
'Shirohae' Madara though, his eyes narrowing dangerously. He hated that clan, almost as much as he hated the Senju. They were one of the richest and most influential clans in the Land of Earth, and perhaps also in the whole ninja world. Despite this, their only strength in combat was their wide range of earth ninjutsu and sheer brute force. They didn't have any kekkei-genkai or particular skills, and it irked the boy that such ordinary people would have a better reputation than his kin.
"Ordinary" One of the men of the group said, and for a moment Madara was worried he could read his thoughts "That's what this place is. Ordinary."
"We're still in none's land, remember?" One of his companions hissed "Everything is shitty down here. Just wait 'till we climb that plateau."
The Uchiha frowned. The only plateau nearby was already part of their territory.
"Eh, I just never really cared about the Uchiha's land." At this point Madara's eyes widened, and he had to hold back not to jump on that man and bite his head off.
"Or you just want this mission to be over with so you can get a drink." A third man joked
"You don't have a voice on the matter, either way." The second man said again "That's our task and I plan to complete it thoroughly."
"Fine, fine! …I'm just a lil' bored, that's all." The man took a breath before resuming his speech again "But isn't it too far?"
"Yeah, but that's the point." The other one, who seemed to be the leader, answered gruffly "If we have this territory we won't just be confined to the Land of Earth. And, simultaneously, it's near the Senju so we can either-"
The man never got to finish that sentence, though, as a kunai came flying towards him and lodged itself in the back of his head, and he fell down on his face, dead.
"What the…?" One of the shinobi yelled jumping to his feet "Where did that come from? Ken, find them!"
"That won't be needed." All of the men turned toward the source of the sound to come face to face with Madara standing at the edge of the cliff, arms crossed and a smug smirk plastered on his face "I'm part of the welcoming committee. Now let me show you a little of the hospitality of the Uchiha."
And with that he was down on the ground, landing just behind one of the shorter men and snapping his neck. The reaction was immediate. One of the ninja swung his hammer at the boy at an incredible speed, but Madara managed to dodge it. On the other hand, he ran into another shinobi, who promptly kicked him. He was sent flying in the air, did a backflip and landed on his feet. Even though he got hit, Madara wasn't angry at all. If anything his mood went from furious to excited.
Just as one of the men came to him, he unsheathed his blade, and quickly swerving to the side, he got an opening to cut off his opponent's arm. The man let out a pained sound that resembled a choked scream, but he didn't get to complain any more, as a sharp object was jammed into his skull.
Madara felt the ground beneath him cracking, and the earth opened into a big hole that resembled a mouth with sharp teeth. He jumped up just in time, but as he was in the air, one of the shinobi used his hammer to hit him in the side and the Uchiha was sent like a projectile towards a tree, hitting and breaking it in half.
He sensed another attacker coming at him, so he rolled to the side and quickly got up, activating his Sharingan. These enemies, unlike the group of bandits, meant business and he'd have to pay more attention to them. Just as his vision became normal again, he noticed one of the men leaping to where he left Ringo. His eyes widened and started spinning, just as black flames engulfed the ninja that was coming to the bushes. Soon there weren't even ashes left of him.
Still pumped up with anger, Madara stepped closer to one of his enemies and cut off his head, just to be attacked by an earth ninjutsu and pulled into the ground. He quickly made a few handseals to escape the trap, just in time to avoid the hammer that was about to crush his head. He kicked his attacker's chin, and while the man was spinning, he managed to steal his hammer and hit him in the ribs. He felt something being crushed under the weapon, but the other man was still standing, so he couldn't have caused much damage.
There were still three left. Madara knew he could take them down, but now he was worried about Ringo. If he had killed as many enemies as he could with his first strike instead of making an entrance, now he wouldn't have to be as cautious.
