Chapter Thirteen

Water lapped at the edge of the pool. It echoed against the tiles and bounced up towards the high ceiling where the light of dawn was just beginning to filter through. It was almost time for Sakura to get ready for work.

Inhaling another deep breath, she ducked her head beneath the surface as she drove herself down the length of the pool. At the edge, she flipped under the water, kicking against the wall to propel herself in the direction she had just come from.

It had only been a few short weeks since she had begun exercising again and already, the strength was returning to her shoulders and core. She felt good, energized. There was even a noticeable difference in her work. The long hours of surgery didn't seem nearly exhausting and her attention was more focused. Not the mention, it was excellent stress relief. Because when you lived with the mafia, there was plenty of that.

After swimming a half dozen more laps, Sakura paused to rest at the deep end. Her heart pounded in her chest and the blood roared in her ears as she fought for breath after the cardio she had just forced her heart and lungs to endure. Pushing her goggles to her forehead, she reached for the water bottle she had left on the silver stones lining the edge of the pool before her eyes flickered towards the clock on the wall. It was nearing five in the morning. Her shift started soon. That flare of nervousness fluttered in her stomach not for the first time.

Three days had already passed since the fundraiser and in that time, Sakura had called into work sick. Perhaps it was unprofessional of her, but in a sense, she hadn't been feeling well. Now that she knew who Hashirama was, just the thought of seeing him in the once-safe walls of her hospital made her nauseous.

Shaking herself, Sakura swallowed another mouthful of cool water before she set her bottle aside. Deciding she had just enough time to do a few more laps before she had to get ready for work, she slipped her goggles back over her eyes before she sank back beneath the crystal water.

The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon when Sakura finally climbed out of the pool. After drying herself off, she slipped on her robe before she gathered her things and headed back up to the third floor.

Madara's room was empty when she arrived. Not that she was entirely expecting him to be there. He hadn't given her the specifics of what was going on, but he had been busy the past few nights. She could see the exhaustion written on his face when he finally came home in the early morning hours.

Nevertheless, Sakura made herself at home as she hung her robe on the hook in the bathroom to dry before she stripped herself of her swimsuit. Madara had made it clear to her that she was welcome even without his presence. Something she was grateful for. There was something soothing about being in his space. A kind of comfort her room didn't have. Maybe it was simply the fact that it was his. With his suits in the closet and his toiletries organized neatly in the cabinets behind the bathroom mirror, it was a reminder that she wasn't alone. That she wasn't in this dark, scary world by herself.

After pulling the ties out of her hair, Sakura untangled her braids the best she could while they were wet before she eyed herself in the mirror. There were welts and blemishes peppering her skin along her collarbone and chest where Madara had sunk his teeth into her flesh. The ones from their first night together were already beginning to fade, but next to them were fresher, more recent bites.

Pressing her fingers into the bruises along her hips, a faint wave of arousal curled warmly in the pit of Sakura's stomach. They were from yesterday evening. Madara had cornered her in the hallway and taken her there against the wall where any of his staff could have stumbled across them. Fortunately, no one had before he had carried her to his room and bent her over his bed.

Perhaps the bruises were a little possessive. She didn't fully understand his obsession to leave a constant reminder of his claim over her. She suspected it stemmed from the painful scar Tobirama had permanently sliced into her skin, but Madara's behavior didn't bother her like she once thought it would. Instead, it caused the space between her legs to throb at the memory of him above her, against her, inside her.

Forcing herself to turn away from the mirror, Sakura slipped into the shower. She scrubbed the scent of pool water from her skin before she washed her hair. She was just rinsing the conditioner out when she heard the shower door open. A moment later, a strong arm wrapped around her waist.

Automatically a smile crossed her face. She didn't have the chance to open her eyes before a kiss was pressed to her lips.

"Good evening," Sakura said, blinking her eyes open when Madara pulled away.

In front of her, the head of the Uchiha mafia stood unabashedly naked. She would never tire of staring at him. He was all defined muscles and intimidating strength. The tattoos painted on his arms only reminded her of his authority as Mob Boss, causing a shiver to vibrate down her spine, but it wasn't fear. No, it definitely wasn't fear.

Smoothing her hands up Madara's arms, her fingers lingered on the scarring near his right shoulder. Her thumb traced a fading incision. It was the one she had cut herself when she had dug bullet fragments out of his muscle after they had been targeted. She was pleased to see it had healed so well.

"Good morning," Madara returned, his voice a little rough.

Sakura's finger stilled as a frown settled on her lips. That wasn't a good sign. He had yelled at someone quite angrily last night to have strained his vocal cords like that. "Stressful night?" she asked.

