Chapter 50 | The Guardians of the Time Sphere II
Many of his clansmen were against the treaty he signed with the Kuronuma clan. All of them were on edge at the idea of coming together with the Shugosha, and when Mio arrived flanked by men with stark white hair, the Uchiha around him tensed. She only came with two Kuronuma. The Uchiha viewed her actions as arrogant. They greeted her with forced smiles and strained words of welcome that made their hostility clear as the sphere hanging from his neck. She was not welcomed in their village, not by his clansmen. The whispers that went on behind him claimed she would to do them what she had done to other clans—destroyed them from the inside out. That was her reputation in this world, a cold, calculating woman that had a talent for stirring chaos within any clan.
The clan believed she suggested the treaty to eliminate the Uchiha. That she would lash out against them for the Kuronuma clan's missing leader and the death of their patriarch. She apparently had done worse for a lesser affront than the blood war between them.
Madara stepped down from the long verandah of a wide building and met her with cordiality when others had with wariness. He heard a man claim she had the ability to charm any man and that he would be her target, but he had listened to their opposing murmurs since he invited her and her clan to a feast that would celebrate their truce. They needed any excuse to convene and map out their next course of action. This would be less likely to rouse as many suspicions as any other encounter.
He led her to the verandah he had abandoned. Within the large building, everyone was waiting for her arrival to start the feast as servants stood outside ready to be called in to deliver the food. He asked for several of her favorite platters to be prepared and hoped they were decently made as he gestured her to sit beside him.
Mio dismissed the Kuronuma stalking after her and one of his men pointed them to a pair of empty seats nearby where they would be able to keep an eye on her.
Once seated, Madara leaned in, drawing her attention. "Did you think it prudent to bring only two Kuronuma?"
"Should I have brought more?" she asked quietly.
Subtlety gesturing to his men, who observed them intently, he said, "They think you arrogant. Most would gladly show you that this is not a clan where you can make truth of your reputation."
With a curious glint in her eyes, she answered quizzically, "What? Will they attack me?"
"No," he assured her. "I have forbidden it."
"Then there is no need to worry." She turned away as the servants were ushered inside carrying stacked trays with equal servings for everyone. They came to them first and set down their food. Mio thanked the young girl that did so with a pleasant smile and proceeded to stare down at every plate in front of her before glancing at his, seeing they were identical. "I imagined two Kuronuma would make me seem less threatening. I had no intention of seeming haughty."
"Have you any idea what your reputation is in this world?"
"I have a reputation?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.
"Of infiltrating clans on the basis of peace and destroying them," he answered.
"I can hear Ayuka mocking me from her castle," she said, picking up her chopsticks. "Ayuka and Nishiki are having their fair share of fun. They made you practically inhuman. In reputation." She lowered her voice and lifted her eyes to survey the room. "Where is your brother?"
"Later," he told her, taking notice of all the eyes watching them.
For the remainder of the evening, they spoke very little to one another—limited it to when it was completely necessary. She barely ate, picking at her food for the greater portion of the night as everyone was growing restless sitting in her presence and the two men she brought along with her.
"You barely touched your food," he said once everyone had more or less finished their dinner.
"I am not hungry," she said simply. She did not even touch her tea.
Madara ordered one of his shinobi to help her Kuronuma guards find their lodgings for the night once the dull affair concluded with nothing changed between them. The Uchiha's mistrust was evident as they left the hall and the Kuronuma were no different.
Mio was pushing herself out of her seat, but Madara spoke up to stop her. "We have matters to discuss, Shugosha."
She froze and sank back down into a seat. Her guards made a move to stay, but she gestured them away, saying, "I will be safe."
The Kuronuma left her with great reluctance.
He dismissed his own shinobi and waited standing as they exited the hall.
