[Prologue]
Sakura kept her eyes closed, even as she listened intently to the older male lying next to her on the soft bed. His arms wrapped around her from behind, and his nose was pressed into her spine. She could feel his breathing slowly beginning to grow calmer and more uniform, unlike the ragged, sharp breaths he had been taking before. Experimentally shifting slightly, she noted that he kept inhaling and exhaling at the same pace. Good, he was asleep.
Quietly and smoothly, she freed herself from his grasp and rolled lightly off the king-sized mattress. Their clothes were scattered around the room, and so Sakura tiptoed across the floorboards, daintily picking up her underwear and bra, which had been strewn over the sofa lying in the corner.
A cool breeze drifted across her naked skin, cooling the sweat still plastered on it. Shivering slightly, she looked up at the open window. It was a beautiful night tonight, with the moon casting a serene glow over everything in the room. She turned her gaze to the figure lying in the bed she had just left. Under the moonlight, his exposed skin glowed a angelic silver, matching his white hair. It highlighted his features just right, showing his delicately sculpted facial structure, and toned abdomen.
Wistfully, Sakura sighed to herself. She wanted nothing more than to climb back into bed with the man, to sleep peacefully in his embrace and perhaps even have a repeat performance of what had happened just an hour ago, but she had work to do. Pulling on the slip of a dress she had been wearing before, the pink-haired young woman padded softly to the door of the room, stopping only to pick up her small backpack and sling it over her shoulder. She paused for a moment, casting a last glance back at the sleeping male on the bed before she continued down the hall.
Fishing through her small backpack as she walked, Sakura's fingers finally found what she had been looking for. She pulled out a small black earpiece from the bag and clicked it online, practically stuffing it in her ear.
"Madara?" She asked quietly, glancing back down the hall to make sure no one else was awake. "Can you hear me?"
A deep male voice came crackling back through the earpiece. "I can hear you, Sakura. Is Tobirama asleep?"
"He's asleep. I just left his bed and I'm in the hallway now," Sakura said.
"Good."
There was a moment of silence, during which the only sound was her soft footsteps on the padded carpets of the large house she was in.
Sakura frowned, despite knowing Madara couldn't see her. "Madara, why am I still sleeping with Tobirama? I've gotten you all of his and Hashirama's financial information, recent contacts, incriminating photos. Don't you have everything you need to stop him from being voted in as the next King?"
"I'd rather be safe than sorry," Madara responded, a hint of frost in his voice. "I need to be completely sure that the people will choose me as their King instead of him."
"Are you sure that's all it is? Because to me it seems like it's personal," she said bitterly. "Don't tell me you're doing this because of Izuna."
"Tobirama killed Izuna, but I'm not doing this because of that. I'm doing this for us," Madara protested. "Look, Sakura. You've never lived anything more than an illegal lifestyle. Once I'm King, you'll be Queen, and then we'll live happily ever after in a gilded palace."
Sakura didn't respond for a moment, but then laughed dryly. "Alright, then. What do you want me to do this time? More photos?"
The man on the other side of their connection didn't laugh as well. "I need you to kill Hashirama."
She didn't even pause. "No. No way, Madara. You said you weren't making this personal, but you are."
"It's not personal. I just need to be sure."
Her voice grew slightly louder as she spoke back through her earpiece. "Yes it is personal. Tobirama took your brother, and now you want to take his!"
"Please just trust me. I know what I'm doing," Madara said calmingly.
Sakura ran a hand through her long pink hair, unconsciously trying to make herself appear more presentable. "I know you do, but…"
"I love you."
She let out a long sigh, knowing there was no way she wouldn't eventually give in. "Just… have a getaway car ready outside."
"I will," Madara said, his voice coming in a last, comforting rumble, before he ended the transmission.
Sakura rubbed her eyes tiredly, as she removed the earpiece from her ear and dropped it back in her backpack. Madara was an ass sometimes, but was also her partner. They'd been working together in the illegal arts for at least four years now, ever since that night he had caught her red-handed. She chuckled to herself as she travelled further down the hallway, her right hand trailing along the wall. Madara was right, she would need to trust him.
Carefully placing one foot in front of the other, Sakura kept silently walking. There were no windows in the narrow space, the only light coming from the cracks beneath doors, but she didn't need her vision, having already noted down where Hashirama's bedroom was in her previous visits. It was exactly 7 rooms down from Tobirama's; close enough that they could still reach each other, but far enough away that the multiple walls provided soundproofing for whatever the two brothers decided to do each night.
