The Last Ones Standing

Chapter 13

AN: The Last Ones Standing got another fanart! : / / itsravencrone . tumblr post / 620636059634630656 / quick-drawing-sakura-madara-the-last-ones Thank you itsravencrone for this beautiful picture!

"So, where shall we go?" asked Madara. "Branch number three, or the Rasengan-region?"

Sakura raised her eyes to him. Was he really leaving the choice entirely to her? She knew it was well meant, but having decision-power equaled bearing the responsibility for the decision. He probably didn't know that it was a novelty for her. Never before had she realized the burden and discomfort of responsibility so clearly. Maybe because she never had many opportunities to really make choices.

Sakura bit her lip. "Branch three." Whatever choice she made, she would double-guess herself to no end. This way at least she held to more hope. She wasn't ready to accept rabbit goddess moving 500 dimensions without leaving a trace. Travelling up the next branch, she could keep hoping.

"Branch three it is."

"I've told you to finish the complete scroll before you start another!" Sakura just found out that a scroll she thought long empty still contained two cans of beans and almost a kilogram of rice. "You're introducing chaos into my supply list. And if we're already at it: yesterday I found your dirty socks in the scroll 4-2. I've told you already fifteen times that used cloths go to the underscrolls in the scroll 16 – the one that gets unloaded in Shikkotsu. And now there are your dirty socks among my clean ones, thank you very much!" Sakura was in such a shitty and confrontative mood tonight that she must be her blood soon. But it didn't prevent her from lashing out.

"I was planning to wear them again."

"Then you should have worn them to the end! Why put them back! They don't get any cleaner from it, you know?"

Madara didn't answer, but his digging in the fire with the stick increased in aggressiveness. Sakura would swear he was pouting. Internally, because it never showed on his face. "If we're already at scroll management," he said five minutes later, when she already forgot what was she angry about, "then last week you sealed the scroll 3-7-1 directly in scroll 3, and not in the scroll 3-7. How am I supposed to keep track of things if you keep messing up the structure?"

"I thought that I would need the scissors from 3-7-1 so I sealed it shallower so I don't have to dig for it!"

"And why after using those scissors you didn't seal it back in the correct place?"

"Because I forgot, ok?" Now she was pouting. And she knew it showed. It made her even more angry.

Madara, apparently satisfied with gaining an upper hand, lied out his bedroll and patted the space next to him. "Let's stop this silly quarrel. Come over here, will you?"

Sakura snorted. Of course, now that he 'won', he wants to end the argument! "Oh no, we're not doing this. If you want, you can go and jerk off by yourself!" announced Sakura and unrolled her sleeping bag on the opposite side of fire.

They picked up their taijutsu practice once again, and from Madara's initiative. It was hilarious to observe how giddy from excitement he was getting at the prospect of combat – even if theirs was a mock one and limited by a number of rules. Sakura could see that it really brought him joy. In those short moments she was able to glimpse something child-like in him, something more akin to Sakura's peers. Maybe even a faint reminiscence of how he used to be in his younger years? Seeing him so happy brought smile to Sakura's face.

Nevertheless, the spars were demanding. Sakura felt really rusty - the leisure break in Shikkotsu didn't make her any good - and all her attempts on attacks were rather pathetic. Whenever she would hit him without her chakra-enhanced strength, he wouldn't even budge, unless she placed a hit really well, like onto his jaw, or precisely in the solar plexus, which happened super rarely. The usually hits – against the torso, against the arms didn't bother him at all.

On a brighter side, after five or so sparring sessions (and some flexibility exercises that frustrated Sakura included in her evening routine) Madara started to have troubles landing hits on her. He might have been fast, but apparently his speed was also partially chakra-enhanced. Without this boost, Sakura could avoid him, and it made her really proud.

But whenever he did land a punch, she could feel it in her bones. If he was holding back for her, then he wasn't holding back enough not to hurt her. Sakura was grateful for it, it meant he at least found her capable enough to receive a true punch. He wouldn't pause after connecting a hit, would go straight after her, as if in a real fight. Usually that second punch she managed to avoid. It served her well to feel once again in a combat-like situation.

They were going through their spar for a quarter of an our already, and Sakura was getting a bit short of breath. But the air in this dimension was really god, so cold and crisp, she wasn't sweating much yet. She dove under his punch and aimed a swiping kick at his legs. He dodged. When she was straightening up, he spun, surprising her, and almost landed a punch. Almost, because she blocked with her forearm.

