The song for this chapter: In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins

May 20th, 1987

Numerous eyes followed his movements, their fingers perched on the triggers of their rifles. Most had a look of neutrality, some, those that likely recognized him, glared at him.

Madara ignored all of them and in a leisure pace followed his chaperone, a medium height woman with short-cropped, black hair, and enjoyed the sunny weather.

This survivalist camp didn't differ much from all of the other ones he'd seen, this one was actually better guarded than some and was a lot larger. Supposedly one of the biggest camps near Konoha. He had never dealt with them before – a four-hour ride from his base was too expensive. Gas was precious in this time. But as luck would have it, none of the camps near Konoha could provide him with the equipment he needed.

Two years was a long time, enough for smaller camps to be running low on ammo and get a bit stingy with sharing it. Madara had tried to tell himself that he didn't need it, though a particularly bad run-in with a demon had proved him wrong. Bullets were necessary, especially for someone in his situation.

He kept his face neutral when one of the habitants sneered and spit at his feet. Ah, he must have had roughed up that one or a relative at least.

The zombie apocalypse had been great for his wanted ass, yet moments like this were a reminder to what he left in the past and how it still followed him. This was one of the reasons why he was living alone – people didn't like him, and he didn't like people. Being a drifter suited him just fine.

The woman escorted him to a nondescript building, opening the door to allow him to go in first. He hadn't asked, but he assumed that she'd led him to their de facto leader. Not surprising that a camp in this size was acting more organized and didn't allow their members to just accept help from strangers single-mindedly. Hopefully all they're going to need were just some extra hands on supply runs or clean-up of a building from zombies. Not demons though, he didn't deal with demons when others were nearby.

Inside it was dark and empty. Surprisingly it was clean and kept in good condition.

The woman led him to another door. She knocked on it before opening it and motioning him to go inside.

It took a lot to shock him speechless, yet when he entered the room he was at a loss for words. Tsunade, the little, bratty sister of Hashirama, was sitting behind a desk, exuding confidence. The light from the window on her right made her blonde hair almost glow. The apocalypse hadn't changed her at all. Madara chuckled. Of course, this harpy would survive the outbreak. She was a menace as a kid and no doubt still was.

Her amber eyes met his. Unlike him she wasn't phased at all, only appraised him with a calculating look. "I suppose you're here for a job." It wasn't a question but a blunt statement.

He smiled sardonically. "Long time no see, Tsunade. How long has it been? Five years now?"

She didn't return the sentiment and crossed her hands on the table. "Not long enough. Last I heard you'd been sentenced to prison for – how long was it? - ten years?"

"Fifteen actually, but it doesn't matter, in the end they couldn't prove anything." He gauged her office, nodding at the tidy space and her little decorations in the form of various types of guns perched on the tables near the wall. "Lovely office."

Tsunade ignored him. "I can't offer you anything."

"How are your brothers doing? Still alive?"

She frowned, leaning back in her chair. "Fine. I could ask you the same. How's Izuna?"

He froze, suddenly the pleasantries not so pleasant. So she hadn't heard the news, unless she was twisting the knife in the wound. He couldn't tell, her expression conveyed nothing. Hastily he changed the subject. "I'm willing to do anything in exchange for five boxes of 7.62 mm and five of 12 gauge ammo, and some food."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "I told you, I'm not employing you. I don't trust you, Madara."

Madara sighed, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. They had stripped him of all weapons at the gate and right now he missed his Swiss knife greatly, the comfort of the cool metal gone. "You know me, Tsunade, longer than most and you know that I'm not in the habit of fucking over friends."

"We're not friends, not any more."

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Okay, I know that my reputation for the past few years hasn't been the best-," She snorted. "-but it just happened, okay? Don't judge me from the rumours you've heard."

Dubiously she raised her eyebrows. "So you're trying to tell me that you didn't distribute heroin on the streets of Konoha and didn't build up a cartel large enough to catch the attention of the police?"

She wasn't wrong, and he couldn't argue that. But she hadn't heard all of it, thank lord. "I dabbled in all kinds of things." He shrugged off the accusation. "But that's beside the point. I'm not that person any more. The fall of society can change a man. I'll do anything. I seriously need those rounds."

Tsunade inclined her head, leaning back, searching his face for something. "How do you know that we even have what you need?"

He snorted. "Come now, don't play dumb. I saw what your men were packing. You have them."

"Maybe I'm not willing to share."

Madara put up his hands in exhausted defeat. "Alright. I'm just saying – I'm willing to do more than anyone else here might be up to. I know my way around these areas and know how to take down demons." He tried to bite back a smirk at her unguarded, shocked look.

"Bullshit." She sneered, composing herself.

