Eighteen months earlier…


Sakura nearly slipped off the edge of the desk she was leaning against. She caught herself at the last minute and gaped. "What did you just say?"

"Shisui, that is one of the worst ideas you've ever come up with, and you're known for coming up with bad ideas." Sasuke's tone is level but the burn of his ears isn't hard to miss after so many years of friendship. Out of all his Uchiha relatives, Sasuke knows he has some of the most obvious tells, especially when it comes to his longtime friend and partner on the force.

"You don't think this is the first time we've used this ploy, do you?" The elder Uchiha reached back and grabbed a file before opening it up and reading straight out of the text summary. "In 1990 there was a police department that staged a fake wedding in an attempt to eradicate the major drug problems in the area. Two undercover officers acted as the bride and groom, many local drug deals were invited, and the cops busted them all together at the reception. It was a huge success with no major loss of life." He looked up with a smirk. "Also, the open bar got most of them wasted enough that they came in without a fuss."

"You're forgetting one major thing…there's no way Sasuke and I could pull that off, we're too green. I mean.. how the hell do you think something like this would work?"

Shisui hummed before reaching forward to pat the top of her eat in affection, the way he would when she was still a third grader running into his room with squirt guns. "Don't worry, you're not well known with just one year on the force, and Sasuke's brand new too. We could dress him up, give him a different name. It'll be fine. I got boys for this sort of sting, and it's a long one-plenty of time to play pretend."

Sasuke glowered. "You just want to see Sakura in a wedding dress, don't you?"

Shisui gasped and playfully covered the bottom half of his smile with his hand. "What an accusation. You should know better than that by now, Sasuke."

Sasuke shoved his cousin roughly and then dove for a different file on the desk, opening it up and scattering the glossy photos of Sakura in an apron, Sakura undercover as a nurse, Sakura in her uniform, Sakura from Halloween last year, Sakura undercover as a fancy window obsessed with diamonds, Sakura undercover at a cat themed amusement part as one of the cat girls…

"What is my reference file doing there?" Sakura asked, densely missing the look of panic as Shisui rushed to clean up his stash of photos.

"It was just mixed in with the files, the boys needed it for-for this mission." Shisui glared over Sakura's shoulder at Sasuke. "But if you think Sasuke is too eye catching to play dress up with, I'm sure Itachi would be more than willing to be your groom….or maybe I could get off rotation for something like this-ow!"

"Sorry, there was a fly buzzing around your ear," Sasuke bites out, glaring back at his cousin just as hard.

"You're a brat, my plan is brilliant. I've already submitted it for a budget approval. There's a shit tone of stuff in the locker we've confiscated over the years we can use."

Sakura sighed,, pinching the bridge of her nose. She was young, she knew that, and she wasn't nearly as experienced as most of the others on the force, but she was determined to make a name for herself and always put in the effort necessary to get the job done. If this was one way she could help, if this led to arrests and safer streets…"

"Fine. I'll attach my name to this crazy plan, but I only have five or six undercover contacts. My cover for the narcotics department has been in place for only two months. I don't know if I'm the best person for the job."

Shisui nodded, touching her shoulder in support. "It will take time to pull this one off, but I think you're uniquely qualified for it. Sasuke's cover is a little more solid, we'll lean on that."

Sasuke's undercover identity was that of a reformed John that switched out girls for drugs and became pretty profitable with it. Sakura had a hard time believing Sasuke's cover was the sort of guy to settle down with a girl, but maybe someone would believe him.

"Go home, get some good dinner, think it over. I have a meeting with the chief in ten so I need to scatter." Shisui ruffled Sakura's hair with affection but made a mess out of Sasuke's with a mocking chuckle. "I'll see you kids around!"

Sakura blinked, watching her partner attempt to comb his hair back down with his fingers before he glanced at her sideways. "I have a hard time believing he's ANBU level, sometimes," Sasuke admitted.