Madara's expression didn't betray anything but his hands gripped her hips a little tighter. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

A faint hum of doubt rumbled in her throat, but she didn't press. She already had enough on her mind with the hospital. Instead, she relaxed into Madara as his hands smoothed up her sides to her lower back. He drew her flush against him, his thickening length already half-hard against her stomach as he dipped his head to press his lips into the side of her neck and under her jaw. It fueled the fire that was kindling between her legs.

She was nearly puddy in his hands when he murmured against her skin, "Are you sure you have to go to work today? You could stay here with me instead."

Sakura meant to sigh. What came out instead was a low moan when his teeth gently scraped over the tendon in her neck. Her fingers twisted into his wet hair, holding him there a moment before she gently urged him back so she could look up at him. His eyes were a black hole, fathomless and all-consuming.

"I miss my work, Madara," she told him softly as her hands slipped down to rest on his biceps. The muscles were firm under her palms, his power dwarfing the strength in her fingertips. "I miss my patients. Even with the threat of Hashirama there."

A sound of disappointment rumbled deep in Madara's chest before the tension drained out of his body in defeat. For the most part, he had been accepting of her decision to continue working, but she was aware that his concern for her safety always lingered in his mind.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" he eventually asked fondly as his arms tightened securely around her.

A laugh tumbled out of Sakura's mouth. "You shouldn't complain. That's what attracted you to me in the first place."

A brief look of agreement crossed Madara's face, but that's all she saw before he bent his head to kiss her again. It started slow before it evolved into something much more heated and passionate.

By the time Sakura left for work, there were at least three new bruises bitten into her inner thigh and her sex was still pulsing softly in the aftermath of Madara's attention. Her escort, Asao, dropped her off in front of the building with a promise to remain close before she took the elevator to the floor with the attendings' lounge. There, Sakura changed into her scrubs and grabbed her stethoscope before she headed down to the ER to start her day.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto saddled up to her as soon as she stopped to read the patient board. "So, finally decided to come back to work, did we?"

Against her will, a small smile curled in the corner of her mouth before she gave him a quick glance. "What? You miss me or something?"

"Or something," he said, handing her a coffee. Her brow arched in surprise but she accepted it nevertheless with a smile of thanks. "Where have you been anyway? I haven't seen you since the fundraiser."

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling well," Sakura told him. Which she supposed was half true.

Naruto shot her a mild look of surprised disbelief. "Enough to miss work?"

"Yes. Why is that so surprising?"

"Because you've never missed work. Like ever," he said.

"Well, I'm here now," Sakura said lightly before she redirected the conversation. "How are things looking this morning?"

"Could be better, could be worse," Naruto replied before sipping his coffee. "There's a guy in bed three with a fractured pelvis, but his vitals are stable and Ortho is already in today, so they'll take him down to the OR."

"You sound disappointed," Sakura teased.

Her blond friend grinned in return. "I can't say I don't enjoy a messy surgery."

"That's messed up."

Naruto only laughed, nudging her shoulder with his own. "Don't even try to tell me you don't too."

As if all her concerns had been washed away, Sakura smiled. Her anxieties from that morning seemed like far away shadows on a sunny day and she couldn't help but laugh. "Okay, maybe I do. I've been missing a good surgery while I was home."

As if on cue, the phone beside the nurses' station rang. A young woman behind the desk answered and listened intently on the other end before she informed the incoming ambulance they would be on standby. As soon as she hung up, she looked at the pair of doctors. "Incoming trauma. Forty-three-year-old male fell off scaffolding while working construction. A piece of rebar pierced his upper right quadrant. Ambulance is two minutes out."

A burst of energy stronger than any shot of caffeine flooded Sakura's system. She shared a glance with Naruto only to find he was biting back a smile of excitement. Perhaps it was messed up of them to be eager when someone's life had just changed for the worst, but this is what they had spent the last fifteen years of their lives training for. There was a thrill in the challenge and a feeling of exhilaration in the success.

Cheering their coffees together, Naruto and Sakura pounded back their drinks before they slipped on their gowns and gloves, and made ready to greet their first patient of the morning.

xx

A hum of exhilaration was still lingering in Sakura's veins by the time she stepped out of her last surgery for the day. She and Naruto had successfully saved the construction worker's life before they moved on to two more back-to-back traumas. Even though they had lost their second patient and Sakura had been on her feet for more than twelve hours, she hadn't felt this content in a longtime. Being back in the OR was like coming home after a long vacation. Comforting and familiar. All her concerns from that morning felt like nothing more than a faded nightmare.

Through the glass window dividing the scrub room from the operating room, Sakura washed the sweat and scent of antiseptic from her hands as she watched the theatre nurses roll her latest patient out. A smile crossed her face at the steady vitals displayed on the patient's machine. The surgery on the young woman had been difficult, but that only made the success that much sweeter.