He caught Mio stealing glances whenever she had the opportunity and he wondered about her thoughts. They had not spoken for too long, not as he would have liked. They were strangers—enemies—in this universe and there was no doubt that if they had been like everyone else, completely ignorant of the truth about the new world, one of their clans would have been obliterated by the other. Nishiki and Ayuka created the new world to have all the guardians kill each other, but he contemplated that idea as it made no sense after serious consideration. What would be the point of doing this in Mio's case? It was her son they needed to change the line of succession. And they couldn't kill him because doing so would render the artifacts obsolete.
Yet…they were enemies in this world. Was that to rid the Kuronuma and Uchiha clan of their other guardians, Takuto and Taiga?
They were being used, he determined.
Madara directed Mio to his own quarters after everyone had gone their way. He shut the shoji screens behind him as she advanced to the center of the spacious room, looking in every direction curiously. A single lantern filled the room with yellow, flickering light, giving her appearance an glow. She touched nothing, but he knew that if he made it clear he would not mind, she would have gone through everything as if she were attempting to learn him.
She moved quietly through the room, standing still before the shelves overflowing with scrolls to stare upon it admiringly. She spotted the hot sake sitting atop a round tray with a pair of choko cups at the short, square table in the center of the room. She peered through the shoji screens that led into his bedroom, but sealed them shut when his voice reached and startled her.
"What have you uncovered?" he asked, reminded of all the times he had spoken those same words to her when she was a spy. He had always been eager for new information and had rarely been beaten out on questioning her findings.
"Nishiki is executing people in the Earth Country," she said in a crisp tone. "He picked up a crop of treasonous citizens and plans to execute one or two every day." She reached into the bag she wore slung across her body and procured a scroll she offered to him when he approached. "Takuto recorded everything into several scrolls. I did not bring them all, but this is enough to explain the rest."
He opened the scroll and read scribbling about the mechanics of their current monarchy and how it came to be. The cannon fire and different color smoke signals were written about in great detail, though he had learned enough on the subject when he first saw a red cloud curl across the pale blue sky.
"Did he do this with an awareness of his situation?" he questioned, if so, there would be a possibility for a hidden message within his other writings.
"I believe he was completely unaware, we should have all woken at the same time in this world," she replied. "I do have an appreciation for his insistence in keeping track of such things. It is in his personality."
"You are certain Nishiki is in the Earth Country?"
"Nishiki? Yes," she answered, looking up at him dubiously. "Have you not seen a map or attempted to find our guardians?"
"I've seen a map," he told her, arms folded over his chest. "As for finding guardians…my grasp on the ability tends to…fluctuate."
The Time Sphere had been giving him trouble since he woke in the middle of that snow-dusted pine forest about to invade the Kuronuma clan's village. He believed he had an idea how it functioned after waking from the deep darkness, but he had overlooked its complexities. Doing so had cost him the Nature Sphere, which now sat broken and powerless in his pocket. He had not anticipated that the strain of using the two artifacts at once would destroy one.
"Three guardians are in the Earth Country," Mio said. "The rest are scattered throughout the continent." She read the doubt in his expression. "I can access the sphere's abilities through my Black Sphere. I can teach you to use the sphere. It might guarantee your survival."
"Might?"
She shrugged with a grin. "Might."
"I thought you wanted the sphere returned," he reminded her.
"Only when we are safe and the artifacts cannot be used in this manner a second time," she began. "Only when our friends and family and our clansmen cannot be harmed and Ayuka and Nishiki are dead."
A yawning silence expanded through the room as the two lock eyes and saw nothing but one another, hearing nothing but the quiet drum of one another's hearts. In the stillness, Madara realized—truly realized—that Mio stood in front of him and that she was without bruises or wounds. She was not dying in his arms, the pulse of her artifact was powerful and her voice the only one ringing in his head making sure he did not forget she was in front of him, safe.
Madara walked to her and she leaned back lifting her eyes to him. He took her by the neck and kissed her. She hesitated a second, but opened her mouth against his the next allowing him to deepen the kiss. He wrapped his arm around her waist and dragged her against his body. She draped her arms around his shoulders, folding them across his back.