And immediately recoiled from blinding pain. "Stop!" she shouted exactly when another punch, aimed at the same arm was already coming.

Madara managed to extinguish some of the momentum. Some. Not all of it - the hit connected. Sakura screamed feeling how splinters of bone dislocate into her muscles. She stumbled backwards, unable to control the fall, her left hand clutching her right forearm in futile attempt of soothing the pain. Falling, she hit her spine against the stones.

Madara pounced, and held her, helping her to sit up. "What's wrong?!"

Sakura fought through the nausea. "My arm. Is broken." She wanted to scream again, but she held it down. Gods, that hurt. Gingerly, she turned the arm to see the injury – as she though, the ulna bone pierced the skin. Madara's first hit must have shattered it, and the second relocated the shards. Ugh. But she won't use the seal for a mere broken bone, that was sure. Meaning, she will need to concentrate enough to self-operate.

"I didn't mean to. I didn't mean to." Madara was staring at where the bone-splinter was protruding from her skin. He sounded strange.

Sakura shook her head. "No problem. Really." She tried smiling but it didn't work. She sent a portion of chakra to her nerves to numb them. She couldn't anesthetize completely though – she had to feel what she was doing. Clenching her teeth, Sakura pressed the protruding bone back inside. Madara was pacing around her and it wasn't helping at all. There, the biggest piece went into the right place – Sakura let out an exhale. Now she could start mending it, she thought with relief, sending a massive pulse of energy into her forearm.

"I should have known better," said Madara, more to himself it seems than to her, finishing another circle around her.

"I don't think you hit any harder that usually. It was an accident, that's all."

"Why did it happen, then?" Madara's voice was back to normal cadence, but it was an angry version of his voice. She would have recoiled from it, but this time Sakura knew he was angry at himself.

"It might be the lack of sunlight…" mused Sakura pushing more chakra into periosteum. She needed this bone well supplied with nutrients. "Most dimensions are dark, and it was you who did the bulk of supply-trips in our world. I was lazing around in Shikkotsu, as far as I remember." She looked up to him seeing if her joke found a receptive audience.

"Shikkotsu has sunlight." Well, the joke didn't work that well, but at least he was talking.

"Yeah, but it's mostly overcast there, isn't it? And Shikkotsu's sun is so mild, you cannot imagine ever getting a sunburn there, right?"

"Right."

"And that's what is needed. That kind of power of sunlight. Well, I will need to take it under consideration by the next return. And otherwise," she lifted her hand, twisted it so he could see the place of injury, and beamed at him, "see: everything's fine. Not even a trace left!"

He never asked for a spar again.

That made her so sad. But she didn't dare to initiate it herself. He had his reasons; he would probably just refuse and she would end up feeling shitty. And Sakura was already so self-conscious about being too forward. She could never really grasp what he wanted. Maybe the trade-off from the fun of spar wasn't worth the risk for him. Or maybe she was mistaken, maybe the spars weren't that enjoyable for him. She had hard time figuring him out and it was frustrating.

Not only when it came to spars. Even more so when it came to their nightly interactions. For the longest time she thought he didn't really want them. That the compensation that she proposed was only barely acceptable for him.

But then he told her that he drew pleasure from touching her. She shoved that thought away back then, too preoccupied with other things, but now, as the anxiety from checking the status of the people bound to the tree was gone, and the decision about the next route was taken… When they travelled again a hundred dimensions without much happening… Now, Sakura was thinking about his words.

She assumed that it was good that he had more fun than she expected, but she still didn't understand. For her, there wasn't just anything exciting in that what she was doing to him. Such a simple hand movement – grab, squeeze hard and pump. And repeat long enough until he finishes. What was exciting in that? It was so… impersonal, so mechanical… Whenever she looked at him, his face or bearings betrayed no emotions. He made no sounds, he never moved. He would only warn her when he was about to finish.

He said she was missing out… Should she feel something? Did it mean she was somehow broken if she didn't? Was there something wrong with her?

Or maybe she wasn't broken, maybe it was him? She was at least providing him some feedback. He never did. He never told her what he wanted. It was like walking in a dark room and expecting not to trip.

