MadaSaku Week 0320 prompt: "Trust me."

How to Help a Stray

The Stray - Part II

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Sakura woke up to a delicious smell of coffee. Early morning sunlight was streaming through the window straight onto her face. She squeezed her eyes harder and turned on her side to avoid it, hoping to nap a little longer until her alarm rang.

… then where was this mouthwatering smell coming from?

Madara! Her eyes shot open and she looked at the couch. The man tellingly vanished, leaving behind a neatly folded blanket. Sakura jumped out of her futon and ran to investigate.

She found him in the kitchen, still clad in the ridiculous pink bathrobe. She goggled, but not at his state of casual undress. He was at the stove… cooking?

"Awake already? Breakfast will be done soon," Madara said as he masterfully flipped the omelette on the pan. "You should go get ready in the meantime," he suggested.

"Uh, right…" Sakura mumbled awkwardly and shuffled away from the doorway, wondering what the heck was going on and why he was making himself at home in her kitchen.

She quickly returned from the bathroom refreshed and dressed for the day, but still just as flummoxed. Madara prepared two plates and cups of coffee for both of them.

"Thanks," Sakura said as she sat at the small table. "You didn't have to…"

"I was hungry, so I had to," he interrupted firmly. "You don't mind, do you?"

She mutely shook her head and picked up her chopsticks. She paused, looking at the smiley face drawn with ketchup on the omelette.

"That's cute," she commented with a little smile.

Madara's eyebrow rose. "Oh, that? I always put that on my brother's omelettes." A shadow passed through his face. "Since you have ketchup, I guessed you like it."

"Yeah." Sakura gave him a curious look, but refrained from asking about his brother. He'd said there was no one, that he had no family… There was only one logical conclusion and she didn't want to needlessly pry only to open up old wounds.

Instead, she took a bite of the omelette and her eyes lit up in delight. "This is pretty good!" She dug in eagerly.

After breakfast, Sakura left to borrow some clothes for Madara. Her close friend, Naruto, was living nearby, in a similarly cheap apartment, though not by choice, but necessity. He was an orphan with only a distant travelling uncle showing up once in a blue moon to crash at his place and spend all his money on booze and women. Sakura had known Naruto since she'd left home. He was a frequent patron at the local ramen stand where she'd met him. He'd actually tried asking her on a date, but when she'd refused, he'd still stuck around and they had eventually become friends after she'd helped him out of a sticky situation with the cops. He studied business and worked part-time in a construction team.

Sakura managed to successfully beg off some old, but clean clothes from Naruto, even though he wasn't thrilled with her picking up some guy off the street and housing him, then she went back to her apartment. She still had some time before the classes started.

Madara accepted the clothes without complaint, at least not a verbal one. His pinched face as he looked at the garish orange made clear what he thought of it.

"Sorry, they're not very nice, but at least it's something to wear," Sakura said, trying to put a positive spin on this. "I need to get to my classes, so I'll go to the laundromat later. Try not to move around too much, just let your leg heal, okay? You can read my books or watch TV if you get bored. Bye," she gave the instructions in a hurry and left again.

Throughout the day Sakura couldn't concentrate well on her lessons as her thoughts were consumed by the man in her apartment. She was already planning her next steps. He would need more clothes and she couldn't forget about toiletries! Also, she noticed the shadows under his eyes, he didn't sleep well on that couch at all. That would slow his recovery too. She needed to scrounge up an extra futon for him. All of this planning was making her giddy with excitement!

Sakura returned in the evening, bearing gifts. "I'm home," she called out, but no one answered. She heard her old TV buzzing in the room, so she went there.

She found Madara sleeping soundly in her futon. He looked so peaceful that she was mesmerized. Not wanting to interrupt his rest, she quietly put down her bags and went to the kitchen. To her pleasant surprise, the dinner was waiting for her to heat it up. A powerful, warm feeling burst out of her chest and made tears come to her eyes. Sakura wiped them quickly, shocked and embarrassed with herself for having such a strange reaction to a simple dinner, then she sat down to eat quietly. The food was delicious.

