3.
Yuna took a sip from her glass and sighed, it seemed to become a habit, glancing around the hall once more, in hopes of finding something mildly amusing.
It was a large room with two long dining tables near each wall, leaving just enough room between the two to walk comfortably, and one smaller dining table was in the end of the room, meant for the blushing bride and groom.
This position provided Yuna with a perfect overview of the room and the people in it. If there was one thing she enjoyed, then it was the interior designer of the Uchiha complex. If one grew the ability to ignore the Uchiha crest that was pompously engraved on every wall possible. Other than that, the contrast between the dark wood, snowy whites and dabs of crimson were a beautiful combination.
The room was booming with chatter and laughter bouncing back from the walls. It seemed like the only grim one ruining this perfect picture was Madara.
He didn't look angry; otherwise he'd be frowning with his eyebrows, not with his mouth. That was the first two expressions of Uchiha Madara that Yuna learnt, eyebrow frown means angry, mouth frown means casually serious and perhaps bored.
In truth, Yuna wasn't very far off. Madara was bored to no end, he simply wished to be crowned the clan head, but that ceremony was joined with his marriage. No wife means no heirs and that's why it is traditional for future clan leaders to marry beforehand.
Madara wasn't very willing to tie himself down so early to an Uchiha woman. They would kill him in his sleep for cheating on them, but then, out of the blue the Kunisada officials come prancing in, offering their head's daughter as a possible candidate for him.
Izuna was looking positively glee, situated on Madara's right, forced to strike polite conversation with the ancient advisors. Traditionally every clan leader was allowed to appoint a new advisor of their choice, but once awarded that position, the advisor is tied down to it until death.
This is exactly why Madara refused to appoint Izuna, demanding that at the time of his death, Izuna would take up Madara's seat as head and appointed him as second in command instead.
So far the conversations between the trio and advisors had been civil, polite even.
That was until one of them dropped the bomb that had been looming over their heads since the evening began.
"Are you planning to have kids, Yuna?" asked one lady on Madara's left. She looked dubiously well preserved for a sixty year old.
Madara's eyes moved to Yuna slowly and she stared back blankly, registering the warning in his eyes, held back by inches from saying something sarcastic.
"Pardon my manners, but upon first meetings with a man the subject of children hardly comes up," she said as politely as she could muster, nearly rolling her eyes in the end.
'Usually we begin with exchanging names you fucking hag!'
One good thing about being a clan head's daughter – social etiquette was drilled into her like second nature and if Madara was expecting her to make a blunder there, then he was perfectly wrong.
She would be absolutely full of crap and only the two brothers would know about it.
The woman looked at her with a raised eyebrow. If she was offended, she kept it well hidden.
Madara's lips shifted into a straight line and the frown travelled to his eyebrows, alarming Yuna of his anger.
The tenseness of the moment was cut by Izuna who started laughing. All heads behind their table snapped to the little brother, who seemed to be the only one who enjoyed the food and company.
"Amaya please forgive Yuna-chan, she did meet him briefly yesterday, and I'm pretty sure that they got carried away getting to know each other. That subject might've slipped their minds!"
Izuna took another bite of his fish, munching on it happily. The elder Amaya nodded with a small smile on her lips. It would've been a nice save if the smile had reached her eyes.
The way nobles talked should've been considered another art of the ninjas.
Yuna felt a bit relieved that Izuna saved the day, but that was only her reputation that got tarnished. Soon enough it'll be her face once the couple is left alone.
Truthfully, sleeping with Madara so early on would make her a slut, but that was another opinion Yuna figured would be smarter to keep to herself. Still, time moves on and the bride had to snap out of her ponderings to keep up with conversations.
"Oh my apologies Izuna-san, I thought that the two had met before the engagement," finished Amaya.
Yuna didn't feel like the woman is going to let that little mistake go so easily.
She stared down to her plate with a blank look. Yuna simply couldn't bring herself to eat. Madara looked at Amaya, the frown gone from his forehead and replaced with a neutral stern look. Yuna was sure that if Madara smiled, his face would crack.
"No, we didn't meet beforehand, but I'm sure that we're going to have at least three children if not more," the politeness in his voice was shocking and that was when Yuna realised.
Madara was spewing complete bollocks, and getting away with it. Not to mention he kept everyone happy.
Amaya got the answer she was looking for and believed that if not for the wife, then the future head of the clan would understand his duties.
She didn't think much of the girl, not to mention that she was going to spoil the purity of Uchiha blood. Yuna looked up to Madara, but their eyes didn't meet. He purposely avoided her for the rest of the evening, giving her nothing to measure the extent of his irritation.
