AN: Thanks for all the love and reviews, even you silent lurkers, it makes me very happy! Anyways, can anyone see where any of this is going? I hope it's not too obvious but I don't know. I'm just kind of writing what is coming to mind and that's it. I think that I figured out how I want Madara and Ino, so I feel more confident writing about them. I hope you enjoy with chapter as well! Happy reading!

Rating: M for Language, Violence and Sexual Themes.

Legend: Italics are for flashbacks.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, the manga would be making more sense right now.

Chapter Four: A Plan

He had to say that he was rather pleased with how fast she had arrived here. He studied her briefly, his eyes scanning over her form. Her knees were trembling slightly and she used the doorway as a prop to keep her body standing. He could easily tell that she had consumed a large quantity of alcohol, even if he hadn't spied on her. Her face was flush from intoxication and probably from anger. Instead of her usual Shinobi garb, she opted towards casual civilian clothing, though he had no doubt that she was armed with hidden weaponry. There was fire deep within her eyes and he knew that he should remain on his best behavior, but the thought of provoking her was tempting him.

"I would not call it stalking rather observing from a distance," he replied in nonchalance.

"Do you honestly think that's a good enough response?" She snarled out slowly creeping closer to him. "You are so...distracting." She knew better than to try to attack him even though it would satisfy her but she was currently not in the proper state to engage with him. "Why?"

"You say I know nothing about you, since we will be spending some time together, why not learn more about you?" He stated while carefully lifting an eyebrow.

"There are better ways than what you're doing," she replied with a mild scold in her tone. "It is an invasion of my privacy," she seethed, eyes narrowing.

"Says the wench that freely dives into the inner depths of people's minds, regardless if she has their consent or not." He responded with a bite in his tone.

"That's completely different, what you are doing is disturbing," she said with a scrunch of her nose.

"But it seems to be, how did you word it again?" He paused as if thinking back. "Oh yes, ruffling your feathers."

Her eyes narrowed and she nearly lunged at him ready to choke the life out of him. Taking in a deep breath, she willed herself to find a calm reserve in her mind, if she even had one at this point. "Well then congratulations, I do hope you were entertained."

"Indeed I was," he purred out in response. "Your life is far more entertaining than mine. What is this protocol that Hashirama's granddaughter has issued amongst some of the Kunoichi?" He smiled cruelly as she watched him stiffen.

"I believe that is none if your business."

"But you are wrong, what is mine is yours and vice versa. I am under your care from now on." He propped his leg up, resting his arm upon the appendage. "We will be seeing more of one another quite soon."

"What?" She breathed out bit really comprehending what he was aiming at.

"Have you not been informed?"

"Obviously I haven't," she growled out ready to leave. Pivoting on the balls of her feet, she came face to face with Ibiki and Tsunade, each wearing an expressionless mask. "What's he talking about?"

"It is understood that given duties that come with your status, we feel it is hindering any further progress on the Uchiha captive," Ibiki stated.

"I come at least three times a week," she stated haughtily.

"We feel that there should be a twenty-four hour surveillance on the captive, therefore we are assigning him under your care outside of the prison."

"You can't be serious," she deadpanned glancing at her two superiors. Her eyes landed on Tsunade trying to reason with older woman. "What about our conversation earlier? What about when people recognize him, surely there is a better way."

"Ibiki and I understand the circumstances are unfavorable but we have come up with a temporary solution."

Ino stood there mouth agape as she was trying to comprehend what was happening. It was all too sudden. This was a joke. This had to be a dream, another nightmare. Her stomach rolled as she reached out for the frame of the door. Her breathing became labored and head spun. This had to be one sick joke. There was no way Tsunade or Ibiki could allow this, not after the conversation they had had today. Not after all she had done to her already. Gulping down the saliva that had built up in her mouth, she tried to remain calm.

"Ino, I know that we are asking a lot of you but once you conclude what is happening then you will finish the mission," Tsunade said in a soothing tone.

She looked up at Tsunade, her body trembled and she tried to breathe properly. Her lucid eyes glanced over at Madara, who was watching with great amusement. That son of a bitch.

"Ino, are you alright?"

She looked back over at Ibiki, who suddenly had a twin. Bile was slowly crawling up her throat and she closed her eyes. "I'm going to pass out," she grumbled out, as she clenched her jaw tightly. It was either to prevent herself from spilling the contents in her stomach in front of them or she was bracing for the fall that was about to happen.

