Capitulum IX – She was my wife once, after all.

The enemy had once again found its way onto his estate.

It was weird, knowing she was around. Knowing he would be faced with her again in a few minutes. Sasuke still hadn't decided on what exactly her role in all of this would be. He might lock her up in one of his prison cells and wait for this to blow over. Or he might use her as a field agent and send her on the more dangerous missions; God knows she could handle it. But one thing he did resolve upon: She would stay with him. No more escaping, no more running away. She had far too much valuable intel on him, and they needed it to bring him down.

Madara Uchiha. Sasuke still couldn't grasp the idea that man was alive. But it seemed Sakura was telling the truth after all.

He had never planned on rescuing her. Actually he was hell bent on leaving her to her fate, whatever it was going to be. When he had slipped her that tiny bugging device in the airport lounge, it was only in hopes of listening in on her conversation with her mysterious contractor and maybe figure out a thing or two about him. However, when he had picked up who was on the other end of that line his mind had changed. Little did he know he would actually hear his great-grandfather's voice. Hear him confess to the murder of his family.

The Uchiha massacre might just be my magnum opus.

Sasuke heard everything; from the pilot informing Sakura of their emergency landing, her fight with Madara to her torture at Zetsu's hands. But this one sentence was the one that left him shaking. He had almost thrown his laptop against the wall that moment, he was so unfathomably furious. It had taken every ounce of self-control he had to keep listening.

Oddly enough, he had a similar feeling whilst listening to Zetsu tormenting his ex-wife. Sasuke knew she wouldn't have been let off easily, he expected a bit of pain to be involved. But he also genuinely believed he would have enjoyed it. He wanted her to be punished for what she did to him for a very long time now and he always came up with sadistic ideas he thought would satisfy his need for vengeance. But when the moment came and Sasuke knew she was enduring unimaginable pain, it didn't feel like justice. It felt like something remotely akin to… empathy, he guessed. Sasuke really didn't expect his reaction to hearing her nerve-splitting screams. They actually moved him. Not enough to feel the need to rescue her then and there, but enough to make him want to take off his headphones and skip that part.

But just like he had to listen to Madara's sickening words, he had to force himself to listen to Zetsu's as well. Because as soon as Sasuke had realised the man who was after him really was Uchiha Madara, he had suddenly decided he needed Sakura after all. He had waited for Zetsu to give him a hint as to where they might be located and sent a squad to rescue her.

And now here she was again, in his office, waiting for him.

Sasuke came to a halt in front of the golden doors. He gazed at the fire breathing dragons entangled in each other, seemingly meandering on the surface of the doors and encircling the Uchiha crest in the middle. How funny, he mused, looking at a symbol that used to grace some of my ex-wife's clothes. Sasuke took a deep breath and opened the doors to enter his office.

She was facing the terrace, gazing out into the night when she heard his steps and turned to him. She didn't dare speak, he was so commanding she decided to let him have the first word.

"Sakura."

No matter how cold and emotionless he seemed to pronounce her name, to her, it was always like a caress. It was a habit of his, she realised. Back when they were still husband and wife, her name had always been the first thing he had said when saw her.

Sasuke broke his eye contact, walked over to the bar and poured two glasses of vodka. He made his way to the couch in the middle of his office and sat down silently, placing her glass on the table opposite his own. After she hesitantly took a seat as well, she eyed the drink with a raised eyebrow and remarked, "You do know I'm taking a shitload of pills at the moment and am not allowed to drink any alcohol." Leaning back and taking a sip, he looked at her with an apathetic expression. "When has that ever stopped you?" Sasuke observed her delicate fingers circle the glass in front of her and bring it to her lips. His eyes lingered on them for another second, when he caught a glimpse of her tongue catching a drop of vodka. He took another generous gulp himself, before he raised his voice.

"You're going to work for me from now on. You will be allowed to live on my compound, but you will not be allowed to leave it. Anything you want to do must be signed off on by me. If you want to go anywhere, you wait for my approval. If you want to have anything, you wait for my approval. Also, I had all your assets frozen, so there's no buying your way out of this, you have no more money. You will be assigned your own security detail that will trail you 24/7, so don't even think about pulling any shit. You will provide us with everything you know about Uchiha Madara and you will help us bring him down. If you do not cooperate, or if you do anything that raises my suspicion even in the slightest, I will end you. Am I understood?"

Sasuke looked at the battered face of his ex-wife with ice-cold eyes. He could see her walls were up as well. She learned a trick or two from him during their marriage, he realised. She got better at masking her feelings and expressions, yet he could still read her like an open book. She was my wife once, after all.

Her thoughtful gaze fell on the glass in her hands and her right index finger was tapping against it. Sasuke had to suppress a smirk when he realised he still had the ability to make her nervous. His eyes met hers again when he heard Sakura's voice. "Agreed. On one condition."

"No conditions, this is nonnegotiable, Sakura." His voice turned angry and his eyes grew darker. How dare she. She had absolutely no right to negotiate anything. It would either be his way, or no way at all.

Sakura put down the glass on the table between them and leaned forward. The rage he could see in her eyes matched his own.

"One condition. You allow me to buy my own clothes. It's none of my business why you had a random jeans and shirt lying around somewhere that just so happen to fit me perfectly. But if I'm going to stay here, I sure as hell won't wear dirty old clothes that were left behind by your whores."

So that's what she wants, Sasuke deduced, oh this is golden. He leaned forward as well and looked into her rage-filled eyes with an aloof expression. Their faces were mere centimetres apart. He couldn't help but let a subtle grin spread across his lips. "Why, Sakura, are you jealous?", he whispered. Sasuke could feel his opposite grow even angrier. She flared her nose and stared daggers at him with close-knit eyebrows. "This is degrading and you're only doing this embarrass me." – "Now, why would I do that?" Sasuke tilted his head slightly and looked at her with an arched brow. He could hear the sound of her fingernails digging into the leather of the couch.

He was just about to add something else, when her expression suddenly cleared and she leaned back with a self-satisfied smirk. "Fine", she replied, "I guess I'll just have to live with it then." Sasuke suspiciously eyed the suddenly cocky woman in front of him. Seems like she's up to something, he mused, but whatever it is, she knows she must be careful around here, so it probably won't be anything dramatic.

Sasuke downed the last bit of vodka and stood up. Turning his back to her and strutting over to his desk, he announced with a cold voice, "Kakashi will drop by with some paperwork later on, just the usual formalities, contracts and such. I'm sure you still know how to use a pen. We're done here, you can see yourself out."

The last thing he heard was a disdainful snort before Sakura slammed his doors shut. "Seems like I've just released the Kraken.", Sasuke muttered with a grin.

God have mercy on us all.