Reaching her destination, she soundlessly cracked open the door and slipped inside. In here, there was finally enough light for her to be able to see the sleeping figure on the bed. Hashirama slept much like his younger brother, the sheets bunched up at his waist, and his upper body exposed to the night air. Where Tobirama's hair was a stark white though, Hashirama's warm brown locks were spread all over his pillow.
Moving through the shadows of the room like a wraith, Sakura soon found herself standing at the foot of his bed. She swung her backpack off one shoulder, so that she could hold it in front of her, and with her left hand she drew out a pistol. The cold metal gleamed in the moonlight, and her finger rested lightly on the trigger. She knew she should just pull it and be done with everything, but the young woman hesitated.
Sakura pointed the barrel straight at Hashirama's brain, knowing that she could aim just as well with her left hand as her right. Her fingers itched on the trigger, but still she held herself back. Could she really do this? Kill a man who had no connection to her in cold blood?
"Sakura. Put your hands in the air and drop the gun, or I'll splatter your brains over the wall," Tobirama snarled from behind her.
For some insane reason, Sakura felt relieved for a split second.
She chuckled. "That would be a hassle for the housekeeper, wouldn't it," she said, unclenching the muscles of her left hand to let the pistol drop to the floor with a loud clatter.
"Hands above your head," Tobirama ordered coldly. "And now spin around to face me, slowly."
Sakura did as he had told her to, uncurling both hands to show her empty palms to Tobirama.
"Good." He reached out with the hand not pointing a gun at her head, and grabbed her bicep tightly. Yanking her harshly towards him, so that she stood flush in front of him, her back against his chest, he led her out of his brother's bedroom. Sakura almost chuckled softly, realizing what an odd mimicry this was of the way they had been sleeping before. There difference being, of course, the cold metal barrel of a gun pressing into the back of her skull.
Surprisingly enough, Hashirama hadn't even stirred throughout the whole exchange, and still rested peacefully in his bed. If not for the slow rise and fall of his chest, Sakura might even have convinced herself that she had succeeded in her mission.
"So how'd you know what I was going to do?" Sakura asked casually, as if this was just a normal meeting for them.
Tobirama didn't respond, and she rolled her eyes. "C'mon, don't you wanna gloat?"
"I've woken up a few times now, to notice you were missing from my bed, only to be back in the morning," Tobirama said emotionlessly. "I never really trusted you, so I pretended to fall asleep tonight."
"Oh, my skills are degrading then. I definitely thought you were asleep," Sakura mused.
"I overheard you saying something about it being personal. That I had taken someone's brother, and that they wanted to kill mine."
"Mhm," Sakura said, nodding in agreement. "I shouldn't have lost my temper."
Tobirama continued to march her through the large mansion, and simply pressed the gun tighter against her head. "You won't even get a trial. You're going straight to jail."
Sakura didn't show any signs of being upset. "Meh. It's only two years, less if my friend gets me out sooner."
The white-haired man holding her snorted gracefully. "Attempted murder will keep you in prison for a lot longer than two years."
"I'm 17 actually."
"Of course you would've lied about that as well. A minor, huh," Tobirama snarled. "Who's your powerful friend then?"
By now, they had reached the lobby of the building, and already Sakura could hear sirens wailing outside. She wondered when Tobirama had called them, considering his two hands had never left his gun and her arm.
"Madara Uchiha! You might know him," Sakura answered brightly.
She could feel Tobirama's hand instinctively clench harder around her upper arm when she mentioned the man.
"Madara Uchiha has no power to help you," he stated coldly. "And I'm disgusted that I just slept with one of his whores."
Sakura didn't react to his insult, instead smiling happily, even as they reached a waiting police car and the officer opened the door for them. "He can when he's the King!"
Tobirama froze for a single moment, before he swore loudly and pushed her into the police car, climbing in beside her.
He gripped her arm even harder, and Sakura knew it would leave a bruise. "What did you do? What did you find, you little bitch?"
"Hmm, not much," Sakura responded, grinning. "Only all of your financial information and enough incriminating photos to ensure both of you will never receive any type of government position."
Tobirama's eyes flared, their crimson colour becoming even darker as he stared at the young woman sitting next to him.
"Why?" He demanded. "Hashirama would've made a good King. Madara will only use the power for his own gain."
Sakura winced as Tobirama dug his hand into her skin even deeper, but in a sing-song voice said, "but Madara loooves me!"
The white-haired man sitting in the car with her was unnaturally serious as he replied, "Madara doesn't love anyone."
The ride to the only prison in Konoha wasn't a very long one, mostly due to the fact that it was located smack-dab in the middle of the capital city. Prisoners from all over the nation were sent to the prison, Sakura knew, and supposedly no one had ever managed to escape the secure facility. She spent the entire drive whistling gaily, knowing that Madara would get her out anyways. Because he was Madara Uchiha, and once he was King he would have the legal power to clear her of any and all crimes.
