A/N: Hi everyone, it's AliceWolffe again! Sorry about all these delays and stuff- I should be halfway through the story by now, but I've been dealing with some schtuff and remembered that I left you all hanging. I've been procrastinating this whole week about updating and finally decided it was time. Prepare for a really long chapter to catch everyone up. As far as the storyline goes, I planned the first part out, but the rest of the way I've decided to wing it- even so I think you all are going to be pleased with the end product! This is the big chapter and links back to the summary of the story. You will also see a little interaction between Sakura and the rest of rookie 9. Anyway, let's just get to the story and from the bottom of my heart- enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. All credit goes to the respective works of Masashi Kishimoto and its creators. I do however own this plotline.
Sakura turned the corner into her neighborhood and slowly approached her house, trying to recede further into her orange parka as the winter wind bit at her nose and cheeks. It was freezing in Konoha, but she guessed it was to be expected since it was Christmas Eve. Of course, all students in the city were given the holidays off for the next three weeks. Many of them went on vacations with family to warm tropical places to escape the gruesome cold and others stayed home and caught up on much needed rest. Sakura, however, was far too anxious to rest.
She stopped at her mailbox and frowned in dismay to discover it empty. She sighed loudly and continued to her house. It had been a week after her audition at the Konoha Theatre and still no word if she had been selected to continue on as a member of the newly forged S&U Academy of Arts. She already knew it was a long shot, especially against all her elitist competition, but Sakura still remained hopeful of the outcome. If she did pass this audition, she would have her foot in the door for endless opportunities in her career and that was an offer she couldn't let pass by. Despite all her optimism, she had a dark feeling in the pit of her stomach that she didn't pass; that the judges making her wait was just their sick, twisted way of humiliating her-and so far it was working She took out her key and unlocked the door, shutting it and locking it behind her. She wasted no time seeing if anyone was home since she already knew where everyone was; Karin was shopping at the mall with friends and her father and stepmother were out shopping for last minute Christmas gifts.
Sakura went to the fridge and took out a Pepsi cola and headed down to her room. She had spruced the place up a bit in the name of the Christmas spirit. Multicolored lights were tacked around the walls, little elves and other knick knacks stood uniformly on her dresser, and a small baby fir tree had been set up in the far corner adjacent to her bed. She had decorated it with the remainder of her lights from the walls, tinsel, glass balls, and handmade ornaments. It looked pretty snazzy, if she said so herself. Sakura dropped her parka and gloves onto her bed and bent down to examine the tree. She had gotten it free at a parking lot tree sale and decided to use it to liven up her room and distract her from the auditions.
Sakura leaned further and eyed one of her ornaments. It was an Uchiha fan pin, a gift Sasuke had given her years ago before her father remarried. He had given it to her as a impromptu Christmas gift since had helped him last minute on a class project when he'd been paired with Naruto and even though she knew he put no effort into the present, she cherished it just because it was from him. A slight blush formed on her cheeks as she remembered the crush she had on the raven haired boy.
But she wasn't the only one; Sasuke was and still is the most attractive and popular student at her school. He had thousands and possibly millions of admirers due to his wealth, social status, and (of course) his heaven-sent face and god-like body that could put Adonis to shame. Sakura shook her head, scolding herself. Here she was fangirling again. Any hopes of Sasuke reciprocating her feelings was long gone and never coming back, so she'd do well to forget about him. Damn, now she depressed. She looked at the pin again and a shiver went up her spine. That symbol now had not only grown to represent Sasuke to Sakura, but also of another Uchiha ever since the audition night. She flinched as she recalled how weird Madara Uchiha was acting that night and how she thought he was going to…
"Nope!" Sakura exclaimed, dismissing the topic with a single wave of her hand. Madara Uchiha was one of the wealthiest and most prosperous men in all of Japan, if not the most prosperous period. What would he want with a poor, underling like herself? Still, she couldn't erase the way he looked at her. It was as if he wanted-
"Okay, enough with the daydreaming!" Sakura yelled at herself with blush wild upon her cheeks, "Ewww, he's like 30, what am I thinking?! Ugh, I need to get out of this house, its driving me crazy." So once again she put on her layers of clothing and set out into the cold.