How long can one go on without any reinforcement? He wasn't helping her at all, and she didn't understand why. The only answer that her subconsciousness was providing was that what she was doing wasn't really good for him. Then he should tell her, how else could she improve! He was always like this, it was so frustrating! Whenever she did something wrong, he never sought confrontation, he would only stand back, and she had to figure out her mistakes by herself! Like then when she lashed out at him after return from the second branch, or when she was being selfish and didn't even think about returning the favours. Sakura would very much preferred to be told about her mistakes.

So, one evening, after a hard and stressful day, with passing several worlds that had no breathable atmospheres (luckily interspersed with those that had), when what she needed was exactly a tension release and a blissful slumber afterwards, she couldn't ban those thoughts out of her head.

"No. Stop." Sakura squirmed away as Madara slid fingers between her folds. "It hurts."

Madara jerked his hand away. "I'm sorry." He shook his head in astonishment. "I'll be more careful. I'm sorry, I must have.."

"No. It's me. I'm not… It's not that I'm not in the mood… Because I want to be in the mood, just… that... It's not getting wet there… I don't know why. Until now it always did," she finished unhappily.

"That's probably best if we just forget it for today."

Sakura shook her head. "But I want to! It's just that my body isn't cooperating."

"Do you have any idea why?"

"Because I'm stressed and tired?" Sakura's eye escaped sidewards.

"You're stressed and tired most of the time. And now you have something on your mind and you're not telling," he deadpanned and Sakura bit her lip. "And should I remind you who was shouting from the rooftops about how we should tell each other everything?"

"Oh, just shut up!" Sakura huffed in irritation. She shifted away from him, curled up and wrapped her arms around knees. "I'm just thinking all the time that what I do is no good for you…" she murmured from the safe distance of half of a meter, her mouth and nose hidden behind her knees.

"What?"

"It's just not fair what you're doing!"

"Not fair…? How is that what I do not fair?" There was a look of completely lack of comprehension on Madara's face.

She should have taken a cue from his expression, but Sakura was too worked up. "You never tell me anything! Your part works so well. You… you make me fly, sky high every time." Sakura threw a quick look in his direction. "My part… I don't even know if you like what I'm doing… You never tell me anything… How should I know if I'm doing it right?" Sakura took a calming breath. "I'm only worrying and I'm so self-conscious. How can I even start enjoying it if I don't know if you like what I'm doing?"

"You're doing everything fine. Men are not that complicated. Don't put so much thought into it."

"But you must want something! Can't you tell me?! I always tell you stuff. Ok, maybe I'm not telling," she corrected herself, "but I'm letting you know, right?"

"Right."

"And you appreciate it."

Madara didn't say anything, so she took it as a small victory. "Then tell me something as well. What do you want?"

"Me?"

"Yes, you. Who else?"

He looked so unhappy for a moment, that Sakura wanted to climb into his lap and embrace him, hold him. Hide him.

And then something in his face shifted - he considered with slanted eyes, as if she was a puzzle to solve. Almost as if she posed some kind of danger to him. She must have been imagining things - no one posed a danger to Uchiha Madara.

"I want to kiss you there," he said finally and there was a challenge in his voice.

Sakura's mouth fell open. She wasn't that sheltered not to know about those kinds of acts, but… they always struck her as very odd. And the only context she knew them from were men's vulgar remarks about how they wanted women to perform those acts on them. She wasn't even exactly aware that it worked the other way as well. Well, it certainly could… An image as brief as a short-circuit flashed in front of her eyes – Madara's head between her legs. Blood rushed to her cheeks.

She suppressed the urge to squirm and touch her face, to check if her cheeks were indeed as hot as they felt. Instead, she straightened up and looked Madara in the eyes. "That's cheating. It's again something that you would do to me!"

"You asked what I want. I answered. Do whatever you want with it." Madara shrugged. His smile was a bit too triumphant for her taste. Oh no, she's not letting him off the hook that easily.

"Are you trying to check-mate me with the fact that I will be afraid to return it?" Sakura narrowed her eyes. He could have been all-powerful, but surely, he wasn't above playing dirty. Maybe that was the reason why he was as successful as he was…

Madara shrugged again. "As I said – do with this information whatever you want. Just get off my back."

"Do you want me to do it?" From those snippets of overheard conversations Sakura had an impression that those acts were highly valued among men. And they sounded repulsive back then because those were some drunken strangers in a tavern commenting on women they didn't even know. Madara wasn't repulsive. Intimidating – yes. Confusing - sure. But never repulsive. Even at the very beginning, it was more of a freak out at the unknown than anything else; and by now she was long used to him.