It lasted an instant before they drew apart. She could not meet his eyes. There was hesitation in the way she was standing. He did not know what horrific things she went through on her own with Mikazuki Gouki as her husband and he did not ask. A part of him did not care to know. He knew exactly what had been done to Mio, but knowing would not make him think less of her. She was his woman, poor decisions and all, but she was his.
She spoke his name as she brushed her hands across his cheeks and stared at him like she thought the world of him. "I am happy to see you well," she said softly. "I was terribly happy to see you well then."
"You were reckless, Mio," he berated, knowing she meant seeing him on the battlefield after the activation of Nishiki's sphere. "You were in constant danger without your sphere."
"I did not want you to die."
Madara rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes and breathing in the cold smell of winter coming off her furs. She radiated nothing but warmth. However, the cold clung to her almost like a second skin. "Your grandfather found me on the battlefield," he told her, knowing she ached after seeing him dead, but he knew not to take such things seriously. He would surely be alive in their world. Ayuka and Nishiki only needed him gone to continue with their plans. That man was definitely hard to kill, even for Nishiki. "Had it not been for his idea to fight side-by-side, Nishiki would have killed me. He said he did it for the sake of our future."
Opening his eyes, he saw Mio's face flushed a light pink, though there was more color in her ears. She averted her gaze. "He is a terribly embarrassing man. I apologize." She was babbling. "He is always speaking such nonsense."
"Yayoi and Takuto might have mentioned something you said before going," he said, fighting the urge to laugh at her horrified reaction. "Something about 'he is my future.' What was it again?"
Her hands were folded behind his neck, her lips molding into a sullen frown as she stared up at him through her eyelashes. "Yes," she said, quietly reluctant, "but I don't like to speak about the future."
"He is not the only one that has spoken to me of our future, Mio," he said, feeling her stiffen in his hold. The fact that she had said something about their future had reminded him of everyone else that had made a mention of it. "Enki did as well."
"What?"
"He spoke to me of your son," he divulged, observing for even the subtlest change in her expression. "He said he would be heir of two ancient clans and that Ayuka was foolish to believe someone like him could be his father."
"It can be anyone," she said evasively. "He only needs to be mine to inherit my power."
"I am your future, Mio, and we hail from two ancient clans."
"I am from two," she interjected. "I am both Kuronuma and Uchiha. Trust me when I say he only needs to be mine. Who fathers him is of little importance. It decides nothing."
Mio attempted to pull away from him. Running was her default response to anything and everything that made her uncomfortable.
"I don't want to talk about the future," she said, finding him unyielding in his hold on her. "I don't like to think of it. I don't like it. Please, if anyone saw us like this…"
She stole a glance at the door as if someone could walk in any minute, expressing a worry that would hide her evasiveness. Nobody would dare storm inside his quarters without his permission. They were safe here to do everything they wanted without fear of being seen or disturbed.
"How much have you seen that you do not want to speak of it?" he questioned, sliding his hands to her hips and drawing her closer still.
"Enough," she answered. "I have seen enough. I should go. I'd rather not tarnish your reputation with your clansmen with overstaying my welcome in your quarters."
If she had wanted to leave his arms, she could have done so with ease, but she waited for his grip to loosen. He leaned forward and lowered his voice because he did not want to let her go. "We can be careful," he said. "We don't need to talk about the future. We can just—"
Mio surprised him by kissing him, her arms around his neck. She molded her body against his and he could think of nothing other than her breasts and his desire to touch them along with the rest of her. He wanted to have her the moment she told him that she wanted to be his, but his brother had arrived shortly after and that complicated things. His brother was well aware of their relationship; he had made it known when he had punched Madara in the face when he and Yayoi had caught up to him in the Earth Country, shouting, "You hated her!"
He had no adequate response, nothing that would not merit a second hit. There had been no exact moment to when his opinion of her had changed. There had only been a blurred line in between the before and after, nothing more. He had attempted many times to find when it had occurred, but he had come short. He had always been bothered by the others—Taiga and his inappropriate comments about her, Enki and the disgusting way he always raked his eyes down the length of her, even Izuna and his fondness of her—but it could have been his misunderstanding what clearly might have been a sibling bond.