One of his opponents let his weapon drop at his side and made several handsigns. Madara wasn't familiar with them, but he knew it was an earth ninjutsu and quite a powerful one at that. The technique ended up being like the first that had been used against him, but in a much larger scale. The ground split in two with a large rumble, and Madara jumped to the branches of one of the trees, just in time to see the hole getting big enough to reach the cliff he had left the farmer. He used the trunk to propel himself towards her, and landing just about two feet of the girl who was hugging her knees and covering her face, he hoisted her before smashing her against his chest. Ringo winced at the forcefulness, but was relieved when the boy sprung away from the terrain that was being swallowed by the earth.
"Stay." He ordered hoarsely, setting the girl on the ground again "I'll take care of this."
Without waiting for a reply, Madara ran back to where the Shirohae had been. The three opponents that remained were standing in the center of a large crater.
"Oi" One of the men yelled out to him "Are you Madara?"
The Uchiha raised his eyebrow. Though he knew his name was fairly popular among his own clan and other shinobi, he was not used to people recognizing him by his face.
"Heard of me?" He replied trying to sound uninterested, and the man snorted.
"Can't believe it! You're a brat!"
"A brat that killed more than half of your troop effortlessly, aye." He was quick to remind, and the other glared at him before spitting on the ground.
"A snotty arrogant bastard, that's what I heard. Guess they were right!"
"Are you going to fight me or just keep whining like a bitch in heat?"
His enemy sneered and made a series of handseals, making the earth around his feet crawl over his body and form a resistant looking armor. Madara figured he wouldn't be able to pierce through the thing with his sword, nor crush it with his new hammer (for he decided he'd keep it), but he already had a different plan.
"Get down here, little girl!" The man yelled "So we can dance!"
"It'd be my pleasure." He replied in between gritted teeth and jumped down to the crater.
The golem, almost three full heads taller than him, started moving closer, quickly, as if he was a light-weighted person sliding across ice, instead of a stone giant. Although he was moving fast, Madara didn't feel intimidated by the armored shinobi. He smirked, made a few handsigns and inhaled deeply before blowing a massive ball of fire that engulfed his opponent. The man noticed his mistake far too late, and as he was trying to release his jutsu, he was caught in the flames, quickly becoming a mixture of burnt rocks and carbonized bones and flesh.
"Idiot." Madara said amusedly, staring at his handiwork before turning back to the other two "Next."
One of the enemy ninja made another jutsu, causing sharp spikes to grow from the earth. They'd have impaled Madara if he hadn't jumped up just in time and used the large hammer to break a few spikes before landing again. However, just as his feet touched the ground, the other man used another technique, and thick stone slabs emerged from the ground, closing onto him. He managed to escape, but the hammer was stuck in between two walls, and Madara cursed, before leaving the weapon behind and charging towards one of his opponents.
The man was ready for him, and swung his hammer at him, but Madara jumped up and touched the flat part of the weapon to launch himself in the air and jump over the other. He landed again, and turned around quickly, going for another attack. His opponent managed to avoid the blows, but barely, and Madara was just about to cut open his stomach when the other joined the fight, almost hitting the top of his head with full strength. The Uchiha crouched down and escaped from between one of the men's legs swiftly, hiding behind one of the spikes.
His opponents didn't take long to find him, though, as one of them used his weapon to crush the rock, hoping to hit Madara as well, but he quickly snuck from his hideout and used his sword to slash the other's back. The man was too strong for him to do it easily, but Madara managed to cut him in half. Because of this delay, the last enemy managed to get close enough, and Madara felt his breath leaving him as a heavy hammer hit him in the chest. He was sent flying backwards and hit one of the spikes, before falling down and coughing up blood.
The enemy ran towards him and went to the final blow, but Madara kneeled back up and held the handle of the weapon with a strength he didn't know he possessed. Even though his opponent was stronger than him, he managed to hold him for long enough to force him to look into his eyes, and at that point both knew very well who had won the battle.
