Hello! It's Christmas Eve (in the story) and...
Chapter 14- The Holidays.
Mika's eyes snapped open and she gasped for breath, but found that she could draw no precious oxygen in. There was something heavy holding her down and it was mauling her face rather forcibly. The 'thing' stopped kissing her and she sucked in a deep breath before lunging forward at the perpetrator.
"You sick pervert! I'm going to kill you!" she yelled as she used pure physical force to flip the person on top of her onto their backs.
Her assailant did not seem to like that because he gripped her with arms of steel and pressed her right against him. She hissed as he claimed her lips once more and grabbed the back of her head to stop her from pulling away. No matter how hard she struggled, he simply wouldn't budge and she was starting to panic. During the struggle, she had ended up with her back against the bed and all four of her limbs were being restrained.
"Honestly, stop fighting," a male voice growled and Mika's brain recognized the owner of the voice instantly.
"Madara? What the hell are you doing?" she replied and scolded her brain for not figuring that it was him from the start.
Obviously, the Uchiha was the only one capable of holding her down and he was also the only one interested in doing so. His lips were on her neck and she shivered. He gave her one last nip, making her jump, before saying, "Aren't you going to wish me a happy birthday?"
It took her a moment to think before she answered, "December 24th? That's when your birthday is?"
Though it was pitch black, she imagined that he was giving her a glare.
"I mean, happy birthday Madara! You're even... older," she muttered the last part. Then, she grinned, "It makes you even more of a pedophile, eh?"
He flared his nostrils and tightened his grip on her. "Do you really think that my age is going to stop me from kissing you?"
She scoffed and clarified, "What you call kissing, I call assaulting. Seriously, I was sleeping."
"Once again, do you think I care?" he replied and resumed kissing her neck.
Mika stiffened up and drew in a sharp breath.
"Wait a minute, what..." she trailed off to bite her lips to stop herself from moaning, but then continued, "What are you doing? I hope you aren't thinking that I'm going to interlope with you just because it's your birthday."
He sighed and stopped his advances. "You completely ruined the mood with that stupid word," he said in reference to her stand-in word for sex.
"What mood? The mood was completely tense because I thought I was being attacked," she defended, though, she made a mental note to say 'interlope' whenever she wanted Madara to stop trying to seduce her.
"And why didn't you tell me it was your birthday before tonight? I would have gotten you are a present," she continued.
The Uchiha smirked and said, "I did it exactly so that you wouldn't be able to get me anything. Now, you owe me and I can take whatever I want."
She gasped and contradicted, "No! That doesn't magically let you steal from me!"
"I am a criminal, after all, so I can really just take what I want without even bothering to ask your permission," he said and his voice dropped a tone.
A shiver went down her spine as he breathed down her neck before kissing it. Mika bit her lip and racked her brain for what to do. After all, they both knew that if Madara wanted to have intercourse that night, he easily could and there was nothing she could do to stop him.
However, she did not like that so she said, "Please, Madara, you know I'm not ready."
He paused for a moment and looked her right in the eyes.
His lips hovered about hers and she blurted out, "I'm sorry! I keep putting you off and I know that's not fair to you, but I'm just... Afraid."
The Uchiha raised an eyebrow at her, though, the gesture was unseen in the darkness.
"You're afraid? Of what?" he said.
She took a deep breath before she explained, "I'm afraid that if things get physical between us, you'll loose interest in me. I mean, you've been with so many women during your entire life that compared to them, I'll look like nothing special."
"I don't want to loose you," she whispered.
His gaze softened and he used one his hands to caress her cheek.
"Mika, you'll never have to be worried about something like that. You are special and I will never forget that about you," he comforted.
She gave him a weak smile and continued, "But I promise, I will tell you when I am ready."
That seemed to satisfy him so he gave her a tender kiss on the forehead and shifted to lie beside her.
"In other news, it's your birthday so you have full right to drag your victims wherever you want and make them do almost anything you want them to," she changed the topic and gave him a grin.
"Are you willingly calling yourself my victim?" he asked and she shot him a dirty look before saying, "No. I meant you can take your annoying Tobi alias to a whole new level."
He shook his head and replied, "I have no intention of letting the others find out that it is my birthday. Only Pein and Konan know."