Except he noted he liked her face and the length of her hair. He enjoyed watching her do her warm-up exercises before training, seeing her body tighten when she stretched her arms high over her head as she breathed in deeply and then exhale in a way that made every muscle in her to relax. It was beautiful. However, there was always more. There was something in the way she spoke, in her subtle movements, in her behavior, and in her actions that were appealing to him. He could have seen similar mannerisms, speech patterns, personality traits in any other woman, but it was not any of them that interested him. It was something about the combination of all those things in Mio that made her the focus of many of his thoughts. Whether they were near or far, she was not outside his mind. She invaded his senses as silent as smoke and crept through every inch of him until there was only her. It felt like it had happened overnight. But when they touched, it was like there had been a time when only they had existed.
Except, he could not ignore the fact Izuna was in love with Mio. He didn't understand that one either, but he wasn't going to question when he didn't have his own feelings sorted out. He ignored his own want of her for his brother's sake. Izuna deserved to be happy with whomever he wanted and if that meant giving up what he wanted, he would do it.
He thought he had the resolve to do it.
There had been multiple opportunities for him to bury his inappropriate thoughts of Mio underneath the memory of others, but his traitorous mind returned to her. He compared everyone before to Mio and knew that if he let her go, he would continue to do so after she was out of his reach. He did not fathom the thought of another existing that could stir such powerful emotions within him that would drive him to overlook his brother's own happiness to be selfish with his own because that resolve he wanted to have did not exist.
Izuna had not given him the opportunity to offer an excuse after he had punched him. Madara could not have said, "I like her face," because many did. The little things about her had drawn the attention of others like his brother, so he could not say them either, nor could he excuse his hostility towards her because he had meant it for a long time. When Izuna had demanded a reason, Madara had seen how much Izuna had wanted to be with Mio. He had seen what he wished he hadn't because it had brought the guilt back and it was strong.
He could not explain it and she couldn't either.
There was something more. Something strong between them. It didn't have a name and it didn't care who was hurt in the end because it brought them together. That was the reason he could not speak of. He would not speak of it. It was theirs. Another of their secrets.
Izuna had composed himself and directed the focus back to Mio, but had warned him against hurting her. Madara could only lower his head and promise he would not.
Mio kissed his mouth and moved slightly, pressing her lips to the corner of his before drawing away as she inhaled deeply.
"Sake?" he offered, leaving her side to pour himself a drink at the table.
"No, thank you, but I'd prefer not to drink," she said, following him. She took the tokkuri from him. "I will pour for you."
He sat and held his small choko cup to her. She filled it after sitting down to his right.
He observed her watching the contents of his cup. He only took a sip the first time he brought the choko to his lips, the second time he emptied it. She was ready to pour more sake for him, but he took the tokkuri from her and set it aside on the table.
"We will be able to speak freely on the road," he told her.
She nodded.
"The room I had prepared for you is in the other building if you would like to retire for the evening," he informed her, watching her shift in her seat.
"Are you asking me to leave?"
"No."
"Would they not speak?" asked Mio, her lips curving into a smile. "If a Shugosha entered their leader's private quarters and never left? I hear I have a particular charm capable of ensnaring any man."
He almost laughed. "I did not take you for the kind to worry of your reputation."
She leaned forward into the table, propping her arm up. She waved her hand dismissively. "My reputation cannot kill me."
"Then, we will let them speak of you and your charms."
"You are making fun of me," she said, shaking her head. "There is no charm to speak of."
Madara scooted over to sit in front of her, taking a strand of her dark hair and pushing it from her face. "That is true," he said, earning a small laugh from her. "I have met women far more charming than you."
"Have you?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. He wondered if that was jealousy he noted in her voice. "Why don't you chase after them instead? Leave me be. I can marry your brother like you wanted."