Sakura arrived at downtown Konoha and immediately began searching for activities. She could have asked Naruto and Hinata to come along, but she didn't want to be a burden and third wheel to the couple. The three rarely got together outside of school, but Sakura knew she was to blame for that. They had both asked her many times to partake in outings and dinners, but Sakura always declined. She figured she had already ruined their lives inside of school considering they had the school freak tagging along, though they always said they didn't care others opinions and that Naruto would right hook anyone that bad mouthed his friend, but she wouldn't risk them to ruining their public status too over her being a little lonely. She'd find something to do…
Sakura kept wandering through downtown eyeing different vendors and gawking at the beauty of the area. Thousands of bright twinkling lights sparkled above her and there were delicious aromas wafting through the air. She leaned her head back and took in the appeasing smells when she heard loud giggling. She turned to see the commotion across the street and it was three children clutching to a woman who was in line for something. "Haru, stop shoving Kisuke," she commanded, "We're almost at the front of the rink." Sakura blinked and smiled. Ice skating, how perfect! Maybe while she was here, she could practice some jumps. Sakura rushed across the street and stood behind the woman in the line.
Once Sakura had paid and gotten her skates, she laced them up and tried to test her stability in them. She toppled over a couple of times (dancers can't always be graceful) before deeming them comfortable enough to step out onto the ice with. She placed a foot on the ice and then the other and began skating.
'It's been a while since I've done this, but I've still got it, cha!' she thought as she glided on the ice. A man not to far off from her was doing crossovers and Sakura eyed him with slight arrogance,'Hmph, I can do that.' Sakura lifted her right foot and began doing crossovers when the two children from earlier, Kisuke and Haru if she recalled their names, came hurtling toward her.
'Crap, I can't stop!' She braced her arms, waiting for impact, but it never came. Instead she felt a pair of strong arms lifting her around her waist and a stern voice following saying, "Don't you two know any common courtesy? Ladies first." Kisuke and Haru nodded nervously,"Y-yes, sir," and skated away hurriedly to find their mother. Sakura was still in shock, but found the words to speak, "Madara…sama?"
Madara looked down at the girl still in his embrace and displayed his famous Uchiha smirk, "Coincidence meeting you here, Sa-ku-ra.' He savored her name on his tongue. "Um, yeah, coincidence meeting you here too, Madara-sama." Why did she feel like it was so not a coincidence meeting him here? "Yes, quite," Madara replied with content saturated in his voice. Sakura's eyes darted around, uncomfortably, waiting, but Madara made no movement.
"Madara-sama, can you put me down?"
Madara seemed to snap out of a daze and seemed to apprehensively comply, "Of course, koi." He set her back upon her blades and pocketed his hands. Sakura saw he was wearing a crisp white dress shirt and a maroon tie with a pair of black slacks.
"A little over dressed, don't you think?" She was trying not to be rude, but couldn't help herself.
Madara chuckled, "Yes, I suppose. I came here straight from work and didn't have time to change into more suitable clothing."
"Why rush over? The rink doesn't close for another four hours."
Madara, still smirking, leaned in close to her ear, "Wouldn't you like to know?"
Yep, it was that time again. What was it about this man that every time he showed up, Sakura couldn't stand to be near him? He gave her what she and Ino used to call the 'heebie-jeebies'. Remembering last time's uncomfortable encounter, Sakura felt shivers quivering up her spine. Not only her previous escapade with Madara began to worry her, but the fact that he was reminding her of what she'd come to forget about. Huh, maybe ice skating was a stress reliever after all. Sakura bowed," Thank you, Madara-sama for your help, but I must really get home. I'm… not feeling too well."
Sakura had only taken a step when Madara said, "Something wrong, koi? Tell me." The last part sounded like a command. Sakura, slightly hesitant at first, could no longer hold it in. "It's the audition-", Sakura uttered before her tears began to fall silently, throwing Madara off guard," I-I-I…I FAILED!" Sakura let loose all her frustration and tears right there, in the middle of the ice rink, in front of Madara. She despised looking pathetic, especially to one the men that judged her on that very day, but it couldn't be helped. All she wanted right now was to curl up into a ball and bawl her eyes out.
Madara looked at the weeping girl with shock, slightly panicking inside. He was not good in these types of situations. Trying to console her, he grasp her hand, "Please, stop your wailing, it's giving me a migraine. Now explain." Sakura told him about how for the past week she waited by the phone and mailbox all day and still had no word of if she'd made it and how she felt it was sadistic and cruel that they'd play these mind games on her, at teenage girl, knowing she had failed miserably, but instead of coming out with the truth, decided to keep her hopes up. Madara stared at her…and stared…and stared…then burst into a raucous fit of laughter.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!"
