PROLOGUE
She was excited. Sakura could not remember to have ever been this agitated. There was only one station to go. She had left her parents and friends behind and would face them sporadically in the coming months since she had accepted a job in a city 200 kilometers north of her hometown.
Sakura would take care of a blind young man for eight months. Izuna Uchiha lived together with his brother Madara who, according to the description on the internet, had to work day after day, resulting in him not being able to look after his younger brother properly.
She had not hesitated to contact Madara Uchiha and to offer him to nurse his brother. Sakura had contacted him in the evening and gotten an answer immediately the day after. To her biggest surprise, he had laconically told her in a mail that she had gotten the job. They had exchanged several formal mails to decide when and where to meet. Madara had paid for her train ride and would meet her at the central station.
Sakura already had his mobile phone number and had texted him about the train's delay. Madara had not answered yet.
The passengers rose from their dark blue seats even though there had not been any announcement so far. They started to get dressed, searched for the toilets and the luggage racks. Theirs movements made Sakura feel even more excited; she even started feeling a bit nervous because of the people getting ready to disembark.
Sakura was glad to have occupied four seats by herself; her suitcase was standing between her knees and the two-seater opposite of her. She took her mobile phone out of her beige bag and typed a message to her friend Ino. Ino had bid Sakura goodbye on the track along with Sakura's parents.
I'll be there in ten minutes. I'm so excited, and a little scared, too.
It was the third message directed to Ino today. She had written the first one when she had had to change trains; the second one she had written when she had had to change tracks again. Fortunately she had had enough time to do it; she had even managed to buy food. The noodles she had not eaten up were now resting inside a bin underneath the window that pictured a gray sky and barren trees.
Sakura received a message from Madara.
I'll be at the track to pick you up, Miss Haruno.
She asked herself what Madara looked like. He knew the way she looked like. Her curriculum vitae contained a picture of her, after all. He had said: "You don't have to recognize me. I'll recognize you." She had felt quite queasy while reading this.
Of course she was not interested in Madara's appearance only. She had a feeling he was distant and cold; at least that was her first impression of him. And, naturally, she wanted to know how Izuna Uchiha looked like.
A high-pitched male voice announced the next station – the final destination. Sakura's heart was beating excessively when she got up to put on her light brown woolen coat. Sakura looked out of the window while buttoning up, sometimes clawing her nails into the soft material.
When the tracks appeared in front of her she pressed her lips together and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself. She received a message from Ino which she instantly replied to.
I feel you! Text me, or call me if you can. I'm dying of curiosity.
She was curious, too.