27.
It was the first night that Chinatsu and Madara spent together.
Chinatsu had dismissed Yuna just after dinner, leaving her restless in her room. Yuna was on her bed, arms behind her head and one of her feet tapping against the wall. It was past midnight already and Yuna's curiosity wouldn't let her sleep.
No, curiosity wasn't the word for it. Annoyance was more suitable.
"Would you stop that?" She heard Harue's annoyed voice. His head rose from the pillows and sleepily glared at Yuna.
Yuna's foot abruptly stopped and she sighed, "Sorry I'm just really worried..." He sighed and turned on his back and rubbed his eyes.
"Since I won't be able to sleep until you calm down I'll try to help you. Are you truly worried about Chinatsu's safety?" Yuna's eyebrow rose. Harue's words sounded eerily similar to Madara at that instant.
"I'm worried about Chinatsu. I know nothing about her background, is she targeted often or even who she is. Today was the first time I even heard about her. If anything happens to her I'll be responsible and that could also affect the peace that's between Senju and Uchiha." She ranted. Harue seemed half asleep but he was listening.
After Yuna finished there was a long silence. Harue turned his back towards her.
"I'll ask around if anyone knows anything. If it were you to do the asking they wouldn't reveal anything since some of the men here are blockheads who can't see that the clan is screwed if you mess something up." His last words were slurred as he fell asleep.
Yuna smiled and got under the covers.
"Thank you, Harue." She whispered.
It hadn't even occurred to the man that it might be jealousy that was causing her instability.
Harue only responded with a sleepy snort before he rolling over on his other side.
Yuna crawled under the covers and stared at the ceiling. It didn't make her fears and worries disappear, but it eased her tension enough to let her sleep a bit.
A few days had passed since Yuna last saw Harue and it was bugging her. Had he been deployed elsewhere? It was the lack of news that bothered her.
Watching Chinatsu and Madara together was, to put it softly, mildly disturbing.
When Yuna had done everything to fight back, to make the marriage as challenging and uncomfortable for Madara as possible then Chinatsu was maybe even too willing.
She was a perfect arranged-marriage wife. Not too forceful, and intuitively picking up his wishes as they went about their daily lives.
Even so her dominating personality showed through small hints and gestures.
On the first few days she even dared to try controlling Madara's actions. If not completely then just slightly.
Madara allowed her to come to a meeting with him and openly criticized his decision…in front of the other clansmen. Had she done that in their private quarters he might've excused her.
She and Madara left the room for a few minutes and Madara returned alone. After that Chinatsu didn't ever step foot in the meetings.
As stupid as Yuna perceived it to be she still admired the bride's guts. Chinatsu was almost like her, only…she knew how to fight with intelligence and a grace but her rebellion wasn't against marriage.
It was to tame Uchiha Madara.
Or 'The Great Suicide Mission of Senju Chinatsu' as Yuna liked to call it. The question remained if it was Hashirama's plan, or her own initiative.
A week after the incident, while Chinatsu was reading in her room, Harue finally knocked on the door.
"Go get it." Chinatsu ordered Yuna without even looking up from the scroll.
Yuna held back a grimace and got up. She almost burst out laughing out of happiness when she saw Harue.
"Senju-sama, may I talk to Yuna in private for a couple of minutes?" His dark eyes weren't looking at Chinatsu; they were focusing on her feet.
The woman turned her head and smirked before nodding.
"Fine," was her short answer.
The relationship between Chinatsu and Yuna was icy at better days, a blizzard on worst days.
Yuna stepped outside and closed the door. They moved away to a different hallway before Yuna grinned widely.
"Oh how I've been waiting you…Did you find anything?"
Harue sighed and leaned against the wall.
"That's the point…I couldn't find anything! No one knows her, no one has heard of her. It's like she didn't even exist up until now."
He paused.
"So there are two scenarios in my head, her brother was either really protective, or there's something fishy here. I suspect the latter. It is the Senju after all."
Yuna tilted her head and her lips pouted, "After all you're an Uchiha. Don't just assume the worst…but if it is then we're in trouble. It's not like we have any solid proof and questioning something so outrageous would be a violation and an insult."
A grin formed on Harue's lips, "Then keep your voice down and give me more time. Even if the theory is far-fetched and most likely false it won't hurt to investigate."
Yuna laughed and shook her head, "As you wish then, but I must hurry back. Chinatsu might be in dire need for someone to pour her tea. I swear the woman hasn't worked a day in her life."
Harue rolled his eyes and ushered her forward by nudging her with his hand.
She took a deep breath in behind the door before she entered the room.
Yuna walked across the room and sat down a few feet away from Chinatsu, so she had a good overview of her and all the room's entrances.
Chinatsu's finger, it was tapping against her lower lip, stopped abruptly and she lowered one of the many scrolls that she had hoarded in the room and looked up.
"That man, what did he wish to talk about?"
Yuna couldn't mask her surprise. A silent fear was growing inside of her as she was looking through her head to find any kind of lie that would work.
Surprisingly, Chinatsu laughed.
"Oh, I get it," she mused.
Yuna gripped the fabric of her pants to keep her hands from shaking.
Stop acting suspicious! Even she isn't paranoid enough to think anything… Yuna shouted in her mind.
It was almost a lie.
Yuna had no idea what this woman was thinking about.
Chinatsu was like a geisha; untouchable, cold, perfect, mysterious. She only allowed you to see what was displayed to the outside world.
"That man was your lover! Of course you wouldn't want to reveal your conversations to me…I have to apologize for intruding." She said with a smile.
It was short lived. The smile was replaced by a strict look.
"I would be grateful, Yuna, if you didn't deal with your personal life while guarding me. What if I were assassinated while you're lusting over some man?"
Her voice had risen considerably. It was only one step away from yelling.