Yuna was asked many questions throughout the entire night. Some were about simple personal information like age or her ninja rank up to her previous relationships.
The impression of a family dinner was quickly erased from her mind and replaced with the words 'public interrogation'. It seemed more like a place where they found out all the information they could to use as ammunition against her later on.
Or they were worried about Madara's safety...Hardly.
Formal farewells were exchanged and finally they could go to sleep. Even though Yuna was dead tired she was still a bit anxious over Madara's reaction to the entire fiasco considering the fact that he was practically dragging Yuna through the halls, fingers curled tightly around her arm.
The woman knew better than to try to pull her hand away. Resistance was pointless and would merely worsen her situation.
The familiar deserted hallway arrived too soon and Yuna found herself longing the chatter that seemed so irritating mere thirty minutes ago.
Madara pulled the door open and pushed Yuna in roughly, standing in the doorway to cut away her escape route.
He slammed the door shut and walked up to Yuna who stood with her back erect, ignoring that the Kimono was dishevelled because of the rough treatment. Madara's hand reached out and with one finger he tilted Yuna's head up just a little bit to make up the height difference between them. The message was clear in his onyx eyes that flickered red occasionally.
"Tell me Yuna," he asked calmly, purposely dragging his words, "why do you think we keep you here, well fed, dressed, all accompanied with a roof above your head? Why do you think we are wasting time on this arranged marriage?" the intensity of his glare felt like Madara was carving out her eyes.
There were two choices there; either give Madara the textbook answer he was looking for, or she could just sass him.
"I was thinking on asking the exact same thing from you," she said, after a second of contemplating about the consequences.
Madara's hand moved quickly and decisively like an army commander's, and Yuna felt a sting on her cheek. She flew a few feet away and hit the ground hard. The blow hurt, but Madara wasn't the only one with shinobi training. She had shifted her body in the air to soften the fall.
Madara was holding back, if he weren't then Yuna's head would be rolling on the floor.
"Don't play with my patience," Madara pressed through gritted teeth.
Yuna shut her mouth tight and looked up to him with a blank expression from the floor. She touched her cheek with the tips of her fingers carefully. The pain was becoming miniscule. Madara walked past her and to the closet where he started undressing. Yuna averted her eyes from the sight. If he hadn't just caused her pain, she would've blushed.
"When someone asks you a question you give them the answer they want. For this clan, you are a walking incubator," he continued with the same calm tone and changed into a pair of black pants. The man had no shame about his body and this time Yuna couldn't supress the blush.
"Then find yourself another woman!" she snapped, momentarily forgetting how her clan would treat her if she messed this up.
This marriage was like another mission assigned to her, only that this time they demanded Yuna give up her life and her freedom.
She got up slowly and strolled to the table and started to take off the decorations and hairclips that had fallen out of their place. With every movement her brown strands of hair fell on her shoulders.
Yuna was doubtful about her ability to get a good night sleep. From the mirror she saw Madara stretching and doing simple relaxation exercises. She pulled the comb through her hair slowly and sighed. Despite the physical relaxation his routine provided, it did no job on his gaze.
"Stubbornness will prove to be your downfall," he snapped.
Yuna placed the comb down on the table and got up, "As pride and brutality will be yours."
For the first time that night Madara seemed to be mildly amused, grinning. He finished up and got in bed, sitting up to observe Yuna struggling with the kimono.
He could've helped, theoretically, but it was much more fun seeing her wiggle out of it like a snake. From the mirror positioned between the two closets, Yuna got a good view of his torso. Most of it was covered by his extremely long hair, but she caught glimpses of scars from his earlier years.
Nowadays, anyone who could even land a proper blow on Madara were considered skilful.
Yuna managed to get out of the kimono as it fell on the floor in a heap. She cursed herself for forgetting her nudity under the layers of silk and quickly got something from the closet to wear.
Not quickly enough for Madara got a perfect look of what was in front and in back. She was toned, but her body still had softness to it and a curve at her waist. Her chest could've had more fullness to it, but he was perfectly pleased with her backside that was quickly hidden away in a pair of black pants, much to his displeasure.
Yuna proceeded to try to fold the kimono into something presentable. Note the word tried.
Yuna sighed and slid her hand over the silky fabric, enjoying the softness and the little bumps of embroidery against her skin. She gave up and put everything on the chair in front of the dressing table.
The girl straightened up and looked over her shoulder to the bed where Madara was, unmoving. His eyes were following her every movement.
