A/N: I did better for this one! Update wise, that is :)
VampireGirl Shiori Uchiha: Hopefully this chapter reveals a bit of what's going on, buuut I am not telling you everything, of course ;)
Crimson: Then I hope I didn't fail to meet your expectations, haha. And about the tragic ending thing. Interesting. I will say nothing on this matter, but it's good to know that there are so many different types of readers reading right now ;)
UnwrittenHistory: Haha, I know the last chapter was rather cryptic. Hopefully this chapter answers your question~
Littlekirara: Wowie, it's not often someone writes me an essay xD: Thank you. Many readers (myself included) don't say everything since they think it may not be needed. However, it is helpful for me to be able to receive a full account of a reader's thoughts. It helps me understand where everything is positioned through another person's eyes. I just have to comment, though: based off what I see from your comments and suggestions, you are my type of reader.
Victorita9: I like that chapter, too :)
AndSoHerHeartIsBroken: I tried! Praise me! lulz.
Till You Die
26 - Her Pygmalion III
"Give me a moment," Loreli said, rising up from her bed.
Madara wouldn't have bothered rapping on her door when he realized that it was locked. He would have broken down the door or-...he would have needed to break it down anyway.
"Is there a problem?" she asked tiredly, swinging her door open.
The sight of an assertive, half-blinded kunoichi and a few members of her gang was not something Loreli had expected to see.
"You left something of yours in the yard," Uchiha Agetha drawled.
Without waiting for an invitation, the woman carried the basket of clothing into her room. She set the basket by the bed and went to draw the curtains away from the window, instantly illuminating the dark room.
"Oh ho. What is this?" Agetha questioned in distaste, staking claim on a position by her window. "Weren't you the one who claimed that his one or two small mistakes didn't matter? Had to fall back on your own words rather quickly, I'd say."
...
...Loreli let out a soundless sigh, unable to believe that this day could get any more tiresome.
"So which is it...?" she tonelessly asked. "Are you against Madara, or are you actually supporting him?"
A wicked smile quirked up the kunoichi's lips. "That," Agetha replied, "I wonder."
"But if you have use for this room no longer," Agetha went on to say, taking a good look at her surroundings, "I want it for myself."
...Loreli pursed her lips.
"We could get you out of here."
She blinked, uncertain that she heard it right.
"My skills may not have been enough to compete against Madara," Agetha proclaimed, "But I can tell you that the men guarding the walls are no match for our combined abilities."
"...You're saying that you want to..." to desert? Loreli trailed off. That was no simple joking matter.
"It may take time. It may take effort. A clanless ninja will be found out and killed," Agetha said with a shrug. "But you. You are not a ninja. You can find a way to convince them to believe that you are someone of importance. We'll be seen as your bodyguards."
Agetha's one visible eye appraised her smugly. "In return, we will keep you hidden."
...
"...You place your lives on the line," Loreli answered coolly. "...Why the faith in someone you've only belittled a bit earlier?"
Agetha might have laughed, but she didn't hear it. Something wicked glinted in the kunoichi's sinfully dark eyes. "Because you're...interesting."
...Loreli's eyes fixated on a spot on her wooden floor in contemplation. She drew in a breath she had been stalling to take.
"I'm not here to entertain you."
She brushed by them to get to her door, holding it open. "Leave."
It may have been the reaction they were expecting. There was only a moment's pause before the kunoichi nearest to the door made her exit, the others filing past her one by one on their way out. Loreli made it a point not to glance at any of them as they passed.
Agetha was the last one to remove herself.
"Yet I can't help but notice," the bold Uchiha female voiced in a bored manner, "that you didn't reject us outright."
Loreli said nothing, only watched the woman who was both deadly and alluring.
"Should you ever find yourself interested in an arrangement," Agetha told her as she swept by, her one visible eye trained on her. "You know where to find us."
...
"And you will be waiting for a long time," Loreli replied smoothly. "People of my ability, you can find many. I have neither the desire to become your pawn nor do I need your pity."
A crisp, startling laugh answered her.