As the police officer finally pulled up next to a tall, barbed wire fence, and gestured for the two of them to get out, Sakura examined what would be her home for at least the next few weeks.
It was a drab, concrete building in the middle of the large, fenced off field, and on the outside seemed about the size of an average house. However, Sakura knew that almost all of the prison was located underground, which had spawned its nickname of 'the pit'. The cells were completely modernized, and arranged about a hundred per floor. Supposedly, the floor you were put on indicated the severity of your crime, with the lowest floor reserved for only the worst criminals. Strangely enough, it sparked Sakura's excitement, and she found herself wondering what floor she would be assigned to.
Tobirama nudged her in the back, having moved his pistol from her skull to behind her heart. "Move."
She acquiesced, strolling through the only opening in the fence and into the open, grassy area of the prison compound. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed a sign hanging on a portion of the fence, reading 'Warning: High Voltage Electric Wire'. Sakura huffed in disbelief. She doubted anyone stupid enough to touch the fence would receive a simple, small little shock.
Two police officers came to surround her on both sides, with Tobirama still behind her, and like that, she was paraded across the large field and into the entrance of the prison facility.
"Hey! You there, get this girl a prison uniform," one of her officers yelled to a nearby worker in the building.
The man who he had called to, grumbled, but produced a bright orange jumpsuit from within a large basket of clothes.
Sakura shook her head in horror and sighed loudly. "That is going to clash so badly with my hair. Do you guys have any other colours?"
The police officer to her right rolled his eyes and stuffed the jumpsuit in her face. "Put it on."
"Here?" Sakura asked, looking around the large space they were in. It seemed the aboveground portion of the prison building had no walls or dividers at all, and was just a single, spacious room. They were in the corner of the room closest to the door, surrounded by baskets filled with prison uniforms. In the other corners, she could see a mugshot station, a desk, and a single spiraling staircase, most likely leading down to 'the pit'. It wasn't necessarily crowded, but there were still a good amount of people, both soon-to-be inmates and uniformed officers.
Tobirama finally removed his hand from her arm, and looked around as well. "I don't see why not," he said mockingly.
Grumbling, Sakura grabbed the offered clothing, and shrugged away from the gun still pointed at her back. Not caring for modesty in the slightest, she slipped out of the green nightclub dress she had been wearing, and stood there half-naked, covered only by her underwear and bra.
Behind her, she could practically feel Tobirama's red eyes burning into her skin, and so she took her time stepping into the orange jumpsuit. Almost teasingly, she pulled it over her exposed skin, inch-by-inch.
Suddenly Sakura frowned, looking down at her bare feet. "Hey, can I get a pair of shoes?"
A pair of plain, white sneakers was shoved into her face. The pink-haired girl smiled sweetly. "Thanks."
Her bicep, still sore from Tobirama's harsh grip, was suddenly encased once again. She stumbled, as the man pushed her towards the mugshot station she had seen earlier. As she protested futilely, Tobirama shoved his pistol back against her head. The two officers on either side of her ignored them.
All too soon, Sakura was holding an ugly, cardboard sign, and a photographer was snapping a picture of her. She smiled straight at the camera, determined to at least look nice in her mugshot, even if her jumpsuit was atrocious.
"Done," the photographer announced. The two police officers grabbed her, with one holding her wrists together behind her back, and the other steering her by the shoulders towards the corner of the room which contained the spiral staircase.
"Wait! Wait!" Sakura yelled, struggling with her feet to stop their movement. As her captors paused momentarily, she turned her head to look at Tobirama, who was standing by the door, watching as she got taken away.
She blew a kiss towards the white-haired man. "I had a good time with you," she called back. He didn't respond, but Sakura thought she saw a glimpse of hurt pass through his eyes.
They continued towards the staircase, and within moments she was being forced down the steps, one at a time. Sakura turned back a last time, but Tobirama was out of sight.
As the three of them reached the bottom of the staircase, and a view opened up before them, Sakura couldn't help but be impressed. The prison had been aptly nicknamed, since it really seemed like a pit.
They were currently standing at the upper level, but from here she could see how every single level was shaped almost like a donut, each one stacked on top of the one below. The prison cells lined the walls of every floor in a large circle, and as she was marched towards the edge of the platform they were currently on and into an elevator, she looked down. The center of the prison center was a seemingly bottomless pit, with elevators lining the edge.
"Which floor are we going to?" Sakura asked the officers beside her, as the elevator started to clunkily move downwards.