"There, they can be your victims," she suggested.
Madara smirked. "You're just trying to distract me so that I won't make you my helpless slave for the day."
"Now, now, I never said anything about that. But yes. Just let yourself get distracted by something simple. Tobi is pretty good at that," she mocked.
"Forget about Tobi. Today is the only day where I can forget about the idiot and be myself," he said gruffly.
She was going to say something about how mental diseases cannot be forgotten, but chose not to. Instead, she offered, "So, would you like me to make you some cake?"
"Don't worry about it. I already planned everything out," he said slyly.
Mika got up off the bed and muttered, "Yeah, you had plenty of time to plan while you watched me sleep, you pedophile."
"What did you say?" he said sharply and she tensed up.
"I, uh, I said that you're a good planner," she said with a nervous chuckle.
He narrowed his eyes, but said nothing as they both got dressed.
"But before we go anywhere I need to clarify a few things. Your definition of 'birthday party' might be a little different from mine so I just need to make sure you're not going to sacrifice me to some pagan god just so that you'll live another year," she said half-serious, half-sarcastic.
The Uchiha did not seem too amused so she continued, "Moreover, how do I know you're not suddenly going to go on a massacring rampage? What I'm saying is that could you please promise that no one is going to die?"
After throwing his Akatsuki cloak on, he appeared in front of her, grabbed her by the waist and growled, "I make no promises."
Everything started to spin and they were suddenly standing on the peak of a massive, sky-scraping mountain. Mike instantly gripped Madara's arm in fear of him planning to throw her off it.
"Look," he said and used his free hand to point at a tiny dot in the sky.
She squinted and saw that the dot was getting closer. Her first thought was that it was a fire breathing dragon, but she dismissed the childish notion and tried to think of something more realistic.
"It's a falcon!" she announced in awe.
The hunting bird got even closer and that was when she started getting nervous. This was no normal falcon; it was much too large. The massive creature let out a piercing shriek and she gulped.
"Um, Madara, it's not going to try and eat us, is it?" she whispered and just in case, gathered a little bit of chakra into her hands.
"Don't be silly," he whispered back just as the elephant-sized falcon landed in front of them.
"Uchiha Madara. What brings you to my land?" the bird surprised her by saying a in a wise, yet deadly tone.
"I require to borrow one of your falcons for a personal matter. Your younger brother would do fine," the Uchiha stated as if he was merely talking to an old comrade instead of a bird with a beak the size of his head.
"As long as you do not cause any humans harm with his aid, it is fine. I do not want your kind blaming us for something you did," the falcon warned.
Madara nodded and the falcon reared his head into the air before letting out another high-pitched shriek. Mika barely had enough time to cover her ears and just seconds later, another slightly smaller falcon was speeding toward them.
It landed beside the first falcon and said, "Brother? You called?"
Then, it turned to look at them and laughed, "Oh. Madara's back! And he has a female friend!"
The older brother let out something akin to a sigh and said, "Be more serious. You have your job and do it well."
With one effortless lurch, the larger falcon was in the air and already soaring through the clouds. She watched with wide eyes as the majestic creature flew away. When she turned back, Madara was already getting onto the younger falcon. He gestured for her to follow suit and she swallowed her fears before climbing on and gripping the Uchiha's waist. After all, he wouldn't go through all the trouble to make her an Akatsuki member before suddenly throwing her off a falcon and to her death, right?
...Right.
"Go straight up. It's a clear day so the view should be perfect," Madara said and the falcon extended his massive wings before jumping up.
It took Mika every inch of will power not to scream as they were suddenly hundreds of feet above the ground. She was not afraid of heights, but fear of falling down and being turned into a puddle of goop on ground impact did terrify her. As they climbed higher and higher, her ears began to pop and breathing became just a little more difficult. After a good twenty minutes of flying straight up, the falcon stopped to hover in the air and give them a 360 degree view.
"Wow," she breathed as the vast expanse of the ninja world opened up.
Behind them was Sand Country, which was where they had come from. To their right was the dark blue sea that was littered with many various little islands; some inhabited, some not. Green fields dominated the area to their left, but the farther north they looked, the whiter everything became. It was the middle of winter so the northern mountains were coated in a shimmer of white.