"That distrustful and conceited attitude will serve you well, dear lady," Agetha drawled, her chuckling continued to be heard out the door. "Hang onto it."
"I want that man barred from ever setting foot within the stronghold, do I make myself clear?" Madara demanded with a sneer.
"Yes, Madara-sama. I will send word to Shindara at once."
Whatever connections the current Sorairo clan's leader had to his wife, she had been badly shaken by their meeting. If she had pushed him away, it was a clear sign that said she didn't believe he could protect her. And what was worse: he didn't even have the right to tell her to trust him. Not after-
"Wait."
The councillor halted at his command.
"You are the one my brother sent to investigate her," Madara stated.
Uchiha Yuushun, a genjutsu expert who was not among Madara's group when he had gone to Yukama-tono's castle, was the one who had been entrusted by Izuna to find out about the woman Madara had brought back.
"What have you found that is relevant to the situation at hand?" Madara commanded him to speak.
"If Madara-sama means to ask if there are any direct connections with the Sorairo clan, I am afraid it is more complicated than that," Yuushun replied.
A frown darkening his brow, Madara snapped, "Speak then."
Yuushun obliged with a small bow. "It appears that despite my lady's impressive endurance, she actually possesses a weak constitution. It is the reason why her mother had brought them to the warm climate of the Fire Country when she was but a wee girl."
"An impressive woman, her mother was. Also known as a great beauty found only once in a hundred years."
Madara tapped his fingers against his arm in impatience. The warning was not lost on the ladykiller Yuushun.
Yuushun cleared his throat. "Alas, the way her mother suffered after her father left them had left a lasting impact on the young girl."
Was there a point to this? Madara scowled. "A man who left a so-called impressive beauty like you say?" So he'd been exaggerating, had he?
"It's quite simple, really," Yuushun asserted. He then met his leader's eyes seriously. "He wasn't strong enough to protect her."
Madara's eyes snapped wide.
What.
"Her mother remained serving as lord Yukama's concubine for the duration of time she lived in the Fire Country. My lady grew up to be a stunning beauty, showered with the promises of men and unable to place her faith in any of them."
'But, I thought that...if it was you...you would be able to protect me.'
He hadn't realized exactly how much it meant for her to think that.
-Slam.
Rock chipped off the sizable dent in the marble column as Madara withdrew his fist. His face a mask of calm arrogance, Madara arched a long, thin eyebrow. "Get to what I want to know."
Another small bow from Yuushun.
"Three incidents stand out in particular. In her thirteenth summer, she admitted to a crime and was punished by a brutal whipping. The young princess found out and put a stop to it, and in the end another servant girl was sent away from the castle. If that had not left scars, then it must have taken the best the princess could find to heal her."
"The facts revolving around the second incident have been hushed. Rumour has it that it had to do with a visiting lord. My lady was either shoved, had slipped, or had jumped from the roof of second floor. Those who have seen the result of that described a pool of blood. She injured the side of her head, and is actually unable to recall this incident. But the marks beneath her hair are there. This event was kept from her, as they thought it would be best to do so; particularly because there was not much to be done about a nobleman of that rank."
'I'll kill him,' Madara noted darkly to himself, livid at the knowledge that someone who had caused her suffering had lived.
"Needless to say," Yuushun thought to mention, "my lady wasn't too pleased to find out that they've been hiding this from her. For someone who is not a ninja, she does have a way of...teasing the truth out of people."
A half grin.
It had occurred to him that maybe, just maybe, Madara realized with a frown, Yuushun was daring this on purpose. It would not be inconceivable. Aside from Izuna who ordered the investigation, Yuushun was the only one who knew about her full background. It would certainly explain why the genjutsu expert had gone out of his way to teach her to play cards, according to what she had claimed.
Madara's teeth clenched so hard that his jaw ached. It served him well to know that after all this time, he, who called himself her husband, was likely to be the one who had offered her the least amount of comfort.
"She had bled so much that they say it was a miracle she was saved. But there is still one other incident," Yuushun informed him.