Once her hands were clean and dried, Sakura finally slipped out of the scrub room. The surgical floor was busy with the evening traffic and she dodged around a couple of gurneys making their way to and from the recovery ward as she headed towards the surgical board to clear her name off. Naruto was still operating she realized as she eyed the board with vague interest. As was the Chief of Surgery, surprisingly. He must have been teaching the interns to be here so late. That made her smile widen minutely. Chief Hiruzen hated working late. He was probably purposely giving the young doctors a hard time. Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It would make them better surgeons down the road.

Pulling her phone from her pocket, Sakura checked her messages for the first time in nearly three hours. There were dozens of texts from her friends in their group chat, the most recent from Hinata apologizing that she couldn't make it. Confused, Sakura scrolled up to the start of the thread. There, she saw a message from Ino demanding their group of friends all meet her for a drink, or three. She and Shikamaru had just broken up.

That caused Sakura to frown. She thought they had just been messing around. When had they even started dating?

Typing out a message, she began to write out a reply that she would meet them there in an hour. As appealing as the thought of returning home to Madara was, it was nice to be out of the house again and she was going to savor the feeling just a little longer.

"Doctor Haruno!" a nurse called.

At the sound of her name, Sakura stopped walking and looked up from her phone to glance towards the nurses' station. A girl a few years Sakura's junior was smiling at her apologetically.

"Sorry, the morgue just called," she said. "They said Dr. Uzumaki forgot to sign off on the death certificate for the patient the pair of you operated on earlier this afternoon. I know he's still in surgery, but would you mind…"

A frown crossed Sakura's face. That was odd. Naruto had a surprisingly good track record for completing all his paperwork. He didn't usually forget something like that. Then again, today had been a little hectic.

"Uh, yeah," she nodded. "I'll head down there now."

The nurse smiled her thanks before Sakura continued on her way. She headed down the hall away from the operating rooms and towards the extra supply closets where the back elevator would take her down to the bottom floor of the hospital. In the lift, she finished typing out her message, only for a faintly annoyed sigh to slip out of her mouth when her phone lost its signal.

Frowning, Sakura tried to send the message again, but her phone immediately shot back an error message. Guess it would have to wait until she got back upstairs.

Pocketing her phone, Sakura turned her attention to the glowing, red numbers above the control panel as the digital display counted down until the lift reached the basement. The doors slid open to an empty hall. There wasn't a single person in sight, only a few metal shelves and an abandoned gurney pushed against one wall. It was a little eerie, but not terribly surprising. There were only two types of people that came down to the basement: the doctors that worked in the morgue and the dead.

Still, goosebumps rose along Sakura's skin. She had been to the bottom floor a dozen times before, but it never failed to give her the creeps. It was a little too cold, a little too quiet and always had the scent of death in the air. Her footsteps echoed against the tiles of the long hallway. The eeriness put her on edge, but she pressed on, passing one dark, abandoned room after another until she reached the thick, steel door of the morgue. She grasped the chilled, metal handle and twisted it open.

"Sakura."

Nearly jumping out of her skin, Sakura whipped around. Her heart pounded painfully against her ribs in fright as her eyes locked on a figure half-sunken in shadow in an unused conference room. Pressing her back against the frigid steel behind her, she stood frozen in place until a familiar face stepped out into the light.

"Tsunade," Sakura exhaled breathlessly. She placed a hand over her rapidly beating heart as she slowly released the large breath she had inhaled to scream.

An apologetic look flashed across her old mentor's face. "I didn't mean to startle you. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Sakura said quickly as the sharp spike of terror that had ripped through her system began to fade. Then confusion took its place, causing her brows to furrow. "What are you doing here? I thought you had flown out after the fundraiser."

The blonde woman inclined her head. "I was supposed to, but I decided to stay."

"Why?"

"Because of you," she answered, her hazel eyes utterly piercing.

In an instant, distrust settled low in Sakura's stomach. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously as she wondered what exactly that meant. At the fundraiser, Tsunade had told her a little bit about her relationship with her cousins, but it had hardly been specific and it wasn't likely Tsunade would come out and directly tell her that she was in league with the Senju brothers if she was trying to coerce or gain favor with Sakura.

As if reading her mind, Tsunade fully stepped out into the light of the hallway, her hands outstretched in a show of good faith. "I already told you I'm not involved in my family's politics, Sakura. I'm not here to hurt you. I don't mean any ill-will."

With all their past history, it was so easy to believe her. And Sakura wanted to believe her, but her world had been flipped on its side too many times in the recent past. She shook her head. "Even if I did believe that, I don't have time to talk. The morgue called me down–"

"Actually, they didn't."

That made a sudden chill sweep through Sakura. All her feelings of lightness and content from her last, successful surgery fell out of her like a stone dropped in an icy lake as understanding washed through her. Tsunade had called her down here, not the morgue. To the most isolated, abandoned area in the entire hospital.

