Chapter 11 - Crossing Boundaries
Sakura's heart squeezed and a lump formed in her throat. What did Naruto mean by if something was going on between her and Madara?
The pinkette hated to admit that she knew what he meant. She couldn't deny that she felt something every time she was around her Uchiha patient. There was something there but she just didn't know what it was and wasn't sure if she even wanted to know.
"I...I don't know," Sakura said slowly, eyes averted from Naruto's questioning gaze.
The blonde folded his arms and surveyed Sakura from between narrowed eyes.
"You do know he's a criminal right?" Naruto asked tentatively.
"I know that...but he's not what I expected him to be like Naruto…" Sakura raised her eyes to meet Naruto's, brows furrowed slightly with emotion.
"Sakura-chan...you don't...I mean you like him?" Naruto blurted, mouth hanging open a little in shock as the situation dawned on him.
Sakura's eyes widened and her throat tightened. How was she supposed to answer Naruto? How was she supposed to deny something that she felt deep inside? Did she really like him? Or was her mind just playing tricks on her?
When Sakura lowered her head, gaze trained at her feet, Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders, face scrunched with concern.
"You don't like him right? You're kidding right?" Naruto asked as he shook Sakura gently by the shoulders.
"I don't know, I don't know…" Sakura repeated as she shook her head. "I feel something but I don't know what it is…" she whispered, voice trembling slightly with emotion.
Naruto let his hands fall from Sakura's shoulder and let out a sigh.
"Sakura-chan...I can't just stand by and watch you get hurt again...I mean after Sasuke I don't think Madara is the best choice…"
"I know that!" Sakura snapped, green eyes flashing as she glared at her blonde teammate. She hadn't intended to lose her temper but her frustration had just boiled over.
"But if you think he has changed...If you really think so… and if he can prove it... I guess I can come to accept it…" Naruto grinned weakly at Sakura and she punched him lightly in the shoulder.
"Naruto you baka!" she let out a dry sob and Naruto stepped forward, looping his arms around Sakura.
"But if he hurts you… you know I will kill him, right…?" the blonde added, his blue eyes hardening at the thought.
"You...I know you will," Sakura smiled slightly and shook her head. She knew that Naruto would keep his word because he always did. And he always protected his friends.
Naruto grinned and hugged Sakura tighter.
"Hehe I will always support you Sakura-chan, dattebayo!" Then he frowned slightly and stepped back, eyes turning serious and cold.
"I think I need to speak with that bastard though," Naruto muttered underneath his breath and his eyes flashed red for a split second.
Sakura knew there was no use trying to talk Naruto out of whatever he was going to do and so she just sighed lightly.
"Just don't hurt him, okay?"
"I won't but if it happens it won't kill him," Naruto smirked mischievously at Sakura before flashing his signature hundred watt grin at her and she giggled despite herself.
"I'm sure Hinata won't approve either," Sakura smirked teasingly, giggles increasing when Naruto's face reddened.
"S-Sakura-chan you can't do that! Thats not fair!" Naruto whined, pouting slightly and looking rather like a deflated child.
"Whats not fair?" Sakura asked innocently, cocking her head to the side as her eyes danced with mirth.
"Sakura-chan!"
"Just don't do anything Hinata-chan wouldn't approve of," Sakura teased as she waved to the blonde before flash stepping out of the underground building and to her office at the hospital.
Later that evening, Sakura returned to Madara's cell with four ANBU guards in tow. The pinkette quickly ordered them to wait for her outside the cell while she got Madara prepared to leave.
"I brought you some clothes, because that hospital gown is too thin to be worn outside and I would rather not have you catch a cold," Sakura explained as she handed a small stack of folded clothes to Madara.
He eyed the clothes skeptically but upon noticing that they were black decided that they would suffice.
"Hn."
He accepted the clothes from Sakura and without further preamble tugged his hospital gown over his head to reveal his very naked body.
Sakura's cheeks burned and she quickly turned around, clearing her throat in the process.
It wasn't that she wasn't used to seeing male bodies, that was far from it, but it was the fact that he was staring at her while stripping.
When Sakura abruptly spun around Madara smirked wickedly before donning the standard black shinobi pants, and pulling the long sleeved black turtle neck of his head.