The police officer to her right didn't respond, but the other one did after a few moments. "We just got orders from someone to put you on the lowest level of the pit."
She frowned thoughtfully. A single attempted murder by a minor shouldn't've been enough to land her in the lowest levels, which were mostly reserved for mass murderers and terrorists. She was just a thief, an extraordinarily good thief, but a thief nonetheless. Perhaps it was due to Tobirama and Hashirama's influence?
Her emerald green eyes carefully studied the two guards next to her. They both had silky black hair and black eyes, their uniforms pristine and unwrinkled, which signified officers of a relatively high class.
"Just out of curiosity," she asked, "are you two part of the Uchiha family?"
The two taller males looked down at her. "Yes," the one on the left answered.
Sakura almost breathed a sigh of relief, and she smiled happily. "Did Madara send you to get me out of prison?"
Her guards didn't respond, still staring unreadably down at her. She cocked her head. "Well?"
The one on the right slowly licked his lips before finally speaking up. "Madara sent us to make sure you stay in prison."
Blood rushed to her head in that moment, and Sakura's eyes widened. She kicked out at one of the guards, while attempting to knock the other one over as she leaned all her weight back into him. The man who had just spoken reacted instantly though, catching her around the waist and throwing her over his shoulder before her kick could even land. The elevator doors slid open, and she was carried out.
The guard carrying her, the one who had said that Madara had betrayed her, walked painfully slowly. Futilely, she tried to aim a punch at his head, but he caught it with his free hand.
"Madara didn't say anything about making sure you stayed unharmed, so I strongly recommend you stop fighting little girl," he snarled coldly, even as he twisted her wrist painfully. Sakura winced.
The other guard who wasn't carrying her, pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked a cell door.
"She can go in with the bomber," he said, nodding at the opened cell. Unceremoniously, Sakura was bodily tossed onto the hard, metal floor of the prison cell, and she heard the door being locked behind her.
Her side hurt from the impact, but she rushed towards the door of the cell. Holding onto the bars with both hands, she looked out at the two Uchiha police officers.
"Tell Madara," she hissed. "To go fuck himself."
They left wordlessly, not acknowledging her, and Sakura slumped to the floor, resigning herself to the fact that she was in prison. She was in prison because Madara fucking Uchiha had betrayed her. She wasn't sure how, or why, but he had, and now her freedom had been taken away.
"I fucking hate Uchiha bastards," she muttered to herself. "Especially hot ones, who work with you for four years, and then selfishly leave you to rot in a jail. This is all so that he doesn't risk me exposing him, isn't it? I got caught, and now he needs me to be left in a jail cell for a few years so that the public knows nothing of what he's done."
From further in the cell, she heard someone laugh. "Is that how you got here? I must say, I hate the Uchiha too."
Spinning around to face the stranger, Sakura realized this must be the 'bomber' her guards had been talking about. She laughed out loud, he looked like a girl. The man was about the same age as her, but his hair was a long, pretty blond, worn half-up and half-down. His eyes were a pretty blue, and for just a moment, she was reminded of a young girl she had known many, many years ago.
"You're the bomber?" She asked.
"Deidara, at your service," he said, mockingly bowing, as he stood up to move nearer to her. Sakura stood up as well.
"So what did you bomb?"
He smirked. "Nothing much, just half of Iwagakure."
Sakura whistled. Iwagakure was a large country to the west of Konoha, and she knew it was well known for being the most militaristic of the five nations which made up the Allied Nations. They undoubtedly had many, many anti-terrorism protocols in place.
"Impressive," she complimented. "How'd you get caught?"
Deidara nodded at her. "An Uchiha caught me. Uchiha Itachi. Hate his guts."
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "He must be talented. How come I've never heard of him? I've met most of the high-ranking Uchiha by now."
The blond rolled his eyes. "He used to work for Madara Uchiha - the guy you were ranting about - but then supposedly some big, horrible thing happened, and he ran away. Went criminal."
She chuckled. "Most of the Uchiha would technically be criminals by now if they didn't have so much influence in the government," she said, rolling her eyes. "How long have you been here?"
Deidara seemed to think about it for a moment. "Half a year, or something like that. I get out in another 18 months. I was a minor when I bombed the place, which is why I fled from Iwagakure to Konohagakure. Prison sentence here is easy on minors."
Sakura nodded pensively, and then spoke with finality. "Well, then. Since I'm going to have to see your face anyways for the next year and a half… go away. I need time to think."
The young man grumbled but walked to the other side of the cell. "Trust me, you'll have more than enough time to think."
Sakura settled herself down for a long - a very, very long - wait.