He grabbed her by the waist and dragged her to him, making her get on her knees. She set her hands on his shoulders and slowly straddled his lap. His desire for her was ignited and in her actions, he could sense hers. "All of those women fear me," he said, craning his neck to have a better look at her. "You do not. You think yourself my equal."
"Oh," she said quietly. She ran her hands up his neck, thumbs gently brushing over his Adam's apple. "Should I cower at the sight of you, Uchiha Madara? Or would you rather I stroke your ego?"
She leaned forward giving him the impression that she might press her mouth against his, but she did not. She lingered an inch away and when he attempted to close the gap, she pulled away another inch.
She was teasing him.
"You can do whatever you want," he told her, watching her black eyes light up.
She licked her lips and he could feel her soft tongue breeze past his mouth. His finger dug into her hips as he grasped at what remained of his self-control. He did not want to simply throw Mio to the floor and ravage her. He wanted to take his time to learn all the things that made her tremble, moan, speak his name, and the things that drove her to the point of ecstasy, but he did not trust his impatience.
"I should go," she said against his mouth.
Mio started to get up, but he grabbed her by the elbow. He pulled her to him and swiftly changed their positions as he pushed her back to the tatami and pressed his body to her. He did not give her the opportunity to speak because his lips were on hers before she started to formulate the words in her mind. He ran a hand down the length of her. He found the curve in her body and cursed the wool fabric standing between his palm and her naked flesh. He slid a hand under her thigh and moved it beneath her knee, pulling her leg to his waist while she kissed him. Her soft mouth yielded to him, her tongue met his in a slow, deliberate dance that brought his attention to the blood rushing to his groin.
She liked to kiss slowly, enjoyed the feel of his touch tantalizing every nerve ending on her lips. He appreciated her patience for these things, her fixation on them because as annoying as he thought it, he wanted to let her teach him what made her feel good. When he took control, taking her by the back of the neck, he moved his mouth against hers gently and she responded with a slight arch in her back, making a sound so quiet he nearly missed it.
He cursed, drawing back.
She stared up at him…hurt. Did she think he was running away from her? He ran a hand over her head and kissed her reassuringly. He got on his knees to pull his shirt off and tossed it aside.
She blinked. Perhaps, she had not considered how far they would be going.
"Are you afraid?" he asked, feeling the evening's cold whipping against his back.
"A little," she admitted tremulously. Her hands went to the sash cinching her waist where the neat knot sat. "I'm a bit afraid."
"Of me?"
He worried she might say yes. That something inside him frightened her.
"No. Not of you."
Although it relieved him to hear those words leave her lips, he felt inclined to say, "Do you want to stop?"
She answered first by unknotting her sash and shrugging off her wool and fur-lined coat to reveal the simple, high-collared shirt underneath. It molded to her body like a glove, outlined her breasts and her slender waist. "No," she answered, sitting up to peel the shirt from her skin. "I want to be with you."
He watched her slowly expose her midriff and bare her breasts to him. He pressed her back against her furs, feeling their soft surface with his fingertips before taking them against her skin. He touched her flesh—smooth and ivory and sensitive—and ran his fingers over the length of her collarbone and down her sternum and lower still until his hand reached the top of her trousers. She caught on when he gave the fabric a tug and helped him remove the last barrier between him and her naked body.
Madara pressed up against her so she could feel him, hard and throbbing against her inner thigh. She stared at him, but it was not fear he saw there in her eyes, it was the same desire he felt had knotted in his stomach. He wanted anything to keep himself from losing control and rushing her, but he found himself unable to do so. Not when she grabbed him by the neck and kissed him fully, teasing him with her tongue. She ran her free hand down his back and moved her hips, grinding against his shaft, eliciting from him a groan.
He seized her wrists and set them over her head, keeping them in place with a single hand. He did not want to give her control. He took it for himself and pushed his other hand between her slick folds, feeling his finger slide easily inside the intense warmth within her. Mio closed her mouth and made a sound—a short, sudden indication of her surprise and immediate pleasure. She accommodated quickly to his fingers, no sooner had he first inserted them in her that she began rolling her hips to his stimulation.