"The summer that she was fifteen, my lady fell from a tall tree and snapped her arm. It was a particularly bad fall, from what I gathered. The princess was frantic in getting any healer she could find to see to her. All of them told her that it simply couldn't be done, and even if it were it would keep causing complications for the rest of her life. Best course of action would be an amputation, they say."
"And yet...not even a scar is left to mark the existence of that tragic incident," Yuushun noted. "If that doesn't speak of the work of an elite Sorairo medic, I know not what would."
He had seen her reach for her arm back there. That could be it.
"You know how the Sorairo work, Madara-sama," Yuushun carefully reminded. "They will only agree to do such things for a price."
The price that Sorairo Ikezoe charges, Madara was familiar with. It was the reason why the Sorairo clan hadn't much difficulty in overcoming enemies despite being a clan of medics.
"It would appear that the Sorairo have outlived their usefulness," was Madara's cold statement. He would not allow them the possible advantage of making the first move. "Inform the others. We will put the plan to motion as soon as Izuna returns."
"Should I direct reinforcements to Izuna-sama?" Yuushun inquired.
"No need." Izuna had always been able to hold his own. "For now we watch," Madara commanded darkly. "Double the men on the Sorairo's watch. Find out exactly who they have been consorting with to become brash enough to entertain these endeavors."
A curt bow. "Yes, Madara-sama."
"And if I may be so bold, Madara-sama," Yuushun turned back to add. "Now's the time you should be listening to your woman instead of brooding on your own."
Now one of his top advisors was giving him advice in love? Just what the hell was happening to this place!
The leader of the Uchiha clan scowled murderously before composing himself.
"You. Stop there."
Uchiha Agetha exchanged a knowing glance with her girls.
"You called, Madara-sama?" she asked in a drawl.
An indulgent and attentive husband he was, but was no less their fear-inspiring leader when he folded his arms and faced them full.
The last time Uchiha Madara had looked her squarely with his intense, blood-red eyes, she had wound up with two dislocated joints, two broken ribs, and fractured bone all along one leg. The thing was, that had been when she had challenged him to a duel with her former position in the Uchiha army at stake.
He hadn't even mad at that time.
Voice taut. "Explain yourself," the tall, black-clad shinobi commanded, arching a long, arrogant eyebrow. "Why have you gone against my orders to remain silent on that matter?"
"Is the end result not the same as the one you had wanted, Madara-sama?" the kunoichi asked. "You wanted to bruise her ego a bit, wanted her to realize that she needs you. For that you were planning to spurn her when she warms up to you as a way of punishment. To a self-sufficient female like her, the damage to her pride is greater than any wound."
But he hadn't followed through with his original plan. He couldn't do it. He didn't think he could forgive himself if he made her cry.
Coldly, and with deadly calm, Madara arched one expressive eyebrow and told her, "You'll have to do better than that."
Well well, she was not a kunoichi of the Uchiha clan if she could feel fear at the simple threat of pain or death.
"Is that an empty threat, Madara-sama? Or have you finally decided to weed out all opposition?"
All at once he was before her, the tips of his fingers digging into her throat.
"Just because I've never lifted a finger against any of you," Madara seethed out in cold fury, "doesn't mean I won't start. I will not," he emphasized, "tolerate this kind of treatment towards my wife!"
Livid, his powerful and dangerous eyes were. Ominous red, and breathtakingly beautiful. He was the embodiment of a chaotic storm; a harbinger of war, of destruction. And was every bit the dark, handsome stranger the young girls conjured up in their sleep, dreaming of the seduction of death.
It was hard to believe this was the same boy she had turned down all those years ago. He most likely didn't even remember his confession, now.
"Whatever disrespect I have shown," Agetha replied, a smidge stiffer than she would've liked, "I will answer for in due time." The pure malice was rolling off him in waves. As much as she'd like to test his word, she had no true desire to spark off a fight without gain. "Should you not be telling this to your wife, instead?" she somehow still managed to drawl despite the tight grip at her throat.
...
Slowly, very slowly, Uchiha Madara released her from his grasp. He, too, came to the conclusion that he had more important matters to attend to.
"I want you gone from this complex within the hour," Madara snapped his curt command, arms folding impassively and his sharingan blaring. "Now out of my sight!"