"There was no need for you to turn around," Madara drawled lazily, "You are my medic, I would have thought my form in advanced dishabille would not have fazed you."
"I...since you have finished dressing you can put on these," Sakura sputtered, handing the Uchiha a pair of black shinobi sandals, intent on not answering his statement about his unclothed state.
Madara stretched out his hand to take the shoes from Sakura but he let his fingers brush against the back of her hand in the process, dark eyes staring directly into her green ones.
He liked when he made her squirm.
"Hn."
Snatching her hand away from Madara's reach, Sakura reached into her pocket for a special sealed key which was used to unlock Madara's chains from the bed. She unlocked the chains from the bed and re-fettered his ankles and double checked the fetters on his wrists. When she was sure they were secure enough she straightened and nodded at Madara.
"We will be shunshining to a place where the villagers cannot see you...council's orders," She explained and Madara just raised a brow.
"Hn. I would rather not see them either because who knows what I might do," he smirked and Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes.
"Well, follow me Uchiha-san," Sakura ordered as she strode towards the cell door, unlocked it and waited for Madara to follow.
When they both stood outside the cell, Sakura nodded to the ANBU and she grabbed Madara's hand and along with the ANBU, flash stepped outside the cell and towards the Naka Shrine.
Madara's eyes widened slightly when he recognized where Sakura had carried him. It had changed a lot from the last time he'd seen it...which was over seventy years ago, but he was still able to recognize it.
They were in a field just opposite the Naka Shrine. It was a place he'd visited with Izuna a lot during his childhood days.
Madara's heart squeezed painfully and then suddenly a thought occurred to him. Had Sakura known he had been to this place before?
"Medic, did you know that I have been here before?" he asked stoically, eyes narrowed as he watched Sakura carefully.
Sakura nodded to the ANBU and they dispersed, hiding themselves amongst the trees.
"This place is warded and sealed so don't think about trying to escape," she warned then sighed and nodded. "Yes I did know...but not in the way you think I do."
"Hn. Then how?" Madara scowled.
"I...when I was researching ways to help you I came across some of the Uchiha manuscripts...including yours."
Surprise flickered through Madara but he kept his face stoic. But relief swept through him when he realized she hadn't invaded his mind without his permission or anything of the sort. He was beginning to trust her somewhat but he was still extremely wary.
"Hn. I see."
"Are you upset?" Sakura asked as she observed Madara closely. He smirked at her then strode off—as much as being fettered would allow him, and seated himself beneath a tree.
"What is that supposed to mean?" Sakura huffed, standing beside where Madara sat with her arms folded across her chest. He reached up and grabbed her hand, pulling her down beside him.
"Hn."
Sakura let out a tiny gasp, head snapping around to look at Madara.
"What are you doing?" she snapped.
"You are noisy," he said simply before closing his eyes, leaning back against the tree and his hand still closed firmly around Sakura's.
"You're insufferable!" Sakura huffed again but she didn't try to remove her hand from his grasp. When Madara noticed this he opened one eye and smirked at the pinkette.
"Hn, but it pleases you," he said slyly.
"When did I ever say that?" Sakura snapped back indignantly and Madara's smirk widened.
"You didn't. But I can tell."
"You...whatever, just make sure to get in all the sun you can because you're low on vitamin D and all my efforts shall not be wasted," Sakura yanked her hand from Madara's grasp and turned her back to him, reaching into the grass for a small white flower that had caught her eye.
Sakura stiffened when a small chuckle sounded from behind her but she refused to to turn around and look at him because her heart was hammering in her chest and she felt utterly uncomfortable.
'Just focus on the flowers,' Sakura told herself, determined to ignore her Uchiha patient. But she could feel him watching, eyes locked onto her as she twisted the flower stems together. He shifted closer to her and peered over her shoulder, long hair brushing against her arm.
"Your competence seems to be above average," he commented as she watched Sakura's fingers intensely.
Sakura smothered a smile. Was he trying to compliment her? She glanced out of the corner of her eye and noticed that his brows were drawn together in confusion. Then she realized that he didn't know what she was doing but was too proud to ask.
"Ino taught me," Sakura said softly as she proudly held up the ring of flowers she'd made. Madara stared at the flower crown with thinly veiled disgust.