Yuna stood there, not quite sure what to do next and Madara caught on quickly. An amused smirk was on Madara's lips.
"Come to bed already, I bet you're tired." He said and rested his chin on the palm of his hand.
Madara didn't find it difficult to sleep in the same bed with a woman he just met. For one he did it countless times before with a new woman almost every night. She wasn't as dazzlingly beautiful as his usual company, but that was miniscule.
The following day his women were always gone and Madara never contacted them again. He wasn't interested in their futures, even though a few of them got pregnant from that one night stand, or so he was told.
Since not one of those women were worth marrying the children were worthless to him. He had yet to meet one, but held no interest.
Yuna walked over to the bed and grabbed the pillow to leave, but Madara was faster and his arm laced around her waist, pulling the girl back to the bed.
She struggled and tried to get out of his iron grip, but one of the things that Madara didn't lack was brute strength. It was simple to twist her on the bed, against his chest. While holding Yuna with his left hand Madara used his right hand to pull the covers over Yuna's body.
"Stop squirming and get used to this feeling for you're going to come here every night from now on!"
His hand was gripping Yuna so strongly that the woman was already in pain and found it hard to breathe. She bit in her lip to keep the tears back.
This was too surreal to grasp.
Yuna hadn't made a very big deal out of it for a while because it hadn't occurred to her yet. She needed her fifteen minutes alone to panic.
She didn't know what was going to wait for her in the Uchiha compound, but just with those few hours Yuna realized that the possibility to be happy there was nearly zero, and Madara wasn't going to change.
He was going to be the bad tempered, psychotic, controlling asshole for the rest of her life. She stopped struggling and finally Madara let go of her, leaving her gasping for breath and crawling away from him to the far end of the bed.
"Not if I can help it," she managed while massaging her ribs.
Madara chuckled, "You wish to find another man in my stead? I would kill him right in front of you. Slowly and intimately, making sure you memorise every moment."
"You keep forgetting I am no civilian. Why do you believe that I can grow attached to a stranger I shared a bed with?"
"Oh," he seemed genuinely surprised, "So you are a closet sadist? Don't mind innocent blood being spilled?"
"I would mind, but if your wish is to break me then this would only result in raising your kill count."
Madara patted her thigh with a smirk, "You keep telling yourself that."
He pulled the covers over his shoulders and closed his eyes.
Yuna had her back turned to his face, scared that she would stab him in the face out of anger if possible.
She put her head on the pillow, staring at the door.
From this angle it was the only thing visible to her. The walls were made of paper and wood, the hues matching the ones in the banquet hall with the Uchiha crest above their heads.
That warm coloured combination usually seemed beautiful, but in that room and in the dark Yuna's eyes couldn't even register colour.
She stayed up for hours, simply looking at the door until it was too dark to see even with your eyes open. Yuna watched it for such a long time that she didn't need the light to know what the scenery looked like. She didn't cry, the mood for weeping was gone and was replaced by a rebellious refusal to shed tears near this man. Not to mention she was starving.
Now the notion of skipping dinner seemed foolish. Yuna mentally scolded herself for not thinking on the consequences. Just because she hated them didn't mean that she should make life uncomfortable for herself.
She didn't know what was going to happen tomorrow or any day henceforth and that scared her. She was so used to being in control of her life, knowing exactly what she was going to do every day. The childish thought of running away did cross her mind. The balcony door was so close, all she had to do was to get up and slide it open.
For a second Yuna really thought that she's going to get up and leave, but she then remembered Madara who was resting right behind her. His breathing was slow, his chest rising and falling, but Madara hadn't moved an inch and Yuna wasn't sure if he was sleeping or merely pretending.
She didn't think that escaping would be that easy. Uchiha definitely has guards outside and if she got caught it would only make everything worse.
For a moment she entertained the idea of escape. Say she could get out undetected, what would happen next? Only more unnerving uncertainty would cloud her parth forward.
Going home wasn't an option, Sayu would be her next, but again a very predictable, option. Every choice would lead to the inevitable; death or being sent back to Madara.
She sighed and closed her eyes, tossing out the foolish notion of escape. Madara wasn't holding her prisoner. She could technically leave at any time.
Yuna rolled herself on her back and pulled the covers up to her chin. The contradiction was hillarious, a prisoner with freedom and, to some extent, power.
Yuna knew that to escape she needs to make some research, a lot of research and preparations, but first she will attempt to live with Madara and see how it turns out, considering the fact that escape would only lead to inevitable failure.