The kunoichi bowed smartly and retreated to where her girls were waiting with their baskets, awaiting her actions. Luckily, that had gone rather smoothly for them, and Agetha kept back a smirk. She picked up the basket full of clothing she had put down when he had called upon her.
Madara did a double take.
"What is all this?" he snapped.
...
She should have known better than to anger the women.
Loreli rubbed her temples, sighing at the sight of her near-empty room.
Women didn't ball their fists and flash their swords, she had learned from experience. They put on a pleasant smile and made their kill another way.
With a grim expression, she picked up the poor excuse for a dress that was left on her bed. Was it possible, then, she wondered, to die of embarrassment?
No, what she was really wondering is why Murata had not bothered to stop them. Had he tried, she would have heard something during her bath. Instead, he'd allowed them to make off with her entire inventory.
And just what was this—this thing? Surely this scrap of fabric couldn't be even be called a—a-...she didn't even want to think about it.
With an exasperated sigh, she tossed it back on the bed.
But no matter how many times she swung her closet doors open, her clothing weren't going to magically reappear.
Loreli paced a circle around her room.
Alright, so she had the option of appearing naked to the next person who saw her, or wearing that-that-...
—They must be laughing and making bets on what her decisions would be.
She let out a slow breath.
The scrap of fabric taunted her from its resting place on her bed, its dark magenta colour was bold enough to be found offensive.
Dangling it up between two fingers, Loreli fought back a grimace as she reluctantly padded her way to the mirror on her bathroom wall.
Simply holding it up in front of her did not give her a clear enough picture. To be honest, as if to reject even the consideration of putting that thing on, her mind was drawing up a blank as she stared back at her reflection.
...
Someone. will have to answer for this.
Inhale.
Very well then. She'll give them one final, good show.
With one breath Loreli slipped the skin-tight attire up her legs, yanking the thread-bare material up her torso. The straps snapped into place as she wrestled them over her bare shoulders.
She was out of breath by the time she had laced up the zipper on the back of the dress.
...What...was this?
Try as she might to grasp onto the fabric so that she could adjust it, it was no use. The thing clung to her like a second skin, emphasizing every little curve there was on her body, even the less desirable ones And it was tight. Uncomfortable.
Loreli risked a glance at her reflection and was immediately stupefied by her appearance.
The blatant, rosy-red colour of the dress did absolutely terrible things to her visage. It highlighted the fair complexion of her skin, the blazing red of her lips, and the blush that currently flushed her cheeks. She felt...suffocated. The only parts of her body that seemed able to breathe were her shoulders, bare save the strands of her shoulder-length hair draping over them, and her bare legs, made to seem longer underneath the dress.
Oh dear gods. Not only was the top revealing too much, the skirt... She tugged indignantly at the bottom of the dress, but the fabric smoothed back to place as soon as she let go.
This—this was indecent!
...It was only when she heard the knocking at her door did she finally lift her burning face from her hands at the bathroom sink.
Loreli sucked in a steadying breath, tossing one final glance at the determined eyes of her reflection. At the very least, the material of her dress wasn't see-through. Not that the dress left much to imagination.
Ughnnn.
The show was on.
Flicking her hair to the back, Loreli strode confidently to the door.
"If you wouldn't mind," the young woman started haughtily as she swung her door open, with a speech already prepared in her head.
Madara.
Her immediate reaction: slamming the door in his face.
His immediate reaction: preventing her from doing so.
Her heart skidding in an alarming fashion, Loreli realized that he must have stuck his arm out the instant she had tried to shut him out, his intent eyes now roving over her body with a mixture of awe and stunned disbelief. If Uchiha Madara knew how to gawk, that would be it.
She'd panicked, alright. Logically, she should have expected this. But she still hadn't been prepared to see him on the other side of her door.
Right. Relax. Breathe.
Loreli moved her lips but choked on air. His silent and fiery scrutiny razed whatever thoughts were left crumbling within her.
"W-why?" For whatever reason, only that word tumbled out of her mouth.