Flickering her eyes both ways down the hall, Sakura realized just how alone they were. Just how easily she could disappear and never be heard from again. Fear snaked up her spine like creeping ice. Every muscle in her body tensed as her fight-or-flight response kicked in.

Slowly, she turned her gaze back to the seemingly-innocent woman across from her. "What do you want?"

"I'm just here to talk. Nothing more," Tsunade said.

Sakura's brow arched warily. "In the basement of the hospital?"

"It's the only place I could get you alone. The only place without cameras," the older woman told her somberly. "Hashirama can't know I'm speaking to you."

That only succeeded in raising Sakura's misgivings further. "Why?"

A familiar look of impatience flickered across the older woman's face. It was one she used to use when Sakura was a student and asked a question she should already know the answer to. "I think you know why. My family wants you, Sakura. And there's only one thing protecting you from them right now."

"And that's what?" Sakura asked, trying to hide the fact she was trembling.

If Tsunade noticed, she didn't give any indication. She merely crossed her arms loosely over her chest. "Tobirama wants your blood but Hashirama thinks you might be of some use to him."

"Use how?"

"Because of your relationship with Madara."

Immediately Sakura shook her head. "I don't have a relationship with Madara–"

"It's just us here, Sakura," her old mentor interrupted not unkindly. "And even if it wasn't, it's clear that you're more than just a protected interest. You haven't been to your apartment in weeks. And your escort has been taking you to the east side of the city."

To where Madara lived.

It went unsaid, but Sakura could read between the older woman's words easy enough to know exactly what she was implying. If blood could freeze, Sakura's would be solid in her veins at that moment. A cold sweat broke out across her skin and she swallowed thickly. "Tobirama is tracking me there."

Tsunade nodded. "Yes."

Looking away, Sakura ran a rough hand over the braid pinning her hair back. Anxiety constricted within her chest as she tried to recall every place she had been in the last month. Where he could have followed her and who she might have been seen with.

"I'm not trying to frighten you, Sakura," Tsunade said after a moment, her voice taking on a softer note. "I just want you to understand. Tobirama won't listen to anything or anyone, except for his older brother. Hashirama is the only thing that can protect you from him. If you can reach some kind of middle ground…"

Sakura blinked in disbelief. "You want me to strike a deal with him?"

"It's the only way to end this thing between you and Tobirama."

"You mean besides one of us ending up dead," she said dryly.

Tsunade nodded solemnly. "Yes."

The note of finality in her voice washed away Sakura's dark amusement as quickly as it had come. She crossed her arms tightly over her chest as she pursed her lips tightly. "Why should I trust you?"

"I've known you for years, Sakura. I respect the surgeon and woman you've become. Our history should be enough to know you can trust me," Tsunade said, her voice soft with sincerity.

Even though the words pained her, Sakura shook her head. "But it's not. It's not enough. You of all people should know it takes more than that to trust someone."

"I of all people?"

"Those like you who were born into the mafia," Sakura explained. "If you really want to try and regain my trust, then tell me how you were able to walk away."

An unexpected shadow of grief flickered across Tsunade's face. It suddenly aged her well beyond her years and she took a long-drawn breath as she reached up to trace her fingers down the chain of her necklace. It was a blue crystal with twin, silver balls framing either side of it. "Because of Dan."

Confused, Sakura shook her head. "Who is Dan?"

"He was my fiancé. We were…we were going to get married. And then he was killed in an ambush. I left the country while I mourned," Tsunade explained. Her voice was quiet even in the silent hallway, but Sakura could hear the pain lacing her words like she was still mourning. "By the time I returned here, I was already out of the loop on my family's politics and Hashirama had no need for my services. I'm free to do as I please, but I linger on the sidelines."

"At least until Hashirama calls upon you again."

"Yes," Tsunade nodded.

Sakura swallowed slowly. "And has he called upon you?"

"Not yet. But because of our history, I suspect he will soon."

Sakura chewed the inside of her lower lip as she considered that. Against her better judgement, she believed her old mentor. Sakura knew she shouldn't even be considering it, but she couldn't help but voice the question. "Let's say I do try to make a deal with Hashirama. What could I possibly offer him?"

"Your services," Tsunade said factually.

Sakura was quick to shake her head. "No. Absolutely not."

"It's the only way to keep you and your friends safe, Sakura."

That made her still. Sakura eyed her mentor for a second that lasted an eternity before she dared ask, "What about my friends?"

The look Tsunade sent her made dread begin to flood her veins like blood slowly filling cracks in the pavement. "If you think you're the only one Tobirama has eyes on, you're wrong. Naruto is protected because of his connection with the hospital, but Ino…"

Her best friend's name out of Tsunade's mouth only made a cold front sweep through her system. She thought back to the thread of texts in her group chat. She didn't know if Tenten had arrived yet, but she knew Ino was already at the bar waiting. Was Tobirama there too?