"I have a hard time believing he's a cop," Sakura snorted. Her own Jonin ranking was good enough for her. It had seemed to take forever to graduate to the prestigious level where her contributions in the field actually seemed to matter. "But…how did he know I was going to your house for dinner?"

The easy smile was back as Sasuke dropped his hand from his hair and looked to his friend. "My brother might have mentioned , you're over almost every other night for dinner. You and Naruto should just move back into your old rooms. Mom misses cooking for so many hearty eaters."

Sakura smiled at the memory. Her own parents had been seriously injured when she was still a girl as a result of a car crash. Her mother passed away a few days later, but her father remained stable in a coma that stretched on for years, draining the family resources and leaving Sakura without a relative to rely on. Naruto's father and mother died as a result of political shootings-his father had been a brilliant senator with presidential prospects.

The Uchiha took Naruto in right away as a favor to the politician they backed so fiercely. Sakura came later, after the relative in charge of Sakura's well fare turned off the life support machines and ran off with what was left of the family's money.

"It's not my fault all you damn Uchiha pick like birds with your food. Who told you to be so polished about it?"

Sasuke smirked. "Maybe you should have paid more attention to our upbringing. Ah, by the time we got to you I guess there was no saving it. You and Naruto are both wild pigs at the table."

"If that was true your mother wouldn't want us back so desperately."

"Old women get lonely. Agh, just get your stuff and come on. I'll drive you."

Sakura had other things to say, but Sasuke's ears were pink again so she let him be. After changing out of her uniform and wishing the other officers on duty good luck, Sakura met Sasuke in the back and trailed him to his personal car. The drive from the station to the main Uchiha manor wasn't a long one, but it was long enough to keep work and home separated for the Uchiha clan.

Sasuke still lived at home like his brother, and would likely live there until he was married as opposed to Naruto and Sakura who both moved out not long after becoming legally responsible for themselves. At least Sakura stayed close and went to the same school as Sasuke. Naruto was a different story, but at least he now knew how to work Skype now.

Sakura fell into habit at Sasuke's, greeting his mother, helping in the kitchen for a grand total of five minutes before Sasuke's moping prompts Mikoto to shooing Sakura out to entertain her baby of a son.

Sasuke takes her up to her old room,, left the way it had looked on the day she parted from it, waiting for her to come back. Sometimes when she stays late she forgoes going back to her apartment and instead spends the night, pretending she's sixteen again and worrying about nothing but school festivities and who is going to be brave enough to not be scared off by Sasuke or Naruto and ask her out. (She ended up never getting a boyfriend in high school.)

When Itachi comes up to call them down to dinner he chastises Sasuke for his inconsideration. They're both adults but it's still poor manners to be alone in a room together, sharing a bed, with the door closed. Mikoto is close enough to hear the tail end and snorts at her eldest before kissing his brow.

"Oh baby, if they were going to do it they wouldn't there or then when they're partners. And really, you should know your own brother better by now."

Itachi is a little too unsettled to respond to his mother of all people on the same topic, so he shut his mouth and sets to helping her carry out the food. Sakura catches a shadow of flush along his ears, but it's so faint it is hard to tell if it's nothing more than a trick of the light.

Diner goes too well and Sakura's heart hurts to have to leave when it's time for her to get back. Sasuke offers to let her stay in her old room again, but Itachi is already at the door with his coat and car keys, stealing the privilege of driving her back.

"It's been such a long time since I last had dinner with you guys. Weeks feel like months without your mother's cooking. It's going to be hard to get by without it."

From the driver's seat Itachi chuckles, glancing sideways at her before his eyes go back to the road. "You need not have to. She would be more than happy to pack you a lunch for Sasuke to take with him each day, and you are always welcome at dinner. You're part of the family."

When Sakura doesn't respond right away, Itachi senses the shift and chances another glance sideways at her. He can see her face is caught in something between weariness and resignation. She blinks when she feels his eyes and looks up to see him watching her as they stop at a red light.