He looked up at her then, the expression on his sharp, handsome features causing her breath to hitch.
"Why I am here?" Madara asked matter-of-factly, quirking a long, thin eyebrow. "Why I have dared to show myself? Or why..." his heavy-lidded gaze raked over her form again, the predatory hunger barely concealed within "haven't I shoved you against the nearest surface and had my way with you yet?" he asked huskily, a sound which sent shivers up her spine.
...Loreli crossed her arms before her, mistakenly thinking that it would lessen her vulnerability. It only drew his eyes back to her bosom.
...
This was the worst.
Her face was becoming so heated that it must be on the brink of forming blisters. Kami-sama, he did something, didn't he? She couldn't remember the last time she felt so entirely self-conscious and...and—
She positively jolted when he shifted forward, reminding her of their difference in height.
"Madara-" the name slipped out unthinkingly.
She heard him suck in a breath.
"I find this trait of yours to avenge yourself endearing," Madara remarked, arching his long, arrogant eyebrows. "If your intention was to torment me," he said softly, silkily, "then you've accomplished what you were after."
"That..." Loreli lost the rest of her thought. She was disoriented. She shouldn't be panicking. She had made her decision.
She had a plan.
She had a plan.
What was it again?
A light stammering dotted her words. "What do you mean, Madara-sama?"
She gasped when he gripped her gently by the chin.
His visible eye bore down at her. "You are still mad over what I did?"
...
Her long, curled lashes drooped over her eyes. She wet her lips.
"That...hardly seems important anymore," Loreli noted with a small, wry smile. And it was the truth. He couldn't accuse her of lying on that.
"Then why have you pushed me away?" Madara demanded in his commanding tone, with a frown slanting up the corners of his eyes. "Don't you think you can run from me."
She averted her eyes. "And what if I had?" she asked, feeling herself work up a sweat despite sounding calm. "...I've had to endure the realization that I am not without replacement."
"Madara-sama," she said, cutting off his stiff and indignant response. Guiding the hand on her chin to rest on her collarbone, she said coyly up at him, "It's not torment..." her heart pounding hard "if I permit you to touch me."
That robbed the protests right out of his mouth.
She looked expectantly up at him, waiting for his response.
For a long, suspenseful moment he remained motionless, thinking.
He moved.
Loreli backed up a bit to allow him space to enter. The tall, long ebony haired shinobi shut the door behind him, sliding the bolt into place; his eyes never leaving her.
Intense. Devouring.
With a quick snap, he undid the buttons on his collar, making the only sound there was in the suddenly sweltering room. He watched her in silence, seemingly waiting for something.
Instinctively she knew what it was that he wanted. She reached out, laying her palms flat against his sculpted abs. Another wave of heat painted her cheeks. That was just a bit...embarrassing...she wasn't even the one being touched.
But if he thought anything of her reaction, Madara made no comment. He remained perfectly still as she slipped her hands underneath his shirt, lifting it to expose his entire hard-toned torso.
Loreli fought not to stare, focusing instead on how she was to get the shirt over his head. But wait...something wasn't quite right here... Her eyes widened in realization.
He had adopted same passive observation the first time they had been alone together. When he had been gauging the validity of of her love confessions.
Loreli stepped back, pursing her lips. "If you don't want to," she began, and was cut off abruptly when she was swept into his embrace.
"Wrong, my lady," he said gruffly, seductively, while their faces were nearly brushing. "I want to take you right now, against the floor; up the wall; on your knees; whichever position I desire you in, as a reminder to whom you belong to."
She drew in a shuddering breath, astounded at how a statement so vulgar could have such an effect on her. But if she had any doubt about the truth of his words, the erection she was pressed against through her thin dress was proof enough.
"So why don't you?" she asked, blinking up at him with her pretty eyes.
She felt his growl rumbling, vibrating against her chest.
Immediately his mouth sought out hers, kissing her fervently, caressing every inch of her mouth as she reached up tentatively to lay her hands on his shoulders. But Madara didn't need any encouragement. His expert hands ran over her sensual form, drawing up her skirt, touching her in all the places that he had already memorized to have made her first giggle, squirm, and then gasp. She gave him a small hum of approval.