"Ino!"

Her body fell forward as she could sense people rushing to her aid. The last thing she heard was a low rumble of laughter.

Groaning, she tried to block the sun that decided to wake her up, her hand reached up to her face, trying to remain in the darkness for as long as possible. She should have had Shikamaru there to monitor her drinking, then she wouldn't feel like there were a thousand needles poking her head. Damnit, she really knew better than to drink that much. Her mind was hazy from the events that took place after she had left the bar. That dream she had had was enough to make her want to stay in bed all day. Opening bleary eyes, she winced at the streams of sun that landed directly on her face. Rolling over with a long stretch and groan, she looked to glance at the clock only to see a face that she hadn't expected.

An involuntary yelp of surprise left her as she flailed beneath her covers, resulting in her falling off the other side of her bed. Moaning in pain, she gathered her senses before lifting up her body, peering over the top of her bed. He was still there, which meant that last night's events weren't a dream.

"Why are you in my room," she croaked out, voice hoarse.

"That is not a proper greeting for the morning," he called out in response, a playful tone in his voice.

He sat in a chair in the corner of her room, arms crossed over his chest and one leg propped up on his other knee. His dark eyes stared down at her in superiority, like she was beneath him. This was certainly not how she wanted to wake up. A frown touched his lips and he let out a gentle sigh. "I am unable to leave your side for the time being."

Ino let out a groan as she deflated to the floor once more, laying on the hardwood floor. "Why me," she groaned out.

He had been sitting in his room, waiting for his usual visit from the Yamanaka. That girl, had found a way to cause him unease. He would never admit it aloud but he found her spirit entertaining. That fire in her eyes, he wanted to be the one who killed it. It was something that he made a personal goal of his. They had been at odds with one another since the day that they had met and she offered him something that would keep him occupied. She was entertaining. She was a challenge. He had never met a woman how readily faced him and it enthralled him. It caused him to have something to look forward to. He hadn't felt such elation since the times that he and Hashirama fought, when War meant everything and nothing to them.

Slowly he had become tired of waiting for the next chance to play games with the young blonde. He had been sitting here in this insufferable place for who knows how longs and he was growing impatient. Resting his back against one of the walls of his room, he crossed his legs and slowly began to relax, expanding his chakra slowly from the cell and further. He felt it was time to play around with that wicked woman.

He was limited to many of his previous capabilities, he still had access a few of his chakra reserves but many had been sealed off. It was rather frustrating to feel less than he had at his prime but for now it would suffice. So he continued to search for his target, the village had grown significantly since he had last been within its walls. Seconds ticked into minutes, before he reached a familiar chakra signature. Manifesting a part of him in her house, he observed her quietly. Fortunately, the Kunoichi had caught on quickly, her body turning after the first initial feeling of a foreign presence. Madara found it difficult to maintain stability like this, seeing how he was using a lot of energy, simply to watch her.

He wanted more information on her. She could easily find a weakness of his and yet he was left without any kind of leverage. He wanted to thoroughly break her down, in the cruelest way possible. He watched as she studied her home, he could feel her own chakra seeping out in search of his. He pulled back his presence, to better hide himself. When she backed down, he continued to follow behind her, watching her every move. She was suspicious yet she had no clue who it could be. He grinned to himself, how long would it take?

He found it interesting that the former Kyuubi container had come to her house, at such an hour. Perhaps it was to hide the fact that they were in a relationship. He would greedily take in that information if it held true, but no sooner than she had handed the other blonde a cup, did he realize that there were no romantic feelings involved. He watched on with little interest, deciding to look around her home. He found little things that he could use to his advantage. She had pictures hanging on the wall of her former team and of her relatives. From what he knew, she was alone in the house, which meant she had no family members that he could use.

How disappointing.

Once the male had left her house, she choose to look around her home once more. It seemed that his presence was greatly bothering her. Her paranoia was entertaining and the fact that he was causing it was very pleasing. He took a few moments to rest briefly, feeling his chakra waver from extensive use. After a few moments, he continued to follow after the woman, watching what she tended to when she was not pestering him for trivial answers. Her normal life was rather boring but it kept him interested. He had not seen the outside world for sometime and viewing what the village had become caused a small sense of pride within him. True, he had defected long ago but he had helped create the village she now served under.