Sakura's face was priceless. What the hell was wrong with him?! She's over here pouring her heart out and he laughs at her! Sakura didn't care if he was her judge or not, he had no reason to be an outright jerk. She refused to take this type of abuse with a straight face. "You're an ass, you know that?!"
Madara's laughing stopped as soon as the words left her mouth. His only-moments-ago hysteria had been replaced with a deep set frown and hard eyes that made Sakura squirm internally. "That is the second time, my dear."
Sakura, realizing what she had just done, hurriedly apologized, almost slurring over her words. "Gomen, Madara-sama! I-I don't know what came ov-"
Madara cut her off with a flick of his wrist, "Don't concern yourself, I'll allow it-this time. But I promise you Sakura, next time I won't be so lenient." Sakura nodded in gratefulness and kept her head down, staring at her skates. "And just so you know Love, I wasn't laughing at you, I was laughing at my ordeal," Madara took Sakura's hands in his palm, "I was laughing at how much glee and joy you bring to my life with just your presence, even though you're overly concerned about insignificant things." Sakura began to blush madly and Madara smirked. "Don't fret, Love. I'll handle the situation immediately," he said patting her hands softly. Sakura, now reassured, thanked him. He shook his head, "No need for all the formalities. When you wake up tomorrow, everything will be in its place," Madara told her before he skated away to the entrance, then stopped halfway and came back to her. He leaned into her ear, "Oh and Sakura," he reached into one of pants pockets and pulled something out and placed it in one of her hands, "Merry Christmas, koi" he whispered before giving her a long kiss on the cheek and skating to the entrance and leaving the rink. Sakura still stood in the middle of the rink, confused, dazed, and unfamiliarly tingly. She looked down and saw a rectangular slender blue box with a pink ribbon tied neatly around it cradled in her hand. Still not quite coming to terms with what just transpired, Sakura too left the rink.
Madara was speeding down the highway in his midnight black Lamborghini, a waning moon above, weaving in between cars in his wake. Usually by this time of night he'd be back at his condo by now, but he had some prior 'engagements'to entertain before he could even consider resting. Izuna would definitely be shaken with worry by now about his sudden absentness at home, but his otouto could hold down the fort in his absence. He'd deal with the consequences when he'd get home, but for now he had business to attend to.
A small silhouette of a middle-aged man ran along the blackened hallways of Uchiha Corp as it ascended the long stairway that led to the elevator. It was at least 11 pm at night in the city. The building was now deserted of any people excluding the man, who had only stayed due to have to arrange business of obligations regarding the upcoming S&U Academy of Art; he swore that one day this job was going to kill him; but as part of the Uchiha clan, working at the major corporate business was inevitable.
Said man sighed while rubbing his temples and pressed the 'up' button on the elevator panel and silently waited until he heard a familiar chime. The man was about to step in the shaft when his face froze in horror as the doors parted ways. He came face to face with his worst nightmare.
"U-Uchiha-sama?" the quivering man mouthed. An insidious looking Madara stared back at him such with intensity that it could have started a forest wildfire. "Hello, Mitsuo—let's talk." Madara grabbed Mitsuo's tie and wrenched him into the elevator shaft just as the doors were closing. Madara jacked the man up against the stainless steel wall by his collar, knocking the wind out of him, his feet dangling in the air. "I'm going to give you five seconds to explain before I crack your damn skull."
"Madara-sama, what do you—"
"1,"
"Madara-sama, please—"
"2,"
"For Kami's sake, I have three kids!"
"3,"
"Don't do this!"
"4,"
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"
Madara stopped counting and pushed Mitsuo harder against the wall, "Don't play simpleton with me. Who put you up to it? Was it that snake Hashirama?"
"Madara-sama, I have no idea what you're saying!" Mitsuo felt any moment Madara would snap and beat him to a mass of bloody pulp—or worse—end his life. Madara was growing frustrated at this man's evasiveness; he wanted answers and he wanted them now.
"Why hasn't Sakura Haruno been promoted to the S&U Academy student roster? It was that bastard Hashirama wasn't it? He thought he'd teach me a lesson for leaving the auditions without his permission?" Madara slammed Mitsuo against the wall, "Tell me or I swear by the heavens above—"
"But she is on the roster just like you requested, I made sure of it!" Mitsuo cried out as a final plea. Madara's grip on his collar lessened slightly, "Then why didn't she get a phone call by now?!"