It nearly drove him into a frenzy. Madara hissed in a breath, feeling her hands underneath his shirt, running over his skin. He broke apart from her lips, but it was only to throw her onto her back as he stood over her bed, lifting and tossing aside his shirt.
It was a curious thing. There he stood, majestic and half-naked, with his visible and desire-laden eye undressing her with his gaze, much like the first time he had taken her against her will. And yet her current exposed and vulnerable state not only failed to cause her distress, it...pleased her to know that he lusted for her, lusted for her so much that the knowledge fed to her ache.
Since when...had she already learned to accept the man who he was?
"You're thinking," Uchiha Madara observed. His long, ebony spikes trailed over her teasingly as he climbed over her, caging her beneath him. He said told her smoothly, arrogantly, "It's too late to change your mind."
He could say that, but... Loreli gently reached up, brushing strands of his long black hair from his eyes. He watched her.
...It seemed that...a greater part of her already believed that he would not intentionally cause her pain.
Light smile. "Touch me, then," she said. "I will forgive you if you can make me feel good."
A smirk curled up the corner of his dark lips, confident that he could exceed her expectations.
His mouth lowered to her brow, telling her lustfully, "You have no idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that."
She closed her eyes, allowing him to grasp her, to stroke her, to tease her and to kiss her in places that made her gasp.
Yet something...there was still something that felt odd about the way nearly reverent way he touched her.
Loreli opened her eyes to see him with one hand laced through her hair, a concentrated look on his keen and attractive face.
Eyes widening, she realized with a jolt that he was looking at the white lines hidden underneath the cover of her hair.
"Tsch." In a flash, Loreli rolled off the side of her bed and was up.
"What else do you know?" she asked tersely. And here she thought that she could seduce him. He had only played along—so that he could confirm her scars with his own eyes, no doubt. How did he find out?
Her eyes landed at the bundle of clothing lying at the end of her bed. He brought her clothes, she realized. That meant he already knew what happened with the other women, and how she ended up dressed thus. She felt like such a fool.
"That you meant to deceive me up till the moment you tell Izuna your decision to leave," Madara answered her curtly. She looked to see him still reclined on the bed, his head propped up on one hand as his dark, magnetic eyes pierced her. She looked away before he added, "That you no longer believe I can protect you."
She breathed in nervously, but composed herself before she turned back and said to him cruelly, "If you knew that, then you should have kept up your pretense and enjoyed the few days we have left."
No sooner than she had witnessed his dark eyes narrowing did she find herself roughly pulled up by the arms. His mouth was crushed against hers, she realized when her mind caught up. Harshly, and punishingly, stifling her gasps. She tried, but he had her locked in his grasp, and she could do nothing but to respond to his kiss instinctively. Ah, it was powerful, indescribable; completely and utterly different from before, now that the wall of pretense had broken down between them. She was falling and floating all at the same time.
"I don't want a few nights of passion!" Madara shook her aggrievedly by the shoulders when he pulled back. "I want you. To be my wife. For life."
Loreli felt her jaw slacken and her lips part, but no sound came forth.
She shouldn't have. But...just a little bit...did she feel a little happy at his words?
"You need someone," Madara went on, sounding a tad winded. He was desperate, now. Desperate to hold onto the woman he cherished. Desperate because this time, the situation seemed entirely out of his hands.
"Someone who can back up that haughty and self-righteous attitude of yours. Someone who will pamper you all you want."
He dipped his head the rest of the way, his forehead resting on top of hers, now.
"Can't I be the one?" the tall and powerful shinobi leader lightly demanded, strong eyes looking right into hers. "No," Uchiha Madara corrected with more conviction, "Let me be the one."
...
She waited a few breaths. She needed that time.
"Need...you, Madara-sama?" she asked.
Though her voice was too quiet for him to pick up on her tone, Madara knew from experience that it was never a good thing when she used formalities in addressing him.
"I. don't need you."
"I don't need you," she repeated a second time, as if he hadn't heard her the first.