"Hn. You think that is an accomplishment?" he asked, still eyeing the flowers with displeasure.
"Its pretty!" Sakura insisted, rolling her eyes and pouting ever so slightly. She felt rather proud of her flower crown.
"Hn. It's an eyesore."
"What? You little…" Sakura ground out and upon a whim tossed the flower crown atop Madara's head. When his eyes widened and he stiffened Sakura dissolved into giggles. The image of Uchiha Madara with a flower crown on his head was beyond hilarious.
He snatched the flowers from his head and crushed them beneath his fist.
"Hn. I see you acknowledge that I am royal but these puny weeds are not fitting," Madara said stiffly, eyes narrowing when Sakura's laughter increased.
"Gosh you're so pompous," Sakura giggled, wiping the back of her hand across her leaking eyes.
"Hn."
Madara wanted to feel offended that she dared to laugh at him but he couldn't. He could feel anything but her as the soft breeze ruffled her pink hair, a few of the strands brushing against her neck. Her eyes were still sparkling from her bout of laughter and her lips were still wet from where she'd licked them.
Madara raised his hand, giving in to the need to touch her and brushed his thumb across her jawline. She stiffened under his touch, eyes widening, but she didn't seem afraid. Even though she wasn't using the Chakra Scent technique, he could smell her scent. The breeze brushed it across his nostrils and he inhaled deeply. He felt almost intoxicated by her scent. Resting his hand on her shoulder, Madara gently pushed Sakura back against the tree they sat beneath and leaned his body into her. He rested his head in the crook of her neck, nose brushing against her neck as he inhaled her scent. When his lips brushed her skin ever so slightly, Sakura shivered beneath the Uchiha.
"W-What are you doing?" Sakura croaked out, her words felt restricted in the confined of her throat.
For a moment Madara didn't move then he leaned back, dark intense eyes caressing Sakura's face until they trailed upwards to meet her gaze. Tension vibrated between them and Sakura licked her lips nervously again, but the motion seemed to stir something in Madara and his eyes gleamed with a look of such curious, but intimate intensity Sakura tore her gaze away.
Madara leaned in again, this time brushing his lips against her jaw line and then he pressed his lips softly to hers. But before she could react or push him away he withdrew and turned away from her.
Sakura sucked in a deep breath as she struggled to center her mind and get a grip on herself. Her head was spinning and her body tingled from head to toe. Suddenly feeling like she was suffocating, Sakura got to her feet with the intention of going off a little ways to collect herself. But a hand closed around her wrist.
"Stay…" Madara requested, his deep voice unusually subdued.
Sakura was unable to pinpoint why, but before she could stop herself she was agreeing to Madara's request.
"Okay…" she said slowly and sat with her back against the tree, but this time with a visible space between her and Madara.
Madara's eyes narrowed when Sakura agreed to his request.
"Why aren't you afraid of me anymore?" he asked as he watched her intently, as if trying to predict what she would say in response.
Sakura glanced up at Madara then a small smile curved her lips upwards and she turned away again, gaze focused on her hands.
"I realized you were human…" she trailed softly, the breeze brushing her pink hair against her neck. "And despite everything you have done I can tell you had a good heart at some point in your life. I don't trust you and I don't know if I've forgiven you for what you did but...I don't think you are completely bad."
Madara felt the air rush out of his lungs. How long had it been since someone saw something good in him? Hashirama was the only other person who had ever thought he could be redeemed but it seemed as if this pink haired Konoha medic seemed to think he wasn't totally bad.
Madara scowled. She was wrong. He was the worst of the worst and he knew it.
He didn't deserve to be redeemed and he couldn't be. He was positive of that. However he could not ignore the little voice in the back of his head that insisted that if he was totally done for he wouldn't have agreed with Hashirama before he'd died.
He didn't want to think about it. He'd already accepted the dark side and it was too painful to even think about the fact that maybe just maybe he could be saved.
No, he'd already accepted his cursed fate.
"How do you know I won't know I won't kill you?" Madara asked darkly, but Sakura wasn't afraid.
"Because you would have done so already," she answered quietly, this time her gaze was fixed directly into his.
"Hn," Madara scoffed, jaw clenched. "You are foolish and naive…"
"I know...but I can't help the way I feel," Sakura bit her lip and her eyes dulled with tiredness.