"I don't know Madara-sama, but I can assure you I put her on the student roster!"
The elevator had reached its floor and the doors parted. Madara threw helpless Mitsuo through the doors and onto the laminate floor. "Show me."
Mitsuo nodded and scurried up and proceeded to head to his office down the hall, Madara following close behind him to make sure he doesn't escape. Mitsuo tried to gulp down the wad of saliva that had accumulated in his mouth, but could not from the vast dryness of his mouth. He knew this could end badly; he'd heard rumors of those who crossed Madara Uchiha and how they ended up in mysterious plights with people suddenly disappearing altogether. His eyes grew rummy at the thought that he could be one of those unfortunate. Mitsuo stopped at his office door and fumbled with the keys nervously before opening it. The room was rather spacious and had modern furnishings—a white couch, a shelf to the left filled with plaques and family photos and a oakwood desk with multiple stacks of paper still on it. Madara gave him a slight push, "Find the roster."
Mitsuo nodded and began furiously sifting through the loose documents on his desk like his life depended it on it—which it might have. Madara leaned against the door sill, eying the man with contempt. He lightly tapped his foot while Mitsuo searched, unconsciously causing the man more anxiety. He searched for another two minutes when at last—to Mitsuo's relief—he found the document. He handed it to Madara and Madara looked it over. To his surprise, just like Mitsuo said, Sakura's name was at the very top. "No offense, Madara-sama, but Ms. Haruno would have been on the roster even if you hadn't requested it," Mitsuo went back to his desk and brought back the score sheet. Madara scanned the paper and saw that his cherry blossom had received a 978. "How many points do you need to be permitted into the academy?" he questioned. "At least a 564," Mistuo responded immediately, "Ms. Haruno was the best of the evening."
The still frightened man could have sworn he saw his boss flash a smile before his eyes shifted back to Mitsuo.
"If her name is on it, why didn't didn't you send it to the department of messages?"
"But I did, Madara-sama. I sent Itachi-sama a copy of the roster while I kept the original in my files, and look," Mitsuo pulled out his smartphone and showed Madara his email screen, "I even emailed him a copy of the list just incase it was lost in transport."
Madara looked back the man and then the screen again. It seemed the man had not been fibbing to him the entire time. Madara looked straight ahead, not making eye contact with Mitsuo then turned and walked away. "Speak to no one of this incident or else you will rue the day you crossed me. Goodnight, Mitsuo," Madara says calmly as he departed into the elevator.
Mitsuo stood, frozen, silently for a moment, processing what a close call that had been. His knees gave out from underneath him and he collapsed onto the hard, cold floor. Yes, he was surely right; that job almost killed him that night.
Madara loosened his tie on the way back to the parking lot. If Mitsuo surely put her name on the list, then why hadn't she received a call? Madara reviewed what Mitsuo had said in his head and then quickly pulled out his smart phone and went to Itachi's email page for Uchiha Corps. He scrolled it down until he reached a message at the bottom. It read:
Officially off work December 18th for Holiday vacation with family. If there are any concerns please reply below and I will reach you as soon as possible. Happy Holidays!
Madara stood, staring at his phone. He knew what happened; oh yes, now he knew exactly what happened…
He'd have to have a talk with his great nephew about importance of finishing all work before leaving for vacations.
Sakura snuck into the house through her basement window, trying not to make any noise even though she was sure they wouldn't care anyway. She once again deposited her parka onto her cot and plopped down as she fingered an item in her hands. Should she open it? Should she give it back and say she can't accept gifts from strangers? She sat considering these things while she turned over the long blue box in her hands. Well, there was no use in receiving a gift and not even taking the time to see what it was before she returned it. Plus, who else was going to give her gifts? Secretly excited, she unknotted the pink ribbon and tossed it aside, took in a deep breath and opened the box. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped wide open.
Nestled inside the box in silver satin was a sterling silver pendant necklace. The silver chain was long that went around her neck with a metal clasp at the back. The pendant was what took her breath away; it was a sakura blossom plated in silver and encrusted with pink crystals in the petal sections and a large ruby at the center of the flower. Sakura rolled the necklace between her fingers—yes, it was definitely real and she was curious to know the price to say the least. How could a man she barely knew buy her such an expensive gift? More importantly, what did he want in return? Sakura didn't even entertain the thought. This was wrong. She sighed; she knew she'd have to give it back the next time she saw Madara-sama. She truly appreciated his generosity, especially to someone like her, but it was inconceivably inappropriate.