Madara came in, dressed in Naruto's undershirt that was once white but got tragically orange-dyed in the laundry and bright orange shorts that must have been responsible for it, his bare feet patting on the floor. He yawned and poured himself a glass of water from the sink.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Sakura asked.

"Not really," he replied and sat across her.

"I brought you some things," she remembered and went to get the bags. "They're just essentials."

Madara nodded in thanks, accepting them. He looked inside and pulled out a pink toothbrush that was laying on top, then looked at Sakura with a raised brow.

"What? It matches your bathrobe," she said, stifling a mischievous giggle. "You don't like it?"

He sighed and put it away. "At least it's not orange," he allowed. He rifled through the bag, nodding at his laundered clothes, then at the bottom he found… "A shaver?" he asked, perplexed how she considered that essential.

Sakura blushed, but stood by her choice. "You can't get a job with all that scruff on your face," she reasoned. He looked at her sharply, disgruntled.

"Fair enough," he acknowledged her point and she relaxed.

"Of course, first you need to get that leg healed before you go out job hunting," she said.

"How long?" he asked.

"I'd say two weeks," she replied. She was probably grossly overestimating it, but she'd rather be on the safe side.

Madara frowned and tapped his fingers on the table. "That's too long."

"Are you in a hurry? Going somewhere?" she asked anxiously.

Another piercing look. "No." He took a sip. "I just thought I shouldn't overstay my welcome. You're a student and you work for a living, right? Taking care of me would be just an unfair burden on you."

"No! It's not like that! You're not a burden!" Sakura cried out in shock and protest. How could he even think that! She reached over and put her hand over his, squeezing his knuckles. "Trust me, I wouldn't have invited you if I didn't want you here," she told him seriously and let his hand go, then with a deep breath she took a plunge. "I'd like you to stay as long as you need to get back on your feet. Besides, after you get a job, you can help me with the rent and other living expenses, so it's all going to work out. See?" she asked with a hopeful smile as she made her offer.

She'd thought whether to ask him this all day, but the dinner had put an end to any doubts and misgivings she'd still harboured. Despite living on her own, Sakura still couldn't cook to save her life. Before, as a yakuza heiress, she'd never had to learn. They had a chef working at her father's mansion, cooking the most exquisite meals. However, Madara's cooking today easily outstripped those posh dishes. There was really nothing special about his food, but for the first time ever Sakura got a taste of a real homemade meal, prepared just for her.

It won her over completely.

Madara was taken aback by her proposal. His brows drew together as he stared at her as if he saw something truly baffling and was trying to figure it out. "You want me… to live here?" he asked.

"Hey, I know it's really cramped in here and I still need to get you a proper futon, because I know it's impossible to sleep on that couch, but I promise it won't be so bad! I'm sure we can manage together!" she said defensively. "I will ask my friend if there's a job on his construction team for you, I hear the pay is pretty good, so you will be able to save up," she rambled on, desperate to convince him to agree.

Madara raised his hand, stalling her word-vomit. "No, I mean – why do you want me to live here?" he asked.

Sakura was stumped by the question. Indeed, why? Her gaze roamed his face and she thought back to everything she'd seen of him. "W-Well," she began uncertainly, "I think it's a good idea. I mean, there are many reasons."

"Like what?" he insisted.

"Safety, for example. If I had you around, I would feel much safer. You curb-stomped an entire gang yesterday, I'd have no one to fear if you lived with me."

"So you want a glorified bodyguard? Is that it?" he surmised.

Sakura shook her head. "That's not it, I don't want a bodyguard. I managed by myself so far, didn't I? Also, I'll have you know I'm a black belt in karate!" she proclaimed proudly.

"Oh?" he made a curious sound, but his eyes were laughing at her. "Then I'll need to see what you can do."

