"Madam? Madam…?" A high-pitched voice gently called.
Aino stirred under the cover and opened an eye to see the young girl from earlier, bent over her with a lit candle lamp in hand. Her first instinct would have been to turn around, away from this bright light and beg for five more minutes, but her brain was quick to remind her she wasn't home. After stretching her aching limbs she sat up, an arm keeping the sheets against her naked body. The bedroom was still plunged in the same darkness than the one she had fallen asleep in, though she could see the lighter shades of blue nearing the horizon through the window. However, the spot in bed next to her was empty. She placed a hand where her lover had laid hours ago, only to feel a cold surface. Her sigh of disappointment was without surprise. Important men had better things to do than to stay in bed.
Kaori got back on her feet, leaving the lamp on a small table beside the modesty screen. "You should be heading home. You have everything you need behind the screen, and here are your belongings." She said as she presented Aino with bamboo woven trays containing her clothing neatly folded as well as her hair jewelry, all placed near the screen for convenience.
The reality of time came back to her like a slap in the face. Morning would come soon and she could not, absolutely not be seen inside the Uchiha compound and outside hers like this. Damn right she should be heading home, and right now, before Haru's night shift end and she's spotted by someone else much less tolerating. Pumped with the hot adrenaline of panic she rushed behind the rice paper screen, not even bothering with her own modesty. Muttering curses upon curses, mostly directed at herself, she grabbed the cloth floating in the large basin of hot water and scrubbed herself, paying special attention to the mess that had dripped down her thighs during the night. The underwear robe followed immediately after, clinging nastily on still wet skin. The growing need for haste didn't help her case and she cursed herself some more for her clumsy hands failing the basic tasks of getting dressed. In the end, even if largely imperfect, the hardest part of the job was done. One more thing left. Snatching the obi from the tray something dropped on top of her foot, which made her jump. Intrigued, she kneeled and grabbed the shiny object and upon closer inspection her eyes widened.
It was the ornamented tie Madara wore when she had delivered the suit. Attached to the black braided cord was this sculpted golden pin, representing a single sakura flower surrounded with a few leaves. Aino brushed the surface of the detailed petals she was seeing up close for the first time. Facing her was the flower of warriors, of a short life coming to an end in terrible but honorable death. The way it was hidden in the folds of her belt couldn't be accidental, and she doubted the young Kaori was behind it. Was this truly meant for her?
A knock on the screen chased away her thoughts. Putting the pin away under her collar along with the rest of her jewellery she attached the obi in place, omitting everything but the essential steps and pulled the ugly knot behind her. Eventually she came out a bit disheveled but at least she was clothed. No need to bother with a neat finish. She had to get out of here as soon as possible.
But not before she saw him one last time.
"Do you know were Mad- I mean Lord Uchiha went?" She asked, breathless from her battle against time.
"I have no idea. He left the compound an hour ago after giving me instructions." Kaori answered, removing the sheets from the bed and bunching them up inside a pillow case.
Aino's eyes lit up. "What kind of instructions?"
The girl walked to the study corner, closely followed by the seamstress, and grabbed the wooden food box that was placed on the desk. She undid the lock and opened it, revealing a small bowl half filled with a light brown liquid. With all the grace required from her Kaori lifted the bowl from the box and placed it at the corner of the desk where Aino stood. She sighed when the strong smell of the beverage reached her nostrils.
"My master urges you to drink this to the last drop." The servant said, visibly bothered by the pungent aroma.
The seamstress threw a look at Kaori before glancing at the beverage again, an amused smirk drawn on her face. None of this was surprising in the end. If Madara Uchiha didn't want to take a wife, he also didn't want a child and certainly not with a lower class woman he fancied for a night. That was perfectly understandable. At least he cared about the aftermath of his intimate actions and Aino commanded him for that. If he hadn't she would have taken things into her own hands like she did several times before.
She brought the bowl to her lips and drank the abortifacient drug in a single gulp. Before the empty bowl was back in the box the sudden bitterness ravaged her tongue and throat, making her gag and cough violently. It took all her strength to calm down and breathe to stop her retching. Once her stomach accepted the drink of the harlots, after a long painful minute, she prayed that it would purge her insides from the Uchiha's seed.
Her glassy eyes found the horrified young girl beside her. "Did Lord Uchiha say anything else?"
"He… He thanks you and he wishes you well." Kaori replied while fidgeting with her apron.
Aino gave her a tender smile. That poor girl was certainly too young to understand what was going on with her master inviting random women and making them drink awful things.
"That's most kind of him." She said, glancing down at the bed she had shared with Madara, who was likely to not come back anytime soon. "Anyway, I should be going now. I know the way out, you can go and rest."
"No need, madam. Please, let me walk you out." The servant assured her, true to her manners. Aino complied and followed Kaori out of Madara's property, glancing one last time at these rooms that had welcomed their moments together. As the faint light of the lamp illuminated their way she noticed that everything had been cleaned up and was back to their rightful place. It was pristine, as if nothing had happened here.