Like a slap to the face, panic seized her. Sakura didn't waste another second replying to Tsunade. Instead, she turned on her heels and sprinted down the hall.

At the elevator, Sakura frantically smashed the button to call the lift, her finger jamming against the control panel time and time again when the doors took too long to open. As soon as she was inside, she tried calling her best friend, but the service inside the hospital was always a little spotty. Instead, Sakura typed out a quick message with shaking fingers before she sent it. The instant the doors to the lift opened, she bolted to the attendings' lounge.

Changing in record time, Sakura snatched her purse and jacket from her locker before she rushed down the main hospital stairs to the front door with a quick message to her escort. Asao was just pulling to a stop near the front doors when she finally sprinted out of the hospital.

"I need you to take me to Ichiraku's bar on the corner of Sixth and Pine," Sakura ordered.

Confusion was written all over the younger man's face at her frenzied behavior, but he steered them there nonetheless. The entire drive to the bar Sakura tried dialing Ino. Only to get her best friend's voicemail over and over again.

By the time they arrived at the bar, Sakura was nearly sick with worry. She jumped out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop and she dashed inside without a word to Asao. The tavern was already packed with customers for the night, forcing her to balance on the toes of her boots as she scanned the numerous tables and booths littered around the floor.

Sakura's knees nearly went weak with relief when she saw her best friend seated at a table with Tenten. The pair of women were chatting without a care in the world as they cheered their shot glasses together before they tossed them back in one go. Still, Sakura made one quick sweep of the room. When she saw nothing and no one out of the ordinary, a heavy but grateful breath passed between her lips.

"Hey! I thought you said you wouldn't be here for another half hour," Ino said when Sakura approached the table.

Her knees were still shaking a little in the wake of her adrenaline crash, but Sakura made a point to shrug casually as she hung her purse on one of the hooks beneath the table before she slipped into one of the empty seats. "I got finished a little earlier than I thought."

"Better than Hinata," Ino muttered into her shot glass. "She's probably fucking Naruto right now."

"I doubt that. Naruto is in surgery," Sakura defended. Then she asked, "What happened anyway? I thought things were going great with you and Shikamaru?"

"I thought so too," her blonde friend said miserably. "But apparently he was still talking to Temari."

"No, he didn't…" Tenten said, her eyes wide.

"Yep. They got back together this morning."

Even over the noise of the bar, Sakura heard the slight inflection in Ino's tone. It was full of hurt and betrayal. The threat of Tobirama was still lurking in Sakura's mind like a predator in the shadows, but seeing her best friend so upset caused her heart to soften in sympathy. "At least you two weren't together that long."

Ino seemed to pause a moment as she studied Sakura, a faint look of confusion crossing her face. "We were together for almost five months."

Sakura blinked. Had it really been that long already? They had gotten together around the time Sakura had moved into Madara's house. That felt like it had only been a few, short weeks ago. Had the mafia really taken up so much of her time?

Apparently it had, judging by the frown Ino was shooting her. However, Sakura couldn't find it within herself to feel too sorry. Ino was a great friend, but she couldn't even begin to understand the fear and stress Sakura had been under since meeting Madara.

Fortunately, they were saved from their awkward silence when Ayame arrived with another round of drinks. She set down three shot glasses on the table with what smelled like tequila before she flashed Ino a sympathetic smile. "This one is on me," she said before she left to attend to the other tables.

Tenten glanced between Sakura and Ino before she grabbed her shot and raised it. "You know what, you're gorgeous and smart and deserve so much more than to be a rebound chick, so fuck him."

Sakura picked up her glass too. "Fuck him," she repeated.

That seemed to draw some of the life back into Ino for a smile began to show in the corner of her mouth. She picked up her shot glass as well and cheered it against theirs before echoing, "Fuck him."

Then they drank.

xx

An hour and four shots of tequila later, Sakura was definitely buzzed. It was the most carefree she had been all week. Which wasn't really saying much with everything that had happened at the hospital's annual fundraiser, but she still enjoyed listening to Ino tell a story about her latest bridezilla at her salon.

Even the sadness that had been overshadowing Ino's expression when Sakura had first arrived at the bar was absent. Under the haze of liquor, the outside world was so far away from their little group. It was just another night out with the girls.

"I don't know how you deal with those women," Tenten shook her head with secondhand annoyance.

Ino shrugged. "They're mostly harmless. They can be demanding, but they just want everything done right for their special day."

A doubtful hum sounded from Tenten before she shot a glance in Sakura's direction. "I prefer your job. At least your customers are unconscious."

"I believe they're normally called 'patients'," Sakura said, drawing a fit of giggles from the girls.