"That's sweet, but I need to learn to do this on my own. You guys have been kind enough just to take me in." What went unsaid was still echoing in the space left empty between them. Sakura hadn't said it, but she might as well have said 'I'm not an Uchiha,' or 'I'm not family.' Itachi was learning to accept that better than Sasuke.

"Regardless," he began in a voice just a touch rougher than he expected. "We love having you over, and it's nice to see you outside of work obligations."

Sakura snorts quietly to herself. "You know we nearly never see each other when we are at work, right? We're in totally different departments." She held up two fingers and stared at them blankly. "Organized crime and narcotics. I guess they cross paths every now and then."

Itachi hums. "Once you have more experience and seniority things will be different for you. Don't rush into your work too quickly. I hear you're really racking up the hours undercover."

"Yeah, I might need it sometime in the future for a plan Shisui of all people has proposed."

Itachi's lips tug down into a frown. "He hasn't told me about anything like that. Was this recent?"

"This morning," Sakura says, nodding.

"Ah."

Sakura shuts her eyes and feels what goes unsaid. Itachi wants to ask about the mission without betraying such an active interest. She knows how to speak Uchiha.

A man of so few words it is a wonder he has already conversed with her this much. The only others he is this active around are his family members and maybe Kisame-his underworld connection from pre police academy days. She should be flattered.

It's dark outside and Sakura is glad it's another dry night. "Yeah, it's going to be a long term sting operation with Sasuke. We're getting married."

Itachi brakes hard for the red light a bit prematurely before coughing and inching up to the white line. "Sasuke agreed to this?"

"It hasn't been approved or anything yet, but he was there when Shisui mentioned what the mission would require and he didn't seem to be violently opposed to it." Sakura grinned as the light turned green and Itachi pulled out smoothly. "But for Sasuke, that might have been as good as a yes as you'll ever see from him at work. I wouldn't say he hates seeing all his relatives all over the place, but…he knows he's the baby."

"That will change. He is making a name for himself yet."

"He's trying, and I'm proud of him. I don't plan on holding him back."

Now it is Itachi's turn to chuckle. "That would be a first."

"You have no idea how I worry. That kid is improving in leaps and bounds." Sakura sighs as her apartment building comes into view. She's minutes away from her door and minutes more from a warm bed. Tomorrow is another day. "I feel like I'm watching his back at times."

"Don't force yourself to rush into anything or compete to keep up with Sasuke. You are uniquely gifted and qualified in a way that is different from him. Would you compare a crane to a koi?"

Sakura grins as Itachi pulls into a close to the door parking spot, remembering perfectly which building is her's. "Thank you for the words of wisdom, fortune cookie Itachi." She digs around in her purse, searching for her apartment keys.

She hears Itachi turn down the heat, but doesn't touch the key in the ignition. "Are you adjusting well to your new place?"

Sakura looks up, surprised by his change in conversation. The tone is even, but Sakura feels something off in Itachi. She follows his line of sight to the rear mirror and looks into it, searching for something that would set him off. It was almost as if he was searching for something.

Sakura thought it was time for her to leave, but something about Itachi's posture keeps her in her seat. "It's fine. Nice and small and plenty safe for what I'm paying in rent. A few neighbors know I'm a cop, they see me leave in uniform in the morning. No one's given me trouble for it."

"No odd visitors, notes from bothersome individuals?"

Sakura raises a single brow. "No, they know I'm a cop. Plenty avoid me like the plague."

"Then that's good. You haven't seen-" he looks to her and catches the expression on his face and flushes the way Itachi is known to flush-barely at all. "Forgive me. I know you can manage yourself. I was only curious to see if a mutual friend had made himself known to you after the move."

Sakura's brows rise to her hairline. "Oh." Her mouth freezes into the 'O' shape as recognition dawns. "Oh, you mean…you wanted to know if he visited me."

Itachi nods, glancing sideways, refusing to face her. "It was a foolish assumption."

"No, I understand what it means to you. You're heavily involved in his case and you're following leads where and when you can. But, sorry, he's never shown up here and I couldn't imagine he would. I've not seen him since anyone else, two years ago."