Madara's eyes snapped up to Sakura as he searched her face.
Was she lying? Was she trying to lure him into a false sense of trust?
He could tell she wasn't lying though and his heart squeezed at the possibility of her actually liking him. He didn't know when he'd begun to care whether or not she liked him because he didn't care about others but she mattered to him.
"And what is it that you feel?" Madara asked slowly, leaning forward slightly as he watched Sakura intensely.
For a moment Sakura held Madara's gaze as if she was going to answer then she turned away.
"I think it's time for you to head back to the cell."
But she didn't have to answer for Madara to know that she didn't hate him.
Sasuke had decided to head to the Naka Shrine because he'd remembered something that had caught his eye when he'd last been there with Sakura. But he was not prepared for what he would see when he got there.
He never missed it. Her pink hair.
He could spot it from a mile away and as soon as he rounded the corner to the Naka Shrine, a flash of pink caught his eye from the field just opposite the shrine. He could tell there were seals around the perimeter of the field because he could only faintly sense her chakra and the ANBU's. But he didn't pick up Madara's chakra because it was sealed so when he drew closer to the field and noticed his uncle sitting extremely close to Sakura, Sasuke scowled violently.
However his dread didn't just stop there. He watched as Madara leaned forward and kissed Sakura. Anger boiled within Sasuke and he longed to just yank Madara away from Sakura and shove a Chidori through his chest. But he knew he had no right to decide who Sakura kissed and that made him even angrier. So when Naruto appeared beside him, Sasuke found himself extremely relieved because he wasn't sure what he would have done next.
"She says he's not as bad as she thought he was…" Naruto said seriously as he followed Sasuke's gaze to Sakura and Madara. He hadn't caught them kissing because just as he'd showed up Madara had pulled away and Sasuke was definitely not going to mention it.
"We both know Sakura is naive," Sasuke snapped, fists clenched at his sides.
"But what if what she says is true? People can change you know…" Naruto shrugged, eyes still trained on the duo.
"You really are a dobe if you believe that Naruto!" Sasuke snarled "There's no way he could change and there's no way Sakura should...like him!"
"Oi chill out teme! Who are we to dictate who Sakura likes? I know I sure as hell couldn't stop her from liking your ass when you were gone all rogue," Naruto snapped testily, blue eyes narrowed.
At this Sasuke deflated and his anger was replaced by something akin to sadness, something like remorse.
"She has awful taste in men," Sasuke mumbled before turning away from Naruto and shunshining away.
Sakura flipped through her notebook, stopping on the page where Madara had drawn diagrams of the Sharingan for her. She'd just finished a session of the Chakra Scent technique and so was staying for the next thirty minutes to monitor the Uchiha and make sure there were no new side effects.
Since he tended to be very calm after the sessions, Sakura decided to approach the sensitive topic of the Sharingan.
"So uhm, is your Sharingan the most powerful?" Sakura asked tentatively, looking up from the page in her notebook.
"Hn. Obviously," Madara smirked, his aura appearing as if he'd rolled his eyes. But of course he didn't.
"But why?" Sakura probed, sucking in her bottom lip between her teeth as she observed Madara closely.
For a moment it seemed as if he wasn't going to answer her, then he did.
"I have a rare type of tomoe," Madara said slowly, as if not quite trusting himself to actually say the words.
"Oh...that's interesting!" Sakura breathed, green eyes lighting up as they widened with curiosity.
"What makes it rare?" she asked again, leaning forward slightly this time.
A small chuckle slipped from between Madara's lips and his eyes narrowed as his gaze swept over Sakura's body.
"What will I gain in return if I tell you? Afterall you don't expect me to just give out my clan secret without some sort of payment, hm?"
"Uhm what do you mean?" Sakura asked slowly, her throat tightening. She felt as though she'd swallowed sawdust.
Madara leaned forward and placed a long finger underneath her chin, tilting her head up towards him.
"Hn. What do you think I mean?"
Sakura licked her lips, forcing herself not to shiver at the low tone Madara's voice had taken on.
"I...I don't know, that's why I'm asking," Sakura choked out, blinking rapidly as she forced herself to concentrate on something apart from Madara's lips.