When she went to the Hokage's Tower, he listened in on the conversation and grinned slightly. So they still wanted to keep him around, he wondered what the Council had in store for him. The fact that the Yamanaka girl was vehemently against him was pleasing as well. Their game would continue and he wondered who would be the victor. Of course, he knew that he would not fail such a task, he was far more cunning than she. She couldn't even pinpoint where her paranoia was stemming from He had to remind himself that she was still a babe compared to him even if she put up a considerable fight.

The conversation went into another territory that piqued his interest. So, they were forming a plan to repopulate the number of future Shinobi. It was something that the younger blonde seemed to disagree with and he had found a tool that he could use to torture her. She would have to throw her life away under the orders of the Hokage. Hell, she could even begin to loathe the village should he give her leads to any of the village secrets. He grinned as a plan was beginning to form in his mind. It would be fool proof and he would obtain his goal. He almost felt sorry for the woman, she would never see this coming.

He ended his tracking of the Yamanaka, feeling his body grow tired. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a heavy breathe. Now, if only he could escape this room then he could go about making that woman's life miserable. His eyes flickered over to the door as he sensed someone coming close. The chakra was strong and steady, unlike those who had come to give him food. As the door opened, Hashirama's granddaughter entered and he raised a brow. She had never come to visit before and he was sure that she would have something interesting to say.

"Madara," she stated slowly.

"Tsunade, was it," he questioned though he already knew the answer.

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she stayed close to the door, wary of him. He grinned slightly watching the woman. "Come now, your subordinate shows more bravery than you. Are you frightened by me?"

This seemed to push her buttons as she lifted her chin and squared her shoulders. "I will not deal with your mind games. I am hear to speak with you and that is all," Tsunade bit out, clenching her jaw slightly.

"I apologize if I have offended you," he said though the grin he wore spoke otherwise. "Tell me what do need of me?"

"As you know, you are under interrogation," Tsunade started off slowly. "Should we find any inkling of contingency, we will not hesitate to put you out of commission."

"You are not telling me anything new, Tsunade," he said in a bored tone. "Why are you keeping me alive?"

"This village that you founded with my grandfather, is in need." Tsunade said in a low tone. "Thanks to you, we have lost many Shinobi and knowledge. We...I ask of you as the Fifth Hokage to lend your talents and knowledge to help bring Konoha back to it's former self."

He mulled over the facts for a few moments, dark eyes watching the woman before him. He could see that she was not trying to hide anything from him and he wondered why she was being so subdued towards him. "What do I gain by accepting your offer?"

Hazel eyes looked up at him, searching him briefly. Taking in a deep sigh, he could tell that she was beginning to regret whatever she was about to say. "If you accept this offer and complete the tasks that are given to you," she said while her hands curled into shaking fists. A knowing grin came to his face and he waited for the words that he longed to hear. "I will grant you, your freedom."

There was silence until a small chuckle left him.

"I accept your proposal."

Of course, the agreement came with restrictions and that was how he found himself bound to the quibbling child on the floor. He watched as she laid in silent despair on the floor, as if that would make anything better. He frowned at her antics but he could understand why she felt this way. It was obvious that she had a strong distaste for him but that only caused him joy. He would enjoy watching her suffer, while he awaited his promised freedom. All he had to do was be on his best behavior and then everything would fall into place.

He was going to chide her for being childish, but she made a move to stand up. She glanced over at him, a frown on her face but she made not a single comment to him. She placed her covers back in its proper place on her bed, smoothing out the wrinkles and fluffing the pillows accordingly. It seemed that she was coming to terms with what had been placed upon her shoulders. She finished making her bed before heading to the bathroom. She walked in there briefly before poking her head out the door, giving him a lethal glare.

He scoffed slightly, annoyance written on his face. "You are not hiding anything I have yet to see," he quipped.

Her face turned a slight shade of pink with anger and she slammed the door shut behind her. The sound of water running told him that she was preparing for the day, he lazily glanced at the clock. Despite the state she had been in last night, she had woken up fairly early. He sat there in idle boredom, wondering if playing around with her would be worth it, however he could feel her chakra come out from the bathroom, searching for his location and snaking around his ankle. There was the warning that he had been expecting and he chuckled to himself. He was not some pubescent child who lusted after the thought of seeing a woman nude. It seemed that she really didn't trust him. Which was good for her, should she ever trust him in the slightest, it would spell out her misfortune.

The water ceased and after a while, she came out of the bathroom in a mere towel, barely able to cover her long stature. He raised a brow at her boldness and she grinned in return. "What's the point in hiding, if you have already seen everything," she asked haughtily.