He looked away from her to a disassembled bolt-action rifle on one of the tables. She must have connections with the military or she's a bloody good thief. Rifles weren't easy to come by, especially in the quantity she had. "You just have to know the right spot where to shoot them. Not being scared shitless also helps, they can smell that, y'know."

Tsunade leaned forwards on the table, threading her fingers.

He smirked. Gotcha.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Rats. She was a tough nut to crack. Most people jumped at the opportunity to know more about the demons. The skeletal like creatures were virtually unbeatable, they didn't have obvious weak spots like the zombies and they were a lot smarter.

"When have I ever lied to you?" She opened her mouth and he cut her off before she could respond, knowing what she was going to say. "And lying about burning down your treehouse doesn't count. I was eleven. It was an accident and I was too afraid of my father to tell anyway."

Tsunade pouted. "You still lied to me, damn bastard."

She was never going to let this go, was she? Still, he was delighted to see that she had loosened up some, at least enough not to guard her expressions any more. "Then allow me to to make it up to you. Hire me for a job." Despite him already trying to make up for that particular incident for nearly two decades.

Throwing out her hands in defeat, she slumped back in her chair. "Fine. I have a job that not many are willing to go through with. It's important, though. Tobirama offered to go already, you could join him. We'd need to find one more-"

Madara cut her off, irritation rising at the mention of Tobirama. "I'm going alone."

"That's not safe. We always reconnaissance in teams of two or three."

"I can easily do this alone."

She continued like he hadn't spoken at all. "The thing is, this is a rescue mission. Sakura has been gone for a fortnight and I'm worried. She should have been back last week." Suddenly she smiled, leaning forward. "You remember my friend Sakura, right?"

He drew his brows. "The name is vaguely familiar, yes."

Tsunade shook her head. "Well, we have been doing some testing on the zombies. It's an intriguing condition. Anyway, Sakura and Kotetsu left for Konoha in search of some supplies that could hopefully aid us in our research."

Madara chuckled. "Don't tell me you're trying to save those poor sobs? Ever the saviour, Tsunade?"

She raised her finger as if chiding him. "Saving those people isn't our goal, but if in our research we do come across a solution, of course, I'm going to use it." Flattening her lips, she continued, "I'm not doing this to be labelled as a saviour, I'm doing this to keep the people here safe. Knowledge is power – the more we discover the stronger we get."

He shuffled on his feet, walking in a small circle around her office, taking in the wear of time on the walls. "Tell me then, what have you discovered?"

She hummed, following his movements with her eyes. "Complete your mission first then I'll think about sharing that information with you."

"Fine, fine." Cunning woman, dangling something like this in front of him. He didn't doubt her knowledge either – she had been a well-renowned doctor before the outbreak. While he knew enough about the demons, unfortunately, all of his knowledge about the zombies was self-learned on the field. He hated not knowing things. He could make a deal with her – he could tell her about the demons and her – zombies, though he wasn't comfortable in sharing that knowledge, especially how he came about it. It could lead to questions, questions he wasn't willing to answer. "But, I'm going alone. I work better when alone."

"I don't doubt that, but I would suggest taking at least one other person with you. I know you have some stupid, childish beef with my brother-" she rolled her eyes, sighing as if the issue was a long-aged nuisance, "-so take someone else. For example, Shizune is a-"

"No," he clipped, meeting her honey eyes.

She didn't back down, and they stared at each other, faces drawn. A muscle in her jaw ticked until she relented, averting her gaze. "Alright." Tsunade got up from her seat. "Before you head back out again I'll give you some supplies." She motioned with her head to follow her as she trekked out of the stuffy room.

Madara fell in step with her, following through the dark corridors. Blessedly she stayed silent, probably ticked off at him for twisting her arm. Knowing her, not a lot of people had the guts to talk back to her. Hashirama definitely could never talk Tsunade out of trouble, despite being the eldest of the Senju siblings, even Tobirama – the youngest – couldn't sway her.

Tsunade led him to a large open area, a hangar of sorts. The space was filled to the brim with crates. She manoeuvred the maze like an expert until she led him to a larger clearing with a table in the middle and all kinds of trinkets around it.

"I'll inform Genma to ration some gas for you when you leave." She shuffled the items around the table. "You'll need this." She shoved a large item in his hand.

He turned it around. "A walkie-talkie?"

Tsunade nodded, moving to a box near the table. "It's military-grade, has a better range. Should help you in finding Sakura. It's on the same channel as her comm last was, so don't fiddle with it."

The large item was clunky but sturdy. This indeed proved to him that Tsunade had military contacts. She'd be a good ally to have. He clipped it to his belt. "So can you tell me anything about her? How she looks and such. Sakura, I mean."