Though, she had to admit, the man had killer taste in jewelry. She lifted the necklace back into its blue box and did her best to retie the ribbon around it. Sakura leaned over and placed it on her night stand, eying it longingly, before turning out the light. It was there, in that solemn dark room that Sakura uttered, "Merry Christmas, Madara-sama."
Sakura was on cloud nine today. A couple of days following Christmas, she had received the phone call about the audition and she had passed. Of course, she screamed to the top of her lungs like a madwoman in excitement at the news even as Karin and her father and stepmother looked at her as if she sprouted a second head. She never bothered to explain to them why because minutes later they returned to their usual everyday lives, unconcerned at how hers was developing. But it was to be expected; and besides, nothing like that could ruin this day.
Today was the day she had been dreaming of, the day she had been praying for—the day S&U Academy of the Arts officially opened. She'd barely gotten any sleep the previous night due to her anxiousness mixed with elation at the occurrence of these recent events. It was a Monday morning as the dawn started to come up over the horizon and her alarm went off telling her it was time for school. Winter break had finally ended and now it was back to work. Sakura could have really cared less; her real priority was her first day attending S&U Academy of Art.
As soon as her alarm clock sounded, she pounced out of bed and into her bathroom to shower and get dressed. She had already picked the perfect outfit for her first day at the Academy—it was a long sleeved cream colored princess waist-lined dress, a champagne wrist watch, and a pair of white ballerina flats. Overall, a cute, but simple look. She had spent all afternoon scavenging the mall for the perfect outfit and that was what she came up with. There were a couple others that had caught her eye, but none that seemed appropriate for the atmosphere or the occasion. Sakura took her time showering and dressing before gathering her book bag and her pre-packed dance bag and headed out the door, not waiting for Karin and her mother to drive by in the SUV.
Sakura walked to Konoha High School with a bounce in her step and a smile on her face, something that had not happened in over a year (last time she smiled was because at lunch time, Naruto was laughing so hard that chocolate milk came spurting out of his nose and Hinata fainted thinking he was dying.) She passed the parking lot and headed up the steps into the school building. The hallways were empty because she always arrived 30 minutes before the official bell rang. Shrugging it off, she went to the library and listened to music until it was time to go to her first class. She collected her bags and prepared for the long day ahead.
Sakura's final period of the day—and the most hated by boys and girls alike—was gym with Gai-sensei. Despite being a trained dancer, Sakura always hated gym; she was that kid who was always picked last for activities and apparently had an invisible target on her back when it came to the despised games like dodgeball. Not to mention it tired her out so quickly that when she went to Tsunade-sama for practice, she could barely do a set of turns without nearly collapsing. And the icing on the cake was that she to share the class with Karin and her gang. She also shared the class with some of her previous classmates like Ino, Sasuke, Choji, Shikamaru, Tenten, Rock Lee, and Kiba and the rest she didn't know. Though she held no animosity towards them, she dared not speak to them— they were Karin's friends now.
Gai-sensei was not her favorite of teachers, but he was definitely on the top list for the creepiest. He commonly was adorned with a green spandex track suit and always commented on how the students' 'youthfulness' was kept through constantly conditioning their bodies and determination. If that wasn't enough, Rock Lee decided to imitate him at all lengths and there were various times where the two burst into spontaneous tears for no reason at all. Not to mention those eyebrows, ugh.
Today he decided to greet the students in the middle of the gym with two rows of red dodge balls behind him. Fantastic.
"Hello my young, youthful students!" Gai-sensei said with animated vigor. "It's a fine day outside today and I thought, 'Why not let the kids have a break and have a nice, easy game of dodgeball!' "
Sakura narrowed her eyes; she was not fooled for a minute. There was never such thing as an 'easy game' when Gai-sensei was involved. He wanted something that will make you sweat. She was just waiting for the catch.
Excluding her, the rest of the class seemed overjoyed at the news they would not be performing rigorous task as they normally did. Then Gai-sensei dropped the bomb.
"And we'll get to the game right after you all complete your 50 laps each, do 100 push ups with your hand behind your back, 30 jumping jacks, and a sack race."
