An Izuna-centric chapter :3 I was really feeling it...
Night had fallen quickly over the compound, a sign that winter was surely approaching. Izuna relieved himself from the burden of today's dust and sweat- it had been a warm day out in the fields and Izuna cursed his luck as he dunked under the warm water, rinsing his hair and cleansing his skin.
Part of the water storage had collapsed due to a construction error. He pulled himself out from under the water, pushing his hair back. The moon shone overhead, dancing on the surface. He relaxed in the pool, feeling slightly dissatisfied with himself. He would have to redraw the water storage concept. He decided that he'd ask Kumiko for help.
At the thought of her he felt something stir- anger. She was turning into a threat to Madara's position. Izuna did not doubt that there would be some rebellions against him, things like that tended to happen when a new leader came to power. A scandal would only be harmful. He leaned against the walls of the pool, staring at his arms as he scrubbed them.
"Stupid woman." He mumbled, climbing out of the pool and picking up his towel. He wrapped it around his torso, moving back into the house. The maid would be around somewhere, eyeing him 'secretly'. His brother was not home yet, there was a silence that hung around the house that sometimes disconcerted him. When he entered his room, he silently slid the door shut, dropping his towel in a corner as he pulled on his underclothing. The only reason he clothed himself while he was in his room was because of his new neighbor. He walked to the sliding door, peeking through the hole. To his surprise, she was sitting on her mat with her bare back to the door as a woman applied something to it. Izuna grinned, turning away to clothe himself fully. His black shirt hung loosely over his body and his pajamas felt freshly washed. To him it was a good feeling.
He moved to the connecting door, sliding it open and leaning against the door frame. Kumiko glanced over her shoulder at him, looking panicked. Her eyelids were swollen from pain, he assumed. He knew how much that poker hurt.
"Izuna-sama please don't come in."
Her voice was just above a whisper. He scoffed, remembering that women had a lower pain tolerance.
"Don't worry, I don't intend to. Don't close this door." He turned away when the maid glanced at him, moving to his table and pulling fresh parchment. His brother had been in that room not long ago, he could sense it. Anxiety overwhelmed him for a moment, worrying that his brother would do something while he was not keeping a close watch on the two. There was only one solution to this sort of thing. Bee had to arrive here soon.
When the maid had left, she shut the door with a soft click and Kumiko let out another sob, forgetting that Izuna was right next door. Out of curiosity, he treaded in silently, glancing at her bare back and the dark cloth that she was hugging to her front. He felt slightly guilty but the poker had done a good job on her shoulder.
The symbol was not exactly of the Uchiha clan, it was two dark tomoes, with a small uchiwa in the center.
"Kumiko."
She stiffened, glancing over him, hugging the cloth tighter.
"Please don't come in, I need to dress."
"Let the balm sit well first."
He did not stop approaching her and paused behind her. Her mattress was a little above the floor and his knees brushed her skin below her shoulder blades. She would have shivered if her skin didn't feel numb with shock.
He dropped himself next to her, smiling amiably. Her eyes widened in surprise and she growled, finally he enticed a more Kumo-like reaction.
"What the hell Izuna I'm kinda' naked."
"There's nothing you can hide from my eyes, they can see everything."
"Pervert!"
She swung her right hand to smack him gently across the face and he caught her wrist, grinning at her.
"Come now, there's nothing I haven't already seen on hundreds of other women."
"Oh?" She raised an eyebrow, her eyes darkening.
"Of course. And you have allowed me a more than fair view of yourself with the funny way you sleep."
Her cheeks darkened, she growled again "Silence Izuna-sama."
He growled back, his boyish laughter echoing in the empty room.
"It hurts a lot huh?"
Kumiko nodded, shifting uncomfortably, hugging the Kimono to her front harder. He was leaning against the wall by her mat, his feet stretched out behind her. She had to turn her head to look at him and she had to admit, all of her felt very stiff.
"Your grandmother told me they would use ink. What is this 'left wing' anyway?"
He blinked at her, frowning at her lack of knowledge. "They are a group of elite nin that serve the clan leader, in this case, my brother."
She nodded, staring down at her body and then shyly at him. He had this way of watching her that made her unsure of what he was looking at. She could never tell if he was staring at the wall behind her or at her face.
"The person who did the... thing… He knew that he had to mark my left shoulder."
"Ah, did he now?"
She nodded to him, glancing curiously at him. He seemed to be staring at the other side of the room.
"Your brother must have told him, it was embarrassing when he pulled down the collar."
Izuna's gaze shifted to her, a wry smile gracing his handsome face.
"I told you there's nothing about you I haven't seen."
Kumiko became rigid, her mouth parting in surprise as her eyebrows scrunched together.
"It was you?!"
He smiled, his eyes were lidded in that peculiar manner he had.
"Do you think my brother would let another man touch you?" He leaned forward slightly, giving her a quizzical look.
She remained silent, leaning away from him slightly.
"I have a mark like yours, it'll stop hurting in a day or two and will feel sore for days if you keep sleeping on it."
She was still staring at him, a frown making its way onto her face. He chuckled, "I did try to make sure I did it as painlessly as possible."
"How can something as hot as that be painless?!"
There was irritation in her tone, he was reminded of the way she had laughed and cried.
"Look." He leaned away, his hands moving to the edges of his shirt as he pulled it off. Kumiko frowned and turned her face the other way. "Put it back on Izuna."
He moved closer to her, turning so that his back pressed against her arm. She turned to look at him when his skin made contact with hers and her eyes met a mark on his left shoulder. She stared at it, the tomoes and the uchiwa.
"We have the same mark?"
He looked over his shoulder at her, moving away slightly as he spoke, "Yup. Us and the six others."
"Who are they?"
He shrugged in response, not prepared to give that information to her. He stood up, his shirt in hand.
"I suggest you sleep without anything covering your back and lie on your stomach. The more cold air hits your skin the less you'll feel the sting. Keep your hair tied up."
She nodded, speaking up as he moved to the connecting door, "If I have to do that, please close the connecting door."
He didn't respond, just walked to his room and let the door slide shut behind him. Kumiko sighed in relief, not used to Izuna being so in-her-face. It felt a little overwhelming.
Her mind wandered as she moved to lie down on her stomach, scrunching the pillow beneath her so that her chest did not hurt.
'How could I have missed it? Of course it was Izuna.' There could have been no other explanation for how he knew which shoulder to mark and what words to whisper to her to distract her. His hushed voice filled her ears like a ghost and she smiled, turning her face to stare at the connecting door. His presence was as comforting as it was overwhelming. She was trying her best to expel thoughts of Madara from her mind. She wondered if he had brought her back after she had collapsed.
The door slid open again, Izuna wandered in still partially clothed and rummaged through a drawer in the lone shelf in her room. He pulled out a scroll and silently moved back to his room. This time he did not shut the door and Kumo groaned, burying her face in her pillow and waiting for sleep to visit her. Her shoulder had been stinging still and Izunas appearance had been a temporary distraction. She found herself wishing for Madara's hands, cupping her face, holding her body, kissing her tenderly. She shivered and smacked her face against the pillow. Closing her eyes and forcing herself to think of nothing but the cold draft in the room.