After an hour she could finally fall into a light slumber.
To her it felt as if she closed her eyes only for a second before she was jostled back to reality.
Yuna only moaned to signal her displeasure before curling up into a tight ball. There was a small pause before she was slammed out of the bed and on the floor, sucessfully waking her up. She opened her eyes and glared at Madara who was still sitting under the covers with an amused smirk.
"What the hell was that for you asshole?" Yuna growled and slowly dragged herself up.
She walked to the balcony and slid the doors open. It was a sunny morning, but the rays didn't reach the balcony, leaving it perfectly cool. Yuna left the door open to air the room and grabbed the comb from the table and started brushing through the tangled mess in her head.
The room had nothing personal of Madara's as if he was trying to dehumanise the place, or simply make it safe to drag strange women into it.
"You wouldn't wake up you immature woman," he spat back at her, now that he was sure that the bride was able to comprehend the meaning of his words.
Yuna snorted and rolled her eyes before yawning loudly, hearing a few bones crack in the process. She had no idea what time it was.
"If punching someone in the ribs is your way of 'waking up' someone," Yuna mumbled back sarcastically, "then you'd make a horrible father."
Madara frowned and got out of the bed, "Do not lecture me, woman, about affection simply because you get none from me."
Yuna looked away from him to avoid openly staring at the chiselled body of the man and partly to pout.
The fact that his scars were less numerous was a clear sign stating that Madara was stronger than an average shinobi.
He put on a shirt as if he predicted the knocking on the door. He walked to the door and opened it sharply, but without using any excess force.
Yuna glanced over her shoulder to see Saia there with her eyes cast down. She brought in a tray with breakfast and placed it on the balcony before leaving, all this in complete silence.
The future mistress tried not to cry out of joy at the mere sight of food, but her stomach grumbled loudly, a sound that Madara didn't miss.
"Wipe that look of your face," he snapped at her.
"What look?" she asked defensively, averting her eyes from the delicious meal just a few paces away.
"You look like an animal, deprived from food for months."
"I guess you would recognise one of your own," she retorted back. Madara growled something at her but headed to the balcony already.
Yuna turned around to put the comb back on the table but she stopped and leaned closer to the mirror. A small purple bruise adorned her cheekbone.
Yuna poked it, but it didn't cause her enough pain to flinch. She straightened up and followed Madara, because no amount of hate could quench the hunger.
Yuna was quite literally ready to eat anything, including the table. Madara didn't say anything and grabbed a bowl of miso and drank it in a few big gulps.
Even Yuna was surprised how fast he ate. It seemed like a long time habit from times of starvation where one scarfs down the food just to fill their stomach.
Yuna was only halfway done but Madara was already tapping his finger on the table impatiently, staring at the gardens in a weak attempt to provide some sort of entertainment.
"Is there anything important scheduled on today?" She asked carefully between a gulp. His fingers stopped the annoying tapping, finally.
"I have plenty to do, I don't care how you entertain yourself," Madara snapped at her.
Yuna flinched, only later realising that it was unreasonable. Madara wouldn't strike her simply because of a simple whim or annoyance. As much as he wishes to control her, the wrath of the Kunisada clan was something he didn't wish to add to his list of worries.
Nevertheless his behaviour towards her seemed unreasonable, even if he was under a lot of pressure plus the marriage. That didn't give him the right to treat people like dirt.
She tilted her head, "If you're in hurry then go already. Unless you're going to miss my presence for you won't see me until late at night."
Madara's hand shot out, but instead of the predictable outcome he sent a glass cup flying against the wall. It shattered and the shards fell on the ground…Well those that didn't get stuck to the pillar.
Yuna was startled, but didn't say anything. Madara didn't even look at her before getting up and leaving her alone.
His steps were irritated and Yuna stared at the broken glass as Madara slammed the door shut.
A few minutes after he left Yuna heard someone knock on the door before dashing in. By that time Madara would be at a safe distance.
"Yuna-sama are you alright?" Yuna heard Saia's worried voice just a few seconds before the maid reached the balcony to get a visual on the situation. Her face looked relieved for a second before she noticed the bruise on Yuna's cheek, but she waved her hand to disperse Saia's worries a little.
"Yeah, he just broke a cup that's all. I hope it wasn't too expensive," Yuna said and looked at the shards on the ground once more. Saia got a small towel and gathered the shards carefully on that.
"No, we don't use the best items around Madara-sama," Saia said calmly. As soon as she realised the meaning of her words the maid jumped up and bowed.
"Please don't tell Madara-sama that I said this."