Sakura remembers a bit too vividly the man who seemed to have the world in his hand when she was only a little girl, playing at his knees and making paper flowers for his too wild hair. Madara Uchiha had doted on her far more than any of the other Uchiha and Sasuke hated his uncle for it. Sakura was his favorite and monopolized her as often as he could when she was younger.

After starting high school she started to see him less and less, and she thought that was because everyone was just so busy. But after graduation he stopped showing up to dinners and parties and no one knew why until not so much later.

Madara, as Uchiha as Uchiha could be, had turned his back on the life of law enforcement in favor of a lifestyle more lucrative. He became an international menace to the world of black market smuggling and fraud. Madara was no mere criminal, he was a man wanted for millions of dollars in theft, fraud, and racketeering-and those were just the crimes claimed by fearless legal citizens and companies. It was worse what he did to competitive criminals. Sakura had seen some of the bodies.

She offered Itachi a sympathetic smile, mentally wishing him good luck on his search."I don't think he even remembers me, much less wants to see me." She reached for the handle and the cold night met her. When she turned to close the door Itachi was watching her with an expression not even she could read. "Goodnight, Itachi."

"Goodnight Sakura, dear."

Shisui's plan was oddly streamlined into effect and Sakura and Sasuke were playing their parts later that week. In addition to their own stunts undercover, Sakura and Sasuke took work in stride, growing and learning alongside each other and veterans alike.

At one point early on they had the choice of splitting up to be paired with older more experienced officers, but Sakura and Sasuke were adamant about staying together, even if that meant extra training.

It was a month later when their alternate identities met outside a hotel and walked in together. One of Sakura's side dealers had noticed them together, so it was worth the show to make their relationship seem legit. Kakashi was in their ear, guiding them along.

They went back to the room, put on loud music, and took turns banging the bed against the wall until Kakashi's voice in their ear told them it was good, their tail had left hours ago.

Sasuke seethed, complaining about his sore arms before flopping backwards onto the bed. Sakura snickered, sitting down beside him. He was scowling, but she still ran a hand through his messy hair, styled in a way that was so unlike him. They made him wear false facial hair too. The make up was top notch.

"We're going to get married in another month," Sakura teased. "You mother may as well be pleased. I think she's been trying to set us up from cradle days."

"She's not supposed to know about this. If you ever came by for dinner you would know these things," Sasuke grumbled.

"Sorry, I've been busy."

"Liar."

She pouts. "Itachi doesn't call me names like this."

Sitting up, Sasuke tugs at her shoulders and pulls her down onto the bed beside him to lay. "He doesn't call you out on anything either. You're avoiding home."

"It's not my home."

Sasuke reacts, tugging her down and pulling her underneath him as he hovers atop her. Sakura is staring up into his spinning black eyes, narrowed and fearsome. "Are you afraid of me?" he asks hand reaching up to her throat.

"No."

He cups the side of her neck and slides his fingers down to her breastbone. "Why not?" he pushes down the already low top even further.

"I know you wouldn't do anything."

"Why?" his fingers tickle her in circles above her breastbone.

"I know you." She's dead faced, watching him. She knows what he wants her to admit.

"How?"

"Sasuke-"

He grabs her neck again and pulls her to him, closer than before. "How?"

Sakura swallows, closing her eyes before opening them again. She reaches out to take out the com to Kakashi and pulls out his as well. This is not something he needs to hear.

"You want me to say we're family, but I don't fit in that perfect mold, neither did Naruto. I just couldn't leave you like he could. We're not your real siblings, Sasuke. I'm sorry you feel differently, I'm sorry you loved us like brothers and sisters, but that's not a place we can ever call home, and you know it."

Sasuke doesn't speak, doesn't move, doesn't do anything but stare down at her. Making a decision Sakura reaches up to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him close to her. He doesn't fight her, but she can tell by his too stiff shoulders that this is not something that makes him happy. She kisses the shell of his ear and he flinches away.