"Have you no modesty," he snarled out, glancing away. He crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes closing and brows knitting forward in annoyance. "Women should not parade around baring themselves to men, it is...unattractive."

The laugh that left her only caused more annoyance to build up within him. "Have you always been a protector of a woman's body? You should know that as a Kunoichi, a woman's body is her most powerful weapon." He could hear her shuffling around with fabric. "Besides, I am not trying to impress anyone and I am certainly not trying to impress you," she snorted out.

He dared to open his eyes to see her standing before him, halfway dressed, hands on her hips. Blue eyes looked down at him with a challenge in her eyes and her chin was tilted upwards. A smirk was well placed on her face, she looked like a feline who had its prey trapped in the corner. She took a hand, moving it from her shoulders down, displaying herself to him. "This is what you're going to have to deal with from now on. I don't care who you are, male or female, I take great pride in my body and I willingly flaunt my assets. If it bothers you so much, then feel free to leave the room when I choose to shower."

The grin on her face was irritating. She was showing that she would not be the only one suffering due to the new circumstances. A frown touched his face and he knew that she was challenging him and he was not one to back down. His eyes glanced over her presented form, he was sure that she would become uncomfortable but she made no movement to cover herself. "If this is how things are going to be then as a man, I do not see a problem."

That predatory grin widened on her face and her eyes lit up in humor. "Then there is no issue," she quipped pivoting and going back to getting dressed. Once she was finished, she looked at him before she frowned. "I suppose that you should shower as well." She walked into the bathroom before coming out with a towel.

He looked out at the femininely colored towel with distaste and she grinned once more. "You honestly expect me to use that?"

"Beggars can't be choosey, besides you reek," she said while scrunching up her nose.

"Wench," he grumbled out, standing up and snatching the towel from her hands.

"I'll go see if I have any clothes that could fit you," she called out leaving her room, before coming back in. "Oh and don't try to escape, if you want your freedom," she paused as he looked over at her in it surprise. "It would be in your best interest to do as I say," she said with a low threat before leaving him.

He watched the tip of her ponytail trail behind her as she left and he frowned. How had she known of the deal that Hashirama's granddaughter had given him? From their last encounter, her words replayed in his mind. So she knew everything about him, huh? With another frown, he went to take a shower.

"Why is he here, again?"

Ino looked up at Shikamaru, who was standing in front of her desk. She set down the reports she was looking over, letting out a sigh. "You should already know the details of it, Shikamaru," she said in an exhausted tone. She rubbed her head, it was tingling in pain still and she wondered if she should soothe the increasing headache somehow.

Her teammate glanced over at the chaise that Madara was sitting on, pretending to be engrossed within one of the many books that Ino had in her office. A frown touched his lips and he looked back over at his blonde teammate. She seemed to be handling things well, ignoring the other while she was doing her work. "I know the situation but I still don't understand why."

"Join the club," she muttered under her breath. Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she looked over at Madara then back at Shikamaru. "Anyways, I can't leave the office today. I have too much to do, maybe lunch another time?"

"If he's going to be there, I'd rather not," Shikamaru complained.

"Just ignore him, that's what I do," she said with a grin, feeling a glare land on the side of her face.

Shikamaru shook his head and he let out a sigh. "Anyways, I'll just have to catch you another time."

"Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

Shikamaru glanced over at Madara, his lips pressing into a thin line. Ino let out a sigh and rubbed her forehead once more. She was still recovering from her dreadful hangover and Shikamaru was being difficult again. "Oh come on, he's harmless."

"Completely," Madara muttered, choosing the wrong time to speak up.

Ino glared at him and he simply smirked before going back to reading. "Fine, I'll talk to you some other time. Now leave, I have things to do," she quipped out in annoyance. Shikamaru happily took the dismissal with little complaint.

Once Shikamaru left, Ino looked over at Madara. He wore an old yukata that had belonged to her father, it was slightly too big but it seemed to suit him. It was a dark blue, with a grey obi tied around his waist, the front was slightly ajar, due to the size of it. He looked rather peaceful without all that armor on. She even dared to say that he looked normal. He had found something to keep him from bothering her, which she was thankful for. Most of her books were gifts ranging from botany to interrogation, he seemed to find one of her botany books interesting.

"You know, you're ruining my social life." She said aloud, while scanning over the files in front of her.

