2 Months Earlier…

Namikaze Naruto, for all his hyperactive mind, boundless energy, constant mischief, and frequent bumbling, was not stupid.

He wasn't stupid and neither was his boyfriend.

Sasuke kept in touch with Sakura more often than Naruto did, but Naruto read all the correspondence even if he didn't write back. She was constantly telling them about her accomplishments, how well she was adjusting, the friends she'd made, in the last month.

But only ever by email or text. Every time they tried to call her, she would only text. No video calls, even though she had promised many to assuage their dislike of her leaving Japan despite how happy it had clearly made her. Her emails were strangely devoid of her frequent medical spiels, instead keeping to more neutral topics.

They never heard her voice. She never sent any pictures. Essentially, she didn't exist outside of the written word.

So they had been harboring suspicions for a few weeks now. Little things all added up, and today Naruto had decided—fully without Sasuke's knowledge because he would call it paranoid, that it was too soon to jump to conclusions—to call Duke University and try to get through to her that way. Something was wrong, had been wrong for perhaps too long, and it was now time to act.

He stayed up late to catch the university while they were open, was passed around through various administrators, fighting through red tape and classic bureaucracy, before eventually reaching someone in Sakura's department.

"Sakura Haruno? Hmm… I'm not seeing her in our system. One moment, please…"

The pause as the receptionist searched was terrifying. Naruto held his breath, a horrible cold dread creeping up from his fingers and toes to his arms and legs and coalescing in his chest.

"Sorry, it looks like she ended up refusing her invitation. You might want to contact her yourself if you need to speak to her."

Naruto hung up without saying anything, choking on his terror.

Sakura was missing—and had been for a whole month. No one knew where she was. No one knew if she was safe, or if she was suffering. No one knew if she was even alive. And it was all his fault for not acting on his suspicions sooner.

He was on the phone with his Uncle Kakashi, chief of Konoha Police Department, thirty seconds later. Fifteen fraught minutes later, he contacted Sasuke to inform him of what they knew—the little that there was to know. If anyone had so much as harmed a single hair on her head, he would be going to jail for homicide.

At least he wouldn't be alone, because when Sasuke arrived, he was happy to show the illegal pistol at his hip.

They were going to get her back, no matter the cost.

Present Day…

The day was like any other day. Misery dogged her heels as she sat in Madara's office with a book, a gag in her mouth to prevent her from making any noise during any phone calls he might take. It wasn't necessary anymore really—she hadn't given up entirely, but Sakura was aware that she wasn't going to be leaving any time soon.

Madara was always, always, always two steps ahead of her. No plan she hatched, no scheme she plotted—nothing got past him. So far, she'd been cut off from even attempting any of her ideas; Madara adeptly interfered with a mild hint or vague rebuke and she'd know he was aware that she was going to try something. Knowing that, she'd stop the attempt and resume playing the game of good little girlfriend.

Housewife, soon, he said. He was going to get them married in court with a corrupt associate who wouldn't care about her unwillingness and then he was going to get her pregnant. So far all that had prevented it was the birth control shot she'd gotten right before she had been supposed to leave Japan. It was inconveniently only effective for 3 months, so time was ticking down quickly before she could easily find herself pregnant. It only took once, after all, and Madara was going two or three times every other day it seemed. His libido was off the charts now that she couldn't say no.

They would have their actual wedding as soon as Sakura could be trusted to behave in public. The child wouldn't be illegitimate because they'd have been civically married before their conception, but the grand affair Madara had described to her would only happen once she was truly adjusted. He wouldn't risk a scandal—much less her disobedience.

She didn't think that would ever happen, but she was also aware that there was only so much longer she could keep fighting. The truth was…

Sakura was tired. She was hurting; she was miserable, she was grieving the life she'd lost. And it was all at the hands of a man she'd once loved. No, she wasn't broken, but she wasn't sure how much longer that would last.

Especially because as time went on, Madara was kinder to her. She could never forget what he'd done to her, what he continued doing to her, but the cruelty was gone. She sometimes wondered if, at least in his deluded mind, he thought that she was coming to his side. That she might really be willing. And maybe, just maybe, slowly she was. She knew what Stockholm syndrome was. She knew that it would happen eventually.

She wondered if it wouldn't be better that way.

