Short, don't murder me. X.X
And, anyone know what's up with the manga? This week's chapter seemed... off. Idk, I found Naruto to be rather OOC. Maybe it's just me.
Saezuri sighed as she flopped back against the wall, uncrossing her legs and letting them stretch out lazily. Boxes lay strewn around the large storage room, items laying on the floor and clothing half pulled out, draped over the edges; she couldn't find anything that was fitted for her, except plain servant yukata which she refused to wear both on the basis of now being in charge, and the fact that the cheap material would fall apart the second she got into any kind of fight or scuffle. Dully she glanced over the mess she had made, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand quickly when they started to prickle.
She refused to cry.
Ituko's assassination hit her hard, but Sae would not mourn the woman. She had enough to worry about without lingering on the fact Ituko was gone; Madara had simply eased back and watched, letting Saezuri handle all the servant and underlings without his help. Already she had answered their demands and asserted herself as head of the organization after cleaning Takuya's gore from herself-- and now as the sun was sinking and the streets darkening, she was searching out clothes, her former thrifted outfit from past Akatsuki members trashed. She wore a bathing robe, one of Ituko's finest and most favored, something she also avoided thinking of. Ambling up to her feet, Sae fixed the collar of the yukata to prevent it from falling open as she bent, picking up a black long-sleeve shirt meant for a very large man. Craning back to glance at the open doorway and seeing nobody in the hall, she stripped, quickly pulling the garment over her head. Smoothing it down, she was satisfied when the material fell to just above her knees; rooting through another box procured her a long strip of black material, which she cinched around her waist to pull in the excess material. Satisfied, Saezuri quickly swept through and packed the boxes back together somewhat neatly, walking out into the hall and flicking back the length of her sleeves. One of the younger, male servants stared as she passed, gaze blank as he lingered in the doorway to the kitchens. Just as she drew level he nodded up at her, a sign of acknowledgment. Startled, but mostly bemused, Saezuri gave him a small quirk of her lips as she passed him, walking into the main area.
"Saezuri-sama, these men came from Takuya's faction." Jin caught her attention as he stood from one of the armchairs, gesturing towards four men that were leaning against the wall, obviously waiting for instruction.
"And why haven't you assigned them? Heaven knows there's enough jobs needing to be filled." She cocked a brow, Jin's surprised countenance making her want to sigh, "Yes, you. You're taking Ituko's place. I meant what I said earlier." Jin stuttered minutely, silencing when Sae came forward, looking over each of the men.
"You, kitchen work." She pointed at the thinnest, oldest man, a frail-looking being. He nodded solemnly as Sae moved down the line, "Cleaning. Go find Koko-san, she'll give you something to do." She told a short, burly young man, "You...." She paused on the next, looking him up and down. Blinking once, she said nothing more, instead turning to the last man. "Supplies. Go sort out the storeroom in the west hall." She pointed, not feeling an ounce of guilt. That storeroom was the one she had just come from, and she certainly didn't plan to waste her time fixing it back up when there were so many things on her plate.
"And I?" The man she had skipped stepped forward, causing Sae's gaze to flicker back.
"Are you in shape?" She asked him, looking into his youthful, strong features. She had noticed his toned body, how he carried himself was different from the others.
"I would suppose so." He shrugged, rubbing a hand over his short, buzzed hair. Saezuri scrutinized him for a few seconds, before flicking her finger. "Come with me. Jin, go find somewhere the other three can sleep, and then you can go to bed, yourself." She glanced up at him, easily reading the unspoken questions he yearned to ask in his face, "We'll talk tomorrow. Now you, what's your name?" Saezuri turned to the man as Jin departed.
"Tobinoru." He supplied, unafraid to meet her gaze. Sae's eye twitched minutely as she crossed her arms, noting that he was near the same height as her.
"We'll just be calling you Noru." She said, happy when he just shrugged in compliance. "Tomorrow, be up and dressed by sunrise. I have a special idea in mind, for you."
"And where I'll sleep?" Noru asked, shifting on his feet. Sae just uncrossed her arms instead of answering, moving up the narrow staircase on her left. Noru ambled behind her, scratching at the shadow of a beard lining his chin.