"Whatever you want to call them," Tenten said just as her phone pinged inside her purse. She dug the device out and unlocked the screen to read her message before she smiled at Sakura and Ino apologetically. "Neji is here. Sorry to bounce on you guys, but I have to work tomorrow and I have a meeting in the morning I can't miss."

Ino pouted. "You sure you don't want to stay for another round?"

"I always want to stay for another round," Tenten grinned. "But I really have to get going."

After another half-teasing whine from Ino, Tenten placed enough money on the table to cover her tab and then some before she gave the girls each a hug, Ino's lasting a little longer. Then the brunette was out the door.

With the absence of their buffer, the conversation at the table quickly dwindled. Sakura gazed down at her shot glass as she spun it slowly between her fingers. Even the loud murmur of dozens of conversations within the bar couldn't disguise the small pull of tension between them.

"I feel alone."

Ino's murmur caused Sakura to look up at her friend. A small, forced smile of sympathy crossed her lips. "It always feels that way after a breakup, but it'll get easier–"

"I don't mean Shikamaru."

Sakura had already known that, but there wasn't anything she could say. Not without putting Ino in danger. "Work has just been busy the last few weeks," she said, the lie tumbling out of her mouth far easier than it should have.

However, Ino's blue eyes were unwavering. "I don't believe you. I thought that if I gave you some time, you would eventually tell me, but it's been months, Sakura. You used to tell me everything. Do you not trust me anymore?"

"Of course I do, Ino."

"Then please talk to me."

Sakura opened her mouth, but nothing came out. Her gaze fell downcast guiltily and she stared down at her shot glass half-wishing it was full if only to keep her mouth busy for a moment. But it wasn't. And Ino was still waiting for an answer. She needed an escape.

"I have to use the bathroom," Sakura said, pushing away from the table. She didn't wait for a reply before she stood and made her way towards the back of the bar where the restrooms were.

Inside, Sakura stood at the sink. She was alone and she took a moment to look at herself in the mirror; really look at herself. She seemed older than she remembered. And not the typical way with wrinkles and greying hair. There was just something about her that gave off the feeling she had seen and done more in the past few months than the average person did in their lifetime.

The thud of the bathroom door abruptly opening and hitting the wall jarred Sakura out of her thoughts. Her head snapped towards the sound and her entire body tensed, ready for a fight, only to relax when she saw it was just a pair of girls coming in to relieve themselves. They were both drunk, judging by the way they spoke to each other in unnecessary raised voices.

Taking a deep breath, adrenaline melted out of Sakura's system for the umpteenth time that night. She washed her hands for one minute and then another as if she was scrubbing into surgery. She still had no idea what to tell Ino, but her blonde friend had had a few drinks tonight. Sakura was practiced enough at dodging her questions that she could at least redirect their conversation tonight until she could figure out what to tell her later.

After rinsing the soap from her hands, Sakura dried them on a towel before she pushed the restroom door open with her elbow. She followed the hall back towards the bar. The room was even more packed than when she had left as the Thursday night crowd started their weekend a little early. Weaving her way through the bodies, Sakura found Ino exactly where she had left her. She was still sitting at their little table, but her friend was hardly alone.

Leave it to Ino to find another guy while she was nursing a broken heart, Sakura thought. At least until she recognized the tall male with a shock of white hair she would know anywhere.

Tobirama.

Sakura stopped abruptly as her heart turned to stone in her chest. The patrons around her faded away as her entire world narrowed down until it was just Ino and Tobirama at their little table. His posture was relaxed as he stood with his hands in his pockets. In that moment, he looked like a regular guy in jeans and a black, leather jacket, but Sakura was only too aware he was anything but. She was rooted in place as Ino smiled up at Tobirama as they talked.

No, flirted.

They had been friends for far too long for Sakura not to recognize exactly what Ino was doing as she ran her hand through her long, blonde hair before she rested her elbow on the table, her chin on the back of her fingers.

From Sakura's angle, she couldn't see Tobirama's face, but she could read Ino easily enough. Her smile was friendly, but not promiscuous. Just a bit of fun with no intention to go anywhere, but it didn't stop Sakura's adrenaline from flooding her veins like a broken dam. This was her worst nightmare brought to life. She wanted to yell, wanted to scream for Ino to get away from him, but if there was one thing Sakura had learned from Madara it was that the mafia was like a giant, invisible chessboard. The pieces had to be moved carefully.

Keeping to the edge of the bar, Sakura stood still as a statue as she observed them with a critical eye. She didn't think Tobirama would be so bold as to manipulate Ino out of the bar here with so many people around, lest of all Sakura. He had to know she was here. So, what was he playing at?

A few more minutes passed as Tobirama and Ino chatted before he eventually took one step back. He flashed the blonde one last charming smile before he turned and walked away. Sakura didn't like the way Ino's eyes tracked him as he slipped through the bar, but she forced her attention to Tobirama as he made his way towards the kitchen and the back exit.