"You really don't remember her." Tsunade barked out a laugh.

"I wasn't in the habit of keeping track of you and your brutish friends, sorry."

She straightened herself, two green, small boxes in hand and grinned. "Don't tell me you don't remember the little, pink-haired girl that conned you and Izuna from your toys."

Madara frowned. He'd assumed that she had been talking about a friend from her hospital, not one from their childhood. Now that she did mention it, he faintly did remember Tsunade one day bringing over a shy girl with long, pink hair. That was until Tsunade had indoctrinated the girl with her harpy like mannerisms. The said girl also one time had tried to separate Izuna from his favourite polar bear stuffed toy. Izuna was the youngest of the group and had yet to beat some of the more childish habits the rest of them had outgrown.

"She only got Izuna. I never fell for her lies."

Her smile turned positively cunning. "Ah, but you still relented to her." She laughed, sitting back on the table. "Dear lord, I remember you were like a hawk – always watching over Izuna and he always followed you like a tail. It was adorable." She got a faraway look, gazing in the distance.

Madara didn't share her sentiments. Protecting his brother was only natural, especially when someone like Tsunade had picked on him.

"Y'know my husband Dan didn't make it. I miss him dearly." She gently stroked the box in her hand with her thumb. He could only tilt his head at the abrupt change of topic. "Hashirama has Mito and Tobirama...well I think Tobirama is just trying to cope." She sighed deeply, letting silence settle between them. "What about you. Wife and kids? Or did you decide to bat for the other team?" She chuckled, meeting his eyes.

He frowned and crossed his arms, refusing to answer.

Tsunade continued. "How about Izuna? What did he make of himself? God, I hope he wasn't foolish enough to follow you and your hobbies."

Madara froze, glaring at her. His fingers dug into his arms. "You're awfully sentimental today, Tsunade," he bit out.

She smiled mysteriously. "The fall of society can change a woman." And threw his words back at him. Quietly she returned her gaze back to the box in her hands, reminiscing. Thankfully, she didn't press for an answer to all of her questions.

It was eerie seeing her so somber. She looked fragile and older than she actually was, the slight layer of grime on her clothes adding to the image. It shouldn't have been so surprising, the outbreak had changed a lot of people. Even if she did still have the silly pigtails and brutish attitude the apocalypse had taken something from her and usurped her life.

A sudden ball of guilt settled in his stomach. It was almost an alien feeling. He hadn't had friends in his adult life, only business partners and acquaintances. But seeing a childhood friend brought back all kinds of emotions in him. He'd thought he'd quenched something like guilt about his mistakes years ago. Showing emotion, even feeling it got men killed in the life he had had.

Tsunade thrust out the two boxes to him. "Two boxes of your requested 7.62 mm."

He took them quietly, eyeing her carefully in case she suddenly started spouting more sentimental drivel. Blessedly, she didn't and kept her eyes pinned to the ground far beyond.

Visibly she shook herself out of her stupor. "I can give you more guns if you need. What are you carrying right now?"

Madara shook his head. "No need. I'm fine with what I have."

"Okay." She smiled and for the first time it reached her eyes. She hefted herself off the table, clapping her hands clean from dust. "Come, I'll give you some food rations for the trip, too."

He followed her out of the clearing and back into the maze. Her mood had taken a sudden change, a change he didn't like. It was like she'd detached herself from reality and flowed in this dream world of the past. "Just so you know, these types of missions never turn out positively. This isn't the first time I've been asked to search someone down."

She nodded, turning to him. "Let's hope that you're wrong then." She patted his cheek the same sad smile on her face.

The action was oddly affectionate, and he recoiled from it. Human contact was not something he received often, especially non-threatening contact.

Tsunade gave him two days worth of rations and led him out of her stronghold. All throughout the process, she was chatting about her daily life, Tobirama and the woman named Shizune. She even mentioned how Hashirama and Mito were in charge of a different camp not too far from here. It was larger than hers and mostly took in wanderers while her camp focused on clearing areas from zombies and research. It certainly explained the armed to the teeth habitants.

It was reassuring to know that not too far from Konoha there was a place that focused on righting the wrongs in the world, a place that was safe. And even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, it was reassuring to know that his long-time friends had survived the apocalypse. He wasn't completely alone in this world.

Maybe if Tsunade had known the whole truth she would have been less welcoming, nevertheless, he was glad that she had treated him as an old friend and not as a criminal. He was tired of the label. It had been of his own making, and he regretted it, but it was just another mistake in his life he had to deal with.

And the plot thickens and yes I'm totally gonna add the childhood friends to lovers trope here. I'm going to gradually reveal information about the world. Next chapter will be longer and more action oriented, also we'll finally meet Sakura.