He took her breast into his mouth, running his tongue teasingly over her hardened nipple and Mio cried out, fighting weakly against his hold on her wrists. She writhed and with an arousing voice, called his name. He thought this was how he preferred she speak his name, ask for him in a lingering whisper, always at his ear.
Madara teased her to the point her insides were clamping down on his fingers. Her folds were slick and when he pressed the head of his erection between them in place of his fingers, he entered her slowly as she sucked in a shuddering breath, followed by a quiet mewl. He expelled the breath he had been holding in and lingered in the heat radiating around his shaft, hotter than he could have ever imagined and tight, so tight it was threatening to wring him dry, but when he moved it created a delicious friction that drove him over the edge. He drew his hips back and thrust into her for the first time.
A curse accompanied the low rumble in his throat, but he moved again and again and again, each time burrowing himself deeper. He ran his tongue up from the base of her neck to her chin and heard her giggle.
Mio moved with him, undulating her hips, and allowed him to push further inside her. She was panting, eyes closed thoroughly enjoying his attentions. She was squirming underneath his weight when she suddenly stiffened and the tenor of her voice changed until she had gone silent.
He stopped, drawing his lips from her neck, and stared down at her. Her chest rose and fell at an alarming rate, every muscle in her body tightened. A panic attack?
He released her and took her by the neck. "Mio."
She did not respond and it worried him that she would succumb to whatever caused the attack. Her breathing had turned erratic.
"Mio, open your eyes," he whispered. "Look at me." His took her hands and raised them to his face. "Mio, look at me."
She opened her eyes and obeyed his words. Focusing on him, she seemed to have become aware and relaxed with a few deep breaths. She touched his face with trembling hands and whispered, "Madara?"
He swallowed. "Yes."
"Don't stop," she said lowly, her anxiety dissolving. "I'm okay. So, please…"
And he didn't. They would not have another opportunity like this on the road and they were completely aware, so they took advantage of the late hours and continued exploring deeper pleasures atop his comfortable bedding in the other room. It was not enough until they had exhausted one another, until she could no longer leave her marks on his skin, the long red streaks across his back, or he on hers, the small bruises on her hips from where he had dug his fingers in to drive into her faster.
There was heat and passion. There was more of the unknown. It was everything he imagined and more. His connection with Mio intensified the act and he sensed she felt it too. But then it was over.
In the afterglow, there was silence as they steadied their breaths and disentangled their sweat-slicked bodies. They cleaned themselves and dressed in simple robes.
Madara sat on his futon drinking with Mio lying on her stomach in front of him. She was watching the flame of a candle dancing, fascinated by the sight. He felt like a fool staring at her as if looking away for an instant would give her sufficient time to go. He preferred to keep her near, he realized. Close enough to touch her.
She folded her arms under her head and rested her face against them. "I should go."
"You can stay," he told her. "You have to stay true to your reputation."
"We do not need our actions to be publicized," she replied, frowning at the mention of her reputation. "I am supposed to be in mourning."
"For your husband and grandfather," he said. "What do Nishiki or Ayuka gain from having Gouki dead in this world?"
Mio rose into a seat. "That was not their intention," she said. "Gouki is dead in this world because he is dead in ours. It's the same for everyone else."
He recalled Shinya's body during the trade. "Your grandfather too…?"
"Yes, but now is not the time to speak of such things," she said quickly. "We must now focus on gathering our guardians."
"We will."
They would go their separate ways tomorrow morning. He had informed the clan that he was going to find Izuna and bring him back to the Fire Country, so they were aware that he would be leaving. Mio and her Kuronuma would have a sudden emergency to attend to and would go as well. She would eventually meet him at a town along the country's border, from which they would navigate towards the Lightning Country in search of Taiga.
Mio did not stay the night.