She took her cape and draped it around herself before the duo stepped outside. The wind had risen during the night and had brought with it the first traces of frost. The two ladies walked hastily through the patio, paying extra attention to the slippery stones beneath their feet, and crossed towards the main gate. As cautious as ever Kaori looked around for any presence, then opened the heavy wooden door just enough for the seamstress to slip through.
Before exiting the compound, Aino turned to the young girl. "Thank you, Kaori. Now please run back inside away from the cold."
"Have a safe trip home, madam. Goodbye." Kaori answered, her teeth already chattering.
As soon as Aino left Uchiha territory the door closed behind her and the little steps behind it disappeared into the night. She gulped the furr out of her mouth and started walking away, her head filling up with thoughts. It was hard to tell herself her steamy evening was already over and that in a few hours reality would smack her right across the face with its lot of responsibilities. As the Uchiha compound disappeared behind her below the horizon she wrapped her arms around her shivering body. It was sore all over and begging for more rest. If luck was still with her she would still get a few hours of sleep. Aino watched the shy halo of light blooming low in the sky, a content smile drawn on her face. She had just spent a night with Madara Uchiha and boy, what a night.
It felt like bare seconds between the time she closed her sleepy eyes in the dark early hours of morning and being shook awake way too vigorously to her taste. There was noise nearby, but it was muted by the blank buzzing in her head. The light was bright, jarring to her eyes like this firm hand was to her cramped muscles. As consciousness returned to her in bits, her surroundings took on their usual shape and her ears picked up actual syllables. Her name… Her name said again and again tainted with a veil of annoyance.
"Aino! Aino, for all gods' sake wake up already!" The voice of her mother repeated, while she shook her with more insistence.
Lifting her head proved to be a bad initiative. The pain travelled up, throbbing brightly on its way, and the pressure applied by her palm failed to provide relief. Her entrails weren't doing any better, and judging by the sensation between her legs the drug had started its work. A grunt escaped her mouth. She had brought this upon herself and she hated to admit that.
"There you go!" She patted her daughter on the head. "Hey… Is there something wrong? You look dreadful."
Her mother's concern touched her, but in no way would she tell her the truth. She was in no shape to withstand that same old argument about men, especially if said truth was topped with that Uchiha cherry. "I… I'm on my period. It's painful." She replied in half a lie.
The old woman sighed, her tender hand stroking a messy mane of hair. "Oh… I feel you, dear. But I'm afraid you're gonna have to endure. You need to get ready right now. You're leaving for Suna in less than an hour."
Aino sat up, still tightly wrapped in her warm covers and watched her mother open the curtains and the window. "Suna?"
"Yes! We ran out of dye and thanks to the influence of a certain customer and the many people it brought to our shop, we can now afford the superior quality dyes from the land of wind. Take only what's necessary with you and meet the convoy in the courtyard as soon as you're ready. Hurry now!" She said before leaving in a hurry herself.
Both her hands ran through her hair while she processed the information. Great. I'm sent across the lands to the damn desert. That's a new one. It was probably an idea from their leader, or rather a whim. Aino huffed. The idea of walking all day long away from home didn't enchant her one bit. She would go beyond the village walls to harvest the wool and silk without any problem, even go rinse the dye off from their fabric in the freezing river water, but this? This couldn't befall her at a worse moment. But as much as she hated it, she had no choice.
The seamstress sighed deeply as she rose from bed and stretched her sore limbs before undoing the buttons of her pyjama top. She threw one glance down on herself and much to her relief the drug had worked its magic: Her thighs, trousers and even the bed sheets were stained with fresh blood. No Uchiha bastard would see the light of day. Probably the only good news she could care about.
The once immaculate cotton sheets landed into the large basket beside the door, along with the rest of her nightwear. Upon meeting with the mirror for her morning toilette, Aino flipped. It appeared that the Uchiha didn't go lightly on her. At all. Her collarbones and cleavage were covered in dark purple spots. She inspected them closely, brushing and gently pushing on the bruised skin, only to grunt at the display and silently curse Madara. These would without a doubt linger for days. A way to keep her memories vivid a bit longer, but also a great pain in the ass to hide on a weeklong business trip with family. At least she had the excuse of cold damp weather and, later, possible sandstorms to wear very covering clothing.
Out of curiosity she glanced at her buttocks, only to find there a much bigger set of bruises than on her chest. "Huh." She let out with no surprise whatsoever. At least this situation would be much easier to handle.
Once the bite of cold water on her face faded, she sighed. Clan duties primed over everything else. As much as she wanted to rest and daydream about her eventful night, there was no time to slack.
After cleaning herself from her so-called period and getting dressed she opened her drawer to grab a change of clothes, an extra shawl and a handful of basic hygiene products to put into a medium sized backpack. She spared a little moment to gaze at the priceless kimono, resting neatly with the golden pin at the very bottom of the drawer, before pushing it closed. No time to grab breakfast. The convoy had probably already charged food supplies into the carriages anyway. Once her hair braided away from her face and after one last look in the mirror to check her marks were covered, Aino exited her room to meet with her clansmen.