"Ah. One moment." Sae said as she opened a hall closet, pulling out a plain sleeping roll. She tossed it to him suddenly, smiling minutely when he caught it with nimble hands, reflexes acting on impulse. A few more strides down the hall and she was opening a shoji, revealing a very small, cramped room with a bedroll already spread on the wooden floor. "Enjoy." She left it at that, the smile fading from her face as she sought out the last shoji on the upstairs floor, sliding it open. Saezuri was not startled to find Madara sitting in her desk chair, slouched with his hands laced in his lap as he twisted from side to side, gaze right on her.
"Fun with the underlings?" He questioned, a brow quirking. Sae sighed heavily as she combed fingers through her lengthening hair, tousling the strands as she relaxed.
"You have no idea." She dully watched him sway the chair lazily, reading the tension still lingering in his shoulders.
"I can't say I pity you." He commented, dark eyes neutral as he studied her wearied frame.
"..." Saezuri said nothing to that, her lids feeling heavy as she challenged his gaze. "Alright, maybe I should have said something before I left. Either way, it's already happened." Her tone contained ornery hints, something that didn't pass by Madara's notice. His eyes narrowed in irritation as she sat on her futon, absently noting her shirt dress and boots.
"Aa, you should have. What can I do besides jump to the worst conclusion upon finding you missing?" His tone was blistering, making even Saezuri flinch, used to him as she was.
"We've established that I'm capable of being sent on my own to accomplish things. I don't see the big deal." She stretched her legs out, leaning back on her palms as she glanced across the room at Madara. He shifted in her chair, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.
"If you had been captured on the way? Tortured for information? Thrown into prison for being a rouge?" He rattled off, rising to his feet, "Or maybe betrayed by those falcons you're newly contracted with, or off spewing all the intel you've gathered about my plans? How could I be sure?" Heated, he paced, his voice rising enough to cause Sae to shrink back from him.
"Do you really think I would up and betray you?" She questioned quietly, voice low and terrible. His silence was answer enough for her as she jerked up, grabbing her knees as she leaned forward, "I gave myself to you. Utterly! Damn it, why would I ruin that?!" Fierce eyes met his, their wills clashing.
"I don't know where you came from. What else can I think when I find you vanished in the night, especially with where I first picked you up?" He lifted his brows upon seeing Sae's face sharpen, curious as to how she was reacting.
"What, that I came from a whorehouse? That's why you're so bent out of shape?" She laughed, a sound devoid of any amusement, "I'm not a damn spy. You want my history?" She shifted, Madara's calm face neither stopping her or urging her on, "I was born in Iwa. My father was killed on a mission when I was three, while my mother went increasingly ill. She panicked when I was set to become a genin and yanked us from all the documents she could get her hands on, before fleeing. We wandered for nearly a year as she was dying of tuberculosis, after which I was then forced into those filthy districts to keep alive. Cleaning never was my thing, but I kept the meat off my bones to ward away any thought of Fue's to sell me into the industry. Nobody wants to pay to fuck a bag of bones." She scoffed, flicking her eyes down, "So if you're really that convinced that I'm bad news, go ahead, murder me here. I know too much." She flicked a hand at him, his small chuckle drawing her eyes back up.
"I will not be murdering you." He said as he strode forward, catching her wrists and pulling her up to her feet with an easy flex of his arms, "However, do this again, and I just may." He narrowed his eyes as he leaned into her face. Saezuri blinked twice, unsure of whether he was being serious or not.
"Did my lackluster history break you down?" She wryly asked, hoping against hope that he had worked the fury out of his system. She herself didn't care to pursue it anymore, as Madara's anger was starting to bring out the anger in her, a rare feat.
"Hardly." Madara ticked his tongue, exhaling when Sae wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'm sorry, okay? I've learned my lesson from this." She pressed a soft kiss to his collarbone, drawing away. "I promise not to sneak away for your own benefit ever again." Saezuri laughed lightly, pulling off her shirt dress as she knelt, slipping into her futon. Madara shook his head, delicately amused as he soon joined her, the soft bedding easing what tension was left lingering in his muscles.
Thoughts?