"A sister wouldn't kiss you like this," she whispers meanly.

He spins away, eyes wide and breathing heavy. Sakura angles him with a look. "Or is that why you were desperate to play house. Then you wouldn't have to think about a girl in such a way?"

"Damn you." Sasuke's never been angry with her like this. He's been angry at her before, all too often, but it's different. Sometimes he's meaner, sometimes he's less cruel about his emotions, but Sasuke hisses from a place of real hurt as he looks at her.

"You're clinging to a fantasy. Sasuke, I've grown up."

"Don't talk like you know anything. I'm not stupid. And it's not like you don't love me too." He scoots closer to her again. No desire to be sexual there. "You understood me then. Why not now?"

"I really loved you when I was a girl," Sakura whispers, feeling her heart break. "I loved you, I really did. Even when I knew you didn't have any desire for a sexual partner or relationship. Even after knowing that…I thought I would one day be the exception." She swallows down the hurt. "I thought I would get to be to you what you were to me. I hated being your sister then."

Sasuke's anger melts into hurt as he watches her bleed from an emotional wound he couldn't help but creature by virtue of his being. "Yeah, I knew. But…I still wanted you beside me. I loved-love you."

Sakura grabs his hand and turns it over before kissing the palm. "But not as a woman."

Sasuke's eyes are pained. "As a person. Is that not enough?"

"Not anymore."

Sasuke's eyes turn angry as he glares at the sheets between them.

They leave angry, but in the morning they are back to the ghost of their old selves. Neither one brings up the talk and work goes on. It's weeks later, when they are both undercover and he has her pressed up against a wall, that he whispers into her neck.

"I…if it was you…If I tried it with you, would you stay?"

She doesn't answer, but pretends to reach a high place behind a dumpster and the next week their wedding invitations go out.

She doesn't give him an answer, and when Itachi invites her over for dinner, she doesn't give an excuse, just declines the invitation, knowing she's hurting both brothers in different ways. Itachi watched her the way she wished Sasuke would. Sasuke would never look at her like that, Sasuke would never look at anyone like that, and his offer to try was a dagger in her gut that twisted her guilt to unbearable levels.

After the wedding, they would be assigned new partners. In the future they would work together again, but she said it was better they had at least ten months apart. Kakashi would take Sasuke, and Sakura was still unsure of who would mentor her. One of Shisui's uncles was going to be free soon after coming off medical leave. It would be good for him to take it easy for a while.

The days go past. From two weeks to one, from seven days to two, the wedding draws closer and the gap between the two of them yawns wider. One night Sakura thinks she will snap in the gap of it and hails a taxi to the Uchiha manor. Mikoto greets her at the back door in a sleeping robe, looking worried.

"I just need to talk to Sasuke about something," Sakura admits with a forced smile.

Mikoto is a gem for pretending not to notice Sakura's red eyes. But she loves Sakura like a daughter, so she pulls her close and kisses her before running up stairs to wake Sasuke and drag him down. Sakura has no doubt in her mind the rest of the house wakes up to listen in on their gossip.

Sasuke comes out and he's kind enough to wear a shirt even though Sakura knows he doesn't sleep in one.

"I need to apologize first," Sakura says before Sasuke can say anything. "I was hurt and I hurt you. It was even intentional. I'm sorry."

"Hn, I guess I was wrong too. I wasn't stupid. I didn't take your feelings into account."

Sakura swallows and nods before going on. "I don't want you to change, Sasuke. I know what you are and what your nature is, and that's not something I want you to fight. You're perfect the way you are even if that means we will never work out."

Sasuke shifts and looks like he wants to rebuke her claim, but she steamrolls on.

"I can't keep pretending I'm not who I am either. I love you Sasuke but not in the same way as you loved me. I've accepted you don't return my feelings, but I need space and I need you to understand why. I can't be your sister anymore, that's too painful a thing for me. I'll always care for you, I've known you too well not to, but it will be a while before we can go back to a place of peace. I can't be your sister, but I can be your friend."