"After your leg is healed! And don't you underestimate me!"

"I don't underestimate my opponents," he replied solemnly.

Sakura nodded at him sharply. "Good."

"So you don't want a bodyguard, but you want me here to feel safe?" he questioned, getting back to the topic.

Sakura pursed her lips and averted her gaze as she struggled to explain it. "You know that feeling, when it's dark and you're laying alone in silence?" she asked in a soft voice. "You can hear your own heartbeat and breathing. And then you realize you are completely alone and it's like the darkness is going to swallow you whole. It closes around you, smaller and smaller, and you think you might get crushed… I can't stand that feeling. Or the other one," she confessed, raising her eyes to meet his.

"The other?"

"The one when you know you are alone and suddenly you are gripped by this tremendous fear that in a second you will hear someone else, their muffled steps, their heavy breath as they come to get you when you're sleeping. So you stay up, listening to the silence with your guard up for half a night until you can't anymore. That feeling is even worse." Sakura swiped her hair back, feeling self-conscious. "It sounds so irrational and stupid when I say it out loud. You probably think I'm crazy, don't you? Or paranoid. Maybe I even am, I don't know." She chuckled in self-deprecation

"You're not crazy," Madara said, his dark eyes understanding. His gaze turned inward. "I know what you're talking about."

And he must have. He'd been sleeping outside, on park benches and in other places, for how long? Just how unsafe that must have felt? Sakura couldn't even imagine. She swallowed reflexively.

"Did you know that last night was the best sleep I've had in ages? And it's because I wasn't alone. You were there, so it felt safe and I could finally sleep without worry," she told him. "So thank you for that."

Madara looked down at his mug, then back at her. "There's no need to thank me. I'm the one who is in your debt." He sighed. "Very well, I will stay as long as you wish it or until I repay my debt."

Sakura smiled at him gently, the warmth in her chest expanding. "I'm glad," she said. "You won't regret it."

Madara shook his head. "No, you should be the one who doesn't regret it."

Sakura grinned. "Oh, I don't. If you keep cooking like today, I will never let you go," she joked.

Madara's eyes sparked with humour back at her. "I see, so what you really wanted all along was a personal cook. It all makes sense now," he said gravely.

Sakura's lips twitched as she held back her laughter. "You catch on quickly. I was just looking for a manservant who can cook well and then you fell right into my lap, just like that! I am so lucky!"

"Hmph, but can you afford my salary?" he asked, sitting back and crossing his arms.

"I'm sure we can work something out," she said with a wink, leaning toward him. Her gaze flickered to his muscular arms and torso, wrapped tightly in the horrid orange wifebeater.

He was looking at her, his gaze inscrutable, something lurking in it, hidden at the bottom of the placid dark lake during a moonless night. Sakura felt suddenly awkward, so she cleared her throat and straightened up in her seat.

"W-Well, it's fortunate for you I'm willing to take your cooking in place of rent," she said, clumsily ending the joke. "Hey, so how's your leg? I should check on it and change the dressing." She quickly got up and trotted off to get the first aid kit. Inwardly, she was beating herself over her inappropriate choice of words. What came over her to flirt like that? What Madara would think? Would he take this the wrong way? And after it took so much convincing to make him stay with her… What… what if he decided to leave anyway?

Get a grip, Sakura! She told herself sternly. She had to think of him as her patient first. There was no use worrying about things like that. What he would do was out of her control, but Madara struck her as a man that would honour his word. He would stay, at least until his leg was healed. She had more time to make sure he wouldn't leave then.

Sakura took a calming breath and went back to see to his wound. Doctor mode was a wonderful thing, it helped her focus on what really mattered at the moment. But, in the back of her mind, she still wondered about the vagabond man she had taken in.

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AN: Thanks for reading! I'm so grateful for all of your support and interest in this AU! I hope you enjoyed this installment as well.

Please tell me what you think about the chapter and see you next time! :)