Ryuu found something tied to his neck when he opened his eyes again. He also couldn't breathe, but for some reason he was still alive and conscious, even though the pain in his throat was almost unbearable. He looked up to see the long rope with which he was being hanged, but he could not see the end of. Around him, the red walls with nails and wooden spikes coming from them were shaped circularly, and so he concluded he was inside a well. When he looked down, the only thing he could see was his own body and the haunting darkness below.
"Hn" A vaguely familiar voice muttered, seemingly from all around him "So… How are you holding up?" It chuckled, as if laughing at its own joke. Ryuu was about to yell something witty (or at least that he hoped would be witty) in return, but he could barely open his mouth.
"That's quite the fragile rope you're holding to. If you were planning to invade the Uchiha land you should have brought something stronger. Sometimes it gets windy…"
As soon as that speech was finished, Ryuu felt a light breeze blowing in the back of his neck, and he felt his spine freeze as the thin rope hoisting him up began wavering, at first very little, but soon the wind grew so strong he was being thrown about at an insane speed. He felt sick.
Suddenly everything stopped, as if something was holding him up high and the voice started again.
"…You were the one who used that jutsu with the spikes against me, right? …Well, no matter."
Gravity started working again and the shinobi was pulled down. This time the rope gave in and he fell into the dark pit. It wasn't as deep as he expected, for soon enough his eyes caught the glimpse of something under him. There was nothing to hold to, so Ryuu felt himself falling into a pit of stakes and being impaled by them. The pain was enormous, but he still couldn't bring himself to scream and let it all out. His body started sinking into the spikes and the bundle in his throat only grew bigger. He felt something brushing against the skin of his neck, and as he was slowly lowered, the stake pierced through him, freeing him from the curse of silence and allowing him to unleash a monstrous scream along with buckets of blood.
And then everything went black.
Madara nudged the man with his foot. He wasn't dead, but that wouldn't be for long.
The shinobi unstrapped the hammer from the other's back, and lifted the weapon and smashed his head with it.
He set the hammer down briefly to wipe the blood running from his eyes, and picked it up again before walking towards where he had left Ringo. He found her hugging a tree and hiding her face against the bark.
"Get up." He said, and when the girl didn't respond he offered his hand to her, but she only shook her head.
"Do you still want to go looking for your brother?" He hissed and grabbed hold of her forearm.
"N-no!" She replied quickly "I… I saw that. I saw everything…"
"You shouldn't have looked then." He reprimanded, but his tone had lost a good deal of its hostility. "Come on, get up."
Ringo tried to stand up, using the tree as support, but her knees faltered and she fell down.
Madara let out an impatient sigh, just to pick her up and throw her against his shoulder.
"No!" The peasant whined weakly "You're soaked in blood!"
"And you can't walk." He shot back "I'm not waiting here for you to grow some guts."
The girl mumbled some nonsense, but ran her arms around his shoulders nonetheless, holding firmly onto him. Madara climbed one of the trees, using chakra to keep his feet fixed to the surface and started jumping from branch to branch.
"Don't you dare throw up on me, now." He remarked, half-serious and half-jokingly, but the only reply he got was a face being buried against the crook of his neck, and it took him all his will not to throw her against a tree and smash his lips against hers when he felt her breath fanning against his skin.
The first moments of the trip were silent, but Ringo muttered something before the first minute was over.
"You should apologize."
"Apologize?" He snorted "You are the one who vanishes into the woods, tells none of where you're going, plans on going all the way to other nation by yourself, and leaves your father scared out of his wits, and I am the one who has to apologize? I think not."
"I know." She grumbled "I know I did wrong, and I will apologize to my father. But you called me stupid. And that hurt a lot. And considering all the other times you hurt me before and never apologized, I think you still have it easy."
"And yet you shouldn't apologize for hurting me?"
"I will, if you apologize first!" Ringo's volume went up.
"As if." He replied in a tone that clearly indicated that the conversation was over.