"You have one?" Madara murmured, flipping a page in the book. His dark eyes flickered up, looking at her in humor.

"You're distracting, just leave my friends alone and stay quiet," she growled out, going back to reading her reports.

He let out a grunt of understanding and she resumed her work, not being here for a whole day had really been a bad call on her behalf. Reading over all the reports that had been filed and a few complaints did nothing to ease the pounding of her head. She scribbled across a few documents, signing off on a few approvals for interrogation. Reading over one file, she frowned, gathering her papers and getting up to leave the room. She could feel him follow her after a few moments and she was pleased that he was upholding the conditions that Tsunade had laid out.

How had she found out about the deal? While in the shower that morning, she had thought long and hard about why he was being so compliant with Tsunade's orders. There was only conclusion, Tsunade had made Madara an offer. An offer that he would not let pass by and that offer had to have been his freedom. Of course, she knew that there would be restrictions, ones that she would have to ask the Hokage about later but at the time, she was smitten that she had figured it out. She had learned to be observant and come up with different theories, thanks to Shikamaru and Asuma. She wanted to not only pass on different techniques to her offspring in future, but valuable skills that they would need as a Shinobi.

Arriving at the front desk, she pinned the receptionist with a stern look. "Hey, Hamaguchi, do you have a moment?"

The young man, straightened up looking at the Head of the Department with wide eyes. "U-Uh, yeah. What can I do for you, Miss Yamanaka?"

"I was looking through the papers on my desk and I recall asking for a memo to be sent out immediately, last time I was here. You know, the one that was about the protocol that was going into effect immediately." She said in a light tone, trying her best to not sound angry. When she saw the man nod, she smiled slightly. "Well, here I have a complaint about something that was supposed to be addressed in the memo, so that led me to the conclusion that the memo has not been sent out, correct?"

The receptionist looked at her then to the shadow lurking behind her, he gulped down his increasing fear. "W-Well, Sacchi was supposed to handle all of that, so if she didn't send it out..."

She leaned against the counter, a smile on her lips but it didn't reach her eyes. "I understand that it was Sacchi's duty to make sure the memos were sent but whose responsibility was it to make sure it was actually done?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

A light seemed to appear to go off in the young man's head and Ino nodded. "I will let it slide just this once but I want those memos sent out immediately or else we will be having a different conversation, understood?" She finished with a cold smile and a slight raise of her eyebrow.

"Yes, Miss Yamanaka."

"I'm glad that we had this chat, carry on Hamaguchi."

She turned around glancing over at her shadow, a satisfied smirk on her face. He looked rather unimpressed as they headed back to her office. She brushed off the stares that she was given and ignored the ill emotions that were directed behind her. Heading back to her desk, she put a few things in a filing cabinet.

"You uphold high standards here," Madara murmured choosing to go back to his lounging position on the chaise.

"I have to or else nothing would get done." She sighed out sitting down in her chair. "The mess Ibiki left behind took years to clean up." She began to idly straighten up things on her desk. "Anyways, we'll be stopping by the Archives today so you can lend your knowledge." She nibbled on the cap of her pen before signing off on a few more documents. "Then we'll have another go at interrogation."

"Is it necessary to continue diving into my mind," he questioned, his eyes never leaving the book.

"Of course, it is my duty to make sure that once you are released, you will not attack the village."

"My freedom is already guaranteed," he replied in a low tone. "It should not matter what I do."

There was a chuckle that left her and she shook her head slightly. "We are never truly free," she muttered, her voice barely registering above a whisper. He glanced over at the blonde, she seemed distant at this point, like she wasn't even in the room with him right now, her eyes staring down at the papers before blankly. There was a sadness on her face but it quickly disappeared as soon as it had been shown.

Was she talking about him or herself, as well?

AN: Alright, I'm going to end the chapter here, because it was beginning to drag on in my opinion. I feel like it was a good closing, for now. I hope you enjoyed the interactions between them. As I was writing, I realized that I'm still having a slight difficulty writing Madara. I'm trying to get him more involved without seeming too out of character. He's a difficult one, that Madara. Also, if Kaguya can somehow be resurrected, then Madara can manifest a chakra clone for stalking purposes xD Tsunade….yeah….that's all I can say. Anyways, I hope pretty soon, things will spice up, even further~! I hope you all enjoyed the fourth installment of Within the Bush Clover! Feedback is appreciated! Until next time and thanks for reading! -Tinyraver