Sasuke finally nods, and stares down at the ground. "Is this how Naruto felt, too?"

Sakura rolls her shoulders. "I don't know, maybe you should ask him about it some time. But we're getting married, so I thought it best to clear the air before you see me in white."

Something about her tone makes him perk up. There is an under layer of playfulness there and it's enough to convince him everything will be alright. It will hurt, and the healing will be long, but they will get through it.

Sasuke goes back inside and in the hallway to his room he notices Itachi's door left open. Itachi is at the window, watching Sakura walk away, one hand on the glass, eyes straining with the wish that she would turn around and look back, maybe notice him. But she's gone without so much as a backwards glance.

"She didn't cry," Sasuke offers, knowing his brother is in pain.

Itachi's hand drops from the glass and it is a still moment before he finally speaks. "I think I'll always hate you a little bit for this," Itachi whispers, too soft for Sasuke to hear the envy he knows is there. On other nights it was things like 'why couldn't it have been me' or 'why did it have to be you' that makes Sasuke so keen to the tone of voice his older brother uses when it comes to the one thing he was selfish enough to want for his own.

Sasuke nods. "Yeah, mee too."

Sakura knows they can't stop her for drinking on her wedding day, especially not when the sting went so well. It's hard not to when she can still taste Sasuke on her lips. The sealed their make believe vows with a kiss and it meant everything to her and nothing to him.

Sakura watches them haul away one of her dealers, grateful this part of her job is done. The reception hall is empty again and she knows most of the force has left. She's off, and too many people know she needs space after such an emotional ordeal.

It didn't help matters that Sakura woke up in the morning and let herself pretend Sasuke really was getting married to her. She felt so good about it, she let herself believe the lie and did a fantastic job hiding the pain as the whole dream came crashing down around her.

She took another drink and the miniature bottle of marshmallow flavored vodka joined the other bottles. Anything more than one wasn't a god idea. She just chuckled number three.

"I don't know what's wrong with that boy. If I had been so lucky I would have torn apart the world for the privilege to stand next to you like that."

Sakura stills at the sound of the voice. Her blood runs cold and she prays to god she's drunk and out of her mind. She refuses to turn as the footsteps draw closer. Madara circles her, having come from behind, to stop in front of her and cup her chin with his index finger.

"Damn, you're a sight. Much better without the wig if you ask me."

"Madara." Sakura winces at the sound of her own voice. "I'm sloshed. This isn't right."

She curses, shutting her eyes and praying he's not there when she opens them again. She has no way to fight him off, and even if she wasn't lessened by the alcohol, he's still Madara freaking Uchiha. No few men could even think about taking him head on.

"Yeah, I might be like a dream, but this is real, love."

He pinches her cheek and she nearly turns to bite his finger off before she knows what she's doing. He lets her, chuckling when she clamps down on his flesh. It's a habit from long ago when she was still a little girl and he was still the person who called her 'favorite.'

"Go ahead, you're the only one I'll let bite me like this, you know. Take all you need from me, I'm yours."

Her head swims. Where is her gun? "Damn it, who is this? I don't remember you being such a pervert."

"You weren't legal back then, remember?"

His hand reaches down and pushes up her skirt to catch the elastic of the frilly garter that was meant to be a highlight of her wedding. She dreamed about it once, Sasuke touching her bare thigh for a day such as this. She wanted it to be real, but it was just a act. The band plays "I fought the law and the law won," and the spell is broken.

Sakura feels her leg go up as Madara drags the frilly white thing down and off her ankle. "Mind if I keep this?"

Sakura doesn't respond, but closes her eyes. "What do you want? I've not seen you in two years. You're not the person I thought you were."

When she opens her eyes she thinks she sees real hurt there for a moment, but it's Madara Uchiha, so she waits for it to pass before his words make it to her ears. "I've always tried to be honest with myself, but I can't say I've been a unwavering source of virtue all my life." He swallows, rolling the garter around in his hand. "I wanted to see you. I thought I finally could when I heard about you and Sasuke getting married."