Yuna hastily bowed deeply, "I am sorry Chinatsu-sama. It will never happen again." She assured her with a blank voice. Chinatsu laughed once more and got up. Yuna looked up, not entirely sure how to react.
Was the woman really unaware of her relationship with Madara?
"Come, we're going to Madara. I can't have you distracted, so I'll have him talk some sense into you. That's exactly why women are not in the armies."
Yuna was up in a split second and had to use all of her willpower not to smile at the irony. She conjured up a stern expression and got up.
As if Madara could scold her!
Chinatsu walked at front. When it was Yuna, people didn't really notice her, but with Chinatsu, every Uchiha woman and man got out of her way and bowed. Even behind the smiles and bows Yuna knew that they all carried equal parts of suspicion and curiosity.
There were several rumours floating around, that Yuna was still in love with Madara along with those who claimed that Yuna was in a relationship with Harue.
When they were close to the office Chinatsu giggled.
"I've heard the rumours, but I never thought that they were actually true."
Yuna's heart started beating faster.
"What rumours?" She asked, trying to sound neutral.
Chinatsu looked back, one eyebrow elegantly rose, and "You mean you haven't heard about the ones going around about you and Captain Harue? You really are clueless…"
Yuna ignored the insult and focused on the present.
"I have a tendency not to listen to idle gossip."
"Well you should. As it turns out, in this case it was the truth."
She was going to see Madara, in private. That's something she hadn't experienced in a while. Chinatsu's presence seemed to diminish and was replaced by irritation.
Chinatsu opened the door without knocking and ran to Madara's table and pecked him on the lips. Yuna came in and closed the door behind her, trying to focus on the painting of a woman on the wall while Chinatsu was being affectionate. She moved along the wall, sliding herself almost next to Madara's desk while Chinatsu was chirping away.
"…So could you make sure that the people guarding me were a bit more dedicated? I can't feel safe and protected while she's out fraternising, leaving me to fate."
Madara's face was priceless. The expression of shock and amusement mixed with confusion. Yuna almost burst out laughing; she would've if Madara hadn't shot her an especially angry scowl.
Of course he would believe that crap right away.
Chinatsu smiled and walked to the door, "I'll wait in the gardens until you're done." She announced before closing the door.
Oh, so now it was okay to be alone?
Yuna giggled nervously and raised her hands.
"It is so not what you think it is." She warned but Madara wasn't even listening. He had her pinned on top of the table in a mere second, Yuna's leg wrapped around his waist comfortably, it was such a natural move for her.
Yuna cringed and groaned, "Seriously, do you have to do this? I have some scroll of world history digging into my buttocks."
Madara released one of her hands and muttered a curse as she lifted her body upwards, against Madara's chest, and threw the scroll on the ground.
"So, you don't get any attention from me for a week or two and you go to another man? I don't share."
Oh famous last words. Yuna snorted, "And what did I witness, less than a day after our divorce?"
"So how about a mutual agreement not to screw around?"
Yuna tried to knee him in the stomach, but Madara blocked it easily, "Oh, now you wish to go steady? For your information there is no one but you and I haven't touched another man. Madara you're about to be married, and not to me as a matter of fact."
Madara's grip around her shoulder tightened, "Does it look like I have a choice?" he hissed. Yuna frowned.
"Yes, you always have a choice. You could've declared your feelings for me and told the advisors to go fuck themselves!"
"And lose my position as a result?"
She shuddered, laughing, "It really comes down to power with you, isn't it. Personal happiness is irrelevant as long as you've got power."
Madara kissed her, frustrated and annoyed. Couldn't she understand such a fundamental principle about him?
She responded without hesitating, wrapping her other leg around his waist as well, caressing his face and touching his hair. She was living in a dream.
Whenever Madara touched her, the anger dissolved and feelings emerged.
It seemed like forever since they had made out. He broke the kiss to remove his shirt and Yuna's eyes widened.
"Are you kidding me?" she hissed, "Right here and now?"
Madara grinned and bent down to her ear, the tips of his hair tickling her skin.
"Well it's not like we're going to get another chance soon. I'm going to make the best of it."
His tone…so passionate, longing…Yuna was doomed and smiled before she leaned up and connected their lips once more.
She could always displease Chinatsu some more and be sent to Madara for a 'lecture'.
The fumbled with their clothes, engulfed in silence, except for the occasional scroll or book that dropped.
It didn't take long before both of them were covered with a thin layer of sweat.
Why are you doing this to me? She asked herself. Chinatsu was right outside, if she decided to return then it would all be over.
Madara felt better than she remembered. His firm muscled chest pressed against her chest.
This is stupid…I could die for something like this…
Yuna heard his silenced grunts near her ear. She whimpered, knowing that if they make any noise they're caught, but it was proving difficult to contain just how much she needed his presence.
She just wanted to devour him, be with him forever and never let go, never share.
Let me belong to you, as you belong to me.
Yuna accidentally pushed a large pile of scrolls on the ground, but Madara was deaf to the noise.
He didn't even want to notice.
All that he wanted was to feel her from head to toe. He was a physical being, conveying his loving and longing came much easier for him through touch instead of words.
Yuna's nails dug into his back and she bit her lip to contain the moans. He didn't even know how he'd explain the marks to Chinatsu if she happened to see them. Madara instinctively came even closer to her.
Her back arched and she pushed against him, forgetting the outside world.
Both of them were panting as Madara nuzzled into her neck without saying a word, staying that way.
Why do you make me give into lust…
I am happy to announce that today is Bite Me's one year anniversary! I wanted to hold uploading this chapter because it's the twenty seventh of august and this is the twenty seventh chapter and also my story's birthday ^.^ So thank you everyone for staying with me for an entire year while suffering the consequences of my blocks and random updates 3