Sakura didn't know if it was the liquor swirling in her veins or the sudden, overwhelming instinct to protect her best friend that caused unrelenting fury to abruptly overcome her, but she was moving before she realized it.

Pushing her way around the patrons at the bar counter, Sakura tailed Tobirama. He passed the kitchen and headed down the short hallway before he slipped out the backdoor. She was quick to follow.

The door led to a back alley that was illuminated by only a single street light. It was half the width of a normal city street with dumpsters and trash cans lined against the brick walls on both sides. The alley reeked of garbage and old beer, but Sakura didn't notice any of that as she glanced both ways until she found which direction Tobirama had gone.

"You have some nerve," she growled. Her voice was low, but her words echoed against the brick in the otherwise quiet backstreet.

It was enough to make Tobirama slow to a stop. "Well, isn't this a nice surprise, little treasure. It's been far too long," he said almost pleasantly.

Sakura stilled a few yards away, her jaw clenching briefly at the nickname before she snarled, "Not nearly long enough."

That drew a single, deep chuckle from him. The sound only fueled the fire of her anger further. At least until Tobirama turned to face her. In the lowlighting, he looked exactly the same as he had before with his cold eyes and cruel, handsome face. Only now where there had once been a matching tattoo inked across his right cheek was a healing scar. It was still a little pink, still fresh, but Sakura recognized the injury immediately. It was a grazing bullet wound.

When the silence stretched on a moment too long, Tobirama cocked his head. "What? Is there something on my face?"

Swallowing thickly, Sakura forced her eyes away from the scar to meet his gaze. There was a hidden animosity simmering in his icy eyes that sent a shiver down her spine, but she didn't back down. She couldn't. Not with her best friend's life at stake.

"I don't know what you're playing at, but it ends here. This is your only warning," Sakura threatened, her courage slowly trickling back when her voice remained steady.

"Or what, you'll kill me?" Tobirama asked, the corner of his mouth curving into a faint smirk. "I think we both recall how well that went last time."

His arrogance struck a chord with her. Her eyes narrowed as that familiar resentment twisted in her chest like a snake curling up a tree to settle on a branch. "I won't miss again," she promised darkly. "You can target and terrorize me, but you will stay away from my family."

"And why would I do that? Ino seems like such a nice girl."

Her best friend's name out of his mouth made something within Sakura snap. With no regard of the consequences, she rapidly closed the distance between them until she could slam Tobirama against the side of the alley. His back struck the brick wall with an audible thud as she glared up at him, her palm digging into the middle of his ribcage.

"You will stay away from her," Sakura snarled.

Beneath her palm, Tobirama drew a single, easy breath as if her rough treatment didn't even faze him. "Or you'll do what?"

Too furious to think of a response, she remained silent, her glare her only answer. The smirk on his lips returned and his fingers were cold as they slid around her wrist before they tightened. She couldn't pull away from him even if she tried.

"Little girls shouldn't play with guns. You'll only shoot yourself," he murmured as if he was nothing more than a concerned friend. "And there's no one here to protect you now. Not even that little boy you call your security detail. Tell me, does Asao know you're out here now?"

As if Sakura had just realized the dangerous position she had put herself in, numbing fear slid down her spine. Her eyes flickered down the alley, but it was utterly empty. It was just the two of them. Only a single, lonely streetlight to cast a cool glow against the dark of the night.

Adrenaline flooded Sakura's system like a shot of Epinephrine through an unresponsive patient's body. She took a step back as she tried to yank her wrist out of Tobirama's grasp, but his grip was iron-clad. He forcefully steered her backwards across the dim alley until the brick on the opposite wall bit into her shoulder blades.

"And where do you think you're going?" he asked darkly. "I still owe you for what you did to my face. And there's a long list of things I would love to do."

In the semi-darkness, he caged her in, leaving no room for escape. She didn't even have the space to shrink away from him. Even after all the danger Sakura had been in recently, nothing compared to now. She was undeniably alone with not even a weapon to defend herself. It was almost hard to believe that just on the other side of the wall where her back was currently pinned was an entire bar full of people. Full of safety.

In that instant, Sakura was transported back to the time all those months ago to when Tobirama had abducted her. She felt like that scared little girl again. All alone in a dark world she knew nothing about.

At least until a loud bang sounded nearby in the tight alley.

Immediately, the pair jerked their heads towards the unexpected commotion. It was nothing more than a cat knocking over a garbage can, but it was all the distraction Sakura needed.

In one fluid motion, she jammed the heel of her boot down onto the top of Tobirama's foot before she forcefully shoved him back just enough to land a supported elbow to his sternum. She heard his hard exhale as she knocked the breath from him, but there was no time to feel victorious. She slipped out of his reach, quickly retreating back towards the backdoor of the bar.