She tore herself away from him, darting for the bundle of clothing on her bed. She fled inside her bathroom before he had fully registered what had just happened, slamming the door behind her.
That was it?
He had been rejected.
And angrily rejected at that, Madara thought with a perplexed frown. He was certain she had been trembling out of anger.
What in the—?
But she hadn't even been inside the bathroom for more than a few seconds when she slammed the door open again.
Expression blank, the delicate woman approached him, lightly crossing her arms.
"Those blades you keep on you," she said, referring to the number of kunai and shurriken he kept hidden beneath his clothes at all times. "You still have one right now?"
Madara stared at her. "My proposal offends you enough to take a stab at me?" he asked, incredulous.
"Ye—No. No," she replied. A forced smile, and one that failed miserably. "You need only to lend me one for a moment."
His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What for?"
She was visibly uneasy. "...Something that came up unexpectedly." That was all she would say.
His long eyebrows arched up slowly. "There is something inside your bathroom that needs to be killed?" Madara asked in an arrogant drawl.
...
"Madara," she said.
He, however, was in no hurry to indulge her. Making his way to her bed again, Madara lied down, giving her a clean view of his lithe, topless figure. He arched his arrogant eyebrows at her, letting her know that he wasn't about to give her what she asked for without a damn good explanation.
"...You're petty."
"Can't hear you."
She breathed out a sigh. With what appeared to be a tremendous amount of effort, she came before him. She wet her lips, weighing what seemed to be a monumental decision. Finally, she whirled around to present her back to him.
Lengths of semi-long, black hair had caught up in the zipper at the back of her dress, preventing it from functioning. It appeared that she had attempted to yank them out, but to no avail.
He didn't know whether to construe this ridiculous situation as something to be amused and thankful for, or something to be utterly incredulous at.
"Madara," she said again, this time with a shred of desperation seeping through.
"Ah." Casually propping his arm up against the headboard, Madara leaned his head into the palm of his hand as he appraised her. He asked in a taunting manner, "You said something about not needing my assistance?"
She pursed her lips, hesitating only a moment before moving. "If you won't, then-"
"I've already dismissed your guard from his post outside," Madara informed her. He arched a long, mocking eyebrow up at her when she looked at him in surprise. "Can't have him seeing my wife in this kind of state, now can I?"
"You-" She was at a loss for words. "I-"
"Ohh." She sat down cross-armed on the edge of the bed, unhappy.
Had he not been preoccupied with disheartening thoughts, Madara would have found her reaction endearing.
"Tell me why what I have said upset you," he said as an order.
She ignored him.
Madara's jaw tightened at the lack of response, but he pressed onto another question.
"Exactly what is the nature of the hold the current Sorairo leader has on you?" he asked solemnly. He needed to know that. If only she would trust him, he'd be able to break that hold on her.
...She did not respond.
"I will eventually find out anyway," Madara told her as a warning.
...Still, the silence.
Keeping his anger in check, Madara rolled his tongue inside his cheek. "You want to leave that badly?" he then asked. Tauntingly. "So be it. Make it to the gates of the stronghold dressed as you are," he told her cruelly. "I will acknowledge your determination."
Her gaze flickered to him. A spark of indignant anger, but it was quickly soothed out by her usual, careful demeanor.
"...You said it yourself, Madara-sama."
She rose up, heading straight for her door without a backwards glance.
Briskly, she slid the bolt to the 'unlock' position. She swung the door open the same time he slammed it shut.
...Loreli glanced down at her wrist. That impact actually hurt her a bit.
"...I suppose that getting around a top ranked ninja on my way out is a criterion you failed to mention?" she coolly asked.
His breath hot on her nape. "Don't test me," he warned her darkly.
Tonelessly. "You go back on your word," she said. "Have you no honour?"
"Honour?" A dark, velvety chuckle. She drew in a sharp intake of breath as his hand slid up her leg.
All she heard was a ripping sound. Gasping in surprise, she caught the front of her dress as it was about to slip off.
He grabbed one of her arms, whirling her around to face him as she desperately clung to the only line of defense against him.
"I am sick of listening to your selfishness," Madara snarled scathing at her, fury written over his sharp, handsome features.