Someone whined, "A sack race, what for?"
Gai thumbed his chin, "Did I mention I'm in the sack? You'll have to drag me from one end of the football field to the other five times before you're complete."
A collective whiny groan erupted from the class, especially Karin. "Ughh! Why do we have to do all that stupid crap?! Was this even on the schedule? I'm starting to think you're making this BS up as you go!"
Gai paid no attention her. He clapped his and said, "Alright, enough with the dilly dallying; hop to it!"
The class slowly stalked off to the dressing room to get changed and all came back wearing their uniforms and immediately Gai put them to work. The only one who didn't seem to mind the task was Rock Lee.
"Yes, finally I am able to showcase my skills to my peers in my agility and commitment!" he said as he sped off to the race track to complete his laps.
Sakura lagged behind, trying to conserve her energy for S&U, which—in her book—was more important than failing this assignment. She slowly jogged behind the rest of the class, inwardly organizing was she was to do after school to prepare herself for her classes afterwards. Pointe shoes—check, pink and black leotard—check, legwarmers—check, hair bands for bun—check, powd—
"OMG! Look what dumbass pinkie did!"
Sakura heard it, that dreaded voice. Sakura had been so caught up in her thoughts, she did not hear Karin, Ami, Ino, and Tayuya approach behind her. Karin had stopped to point at Sakura and began to chortle, "The dumb bitch forgot to wear a tampon and soaked her underwear! HAHAHAHAHA!" Karin pointed at Sakura's rear and Sakura looked over her shoulder at an awkward angle and stared in horror to see a slightly rusty red stain on the back of her gym shorts. Karin's friends began to join in the spectacle while Ino stood shocked. "Yeah look, it's all over her ass!" Ami shouted, hoping everyone within 10 feet could hear. Tayuya also joined and said, "Hey girlfriend, need a tampon? I don't have one, but I have some cotton swabs and dental floss, could you use that?!"
Sakura was already on the brink of tears at this point, but they didn't threaten to fall until she glanced around and saw the giggling faces of her classmates, but more mortifying, the disgusted look on Sasuke's face.
Karin had fallen down laughing and a small circle had formed around her shouting, cursing, and laughing at her. Before they could see her cry, Sakura fought her way through the circle and ran full speed back to the school and into the girls' locker room. She burst through the doors, ran into a stall, locked the door and began to bawl her eyes out. Why were they so mean? What did she do to deserve this hell?! Sakura took another wad of tissue and blew her nose and dried her eyes.
Even through her sniffles, Sakura heard the door open. They had come for round two of her humiliation. She tried to stifle her sniffing and managed a weak, "Yes?"
There was no answer and footsteps began to approach the stall she was in and stopped at it. A perfectly manicured hand came over the stall door holding a Kleenex. "Don't use toilet tissue; it's like sandpaper on the skin."
Sakura stopped her sniffles all together when she heard the voice. She reached up and accepted the Kleenex from the person. She dried her eyes and blew her nose with the soft tissue. She looked up, "Thank you," she said grateful for the token of sympathy. The person gave a simple, "no prob" and left the locker room, the door still swinging.
Sakura never cried again that day, but she left the stall for the rest of the period.
Sakura almost ran out of the school building when the bell rang. She was more than ready to depart from her hellish day at that asylum. And now, finally, she could proceed to what she had been dreaming about all day— S&U Academy of Arts.
She had changed back into her dress and had slipped a sanitary napkin from her book bag and cleaned up her panties the best she could. She had caught the bus since the academy was across town and it would make her late to walk from school to there. She had visited Tsunade before she left and the blonde woman said that they would both celebrate when she got back.
After the bus stopped at her stop, Sakura bolted off and ran down three blocks, passed the parking lot and stopped to take in the awe inspiring sight before her. Senju & Uchiha Academy of Arts not only taught the arts, but the architecture was a work of art. The stairs were of white marble, gleaming the sun as was the rest of the builing except the building was laid in marble brick with glass doors with silver handles, white limestone pillars, a fountain with a multiple life like marble statues seeming to frolic in the water, the name of the school etched over the entrance and a lion on either side of the entrance, their mouths agape. All in all, the place looked as if it had been built by Greek gods. Sakura stood for nearly ten minutes gawking at the beauty before remembering her reason for coming here.