"That's not what I meant. You don't have to return this favour."

"I don't have to?"

"Of course not."

"But would you want me to?"

There was silence in response. Silence was always an agreement with him. "Ok. Ok." Sakura nervously tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She was burning up, the loose T-shirt she wore to bed suddenly felt constricting like a twelve-layer wedding kimono. She raised her hands to her cheeks. Hot. Ok, breathe. There was a tingle going up her spine, all the way up, to the basis of her skull. And there was a literal puddle between her legs. Whatever problem her body had today, it was long gone. They didn't even need to resort to anything unusual – she could now just turn around, and let him do it with his fingers, like every other day. Which probably she should. But now she couldn't stop imagining how would that feel if he would really, really kiss her there. "Let's do it." What was this alien feeling in her now? Excitement, nervousness, restlessness… Was it how desire felt like? It was making it difficult to think straight. "So, what do I do?"

Madara stared at her for the longest time. He was still waiting for her to chicken out, Sakura gathered. She glared back. Madara shook his head and took her leg by the ankle and moved it to the side. Sakura offered no resistance. He moved her other leg. He arranged her as if she was a doll, and she watched it, mesmerized. He was now kneeling between her open legs. Sakura gulped.

"Pants off," he said tapping with two fingers at her hip. "And lie down."

"But you're gonna see everything!" A screeching protest escaped her lips even though she knew she should have held it down. She had asked for it herself, how would it make her look if she backed out now?

"You are aware that I've seen most of it already, are you?"

"But not from this angle…" answered Sakura weakly and covered her eyes in shame. This was probably the most pathetic argument she'd ever made.

"We don't have to do that at all. It's not that I'm insisting…"

Sakura shook her head. "No. That's fine," she said and pulled down her underwear. Blood was rushing in her head; she could actually hear it.

He bent and spread her lower lips with two fingers, lowered his head and she felt his breath against her wet flesh. Sakura took a much too audible inhale. He didn't even touch her really and her body was already singing. She wanted to arch and press against something, she wanted to make sounds, she wanted so many things.

And then he kissed her there. He really did. She thought he would start from the side, work his way towards the inside, as he always did with his fingers. But no. He just closed his mouth on her clit and did what, for the lack of better wording, could indeed be called 'kissing'. First delicately, just closing his mouth around it, then applying more pressure, nibbling and enveloping it with his lips.

Sakura dug her heels into the ground and grasped blindly to find something to hold on to. At some point she succeeded – this something being an edge of the mat. She had impression that she was moaning all the time, but she wasn't even sure.

And then he stopped, straightened himself up and looked at her. Sakura propped herself up on her elbows.

"I… I want…" she started. But what did she want? For him to put his mouth back there? Oh yes, that for sure. But what was setting her nerves ablaze even now when he was away? "I want… I want to do the same for you," she blurted out. The image of how would it be was burning on the inner side of her eyelids. "I want to make you feel this way," she whispered breathlessly.

He pressed palm against her stomach pushing her down, and she complied. When he lowered his head this time, and closed his mouth around her bud – she didn't hold it. She arched, grabbed at him, getting a fistful of his hair and pulled.

He didn't move away, just the contrary, pressed harder. And then he sucked. Sakura sobbed. He stopped.

Then she felt his tongue drawing circles around her bud, flicking it back and forth, and she couldn't think anymore. Some time into it his fingers found her entrance and started to draw those slow, hypnotic circles around it.

He let go of the most sensitive part of her and dove lower – licked from her entrance back to her clit. And again. And then he swallowed. Sakura covered her face - those must have been her juices – she was sure it was simply flowing from her. And he… he just ate it. He returned to her clit and together with another round of suction that he applied a thought appeared in Sakura's head – will she also do that? She came as hard as never before.

She lied boneless for a very long while, starring at the sky full of strange, green stars. Euphoria was coursing in her veins. It almost felt too good to get up, but they weren't done yet. Sakura lifted herself up. He was sitting there, casually propping his chin on his hand.

She recalled her thought from moment ago. How will it feel to do it to him? Mirroring his movements from before, she shifted his legs to make space; with trembling fingers unlaced his trousers. One more glimpse up – he was watching her, scrutinizing her as it seemed to Sakura. He still thought she wouldn't dare.