"Have I been too accommodating towards you?" he questioned rhetorically, advancing on her and causing her to back up in return. "The more I give, the more you are eager to get away."
"Exactly what have you found lacking in me that I cannot change!" Madara demanded, voice rising to a boil. "It is always one excuse or another, and now the secrets so terrible you cannot entrust me with." She backed into the side of the bed. The next thing she knew, she was flat on her back, her arms pinned above her head.
"Damn it!" Madara snapped with all the rage he had in him. "At least tell me why!"
She didn't speak. She remained frozen. Fearful that her lips would tremble if she parted them.
...Madara.
His Sharingan stared down at her, who was pinned beneath his heavy and hard muscled form.
"What do I care about honour?" Uchiha Madara asked her, quietly now, but only because he had blanketed over his anger. "When you are assuredly mine."
...Her eyes widened.
"...You don't mean that..." she said in a near whisper. Yet her heart beat louder. Whether it was from fear or something else, she could not figure.
To mean what he said would mean that he would not let her go, regardless of his brother's say in the matter. Madara...no, Madara was not that type of man.
She stared up at his sharp and heavy-lidded eyes, with the corners slanting exotically up. At his straight and chiseled nose, his long, slashing eyebrows. At his sinfully alluring lips, at his long majestic mane. At his strong, regal neck, at his angular chin.
"I'm...sorry, Madara."
Her eyes drooped.
They shouldn't have. But her eyes misted over for a reason she did not understand.
It was his turn for his eyes to widen, at the sight of her tears.
Quietly, very quietly. "Some things I intend to take to my grave," Loreli said softly.
She looked gently back up at him. He had already released her arms, for she could reach up to touch him lightly on the side of his face.
It shouldn't have. But her chest hurt.
And she knew. Knew that she had hurt him, this arrogant and powerful ninja who was supposed to have no such handicap. Knew that he was hurting more than her.
"...You know as well as I do that this should not be allowed to drag on any longer," she finally said.
He looked back down at her, his sharp, calculating gaze unreadable. She wondered momentarily at what he might be thinking, but decided that it was better she not know.
There was one case and only one case where Uchiha Madara was potentially more dangerous than when he was freely expressing his anger. And that was when he was silent and stoically appraising his adversary like this.
She flinched, but the reason for his movement was only to roll off of her, rising curtly from her bed.
Tightly. "You're right."
He was up, bending to snatch up his high-collared shirt which lay discarded on the floor. He slipped it on. "It is pointless to drag this out further."
It shouldn't have. But hearing him say it...felt different than saying it herself.
Sitting up slowly, Loreli drew the cut material of her dress over her front again as if it could provide her comfort.
"Meet me outside at the place where Mishura once gave you a hard time, in one hour," Madara told her, buttoning up his shirt before he turned sideways to her.
"I will make one final stand."
She wanted to say something, she believed. Something along the lines of it not being necessary.
But the moment she met his unwavering, incarnadine eyes, any kind of thought disintegrated.
"And I want to hear your final answer," Madara stated, sinister and imposing like the arrogant shinobi leader he was.
"An answer you will stick by this time."
...
A/N:
Lol, I think they've just covered the entire spectrum of emotions this chapter. What a strangely annoying but amusing couple. Okay, I probably shouldn't be poking fun at my own characters.
And now, I've a good question! How many of you actually want me to reply to your reviews? Either through PM or this spaces at the start/end of each chapter. Lately I've been getting PMs in asking me questions and stuff, not that I mind at all, but it makes me wonder if it is due to the lack of replies I've been giving out x.X—sorry!
I mean I do read all your reviews, it's just...I am rather shy so sometimes when I review a story that does not need an answer, I prefer not to receive a reply. And I also used to find it just a bit misleading for word count and all when there are pages of response on some of the other fanfic authors' works—not to mention the scrolling.
So if you do want me to reply to you, please do let me know. Maybe I'll make a list of names. LOL. Okay, but really...if you ever want to talk to me, send me a PM. Do I sound that intimidating? I guess I'm not. Meewee~