Ringo remained silent for a few more seconds, before sighing against his neck and making him shiver.
"Let's do it like this. I'll apologize first, but then you have to do it too, okay?"
"And if I don't?" The girl stopped to consider before replying
"Then I won't ever talk to you again. Even if I want to, I'll never even look at your face, because if all you'll ever do is hurting me I don't want to have anything to do with you."
"I doubt you'd be able to keep your promise." He smiled smugly, even if the girl couldn't see his face.
"Try me." Ringo said softly, but her undertone was that of a treat.
Madara's eyebrows rose, mildly worried about her words. Even though he couldn't believe someone as talkative and curious as her would be able to spend even three hours without asking him a question, he was surprised to discover that was a risk he didn't want to take.
"Fine." He answered gruffly "I will apologize. But you start!"
"Alright… I am sorry. I shouldn't have ran away like that. I made my father worried, and possibly other people too. I do admit it was stupid of me to go looking for my brother like that. I should have more faith in him too. Also, I'm sorry for trying to hit you. You… went through the trouble of looking for me, and also killing all those shinobi, and God knows what would have happened if you weren't there. You quite possibly saved my life… I'm sorry for being so ungrateful… Now your turn!"
Madara was surprised at the length and thoroughness of that apology, and most of all how she managed to sound so sincere and grave, and then so peppy. She made apologizing sound easy.
"I…" He sighed, trying to come up with what say next. He figured it would be better to say everything at once, or otherwise he'd stutter his apologies, and Uchiha Madara did not stutter "I'm sorry for calling you stupid. You are not, even though what you did back there was. I'm sorry for having hurt you, as it never was truly my intention. I'm sorry for having been so rude to you and your father even after you welcomed me into my house… And now, how is that?"
To his surprise, Ringo giggled in return.
"I can't believe you just apologized."
"Don't push your luck." He replied with a frown, and the farmer laughed, patting his head.
They were silent for a few more minutes, before Ringo breathed on his neck again.
"Stop that!" He snapped.
"Stop what?" She seemed honestly surprised with his reaction.
"Stop breathing on my neck!"
"Oooh~! Does that tickle?" The girl seemed extremely pleased with the new information.
"No." He grumbled, but she clearly didn't fall for that.
"No? Then you won't mind…" And she blew against his neck.
"Stop!" He roared, and she giggled once more, before breathing again. This time he felt something skimming against his skin, so he quickly took her out of his back and pushed her against the trunk of one of the trees, holding her arms firmly against it and staring into her eyes.
"Will you stop now?" He asked very seriously, but the girl gave him a crooked smile and leaned in closer. However, before she could do anything, a pair of lips came crashing down on hers and she was pushed back until her head hit the bark of the tree.
At first, Ringo was so shocked she couldn't think straight, but then, hesitantly, she started responding, even if she felt embarrassed and slightly uncomfortable.
One of Madara's hands left her arm and came to rest in her waist, and she slowly raised her free appendage and lightly touched his shoulder. Encouraged by her gesture, he snuck his hand behind her to bring her closer and tried to pry her jaw open. Ringo let out a yelp and used her hand to try and push him away. He let go of her, albeit reluctantly.
"…You taste like blood." Ringo complained, frowning and cleaning her mouth with her sleeve, and Madara rolled his eyes.
"Get up." He instructed, while turning his back to her and crouching to her level. The girl hugged his neck and arranged herself the best she could "And don't you breathe on my neck again!"
Madara felt her nodding faintly, before laying her head against his. He stood up and started going in the direction of the farm again.
Madara wasn't expecting to find anyone in the farm, so it was no wonder he was so surprised when he saw Katsuro kneeled down in front of a tree and resting his head against it, his lips moving as if he was praying.
As soon as Madara set the girl down, the farmer looked up. His puffy eyes grew to a size the shinobi didn't believe to be possible, and Katsuro scrambled to his feet to hug the girl.