What really interested her, though, was the sky-high mountain range that extended past Earth Country. The entire region was completely unmapped and only a handful of brave explorers knew what kind of secrets were hidden there. That really might have been the greatest mystery of the ninja world.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Madara asked and gave her a hidden smile.
"I have never seen anything like this before. Thank you," she replied and gave him a wide grin.
"Excellent. Now falcon, dive," he ordered and her heart skipped a beat.
The bird's wings tilted back and he went head first into the clouds below them. Mika wanted to scream, but she was just so shocked that all she could do was grip Madara like her life depended on it.
And it did.
She knew that there was absolutely no chance for her to survive if she fell now. Suddenly, she felt the wind beneath her legs and she looked down to find that Madara had pushed off the falcon's back and they were now falling through the air. Her eyes widened even further when the Uchiha pried off her grip on him and let them both fall individually.
All rational thoughts fled her mind and for a brief moment, she started flapping her hands in the air to try and slow her hands down. Madara was right beside her and she was rather shocked to hear him laughing.
It was a deep, melodic sound that made her want to smile, but at the moment, all she could do was yell, "You're laughing! We're about to die!"
She reached for him and continued screaming, "Teleport! Teleport now!"
That made him chuckle even more and he grabbed her by the waist before turning them both upside-down so that they were now plummeting down head first. Mika gasped and clutched him even harder as she racked her brain for any ideas, last prayers, or promises she would make to God if he let her live through this.
Suddenly, she just felt an overwhelming sense of calm. After all, she was safely in Madara's arms and even if they were about to die, there was nothing that could be done. She looked out onto the quickly nearly ground and gave him a smile.
"Thank you for letting me get to know you, Madara," she said just as the falcon from before appeared below them and they impacted full-force with the creature. Mika instantly let go of the Uchiha and clung to the bird's feathers with all of her might.
"I'm alive! Yes!" she screamed as pure adrenaline coursed though her veins.
"Ah! Ouch! Ouch! Stop pulling!" the falcon screeched and she hastily apologized before shifting into a position where she could wrap her arms around the falcon's neck. Madara settled down behind her and he held onto her waist.
Then, he leaned a little closer and asked, "Why were you thanking me?"
She chuckled quietly before replying, "In case death was close, I wanted to show my appreciation for you letting me into your life."
His grip tightened. "I will never let you die."
The idea that he cared brought a smile to her face. They continued soaring through the sky and it really did put the 'happy' in Madara's happy birthday.
...
Mika groaned and climbed under the bed sheets.
"It's over, it's finally over!" she announced and didn't even bother changing into her pajamas as she begged sleep to take over her.
"Honestly, I thought I was exhausted after your birthday, but this, this was absolutely horrible," she continued and Madara sat down on the bed beside her.
"I'm not even kidding. Sure, I thought I was going to die on your birthday, but today, I was considering suicide."
He chuckled and said, "Lighten up. It's Christmas day and what sort of holiday doesn't have a violent paper cutting ceremony?"
She sighed. "At first it was nice with the family style Christmas breakfast, but when everyone started opening their presents, it all went to hell."
Sitting back up, she continued, "Before I erase it from my memory, could we go over who gave who what? After the violence started, I was rather confused."
Madara, who himself had not seen all of the exchanges, also decided to try and decipher the puzzle. "You gave Itachi a set of silver swords, Itachi gave Sasori a tool kit, and then it got violent."
"Yes, Sasori got Deidara a shirt saying 'Art it eternal' and they got into a very physical fight. During that, Pein found his present from Deidara, which was an exploding Konan-shaped doll," Mika continued and then broke into a fit of giggles.
"The look on his face was priceless when it blew up!" she said in between laughs.
He chuckled and continued, "So he attacked Deidara, who was still fighting off Sasori and in their struggle, they knocked over the tree. At the same time, I tried to save the presents and I found my present from Pein."
"Oh yeah, your giant lollipop suited you perfectly. So what did you get Kisame? I was too busy trying to hold Sasori back from stabbing Deidara in the face to notice," she said as if it was a normal thing to do on Christmas.
"I got him a picture frame with a photo shopped picture of him and Itachi smiling together," he replied and she smiled.
"That's sweet. Did he like it?"
Madara scoffed. "No. He thought I was implying that he and Itachi were gay so he started chasing me."