She marched up the beautiful steps and walked inside the building as a warm blast of air enveloped her. If the outside of the building was amazing, the inside was glamorous. Crystal chandeliers hung above her head and the ceiling was painted with portraits of the founders of the school, graceful ballerinas, a swarm of musicians, and other art depictions that looked as if they would leap from the heavens they were painted on. Feeling herself get sidetracked again, Sakura's flats tapped softly against the pearl white tiles of the floor as she made her way to the receptionist' desk.
One of the women behind the receptionist counter greeted her politely, "Hello and welcome to Senju & Uchiha Academy of the Arts. How may I be of service to you?"
"Hi, I'm a new student here and I was wondering where I could receive my schedule?"
The woman nodded and began to type on her computer, "Name please."
"Haruno, Sakura," Sakura said slightly leaning over the counter to see the woman type in her name. The woman gave a small smile, "Ah, here you are—Sakura Haruno, aged 17 years, born March 28th, attends Konoha High School, and lives on 524 Oshio Street?" The woman waited for Sakura's confirmation. Sakura nodded and the woman replied, "Alright, then just let me print out your schedule and follow the staircase to the elevator and then go to the second floor; you'll see guides in the hallway prepared to give you directions to your appointed room."
The woman printed out Sakura's report and handed it to her. Sakura bowed and thanked the woman before heading up the stairs to the elevator and pressed '2.'
When the doors opened, Sakura stepped out and saw droves of people with sheets of paper in their hand going up and down the hallway. Sakura glanced around her to see if she spotted any guides, but couldn't tell the guides from the students. Frustrated, she wandered up the hall hoping to find the room herself.
She tried to question some people in the hall, but they seemed just as oblivious as she was. Sakura sighed and leaned against one of the cool cream colored walls when she heard a familiar voice.
"Sakura?"
She turned and saw a smiling Hinata waving and carrying an instrument case on her shoulder amid the chaos of the hallway. "Hinata-san!" Sakura shouted excitedly before rushing over to the girl and hugging her.
"Hey, Hinata! Gosh am I glad to see you. What are you doing here?" A notion popped into Sakura's head. "Oh kami, please don't tell me Naruto's with you?"
Hinata giggled, "No, he's not; he's at home playing Call of Duty. I'm here as one of the students."
Sakura's eyes grew wide, "Are you serious?! This is so awesome! So am I!"
Hinata's smile grew. "That's great! I'm here for the music program," she pointed to the black case she was carrying, "My father sent me here for the violin advancement lessons. Plus, I am able to attend free since my family has business ties with both the Senju and Uchiha enterprises."
"That's cool. I'm here on a ballet scholarship program. Wait, I thought you wanted to be a chef after you graduated?" Sakura inquired. Hinata was the best cook Sakura had ever known and it would have been a shame to see her give it up just because her parents wanted her to.
"Oh, I still am going to be a chef. They have culinary classes here too. I'm going to complete a full semester of violin lessons and I'll spend the summer taking the culinary classes. Even if my parents forced me to, N-Naruto-kun wouldn't let me drop cooking and talk some s-sense into them—h-he'd be too afraid I wouldn't fix him r-ramen at night anymore."
Sakura giggled at Hinata's comment, which was probably the honest truth. Hinata had for the most part grown out of her stuttering thanks to Naruto, but when she spoke about him, her face reddens and the stuttering is apparent again.
A thought came to Sakura, "Hey, Hinata, do you know where this class is?" She held out her schedule and pointed to her class number.
Sadly, Hinata shook her head. "No, I'm sorry. A lady at the counter told me that there were guides walking around helping people find their classes."
"Same here. Well, I guess we'll have to keep looking around."
"That won't be necessary."
Before Sakura could respond to the voice, her schedule was snatched out of her hands. Hinata looked stunned and Sakura looked ticked off, "Hey!" she yelled.
Low and behold, she turned to see Madara holding her schedule to his face.
"What? Do you not need my assistance?" he questioned.
Hinata, slightly uncomfortable, decided to leave the two alone. "B-bye Sakura, see you after classes!" she called while waving back. Sakura turned as her friend left, "Oh, bye Hinata!"
She again faced Madara, "I think you scared her."
Madara glanced after the girl and 'hm'-ed. "She'll live. Now about you, would you like me to show you to your classes?" he said with a Cheshire smirk.
"I'd be grateful. Also, I need to talk to you about something too."