"Ringo!" He let her name out groggily, and Madara couldn't help but wonder if he was drunk as he started kissing the girl's head frantically "Where have you been? Where…"
The man could not make any more noises, and just hugged his daughter close to him, while she clung to him in return.
After what felt like hours to Madara, Katsuro let go of the girl, and only them he seemed to notice the blood in their clothes.
"What happened?" He asked to the boy this time, with eyes big as saucers.
"We encountered enemy ninja."
Katsuro's orbs only grew wider, and if it weren't for the situation they were in, Madara would have burst out laughing at his expression.
"N-ninja? How? Where were you?"
"Outside of the Uchiha territory." The other answered, and the famer shot a dark look to the girl beside him.
"Ringo, what were you doing?" She flinched and looked away "Answer me!"
"I…" She turned to Madara for help but he didn't say anything or even showed her any sympathy, so, looking as small as she could, she whispered her answer "I… I had been looking for Michio…"
Katsuro was silent, before exploding in a fit of rage.
"YOU WHAT?" Ringo flinched at the tone and looked away "HOW…? I'll talk to you in a minute. Get inside." He gestured to the house with his head.
"But, fa-"
"NOW!" He yelled, and the girl scurried away. Once she was out of view, the man turned to Madara with a melancholic expression and drew in a shuddery breath "…T-thank you… Madara-sama… I cannot…" He stopped his quivering speech and bowed more deeply than Madara had ever seen him bowing. The man remained in that same position for a good while until he, rather uncomfortably, called out to him.
"Katsuro…" He started, not sure how to finish the sentence. He didn't have to, though, as the man quickly got the hint and stood up.
"I am sorry." The peasant said in a more composed voice, rubbing his eyes "I have yet to thank you properly. You know you and Izuna-sama are always very welcome in our house. I'd like you two to have dinner with us; I give you my word that it will be the best we've ever cooked… But… if you could give us some time…"
"I see." Madara gave a curt nod "I'll talk to my brother."
"Thank you once more for going through the trouble…" Katsuro bowed his head "I don't think we'd ever be able to truly thank you for this."
"It's fine." Madara said dismissively, and as an unpleasant silence followed, he changed subject "…Ringo must be worried about Michio."
"Oh yes." The farmer smiled "As I am. But that's not an excuse for behaving so recklessly."
"Then I'm leaving." Madara jerked his head towards the forest and Katsuro nodded.
"Don't forget the dinner." He remembered politely, and Madara was spooked by how quickly he went from a crying mess to the composed man he was used to. Such a quick change was quite unsettling, and maybe he wasn't drunk after all.
The shinobi sent him a final glance before sprinting to the woods to look for Izuna.
Katsuro set the last dish down and looked at his daughter, who was still sitting plopped against the wall, hugging her knees to herself.
"You had to mess with everything, didn't you?" The man said, but his tone wasn't angry
"I'm sorry…" She muttered.
"It's fine." He sighed and smiled weakly at her "As long as you are well. I suppose things will work out either way. Not the way I was hoping for, but…"
"I'm sorry." She repeated, seemingly on the verge of tears "What can I do to make it up for you?"
"This is not about me." The man shook his head and crouched in front of her, putting a hand on top of her head "But if you want to make me happy, you have to make yourself happy… Learn it from a man who expected too much and became bitter." He offered her a sympathetic smile "Don't get your hopes up."
Ringo's lips quivered, and she hugged her father's neck before burying her face in his shoulder and howling with sorrow.
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Weeeeeeell… That was incredibly late xD But this chapter is quite long and it was difficult to write.
Though this is pretty much what I had planned for the chapter beforehand, I still think it's quite odd when put on paper (Word… whatever). This is also the first time I write about romance as more than a few pecks, so you'll have to excuse me –w– (There is more next chapter! I swear! I'll try to make it up for everything!)
Also, thanks for reading ;D