Shikamaru stared at the ceiling.
Iruka shifted minutely.
A breeze wafted through the window, only to die a moment later out of self-preservation.
Neither Kakashi or Madara blinked.
" - Don't understand what he could possibly need us for...I need you to wait out here -" Madara and Kakashi both looked at the door. Iruka looked profoundly relieved and Shikamaru sank down further in his chair with an inaudible mumble. Madara shot him an unreadable look. Shikamaru twitched. The door burst open and Sakura strode through.
" - it's not as though I actually have another...job…" She trailed off, staring as Madara and Kakashi before focused their attention on her. Kakashi, privately, took a moment to enjoy the stunned look on her face. Very rarely could anything surprise Sakura anymore, especially into silence, so Kakashi felt justified in getting his kicks where he could.
His little student had grown up so much.
Madara's eyes narrowed as he studied the girl in front of him. She was young, with vivid green eyes and pink hair. Her bearing, despite her obviously being thrown off by his presence, was confident and self-assured. He vaguely remembered her from before his death, however their encounter had been brief and he'd been a bit distracted by other happenings.
Sakura, for her part, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and turned so she was facing Kakashi directly.
"No. Absolutely not." Despite her words, her voice was resigned, like she already knew she'd lost whatever fight was brewing.
"Don't be like that, Sakura. I've assigned Tenzo to the district to help you," Kakashi said. "And Naruto will be there." Sakura did not look comforted.
"I'll defect to Suna," Sakura said half-heartedly. Madara's eyebrows climbed up his forehead. Those were bold words.
"No you won't," Kakashi said cheerfully. "Gaara will punt you back here so he doesn't have to deal with this. You know at the very least Obito and Sasuke will follow you and they can cause international incidents by breathing. He's not going to want that headache."
"I don't want that headache," Sakura muttered under her breath.
"I pay you to have that headache."
Madara, sick of being talked around as though he wasn't there, cleared his throat pointedly. Every eye in the room snapped back to him. The tan chunin in the corner looked vaguely guilty, even though he hadn't said anything. The other chunin, clearly a Nara, looked as though he would rather be anywhere else in the world, but considering his expression hadn't changed since Madara had entered the room, Madara didn't bother trying to parse anything from that. What he could see of Kakashi's face was bland. Sakura just narrowed her eyes at him.
"Sakura will take you to where you're staying," Kakashi told him. "The Uchiha district is being rebuilt as needed and I'm sure your presence will be a great help."
The Nara choked. Sakura snarled at the hokage but turned to Madara with the bare minimum of a polite smile.
"Please follow me, Uchiha-san." She turned and strode back out the door. Kakashi took this opportunity to begin flipping through the papers on his desk. Both chunin looked vaguely long-suffering. Madara, still determined to be as silent as possible, turned and followed Sakura out the door.
He politely pretended to be oblivious to the ANBU following after them.
They stepped out in the large hallway and the door slammed shut behind them. Madara sent it a considering look. The design was the same, though the wood and structure were both clearly new. Madara wondered what had happened to prompt an entire overhaul of the building. He turned back to his new guide, opening his mouth to ask when his attention was diverted by a small child clinging to Sakura's pant leg and staring up at him with wide eyes.
"...N-Ninigi?"
The little boy (His little brother, Madara thought hysterically, he would know that face anywhere) ducked closer to Sakura, hiding his face shyly in her leg. Sakura had gone still, her hand resting lightly on the boy's head, as she watched Madara.
Madara, for his part, ignored her and crouched down carefully so he was at Ninigi's height. This could be a trick, a distant part of his mind told him, but if it was, it was very effective.
"He was found next to you," Sakura said, keeping her voice low and soothing as to not startle the little boy. "We didn't know who he was."
"He is my little brother," Madara murmured. Ninigi was peeking out at him now. "Ninigi, do you remember me? It's Madara."
"You don't look like him," Ninigi said dubiously. Sakura smothered a small smile. Madara flushed a bit.
"No, I suppose I don't," he admitted. "I've grown my hair a bit since you...since we last saw each other." Ninigi was studying him carefully. Madara waited patiently and was rewarded when he finally took a small step away from Sakura and towards him. He took another step, then another until finally he was right in front of Madara.
"Are you really Madara?" He asked. Madara, suddenly unable to speak, nodded.
"That's really him, Ninigi-chan," Sakura said gently. Ninigi carefully wrapped his arms around Madara's neck, who promptly swept him up into a bone-crushing hug.
So sorry for the five month delay, but here's the next chapter!
So we know Madara has siblings and pretty much most (all) of them are dead, so my sister, Stormwind13, is letting me use her OCs for this story. I highly recommend you check out her works. They, unlike this one, have actual plot and in-depth worldbuilding and actual development. I would also recommend you subscribe since I know she's got some awesome stuff in the works.
The story title will be changed with the next update to 'Sakura's Home for Wayward Uchiha'.
Be on the lookout!