Sakura found herself snapping out of her drowsy thoughts when Yune, the kind-hearted housekeeper who could never, ever know the truth of the situation—Madara had threatened that he would actually kill the older woman if she found out—knocked on the office's open door, bowed, and said, "Uchiha-sama, there is a policeman at the door for you."

Sakura was glad that she was strategically turned away so that Yune couldn't tell that she was gagged.

A singular eyebrow raised. Madara stood slowly and Sakura felt his hard gaze on her. But she hadn't done anything. She hadn't!

But did she hope?

Honestly? No. Not even the slightest. There was no place for hope here. It would be something entirely unrelated and she would be left to languish, so close yet so far from the freedom she so desperately craved.

But did she even know how to be free anymore? She wasn't sure, but she was willing to find out, no matter what it took.

"Thank you, Yune, that will be all."

Yune left without a fuss and Madara turned on her.

"What did you do?"

He came forward and roughly tore the gag from her mouth. Sakura took a quick moment to wet her lips before—

"I didn't!" Sakura cried immediately, launching to her feet. Oh, god, this was going to hurt. There was no other way to convince him she was uninvolved in this. The punishment—when she hadn't done anything wrong!—she couldn't, she couldn't— "Just talk to them! You'll know it wasn't me!"

"Really, now? Are you certain? Because we can start this all over, Sakura. I've given you freedom and this is how you react? You spit in my face like this?"

Tears streamed down her face now and she didn't know what to do except pander to his delusion. "No, no, Madara—babe, please—you know I love you—"

Madara was unmoved. "I will be going to meet with the police. You will stay here, silent and still. I don't want to hurt you Sakura, but I will do what is necessary for our relationship."

She nodded frantically. "I will, I will. Please, you'll see I didn't do anything."

Madara nodded once, then gestured to the chair. She sat down without hesitation, obediently folding her hands in her lap and looking down. She wouldn't. She was going to obey and everything would be well. It would be fine, it wasn't like they were here for her—

Locking the door behind him, Madara left. The office was relatively close to the back of the house, so even if she screamed it was unlikely it would be heard from the front door. Trembling all over, Sakura stared down at her lap and waited for the storm to pass.

Moments passed. Nothing. Sakura peeked up from her lap and subtly looked around the room. It was quiet. She was alone.

There was a phone.

A landline.

No, if she did that she would be punished beyond belief. She would be crushed brutally, shattered to pieces. Madara would break her until she was nothing but an empty shell for his love. She would—she couldn't—

Diving for the phone, Sakura jammed 119 into the receiver and waited with bated breath for an answer.

Hatake Kakashi had never liked the Uchiha, with the sole exception of his best friend, Obito, who stood behind him and a little to the left of his position in front of Uchiha Madara's front door. The man himself took up the majority of the doorway, his large stature blocking off most of the interior of the home behind him.

"How can I help you, officers?"

Kakashi gladly presented the search warrant for the mansion. "We would like to do a search of your home, Uchiha-sama. If you would allow us to enter—"

"And what is this warrant for?"

"We cannot disclose that at this time, sir," Kakashi replied stoically. Damn Uchiha.

"Madara-sama," Obito spoke up. "Really, you don't have to worry. You're not a suspect or anything. We just need to do a quick sweep of the place, nothing big."

Obito was so full of shit. Kakashi adored him.

Uchiha Madara was stubborn as hell, though, and stalled them for almost fifteen minutes before they decided they were going to have to charge him with civil disobedience. This was outrageous, but unfortunately they were stuck because a man of Madara's standing was not a person you wanted to piss off unnecessarily.

Well, unless you were Hatake Kakashi and Uchiha Obito.

What ultimately ended the stalemate was unexpected, to say the least. There was an update from dispatch that they'd received a distress call from this very address, one Haruno Sakura claiming to be held captive by the man standing in front of them.

That was enough. Several things happened in rapid succession: Kakashi kicked in the door, which banged loudly into the wall behind it; there was a faint scream from the back of the house; Obito rushed in the direction of the scream, which had grown shriller and more desperate; Kakashi turned on Madara, who scowled but was compliant with his arrest—Kakashi knew that unfortunately, Madara would be out on bail within hours for first being seen by a judge—and suddenly there was the bang of another door. Seconds later, Obito returned with a woman who was battered and bruised and yet—the dangerous look in her eyes; vicious glee when she looked at her captor in handcuffs; the fiery, delighted victory painted on her face—she was the definition of a vengeful goddess.