The Uchiha leaned even closer to the pinkette, dark eyes fixed on her green ones. He brushed his finger along the back of her arm before closing his hand around her wrist.
"You have to stay the night...again," he said in her ear, his voice low and smooth.
"I can't do that…" Sakura whispered. She hadn't intended to whisper but her voice refused to go any louder.
"Hn. Then I cannot tell you about my Sharingan," Madara stated smugly, but didn't move to pull away from the pinkette.
"Fine!" Sakura huffed out, turning to get up and leave the cell but Madara tightened his grip on her wrist.
"Stay."
"Why? So you can bribe me into something again?" Sakura snapped, eyes flashing, but Madara's smugness only increased.
"Hn. Do you think you can get out of here without collapsing? You have most likely exhausted your chakra again."
Sakura opened her mouth to argue, only to feel a wave of exhaustion wash over her. Her argument had just flew out the window.
"Ugh!" she groaned, throwing her hand up in defeat and settling back into the chair beside Madara's bed.
Silence lapped between Sakura and Madara as he stared intensely at her. After a couple minutes passed and she could no longer ignore his gaze she decided to speak.
"I stayed...so in return tell me about Izuna," Sakura said slowly, eyes focused on Madara as she awaited his reaction. She needed to know how he felt about Izuna anyhow because it was obviously crucial to his mental health.
Madara stiffened at Sakura's words and for a split second anger flashed through his eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a hollow darkness.
"What reason would I have to tell you about Izuna?" Madara spat, eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Because I want to help you…" Sakura licked her lips before continuing. "Because I want to help break your curse of hatred."
"You can't break it. No one can," Madara scowled, eyes darkening.
"I still want to try…so tell me about Izuna."
"I cannot...Izuna was-" Madara began, voice hoarse and his eyes hollow and empty. But the rest of his words were lost on his tongue. He couldn't bring himself to speak about the good memories he had with Izuna to someone he didn't fully trust. And someone from Konoha at that. It felt like betrayal.
Before he knew it, Izuna's death was playing before his mind's eye again.
Rage surged through him and the hatred that had diminished a little over the past few days returned full force. But then a familiar soft, warm, pink scent caressed his nostrils and he was aware of something soft against his hand.
He opened eyes he didn't realize he'd closed and looked down. A hand rested across his palm, fingers curling around the edges. The hand was significantly smaller and feminine.
It was her hand. It was his medic's hand.
Madara looked up and found Sakura's green eyes. She squeezed his hand.
"Tell me. I'm here I won't let the darkness overwhelm you."
The Uchiha stilled, unable to figure out whether he should be offended that she thought he needed her help, or angry that she assumed she could know about Izuna, or give into the need to wrap her in his arms and hold her against his pounding heart.
She'd crossed his boundaries without him even realizing it.
"Why should I trust you?" Madara bit out harshly, fist clenched at his side.
"Because I don't intend to hurt you," Sakura answered softly and before she could stop herself, she was raising her hand to gently rest it on the side of Madara's face. He stiffened against her touch then he seemed to give in before turning away from her and leaning back against the bed.
"I lost all of my older brothers so Izuna was all I had left. But in my youth we had time for naught but battle, and even though I reveled in it, it came at a cost. Izuna was that cost."
"The Senju killed your brothers?" Sakura asked slowly, knowing it was a sensitive topic, but she wanted to see if Madara could control his emotions better now that he'd been given a certain amount of session of the Chakra Scent technique.
"Hn," Madara grunted affirmatively; actually speaking seemed to be too painful. Sakura opened her mouth to gently press for more, but he looked sharply at her, the strain evident in his face.
"Stop this!" he hissed, cutting her off. But when hurt flickered across Sakura's face he continued.
"I am in no state to talk about Izuna," he said. Madara closed his eyes and, with the visible indication of strain evident by the muscle that jumped in his jaw, Sakura could see how painful it was for him.
Her heart squeezed.
"This...talking about Izuna is beyond my competence at the moment. And with your exhaustion, you would be unable to access the resources to use your technique on me."
Sakura hated to give in, but he did have a very valid point.
"You might be right about that...," Sakura conceded with a small smile and moved to pull her hand from Madara, but he tightened his hold.