Madara nodded and grasped her hand. "Yes, yes, we can talk once we arrive at your classroom."
He then pulled—almost dragged—her down the hallway, away from the student hordes and down another pair of steps. When they reached the bottom, Madara led her through corridor to corridor in the building. He had led her through so many hallways, she couldn't even remember how to get out. Finally, she asked, "Madara-sama, are you sure we're going the right way? There don't seem to be many people here."
"Of course I know where I'm going the right way, Love. I built this school," Madara replied proudly. The more hallways and doors he led her through, the darker the corridors became. Sakura was slightly frightened, but decided to trust him nonetheless. Big mistake.
Madara finally stopped at a heavy wooden door, "Here we are."
Sakura looked at the door and peeked around herself. The two were almost completely shrouded in darkness except for the occasional overhead light. The hall was empty and devoid of any human excluding the two.
"This is my classroom?"
Madara smiled slightly, "No, of course not. This is a storage unit. I just need to get something from here for a moment and then I shall show you to your classes."
Sakura seemed hesitant, "But won't I be late for class?"
Madara chuckled. "Sakura, I partially own the building. I assure you they'll let you in the classroom if they want to keep their jobs."
"If you say so…"
"No worries. It shall only take a minute," Madara took out a silver key and unlocked the door, pushing it open.
"Why don't you come inside while I retrieve it? I'd hate to leave you here all by yourself unprotected."
Sakura fidgeted awkwardly, "Um, okay."
Sakura went inside the room and Madara followed her, closing the door behind him. She did not see him lock it. Madara reached over his head and grabbed hold of the light switch and pulled. Instantly, dim light cast over the room and its two occupants. Sakura did not like what the light did to the planes of Madara's face—it cast eerie shadows across his features that almost made her want to turn away.
"Well since we're here, I need to talk to you about something," Sakura says.
Madara brushed his long tresses out of his face, "Sakura, you don't have to say a word. It's about the necklace isn't it?" His voice seemed deeper.
Sakura looked alarmed. "Yes. How'd you know?"
He chuckled, "I figured that be the reaction, with a beautiful, wholesome, sexy woman like yourself."
Did her just call her…sexy?
"I'm s-sorry Madara-sama, I think I misunderstand you…"
"Sakura-koi," Madara began to loosen his tie, "you know exactly what I meant."
Sakura's instincts were kicking in. She had to look for a way to escape because something was just not right.
Madara began to stalk towards her, Sakura backing up as her did. She had tempted him for the last time. Now, he was going to have her—age be damned in this instance. She was the song that he couldn't get out of his head, the wound that just won't heal. Usually, he'd control his urges around her, but he was too far gone. Since he first laid eyes on her, Madara had never seen a woman as beautiful and as exotic as Sakura and hence, he never wanted one so bad either, yet she was still under aged. But she was the fire coursing through his veins and he could no longer hide his need. His only regret was that he would take her in a storage room closet, but he assured himself next time he'd be able to treat her to a more fitting place of her worth. For now, this would do.
"Excuse me—"
Sakura couldn't finish her sentence because Madara hungrily smashed his lips to hers, roughly kissing her. Damn, she tasted so good.
Sakura stood bone still in shock at first then tried to push away after she registered what was happening. The more she pulled away, the harder Madara kissed her. He traced his tongue in between the crevice of her lips, demanding that she grant him entrance. Sakura, stubborn, kept pushing away at his chest even as he held her arms. Madara then wrapped one arm around her torso, still keeping her close to him as his other hand traveled down until he reached the hem of dress. To Sakura's surprise, he hitched it up and began to rub her inner thigh. Sakura gasp and Madara took the opportunity to slip into her wet cavern. He tasted her thoroughly, letting his tongue explore every part of her mouth.
The hand on her thigh traveled farther up until he reached her panty line. This was when Sakura woke up.
"No!
With a sudden surge of force, Sakura pushed from Madara, grabbed the hand that was once wrapped around her torso and sunk her teeth deep into his hand. Madara let out an animalistic shriek and Sakura took the chance to bolt to the door. She turned the little knob and then the door handle and bolted out of the storage room. She wasn't sure where she was going, but it was going to be far far away from that monster.
A/N: Whew! This chapter took a long time; like three days. But I'm glad I got it done because it was long overdue and you guys deserved it. Look for chapter 6 soon! Please review—hearing your comments makes my day and actually inspires me to update faster. Until next time!