The woman, Haruno Sakura, spat at her captor's feet as she passed. Madara stood unflinchingly, but their eyes met and Kakashi saw the silent communication for what it was: Sakura had won this one, but Madara wasn't about to let her go without a fight. And Sakura wasn't going to let him take her again—not without a fight.

As EMS showed up to evaluate Sakura and get her to the hospital for treatment, Obito passed Madara to Kakashi, who took great care to get Madara into the back of the cop car as ungently as possible. Madara 'accidentally' banged his head against the side of the door. Kakashi apologized shamelessly. For all that Madara was untouchable, so was Kakashi. Nepotism wasn't unique to the Uchiha clan. In general, though, it was best to treat people, even suspects, with a basic amount of respect.

Kakashi 'accidentally' tripped Madara as he went down. Fuck this guy.

"I'll have you sued for assault," Madara said coldly once he was finally settled inside. He was unruffled, but Kakashi had taken great pleasured in the flash of annoyance and discomfort at his treatment so far before he composed himself.

"I look forward to it," Kakashi replied cuttingly. Shutting the door behind him, he quickly radioed back in a status report. He watched the ambulance head out and hoped, for Sakura's sake, that the Uchiha head would be locked up for even one year. He doubted he'd have much more than a fine and, if they were very lucky, probation.

Kakashi rather thought Sakura would be Madara's biggest obstacle, not the law.

Sakura lay back in her hospital bed and cried into Naruto's arms, the nurse just having left after giving Sakura a shot to calm her nerves.

"Thank you," she gasped through her tears. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"I just wish it had taken less time," Naruto said, tears streaming down his own face. "I tried but they didn't find anything for so long, dattebayo!"

"I don't care," Sakura sobbed. "Thank you. You saved my life!"

Sakura felt Sasuke lay a comforting hand on her shoulder. He never was very good at emotions, despite feeling them so deeply. The simple show of support spoke many more words than Sasuke ever would say aloud.

"Thank you," she said one last time, relaxing, and then the sedatives she'd been given kicked in and she slowly fell asleep in her loved ones' embrace.

1 Year Later…

Sakura stared up at the large building in front of her with wide eyes. Despite seeing many buildings of similar architecture in Japan, this was the most impressive, most amazing, most beautiful sight she'd ever seen.

Duke University Medical Center. She was here at last.

Today was her first day, an orientation of sorts. Despite being delayed for a year because of her abuser and the required healing after captivity, Duke was happy to welcome her in the fold once she explained her circumstances to them. They were sympathetic and apparently were actually eager for her to come—she was considered a valuable resource for them and were willing to make exceptions for her.

After the vicious legal battle between Madara and the courts—Namikaze Minato was happy to do anything for his son, which included interfering and getting Senju Tobirama appointed as the judge on Madara's case—and then the civil battle between Sakura and Madara that Sarutobi Hiruzen, a known friend of Tobirama's, was happy to judge—Sakura had won 10 million yen in damages and Madara had ended up with six months in Fuchu Prison, then two years on probation.

She was safe, at least for two and a half years. It would be plenty of time to get stronger and make sure he could never touch her again.

Sakura stopped in at her new apartment in downtown Raleigh already. It was similar to the one she'd originally rented, furnished and ready for move-in immediately, but much more nicely appointed. For all that she'd be paid for her part on the research team, Sakura was going to be flying high with her 10 million yen, so the expenses she had to replace everything she'd lost and then some weren't going to be difficult to handle. Madara had been released less than twenty-four hours in jail on bail, and when she'd finally been in a place to recover the belongings he'd stolen, they'd been long gone. Of course he would be petty enough to destroy all her worldly possessions.

It didn't matter. In the end, she decided that she wouldn't have wanted them back anyways. They were tainted.

Blinking from her awed gaze, Sakura realized that she was taking up the sidewalk and that people were passing her with disapproving stares. Flushing bright red, Sakura quickly walked into the building and checked in with reception, quickly sent to the fourth floor.

There she was greeted by the foremost breast cancer researcher in the world, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.

"Hello, Sakura. We're glad to have you. Welcome to Duke University."