"Tell me about you. What do weaklings like you do in your spare time? As I assume you don't have to go to war everyday…"
Sakura's brows shot up at Madara words and she scowled slightly.
"Please rephrase," she said, levelling a baleful stare at him.
"What do...Konoha citizens like you do when off duty?" he repeated.
Sakura smiled sweetly then answered. Strangely, the saccharine smile had the same effect on Madara that it did on Naruto and Sasuke, and Madara felt a sliver of discomfort writhe through his stomach. Not that he showed it, of course.
"If you're asking to know about me then that can be arranged. I read mostly in my spare time or hang out with Naruto and Sasuke-kun-"
"Why do you call my pathetic nephew with that affectionate term?" Madara interrupted, eyes narrowed.
"I...well its something I've done ever since I was a child...I used to have a crush on him from back then."
Madara's brows drew together and his lips pressed together in that oh-so-sensual semi pout. He looked very decidedly put out.
"Hn. Then you have no option but to address me with the -sama honorific because I am higher than that vermin. What did you see in him anyway? He's pathetic by Uchiha standards," he said snootily.
For a moment Sakura could do nothing but stare at Madara as she tried to comprehend his words. Then she giggled. Remembering how easily he took offense to her mirth whenever it concerned him, Sakura attempted to stifle the sound and disguise her humor by tucking her lower lip between her teeth.
"Are you...I mean I just find it odd that you consider Sasuke weak because in Konoha he is known as a prodigy."
"Hn, Konoha has sub-par standards. Itachi… Itachi or myself would have been much better choices..."
"Well you both are viewed as legends here...I mean we learnt about you at the academy…" Sakura trailed, eyes dancing as she watched Madara visibly swell with pride. She folded her lips and tried to get her amused smile under control.
"Hn...but what about me specifically? What did you learn about me?" Madara asked, a smug smirk playing on his lips.
"Well...we learnt that you were the co-founder of Konoha and that you betrayed the Shodaime and that you fought him at the Valley of the End and that you were defeated there…"
"That's extremely incorrect. You fools need to have your history books rewritten. I did not betray Hashirama...he just refused to listen to me," Madara said coldly but it seemed as if he was almost... pouting?
"Its what we were told so we knew no better," Sakura giggled slightly, finding Madara's actions rather hilarious. "We went there for a field trip one time...if I remember correctly, there was a statue of you and Hashirama-sama there."
"Did you look at the statues?" Madara asked, eyes watching Sakura's reaction closely.
"Yes I did, I remember fangirling over Hashirama-sama with Ino," Sakura grinned and Madara suddenly felt like destroying every image of Hashirama.
Did he have to lose to the Senju in everything? Including looks? He refused to have it.
"But what did you think of...my image?" Madara asked again, determined to get the response he wanted this time.
Sakura blinked at Madara, then it hit her. He wanted to know what she thought about his looks.
"Well...we did think you were better looking than Sasuke-kun, which was quite an admission from our twelve year old selves…"
"Hn, you were correct," Madara smirked smugly then leaned forward. "And what do you think now?"
Sakura bit her lip and forced herself to hold Madara's gaze. She was not going to get flustered like a twelve year old.
"I think...well Sasuke has made a vast improvement from when we were twelve…" Madara frowned at Sakura's words, but before he could say anything she continued.
"But you are still better looking, I suppose."
"Hn...better than both Hashirama and Sasuke?"
"Yes, you are better looking than them both," Sakura answered, cheeks flushing pink slightly.
"You definitely have Sasuke beat when it comes to the hair department," Sakura grinned, deciding to see if she could tease the great Uchiha Madara.
"Hn. That is a given."
"I believe the nickname Naruto and Kiba gave him was 'Chicken Butt'," Sakura said drily. A chuckle burst from Madara before he could stop it. He turned to look at her in disbelief.
"Chicken Butt?" he repeated. "He… responded to this title?"
"Sasuke didn't give in to their childishness," Sakura said, with a faux Uchiha attitude. "He was far too preoccupied with revenge, but the title was so embarrassing he was unable to hide his annoyance," Sakura recounted with a grin, remembering numerous occasions when the Uchiha's pride was the only thing that kept him from launching himself at Naruto and Kiba in anger.