There, Sakura paused as she eyed Tobirama. He coughed and placed a palm to his chest where she had struck him. She knew the blow had hurt, but it didn't seem to have fazed him nearly as much as she had hoped. He inhaled slowly before he glared at her. "That wasn't very nice."

"That was your only warning," she told him lowly as her fingers tightened on the door handle. "Next time, I won't be so kind."

The look he sent her chilled her to the bone. "This won't be our last meeting. We'll see each other again, little treasure. Soon."

Sakura chose that moment to make her escape. She yanked the door open and quickly slipped back inside the crowded bar. To her relief, Ino was still seated at their table when she returned. This time, alone.

The blonde looked up from her phone upon Sakura's approach before a frown crossed her lips. "You were gone awhile."

"Uh, sorry," Sakura said, reaching for her purse. She hoped Ino was too drunk to see how badly her hands were shaking. "I got a little sick. Drank too much."

That caused the pout on Ino's face to turn sympathetic. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," she said quickly. "But we should go home. Let's call an Uber."

Thankfully, Ino readily agreed. Her blonde friend was far more intoxicated than Sakura. After her encounter with Tobirama, Sakura felt stone-cold sober, but she still went through with finding them a ride home. She texted Asao, ordering him to follow their taxi to Ino's. The last thing Sakura wanted was to leave her best friend to make her way home alone with Tobirama still on the prowl. Ino was too drunk to ask why Sakura rode with her back to her apartment, but she made sure the blonde got inside safely before Sakura finally collapsed into the passenger seat of her escort's car.

Asao was obviously smart enough not to ask any questions. He merely drove her back to Madara's in silence, each mile feeling longer than the last as Sakura wondered if she had just left her best friend in the clutches of the murderous, younger Senju brother.

It was well past midnight when Sakura arrived safely behind the gates of Madara's protected property, but she couldn't sleep. Instead, she sat alone at the island counter in the kitchen as stress clawed its way through her stomach until it physically pained her.

She didn't know how long she sat there until she heard footsteps echo softly from down the hall. Just by the sound, she knew it wasn't Madara and her eyes flickered towards the doorway a few seconds before Itachi rounded the corner. He was dressed in jeans and a hoodie, his long hair tied at the nape of his neck and away from his face. His eyes briefly lingered on her as he nodded his head in acknowledgement before he wandered to the far counter where a pot of coffee was still warm.

The room was quiet as he made his drink to his liking, but Sakura was far too preoccupied to notice the spoonfuls of sugar he dumped into his mug.

"You're staring," Itachi said, his back to her as he stirred his coffee.

Blinking, Sakura realized he was right, but she didn't look away. She chewed her lower lip as he turned around, his brow arching expectantly when she continued to eye him. "I need a favor," she finally said. When Itachi continued to simply gaze at her, her expression hardened minutely. "I've never asked you for anything." Even after she had stitched him up.

Sakura didn't say the words, but they were loud and clear. Itachi seemed to consider that a moment as he drank his coffee before he inclined his head minutely. "What do you need?"

"My friend, Ino," she explained. "The Senju are tailing her. She needs protection."

To her dismay, a small frown crossed Itachi's face. "We don't have men just sitting around waiting to provide a security detail."

"You did for me," Sakura countered.

A small sigh pressed out of his nose. "You were…a special case."

That should have warmed her, but now all it did was make her anxiety hungrier. "This is important, Itachi," she told him, her voice as hard and unbending as steel.

The man across the kitchen seemed to study her for a long moment before he finally relented. "Fine, I'll have one of my men keep an eye on her."

"Your best man."

"Shisui is my best man," Itachi countered. Then he added after a moment, "But I'll give you my second best."

Sakura's shoulders slumped in relief. She flashed him a small, but grateful smile as she held her emotions in check. Today had been an even longer and more exhausting day than she could have ever anticipated, but at least she had Itachi to help her with this one thing.

"Thank you," she said.

Unsurprisingly, Itachi merely waved her off before he exited the kitchen and headed down the hall. She heard the start of a call to one of his men, likely giving the protection order, before his voice slowly faded.

Alone again, Sakura's reassurance didn't last long. Her encounter of Tobirama only renewed her fears and worries, but it was no longer her own safety that was in danger. She could only hope she hadn't just signed her own best friend's death certificate tonight.

tbc…

As always, many thanks to those of you who reviewed. I really appreciated it.

Special thanks to QueenAvocado13 and Nursebaymax on AO3 who really inspired me to get this thing posted this week. In case you missed it, please be sure to check out the wonderful artwork by Nursebaymax ( emilyisnursebaymax on tumblr) of a delicious Mr. and Mrs. Smith style MadaSaku!

As a note, if you guys have any questions in your review about the story, I am much better at reaching on AO3. is a little harder to reply to so I tend to miss questions here.

Hope you all enjoyed! Much love!