Sakura wants to bear her teeth and sink them into his throat at the way his words mock her pain. "Didn't happen, idiot. You know what a sting is, don't you?"

"You made a convincing bride. I had fantasies of my own when I saw you coming down the isle." His grin is mean. "But I knew you were fantasizing too. No one looks that hurt to do such a good job."

"Mock my pain, you know better than others what I was thinking."

She reaches for a fourth bottle, barely bigger than her fist but Madara pulls it away and puts himself between her knees, holding the glass high overhead.

"He's not worth your pain. I knew that when you first told me you loved him in middle school. I also knew this day would come when you would reach the end of your love for him. You have nowhere else to go, but one day it will be fine because you'll know how to joke about giving him boners at work or some other random shit kids do."

She wanted to scream at him to shut up, she wanted to snap her jaws down on his neck and break the veins in his body with her teeth. She hated him for his words, hated him for how he hurt her. But all the anger bubbled up and then she remembered paper flowers and a time before she knew how to hurt in such a way. She remembered words like 'favorite' and promises like, 'forever.'

The anger fell from her in a mess and she slumped, hands in her lap. "What are you really doing here? You haven't been seen in two years."

"I got jealous."

She shook her head, brushing aside his confession. "Your family is worried."

"What about you?"

"I'm not an Uchiha."

He sniffs. "Thank god. You're the only one I cared about. The rest are all posers and fakes and dicks. I came back because I wasn't going to let you get married. I mean, I know it's all a scam now, but I got a little scared there when I thought the ice cube might have finally melted for my sun." His voice is a growl, deep in his throat. "My saving light. I was so afraid he actually took you from me. I had to come in person."

Sakura finds herself grinning too easily. "That's not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

"It's the truth that matters to me. I'm an evil man and I do evil things, so yes, I'm in town on business, but I'm here, right here, right now, for no reason other than you. Don't tell me you don't what a shoulder to cry on or a chest to beat."

"I really just feel like punching you in the jaw right now."

"Enjoy. Even your pain is pleasure."

She scoffs. "I don't remember you being such a pervert."

Madara chuckles and his face looks like it was made to sin. "It's amazingly freeing to interact with you now that you're not jailbait anymore. I thought I was going to die. I swear Itachi knew, that kid is a shark when it comes to you. He still pining away in his tower like a turtledove?"

"Madara, you're making my head a mess. Tell me what you want and go away. Can't you see I'm moping. I want to wallow a bit more before I go back to being an amazing cop that's trusted to put you behind bars."

He leers and Sakura stumbled back onto her hands. She siting on the edge of a table and he's tall, towering over her. "Don't worry, I'm good in handcuffs whenever you're ready."

Sakura remembers herself and reaches down into her dress on the other side where her pistol had been hidden earlier. She levels it with practiced ease. "I'm not someone you can take advantage of."

His eyes shine from the end of her gun's point, like he's almost proud of her. She has him at gunpoint and he's grinning like mad. He brings the garter from her thigh to his lips and kisses it. "You'll relearn this all over, but I'm not like those two brothers. I'm not like any Uchiha every before or after, actually. You'll remember that in time.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." There are noises in the back room and he's still watching her like she's the damn moon in his night sky. "You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney one will be provided for you."

One of Sakura's old dealers crashes through a wall and run for an opposite exit. Sakura swings her gun to the side and nails him in the knees, taking him down from her spot on the table before she even knows what she is doing. She hops off and balances herself, forgetting she ever took a sip of anything. Her aim is too sharp as she advances on the criminal just in time to see Kakashi and Yamato slip in, guns drawn.

When Sakura turns around, Madara is gone, but Sakura suspects that's a temporary thing.

There will be more of Madara Uchiha in the future. She feels a heat on her thigh where his fingers had just been, minutes earlier, pulling down the white elastic with careful ease. Yes, there will indeed be more of Madara Uchiha in the not so distant future.