"Now, you lie down," she said trying to keep her voice even.

Maybe the daring part was what made it exciting? She dug her fingers into his hips, probably harder than it was necessary, and slowly, oh so slowly lowered her head, until the tip of his cock was directly in front of her nose. She opened her mouth just enough to extend her tongue and licked the very tip.

And she felt it – a wave of tension under her palms. He didn't move, but he tensed all over. She licked again, covering a bit larger area. This time she tasted something – it tasted salty. Her head swam – she was really doing it. Really doing something so… No correct word appeared. Something she had never expected herself to do.

Another lick. And another.

Sakura forced her palms to relax – she was gripping him much too hard. Took a breath. So, what next?

She lowered her head again and carefully enveloped his head with her lips. Closing her eyes, she tried imitating what she imagined she would do if she was kissing someone. His head was all slick and her lips were sliding around easily, nibbling and caressing him. She had to admit it, she was getting into it – if was actually pleasurable.

But was it how it was supposed to be done? With him it didn't work like with her. Hers was only a pleasure button, just something to press for the right effect. For him… Some part of Sakura always knew, just until now she never verbalized it. For him it was about simulating an intercourse. Her closed fist served that purpose. And now, her mouth was supposed to do that. A new wave of heat hit her with this realization.

She opened her lips a bit wider and moved her head so that his tip slid inside, millimeter after millimeter, until it wasn't only his head that was in, but also his shaft. It was strange to have such a large object in her mouth. She felt him brushing against her tongue. Madara made a sound. She would have jerked, if she wasn't so absolutely preoccupated with her task. She didn't want to look up either, somehow the angles were all wrong, her face being too close to his crotch…

She took him deeper. She didn't know what to do with her tongue, so she pressed it to him and swirled it a bit. He made another sound, louder one. Okay, she was just too curious – she withdrew and lifted of her head to look at him. He looked… different. His mouth was slightly open, and brows furrowed, and his eyes… His eyes… There was expression of acute focus in them and of heat that she had never seen before. And traces of Sharingan fading into blackness.

"Your Sharingan…"

"I'm sorry. It was on a reflex. I won't anymore." He closed his eyes and when he opened them back, they were all black.
Sakura licked her lips. "It's okay, you can keep it on if you want. I don't mind."

She lowered her head again and this time she wasn't afraid to take him in. She tightened her lips around him, grabbed the part that was out of her mouth and bobbed her head up and down. That was it, wasn't it? Imitation of an intercourse – him sliding inside of her. She was so hot all over that she thought she wouldn't take it. The excitement was trying to boil blood in her veins. She picked up the speed.

Her tongue was in the way more often than it was not, and there was much too much saliva in her mouth and her jaw ached, but he was reacting, she could feel it. His cock twitching, some more fluid coming out, those minute jerks she felt under her hands. Sounds. It was thrilling. Exhilarating.

She was doing it right, and there was something inexplicably exciting about that. Sakura rubbed her thighs together. She almost felt as if she wanted to be touched again.

But the task at hand was more important. He would come, judging from her earlier experiences rather sooner than later, so she needed to stay focused. She squeezed her fist harder and pumped in the rhythm of the movements of her head.

As she thought – a warning came, in the form of his hand in her hair. "Watch out," he said trying to pull her away.

Sakura splayed her free hand on his stomach in an affirmative gesture and dove lower. Hopefully he'd understand. It occurred to her that maybe they should have discussed it earlier. Was it weird to do it? But if it was supposed to be like an intercourse, then it was the whole point of it…

He let go of her hair. So, it wasn't weird. Sakura clamped her lips tighter. And almost jumped in shock when a spray of liquid hit much closer to the back of her throat than she expected. She stilled, trying not to choke. Another spurt followed and she managed to swallow it before yet another came. It didn't taste good at all. But it didn't matter. She felt it, she felt it all. All his reactions, all that it was for him. She tasted him, she felt the movements, even they were so small and restricted.

She moved her tongue making sure everything was gone. And slowly released him. Unwound fingers from him. Dared to look up.

The way he was looking at her almost made her tear up. She never, ever imagined anyone could look at her like that. With that amount of affection.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please share your thoughts with me! The feedback gets me going, and helps me keep up the momentum through this impossibly long fic! Please keep it coming, because, sometimes, I look at the amount of work I still have ahead of me and I'm tini-tiny bit overwhelmed.