A chuckle sounded from Madara's chest and before he even realized he was laughing. Sakura decided to continue in this vein, in hopes of hearing him laugh more. Kami knew he needed something more lighthearted than war to think of. Plus he had a rather sexy laugh.
"So you can laugh…" Sakura teased and immediately Madara's laughter faded and he returned to his stoic self.
"Hn, I am not devoid of humor," he said, almost visibly insulted at her inference.
"Well I wouldn't know because Sasuke hardly ever laughs and you don't really seem like you do either."
"Sasuke and I are only similar by family name," Madara said haughtily, and even though Sakura could validly disagree with him, she had a feeling he would not be pleased at all. Since her aim right now was to get him to lighten up, Sakura decided to let it go and recount some of their sillier escapades as children.
"Well, that reminds me of the time we decided to see if we could get Sasuke to laugh. We being Naruto and myself," Sakura started.
Several hours later, Sakura was finishing up yet another of her adventures with Team Seven in which they had roped Sasuke into participating into a plan that was not very well thought out at all. Madara had loved hearing about their childish endeavors, particularly the ones that Naruto had come up with. It could also have been because he rather enjoyed listening to her voice.
On more than one occasion he'd voiced his disbelief that someone as dense as Naruto even existed, and occasionally told her exactly what routes they should have taken to get their mischievous plots to succeed. As soon as Sakura finished a story, he would prompt her to tell another.
"And that was how we found out how much attention Sasuke had actually been paying to Naruto all along," Sakura said with a laugh. "He'd even copied Naruto's harem jutsu perfectly, and although it saved our skins, we all looked at him a little funny after that, wondering just what he used it for," she continued with a chuckle. "He insisted that he copied it by mistake when Naruto used it in battle while he had Sharingan activated, but Naruto denied ever doing that. He had looked to Kakashi-sensei for help, but Sensei only smiled and said 'It just goes to show that even geniuses have hidden talents' and shunshined away," Sakura recounted.
"It is a good thing to see that you treasured the time of fragile peace that was created by Hashirama…" Madara said quietly, his eyes taking on a distant look as he retreated into his thoughts.
"Uhm...well could you draw something for me again?" Sakura asked when she noticed Madara slipping into a mental reverie.
"Hn," he answered, holding out his hand for Sakura's notebook and pencil.
A small smile curved Sakura's lips when she noted that he didn't hesitate at all.
The pinkette settled onto the bed, her chin in her hands as she watched Madara draw. It was the one time he seemed to be at some sort of peace.
About half an hour later when Madara was adding the finishing touches to the sketch, he remembered something.
"After some thought I feel you should refer to me by my given name," he said in Sakura's direction, smirking a little at the proposition. But when he was met with silence he removed his gaze from his sketch. What he saw made his heart rate increase a bit.
Sakura had slid from her sitting position at the bottom of the bed and was now curled into a semi ball as she slept. Her pink hair splayed out around her, creating a soft halo and her equally pink lashes brushed against her creamy skin. Her lips were slightly parted and one of her hands tucked under her head.
Madara gripped the pencil in his hands. He didn't like the strange feelings he felt whenever he looked at Sakura for too long, but he didn't want them to go away either. Suddenly he felt the urge to touch her hair and before he could debate within himself he was sliding across the bed to card his fingers through her rose hued tresses.
Sakura sighed in her sleep and pressed into his touch. Madara felt the strange feeling in his stomach again. Then acting upon impulse, which he almost never did, Madara leaned down and pressed his lips to Sakura's forehead. He would have never done it if she had been awake but since she was asleep he let himself waver.
The notebook he'd been holding slipped from his fingers and the page he'd been on flipped open to show a sketch of a smiling Izuna. He glanced down at the sketch before switching his gaze back to Sakura and tracing his thumb along her jaw.
"Izuna, I think I've found something to live a third time for…" he said, his voice low and husky.
AN: Here's ch 11! hehe~ once again thank you for the amazing feedback! In regards to the sequel, it will feature Madara and Sakura after they've gotten together and their wedding and maybe a pregnancy huhuhuhu Madara isn't going to waste time ;D so review review review so we can reach 400 and have a lovely sequel! And don't forget to submit suggestions too!
Last but not least congrats to Ekaterina! Your suggestion with the flower crown was chosen! hehe it brought lots of giggles while this chapter was being written!