Yuna smiled and nodded, "Please, next time serve the food in plastic utensils,"
"Madara-sama would frown upon such pranks."
"You're no fun."
"That's not my function, Yuna-sama."
"What is then?" she questioned.
"Efficiency."
Yuna shrugged of the shudder and finished up with breakfast. She got up and flexed her muscles a bit while Saia cleaned up after her. The maid gathered everything and was about to leave but stopped.
"My apologies for not helping you last night to remove the kimono, but Madara-sama's body language made it very clear that he wished to be left alone." Saia looked the in front of her, as if she was expected to be scolded by Yuna.
The maid was afraid of Madara, and Yuna was so closely tied to Madara and Saia had no plans on becoming the one Madara uses to vent. That left her in a dilemma, either be a bad servant or be a servant who gets to keep their head.
After all, which Uchiha would sacrifice their life for an outsider, unless those were the strict orders of Madara.
"Do not fear Madara, he wouldn't harm you unless it was for a good reason. The fear probably annoys him more," Yuna said with a blank tone. She threw the clothes she slept with into the closet and replaced them with a tank and shorts.
"With all respect Yuna-sama, I believe that we servants know very well how Madara-sama functions."
'Yet you've learned nothing from the years of expertise,' she snapped in her mind, but making an enemy of her maid seemed foolish.
"I'm going out; I'll most likely come back in the evening or so."
Saia refrained from noting that Yuna's clothing was preposterous to a woman about to be married.
It was dark that night, even the trained eyes of the shinobi had a hard time making out anything. The moon was hidden behind a thick mass of clouds.
The door of the balcony slid open and a man and a woman staggered in. He pushed her back up against the wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist, kissing him while allowing his hands to explore her body.
She felt exposed as she was the only one naked of the pair. Her clothes were discarded on the ground...somewhere. She didn't pay much attention when he removed them or how much was left intact.
His hands moved exactly to the right spots. It was like he knew the woman's every soft spot that made her moan and ask for more.
She was aware of his reputation even before meeting the man in flesh and that didn't affect her. The way he whispered soft words in her ear was like a spell, no other man came up with words so soft and enchanting.
She moaned softly when he sucked on her left nipple while massaging her right breast before he moved back up to her lips. She removed his shirt and let it drop on the ground.
They hadn't even made it to the bed and she was already soaking wet. Another moan escaped her lips when she felt him insert two fingers inside of her. An amused smirk appeared on his lips when he saw the pleasured smile when he moved his fingers inside of her, moving them in and out, enjoying how the woman subconsciously moved closer for more.
He pulled them out and felt her hot breath on his chest and her large brown eyes looked up, a small whimper escaped her lips, asking for more.
Her hands reached down and unbuttoned his pants. The man stepped out of them and they moved towards the bed. He backed until he felt the familiar bed right behind him and lied down on his back with the woman on top.
She kissed him and pulled her fingers through his hair, enjoying the length and softness. For one night the man belonged to her. She felt him harden against her inner thigh.
Her hands trailed down his toned body. He leaned in and the woman yelped when she felt a stinging pain on her neck.
It was hard to understand which one was the selfish one, which one got more pleasure out of it.
"Something for you to remember me darling," he purred in her ear, sending shivers down her spine.
The woman giggled and moved her hand down inside of his boxers and slid her fingers over his full length before squeezing it gently and moving her hand. She played with him only for a short time just like he did, but not out of sadism, but simply because her patience was running out.
With the other hand she started to pull the boxers down. Just when she was about done removing them the door opened. In the doorway stood another woman.
Yuna couldn't really see clearly in the darkness, but she could clearly make out Madara's figure on the bed, with an unknown woman on top of him.
"You fucking asshole," she snapped, taking a few steps back before breaking into a run. The woman looked at the doorway with a tilted head, wonder whether to get up and close the door.
"Who was that Madara?" She asked. Madara felt a twitch of annoyance at the ruined mood.
It had slipped his mind that the bed he was on didn't belong to him anymore.
"My fiancé, if you need to know," Madara growled. The girl giggled and leaned down to his face, tickling it with the tips of her hair. She kissed him shortly before pulling away with a grin on her lips.
"You're such a cruel man." She moved down. The corner of Madara's mouth twitched.
Perhaps Yuna didn't kill the mood completely, he should thank her in the morning, as long as she doesn't come back later. His thoughts were interrupted when a surge of familiar pleasure washed over him. Madara moaned and his back arched.
It was a nice reminder that giving pleasure was as much fun as receiving it.
Edited!