"He got me my present," she muttered with a shudder.
"Oh. Do tell," he mocked even thought he had already seen the monstrosity from the corner of his eye.
"It was a note that said 'If you wanna party with the big fishes, feel free to come into my room anytime'. How is that even slightly appropriate? It's Christmas for goodness sakes!" she ranted and crossed her arms.
They paused and did their best to remember what had happened after that. "By then, Sasori, Deidara and Pein had settled down so I was able to see that Zetsu gave Hidan a large cleaver."
"He also told Hidan that he should cut off one of his limbs and give it to him, but luckily, Hidan was not too offended by it," Madara said with a shrug.
"Then Hidan gave Kakuzu a large roll of money, which later turned out to be fake so they were yelling at each other in the kitchen," Mika picked up where he left off.
"After that, I gave Konan the present Kakuzu got her. It was a ripped Christmas card... Wasn't that when it got all violent again?" she continued.
"Yes. Konan was so angry that she ran into the kitchen and started cutting both Hidan and Kakuzu with her paper. Kakuzu ran out, but Hidan decided that the perfect time for a self-sacrifice was right then and there," Madara shook his head.
Mika shuddered. "There was blood everywhere and I had to spend the next three hours wiping blood off and making everything sanitary. Didn't Konan attack Hidan even more when he got his blood in her hair?"
"Oh yes, and I don't think that helped your cleaning efforts at all," Madara mocked.
"Of course it didn't! They splattered even more blood everywhere! Plus, the noise of all the screaming, fighting and bickering was so loud I could barely hear myself think," she sighed.
"And then, finally, Zetsu opened his present from Konan and saw that it was a large lump of raw meat. I think Zetsu was the only one that was really happy with his present," Madara finished the explanation.
"There. Now that the mystery has been solved, I can erase it all from my memory and have a nice, peaceful sleep," Mika said with a soft smile.
She was about to tuck herself in, but then she remembered something and shot out of the bed and into the closet.
He watched her with mild curiosity and she said, "I got you a present too. It only seems fair considering I couldn't get you anything for your birthday."
A moment later, she pulled out a neatly wrapped box with a fancy bow on it.
She handed it to him and he took off his mask before carefully peeling off the packaging.
There was a moment of silence before he said, "You got me another mask?"
Nodding, she explained, "Yes. The bright orange was driving me nuts. I think that this lovely shade of hot pink really matches you. The little hearts on the side give it that extra touch, don't you think?"
He took the girly object out of the box and inspected it. The mask was his size, but the color was absolutely hideous.
"Well, are you going to try it on?" she said, but he could tell that there was that half mocking half vengeful undertone to it.
Madara sighed and put it back in the box. "Alright, I get it. Tobi is annoying but I am not going to put that on. Orange was painful for me, but pink is just too much."
She laughed and closed the box. "Sure, sure, but this one of those for-future-reference presents. If you ever scream into my ear in that high pitch again, I will get this mask and make you wear in it front of everyone."
Then, she put it on a shelf in the closet and gave him a toothy grin.
He shook his head, and then said, "I got you something too."
Her eyes seemed to light up, but then she narrowed them and said, "How do I know you're not going to give me a wedgie or some other childish prank?"
His lips pulled up into a smile. "You don't."
Suddenly, he pushed her against the wall and pressed himself toward her.
Mika was absolutely taken back by the degree of passion in the kiss that he gave her. It was unlike anything ever before and it made her heart beat faster.
"Merry Christmas."
To be continued...!
At last! Christmas is over! It really is such a violent affair with the Akatsuki's. This chapter was really a way to show Madara's soft side, though, there is a much, much darker side that has yet to rear its ugly head...
Now for the important part: First of all, thank you to everyone who voted in whether to have a hiatus, happy end or sadistic end. To make things more interesting, I won't say what type of end there will be, but I don't want to you think that just because this chapter was all fluffy that the ending will be just as nice. With Madara, it could honestly go either way. I was quite surprised by how many people messaged me and suggested I take a brief hiatus in exchange for lengthening the story. Thus, it is my duty to inform you that there will not be an update next week. I have decided to take a brief hiatus. (Mostly because of Kishomoto's major twist involving Madara/Tobi.) Please be patient~!
Any thoughts?